San Francisco\u27s Doom

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Fixed Asset Accounting Software Evaluation: A Structured Methodology For The Mid-Market Firm

Packaged software evaluation represents a major decision for business.  It involves a number of quantitative as well as qualitative attributes in choosing among system alternatives.  This paper illustrates an evaluation methodology for accounting software selection, specifically a fixed asset system.  The methodology incorporates three stages:  1) software screening; 2) detail package evaluation; and, 3) confirmation and design (also known as a test drive).  Initially, developing a short list through screening of accounting software determines whether an appropriate package exists and narrows the field of available fixed asset products for detailed consideration.  The second stage determines which of the remaining fixed asset systems (the finalists) best meets the needs of the organization, from both functional and technical perspectives. The final stage, or phase, compares user requirements with the features of the selected fixed asset software by determining how these requirements will be satisfied by specific applications built using the fixed asset software.  The methodology also controls for the possibility that no fixed asset software product is suitable and that such a system must be constructed on a custom basis. No other reported evaluation and selection approach offers this device.  A case example demonstrating the applicability of the suggested methodology is given for a mid-sized hospital organization representing the largest market segment for accounting software

Experimental and theoretical study of the elliptic instability in a rotating stratified flow

The combined effects of Coriolis force and buoyancy effects on the dynamics of a weakly elliptical bounded vortex are treated theoretically as well as experimentally. As predicted theoretically, stratification and rotation have antagonist contributions to the stability of an elliptical vortex. Thus if the stratification is strong enough (Nb>Omega_c, Nb and Omega_c being respectively the Brunt-Väisälä frequency and the rotation rate of the flow in a frame rotating with the elliptical deformation at angular velocity Omega_t), we have observed that only anticyclones (such that |Wa|<Omega_c with Wa=2(Omega_c+Omega_t)) are unstable, whereas the cyclones are always stable. In addition if the stratification is weak, instability areas over change. These instability thresholds found theoretically have been observed experimentally with a good accuracy and the measured growth rate are in a good agreement with those predicted by a linear stability analysis in the limit of small deformation

STM Imaging of Flux Line Arrangements in the Peak Effect Regime

We present the results of a study of vortex arrangements in the peak-effect regime of 2H-NbSe_2 by scanning tunneling microscopy. By slowly increasing the temperature in a constant magnetic field, we observed a sharp transition from collective vortex motion to positional fluctuations of individual vortices at the temperature which coincides with the onset of the peak effect in ac-susceptibility. We conclude that the peak effect is a disorder driven transition, with the pinning energy winning from the elastic energy.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures included Manuscript has been submitte

Low Energy States of 3181Ga50^{81}_{31} Ga_{50} : Elements on the Doubly-Magic Nature of 78^{78}Ni

Excited levels were attributed to $^{81}_{31}$Ga$_{50}$ for the first time which were fed in the $\beta$-decay of its mother nucleus $^{81}$Zn produced in the fission of $^{nat}$U using the ISOL technique. We show that the structure of this nucleus is consistent with that of the less exotic proton-deficient N=50 isotones within the assumption of strong proton Z=28 and neutron N=50 effective shell effects.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX 4, 5 figures (eps format

Temporal characterization of a self-modulated laser wakefield

The temporal envelope of plasma density oscillations in the wake of an intense (I ∼ 4×1018 W/cm2,I∼4×1018W/cm2, λ = 1 μmλ=1μm) laser pulse (400 fs) is measured using forward Thomson scattering from a copropagating, frequency doubled probe pulse. The wakefield oscillations in a fully ionized helium plasma (ne = 3×1019 cm−3)(ne=3×1019cm−3) are observed to reach maximum amplitude (δne/ne ∼ 0.1)(δne/ne∼0.1) 300 fs after the pump pulse. The wakefield growth (4 ps−1)(4ps−1) and decay (1.9 ps−1)(1.9ps−1) rates are consistent with the forward Raman scattering instability and beam loading, respectively. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87567/2/651_1.pd

Meteorological source variability in atmospheric gravity wave parameters derived from a tropical infrasound station

Gravity waves are an important part of the momentum budget of the atmosphere. Despite this, parameterizations of gravity wave spectra in atmospheric models are poorly constrained. Gravity waves are formed by jet streams, flow over topography and convection, all of which produce pressure perturbations as they propagate over the Earth’s surface, detectable by microbarometer arrays used for sensing infrasound. In this study, observations of gravity waves between 2007 and 2011 at an infrasound station in the Ivory Coast, West Africa are combined with meteorological data to calculate parameters such as intrinsic phase speed and wavenumber. Through spectral analysis, the seasonal and daily variations in all gravity wave parameters are examined. The gravity wave back azimuth varies with the migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, a region of intense convection, supporting previous studies. Daily variations in gravity wave arrivals at the station can be linked to two distinct convective cycles over the land and ocean. This was achieved by combining the gravity wave parameters with lightning strikes detected by the Met Office’s Arrival Time Difference lightning detection system. Noise generated by turbulence in the middle of the day was found to attenuate smaller pressure amplitude gravity waves, artificially amplifying the daily variations in some gravity wave parameters. Detection of daily and seasonal variations in gravity wave parameters has the potential be used to improve the representation of gravity wave spectra in atmospheric models

Estimating unbiased economies of scale of HIV prevention projects: A case study of Avahan

Governments and donors are investing considerable resources on HIV prevention in order to scale up these services rapidly. Given the current economic climate, providers of HIV prevention services increasingly need to demonstrate that these investments offer good ‘value for money’. One of the primary routes to achieve efficiency is to take advantage of economies of scale (a reduction in the average cost of a health service as provision scales-up), yet empirical evidence on economies of scale is scarce. Methodologically, the estimation of economies of scale is hampered by several statistical issues preventing causal inference and thus making the estimation of economies of scale complex. In order to estimate unbiased economies of scale when scaling up HIV prevention services, we apply our analysis to one of the few HIV prevention programmes globally delivered at a large scale: the Indian Avahan initiative. We costed the project by collecting data from the 138 Avahan NGOs and the supporting partners in the first four years of its scale-up, between 2004 and 2007. We develop a parsimonious empirical model and apply a system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and fixed-effects Instrumental Variable (IV) estimators to estimate unbiased economies of scale. At the programme level, we find that, after controlling for the endogeneity of scale, the scale-up of Avahan has generated high economies of scale. Our findings suggest that average cost reductions per person reached are achievable when scaling-up HIV prevention in low and middle income countries