7,854 research outputs found
ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF AN EXHAUSTIBLE IRRIGATION WATER SUPPLY: TEXAS HIGH PLAINS
Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,
Industrial Classifications in National Accounting
In the Western world, the classification of industries in the national accounts is universally based on the United Nations International System of Industrial Classification—the I.S.I.C. This system, while ensuring international standardisation and comparability, has to be modified by any particular country to meet its own particular problems. Departures from the system are common where the unit of classification is the enterprise and even frequently where it is the establishment. What is rare is a rearrangement of industries carred out ad hoc to elucidate the particular economic problems of a country.
I believe that in the case of most primary producing countries there is opportunity and need for greater initiative and flexibility on the part of national accountants in the arrangement of industries. It is characteristic of primary producing countries that the centres of production lie either in agriculture and or mining. This production is generally export oriented.
There are normally industrial and distributive activities associated with the primary industries, corresponding to the backward and forward linkages. The backward linkages arise with the provision of goods and services to the primary industries, and the forward linkages with the bulk processing, beneficiation and distribution of the primary products
Innovative techniques for the production of energetic radicals for lunar materials processing including photogeneration via concentrated solar energy
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) is investigating the use of monatomic chlorine produced in a cold plasma to recover oxygen and metallurgically significant metals from lunar materials. Development of techniques for the production of the chlorine radical (and other energetic radicals for these processes) using local planetary resources is a key step for a successful approach. It was demonstrated terrestrially that the use of UV light to energize the photogeneration of OH radicals from ozone or hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solutions can lead to rapid reaction rates for the breakdown of toxic organic compounds in water. A key question is how to use the expanded solar resource at the lunar surface to generate process-useful radicals. This project is aimed at investigating that question
Innovative techniques for the production of energetic radicals for lunar materials processing including photogeneration via concentrated solar energy
A technique for photo generation of radicals is discussed that can be used in the recovery of oxygen and metals from extraterrestrial resources. The concept behind this work was to examine methods whereby radicals can be generated and used in the processing of refractory materials. In that regard, the focus is on the use of sunlight. Sunlight provides useful energy for processing in the forms of both thermal and quantum energy. A number of experiments were conducted in the chlorination of metals with and without the aid of UV and near UV light. The results of some of those experiments are discussed
Can I Tell You the Truth? A Comparative Perspective on Regulating Off-Label Scientific and Medical Information
American pharmaceutical manufacturers are under siege. Even casual observers of this sector recognize the severe challenges to the prevailing business model: declining research productivity; heightened regulatory focus on safety and comparative outcomes with a correspondingly low number of new product approvals; decreasing market capitalization of mature companies; increasing product liability claims; evolving price restraints in the face of increasing managed care market power; and the looming uncertainty of the effects of federal health care reform. But, in fact, the single greatest threat to the pharmaceutical industry may be the policy environment within the United States, which is restricting the ability of companies to speak truthfully with physicians about their products.
During the past decade drug companies have endured intrusive government investigations of their business practices, particularly with respect to the marketing and promotion of their products. Firms face extraordinary civil and criminal liability if they discuss or otherwise attempt to influence prescribing other than for the indications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There are now well more than one hundred ongoing civil and criminal investigations involving the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and units of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as associated investigations run by state attorneys general. Billions of dollars in civil and criminal penalties have been paid to date for alleged wrongdoing, and many billions more surely will be paid in the coming years, on top of the costs of the investigations themselves and the potential further liability that may stem from related private class actions brought by plaintiffs\u27 counsel. The concomitant media and political scrutiny has irreparably harmed the reputation of the industry. If the history of Western civilization may be seen as one long battle pitting order against freedom, the government\u27s effort to curtail off-label speech might be dismissed as a minor skirmish on the outskirts of town. However, this issue is anything but minor in policy terms. The eventual outcome will have significant implications for the practice of medicine, the development of new drugs, and the public health
The Effects of Cognitively Engaging Exercise on Children’s Executive Functioning
This study examines the effect of combining vigorous exercise with cognitively engaging games on children’s executive functioning skills such as self-direction, engagement, and focus. Over four weeks, the research took place in a Montessori early childhood classroom with 17 children ages 2.6 to 6. The four-week study included a one-week baseline week to collect initial data on the capabilities of self-direction and comprehensive data on energy levels and engagement. The children participated in a 14-minute movement activity with 7 minutes of vigorous exercise and 7 minutes of cognitive-engaging games. The researcher used both quantitative and qualitative data tools to examine the effects on children’s ability to independently choose an activity, engage, and focus during the morning. The increased movement and cognitive exercise positively impacted children’s executive functioning skills. Future recommendations would include extending the intervention to study further if productivity continued to increase as the children had more days to engage in the exercises. Based on the data gathered in this action research, I recommend that teachers provide an opportunity for children aged three to six to participate in a short morning gathering where they can engage in vigorous movement and a cognitively engaging game
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