Andreas Kirsch and Natalia Grinberg
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199213535
- eISBN:
- 9780191707629
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213535.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Applied Mathematics
This book is devoted to problems of shape identification in the context of (inverse) scattering problems and problems of impedance tomography. In contrast to traditional methods which are based on ...
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This book is devoted to problems of shape identification in the context of (inverse) scattering problems and problems of impedance tomography. In contrast to traditional methods which are based on iterative schemes of solving sequences of corresponding direct problems, this book presents a completely different method. The Factorization Method avoids the need to solve the (time consuming) direct problems. Furthermore, no a-priori information about the type of scatterer (penetrable or impenetrable), type of boundary condition, or number of components is needed. The Factorization Method can be considered as an example of a Sampling Method. The book aims to construct a binary criterium on the known data to decide whether or not a given point z is inside or outside the unknown domain D. By choosing a grid of sampling points z in a region known to contain D, the characteristic function of D can be computed (in the case of finite data only approximately). The book also introduces some alternative Sampling Methods.Less
This book is devoted to problems of shape identification in the context of (inverse) scattering problems and problems of impedance tomography. In contrast to traditional methods which are based on iterative schemes of solving sequences of corresponding direct problems, this book presents a completely different method. The Factorization Method avoids the need to solve the (time consuming) direct problems. Furthermore, no a-priori information about the type of scatterer (penetrable or impenetrable), type of boundary condition, or number of components is needed. The Factorization Method can be considered as an example of a Sampling Method. The book aims to construct a binary criterium on the known data to decide whether or not a given point z is inside or outside the unknown domain D. By choosing a grid of sampling points z in a region known to contain D, the characteristic function of D can be computed (in the case of finite data only approximately). The book also introduces some alternative Sampling Methods.
Jeffrey C. King
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199226061
- eISBN:
- 9780191710377
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226061.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
This introductory chapter begins with a brief analysis of why philosophers believe in propositions. The main purpose of the book is then discussed, which is to formulate and defend a detailed account ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a brief analysis of why philosophers believe in propositions. The main purpose of the book is then discussed, which is to formulate and defend a detailed account of the metaphysical nature of propositions. In so doing, it discusses some oppositions to propositions as well. It is argued that there is no mystery about what propositions are. Given rather minimal assumptions it follows that propostions exist, and we can begin to see how and why they have truth conditions and so represent the world as being a certain way. An overview of the chapters included in the volume is presented.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a brief analysis of why philosophers believe in propositions. The main purpose of the book is then discussed, which is to formulate and defend a detailed account of the metaphysical nature of propositions. In so doing, it discusses some oppositions to propositions as well. It is argued that there is no mystery about what propositions are. Given rather minimal assumptions it follows that propostions exist, and we can begin to see how and why they have truth conditions and so represent the world as being a certain way. An overview of the chapters included in the volume is presented.
Jon Williamson
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198530794
- eISBN:
- 9780191712982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198530794.003.0006
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Logic / Computer Science / Mathematical Philosophy
Objective Bayesianism yields a justification of the causal Markov condition: in certain circumstances, the objective Bayesian net is just the causal net and so the causal net is an appropriate ...
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Objective Bayesianism yields a justification of the causal Markov condition: in certain circumstances, the objective Bayesian net is just the causal net and so the causal net is an appropriate representation of rational degrees of belief. However, the resulting Bayesian net may not yield accurate enough predictions. This motivates a two-stage methodology for using Bayesian nets: first construct a causal net, then refine this net to better represent physical probability.Less
Objective Bayesianism yields a justification of the causal Markov condition: in certain circumstances, the objective Bayesian net is just the causal net and so the causal net is an appropriate representation of rational degrees of belief. However, the resulting Bayesian net may not yield accurate enough predictions. This motivates a two-stage methodology for using Bayesian nets: first construct a causal net, then refine this net to better represent physical probability.
Debra L. Dodson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198296744
- eISBN:
- 9780191603709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296746.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter offers a heuristic model to guide the exploration of how the convergence of individual, institutional, and extra-institutional forces contribute to substantive representation of women, ...
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This chapter offers a heuristic model to guide the exploration of how the convergence of individual, institutional, and extra-institutional forces contribute to substantive representation of women, as well as to the probabilistic nature of the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation of women. The focus is on seven distinct yet interactive factors: the participant stream, the condition stream, the problem stream, the internal/institutional structural stream, the internal/institutional political stream, the external political stream, and the solution stream. This framework forces the discussion beyond the simple question of ‘Do women make a difference?’ to highlight strategies that can increase (or decrease) substantive representation of women regardless of women’s proportional presence.Less
This chapter offers a heuristic model to guide the exploration of how the convergence of individual, institutional, and extra-institutional forces contribute to substantive representation of women, as well as to the probabilistic nature of the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation of women. The focus is on seven distinct yet interactive factors: the participant stream, the condition stream, the problem stream, the internal/institutional structural stream, the internal/institutional political stream, the external political stream, and the solution stream. This framework forces the discussion beyond the simple question of ‘Do women make a difference?’ to highlight strategies that can increase (or decrease) substantive representation of women regardless of women’s proportional presence.
John Gibson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199299522
- eISBN:
- 9780191714900
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199299522.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
Literature is a source of understanding and insight into the human condition. Yet ever since Aristotle, philosophers have struggled to provide a plausible account of how this can be the case. For ...
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Literature is a source of understanding and insight into the human condition. Yet ever since Aristotle, philosophers have struggled to provide a plausible account of how this can be the case. For surely the fictionality, the sheer invented character, of the literary work means that literature concerns itself not with the real world but with other worlds — what are commonly called fictional worlds. How is it, then, that fictions can tell us something of consequence about reality? This book offers a novel and intriguing account of the relationship between literature and life, and shows that literature's great cultural and cognitive value is inseparable from its fictionality and inventiveness.Less
Literature is a source of understanding and insight into the human condition. Yet ever since Aristotle, philosophers have struggled to provide a plausible account of how this can be the case. For surely the fictionality, the sheer invented character, of the literary work means that literature concerns itself not with the real world but with other worlds — what are commonly called fictional worlds. How is it, then, that fictions can tell us something of consequence about reality? This book offers a novel and intriguing account of the relationship between literature and life, and shows that literature's great cultural and cognitive value is inseparable from its fictionality and inventiveness.
Chris Jones
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199281978
- eISBN:
- 9780191602535
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199281971.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Important results in the applied welfare literature are used to extend a conventional Harberger cost-benefit analysis. A conventional welfare equation is obtained for marginal policy changes in a ...
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Important results in the applied welfare literature are used to extend a conventional Harberger cost-benefit analysis. A conventional welfare equation is obtained for marginal policy changes in a general equilibrium economy with tax distortions. It is extended to accommodate internationally traded goods, time, income taxes, and non-tax distortions, including externalities, non-competitive behaviour, public goods, and price-quantity controls. The welfare analysis is developed in stages, and where possible is explained using diagrams, to make it more amenable to the different institutional arrangements encountered in applied work. Computable welfare expressions are solved using demand-supply elasticities. In a conventional cost-benefit analysis, lump sum transfers are used to separate the welfare effects of individual policy variables. This is important because it allows policy evaluation to be divided across specialist agencies. These transfers are carefully examined to identify the important role played by the marginal social cost of public funds (MCF) in policy evaluation when governments balance their budgets with distorting taxes. This book separates income effects for marginal policy changes in the shadow value of government revenue. As a scaling coefficient that converts efficiency effects into dollar changes in private surplus, it makes income effects irrelevant in single (aggregated) consumer economies, and conveniently isolates distributional effects in heterogeneous consumer economies. This decomposition is used to test for Pareto improvements, and to examine the separate, but related roles of the shadow value of government revenue and the MCF in applied work.Less
Important results in the applied welfare literature are used to extend a conventional Harberger cost-benefit analysis. A conventional welfare equation is obtained for marginal policy changes in a general equilibrium economy with tax distortions. It is extended to accommodate internationally traded goods, time, income taxes, and non-tax distortions, including externalities, non-competitive behaviour, public goods, and price-quantity controls. The welfare analysis is developed in stages, and where possible is explained using diagrams, to make it more amenable to the different institutional arrangements encountered in applied work. Computable welfare expressions are solved using demand-supply elasticities. In a conventional cost-benefit analysis, lump sum transfers are used to separate the welfare effects of individual policy variables. This is important because it allows policy evaluation to be divided across specialist agencies. These transfers are carefully examined to identify the important role played by the marginal social cost of public funds (MCF) in policy evaluation when governments balance their budgets with distorting taxes. This book separates income effects for marginal policy changes in the shadow value of government revenue. As a scaling coefficient that converts efficiency effects into dollar changes in private surplus, it makes income effects irrelevant in single (aggregated) consumer economies, and conveniently isolates distributional effects in heterogeneous consumer economies. This decomposition is used to test for Pareto improvements, and to examine the separate, but related roles of the shadow value of government revenue and the MCF in applied work.
Fabrizio Benedetti
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199559121
- eISBN:
- 9780191724022
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199559121.001.0001
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Systems
One of the most widespread words in medicine is the placebo and placebo effect, although it is not always clear what it means exactly. Recent progress in biomedical research has allowed a better ...
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One of the most widespread words in medicine is the placebo and placebo effect, although it is not always clear what it means exactly. Recent progress in biomedical research has allowed a better clarification of the placebo effect. This is an active psychobiological phenomenon which takes place in the patient's brain and that is capable of influencing both the course of a disease and the response to a therapy. The psychosocial context around the patient is crucial to placebo effects, for example the doctor's words and attitudes, and this may have a profound impact on the patient's brain which, in turn, may affect several physiological functions of the body. This book emphasizes that there is not a single placebo effect but many. The book critically reviews them in different medical conditions, such as pain, neurological disorders, psychiatric and behavioural disorders, immune and endocrine systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, gastrointestinal and genitourinary disorders, as well as some special conditions, such as oncology, surgery, sports medicine, and acupuncture.Less
One of the most widespread words in medicine is the placebo and placebo effect, although it is not always clear what it means exactly. Recent progress in biomedical research has allowed a better clarification of the placebo effect. This is an active psychobiological phenomenon which takes place in the patient's brain and that is capable of influencing both the course of a disease and the response to a therapy. The psychosocial context around the patient is crucial to placebo effects, for example the doctor's words and attitudes, and this may have a profound impact on the patient's brain which, in turn, may affect several physiological functions of the body. This book emphasizes that there is not a single placebo effect but many. The book critically reviews them in different medical conditions, such as pain, neurological disorders, psychiatric and behavioural disorders, immune and endocrine systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, gastrointestinal and genitourinary disorders, as well as some special conditions, such as oncology, surgery, sports medicine, and acupuncture.
Charles Travis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230334
- eISBN:
- 9780191710605
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230334.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
This book presents a series of chapters which develops the author's distinctive view of the relation of thought to language. The key idea is ‘occasion-sensitivity’: what it is for words to express a ...
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This book presents a series of chapters which develops the author's distinctive view of the relation of thought to language. The key idea is ‘occasion-sensitivity’: what it is for words to express a given concept is for them to be apt for contributing to any of many different conditions of correctness (notably truth conditions). Since words mean what they do by expressing a given concept, it follows that meaning does not determine truth conditions. This view ties thoughts less tightly to the linguistic forms which express them than traditional views of the matter, and in two directions: a given linguistic form, meaning fixed, may express an indefinite variety of thoughts; one thought can be expressed in an indefinite number of syntactically and semantically distinct ways. The book highlights the importance of this view for linguistic theory, and shows how it gives new form to a variety of traditional philosophical problems.Less
This book presents a series of chapters which develops the author's distinctive view of the relation of thought to language. The key idea is ‘occasion-sensitivity’: what it is for words to express a given concept is for them to be apt for contributing to any of many different conditions of correctness (notably truth conditions). Since words mean what they do by expressing a given concept, it follows that meaning does not determine truth conditions. This view ties thoughts less tightly to the linguistic forms which express them than traditional views of the matter, and in two directions: a given linguistic form, meaning fixed, may express an indefinite variety of thoughts; one thought can be expressed in an indefinite number of syntactically and semantically distinct ways. The book highlights the importance of this view for linguistic theory, and shows how it gives new form to a variety of traditional philosophical problems.
Robert J. Flanagan
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195306002
- eISBN:
- 9780199783564
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195306007.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
This book explains how the three main mechanisms of globalization — international trade, international migration, and international capital flows — alter working conditions (particularly wages, work ...
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This book explains how the three main mechanisms of globalization — international trade, international migration, and international capital flows — alter working conditions (particularly wages, work hours, and job safety) and labor rights (freedom of association, nondiscrimination, and the elimination of forced and child labor). An important sub-theme is the relative importance of international markets and international regulation in providing improvements in labor conditions around the world. The book presents evidence on how labor conditions changed during the late 20th-century globalization, and on how economic growth, international trade, migration, and multinational companies influence labor conditions around the world. Drawing on analyses of an international database on labor conditions prepared for this study and on numerous research studies, the book finds a general improvement in labor conditions during the late 20th century and documents the positive influence of economic development on those conditions. Chapters on the role of trade, migration, and multinational companies find that each mechanism of globalization is associated with the improvements in working conditions and with improvements in most labor rights. In contrast, the evidence does not support the view that increasing economic integration initiates an international race to the bottom that produces sweatshop labor conditions. The book also considers the influence of national and international labor regulations on working conditions and labor rights around the world. The evidence indicates that in contrast with trade, migration, and international capital flows, labor standards regulation has had a limited role in advancing labor conditions. The book concludes by showing how several policies that create opportunities for targeted worker groups show promise for supplementing the positive effects of globalization on labor conditions.Less
This book explains how the three main mechanisms of globalization — international trade, international migration, and international capital flows — alter working conditions (particularly wages, work hours, and job safety) and labor rights (freedom of association, nondiscrimination, and the elimination of forced and child labor). An important sub-theme is the relative importance of international markets and international regulation in providing improvements in labor conditions around the world. The book presents evidence on how labor conditions changed during the late 20th-century globalization, and on how economic growth, international trade, migration, and multinational companies influence labor conditions around the world. Drawing on analyses of an international database on labor conditions prepared for this study and on numerous research studies, the book finds a general improvement in labor conditions during the late 20th century and documents the positive influence of economic development on those conditions. Chapters on the role of trade, migration, and multinational companies find that each mechanism of globalization is associated with the improvements in working conditions and with improvements in most labor rights. In contrast, the evidence does not support the view that increasing economic integration initiates an international race to the bottom that produces sweatshop labor conditions. The book also considers the influence of national and international labor regulations on working conditions and labor rights around the world. The evidence indicates that in contrast with trade, migration, and international capital flows, labor standards regulation has had a limited role in advancing labor conditions. The book concludes by showing how several policies that create opportunities for targeted worker groups show promise for supplementing the positive effects of globalization on labor conditions.
Miguel Alcubierre
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199205677
- eISBN:
- 9780191709371
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199205677.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Theoretical, Computational, and Statistical Physics
This book introduces the modern field of 3+1 numerical relativity. It has been written in a way as to be as self-contained as possible, and assumes a basic knowledge of special relativity. Starting ...
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This book introduces the modern field of 3+1 numerical relativity. It has been written in a way as to be as self-contained as possible, and assumes a basic knowledge of special relativity. Starting from a brief introduction to general relativity, it discusses the different concepts and tools necessary for the fully consistent numerical simulation of relativistic astrophysical systems, with strong and dynamical gravitational fields. Among the topics discussed in detail are the following: the initial data problem, hyperbolic reductions of the field equations, gauge conditions, the evolution of black hole space-times, relativistic hydrodynamics, gravitational wave extraction, and numerical methods. There is also a final chapter with examples of some simple numerical space-times.Less
This book introduces the modern field of 3+1 numerical relativity. It has been written in a way as to be as self-contained as possible, and assumes a basic knowledge of special relativity. Starting from a brief introduction to general relativity, it discusses the different concepts and tools necessary for the fully consistent numerical simulation of relativistic astrophysical systems, with strong and dynamical gravitational fields. Among the topics discussed in detail are the following: the initial data problem, hyperbolic reductions of the field equations, gauge conditions, the evolution of black hole space-times, relativistic hydrodynamics, gravitational wave extraction, and numerical methods. There is also a final chapter with examples of some simple numerical space-times.
John Kekes
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199588886
- eISBN:
- 9780191595448
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588886.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book is a response to the growing disenchantment in the Western world with contemporary life. It provides rationally justified answers to questions about the meaning of life, the basis of ...
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This book is a response to the growing disenchantment in the Western world with contemporary life. It provides rationally justified answers to questions about the meaning of life, the basis of morality, the contingencies of human lives, the prevalence of evil, the nature and extent of human responsibility, and the sources of values we prize. It offers a realistic view of the human condition that rejects both facile optimism and gloomy pessimism; acknowledges that we are vulnerable to contingencies we cannot fully control; defends a humanistic understanding of our condition; recognizes that the values worth pursuing are plural, often conflicting, and that there are many reasonable conceptions of well‐being. It emphasizes the importance of facing the fact that man's inhumanity to man is widespread. It rejects as simple‐minded both the view that human nature is basically good and that it is basically bad, and argues that our well‐being depends on coping with the complex truth that human nature is basically complicated. It argues that the scheme of things is indifferent to our fortunes and that we can rely only on our own resources to make what we can of our lives.Less
This book is a response to the growing disenchantment in the Western world with contemporary life. It provides rationally justified answers to questions about the meaning of life, the basis of morality, the contingencies of human lives, the prevalence of evil, the nature and extent of human responsibility, and the sources of values we prize. It offers a realistic view of the human condition that rejects both facile optimism and gloomy pessimism; acknowledges that we are vulnerable to contingencies we cannot fully control; defends a humanistic understanding of our condition; recognizes that the values worth pursuing are plural, often conflicting, and that there are many reasonable conceptions of well‐being. It emphasizes the importance of facing the fact that man's inhumanity to man is widespread. It rejects as simple‐minded both the view that human nature is basically good and that it is basically bad, and argues that our well‐being depends on coping with the complex truth that human nature is basically complicated. It argues that the scheme of things is indifferent to our fortunes and that we can rely only on our own resources to make what we can of our lives.
Kurt Smith
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199583652
- eISBN:
- 9780191723155
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199583652.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Why is there a material world? Why is it fundamentally mathematical? This book explores a seventeenth‐century answer to these questions as it emerged from the works of Descartes and Leibniz. What we ...
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Why is there a material world? Why is it fundamentally mathematical? This book explores a seventeenth‐century answer to these questions as it emerged from the works of Descartes and Leibniz. What we learn is the sense in which these philosophers held that an analysis of the material world must inevitably lead to mathematics, and that mathematics must inevitably take matter as its object. Here the connection between matter and mathematics was cast in terms of the conditions of intelligibility—matter is what underwrote the very intelligibility of mathematics. Thus, in every world in which mathematics in intelligible, matter exists, and vice versa. On this view, then, matter is not seen as a cosmic anomaly or divine afterthought, but as an essential constituent of the universe. As the title of the book asserts: matter matters.Less
Why is there a material world? Why is it fundamentally mathematical? This book explores a seventeenth‐century answer to these questions as it emerged from the works of Descartes and Leibniz. What we learn is the sense in which these philosophers held that an analysis of the material world must inevitably lead to mathematics, and that mathematics must inevitably take matter as its object. Here the connection between matter and mathematics was cast in terms of the conditions of intelligibility—matter is what underwrote the very intelligibility of mathematics. Thus, in every world in which mathematics in intelligible, matter exists, and vice versa. On this view, then, matter is not seen as a cosmic anomaly or divine afterthought, but as an essential constituent of the universe. As the title of the book asserts: matter matters.
Robert J. Flanagan
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195306002
- eISBN:
- 9780199783564
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195306007.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
This chapter contrasts the predictions of globalization skeptics with international economic analysis regarding the effect of globalization on labor conditions. Skeptics argue that globalization ...
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This chapter contrasts the predictions of globalization skeptics with international economic analysis regarding the effect of globalization on labor conditions. Skeptics argue that globalization encourages sweatshop labor conditions and increases world poverty and inequality, while economic analysis predicts that international competition produces a convergence of working conditions that reduces world inequality. The chapter makes a key semantic distinction between labor conditions (the actual working conditions and labor rights that workers experience) and labor standards (policy objectives or legal requirements regarding the treatment of labor). The chapter concludes by explaining the questions addressed in the rest of the book.Less
This chapter contrasts the predictions of globalization skeptics with international economic analysis regarding the effect of globalization on labor conditions. Skeptics argue that globalization encourages sweatshop labor conditions and increases world poverty and inequality, while economic analysis predicts that international competition produces a convergence of working conditions that reduces world inequality. The chapter makes a key semantic distinction between labor conditions (the actual working conditions and labor rights that workers experience) and labor standards (policy objectives or legal requirements regarding the treatment of labor). The chapter concludes by explaining the questions addressed in the rest of the book.
Robert J. Flanagan
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195306002
- eISBN:
- 9780199783564
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195306007.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
This chapter examines the effect of international trade on labor conditions around the world. Evidence developed in the chapter shows that open trade policies improve working conditions by raising ...
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This chapter examines the effect of international trade on labor conditions around the world. Evidence developed in the chapter shows that open trade policies improve working conditions by raising per capita income, as international trade theory predicts. Countries with open trade policies also have superior labor rights, and labor rights improve over time in countries that adopt open trade policies. In the short run, trade clearly enhances the working conditions of workers in export industries (including those working in export processing zones) but threatens the conditions of workers whose companies compete with imports. The evidence shows that with the passage of time, all workers benefit by moving into more productive employment settings. The evidence in this chapter implies that trade sanctions are likely to worsen labor conditions in target countries.Less
This chapter examines the effect of international trade on labor conditions around the world. Evidence developed in the chapter shows that open trade policies improve working conditions by raising per capita income, as international trade theory predicts. Countries with open trade policies also have superior labor rights, and labor rights improve over time in countries that adopt open trade policies. In the short run, trade clearly enhances the working conditions of workers in export industries (including those working in export processing zones) but threatens the conditions of workers whose companies compete with imports. The evidence shows that with the passage of time, all workers benefit by moving into more productive employment settings. The evidence in this chapter implies that trade sanctions are likely to worsen labor conditions in target countries.
Robert J. Flanagan
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195306002
- eISBN:
- 9780199783564
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195306007.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
This final chapter summarizes the findings of the earlier analyses of the impact of globalization on labor conditions and considers the principles that should inform future policies to improve labor ...
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This final chapter summarizes the findings of the earlier analyses of the impact of globalization on labor conditions and considers the principles that should inform future policies to improve labor conditions. Broadly speaking, the evidence indicates that international trade, international migration, and the activities of multinational companies generally advance working conditions and labor rights around the world. In contrast, some policy proposals, such as the use of trade sanctions against countries that do not adopt international labor standards, are likely to worsen rather than improve labor conditions. A very useful guide to policy choice is to favor policies that expand, rather than contract, opportunities for target groups. The chapter reviews a number of targeted incentive policies that satisfy this principle in general and in particular areas such as child labor and forced labor.Less
This final chapter summarizes the findings of the earlier analyses of the impact of globalization on labor conditions and considers the principles that should inform future policies to improve labor conditions. Broadly speaking, the evidence indicates that international trade, international migration, and the activities of multinational companies generally advance working conditions and labor rights around the world. In contrast, some policy proposals, such as the use of trade sanctions against countries that do not adopt international labor standards, are likely to worsen rather than improve labor conditions. A very useful guide to policy choice is to favor policies that expand, rather than contract, opportunities for target groups. The chapter reviews a number of targeted incentive policies that satisfy this principle in general and in particular areas such as child labor and forced labor.
Sander Van Smaalen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198570820
- eISBN:
- 9780191718762
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198570820.003.0009
- Subject:
- Physics, Crystallography: Physics
This chapter presents the steps that are required to determine the superspace group of an aperiodic crystal from its diffraction pattern. This includes the analysis of the metric of the reciprocal ...
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This chapter presents the steps that are required to determine the superspace group of an aperiodic crystal from its diffraction pattern. This includes the analysis of the metric of the reciprocal lattice in superspace, the point symmetry of the diffraction pattern, and the reflection conditions.Less
This chapter presents the steps that are required to determine the superspace group of an aperiodic crystal from its diffraction pattern. This includes the analysis of the metric of the reciprocal lattice in superspace, the point symmetry of the diffraction pattern, and the reflection conditions.
John Kekes
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199588886
- eISBN:
- 9780191595448
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588886.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
The aim of the book is to present and defend a secular view of the human condition. This view is pluralist, not absolutist; rationalist, not relativist; fallibilist, not skeptical or dogmatic; ...
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The aim of the book is to present and defend a secular view of the human condition. This view is pluralist, not absolutist; rationalist, not relativist; fallibilist, not skeptical or dogmatic; realist, not optimist or pessimist; particular and concrete, not general and abstract. Its perspective is humanistic, neither religiously, nor scientifically oriented.Less
The aim of the book is to present and defend a secular view of the human condition. This view is pluralist, not absolutist; rationalist, not relativist; fallibilist, not skeptical or dogmatic; realist, not optimist or pessimist; particular and concrete, not general and abstract. Its perspective is humanistic, neither religiously, nor scientifically oriented.
Jeffrey S. Lantis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535019
- eISBN:
- 9780191715952
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535019.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
This book studies international treaty ratification processes in multiple issue areas. This study sets out to fill a gap in political science scholarship by investigating the role that international ...
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This book studies international treaty ratification processes in multiple issue areas. This study sets out to fill a gap in political science scholarship by investigating the role that international and domestic political actors and conditions play in the critical, post-commitment phase of cooperation. The book employs the comparative case study method, drawing on original research, elite interviews, and discursive analyses of government documents in Europe, Australia, and North America. Cases examine a select number of treaties on trade cooperation, the environment, European integration, and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It concludes that the role of norms and executive strategies play an especially significant role in shaping ratification outcomes. It is argued that the book will appeal to a broad audience interested in the question of whether international treaties remain powerful instruments for cooperation in the twenty-first century.Less
This book studies international treaty ratification processes in multiple issue areas. This study sets out to fill a gap in political science scholarship by investigating the role that international and domestic political actors and conditions play in the critical, post-commitment phase of cooperation. The book employs the comparative case study method, drawing on original research, elite interviews, and discursive analyses of government documents in Europe, Australia, and North America. Cases examine a select number of treaties on trade cooperation, the environment, European integration, and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It concludes that the role of norms and executive strategies play an especially significant role in shaping ratification outcomes. It is argued that the book will appeal to a broad audience interested in the question of whether international treaties remain powerful instruments for cooperation in the twenty-first century.
Nicholas Hammond
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198158936
- eISBN:
- 9780191673412
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198158936.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
Blaise Pascal's Pensées is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest masterpieces of seventeenth-century France, an unfinished work which has both inspired and perplexed readers in succeeding ...
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Blaise Pascal's Pensées is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest masterpieces of seventeenth-century France, an unfinished work which has both inspired and perplexed readers in succeeding centuries. This is the first book on Pascal to be devoted to his use of key terms depicting the central subject of the Pensées: the human condition. The book explores such fundamental notions as language and order, proceeding with a detailed analysis of the words inconstance, ennui, inquiétude, bonheur, félicité, and justice. Developing and challenging the most recent scholarship about the text, it identifies the crucial notion of play (as exemplified in the term divertissement) which underlies all these words and applies its findings to the notoriously unstable concept of truth. Through the fragmentary nature of the Pensées and the shifting meaning of terms, Pascal is shown to be deliberately engaging the reader in a game to make sense of the text. This study gives an account of many important critical controversies of the day, and offers an insight into the persuasive purpose of the Pensées.Less
Blaise Pascal's Pensées is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest masterpieces of seventeenth-century France, an unfinished work which has both inspired and perplexed readers in succeeding centuries. This is the first book on Pascal to be devoted to his use of key terms depicting the central subject of the Pensées: the human condition. The book explores such fundamental notions as language and order, proceeding with a detailed analysis of the words inconstance, ennui, inquiétude, bonheur, félicité, and justice. Developing and challenging the most recent scholarship about the text, it identifies the crucial notion of play (as exemplified in the term divertissement) which underlies all these words and applies its findings to the notoriously unstable concept of truth. Through the fragmentary nature of the Pensées and the shifting meaning of terms, Pascal is shown to be deliberately engaging the reader in a game to make sense of the text. This study gives an account of many important critical controversies of the day, and offers an insight into the persuasive purpose of the Pensées.
Hilda Meldrum Brown
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198158950
- eISBN:
- 9780191673436
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198158950.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This book presents an integrated approach to the literary and non-literary writings of the major German author, Heinrich von Kleist. Analysis of Kleist's early letters, in particular, illuminates the ...
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This book presents an integrated approach to the literary and non-literary writings of the major German author, Heinrich von Kleist. Analysis of Kleist's early letters, in particular, illuminates the oblique and unique processes by which he became aware of his vocation; simultaneously offering new perspectives from which to approach the works themselves. The discipline of recording observations based on visits to art galleries and travels through landscapes and towns in Prussia, Saxony, and Franconia stimulated Kleist's imagination, providing sets and scenarios which brought him gradually to an awareness of his innate dramatic talents. On a more theoretical level, he was led to speculate about the problem of illusion in art at the same time as he was wrestling with the epistemological implications of Kantian philosophy. The negative aspects of illusion which he drew from the latter were complemented by a new-found confidence in his ability as an artist to impart to the ‘fragility’ of the human condition a degree of fixity through form and structure and the coherence and control associated with verbal devices such as paradox and irony. These principles are shown to operate to varying degrees in all Kleist's works, and to gain in subtlety and depth, nowhere more than in his final masterpiece, Prinz Friedrich von Homburg.Less
This book presents an integrated approach to the literary and non-literary writings of the major German author, Heinrich von Kleist. Analysis of Kleist's early letters, in particular, illuminates the oblique and unique processes by which he became aware of his vocation; simultaneously offering new perspectives from which to approach the works themselves. The discipline of recording observations based on visits to art galleries and travels through landscapes and towns in Prussia, Saxony, and Franconia stimulated Kleist's imagination, providing sets and scenarios which brought him gradually to an awareness of his innate dramatic talents. On a more theoretical level, he was led to speculate about the problem of illusion in art at the same time as he was wrestling with the epistemological implications of Kantian philosophy. The negative aspects of illusion which he drew from the latter were complemented by a new-found confidence in his ability as an artist to impart to the ‘fragility’ of the human condition a degree of fixity through form and structure and the coherence and control associated with verbal devices such as paradox and irony. These principles are shown to operate to varying degrees in all Kleist's works, and to gain in subtlety and depth, nowhere more than in his final masterpiece, Prinz Friedrich von Homburg.