Qing history in America: past accomplishments and present trends

Fifty years ago, Chinese history hardly existed as a field of study in the United States. In 1935, there were no more than a dozen active American sinologists of whom only one or two were historians.1 Today there are over sixteen hundred members of the Association of Asian Studies who study China, of whom at least seven hundred are historians and one hundred are social scientists who work extensively with historical material. 2 Chinese studies has made vast strides largely under the banner of area studies. History, especially Qing history, has predominated. Qing historians have their own journal and their own professional association with a membership of well over three hundred individuals.3 They account for almost half of all Chinese historians and receive the bulk of all historical funding

The design and construction of an electronically beam steered phased array antenna : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Physics at Massey University

The design and construction of a simple beam steered phased array antenna was undertaken to demonstrate the operational principles behind such devices. The antenna can be used as a receiver or transmitter, however power requirements dictated that the antenna be tested as a receiver. The design is modular to allow for redevelopment without complete reconstruction. The array is made up of the control module, voltage controlled attenuators and a phase shifting unit. The antenna consists of 16 quarter wave monopoles arranged in a 4X4 square array on an aluminium ground plane. Practical considerations lead to a carrier frequency of 200 MHz. The heart of a phased array antenna is the phase shifting device. This device controls the direction in which the main radiation lobe propagates. Several phase shifting principles were investigated but time did not allow for an exhaustive investigation of every kind of phase shifter. Initially, a relatively new and novel approach was attempted. When this proved to be unachievable a more traditional (but far less elegant) method was used. During the phase shifting process, the signal necessarily suffers attenuation as well as the designed phase shift, consequently it is necessary to tailor the signal amplitudes of each array element. The required amplitude control is achieved through the use of 16 voltage controlled attenuators. A computer package is used to control the phase shifter and attenuators. The design of this package depends on only three factors. The first is the interface between the hardware and the computer (via a serial port in this case). The second factor is the type of control signal the phase shifter and attenuators respond to (in this case a dc voltage). The third factor is the range of voltage required for the phase shifter and attenuators so that their full range can be utilised. This is realised through the use of a microprocessor, a "sample and hold" circuit and several D/A converters. The antenna and computer control package are essentially independent of each other. If an 8 bit digital phase shifter were to be employed later, the hardware could be used to control this with minimal alteration. In this case the advantage of a modular design is apparent. Various parts of the device can be incrementally improved without alteration to the remaining system. Radical change can be accommodated with minimal adjustments

Capital Destruction and Economic Growth: The Effects of Sherman’s March, 1850-1920

Working paper.Using General William Sherman’s 1864--65 military march through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina during the American Civil War, this paper studies the effect of capital destruction on short- and long-run local economic activity, and the role of financial markets in the recovery process. We match an 1865 US War Department map of Sherman’s march to county-level demographic, agricultural, and manufacturing data from the 1850–1920 US Censuses. We show that the capital destruction induced by the March led to a large contraction in agricultural investment, farming asset prices, and manufacturing activity. Elements of the decline in agriculture persisted through 1920. Using information on local banks and access to credit, we argue that the underdevelopment of financial markets played a role in weakening the recovery

Changing times for animal damage control

At present, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is in the process of taking over the national animal damage control program from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. I discuss the history of the federal animal damage control program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture beginning in the late 1800s. Once USDA assumes full control of the present program, the areas of emphasis will be cooperative operational control, research, and informational and educational efforts. For the first time, the program will have a Secretary’s advisory committee on ADC. An interdepartmental policy committee chaired by APHIS will involve other USDA agencies: Forest Service, Extension Service, Economic Research Service, Agricultural Research Service, and Cooperative State Research Service. Details of future efforts in research, and in information and education, are discussed