Losing Altitude: The Impact of ASC 842: Leases on the Reported Liquidity of Large U.S. Airlines

The airline industry in the United States represents fertile ground for research due to its susceptibility to extraneous demand shocks such as fuel price hikes, terrorist attacks, and global pandemics coupled with high leverage and high reliance on leasing. Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 842: Leases became effective January 1st, 2019, requiring capitalization of the majority of leased assets. This study was motivated by how the act may have affected both reported airline liquidity and attempts to restructure leases to avoid capitalization, which may provide an initial impact. The objective of this study was to examine whether passage of ASC 842: Leases has affected both reported airline liquidity among large, publicly-traded US airlines and potential lease restructure attempts by examining reported liquidity metrics used by financial users such as creditors and stockholders. Using a sample of large, publicly-traded airlines incorporated in the US, the current study used quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings from 2017-2019 to determine if passage of the act was associated with a change in reported liquidity and possible restructure attempts. MANOVA with follow-up ANOVA was used to determine any change in the means of selected liquidity ratios attributable to ASC 842: Leases. The results indicated a significant overall effect and significant associations between the act and a decrease in the means of the quick ratio and net current assets as a percentage of total assets ratio. No significance was found between the act and the cash ratio. These findings are significant due to the high demand for liquidity and threat of extraneous demand shocks. The results provide early evidence that suggest management have not attempted lease restructures to circumvent the capitalization requirements of the act and warrants further research to investigate the generalizability of these findings

Radiometric Calibration of the Earth Observing System's Imaging Sensors

The work on the grant was mainly directed towards developing new, accurate, redundant methods for the in-flight, absolute radiometric calibration of satellite multispectral imaging systems and refining the accuracy of methods already in use. Initially the work was in preparation for the calibration of MODIS and HIRIS (before the development of that sensor was canceled), with the realization it would be applicable to most imaging multi- or hyper-spectral sensors provided their spatial or spectral resolutions were not too coarse. The work on the grant involved three different ground-based, in-flight calibration methods reflectance-based radiance-based and diffuse-to-global irradiance ratio used with the reflectance-based method. This continuing research had the dual advantage of: (1) developing several independent methods to create the redundancy that is essential for the identification and hopefully the elimination of systematic errors; and (2) refining the measurement techniques and algorithms that can be used not only for improving calibration accuracy but also for the reverse process of retrieving ground reflectances from calibrated remote-sensing data. The grant also provided the support necessary for us to embark on other projects such as the ratioing radiometer approach to on-board calibration (this has been further developed by SBRS as the 'solar diffuser stability monitor' and is incorporated into the most important on-board calibration system for MODIS)- another example of the work, which was a spin-off from the grant funding, was a study of solar diffuser materials. Journal citations, titles and abstracts of publications authored by faculty, staff, and students are also attached

SeaWiFS Calibration and Algorithm Validation

This is the fourth annual report on NASA grant NAGW 3543, titled 'Sea-viewing Wide Field of view Sensor (SeaWiFS) calibration and algorithm validation'. An extended field experiment was conducted at Lake Tahoe in late July 1996 that involved: experimental verification of radiative transfer computations for various viewing geometries; retrieval of an effective aerosol optical depth height; calibration of a large field of view (FOV) sensor; and an evaluation of spatial non-uniformities in surface reflectance. The investigation and development of novel methods for the calibration of field radiometers at a variety of signal levels has been continued during the past year

SeaWiFS calibration and algorithm validation

A substantial amount of field research has been completed during this period (1 October 1994 - 31 October 1995). The applicability of different in-flight calibration methods was studied. In addition, various field instruments and new equipment were tested to appraise their usefulness during such calibration activities. The purposes and (expected) results of these field experiments are detailed in separate sections of this report. One section contains a synopsis of calibrations conducted over both land and water targets. A second section contains the results of an experiment conducted to determine the spatial uniformity of surface reflectance at Lake Tahoe, the chosen water calibration site. Advances were also made in the area of radiative transfer software development. An existing exact radiative transfer code, Successive Orders (SO), was modified to provide outputs of the radiance distribution at arbitrary altitudes above a selected calibration target. These modifications were needed to utilize the SO software in radiance-based sensor calibrations. Serious thought was given to the general applicability of various calibration techniques to calibrations conducted over water surfaces. In particular, the practicality of the radiance-based and reflectance-based methods of in-flight radiometric calibration was evaluated

Change in lithic technological organization strategies during the Middle and Later Stone Ages in east Africa

This dissertation reports on archaeological research carried out in Kenya’s central Rift Valley. The primary research objective was to investigate differences in lithic technological organization strategies among archaeological sites dating to the Middle (MSA) and Later (LSA) Stone Ages. The motivation for the project was to better understand how the development of cooperative social networks by modern humans during the late MSA enabled more effective planning of tool use during the LSA. To accomplish the research objective I analyzed six flaked stone artifact assemblages from three different archaeological sites located in the Lake Naivasha basin. Three MSA assemblages from Marmonet Drift are dated >110 ka, 110-94 ka, and 40 to 36 ka; and one LSA assemblage from Ol Tepesi dates to 19 ka. Assemblages were analyzed in four ways: 1) typological composition; 2) artifact morphometrics; 3) tool production techniques; and 4) artifact curation strategies, including use-wear analysis and retouch patterns. These assemblages provided an exceptional opportunity to examine long-term changes in human technological organization with great control over raw material quality and availability. Results of my analysis show dramatic change in lithic technological organization strategies between the MSA and LSA in terms of artifact size, shape, morphological standardization, production techniques, use, and curation. Large and heavily retouched stone artifacts, including unifacial points, scrapers, and knives, dominate MSA assemblages. Most of these tools accumulated high frequencies of use-wear traces and, along with large numbers of soft hammer retouch flakes in assemblages, indicate long artifact use-lives. These data suggest a technological organization strategy of curating large, transformable, morphologically flexible, and functionally versatile tools that had the potential to perform a wide range of unplanned tool-using activities. Conversely, smaller, thinner backed microliths with low frequencies of use-wear traces dominate LSA assemblages. End scrapers made on blades and their associated steep-edged retouch flakes represent the only major curated tool class. These data suggest that LSA technological organization strategies were geared toward the production of disposable, replaceable, and morphologically standardized tools organized in anticipation of more planned tool-using activities. The results of this research project are significant for our understanding of the evolution of human technological planning. It appears that MSA humans reacted to foraging opportunities they encountered in their environments by relying on flexible and transformable toolkits while LSA humans appear to have anticipated and strategically planned for tool-using activities with specialized toolkits. The development of cooperative social networks during the late MSA likely enhanced the ability of modern humans to plan resource acquisition strategies using mechanically efficient and standardized tool designs

Predators and Prickly Paradigms: Nesting Ecology of Bobwhites and Scaled Quail in West Texas

Sporadic recruitment appears to be the impetus for the irruptive population patterns observed along the western edge of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) range. We investigated hen survival, nest selection strategies, and reproductive success of sympatric northern bobwhites and scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) in west Texas. Radio-marked bobwhites, along with a smaller sample of sympatric scaled quail, were monitored during the spring and summer of 1994 and 1995. Predation was the major source of mortality, with mammals and raptors responsible for about 60 and 30 percent of the mortalities observed, respectively. We used TrailMaster camera systems to document the presence and behavior of various nest predators. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) appear to be the dominant nest predator in this area, accounting for over 80 percent of the nests destroyed. Photographic surveillance of artificial nests provides some clues for making objective assessments of predators involved in nest depredations. The amount and kinds of egg shell evidence at a nest site varied with egg size (chicken vs quail). We found egg shell evidence at 83 percent of nests using chicken eggs, but only at 3 percent of nests using quail eggs. We predict that snakes are overrated in their importance as a nest predator, when such diagnoses are based solely on the absence of physical evidence (i.e., no egg shells). Our results suggest that pricklypear (Opuntia spp.) was a key nesting microhabitat. Overall, 12 of 21 bobwhite and 8 of 12 scaled quail nests were located in pricklypear. Subsequent investigations revealed that nests situated in pricklypear were afforded higher survival, especially in more arid sites with less traditional nesting cover (e.g., Schizachyrium scoparium). Initial results with intensive, short-term mammal removal suggest that nest survival can be increased for about $0.35 per hectare