Whither climate change post-Paris

The Paris Climate Agreement has been welcomed by many as providing a remarkably strong basis for global action on anthropogenically mediated climate change, by underpinning a highly ambitious, very clever and forward-looking political process. On the other hand, the sum total of the fresh emission reductions pledged is very small. A new climate-economics model is explored to help focus on two key points remaining at issue post-Paris, namely where are we now and where are we headed? The output reinforces the unpalatable finding that in the absence of even stronger carbon-pricing policies, temperatures and sea-level will, this century, rise significantly beyond what are currently deemed to be ‘dangerous’ levels. Pigouvian taxes have long been championed by economists as providing a simple, down-to-earth corrective remedy for market failures, such as excessive carbon emissions. The Wilsonian modification, or ‘feebate’, provides an attractive modern variant that could easily be implemented post-Paris. </jats:p

A microbiological assay method for p-aminobenzoic acid

Since the establishment of p-aminobenzoic acid as a member of the B vitamin group, a considerable interest has been shown in methods of determination in natural materials. Since known chemical methods are not sufficiently sensitive, it became evident that microbiological tests should be the most practicable. The organism Clostridium acetobutylicum has been used (1) but no general assay procedure has been presented. Several bacterial strains which respond to p-aminobenzoic acid have been investigated in this laboratory, but satisfactory assay procedures with these organisms have not yet been devised. For the discovery of the test organism used in the procedure described in this paper, we are indebted to Dr. Beadle and Dr. Tatum who kindly furnished us with a culture of their p-aminobenzoic acid requiring a mutant strain of Neurospora crassa, designated by them as Neurospora crassa p-aminobenzoicless No. 1633 (2). This mold will grow optimally on a medium consisting of inorganic salts, ammonium tartrate, sucrose, biotin, and p-aminobenzoic acid. For purposes of assay, however, it has proved advantageous to supplement this basal medium with natural extracts which are either naturally low in p-aminobenzoic acid or have been treated to remove it. With such a complex medium, the possibility of interference by toxic substances or stimulatory substances other than p-aminobenzoic acid which might be present in samples to be assayed is reduced to a minimum. Since the completion of a considerable part of the experimental work described in this paper, microbiological assay methods for p-aminobenzoic acid have been published by Landy and Dicken (3) utilizing the organism Acetobacter suboxydans and by Lewis (4) using Lactobacillus arabinosus 17-5

Exploring determinants of entrepreneurial performance

This thesis reports research into elements of entrepreneurial performance with a particular focus on gender differences and their determinants. Inductive research during the initial literature review uncovered a range of factors affecting performance leading to an investigation of smallholder dairy entrepreneurs in Central Malawi. The primary research utilised a mix of both quantitative and qualitative instruments including innovative use of an adaptation of the ‘circle and stones’ proportional piling instrument. This participatory technique explored changes in the household economy following the introduction of the dairy enterprise, including projecting entrepreneurial intentions into the future. A notable feature of the research was the use of a range of context-specific performance measures developed from an outcomes model. These were both separately applied in a performance ranking exercise, and compiled into an overall performance rating (OPR) which was then compared with the initial post-interview field performance rating (FPR). The research involved extensive use of internal and external triangulation of information sources, comparing results from different instruments in the field research, and situating and comparing primary research findings with those from the academic literature and analysis of secondary data. Despite controlling for factors including industry-type, size of enterprise, provision of business and extension support, and taking into account differences in age and educational background, the research uncovered gender disparities in entrepreneurial performance. The performance disparity was greater for those females who are the de facto head of their households, and lesser for those who have the support of a resident male partner. The finding of female underperformance runs contrary to the a priori expectation of industry key informants in Malawi, and much of the academic literature. The research included exploration of risk mitigation strategies and their potential effect on entrepreneurial performance, as possible explanatory factors. Follow-on fieldwork then sought alternative explanations for the gender differentials through focus group discussions and key informant interviews, which uncovered time constraints of females as a potential factor in underperformance. Future research direction indicated includes an in-depth exploration of the intra-household dynamics of time allocation in managing enterprises

Alien Registration- Thompson, Roy W. (Wade, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/32496/thumbnail.jp

A review of the course of eschatological discourses during the past century

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1916. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

A Growth Model for Porous Sedimentary Rocks

A growth model for porous sedimentary rocks is proposed, using a simple computer simulation algorithm. We generate the structure by ballistic deposition of particles with a bimodal size distribution. Porosity and specific surface area are calculated varying the proportion of small and larger particles. Permeability and its variation with porosity are studied. The fractal nature of the pore space is also discussed.Comment: 11 pages, Latex format, figures available on reques