Oscillator with wide dynamic tuning range

Two or more tandem amplifier stages, one of which is tuned, added to a circuit permit tuning an oscillator over frequency range of six decades. Oscillator operates in distributed mode for increased frequency stability. Within practical limitations, stability increases by increasing number of tuned stages

Linear phase demodulator including a phase locked loop with auxiliary feedback loop

A phase modulated wave that may have no carrier power is demodulated by a phase locked loop including a phase detector for deriving an A.C. data output signal having a magnitude and a phase indicative of the phase of the modulated wave. A feedback loop responsive to the data output signal restores power to the carrier frequency component to the loop. In one embodiment, the feedback loop includes a phase modulator responsive to the phase modulated wave and the data output signal. In a second embodiment, carrier frequency power is restored by differentiating the data output signal and supplying the differentiated signal to an input of a voltage controlled oscillator included in the phase locked loop

Owners\u27 Equivalent Rent and the Consumer Price Index: 30 Years and Counting

The objective of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is to measure the change in expenditures required to maintain a given standard of living. For expenditures on houses, this leads to a measurement objective that focuses on the shelter services provided by a house over a period of time. A house is a capital asset that provides a flow of services over a substantial period of time, not a one-time consumption item. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) explored two major approaches to determine how to estimate the cost of shelter services for owner-occupied dwellings. The first approach attempts to estimate the flow of shelter services for an owned dwelling from items related to living in it. This approach is called “user cost” and includes items such as real estate taxes, insurance, and an interest estimate based on the market value of the house. The second approach attempts to estimate the flow of services for an owner dwelling based on market rents for rented dwellings. This research led to a method referred to as “rental equivalence.” This method measures the rate of change in the amount an owner would need to pay in order to rent on the open market. It is based on actual market rents collected from a sample of renter-occupied housing units that are identified to be representative of owner-occupied housing. On October 27, 1981, Commissioner Janet Norwood announced that BLS would convert the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) to a rental equivalence measure for homeowner costs, effective with data for January 1983. The CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) would be converted to the new method, effective with the January 1985 data. This announcement was consistent with general BLS practice of giving at least 1-year’s notice before making a major methodological change. The change also meant that the CPI-U for 1983 and 1984—the first years the CPI was to be used in the escalation of personal income tax brackets and exemptions—would use the new methodology. The longer period of notice for the CPI-W was provided, because the CPI-W continued to be the primary index used in cost-of-living adjustments in collective bargaining agreements and in the escalation of government entitlement payments. It was felt that sufficient time needed to be provided for users to adapt to the change. The transition to the new method was smooth, in large part, owing to the open way it was done and the extensive public information effort

Consumer Price Index Data Quality: How Accurate is the U.S. CPI?

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an estimate of the average change in prices over time paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and n the United States. The CPI is used extensively in many different ways, including three major uses: to adjust historical data, to escalate federal payments and tax brackets, and to adjust rents and wages. It directly affects the lives of Americans, so it must be as accurate as possible. But how accurate is it? If, for example, the CPI measures annual inflation as 2.3 percent, how confident can we be in that estimate? This issue of BEYOND THE NUMBERS looks at some different ways the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has responded to questions about the accuracy and precision of the CPI. The first section examines the sampling error of the CPI, and the second section discusses possible sources of bias in the index

A Five Minute Decision

Frozen section in Surgery 12. Those are familiar words to anyone in the laboratory at one of the local hospitals. Behind those five words lie one of the many services offered to the patients While there. They very seldom if ever hear of it; yet on this may depend the extent of their surgery or their very lives

Circular 57

This is the seventh publication of grain perform ance trials in the Tanana River Valley. The first, published 6 years ago, included the results of spring cereal-variety tests conducted at Fairbanks and Delta Junction during the 1978 and 1979 growing seasons. Beginning in 1980, the variety-test results were annual publications. The length and content of this report is much less than for previous years. This is the result of a cost-saving measure to help cope with a shrinking budget

Determination of Shorthand Enrollments and Homework Procedures in East-Central Illinois High Schools

This study was an attempt to determine shorthand enrollment trends and homework procedures being utilized in secondary schools in the East-Central Illinois area. The study was conducted through a questionnaire at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois, during the fall semester, 1981. The survey instrument was given to a shorthand instructor in each high school in the East-Central Illinois area and consisted of five sections. The first section pertained to the instructors\u27 teaching experience. The second section included information about each school\u27s shorthand program. The third section requested information about current shorthand enrollments while the fourth section was centered around teaching methods. The last section included questions about homework procedures being utilized in the program. Findings The majority of the shorthand programs in the East-Central Illinois area include two semesters of shorthand. Enrollments have remained stable in the past five years, but declining enrollments are increasing. First and second semester shorthand classes have experienced the highest decreases. Enrollment in the majority of the first semester shorthand classes is eleven to twenty students in each class. Teachers are utilizing the traditional classroom approach of one lesson a day in assigning homework. Daily homework assignments are being made but not recorded for a grade. Homework assignments are being utilized in class activities through oral readings. Instructors expect their students to read the homework assignment before writing it. A majority of the instructors check students\u27 reading skills by having their students read casually from the text. For timing purposes, instructors have their students read for one minute and then record a grade. Conclusions While shorthand enrollments have been stable in the past, there seems to be some evidence that they will decline in the future. This is especially true in first and second semester shorthand classes. Daily homework assignments are being made by the instructors; yet students are not getting graded for their efforts. These assignments are being used in class activities, however. The majority of the instructors utilize the traditional approach of one lesson a day in their shorthand classes. Students are expected to read their assignments prior to writing them and are timed in class for their reading rates. Reading rates are used for grading purposes