bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
T2 maximum likelihood estimation from multiple spin‐echo magnitude images
Authors: Bonny Jean‐Marie , Zanca Michel , Boire Jean‐Yves , Veyre Annie 
Published: March 2007

AbstractAn optimal maximum likelihood (ML) method is described for an unbiased estimation of monoexponential T2 from magnitude spin‐echo images. The algorithm is based on a Gaussian assumption of noise distribution. The validity of this assumption was checked by a statistical x2 test on spin‐echo and fast low‐angle shot surface coil images. Monte‐Carlo simulations of magnitude data showed that the ML estimate standard deviation is lower than that produced by a weighted leastsquares fitting on signal logarithm. Correction schemes are proposed to reduce bias deriving from magnitude reconstruction. The variance of the ML estimate converged rapidly toward the theoretical algebraic expression of the Cramér‐Rao lower bound.
Political Strength, Economic Structure, and the Debt Servicing Potential of Developing Countries
Authors: SNIDER LEWIS W. 
Published: March 2007

The developing countries' need to reschedule their external debts is as much a consequence of the political weakness of their governments vis-á-vis their own societies and the international environment as it is a consequence of unfavorable structural changes in the international financial system. This study's original contribution is to treat the differentials in the political strengths of debtor governments as explicit variables in analyzing the probability of LDCs having to reschedule their external debt, rather than to treat political factors as residuals to an economic explanation. A measure of a government's political strength, relative political capacity (RPC), is used to evaluate the impact of a government's political strength on the probability of debt rescheduling, controlling for the size of a country's debt service burden, the impact of external shocks from the global system, the structure of its domestic economy, and whether its principal exports are agricultural raw materials, minerals, or manufactured goods. Three probit models are used to analyze 48 developing countries for the years 1968 to 1983 (N = 768). The results suggest that political capacity does have a significant impact on the probability of a government rescheduling its external debt.
Correlation of the Quick Word Test and Wide Range Vocabulary Test with the Shipley-Institute of Living Scale
Authors: Martin John D. , Blair Garland E. , Vickers Dorothy M. 
Published: March 2007

The purposes of the present project were to determine the validity of the Quick Word Test (QWT) and the Wide Range Vocabulary Test Form B (WRVT-B) relative to the Shipley-Institute of Living Scale (SILS) serving as a criterion measure and to ascertain in light of the statistical outcomes whether the QWT and the WRVT-B can be used as effective instruments in assessing the intellectual ability of college students. The selection of the criterion instrument—the Shipley-Institute of Living Scale—was based on its reliability and validity as well as on its rather wide usage in educational and institutional settings. The correlation coefficients obtained in the present study between the QWT and the SILS and between the WRVT-B and the SILS were .68 and .73, respectively. These coefficients attained significance beyond the .01 level. In light of these relatively high and significant coefficients, it was concluded that the QWT and the WRVT-B are valid measures of intellectual functioning that may be used in a population of college students.
The Factorial Validity of the Affective Work Competencies Inventory
Authors: Brauchle Paul E. , Petty Gregory C. , Morgan Kevin R. 
Published: March 2007

This study sought to determine for a sample of industrial workers, supervisors, and vocational educators the factorial dimensions of the Affective Work Competencies Inventory (AWCI), and to estimate the reliability of scales which describe its factorial dimensions. The AWCI is a self-report Likert-type questionnaire designed to measure work attitudes, values, and habits desired by industry and educators. Responses of 1,485 industrial workers, supervisors, and vocational educators to the AWCI were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis. The factors which emerged were analyzed in terms of their continuity, reliability, and meaningfulness as contributors to the instrument. The factor analysis procedure yielded five factors which accounted for most of the test variance while only using about half the number of items in the original instrument. Results suggested that the items describing the factors may be the basis of useful subscales for the instrument.
Elastic Properties of Hollow-Sphere-Reinforced Composites
Authors: Lee K.J. , Westmann R.A. 
Published: March 2007

This paper is concerned with determining the elastic properties of a composite material composed of hollow spherical inclusions em bedded in a matrix. Both inclusions and surrounding material are taken to be isotropic and elastic. As the result of a straightforward extension of Hashin's work, upper and lower bounds have been developed for the gross shear modulus of the composite. In addition, a closed form expression is presented for the gross bulk modulus of the material. Numerical results have been presented illustrating the effect of wall thickness of the inclusion upon the elastic constants of the composite. As illus trated by example, control of the properties and geometry of the inclusions permits "design" of a material with prescribed elastic behavior.
Alternate Hybrid-Stress Elements for Analysis of Multilayer Composite Plates
Authors: Spilker R.L. , Chou S.C. , Orringer O. 
Published: March 2007

Two quadrilateral-shaped multilayer plate bending/stretching elements based on the assumed-stress hybrid finite-element model are presented. These elements may be applied to the analysis of fiber composite plates and shells composed of an arbitrary number of layers and arbitrary mate rial properties and fiber direction within each layer. Both elements incor porate the effects of transverse shear by including the transverse shear stresses τ xz and τyz, and by assuming independent rotations of the normals to the plate midsurface, so that normals to the midsurface in the un deformed state need not be normal to the midsurface after deformation. In the formulation of an element based on the assumed-stress hybrid model, the stress distribution in the interior of the element is expressed in terms of a finite number of stress parameters such that equilibrium is satisfied, and the displacement distribution on the boundary of the element is expressed in terms of generalized nodal displacements such that interelement displacement compatibility is maintained. The principle difference between the two elements presented is the level of approxima tion incorporated into the stress and displacement assumptions. For one element the stresses within each layer are related to a set of stress param eters within that layer, and the boundary displacement assumption allows for independent cross-sectional rotations within each layer (and is thus capable of modeling the severe cross-sectional warping often associated with thick laminated plates). For the other element, the stresses within each layer are related to a set of stress parameters associated with the entire laminate, and the boundarv displacement assumption allows for a uniform rotation of the cross section of the laminate (not necessarily normal to the plate midsurface). To assess the behavior of the two elements, two laminated composite plate example problems are considered, for which analytic solutions are available. The accuracy of predicted stress and displacement results obtained by using the two hybrid elements are compared with the exact solutions for cases involving both thick and moderately thick plates. Com parisons of the relative accuracy and computing efficiency of the two elements are presented, and the limitations on the use of each element are also discussed.
An Experimental Investigation into the Strength of Angle Ply GRP Tubes under High Rate of Loading
Authors: Al-Salehi F.A.R. , Al-Hassani S.T.S. , Hinton M.J. 
Published: March 2007

Static and dynamic burst tests were carried out on filament wound glass reinforced plas tic (GRP) tubes. The tubes were loaded under internal pressure with minimum end con straints. In the static tests, the pressure was supplied to the rig by a Losenhausen servo hydraulic intensifier system, whereas in the dynamic tests a drop hammer apparatus was used to generate the pressure, giving medium strain rates of the order of 10 sec-1. Higher strain rate burst tests were carried out using suitable explosives. A system for fast data acquisition was developed so that during each test, the internal pressure and strains in the central section of the specimen could be recorded, the data processed and the results auto matically plotted in the form of pressure-time, strain-time and stress-strain curves. Some high speed photographs were also taken during the dynamic bursting of the tubes to record the failure mode for each winding angle. The results showed no significant change in the strength, strain to failure or the secant modulus of the tubes at strain rates up to about 10 sec-1, typical to the drop hammer apparatus. There was, however, a large increase in burst strength as the strain rate was further increased to 150 sec-1 during the explosive tests. The values of strain to failure were also increased, thus leaving the secant modulus of the tubes virtually unaltered.
Sex-Trait Stereotypes in France, Germany, and Norway
Authors: Williams John E. , Daws John T. , Best Deborah L. , Tilquin Charles , Wesley Frank , Bjerke Tore 
Published: March 2007

Previous studies in the United States, England, and Ireland had demonstrated a high degree of cross-national generality in sex-trait stereotypes, i.e., the psychological traits which are differentially ascribed to men and women (e.g., men are aggressive, women are emotional, and the like). The present article reports on similar studies conducted with university student subjects in France, Germany, and Norway who were given translated versions of the Gough-Heilbrun Adjective Check List and were asked to report on those traits which were more frequently associated with men, with women, or with neither, in their respective countries. The results indicated a high degree of similarity in the findings of the three new continental groups and the three previous English-speaking groups. Although there were some apparent minor differences among countries, the results were sufficiently similar to permit the hypothesis that there are common sex-trait stereotypes which exist in all Western countries and, perhaps, even in countries of greater cultural diversity.
Emancipatory Therapeutic Practice in a Turbulent Transmodern Era:A Work of Retrieval
Authors: O'Hara Maureen 
Published: March 2007

Within the community of psychotherapists, there has always existed philosophical and methodological tension between objectivists who follow a medical model, romantics who favor humanistic approaches, and social constructivists who take a more sociopolitical path. The current health care crisis is forcing practitioners to take sides, is threatening to unravel this always uneasy coherence among psychotherapists, and is forcing practitioners to revisit questions of epistemology, ethics, and practice. The author argues that as medical insurance funds dwindle and the assessment of "medical necessity" comes increasingly to be defined according to strict patterns of specific "symptoms," and as insurance-allowable treatment becomes restricted to short-term, emergency care or medication-based treatment, humanistic psychologists should restate their commitment to a psychology that approaches the struggles and promises of human life in human terms and should refocus their efforts on quality of life, spiritual, and emancipatory concerns. What is a good life? How should we understand the nature of reality? What is happiness? What is the nature and meaning of consciousness? How do relationships, families, and communities thrive? How should goods and privileges be distributed among people? What should guide ethical human conduct? What is our relationship to and responsibility for the natural world? How can we face pain, loss, and death without losing hope or the will to transcend suffering?
Britain's Falling Share of Sterling Area Imports
Authors: Gilbert R. S. , Major R. L. 
Published: March 2007

Britain's poor export performance during the course of last year was the more surprising because, for the first time for a number of years, the change in the area pattern of world trade was not unfavourable to her. Sterling area countries take about 40 per cent of Britain's exports of manufactures, but only about 10 per cent of those of the other main exporters of manufactures. From 1954 to 1959 overseas sterling area imports rose more slowly than world imports, and Britain lost from this. But last year sterling area imports rose relatively fast, and Britain should have gained.The trouble was in 1960 that Britain's share in these imports fell much faster than before; she lost nearly 5 per cent of the market—this was more than twice as big a loss as the average from 1954 to 1959. This fall in share in 1960 was not big enough to stop Britain's exports of manufactures to the overseas sterling area from rising altogether; but it meant that they went up only 6 per cent in value, whereas those of her eight main competitors rose about 28 per cent.Charts 1 and 2 look at this matter in longer perspective. The main point of the charts is simply this : it is Britain's share in sterling area markets which has fallen steeply since 1954 : her share in non-sterling area markets had, until 1960, hardly changed.
Forecasting Imports: A Re-Examination
Authors: Black I. G. , Kidgell J. E. , Ray G. F. 
Published: March 2007

This article was prepared before the announcement of the devaluation of sterling on 18 November 1967In August 1965, an article in this Review considered the problem of the short-term forecasting of imports into this country. It argued that some aggregate relationship was probably necessary, for forecasting total imports of goods and services, mainly because stockbuilding appeared to have an important and distinctive influence on imports. The import content of stockbuilding seemed to be much higher than the import content of other forms of expenditure. It was not possible to distinguish the separate influence of stockbuilding on different categories of imports—food, basic materials, fuel, and so on.
Forecasting Manufacturing Investment—Some Preliminary Results
Authors: Nobay A. R. 
Published: March 2007

This article reports on some results obtained in the course of developing equations to explain, and predict, the behaviour of private manufacturing investment.Apart from their analytical value, the estimation of formal relationships explaining investment provides a useful supplement for forecasting purposes to the information given by investment intentions surveys such as those carried out by the Board of Trade or the Confederation of British Industry; and for purposes of exploring variants of the main forecast, some formal investment relationships are of course indispensable.
The New Cambridge and ‘Monetarist’ Criticisms of ‘Conventional’ Economic Policy-Making
Authors: Bispham J.A. 
Published: March 2007

Over recent years there has been increasing criticism of what may be called ‘conventional’ economic policy-making The methods of forecasting and analysis used at the National Institute and elsewhere are at the centre of this type type of policy formation, and, although there have certainly been forecasting errors, the conclusion of this article is that nothing better has been proposed. This is certainly true of the New Cambridge view of the balance of payments which always had many theoretical difficulties, but which has now, it is demonstrated, also fallen down empirically.The school which is here labelled Monetarist is defined rather widely and probably includes somewhat divergent strains of thinking. They have in common however that they reject the cost-push explanation of inflation in favour of a monetary/excess demand theory. Attention is restricted to those who have commented on the UK situation. It is the central contention of this section of the article that the case is not proven by the sorts of ‘evidence’ which tend to be adduced. It is much more likely that the relatively painless monetarist cure for inflation is not a real option at all, but a mirage resulting from excessive concentration on statistical correlations of quarterly post-war data. A much broader view considers the important implications of the shift from the pre-war world to the ‘full employment welfare state’.
The Economic Effects of Industrial Relations Legislation Since 1979
Authors: Brown William , Wadhwani Sushil 
Published: March 2007

This is the fourth article from members of the CLARE Group to appear in the Review. Future articles will normally appear about twice a year. The Review is pleased to give hospitality to the deliberations of the CLARE Group but is not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed. Members of the CLARE Group are M.J. Artis, A.J.C. Britton, W.A. Brown, C.H. Feinstein, C.A.E. Goodhart, D.A. Hay, J.A. Kay, R.C.O. Matthews, M.H. Miller, P.M. Oppenheimer, M.V. Posner, W.B. Reddaway, J.R. Sargent, M.F-G. Scott, Z.A. Silberston, J.H.B. Tew, J.S. Vickers, S. Wadhwani.The industrial relations legislation of the 1980s has been widely credited with having made a major contribution to Britain's economic performance. This study evaluates its actual impact. The costs to trade unions of strike action have increased, but the legislation has had some perverse effects, not least in encouraging unions to tighten up their own organisation. The economic consequences predicted by the policy makers are investigated by means of a number of econometric studies. They suggest that the expected employment and wage effects did not occur. They also failed to provide improvements in labour productivity. The study offers an alternative explanation of these findings.
Green Economics
Authors: Kay John , Silberston Aubrey 
Published: March 2007

We all recognise environmental problems—the pollution of air and rivers, the destruction of rain forests, global warming. The article argues that environmental problems are less the result of inappropriate values than of an incorrect calculus, and that economic evaluation and economic instruments have a major role to play in the correction of that calculus.The green prescription of lower growth as a means of reducing environmental damage is dismissed—if higher output is often the cause of the problem, it is also what enables us to afford to deal with it. Policy should start from an adequate evaluation of the costs and benefits of action and inaction; the article instances nitrate in water, where the costs of rectification seem out of proportion to any likely benefit. Market mechanisms—such as taxes and tradeable licences—are often the best way of tackling environmental problems; but economists are sometimes as naive about their general applicability as non-economists about the effectiveness of prescriptive regulation.
FEERs and the ERM∗
Authors: Williamson John 
Published: March 2007

A number of economists, including the author, were critical of the central rate that was chosen when sterling entered the ERM in October 1990, on the ground that it overvalued the pound. Specifically, the central rate against the other ERM currencies implied a higher value for the pound than that yielded by calculations of ‘fundamental equilibrium exchange rates’ (FEERs).The present paper aims to explain the concept of the FEER, introduced by the author in Williamson (1983), and argues that it provides the right criterion for assessing whether a currency is correctly valued. It also sketches the evidence for believing the pound's ERM central rate to be above the FEER. A final section considers the policy implications of the finding that sterling is overvalued.
Fiscal report
Authors: Weale Martin , Young Garry 
Published: March 2007

The government's Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report (EFSR), published on 11 June, set out its fiscal strategy and its overall spending plans for the years ahead. Strategically, the government stressed the distinction between current and capital spending and committed itself to borrowing no more than what is necessary to finance capital investment over the economic cycle. It also committed itself to maintaining debt at prudent levels, thereby limiting the amount that it is prepared to spend on capital items.We devote the bulk of this fiscal report to an alternative analysis of government expenditure, arguing that the distinction between consumption and capital investment, which the government is keen to make on the expenditure side, should also be made on the revenue side. It is possible to distinguish taxes paid out of consumption from those paid out of saving and thus to calculate the extent to which the government adds to consumption or saving in the economy as a whole. From a macroeconomic perspective this is much more important than whether the government achieves any particular target values for the public sector net cash requirement (the old PSBR). One might also question whether there is any merit in the ‘golden rule’ that public borrowing should not exceed public net investment over the cycle if public borrowing is kept down through the imposition of taxes which are paid mainly out of saving. Logically the government ought to be more concerned about its impact on the level of saving in the economy as a whole than about whether it follows the golden rule. However we begin by providing our independent assessment of the budget situation from the conventional perspective.