Pittsburgh's Failed Industry Targeting Strategy of the 1960s

In the 1960's and early 1970's, public and private leaders made a substantial effort to promote Pittsburgh's existing transportation industry as a center for the emerging urban transportation market. The selection of the rapid transit industry for targeting in the 1960's purportedly addressed two issues. Despite national acclaim for its Renaissance redevelopment since World War II, the metropolitan region still needed an effective mass transportation system. Moreover, industrial development efforts had not substantially diversified the region's manufacturing base that still specialized in primary metals. Operating in the region's Renaissance tradition of a public and private partnership, corporate executives and public officials pursued a three-pronged strategy: build an innovative rapid transportation system for Allegheny County, use it as a showcase for testing and marketing rapid transit hardware of regional corporations, and promote the city as a center of the rapid transportation industry. They settled on Westinghouse's automated, rubber-tired vehicle running on a separate cement guideway, known locally as "Skybus," for the demonstration project and the region's mass transit solution. The mass transit plan and industry targeting strategy foundered by the early 1970's because leadership weakened in both poles of the partnership. The Westinghouse technology divided the corporate community, while populist political sentiment diminished the ability of the Democratic party's political machine to deliver key public decisions. The Pittsburgh case suggests that a successful industry targeting strategy may depend more on effective leadership and local politics than on the quality of the selection process and vigorous pursuit of traditional economic development programs in support of the targeted industry

Surface interactions between nickel ions and sodium dodecyl sulfate

In this research the interaction of nickel ions with the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate at the liquid-air interface was studied. Surface tension measurements were performed on pure sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions, with and without the addition of nickel ions. Results of these measurements showed that the addition of nickel ions lowered the equilibrium surface tension values of pure sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions and shifted the critical micelle concentration to lower concentrations. The foam fractionation technique was used to determine if the nickel ions could be removed from surfactant solutions. It was found that the removal of nickel ions was influenced by pH and SDS concentrations --Abstract, page ii

Modeling and control system design and analysis tools for flexible structures

Described here are Boeing software tools used for the development of control laws of flexible structures. The Boeing Company has developed a software tool called Modern Control Software Package (MPAC). MPAC provides the environment necessary for linear model development, analysis, and controller design for large models of flexible structures. There are two features of MPAC which are particularly appropriate for use with large models: (1) numerical accuracy and (2) label-driven nature. With the first feature MPAC uses double precision arithmetic for all numerical operations and relies on EISPAC and LINPACK for the numerical foundation. With the second feature, all MPAC model inputs, outputs, and states are referenced by user-defined labels. This feature allows model modification while maintaining the same state, input, and output names. In addition, there is no need for the user to keep track of a model variable's matrix row and colunm locations. There is a wide range of model manipulation, analysis, and design features within the numerically robust and flexible environment provided by MPAC. Models can be built or modified using either state space or transfer function representations. Existing models can be combined via parallel, series, and feedback connections; and loops of a closed-loop model may be broken for analysis

An Evaluation of Performance and Structural Change in Employment- U.S., Nebraska, and Omaha Area Economies, 1988 to 1995

A periodic comparative evaluation of employment and its composition is worthwhile since employment is one of the most basic determinants of the health of the economy and quality of life. Changes in employment over time reflect restructuring of an economy and, ultimately, have social impacts. Moreover, the underlying trends of employment give an indication of an economy\u27s future growth and wellbeing. A future article will evaluate personal income as a measure of economic performance. This article examines employment data developed by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and compiled by the Bureau of Business Research (BBR). To provide a consistent and comparable analysis, the initial and terminal years of the study, 1988 and 1995, both represent periods of healthy economic growth. The data tables summarize the economies of the U. S. (Table I), Nebraska (Table 2) and the Omaha Area (Tables 3 and 4). The Omaha area includes the Nebraska counties of Douglas, Sarpy, and Washington in Table 3. Pottawattamie County, Iowa is added to the Omaha area in Table 4. Pottawattamie County is also presented separately in Table 5 to show its growth relative to the rest of the Omaha Area. Employment Changes Summary of Employment Changes in the Economies Conclusio

Electron Optics

Contains reports on two research projects.Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAAB07-75-C-1346