A statistical rain attenuation prediction model with application to the advanced communication technology satellite project. Part 2: Theoretical development of a dynamic model and application to rain fade durations and tolerable control delays for fade countermeasures

A dynamic rain attenuation prediction model is developed for use in obtaining the temporal characteristics, on time scales of minutes or hours, of satellite communication link availability. Analagous to the associated static rain attenuation model, which yields yearly attenuation predictions, this dynamic model is applicable at any location in the world that is characterized by the static rain attenuation statistics peculiar to the geometry of the satellite link and the rain statistics of the location. Such statistics are calculated by employing the formalism of Part I of this report. In fact, the dynamic model presented here is an extension of the static model and reduces to the static model in the appropriate limit. By assuming that rain attenuation is dynamically described by a first-order stochastic differential equation in time and that this random attenuation process is a Markov process, an expression for the associated transition probability is obtained by solving the related forward Kolmogorov equation. This transition probability is then used to obtain such temporal rain attenuation statistics as attenuation durations and allowable attenuation margins versus control system delay

Optimizing the antenna system of a microwave space power station: Implications for the selection of operating power, frequency and antenna size

A design for a space power station that is to transmit power to the surface of a planet via high powered microwaves should commence with the optimum design of the transmitting and receiving antenna combination to be employed. Once one has assured that the desired amount of power has been transferred (which, after all, is the prupose of any power transmission system), one can, from the constraints imposed by such a design, taylor other parameters of the system such as antenna sizes and weights, power density in the planet's atmosphere (e.g., to avoid electrical breakdown), and frequency of operation. It is the purpose of this brief analysis to provide the working equations of such an optimized antenna system, and to give examples of their use. Related problems that should be analyzed in the future will then be discussed and a flow chart of the indicated order of priority presented. The analysis given here differs from previous work on this subject in that the development given will allow analytical expressions to be obtained for the relevant parameters. This is made possible by employing an approximation procedure to be given during the exposition

The theory of an auto-resonant field emission cathode relativistic electron accelerator for high efficiency microwave to direct current power conversion

A novel method of microwave power conversion to direct current is discussed that relies on a modification of well known resonant linear relativistic electron accelerator techniques. An analysis is presented that shows how, by establishing a 'slow' electromagnetic field in a waveguide, electrons liberated from an array of field emission cathodes, are resonantly accelerated to several times their rest energy, thus establishing an electric current over a large potential difference. Such an approach is not limited to the relatively low frequencies that characterize the operation of rectennas, and can, with appropriate waveguide and slow wave structure design, be employed in the 300 to 600 GHz range where much smaller transmitting and receiving antennas are needed

Digit ratio (2D:4D) and gender inequalities across nations

Gender inequality varies across nations, where such inequality is defined as the disproportionate representation of one sex over the other in desirable social, economic, and biological roles (typically male over female). Thus in Norway, 40% of parliamentarians are women, in the USA 17%, and in Saudi Arabia 0%. Some of this variation is associated with economic prosperity but there is evidence that this cause and effect can go in either direction. Here we show that within a population the average ratio of index (2D) to ring (4D) finger lengths (2D:4D)—a proxy measure of the relative degree to which offspring is exposed in utero to testosterone versus estrogen—is correlated with measures of gender inequality between nations. We compared male and female 2D:4D ratios to female parliamentary representation, labor force participation, female education level, maternal mortality rates, and juvenile pregnancy rates per nation in a sample of 29 countries. We found those nations who showed higher than expected female fetal exposure to testosterone (low 2D:4D) and lower than expected male exposure to fetal testosterone (high 2D:4D) had higher rates of female parliamentary representation, and higher female labor force participation. In short, the more similar the two sexes were in 2D:4D, the more equal were the two sexes in parliamentary and labor force participation. The other variables were not as strongly correlated. We suggest that higher than expected fetal testosterone in females and lower fetal testosterone in males may lead to high female representation in the national labor force and in parliament

The Happy Accident

In The Happy Accident, Robert Manning\u27s delightful memoir of his early newspaper days in Binghamton, New York, we are brought back to an earlier and seemingly more innocent time when New England — and America — stood on the threshold of change. The moral of going home, it seems, is that as much changes, much never changes — something we should perhaps remember in these last feverish days of the nineteen eighties

Emannuel Levinas, Fr. William Richardson, and the return of the irresponsible subject

This article revisits the famous encounter between Levinas and William Richardson to discuss the subject\u27s ability to return to itself despite Levinas\u27s arguments to the the contrary in OTB

Responsible debt relief: An Algorithmic assessment of household debt capacity and repayment capacity

Since the early 1990s, the growth of U.S. household debt in general consumer credit card debt in particular has soared to unprecedented levels-from an aggregate total of less than $4.0 trillion in 1990 to over$13 trillion in 2008. During this period, the average American household dramatically increased its home mortgage debt, from almost $2.5 trillion in 1990 to nearly$10.5 trillion today. Similarly, consumer revolving or credit card debt quadrupled from $239 billion to about$950 billion today. Moreover the growth of U.S. credit card debt was paid of through mortgage refinancing, home equity loans, and cash proceeds from the sale of real estate over this five-year period. This is consistent with the findings of Alan Greenspan and James Kennedy, who report that equity extraction was used to repay a average of about $50 billion of non-mortgage consumer debt between 1991 to 2005, about 3% of the outstanding balance of that debt at the beginning of the year

Supporting Psychological Well-Being in Emerging Adults with Mental Illness: Effect of a Self-Affirmation Intervention on Resilience, Empowerment, and Self-Stigma

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of an empirically-validated self-affirmation intervention, under conditions of social identity threat for mental illness, in comparison to a control intervention, on resilience, empowerment, self-esteem, hope, group identity, and self-stigma. Data were collected from Connecticut College undergraduate students who identified with having past or present difficulties with their mental health over three time points. Participants responded to four questions about their mental health history as a social identity threat induction prior to engaging in a randomly assigned intervention. They also self- assessed their levels of the primary outcomes using established resilience, stigma, empowerment, hope, self-esteem, and group identity questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and one week after the intervention. Repeated measures ANCOVA analyses examined whether there were statistically significant changes for those assigned to the affirmation intervention, when compared to the control condition, across time. Because of limited intervention effects, all participants were additionally considered together in backwards stepwise regression analyses examining self-stigma’s influence on resilience, empowerment, hope, group identity, and self- esteem over time. Intercorrelation results showed strong negative relationships between self- stigma and positively associated outcome constructs (e.g., resilience) at baseline. Results from the repeated measures ANOVAs showed weak trends for improvements over time in the control condition for certain aspects of resilience. Regression analyses revealed that initial self-stigma significantly predicted changes in group identity and aspects of resiliency over time. The limited benefit of self-affirmation intervention for emerging adults with mental health difficulties in the present study, as well as the unexpected therapeutic value of the “control” intervention, are areas of focus in the discussion. Findings highlighting the negative role of self-stigma support the need for further development and refinement of interventions to foster resilience for emerging adult populations living with a stigmatized identity linked to mental health difficulties. This thesis offers some insight into how well traditional social psychological interventions translate across domains and into clinical populations

Re-examining the maladjusted text: post-war America, the Hollywood Left and the problem with Film Noir

Film noir is a term created after fact and applied back to films from a previous period and studies have often conflated very different films and privileged some facets over others in an endeavour to structure a definition. Some scholars have identified that a relatively small group of films came to be seen by the Hollywood Left as highly significant; and that their discussions of these films were the products of deeper anxieties faced by this group in the immediate post-war period. Subsequent conclusions were made that the Hollywood Left was opposed to this generalised categorisation similar to contemporary understandings of film noir. The thesis examines those films now considered as film noir in their original contexts. Studying the reception of films generally considered to be representative of contemporary understandings of film noir, such as Boomerang (Elia Kazan, 1947) The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946) and Crossfire (Edward Dmytryk, 1947) shows how they were parts of very different cycles at the time and not seen critically as a homogeneous group. The thesis also examines the work of key filmmakers who were making films with pertinent social messages, before concluding with an examination of an incredibly divisive political film, The Iron Curtain (William A. Wellman, 1948). This study investigates the debates of the post-war period relating to the films currently seen as film noir to highlight the distinctions between the films and how their positionings were understood. Analysing key writings from journals, the trade press and newspapers, this research shows how and why specific films caused concern for certain leftist personnel and how particular genres of films are seen now as similar to one another, yet were once understood as starkly opposed