The IT Revolution and the Stock Market.

A new technology or product is often developed by the single entrepreneur. Whether he reaches the initial public offering stage or is acquired by a listed firm, it takes time for the innovator to add value to the stock market. Indeed, the innovation may, at first, reduce the market's value because some firms--usually large or old--will cling to old technologies that have lost their momentum. This paper argues that (a) the market declined in the late 1960s because it felt that the old technologies either had lost their momentum or would give way to IT, and that (b) IT innovators boosted the stock market's value only in the 1980s. If the stock market provides a forecast of future events, then the recent dramatic upswing represents a rosy estimate about growth in future profits for the economy. This translates into a forecast of higher output and productivity growth, holding other things equal (such as capital's share of income).INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ; STOCK MARKET

Shuttle system ascent aerodynamic and plume heating

The shuttle program provided a challenge to the aerothermodynamicist due to the complexity of the flow field around the vehicle during ascent, since the configuration causes multiple shock interactions between the elements. Wind tunnel tests provided data for the prediction of the ascent design heating environment which involves both plume and aerodynamic heating phenomena. The approach for the heating methodology based on ground test firings and the use of the wind tunnel data to formulate the math models is discussed

Guinea worm infection in northern Nigeria: Reflections on a disease approaching eradication.

: Global eradication of the guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) is near, although perhaps delayed a little by the discovery of a transmission cycle in dogs. It is therefore an appropriate time to reflect on the severe impact of this infection on the life of the communities where it was endemic prior to the start of the global eradication programme in 1981. From 1971 to 1974, we conducted a series of unpublished studies on guinea worm in a group of villages in Katsina State, northern Nigeria, where the infection was highly endemic. These studies demonstrated the high rate of infection in affected communities, the frequent recurrence of the infection in some subjects and the long-standing disability that remained in some infected individuals. Immunological studies showed a high level of immediate hypersensitivity to adult worm and larval antigens but a downregulation of Th1-type T-cell responses to worm antigens. Freeing communities such as those described in this article from the scourge of guinea worm infection for good will be an important public health triumph.<br/

Comparisons of elastic and creep deformation linearly dependent upon stress

The theory of linear elasticity provides a complete description of reversible deformation under small stresses for both isotropic and anisotropic solids. At elevated temperatures, creep deformation sometimes occurs at a rate that is linearly dependent upon stress. When this form of creep arises from vacancy movement, there is possibility of anisotropic behaviour through the orientational dependence of average grain dimensions. This indicates that the elasticity theory may be utilised to provide comparable descriptions of such creep deformation, with creep strain built up of equal increments of strain occurring in equal intervals of time. The extent of this analogy is explored with the conclusion that its usefulness is substantial when grains are small in relation to geometrical features of the component but it is no longer applicable when the grains approach the size of these features and where there is a high gradient of stress

Public Debt Management In The State Of Maine 1993 through 2010

An analysis of Maine\u27s public debt position was undertaken in order to: 1) review the history of Maine\u27s public debt position; 2) compare Maine\u27s public debt position against the U.S. average; 3) determine whether Maine\u27s public debt position has been doing progressively better, worse, or about the same; and 4) if possible, make immediate-future hypotheses about Maine\u27s public debt position

The Effect of the Interviewer\u27s Status Upon the Linguistic Style and Impact Messages Cenerated by the Obsessive Personality

The present study addressed some of the peripheral statements emanating from Kiesler’s (Kiesler, Bernstein & Anchin, 1976) core communications theory by examining (1) a specific component of the communication style of the obsessive personality, (2) the distinctive emotional engagements the obsessive personality elicits when interacting with others, and (3) a situational determinant that is hypothesized to trigger relatively intense expression of the obsessive’s self-defeating communication style, as well as a higher level of state anxiety. Specifically, the study examined the effects of a high or low status interviewer upon one expressive measure of speech and upon relationship consequences for groups of psychometcially-defined obsessives and non-obsessives. The speech measure used was the revised edition of the Modifiers category of the Psycholinguistic Scoring System for the Obsessive Personality (Kiesler, Moulthrop & Todd, 1972). Modifiers, representing expressions of doubt and uncertainty, were hypothesized to occur more frequently in psychometrically-identified obsessive personalities, particularly in the high status interviewer condition. The emotional reactions evoked in others by an indecisive communication style were assessed by the Impact Message Inventory-Modifier Scale (Greenwood, 1976). It was hypothesized that more intense emotional reactions synonymous with an indecisive communication style would be elicited in observers by the obsessives, particularly in the high status interviewer condition. A wide range of emotional reactions evoked by the obsessive personality were assessed using the Impact Message Inventory (Kiesler, Anchin, Perkins, Chirico, Kyle & Federman, 1976). Finally, the state anxiety of all subjects was assessed before and after the experimental interview using the Anxiety-State Scale of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (Speilberger, Gorsuch & Lushene, 1970). Here again it was predicted that obsessives would display a higher level of state anxiety, especially in the high-status interviewer condition. None of the experimental hypotheses were supported. The results for the predictions were discussed. It was suggested that the experimental analogue situation may not have been appropriate in some respects, particularly with regard to whether the subject selection criteria were adequate in producing a theoretically and clinically relevant group of subjects. Suggestions were offered to mitigate the possible flaws in the present analogue study. It was noted that the nature of the communication task appears to play a large role in the distinctive communication behavior that is evoked and, therefore, that communication task variables should be investigated in future studies. Finally, it was recommended that single-case design studies, using actual obsessive patients, might be the most viable strategy to study theoretical constructs vis a vis the obsessive personality

Managing wildlands for biodiversity: Paradigms and spatial tools

The increasing concern for the conservation of biodiversity arises from a fundamental and ongoing shift in the perception of natural resource systems and the role of humans within nature. The new management paradigm emerging from this shift emphasizes intergenerational time scales, nonequilibrium dynamics, and the information content of nature. The information content of nature manifests itself in variation in patterns at multiple spatial scales. Conservation of the information content of nature requires consideration of the entire landscape, rather than just small fragments, and must specify how anthropogenic disturbances can maintain patterns at multiple spatial scales. New geographic information system tools provide a vocabulary for analysis of pattern and specification of desired future conditions. Lacking a profound functional understanding of ecosystems, managers can use the range of variation in pattern over recent evolutionary time as an interim guide for the development of desired future conditions