OUTPUT CHANGE IN U.S. AGRICULTURE: AN INPUT-OUTPUT ANALYSIS

This paper analyzes output changes in the U.S. agricultural economy from 1972 to 1977 using a 477-sector input-output framework. The empirical model is based on benchmark input-output data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic analysis for 1972 and 1977. Output changes were decomposed into components attributable to technical change, domestic final demand change, export demand change and import substitution. A major advantage of the decomposition is its ability to identify the output change in a given sector due to general equilibrium effects in all sectors.Import substitution, Input-output, Output change, Technical change, Production Economics,

External Perceptions of the European Union: A Survey of New Zealanders' Perceptions and Attitudes towards the European Union. NCRE Research Series No. 1, February-March 2003

[From the Introduction] The changing profile of New Zealand society, the possible weakening of traditional ties to the UK, as well as New Zealand’s potential Asian “identity”, all serve to underline the need for empirical analysis of contemporary general public perceptions of Europe, one of the dominant economic, political and cultural partners for New Zealand. On the other side of this important relationship, the European Union places great value on its external relations. This initial study offers a unique view of the EU from the outside; the findings constitute the beginning of a longer-term analysis of NZ-EU perceptions. This brochure presents the results and concluding comments of a quantitative study of the perceptions of the EU among New Zealand citizens. The study was launched and carried out by the National Centre for Research on Europe, at the University of Canterbury. These results are the first of their kind in New Zealand. There has been no previous study that explores public opinion on the EU within New Zealand. It is hoped that this report will be useful to all those interested in this important region. It is also anticipated that the survey will be repeated at regular intervals to track the trends in New Zealand views of the EU

The New Zealand Experience: Thank you Jean Monnet

The trajectory of EU Studies in New Zealand has taken multiple paths over the last quarter century, seen a proliferation of organisations and acronyms but a constant and secure funding base maintained by successive tranches of Jean Monnet and other EU funding mechanisms.  The longevity of such a benign environment is now, however, uncertain. It is counter-intuitive, perhaps paradoxical, to witness a change in EU support for academic experts at a time when EU public diplomacy has never been more important

A Survey of the Architecture EU Studies in the Asia-Pacific: New Zealand’s comparative performance

The following survey of the current state of European Union Studies in the Asia-Pacific is in two parts. First, a region-wide perspective is offered that explores the various Networks and Centres that can be found dealing with the EU. This analysis builds on the publication The Future of European Studies in Asia. 2 The second part provides a more focused comparative assessment of EU Studies in New Zealand and the development of the EU Centres Network since 2006

Light Induced a.c. Loss in Amorphous Semiconductors

Enhanced a.c. losses have been observed in thin films of a-Ge and a-Si exposed to low intensity light, of wavelength 633nm, derived from a He-Ne laser. The samples were prepared in sandwich configuration by R. F. sputtering in argon or argon-hydrogen atmospheres. Illumination intensities of 1uWcm-z or less were applied through a semi-transparent gold top electrode. Changes in a.c. conductivity and capacitance of up to 10% were measured at helium temperatures. The optical response at helium temperatures is non-linear. At high intensities, the permittivity increases as I1/4, but at low intensities the response is closer to The temperature dependence of the response is small up to 20K. The recovery to the dark state is non-exponential and usually many hours elapse before no further change can be detected. When 500nm and 800nm light is used, no difference in response can be seen after the different absorption factors of the semiconductor film at these wavelengths have been accounted for. The loss changes induced in the I 1/4 region are similar in pure a-Si and pure a-Ge films but decrease as the hydrogen content of films increases. At low intensities heavily hydrogenated material shows a greater response than pure material. The following model is used to explain the data. Incident photons generate free carriers which are rapidly trapped by deep, clustered defects. The trapped electrons (or holes) are able to respond to the applied a.c. field and contribute an additional loss. The only escape for the trapped electrons at low temperatures is by tunnelling to a neighbouring excess hole. An simple analysis of the appropriate rate equations leads to carrier densities which compare well to the e. s. r. signal in sputtered material. The above model predicts the I 1/2 behaviour at low intensities. During the decay to dark equilibrium, the induced loss is proportional to -log(time). To account for the form of the decay the model is modified to include the fact that, in the dark, the average excited pair separation will increase with time. By postulating a minimum pair separation it is possible to explain the inconsistency of the slow decays to equilibrium and the recombination times estimated from the high temperature loss. However this model fails in that the predicted maximum pair separation is less than the minimum pair separation. This can only be explained by strong carrier self-trapping at the defect site. The reduced response at higher intensities is ascribed to reduced self-trapping for states excited far from the fermi level. The increased self-trapping in hydrogenated material is also reflected in a slower free decay to equilibrium. The active defect is estimated to be approximately 10A in extent which is consistent with the results of the low temperature a.c. field effect. It is suggested that the optically induced loss is derived from a population of correlated pairs of dangling bond states which exist on the internal surfaces of voids

Numerical investigation of a pitching airfoil and resulting flow field effects on a flexible test cell wall

This thesis considers a fluid-structure interaction problem wherein an oscillating airfoil creates pressure gradients along the flexible walls in a wind tunnel test celL The walls are constructed of a clear acrylic material with relatively low stiffness characteristics, potentially causing adverse effects in the flow field and affecting data collection from instrumentation on the walls and in the flow stream. The objective is to explore effects of varying pressure distributions along the walls using numerical methods for determining the pressure profiles, and to quantify the deflection resulting from this pressure loading. A two-dimensional model of the problem reduces computational difficulties, although the material properties must be adjusted to maintain structural equivalency in two­dimensions. Numerical methods for obtaining both static and dynamic data for structural and fluid problems are explored, and the results are compared to experimental data for validation. Static CFD analyses conducted for fixed airfoil pitch angles are followed by static structural analyses with pressure loads from the CFD solutions. ANSYS® and FLOTRAN® software will be used to perform finite element analyses. This effort does not seek to provide further understanding of unsteady aerodynamic phenomena surrounding an oscillating airfoil, or to study the airfoil\u27s structural response to the fluid dynamics

Development and Testing of a 2-D Transfer CCD

This paper describes the development, operation, and characterization of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) that feature an electrode structure that allows the transfer of charge both horizontally and vertically through the image area. Such devices have been termed two-dimensional (2-D) transfer CCDs (2DT CCDs), as opposed to the conventional devices, which might be called one-dimensional transfer CCDs, but in other respects are the same as conventional CCD devices. Batches of two different 2DT CCD test devices, featuring different electrode structures but with identical clocking operation in each case, were produced and tested. The methodology of 2-D charge transfer in each of the device types is described, followed by a presentation of test results from the new CCDs. The ability of both 2DT CCD transfer electrode schemes to successfully transfer charge in both horizontal and vertical directions in the image section of the devices has been proven, opening up potential new applications for 2DT CCD use

Modelling instrument background for CCD x-ray spectrometers in space

The European Space Agency (ESA) X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy (XEUS) mission is designed as a follow-on to the ESA X-ray Multi Mirror (XMM-Newton) mission and may contain charge-coupled device (CCD) based instrumentation. Low instrument background is essential for the mission to maximise sensitivity. Results from XMM-Newton and the Japanese Space Agency Suzaku mission show that both the detector design and the orbit (LEO vs. HEO) have major impacts on the instrument background. This gives implications for the optimal instrument configuration for XEUS and other future missions. Here we use a Monte Carlo simulation technique, utilising the Geant4 toolkit, to model the instrument background for CCDs in-orbit. The model will be initially verified by simulating the background from the XMM-Newton and Suzaku missions and comparing this to real data obtained in-orbit. The simulated data will then be analysed to gain a better understanding of the cause of the background. Suggestions for minimizing the instrument background in future missions based on the results found here are included

Simulating and reproducing instrument background for x-ray CCD spectrometers in space

In anticipation of the European Space Agency (ESA) X-ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy (XEUS) mission, designed as a follow-on to the ESA X-ray Multi Mirror (XMM-Newton) mission, the instrument background for the XMM-Newton mission, the Japanese Space Agency Suzaku mission and the NASA Swift mission has been studied. The instrument background has been modelled using the Geant4 toolkit to establish the constituent components for the differing orbits and detector designs across the energy range from 1 keV to 12 keV. The results, consistent with the spectra obtained in-orbit, are then discussed. With knowledge of the dominant components of the instrument background, methods targeted at reduction in future missions are considered, with experimental results designed to determine their effects