title: On the stationarity of current account deficits in the European Union

authors: Holmes, Mark J.

subjects: European Union

abstract: In this paper, we test for the stationarity of EU current account deficits. Our testing strategy addresses two key concerns with regard to unit-root panel data testing, namely (i) the identification of which panel members are stationary, and (ii) the presence of cross-sectional dependence. For this purpose, we employ an AR-based bootstrap approach to the Hadri (2000) test. While there is only mixed evidence that current account stationarity applies when examining individual countries, this does not appear to be the case when considering panels comprising both EU and non-EU members.

text: On the stationarity of current account deficits in the European Union In this paper, we test for the stationarity of EU current account deficits. Our testing strategy addresses two key concerns with regard to unit-root panel data testing, namely (i) the identification of which panel members are stationary, and (ii) the presence of cross-sectional dependence. For this purpose, we employ an AR-based bootstrap approach to the Hadri (2000) test. While there is only mixed evidence that current account stationarity applies when examining individual countries, this does not appear to be the case when considering panels comprising both EU and non-EU members.

year: 2010

title: A matter of habit? Early life stress and cognitive flexibility in infants

authors: Taylor, Catherine

abstract: The long-term associations between chronic early life stress such as maltreatment, and cognitive functioning are well documented. However, less is known about the relation between early life stress exposure through experiences of more common potentially stressful life events such as parental separation or moving to a new house, and specific aspects of cognitive functioning in the short term. Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability to shift between response strategies and employ alternative strategies. It is an important ability for successful adaption to changing or novel situations. Previous research has shown that under acute stress, 15-month-old infants display elevated levels of rigid behaviour, being less likely to disengage from performing a habitual action that is no longer effective than their non-stressed counterparts. The present study explores the relation between experiences of potentially stressful early life events and infants’ tendency to display this pattern of behaviour that is, cognitive flexibility. Thirty-one 14- to 16-month-old infants participated in an instrumental learning task in their own homes. The task involved the infants initially learning to push two buttons. Each button lit up and produced its own distinct sound when pushed. Next, to establish a habit of button pushing (habit-acquisition), infants were allowed to push one of the buttons until they did not push the button for a period of time (10-s). Finally, at test, infants were given access to both buttons. Pushing the buttons did not result in any light or sound effects. Infants’ behaviour during test was assessed. Increased engagement with the habituated button relative to engagement with both buttons was taken as a measure of reduced cognitive flexibility. Participants’ caregivers indicated the number and severity of any potentially stressful life events that had occurred for the family during the prenatal and postnatal period. Analyses revealed no significant associations between frequency or severity of stressful life events – experienced during the prenatal or postnatal period – and rigid habitual behaviour in infants. This suggests that potentially stressful early life events do not necessarily lead to higher levels of rigid behaviour in infants. Possible explanations of the present findings are discussed.

text: A matter of habit? Early life stress and cognitive flexibility in infants The long-term associations between chronic early life stress such as maltreatment, and cognitive functioning are well documented. However, less is known about the relation between early life stress exposure through experiences of more common potentially stressful life events such as parental separation or moving to a new house, and specific aspects of cognitive functioning in the short term. Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability to shift between response strategies and employ alternative strategies. It is an important ability for successful adaption to changing or novel situations. Previous research has shown that under acute stress, 15-month-old infants display elevated levels of rigid behaviour, being less likely to disengage from performing a habitual action that is no longer effective than their non-stressed counterparts. The present study explores the relation between experiences of potentially stressful early life events and infants’ tendency to display this pattern of behaviour that is, cognitive flexibility. Thirty-one 14- to 16-month-old infants participated in an instrumental learning task in their own homes. The task involved the infants initially learning to push two buttons. Each button lit up and produced its own distinct sound when pushed. Next, to establish a habit of button pushing (habit-acquisition), infants were allowed to push one of the buttons until they did not push the button for a period of time (10-s). Finally, at test, infants were given access to both buttons. Pushing the buttons did not result in any light or sound effects. Infants’ behaviour during test was assessed. Increased engagement with the habituated button relative to engagement with both buttons was taken as a measure of reduced cognitive flexibility. Participants’ caregivers indicated the number and severity of any potentially stressful life events that had occurred for the family during the prenatal and postnatal period. Analyses revealed no significant associations between frequency or severity of stressful life events – experienced during the prenatal or postnatal period – and rigid habitual behaviour in infants. This suggests that potentially stressful early life events do not necessarily lead to higher levels of rigid behaviour in infants. Possible explanations of the present findings are discussed.

year: 2017

title: Land/seascapes of exclusion: social order on the coastal margins

authors: Ryks, John

abstract: The hegemonic discourse of coastal planning and development has an impact on the social ordering of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s coastal communities in a number of ways. One way in which social order is controlled and maintained is through the (ab)use of boundaries. Boundaries constructed and maintained under the authority of government and/or funded by development dictate where people may or may not live. In many cases these boundaries are used as instruments of exclusion. Boundaries constructed by hegemonic groups exclude those who define the coast according to other criteria. The hegemonic deployment of boundaries and the domination of coastal people and place generally is explored through an analysis of discourse. This analysis is structured according to differences in social order, coded as places of Otherness (heterotopia), Euclidean coasts, and places in transition reflecting images of both the former and the latter.
Drawing on a number of coastal communities, including the Northland community of Otia (otherwise known as the Seaweed Pickers), Taylor’s Mistake, Whitianga and the wealth enclave of Pauanui, it is shown that the land/seascape of coastal Aotearoa/New Zealand is gradually being disciplined through the design of coasts that are accommodating of a particular patronage. These ‘exclusive’ coasts appear in stark contrast to those places where an alternative social ordering takes place. Here, in the absence of a Euclidean spatiality, uncertainty and liminality feature in the social construction of the coast. Residents of these places mark out and define the coast in a way that is quite different from the accepted norm, a fact that determines a particular ‘cartographic anxiety’ on the part of the dominant. This anxiety is instrumental in the construction of Otherness and the (re)production of exclusion.

text: Land/seascapes of exclusion: social order on the coastal margins The hegemonic discourse of coastal planning and development has an impact on the social ordering of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s coastal communities in a number of ways. One way in which social order is controlled and maintained is through the (ab)use of boundaries. Boundaries constructed and maintained under the authority of government and/or funded by development dictate where people may or may not live. In many cases these boundaries are used as instruments of exclusion. Boundaries constructed by hegemonic groups exclude those who define the coast according to other criteria. The hegemonic deployment of boundaries and the domination of coastal people and place generally is explored through an analysis of discourse. This analysis is structured according to differences in social order, coded as places of Otherness (heterotopia), Euclidean coasts, and places in transition reflecting images of both the former and the latter.
Drawing on a number of coastal communities, including the Northland community of Otia (otherwise known as the Seaweed Pickers), Taylor’s Mistake, Whitianga and the wealth enclave of Pauanui, it is shown that the land/seascape of coastal Aotearoa/New Zealand is gradually being disciplined through the design of coasts that are accommodating of a particular patronage. These ‘exclusive’ coasts appear in stark contrast to those places where an alternative social ordering takes place. Here, in the absence of a Euclidean spatiality, uncertainty and liminality feature in the social construction of the coast. Residents of these places mark out and define the coast in a way that is quite different from the accepted norm, a fact that determines a particular ‘cartographic anxiety’ on the part of the dominant. This anxiety is instrumental in the construction of Otherness and the (re)production of exclusion.

year: 2002