The Valuation Effects of Private Placements of Public Corporations\u27 Common Stock

Outside shareholders should benefit when the firm issues common stock through a private placement. Our propositions are (1) that the private issue of common equity creates a value-maximizing insider that has the incentive and ability to monitor and discipline, and thereby reduce agency costs and (2) investors can reduce uncertainty about the value of thinly traded stock by observing the share price negotiated by the well-informed buyer. Both of these benefits are especially applicable to small firms. Our empirical evidence supports hypotheses based on these propositions

Mammals of Southwestern Arkansas Part II. Rodents

This study investigated the composition and habitat affinities of the mammalian fauna of southwestern Arkansas. The study area was comprised of the 21 counties located south and/or west of and including Pulaski County. The previously existing data set pertaining to the mammals of Arkansas was notably incomplete and this study area in particular, was poorly known mammalogically. Specimens were collected by standard trapping and salvage methods throughout the study area. The mammals considered during this study were limited to those species meeting a set of criteria designed to eliminate species that had been introduced or artificially maintained. This study has accumulated records of 25 species of rodents; over 1500 specimens have been recorded; and a total of 95 new county records have been documented

An innovative approach to compensator design

The design is considered of a computer-aided-compensator for a control system from a frequency domain point of view. The design technique developed is based on describing the open loop frequency response by n discrete frequency points which result in n functions of the compensator coefficients. Several of these functions are chosen so that the system specifications are properly portrayed; then mathematical programming is used to improve all of these functions which have values below minimum standards. To do this, several definitions in regard to measuring the performance of a system in the frequency domain are given, e.g., relative stability, relative attenuation, proper phasing, etc. Next, theorems which govern the number of compensator coefficients necessary to make improvements in a certain number of functions are proved. After this a mathematical programming tool for aiding in the solution of the problem is developed. This tool is called the constraint improvement algorithm. Then for applying the constraint improvement algorithm generalized, gradients for the constraints are derived. Finally, the necessary theory is incorporated in a Computer program called CIP (compensator Improvement Program). The practical usefulness of CIP is demonstrated by two large system examples

An AI approach for scheduling space-station payloads at Kennedy Space Center

The Payload Processing for Space-Station Operations (PHITS) is a prototype modeling tool capable of addressing many Space Station related concerns. The system's object oriented design approach coupled with a powerful user interface provide the user with capabilities to easily define and model many applications. PHITS differs from many artificial intelligence based systems in that it couples scheduling and goal-directed simulation to ensure that on-orbit requirement dates are satisfied