Firm dynamics and regional development in Indonesia

Like all economic actors, firms continuously need to adjust to changes of the environment they are operating in. Since firms do not only produce goods or provide services, but also act on the demand side of input factors like labor and capital, any policy change or external shock may not only affect firms directly, but also has an indirect impact on the whole economy. This thesis adds to the understanding of these adjustment dynamics in three particular settings using empirical methods based on micro data from Indonesia. The first chapter of the thesis presents evidence for productivity drops and input factor adjustments due to rising temperatures as a result of climate change. In total, the input factor compensation enables firms to keep their sales levels constant despite rising temperatures. In the second chapter, this thesis adds to the understanding of foreign direct investment (FDI) productivity spillovers among manufacturing firms by splitting vertical spillovers across industries depending on their sectoral distance. The results indicate that the size of FDI spillovers hinges on whether foreign and domestic firms are direct competitors, and the ability of local enterprises to absorb new technology from multinational enterprises. The third chapter shows that the regulation and restriction of FDI flows directly result in productivity drops among firms through a substitution of more productive foreign capital with inferior domestic capital. Even though firms are able to avoid general capital shortages, the findings highlight the tremendous importance of FDI for the international competitiveness of the local economy. In the forth chapter, this thesis addresses the effects of the latter FDI regulation on regional dynamics on local labor markets, finding that a higher regulatory penetration leads to sizable positive employment spillovers in both the manufacturing and the service sector. In conclusion, the last two chapters show that policy makers may face a trade-off between negative productivity effects within firms and employment gains on labor markets when introducing protectionist policies like foreign capital regulation.2022-02-0

Real\u27 blues artists get it on for the folks at the Festival

To the average music aficionado, the term \u27blues\u27 probably conjures up riffs of Eric Clapton or Duane Allman, or the gut-wrenching wails of the late Janis Joplin. These people are all dynamos of the blues genre, but they owe their styles to study of basic blues roots. Their heroes most often be [sic] Robert Johnson, Elmore James, or Billie Holliday

How Nuclearization Changed Americans

This thesis contains the historiography of nuclear age, from the first atomic bombs through the use of nuclear energy today. It then explores the effect of popular culture on the nuclear age, through the use of films, media, and publications. It then suggests two teaching strategies: video reflections and student reflections, and document based learning and includes worksheets and lesson plans. It ends with bibliographies to assist in further research. Attached here as additional files are several Power Point presentations, and a student worksheet

Greysmoke

This project allowed me to explore two of my greatest areas of interest and creative expression: writing and web design. While a World Wide Web presence is not a necessary for the use of hypertext, I believe that the web will be a major conduit for the written word in the years to come. It’s not my intention or desire to replace print and paper, but rather to explore the new tools and avenues available for the creative writer. In creating this piece, I tried to use the most fundamental tools available. The story itself I had already outlined and partly handwritten in notebooks. When developing the hypertext for the web, I used the text editor, Composer, that was part of the web browser I use, Netscape 4.5. This was all free, since I am both student and staff at the University. In addition, I rewrote some of the code using my own knowledge of HTML, in this case 4.0. For designing some of the graphics, I used Microsoft Paint, which is a part of our Windows 95 system on our home Dell 486 PC. For others, I used the one piece of software that purchased, PaintShop Pro 5. At $70, it was bargain, since it contains many of the features in Photoshop 5, which costs @$300. For Now, the novella is available at the library on cd-rom and on the special collections website; and at the English department on cd-rom, with a copy of Netscape 4.5 on the disk as well. (That may make it accessible for the next few years.) I also plan to keep it on any future website that I have – or whatever comes next. Any of my work will always be accessible by doing a search on my name

Design of the steel frame of a racing car

Denne oppgaven omhandler modellering og simulering av en stålramme til en racerbil. Det er gjennomført en litteraturstudie om det grunnleggende innen racerbildesign, med særskilt fokus på rammedesign. Det har blitt brukt store ressurser på 3-D design, modellering og simulering Hovedmålet med denne oppgaven var ikke å designe og utvikle den beste mulige versjonen av en racerbil. Fokuset var i stedet på å simulere og tolke resultatene. Det er imidlertid verdt å nevne at det er utviklet seks versjoner av rammen, der alle er forbedringer av den forrige. Racerbil rammen er designet i Autodesk Inventor Professional 2022. Modellering og simulering ble gjort i Ansys Workbench 2020 R1. Ansys ble brukt til å finne torsjonsstivhet av rammen, oppførsel under statisk og dynamisk belastning og deformasjon under krasj. Resultatene viser at racerbil rammen er tilstrekkelig sterk på alle punkter, med torsjonsstivhet på 13 531,8 Nm/grad og en vekt på 124 kg. Resultater fra Finite Element Analysis indikerer at alle rammeelementer gir tilstrekkelig styrke og oppfyller designkriterier.This thesis concerns the modeling and simulation of the steel frame of a racing car. A literature study on the fundamentals of racing car design, with particular attention to frame design, has been carried out. A considerable amount of time has been invested in 3-D modeling and simulation. The main objective of this thesis was not to design and revise the best possible version of a racing car. The focus was instead on simulating and interpreting the results. However, it is worth mentioning that six frame iterations were made and improved. The design process was carried out using Autodesk Inventor Professional 2022. Ansys Workbench, Release 2020 R1 was used to analyze and simulate torsional stiffness, behavior under dynamic loading, and deformation during impact with a rigid wall. Simulation resulted in a torsional stiffness value of 13 531.8 Nm/degree and low values in bending, compressive, and tensile stress. Values for external loading were estimated using multiplication factors

Design of the steel frame of a racing car

Denne oppgaven omhandler modellering og simulering av en stålramme til en racerbil. Det er gjennomført en litteraturstudie om det grunnleggende innen racerbildesign, med særskilt fokus på rammedesign. Det har blitt brukt store ressurser på 3-D design, modellering og simulering Hovedmålet med denne oppgaven var ikke å designe og utvikle den beste mulige versjonen av en racerbil. Fokuset var i stedet på å simulere og tolke resultatene. Det er imidlertid verdt å nevne at det er utviklet seks versjoner av rammen, der alle er forbedringer av den forrige. Racerbil rammen er designet i Autodesk Inventor Professional 2022. Modellering og simulering ble gjort i Ansys Workbench 2020 R1. Ansys ble brukt til å finne torsjonsstivhet av rammen, oppførsel under statisk og dynamisk belastning og deformasjon under krasj. Resultatene viser at racerbil rammen er tilstrekkelig sterk på alle punkter, med torsjonsstivhet på 13 531,8 Nm/grad og en vekt på 124 kg. Resultater fra Finite Element Analysis indikerer at alle rammeelementer gir tilstrekkelig styrke og oppfyller designkriterier.This thesis concerns the modeling and simulation of the steel frame of a racing car. A literature study on the fundamentals of racing car design, with particular attention to frame design, has been carried out. A considerable amount of time has been invested in 3-D modeling and simulation. The main objective of this thesis was not to design and revise the best possible version of a racing car. The focus was instead on simulating and interpreting the results. However, it is worth mentioning that six frame iterations were made and improved. The design process was carried out using Autodesk Inventor Professional 2022. Ansys Workbench, Release 2020 R1 was used to analyze and simulate torsional stiffness, behavior under dynamic loading, and deformation during impact with a rigid wall. Simulation resulted in a torsional stiffness value of 13 531.8 Nm/degree and low values in bending, compressive, and tensile stress. Values for external loading were estimated using multiplication factors

Design of the steel frame of a racing car

Denne oppgaven omhandler modellering og simulering av en stålramme til en racerbil. Det er gjennomført en litteraturstudie om det grunnleggende innen racerbildesign, med særskilt fokus på rammedesign. Det har blitt brukt store ressurser på 3-D design, modellering og simulering Hovedmålet med denne oppgaven var ikke å designe og utvikle den beste mulige versjonen av en racerbil. Fokuset var i stedet på å simulere og tolke resultatene. Det er imidlertid verdt å nevne at det er utviklet seks versjoner av rammen, der alle er forbedringer av den forrige. Racerbil rammen er designet i Autodesk Inventor Professional 2022. Modellering og simulering ble gjort i Ansys Workbench 2020 R1. Ansys ble brukt til å finne torsjonsstivhet av rammen, oppførsel under statisk og dynamisk belastning og deformasjon under krasj. Resultatene viser at racerbil rammen er tilstrekkelig sterk på alle punkter, med torsjonsstivhet på 13 531,8 Nm/grad og en vekt på 124 kg. Resultater fra Finite Element Analysis indikerer at alle rammeelementer gir tilstrekkelig styrke og oppfyller designkriterier.This thesis concerns the modeling and simulation of the steel frame of a racing car. A literature study on the fundamentals of racing car design, with particular attention to frame design, has been carried out. A considerable amount of time has been invested in 3-D modeling and simulation. The main objective of this thesis was not to design and revise the best possible version of a racing car. The focus was instead on simulating and interpreting the results. However, it is worth mentioning that six frame iterations were made and improved. The design process was carried out using Autodesk Inventor Professional 2022. Ansys Workbench, Release 2020 R1 was used to analyze and simulate torsional stiffness, behavior under dynamic loading, and deformation during impact with a rigid wall. Simulation resulted in a torsional stiffness value of 13 531.8 Nm/degree and low values in bending, compressive, and tensile stress. Values for external loading were estimated using multiplication factors

Korrelation klinischer und immunserologischer Daten bei Patienten mit bullösem Pemphigoid mittels der Entwicklung eines Krankheitsaktivitätsscores und unter Verwendung von ELISA-Daten

Beim bullösen Pemphigoid (BP) handelt es sich um die häufigste erworbene blasenbildende Autoimmunerkrankung des Erwachsenenalters, die organspezifisch die Haut befällt. Der Verlauf ist chronisch entzündlich und geht klassischerweise mit zirkulierenden und gewebsgebundenen Autoantikörpern gegen die hemidesmosomalen Strukturproteine BP180 und BP230, die Bestandteil der Basalmembranzone der Haut sind, einher. Die Folge ist ein Adhäsionsverlust von Epidermis und Dermis, der sich klinisch in Form von prallen subepidermalen Blasen äußert. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, die Korrelation klinischer und immunserologischer Daten bei Patienten mit BP zu analysieren. Den Untersuchungen lag ein Kollektiv von 50 Patienten zugrunde, deren Daten retrospektiv erhoben wurden. Voraussetzung für die Durchführung entsprechender Korrelationsanalysen war die Entwicklung eines Krankheitsaktivitätsscores, anhand dessen die in den Patientenakten dokumentierten Beschreibungen der Effloreszenzen quantifiziert werden konnten. Unter der Berücksichtigung der Vor- und Nachteile etablierter BP- und Pemphigus- Scores bezüglich der Anwendbarkeit auf eine retrospektive Datenerhebung wurde ein neuer Score entwickelt mit dem Ziel, die Krankheitsaktivität so differenziert wie retrospektiv möglich und gleichzeitig sinnvoll zu erfassen. Die Berechnung dieses Scores beruhte auf einer Einteilung der Körperoberfläche in 10 Areale. Jedem Areal wurde in Abhängigkeit von der Qualität und der Quantität der beschriebenen Effloreszenzen mittels verschiedener Gewichtungen ein Punktwert von 0 bis 1 zugeordnet. Bei 10 Arealen spiegelte sich die Krankheitsaktivität somit insgesamt auf einer Messleiste von 0 bis 10 Punkten wider. Die IgG-Antikörperreaktivität gegen fünf verschiedene Konstrukte der Zielantigene BP180 bzw. BP230 war mittels ELISA erfasst und in den Akten dokumentiert worden. Die Analyse der Daten vor Therapiebeginn ergab Folgendes: Während fast ausnahmslos das gesamte Patientenkollektiv eine Antikörperreaktivität gegen mindestens eines der BP180-Konstrukte präsentierte, ließen sich nur in 66% der getesteten Seren entsprechende Reaktivitäten gegen BP230 detektieren. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die IgG-Antikörperreaktivitäten gegen die Konstrukte BP180-ex und BP180-N1 mit der Höhe des Krankheitsaktivitätsscores positiv statistisch signifikant korrelierten. Für das Konstrukt BP230-C1 konnte eine derartige Assoziation klinischer und serologischer Daten statistisch ausgeschlossen werden, wohingegen sie bezüglich der Konstrukte BP180-C1 und BP230-N fraglich blieb. Insgesamt fanden diese Ergebnisse sowohl anhand der Antikörperprofile als auch im Rahmen der Analyse einer Gruppe von sechs Patienten im langfristigen Therapieverlauf Bestätigung. BP180 scheint somit gegenüber BP230 eine übergeordnete Rolle hinsichtlich der Krankheitsaktivität zu spielen. Dies ist vereinbar mit der Theorie des „Epitope spreading“, die postuliert, dass die Immunantwort im Krankheitsverlauf nicht auf ein einziges immundominantes Epitop beschränkt bleibt, sondern sich auf andere Epitope innerhalb desselben oder eines anderen Proteins ausbreitet. Auf das BP angewandt heißt das, dass es sich bei dem Transmembranprotein BP180 vermutlich um das primäre Autoantigen handelt, dessen gegen die extrazellulären Epitope gerichteten Antikörper entscheidend für die Primärreaktion sind und folglich eine enge Assoziation zur Krankheitsaktivität zeigen. Dem gegenüber werden intrazelluläre Epitope des BP180 sowie das intrazellulär gelegene BP230 erst sekundär im Rahmen von Demaskierungsprozessen involviert, wodurch sie Bedeutung für die Krankheitsaktivität gewinnen. Der NC16A-Region, die den größten nicht-kollagenösen Bereich der extrazellulären Domäne (ECD) des BP180 darstellt, wurde im Rahmen dieser Theorie von zahlreichen Autoren besondere Bedeutung als immundominantes Epitop beigemessen. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit zeigten allerdings nicht nur für die Antikörperreaktivität gegen das Konstrukt BP180-N1, welches die NC16A-Domäne umfasst, sondern auch für die BP180-ex-Antikörperreaktivität, die die gesamte ECD abdeckt, eine enge Korrelation zur Krankheitsaktivität. Dies lässt darauf schließen, dass zusätzliche Epitope auf der ECD des BP180 liegen, die ebenfalls für die Pathogenese und das Ausmaß der Krankheitsaktivität von entscheidender Bedeutung sind. Abschließend stellt sich die Frage, welche Rückschlüsse die genannten Ergebnisse auf die Validität des Scores zulassen. Bezüglich der Korrelation klinischer und serologischer Daten zeigte sich eine breite, statistisch basierte Übereinstimmung zu den Ergebnissen vorausgegangener Studien, bei denen die Evaluation der Krankheitsaktivität größtenteils erheblich weniger umfassend, teilweise aber auch sehr detailliert im prospektiven Versuchsaufbau erfolgt war. Daher ist anzunehmen, dass die relevanten Parameter der Quantifizierung der Krankheitsaktivität in den Score eingingen

Getting a zen stick

At a ceremony held at Providence Zen Center this past December, Robert Genthner, of Lexington, Kentucky, became the ninth student to receive formal teaching authority from Zen Master Seung Sahn. Bob is a long-time student of Zen under several teachers and a practicing psychotherapist. He and his wife, Mara, started the Lexington Zen Center in 1982. Bob and members of the Lexington sangha have purchased a large piece of land in Kentucky that Dae Soen Sa Nim has christened as a major retreat site; it is rapidly becoming an important gathering place for the sangha. This talk is excerpted from a talk at Providence Zen Center after the ceremony. Excerpts from the formal Dharma Combat encounters that traditionally precede the granting of inka, or teaching authority, can be found on page

Falling Down, Getting Up

On July 30, 1994 Zen Master Seung Sahn gave dharma transmission to Dae Gak Sunim (Robert Genthner). Following is Zen Master Dae Gak's dharma speech and excerpts from his dharma combat with the sangh