Investigation of the effects of NaOH dopant level on the physical and mechanical properties of carbon/phenolic composite material

The near-catastrophic erosion of the STS-8A solid rocket booster nozzle was the instigating factor in the recent, and on-going, intensive investigation of carbon/phenolic composite materials. Much of this effort has been focused on the effect of sodium contamination on the carbon fibers. It is known that sodium acts as a catalyst in the oxidation of the fibers at elevated temperatures. A study was undertaken to determine what changes were caused by variation in sodium content. Investigations were conducted in three areas: (1) phenolic resin; (2) carbon/phenolic prepreg; and (3) cured laminates. Due to the exploratory nature of the studies, a variety of tests in addition to those normally run in production facilities were considered. The experimental methodologies and results of these experiments are discussed, and recommendations for improving techniques and extending the research program are presented

A Survey Of IPv6 Address Usage In The Public Domain Name System

The IPv6 protocol has been slowly increasing in use on the Internet. The main reason for the development of the protocol is that the address space provided by IPv4 is nearing exhaustion. The pool of addresses provided by IPv6 is 296 times larger than IPv4, and should be sufficient to provide an address for every device for the foreseeable future. Another potential advantage of this significantly large address space is the use of randomly assigned addresses as a security barrier as part of a defence in depth strategy. This research examined the addresses allocated by those implementing IPv6 to determine what method or pattern of allocation was being used by adopters of the protocol. This examination was done through the use of DNS queries of the AAAA IPv6 host record using public DNS servers. It was observed that 55.84% of IPv6 addresses were in the range of 0 to (232 − 1). For those addresses with unique interface identifier (IID) portions, a nearly equal number of sequential and random IIDs were observed. Hong Kong and Germany were found to have the greatest number of IPv6 addresses. These results suggest that adopters are allocating most addresses sequentially, meaning that no security advantage is being obtained. It is unclear as to whether this is through design or the following of accepted practice. Future research will continue to survey the IPv6 address space to determine whether the patterns observed here remain constant

Dynamic Factor Price Equalization & International Convergence

We offer a duality-based methodology for incorporating multi-sector effects of international trade into open economy macroeconomic models, developing the concepts of the dynamic factor price equalization set and the integrated intertemporal equilibrium. Under this approach, the aggregate production function depends on output prices and factor endowment stocks. It preserves all of the structure of a standard GDP function from the trade theory literature. In a two-country version of the model considered below, we examine the properties of the dynamic factor price equalization set. If the global economy is initially outside of this set, the equations of motion will pull the economy back into this set. Inside the dynamic FPE set, factor prices are equalized internationally, and with identical tastes and technology, the economy can be regarded as a fully integrated world equilibrium in a dynamic sense (the integrated intertemporal equilibrium). In this equilibrium, all of the standard properties of a closed economy one-sector neoclassical growth model hold, ruling out cycles and chaos, and allowing us to characterize the evolution of international inequality and the persistence of productivity and endowment shocks. Working from the integrated intertemporal equilibrium, we identify properties of persistence linked to inequality and real economic shocks. Cross-country differences in per capita incomes and wealth, and the factor content of trading patterns, may persist over time and even into the new steady state. This provides yet another reason why we might observe lack of income convergence internationally. In addition, real shocks in one country may be transmitted to the other country through factor markets and product prices, and may have persistent effects into the steady-state as well. The model can also generate an endogenous Balassa-Samuelson effect.Neoclassical Models of Trade, Economic Growth of Open Economies, Cross- Country Output Convergence

Bias in U.S. Import Prices and Demand

The purpose of the paper is to measure the potential bias in the U.S. import price index due to the appearance of new product varieties, or new foreign suppliers, and determine the effect of this bias on the estimated income elasticity of import demand. Existing import price indexes are based on a sample of products from importing firms. We argue that if the share of import expenditure on the sampled products is falling over time, this will lead to an upward bias in the measured index. Using a correction based on the falling expenditure share on sampled countries, we find that the income elasticity of aggregate U.S. import demand is reduced from 2.5 to 1.7, or about halfway to unity. Our estimates suggest that the aggregate import price index is upward biased by about one and one-half percentage points annually.

When “Not Getting Caught” Is Not Enough: Preventing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Liability in International Project Finance

Reinhard Siekaczek, a skeptical former accountant of Siemens A.G., expressed little optimism that Siemens’ violations of German law and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s (“FCPA”) prohibitions against bribing foreign officials would deter others in a world full of corruption. Siekaczek states, “[p]eople will only say about Siemens that they were unlucky and that they broke the 11th commandment. The 11th commandment is: ‘Don’t get caught.’” At Siemens, Siekaczek participated in large-scale bribery by helping maintain a budget of tens of millions of dollars per year that was dedicated to bribing foreign officials, what one bureaucrat described as the “Siemens’ business model” and “institutionalized corruption.” Eventually, Siemens and many of its subsidiaries paid a heavy price for getting caught: over $2.6 billion spent in fees, fines to the U.S. and Germany, and corporate reform measures to replace corruption with compliance. While many American businesspeople and companies who understand the realities of doing business in foreign countries would likely agree with Siekaczek’s lamentation, the problem with the 11th commandment is that “not getting caught” for bribery is becoming increasingly difficult in the U.S. This is so not only because of the FCPA prevents the making of “corrupt payments” to foreign officials for the purpose of promoting business interests, but because the Department of Justice is strictly enforcing the FCPA by investigating more cases levying extremely high fines in plea bargains, and even performing sting operations through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Avoiding notice is likely hard enough in a situation where only one individual is paying bribes, but bribery naturally becomes harder to conceal when multiple parties are involved. Such is the case in the world of international project finance. Because the FCPA’s reach is not restricted to the people who physically pay the money or make an improper offer, liability can extend much further than U.S. companies and businesspeople might expect and hope. Consequently, complicated issues of liability exist for many project finance participants because any one project can include many people and entities—lenders, agents, project sponsors, project companies, constructors, operators, and so forth. Thus, rather than hoping to “not get caught,” project finance participants should take active steps throughout the duration of a project to identify potential violations and prevent bribes. This strategy presents participants with the best opportunity for avoiding FCPA liability, possible jail time, and severe economic and other consequences to the project

From Sagebrush to Subdivisions: Visualizing Tourist Development in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 1967-2002

Historians have long recognized the tendency of communities to embrace tourism when extractive practices like agriculture, mining, and ranching fail as a dominant economic strategy. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a prime example of this phenomenon in the American West. From its origins as a Mormon farming community in the late-nineteenth century, the valley evolved into an extensively developed tourist mecca by the end of the next. While this industry was initially supported by hotel-dwelling auto tourists, by the 1960s wealthy second-home buyers began to descend on Jackson Hole, buying up scenic property and constructing vacation homes. Over the next few decades these neo-natives moved to the valley by the hundreds, initiating dramatic economic, physical, and social consequences which were a direct product of the pace, pattern, and location of development. This thesis explores that relationship, making extensive use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify spatial themes of development in an effort to enlighten historical themes of Jackson Hole\u27s rapidly changing landscape. On a basic level, this process presents a local history of tourist development in Jackson Hole between 1967 and 2002, documenting where development occurred and the consequences and controversy that resulted. Its greater contribution, however, is methodological. The use of GIS as a tool of historical research is still in its infancy, and this project suggests another application of the technique involving the spatial integration of historical and contemporary data. Together, these contributions create an informative and inventive examination of Jackson Hole tourism that expands the potential of historical research

Importance Of Technology Investments In The Logistics Service Providers: A Case Study Of UPS And Its Use Of Online Tools

Logistics service providers must become competitive in mail delivery, customer relationship management (CRM) strategies, and technological integration.  UPS, for example, uses a logistics service strategy to effectively manage the logistical requirements for its 7.9 million daily customers.  Within the competitive market of parcel delivery, logistics service providers must routinely invest in technology in an e-commerce environment in order to successfully develop strategies to meet the demands of B2B and B2C customers, while accomplishing customer efficiency and return on investments.  This strategy has helped logistics service providers to leverage their core competencies; in particular for UPS to become the shipping industry leader in e-commerce.  This research outlines the history, inner workings and culture of UPS, while simultaneously examining the subtleties, which have led to the company’s extraordinary success.  Throughout this analysis, the research will show that in fact there is a rather complex model, which allows UPS to function, as it incorporates B2B, B2C, investments in technology and on-line tools into an outcome of seemingly effortless customer efficiency