Biaxial prestressing of brittle materials

Strengthening of chemically consolidated zirconia with tungsten fibers, graphite fibers, sapphire whiskers, and silicon carbide whiskers is investigated. Addition of silicon carbide whiskers gives the highest increase in strength of zirconia at room and elevated temperatures. Prestressing with tungsten cables increases tensile strength and ductilit

From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization

This study surveys the academic and professional literature examining the privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), with a focus on empirical studies. Privatisation has been instrumental in reducing state ownership in many countries and had a transforming effect on global stock markets, although the role of SOEs in many other countries is similar to what it was two decades ago. Countries have adopted large-scale privatisation programs primarily for two reasons: first, the conclusive evidence that privately-owned firms outperform SOEs and, second, the empirical evidence clearly shows that privatisation significantly (often dramatically) improves the operating and financial performance of divested firms. Governments can also raise significant revenues by selling SOEs. While the choice between privatisation via public share offering versus through asset sales is still imperfectly understood, factors such as firm size, government fiscal condition, and the state of national economic development are important influences. Further, those countries which have chosen the mass (voucher) privatisation route have done so largely out of necessity--and face ongoing efficiency problems as a result. Governments have great discretion in pricing the SOEs they sell, especially those being sold via public share offering, and they use this discretion to pursue political and economic ends. Finally, investors who purchase the shares of firms being privatised earn significantly positive excess returns both in the short-run (due to deliberate underpricing of share issues by the government) and over one, three, and five-year investment horizons.Capital, Investment, Employment, Financing policy, Ownership structure, Investment banking, Venture capital, Brokerage, Public economics, Sources of revenue, Public enterprises, Boundaries of public and private enterprise, Privatisation, Contracting out

Size and Impact of Privatisation – A Survey of Empirical Studies

Privatisierung, Theorie, Empirische Methode, Privatization, Theory, Empirical method

Development of a system for biaxial prestressing brittle materials

Strengthening zirconia with discontinuous tungsten graphite, sapphire, and silicon carbide fiber

ℓ-space spectroscopy of the Cosmic Microwave Background with the BOOMERanG experiment

The BOOMERanG experiment has recently produced detailed maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background, where sub-horizon structures are resolved with good signal to noise ratio. A power spectrum (spherical harmonics) analysis of the maps detects three peaks, at multipoles ℓ = (213_(-13)^(+10)),(541_(-32)^(+20))(845_(-25)^(+12)). In this paper we discuss the data analysis and the implications of these results for cosmology

Proactive and politically skilled professionals: What is the relationship with affective occupational commitment?

The aim of this study is to extend research on employee affective commitment in three ways: (1) instead of organizational commitment the focus is on occupational commitment; (2) the role of proactive personality on affective occupational commitment is examined; and (3) occupational satisfaction is examined as a mediator and political skills as moderator in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Two connected studies, one in a hospital located in the private sector and one in a university located in the public sector, are carried out in Pakistan, drawing on a total sample of over 400 employees. The results show that proactive personality is positively related to affective occupational commitment, and that occupational satisfaction partly mediates the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. No effect is found for a moderator effect of political skills in the relationship between proactive personality and affective occupational commitment. Political skills however moderate the relationship between proactive personality and affective organizational commitment