Dan Gilbert, Levan Professor of Ethics and Management

In this latest edition of Next Page, Dan Gilbert, the David M. LeVan Professor of Ethics and Management, shares with us books that inspired his teaching career, his love of baseball (1,100+ games and counting!), and the activities he’s looking forward to as he shakes off the Gettysburg winter and settles into retirement in sunny Southern California. We will miss you, Dan

Local Government -- 1962 Tennessee Survey

Local government cases usually make dry reading, but this year one unusual dispute gives some insight into the customs and court-house politics in one of Tennessee\u27s smaller counties. The county judge and the county register of deeds (a lady) disagreed about office space in the courthouse. The county judge wanted to swap offices with the lady, but she refused. So after talking to the sheriff about it, the judge knocked holes in the lady\u27s wall; whereupon she got an injunction. Judge Shriver, speaking for the court of appeals, said the sheriff could not give the judge permission to knock the lady\u27s wall down. Judge Shriver found a section of the Tennessee Code vesting in the quarterly county court supervision of the courthouse and observed, in passing, that learned counsel failed to take note of this code section which solves the whole problem for everyone concerned

Remarks, AICPA Spring Council Meeting, Boca Raton, Florida, May 1, 1972

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_assoc/2083/thumbnail.jp

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.

Power supply circuit for an ion engine sequentially operated power inverters

A power supply circuit for an ion engine suitable for a spacecraft has a voltage bus having input line and a return line. The power supply circuit includes a pulse width modulation circuit. A plurality of bridge inverter circuits is coupled to the bus and the pulse width modulation circuit. The pulse width modulation circuit generates operating signals having a variable duty cycle. Each bridge inverter has a primary winding and a secondary winding. Each secondary winding is coupled to a rectifier bridge. Each secondary winding is coupled in series with another of the plurality of rectifier bridges

A Study in Social Organization: Change, Uncertainty and the Cultivation of Customers in Service Stations

A large proportion of the people of the United States depend upon the automobile for the greater share of their transportation. Many of their activities are structured so that they must depend upon the flexibility which auto‐mobile transportation provides. Commuting five to forty or more miles to work is common. Shopping seems to be done at scattered locations and frequent intervals in urban areas. Over the past half century the automobile has created great changes in dating and courtship patterns. There have developed drive-in theaters, fast-food restaurants, and motels as a consequence of the automobile. Many of the activities of contemporary Americans are linked to the automobile either directly as with travel or indirectly as with commuting by automobile to work. In this respect, the automobile may be seen as a central symbol in American life similar to the place held by maize in the Mayan villages studied by Redfield (1955: 22-3). Most Americans are unable to conceive of life without automobiles. The functioning of the automobile itself is a mystery, a source of anxiety, and the subject of various rituals for many motorists. Although, for increasing numbers of motorists, self-service gas stations, automobile dealers\u27 shops, or service facilities of large chain retail stores are sources for satisfaction of automotive needs, many still obtain gasoline and minor repair and service work at dealer-operated service stations. Not only do motorists spend large amounts of money each year on their automotive needs, they also spend time at service stations obtaining gasoline and meeting appointments to have their automobiles serviced and repaired. Furthermore, many people earn their living either by working in service stations or supplying service stations themselves with goods and services. Service stations are an important part of modern American culture; they affect the lives of many people. Many of the customers I observed and talked with seemed to have a limited understanding of the service station setting. This was especially true of younger people. One of the practical implications of this study, then, is that it may help automobile drivers and owners to select a service station and deal with the participants of that station in such a way as to better have their motoring needs met