ALBERT

Notes: Abstract. The effectiveness of sodium polyacrylate to increase soil water retention and to enhance growth of wheat under water deficit was evaluated. Water-holding capacity of the soils was considerably increased only when the soil was amended with the polymer at a rate 〈inlineGraphic alt="geqslant R: gt-or-equal, slanted" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:02660032:SUM207:ges" location="ges.gif"/〉3 g L−1. The effect on plant-available water was greater at soil matric potentials up to −1000 hPa. The biomass and grain yield of plants without water deficit were increased by the polymer amendment, but decreased under severe water deficit stress. The polymer had no significant affect on plant N, grain N or grain Na content.

Notes: Abstract. Long term fallow is no longer possible in densely populated tropical areas, but legume cover crops can help maintain soil fertility. Our work aimed to study changes in soil carbon in a sandy loam Ultisol in Benin, which involved a 12-year experiment on three maize cropping systems under manual tillage: traditional no-input cultivation (T), mineral fertilized cultivation (NPK), and association with Mucuna pruriens (M). The origin of soil carbon was also determined through the natural abundance of soil and biomass 13C. In T, NPK and M changes in soil carbon at 0–40 cm were −0.2, +0.2 and +1.3 t C ha−1 yr−1, with residue carbon amounting to 3.5, 6.4 and 10.0 t C ha−1 yr−1, respectively. After 12 years of experimentation, carbon originating from maize in litter-plus-soil (0–40 cm) represented less than 4% of both total carbon and overall maize residue carbon. In contrast, carbon originating from mucuna in litter-plus-soil represented more than 50% of both total carbon and overall mucuna residue carbon in M, possibly due to accelerated mineralization of native soil carbon (priming effect) and slow mulch decomposition. Carbon originating from weeds in litter-plus-soil represented c. 10% of both total carbon and overall weed residue carbon in T and NPK. Thus mucuna mulch was very effective in promoting carbon sequestration in the soil studied.

Notes: Abstract. A carbon emission inventory of the Brazilian agricultural sector was used to compare greenhouse gas emissions with estimated carbon offsets promoted by two main changes in agricultural management: the replacement of conventional tillage by no-tillage and the cessation of annual burning in sugar cane production. Using the IPCC revised 1996 guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories, we estimate that 12.65 Mt C are emitted annually from agricultural land in Brazil. Ongoing conversion of conventionally tilled land to no-tillage currently accumulates 9 Mt C yr−1. Industrial by-products like alcohol and bagasse from sugar cane processing substitute fossil fuel for transportation and power generation offsetting 10 and 8 Mt C yr−1, respectively. An additional opportunity for 0.53 Mt C yr−1 sequestration is presented by avoiding burning before harvesting of sugar cane. These data show that there could be almost full compensation between sources and sinks/offsets in the agricultural carbon cycle. There is a great opportunity to achieve this mitigation benefit because the adoption of new technologies is increasing rapidly.

Notes: Abstract. Rainfall simulation experiments give an indication of the tendency of soils to crust or seal but are time-consuming and require several kilograms of soil per sample. We developed a laboratory infiltration method that is less time-consuming than rainfall simulation and uses less than 40 g of soil. The method involves the leaching of an agitated 1:5 soil/water suspension through a packed soil column, which simulates the crusting process. The preparation of a dispersed soil suspension is a key feature of the method as it simulates disturbance of a soil surface by rain. This laboratory infiltration method was performed on sandy, granite-derived soils from annually burnt as well as unburnt plots in the Kruger National Park, South Africa and gave results which correlated strongly with results from rainfall simulation experiments on the same soils. We suggest that this new method may be useful for assessing the effect of different land management practices on the tendency of soils to crust.

Notes: Abstract. Belgium's soil survey data collected between 1950 and 1970 (pre-Kyoto Protocol) contain more than 13 000 geo-referenced soil profile descriptions, which allow the computation of a spatially distributed baseline carbon content for incremental soil depths, based on soil/land-use combinations (landscape units) and multiple matching soil profile observations. The results show that the soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIOC) contents of many landscape units do not differ significantly. However, landscape units under forest and grassland tend to contain more carbon. The same is true for landscape units on poorly drained and/or clayey soils, podzols or anthropogenic soils. The change of the SOC in the upper 100 cm of mineral soil follows a logarithmic decline with increasing depth, useful for the extrapolation of SOC of surface layers to deeper layers. SIOC values are strongly related to the geological soil characteristics and increase linearly with depth. Integrating the mean SOC and SIOC content of landscape units over the Belgian territory results in a total soil carbon stock of 303 Mt C in the upper 100 cm layer. Ectorganic horizons contain 35 Mt C and mineral soil contains 245 Mt C in organic form and 23 Mt C in inorganic form. These results are shown to be consistent with an independent set of SOC measurements on 3134 surface samples.

Notes: Abstract. Land application of organic wastes can result in the accumulation of available soil phosphorus (P) and in an increase risk of eutrophication of surface and shallow groundwaters. We conducted laboratory experiments to examine the effect of waste application on the concentration of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) in 1:5 soil to 0.005 m CaCl2 suspensions. Ten organic wastes, of which eight were mature composts, were applied to a P-rich Calcaric Fluvisol at rates ranging from 0 to 10% of soil by weight, and the difference in DRP concentration between suspensions containing waste and the untreated control (ΔDRP) was measured over a period of 300 days. In half of the suspensions of each waste–soil combination, 80 mg P (as KH2PO4) kg−1 soil was applied at day 14. Values of ΔDRP were generally positive, but a significant number of negative values were also recorded for some wastes and application rates, particularly at later sampling times if inorganic P had been added. Regression analyses revealed that ΔDRP (i) increased with increasing soluble reactive P at all times and (ii) increased in the short term, but decreased in the long term with increasing water soluble organic carbon in the waste. The fact that ΔDRP was sometimes negative for some waste types suggests that application of organic waste to soil does not necessarily increase eutrophication risks caused by soil P losses.

Notes: Between 1992 and 1995, the Italian pension system was deeply reformed, and it is now moving from an earnings-related to a contribution-based scheme. The pre-1992 system was generous and redistributive; however, often redistribution operated from the poor to the rich, notably because the benefit formula was based on the last years of earnings, thus benefiting workers with steep earnings profiles. The new contribution-based scheme may enhance equity by removing (some of) the inequities implicit in the previous system.Simulations calibrated on Italian male employees show that the contribution-based scheme reduces inequality among all groups considered, with the exception of college graduates employed in the private sector. When taking into account the average level of the benefit as well as its distribution, the analysis shows mixed results depending on the worker's number of years of contribution and on their retirement age, as well as on the steepness of their earnings profile.

Notes: Abstract. The potential for soil organic carbon sequestration, energy savings and the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases were investigated for a range of changes in the management of tilled land and managed grassland. These parameters were modelled on a regional basis, according to local soils and crop rotations in England, and avoided the use of soil related indices. The largest carbon sequestration and saving contribution possible comes from an increase in the proportion of permanent woodland, such that a 10% change in land use could amount to 9 Mt C yr−1 in the initial years (arable and grassland). Changes in arable management could make a significant contribution to an abatement strategy if carried out in concert with greater use of permanent conservation field margins, increased returns of crop residues and reduced tillage systems, contributing 1.3 Mt C yr−1 in the initial years. It should be noted, however, that true soil carbon sequestration would be only a minor component of this (125 kt C yr−1), the main part being savings on CO2 emissions from reduced energy use, and lower N2O emissions from reduced use of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer.

Notes: Abstract. After clear-felling of a first generation Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) forest, mixed stands of Chinese fir and Michelia macclurei (a broadleaf tree) (MCM), pure M. macclurei stands (PMS) and pure Chinese fir stands (PCS) were established in 1983. The effects on soil were evaluated 20 years after planting by measuring physicochemical, microbiological and biochemical parameters. Both broadleaf monoculture and mixtures of broadleaf and conifer exerted a favourable effect on soil fertility. A soil quality index (SQI) decreased in the order: PMS (0.62) 〉 MCM (0.57) 〉 PCS (0.41). Improvement in soil quality, enhanced biological activity and forest productivity demonstrated that mixed stands are an effective measure to maintain sustainable forest productivity, as well as to control soil degradation under successive stands of Chinese fir. In addition, since the microbiological and biochemical parameters measured were sensitive to the forest management, they may be potential indicators for assessing the sustainability of different management systems. The results also showed that total organic carbon, cation exchange capacity and microbial biomass carbon are effective indicators of the improvement or deterioration of soil quality under forest.

Notes: Abstract. The repeated application of pig slurry to agricultural soils may result in an accumulation of salts and a risk of aquifer pollution due to nitrate leaching and salinization. Under Mediterranean conditions, a field experiment on a sandy loam soil (Typic Xerofluvent) was performed with maize (Zea mays) in 1998, 1999 and 2001 to study the effects of applying optimal (P1) and excessive rates (P3) of pig slurry on soil salinization, nitrate leaching and groundwater pollution. The rate of pig slurry was established considering the optimal N rate for maize in this soil (170, 162 and 176 kg N ha−1 for 1998, 1999 and 2001, respectively). Pig slurry treatments were compared to an optimal N rate supplied as urea (U) and a control treatment without N fertilizer (P0). The composition of the slurries showed great variability between years. Mean NO3− leaching losses from 1998 to 2001 were 329, 215, 173 and 78 kg N ha−1 for P3, P1, U and P0 treatments, respectively. The amount of total dissolved salts (TDS) added to the soil in slurry application between 1998 and 2001 was 2019 kg TDS ha−1 for the P1 treatment and 6058 kg TDS ha−1 for the P3 treatment. As a consequence, the electrical conductivity (EC) of the slurry-treated soils was greater than that of the control soil. The EC correlated significantly with the sodium concentration of the soil solution. Over the entire experimental period, 2653, 2202 and 2110 kg Na ha−1 entered the aquifer from the P3, P1 and P0 treatments, respectively. The P3 treatment did not significantly increase grain production in 1999 and 2001 compared with that achieved with the optimal N rate treatment (P1). This behaviour shows the importance of establishing application guidelines for pig slurry that will reduce the risk of soil and groundwater pollution.

Notes: Abstract. An airborne electromagnetic survey yields a three-dimensional map of ground electrical conductivity. The remotely sensed data are translated into salt load by field and laboratory calibration: drilling, measurement of borehole conductivity, electrical conductivity of 1:5 soil–water extracts (EC1:5) and chemical analysis of pore fluids. Using these field measurements, the conductivity map is calibrated by constraining model parameters within limits defined by the measured values. Once the airborne data is calibrated, we can derive a regional constant (Ksalt) by comparing total ground conductivity with the mass of salt measured in bore samples. Pore fluid chemistry provides a definitive measure of salt, but EC1:5 values may be used, provided that the procedure ensures complete dispersal of clay aggregates to release all the salt. Maps of salt load can be generated from the conductance (total conductivity) maps using a geographical information system. Without calibration, airborne electromagnetic surveying is misleading. Properly calibrated, it provides a detailed, semi-quantitative, three-dimensional map of the distribution of salt in the landscape: a prerequisite for the effective management of salinity. Salt appearing at the surface and in streams is the result of processes operating throughout entire catenas and groundwater flow systems. Across the southeastern catchments of the Murray–Darling Basin, we found that salt is stored predominantly in thick clay horizons within the regolith (encompassing the soil cover, weathered parent material and unlithified sediments down to unweathered basement). Coarse materials, for example in prior stream channels, may serve as conduits for salt transport to rivers and the land surface.

Notes: Abstract. Two field experiments were carried from 1999 to 2001 to assess the effectiveness of autumn, winter and spring application of straw-based farmyard manure (FYM). The soil was a sandy loam containing 106 g clay kg−1 situated in the temperate coastal climate of Denmark. The FYM was applied manually to experimental plots at a target rate of 300 kg N ha−1. The manure was incorporated by three initial tillage strategies (harrowing, rotavating or no-tillage) prior to ploughing. All combinations of tillage strategies were also carried out without manure application. Spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was grown, followed by ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). The results suggest that, as far as circumstances permit, FYM should be applied in spring to achieve the optimum use of nitrogen in the manure. Further, yield and nitrogen uptake did not benefit from harrowing or rotavating the manure before ploughing. When manure was not applied, soil tillage prior to ploughing did not significantly affect grain yield or nitrogen uptake.

Notes: Abstract. The in-field calibration of a dielectric probe to measure soil water content is described. The probe uses an access tube analogous to that of the neutron probe. The dielectric constant was measured at soil depths of 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 and 100 cm. Cores of soil were then taken from the face of pits dug 30 cm from the access tube and their soil water contents determined by oven drying. The dielectric constant values measured by the probe were calibrated against water contents from these cores. We found that sensor depth needed to be included to achieve a good calibration model that explained 72% of the variance. It is argued that depth needs to be included because of artefacts introduced during the installation of the access tube.

Notes: Abstract. A set of lysimeter based experiments was carried out during 2000/01 to evaluate the impact of soil type and grassland management on potassium (K) leaching. The effects of (1) four soil textures (sand, loam, loam over chalk and clay), (2) grazing and cutting (with farmyard manure application), and (3) K applied as inorganic fertilizer, dairy slurry or a mixture of both sources were tested. Total K losses in the clay soil were more than twice those in the sand soil (13 and 6 kg K ha−1, respectively) because of the development of preferential flow in the clay soil. They were also greater in the cut treatment than in the grazed treatment (82 and 51 kg K ha−1, respectively; P〈inlineGraphic alt="leqslant R: less-than-or-eq, slant" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:02660032:SUM182:les" location="les.gif"/〉 0.01), associated with a 63% increase of K concentration in the leachates from the former (6.7 ± 0.28 and 4.1 ± 0.22 mg K L−1 for cut and grazed, respectively; P〈inlineGraphic alt="leqslant R: less-than-or-eq, slant" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:02660032:SUM182:les" location="les.gif"/〉 0.01) because of the K input from the farmyard manure. The source of fertilizer did not affect total K losses or the average K concentration in the leachates (P 〉 0.05), but it changed the pattern of these over time.

Notes: Abstract. Coliforms such as Escherichia coli and E. coli O157 are present in faeces deposited on the ground by grazing livestock, which gives rise to environmental concerns about the consequences of their transport in soil water draining to rivers, lakes, groundwater, water supplies and bathing waters. Following a similar study in relation to slurry spreading (Soil Use and Management 2003; 19, 321–330), a two-stage approach was adopted to using the dual-porosity contaminant transport model macroto simulate processes by which E. coli microorganisms from grazing livestock (sheep) pass through the soil to receiving waters via field drains. First, model parameter values were selected to reproduce experimental measurements showing rapid flows of the organisms by macropore flow without trapping in smaller pores. However, because of the large number of parameters and likely experimental errors, the set of values chosen, although plausible, is not necessarily unique and so any predictions should be considered provisional pending validation. Second, a series of predictive simulations was carried out to test the influence of soil and weather conditions on losses to field drains during grazing. These showed that E. coli losses were influenced almost entirely by the soil water content at the time of grazing, rising to a high level during grazing in wet conditions, but low or zero under dry conditions. In contrast, rainfall at the time of grazing had almost no consistent effect, other than large losses on the occasional days with over 20 mm of rain. Overall losses for a period of grazing were generally small during summer, but rose to a high level if grazing continued into autumn, due to the increase in soil water content. This demonstrates that there would probably be substantial reductions in the environmental risks of water pollution by E. coli and other faecal microorganisms if continuous grazing were stopped around early September and replaced by grazing on dry days only.

Notes: Abstract. Temperate grasslands account for c. 20% of the land area in Europe. Carbon accumulation in grassland ecosystems occurs mostly below ground and changes in soil organic carbon stocks may result from land use changes (e.g. conversion of arable land to grassland) and grassland management. Grasslands also contribute to the biosphere–atmosphere exchange of non-CO2 radiatively active trace gases, with fluxes intimately linked to management practices. In this article, we discuss the current knowledge on carbon cycling and carbon sequestration opportunities in temperate grasslands. First, from a simple two-parameter exponential model fitted to literature data, we assess soil organic carbon fluxes resulting from land use change (e.g. between arable and grassland) and from grassland management. Second, we discuss carbon fluxes within the context of farming systems, including crop–grass rotations and farm manure applications. Third, using a grassland ecosystem model (PaSim), we provide estimates of the greenhouse gas balance, in CO2 equivalents, of pastures for a range of stocking rates and of N fertilizer applications. Finally, we consider carbon sequestration opportunities for France resulting from the restoration of grasslands and from the de-intensification of intensive livestock breeding systems. We emphasize major uncertainties concerning the magnitude and non-linearity of soil carbon stock changes in agricultural grasslands as well as the emissions of N2O from soil and of CH4 from grazing livestock.

Notes: Abstract. Field margins are a valuable resource in the farmed landscape, providing numerous environmental benefits. We present a preliminary analysis of the carbon mitigation potential of different field margin management options for Great Britain, calculated using data from long-term experiments and literature estimates. The carbon sequestration potential of the individual options investigated here varies from 0.1 to 2.4% of 1990 UK CO2-C emissions, or 0.7–20% of the Quantified Emission Limitation Reduction Commitment (QELRC). The scenarios investigated covered three possible margin widths and options for the management of margins at each width (viz. grass strips, hedgerows and tree strips). Scenarios involving margin widths of 2, 6 or 20 m would require approximately 2.3, 6.7 or 21.3% of the total arable area of Great Britain, respectively. Scenarios including tree strips offered the greatest potential for carbon sequestration, since large amounts would be accumulated in above-ground biomass in addition to that in soil. We also accounted for the possible impacts of changed land management on trace gas fluxes, which indicated that any scenario involving a change from arable to grass strip, hedgerow or tree strip would significantly reduce N2O emissions, and thus further increase carbon mitigation potential. There would also be considerable potential for including the scenarios investigated here with other strategies for the alternative management of UK arable land to identify optimal combinations. We assumed that it would take 50–100 years for soil carbon to reach a new equilibrium following a land use change. More detailed analyses need to be conducted to include environmental benefits, socioeconomic factors and the full system carbon balance.

Notes: Abstract. The Marrakech Accords allow biospheric carbon sinks and sources to be included in attempts to meet emission reduction targets for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Forest management, cropland management, grazing land management and re-vegetation are allowable activities under Article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol. Soil carbon sinks and sources can therefore be included under these activities. The Kyoto Protocol states that sinks and sources of carbon should be accounted for ‘taking into account uncertainties, transparency in reporting, verifiability’. At its most stringent, verifiability would entail the sampling of each geo-referenced piece of land subject to an Article 3.4 activity at the beginning and end of a commitment period, using a sampling regime that gives adequate statistical power. Soil and vegetation samples and records would be archived and the data from each piece of land aggregated to produce a national figure. Separate methods would be required to deliver a second set of independent verification data. Such an undertaking at the national level would be prohibitively expensive. At its least stringent, verifiability would entail the reporting of areas under a given practice (without geo-referencing) and the use of default values for a carbon stock change for each practice, to infer a change for all areas under that practice. A definition of verifiability between these extremes would allow simple methods, such as those derived from IPCC default values for CO2 fluxes from soil, to be used for estimating changes in soil carbon. These may enable low-level verifiability to be achieved by most parties by the beginning of the first commitment period (2008–2012).

Notes: Abstract. This article explores the question of how scientific information can improve local agronomic management using concepts of uncertainty classification and uncertainty management. Information and data on local management of soil fertility based on a local classification system of soil quality were collected from a small watershed in Cauca (Colombia). The analyses suggest that farmers hold local knowledge about soils at two levels. The first is based on empirical observations and refers to local knowledge about soils and landscape, which shows that the classes identified in the local soil quality classification are consistent with results obtained using measured soil parameters. At the second level, farmers have some awareness of ecological processes and the appropriate use of relationships between key soil characteristics and management options. It is argued that local knowledge is not sufficient to cope with uncertainty introduced by a rapidly changing agriculture, including, for example, increasing land pressure, unpredictable market forces and climate change. We have suggested how scientific knowledge can contribute to the solution, based on an analysis that relates Cohen's (Heuristic reasoning about uncertainty: an artificial intelligence approach. Pitman London, 1985) and Rowe's (Risk Analysis 14, 743–750, 1994) uncertainty concepts to local knowledge.

Notes: Abstract. Over the last two decades, large gully control programmes have been established in Ethiopia. Based on detailed observations and measurements of 400 check dams in the highlands near Hagere Selam (Tigray, northern Ethiopian Highlands), the effectiveness of the check dam technique was assessed. In this study, catchment area, slope gradient, technical characteristics and the presence of smectite clays are the main factors controlling dam stability. Simple and logistic regression techniques were used to analyse the data. The frequent collapse of dams (39% after two years) is strongly associated with drainage area (A) and slope gradient of the soil surface near the gully (S), the product of these factors (S×A) being a proxy for runoff energy. Good functioning dams have a spillway, apron, concave plan form (when looking downslope) and are built at vertical intervals and with heights that result in a negative slope gradient of the line connecting the spillway and the foot of the upstream dam. Therefore, a reverse slope of this line is recommended. Furthermore, if large cracks are present in smectite-rich soils, the construction of check dams can lead to piping and concentrated flow bypassing the dam. Given that the collapse of some check dams seems inevitable where catchment areas are large or there are steep slopes, it is necessary to repair dams as soon as partial collapse starts and to complement this gully control technique with biological control measures.

Notes: Abstract. Field trials of vegetation modification were carried out to test the hypothesis that the management of key plant groups such as trees, perennial grasses and legumes would improve soil chemical properties in short-term fallows. Soil properties and plant production during a 4-year fallow period and millet yields after clearing were recorded at two sites representing dry and subhumid climates in Senegal, West Africa. During the four years of fallow, soil organic matter did not vary significantly at either site. A decrease in amounts of Olsen P, calcium and potassium in soil (0–10 cm depth) by 42–50% occurred at one site due to an effect of perennial grasses. The highest millet yields were measured in plots on which the largest amounts of biomass had been burnt after clear-cutting. These results confirmed that short-term fallows do not replenish soil organic matter and nutrient contents. The introduction of planted species did not arrest the decline in soil quality.

Notes: Abstract. A laboratory experiment was designed to assess the impact of surface seal development on herbicide loss from a clay soil. The influence of surface sealing on herbicide loss through vertical macropores and lateral throughflow pathways was of particular interest. Losses of the phenylurea herbicide, isoproturon, increased from 0.025% to 0.5% of the total applied under sealed compared with unsealed conditions, as a result of two different mechanisms. First, an increased flow rate through the A horizon under the wetter, sealed conditions resulted in earlier initiation of, and hence a greater volume of, throughflow containing isoproturon in the lysimeters. Second, increased concentrations of isoproturon in macropore and throughflow under the sealed treatments were attributed to the physical and chemical characteristics of the surface seal. Localized reductions in infiltration capacity, changes in soil composition, and decrease in diffusion depth of herbicide within the surface seal are presented as possible mechanisms by which herbicide losses from the sealed soil lysimeters were enhanced.

Notes: Abstract. Three different management systems were compared in an olive grove on a Vertic soil, near the city of Cordoba, Spain. Rainfall, runoff and soil loss were recorded from experimental plots of 6×12 m for three years. Results indicated that the no-tillage system, which was kept weed-free with herbicides, gave the largest soil loss (8.5 t ha−1 yr−1) and average annual runoff coefficient (21.5%), due to increased soil compaction, particularly outside the canopy projection area. A system that used a grass cover gave the lowest soil losses (1.2 t ha−1 yr−1) and average annual runoff coefficient (2.5%) due to the protective effects of the cover and increased soil aggregate stability. The third system, conventional tillage, gave intermediate results, with a soil loss of 4.0 t ha−1 yr−1 and an average runoff coefficient of 7.4%. The search for alternative soil management to conventional tillage should consider occasional light tillage to establish a grass cover that would keep both soil erosion and runoff losses to a minimum.

Notes: Abstract. Remediation techniques for soil pollution have been studied in the aftermath of a tailing spill from a pyrite-mine holding pond in Aznalcóllar (southwest Spain). Given the extent of the accident and the characteristics of the affected area, we conclude that, after the removal of the tailings, the only feasible remediation measure involves chemical immobilization of the pollutants. The best treatment tested proved to be liming in combination with amendment materials such as soils rich in iron oxides and clay. Monitoring for 3 years has demonstrated that the system is effective for reducing the solubility of the most mobile forms of the main pollutant elements, although further monitoring is recommended.

Notes: Book reviewed in this article: Uncertain science… uncertain world. By H.N. Pollack.

Notes: We analyse a puzzle in the UK corporation tax: by both historic and international standards, corporation tax revenues have been high while the statutory rate has been reduced. We consider explanations based on changes in the tax law and in economic factors. Changes in the tax law, such as base-broadening measures through reductions in capital allowances, can explain only part of the puzzle. Among the economic explanations, an increase in the size of the corporate sector, mainly caused by expansion of the service sector and improvements in profitability of the financial sector, seems the most likely. To the extent that higher profits, particularly financial sector profits, may have led to high revenues, there are doubts as to whether revenues will continue to be so strong.

Notes: During the last decade, the Italian system of intergovernmental fiscal relations has been involved in a radical process of reform that is still under way. The reform has assigned Regions new taxing powers and has introduced a new system of interregional transfers. This paper provides a review of the recent reform and offers some tentative answers to the issues still open, relying on a series of simulations and projections. A number of conclusions have been reached. First, when the long-run performance of the new financing systems is investigated, regional resources may no longer be adequate to meet future health needs. Second, the incentives for active tax policies seem either to prove too weak or even to cause undesirable results. Finally, the complete devolution to the Regions of some significant public expenditure functions risks strengthening the polarisation of financial flows between the Northern and Southern Regions in the long run.

Notes: The total mean-square error (MSE) of the estimated model, defined as the sum of the standard model variance and the bias variance, is used to define the truncation level of the singular-value decomposition to give a reasonable balance between model resolution and model variance. This balance is determined largely by the data and no further assumptions are necessary except that the bias terms are estimated sufficiently well. This principle has been tested on the 1D magnetotelluric inverse problem with special emphasis on high-frequency radio magnetotelluric (RMT) data. Simulations clearly demonstrate that the method provides a good balance between resolution and variance. Starting from a homogeneous half-space, the best solution is sought for a fixed set of singular values. The model variance is estimated from the sum of the inverse eigenvalues squared, up to a certain threshold, and the bias variance is estimated from the model projections on the remaining eigenvectors. By varying the threshold, the minimum of the MSE is found for an increasing number of fixed singular values until the number of active singular values becomes greater than or equal to the estimated number. As a side-effect, the depth of penetration of a given set of measurements can be estimated very efficiently by simply noting at which depth the final model deviates little from the starting homogeneous half-space model. A suite of synthetic data is inverted and an example of inversion of one site is shown to illustrate how the truncation is carried out as the non-linear inversion process proceeds. A field example with a profile across a plume of contaminated groundwater in the Netherlands shows good agreement with the electrical resistivity obtained in a nearby borehole.

Notes: Faithful recording of the elastic wavefield at the sea-bed is required for quantitative applications of 4C seismic. The accuracy of the recorded vectorial wavefield depends on factors that vary from deployment to deployment. This paper focuses on one such factor: the interaction of the acquisition system with the sea-bed, which is referred to here as coupling. We show, using multi-azimuth data recorded with a cable-based sea-bed acquisition system, whose sensor housing is cylindrically shaped and with the in-line geophone fixed to the cable, that coupling depends on the propagation direction and wave type (P- or S-waves) of the incident wavefield. We show that coupling is more critical for S-waves than for P-waves. Detection of inconsistent coupling using both P- and S-waves is therefore mandatory. A data-driven processing method to compensate for the frequency-dependent coupling response of the cross-line geophone is derived. Its application to field data verifies the effectiveness of the method.

Notes: The combined use of time-lapse PP and PS seismic data is analysed for optimal discrimination between pressure and saturation changes. The theory is based on a combination of the well-known Gassmann model and the geomechanical grain model derived by Hertz and Mindlin. A key parameter in the discrimination process is the opening angle between curves representing constant changes in PP and PS reflectivity plotted against pressure and saturation changes. The optimal discrimination angle in the pressure–saturation space is 90° and this is used to determine optimal offset ranges for both PP and PS data. For typical production scenarios, we find an optimal offset range corresponding to an angle of incidence of 25–30°, for both PP and PS data. For gas we find slightly different results. This means that conventional survey parameters used in marine multicomponent acquisition should be sufficient for the purpose of estimating pressure and fluid saturation changes during production.

Notes: Cross-hole anisotropic electrical and seismic tomograms of fractured metamorphic rock have been obtained at a test site where extensive hydrological data were available. A strong correlation between electrical resistivity anisotropy and seismic compressional-wave velocity anisotropy has been observed. Analysis of core samples from the site reveal that the shale-rich rocks have fabric-related average velocity anisotropy of between 10% and 30%. The cross-hole seismic data are consistent with these values, indicating that observed anisotropy might be principally due to the inherent rock fabric rather than to the aligned sets of open fractures. One region with velocity anisotropy greater than 30% has been modelled as aligned open fractures within an anisotropic rock matrix and this model is consistent with available fracture density and hydraulic transmissivity data from the boreholes and the cross-hole resistivity tomography data. However, in general the study highlights the uncertainties that can arise, due to the relative influence of rock fabric and fluid-filled fractures, when using geophysical techniques for hydrological investigations.

Notes: Shear-wave polarization and time delay are attributes commonly used for fracture detection and characterization. In time-lapse analysis these parameters can be used as indicators of changes in the fracture orientation and density. Indeed, changes in fracture characteristics provide key information for increased reservoir characterization and exploitation. However, relative to the data uncertainty, is the comparison of these parameters over time statistically meaningful? We present the uncertainty in shear-wave polarization and time delay as a function of acquisition uncertainties, such as receiver and source misorientation, miscoupling and band-limited random noise. This study is applied to a time-lapse borehole seismic survey, recorded in Vacuum Field, New Mexico. From the estimated uncertainties for each survey, the uncertainty in the difference between the two surveys is 31° for the shear-wave polarization angle and 4 ms for the shear-wave time delay. Any changes in these parameters greater than these error estimates can be interpreted with confidence. This analysis can be applied to any time-lapse measurement to provide an interval of confidence in the interpretation of shear-wave polarization angles and time splitting.

Notes: A series of downhole magnetometric resistivity (DHMMR) and downhole electromagnetic (DHEM) surveys were conducted near Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, and at Zinkgruvan, Sweden, to determine how probe and receiver equipment choices affect the amount of noise visible in borehole MMR and EM data. Noise analyses performed on the data, using the standard deviation to gauge the relative noise levels between different probes and receiver systems, indicate that high noise levels in MMR data result primarily from the use of a three-component EM probe, which has a reduced effective area and hence a higher noise floor compared with a single-component EM probe. High noise, attributable to cultural sources such as nearby power lines, in either MMR or EM data can be reduced through the use of full-waveform, multipurpose receiver systems. These systems allow for the use of tapered stacking, which is a more effective method of eliminating coherent noise associated with power-line transients than the boxcar-stacking method used by traditional receiver systems.

Notes: Interlayer slipping breccia-type gold deposit – a new type of gold deposit, defined recently in the northern margin of the Jiaolai Basin, Shandong Province, China – occurs in interlayer slip faults distributed along the basin margin. It has the features of large orebody thickness (ranging from 14 m to 46 m, with an average thickness of 30 m), shallow embedding (0–50 m thickness of cover), low tenor of gold ore (ranging from 3 g/t to 5 g/t), easy mining and ore dressing. This type of gold deposit has promising metallogenic forecasting and potential for economic exploitation.A ground gamma-ray survey in the Pengjiakuang gold-ore district indicates that the potassium/thorium ratio is closely related to the mineralization intensity, i.e. the larger the potassium/thorium ratio, the higher the mineralization. The gold mineralized alteration zone was defined by a potassium/thorium ratio of 0.35. A seismic survey confirms the location of the top and bottom boundaries and images various features within the Pengjiakuang gold mineralization belt. The gold-bearing shovel slipped belt dips to the south at an angle of 50–55° at the surface and 15–20° at depth. The seismic profile is interpreted in terms of a structural band on the seismic section characterized by a three-layered model. The upper layer is represented by weakly discontinuous reflections that represent the overlying conglomerates. A zone of stronger reflections representing the interlayer slip fault (gold-bearing mineralized zone) is imaged within the middle of the section, while the strongest reflections are in the lower part of the section and represent metamorphic rocks at depth. At the same time, the seismic reflection survey confirms the existence of a granite body at depth, indicating that ore-forming fluids may be related to the granite. A CSAMT survey showed that the gold-bearing mineralized zone is a conductive layer and contains a low-resistivity anomaly ranging from 2 Ωm to 200 Ωm.

Notes: The elastic properties and anisotropy of shales are strongly influenced by the degree of alignment of the grain scale texture. In general, an orientation distribution function (ODF) can be used to describe this alignment, which, in practice, can be characterized by two Legendre coefficients. We discuss various statistical ODFs that define the alignment by spreading from a mean value; in particular, the Gaussian, Fisher and Bingham distributions. We compare the statistical models with an ODF resulting from pure vertical compaction (no shear strain) of a sediment. The compaction ODF may be used to estimate how the elastic properties and anisotropy evolve due to burial of clayey sediments.Our study shows that the three statistical ODFs produce almost identical correspondence between the two Legendre coefficients as a function of the spreading parameter, so that the spreading parameter of one ODF can be converted to the spreading parameter of another ODF. In most cases it is then sufficient to apply the spreading parameter for the ODF instead of the two Legendre coefficients. The effect of compaction on the ODF gives a slightly different correspondence between the two Legendre coefficients from that for the other models. In principle, this opens up the possibility of distinguishing anisotropy effects due to compaction from those due to other processes.We also study reflection amplitudes versus angle of incidence (AVA) for all wave modes, where shales having various ODFs overlie an isotropic medium. The AVA responses are modelled using both exact and approximation formulae, and their intercepts and gradients are compared. The modelling shows that the S-wave velocity is sensitive to any perturbation in the spreading parameter, while the P-wave velocity becomes increasingly sensitive to a perturbation of a less ordered system. Similar observations are found for the AVA of the P-P and P-SV waves. Modelling indicates that a combined use of the amplitude versus offset of P-P and P-SV reflected waves may reveal certain grain scale alignment properties of shale-like rocks.

Notes: Although it is believed that natural fracture sets predominantly have near-vertical orientation, oblique stresses and some other mechanisms may tilt fractures away from the vertical. Here, we examine an effective medium produced by a single system of obliquely dipping rotationally invariant fractures embedded in a transversely isotropic with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI) background rock. This model is monoclinic with a vertical symmetry plane that coincides with the dip plane of the fractures.Multicomponent seismic data acquired over such a medium possess several distinct features that make it possible to estimate the fracture orientation. For example, the vertically propagating fast shear wave (and the fast converted PS-wave) is typically polarized in the direction of the fracture strike. The normal-moveout (NMO) ellipses of horizontal reflection events are co-orientated with the dip and strike directions of the fractures, which provides an independent estimate of the fracture azimuth. However, the polarization vector of the slow shear wave at vertical incidence does not lie in the horizontal plane – an unusual phenomenon that can be used to evaluate fracture dip. Also, for oblique fractures the shear-wave splitting coefficient at vertical incidence becomes dependent on fracture infill (saturation).A complete medium-characterization procedure includes estimating the fracture compliances and orientation (dip and azimuth), as well as the Thomsen parameters of the VTI background. We demonstrate that both the fracture and background parameters can be obtained from multicomponent wide-azimuth data using the vertical velocities and NMO ellipses of PP-waves and two split SS-waves (or the traveltimes of PS-waves) reflected from horizontal interfaces. Numerical tests corroborate the accuracy and stability of the inversion algorithm based on the exact expressions for the vertical and NMO velocities.

Notes: The azimuth moveout (AMO) operator in homogeneous transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI), as in isotropic media, has an overall skewed saddle shape. However, the AMO operator in anisotropic media is complicated; it includes, among other things, triplications at low angles. Even in weaker anisotropies, with the anisotropy parameter η= 0.1 (10% anisotropy), the AMO operator is considerably different from the isotropic operator, although free of triplications. The structure of the operator in VTI media (positive η) is stretched (has a wider aperture) compared with operators in isotropic media, with the amount of stretch being dependent on the strength of anisotropy. If the medium is both vertically inhomogeneous, i.e. the vertical velocity is a function of depth (v(z)), and anisotropic, which is a common combination in practical problems, the shape of the operator again differs from that for isotropic media. However, the difference in the AMO operator between the homogeneous and the v(z) cases, even for anisotropic media, is small. Stated simply, anisotropy influences the shape and aperture of the AMO operator far more than vertical inhomogeneity does.

Notes: The attenuation of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) energy in the subsurface decreases and shifts the amplitude spectrum of the radar pulse to lower frequencies (absorption) with increasing traveltime and causes also a distortion of wavelet phase (dispersion). The attenuation is often expressed by the quality factor Q. For GPR studies, Q can be estimated from the ratio of the real part to the imaginary part of the dielectric permittivity.We consider a complex power function of frequency for the dielectric permittivity, and show that this dielectric response corresponds to a frequency-independent-Q or simply a constant-Q model. The phase velocity (dispersion relationship) and the absorption coefficient of electromagnetic waves also obey a frequency power law. This approach is easy to use in the frequency domain and the wave propagation can be described by two parameters only, for example Q and the phase velocity at an arbitrary reference frequency. This simplicity makes it practical for any inversion technique. Furthermore, by using the Hilbert transform relating the velocity and the absorption coefficient (which obeys a frequency power law), we find the same dispersion relationship for the phase velocity. Both approaches are valid for a constant value of Q over a restricted frequency-bandwidth, and are applicable in a material that is assumed to have no instantaneous dielectric response.Many GPR profiles acquired in a dry aeolian environment have shown a strong reflectivity inside dunes. Changes in water content are believed to be the origin of this reflectivity. We model the radar reflections from the bottom of a dry aeolian dune using the 1D wavelet modelling method. We discuss the choice of the reference wavelet in this modelling approach. A trial-and-error match of modelled and observed data was performed to estimate the optimum set of parameters characterizing the materials composing the site. Additionally, by combining the complex refractive index method (CRIM) and/or Topp equations for the bulk permittivity (dielectric constant) of moist sandy soils with a frequency power law for the dielectric response, we introduce them into the expression for the reflection coefficient. Using this method, we can estimate the water content and explain its effect on the reflection coefficient and on wavelet modelling.

Notes: The forward computation of the gravitational and magnetic fields due to a 3D body with an arbitrary boundary and continually varying density or magnetization is an important problem in gravitational and magnetic prospecting. In order to solve the inverse problem for the arbitrary components of the gravitational and magnetic anomalies due to an arbitrary 3D body under complex conditions, including an uneven observation surface, the existence of background anomalies and very little or no a priori information, we used a spherical coordinate system to systematically investigate forward methods for such anomalies and developed a series of universal spherical harmonic expansions of gravitational and magnetic fields. For the case of a 3D body with an arbitrary boundary and continually varying magnetization, we have also given the surface integral expressions for the common spherical harmonic coefficients in the expansion of the magnetic field due to the body, and a very precise numerical integral algorithm to calculate them. Thus a simple and effective method of solving the forward problem for magnetic fields due to 3D bodies of this kind has been found, and in this way a foundation is laid for solving the inverse problem of these magnetic fields. In addition, by replacing the parameters and unit vectors in the spherical harmonic expansion of a magnetic field by gravitational parameters and a downward unit vector, we have also derived a forward method for the gravitational field (similar to that for the magnetic case) of a 3D body with an arbitrary boundary and continually varying density.

Notes: 2.5D modelling approximates 3D wave propagation in the dip-direction of a 2D geological model. Attention is restricted to raypaths for waves propagating in a plane. In this way, fast inversion or migration can be performed. For velocity analysis, this reduction of the problem is particularly useful.We review 2.5D modelling for Born volume scattering and Born–Helmholtz surface scattering. The amplitudes are corrected for 3D wave propagation, taking into account both in-plane and out-of-plane geometrical spreading. We also derive some new inversion/migration results. An AVA-compensated migration routine is presented that is simplified compared with earlier results. This formula can be used to create common-image gathers for use in velocity analysis by studying the residual moveout. We also give a migration formula for the energy-flux-normalized plane-wave reflection coefficient that models large contrast in the medium parameters not treated by the Born and the Born–Helmholtz equation results. All results are derived using the generalized Radon transform (GRT) directly in the natural coordinate system characterized by scattering angle and migration dip. Consequently, no Jacobians are needed in their calculation.Inversion and migration in an orthorhombic medium or a transversely isotropic (TI) medium with tilted symmetry axis are the lowest symmetries for practical purposes (symmetry axis is in the plane). We give an analysis, using derived methods, of the parameters for these two types of media used in velocity analysis, inversion and migration. The kinematics of the two media involve the same parameters, hence there is no distinction when carrying out velocity analysis. The in-plane scattering coefficient, used in the inversion and migration, also depends on the same parameters for both media. The out-of-plane geometrical spreading, necessary for amplitude-preserving computations, for the TI medium is dependent on the same parameters that govern in-plane kinematics. For orthorhombic media, information on additional parameters is required that is not needed for in-plane kinematics and the scattering coefficients.Resolution analysis of the scattering coefficient suggests that direct inversion by GRT yields unreliable parameter estimates. A more practical approach to inversion is amplitude-preserving migration followed by AVA analysis.SYMBOLS AND NOTATIONA list of symbols and notation is given in Appendix D.

Notes: A strategy for multiple removal consists of estimating a model of the multiples and then adaptively subtracting this model from the data by estimating shaping filters. A possible and efficient way of computing these filters is by minimizing the difference or misfit between the input data and the filtered multiples in a least-squares sense. Therefore, the signal is assumed to have minimum energy and to be orthogonal to the noise. Some problems arise when these conditions are not met. For instance, for strong primaries with weak multiples, we might fit the multiple model to the signal (primaries) and not to the noise (multiples). Consequently, when the signal does not exhibit minimum energy, we propose using the L1-norm, as opposed to the L2-norm, for the filter estimation step. This choice comes from the well-known fact that the L1-norm is robust to ‘large’ amplitude differences when measuring data misfit. The L1-norm is approximated by a hybrid L1/L2-norm minimized with an iteratively reweighted least-squares (IRLS) method. The hybrid norm is obtained by applying a simple weight to the data residual. This technique is an excellent approximation to the L1-norm. We illustrate our method with synthetic and field data where internal multiples are attenuated. We show that the L1-norm leads to much improved attenuation of the multiples when the minimum energy assumption is violated. In particular, the multiple model is fitted to the multiples in the data only, while preserving the primaries.

Notes: Sonic techniques in geophysical prospecting involve elastic wave velocity measurements that are performed by placing acoustic transmitters and receivers in a fluid-filled borehole. The signals recorded at the receivers are processed to obtain compressional- and shear-wave velocities in the surrounding formation. These velocities are generally used in seismic surveys for the time-to-depth conversion and other formation parameters, such as porosity and lithology. Depending upon the type of transmitter used (e.g. monopole or dipole) and as a result of eccentering, it is possible to excite axisymmetric (n= 0), flexural (n= 1) and quadrupole (n= 2) families of modes propagating along the borehole. We present a study of various propagating and leaky modes that includes their dispersion and attenuation characteristics caused by radiation into the surrounding formation. A knowledge of propagation characteristics of borehole modes helps in a proper selection of transmitter bandwidth for suppressing unwanted modes that create problems in the inversion for the compressional- and shear-wave velocities from the dispersive arrivals. It also helps in the design of a transmitter for a preferential excitation of a given mode in order to reduce interference with drill-collar or drilling noise for sonic measurements-while-drilling. Computational results for the axisymmetric family of modes in a fast formation with a shear-wave velocity of 2032 m/s show the existence of Stoneley, pseudo-Rayleigh and anharmonic cut-off modes. In a slow formation with a shear-wave velocity of 508 m/s, we find the existence of the Stoneley mode and the first leaky compressional mode which cuts in at approximately the same normalized frequency ωa/VS= 2.5 (a is the borehole radius) as that of the fast formation. The corresponding modes among the flexural family include the lowest-order flexural and anharmonic cut-off modes. For both the fast and slow formations, the first anharmonic mode cuts in at a normalized frequency ωa/VS= 1.5 approximately. Cut-off frequencies of anharmonic modes are inversely proportional to the borehole radius in the absence of any tool. The borehole quadrupole mode can also be used for estimating formation shear slownesses. The radial depth of investigation with a quadrupole mode is marginally less than that of a flexural mode because of its higher frequency of excitation.

Notes: A series of time-lapse seismic cross-well and single-well experiments were conducted in a diatomite reservoir to monitor the injection of CO2 into a hydrofracture zone, based on P- and S-wave data. A high-frequency piezo-electric P-wave source and an orbital-vibrator S-wave source were used to generate waves that were recorded by hydrophones as well as 3-component geophones. During the first phase the set of seismic experiments was conducted after the injection of water into the hydrofractured zone. The set of seismic experiments was repeated after a time period of seven months during which CO2 was injected into the hydrofractured zone. The questions to be answered ranged from the detectability of the geological structure in the diatomic reservoir to the detectability of CO2 within the hydrofracture. Furthermore, it was intended to determine which experiment (cross-well or single-well) is best suited to resolve these features.During the pre-injection experiment, the P-wave velocities exhibited relatively low values between 1700 and 1900 m/s, which decreased to 1600–1800 m/s during the post-injection phase (−5%). The analysis of the pre-injection S-wave data revealed slow S-wave velocities between 600 and 800 m/s, while the post-injection data revealed velocities between 500 and 700 m/s (−6%). These velocity estimates produced high Poisson's ratios between 0.36 and 0.46 for this highly porous (∼50%) material. Differencing post- and pre-injection data revealed an increase in Poisson's ratio of up to 5%. Both velocity and Poisson's ratio estimates indicate the dissolution of CO2 in the liquid phase of the reservoir accompanied by an increase in pore pressure.The single-well data supported the findings of the cross-well experiments. P- and S-wave velocities as well as Poisson's ratios were comparable to the estimates of the cross-well data.The cross-well experiment did not detect the presence of the hydrofracture but appeared to be sensitive to overall changes in the reservoir and possibly the presence of a fault. In contrast, the single-well reflection data revealed an arrival that could indicate the presence of the hydrofracture between the source and receiver wells, while it did not detect the presence of the fault, possibly due to out-of-plane reflections.

Notes: This paper explores the apparent paradox that while unions exist to promote the interests and well-being of their members, UK survey evidence consistently shows that union members report lower levels of job satisfaction than non-union workers. A review and further analysis of the evidence confirms that this difference persists after controlling for other factors such as type of work. If union member dissatisfaction reflects a form of voice, then we might expect to see resulting gains. An analysis of data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey indicates that any gains are modest. Evidence is presented to suggest that although management has become less hostile to trade unions, a degree of anti-union sentiment remains, sometimes leading to a muffling of the union voice, and this helps to account for some of the union member dissatisfaction.

Notes: There has been an increasing focus on the performance of workers through appraisal, performance-related pay and performance management and this emphasis on measuring performance has extended to the public sector—more specifically, to the teaching profession. This paper uses research commissioned by the DfES to investigate the operation of capability procedures introduced to deal with the perceived problem of incompetent teachers. It revealed that the procedures suffered from a number of defects both in modus operandi and style and there was little evidence that their application resulted in either improved performance or dismissal when satisfactory performance was not achieved.

Notes: Unlike studies of women, studies of men in paid employment have tended to focus on them purely as workers, trade unionists and breadwinners, rather than on their roles beyond the workplace. This paper addresses this omission by exploring the relationship between paid work and aspects of family life amongst 69 male process workers from three manufacturing companies. It offers qualitative evidence to demonstrate that understanding men's wider domestic/familial roles and responsibilities is integral to analyses of their workplace behaviour. The conclusion from this study is that the boundary between home and work is selectively-permeable, and the workers took aspects of their domestic life into the workplace whilst seeking to prevent their paid work from intruding on family and domestic life.

Notes: This article examines the workings of co-determination in the German finance industry through two case studies examining the introduction of working time accounts. It is shown that the accounts posed important new challenges for employees and works councillors that represented variants of long-existing negotiations around working time issues. The problems were clear and similar in both cases, giving rise to complaints to councillors, though not to managers. Councillors’ responses differed in the two companies. In one, they successfully re-negotiated the agreement under which the accounts had been introduced. In the other, they did not succeed in doing so. The differences between the two representative bodies are analysed to reflect on a theory of employee representative influence.

Notes: Books reviewed:Jill C. Humphrey. Towards a Politics of the RainbowBrendan Burchell, David Lapido and Frank Wilkinson (eds). Job Insecurity and Work IntensificationPeter Ackers and Adrian Wilkinson (eds). Understanding Work and Employment: Industrial Relations in Transition

Notes: The aim of this paper is to review the role that representative worker participation can play in contributing to better health and safety performance in small enterprises. The relevance of representative participation to health and safety in small enterprises is addressed and the challenges that the sector poses are discussed. Using a number of examples, including legislative approaches, trade union initiatives and joint trade union employer schemes in various countries, the paper explores some of the ways in which such challenges have been tackled.

Notes: The impact of child rearing upon male and female participation rates and earnings within 130 dual career households is investigated. Female participation rates and earnings in households with children are significantly lower than both comparable males and females without children. No significant gender differences exist in pay in childless households.

Notes: Most publications on German industrial relations tend to focus on works councils but miss trade union delegates and senior delegates. Seeking to address this lack of research, a case study of a large manufacturing plant is used to examine the role of union delegates and senior delegates and their relationship to works councils. The case study seeks to show why works councils are inextricably linked to the union movement, even though both are structurally separated. Research findings support the notion that both are in a mutually supportive relationship. Furthermore, the evidence also suggests that trade union shopfloor representation is of crucial importance for works councils, industrial democracy and trade unions in German industrial relations.

Notes: This paper examines the mutual expectations of employment agencies, the temporary workers who are placed by them and the client or host companies with whom they are placed. It considers the ambiguities and complexities inherent in the psychological contracts of agency temps, pointing to positive dimensions of the agency relationship with temps coupled with a tough transactional regime. In periods of uncertainty agency temping provided individuals with an illusion of freedom and control.

Notes: This article assesses the impact of the profound changes that have taken place in the higher education sector on academic staff in the UK. The perceptions of staff about their work and employment are examined through evidence provided by a recent large-scale survey. The discussion draws on a labour process perspective. The article finds that the views of staff are far from homogeneous and not universally pessimistic. However, in general the morale and satisfaction of many teaching staff have been eroded by work intensification and that of research staff by the considerable insecurity created by casualised employment. Nonetheless resistance and resilience continues despite the commodifying pressures, and ‘traditional’ values remain strong.

Notes: This article focuses on the struggle for a social Europe by examining social partnership developments in two western countries, Germany and Britain, and two eastern countries, Bulgaria and Poland. The resurgence of social partnership in the west, even in the weakest case (Britain), is paradoxically driven in part by neoliberal EU economic policies. In the east, post-communist tripartism helped preserve social peace with the coming of markets, while both international lending agencies and subsequent EU accession processes pushed domestic actors towards social dialogue. The coming or deepening of markets has therefore surprisingly promoted or reinforced relations of social partnership throughout Europe.

Notes: Book reviewed Dock Workers: International Explorations in Comparative Labour History 
 Sam Davis, Colin J. Davis, David de Vries, Lex Heerma van Voss, Lidewij Hesselink and Klaus Weinhauer (eds) 
 Ashgate, 2000, 863 pp., £75 (hardback, 2 volumes) Labored Relations: Law, Politics and the NLRB—A Memoir 
 William B. Gould IV 
 MIT Press, 2000, 474 pp., £27.50 Trade Unions and Global Governance. The Debate on a Social Clause 
 Gerda van Roozendal 
 Continuum, 2002, 260 pp., £75.00 (hardback), £25.00 (paperback) Organized Labour in the 21st Century 
 A.V. Jose (ed.) 
 International Institute for Labour Studies, 2002, xii + 406 pp., 120

Notes: This study addresses the determinants and outcomes of fairness perceptions in a real assessment procedure as performed by a selection agency. Fairness perceptions were investigated at three points in time: before the assessment, right after the assessment but before assessment feedback, and after assessment feedback. Using structural equation modeling, we tested how fairness perceptions develop throughout the assessment procedure. Applicants' openness to experiences affected their test beliefs before the actual test-taking. These beliefs remained powerful in the subsequent stages of the assessment procedure in that they influenced applicants' perceptions of performance, feedback and fairness. In the context of selection by an external selection agency, post-feedback fairness perceptions were not related to job attractiveness. Perceived feedback treatment and feedback content directly affected job attractiveness.

Notes: Expectations, which are beliefs about a future state of affairs, constitute a basic psychological mechanism that underlies virtually all human behavior. Although expectations serve as a central component in many theories of organizational behavior, they have received limited attention in the organizational justice literature. The goal of this paper is to introduce the concept of justice expectations and explore its implications for understanding applicant perceptions. To conceptualize justice expectations, we draw on research on expectations conducted in multiple disciplines. We discuss the three sources of expectations – direct experience, indirect influences, and other beliefs – and use this typology to identify the likely antecedents of justice expectations in selection contexts. We also discuss the impact of expectations on attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors, focusing specifically on outcomes tied to selection environments. Finally, we explore the theoretical implications of incorporating expectations into research on applicant perceptions and discuss the practical significance of justice expectations in selection contexts.

Notes: This article proposes a new theory called the Applicant Attribution-Reaction Theory (AART) to better understand attributional processes in the formation of applicant reactions. The theory proposes that applicants' affective, behavioral, and cognitive reactions, such as fairness, test perceptions, test performance, and motivation, are fundamentally driven by an attributional process. A key implication of the theory is that perceptions such as fairness and test attitudes carry little explanatory power; instead they are consequences of attributional processing. We provide a brief review of dominant applicant reactions frameworks, review the social psychological literature on attributions, and present the theory. We then contrast the theory to existing conceptualizations, and finally describe its potential for better understanding several key topics in applicant reactions, including the justice judgment process, test performance, and racial subgroup differences. The theory has the potential to integrate many diverse perspectives on applicant reactions, and provides numerous directions for future research and practice.

Notes: This research contributes to the understanding of reactions to different selection screening methods. A sample of students (n=153) experienced one of three types of screening techniques, face-to-face interview screenings, telephone interview screenings, and interactive voice response (IVR) screenings, with identical content in a pre- to post-screening longitudinal study. We further examined the role of two important individual differences, cognitive ability and conscientiousness, in attitudes toward the screenings. IVR is a “non-interpersonal” screening method so it was not surprising that it was rated lower in terms of procedural justice factors such as interpersonal treatment, two–way communication, and openness but what is encouraging is that there were no differences between other labor intensive and costly technologies and IVR on the other procedural justice factors. Therefore, there do not appear to be any major negatives in terms of structural fairness among alternative screening devices implying that organizations can make choices between screening methods based on other factors such as recruitment strategy or cost.

Notes: This paper examines the reactions to personnel selection methods in Spain and Portugal using a sample composed of 125 and 104 students, respectively. The results found are very similar in both countries. The best rated and most favorable methods are interviews, résumés and work sample tests, while contacts, integrity tests and graphology were the least favorable ones. With regard to the process dimensions used, face validity and opportunity to perform are the most important bases for considering personnel techniques favorably. The results show some similarities with the ones found by Steiner and Gilliland (1996) in French and American samples. The similarities among the countries are examined and directions for future research are discussed.

Notes:   Clusters now form a central element in many regional economic development policies. Location within a cluster of related industries is thought to increase a firm's competitive advantage resulting in higher output and productivity growth rates than in similar firms located beyond the cluster. This study focuses on owner-managers operating small firms within a traditional cluster of metalworking industries and empirically examines the relationship between growth-orientation and the extent and nature of cluster embeddedness. The results indicate only a limited number of differences in growth-orientation given variations in levels of cluster embeddedness. Contrary to conventional wisdom, many of the most growth-oriented entrepreneurs focus their activities outside the cluster, especially in terms of market-based linkages. However, those firms with more advanced process technologies do tend to show above average within cluster linkages.

Notes:   The goal of this paper is twofold. The first goal is to incorporate spatial structure within shift-share analysis, to take into account interregional interaction in the decomposition analysis. Secondly, this paper develops a taxonomy of regional growth rate decompositions. A taxonomy of the spatial structure is presented; it comprises twenty alternative decomposition structures, including the original standard shift-share analysis as well as six alternative structures outlined in the taxonomy for non-spatial structures.

Notes: Book reviewed: Internet, Economic Growth and Globalization: Perspective on the New Economy in Europe, Japan and the USA. Edited by Claude E. Barfield, Günter Heiduk, and Paul J.J. Welfens: Springer, 2003. 385pp. ISBN 3-540-00286-3.

Notes:   This paper discusses various aspects of the economic analysis of commuting behavior. It starts with a review of two difficulties associated with urban economics models: the empirically falsified prediction of the relation between commuting time and income, and the presence of substantial excess commuting. Notwithstanding these anomalies, research that focuses directly on the value of travel time provides evidence that there is substantial resistance against commuting among large groups of workers. However, commuting costs are just one among many other explanatory variables for actual commuting behavior, and commuting itself has become much less onerous over time. This suggests that commuting costs play a much more limited role than has been assumed in the past. On the other hand, empirical evidence suggests that space is more important than one would be inclined to think on the basis of the considerations just given. These empirical regularities suggest that other space-related aspects of the functioning of urban labor and housing markets are more important than was previously thought.

Notes:   Commuting is popularly viewed as a stressful, costly, time-wasting experience from the individual perspective, with the attendant congestion imposing major social costs as well. However, several authors have noted that commuting can also offer benefits to the individual, serving as a valued transition between the home and work realms of personal life. Using survey data collected from about 1,300 commuting workers in three San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods, empirical models are developed for four key variables measured for commute travel, namely: Objective Mobility, Subjective Mobility, Travel Liking, and Relative Desired Mobility. Explanatory variables include measures of general travel-related attitudes, personality traits, lifestyle priorities, and sociodemographic characteristics. Both descriptive statistics and analytical models indicate that commuting is not the unmitigated burden that it is widely perceived to be. About half of the sample were relatively satisfied with the amount they commute, with a small segment actually wanting to increase that amount. Both the psychological impact of commuting, and the amounts people want to commute relative to what they are doing now, are strongly influenced by their liking for commuting. An implication for policy is that some people may be more resistant than expected toward approaches intended to induce reductions in commuting (including, for example, telecommuting). New creativity may be needed to devise policies that recognize the inherent positive utility of travel, while trying to find socially beneficial ways to fulfill desires to maintain or increase travel.

Notes:   Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an important tool to promote a variety of public goals and policies. In the past years much attention has been given to the expected social benefits from deploying ICTs in different urban fields (transportation, education, public participation in planning, etc.) and to its potential to mitigate various current or emerging urban problems. The growing importance of ICTs in daily life, business activities, and governance prompts the need to consider ICTs more explicitly in urban policies. Alongside the expectation that the private sector will play a major role in the ICT field, the expected benefits from ICTs also encourage urban authorities to formulate proper public ICT policies.Against this background, various intriguing research questions arise. What are the urban policy-makers’ expectations about ICTs? And how do they assess the future implications of ICTs for their city? A thorough analysis of these questions will provide a better understanding of the extent to which urban authorities are willing to invest in and to adopt a dedicated ICT policy.This study is focusing on the way urban decision-makers perceive the opportunities of ICT policy. After a sketch of recent development and policy issues, a conceptual model is developed to map out the driving forces of urban ICT policies in cities in Europe. Next, by highlighting the importance of understanding the decision-maker's “black box,” three crucial variables are identified within this box. In the remaining part of the paper these three variables will be operationalized by using a large survey comprising more than 200 European cities. By means of statistical multivariate methods (i.e., factor and cluster analysis), the decision-makers were able to be characterized according to the way they perceive their city (the concept of “imaginable city”), their opinion about ICT, and the way they assess the relevance of ICT policies to their city. Next, a solid explanatory framework will be offered by using a log-linear logit analysis to test the relationships between these three aspects.

Notes: Books reviewedJohannes Brocker, Dirk Dohse, and Rudiger Soltwedel, Innovation Clustersand Interregional Competition.Norman Walzer, The American Midwest: Managing Changein Rural Transition.G.D. Hewings, M. Sonis, and D. Boyce, Trade, Networksand Hierarchies: Modeling Regionaland Interregional Economies.

Notes:   Inter-industry employment shifts were largely responsible for changes in the income distribution in the Pittsburgh region during the 1980s. Kernel density estimators were used, together with decomposition techniques developed by DiNardo et al. (1996) to show that industry shifts were responsible for over 90 percent of the earnings reductions at some points on the earnings distribution. Most of the losses at the lower end of the distribution occurred in the early 1980s as the economy plunged into a deep recession. The recovery in the later part of the decade brought little improvement as earnings in the lower part of the distribution continued to fall with the increase in employment of part-time workers in the low-wage trade and service sectors.

Notes: Books reviewedJoel Greenberg, A Natural History Of The Chicago Region.James H. Carr and Zhong Yi Tong, Replicating Microfinance In The United States.

Notes:   Linkages among changes in employment, earnings per worker, and pollution per square mile are estimated for 3,036 U.S. counties for the period 1987 to 1995 using a three-equation disequilibrium adjustment model. Counties with higher shares of African-Americans experienced higher earnings growth rates over the period 1987-1995, as did counties with proportionally more females. Counties in states with higher shares of unionized workers had higher earnings growth rates but generated fewer new jobs. Firm size had a significant and negative effect on earnings growth while higher costs of living were associated with higher earnings growth. Also, metro counties and counties in the Northeastern U.S. experienced higher earnings growth than their non-metro counterparts and counties in other geographic regions. Statistically, faster job growth was found to accelerate the rate of earnings growth per worker. The authors conclude that counties concerned with job growth should recruit or attempt to spawn the creation of larger firms, recognizing that for some firms such a strategy may come at the cost of more rapid increases in pollution. Counties concerned with increasing the rate of growth in per worker earnings should instead focus on the creation of smaller firms.

Notes: The purpose of this paper is to examine the usefulness of the organizational justice approach to applicant reactions. We begin with an overview of the research relating the fairness of selection procedures (“selection fairness”) to individual and organizational outcomes. Next we propose boundary conditions defining when fairness should matter, the appropriate outcomes to examine in applicant reactions research, and methodological issues limiting the contribution of much of the current literature. We then consider a range of questions that remain to be addressed and new issues such as high-tech testing. Finally, we propose a series of applied questions and recommendations based on both theory and empirical research.

Notes: This study investigates the role of feedback in minimizing the psychological impact of a negative selection decision on job applicants. The method and findings of a laboratory experiment into subjects' reactions to rejection, combined with feedback on this decision as well as perceptions of procedural and distributive fairness, are discussed. Subjects participating in the experiment (N=119) were asked to complete two GMA tests and were told they had to belong to the 20% best performers to be invited for a selection interview. Upon completion, all subjects received a rejection message, supposedly based on their performance scores on the two tests. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two feedback conditions: either a mere rejection message, or a rejection message including performance feedback. Analyses revealed that core self-evaluations and affective well-being of rejected subjects receiving performance feedback significantly decreased compared to that of subjects in the mere rejection message condition. Furthermore, it was found that procedural fairness perceptions interacted with feedback on subjects' core self-evaluations, while distributive fairness perceptions interacted with feedback on affective well-being. These findings raise the question whether performance feedback following a negative selection decision is as advantageous as generally assumed. Implications for giving feedback in rejection situations are discussed in the conclusion.

Notes: This article offers an agenda for future research on applicant reactions to selection procedures. Advocating a construct-oriented approach, we propose that future research focuses attention on fundamental issues subsumed under seven distinct although related areas namely: (1) dimensions of applicant reactions, (2) changes in applicant reactions over time, (3) determinants of applicant reactions, (4) applicant reactions and test constructs, (5) criterion outcomes of applicant reactions, (6) reactions to new technology in testing, and (7) methodological and data analysis issues.

Notes: Research in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology has generally focused on objective measures of employment discrimination and has virtually neglected individuals' subjective perceptions as to whether a selection or promotion process is discriminatory or not. This paper presents two theoretical models as organizing frameworks to explain candidates' likelihood of perceiving that discrimination has occurred in a certain selection or promotion situation. The prototype model stresses the importance of the prototypical victim-perpetrator combination, the perceived intention of the decision-maker, and the perceived harm caused as possible antecedents of perceived employment discrimination. In the organizational justice model, procedural, informational, interpersonal, and distributive fairness play a central role in determining candidates' perceptions of discrimination. The fairness heuristic helps to explain which type of fairness information dominates these perceptions. Applications and research propositions are discussed as well as the similarities and differences between the two models. We conclude by offering several factors that may determine which model is used in deciding whether or not discrimination has occurred.

Notes: A type of selection measure is presented which combines the psychometric characteristics of an intelligence test with the surface and content validity characteristics of a work sample for clerical occupations. Consequently, this measure – AZUBI-BK – is more positively evaluated by participants than a conventional measure of general mental ability (N=1375). Preferences for the work sample-intelligence test hybrid applied for potential applicants from different school types, for job-experienced as well as for inexperienced subjects and for members of the ethnic majority as well as for ethnic minorities. AZUBI-BK showed high correlations with total scores (uncorrected r=.77 and .73) and corresponding factors of two intelligence tests, respectively. Criterion-related validity was equal to the reference measure in predicting theoretical examinations (uncorrected r=.61) and higher in predicting supervisory ratings (uncorrected r=.43). In the latter case, the new instrument shows incremental validity over an intelligence test but not vice versa; in a regression equation, AZUBI-BK can fully account for the variance in supervisory assessment. Adverse impact of AZUBI-BK for ethnic minorities is small which, however, was also true for a conventional intelligence test.

Notes: This study explored the relative importance attached to various perceived personnel selection fairness determinants (e.g., selection system content-based variables, features of selection system administration). We investigated how demographic variables (ethnicity and gender), individual differences characteristics (the Big Five and cognitive ability) and job characteristics (job complexity and domestic/expatriate assignment status) relate to the importance of ratings of perceived personnel selection system determinants. The results, especially for race/ethnicity analyses indicated that there might be differences across demographic groups in importance placed on different aspects of selection system characteristics. The magnitudes of the relationships were small to moderate for Asian–White and Hispanic–White comparisons. Asian–Hispanic and gender differences in importance assessments were small. Few individual differences variables (i.e., personality and cognitive ability) were associated with importance placed on various aspects of selection system characteristics. Notable exceptions were moderate positive relationships between general mental ability and importance of content-based selection system characteristics, and moderate negative relationships between emotional stability, conscientiousness and cognitive ability, and importance of selection system context variables. The complexity levels of the jobs held by respondents did not appreciably affect the importance placed on the different selection system characteristics. There were few notable differences between importance assessments for domestic versus expatriate positions. Implications for practice, especially managing cultural diversity in organizations, and for theory development are discussed.

Notes:   Both economic and demographic contexts influence aggregate migration streams at the regional scale. The influence of demographic and economic context on aggregate migration at the nonmetropolitan scale, however, remains unstudied. This paper presents analysis based on 1980 and 1990 Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data related to age cohort effects on nonmetropolitan population change. The analysis provides enhanced understanding of how demographic factors like the baby boom might influence population movements into and out of nonmetropolitan regions. Using modified age-cohort decomposition techniques, the analysis demonstrates how the fluctuations in nonmetropolitan population growth between 1975 and 1990 are tied to the differential migration flows of the peak baby boom years (those born between 1955 and 1964). The analysis further demonstrates how fluctuations in nonmetropolitan population growth across regions are tied to migration flows of these baby boomers. Significant variation remains within regions.

Notes:   This paper shows that in the Baltic countries, commuting reduces urban-rural wage and employment disparities and increases national output. To quantify the effect of commuting on wage differentials, two sets of earnings functions are estimated (based on Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Labor Force Surveys) with location variables (capital city, rural, etc.) measured at the workplace and at the place of residence. We find that the ceteris paribus wage gap between capital city and rural areas, as well as between capital and other cities is significantly narrowed by commuting in some cases but remains almost unchanged in others. Different outcomes are explained by country-specific spatial patterns of commuting, educational and occupational composition of commuting flows, and presence or absence of wage discrimination against rural residents in urban markets. A treatment effects model is used to estimate individual wage gains to rural—urban or inter-city commuting; these gains are substantial in most but not all cases. Wage effects of commuting distance, as well as impact of education, gender, ethnicity, and local labor market conditions on the commuting decision are also explored.

Notes:   Over the last two decades many European governments have pursued ambitious research and development (R&D) policies with the aim of fostering innovation and economic growth in peripheral regions of Europe. The question is whether these policies are paying off. Arguments such as the need to reach a minimum threshold of research, the existence of important distance decay effects in the diffusion of technological spillovers, the presence of increasing returns to scale in R&D investments, or the unavailability of the necessary socio-economic conditions in these regions to generate innovation seem to cast doubts about the possible returns of these sort of policies. This paper addresses this question. A two-step analysis is used in order to first identify the impact of R&D investment of the private, public, and higher education sectors on innovation (measured as the number of patent applications per million population). The influence of innovation and innovation growth on economic growth is then addressed. The results indicate that R&D investment, as a whole, and higher education R&D investment in peripheral regions of the EU, in particular, are positively associated with innovation. The existence and strength of this association are, however, contingent upon region-specific socio-economic characteristics, which affect the capacity of each region to transform R&D investment into innovation and, eventually, innovation into economic growth.

Notes:   In the international business literature location behavior has traditionally been analyzed using Dunning's (1977) OLI framework, which focuses on the nature, role, and behavior of multinational enterprise (MNE). In this paper it is argued that this approach is now no longer appropriate for discussing the spatial behavior of MNEs, because of the fundamental changes which have taken place either in MNE organization or in the global and institutional environment for foreign direct investment (FDI). At the same time, the paper argues that current location theory from regional economics and economic geography is also largely unsuitable for discussing these issues, such that the spatial behavior of the MNE provides a set of difficult challenges to location analysts. There appears to have been some response to these issues from the international business and management literature, most notably the Porter literature on clusters. However, it is also argued here that this literature provides few, if any, real answers to the problems set by the geographical behavior of the MNE. It is concluded that a fusion of traditional economic geography approaches with a focus on the information and organizational aspects of the firm and the region under consideration may be a way forward for both theory and empirical analysis.

Notes:   This paper documents the investigation of the impact of metropolitan structure on the commute behavior of urban residents in the Netherlands. Not only has the impact of monocentrism versus polycentrism been analyzed, but the influence of metropolitan density and size has also been considered, together with the ratio of employment to population and the growth of the population and employment. Furthermore, data are used at a variety of levels of analysis ranging from the individual worker to the metropolitan region rather than being drawn from aggregate level statistics alone. Multilevel regression modeling is applied to take account of the interdependencies among these levels of aggregation. With regard to mode choice, the results indicate that the probability of driving an auto to work is lower in employment-rich metropolitan regions, and rises as the number of jobs per resident has grown strongly. Furthermore, women in most polycentric regions are less likely to commute as an auto driver. All else being equal, commute distances and times for auto drivers are longer in most polycentric regions than in monocentric urban areas. In addition, commute time as an auto driver rises with metropolitan size, whereas commute distance depends on employment density and the growth of the number of jobs per resident. The investigation shows that metropolitan structure, although significantly influencing commute patterns, explains only a small part of the variation of individuals’ commute behavior.

Notes:   Economic competitiveness now has less to do with new materials than with new ways of producing, utilizing, and combining diverse knowledges. It is branded as symptomatic of a “new” economy and is often juxtaposed against the “old” economy. As accelerating technological change has greatly increased the volume and quality of the information available to organizations, to firms, and to individual employees, it is asserted that the economy has become more “new” than “old.” But this is predicated on the assumption that there is a “new” economy and that it is somehow distinguishable from the “old.” This paper explores the basis for this dichotomy and whether it really adds anything to understanding contemporary economies and their ongoing development. It will be argued that it is more useful and constructive to examine the economy through a lens dominated by service industries that are now the key drivers of change (innovation, competition, employment) and development. The paper is concluded with a discussion of some items that could usefully be part of an agenda for further research by economic geographers on the evolving spatial and structural attributes of service work and organizations and their impact on cities or regions at different scales of analysis.

Notes:   With the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission and all fifty U.S. states to encourage the deployment of advanced telecommunication capability in a reasonable and timely manner. Today, with the rollout of advanced data services such as digital subscriber lines (xDSL), cable modems, and fixed wireless technologies, broadband has become an important component of telecommunication service and competition. Unfortunately, the deployment of last-mile infrastructure enabling high-speed access has proceeded more slowly than anticipated and competition in many areas is relatively sparse. More importantly, there are significant differences in the availability of broadband services between urban and rural areas. This paper explores aspects of broadband access as a function of market demand and provider competition. Data collected from the Federal Communications Commission is analyzed using a geographic information system and spatial statistical techniques. Results suggest significant spatial variation in broadband Internet access as a function of provider competition in the United States.

Notes:   This article reports on an attempt to duplicate the results of “Regime, Polity, and Economic Growth: The Latin American Experience,” published in the Winter 1995 issue of Growth and Change. The original article used the Parks method to analyze cross section time series data, and concluded that after controlling for other relevant variables military governments have lower rates of economic growth than their civilian counterparts. Using data provided by the original researcher, and using various regression techniques including the Parks method, we were not able to reproduce the original results. We attribute this to problems in both the original data and regression techniques.

Notes:   This essay reevaluates “Regime, Polity, and Economic Growth: The Latin American Experience,” published in Growth and Change 26 (1995): 77-104. Particularly, it reexamines three issues: data, estimation, and research design. Furthermore, it retests the same model with the same data through alternative estimation methods. The new results from the panel corrected standard errors (PCSEs) estimators, which are more rigorous than the Parks estimation, support and confirm the original finding that a civilian government in the eleven Latin American countries during the period of 1982-1988 was able to generate a higher economic growth rate than their military or military-civilian counterparts.

Notes:   Population, employment, and income changes in a region comprised of eighteen nonmetropolitan counties of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York are described using Bureau of Economic Analysis data covering 1970 to 2000. Changes at the county level are examined as net differences using pooled cross-section time series analysis. The specific focus of the empirical analysis is the effect that environmental amenities have in population and economic change. Empirical results indicate that a county's relative endowment of environmental amenities has positive economic change effects, but only when the county is relatively accessible as well. Further, the environmental amenity effects vary in their temporal consistency, even when accessibility is taken into account. In general, however, the reported results support the proposition that even relatively moderate environmental amenities can hold positive effects for economic change.

Notes:   While previous research has generally found that immigration raises unemployment for natives, effects are often more muted than expected. Anticipated out-migration responses have been similarly difficult to discern. However, these findings may be byproducts of the long-run nature of most inquiries, which furthermore do not account for changes in natives’ labor force participation. In response, this study evaluates the impact of the arrival of low-skilled immigrants on low-skilled natives in urban areas over a five year period. Initial static results from the Census Basic Monthly Survey clearly indicate that immigrants have a significant negative impact on natives’ labor force participation. Building upon these static panel results, characteristics of immigrants’ destination choices are examined along with the ensuing adjustment process through dynamic analyses of local markets. Surges of immigrants significantly reduce the labor force participation of low-skilled natives, emphasizing this often neglected channel for labor market adjustment. Previous work may thus understate the true impact of immigrants on local labor markets by focusing on the longer term and ignoring adjustments through participation.

Notes: Social identity theory is proposed as a theoretical framework for better understanding applicants' reactions to selection processes. In particular, it is argued that this theory enables an understanding of how applicants' social identities interact with their perceptions of selection episodes to predict their exit from the process. First, an account of applicant reactions derived from social identity theory is presented which emphasizes the importance of applicants' social identities. It is argued that those of the applicants' identities which are salient during specific elements of the selection process are matched with their current perceptions of the organizational identity, such that degree of congruence is assessed. Intentions to exit or to refuse a job offer result if a specific level of incongruence is reached. This relationship between congruence and intentions is moderated by perceptions of the labour market and of the self. Key features of this account are then summarized, namely, the importance ascribed to candidates' experience prior to the selection process; the centrality of social identities to the theoretical account; the subjective interactionist assumptions underpinning the account; the importance of changes in the salience of identities; the potential existence of multiple organizational identities; the psychological changes which trigger a matching process; and the proposed moderators of the congruence-exit relationship. Findings from the research literature which indirectly support two of these features of the theoretical account are described. Finally, directions for future research are suggested.

Notes:   The consequences of the heavy inflow of foreign talent for U.S. scientists and engineers over the period 1973-1997 are examined using data from the Survey of Doctorate Recipients. Of particular interest is whether non-citizens trained in the United States have displaced citizens from jobs in science and engineering (S&E). Using a novel adaptation of the shift-share technique, it is shown that citizen S&E doctorates have fewer jobs in S&E and fewer academic jobs than their non-citizen counterparts for two reasons: the citizen doctoral population has experienced slower growth than the non-citizen doctoral population, and citizen S&E doctorates have been displaced. Whether the displacement observed was a voluntary response of citizens to the lure of better opportunities elsewhere or an involuntary response indicative of having been pushed out by foreign talent remains to be determined.

Notes:   This paper argues that search theory is a useful addition to the way economists and geographers have approached the study of commuting behavior. This is illustrated by showing that introduction of a spatial element into the standard model of job search leads to the prediction of critical isochrones. Moreover, in the context of an urban economy with decentralized employment, the spatial search model predicts excess commuting. Search theory also suggests that regression toward the mean may play a confusing role in data describing the development of commutes over time, such as has been used in recent empirical work. Finally, the paper develops a simple spatial equilibrium search model in which employers set their wages optimally and searchers determine their reservation wages optimally in mutually consistent ways. The spatial element is crucial for the existence of such an equilibrium in which reservation wages of all searchers and wages set by all employers are identical.

Notes:   Portes and Borocz's (1989) segmented assimilation framework argued that the assimilation of immigrants into American society does not necessarily or automatically lead to similarity and equality with the mainstream culture. Instead, endowed human capital, the nature of immigration, and reception contextualize the process and potentially lead to differential outcomes. Recognizing that spatial differences in assimilation may also exist, the segmented assimilation framework is extended within this paper to include a more explicit recognition of geography's role in shaping the assimilation trajectory. The empirical analysis draws upon the 1980 and 1990 PUMS data files, and compares the assimilation trajectory of Chinese immigrants (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwanese origins) across the New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Based upon period of arrival and age in 1980 and 1990, measures of assimilation are compared across these three metropolitan areas, along with the role of internal migration in maintaining or decreasing assimilation differences. The analysis indicates that the progress of assimilation varies significantly over space, with spatial differences in measures of assimilation persisting over time, despite the role of internal migration. Reasons as to why this occurs are presented in the conclusion.

Notes:   In conventional modeling of housing demand, consumers choose living arrangement, tenure, and housing on the basis of price, income, wealth, and tastes. However, it is both costly and onerous to alter one's housing conditions. It is argued therefore that consumers employ housing strategies to cope with labor market risks and expectations about their future: strategies that may differ from one demographic group to the next. In conventional modeling of housing demand, it is also well-known that selection bias can arise: that is, omitted variables that help account for one aspect of housing (say, tenure choice) also subsequently affect the nature of the demand function for other aspects of housing demand (say, the amount spent on housing by a renter household). One such variable is the consumer's wealth, a variable that is typically not available in household survey data. This paper argues that the most important variables that may give rise to selection bias are variables that also reflect the coping strategies employed by consumers. The paper estimates a model of housing choice using Canada-wide pooled samples from the 1980s and 1990s. In this paper, the prices of housing services and income prospects vary region by region. The paper shows how individuals and families in different housing markets across Canada respond, and how this evidences the use of coping strategies (from doubling up to substandard housing). The paper presents evidence to support the argument that selection bias is important in understanding how consumers cope.

Notes:   Existing analyses of electricity deregulation have focused on situations where horizontal market power is present. This paper instead evaluates a market where a competitive outcome is more likely. Competitive market supply and demand curves for electricity have been simulated for a twenty-state region. These simulated supply and demand curves are used to predict short-run and long-run prices for electric power. Many consumers will see a drop in the portion of their electric bills accounted for by the current economic costs of supplying them with electricity. Adjustments to consumers’ bills for stranded cost recovery will be determined by legislators and regulators on a state-by-state and utility-by-utility basis. Because of excess capacity that currently exists in the industry, the decline in prices will be greater in the short run than in the long run.

Notes:   When NAFTA was implemented in 1994, there was a general expectation that it would hurt U.S. retailers along the U.S.-Mexico border. This paper asks whether there was a significant change in the pattern of retail trade in border MSAs in the years surrounding NAFTA's implementation. Data from MSAs in the four border states are analyzed. After controlling for other potential influences on retail trade, there remained a statistically significant change in the pattern of retail trade between 1992 and 1997. The changes cannot be unquestionably attributed to NAFTA but do suggest that NAFTA had a negative influence on retail sales on the U.S. side of the border.

Notes: The application/selection process can be thought of as a set of Bayesian opinion revision tasks, in which applicants obtain new information about the organization at each stage of the process and must integrate this information with their prior perceptions of the organization and the jobs. The Bayesian perspective provides useful insights for understanding serial decisions of this type. It suggests that real-world decision-makers are too sensitive to the valence and insufficiently sensitive to the diagnosticity of the information they obtain from interviewers, assessors, etc., and that the effects of information obtained early in the process depends on both the applicant's state of perceived uncertainty and on the relationship between the applicant's preconceptions and this early information.

Notes: In psychology, general beliefs are considered to be the stepping-stones of future behavior and attitudes (Rokeach, 1973; Olson, Roese, & Zanna, 1996). The goal of this paper is to explore applicants' general beliefs about the selection treatment, namely the way they want and expect to be treated during selection. After the concept of selection treatment beliefs is introduced and both its theoretical and practical relevance is highlighted, the development of the Social Process Questionnaire on Selection (SPQS) is reported, which measures selection treatment beliefs. Factor analyses (660 students and 643 applicants) revealed six treatment factors. Applicants valued and expected transparency, objectivity, feedback, job information, participation, and a humane treatment. Apparently, applicants valued the six factors more than they expected them to be realized. The scientific and practical relevance of the findings are discussed.

Notes: Reactions to the use of the ACT/SAT, biodata, and situational judgment measures in college admissions decisions were collected from 644 college freshmen. Evaluation of a series of models of fairness perceptions indicated that self-serving bias and organizational justice explanations may both be responsible for these reactions. Examination of respondents' beliefs about their performance compared with other students' performance also elicited responses that may be attributable to concerns about distributive justice. A variety of perceptual processes may explain fairness perceptions, but from a practical perspective, it may be easiest to manipulate examinees' perceptions of the relevance, and indirectly, the perceived fairness of the selection procedures used to make major selection or admissions decisions.