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Classic Work (classic + work)
Selected AbstractsThe spatial spread of invasions: new developments in theory and evidenceECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 1 2005Alan Hastings Abstract We review and synthesize recent developments in the study of the spread of invasive species, emphasizing both empirical and theoretical approaches. Recent theoretical work has shown that invasive species spread is a much more complex process than the classical models suggested, as long range dispersal events can have a large influence on the rate of range expansion through time. Empirical work goes even further, emphasizing the role of spatial heterogeneity, temporal variability, other species, and evolution. As in some of the classic work on spread, the study of range expansion of invasive species provides unique opportunities to use differences between theory and data to determine the important underlying processes that control spread rates. [source] Neural responses to uninterrupted natural speech can be extracted with precise temporal resolutionEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Edmund C. Lalor Abstract The human auditory system has evolved to efficiently process individual streams of speech. However, obtaining temporally detailed responses to distinct continuous natural speech streams has hitherto been impracticable using standard neurophysiological techniques. Here a method is described which provides for the estimation of a temporally precise electrophysiological response to uninterrupted natural speech. We have termed this response AESPA (Auditory Evoked Spread Spectrum Analysis) and it represents an estimate of the impulse response of the auditory system. It is obtained by assuming that the recorded electrophysiological function represents a convolution of the amplitude envelope of a continuous speech stream with the to-be-estimated impulse response. We present examples of these responses using both scalp and intracranially recorded human EEG, which were obtained while subjects listened to a binaurally presented recording of a male speaker reading naturally from a classic work of fiction. This method expands the arsenal of stimulation types that can now be effectively used to derive auditory evoked responses and allows for the use of considerably more ecologically valid stimulation parameters. Some implications for future research efforts are presented. [source] THE EFFECTS OF FISCAL SHOCKS ON CONSUMPTION: RECONCILING THEORY AND DATA,THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 2 2007GIOVANNI GANELLI Recent research has stressed the inconsistency between empirical evidence and the theoretical prediction of both the standard real business cycle and the New Keynesian models regarding the impact of fiscal shocks on consumption. Some authors have attempted to bridge this gap by relying on assumptions about the effects of government spending on preferences and production, or on deviations from the intertemporal optimizing framework. In this paper we follow a different route. We show that introducing at the same time imperfect competition, sticky prices and deviations from Ricardian equivalence through an overlapping generations model helps to solve the inconsistency between theory and data. Our paper can also be seen in the light of the classic controversy between Keynesians and monetarists on the effectiveness of fiscal policy. From this angle, our model can be considered a reincarnation of the classic work of Blinder and Solow (Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 2 (1973), pp. 319,337). [source] Is There Life After Policy Streams, Advocacy Coalitions, and Punctuations: Using Evolutionary Theory to Explain Policy Change?POLICY STUDIES JOURNAL, Issue 4 2003Peter John This article reviews the current state of public policy theory to find out if researchers are ready to readdress the research agenda set by the classic works of Baumgartner and Jones (1993), Kingdon (1984) and Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith (1993). After reviewing the influences of institutional, rational choice, network, socio-economic and ideational approaches, the article pays tribute to the policy streams, punctuated equilibrium and policy advocacy coalition frameworks whilst also suggesting that future theory and research could identify more precisely the causal mechanisms driving policy change. The article argues that evolutionary theory may usefully uncover the micro-level processes at work, particularly as some the three frameworks refer to dymamic models and methods. After reviewing some evolutionary game theory and the study of memes, the article suggests that the benefits of evolutionary theory in extending policy theories need to be balanced by its limitations. [source] | ||||||||||