bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Layout Design Language: A Technique for Generating Layout Plans
Authors: Grimsdale R.L. , Chang C.W. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe work described in this paper arose from a requirement for a system to support the production of models for training simulator visual systems and other visualisation applications. To reduce the labour involved in generating such models, it was decided to develop a technique whereby models could be generated by a high‐leuel language. For these models there is a requirement to generate 2‐D plans showing, for example, the locations of roads and buildings, subsequently 3‐D models of the buildings are placed at the defined locations. The 2‐D plans can be created through the use of the Layout Design Language (LD‐Language). LD‐Language has been formulated particularly for designing urban area street plans.The primitive elements of the LD‐Language, plots, are assembled into patterns which can be further combined into a layout plan, with some support provided by the system. The work reported has successfully demonstrated that a complex layout plan can be developed using this language.
A Three Dimensional Image Cache for Virtual Reality
Authors: Schaufler Gernot , Stürzlinger Wolfgang 
Published: March 2003

AbstractDespite recent advances in rendering hardware, large and complex virtual environments cannot be displayed with a sufficiently highframe rate, because of limitations in the available rendering performance.This paper presents a new approach of software accelerated rendering which draws from the concepts of impostors, hierarchical scene subdivision and levels of detail. So far software optimization in real‐time rendering has merely considered individual objects. This work is actually optimizing the rendering of the whole virtual environment by implementing a three dimensional image cache. It speeds up rendering for large portions of the scene by exploiting the coherence inherent in any smooth frame sequence.The implementation of the three dimensional image cache is discussed and the savings in rendering load achievable on a suitable hardware platform are presented.
BOXTREE: A Hierarchical Representation for Surfaces in 3D
Authors: Barequet Gill , Chazelle Bernard , Guibas Leonidas J. , Mitchell Joseph S.B. , Tal Ayellet 
Published: March 2003

AbstractWe introduce the boxtree, a versatile data structure for representing triangulated or meshed surfaces in 3D. A boxtree is a hierarchical structure of nested boxes that supports efficient ray tracing and collision detection. It is simple and robust, and requires minimal space. In situations where storage is at a premium, boxtrees are effective alternatives to octrees and BSP trees. They are also more flexible and efficient than R‐trees, and nearly as simple to implement.
The Familiarity Threat and Auditor Independence
Authors: Hussey Roger 
Published: March 2003

Although legally auditors are answerable to shareholders, considerable doubt has been cast on their independence from the directors of the company which is audited. Recently, increasing competition amongst auditors and the growing importance to fee income of non‐audit work has been identified as factors which may further erode this assumed independence. Another factor which has been implicit in many studies of auditor independence is the close nature of the relationship between the auditor and the directors of the company. This has been termed the ‘Familiarity Threat’.This article, based on a questionnaire survey of UK finance directors, investigates three aspects of the auditor/director relationship where the ‘Familiarity Threat’ may be present. First is the appointment method and the characteristics which directors consider to be preferable in selecting an auditing firm. Secondly is the duration of the auditors’ appointment and the frequency of contact between the lead partner and the finance director. Finally, is the finance directors’ perception of the nature of the relationship they enjoy with the auditors. For each of these aspects the responses from finance directors from independent public limited companies are compared to those of private companies to ascertain whether the ‘Familiarity Threat’ is more prevalent where certain public responsibilities are not imposed. Where appropriate, the responses are also analysed by the finance directors’ opinions on the probity of non‐audit work to ascertain whether this is an important variable as claimed in the literature.The analysis demonstrates that, although present directors are influential in the appointment process and the personal chemistry between the directors and auditors is the most important desirable characteristic, the finance directors of independent public limited companies would appear to be more aware of their responsibilities to shareholders. However, many relationships are long established with over 40% of both private and independent public limited companies in the survey retaining their auditors for over 10 years. As far as frequency of contact is concerned, public limited companies were visited more frequently by their auditors and this was unaffected by finance directors’ opinions on the probity of non‐audit work. Finally, approximately 75% of finance directors claimed to enjoy a professional and amicable relationship with their auditors and these responses are unaffected by the type of company or opinions on non‐audit work.The article concludes that there is the potential for the ‘Familiarity Threat’ to be present in both private and independent public limited companies, but its influence may be exaggerated particularly in respect of non‐audit work. It recommends that if controls are to be introduced to ensure the threat is kept to a minimum it would be best to concentrate on the selection and appointment process and the duration of auditors’ term of office.
Institutional Investors and Voting Practices: an international comparison
Authors: Mallin Chris 
Published: March 2003

The potential influence of groups of large shareholders was identified in the 1930s when Berle and Means (1932) highlighted the impact of the separation of ownership and control in corporations. Over sixty years later, institutional investors own large portions of equity in many companies across the world, and play a key role in the corporate governance arena. Corporate governance is defined in the Cadbury Report (1992) as “the system by which companies are directed and controlled. Boards of directors are responsible for the governance of their companies. The shareholders’ role in governance is to appoint the directors and the auditors and to satisfy themselves that an appropriate governance structure is in place”. In order to help satisfy this role, institutional shareholders engage in regular dialogue with companies; they also have the right to vote at companies’ annual general meetings. However evidence (Mallin 1995, 1996; PIRC 1998, 1999) shows that there is a much lower level of voting by institutional investors in the UK than might be expected.In the UK, the existing proxy voting system is generally viewed as slow and overly‐complicated with many players in the chain and with little flexibility. By comparison, the US has, for a number of years, had in place state and federal legislation to allow proxy votes to be cast using modern media. Corporations have changed their articles as appropriate to take advantage of these revisions, and to enable them to be enacted in their own corporations. Legislation making similar provisions was also enacted in Australia in 1998. Increasingly it is seen as desirable, and eminently sensible, for the UK to follow suit (NAPF Inquiry, 1999).This paper discusses the concept of the vote being a “fiduciary duty”, and compares the voting systems in several countries, including the UK, US, Australia, and Germany. The emerging trends in the area are discussed and the development of voting in the next millennium explored.
Transition and the output fall
Authors: Roland Gérard , Verdier Thierry 
Published: March 2003

We present a model to explain why in the transition economies of Central andEastern Europe an important output fall has been associated with price liberalization. Its key ingredients are search frictions and Williamsonian relation‐specific investment, implying that new investments are made only after having found a new long‐term partner. When all firms search for new partners, output may fall because of three effects: a) disruption of previous production links, b) a fall in investment, and c) capital depreciation due to the absence of replacement investment. We show that forms of gradual liberalization like the Chinese ‘dual‐track’ price liberalization may avoid the transitory output fall.JEL classification: D21, D50, E30, E61, P41, P51.
How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth in China?
Authors: Zhang Kevin Honglin 
Published: March 2003

How does inward foreign direct investment (FDI) affect a transitional economy? This study attempts to analyze the role of FDI in China’s income growth and market‐oriented transition. We first identify possible channels through which FDI may have positive or negative effects on the Chinese economy. Using a growth model and cross‐section and panel data for the period 1984‐98, we provide an empirical assessment, which suggests that FDI seems to help China’s transition and promote income growth, and that this positive growth effect seems to rise over time and to be stronger in the coastal than the inland regions.JEL classification: F21, F23, O53.
Implications of reform and WTO accession for China’ agricultural policies
Authors: Martin Will 
Published: March 2003

While China’s trade policies in most areas have been transformed in the reform era, trade in many agricultural goods remains under relatively non‐transparent state trading arrangements. Accession to the WTO will be a critical turning point, increasing transparency and introducing disciplines on protection even for the commodities remaining under state trading. While China’s tariff bindings for the most sensitive products seem unlikely to require substantial short‐term reductions in protection, they rule out substantial increases in the future, provide the opportunity to develop an efficient agricultural sector, and highlight the need for effective policies to reduce rural poverty. WTO membership provides an opportunity for China to improve market access opportunities for its agricultural exports, which face much higher barriers than its exports of industrial products.JEL classification: D58, F13, O13, O56, P33, Q17.
On the determinants of inequality in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Bisogno Marcelo , Chong Alberto 
Published: March 2003

We provide empirical evidence on the determinants of income inequality in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the civil war. To do this, we use a an ordered probit approach and take advantage of the first post‐war household survey for the country which sheds some light on the influence of regional differences as well as household characteristics on income quintile determination. With respect to the former, we find large income differences between the two entities in the country, the Federation and Republika Srpska. Such income differences are also noticeable inside entities. On the latter, there are some signs that education, experience, and employment, among others, may help reduce the probability of income decline. Our results are robust to changes of specification as shown by applying a formal sensitivity analysis.JEL classification: O15, O10, I30.
A one‐factor volatility smile model with closed‐form solutions for European options
Authors: Li Anlong 
Published: March 2003

The common practice of using different volatilities for options of different strikes in the Black‐Scholes (1973) model imposes inconsistent assumptions on underlying securities. The phenomenon is referred to as the volatility smile. This paper addresses this problem by replacing the Brownian motion or, alternatively, the Geometric Brownian motion in the Black‐Scholes model with a two‐piece quadratic or linear function of the Brownian motion. By selecting appropriate parameters of this function we obtain a wide range of shapes of implied volatility curves with respect to option strikes. The model has closed‐form solutions for European options, which enables fast calibration of the model to market option prices. The model can also be efficiently implemented in discrete time for pricing complex options.G1
A multi‐factor model for the risk management of portfolios
Authors: Peterson Sandra , Stapleton Richard C. 
Published: March 2003

We propose a methodology for modelling the value at risk of a complex portfolio, based on an extension of the Ho, Stapleton and Subrahmanyam technique. We model the variance‐covariance structure of up to seven variables. These could represent four country indices and three exchange rates, for example. In addition, the effect of an arbitrary number of orthogonal factors can be analysed. The system is illustrated by estimating the value at risk for a portfolio of international stocks where the factors are stock market indices and exchange rates, a portfolio of international bonds where the factors are interest rates as well as exchange rates, and a portfolio of interest rate derivatives in different currencies. In this last case, we model a two‐factor term structure of interest rates in each of the currencies, valuing the derivatives at a future date using these term structures and the Black model. The model is applied for different fineness of the binomial density and computational accuracy and efficiency are estimated.G13, G15, G21
Recovering Lives from behind the Gloss of Ideology: Recent Histories of Elite and Middle‐Class Women in England and America
Authors: Foyster Elizabeth 
Published: March 2003

Books reviewed in this article:Amanda Vickery, The Gentleman’s Daughter: Women's Lives in GeorgianEnglandJill Liddington, Female Fortune: Land, Gender and Authority Laura McCall and Donald Yacovone (eds), A Shared Experience: Men, Women and the History of GenderJohn Tosh, A Man’s Place: Masculinity and the Middle‐Class Homein Victorian England
A Serious Researcher or Just Another Nice Girl?: Doing Gender in a Male‐Dominated Scientific Community
Authors: Katila Saija , Meriläinen Susan 
Published: March 2003

This paper explores how we as female researchers are constructing our professional identities in a male‐dominated scientific world. In particular, we focus on the extent to which patriarchal articulations of professional identities influence female academics' self‐concept and consciousness of their own abilities. We believe that the business school in which we work reproduces certain inequalities systematically, if unintentionally. We are especially interested in the way in which we, as part of the scientific community, are ourselves discursively producing and reproducing the gender division based on differences of sex. In other words, how we ‘do gender’ in a particular organizational setting and when assuming a particular organizational role.The argument of this paper rests on the belief that the social construction of gender identities is not taking place only in the interaction of persons but also in the discourses within which those interactions occur. Identity and the meaning it implies are located here especially in language use. Discourses not only constitute meanings for terms and practices, but they also engender personal identities. Identity is not seen as fixed but rather as actively negotiated and transformed in discourse.
The Changing Experience of Australian Female Entrepreneurs
Authors: Bennett Rebekah , Dann Susan 
Published: March 2003

The study of female entrepreneurship is a dynamic field, with more women than men engaging in self‐employment in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Prior research in this field has identified a series of factors which characterize entrepreneurs. This paper examines the extent to which the experiences of Australian women entrepreneurs are reflected in the prior research. In particular, emphasis is placed on whether the personal characteristics, educational levels, motivations for starting business and resource acquisition behaviour of contemporary Australian women entrepreneurs are reflected in the prior research.While many of the key findings of prior research were found to describe accurately the experience of Australian women entrepreneurs, three new factors have been identified. First, Australian women entrepreneurs have increasingly come from business education backgrounds compared to the predominantly liberal arts backgrounds reported elsewhere. Second, the reasons for establishing small business differ insofar as they represent a greater proportion of general business needs as well as personal internal needs. Third, Australian women entrepreneurs are moving away from traditional ’female industries‘ into sectors identified as ’male industries‘ such as manufacturing. Overall, Australian women entrepreneurs demonstrate similarities in their identifying characteristics; however, significant shifts are occurring in their behaviours.
Industrial Policy and the East German Productivity Puzzle
Authors: Klodt Henning 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
Catching-up of East German productivity to West German levels has completely faded out since the mid-1990s. The remaining productivity gap cannot be attributed to an inferior capital endowment or qualification deficiencies of the East German labor force. Instead, it appears to be the result of an inappropriate design of industrial policy which concentrated on the subsidization of physical capital and largely ignored the advance of human capital- and service-intensive industrial structures. East Germany will have to face another wave of painful structural adjustment when capital-intensive industries are no longer protected from competition by public subsidies.
Technology and Cartel Stability under Vertical Differentiation
Authors: Lambertini Luca 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
The interplay between R&D activity and cartel stability is investigated in a vertical differentiation framework with convex costs. The behaviour of firms' critical discount factors as the curvature of the cost function varies is investigated, considering either price- or quantity-setting behaviour. In order to stabilize collusion, firms are better off playing à la Cournot and supplying the non-cooperative qualities. There emerges a tradeoff between the reduction of the convexity of the cost function and the associated increase in marginal cost. The decision to carry out joint or independent ventures in research is also investigated, showing that such a decision is non-monotone in intertemporal discounting. Policy measures are then briefly discussed.
Labour Mobility: An Adjustment Mechanism in Euroland? Empirical Evidence for Western Germany, France and Italy
Authors: Puhani Patrick A. 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
We evaluate whether labour mobility is likely to act as a sufficient adjustment mechanism in the face of asymmetric shocks in Euroland. As no adequate data on cross-border migration are available, migration elasticities within nation states (Western Germany, France and Italy) are estimated and interpreted as upper bounds for cross-border migration elasticities between European nation states. Labour mobility is highest in Germany, followed by France and Italy. However, the accommodation of a shock to unemployment by migration takes several years. We conclude that labour mobility is unlikely to act as a sufficient adjustment mechanism to asymmetric shocks in Euroland.
Efficiency-Wage Unemployment and Intersectoral Wage Differentials in a Heckscher- Ohlin Model
Authors: Albert Max , Meckl JuÈrgen 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
The paper analyzes a Heckscher-Ohlin (HO) model with efficiency-wage unemployment (henceforth HOe model). We show that all HO results have close HOe analogues. Additionally, conditions are derived under which immigrants might not only find employment for themselves but also raise employment for natives. Moreover, we analyze the ranking of countries with respect to their rate of unemployment, showing that this ranking may be reversed as countries move from autarky to trade. All results are clearly linked to factor intensities and the pattern of intersectoral wage differentials.
Complementarity of Labor Market Institutions, Equilibrium Unemployment and the Propagation of Business Cycles
Authors: Burda Michael C. , Weder Mark 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
This paper evaluates complementarities of labor market institutions and the business cycle in the context of a stochastic dynamic general equilibrium model economy. Matching between workers and vacancies with endogenous time spent in search, Nash-bargained wages, payroll taxation, and differential support for unemployed labor in search and leisure are central aspects of the model. For plausible regions of the policy and institutional parameter space, the model exhibits more persistence than standard real business cycle models and can exhibit indeterminacy of rational expectations paths without increasing returns in production. Furthermore, labor market institutions act in a complementary fashion in generating these effects.
The End of the Line? Accountable Governance in the Age of Networks, Partnerships, and Joined‐Up Services
Authors: Considine Mark 
Published: March 2003

In the standard works, accountability is defined as the legal obligation to respect the legitimate interests of others affected by decisions, programs, and interventions. This has usually meant that agencies obey those in the line of authority above them. However, the simplicity of this doctrine is often contradicted by the demands of contracting‐out and output‐based performance.Using interviews and surveys (n=1164) of front‐line officials in Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, this study examines accountability as different forms of responsiveness, obligation, and willingness to communicate with others. It compares traditional vertical accountability with new forms of horizontal recognition. The research shows that there is a high degree of regime consistency across these two dimensions. Horizontal accountability is mostly a problem when it is accompanied by competition between public and private agencies in the same policy fields.
Sir Alexander Malet and Prince Otto von Bismarck: an Almost Forgotten Anglo‐German Friendship
Authors: Padje W. A. Van't 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
This article concentrates on Prince von Bismarck's relationship with England, with particular reference to his friendship with the British diplomat Sir Alexander Malet in the eighteen‐fifties, when Bismarck was Prussian representative to the German confederation at Frankfurt. Bismarck's love–hate relationship with England has been frequently described. He complained repeatedly about British Liberalism, the Reform Bill of 1832 and the parliamentary system. Thus, it is rather surprising that one of his closest and most intimate friends in this decade was Malet, a fact which is overlooked by most of Bismarck's biographers.
‘The proconsul ruling the city called Carcassonne’: memory, title and the Trencavel viscounts, 1068–1209
Authors: Graham-Leigh Elaine 
Published: March 2003

Abstract
In 1146, the Trencavel viscounts of Carcassonne, Béziers, Albi and the Razès began using the title ‘proconsul’ in some of their charters. Their assumption of ‘proconsul’ is considered in the context of other twelfth-century efforts to construct their history through both memory and written records, and considers Trencavel aspirations to their own comital title. The use of ‘proconsul’ sprang from twelfth-century enthusiasm for the Roman past but also connected Trencavel authority to previous rulers of Languedoc while avoiding their own, less glorious past, particularly their dubious acquisition of Carcassonne in 1068.