The impact of hurricanes on housing prices: evidence from U.S. coastal cities

We investigate the effect of hurricane strikes on housing prices in U.S. coastal cities. To this end, we construct a new index of hurricane destruction which varies over time and space. Using this index and an annual, two equation, dynamic equilibrium correction panel model with area and time fixed effects, we model the effects of hurricanes on real house process and real incomes. In our model hurricanes have a direct effect on house prices and an indirect effect via a fall in local incomes. Our results show that the typical hurricane strike raises real house prices for a number of years, with a maximum effect of between 3 % to 4 % three years after occurrence. There is also a small negative effect on real incomes. These results are stable across models and subsamples.Econometric models ; Housing - Prices

Characterizing Extragalactic Anomalous Microwave Emission in NGC 6946 with CARMA

Using 1 cm and 3 mm CARMA and 2 mm GISMO observations, we follow up the first extragalactic detection of anomalous microwave emission (AME) reported by Murphy et al. 2010 in an extranuclear region (Enuc. 4) of the nearby face-on spiral galaxy NGC 6946. We find the spectral shape and peak frequency of AME in this region to be consistent with models of spinning dust emission. However, the strength of the emission far exceeds the Galactic AME emissivity given the abundance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in that region. Using our galaxy-wide 1 cm map (21" resolution), we identify a total of eight 21"x21" regions in NGC 6946 that harbour AME at >95% significance at levels comparable to that observed in Enuc. 4. The remainder of the galaxy has 1 cm emission consistent with or below the observed Galactic AME emissivity per PAH surface density. We probe relationships between the detected AME and dust surface density, PAH emission, and radiation field, though no environmental property emerges to delineate regions with strong versus weak or non-existent AME. On the basis of these data and other AME observations in the literature, we determine that the AME emissivity per unit dust mass is highly variable. We argue that the spinning dust hypothesis, which predicts the AME power to be approximately proportional to the PAH mass, is therefore incomplete.Comment: 12 pages, submitted to MNRAS, comments welcom

The Expanded Cluster Account of Art

I argue for the Expanded Cluster Account of art (ECA) by first inquiring as to whether “art” is best described by a cluster account and where ECA fits into the current landscape of theories of concepts. Second, I explicate the relevant aspects of Boyd’s theory of natural kinds and argue that his concepts of “disciplinary matrices” and “homeostatic property clusters” (roughly analogous to Gaut’s criterial properties for characterizing art, particularized for each individual kind) have relevant roles in a proper cluster account of art, thus explicating and expanding Gaut’s account in the process. Third, I defend the thesis that Boyd’s concept of “disciplinary matrix,” when applied to “art,” is fulfilled by George Dickie’s notion of “the Artworld.” Lastly, I consider objections to ECA and positively explain its heuristic and explanatory efficacy above and beyond other contemporary “anti-definitional” accounts

Sparsification and the Reconsideration of Contemporary Rural Living

This thesis asserts that architecture and agriculture must form a symbiotic relationship united by sustainability to redefine contemporary rural living. By challenging outdated traditions, idyllic visions, and preconceived notions of the rural paradigm, it is also possible to reprove a diminishing agrarian lifestyle. Rural architecture must become as productive as the ground it replaces, and as integrated as the crop to the soil. A new model needs to be established to facilitate these assertions and reconsider contemporary rural living

The VLA Sky Survey

The VLA All-Sky Survey (VLASS) builds upon the newly upgraded Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to employ its enhanced bandwidth, time resolution, and survey speed to carry out a next-generation sky survey. VLASS will map the sky at δ > −40°, covering a total of 33,885 square degrees, with 2.005 angular resolution using the VLA B-array at 2–4 GHz, with an expected rms of 69 µJy/beam in the final images. The survey will be carried out over three epochs spanning 32 months, providing a synoptic view of the dynamic radio sky similar to those now available through the new generation of synoptic imagers at other wavelengths. Consequently, VLASS will provide unique measurements of the radio sky at key epochs and sensitivity levels between that from FIRST and NVSS and the new upcoming radio surveys. This will be a critical enabler for early identification and filtering for the most interesting transient events. In this proceeding we highlight some of the key science that will be delivered by VLASS that make optimal utilization of the Jansky VLA’s unique capabilities: high resolution imaging and exquisite point-source sensitivity, critical for source identification; wide bandwidth coverage, enabling instantaneous spectral index determination; and full polarimetry with good performance even in lines of sight with high Faraday depth, enabling instantaneous rotation measure and Faraday structure determinations

Simplified modelling of air source heat pumps producing detailed results

Created by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) is the UK Government‟s recommended method of assessing the energy ratings of dwellings. Modelling future complex dwellings, and their servicing systems, will require a more advanced calculation which is as simple as SAP to use but can produce more detailed results. This paper extends a novel advanced dynamic calculation method (IDEAS – Inverse Dynamics based Energy Analysis and Simulation) of assessing the controllability of a building and its servicing systems. IDEAS produces SAP compliant results and allows confident (i.e. calibrated in SAP) predictions to be made regarding the impact of novel heating and renewable energy systems. This paper describes the addition of an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) model to IDEAS. This allows for detailed analysis to be made of ASHPs in a SAP compliant framework. The benefits of using the IDEAS method is highlighted with capabilities outwith the scope of SAP also possible. For example, IDEAS can be used as sizing tool for a heating system in a building

Identifying Variations to the IMF at High-z Through Deep Radio Surveys

In this article I briefly describe how deep radio surveys may provide a means to identify variations in the upper end of the initial mass function (IMF) in star-forming galaxies at high redshifts (i.e., z ≳ 3). At such high redshifts, I argue that deep radio continuum observations at frequencies ≳10 GHz using next generation facilities (e.g., EVLA, MeerKAT, SKA/NAA) will likely provide the most accurate measurements for the ionizing photon rates (star formation rates; SFRs) of normal galaxies since their non-thermal emission should be highly suppressed due to the increased inverse Compton (IC) losses from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), leaving only thermal (free-free) emission detectable. Thus, a careful analysis of such observations in combination with future ALMA and JWST data, measuring the rest-frame far-infrared and UV emission from the same population of galaxies, may yield the best means to search for variability in the stellar IMF at such epochs