Ballastic signature identification systems study

The results are described of an attempt to establish a uniform procedure for documenting (recording) expended bullet signatures as effortlessly as possible and to build a comprehensive library of these signatures in a form that will permit the automated comparison of a new suspect bullet with the prestored library. The ultimate objective is to achieve a standardized format that will permit nationwide interaction between police departments, crime laboratories, and other interested law enforcement agencies

The Economic Impacts Associated with Locally Owned Agricultural Cooperatives: A Comparison of the Great Plains and the Eastern Cornbelt

Agribusiness,

Flight elements: Fault detection and fault management

Fault management for an intelligent computational system must be developed using a top down integrated engineering approach. An approach proposed includes integrating the overall environment involving sensors and their associated data; design knowledge capture; operations; fault detection, identification, and reconfiguration; testability; causal models including digraph matrix analysis; and overall performance impacts on the hardware and software architecture. Implementation of the concept to achieve a real time intelligent fault detection and management system will be accomplished via the implementation of several objectives, which are: Development of fault tolerant/FDIR requirement and specification from a systems level which will carry through from conceptual design through implementation and mission operations; Implementation of monitoring, diagnosis, and reconfiguration at all system levels providing fault isolation and system integration; Optimize system operations to manage degraded system performance through system integration; and Lower development and operations costs through the implementation of an intelligent real time fault detection and fault management system and an information management system

Anisotropic charge screening and supercell size convergence of defect formation energies

One of the main sources of error associated with the calculation of defect formation energies using plane-wave density functional theory (DFT) is finite size error resulting from the use of relatively small simulation cells and periodic boundary conditions. Most widely used methods for correcting this error, such as that of Makov and Payne, assume that the dielectric response of the material is isotropic and can be described using a scalar dielectric constant . However, this is strictly only valid for cubic crystals, and cannot work in highly anisotropic cases. Here we introduce a variation of the technique of extrapolation based on the Madelung potential that allows the calculation of well-converged dilute limit defect formation energies in noncubic systems with highly anisotropic dielectric properties. As an example of the implementation of this technique we study a selection of defects in the ceramic oxide Li2TiO3 which is currently being considered as a lithium battery material and a breeder material for fusion reactors

Driving Forces and Success Factors for Mergers, Acquisitions, Joint Ventures, and Strategic Alliances among Local Cooperatives

Agribusiness,

A Local Cooperative's Financial and Strategic Analysis of the Evaluation of Potential Merger Partners

This is a two-part teaching case developed through in-person interviews which were conducted with the managers of locally owned farm supply/grain marketing cooperatives in Indiana and Colorado in the spring of 2000. The case has been written so that each part can be used individually or together and can also be used in either the undergraduate classroom or in extension programming with cooperative managers and directors. Part I focuses on how to use financial analysis in business reorganization decisions and Part II focuses on how to analyze alternative business reorganization possibilities from a strategic management perspective.Cooperatives, Mergers, Evaluation of alternative business strategies, Agribusiness,

Victims and Survivors: Displaced Persons and Other War Victims in Vietnam, 1954-1975

https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cr_launch_party_2016/1002/thumbnail.jp

LOCAL COOPERATIVES' EVALUATION OF BUSINESS INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Agricultural cooperatives have been restructuring, by way of mergers, acquisitions, joint-ventures, and strategic alliances, to increase efficiencies to remain competitive in a changing business environment. The research evaluating the reorganization of cooperatives has revealed that less than one-half of the restructured businesses are financially successful. There is the potential to significantly influence the future health of the cooperative business sector if, first, insights can be gained concerning the factors being considered by cooperative managers when making restructuring decisions and, second, extension education programs can be adapted to meet the greatest need. In this study we examine: (a) what methods of valuation cooperatives are using when evaluating new business opportunities, and (b) what factors influence the methods of valuation preferred by cooperatives when evaluating new business opportunities.capital budgeting methods, cooperatives, finance, restructuring, Agribusiness,