Tax Policies and Residential Mobility

Governmental tax policies have direct consequences for public spending and the distribution of wealth among a country’s population. But unintended consequences may also occur as a result of the design of those policies. We illustrate the potential impact of such unintended consequences by analyzing differences in home ownership mobility in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts that appear to result from the distinct differences in the design of real estate tax polices across these states. California’s Proposition 13, which became law in 1978, limits the increase in real estate taxes to a maximum of 2% in any given year regardless of home value appreciation. With home value appreciation, Proposition 13 creates sizeable disincentives to move. The evidence from an analysis of single family home sales records in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts indicates that California’s homeowners are significantly less mobile than their counterparts in Illinois and Massachusetts. The lower mobility was clearly not intended by the passage of Proposition 13, though its impact on society is potentially very significant. We recommend that countries in the process of developing tax systems for residential real estate ownership (such as China, the countries of the former USSR, and many countries in Africa) take account of such originally unintended consequences.California, Real Estate Tax, Residential Mobility, Unintended effect

Domestic Support for the U.S. Rice Sector and the WTO: Implications of the 2002 Farm Act

The U.S. rice sector is expected to receive some of the largest relative support under the 2002 Farm Act. USDA's rice baseline model is used to compute marketing loan benefits, while direct payments and counter-cyclical payments are estimated from endogenous prices and exogenous policy parameters. Alternative scenarios of reduced marketing loan benefits suggest that projected annual average sector revenue could decline by 4 to 27 percent.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Multiplexed optical fibre sensors for civil engineering applications

Fibre-optic sensors have been the focus of a lot of research, but their associated high cost has stifled their transferral from the laboratory to real world applications. This thesis addresses the issue of multiplexing, a technology that would lower the cost per unit sensor of a sensor system dramatically. An overview of the current state of research of, and the principles behind, multiplexed sensor networks is given. A new scheme of multiplexing, designated W*DM, is developed and implemented for a fibre Bragg grating (FBG) optical fibre sensor network. Using harmonic analysis, multiplexing is performed in the domain dual to that of the wavelength domain of a sensor. This scheme for multiplexing is compatible with the most commonly used existing schemes of WDM and TDM and thus offers an expansion over, and a resultant cost decrease from, the sensor systems currently in use. This research covered a theoretical development of the scheme, a proof of principle, simulated and experimental analysis of the performance of the multiplexed system, investigation into sensor design requirements and related issues, fabrication of the sensors according to the requirements of the scheme and the successful multiplexing of eight devices (thus offering an eightfold increase over current network capacities) using this scheme. Extensions of this scheme to other fibre sensors such as Long Period Gratings (LPGs) and blazed gratings were also investigated. Two LPGs having a moiré structure were successfully multiplexed and it was shown that a blazed Fabry Perot grating could be used as a tuneable dual strain/refractive index sensor. In performing these tests, it was discovered that moiré LPGs exhibited a unique thermal switching behaviour, hereto unseen. Finally the application of fibre sensors to the civil engineering field was investigated. The skill of embedding optical fibre in concrete was painstakingly developed and the thermal properties of concrete were investigated using these sensors. Field tests for the structural health monitoring of a road bridge made from a novel concrete material were performed. The phenomenon of shrinkage, creep and cracking in concrete was investigated showing the potential for optical fibre sensors to be used as a viable research tool for the civil engineer

Full Field Reconstruction and Uncertainty Quantification of Particle Image Velocimetry Measurements in A 5X5 Rod Bundle with Mixing Vane Spacer Grids

One of the most commonly used methods for quantifying fluid velocity profiles is particle image velocimetry (PIV). This non-invasive measurement technique employs seeding particles in a transparent simulant fluid flowing through a geometry of interest at Reynolds number (Re) in the regime of what is expected during operation. A laser sheet is projected through the fluid to illuminate the particles, and two subsequent photographs of the particle-seeded fluid are taken with a ∆t recorded between the two images. Displacement of the particles from one image to the other, δi, which is calculated using a generalized cross correlation, along with the known ∆t, are used to determine a velocity of a fluid element in the laser plane. Efforts to expand this planar two-dimension two-component (2D2C) method to a volumetric three-dimension three-component (3D3C) PIV have been pursued, which require large computational resources for processing. This study aimed to quantify a 3D3C velocity measurement in a prototypical pressurized water reactor (PWR) geometry of rods with a mixing vane spacer grid. A new matched-index-of-refraction (MIR) facility for rod bundle and spacer grid testing was developed and constructed within the Thermal-Hydraulics Laboratory of the Nuclear Engineering Department at Texas A&M University (TAMU). The facility was designed to overcome the challenge of producing high fidelity and low uncertainty data, especially near the mixing vanes, where data is sparsely available. This investigation explores an innovation in MIR fluid and presents results for a full field 3D3C velocity measurement at Re=27,390. The full field measurements are constructed via trilinear interpolation from multiple 2D2C PIV measurements. These 3D3C ensemble-averaged velocity, root-mean-square (RMS) fluctuating velocity, Reynolds stresses, and vorticity fields are presented downstream of a prototypical PWR spacer grid in a 5×5 rod bundle. A full field uncertainty quantification (UQ) of the results is also provided. Profiles taken at different subchannel positions having similar geometrical features are compared to demonstrate coherence of the results and quality of the MIR for improved PIV. New data of the complex flow near and within the mixing vanes region of the spacer grid could be measured with the new methodology

Quantification of Boric Acid Concentration and Losses due to Vaporization in the PASTA Facility

During a loss of coolant accident in a pressurized water reactor, borated water is injected into the core through emergency core cooling system to reduce the decay heat, remove excess reactivity, and maintain an adequate core cooling throughout the full range of accident phases. Concentration of boric acid in the core is expected to increase over time due to the continuous vaporization of water from the core. Under certain conditions, the concentration may reach the solubility limit and precipitation of boric acid may occur. Hot leg switchover is a manual emergency procedure involving simultaneous injection through both the hot and cold legs to ensure adequate core flushing and prevent or mitigate precipitation of solid boric acid in the core. The nuclear research community, industry, and regulatory commission are currently collaborating to understand the possible effects of the precipitation of boric acid on adequate core cooling during the long-term phase of a loss of coolant scenario, particularly in understanding whether modifications of the current procedures are required. An experimental apparatus was constructed to conduct experiments with de-ionized water and boric acid, to observe and study the ow behavior, and to measure the boric acid concentration in boiling water environments in geometry similar to a pressurized water reactor. Three methods for quantifying boric acid content at very high concentrations, even exceeding saturation, were explored. A gravimetric method for concentration determination proved to be the most effective for high values as were observed in the test facility. Concentration of solution in the test section was approximately solved using an analytic approach for comparison to experimentally determined values. During experimentation, concentrations of boric acid were found to increase linearly with time. Rapid boiling in the test section induced uniform mixing in the test section, causing no appreciable difference in the concentration trends between various solution injection locations and other operational parameters of the facility. The rate of increase of boric acid concentration in the solution was observed to be proportional to the applied power to the heating rods in the facility test section. Comparison of boric acid concentration with the analytical solution confirmed that a fraction of the boric acid was transported within the vapor phase outside the test facility. Fractional boric acid loss from the test section was found to be lower than estimated from the observed losses during the calibration procedure. The constructed facility is used in the study of effects of the precipitate on coolant flow conditions related to cooling capabilities during the long-term cooling phase in a loss of coolant accident. Acquiring this understanding could help the resolution of General Safety Issue 191 as imposed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

South Carlisle Neighborhood Community Planning Concepts

This document resulted from a collaboration between the City of Albuquerque, Family and Community Services Department, and the Design Planning Assistance Center of the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico. The purpose of this study was to generate a set of strategies for potential urban improvements in the South Carlisle neighborhood (herein referred to as the Carlisle Village neighborhood). It is intended that the results of this study may initiate discussion on the future of the neighborhood within the community and within public agencies and departments of the City of Albuquerque. The ideas presented here are design concepts and are not intended to be design guidelines.https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/dpac_projects/1022/thumbnail.jp

Early Childhood Experiences and Kindergarten Success: A Population-Based Study of a Large Urban Setting

This study examined the unique protective influence of center-based early care and education experiences on kindergarten outcomes for children entering public school kindergarten. The 3,969 participants were geographically and demographically representative of an entire kindergarten cohort in a large urban school district. Child age, gender, ethnicity, family poverty, low maternal education, and neighborhood were found to be risks for academic and behavioral adjustment upon kindergarten entry. Controlling for these risks, formal, center-based experiences were related significantly to higher levels of Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Knowledge, Motor Skills, and Work Habits performance assessments and attendance in kindergarten. Initial advantages associated with center-based early care and education were sustained across the kindergarten year

Regulatory Fit, Processing Fluency, and Narrative Persuasion

For millennia, people have used narratives to inform and persuade. However, little social psychological research addresses how and when narrative persuasion occurs, perhaps because narratives are complex stimuli that are difficult to vary without significantly changing the plot or characters. Existing research suggests that regulatory fit and/or processing fluency can be varied easily and in ways completely exterior to narrative content but that nonetheless affect how much narratives engage, transport, and persuade. We review research on narrative transportation and persuasion and then discuss regulatory fit and its relationship to processing fluency. Afterward, we discuss how regulatory fit and processing fluency may affect psychological engagement, transportation, and persuasion via narratives

Invited Panel: Evidence Based Practice (EBP) – The Problem and Challenges, The Need within IS research and practice, Open Access Publishing.

Launch of the ‘Journal for Evidence Based Information Systems’ (EBIS): An open access journal for IS researchers and practitioners – An independent journal in association with the UKAI

Novel Injectable Hydrogel Formulations and Gas Chromatography Analysis of the Residual Crosslinker in Formulations Intended for Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Applications

Abstract Novel hyaluronic acid (HA) crosslinked with pentaerythritol tetra-acrylate (PT) injectable hydrogels was invented. These injectable hydrogel/dermal filler formulations were synthesised using HA and the acrylate PT as a crosslinker under basic pH conditions using thermal crosslinking methods (oven heating), which provides a simple, safe, and eco-friendly method for crosslinking in 4 h under 45 °C. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were conducted to represent the difference between the formulations in terms of peak formation and pore size, respectively. The crosslinking was partial as is considered to be typical for dermal injectable fillers. The rheological properties of these formulations showed that these novel dermal injectables are highly promising, and the newly developed fillers could be used with better results for dermal anti-wrinkle corrections, shaping, and volumising reasons. Furthermore, crosslinker (PT) residual analysis was carried out to state the formulations that are valid and acceptable for intradermal usage. The results from the GC method validation revealed it was a suitable method for this study. The GC analysis of all five injectable hydrogel/filler formulations demonstrated the formulations HA-PT 1, 2, 3 and 4 were formulated using (0.05–0.1)% w/w PT containing residual PT monomers within the safe limits that were determined to be below (0.008% w/w). This work has shown the development of a novel injectable hydrogel/filler formulation for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications can be prepared in a more sustainable and simple way using pentaerythritol tetra-acrylate as a crosslinker agent, which holds great promise for the industry’s future advancement