The world economy [March 1988]

The outlook for the world economy is, on balance, probably more favourable than when we last reported in November: a further significant deterioration in equity prices has been avoided and business confidence appears to be holding up well. World economic growth will be lower in 1988 than would have been the case but there appears a good chance that recession can be avoided. The key to future exchange rate stability and the maintenance of business confidence in the world economy rests on the progress being made in the US, Japan and West Germany in introducing domestic macro-economic policies to remove the continuing financial imbalances. West Germany's weakening resolve in this connection is a major cause for concern

The Case of the Disappearing/Appearing Slow Learner: An Interpretive Mystery. Part One: A Strange and Earnest Client

Max Hunter, a West Coast private detective, receives a call from John Williamson, a special education teacher / coordinator requesting his help to find the educational category of slow learners. He journeys to Calgary and visits Williamson in his school. After some discussion Max agrees to take the case. Max meets an informant with a surprising connection to the case, and finds some key clues, as well as peril, during a visit to the public library

Heading west to the sea from Augusta Emerita: archaeological field data and the Antonine itinerary

The provincial capital of Lusitania plays a key role in the communications network of Hispania. The roads heading West were of great importance as they guaranteed a connection to the Atlantic Ocean and access to the maritime trade. The archaeological fieldwork that was undertaken in the region has enabled us to recognise direct and indirect evidence of these routes, presented here as a partial reconstitution of Lusitania’s road network. This cartography is confronted with the Antonine Itinerary description of these routes, highlighting numerous interpretation problems

Time Variations in Elemental Abundances in Solar Energetic Particle Events

The Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS) on-board the Advanced Composition Explorer has a large collection power and high telemetry rate, making it possible to study elemental abundances in large solar energetic particle (SEP) events as a function of time. Results have now been obtained for more than 25 such events. Understanding the causes of these variations is key to obtaining reliable solar elemental abundances and to understanding solar acceleration processes. Such variations have been previously attributed to two models: (1) a mixture of an initial impulsive phase having enhanced heavy element abundances with a longer gradual phase with coronal abundances and (2) rigidity dependent escape from CME-driven shocks through plasma waves generated by wave-particle interactions. In this second model the injected abundances are assumed to be coronal. Both these models can be expected to depend upon solar longitude since impulsive events are associated with flares at longitudes well-connected magnetically to the observer, and shock properties and connection of the observer to the shock are also longitude dependent. We present results on temporal variations from event to event and within events and show that they appear to have a longitude dependence. We show that the events which have been well-explained by model (2) tend to be near central meridian or the west limb. In addition, we show that there are events with little time variation and heavy element enhancements similar to those of impulsive events. These events seem to be better explained by model (1) with only an impulsive phase

Regional Variation in West and East Coast African-American English Prosody and Rap Flows

Regional variation in African-American English (AAE) is especially salient to its speakers involved with hip-hop culture, as hip-hop assigns great importance to regional identity and regional accents are a key means of expressing regional identity. However, little is known about AAE regional variation regarding prosodic rhythm and melody. In hip-hop music, regional variation can also be observed, with different regions’ rap performances being characterized by distinct “flows” (i.e., rhythmic and melodic delivery), an observation which has not been quantitatively investigated yet. This study concerns regional variation in AAE speech and rap, specifically regarding the United States’ East and West Coasts. It investigates how East Coast and West Coast AAE prosody are distinct, how East Coast and West Coast rap flows differ, and whether the two domains follow a similar pattern: more rhythmic and melodic variation on the West Coast compared to the East Coast for both speech and rap. To this end, free speech and rap recordings of 16 prominent African-American members of the East Coast and West Coast hip-hop communities were phonetically analyzed regarding rhythm (e.g., syllable isochrony and musical timing) and melody (i.e., pitch fluctuation) using a combination of existing and novel methodological approaches. The results mostly confirm the hypotheses that East Coast AAE speech and rap are less rhythmically diverse and more monotone than West Coast AAE speech and rap, respectively. They also show that regional variation in AAE prosody and rap flows pattern in similar ways, suggesting a connection between rhythm and melody in language and music

Images of 'Africa' in China–Africa cooperation

The question of who represents Africa and how Africa is represented to global audiences continues to be hotly debated in academic publications and in the media. The majority of these discussions critique Western representations of Africa, or set up the West as the implied Other in debates over Africa’s right to self-representation. In recent years, however, Africa has found itself increasingly represented by the People’s Republic of China. This article examines the visual representations of ‘Africa’ that are used in promotional material produced by China in connection with official China–Africa cooperation. The article finds that one of the dominant stereotypes used by China is that of natural, ‘primitive’ Africa, a stereotype that has historically been strongly associated with the imperial gaze of the West. This is seen as potentially undermining key elements of China–Africa discourse, notably China’s emphasis on respect for its African partners. At the same time, the article highlights similarities between the imperial gaze and the tourist gaze, and considers the possibility that China’s representations of Africa might be compatible with a tourist gaze on Africa

How Old Regimes Help New Economic Growth

In this essay, I argue that the flexibility the Meiji regime embraced was the key to the successful economic development, allowing the leaders to retain continuities from the Tokugawa regime, and enabling the Meiji leaders to import advanced technology from the European powers. This essay will seek to establish a connection between the Tokugawa regime and the Meiji regime, discussing how the Tokugawa regime affected Meiji Japan and the economic effects therein. By examining two legacies left by the Tokugawa era, the education system and the outside curiosity with things of the West, I will argue that these institutions affected the Meiji economy by increasing technological growth and capabilities. This essay will show that the Tokugawa continuities had an effect on the Meiji economy, contributing to the rapid economic growth that occurred from 1868 to 1912

Principals’ Sense of Efficacy and Cultural Factors In Rural West Virginia Schools

Some studies of rural education in the United States suggest there are unique features of rural communities that affect schooling and student outcomes. Appalachia has been a special interest of many studies. Chenoweth and Galliher (2004) measured the influence of three cultural factors associated with Appalachia on the college aspirations of rural West Virginia high school students: (1) localism, a sense of connection to the land, (2) historicism, the sense of understanding one’s place in the family and region where born, and (3) familism, the tendency to maintain close family ties geographically and interpersonally. A key influence in creating effective schools is the principal. One factor associated with effectiveness is the sense of self-efficacy (Tschannen-Moran and McMaster, 2009). Perceptions of principals in rural West Virginia were measured using two surveys: (1) the Principal Sense of Efficacy Scale or PSE (Tschannen-Moran and Gareis, 2004), and (2) the Cultural Influences Survey (CIS) developed by the researchers to measure the perceived effects of Appalachian cultural features on student performance. A brief questionnaire provided demographic information. Data were collected and mean scores for responses on the survey items analyzed. Regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relationships of perceptions of cultural features to sense of efficacy. Some weak to moderate relationships were found in some areas, but the study did not provide strong support to the effects of cultural influence on principals’ sense of efficacy in the schools of southern West Virginia. Suggestions for further studies were included

The response of Banksia roots to change in water table level in a Mediterranean-type environment

For phreatophytic plants to persist in a given habitat they need to maintain a functional connection to the water table, and the capacity for roots to respond to changes in the water table is a key aspect of this. If root growth is limited by season, plants may not be able to grow roots to adjust to changes in the water table at a particular time of the year. The redistribution of roots, particularly the capacity for roots to follow the water table down in summer and autumn months, is vital for phreatophytic plants to maintain a functional connection with the water table. Root activity by phreatophytic Banksia in south-west Western Australia was assessed using root in-growth bags, with above-ground plant phenological processes observed simultaneously. The root in-growth bag technique that was used showed that Banksia roots are able to grow, provided soil conditions are conducive and there are no endogenous limitations to root growth at different times of the year, such as a dormancy period. The ability to grow at any time in response to soil conditions might be an essential prerequisite for phreatophytes if they are to survive fluctuating water table conditions in seasonally water-limited environments