bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Schematic Entry Drawing Capability in a Linearised Hypermedia System
Authors: Benest I. D. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThis paper describes a linearised hypermedia system, called the Book Emulator, that generally supports the capture of diagrammatic specifications such as SSADM and electronic circuit diagrams, and the capture of mathematical notations such as Z. Since the Book Emulator can be closely coupled to applications, it can be used as the user‐interface to that application. Doing so automatically provides a conferencing mechanism on behalf of applications and a mechanism for recording the engineering analyses performed by the application. It is argued that this is the next and higher step in the trend to separate the user‐interface from the application. The schematic entry mechanism has been designed to minimise the user's physical and mental effort so that the user may concentrate on drawing strategy. This is achieved by minimising the number of selections (steps) required to reach an atomic goal, and by refraining from hiding functionality in menus. The paper concludes with an indication of how the generalised schematic capture mechanism might be exploited in systems that allow end‐ users to organise and specify their information requirements.
A Constraint‐Based Reasoning Framework for Behavioural Animation
Authors: Mah Sang , Calvert Thomas W. , Havens William 
Published: March 2003

AbstractBehaviour is a reflection of a reasoning process that must deal with constraints imposed by an external environment, internal knowledge and physical structure. This paper proposes a framework for behavioural animation that is based on the next generation of object‐oriented, constraint‐based expert systems technology, and applies a control structure of knowledge agents and knowledge units to determine the behaviour of objects to be animated. Knowledge agents are responsible for planning, plan implementation and information extraction from the environment. The activity of an agent is dependent on the knowledge units ascribed to them by the animator. The interaction between agents and knowledge units is resolved by the reasoning engine, and thus, influences the eventual motion displayed. An example given is NSAIL, a pilot implementation using the model‐based ECHIDNA constraint logic programming shell. With this approach, the motion for a sailing scenario and other behavioural domains can be specified at a high level through the characterization of the knowledge agents.
The Compositing Buffer: A Flexible Method for Image Generation and Image Editing
Authors: Lau Wing Hung , Wiseman Neil 
Published: March 2003

AbstractIn this paper, we describe a new buffer architecture called the Compositing Buffer. Although it is based on the A‐buffer architecture described by Carpenter1, the new architecture introduces two important ideas which make image generation more flexible. The first idea is the storing of bitmask index instead of the bitmask. This allows accurate images to be generated while at the same time, minimising memory usage. The second idea is the introduction of the concept of dynamic object. This allows images to be edited interactively. Applications of the two ideas will also be discussed in the paper.
Extraction of Typographic Elements from Outline Representations of Fonts
Authors: Shainir Ariel , Rappoport Ari 
Published: March 2003

AbstractDigital typefaces for computer graphics and multimedia applications should be capable of supporting operations such as font variations, transformations. deformations and blending. A powerful implementation of such operations must rely on the inherent typographic attributes of the typeface. However, even today's most advanced typeface representations support only geometric outline representations and basic font variations.In this paper we discuss high‐level typeface representations which we term Parametric Typographic Representations (PTRs). We present an algorithm for automatically extracting typographic elements of typefaces from their outline representation, which, is an essential initial step in converting typefaces from outline representations to PTRs. The extracted typographic elements include serifs, bars. sterns, slants, bows, arcs, curve stems and curve bars. Most notable is the treatment of serifs, which are represented by finite‐automata. The algorithm only needs to learn a serif type once, and is then capable of automatically recognizing it in different typefaces.We show an application of a PTR for automatic high‐quality hinting of fonts, which is one of the most important stages in, digital font production. Our system was used to generate hints for dozens of thousands of Kanji, Roman and Hebrew characters.
Ownership, exit and voice after mass privatization
Authors: Anderson James H. , Korsun Georges , Murrell Peter 
Published: March 2003

Exit (owners selling their shares) and voice (owners active in corporate activities) are important ingredients in the process by which mass privatization changes managerial behaviour in transition countries. We examine the structure of ownership and the extent of exit and voice in one such country, Mongolia. We document the size of ownership changes since privatization (through mergers, spin‐offs, and stock sales) and examine which owners are changing in importance. We scrutinize enterprise governance, examining patterns of violations of companylaw and deviations from reasonable criteria for effective governance. We show that ownership changes and the quality of governance are correlated.JEL classification: P11, P21, O53, H70, H20.
The impact of foreign direct investment on the relative return to skill
Authors: Wu Xiaodong 
Published: March 2003

Since the early 1980s, China has adopted favourable economic policies to attract FDI in order to facilitate technology development. Since inward FDI induces either sector‐ or factor‐biased technical progress, the impact of FDI on the distribution of income between skilled and unskilled labour is not trivial. This paper introduces vertical product differentiation to analyze the impact of FDI on the return to skill and concludes that, for a labour abundant country, this impact depends on whether the FDI‐induced technology transfer is skill‐ or labour‐biased, regardless of which sector receives FDI. The analysis shows that FDI with relatively labour‐biased technology will decrease the wage gap while FDI with relatively skill‐biased technology will increase the profit margin of the host country’s exports as well as its wage gap. The findings provide policy insights for FDI recipient countries in balancing wage growth between skilled and unskilled workers by managing inward FDI with relatively labour‐biased and skill‐biased technologies. This is particularly important for China given the expected further increase of inward FDI following its imminent membership of the WTO.JEL classification: F23, J31, P33.
How should emerging economies float their currencies?
Authors: Larraín Felipe , Velasco Andrés 
Published: March 2003

Floating exchange rates seem to be gaining ground in Latin America, East Asia and the transition economies. The recent crises left many economies with no alternative but to float. Others have moved toward floating, searching for greater flexibility and insulation from external shocks. The question for most emerging market economies, then, is no longer to float or not to float, but how to float. Four issues arise in this regard. The first is how to float and have low inflation. The second is whether floating provides as much insulation as conventional theory predicts, especially in the presence of dollarized liabilities. Which leads to the third point: the relationship between the stability of the exchange rate and that of the financial system. The fourth is how to conduct monetary policy under a float, and the role of inflation targeting. We consider each of these points in turn, and conclude that a workable model of how to float seems to be emerging from the so‐far successful experience of countries like Chile and Brazil. It involves the adoption of an inflation target as the main anchor for monetary policy, coupled with a monetary policy reaction function that — aside from reacting to the output gap and other determinants of the inflation rate — reacts also partially to movements in the nominal exchange rate.JEL classification: F3, F4, E4, E5
Europe’s ‘Democratic Deficit’: The Question of Standards
Authors: Majone Giandomenico 
Published: March 2003

Arguments about Europe’s democratic deficit are really arguments about the nature and ultimate goals of the integration process. Those who assume that economic integration must lead to political integration tend to apply to European institutions standards of legitimacy derived from the theory and practice of parliamentary democracies. We argue that such standards are largely irrelevant at present. As long as the majority of voters and their elected representatives oppose the idea of a European federation, while supporting far‐reaching economic integration, we cannot expect parliamentary democracy to flourish in the Union. Economic integration without political integration is possible only if politics and economics are kept as separate as possible. The depoliticisation of European policy‐making is the price we pay in order to preserve national sovereignty largely intact. These being the preferences of the voters, we conclude that Europe’s ‘democratic deficit’ is democratically justified.The expression ‘democratic deficit,’ however, is also used to refer to the legitimacy problems of non‐majoritarian institutions, and this second meaning is much more relevant to a system of limited competences such as the EC. Now the key issues for democratic theory are about the tasks which may be legitimately delegated to institutions insulated from the political process, and how to design such institutions so as to make independence and accountability complementary and mutually supporting, rather than antithetical. If one accepts the ‘regulatory model’ of the EC, then, as long as the tasks delegated to the European level are precisely and narrowly defined, non‐majoritarian standards of legitimacy should be sufficient to justify the delegation of the necessary powers.
Optimal Dynamic Order Submission Strategies in Some Stylized Trading Problems
Authors: Harris Lawrence 
Published: March 2003

This study derives optimal dynamic order submission strategies for trading problems faced by three stylized traders: an uninformed liquidity trader, an informed trader and a value‐motivated trader. Separate solutions are obtained for quote‐ and order‐driven markets. The results provide practicable rules for how to trade small orders and how to manage traders. Transaction cost measurement methods based on implementation shortfall are proven to dominate other methods.Since investors demand liquidity when they submit market orders and supply liquidity when they submit limit orders, the results improve our understanding of market liquidity. In particular, the models illustrate the role of time in the search for liquidity by characterizing the demand for and supply of immediacy.
Capital Allocation and Risk Performance Measurement In a Financial Institution
Authors: Turnbull Stuart M. 
Published: March 2003

This paper provides an analytical and practical framework, consistent with maximizing the wealth of existing shareholders, to address the following questions:What are the costs associated with economic capital?What is the tradeoff between the probability of default and the costs of economic capital?How do we take into account the time profile of economic capital when assessing the performance of a business?What is the appropriate measure of profitability, keeping the probability of default constant?It is shown that the capital budgeting decision depends not only on the covariance of the return of a project with the market portfolio, but also on the covariance with the bank's existing assets. This dependency arises from the simple fact that the economic capital is not additive.
Co-evolution of Preferences and Information in Simple Games of Trust
Authors: Güth Werner , Kliemt Hartmut , Peleg Bezalel 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
In standard rational choice modelling decisions are made according to given information and preferences. In the model presented here the ‘information technology’ of individual decision-makers as well as their preferences evolve in a dynamic process. In this process decisions are made rationally by players who differ in their informational as well as in their preference type. Relative success of alternative decisions feeds back on the type composition of the population which in turn influences rational decision-making. An indirect evolutionary analysis of an elementary yet important basic game of trust shows that under certain parameter constellations the population dynamics of the evolutionary process specify a unique completely mixed rest point. However, as opposed to previous studies of preference formation in the game of trust there is no convergence to but only circumventing the rest point if the informational status of individuals evolves rather than being chosen strategically.
A New Test of Price Dispersion
Authors: Kessner Ekkehard , Polborn Mattias K. 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
Economists have been concerned with price dispersion for apparently homogeneous goods for a long time. Many models have been developed which explain price dispersion by imperfect consumer information about prices in the market. There are few empirical tests of these models. Moreover, these tests at most show that the observed price dispersion is consistent with the models; however, an alternative explanation of price dispersion is always that the goods sold are not homogeneous from the consumers' point of view but that there are quality differences which cannot be observed by the empirical economist. Since both models yield different welfare conclusions, it would be important to distinguish empirically between the two explanations. We use data from the German life insurance industry for tests of the two models. Our data support the equilibrium price dispersion model.
EU Enlargement, Migration, and Lessons from German Unification
Authors: Sinn Hans-Werner 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
The paper studies the role of international implications after EU enlargement. Based on a formal model with migration costs for both capital and labor, it predicts a two-sided migration from the new to the old EU countries which is later reversed. As the migration pattern chosen by market forces turns out to be efficient, migration should not be artificially reduced by means of legal constraints or subsidies to the new member countries. The paper draws the parallel with German unification and points out the lessons to be learned by Europe. The analysis concludes with a brief discussion of the second-best problem posed by the existence of welfare states in the old member countries.
Information, Knowledge and Learning
Authors: MacFarlane Alistair 
Published: March 2003

The recommendations of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education are assessed in the light of their vision of a learning society and criticised in terms of the inevitability of a knowledge economy with a new lifelong learning sector. While the National Committee has produced a report which demands careful study by everyone involved with higher education it has not provided us with a workable blueprint for the construction of a learning society.The relationships between information, knowledge and learning are analysed in terms of three interacting economies – a cognitive economy, a learning economy and a knowledge economy. Technology will play a vital role in the evolution of these three inter‐linked economies in the following ways:• The cognitive economy will be transformed by the role of machine agents• The learning economy will be transformed by the development of new ways of structuring and accessing instantiated knowledge• Interactions between the creators and supplies of knowledge will create a trading economy based on wideband communications and internet technologies.The major driver of the development of a knowledge economy will be a demand for lifelong learning. After a decade or so, by far the largest part of lifelong learning will be delivered off campus and into the workplace or home. In responding to these developments higher education will have to adapt radically.
Estate Management, Investment and the Gentleman Landlord in Later Medieval England1
Authors: Youngs Deborah 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
This article is based on a booklet of accounts for the small estate of Newton, Cheshire. Compiled 1498-1506 by Newton's gentry landlord, they provide rare information on the management and investment strategies of a minor gentleman for his demesne lands. It is to the gentry that historians have generally turned for evidence of enterprise and investment on medieval estates; but few specific examples have been found. This article offers a detailed example supporting the view of the enterprising gentleman, and arguing that a wider diversity of investment was undertaken on a medieval north Midland's estate than is usually appreciated.
Geographic Variation in the Use of Post‐acute Care
Authors: Kane Robert L. , Lin Wen‐Chieh , Blewett Lynn A. 
Published: March 2003

Objective. To assess the extent and consistency of geographic differences in the use of post‐acute care (PAC), and the stability of this pattern of variation.Data Sources. The 5 percent Medicare data sample for 1996, 1997, and the first eight months of 1998 were used.Study Design. Patterns of PAC use for various Diagnosis‐related Groups (DRGs) across states (33 with enough cases per year) and census divisions were examined. The consistency of relative rankings for overall PAC use and use within defined DRGs was compared.Principal Findings. PAC use varied substantially across regions. For example, the extent of any PAC use for stroke patients varied by 12 percentage points among census regions in 1998. The pattern of PAC use was quite consistent across years; 30 of the 36 possible Spearman rank order correlations were statistically significant with coefficients ranging from 0.35 to 0.95 among the DRGs studied. The correlations among DRGs were generally high. For skilled nursing facility use, all the correlations were above 0.5 and were statistically significant; in general the patterns were highest within medical DRGs (0.65–0.93).Conclusions. The variation in PAC use is not a statistical artifact. It is likely the result of several forces: practice styles, supply of services, and local regulatory practices.
Quality Improvement Implementation in the Nursing Home
Authors: Berlowitz Dan R. , Young Gary J. , Hickey Elaine C. , Saliba Debra , Mittman Brian S. , Czarnowski Elaine , Simon Barbara , Anderson Jennifer J. , Ash Arlene S. , Rubenstein Lisa V. , Moskowitz Mark A. 
Published: March 2003

Objective. To examine quality improvement (QI) implementation in nursing homes, its association with organizational culture, and its effects on pressure ulcer care.Data Sources/Study Settings. Primary data were collected from staff at 35 nursing homes maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on measures related to QI implementation and organizational culture. These data were combined with information obtained from abstractions of medical records and analyses of an existing database.Study Design. A cross‐sectional analysis of the association among the different measures was performed.Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Completed surveys containing information on QI implementation, organizational culture, employee satisfaction, and perceived adoption of guidelines were obtained from 1,065 nursing home staff. Adherence to best practices related to pressure ulcer prevention was abstracted from medical records. Risk‐adjusted rates of pressure ulcer development were calculated from an administrative database.Principal Findings. Nursing homes differed significantly (p<.001) in their extent of QI implementation with scores on this 1 to 5 scale ranging from 2.98 to 4.08. Quality improvement implementation was greater in those nursing homes with an organizational culture that emphasizes innovation and teamwork. Employees of nursing homes with a greater degree of QI implementation were more satisfied with their jobs (a 1‐point increase in QI score was associated with a 0.83 increase on the 5‐point satisfaction scale, p<.001) and were more likely to report adoption of pressure ulcer clinical guidelines (a 1‐point increase in QI score was associated with a 28 percent increase in number of staff reporting adoption, p<.001). No significant association was found, though, between QI implementation and either adherence to guideline recommendations as abstracted from records or the rate of pressure ulcer development.Conclusions. Quality improvement implementation is most likely to be successful in those VA nursing homes with an underlying culture that promotes innovation. While QI implementation may result in staff who are more satisfied with their jobs and who believe they are providing better care, associations with improved care are uncertain.
Quality of Cardiac Surgeons and Managed Care Contracting Practices
Authors: Mukamel Dana B , Weimer David L , Zwanziger Jack , Mushlin Alvin I 
Published: March 2003

Objective. To evaluate the association between contracting practices of managed care organizations (MCOs) with cardiac surgeons and the quality of the cardiac surgeons.Data Sources/Study Setting. The study included all cardiac surgeons offering coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and 78 percent of MCOs in New York State in 1998. Primary data: The MCOs' panel composition with respect to hospitals and cardiac surgeons. Secondary data: New York State (NYS) Cardiac Surgery Reports.Study Design. Statistical analyses of the probability of a contract between cardiac surgeons and MCOs conditional on the surgeon's risk‐adjusted mortality rates (RAMR), outlier and low volume status, and controlling for other confounding variables, were performed.Principal Findings. Contract probability exhibited a tendency to decrease with RAMR, low volume and low‐quality outlier status and to increase with high‐quality outlier status. These effects were statistically significant for RAMR and high‐quality outliers in Downstate and for low volume in Downstate and Upstate.Conclusions. In some, but not all cases, MCOs are seeking higher‐quality providers. Further research is required to understand regional variability and the effect of market structure on the quality profile of MCOs.
September 11, Anti-Terror Laws and Civil Liberties: Britain, France and Germany Compared
Authors: Haubrich Dirk 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe attacks on the United States of America in September 2001 have spurred a rapid implementation of new Anti-Terrorism legislation around the world. In an effort to, ostensibly, safeguard against the repetition of similar events on their own territories, many democracies have taken far-reaching legislative steps that might threaten the ideal of liberty on which their societies have traditionally been built. This article examines the laws introduced in Britain, France and Germany to establish the extent to which civil liberties in eight different categories have been curtailed. It concludes that, despite the otherwise similar characteristics of the countries studied, the legal provisions differ significantly in scope and depth, a fact that might be explained by: the different levels of threat perception; Britain's history of anti-terror legislation; and the respective power balances between judiciaries and legislatures.