The demutualisation of building societies : a contextual analysis of the changing nature of mutuality

The contention of this thesis is that the demutualisation of building societies may be understood as resulting from the process of reconceptualisation that mutuality has undergone throughout its history. It is suggested that the history of mutuality is the history of the tendency towards its own destruction as building societies evolved from small local concerns into being some of the largest financial institutions in the national economy. Further to this, it is suggested that observation of the nature of mutuality at various historical moments provides insights into the nature of building societies per se. Furthermore, the nature of mutuality at any historical moment reflects the contextual forces that prevail upon it. In other words, mutuality provides an index to the political, social and economic forces at a particular moment in history and understanding mutuality in this way provides a framework in which to understand future developments in mutual building societies. In support of this hypothesis, this thesis demonstrates that mutuality in the context of early building societies denoted equality between members in respect of rights, responsibilities and benefits. Mutuality meant equality, responsibility and benefits and the concept described actual material relations. However, when building societies became widespread and highly capitalized, policy and legislation combined to construct a mutuality that created a manageable financial institution for the wealthier working classes and lower middle classes. Mutuality denoted the political imperative to encourage thrift and property ownership within a legislative framework and it was characterized by the separation of the borrower- member role from the lender-member role and the formal creation of a legal entity, the incorporated building society. By drawing upon distinct historical periods, this thesis contends that this hybrid commercial organization, the mutual building society, is to a great extent the creature of government policy, which is central to the construction or destruction of mutuality. This is patiicularly evident in the politics that informed the passage ofthe 1986 Building Societies Act, which provides for conversion or demutualisation. However, as this thesis demonstrates, mutuality reflects the internal character of building societies such as the relationship of the membership to the society, and external factors, such as the political and economic climate. Thus, the maintenance of mutuality will depend on the interplay between these factors

Understanding Sexualised Behaviour in Children

Teachers and parents sometimes turn to educational psychologists when they have concerns about the sexual behaviour of children and young people. This paper draws upon developmental psychology to describe ways in which sexual development has been conceptualised. This highlights that sexual development is best seen on a continuum that ranges from the developmentally appropriate to children that molest. From this analysis educational psychologists are encouraged to think about the different professional responses that are most appropriate and to see the importance of being able to move along a graded response from reassurance to concern

A simple method for estimating minimum autorotative descent rate of single rotor helicopters

Flight test results of minimum autorotative descent rate are compared with calculations based on the minimum power required for steady level flight. Empirical correction factors are derived that account for differences in energy dissipation between these two flight conditions. A method is also presented for estimating the minimum power coefficient for level flight for any helicopter for use in the empirical estimation procedure of autorotative descent rate

Beryllium 7 and Lead 210 in the western hemisphere Arctic atmosphere: Observations from three recent aircraft-based sampling programs

Concentrations of the natural radionuclides 7Be and 210Pb were determined in aerosol samples collected in the western hemisphere Arctic during the recent NOAA Arctic Gas and Aerosol Sampling Program (AGASP 3) and NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment/Arctic Boundary Layer Expeditions (GTE/ABLE 3A and ABLE 3B) missions. Beryllium 7 showed a free tropospheric concentration maximum between 4 and 5 km in the summer of 1990. Previous 7Be data obtained in the late 1950s and early 1960s also indicated a similar vertical distribution of 7Be near 70°N. Injection of stratospheric air through tropopause folds associated with the Arctic jet near 70°N appears to explain the presence of a layer of air near 4–5 km in the high Arctic free troposphere with elevated 7Be concentrations. The vertical distribution of 210Pb showed a distinct difference between the high-Arctic and sub-Arctic in the summer of 1988. At latitudes greater than 65°N, 210Pb concentrations at 3–6 km were elevated compared to those below 1 km. The reverse of this trend was observed near 60°N. These same vertical distributions were also apparent in aerosol SO42−, determined in separate aerosol samples collected on the same flights (Talbot et al., this issue). The results for 210Pb suggest that some of the difference between the summer troposphere in the high- and sub-Arctic is also due to enhanced stratosphere-troposphere exchange in the vicinity of the Arctic jet. These observations, and other findings from ABLE 3A presented in this issue, suggest that for some species the stratosphere may be a principal source influencing their distribution in the Arctic summer troposphere. For example, intrusions of stratospheric air constitute the dominant source term for tropospheric budgets of 7Be and ozone, and may be important in the 210Pb, SO42−, and NOybudgets. Further investigation, including determination of detailed 7Be and 210Pb distributions, is needed to quantify the stratospheric impact on the chemistry of the Arctic troposphere during the summer

A failure effects simulation of a low authority flight control augmentation system on a UH-1H helicopter

A two-pilot moving base simulator experiment was conducted to assess the effects of servo failures of a flight control system on the transient dynamics of a Bell UH-1H helicopter. The flight control hardware considered was part of the V/STOLAND system built with control authorities of from 20-40%. Servo hardover and oscillatory failures were simulated in each control axis. Measurements were made to determine the adequacy of the failure monitoring system time delay and the servo center and lock time constant, the pilot reaction times, and the altitude and attitude excursions of the helicopter at hover and 60 knots. Safe recoveries were made from all failures under VFR conditions. Pilot reaction times were from 0.5 to 0.75 sec. Reduction of monitor delay times below these values resulted in significantly reduced excursion envelopes. A subsequent flight test was conducted on a UH-1H helicopter with the V/STOLAND system installed. Series servo hardovers were introduced in hover and at 60 knots straight and level. Data from these tests are included for comparison

Generalized model of blockage in particulate flow limited by channel carrying capacity

We investigate stochastic models of particles entering a channel with a random time distribution. When the number of particles present in the channel exceeds a critical value $N$, a blockage occurs and the particle flux is definitively interrupted. By introducing an integral representation of the $n$ particle survival probabilities, we obtain exact expressions for the survival probability, the distribution of the number of particles that pass before failure, the instantaneous flux of exiting particle and their time correlation. We generalize previous results for $N=2$ to an arbitrary distribution of entry times and obtain new, exact solutions for $N=3$ for a Poisson distribution and partial results for $N\ge 4$.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

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Alien Registration- Talbot, Arvella L. (Bangor, Penobscot County)

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Large-scale distributions of tropospheric nitric, formic, and acetic acids over the western Pacific basin during wintertime

We report here measurements of the acidic gases nitric (HNO3), formic (HCOOH), and acetic (CH3COOH) over the western Pacific basin during the February-March 1994 Pacific Exploratory Mission-West (PEM-West B). These data were obtained aboard the NASA DC-8 research aircraft as it flew missions in the altitude range of 0.3–12.5 km over equatorial regions near Guam and then further westward encompassing the entire Pacific Rim arc. Aged marine air over the equatorial Pacific generally exhibited mixing ratios of acidic gases \u3c100 parts per trillion by volume (pptv). Near the Asian continent, discrete plumes encountered below 6 km altitude contained up to 8 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) HNO3 and 10 ppbv HCOOH and CH3COOH. Overall there was a general correlation between mixing ratios of acidic gases with those of CO, C2H2, and C2Cl4, indicative of emissions from combustion and industrial sources. The latitudinal distributions of HNO3 and CO showed that the largest mixing ratios were centered around 15°N, while HCOOH, CH3COOH, and C2Cl4 peaked at 25°N. The mixing ratios of HCOOH and CH3COOH were highly correlated (r2 = 0.87) below 6 km altitude, with a slope (0.89) characteristic of the nongrowing season at midlatitudes in the northern hemisphere. Above 6 km altitude, HCOOH and CH3COOH were marginally correlated (r2 = 0.50), and plumes well defined by CO, C2H2, and C2Cl4 were depleted in acidic gases, most likely due to scavenging during vertical transport of air masses through convective cloud systems over the Asian continent. In stratospheric air masses, HNO3 mixing ratios were several parts per billion by volume (ppbv), yielding relationships with O3 and N2O consistent with those previously reported for NOy

Why is modern capitalism irresponsible and what would make it more responsible? A company law perspective

In this paper, we claim that capitalism is inherently irresponsible precisely because production and distribution to meet the needs of society are subordinated to profit maximisation. Historically, the corporate form enhanced that irresponsibility by accommodating rentier shareholders—whose only concern is with the income generated by their shares— by limiting their liability and by treating the company in law as separate from shareholders and their property, the fungible and fully transferable share. We show how this irresponsibility was somewhat countered in the post war period by government policy and an empowered and active labour movement, but re-emerged in the late 1970s when the economy could no longer support both rentier and labour interests. Since then, company law has enabled various financialised methods of increasing shareholder returns at the cost of innovation, productivity and returns to labour. We recommend policies to reform the company by reducing rentier-driven irresponsibility. Finally, we argue that existing responsible company forms such as the community interest company cannot create a more responsible capital while the limited liability company continues to provide substantial benefits to the alliance between rentiers and executives