Intersection theory and the Alesker product

Alesker has introduced the space $\mathcal V^\infty(M)$ of {\it smooth valuations} on a smooth manifold $M$, and shown that it admits a natural commutative multiplication. Although Alesker's original construction is highly technical, from a moral perspective this product is simply an artifact of the operation of intersection of two sets. Subsequently Alesker and Bernig gave an expression for the product in terms of differential forms. We show how the Alesker-Bernig formula arises naturally from the intersection interpretation, and apply this insight to give a new formula for the product of a general valuation with a valuation that is expressed in terms of intersections with a sufficiently rich family of smooth polyhedra.Comment: further revisons, now 23 page

Collection Development of HIV/AIDS Information Resources in American Libraries

HIV/AIDS remains an incurable epidemic in the United States that disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM) and African Americans. Library and information science (LIS) professionals can play a vital role in keeping these higher risk groups informed about preventing HIV/AIDS and living with the disease, through a variety of current information resources that addresses their specific questions. This paper reviews collection development policies proposed by LIS professionals and library agencies since the late 1980s, and evaluates how such policies took higher-risk user groups into consideration. The findings of this paper are that collection development policies have become more attentive to higher-risk user groups but that LIS research trends are now beginning to focus more on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in developing countries, which is to the detriment of Americans who still need up-to-date materials on the disease

Productivity and the term structure

The recent record-setting economic expansion and the accompanying record-setting bull market in stocks are often attributed to Federal Reserve interest rate policy and increased productivity. But if interest rates behave differently when productivity changes, interest rate policy may need to change as well. This article examines how productivity changes affect the entire term structure-from short-term interest rates like the federal funds rate, to long-term rates like mortgages, car loans, and corporate bonds.Productivity ; Interest rates

Sticky Prices, Money and Business Fluctuations

Can nominal contracts make a difference for the neutrality of money if these arise endogenously in general equilibrium? This paper utilizes aversion of Lucas's seminal equilibrium business cycle theory to address this question. However, we depart from Lucas in assuming that (1) agents have complete information about the money stock; (ii) fundamental shocks to the system are purely redistributive and private information; and (iii) moral hazard precludes conventional insurance markets.With an exogenous restriction on contracts, money is fully neutral. But, when this restrictionis lifted, efficient risk-sharing between suppliers and demanders leads to a potential nonneutralitv of money. In particular, if an increase in the money growth rate signals a rise in the dispersion of shocks to demanders' wealth,then prices adjust only partially to monetary shocks and there is a positive association between money and output.