Modeling of elastically mounted vertical rotor

The evaluation of the dynamic behavior of a rotating system is possible by means of modal parameters (Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors). A mixed analytical and experimetal approach is used to identify the modal parameters of a specially designed test rig. The modal identification is done both for nonrotating as well as rotating systems. These modal parameters are used to validate a developed Finite Element Model

SEC Enforcement Heuristics: An Empirical Inquiry

This Article examines the overlap between SEC securities enforcement actions and private securities fraud class actions. We begin with an overview of data concerning all SEC enforcement actions from 1997 to 2002. We find that the volume of SEC enforcement proceedings is relatively modest. We next examine the scope of the recently enacted Fair Fund provision that authorizes the SEC to designate civil penalties it recovers from defendants to benefit defrauded private investors. We conclude that this provision offers only limited potential relief for private investors. We complete this Part of the Article with an analysis of the serious resource limitations faced by the SEC. The second portion of the Article contains an empirical analysis of the determinants of SEC enforcement actions and the overlap of private fraud suits and SEC enforcement proceedings. Using bivariate analysis, we find that (1) private suits with parallel SEC actions settle for significantly more than private suits without such proceedings; (2) SEC enforcement actions target significantly smaller companies than private actions alone; (3) private cases with parallel SEC actions take substantially less time to settle than other private cases; and (4) private cases with parallel SEC actions have significantly longer class periods than other private actions. Finally, we create a model for estimating damages to compare settlement ratios in cases with parallel SEC actions to those in private actions. We find that one-fourth of all the private class action settlements occurring in suits that yield less than 10 percent of provable losses are settled for less than 2 percent of provable losses, but that there are no private actions with parallel SEC suits with such small settlements. In the final Part of the Article, we conduct a multivariate regression analysis of the determinants of when SEC enforcement actions are filed. We find that the most highly significant determinant of SEC actions is financial distress. Estimated losses do not appear to be a statistically significant factor in the SEC\u27s decision to file these suits

Finance, Human Capital, Technical Assistance, and the Business Environment in Romania

Although the development of a new private sector is generally considered crucial to economic transition and development, there has been little empirical research on the determinants of startup firm growth. This paper uses panel data techniques to analyze a survey of 297 new small enterprises in Romania containing detailed information from the startup date through 2001. We find strong evidence that access to external finance (loans) increases the growth of both employment and sales. Taxes appear to constrain growth. There is some evidence that entrepreneurial skills increase growth, but only weak evidence for the effectiveness of technical assistance, and only when it is provided by foreign partners or international agencies. A wide variety of alternative measures of the business environment (contract enforcement, property rights, and corruption) are tested, but are found to have little or no association with firm growth.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40025/3/wp639.pd

Experimental Realization of Quantum-Resonance Ratchets

Quantum-resonance ratchets associated with the periodically kicked particle are experimentally realized for the first time. This is achieved by using a Bose-Einstein condensate exposed to a pulsed standing light wave and prepared in an initial state differing from the usual plane wave. Both the standing-wave potential and the initial state have a point symmetry around some center and the ratchet arises from the non-coincidence of the two centers. The dependence of the directed quantum transport on the quasimomentum is studied. A detailed theoretical analysis is used to explain the experimental results.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters (November 2007