Inventories, Inflation Dynamics and the New Keynesian Phillips Curve

We introduce inventories into an otherwise standard New Keynesian model and study the implications for in.ation dynamics. Inventory holdings are motivated as a means to generate sales for demand-constrained .rms. We derive various representa- tions of the New Keynesian Phillips curve with inventories and show that one of these speci.cations is observationally equivalent to the standard model with respect to the behavior of in.ation when the model.s cross-equation restrictions are imposed. How- ever, the driving variable in the New Keynesian Phillips curve - real marginal cost - is unobservable and has to be proxied by, for instance, unit labor costs. An alternative approach is to impute marginal cost by using the model.s optimality conditions. We show that the stock-sales ratio is linked to marginal cost. We also estimate these various speci.cations of the New Keynesian Phillips curve using GMM. We .nd that predictive power of the inventory-speci.cation at best approaches that of the standard model, but does not improve upon it. We conclude that inventories do not play a role in explaining in.ation dynamics within our New Keynesian Phillips curve framework.

Magnetic field simulation of golay coil

In the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), besides the main magnetic field and the radio frequency (RF) system, the gradient coils system also plays an important role in signal acquisition. Generally, there are 2 transverse gradient coils and 1 longitudinal gradient coil. In this research, the magnetic field (or gradient) generated by the conventional transverse coil, namely the Golay coil was mapped. The calculation algorithm of the magnetic field generated was written in C-programming language, compiled by the GNU-compiler collection (GCC) and was based on a forward analytical approach by using the Biot-Savart Law. The data was then visualized by Gnuplot. The magnetic field was successfully calculated and plotted using open-source softwares running under Ubuntu operating system and will provide valuable data especially for gradient coil designe

Designing for the disabled in Malaysian environment

In most countries, it has been estimated that 1O% of the total population can be categorised under "The Disabled". With such percentage and its existence in our society, one should not deny the importance of desinging for the disabled which has been studied in other countries but not Malaysia. 'Thus, the topic "DESIGNING FOR THE DISABLED IN ENVIRONMENT is chosen for final year paper, PBP461: Student Initiated Research Project, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science (Housing, Building and Planning). It is also chosen bearing in mind the following aims : o in conjunction with the International Year of the Disabled Persons, 1981 Persons, 1981; o to realize the existence of the disabled in our society; o to help but not sympathize them in whatsoever ways possible; o to involve oneself in welfare and social works and ready to serve those considered "less fortunate"; o to provide opportunities for them to participate in the everyday life of the society and to be involved to do what others do; and o to provide as a guideline for our local designers in designning, planning and organizing of the houses which the disabled live and building which they use for work, education, recreation and others

Antecedent Outcomes Study On Green Value Chain Initiatives: A Perspective From Sustainable Development And Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Kemunculan rantaian nilai hijau atas kesedaran tentang kepentingan alam sekitar akibat daripada daya pembangunan lestari demi memastikan pencapaian keunggulan kompetitif lestari di pasaran merupakan polar perniagaan yang tidak dapat dielakkan sejak kebelakangan ini. Green value chain in the wake of environmental conscious due to sustainable development forces to ensure achievement of sustainable competitive advantage in market place has been perceived as an inevitable global business trends in recent years

Stainless steel structures in fire

The initial material cost of structural stainless steel is about four times that of structural carbon steel, due largely to the expense of the alloying elements and the relatively low volume of production. Given broadly similar structural performance, additional areas of benefit need to be identified and exploited in order to establish stainless steel as a viable alternative material for construction. In addition to the familiar benefits of corrosion resistance, low maintenance, high residual value and aesthetics, one such area is fire resistance. Material properties and their response to elevated temperatures form an essential part of structural fire design. The mechanical and thermal properties of stainless steel differ from those of carbon steel due to variation in chemical composition between the materials. A comparison of these properties for austenitic stainless steel with those for structural carbon steel is presented in this thesis, and implications of the differences explored. A total of 23 column buckling tests, 6 stub column tests, 5 simply supported beams, 1 continuous beam and 14 temperature development tests have previously been conducted on stainless steel sections in fire. These tests have been replicated numerically using the non-linear finite element package ABAQUS. Following accurate replication of the tests, a series of parametric studies were performed to expand the range of available data. Based on comparisons between all available test data and the current design rules in Eurocode 3: Part 1.2, together with the findings of the numerical study, a number of revisions to the code have been proposed. They include revised values for the heat transfer coefficient and emissivity, revised buckling curve, consistent strain limits and a new approach to the treatment of cross- section classification and local buckling. These revisions have led to a more accurate determination of temperature development in structural stainless steel, and provide more efficient and more consistent treatment of buckling of stainless steel structures in fire.Open Acces

Analysis of three-wheeled all-terrain vehicle/rider system dynamics

The primary objective of this research was to theoretically investigate what effects the spring-damper suspensions have on pitch, vertical and roll motions of three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles. Model A, which is a six degrees-of-freedom mathematical model representing the vehicle/rider system with no suspensions, and Model B, which is a thirteen degrees-of-freedom mathematical model representing the vehicle/rider system with front and rear independent suspensions, were formulated for this study. Data measured from two commercially available three-wheeled ATVs, a 1980 Honda ATC 110D and a 1980 Kawasaki KLT 200, were used as input parameter values for Model A. Since there were no commercially available three-wheeled ATVs with front and rear independent suspensions, input parameter values for Model B were estimated based on parameter values of the two three-wheeled ATVs measured for Model A. The vehicle/rider systems were mounted with two different sets of tires, a set of three 22 x 11-8 Ohtsu tires and a set of three 22 x 11-8 Goodyear tires. Three different bump profiles of rectangular, parabolic and sinusoidal shapes were used as disturbances for the vehicle/rider systems. All three bump profiles have the same maximum amplitudes, but the base lengths of the rectangular and parabolic bump profiles are shorter than the sinusoidal bump profile. From the results of the computer simulations, plots of pitch, vertical and roll displacements versus time were generated. A plot of vertical tire forces versus time was also produced. The analyses of the plotted results have led to the major conclusion of this study that ride and handling characteristics of a three-wheeled ATV can be improved significantly if front and rear independent suspensions are present

Architecting Integrated System Health Management for Airworthiness

Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) has been a new area of research - seeking to provide situational awareness to mission and maintenance operations, and for improved decision-making with increased self-autonomy. This research effort developed an analytic architecture and an associated discrete-event simulation using Arena to investigate the potential benefits of ISHM implementation onboard an UAS. The objective of this research is two-fold: firstly, to achieve continued airworthiness by investigating the potential extension of UAS expected lifetime through ISHM implementation, and secondly, to reduce life cycle costs by implementing a Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) policy with better failure predictions made possible with ISHM. Through a series of design experiments, it was shown that ISHM presented the most cost-effective improvement over baseline systems in situations where the reliability of the UAS is poor (relative to manned systems) and the baseline sensor exhibited poor qualities in terms of missed detection and false alarm rates. From the simulation results of the test scenarios, it was observed that failure occurrence rates, sensor quality characteristics and ISHM performance specifications were significant factors in determining the output responses of the model. The desired outcome of this research seeks to provide potential designers with top-level performance specifications of an ISHM system based on specified airworthiness and maintenance requirements for the envisaged ISHM-enabled UAS

A Comparative Study On The Energy Policies In Japan And Malaysia In Fulfilling Their Nations Obligations Towards The Kyoto Protocol

Global warming and the associated changes in the world climate pattern have been accepted world wide as the gravest threat to humanity in the 20th century. To mitigate the impacts of global warming, the Kyoto Protocol was established in 1997 with the objective of reducing global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission, in particular carbon dioxide (C02), by 5.2% below 1990 levels. Developed nations that ratified the Protocol are committed to GHG reduction targets while developing nations are encouraged to reduce GHG emissions on a voluntary basis