The pyroelectric properties of TGS for application in infrared detection

The pyroelectric property of triglycine sulfate and its application in the detection of infrared radiation are described. The detectivities of pyroelectric detectors and other types of infrared detectors are compared. The thermal response of a pyroelectric detector element and the resulting electrical response are derived in terms of the material parameters. The noise sources which limit the sensitivity of pyroelectric detectors are described, and the noise equivalent power for each noise source is given as a function of frequency and detector area

Cash Flow Management and Manufacturing Firm Financial Performance: A Longitudinal Perspective

A firm\u27s cash flow policies, which manage working capital in the form of cash receivables from customers, inventory holdings, and cash payments to suppliers, are inexorably linked to the firm\u27s operations. Building on earlier research, this study: (i) extends prior studies by examining the relationships between changes in cash flow measures and changes in firm financial performance using a longitudinal sample of firm data; and (ii) investigates the direction of the relationship between quarterly changes in cash flow positions and firm financial performance. This study is conducted using the Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) methodology to analyze a longitudinal sample of eight quarters of cash flow and financial performance data from 1233 manufacturing firms. The analyses find that changes in the widely used Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) metric do not relate to changes in firm performance; however, changes in the less used Operating Cash Cycle (OCC) metric are found to be significantly associated with changes in Tobin\u27s q. This examination of how changes in specific cash flow measures relate to changes in Tobin\u27s q shows that both reductions in Accounts Receivables (measured as Days of Sales Outstanding [DSO]) and reductions in Inventory (measured as Days of Inventory Outstanding [DIO]) relate to firm financial performance improvements that persist for several quarters. Endogeneity tests of whether a firm\u27s cash flow management strategy leads to changes in firm performance or if the cash flow strategy is a byproduct of firm performance suggest that reductions in DSO lead to improved firm financial performance

An Exploration of ‘Sticky’ Inventory Management in the Manufacturing Industry

Traditional models examining relationships between firm resources and revenues assume that the many expenses and asset holdings change in proportion to changes in demand. However, research has found that for many costs and assets assumed to be variable, the magnitude of a change in a cost or asset in proportion to a change in revenue is smaller during periods when revenue decreases compared to the change in the cost or asset when revenue increases. Costs and assets which behave in this manner have been denoted as ‘sticky’ costs or assets. This study examines if inventory in the manufacturing industry is managed in a ‘sticky’ manner and what implications inventory stickiness has on firm performance. Utilising firm panel data over a 25-year time window we find that inventory stickiness does exist amongst manufacturers and that it has negative implications for firm performance

Militair ingrijpen in de binnenlandse politiek een kader voor analyse

A general model of conflict is brought to bear on the relation of the military vis-à-vis the political system. The model, as elaborated earlier by the author, integrates two distinct approaches of conflict: one a polarization model in the Marxian tradition, essentially a status consistency model, the other a status inconsistency model. In both approaches society is depicted as a distributive system in which social groups are vying for shares of such social goods as can be subsumed under the labels of class, status, and power. It is assumed that an individual assortment of inequivalent shares gives rise to behavior aiming at a reduction of the inconsistency through an increase of the smallest shares. Under certain conditions as specified in the model, such attempts may be countered by defensive strategies on the part of the holders of large shares — reactions which may lead to a blocking of aspirations of upward mobility and cause the other party to radically reorient itself in terms of shared relative deprivation. Aspirations in the basis of large shares are given up; the resulting picture is one of polarization in which haves and have-nots are opposed in a situation of conflict. In this article the military is viewed as a specific social context in which this process may occur. Both internally within the army, and externally in the wider societal context, conflict groups are formed that may enter into coalitions in an attempt to use their leverage in the army in order to promote their goals. The actual number and composition of groups as well as the specific societal referents that occur, vary according to the institutional character of the arena in which competition takes place. As suggested by Huntington, these arenas can be either civic or praetorian, irrespective of the level of political participation. The actual number and composition of groups as well as the specific societal different levels of political participation, whereas the fourth is civic with a high degree of participation. The applications are meant to illustrate which specific hypotheses can be derived from the model. One important implication of the general argument is that a civic arena offers sufficient alternative procedures to social groups in their struggle for social goods so as to virtually exclude violent military intervention from consideration. For such intervention to be a likely outcome, earlier signs of a relapse from a civic state into praetorianism must be evident