Optimal Pricing and Quality of Academic Journals and the Ambiguous Welfare Effects of Forced Open Access: A Two-sided Model

We analyse optimal pricing and quality of a monopolistic journal and the optimality of open access in a two-sided model. The predominant aspect of the model that determines the quality levels at which open access is optimal is the nature of the (non-linear) externalities between readers and authors in a journal. We show that there exist scenarios in which open access is a feature of high-quality journals. Besides, we find that the removal of copyright (and thus forced open access) will likely increase both readership and authorship, will decrease journal profits, and may increase social welfare

The Persistence Behaviour of Registered Apprentices: Who Continues, Quits, or Completes Programs?

We utilize a multinomial probit model and the 2007 National Apprenticeship Survey (NAS) to investigate the persistence behaviour of individuals enrolled in apprenticeship programs. These behaviours include continuing, discontinuing (or quitting) and completing programs. The NAS contains detailed demographic data as well as other data regarding respondents’ backgrounds and apprenticeship characteristics. Our results show that program completion is positively related to being married, having fewer children, being non-Aboriginal and not a visible minority, not being disabled and having a higher level of education before the beginning of the program. Completion is negatively related to time in the program (beyond the normal program length) and the number of employers. Type of technical training and having a journeyperson always present enhance the probability of completion. The regional unemployment rate has little effect on completion. There are also large provincial and trade group differences that are generally consistent with the sparse literature on this topic. Males and females have similar completion probabilities when we control for other influences.Apprenticeship Training, Completion Outcomes, Canada

Multispectral techniques applied to photomicrography

Based upon an objects absorbtion and reflection characteristics to varying amounts of radiation, a series of selective wavelength band exposures were made for color separation of a microscopic specimen. The exposures axe made to record the specimens characteristic transmission or reflection patterns as a visible density value. The exposeures were made in a overlapping band width manner. The exposures were in the blue, green, and red regions of the spectrum. The resultant negetives were printed on Polycontrast paper using filter No. 2. The main purpose of the experiment was the design of a photographic system to remove the biological step of staining. This was through the use of the spectral transmission curves of the componet parts of the specimen. The results of the separations must than be referenced to the spectral output of the specimens componet parts. This was not tried because of the region of the spectrum that was needed was in the far ultraviolet

The Importance of Maine\u27s Economic Ties with Canada: Some Thoughts Related to the East-West Highway

Whether to build an east-west highway across central Maine has been widely debated in recent months and, regardless of where one stands on the issue, all agree it is important to study the idea further. In this article, Richard Mueller addresses Maine\u27s economic linkages with Canada and assesses how an east-west highway would affect them. He focuses on cross border traffic flows, inter-provincial truck activity, Canadian-American trade, and tourism, concluding that there is little doubt an east-west highway would bring economic benefits to northern and central Maine. Yet he cautions policymakers to consider the investment carefully. Highways are two-way streets where economic benefits can enter as well as leave the state, and determining the magnitude of the costs and benefits requires further study

Relationships among the metallurgical condition, hardness, and the electrical conductivity of aluminum alloys

Electrical conductivity measurements (eddy current determined) combined with indentation hardness measurements are now being used throughout the aerospace industry for nondestructive evaluation of the metallurgical condition of commercial precipitation hardenable aluminum alloys. The review of literature and experiments with two aluminum alloys, 7178 and a 5% Zn-Al binary, have shown that skilled interpretation of hardness-conductivity data depends not only upon a qualitative understanding of the modern wave mechanical theories of electron conduction, but also upon some knowledge of the precipitation reaction kinetics. In particular, the effects of quenched-in vacancies and retrogression upon the reaction kinetics must be considered. Studies of conductivity vs temperature in the range of 0 to 75⁰F show that the resulting conductivity changes do not result in increased interpretative information and the Matthiessen\u27s rule and Hansen\u27s equation both apply. Hansen\u27s equation relates conductivity (K) of a sample to its temperature coefficient of resistance (α) in the form of K = Bα + C where B and C are constants. The values of B and C depend only upon the alloy system being considered. A practical result is that the conductivity for an unknown sample can be evaluated at any known ambient temperature and then corrected to its room temperature value by calculating the sample\u27s coefficient of resistance using Hansen\u27s equation. The inverse calculation could also be made --Abstract, page ii

Indigenous Form, Innovative Harmony, and Ingenious Rhythm in Manuel de Falla’s “Aragonesa”

The literature on the music of Manuel de Falla has called ample attention to the striking stylistic developments in Falla’s music of the 1920s. The familiar sound of Spain was replaced by the acerbic neo-classic idiom identified with the music of Stravinsky. The issue is complex. Falla’s new music continued to draw on Spanish resources and technical aspects of harmony and rhythm reflect continuities that can be traced back to the earliest works of Falla’s maturity, namely, the Cuatro piezas españolas (1909). The first of these pieces “Aragonesa” was composed largely in 1906, and before Falla re-located in Paris and fell under the direct influence of Debussy’s mentorship. In this piece, the form and music of which can be traced to the jota dance of Aragon, Falla initiated a search for a modern harmonic idiom. The tutelage and music of Felipe Pedrell and the music of Debussy’s Danse sacrée were influential. But the letters, writings, sketches, and especially Falla’s copious annotations in Louis Lucas’s 1854 book L’Acoustique nouvelle, all kept in the Archivo Manuel de Falla in Granada, provide the resources necessary for documenting Falla’s invention. The Coda brings the piece to an end with a resourceful, and somewhat ingenious, treatment of, what Falla calls, “internal rhythm,” which anticipates, what Michael Christoforidis calls, the “evolving concept of ritmo interno” as it applies to irregular phrase lengths in the Concerto for harpsichord (1926)

Physical characterization and origin of binary near-Earth asteroid (175706) 1996 FG3

The near-Earth asteroid (NEA) (175706) 1996 FG3 is a particularly interesting spacecraft target: a binary asteroid with a low-DeltaV heliocentric orbit. The orbit of its satellite has provided valuable information about its mass density while its albedo and colors suggest it is primitive or part of the C-complex taxonomic grouping. We extend the physical characterization of this object with new observations of its emission at mid-Infrared (IR) wavelengths and with near-IR reflection spectroscopy. We derive an area-equivalent system diameter of 1.90 \pm 0.28 km (corresponding to approximate component diameters of 1.83 km and 0.51 km, respectively) and a geometric albedo of 0.039 \pm 0.012. 1996 FG3 was previously classified as a C-type asteroid, though the combined 0.4--2.5 micron spectrum with thermal correction indicates classification as B-type; both are consistent with the low measured albedo. Dynamical studies show that 1996 FG3 has most probably originated in the inner main asteroid belt. Recent work has suggested the inner Main Belt (142) Polana family as the possible origin of another low-DeltaV B-type NEA, (101955) 1999 RQ36. A similar origin for 1996 FG3 would require delivery by the overlapping Jupiter 7:2 and Mars 5:9 mean motion resonances rather than the nu-6 resonance, and we find this to be a low probability, but possible, origin.Comment: Published in Ap