Taxation and Corporate Financial Policy

A model of corporate financial policy (debt-equity ratios and dividend payout rates) is included in the Harberger general equilibrium model of incidence of the corporate income tax. Illustrative calculations of the distortions of financial policy and increases in risk premiums induced by the corporate tax are provided. Because risk premiums on corporate securities would be reduced, eliminating the corporate tax or integrating it into the personal tax would increase the income of non-corporate investors relatively more than that of investors in corporate securities, and is therefore less regressive than is commonly thought.

Subsonic maneuver capability of a supersonic cruise fighter wing concept

A theoretical and experimental investigation was conducted of the subsonic maneuver capability of a fighter wing concept designed for supersonic cruise. To improve the subsonic maneuver capability, the wing utilized full-span leading- and trailing-edge flaps that were designed with the aid of a subsonic-analysis computer program. Wind-tunnel tests were made at Mach numbers of 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7. Force and moment data obtained were compared with theoretical predictions of Mach 0.5 from two subsonic-analysis computer programs. The two theoretical programs gave a good prediction of the lift and drag characteristics but only a fair prediction of the pitching moment. The experimental results of this study show that with the proper combination of leading- and trailing-edge flap deflections, a suction parameter of nearly 90 percent can be attained at a Mach number of 0.5 and a lift coefficient of 0.73; this is a three-fold improvement from 30 percent for the basic wing

Effluent sampling of Titan 3 C vehicle exhaust

Downwind in situ ground-level measurements of the exhaust from a Titan 3 C launch vehicle were made during a normal launch. The measurement activity was conducted as part of an overall program to obtain field data for comparison with the multilayer dispersion model currently being used to predict the behavior of rocket vehicle exhaust clouds. All measurements were confined to land, ranging from the launch pad to approximately 2 kilometers downwind from the pad. Measurement systems included detectors for hydrogen chloride (HCl), carbon dioxide (CO2), and particulates (Al2O3). Airborne and ground-based optical systems were employed to monitor exhaust cloud rise, growth, and movement. These measurement systems, located along the ground track (45 deg azimuth from the launch pad) of the exhaust cloud, showed no effluents attributable to the launch. Some hydrogen chloride and aluminum oxide were detected in the surface wind direction (15 deg azimuth) from the pad. Comparisons with the model were made in three areas: (1) assumption of cloud geometry at stabilization; (2) prediction of cloud stabilization altitude; and (3) prediction of the path of cloud travel. In addition, the importance of elemental analyses of the particulate samples is illustrated

Advanced Rotorcraft Transmission (ART) program

Work performed by the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company and Lucas Western, Inc. within the U.S. Army/NASA Advanced Rotorcraft Transmission (ART) Program is summarized. The design of a 5000 horsepower transmission for a next generation advanced attack helicopter is described. Government goals for the program were to define technology and detail design the ART to meet, as a minimum, a weight reduction of 25 percent, an internal noise reduction of 10 dB plus a mean-time-between-removal (MTBR) of 5000 hours compared to a state-of-the-art baseline transmission. The split-torque transmission developed using face gears achieved a 40 percent weight reduction, a 9.6 dB noise reduction and a 5270 hour MTBR in meeting or exceeding the above goals. Aircraft mission performance and cost improvements resulting from installation of the ART would include a 17 to 22 percent improvement in loss-exchange ratio during combat, a 22 percent improvement in mean-time-between-failure, a transmission acquisition cost savings of 23 percent of $165K, per unit, and an average transmission direct operating cost savings of 33 percent, or$24K per flight hour. Face gear tests performed successfully at NASA Lewis are summarized. Also, program results of advanced material tooth scoring tests, single tooth bending tests, Charpy impact energy tests, compact tension fracture toughness tests and tensile strength tests are summarized

Sanctions for E-Discovery Violations: By the Numbers

This Article reviews our comprehensive survey of written opinions from cases in federal courts prior to January 1, 2010, involving motions for sanctions relating to the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI) We analyzed each case for various factors, including date, court, type of case, sanctioning authority, sanctioned party, sanctioned misconduct, sanction type, sanctions to counsel, if any, and the protections provided from sanctions by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e) The survey identified 401 sanction cases and 230 sanction awards and showed that sanction motions and awards have increased over time, particularly in the last five years Sanctions against counsel are rare but are also increasing Sanction motions have been filed in all types of cases and in courts across the country Failure to produce ESI is the most common basis for sanctions Courts have used a variety of different rules, statutes, and powers to sanction parties for e-disco very violations, including Rule 37 and the inherent power of the court, and courts impose many different sanction types on e-discovery violators, including the severe sanctions of dismissal, default Judgment, adverse jury instructions, and sizeable monetary awards Rule 37(e) has not provided broad protection from such sanction

Sanctions for E-Discovery Violations: By the Numbers

This Article reviews our comprehensive survey of written opinions from cases in federal courts prior to January 1, 2010, involving motions for sanctions relating to the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI) We analyzed each case for various factors, including date, court, type of case, sanctioning authority, sanctioned party, sanctioned misconduct, sanction type, sanctions to counsel, if any, and the protections provided from sanctions by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(e) The survey identified 401 sanction cases and 230 sanction awards and showed that sanction motions and awards have increased over time, particularly in the last five years Sanctions against counsel are rare but are also increasing Sanction motions have been filed in all types of cases and in courts across the country Failure to produce ESI is the most common basis for sanctions Courts have used a variety of different rules, statutes, and powers to sanction parties for e-disco very violations, including Rule 37 and the inherent power of the court, and courts impose many different sanction types on e-discovery violators, including the severe sanctions of dismissal, default Judgment, adverse jury instructions, and sizeable monetary awards Rule 37(e) has not provided broad protection from such sanction

Do People Make the Place?: An Examination of the Attraction-Selection-Attrition Hypothesis

This study tests the hypotheses that (1) congruence between internal need states and external environments drives the organizational-choice process, and (2) those attracted to particular organizations are more homogeneous than the applicant pool in general. Subjects were evaluated on fourteen needs using the Jackson Personality Research Form. They then viewed two video-taped segments of simulated campus interviews to gain information about two distinct organizational types. The interview segments entered the discussion in-progress to avoid any reference to a particular job which might introduce an occupational confound. Subjects received job offers from both organizations and were asked to indicate which of the two organizations they found more attractive by accepting one of the offers. Analysis of variance results indicated only weak support for the congruency hypothesis. Differences were observed in n Ach between the groups of subjects attracted to each organization. No differences were found for any of the other need strength measures. This suggests that the subjects attracted to the ifferent organizations are substantially similar. Implications for the homogeneity hypothesis are discussed and suggestions for further study of this concept are offered

Studies on the mixing in a density-stratified shear flow

The objective of this study was to examine in a fundamental way the mixing processes in a stably-stratified shear flow. The results of the experimental program have yielded information on the nature of turbulence and mixing in density-stratified fluids. The results can be applied to such problems as the determination of the spreading and mixing rates of heated effluents discharged to lakes or the ocean, as well as to many geophysical problems. An experimental investigation was made to measure the mixing in a two-layered density-stratified shear flow in a flume 40-meters long, with a cross-section of 110 cm wide by 60 cm deep. Both mean temperatures and the mean velocities of the two layers could be independently controlled, and steps were taken to ensure that the temperatures and velocities of the two layers remained nearly constant at the inlet. The relative density difference between the layers was 10^-3 or less. A laser-Doppler velocimeter, designed for this study, allowed measurements of two components of velocity simultaneously, while a sensitive thermistor was used to measure the temperature. The temperature and velocity measurements were recorded and later analyzed. The initial mixing layer which developed at the inlet was found to be dominated by large, two-dimensional vortex structures. When the flow was sufficiently stratified, these structures would collapse in a short distance and the flow would develop a laminar shear layer at the interface. It was found that the bulk-Richardson number , where is the maximum-slope thickness of the temperature profile, attained a maximum value of between 0.25 and 0.3 when the mixing layer collapsed. Downstream, much less turbulent mixing took place in the stratified flows than homogeneous flows. The depth-averaged turbulent diffusivities for heat and momentum were often 30 to 100 times smaller in stratified flows than in homogeneous flows. The turbulence downstream was found to be dominated by large turbulent bursts, during which the vertical turbulent transport of momentum, heat and turbulent kinetic energy are many times larger than their mean values. It was found these bursts were responsible for most of the total turbulent transport of momentum, heat and turbulent kinetic energy, even though the bursts were found only intermittently. The flux Richardson number, Rf, in the flow was examined and found to be related to the local mean-Richardson number in many cases. When production of turbulent kinetic energy from the mean shear, , was the largest source of turbulent kinetic energy, it was found that Rf < 0.3, and when the flow was strongly stratified, then Rf < 0.2. If the diffusion of turbulent kinetic energy was the largest source of turbulent kinetic energy, then the flux-Richardson number often attained large values, and the quantity was found to be a more useful parameter than Rf. It was found that, in almost all cases, the rate at which the potential energy of the fluid increased due to turbulent mixing was much less than the estimated rate of viscous dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy

Pessimistic portfolio allocation and Choquet expected utility

Recent developments in the theory of choice under uncertainty and risk yield a pessimistic decision theory that replaces the classical expected utility criterion with a Choquet expectation that accentuates the likelihood of the least favorable outcomes. A parallel theory has recently emerged in the literature on risk assessment. It is shown that a general form of pessimistic portfolio optimization based on the Choquet approach may be formulated as a problem of linear quantile regression.