Long Term Experiences of Tenants in Social Housing in East Kilbride: an Oral History Study

The aim of the project was to conduct an analysis of the extent to which the 'modern' homes of the new town of East Kilbride have met the promises of the original new town planners. It was their belief that high quality 'modern' housing in a planned environment would promote a sense of health and wellbeing amongst residents, improving their quality of life. By means of a series of in depth oral history interviews with long term residents this research probed people's subjective experiences of moving to the town, settling in and adapting, homemaking, leisure and community activities and their views on East Kilbride in 2011. The findings suggest high levels of aspiration amongst those who moved there and high levels of satisfaction with the quality of housing and the quality of life. East Kilbride offered space, new facilities and a sense of community. This was countered by the sense that today, growth of the town, the privileging of the private car and changes in home ownership and tenancy are altering the town's character so that the like-mindedness of earlier years is being replaced by individualism

Non-competes, business dynamism, and concentration: Evidence from a Florida case study

Most research on non-competes has focused on employees; here we study how non-competes affect firm location choice, growth, and consequent regional concentration, using Florida's 1996 legislative change that eased restrictions on their enforcement. Difference-in-differences models show that following the change, establishments of large firms were more likely to enter Florida; they also created a greater proportion of jobs and increased their share of employment in the state. Entrepreneurs or establishments of small firms, in contrast, were less likely to enter Florida following the law change; they also created a smaller proportion of new jobs and decreased their share of employment. Consistent with these location and job creation dynamics, regional business concentration increased following the law change in Florida. Nationwide cross-sections demonstrate consistent correlations between state-level non-compete enforcement and the location, employment, and concentration dynamics illustrated in Florida

Stochastic Optimal Control, International Finance and Debt

We use stochastic optimal control-dynamic programming (DP) to derive the optimal foreign debt/net worth, consumption/net worth, current account/net worth, and endogenous growth rate in an open economy. Unlike the literature that uses an Intertemporal Budget Constraint (IBC) or the Maximum Principle, the DP approach does not require perfect foresight or certainty equivalence. Errors of measurement and the effects of unanticipated shocks are corrected in an optimal manner. We contrast the DP and IBC approaches, show how the results of the dynamic programming approach can be interpreted in a traditional simple mean-variance/Tobin-Markowitz context, and explain why our results are generalizations of the Merton model.stochastic optimal control, foreign debt, international finance, vulnerability to external shocks, sustainable current account deficits

On protection of Freedom's solar dynamic radiator from the orbital debris environment. Part 1: Preliminary analyses and testing

A great deal of experimentation and analysis was performed to quantify penetration thresholds of components which will experience orbital debris impacts. Penetration was found to depend upon mission specific parameters such as orbital altitude, inclination, and orientation of the component; and upon component specific parameters such as material, density and the geometry particular to its shielding. Experimental results are highly dependent upon shield configuration and cannot be extrapolated with confidence to alternate shield configurations. Also, current experimental capabilities are limited to velocities which only approach the lower limit of predicted orbital debris velocities. Therefore, prediction of the penetrating particle size for a particular component having a complex geometry remains highly uncertain. An approach is described which was developed to assess on-orbit survivability of the solar dynamic radiator due to micrometeoroid and space debris impacts. Preliminary analyses are presented to quantify the solar dynamic radiator survivability, and include the type of particle and particle population expected to defeat the radiator bumpering (i.e., penetrate a fluid flow tube). Results of preliminary hypervelocity impact testing performed on radiator panel samples (in the 6 to 7 km/sec velocity range) are also presented. Plans for further analyses and testing are discussed. These efforts are expected to lead to a radiator design which will perform to requirements over the expected lifetime

Valuing Ecosystem Diversity in South East Queensland: A Life Satisfaction Approach

The life satisfaction approach has recently emerged as a new technique in the suite of options available to non-market valuation practitioners. This paper examines the influence of ecosystem diversity on the life satisfaction of residents of South East Queensland, Australia. It is found that, on average, a respondent is willing-to-pay approximately AUD$20,000 in household income per annum to obtain a one-unit improvement in ecosystem diversity. This result indicates that the life satisfaction effects of improvements in ecosystem diversity are substantial, and greater than the welfare effects implied by studies using more conventional non-market valuation techniques.Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA), Life Satisfaction, Non-market Valuation, Biodiversity, Ecosystem Diversity, Environmental Economics and Policy,

On protection of Freedom's solar dynamic radiator from the orbital debris environment. Part 2: Further testing and analyses

Presented here are results of a test program undertaken to further define the response of the solar dynamic radiator to hypervelocity impact (HVI). Tests were conducted on representative radiator panels (under ambient, nonoperating conditions) over a range of velocity. Target parameters are also varied. Data indicate that analytical penetration predictions are conservative (i.e., pessimistic) for the specific configuration of the solar dynamic radiator. Test results are used to define the solar dynamic radiator reliability with respect to HVI more rigorously than previous studies. Test data, reliability, and survivability results are presented

Quantum Brownian motion of multipartite systems and their entanglement dynamics

We solve the model of N quantum Brownian oscillators linearly coupled to an environment of quantum oscillators at finite temperature, with no extra assumptions about the structure of the system-environment coupling. Using a compact phase-space formalism, we give a rather quick and direct derivation of the master equation and its solutions for general spectral functions and arbitrary temperatures. Since our framework is intrinsically nonperturbative, we are able to analyze the entanglement dynamics of two oscillators coupled to a common scalar field in previously unexplored regimes, such as off resonance and strong coupling.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

The influence of the natural environment and climate on life satisfaction in Australia

The narrative of the twentieth century is dominated by three key trends: population growth, economic growth and urbanisation. Moreover, these trends are expected to continue well into the twenty-first century. Australia has not been immune to these trends. Australia’s population is projected to increase by 65% to over 35 million by 2049, and be accompanied by an average growth in per-capita Gross Domestic Product of 1.5% per annum. Much of this population and economic growth will be concentrated in an already highly urbanised environment. As a consequence, the natural environment in which the majority of Australians live is likely to undergo rapid change. It is useful therefore, to better understand our relationship with this environment. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, the Census of Population and Housing, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this paper examines the link between the natural environment and life satisfaction in Australia. The results indicate that certain natural environmental assets, such as national parks and the coastline are amenities, whereas creeks are disamenities. In regards to the influence of climate on life satisfaction, some unexpected results are found. Keywords: Natural Environment; Climate; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); Life Satisfaction; Happiness; Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA).Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, C21, I31, R10,

POPULAR INFORMATIONAL PRIORITIES IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION

Due to agriculture's increasingly complex technical and economic environment, the diversity of information required for competitive and profitable farming is growing as never before. With constant and, in some cases, reduced resources for agricultural programs, Extension must exercise special care in prioritizing informational efforts to best meet farm-client needs and retain an important base of public support. This paper presents a method of identifying popular informational priorities in Agricultural Extension. The method is illustrated by application to dairy programming in Massachusetts.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,