Threshold Effects in the Relationship Between Inflation and Growth

This paper re-examines the issue of the existence of threshold effects in the relationship between inflation and growth, using new econometric techniques that provide appropriate procedures for estimation and inference. The threshold level of inflation above which inflation significantly slows growth is estimated at 1-3 percent for industrial countries and 11-12 percent for developing countries. The negative and significant relationship between inflation and growth, for inflation rates above the threshold level, is quite robust with respect to the estimation method, perturbations in the location of the threshold level, the exclusion of high-inflation observations, data frequency, and alternative specifications. Copyright 2001, International Monetary Fund

Risiko, Profitabilitas, Leverage Operasi, Dan Ukuran Perusahaan Terhadap Perataan Laba

A recent analysis showed that there was a significant effect among firm size,corporate risk, profitability and operating leverage to corporate income smoothing practices.The objective of this research was to empirically reexamine the factors that affected incomesmoothing practices. There were four factors that were examined, namely firm size, corporaterisk, profitability and operating leverage. The samples used in this study were 89 firms listedat Indonesian Stock Exchange (ISE between 2005 to 2007). The multivariate test, the use oflogistic regression results showed both risk and profitability affected significantly to incomesmoothing practices. While firm size and operating leverage did not affect significantly toincome smoothing practices, the univariate test support the previous test that showed therewas statistically difference in risk as well as profitability between smoother and non-smootherfirms. However, both firm size and operating leverage were not statistically different

Lincoln’s Speech Memorial

This postcard features the Abraham Lincoln Speech Memorial in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/5912/thumbnail.jp

Adams County Courthouse

This postcard features the Adams County Courthouse in Gettysburg.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/5925/thumbnail.jp

Techno-economic evaluation of reducing shielding gas consumption in GMAW whilst maintaining weld quality

A new method of supplying shielding gases in an alternating manner has been developed to enhance the efficiency of conventional gas metal arc welding (GMAW). However, the available literature on this advanced joining process is very sparse and no cost evaluation has been reported to date. In simple terms, the new method involves discretely supplying two different shielding gases to the weld pool at predetermined frequencies which creates a dynamic action within the liquid pool. In order to assess the potential benefits of this new method from a technical and cost perspective, a comparison has been drawn between the standard shielding gas composition of Ar/20%CO2, which is commonly used in UK and European shipbuilding industries for carbon steels, and a range of four different frequencies alternating between Ar/20%CO2 and helium. The beneficial effects of supplying the weld shielding gases in an alternating manner were found to provide attractive benefits for the manufacturing community. For example, the present study showed that compared with conventional GMAW, a 17 per cent reduction in total welding cost was achieved in the case of the alternating gas method and savings associated with a reduction in the extent of post-weld straightening following plate distortion were also identified. Also, the mechanical properties of the alternating case highlighted some marginal improvements in strength and Charpy impact toughness which were attributed to a more refined weld microstructure

Precis of Vaulting Ambition: Sociobiology and the Quest for Human Nature

The debate about the credentials of sociobiology has persisted because scholars have failed to distinguish the varieties of sociobiology and because too little attention has been paid to the details of the arguments that are supposed to support the provocative claims about human social behavior. I seek to remedy both dcfieieneies. After analysis of the relationships among different kinds of sociobiology and contemporary evolutionary theory, I attempt to show how some of the studies of the behavior of nonhuman animals meet the methodological standards appropriate to evolutionary research. I contend that the efforts of E. O. Wilson, Richard Alexander, Charles Lumsden, and others to generate conclusions about human nature are flawed, both because they apply evolutionary ideas in an unrigorous fashion and because they use dubious assumptions to connect their evolutionary analyses with their conclusions. This contention rests on analyses of many of the major sociobiological proposals about human social behavior, including: differences in sex roles, racial hostility, homosexuality, conflict between parents and adolescent offspring, incest avoidance, the avunculate, alliances in combat, female infanticide, and gene-culture coevolution. Vaulting Ambition thus seeks to identify what is good in sociobiology, to expose the errors of premature speculations about human nature, and to prepare the way for serious study of the evolution of human social behavior