Does welfare reform affect fertility? Evidence from the UK

In 1999 the UK government made major reforms to the system of child-contingent benefits, including the introduction of Working Families’ Tax Credit and an increase in means-tested Income Support for families with children. Between 1999-2003 government spending per-child on these benefits rose by 50 per cent in real terms, a change that was unprecedented over a thirty year period. This paper examines whether there was a response in childbearing. To identify the effect of the reforms, we exploit the fact that the spending increases were targeted at low-income households and we use the (exogenously determined) education of the woman and her partner to define treatment and control groups. We argue that the reforms are most likely to have a positive fertility effect for women in couples and show that this is the case. We find that there was an increase in births (by around 15 per cent) among the group affected by the reforms

Nest-Site Selection by Female Black-Capped Chickadees: Settlement Based on Conspecific Attraction?

Female Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) solicit extrapair copulations (EPCs) from neighboring high-ranking males, and these EPCs result in extrapair young. Females might choose to locate their nests near the territory boundaries of attractive males to facilitate access to EPCs. Other hypotheses might also explain choice of nest site, namely (1) habitat characteristics, (2) prey abundance, and (3) previous experience. We tested these four hypotheses in 1996 and 1997. Out of 27 habitat characteristics measured, we found only one that was significantly different between nests and control sites in both years. The abundance of large trees was lower at nest sites than at control sites in each year and when years were pooled. Relative prey abundance did not differ between nests and control sites for either year of the study. We found no different in interyear nest placement based on female experience; experienced females nester farther than 60 m from their previous nest sites in both years of the study. In 1996, females whose neighboring males were higher ranked than their social partner located their nests significantly closer to territory boundaries than did females whose nearest neighbors were lower ranked than their social partner. In 1997, all pairs nested near territory boundaries. We conclude that choice of nest location in Black-capped Chickadees is influenced by conspecific attraction based on mating tactics

Charge-odd and single-spin effects in two-pion production in ep collisions

We consider double-photon and bremsstrahlung mechanisms for the production of two charged pions in high-energy electron (or proton) scattering off a transversely polarised proton. Interference between the relevant amplitudes generates a charge-odd contribution to the cross-section for the process. In the kinematical configuration with a jet nearly collinear to the electron, the spin-independent part may be used to the determine phase differences for pion-pion scattering in states with orbital momentum 0 or 2 and 1, while for the configuration with a jet nearly collinear to the proton, the spin-dependent part may be used to explain the experimental data for single-spin correlations in the production of negatively charged pions. We also discuss the backgrounds and estimate the accuracy of the results to be better than 10 %. In addition, simplified formulae derived for specific kinematics, with small total transverse pion momenta, are given. The accuracy is estimated to remain at the same level despite the lower energy.Comment: 13 pp, LaTeX 2e, uses acromake packag

Double-blind, randomised, placebo controlled, parallel group study of sativex® in the treatment of patients with peripheral neuropathic pain, associated with allodynia [poster]

No abstract available

Estimation of a preference based single index from the sexual quality of life questionnaire (SQOL) using ordinal data

There is increasing interest in using ordinal methods to estimate cardinal values for health states to calculate quality adjusted life years. This paper reports the estimation of models of rank data and discrete choice experiment (DCE) data to derive a preference-based index from a condition specific measure relating to sexual health and to compare the results to values generated from time trade-off valuation (TTO). The DCE data were analysed using a random effects probit model and the DCE predicted values were rescaled according to the highest and lowest predicted TTO values corresponding to the best and worst SQOL health states respectively. The rank data were analysed using a rank ordered logit model and re-scaled using two alternative methods. Firstly, re-scaling the rank predicted values using identical methods to those employed for DCE and secondly, re-scaling the rank model coefficients by dividing each level coefficient by the coefficient relating to death. The study raises some important issues about the use of ordinal data to produce cardinal health state valuations

Double transverse-spin asymmetries in Drell--Yan and J/ψJ/\psi production from proton--antiproton collisions

We perform a NLO numerical study of the double transverse-spin asymmetries in the $J/\psi$ resonance region for proton--antiproton collisions. We analyze the large $x$ kinematic region, relevant for the proposed PAX experiment at GSI, and discuss the implication of the results for the extraction of the transversity densities.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Talk given at "Transversity 2005" Como, Italy 7-10 Sep. 2005; eds. World Scientific in pres

Parental Advisory, Explicit Content: Music Censorship and the American Culture Wars

In the 1980s the use of vulgar lyrics in music became connected with social issues surrounding youth and the perceived breakdown of the American family. While the historiography of the debate over music content and regulation, from 1985-1992, is frequently displayed as a partisan issue I argue that loose alliances formed across the political and cultural spectrum in calls for tighter regulation. Despite being a national debate, successful application of pressure for tighter regulation only came about through local efforts which had far reaching consequences for the RIAA’s national retail structure. This paper explores the way censorship efforts took place during the American Culture Wars and the murkiness of defining censorship in the Record Industry Association of Americans decentralized economic structure

Evolutionary Escalation: The Bat–Moth Arms Race

Echolocation in bats and high-frequency hearing in their insect prey make bats and insects an ideal system for studying the sensory ecology and neuroethology of predator–prey interactions. Here, we review the evolutionary history of bats and eared insects, focusing on the insect order Lepidoptera, and consider the evidence for antipredator adaptations and predator counter-adaptations. Ears evolved in a remarkable number of body locations across insects, with the original selection pressure for ears differing between groups. Although cause and effect are difficult to determine, correlations between hearing and life history strategies in moths provide evidence for how these two variables influence each other. We consider life history variables such as size, sex, circadian and seasonal activity patterns, geographic range and the composition of sympatric bat communities. We also review hypotheses on the neural basis for anti-predator behaviours (such as evasive flight and sound production) in moths. It is assumed that these prey adaptations would select for counter-adaptations in predatory bats. We suggest two levels of support for classifying bat traits as counter-adaptations: traits that allow bats to eat more eared prey than expected based on their availability in the environment provide a low level of support for counter-adaptations, whereas traits that have no other plausible explanation for their origination and maintenance than capturing defended prey constitute a high level of support. Specific predator counter-adaptations include calling at frequencies outside the sensitivity range of most eared prey, changing the pattern and frequency of echolocation calls during prey pursuit, and quiet, or ‘stealth’, echolocation

Cross section of the Berkshire massif at 42 N.: Profile of a basement reactivation zone

Guidebook for field trips in western Massachusetts, northern Connecticut and adjacent areas of New York: 67th annual meeting October 10, 11, and 12, 1975: Trip B-6; C-