International print and digital repositories initiatives in the United States: CRL, Portico, LOCKSS, Internet Archive : print archives in the United States

A number of pressures on academic libraries imperil the long-term survivability of printed knowledge and heritage materials. Ever-growing volumes of materials, costs of preserving and delivering paper-based research resources, and researchers’ growing demand for source materials in electronic formats all produce strain on our institutions. ..

Applications of Finite Model Theory: Optimisation Problems, Hybrid Modal Logics and Games.

There exists an interesting relationships between two seemingly distinct fields: logic from the field of Model Theory, which deals with the truth of statements about discrete structures; and Computational Complexity, which deals with the classification of problems by how much of a particular computer resource is required in order to compute a solution. This relationship is known as Descriptive Complexity and it is the primary application of the tools from Model Theory when they are restricted to the finite; this restriction is commonly called Finite Model Theory. In this thesis, we investigate the extension of the results of Descriptive Complexity from classes of decision problems to classes of optimisation problems. When dealing with decision problems the natural mapping from true and false in logic to yes and no instances of a problem is used but when dealing with optimisation problems, other features of a logic need to be used. We investigate what these features are and provide results in the form of logical frameworks that can be used for describing optimisation problems in particular classes, building on the existing research into this area. Another application of Finite Model Theory that this thesis investigates is the relative expressiveness of various fragments of an extension of modal logic called hybrid modal logic. This is achieved through taking the Ehrenfeucht-Fraïssé game from Model Theory and modifying it so that it can be applied to hybrid modal logic. Then, by developing winning strategies for the players in the game, results are obtained that show strict hierarchies of expressiveness for fragments of hybrid modal logic that are generated by varying the quantifier depth and the number of proposition and nominal symbols available

Rethinking the Specious Present

In this chapter I argue that despite its current popularity the doctrine of the specious present, or at least every current version of it, should be rejected. I describe two alternative accounts, which deal with experiences of two different kinds of change. The first is what I call the dynamic snapshot theory, which accounts for the way we experience continuous changes such as motion and other motion-like phenomena. The second account deals with the way we experience discontinuous changes, those for which there is no finite rate of change. However I then argue that much of the current debate implicitly presupposes a problematic Cartesian view about the nature of conscious experience. If this view is rejected – as I think it should be – then a different kind of account emerges that avoids commitment both to the specious present and to its main current rival, the cinematic view

The image of child protection social workers in the news and amongst children's professionals : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

This research examines portrayals of child protection social workers in New Zealand news reporting and explores how child protection social workers are perceived by their colleagues in the children’s workforce. The research set out not only to assess perceptions, but also to gain insight into how they are formed and to consider their implications. To this end, the research also examined children’s professionals’ perceptions of news coverage and sought to better understand the factors that influence professionals’ attitudes towards child protection social workers. Finally, professionals from the children’s workforce were asked how helpful they believed referrals to child protection social workers would be for a range of problems. The study is positioned within a critical realist outlook and uses mixed methodology. The data was sourced using two instruments. Firstly, professionals from the children’s workforce in New Zealand were invited to participate in an online survey. Secondly, two years of New Zealand news articles were analysed to assess how child protection social workers were portrayed. The principle findings of the research have been presented as they relate to five research questions. They underscore the importance of personal and professional relationships, and of academic and professional publications, in influencing children’s professionals’ perceptions of child protection social workers. They suggest children’s professionals tend to view child protection social workers somewhat favourably. On the other hand, news reporting was found to depict child protection social workers more negatively, although only marginally so. Children’s professionals appear to largely understand this. Alongside the more encouraging findings, negative perceptions of specific characteristics of child protection social workers were found to prevail in both news reporting and amongst children’s professionals. Perhaps of most concern, the findings identified a troubling lack of confidence in the potential helpfulness of referrals to child protection social workers. An analysis of these findings and themes from the literature indicates that the key perceptions of concern are unlikely to be divorced from substantive issues. Improving the image of child protection social workers in New Zealand will almost certainly require addressing some of the underlying causes of unfavourable perceptions

Financing multi-level government

The topic of multi-level taxation is currently highly relevant to two issues – European tax harmonisation and local government taxation in the UK. This paper presents a general economic analysis of multi-level government and taxation and the characteristics that might make a particular tax appropriate as a regional or local tax. In applying this analysis to European tax harmonisation it is clear that there is little harmony in the meaning of the term and a classification is presented. The main driving force for EU tax harmonisation has been the promotion of economic efficiency in the form of free trade in order to achieve the establishment and functioning of the European internal market. Differing regional needs and preferences regarding public sector expenditure and taxation may not always be properly recognised. It is suggested that a greater emphasis be placed on equity as an economic criteria in developing European tax harmonisation. Applying the analysis specifically to local government in the UK, it is clear that taxes on property meet most of the criteria relating both to taxes in general and lower level taxes in particular. However as in the case of European tax harmonisation, there seems to have been insufficient account taken of matters of equity as compared to economic efficiency. It has been the issue of equity that caused the demise of local authority domestic rates and the community charge in turn and continues to raise difficulties with the present council tax. It is therefore suggested that coverage of the income tax feature of council tax – council tax rebates – be extended. The experience to date suggests equity as well as economic efficiency is important in the successful development of both European tax harmonisation and UK local government finance and perhaps should be given greater prominence in the development of systems of multi-level taxation more generally.tax harmonisation; local government taxation; council tax

Tax Simplification is not a simple issue: the reasons for difficulty and a possible strategy

Simplicity is an important attribute for a tax system and there have been many attempts at simplification in different countries including, of course, Australia. However these attempts have not been very successful. The main reason is that there are, of course, important factors that cause tax systems to be complex and not all of them are bad. Another important matter is that it is not always clear what is meant by tax simplification. A further difficulty has been that attempts at simplification have often been made on an ad hoc basis and, once the enthusiasm has exhausted itself, the trend towards greater complexity continues. It is therefore suggested that what is needed is a strategy for simplification. This should involve establishing the relative importance of simplification compared to other aspects of the tax system. Progress towards simplification should then be monitored and evaluated on a permanent basis. To ensure a balance between tax simplification and other goals it is proposed that a body be established to monitor on a permanent basis the tax system, the environment in which it operates and proposed tax reforms.Tax simplification; tax administration

Does University Research Improve University Teaching?

The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) generated a natural experiment in which UK universities strove to achieve the best results they could for their research and teaching. A review of the two exercises and a discussion of the relationship between university teaching and research appear in James (2005). This paper presents an analysis of the results for departments in Management and Economics.University research; university teaching; Economics teaching; management education; Research Assessment Exercise; Quality Assurance Agency

Reflections on the introduction of value added tax in the United Kingdom and goods and services tax in New Zealand

Twenty-two years ago (in 1985) the New Zealand (NZ) Goods and Service Tax (GST) Act was enacted. The Value Added Tax (VAT) in the United Kingdom (UK) has now been operational for over thirty-four years. VAT and GST are now an accepted part of taxation policy. Such controversy as remains is concerned with specific issues rather than the existence of the tax itself. However the specific form the legislation takes in each country differs and the process of introducing the tax can in hindsight be evaluated in order to analyse the rules, methods and techniques that have proved to be most efficient and effective

Capital market expectations and the London office market

The analysis of office market dynamics has generally concentrated on the impact of underlying fundamental demand and supply variables. This paper takes a slightly different approach to many previous examinations of rental dynamics. Within a Vector-Error-Correction framework the empirical analysis concentrates upon the impact of economic and financial variables on rents in the City of London and West End of London office markets. The impulse response and variance decomposition reveal that while lagged rental values and key demand drivers play a highly important role in the dynamics of rents, financial variables are also influential. Stock market performance not only influences the City of London market but also the West End, whilst the default spread plays an important role in recent years. It is argued that both series incorporate expectations about future economic performance and that this is the basis of their influence upon rental values