Hydrogen rich gas generator

A process and apparatus is described for producing a hydrogen rich gas by introducing a liquid hydrocarbon fuel in the form of a spray into a partial oxidation region and mixing with a mixture of steam and air that is preheated by indirect heat exchange with the formed hydrogen rich gas, igniting the hydrocarbon fuel spray mixed with the preheated mixture of steam and air within the partial oxidation region to form a hydrogen rich gas

Combustion engine

An arrangement for an internal combustion engine is provided in which one or more of the cylinders of the engine are used for generating hydrogen rich gases from hydrocarbon fuels, which gases are then mixed with air and injected into the remaining cylinders to be used as fuel. When heavy load conditions are encountered, hydrocarbon fuel may be mixed with the hydrogen rich gases and air and the mixture is then injected into the remaining cylinders as fuel

Outsourcing, Offshoring, and Productivity Measurement in Manufacturing

I discuss reasons why manufacturing productivity statistics should be interpreted with caution in light of the recent growth of domestic and foreign outsourcing and offshoring. First, outsourcing and offshoring are poorly measured in U.S. statistics, and poor measurement may impart a significant bias to manufacturing and, where offshoring is involved, aggregate productivity statistics. Second, companies often outsource or offshore work to take advantage of cheap (relative to their output) labor, and such cost savings are counted as productivity gains, even in multifactor productivity calculations. This fact has potentially important implications for the interpretation of productivity statistics. Whether, for instance, productivity growth derives from a better-educated, more efficient U.S. workforce, from investment in capital equipment in U.S. establishments, or from the use of cheap foreign labor affects how productivity gains are distributed among workers and firms in the short term and undoubtedly matters for U.S. industrial competitiveness and living standards in the long term. Although it is impossible to fully assess the impact that mismeasurement and cost savings from outsourcing and offshoring have had on measured productivity growth in manufacturing, I point to several pieces of evidence that suggest it is significant, and I argue that these issues warrant serious attention. I am grateful to Katharine Abraham, Mike Harper, Peter Meyer, Anne Polivka, Ken Ryder, Larry Summers, Lisa Usher, Robert Yuskavage, and seminar participants at the Federal Reserve Bank– Chicago for comments on an earlier draft of this paper, and to Mary Streitweisser and James Franklin for supplying detailed information on the construction of BEA's input-output estimates and their use in productivity calculations. Lillian Vesic-Petroic provided excellent research assistance. Any remaining errors as well as the views expressed in this piece are my own.offshoring, productivity, manufacturing, outsourcing, measurement, houseman

Civil Legal Assistance for Low-Income Persons: Looking Back and Looking Forward

This Article discusses the importance of legal aid and the services it provides to low-income persons. The Article also addresses the need for further change. It advocates for the development of a stronger base of public support at the local level. It also calls for an integrated, comprehensive statewide system to ensure that access is available to all those who need relief

Hydrogen-rich gas generator

A process and apparatus are described for producing hydrogen-rich product gases. A spray of liquid hydrocarbon is mixed with a stream of air in a startup procedure and the mixture is ignited for partial oxidation. The stream of air is then heated by the resulting combustion to reach a temperature such that a signal is produced. The signal triggers a two way valve which directs liquid hydrocarbon from a spraying mechanism to a vaporizing mechanism with which a vaporized hydrocarbon is formed. The vaporized hydrocarbon is subsequently mixed with the heated air in the combustion chamber where partial oxidation takes place and hydrogen-rich product gases are produced

Job Growth and the Quality of Jobs in the U.S. Economy

During the 1980's employment grew rapidly in the United States, prompting many analysts to label the U.S. economy the great American job machine. But while aggregate employment increased rapidly during the 1980's, many did not benefit from the expansion. Among less educated prime-age males, unemployment rates rose and labor force participation rates declined sharply. Moreover, although job growth was high, many argued that the quality of American jobs as measured by wages, benefits, and job security deteriorated. The decline of jobs in the high-paying manufacturing sector and the growth of jobs in the low-paying services sector, the growth in part-time and temporary employment, and the general decline in real wages among less-educated, less-skilled workers have been presented as evidence of an erosion in job quality. The issue of job growth and job quality in the American economy has sparked extensive debate among policymakers and academics over the last decade. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the evidence on job growth and on wages and other indicators of job quality in the U.S. economy during the 1980's and 1990's. To place the American experience in perspective, selected comparisons are made to the experiences in other industrialized countries. The paper is divided into three main sections. In section 1, I look at employment growth in the United States during the 1980's and 1990's. I examine whether and to what extent employment growth was greater in the United States than in other industrialized countries and whether strong employment growth in the United States signaled a healthy economy. I compare the employment performance of the U.S. economy during the 1980's with that in other industrialized countries, and study the factors underlying the cross-country differences in employment growth: differences in the growth of the working age population, differences in the growth in labor force participation, and differences in the growth in unemployment. I also examine differences in the employment experiences across groups of workers defined by gender, education, and age within the United States. In addition, the relation between employment growth, productivity growth, and growth in per capita GDP in the United States and other industrialized countries during the 1980's is explored. Finally, trends in employment growth in the United States during the 1990's are discussed. In sections 2 and 3 of the paper, I examine whether and in what sense there is any evidence that the quality of jobs in the United States has declined. The literature pertaining to trends in the quality of jobs in the U.S. economy falls into at least two main categories: (1) studies of the wage, benefits, and job security characteristics of new jobs created; and (2) studies of trends in real wages, benefits, and earnings inequality. The latter deals with trends in new as well as existing jobs. In section 2 of the paper, I review evidence from several studies on the wage distribution of occupations and industries in which new employment was created during the 1980's and 1990's. I also look at trends in the growth of involuntary part-time employment and temporary employment, which are characterized by low wages, few benefits, and little job security. In section 3 of the paper, I present evidence on trends in wages and benefits across groups of workers and the growth of wage inequality in the United States during the 1980's and 1990's. I review evidence concerning the causes of the decline in real wages among less-educated workers and the growth in wage inequality in the United States. I also review evidence from studies of trends in real wages and wage inequality in other industrialized countries and discuss why trends abroad typically have differed from those in the United States. In section 4, I summarize the evidence on job growth and the quality of jobs in the United States during the 1980's and 1990's and discuss the implications for U.S. policy.job, growth, quality, expansion, Houseman

The Future of Legal Services: Legal and Ethical Implications of the LSC Restrictions - Address: Interpretations of LSC Restrictions

The purpose of this talk is to set a framework for the discussions on the four panels. I will begin by discussing what has happened in the 104th Congress, describe what can and cannot be done under the restrictions imposed by that Congress, and then frame the context for the later discussions

Start up system for hydrogen generator used with an internal combustion engine

A hydrogen generator provides hydrogen rich product gases which are mixed with the fuel being supplied to an internal combustion engine for the purpose of enabling a very lean mixture of that fuel to be used, whereby nitrous oxides emitted by the engine are minimized. The hydrogen generator contains a catalyst which must be heated to a pre-determined temperature before it can react properly. To simplify the process of heating up the catalyst at start-up time, either some of the energy produced by the engine such as engine exhaust gas, or electrical energy produced by the engine, or the engine exhaust gas may be used to heat up air which is then used to heat the catalyst

Temporary Agency Employment as a Way out of Poverty?

The high incidence of temporary agency employment among participants in government employment programs has catalyzed debate about whether these jobs help the poor transition into stable employment and out of poverty. We provide direct evidence on this question through analysis of a Michigan welfare-to-work program in which program participants were randomly allocated across service providers (‘contractors') with different job placement practices. We draw on a telephone survey of contractors and on administrative program data linked with wage records data on all participants entering the program over a three-and-a half-year period. Our survey evidence documents a consensus among contractors that temporary help jobs are generally easier for those with weak skills and experience to obtain, but no consensus on whether temporary help jobs confer long-term benefits to participants. Our analysis of the quasi- experimental data introduced in Autor and Houseman (2005) shows that placing participants in either temporary or direct-hire jobs improves their odds of leaving welfare and escaping poverty in the short term. However, we find that only direct-hire placements help reduce welfare dependency over longer time horizons. Our findings raise questions about the incentive structure of many government employment programs that emphasize rapid placement of program participants into jobs and that may inadvertently encourage high placement rates with temporary help agencies.temporary agency, poverty, welfare, welfare-to-work, autor, houseman