A control volume based formulation of the discrete Kirchoff triangular thin plate bending element

A control volume method is presented for predicting the displacement and rotation of thin transversely loaded flat plates. The new procedure uses discrete Kirchoff triangle (DKT) elements but introduces a dual mesh of interconnected control volumes (CVs) centred on the finite element (FE) vertices. Discrete equations for the unknown degrees of freedom are subsequently derived by enforcing equilibrium on these CVs; as such this implementation is a quadrature free routine. To allow a comparison, a quadrature free implementation of the DKT element, using the standard finite element procedure, was developed using symbolic methematics. The CV based procedure is validated by patch tests for a state of pure bending and twist. Convergence tests for various loading types show enhanced performance for coarse meshes over the equivalent FE method

U.S. Investors’ Response to Philippine Capital Market Liberalization: Evidence from the First Philippine Fund

This paper investigates the impact of liberalization of international investment restrictions in the Philippines on the discounts of the First Philippine Fund (FPF) closed-end country fund. In particular, it investigates whether such restrictions are binding and how U.S. investors see the announced relaxation of restrictions. The overall results suggest evidence supporting the hypothesis that changes in the FPF’s discounts are associated with the announcements of changes in restrictions in international investment.capital markets, liberalization, investment

As newly returned New York Police Commissioner, Bill Bratton’s first task will be to regain the trust of the city’s most heavily policed groups

Last week, Bill Bratton was sworn in as New York City’s police commissioner, as part of the administration of new mayor, Bill de Blasio. David Halle, Andrew A. Beveridge, and Sydney Beveridge, take a closer look at Bill Bratton’s policy success in reducing crime, in both New York and Los Angeles, through the use of the COMPSTAT program and its successors. They write that, now that he has returned to New York, Bratton’s challenge will be to keep crime rates low while reducing the widespread hatred of the police among black residents that has been created by ‘Stop & Frisk’ policies

Blue frontiers: managing the environmental costs of aquaculture

The report begins with an overview of the current status of world aquaculture. It then goes on to describe an approach for estimating the current combined biophysical resource demands of aquaculture for producer countries and regions. Following a comparison of these results with those available for other animal food production sectors the report then examines the consequences of likely future trends in production on the environmental impacts of aquaculture. Finally, the policy implications of the report’s findings are discussed along with the research agenda that should be pursued to meet the challenge of sustainable food production

Optimal management of urinary tract infections in older people

Urinary tract infections (UTI) occur frequently in older people. Unfortunately, UTI is commonly overdiagnosed and overtreated on the basis of nonspecific clinical signs and symptoms. The diagnosis of a UTI in the older patient requires the presence of new urinary symptoms, with or without systemic symptoms. Urinalysis is commonly used to diagnose infection in this population, however, the evidence for its use is limited. There is overwhelming evidence that asymptomatic bacteriuria should not be treated. Catheter associated urinary tract infection accounts for a significant amount of hospital-associated infection. Indwelling urinary catheters should be avoided where possible and alternatives sought. The use of narrow spectrum antimicrobial agents for urinary tract infection is advocated. Local guidelines are now widely used to reflect local resistance patterns and available agents. Guidelines need to be updated to reflect changes in antimicrobial prescribing and a move from broad to narrow spectrum antimicrobials

Does Gaming the System Affect Students' Academic Achievement?

A growing body of evidence suggests that schools use test exemption to game educational accountability systems. However, it is not known whether test exemption affects students' academic progress. Analyzing data from an urban school district in Texas, the authors find that special education students make larger achievement gains when they are tested. Using their most conservative estimates, the effect of being tested is approximately .40 standard deviations in reading and .28 standard deviations in math for grades 3-8. Because special education students are more likely to be minority and poor students and these students are more likely to be exempted than their white and non-poor special education counterparts, the exemption of special education students contributes to the growth of black-white, Hispanic-white, and high-low socioeconomic status achievement gaps

Evaluation of a Two Dimensional Centrifugal Pump Impeller

The two-dimensional radial flow pump impeller has significant advantages for the study of the transfer and diffusion of energy. It is well adapted to experimental investigation and permits accurate and economical design modifications. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the essential limitations of a special series of two-dimensional impellers by photographic and hydrodynamic techniques which are described in the present paper and elsewhere. The head-capacity characteristics, losses and efficiency, are discussed in the light of visual evidence available from high speed motion pictures of the relative and absolute flow. The dominant influence of the inlet angle on the impeller performance is demonstrated

Running records and the automated reconstruction of historical narrative

Die sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung befaßt sich mit dem Studium der Veränderung, obwohl die meisten Wissenschaftler, die quantitative Methoden benutzen - Historiker, Soziologen und auch Wirtschaftswissenschaftler -, bis jetzt nicht in der Lage sind, die Datenquellen voll auszuschöpfen, die erläutern, wie soziale Veränderungen tatsächlich eintreten. Es wird eine Methodologie entwickelt - bekannt als 'laufende Aufzeichungen', die es Forschern erlaubt, nicht nur Datenquellen wie Steuer- und Zensuslisten auszunutzen, die im wesentlichen statisch sind, sondern auch durch Gebrauch des Computers die ungeheure Menge von Material zu nutzen, das die Geschehnisse und Transaktionen des Alltagslebens von weiten Teilen der Bevölkerung festhält - Quellen, die den Prozeß der Veränderung selbst dokumentieren, sowie er sich auf bestehende Strukturen und Institutionen bezieht. (KWübers.)'All social science research is concerned with the study of change, yet most scholars who use quantitative methods - historians, sociologists, and economists alike - have been unable to exploit fully data sources which illuminate how social change actually occurs. We have developed a methodology, known as 'running records' (1), which allows researchers not only to use data sources, such as census schedules and tax lists which are essentially static, but also by exploiting the power of the computer, to utilize the vast of materials which record the events and transactions of everyday life for large populations - sources which document the process of change itself, as it relates to existing structures and institutions.' (author's abstract

Blue frontiers: managing the environmental costs of aquaculture

The report begins with an overview of the current status of world aquaculture. It then goes on to describe an approach for estimating the current combined biophysical resource demands of aquaculture for producer countries and regions. Following a comparison of these results with those available for other animal food production sectors the report then examines the consequences of likely future trends in production on the environmental impacts of aquaculture. Finally, the policy implications of the reportÆs findings are discussed along with the research agenda that should be pursued to meet the challenge of sustainable food production.Aquaculture, Aquaculture systems, Life cycle analysis, Environmental impact, Resource management, Aquaculture statistics, Sustainability