Overall requirements for an advanced underground coal extraction system

Underground mining systems suitable for coal seams expoitable in the year 2000 are examined with particular relevance to the resources of Central Appalachia. Requirements for such systems may be summarized as follows: (1) production cost; (2)miner safety; (3) miner health; (4) environmental impact; and (5) coal conservation. No significant trade offs between production cost and other performance indices were found

Identity, Discourse, and Rehabilitation in Parole Hearings in the United States

Research on parole in the United States has primarily followed a deterministic approach, favoring an examination of variables contributing to release. However, a great deal of prior research neglects a central aspect of the parole process: mainly the hearing. Adopting an ethnographically informed conversation analytic approach, this article addresses one tactic offenders utilize to appeal to a state parole board for release– claiming rehabilitated status. Offenders appealing for parole attempt to establish, in a performative space, their identity as rehabilitated. More globally, this article addresses how individual manage, assert, and negotiate identity in the course of interaction. The achievement of “rehabilitation” is substantiated when it results in early release from prison

Requirements for the conceptual design of advanced underground coal extraction systems

Conceptual design requirements are presented for underground coal mining systems having substantially improved performance in the areas of production cost and miner safety. Mandatory performance levels are also set for miner health, environmental impact, and coal recovery. In addition to mandatory design goals and constraints, a number of desirable system characteristics are identified which must be assessed in terms of their impact on production cost and their compatibility with other system elements. Although developed for the flat lying, moderately thick seams of Central Appalachia, these requirements are designed to be easily adaptable to other coals

Report of activities of the advanced coal extraction systems definition project, 1979 - 1980

During this period effort was devoted to: formulation of system performance goals in the areas of production cost, miner safety, miner health, environmental impact, and coal conservation, survey and in depth assessment of promising technology, and characterization of potential resource targets. Primary system performance goals are to achieve a return on incremental investment of 150% of the value required for a low risk capital improvement project and to reduce deaths and disability injuries per million man-hour by 50%. Although these performance goals were developed to be immediately applicable to the Central Appalachian coal resources, they were also designed to be readily adaptable to other coals by appending a geological description of the new resource. The work done on technology assessment was concerned with the performance of the slurry haulage system

Synthesis of regional crust and upper-mantle structure from seismic and gravity data

Available seismic and ground based gravity data are combined to infer the three dimensional crust and upper mantle structure in selected regions. This synthesis and interpretation proceeds from large-scale average models suitable for early comparison with high-altitude satellite potential field data to more detailed delineation of structural boundaries and other variations that may be significant in natural resource assessment. Seismic and ground based gravity data are the primary focal point, but other relevant information (e.g. magnetic field, heat flow, Landsat imagery, geodetic leveling, and natural resources maps) is used to constrain the structure inferred and to assist in defining structural domains and boundaries. The seismic data consists of regional refraction lines, limited reflection coverage, surface wave dispersion, teleseismic P and S wave delay times, anelastic absorption, and regional seismicity patterns. The gravity data base consists of available point gravity determinations for the areas considered

Synthesis of regional crust and upper-mantle structure from seismic and gravity data

Analyses of regional gravity and magnetic patterns, LANDSAT images and geological information revealed two major lineaments crossing western Pennsylvania and parts of surrounding states. These lineaments are inferred to be expressions of fracture zones which penetrare deeply into the crust and possibly the upper mantle. The extensions of the Tyron-Mt. Union and the Pittsburgh-Washington lineaments bound a distinct crustal block (Lake Erie-Maryland block) over 100 km wide and probably more than 600 km in length. Evidence exists for the lateral displacement of this block at least 60 km northwestward during late Precambrian to Lower Ordovician time. Subsequent movements have been mainly vertical with respect to neighboring blocks. A possible crustal block that passes through eastern Kentucky, proposed by a TVA study on tectonics in the southern Appalachians, was also investigated. Finally, the use of regional gravity and magnetic data in identifying major crustal structures beneath western Pennsylvania is discussed

The Boston Opportunity Agenda: A Historic Case Study of Public-Private Partnership in Education (2007-2019)

This historic case study studied the development of the Boston Opportunity Agenda (BOA), a public-private educational partnership, from 2007-2019. Despite significant prominence, influence, and investment from the partners involved, public-private educational partnerships in Boston have been understudied. The intention of this dissertation was to bring an understanding of how this urban educational public-private partnership developed; the motivations of the partners to participate; the partner perceptions of the successes and challenges of the partnership; and the extent of the partnership\u27s influence on the Boston Public Schools. This case study utilized qualitative methods of document analysis and semi-structured interviews of partnership leaders to understand the BOA. To contextualize the findings, the data was examined through three lenses: a historic lens reveals existing relationships with individuals and partners involved in the BOA as well as an understanding of how the BOA replicates, extends, or innovates from previous public-private educational partnerships in Boston; a motivational lens, utilizing a spectrum of reasons for organization’s motivation to partner (Barringer & Harrison, 2000; Cantor, 1990; and Siegel, 2010), provides an understanding of why partners joined the partnership and how these motivations influence the partnership formation and partner experiences; and the collective impact model’s conditions for success (Kania & Kramer, 2011) explain the BOA’s structures and processes and the understanding of how the BOA replicates, extends, or innovates from this model. The results of this study include a detailed account of the actors, decisions, and processes for the development of the partnership along with a deeper understanding of the motivations for partner members to participate. Partner perceptions of strengths were characterized by human capital conditions such as dedication, trust, appropriate staffing along with partnership processes for major initiative development while challenges largely resided in an array of financial constraints. Finally, partnership influence on the Boston Public Schools was observed, although partnership structures revealed some limitations to such influence. The development of the Boston Opportunity Agenda provides a menu of implications to foster partnership success along with a few caveats for current and future urban communities considering public-private educational partnerships

An Opinion On Independent Auditors Opinions Of Substantial Doubt: A SOX-2002 Efficiency Evaluation

Given the recent events involving allegations of ethical misconduct by corporate executives and oversight neglect from the auditing community, the government was motivated to implement national reform to minimize the continued threat of corporate malfeasance. Due to the severity of these corporate scandals, Congress mandated and the President signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX-2002) to affect sweeping corporate disclosure and financial reporting reform to thwart continued scrupulous activities. In light of these events, the motivation of this study is to examine the effects of SOX-2002 in empowering independent auditors to provide unbiased opinions of an entity’s ability to remain as a going concern. The uniqueness of this study is that it attempts to determine if substantial doubt opinions signal bankruptcy greater than the chance occurrence of these events. If true, then these early warnings could be used to minimize the costs of bankruptcy. This study suggests that these opinions do signal bankruptcy filings greater than chance, which supports the position of auditor empowerment in a post-SOX-2002 period

A Simple Approach To Determining The Super-Efficient Investment Portfolio

This paper presents a simple approach to Modern Portfolio Theory that makes the process more understandable and accessible to students. The methodology is a five-step process that begins with the calculation of mean returns, excess returns, betas, unsystematic risk, and excess returns over beta and then systematically ranks a set of funds to determine a supper-efficient optimal portfolio. Data from the TIAA-CREF family of funds was employed in this study but the analysis can be applied to any distinct set of mutual funds. This linear optimization methodology, based on the Elton, Gruber, Brown, and Goetzmann (2003) methodology, is a straightforward tool that can be used to teach students the underlying constructs of modern portfolio theory because it enables the students to learn by performing the analysis themselves. This research will also benefit mutual fund investors because it can be widely applied to help investors make better asset allocation decisions