Obstructing extensions of the functor Spec to noncommutative rings

In this paper we study contravariant functors from the category of rings to the category of sets whose restriction to the full subcategory of commutative rings is isomorphic to the prime spectrum functor Spec. The main result reveals a common characteristic of these functors: every such functor assigns the empty set to M_n(C) for n >= 3. The proof relies, in part, on the Kochen-Specker Theorem of quantum mechanics. The analogous result for noncommutative extensions of the Gelfand spectrum functor for C*-algebras is also proved.Comment: 23 pages. To appear in Israel J. Math. Title was changed; introduction was rewritten; old Section 2 was removed to streamline the exposition; final section was rewritten to omit an error in the earlier proof of Theorem 1.

Efficiency Measures and Regulation: An Illustration of the Gas Distribution Sector in Argentina

The paper develops a cost frontier model of gas distribution and estimates it on data for gas distribution companies of Argentina. Efficiency measures are an important tool for regulators, showing how much a firm can rise its output without using more inputs. In Argentina, the Regulatory Framework of the gas sector establishes that only firms that are efficient can earn a rate of return similar to those activities that bear comparable risk. In this context, the estimate of efficiency measures is an indispensable tool to improve regulation of the privatised utilities. The first part of the paper consists in a theoretical survey of the existent literature where we discuss recent developments in this field, paying special attention to the case of regulated utilities. Deterministic and stochastic cost frontiers are analysed, both for the cases of cross-section and panel data. In the second part, we use econometrics methods to estimate a cost frontier (deterministic and stochastic) for the gas distribution sector in Argentina. Finally, the efficiency rankings of the companies are estimated.Efficiency Measures; Gas Distribution Sector in Argentina

The Two Schools are Now One

Document publicizing the union of the Rhode Island Commercial School and Bryant & Stratton Business College in 1916

Consistency Conditions: Efficiency Measures for the Electricity Distribution Sector in South America

The main goals of this paper are basically two: to compare the relative efficiency of the firms in the electricity distribution sector in South America, and to perform a consistency analysis on the different approaches usually used to measure efficiency. The estimated model considers a single output (customers) and six variables standing for inputs and environmental characteristics (service area, sales, market structure, mains kilometres of distribution, number of employees and transformer capacity). Information on these variables comes from the CIER database for the accounting year ending in 1994. This model is in line with the previous literature on the subject. It has been found that, in general, the consistency conditions are met.Consistency Conditions; Efficiency Measures; Electricity Distribution Sector

The NLRB\u27s Purple Communications Decision: Email, Property, and the Changing Patterns of Industrial Life

On December 11th, 2014, in a much-anticipated case, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) held in a 3-2 decision that employees with access to an employer’s email system had a presumptive right to use that email system during non-working time under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). In an attempt to adapt to the “changing patterns of industrial life,” the NLRB reversed a seven-year precedent by overturning In re Guard Publ\u27g Co., 351 N.L.R.B. 1110 (2007), and thereby gave employees the statutory right to use employer email systems for non-business purposes. This issue brief argues that the majority opinion in Purple Commc\u27ns, Inc., 361 N.L.R.B. No. 126 (2014) erroneously presumed that a ban on employer email systems interfered with employees’ rights to engage in concerted activities under Section 7. In reality, the influx of alternative avenues of communication, such as smartphones, social media, and tablets, have substantially grown for employees over the past several years, thus strengthening employees’ Section 7 rights. The new framework set forth in Purple Communications not only exaggerates the need for employees to exercise their Section 7 rights by using a company’s email system, but also unfairly burdens an employer’s resources, time, and energy in implementing such access. For these reasons, the rule in Purple Communications is unworkable and the prior Register Guard standard should still apply