Failed bank resolution and the collateral crunch: the advantages of adopting transferable puts

Current methods of failed bank resolution are unnecessarily expensive for taxpayers and impose substantial costs on borrowers at failed banks. This situation is due to distorted incentives imbedded in the standard contract between the government and acquirers of failed banks, which result in more loan foreclosures than if the loan were held by a well-capitalized bank. This paper proposes a modification to the standard contract in the form of a transferable put, which would introduce market-based incentives to the disposition of failed bank assets.Bank failures

Enzyme-mediated surface modification of jute and its influence on the properties of jute/epoxy composites

Surface modification of jute fibers is necessary to improve the adhesion and interfacial compatibility between fibers and resin matrix before using fibers in polymer composites. In this study, dodecyl gallate (DG) was enzymatically grafted onto the jute fiber by laccase to endow the fiber with hydrophobicity. A hand lay-up technique was then adopted to prepare jute/epoxy composites. Contact angle and wetting time measurements showed that the surface hydrophobicity of the jute fabric was increased after the enzymatic graft modification. The water absorption and thickness swelling of the DG-grafted jute fabric/epoxy composite were lower than those of the other composites. The tensile and dynamic mechanical properties of the jute/epoxy composites were enhanced by the surface modification. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed stronger fibermatrix adhesion in composites with modified fibers. Therefore, the enzymatic graft modification increased the fibermatrix interface area. The fibermatrix adhesion was enhanced, and the mechanical properties of the composites were improved.Contract grant sponsor: National Natural Science Foundation of China; contract grant number: 51173071; contract grant sponsor: Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University; contract grant number: NCET-12-0883; contract grant sponsor: Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities; contract grant sponsor: JUSRP51312B.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

CONTRACT INCENTIVES AND EXCESSIVE NITROGEN USE IN AGRICULTURE

This study examines incentives for input use under tournament contracts. We analyze implications of contract design for nitrate-based environmental externalities generated by agricultural producers. Outcomes are compared from contracts awarded by tournament to those from fixed-payment contracts. Our findings show contract insecurity can distort input use. The model developed in this analysis is applied to a region of the U.S. where tournament-based production is prevalent and groundwater contamination is a problem. We find contract insecurity increases nitrogen use by about 12%, resulting in a 17% increase in nitrate leaching. Implications for contract modification to reduce environmental externalities while maintaining contract incentives are discussed.Crop Production/Industries,

Thermally stable electrolytes for rechargeable lithium batteries, phase 2

During the second year of research under NASA SBIR Contract NAS7-967, Covalent Associates and NASA contract monitors at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory agreed to perform an evaluation of the three best electrolytes developed during Phase 2. Due to the extensive period of time required to collect meaningful cycling data, we realized the study would extend well beyond the original formal end of the Phase 2 program (August 31, 1988). The substitution of this effort in lieu of an earlier proposed 20-cell final deliverable is formally documented in Modification No. 1 of Contract NAS7-967 as task 7. This Addendum contains the results of the cycling studies performed at Covalent Associates. In addition, sealed ampoules of each of these three electrolytes were delivered to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Electrochemical Power Group. Their concurrent evaluation in a different test vehicle has also been recently concluded and their results are also summarized herein

Disintegrating Customary International Law: Reactions to Withdrawing from International Custom

Withdrawing from International Custom, a recent article by Curtis Bradley and Mitu Gulati, has sparked interest and debate. Bradley and Gulati’s article, develops with significant nuance and detail that, naturally, can be best understood by a careful reading of their work. In essence, it proposes a modification in customary international law (CIL) doctrine – a change that would permit states to unilaterally exit from existing customary international law. This Essay will act as a brief reflection on that article. In Part I, it will explore the analogies Withdrawing makes between CIL and contract and will argue, first that CIL and contract are not analogous and, second, that even to the extent that contract demonstrates how other doctrinal areas order exits from legal relationships, contract illustrates the point that unilateral exit is a recognized abdication of the exiting party’s obligations and that exit gives rise to legal liability. In Part II, it explores the analogies Withdrawing makes between governments and agents in order to unpack some of the theoretical political theory constructs on which Withdrawing relies, and to explore the limitations Withdrawing sets on the proposal for unilateral exit. Part III of this Essay will make an affirmative argument for symmetry between CIL formation doctrine and CIL disintegration doctrine. The current proposal anticipates that CIL formation would remain unchanged, but exit for any given state would be far more expeditious than is contemplated by current CIL exit formulations. This Part will illustrate that this proposal violates a strong presumption in favor of symmetrical entrenchment

Research pressure instrumentation for NASA Space Shuttle main engine, modification no. 5

The purpose of Modification No. 5 of this contract is to expand the scope of work (Task C) of this research study effort to develop pressure instrumentation for the SSME. The objective of this contract (Task C) is to direct Honeywell's Solid State Electronics Division's (SSED) extensive experience and expertise in solid state sensor technology to develop prototype pressure transducers which are targeted to meet the SSME performance design goals and to fabricate, test and deliver a total of 10 prototype units. SSED's basic approach is to effectively utilize the many advantages of silicon piezoresistive strain sensing technology to achieve the objectives of advanced state-of-the-art pressure sensors in terms of reliability, accuracy and ease of manufacture. More specifically, integration of multiple functions on a single chip is the key attribute of this technology which will be exploited during this research study

Stochastic Hard-Sphere Dynamics for Hydrodynamics of Non-Ideal Fluids

A novel stochastic fluid model is proposed with non-ideal structure factor consistent with compressibility, and adjustable transport coefficients. This Stochastic Hard Sphere Dynamics (SHSD) algorithm is a modification of the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) algorithm and has several computational advantages over event-driven hard-sphere molecular dynamics. Surprisingly, SHSD results in an equation of state and pair correlation function identical to that of a deterministic Hamiltonian system of penetrable spheres interacting with linear core pair potentials. The fluctuating hydrodynamic behavior of the SHSD fluid is verified for the Brownian motion of a nano-particle suspended in a compressible solvent.Comment: This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 (LLNL-JRNL-401745). To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. 200

Task 4 completion report for 40 Kilowatt grid connected modification contract

Startup, operation in grid connect mode, shutdown from grid connects, operation in isolated mode, shutdown from isolated mode, steady state operation, mode transfers, and voltage disconnects are addressed

Meteorological studies conducted by contract NONR 4071 (00) : final report

During April and August 1963 the Barbados Weather Modification Project made extensive use of whole-sky, time-lapse and conventional photography to investigate cloud and rain formation over tropical heat sources. These observations were made from land-based, ship-borne and aircraft stations. In July 1965 further photographic studies were carried out over the eastern Caribbean Sea to evaluate the effect of seeding cumulus clouds with silver iodide bombs.The Office of Naval Research under Contract Nonr-4071 (00

An innovative option contract for allocating water in Inter-Basin Transfers: the case of the Tagus-Segura Transfer in Spain

The Tagus-Segura Transfer (TST), the largest water infrastructure in Spain, connects the Tagus basin’s headwaters and the Segura basin, one of the most water-stressed areas in Europe. The need to increase the minimum environmental flows in the Tagus River and to meet new urban demands has lead to the redefinition of the TST’s management rules, what will cause a reduction of transferable volumes to the Segura basin. After evaluating the effects of this change in the whole Tagus-Segura system, focusing on the availability of irrigation water in the Segura, the environmental flows in the Tagus and the economic impacts on both basins; we propose an innovative two-tranche option contract that could reduce the negative impacts of the modification of the Transfer’s management rule, and represents an institutional innovation with respect to previous inter-basin water trading. We evaluate this contract with respect to spot and non-market scenarios. Results show that the proposed contract would reduce the impact of a change in the transfer’s management rule on water availability in the recipient area