The End of Financial Repression? A Cross-Country Analysis of Investment

We estimate a model of investment under financial restrains due to Demetriades and Devereux (2000), using total and private aggregate investment data from 38 high income and low income countries during 1972-2002. Our main findings for the overall sample are that (i) the US real interest rate is a robust determinant of total investment, suggesting that US monetary policy may have unintended global consequences; (ii) a term proxying domestic financial restraints is found to have an insignificant impact both on total and private investment. These findings are, however, somewhat less conclusive when we examine low income countries on their own, where financial restraints are found to have a negative and marginally significant effect on total investment.Financial restraints; investment; dynamic panel data

A connectionist model for dynamic control

The application of a connectionist modeling method known as competition-based spreading activation to a camera tracking task is described. The potential is explored for automation of control and planning applications using connectionist technology. The emphasis is on applications suitable for use in the NASA Space Station and in related space activities. The results are quite general and could be applicable to control systems in general

Clinical Sociological Perspectives on Social Impacts: From Assessment to Management

The social impact assessment (SIA) field is moving into a critical and central position in resource decision making in our society. Initially conceived as part of the environmental impact statement (EIS) process, SIA is beginning to be recognized as having dimensions far beyond its early scope. This article focuses on the extension of SIA work into the area of social impact management. Current trends in the SIA field leading to the emphasis on management are reviewed, followed by a discussion of the issue-centered approach to SIA. A discussion of decentralization trends sets the stage for understanding the emerging demand for impact management services. A definition of and rationale for social impact management are provided, and four principles of social impact management are described. Finally, the process by which impact management systems are developed is discussed through selected examples

Less Is More: The Physiological Basis for Tapering in Endurance, Strength, and Power Athletes

Taper, or reduced-volume training, improves competition performance across a broad spectrum of exercise modes and populations. This article aims to highlight the physiological mechanisms, namely in skeletal muscle, by which taper improves performance and provide a practical literature-based rationale for implementing taper in varied athletic disciplines. Special attention will be paid to strength- and power-oriented athletes as taper is under-studied and often overlooked in these populations. Tapering can best be summarized by the adage “less is more” because maintained intensity and reduced volume prior to competition yields significant performance benefits

Soybean Pest Control Study

The project was designed to study the effect of controlling insect and disease pests in soybeans. During any given crop season, there are often one or more pest problems that arise in soybean fields, potentially causing yield loss. This yield loss may be prevented by timely application of crop protectants that control pests. The study was designed to determine any yield effect caused by controlling soybean pests with the use of certain crop protectants

Final STS-35 Columbia descent BET products and results for LaRC OEX investigations

Final STS-35 'Columbia' descent Best Estimate Trajectory (BET) products have been developed for Langley Research Center (LaRC) Orbiter Experiments (OEX) investigations. Included are the reconstructed inertial trajectory profile; the Extended BET, which combines the inertial data and, in this instance, the National Weather Service atmospheric information obtained via Johnson Space Center; and the Aerodynamic BET. The inertial BET utilized Inertial Measurement Unit 1 (IMU1) dynamic measurements for deterministic propagation during the ENTREE estimation process. The final estimate was based on the considerable ground based C-band tracking coverage available as well as Tracking Data and Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) Doppler data, a unique use of the latter for endo-atmospheric flight determinations. The actual estimate required simultaneous solutions for the spacecraft position and velocity, spacecraft attitude, and six IMU parameters - three gyro biases and three accelerometer scale factor correction terms. The anchor epoch for this analysis was 19,200 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) seconds which corresponds to an initial Shuttle altitude of approximately 513 kft. The atmospheric data incorporated were evaluated based on Shuttle derived considerations as well as comparisons with other models. The AEROBET was developed based on the Extended BET, the measured spacecraft configuration information, final mass properties, and the final Orbiter preoperation databook. The latter was updated based on aerodynamic consensus incrementals derived by the latest published FAD. The rectified predictions were compared versus the flight computed values and the resultant differences were correlated versus ensemble results for twenty-two previous STS entry flights