Airborne HCl - CO sensing system

A system for measuring air pollutants in-situ using an aircraft was designed, fabricated, and tested. The system is based upon a technique called Gas Filter Correlation (GFC) which provides for high sensitivity and specificity in the presence of interfering species. This particular system was designed for measuring hydrochloric acid and carbon monoxide gases emitted from rocket exhaust effluents

The Decline of MMOs

Ten years ago, massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMOs) had a bright and exciting future. Today, their prospects do not look so glorious. In an effort to attract ever-more players, their gameplay has gradually been diluted and their core audience has deserted them. Now that even their sources of new casual players are drying up, MMOs face a slow and steady decline. Their problems are easy to enumerate: they cost too much to make; too many of them play the exact same way; new revenue models put off key groups of players; they lack immersion; they lack wit and personality; players have been trained to want experiences that they don?t actually want; designers are forbidden from experimenting. The solutions to these problems are less easy to state. Can anything be done to prevent MMOs from fading away? Well, yes it can. The question is, will the patient take the medicine

Study of air pollutant detection by remote sensors

Air pollution detection using satellite observatio

Tea Parties, Whigs, and Compromise: The Historical Roots of U.S. Government-Business Relations

This article reviews the politics of government-business relations in the US from 1776 to the present. It argues that two major political interests, the agrarian democrats and the nationalist Whigs, created the context for discussion of economic policy that continues today. At times, pragmatic compromises have resolved the differences between these interests. The lessons from this history are instructive for today, and suggest potentially viable policies and coalitions to address business issues

The Effect of Intergovernmental Aid on City Property Taxes: New Results for Minnesota

An earlier study found that certain Minnesota state aid programs stimulated city property tax levies to a high degree. If this is accurate, it suggests potentially serious problems with state property tax relief efforts. This article re-examines this question and finds that most aid programs have little direct effect on property tax levies. However, certain aid formulas that reduce the effective price of property taxes do indirectly stimulate property taxes. Therefore, states need to be careful in designing aid programs intended to reduce property taxes.</jats:p

The Sustainable Development of U.S. Air Transportation: The Promise and Challenge of Institutional Reform

Sustainable development is a concept that has had great influence on natural resource policy; however, to date, it has had limited influence on transportation. This article examines how well U.S. air transportation practice meets the goal of sustainability and finds current practice to be unsustainable. Forecasted trends suggest that this problem will get worse. Neither current pollution control policies nor technological progress are sufficient to solve the problem. One potential solution is reduced use of air travel, however, the goals of mobility and speed of travel would be inhibited. Taxes could reduce the external costs caused by air pollution, however, there are administrative and political barriers to this. Institutional reform seems to be the logical solution, and the process to achieve this reform is described

Fiscal Crisis in Federal Reserve Districts 9 and 10 “Plains States”

The states in these two districts include all of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma, and parts of Wisconsin, Michigan (Upper Peninsula), New Mexico and Missouri. The region is generally more rural and lower in population density than the nation. Economically, the area is more reliant on agriculture, and in some areas, energy and mining. It is less reliant than the nation on manufacturing, financial services and tourism. Cities in this region are generally smaller than national averages. In their fiscal structure, no personal income tax is imposed in Montana and South Dakota. All these states impose a sales tax. There is substantial variation in municipal revenue sources