TOO MUCH INVESTMENT : A PROBLEM OF COORDINATION FAILURE

This paper shows that coordination failure and contractual incompleteness can lead to socially excessive investment. Firms and workers choose investment levels, then enter a stochastic matching process. If investment levels are discrete, and match frictions are low, high-investing workers (firms) impose a negative pecuniary externality on any worker (firm) who cuts investment. Specifically, an agent cutting investment subsequently bargains with a partner with a binding outside option due to the fact that it can easily match with another high investor. The deviant thus bears the full loss in revenue from its action. However, given enough complementarity in investments, when one agent cuts investment it is efficient that its partner also does so. So, only part of the cost saving accrues to the deviant, with the implication that the net private gain to cutting investment is less than the social gain. A similar argument establishes that over-investment can occur when agents are heterogenous i.e. differ in their cost of investing, even if investments are continuous. Then, over-investment occurs because low-cost investors have a private incentive to invest to shift rent away from high-cost investors. Our model can also explain some recent trends in graduate/non-graduate wage differentials.hold-up ; coordination failure ; matching ; over-investment

Appropriability, Investment Incentives and the Property Rights Theory of the Firm

This paper examines the property rights theory of the firm when a manager's relationship-specific investment can be partially appropriated by the owner of an asset when cooperation breaks down. For example ownership typically confers the right to continue with a project even should the production team dissolve. The investments of non-owners may then be devalued, but are seldom wholly loss to the owner. With such spillovers, the outside-option principle can be incorporated into the Grossman-Hart-Moore framework without implying that ownership demotivates. Enriched predictions on the determinants of integration emerge.theory of the firm

Developing Meaningful Student-Teacher-Scientist Partnerships

This article describes the Earth System Scientist Network, in which students and teachers participate in research projects with scientists. In these projects the scientists can take advantage of having an extended research team, and the students and teachers can contribute to a research project while developing skills in inquiry and expanding content knowledge in Earth system science. Several issues must be addressed in order to facilitate these partnerships: identifying the scientific research questions, the data that the students will analyze, the requirements for participating schools, and the tools and protocols that the students and teachers will use during their research. Other logistical issues must also be addressed, such as assuring that instruments and tools are available to the teachers and students, providing the background information and training they will need, providing additional research questions that can help spark students' interest, and recognizing students and teachers for their contributions. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

On Lexemic and Morphemic Case

Paper by David G. Lockwoo

Mitigation of Water Vapor Interference for Infrared Polarization-Modulated Gas Filter Correlation Radiometry

Gas filter correlation radiometry (GFCR) is a high-resolution, high-specificity technique for sensing gaseous species. A variation of absorption spectroscopy, GFCR has a long-proven record on orbital platforms for quantitative measurements of atmospheric constituents, as well as common usage in ground-based sensing applications. PMGFCR (Polarization-modulated GFCR) is a recent refinement of the technique with several advantages over the traditional method, including reducing the number of photodetectors required, increased sensitivity, and elimination of moving parts. To date, no infrared remote sensors have successfully measured nitric oxide (NO) in vehicle exhaust due to spectral overlap by strong water vapor (H2Ov) absorption bands. The inherent specificity of PMGFCR provides sufficient suppression of H2Ov interference to measure vehicles with high NO emissions (l00\u27s parts per million (ppm)). This thesis investigates optimization of the PMGFCR to further reduce H2Ov interference. We use a computer model to demonstrate that with careful optical filter selection, accurate measurements of NO are feasible with the PM-GFCR, and optimize a laboratory bench-top PM-GFCR system to verify the predictions made with the computer model. Typical measurement error due to transient water vapor may be reduced from over 300 ppm equivalent NO to as little as 2 ppm

Light scattering spectroscopy: studies of electronic excitations and atomic vibrations in matter

This thesis comprises a compendium of forty-two publications on various research topics unified by a common theme s light scattering spectroscopy. The research work presented ranges from experimental studies of the dynamics of atoms in various phases of matter through to theoretical investigations of the light scattering process. The topics discussed are the dynamics of structural phase transitions in proper and improper ferroelectrics, and in antiferroelectrics, for both ordered and disordered systems; the magnetic phase transitions in ordered and disordered compounds; the electronic properties of divalent transition metal ions in pure and dilute systems; the lattice vibrations of ionic, covalent and molecular crystals; the selection rules governing higher-order light scattering processes; the weak interactions occurring between chemical species in both aqueous and non-aqueous solvents; and the use of automation techniques in light scattering spectroscopy

Hello, World: A Simple Application for the Field Programmable Port Extender (FPX)

The FPX provides simple and fast mechanisms to process cells or packets. By performing all computations in FPGA hardware, cells and packets can be processing at the full line speed of the card [currently 2.4 Gbits/sec]. A sample application, called \u27Hello World\u27 has been developed that illustrates how easily an application can be implemented on the FPX. This application uses the FPGA hardware to search for a string on a particular flow and selectively replace contents of the payload. The resulting circuit operates at 119 MHz on a Xilinx XCV 1000E-FG680-7, and occupies less than 1% of the available gates on the device

Asset ownership and investment incentives revisited

Previous work on the property rights theory of the firm suggests that in the presence of outside options, asset ownership may demotivate managers. This paper shows that this conclusion relies on the assumption that a manager’s outside option only depends on her own investment. In many cases, an asset owner has the opportunity to continue with a project even if the team breaks up. The investments of non-owners may then be devalued, but are typically not wholly lost to the owner. This weakens the bargaining power of the non-owner. So, in the presence of cross effects, outside options do not necessarily overturn the property of the original Grossman-Hart-Moore model that an asset transfer may motivate the gainer and demotivate the loser

Too much investment: a problem of coordination failure

This paper shows that coordination failure and contractual incompleteness can lead to socially excessive investment. Firms and workers choose investment levels then enter a stochastic matching process. If investment levels are discrete, then if match frictions are low enough, high investing workers (firms) impose a negative pecuniary externality on any worker (firm) who cuts investment, even by one unit. Specifically, if a worker cuts investment, he subsequently bargains with a firm which has a high outside option due to the fact it can easily match with another high investing worker; this lowers the private net benefit to cutting investment below the social net benefit. A similar argument establishes that over-investment can occur when agents are heterogenous i.e. differ in their cost of investing, even if investments are continuous. Then, over-investment occurs because low-cost investors have a private incentive to invest to shift rent away from high-cost investors. Our model can also explain some recent trends in graduate/non-graduate wage differentials

Resolution of Key Roles for the Distal Pocket Histidine in Cytochrome c Nitrite Reductases

Cytochrome c nitrite reductases perform a key step in the biogeochemical N-cycle by catalyzing the six-electron reduction of nitrite to ammonium. These multi-heme cytochromes contain a number of His/His ligated c-hemes for electron transfer and a structurally differentiated heme that provides the catalytic center. The catalytic heme has proximal ligation from lysine, or histidine, and an exchangeable distal ligand bound within a pocket that includes a conserved histidine. Here we describe properties of a penta-heme cytochrome c nitrite reductase in which the distal His has been substituted by Asn. The variant is unable to catalyze nitrite reduction despite retaining the ability to reduce a proposed intermediate in that process, namely, hydroxylamine. A combination of electrochemical, structural and spectroscopic studies reveals that the variant enzyme simultaneously binds nitrite and electrons at the catalytic heme. As a consequence the distal His is proposed to play a key role in orienting the nitrite for N-O bond cleavage. The electrochemical experiments also reveal that the distal His facilitates rapid nitrite binding to the catalytic heme of the native enzyme. Finally it is noted that the thermodynamic descriptions of nitrite- and electron-binding to the active site of the variant enzyme are modulated by the prevailing oxidation states of the His/His ligated hemes. This is behavior that is likely to be displayed by other multi-centered redox enzymes such that there are wide implications for considering the determinants of catalytic activity in this important and varied group of oxidoreductases