"The Case Against Intergenerational Accounting: The Accounting Campaign Against Social Security and Medicare"

The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) has proposed subjecting the entire federal budget to "intergenerational accounting"--which purports to calculate the debt burden our generation will leave for future generations--and is soliciting comments on the recommendations of its two "exposure drafts." The authors of this brief find that intergenerational accounting is a deeply flawed and unsound concept that should play no role in federal government budgeting, and that arguments based on this concept do not support a case for cutting Social Security or Medicare. The FASAB exposure drafts have not made a persuasive argument about basic matters of accounting, say the authors. Federal budget accounting should not follow the same procedures adopted by households or business firms because the government operates in the public interest, with the power to tax and issue money. There is no evidence, nor any economic theory, behind the proposition that government spending needs to match receipts. Social Security and Medicare spending need not be politically constrained by tax receipts--there cannot be any "underfunding." What matters is the overall fiscal stance of the government, not the stance attributed to one part of the budget.

Analysis of Factors Related to Turnover Intentions within the Financial Management (65Fx/65Wx) Career Field

There is currently a shortage of field grade officers within the United States Air Force’s Financial Management and Cost Analysis (65Fx/65Wx) career field. A questionnaire was distributed to all officers within the career field (N = 618) in order to identify the values and career intentions of the career field’s current officer workforce. Constructs such as organizational commitment, burnout, and perceived availability of civilian job opportunities were analyzed to determine their impacts on an officer’s turnover intentions. Demographics such as commissioning source, current job type, current job location, and time in service were also analyzed to see how they may impact long-term career intentions. Results of this survey indicated that first lieutenants expressed the lowest desire to serve for at least 20 years, had the highest levels of burnout, and the lowest organizational commitment levels. The research team also analyzed whether or not a significant difference exists between officers who have completed the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate Cost Analysis (GCA) program and officers who have not completed the program – in terms of burnout, organizational commitment, and perceived availability of job alternatives. No significant differences were found between the two groups of 65Fx/65Wx officers

Biomechanical comparison of the track start and the modified one-handed track start in competitive swimming: an intervention study

This study compared the conventional track and a new one-handed track start in elite age group swimmers to determine if the new technique had biomechanical implications on dive performance. Five male and seven female GB national qualifiers participated (mean ± SD: age 16.7 ± 1.9 years, stretched stature 1.76 ± 0.8 m, body mass 67.4 ± 7.9 kg) and were assigned to a control group (n = 6) or an intervention group (n = 6) that learned the new onehanded dive technique. All swimmers underwent a 4-week intervention comprising 12 ± 3 thirty-minute training sessions. Video cameras synchronized with an audible signal and timing suite captured temporal and kinematic data. A portable force plate and load cell handrail mounted to a swim starting block collected force data over 3 trials of each technique. A MANCOVA identified Block Time (BT), Flight Time (FT), Peak Horizontal Force of the lower limbs (PHF) and Horizontal Velocity at Take-off (Vx) as covariates. During the 10-m swim trial, significant differences were found in Time to 10 m (TT10m), Total Time (TT), Peak Vertical Force (PVF), Flight Distance (FD), and Horizontal Velocity at Take-off (Vx) (p < .05). Results indicated that the conventional track start method was faster over 10 m, and therefore may be seen as a superior start after a short intervention. During training, swimmers and coaches should focus on the most statistically significant dive performance variables: peak horizontal force and velocity at take-off, block and flight time

Robust radiocarbon dating of wood samples by high-sensitivity liquid scintillation spectroscopy in the 50–70 kyr age range

Although high-sensitivity liquid scintillation (LS) spectroscopy is theoretically capable of producing finite radiocarbon ages in the 50,000- to 70,000-yr range, there is little evidence in the literature that meaningful dates in this time period have been obtained. The pressing need to undertake calibration beyond 26 kyr has resulted in the regular publication of ¹⁴C results in excess of 50 kyr, yet very little effort has been made to demonstrate their accuracy or precision. There is a paucity of systematic studies of the techniques required to produce reliable dates close to background and the methods needed to assess contamination from either in situ sources or laboratory handling and processing. We have studied the requirements for producing accurate and reliable dates beyond 50 kyr. Laboratory procedures include optimization of LS spectrometers to obtain low and stable non-¹⁴C background count rates, use of low-background counting vials, large benzene volumes, long counting times, and preconditioning of vacuum lines. We also discuss the need for multiple analyses of a suitable material containing no original ¹⁴C (background blank) and the application of an appropriate statistical model to compensate for variability in background contamination beyond counting statistics. Accurate and reproducible finite ages >60 kyr are indeed possible by high-sensitivity LS spectroscopy, but require corroborating background blank data to be defensible

Some physics issues facing the open cycle Gas Core Nuclear Rocket

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76323/1/AIAA-1991-3650-874.pd

Gas core fission and inertial fusion propulsion systems - A preliminary assessment

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76205/1/AIAA-1991-1833-546.pd

Business Ethics: A View From The Classroom

The global economy has been devastated in the last year and according to Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, America's economy was threatened, reminiscent of the Great Depression. Our nation is also in a serious ethical and moral decline, as evidenced by steroid use in baseball, corporate scandals, accounting fraud, religious immorality within churches, human trafficking and the rise of cheating and plagiarism in our school systems. The lines between right and wrong have been blurred, relegating moral and ethical boundaries to outdated standards. This paper will seek to establish some answers regarding university students in the classroom such as, what is the perceived attitudes of today&rsquo;s college students toward ethical behavior, are they na&iuml;ve, etc? Also, this paper will explore ways in which professors can reinforce appropriate ethical behavior as an essential element in our society

Transformational Decision Making: A Corporate Success Story In Purchasing

The purpose of this case study is to provide a pedagogical teaching tool for undergraduate business students to fully comprehend the importance of the business management functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling businesses.  This case is inspired by events in the history of Rockwell International Corporation.  As a major conglomerate struggles to transform itself over a period of eight decades, Rockwell provided a challenging problem for students to solve

Teams That Work: Preparing Student Teams For The Workplace

Organizations today often require collaboration in the form of work teams. Many tasks completed within organizations, whether in the workplace or in academia, however, can be beyond the capabilities of individuals alone. Productive teamwork and cooperative activities in business are expected and can begin very early in a person's career. The pedagogy for teamwork instruction in the classroom may not simulate real workplace events or parallel organizational behavior in order to attain a successful outcome. In universities, teamwork often breeds frustration and dysfunction, since the teams often do not perform at a high level or reach their full potential. This paper will provide best practices for creating productive teams in the classroom in preparation for the workforce. This insight will include ideas that will bond team members through collective values and goals, resulting in effective teams and a productive environment

Mars missions with the MICF fusion propulsion system

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76184/1/AIAA-1988-2926-630.pd