bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Do Germans Save to Leave an Estate? An Examination of the Bequest Motive
Authors: Jurges Hendrik 
Published: March 2003

I investigate whether a bequest motive for savings influences the post‐retirement wealth trajectories of German households. Two measures of the bequest motive are studied: the existence of children as the main group of potential heirs and the respondents' declared intention to bequeath. While having children has no significant impact on households' wealth trajectories, stated bequest intentions are associated with considerable heterogeneity in wealth holdings. The main conclusion from this study is that both the pure life‐cycle model and the life‐cycle model with bequest motives provide a valid basis for a theory of household wealth accumulation once the heterogeneity of preferences is acknowledged. JEL classification: D91; J14
Unemployment and Labor–market Reform: A Contract Theoretic Approach
Authors: Gruner Hans Peter 
Published: March 2003

Why do many democracies fail to reform their labor–market institutions? To answer this question we study the feasibility of reforms that include compensation to insiders for the removal of labor–market regulations. Under asymmetric information, a reformer who wants to buy the approval of voters has to pay them an informational rent in addition to the pure costs of compensation that would arise under symmetric information. In this setting, unemployment may be constrained Pareto–efficient. Labor–market reforms may fail politically because none of the reform packages proposed wins the approval of a majority of voters. We also discuss the role of capital taxation in a reform program. JEL classification: D70; E61; J68
Competitive Tendering in the Welfare State: Perceptions and Preferences among Local Politicians
Authors: Sørensen Rune , Bay Ann–Helén 
Published: March 2003

Competitive tendering for public services has triggered a heated academic debate. In political economy, competition is claimed to improve efficiency. If this is true, why are most governments faithful to the monopoly model? Political economists suggest that public sector employees and unions influence the preferences of the elected politicians. In new institutional theory, competition is claimed to undermine democratic governance. If this is true, why do some elected governments make use of competitive tendering? In this tradition, organisational solutions are seen as expressions of autonomous values and perceptions about the outcomes of organisational solutions – not as manifestations of vote–maximising politicians subject to self–interested interest groups. When governments use competition, it is due to misconceived management fads that have temporarily penetrated long–established perceptions and value systems.These propositions have not been subjected to proper empirical testing. We have analysed extensive data about Norwegian local politicians, and found support for the notion that the perceptions of elected politicians affect their preferences for tendering for residential care services for elderly people and hospital services. But we found support for the political economy propositions as well. Party affiliation, interest group background and economic situation influence the perceptions and organisational preferences of elected politicians. Reform may be a question of political values and perceived consequences, but these values, perceptions and policy preferences are influenced by political self–interest and can be changed by exogenous economic shocks.
In search of the intercultural
Authors: Kramsch Claire 
Published: March 2003

Books reviewed in this article:Fred E. Jandt, Intercultural Communication: An IntroductionYoung Yun Kim, Becoming Intercultural: An Integrative Theory of Communication and Cross‐Cultural AdaptationTony Schirato and Susan Yell, Communication and Culture: An IntroductionRon Scollon and Suzanne Wong Scollon, Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach
‘The tender trap’: gender, part‐time nursing and the effects of ‘family‐friendly’ policies on career advancement
Authors: Whittock Margaret , Edwards Christine , McLaren Susan , Robinson Olive 
Published: March 2003

AbstractWith the Government promoting ﬂexible and ‘family‐friendly’ policies within the NHS, an increase in the number of part‐time nurses is imminent, particularly in view of current pro‐active recruitment drives in this area. Research, however, indicates that it is mainly female employees who continue to utilise such policies with few male nurses employed on a part‐time or ﬂexible basis. Working part‐time and taking career breaks, usually because of caring commitments, results in female nurses falling behind male colleagues in terms of career development and promotion prospects, with managers selecting males over females (particularly those who work part‐time) regarding functional role allocation in the hospital setting. Based on a recent study of full‐time and part‐time nurses and their managers in three Outer London NHS Trusts, this paper argues that so‐called ‘family‐friendly’ policies must target both sexes and that the underlying attitudes of men to childcare and the domestic division of labour must change before the sexes can compete on equal terms in the workplace. Until this happens men will continue to advance the development of their nursing careers more rapidly than women. Already, in a female‐dominated area of employment, male nurses form a disproportionate percentage of those in higher grades and management posts.
Temporarily insane: pathologising cultural difference in American criminal courts
Authors: Reddy Sita 
Published: March 2003

AbstractIn recent years, American criminal courts have seen the rise of the culture defence strategy or the argument that the defendant's cultural background should excuse crime, mitigate responsibility or reduce the penalty for criminal behaviour. This paper argues that the rise and success of this strategy in practice reflects not just multiculturalism – as earlier studies contend – but the cultural impulse known as the ‘therapeutic ethic’. Using the culture defence archive as a valuable and underused sociological resource, it examines the extent to which this legal strategy embodies the therapeutic ethic. Through an analysis of actual cases, the paper traces the medicalisation of culture in courts by which cultural differences are consistently converted into psychological disorders in order to diminish criminal responsibility. It suggests that culture defence must be seen not only against changes in criminal law – such as the increase in legal excuses that rely on the therapeutic ethic – but as an instance of how ‘other’ cultures may be pathologised in multicultural legal arenas.
Integrating homeopathy and biomedicine: medical practice and knowledge production among German homeopathic physicians
Authors: Frank Robert 
Published: March 2003

Abstract The purpose of this study is to assess the ways in which homeopathic physicians deal with the conceptual tensions between homeopathy and biomedicine. The data‐collection included twenty semi‐structured interviews which were conducted with homeopathic physicians in Berlin. Three distinct patterns of homeopathic practice emerged from the data: a) segregating the patients into categories of homeopathic and biomedical patients; b) complementing a predominantly homeopathic practice with a few biomedical strategies for diagnostics; c) focusing on homeopathy and condemning biomedicine with the exception of emergency medicine and surgery. On the level of medical knowledge the physicians’ perspectives on the efficacy of homeopathy and some of its controversial concepts (opposition to vaccinations, miasm, vital force) are examined. It also becomes evident that German homeopathic physicians do not sacrifice central aspects of homeopathic concepts in order to gain legitimacy. Finally, it is argued that complementary medicine and alternative medicine are both rather unfortunate terms for studying homeopathy in micro‐sociological settings. Heterodox medicine is favoured.
Bäcklund Transformations and Solution Hierarchies for the Third Painlevé Equation
Authors: Milne Alice E. , Clarkson Peter A. , Bassom Andrew P. 
Published: March 2003

In this article our concern is with the third Painlevé equationd2y/dx2= (1/y)(dy/dx)2− (1/x)(dy/dx) + (αy2+β)/x+γy3+δ/ywhere α, β, γ, and δ are arbitrary constants. It is well known that this equation admits a variety of types of solution and here we classify and characterize many of these. Depending on the values of the parameters the third Painlevé equation can admit solutions that may be either expressed as the ratio of two polynomials in either x or x1/3 or related to certain Bessel functions. It is thought that all exact solutions of (1) can be categorized into one or other of these hierarchies. We show how, given a few initial solutions, it is possible to use the underlying structures of these hierarchies to obtain many other solutions. In addition, we show how this knowledge concerning the continuous third Painlevé equation (1) can be adapted and used to derive exact solutions of a suitable discretized counterpart of (1). Both the continuous and discrete solutions we find are of potential importance as it is known that the third Painlevé equation has a large number of physically significant applications.
The Politics and Ethics of Introductions to the New Testament
Authors: Patte Daniel 
Published: March 2003

Book reviewed in this essay:Lane Ryo Hirabayashi, (ed.) Teaching Asian America: Diversity and the Problem of CommunityEllen T. Charry, By the Renewing of Your Minds: The Pastoral Function of Christian DoctrineLynne Celli Sarasin, Learning Style Perspectives: Impact in the Classroom
Icarus of Basel? Oecolampadius and the Early Swiss Reformation
Authors: Fudge Thomas A. 
Published: March 2003

This article examines the role of Johannes Oecolampadius in the establishment of reformation at Basel specifically and his place in the Swiss Reformation generally. In this context there is an overview of reformation tactics and activities at Basel in the 1520s, especially concerning the role of the city council, popular movements advocating iconoclasm, and the Anabaptist problem. Oecolampadius’ relations with Luther, Zwingli, Erasmus and the radical reformers are considered.It is suggested that the importance of Oecolampadius consists in the doctrine of the eucharist and his ideas on ecclesiastical discipline as they relate to civil authority. With respect to the eucharist, Oecolampadius’ position is clearly delineated in his writings, principally his 1525 treatise and then later at the famous Marburg Colloquy in 1529. His eucharistic theology departed from the positions of Roman Catholicism, Luther and the Anabaptists. There is also a subtle deviation from Zwingli. Regarding the church and state in matters of discipline, Oecolampadius anticipated Calvin in the plea for ecclesiastically administered civil order and moral regulation. It is argued that Oecolampadius’ ideas on the eucharist and ecclesiastical discipline were foundational in the development of Reformed theology and polity and therefore the Basel Reformation is a watershed in that tradition.
The case against phonemic awareness
Authors: Scholes Robert 
Published: March 2003

This paper presents a series of arguments concerning the notion that an awareness of the sub‐syllabic (‘phonemic’) segments of speech is a factor in the acquisition of literacy skills. It will be claimed that such an awareness is not an untutored aspect of one’s linguistic consciousness, but, in fact, a limited consequence of acquiring literacy in an alphabetic script. In addition, it will be shown that any positive correlations between phonemic awareness and reading skill are based on a definition of reading that is misguided and potentially harmful.The paper reviews selected recent literature and research on phonemic awareness in literate and illiterate speakers, the relationships between letters and speech sounds, and variations in the definition of reading employed in this work.
The Long-Term Pattern of Adult Mortality and the Highest Attained Age
Authors: Thatcher A. R. 
Published: March 2003

Summary
Recent new data on old age mortality point to a particular model for the way in which the probability of dying increases with age. The model is found to fit not only modern data but also some widely spaced historical data for the 19th and 17th centuries, and even some estimates for the early mediaeval period. The results show a pattern which calls for explanation. The model can also be used to predict a probability distribution for the highest age which will be attained in given circumstances. The results are relevant to the current debate about whether there is a fixed upper limit to the length of human life.
Marriage or Cohabitation: A Competing Risks Analysis of First-Partnership Formation among the 1958 British Birth Cohort
Authors: Berrington Ann , Diamond Ian 
Published: March 2003

Summary
A discrete time competing risks hazards model is used to analyse entry into first partnership among men and women born in Britain in 1958. Using a life-course approach we identify family background and current life experiences which affect the timing and type of first-partnership formation. Education is a key factor influencing the age of entry into first partnership and whether or not the respondent will experience pregnancy before forming the partnership. Religiosity, experience of parental separation and the geographical region of residence are more important in affecting the decision to cohabit rather than to marry directly. The analyses highlight the importance of transitions in other domains such as leaving the parental home in encouraging cohabitation.
A Statistical Framework for Ecological and Aggregate Studies
Authors: Wakefield Jonathan , Salway Ruth 
Published: March 2003

Summary
Inference from studies that make use of data at the level of the area, rather than at the level of the individual, is more difficult for a variety of reasons. Some of these difficulties arise because frequently exposures (including confounders) vary within areas. In the most basic form of ecological study the outcome measure is regressed against a simple area level summary of exposure. In the aggregate data approach a survey of exposures and confounders is taken within each area. An alternative approach is to assume a parametric form for the within-area exposure distribution. We provide a framework within which ecological and aggregate data studies may be viewed, and we review some approaches to inference in such studies, clarifying the assumptions on which they are based. General strategies for analysis are provided including an estimator based on Monte Carlo integration that allows inference in the case of a general risk–exposure model. We also consider the implications of the introduction of random effects, and the existence of confounding and errors in variables.
Simulation-Based Diagnostics in Random-Coefficient Models
Authors: Longford Nicholas T. 
Published: March 2003

Summary
Commonly applied diagnostic procedures in random-coefficient (multilevel) analysis are based on an inspection of the residuals, motivated by established procedures for ordinary regression. The deficiencies of such procedures are discussed and an alternative based on simulation from the fitted model (parametric bootstrap) is proposed. Although computationally intensive, the method proposed requires little programming effort additional to implementing the model fitting procedure. It can be tailored for specific kinds of outliers. Some computationally less demanding alternatives are described.
Fitting Time Series Models by Minimizing Multistep-ahead Errors: A Frequency Domain Approach
Authors: Haywood J. , Tunnicliffe Wilson G. 
Published: March 2003

Summary
This paper brings together two topics in the estimation of time series forecasting models: the use of the multistep-ahead error sum of squares as a criterion to be minimized and frequency domain methods for carrying out this minimization. The methods are developed for the wide class of time series models having a spectrum which is linear in unknown coefficients. This includes the IMA(1, 1) model for which the common exponentially weigh-ted moving average predictor is optimal, besides more general structural models for series exhibiting trends and seasonality. The method is extended to include the Box–Jenkins ‘air line' model. The value of the multistep criterion is that it provides protection against using an incorrectly specified model. The value of frequency domain estimation is that the iteratively reweighted least squares scheme for fitting generalized linear models is readily extended to construct the parameter estimates and their standard errors. It also yields insight into the loss of efficiency when the model is correct and the robustness of the criterion against an incorrect model. A simple example is used to illustrate the method, and a real example demonstrates the extension to seasonal models. The discussion considers a diagnostic test statistic for indicating an incorrect model.
Approximate Likelihoods for Generalized Linear Errors-in-variables Models
Authors: Hanfelt John J. , Liang Kung-Yee 
Published: March 2003

Summary
When measurement error is present in covariates, it is well known that naïvely fitting a generalized linear model results in inconsistent inferences. Several methods have been proposed to adjust for measurement error without making undue distributional assumptions about the unobserved true covariates. Stefanski and Carroll focused on an unbiased estimating function rather than a likelihood approach. Their estimating function, known as the conditional score, exists for logistic regression models but has two problems: a poorly behaved Wald test and multiple solutions. They suggested a heuristic procedure to identify the best solution that works well in practice but has little theoretical support compared with maximum likelihood estimation. To help to resolve these problems, we propose a conditional quasi-likelihood to accompany the conditional score that provides an alternative to Wald's test and successfully identifies the consistent solution in large samples.
A Note on Local Influence Based on Normal Curvature
Authors: Fung Wing K. , Kwan C. W. 
Published: March 2003

Summary
Object functions other than the likelihood displacement, such as a parameter estimate or a test statistic, can also be used in local influence analysis. The normal curvatures of these object functions have been studied in situations where the slopes were non-zero. In these situations, we show that the normal curvature is not scale invariant and thus ambiguous conclusions will be drawn. Comments on the application of the general normal curvature formula are presented.
Extending the Family of Bayesian Bootstraps and Exchangeable Urn Schemes
Authors: Muliere Pietro , Walker Stephen 
Published: March 2003

Summary
A Bayesian bootstrap for a finite population with censored observations is introduced. It is shown to reduce to the finite population Bayesian bootstrap if there is no censoring and to reduce to the censored data Bayesian bootstrap for a large population. A class of general urn schemes for simulating exchangeable sequences of variables is introduced which is connected to the bootstrap method.
Detecting Possibly Non-Consecutive Outliers in Industrial Time Series
Authors: Luceñ0 Alberto 
Published: March 2003

Summary
A method for robust estimation and multiple outlier detection in time series generated by autoregressive integrated moving average processes in industrial environments is developed. The procedure is based on reweighted maximum likelihood estimation using Huber or redescending weights and, therefore, generalizes the well-established robust M-estimation procedures used in the regression framework. When the scalar process is non-stationary, the computations required can be performed equally well using either rhe original undifferenced series or auxiliary differenced series. Whereas the latter alternative may be preferred for scalar series, the former might be extended to cope with vector partially non-stationary time series without differencing the series, thus avoiding non-invertibility and parameter identifiability problems caused by overdifferencing. The overall strategy is applied in two real industrial data sets.
Double-blind Deconvolution: The Analysis of Post-synaptic Currents in Nerve Cells
Authors: Poskitt D. S. , Doğançay K. , Chung Shin-Ho 
Published: March 2003

Summary
This paper is concerned with the analysis of observations made on a system that is being stimulated at fixed time intervals but where the precise nature and effect of any individual stimulus is unknown. The realized values are modelled as a stochastic process consisting of a random signal embedded in noise. The aim of the analysis is to use the data to unravel the unknown structure of the system and to ascertain the probabilistic behaviour of the stimuli. A method of parameter estimation based on quasi-profile likelihood is presented and the statistical properties of the estimates are established while recognizing that there will be a discrepancy between the model and the true data-generating mechanism. A method of model validation and determination is also advanced and kernel smoothing techniques are proposed as a basis for identifying the amplitude distribution of the stimuli. The data processing techniques described have a direct application to the investigation of excitatory post-synaptic currents recorded from nerve cells in the central nervous system and their use in quantal analysis of such data is illustrated.
Prior Elicitation, Variable Selection and Bayesian Computation for Logistic Regression Models
Authors: Chen Ming-Hui , Ibrahim Joseph G. , Yiannoutsos Constantin 
Published: March 2003

Summary
Bayesian selection of variables is often difficult to carry out because of the challenge in specifying prior distributions for the regression parameters for all possible models, specifying a prior distribution on the model space and computations. We address these three issues for the logistic regression model. For the first, we propose an informative prior distribution for variable selection. Several theoretical and computational properties of the prior are derived and illustrated with several examples. For the second, we propose a method for specifying an informative prior on the model space, and for the third we propose novel methods for computing the marginal distribution of the data. The new computational algorithms only require Gibbs samples from the full model to facilitate the computation of the prior and posterior model probabilities for all possible models. Several properties of the algorithms are also derived. The prior specification for the first challenge focuses on the observables in that the elicitation is based on a prior prediction y 0 for the response vector and a quantity a 0 quantifying the uncertainty in y 0. Then, y 0 and a 0 are used to specify a prior for the regression coefficients semi-automatically. Examples using real data are given to demonstrate the methodology.
The Complex Watson Distribution and Shape Analysis
Authors: Mardia K. V. , Dryden I. L. 
Published: March 2003

Summary
The complex Watson distribution is an important simple distribution on the complex sphere which is used in statistical shape analysis. We describe the density, obtain the integrating constant and provide large sample approximations. Maximum likelihood estimation and hypothesis testing procedures for one and two samples are described. The particular connection with shape analysis is discussed and we consider an application examining shape differences between normal and schizophrenic brains. We make some observations about Bayesian shape inference and finally we describe a more general rotationally symmetric family of distributions.