The contribution of functional brain imaging to our understanding of cognitive aging

The study of cognitive aging seeks to determine the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying age-related decline in cognitive performance. New methods in functional brain imaging are beginning to provide possible answers to questions regarding age-related cognitive decline.     

FROM HARVESTER TO DE-REGULATION: WAGE EARNERS IN THE AUSTRALIAN WELFARE STATE

The significance of the Harvester Judgment in 1907 was not only in the establishment of a ‘fair and reasonable’ wage, which became known as the basic wage , but also in the principle that wages had to meet at least the basic social needs of the worker's family. Income earned through employment was thus regarded as primary welfare . These principles in wage determination were discarded in the 1960s and the de-regulation policies of the 1980s further increased the division between employment and social needs. Exacerbated by the endemic high levels of unemployment, the progressive de-regulation of the labour marked since the 1980s has been one of the most significant causative factors in the growing inequality in Australia.     

The social mobility of women and men in the Ontario legal profession

Cette étude de la classe graduée des écoles de Droit en Ontario en 1974 examine la structure de la profession d'avocat. Les facteurs d'origine (e.g., variables démographiques, situation familiale, écoles) sont examinés pour révéler leur influence sur les carrières (e.g., revenu, spécialité, secteur d'emploi). Les voies divergentes sont évidentes pour les femmes et quelques minorités. L'entrée dans les firmes de l'élite (selon la définition de Clement) est attentivement scrutée.
This study of the 1974 graduating class of Ontario law schools examines the mobility structure of the Ontario legal profession. A series of background characteristics (e.g., demographic variables, parental occupation, schooling) are examined to determine their influence upon career outcomes (e.g., income, area of specialization, employment sector). Divergent routes are evident for women and some minorities. Placement into elite law firms (as defined by Clement) is carefully scrutinized.     

Genetic Algorithm for Graph Coloring: Exploration of Galinier and Hao's Algorithm

This paper examines the best current algorithm for solving the Chromatic Number Problem, due to Galinier and Hao (Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 379–397, 1999). The algorithm combines a Genetic Algorithm with Tabu Search. We show that the algorithm remains powerful even if the Tabu Search component is eliminated, and explore the reasons for its success where other Genetic Algorithms have failed. In addition we propose a generalized algorithm for the Frequency Assignment Problem.     

美国丹顿市水力压裂技术的伦理考量——田野哲学方法论应用研究

田野哲学为当代伦理学研究的“新自由主义转向”提供了一种元哲学的研究视角.按照田野哲学的理念反思美国丹顿市水力压裂技术的发展,在肯定水力压裂技术积极意义的同时,从能源与环境的关系、天然气开采与社会责任的关系等方面指出了水力压裂技术引发的深刻的社会伦理问题,并以田野哲学的视角建构了水力压裂技术的伦理原则及范式.     

Mothers in an insider-outsider economy: the puzzle of Spain

There is growing evidence that social policies towards mothers have important effects on their labour market behaviour. This article argues that these effects are less important in a Male Breadwinner Regime if there is employment insecurity in the household or if women intend to participate in the long-run. I consider the case of Spain, where the workforce has become polarized between insiders and outsiders and where social policies closely resemble the Male Breadwinner Regime. The results show that Spanish mothers fall into two groups: those who do not withdraw from the labor force after childbirth and those who withdraw and do not re-enter after their children arrive at school age. Entry or re-entry appears related to the husband's employment uncertainty. Married women in an insider household are less likely to be mobile than women in an outsider household.This research was initiated with the financial support from the Bank of Spain (Fondo para Estudios sobre el Mercado de Trabajo) and the CIRIT (Generalitat de Catalunya). An earlier version has been published in Spanish in Adam, 1995 a. I benefited from presentations in the session on Women's Labour Force Transitions in the ESPE ninth annual meeting at Lisbon, in the IESA (CSIC, Madrid) seminar, in the session on European Labour Markets in the IEA meeting at Tunis, and in the IGIER seminar. I thank Namkee Ahn, Siv Gustafsson, John Ermisch, Andrea Ichino, Sergi Jiménez, Dennis Snower, Robert Waldmann and an anonymous referee for comments. My very especial thanks go to my thesis supervisor, John Micklewright, to Gosta Esping-Andersen, John Myles and David Soskice. Responsible editors: Siv S. Gustafsson, John F. Ermisch.     

Legitimating impotence: Pyrrhic victories of the modern environmental movement

The strengths and limitations of the modern environmental movement are assessed, using a contextual analysis, with a framework drawn from pragmatic analysis. Empirical summaries from recent policy-making supported by the movement: in community-based recycling, local toxic waste movements, and water pollution control document the fact that the movement has indeed developed some sustainable resistance in policy-making in the U.S. and at the Rio Conference. But it has also ignored those consequences of environmental protection which degrade the living conditions for many people of color and other low-income groups. The movement's failure to form enduring coalitions for linking environmental protection to social justice limits the movement's power, by permitting disempowered groups to be mobilized in opposition to environmental protection. We outline an alternative strategy, built around sustainable legitimacy, which will require changes in the composition and program of environmental movement organizations.