F(r)iction

Architecture is a space for stories; stories of the inhabitants, the designers, and the builders... In my thesis I’m using architecture to tell stories, and criticize ideologies. Stories become the program, the structure, and “building material”, my site is any place where the criticized ideology dominates. Architecture becomes a question and discussion. It is my question about life, and it is the question of the characters of the story about life. Eventually it’s the question of every inhabitant of it. It’s also an armature for different conditions of interaction of private and public. In my architecture, spaces are constructed from specific vantage points of different characters of the story, from both literal and ideological vantage points. The inhabitants of it have the chance to see “live” the story from someone else’s eyes, and maybe the world, through different point of views... Inhabitants can also live and create their own stories both in the physical and in the story space

Speculative Growth

We propose a framework for understanding recurrent historical episodes of vigorous economic expansion accompanied by extreme asset valuations, as exhibited by Japan in the 1980's and the U.S. in the 1990's. We interpret this phenomenon as a high-valuation equilibrium with a low effective cost of capital based on optimism about the future availability of funds for investment. The key to the sustainability of such equilibrium is feedback from increased growth to an increase in the supply of funding. We show that such feedback arises naturally when the expansion is concentrated in a new economy' sector and when it is supported by sustained financial surpluses-both of which would constitute an integral part, as cause and consequence, of a speculative growth' equilibrium. The high-valuation equilibrium we analyze may take the form of a stock market bubble. In contrast to classic bubbles on non-productive assets, the bubbles in our model encourage real investments, boost long run savings, and may appear in dynamically efficient economies.

On the Timing and Efficiency of Creative Destruction

This paper analyzes the timing, pace and efficiency of the on- going job reallocation that results from product and process innovation. There are strong reasons why an efficient economy ought to concentrate both job creation and destruction during cyclical downturns, when the opportunity cost of reallocation is lowest. Malfunctioning labor markets can disrupt this synchronized pattern and decouple creation and destruction. Moreover, irrespective of whether workers are too strong or too weak, labor market inefficiencies generally lead to technological 'sclerosis,' characterized by excessively slow renovation. Government incentives to production may alleviate high unemployment in this economy, but at the cost of exacerbating sclerosis. Creation incentives, on the contrary, increase the pace of reallocation. We show how an optimal combination of both types of policies can restore economic efficiency.

The Cost of Recessions Revisited: A Reverse-Liquidationist View

The observation that liquidations are concentrated in recessions has long been the subject of controversy. One view holds that liquidations are beneficial in that they result in increased restructuring. Another view holds that liquidations are privately inefficient and essentially wasteful. This paper proposes an alternative perspective. Based on a combination of theory and empirical evidence on gross job flows and on financial and labor market rents, we find that, cumulatively, recessions result in reduced restructuring, and that this is likely to be socially costly once we consider inefficiencies on both the creation and destruction margins.

Speculative Growth: Hints from the US Economy

We propose a framework for understanding recurrent historical episodes of vigorous economic expansion accompanied by extreme asset valuations, as exhibited by the U.S. in the 1990s. We interpret this phenomenon as a high-valuation equilibrium with a low effective cost of capital based on optimism about the future availability of funds for investment. The key to the sustainability of such an equilibrium is feedback from increased growth to an increase in the supply of effective funding. We show that such feedback arises naturally when an expansion comes with technological progress in the capital producing sector, when fiscal rules generate sustained fiscal surpluses, when the rest of the world has lower expansion potential, and when financial constraints are relaxed by the expansion itself. Arguably, these ingredients were all simultaneously present in the U.S. during the 1990s. We also show that such expansions can be welfare improving but they can crash. The latter is more likely if bubbles develop along the expansionary path. These (rational) bubbles can emerge even when the interest rate exceeds the rate of growth of the economy.

Creative Destruction and Development: Institutions, Crises, and Restructuring

There is increasing empirical evidence that creative destruction, driven by experimentation and the adoption of new products and processes when investment is sunk, is a core mechanism of development. Obstacles to this process are likely to be obstacles to the progress in standards of living. Generically, underdeveloped and politicized institutions are a major impediment to a well-functioning creative destruction process, and result in sluggish creation, technological sclerosis,' and spurious reallocation. Those ills reflect the macroeconomic consequences of contracting failures in the presence of sunk investments. Recurrent crises are another major obstacle to creative destruction. The common inference that increased liquidations during crises result in increased restructuring is unwarranted. Indications are, to the contrary, that crises freeze the restructuring process and that this is associated with the tight financial-market conditions that follow. This productivity cost of recessions adds to the traditional costs of resource under-utilization.

Pollination of Medicinal Plants (Nigella sativa and Coriandrum sativum) and Cucurbita pepo in Jordan

The aim of this doctorate thesis was to reveal the reproductive system and to identify the main pollinators in Jordan of Black Cumin (Nigella sativa) Coriander (Coriandrumer sativum) and squash (Cucurbita pepo). These plants are wide spread in Jordan and are used for medical treatments and as spices and food. Furthermore two surveys of solitary bees and the mellitophilous flowering plants were conducted in the Jordan Valley at 150 m below and in Northern Jordan at 200m above sea level from January until April. On these transects 261 bee individuals out of 11 Genera were recorded. The density of bees in the Jordan Valley was higher than in the northern study site. Most bees were active during March. 106 species out of 23 families of melittophilous plants were found. Most species were from the families Caryophyllaceae, Gramineae and Compositae. The following pollination treatments were conducted. 1. Open pollination (flower is accessible for all visitors); 2. Spontaneous selfing (bagged flower, no pollinator can touch the flower, but selfing can happen); 3. Forced selfing (emasculation and hand pollination, afterwards bagged); and 4. Cross pollination. Measured and compared were the seed set after these trials. They were repeated in two years at the two study sites in order to see whether different pollinators are present.Nigella sativa: Black cumin produced most seed after open pollination (86% of the ovaries set seed), when the flowers were forced to self pollination seed set reached at 85%, after cross pollination seed set was 75%, seed set in emasculated flowers (selfing) rendered only 13%. Nigella has a special way to assure spontaneous self pollination. This mechanism was described and compared with a similar mechanism in Nigella arvensis. The only pollinators were honey bees.Coriander sativum: Coriander has hermaphroditic male and female flowers. The hermaphroditic flowers are strictly self-incompatible. However geitonogamie between male and hermaphroditic flowers renders at least 25%. Analyses of fertilized seeds showed that they contain 14,9% Protein while non fertilized ones had a significant lower content of 4.7%. This again shows that pollination does not only produce well shaped fruits but also increases the quality of the content of seeds. Only honeybees pollinated the Coriander flowers.Cucurbita pepo: Open pollination gave the best results (88%) while hand cross pollination was less effective (86.1%). Geitonogamy reached similar results as Hand cross-pollination with 84%. In these flowers only honeybees were recorded.Pollination auf medizinische Pflanzen (Nigella sativa und Coriandrum sativum) und Cucurbita pepo in Jordanien Eines der Ziele der vorliegenden Arbeit war, die Bienenfauna und ihre Trachtpflanzen an zwei Standorten im nördlichen Hochland (200m über NN) und im Jordan Tal (150 unter NN) zu erfassen. Des Weiteren wurden die Reproduktionssysteme von Schwarzkümmel Nigella sativa L., Koriander, Corinander sativum L. und Kürbis, Cucurbita pepo L. untersucht. Hierzu war es notwendig, den Beginn und die Dauer der jeweiligen männlichen und weiblichen Phase der Blüten zu ermitteln. Folgende Versuchsansätze wurden durchgeführt: Offene Bestäubung, Fremdbestäubung, Test auf spontane Autogamie, Test auf Selbstkompatibilität und Emaskulation. Auch sollte geklärt werden, welche Funktion die autogenen Bewegungen der Stamina und des Stylus bei Nigella und Koriander haben. Die Charakteristika dieser Bewegungen sollten mit bereits bekannten Mechanismen zur Selbstbestäubung bei verwandten Arten verglichen werden. Die Bienenfauna im Jordan Tal und in Nord-Jordanien wurde vom Januar bis April 2007 untersucht. Bei den Begehungen wurden mittels Handfängen 261 Bienen gesammelt, die zu 11 Gattungen gehören. Die Anzahl der Bienen zur diesen Zeit war in Jordan Valley höher als die in Nord-Jordanien. Die Phase der höchsten Flugaktivität der Bienen war März. Bei der Erfassung des Artenbestandes der Pflanzen wurden 106 Arten aus 23 Familien nachgewiesen. Die 3 größten Familien waren Caryophyllaceae, Gramineae und Compositae.Nigella sativa L. zeigte bei der offenen Bestäubung einen hohen relativen Samenansatz von 86%; beim Test auf Selbstkompatibilität lag der Samenansatz bei 85%, bei der Fremdbestäubung bei 75%. Bei der Autogamie ergab sich einen Samenansatz von 46.5%, die emaskulierten Blüten zeigten dagegen den geringsten Samenansatz von 13%. Der einzige Bestäuber war die Honigbiene. 67% der besuchenden Bienen waren Pollensammlerinnen und 33% waren Nektarsammlerinnen. Nigella hat einen speziellen Mechanismus zur aktiven Selbstbestäubung. Dieser wurde beobachtet und beschrieben und mit dem ähnlichen Mechanismus bei Nigella arvensis verglichen.Corinander sativum L.: Koriander hat drei Typen von Blüten, zwittrige, männliche und weibliche. Die zwittrigen Blüten sind strickt selbst-inkompatibel. Bei der Nachbarbestäubung zwischen dem Pollen einer männlichen Blüte mit einer zwittrigen können sich aus ca. 25% der Ovarien Samen bilden. Die offene Bestäubung war die effektivste mit 52% Samenansatz. Auf den Blüten wurden ausschließlich Honigbienen nachgewiesen. Es wurde gezeigt, dass die unbefruchteten Samen einen Proteinanteil von 4.7% haben, während bei den befruchteten Samen der Proteinanteil bei 14,9% lag.Cucurbita pepo L.: Bei der offenen Bestäubung bildeten 90,7% der Ovarien Samen, bei Fremdbestäubung 85,1% und bei der Nachbarbestäubung (Geitonogamie) lag der Samenansatz bei 86%. Der Bestäuber waren auch hier ausschließlich Honigbienen.</p

On the Ills of Adjustment

We analyze market impediments to the process of structural adjustment. We focus on incomplete-contract inefficiencies in the transactions between workers and firms that render the quasi-rents from 'specific' investment appropriable. During adjustment, the result is a depressed rate of creation of the new productive structure and excessive destruction of the old one, leading to an employment crisis. Moreover, appropriability weakens the incentives for extensive restructuring and results in a 'sclerotic' productive structure. An adequate managed- adjustment program combines vigorous creation incentives in the expanding sector with measures to support employment in the contracting one. In contrast, the common prescription of gradualism does not act as an effective 'synchronizer' of creation and destruction, for it can only reduce destruction by also reducing an already depressed creation rate.

Knitted ECG electrodes in relaxed fitting garments

A wide range of signal quality indices (SQIs) related to statistical methods, are used to guide the optimisation process of knitted textile electrodes for ECG recordings. The electrode structure and composition as well as their integration into a garment are evaluated in view of a fully knitted garment. The dry electrodes with the best SQIs are obtained by using conductive yarn only with a compact knit structure and a medium level of roughness. The best SQIs for the e-garment were obtained by sewing electrodes at their edges only, into the knitted garment. This implementation outperforms the intarsia and double-knit method as it allows the garment some independent movement from the electrodes, reducing motion artifacts. Tests done on a healthy volunteer demonstrate excellent system performance under gentle ambulation. The advantage of using SQIs in the optimisation process of dry textile ECG electrodes is that they offer a quantitative benchmark against which to compare other approaches. The fully knitted clothing allows for more relaxed e-garments when gentle ambulation is considered

Speculative growth

November 27, 200