Experiments in Planetary and Related Sciences and the Space Station

Numerous workshops were held to provide a forum for discussing the full range of possible experiments, their science rationale, and the requirements on the Space Station, should such experiments eventually be flown. During the workshops, subgroups met to discuss areas of common interest. Summaries of each group and abstracts of contributed papers as they developed from a workshop on September 15 to 16, 1986, are included. Topics addressed include: planetary impact experimentation; physics of windblown particles; particle formation and interaction; experimental cosmochemistry in the space station; and an overview of the program to place advanced automation and robotics on the space station

AN IMPROVED ECONOMIC LAND CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR SPATIAL LINEAR PROGRAMMING MODELS

Land Economics/Use,

Matching Contributions and the Voluntary Provision of a Pure Public Good: Experimental Evidence

Laboratory experiments are used to study the voluntary provision of a pure public good in the presence of an anonymous external donor. The external funds are used in two different settings, lump-sum matching and one-to-one matching, to examine how allocations to the public good are affected. The experimental results reveal that allocations to the public good under lumpsum matching are significantly higher, and have significantly lower within-group dispersion, relative to one-to-one matching and a baseline setting without external matching funds.public goods, free riding, laboratory experiments

Comparing Small-Group and Individual Behavior in Lottery-Choice Experiments

Lottery-choice experiments are conducted to compare risk preferences revealed by three-person groups versus isolated individuals. A lottery-choice experiment consists of a menu of paired lottery choices structured so that the crossover point from a low-risk to a high-risk lottery can be used to infer the degree of risk aversion. A between-subjects experiment of group versus individual lottery-choice decisions reveal that there is not a significant difference in the average crossover point, but lottery choices are affected by a significant interaction between subject composition (individual or group) and lottery winning percentage. Also, a three-phased individual-group-individual sequenced experiment reveals that the count of safe lotteries chosen by groups is, on average, significantly greater than the mean of the individual members. Finally, making a phase-two group decision has a significant impact on subsequent phase-three individual decisions relative to the initial phase-one (individual) decisions.lab experiments, risk preferences, group decisions

Comparing Small-Group and Individual Behavior in Lottery-Choice Experiments

Lottery-choice experiments are conducted to compare risk preferences revealed by three-person groups versus isolated individuals. A lottery-choice experiment consists of a menu of paired lottery choices structured so that the crossover point from a low-risk to a high-risk lottery can be used to infer the degree of risk aversion. A between-subjects experiment of group versus individual lottery-choice decisions reveal that there is not a significant difference in the average crossover point, but lottery choices are affected by a significant interaction between subject composition (individual or group) and lottery winning percentage. Also, a three-phased individual-group-individual sequenced experiment reveals that the count of safe lotteries chosen by groups is, on average, significantly greater than the mean of the individual members. Finally, making a phase-two group decision has a significant impact on subsequent phase-three individual decisions relative to the initial phase-one (individual) decisions.lab experiments, risk preferences, group decisions

Economic or amenity driven migration? A cluster-based analysis of county migration in the American southwest: Working paper series--08-01

This paper initially analyzes the determinants of net domestic migration which occurred from 1995 to 2000 at the county level in the 4-Corners Region of the U.S. (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.) Regression techniques were used to explain approximately 70 percent of the variation in net migration rates within the region for counties whose populations exceeded 10,000 persons at the beginning of the period. The results of the study suggest net migration flows in the region are a dual function of both economic and non-economic characteristics existing within each county. The analysis is extended through the use of additional multivariate techniques in order to group the counties into clusters that reflect natural groupings based on a similar profile of variables used in the analysis. Migration activity differed statistically from cluster to cluster based upon variations in the predictor variables used in the analysis. Further research is suggested in order to extend these results to the broader economy

Assessing domestic migration at the county level in the 4-corners region: Working paper series--07-06

This paper analyzes net domestic migration which occurred between 1995 and 2000 at the county level for the 4-Corners Region (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.) Regression techniques were used to explain approximately 70 percent of the variation in net migration rates within the region for all counties whose populations exceeded 10,000 persons at the beginning of the period. The results of the study suggest net migration rates in the region are a function of both economic and non-economic characteristics existing within each county. Initially, a number of amenity-related, recreation and socio-demographic variables were considered along with traditional economic indicators; however, only a few of the traditional variables were correlated with migration activity to and from this region. Further research is needed in order to explain the differences in migration rates for these locations compared with results discovered in other regions

Strip casting with fluxing agent applied to casting roll

A strip caster (10) for producing a continuous strip (24) includes a tundish (12) for containing a melt (14), a pair of horizontally disposed water cooled casting rolls (22) and devices (29) for electrostatically coating the outer peripheral chill surfaces (44) of the casting rolls with a powder flux material (56). The casting rolls are juxtaposed relative to one another for forming a pouting basin (18) for receiving the melt through a teeming tube (16) thereby establishing a meniscus (20) between the rolls for forming the strip. The melt is protected from the outside air by a non-oxidizing gas passed through a supply line (28) to a sealing chamber (26). A preferred flux is boron oxide having a melting point of about 550° C. The flux coating enhances wetting of the steel melt to the casting roll and dissolves any metal oxide formed on the roll

Matching Contributions and the Voluntary Provision of a Pure Public Good: Experimental Evidence

An updated version of this paper is available at http://www.iub.edu/~caepr/RePEc/PDF/CAEPR2006-007_updated.pdfLaboratory experiments are used to study the voluntary provision of a pure public good in the presence of an anonymous external donor. The external funds are used in two different settings, lump-sum matching and one-to-one matching, to examine how allocations to the public good are affected. The experimental results reveal that allocations to the public good under lumpsum matching are significantly higher, and have significantly lower within-group dispersion, relative to one-to-one matching and a baseline setting without external matching funds