TRUST IN TRANSITION: CROSS COUNTRY AND FIRM EVIDENCE

This paper uses data from a large survey of firms across 26 transition countries to examine the determinants of trust in the transition process. We first introduce a new measure of trust between firms: the level of prepayment demanded by suppliers from their customers in advance of delivery. Using this new measure, we confirm earlier findings that trust is higher where firms have confidence in third party enforcement through the legal system. However, the fairness and honesty of the courts are a more important determinant of interfirm trust than are the courts’ efficiency or ability to enforce decisions. We then examine the role of business networks in building trust and find that networks based around personal ties – family and friends – and business associations actively promote the development of trust, while business networks based on enterprise insiders and government agencies do not. Finally, we find that country-level effects are significantly more important determinants of interfirm trust than are firm-level effects.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40026/3/wp640.pd

Segmented back-up bar Patent

Segmented back-up bar for butt welding large tubular structures such as rocket booster bodies or tank

Space Station: Leadership for the Future

No longer limited to occasional spectaculars, space has become an essential, almost commonplace dimension of national life. Among other things, space is an arena of competition with our allies and adversaries, a place of business, a field of research, and an avenue of cooperation with our allies. The space station will play a critical role in each of these endeavors. Perhaps the most significant feature of the space station, essential to its utility for science, commerce, and technology, is the permanent nature of its crew. The space station will build upon the tradition of employing new capabilities to explore further and question deeper, and by providing a permanent presence, the station should significantly increase the opportunities for conducting research in space. Economic productivity is, in part, a function of technical innovation. A major thrust of the station design effort is devoted to enhancing performance through advanced technology. The space station represents the commitment of the United States to a future in space. Perhaps most importantly, as recovery from the loss of Challenger and its crew continues, the space station symbolizes the national determination to remain undeterred by tragedy and to continue exploring the frontiers of space

Trust in Transition: Cross-country and Firm Evidence

This paper uses data from a large survey of firms across 26 transition countries to examine the determinants of trust in the transition process. We first introduce a new measure of trust between firms: the level of prepayment demanded by suppliers from their customers in advance of delivery. Using this new measure, we confirm earlier findings that trust is higher where firms have confidence in third party enforcement through the legal system. However, the fairness and honesty of the courts are more important determinants of inter-firm trust than the courts’ efficiency or ability to enforce decisions. We then examine the role of business networks in building trust and find that networks based around personal ties – family and friends – and business associations actively promote the development of trust, while business networks based on enterprise insiders and government agencies do not. Finally, we find that country-level effects are significantly more important determinants of inter-firm trust than firm-level effects.transition, trust, prepayment, courts, business networks

A preferred orientation study of sheet formed by rolling copper, nickel, titanium and tungsten metal powders

Pole figure scans of strip rolled from copper, nickel, titanium, and tungsten metal powders were made on samples taken across the width of the strip, and with various amounts of surface material removed, to determine if any preferred orientation existed. No preferred orientation was found in any of the samples examined. The method used was a modification of the Schultz technique, using the Norelco Pole Figure Fixture, whose geometry and operation is described, in conjunction with the Norelco diffractometer. Defocusing resulting during the run of a pole figure is discussed and a method for reducing this defocusing is described. The rolling of metal powders is briefly discussed and the method used to roll the strip used in the investigation is described. It was found that it was desirable to prepare the pole figure specimen so that its surface is as flat and smooth as possible, preferably by a polish-etch procedure, in order to prevent spurious intensity recordings. Examination of the microstructures of the various sheets indicated that the larger the particle size, the greater the deformation of the particles in the green strip --Abstract, pages ii-iii

Manipulations of Natural System Functions Within the Mississippi Delta: a Simulation-Modeling Study.

This dissertation uses two estuarine spatial models and energy analysis of two river diversions within the Mississippi Delta to test the hypothesis that natural river inputs maximize marsh coverage and have net societal benefits. Substantial advancements including a higher resolution, variable time-step hydrodynamic module, a mass-balance sediment component, and a marsh colonization routine, distinguished the Mississippi Deltas Model (MDM) from the Barataria-Terrebonne Landscape Simulation Model (BTELSS). These advancements made the MDM capable of simulating the progradation of river deltas with varying river regimes. No Action Plans (NAP), simulated by both models, were used as a baseline of comparison for simulations and predicted continued land loss in the Barataria and Terrebonne basins, and land gain in and around the Atchafalaya and Wax Lake Deltas. The river diversion simulation with the BTELSS resulted in the preservation of 113 km2 of marsh and identified river diversions as alternatives that can slow the rate of land loss in abandoned delta lobes. In the LDM simulations with magnified river flow and sediment discharge increased the growth of the deltas above the NAP rate of 2.5 km2/yr, and reversed the trend in surrounding marshes from land loss to land gain. Areas with diminished river inputs due to jetty construction experienced declines in marsh coverage. The results from the model simulations supported the hypothesis that natural river inputs maximize marsh coverage. The river diversion study demonstrated the ability of energy analysis to compare natural energies and economic resources on a common basis and identified a unique concentration of natural energies that characterize delta settings. By relying primarily upon renewable energies inherent in delta environments to produce both economic and ecological benefits, the diversions represent an important component of sustainable management plans for deltaic systems. The amount of additional energy exported due to the diversions outweighed the economic costs and supported the hypothesis that restoring riverine inputs to deltaic marshes has net societal benefits. By maximizing marsh coverage and producing societal benefits, the optimization of natural riverine inputs is a sustainable approach to protect and restore deltaic ecosystems

HYSTERO-NEURASTHENIA, OR NERVOUS EXHAUSTION OF WOMEN, TREATED BY THE S. WEIR MITCHELL METHOD.: Read Before the Chicago Medical Society, March 7, 1887.

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