Novel Classification System of Rib Fractures Observed in Infants

Rib fractures are considered highly suspicious for nonaccidental injury in the pediatric clinical literature; however, a rib fracture classification system has not been developed. As an aid and impetus for rib fracture research, we developed a concise schema for classifying rib fracture types and fracture location that is applicable to infants. The system defined four fracture types (sternal end, buckle, transverse, and oblique) and four regions of the rib (posterior, posterolateral, anterolateral, and anterior). It was applied to all rib fractures observed during 85 consecutive infant autopsies. Rib fractures were found in 24 (28%) of the cases. A total of 158 rib fractures were identified. The proposed schema was adequate to classify 153 (97%) of the observed fractures. The results indicate that the classification system is sufficiently robust to classify rib fractures typically observed in infants and should be used by researchers investigating infant rib fractures.     

Member States of the Commonwealth – Their Relationship with the International Court of Justice

The removal of judicial independence from the motherland for several Commonwealth countries was fraught with difficulties. The determination of where final national appeals would lie has had a most colourful history in the Commonwealth. An extension of judicial dependence may arguably be expressed in the manner in which a state address disputes of international law and its choice of the appropriate tribunal for redress. It is argued in this article that independence did not seem to indicate that some Member States were willing to relinquish their desire to move too far away from the family of the British Commonwealth. Consequently, in accepting the Option Clause of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a number of Commonwealth Member States entered a reservation which, inter alia, excludes disputes with the government of any country that is a Member of the British Commonwealth. Although today only eight Commonwealth Member States (including Britain) maintain this exclusionary clause, to the extent that these eight may find themselves bound by this clause presents some difficulty when there are disputes among these Member States. The author highlights these difficulties by examining the case of Mauritius and the Chagos Archipelago. Ultimately, the present day Commonwealth seeks dispute settlement through peaceful means, with an absolute respect for the rule of international law governing relations within and among its Member States.     

Banking sector reforms in Nigeria: legal implications for the banker–customer relationship

In 2005, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced a programme of reforms which created a new minimum paid‐up capital for all banks, from two billion Naira to 25 billion Naira; with a compliance deadline of 31 December 2005. This reduced the number of banks operating in Nigeria from 89 to what is now the 25 mega banks. However, the process equally threw up a major legal issue in terms of the impact on the bank‐customer relationship. This article analyses the new reforms, their implications for the banker–customer relationship and concludes with proposals towards better achieving the objectives of the reforms.     

Books received

The Economy of Bangladesh. By Azizur Rahman Khan. London : Macmillan and New York: St. Martins Press, 1972. Pp. xviii + 196; £4.95.

Matching Employment Opportunities and Expectations: A Programme of Action for Ceylon. Report by the International Labour Office. Geneva, 1971. Pp. xvii + 251; £1.60 and U.S.$4.

Price Consistency in Development Planning. By Peter A. Cornelisse. Rotterdam University Press, 1973. Pp. xiv + 154 n.p.

The Mexican Economy: Twentieth‐Century Structure and Growth. By Clark W. Reynolds. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1970. Pp. xxiv, 468; £6.05.

Nutrition, National Development and Planning. Edited by A. Berg, N. S. Scrimshaw and D. L. Call. Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T., 1973. Pp. 400. £4–50.

The Nutrition Factor: its Role in National Development. By Alan Berg, Portions with Robert J. Muscat. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1973. Pp. xii 4‐ 290, Tables, Figures. $8.95.

The Ecology of Malnutrition in Mexico and Central America. By Jacques M. May and Donna L. McLellan. New York: Hafner, 1972. Pp. xiii + 397, tables, maps; £7.50.

The Ecology of Malnutrition in the Caribbean. By Jacques M. May and Donna L. McLellan. New York: Hafner, 1973. Pp. viii + 490, tables, maps; £9.95.     

Traditional and small‐scale culture goods in international trade and employment

The literature in economics has relegated to an unimportant role the traditional and small‐scale industries in the process of development. Instead, manufacturing development is essentially seen as a transformation process from traditional to modern, from rural to urban and from agrarian to industrial. The main stress in development has been laid on industries with scale economies and positive externalities, and on the inducement of modern, capital‐intensive techniques. Small‐scale production has been taken to mean inefficient and backward; large‐scale production has become synonymous with the efficient and modern. Moreover, the consumer is characterized as preferring standardized products, while traditional goods are believed to be inferior and easily replaced by factory goods.     

Books received

Male Bias in the Development Process. Edited by Diane Elson. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1991. Pp.215‐ + viii. £29.95. ISBN 07190 2555 9.

Beyond the Family: The Social Organization of Human Reproduction. By A.F. Robertson. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991. Pp.231. £35 and £10.95. ISBN 07456 0885 X and 6 0886 8.

Gender and Population in the Adjustment of African Economies: Planning for Change. By Ingrid Palmer. Geneva: International Labour Office, 1991. Pp.xiv +187. 27.50 Swiss francs (paperback). ISBN 92 2 107739 X.

Economic Theories of Development: An Analysis of Competing Paradigms. By Diana Hunt. Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989. Pp.363. £10.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 7450 0237 4.

Economic Development and Environmental Protection in Latin America. Edited by Joseph S. Tulchin with Andrew I. Rudman. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers (Woodrow Wilson Center Current Studies on Latin America). Pp.vii + 143. $9.95 (paperback). ISBN 1 55587 288 3.

Nicaragua: The Land of Sandino. By Thomas W. Walker. Third Edition, Revised and Updated. Boulder, CO: Oxford: Westview Press, 1991. Pp.xvi + 202. $44 and $17.95. ISBN 0 8133 1089 X.

Dependence and Autonomy. By Hilary Standing. London: Routledge, 1990. Pp.x + 198. £10.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 415 04839.

Turtle Bogue: Afro‐Caribbean Life and Culture in a Costa Rican Village. By Harry G. Lefever. London and Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1992. Pp. 249. £29.95. ISBN 0 945636 23 7.     

The ownership advantage in Latin American FDI: A sectoral study of us direct investment in Mexico

This article develops a model which tests the hypothesis that sectoral FDI flows from the United States to Mexico over a four‐year period can be explained by the ownership advantages of US multinationals. Theoretical developments in the concept of ‘ownership advantage’ are used to guide the formulation of the research. The findings suggest that direct investment into US MNEs’ affiliates in Mexico is driven by benefits derived from embedded human knowledge, technology‐embodied advantages, and possibly from scale advantages. Local R&D is negatively associated with FDI.     

Political instability and savings in less developed countries: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa

A four‐equation model is used to investigate the effects of political instability (PI) on the savings rate in Sub‐Saharan Africa. Utilising a comprehensive measure of PI, we find that political instability has a deleterious effect on the savings rate both directly and indirectly through a reduction in investment and economic growth. The negative effects of PI on savings rate occurs contemporaneously as well as with a lag. We also find that economic growth has a stabilising effect on the political system and that not accounting for these effects through a simultaneous equations model results in biased coefficient estimates. These relationships are robust with respect to model specification. The implication of our results is that ‘economic factors’ alone cannot explain the development process in Less Developed Countries.     

The dynamics of welfare gains and losses: An African case study

This article uses panel survey data for Côte d'Ivoire to investigate the determinants of welfare gains and losses of households over time. A first‐difference model is estimated which takes account of initial conditions. For urban areas, it was found that human capital is not only a key explanatory factor for levels of welfare, but also the most important endowment to explain welfare changes over time. In rural areas, physical capital, especially land and farm equipment, mattered most. Household size and composition and socioeconomic characteristics of the household also affected welfare changes. Policy implications are discussed.