“I Will Never Forget the Sound of those Engines Going Away”: A Re-Examination of the Sinking of HMCS \u3cem\u3eAthabaskan\u3c/em\u3e, 29 April 1944

On the morning of 29 April 1944 the Canadian Tribal Class Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan was sunk in the English Channel after an engagement with the German Elbing Class Destroyers T-24 and T-27. The official explanation from the “inquiry into the Loss of HMCS Athabaskan” claimed that Athabaskan sank because of two explosions, the first at 0417 hours, and the second at 0427 hours. The first explosion was attributed to a torpedo from T-24. The second explosion was believed to have occurred when fuel fires, caused by the first explosion, ignited the 4-inch magazine. While this may seem simple and complete, an examination of the source material reveals that there is much confusion as to the actual chain of events. This confusion is focused on the cause of the second explosion. Eyewitness accounts have Athabaskan being torpedoed twice on the port side. This explanation seems to have been discounted by the Board. Then there are Athabaskan and Haida’s reports of “three echoes” being seen on the radar and Commander DeWolf’s assertion that German E-boats were involved. This assertion became the basis for Len Burrow and Emile Beaudoin’s book Unlucky Lady: The Life and Death of HMCS Athabaskan. Yet this book raises more questions than it answers. The E-boat mystery has been put to rest by Michael Whitby, in his article “‘Fooling Around The French Coast’: RCN Tribal Class Destroyers in Action, April 1944.” He cites the German record of the action and states that the only German vessels involved were T-24 and T-27. This has resulted in the British inquiry being deemed officially correct, with credit for the sinking being attributed to T-24. Yet this confusion is compounded by the statement in the inquiry’s report that the members of the board: “did not consider [whether] any other ships were present.” This is a curious statement. It is quite likely that another ship was indeed present. Unfortunately, it may have been the British Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) 677 (commanded by Lieutenant A. Clayton, RNVR). All reconstructions of the action on 29 April 1944 have centred on the movements of Haida and Athabaskan beginning at 0400 hours. Yet the actions of all of the other participants must be reviewed to fully understand the situation. The movements of the other forces have, to date, been ignored. When the positions of the Tribals, the minelayers and the MTB’s are plotted together, the inferences become astounding

The US economy from 1992 to 1998: historical and decomposition simulations with the USAGE model

USAGE is a 500 industry dynamic computable general equilibrium model of the US economy being developed at Monash University in collaboration with the US International Trade Commission. In common with the MONASH model of Australia, USAGE is designed for four modes of analysis: Historical, where we estimate changes in technology and consumer preferences; Decomposition, where we explain periods of economic history in terms of driving factors such as changes in technology and consumer preferences; Forecast, where we derive basecase forecasts for industries, occupations and regions that are consistent with trends from historical simulations and with available expert opinions; and Policy, where we derive deviations from basecase forecast paths caused by assumed policies. This paper reports our first set of historical and decomposition results. The historical results quantify several aspects of technical change in US industries for the period 1992 to 1998 including: intermediate-input-saving technical change; primary-factor-saving technical change; labor-capital bias in technical change; and import- domestic bias in technical change. The historical results also quantify shifts in consumer preferences between commodities. The decomposition results are applied in illustrative analyses of growth in US international trade between 1992 and 1998 and of growth in the US steel industry for this period.

PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS CONSIDERING ESTIMATION RISK AND IMPERFECT MARKETS

Mean-variance efficient portfolio analysis is applied to situations where not all assets are perfectly price elastic in demand nor are asset moments known with certainty. Estimation and solution of such a model are based on an agricultural banking example. The distinction and advantages of a Bayesian formulation over a classical statistical approach are considered. For maximizing expected utility subject to a linear demand curve, a negative exponential utility function gives a mathematical programming problem with a quartic term. Thus, standard quadratic programming solutions are not optimal. Empirical results show important differences between classical and Bayesian approaches for portfolio composition, expected return and measures of risk.Agricultural Finance, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Regional macroeconomic outcomes under alternative arrangements for the financing of urban infrastructure

Many studies, both of Australia and of comparable developed economies, have found that the economic benefits from investment in urban infrastructure are substantial. However the nature of this infrastructure is often such that it is under-provided by the private sector. In Australia, much of the responsibility for the provision of urban infrastructure rests with state and local government. However throughout the 1990’s many of Australia’s state governments embarked on a period of fiscal restraint, seeking to improve financial positions weakened by exposure to failed state government enterprises in the early 1990’s. Perhaps because of the deferred consequences of reducing spending on infrastructure, a large proportion of this fiscal adjustment appears to have been borne by spending on public infrastructure. Today, policy attention at the state government level is again focussing on public infrastructure. However in spite of the now robust fiscal positions of Australia’s state governments, there remains a reluctance on their part to finance public infrastructure through debt, and raising taxes is perceived as politically unpopular. Instead, governments are exploring alternative financing instruments, such as developer charges and public-private partnerships. This paper uses a dynamic multi-regional CGE model (MMRF) to evaluate the regional macro economic consequences of four alternative methods of financing an expansion in state government spending on public infrastructure. The four methods are developer charges, payroll tax, government debt, and residential rates. The paper confirms that the services provided by public infrastructure can have significant impacts on the regional macro economy. More importantly however, the paper demonstrates that the total gains from urban infrastructure are quite sensitive to the means chosen by government to finance infrastructure investment. In contrast to up-front financing methods (such as developer charges, payroll tax, and residential rates), the paper finds that the gains from urban infrastructure are greatest when the chosen financing method provides a closer match between the timing of the burden of financing the infrastructure and the timing of the benefits provided by the infrastructure. This can be achieved by instruments such as debt, public-private partnerships, and user charges. On this basis the paper finds that a greater reliance by regional government son debt financing might be warranted, and that the gains from infrastructure expenditure are least when that expenditure is financed by developer charges.

Information technologies that facilitate care coordination: provider and patient perspectives

Health information technology is a core infrastructure for the chronic care model, integrated care, and other organized care delivery models. From the provider perspective, health information exchange (HIE) helps aggregate and share information about a patient or population from several sources. HIE technologies include direct messages, transfer of care, and event notification services. From the patient perspective, personal health records, secure messaging, text messages, and other mHealth applications may coordinate patients and providers. Patient-reported outcomes and social media technologies enable patients to share health information with many stakeholders, including providers, caregivers, and other patients. An information architecture that integrates personal health record and mHealth applications, with HIEs that combine the electronic health records of multiple healthcare systems will create a rich, dynamic ecosystem for patient collaboration

Concerted hydrogen atom exchange between three HF molecules

We have investigated the termolecular reaction involving concerted hydrogen exchange between three HF molecules, with particular emphasis on the effects of correlation at the various stationary points along the reaction. Using an extended basis, we have located the geometries of the stable hydrogen-bonded trimer, which is of C(sub 3h) symmetry, and the transition state for hydrogen exchange, which is of D(sub 3h) symmetry. The energies of the exchange reation were then evaluated at the correlated level, using a large atomic natural orbital basis and correlating all valence electrons. Several correlation treatments were used, namely, configration interaction with single and double excitations, coupled-pair functional, and coupled-cluster methods. We are thus able to measure the effect of accounting for size-extensivity. Zero-point corrections to the correlated level energetics were determined using analytic second derivative techniques at the SCF level. Our best calculations, which include the effects of connected triple excitations in the coupled-cluster procedure, indicate that the trimer is bound by 9 +/- 1 kcal/mol relative to three separate monomers, in excellent agreement with previous estimates. The barrier to concerted hydrogen exchange is 15 kcal/mol above the trimer, or only 4.7 kcal/mol above three separated monomers. Thus the barrier to hydrogen exchange between HF molecules via this termolecular process is very low

Monitoring systems for managing natural resources: economics, indicators and environmental externalities in a Costa Rican watershed

The worsening degradation of natural resources urgently requires the adoption of more sustainable management practices. This need has led to growing interest and investment in monitoring systems for tracking the condition of natural resources. This study is concerned with the design of monitoring systems that have direct relevance for the management of natural resources. We call these Policy Relevant Monitoring Systems (PRMS). Such systems have several key characteristics. They provide: a) a decision framework for selecting resource problems to monitor that offer potentially large social payoffs relative to the costs of monitoring, b) timely, including early warning information on emerging problems, c) a means of identifying the causes of an emerging problem, d) an analytical framework for identifying options for corrective action, e) an institutional framework for achieving ownership among key stakeholders (the resource users and those affected by the resource use) and agreement about emerging problems, the corrective actions to take, and effective implementation, and f) a built-in mechanism for learning from past experience to improve the performance of the monitoring system over time. The approach is developed and illustrated through detailed examination of the Arenal-Tempisque watershed in Costa Rica. This watershed exhibits classic multiple user and externality problems: deforestation by dairy and cattle farmers in the upper watershed leads to soil erosion and siltation of the various reservoirs that feed an important hydro-electric power generation system, and agro-chemical use by irrigated farmers has adverse impacts on a highly valued wetlands park and on wildlife and fishing in the lower reaches of the watershed.Natural resources., Environmental degradation., Costa Rica, Watershed management.,

Liturgical music in Rome (1605-45)

Research has been undertaken on Palestrina, the main figure in Roman liturgical music at the close of the 16th century, and on Carissimi who enjoyed a similar position in the mid-17th century. While there exists a considerable stylistic distinction between the work of these composers, little attempt has been made to trace the transition of the intervening generation. It has been held that Romans so revered the memory of Palestrina as to continue to imitate his style, and to allow no place for the manifestation of an idiom more typical of the seicento, with its monodies and the continuo. The thesis examines this repertory, and indicates that Roman composers did keep pace with progressive tendencies which were becoming apparent throughout the peninsula. The small-scale motet was popular in Rome from the 1590s; the solo and concertato motets gained currency in Rome from the second decade of the century; and the basso continuo was standard from 1603 onwards. A different view therefore emerges from the traditional one stated in Bukofzer's Music in the Baroque Era xdiere Rome is described as the 'bulwark of traditionalism'. Chapter I gives an introduction to previous literature and Chapter II deals with historical and artistic aspects of the period. The thesis then falls broadly into two parts, the one archival and the other dealing with the music. Chapter III discusses references to music in the archives of five churches. The music is then discussed according to liturgical function: the Mass is treated in Chapter IV; music for the divine office (Vespers, Matins and Compline) in Chapter V; and the motet in Chapter VI. Finally, a synthesis of archival and musical material is presented in the one area where this is possible, the multiple-choir repertory commonly called the 'colossal Baroque'

Essays on Short Selling

This dissertation examines the role of short selling and short sellers in the process by which information is gathered and incorporated into stock prices. The first essay examines how the ability to short sell impacts adverse selection in financial markets through its impact on investors’ incentives to gather costly information. The second essay examines how systematic changes across the business cycle affect what types of information – macro economic or firm specific – short sellers allocate attention to during recessions and expansions