Modifying Spending Behavior

Undergraduate Applie

The Electoral Count Mess: The Electoral Count Act of 1887 Is Unconstitutional, and Other Fun Facts (Plus a Few Random Academic Speculations) about Counting Electoral Votes

In this essay, and in light of the controversy that arose in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, we explain the constitutional process for counting electoral votes. In short, every four years, the Twelfth Amendment requires the President of the Senate (usually the Vice President of the United States) to open certificates provided by state presidential electors and count the votes contained therein. The Constitution allows no role for Congress in this process, and thus, the provisions of the Electoral Count Act purporting to grant Congress the power, by concurrent resolution, to reject a state’s electoral votes, is unconstitutional. Further, the objections raised to two states’ electoral votes on January 6, 2021, were not proper within the terms of the Act, and therefore, even if Congress has the power specified in the Act, congressional action rejecting states’ electoral votes would have been contrary to law. While state executive or state judicially-ordered departures from the requirements of state election laws in presidential elections might violate the federal Constitution’s requirement that electors be chosen as specified by state legislatures, determining whether this has taken place is much more complicated than simply examining the language of state election statutes. We suggest that making this determination requires a careful examination of state interpretation traditions that we decline to undertake in this brief essay on the constitutional process for counting electoral votes

Reprocessing Vermont Yankee

In Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519 (1978), the Supreme Court unanimously and stridently chastised the D.C. Circuit for forcing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to employ procedures such as discovery and cross-examination in a notice-and-comment rulemaking when no organic statute, regulation, or constitutional provision required it. Vermont Yankee is almost universally regarded as one of the most important administrative law decisions issued by the Supreme Court. For the past three decades, various scholars, most notably Paul Verkuil and Richard Pierce, have been anticipating, and urging, a Vermont Yankee II, in which the Court would similarly invalidate other administrative law doctrines. These prior calls for a Vermont Yankee II were not actually attempts to extend the reasoning and holding of Vermont Yankee. Rather Vermont Yankee was employed as a broad symbol - a metaphor of sorts - for Supreme Court intervention to reign in undue lower-court interference with agency discretion and autonomy. There are a significant number of important administrative law doctrines that seem to us to fly squarely in the face of all but the most unreasonably narrow understandings of the Vermont Yankee decision. These doctrines, ranging from the prohibitions on agency ex parte contacts and prejudgment in rulemakings to the expanded modern conception of the notice of proposed rulemaking, are all ripe for reconsideration. In this paper, after setting out the Vermont Yankee decision, we examine previous calls for a Vermont Yankee II and explain, in light of what we characterize as the natural reading of Vermont Yankee why the regulation of ex parte contacts and agency prejudgment in rulemakings, and mainstream applications of the APA\u27s notice requirements violate the holding of Vermont Yankee as properly understood, as well as the principles and policies underlying the decision. Rejecting these doctrines is thus the appropriate target for a Vermont Yankee II

Article Open Access QUANTITATIVE PETROPHYSICAL EVALUATION AND RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION OF WELL LOGS FROM "DATOM" OIL FIELD, NIGER DELTA

This paper presents a detailed reservoir characterization of three wells in “Datom” Oil Field, Niger Delta using well logs data. The distributions and thicknesses of sand bodies were determined within each of the wells in the field using interactive petrophysical (IP) software. The quantitative and qualitative analysis were done for the three exploration wells with the depth ranges of 8700-9200ft for Datom North well , 8900-9400ft for Datom West well, and 9000-9500ft for Datom East well. Two distinctive porous sand bodies were identified across the field (A and B), Datom North has it reservoirs as 1A (8815- 8903ft) and 1B (9100-9157ft), Datom West has its reservoir as 2A (8996-9095ft) and 2B (9263- 9321ft) and Datom East as 3A (9101-9219ft) and 3B (9357-9418ft). Petrophysical evaluation was made from a suite of wire-line logs comprising of gamma ray, resistivity, neutron and density logs of the wells. The average porosity values obtained are in the range of 0.18-0.22 with average net pay permeability values ranging from 322.70mD to 733.20mD. The water saturation obtained for each reservoir unit in combination with the resistivity index was used to prove the presence of hydrocarbon in the sand units. The hydrocarbon saturation of the reservoirs are in the range of 0.6-0.7 across the prospect zones with gas effect of the combination logs of neutron and density indicating the hydrocarbon accumulation is predominantly gas. The average net to gross ratio across the reservoirs (0.7-0.9) is defined using an average porosity (∅) and volume of clay ( ) cut offs values of ≥ 0.1 ≤ 0.5 respectively. With a moveable hydrocarbon index (MHI= ⁄ ) less than 0.7 across the sand units, it shows favorable hydrocarbon moveability in the reservoirs. The results clearly revealed that the gas bearing sand units have good reservoir potentials favorable for hydrocarbon production

Research Article 3-D Seismic Attribute Analysis for Enhanced Prospect Definition of "Opu Field'', Coastal Swamp Depobelt Niger Delta, Nigeria

Background and Objective: Analysis of seismic attributes has been an integral part of reflection seismic interpretation for over two decades now. Seismic attributes facilitates structural and stratigraphic interpretation as well as offer hints to formation type and fluid content estimation with the potential benefit of detailed reservoir characterization. The current study evaluated the use of seismic attributes generated from 3D seismic and well log data for characterization of the reservoirs of ʻʼOpu Fieldʼʼ, Coastal Swamp Depobelt, Niger Delta. Materials and Methods: Root mean square (RMS) amplitude, instantaneous frequency and interval average maps were extracted on seismic events with pronounced bright and dim spots. These maps were used to establish the diagnostic ability of 3D seismic attribute analysis in enhancing seismic interpretation and volumetric estimation of the mid Miocene to Pliocene Agbada Formation reservoirs within the Coastal Swamp Depobelt, Niger Delta basin. The methodology involved a well-defined procedure which included the delineation of the various lithologies from the gamma ray log, identification of reservoirs from the resistivity log, regional well correlation, determination of petrophysical parameters, horizon and fault mapping, time to depth conversion, attribute analysis and reserve estimation. Results: Two main reservoirs identified as Sand-A and Sand-B were mapped in the study area using seismic data. Similarly, seven faults labelled F1-F7 and four horizons were mapped within the field. Depth structure maps generated revealed a massive Northeast-Southwest (NE-SW) trending anticlinal structure. Petrophysical analysis revealed a mean porosity value of 18% while the mean permeability values ranged from 63-540 md across the two reservoirs. Water saturation and volume of shale (Vsh) across the reservoirs ranged from 38-90 and 17-82%, respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed that the“Opu Field” has high hydrocarbon potentials and excellent petrophysical characteristics favourable for hydrocarbon accumulation and production. The benefits of integrating structural interpretation, petrophysical evaluation and seismic attributes analysis in prospect identification and reservoir prediction was therefore highlighted in this study

Benefit and performance impact analysis of using hydrogen fuel cell powered e-taxi system on A320 class airliner

This paper presents the work carried out to evaluate the benefits and performance impacts of introducing a hydrogen fuel cell powered electric taxiing system to a conventional short-haul aircraft. Tasks carried out in this research and reported in this paper include the initial system design, hydrogen tank initial sizing, calculation of the impact on fuel burn and emissions and the evaluation of the effects on Direct Operating Cost (DOC). The Airbus A320 has been selected as the datum aircraft for sizing the system, and the benefits analysis is particularly focused on the fleet composition and financial data of a Europe-based, low-cost, large-scale A320 family operator in 2016. The maximum power capacity of 400 kW has been sized based on the rolling friction coefficient of 0.02. Based on the operator’s 2016 financial, up to 1% fuel reduction can be achieved using the proposed system and the reduction in total maintenance cost is expected to be up to 7.3%. Additionally, up to 5.97% net profit improvement is estimated in comparison with the annual after-tax profit of the datum operator in 201

Value stream mapping of information system activities

Industries and organizations struggle to remain viable and competitive. Toyota Motor Company developed Lean Thinking and its continuous incremental improvement of processes through relentless settings, businesses benefit from applying lean prinicples to their organizations. This paper presents an overview of lean methodologies with a focus on Value Stream Mapping (VSM). It discusses the benefits that might be realized when an IS organization supports lean methods and shows how VSM can play an important function in evaluating current and future Information System processes

The Most Southerly Record of a Stranded Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus, from the Western North Atlantic Ocean

An immature female bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) was discovered stranded dead at Witless Bay Point, just south of Mobile Point (47°14' 68.00"N, 52°47' 90.00"W) on the southern shore of the Avalon Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada) on 15 April 2005. This is the second bowhead found stranded dead in Newfoundland in seven years. The first, also an immature female, was discovered in a fjord in northeastern Newfoundland near Rattling Brook (49°40' N, 56°10' W) in October 1998. These animals represent the only bowhead whales known to have been sighted, alive or stranded dead, in waters around the island of Newfoundland. Some possible causes of the death of this most recent animal are discussed, including chronic inflammation of the vertebrae and the associated locomotive difficulties.Le 15 avril 2005, on a trouvé un baleineau boréal femelle (Balaena mysticetus) en détresse morte à Witless Bay Point, juste au sud de Mobile Point (47°14' 68.00"N, 52°47' 90.00"O), sur la côte sud de la presqu’île Avalon de l’île de Terre-Neuve (Terre-Neuve et Labrador, Canada). Il s’agissait de la deuxième baleine boréale retrouvée en détresse à Terre-Neuve en sept ans. La première, également une jeune femelle, avait été trouvée dans un fjord du nord-est de Terre-Neuve, près de Rattling Brook (49°40' N, 56°10' O) en octobre 1998. Il s’agit des seules baleines boréales à n’avoir jamais été repérées, vivantes ou mortes, dans les eaux entourant l’île de Terre-Neuve. Certaines des causes possibles de la mort récente de ce baleineau sont abordées ici, dont une inflammation chronique des vertèbres et les troubles locomoteurs qui en découlent

3D Geomechanical reservoir model for Appraisal and Development of Emi-003 field In Niger Delta, Nigeria

In this paper, geomechanical parameters were effectively integrated in 3-D geostatic model of Emi-003 reservoir in the Niger Delta basin, Nigeria for deformability and rock strength appraisal using well logs and 3D seismic volume. Unconsolidated sandstone and compacted shale were delineated and evaluated by determined elastic moduli (Poisson ratio, Young modulus, Bulk modulus, Shear modulus and Compressibility) and the Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) using sonic logs and petrophysical analysis, correlations and cross plots for comparison of the evaluated reservoir strength, physical properties (such as modulus, porosity, velocity) of the five mapped zones from five vertical wells in the studied reservoir for validation were done. Finally, incorporation of elastic properties, unconfined compressive strength in 3D static model of the studied reservoir was carried out to capture strong lateral variance of rock elastic moduli and strength into areas where well control may not exist. especially off the well points. The results show average parameters of the weakly cemented sand to have lower Poisson ratio, Young, Bulk, Shear modulus and Unconfined compressive strength (0.27, 2.3GPa, 10.8GPa, 6.91GPa, 14.21MPa respectively,) high compressibility and porosity (0.13 GPa-1, 0.26) conversely the compacted shale have higher Poisson ratio, Young, Bulk, Shear modulus and rock strength as (0.36, 8.91GPa, 18.05GPa, 21.09GPa, 56.44MPa respectively) lower compressibility and porosity (0.05 GPa-1, 0.05 respectively). There is a marked increase of rock strength and elastic moduli with relative decrease in porosity. The mechanical failure in the NNW direction of the reservoir will be relatively lower than other areas as analyse using the 3D earth model. The information gathered will help manage reservoir stress and strain induced during development and maximize reservoir performance, while mitigating risk