Temporal causality and the dynamics of exports, human capital and real income in China

This article employs cointegration and error-correction modelling to test the causal relationship between real income, exports and human capital stock using data for China over the period 1960 to 1999. We find that real exports, human capital and real income are cointegrated when real exports is the dependent variable, but are not cointegrated when human capital or real income are the dependent variable. In the short-run we find evidence of bi-directional Granger causality between human capital and real exports, unidirectional Granger causality running from real income to human capital and neutrality between real exports and real income.

Auditory localisation reversals and the role of torso-related cues

Human auditory localisation reversals are explored using mixture distribution analysis techniques. This is validated for front/back reversals and subsequently shown to provide evidence for up/down reversals as distinct classes of mis-localisation. Torso-related localisation cues are identified and also shown to provide a source for resolving these reversals in some listeners.

Mechanical characterizations of thick laminated composites before and after bonded repair

One set of composite laminates was manufactured from bi-directional carbon fibre woven cloth pre-impregnated with epoxy resin and used to establish experimental techniques. Another, similar set was used for extensive data collection. One other set of laminates, manufactured from uni-directional carbon fibre, was also subjected to extensive tests to represent a different material. The results give the pre and post characterizations of repaired composite materials; outlining at each stage the losses and gains of structural strength and stiffness and discusses the difficulties experienced.

Comparison of life-history characteristics of island and mainland populations of the swamp antechinus

The reproductive ecology of the swamp antechinus Antechinus minimus, a small dasyurid (Dasyuridae) marsupial with obligate male semelparity, was investigated in populations inhabiting the mainland coast and on a nearby offshore island in south-eastern Australia. The size and sex ratios of litters, individual body mass and size, timing of births and female longevity were determined from live-trapped animals. The island population had significantly smaller litter sizes and greater adult body mass in comparison with the mainland population. This is consistent with features of the ‘island syndrome’, which predicts directional selection for these traits in high-density populations with reduced extrinsic mortality. However, inter-annual variability in litter sizes in the island population suggests that litter size is more responsive to fluctuating local conditions, such as population density, which is likely to affect food availability, rather than directional genetic changes. In contrast with other antechinus species, biased sex ratios were not evident. In addition, large variations of the timing of births were estimated at both sites and these appear to be related to seasonal conditions such as autumn rainfall and female body mass before mating.

Functional fabrics with controlled wettability

In this study, fabrics with novel super water-repellent and unidirectional water-transfer functions have been prepared using one-step wet-chemical coating processes. The mechanism of directional water transport across the fabrics having gradient superhydrophobicity to hydrophilicity has been elucidated.

Depression and anxiety through pregnancy and the early postpartum : an examination of prospective relationships

Background: The aim of this study was to explore the prospective relationship between depressive symptoms and anxiety across pregnancy and the early postpartum.
Methods: Participants (N=207) completed the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory Trait subscale, Beck Depression Inventory, and social support and sleep quality measures at two time points during pregnancy and once in the early postpartum period.
Results: After accounting for the relative stability of anxiety and depression over time, depressive symptoms earlier in pregnancy predicted higher levels of anxiety in late pregnancy and anxiety in late pregnancy predicted higher depressive symptomatology in the early postpartum. A bi-directional model of depression and anxiety in pregnancy was supported.
Limitations: Data were based on self-reports and participating women were predominantly tertiary educated with high family incomes.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that depressive symptoms precede the development of higher levels of anxiety and that anxiety, even at non-clinical levels, can predict higher depressive symptoms. Clinicians are advised to screen for anxiety and depression concurrently during pregnancy.

Controls on body size during the Late Permian mass extinction event

This study examines the morphological responses of Late Permian brachiopods to environmental changes. Quantitative analysis of body size data from Permian–Triassic brachiopods has demonstrated significant, directional changes in body size before, during and after the Late Permian mass extinction event. Brachiopod size significantly reduced before and during the extinction interval, increased for a short time in more extinction-resistant taxa in the latter stages of extinction and then dramatically reduced again across the Permian ⁄ Triassic boundary. Relative abundances of trace elements and acritarchs demonstrate that the body size reductions which happened before, during and after extinction were driven by primary productivity collapse, whereas declining oxygen levels had less effect. An episode of size increase in two of the more extinction-resistant brachiopod species is unrelated to environmental change and possibly was the result of reduced interspecific competition for resources following the extinction of competitors. Based on the results of this study, predictions can be made for the possible responses of modern benthos to present-day environmental changes.

Models of trust in business-to-consumer electronic commerce : a review of multi-disciplinary approaches

The issue of trust in Internet-based business-to-consumer electronic commerce has been explored from a number of difference perspectives. The current body of research is diverse and fragmented. This paper critically reviews recently published models pertaining to trust in business to consumer e-commerce. For analytical purposes we categorize the literature in three main streams: technological, design and sociological/psychological. Based on our analysis and our own empirical observations we raise four main areas of concern that warrant further research attention: an oversimplification of the trust concept, a uni-directional view of trust, discipline centered approaches to modelling trust and a lack of empirical grounding and testing. In the light of these concerns we recommend avenues for further research.

Is economic development in the Pacific island countries export led or import led?

This article examines the export-led growth and import-led growth hypotheses for a panel of Pacific island countries—namely, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu—for the period 1982–2004. The modelling is performed using a panel unit root, panel co-integration and panel Granger causality approach. We find bi-directional Granger causality for the panel of Pacific island countries between exports and economic growth, imports and economic growth, and exports and imports. The results suggest that the poor growth performance of many Pacific island countries reflects their poor export performance; however, if the supply-side constraints on exports are removed, there could be a virtuous cycle between economic growth and exports.

Parent–child interactions and obesity prevention : a systematic review of the literature

Child obesity research has generally not examined multiple layers of parent–child relationships during weight-related activities such as feeding, eating and play. A literature review was conducted to locate empirical studies that measured parent– child interactions and child eating and child weight variables; five papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The findings of the review revealed that parent–child relationships are an important element in explaining the unhealthy trend of childhood obesity. We argue that prevention/intervention strategies must extend on the current models of parenting by targeting the family from a bi-directional perspective, and focusing, specifically, on the mutually responsive orientation that exists in the parent–child relationship.

Unidirectional water transfer effect from fabrics having a superhydrophobic-to-hydrophillic gradient

In this study, we demonstrate that fabrics having a wettability gradient from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic through the thickness direction show a novel directional water transfer effect: water can transfer from the superhydrophobic to the hydrophilic side, but not in the opposite direction unless an external force is applied. A sol-gel technology was used to prepare a nano-structured superhydrophobic coating on fabrics, and the coated fabrics showed water contact-angle as high as 165 degrees. When the coated fabric was subjected to a photochemistry treatment from one fabric side, the irradiated surface turned hydrophilic permanently, while the back side still maintained the superhydrophobicity. The treated fabric can transfer water droplet rapidly from hydrophobic to hydrophilic side, and the pressure allowing water breakthrough the fabric are different considerably between the two fabric sides. The directional water transfer effect is affected by the wettability gradient. Such a directional water transfer coating may be useful to develop new functional fabrics for defence applications.

Integrating time-series hydroacoustics and video observations for detecting changes in benthic habitats

The ability to quantify change in marine benthic habitats must be considered a key goal of marine habitat mapping activities. Changes in distribution of distinct suites of benthic biological species may occur as a result of natural or human induced processes and these processes may operate at a range of temporal and spatial scales. It is important to understand natural small scale inter-annual patterns of change in order to separate these signals from potential patterns of longer term change. Work to describe these processes of change from an acoustic remote sensing stand point has thus far been limited due to the relatively recent availability of full coverage swath acoustic datasets and cost pressures associated with multiple surveys of the same area. This paper describes the use of landscape transition analysis as a means to differentiate seemingly random patterns of habitat change from systematic signals of habitat transition at a shallow (10–50 m depth) 18 km2 study area on the temperate Australian continental shelf between the years 2006 and 2007. Supervised classifications for each year were accomplished using independently collected high resolution (3 m cell-size) multibeam echosounder (MBES) and video-derived reference data. Of the 4 representative biotic classes considered, signals of directional systematic changes were observed to occur between a shallow kelp dominated class, a deep sessile invertebrate dominated class and a mixed class of kelp and sessile invertebrates. These signals of change are interpreted as inter-annual variation in the density and depth related extent of canopy forming kelp species at the site, a phenomenon reported in smaller scale temporal studies of the same species. The methods applied in this study provide a detailed analysis of the various components of the traditional change detection cross tabulation matrix allowing identification of the strongest signals of systematic habitat transitions across broad geographical regions. Identifying clear patterns of habitat change is an important first step in linking these patterns to the processes that drive them.

Volatility linkages and spillovers in stock and bond markets : some international evidence

This study investigates the transmission of market-wide volatility between the equity markets and bond markets of Japan, Germany, the U. K., and the U. S. To measure the volatility transmission, the BEKK- a decomposition approach to the multivariate GARCH (1,1) model, is used to examine the cross-market contemporaneous effect of information arrival. Our results suggest that within the domestic cross markets, the volatility transmission is undirectional from the stock market to the bond market. Evidence from international cross-market analysis is mixed, with strong evidence on volatility spillover among these international stock markets, but weak evidence between international stock and bond markets. In addition, there are significant bi-directional volatility transmissions between stock markets in Germany and the U. K., and between Germany and the U. S. The volatility transmissions among these markets suggest that the international diversification of bonds is not prevalent.

Volatility transmissions between stock and bond markets : evidence from Japan and the U.S.

This study attempts to investigate the transmission of market-wide volatility between the equity markets and bond markets of Japan and the U.S. To measure the volatility transmission, the BEKK (Baba, Engle, Kraft and Kroner, 1990) method, a decomposition approach of the multivariate GARCH (1,1) model, is used to examine the cross-market contemporaneous effect of information arrival. The time series analysis provides evidence to the long-run phenomena of causality in conditional variances of paired assets within the local and international markets. Within various pairings, some evidence of bi-directional volatility transmissions such as informational linkages have been observed. Our empirical results suggest that within the domestic cross markets, the volatility transmission is unidirectional from the stock market to the bond market. Evidence from international cross-market analysis is mixed, with strong evidence on volatility spillover among these international stock markets, but weak evidence between international stock and bond markets. In addition, there are significant directional volatility transmissions between DJI index and FTSE100 index, and between DJI index and DAX200 index. The volatility transmission between these two markets indicates that the international diversification of bonds is not prevalent.