Regional labor force participation and the discouraged worker hypothesis: Some empirical evidence

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the economic determination of the regional labor supply. In explaining the regional level of labor force participation two models are compared: the unemployment model based on the discouraged worker hypothesis and the neoclassical model of labor force participation. It is shown that a migration model complements the neoclassical model and provides an alternative interpretation of the discouraged worker hypothesis, this reinterpretation provides an explanation for the failure of the unemployment model at the regional level when it is quite successful at the national level.     

Development and Application of the Fire Brigade Intervention Model

A performance based building code [1] was introduced in Australia in 1996. In order that fire brigades could ensure that their functional role was maintained in the building code, a method of quantifying fire brigade roles was required. In response to this issue, the Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) formed a Performance Based Fire Engineering Committee. This committee developed a model that determines the time taken by a fire brigade to undertake its activities at a fire scene.The Fire Brigade Intervention Model [2] is an event-based methodology, which quantifies fire brigade responses employed during a structure fire from time of notification through to control and extinguishment. It has been primarily developed for use in fire engineering design in a performance based regulatory environment so that the functional role of a fire brigade can be effectively incorporated into the building design process. It establishes a structured framework necessary to both determine and measure fire brigade activities on a time-line basis. It interacts with the output of other sub-systems, which model such events as fire growth, smoke spread, fire spread, detection and suppression as well as occupant avoidance.This paper describes the Fire Brigade Intervention Model, now available for use by fire brigades and fire engineers. The model has been developed for specific case and site analysis and is applicable to most structural fire scenarios. As the expertise of the local fire brigade will be incorporated inthe input parameters, it is valid for most brigade types, crew sizes and resource limitations.This paper also describes ongoing developments including a training package and computer program.The terms fire brigade and fire department are synonymous.     

On the Seismic Risk of Electric-Discharge Technology Employed for the Production of Piles Injected into Predrilled Holes

Questions concerning the similitude of seismic oscillations during an electric discharge in a hole and the detonation of explosives are examined; data are presented for field measurements; the parameters of oscillations generated during an electric discharge are compared with those based on existing standards for seismic-blast effects, and also with results obtained by a number of researchers. Selection of the characteristics of an electric blast to ensure seismic safety of the procedure under consideration is substantiated.privately owned joint-stock Company RITA     

Experimental infrared-radiometric investigations of stress variations on a borehole face in a model of the soil mass

A procedure for, and results of experimental investigations performed to substantiate the effectiveness of the method of infrared (IR) radiation in diagnosing changes in the stress state of soils over time are presented. The construction of a large-scale bench is described for the alternating loading of a relatively large (of the order of 0.35 m³) volume of soil. Variations in the stress state over time in the near-face zone of a borehole, which is arranged in a model of the soil mass, are recorded using synchronous recordings of signals from an IR radiometer and load-cell strain gages. The elastic nature of stress variations on the face of the borehole in an unsaturated sandy soil is revealed during alternating-sign stress variations at infinity. It is indicated that data derived from noncontact IR measurements will make it possible to record accurately moments of jumpwise stress variations in the soil mass, and evaluate their intensity.Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, No. 6, pp. 8–11, November–December, 2004.     

Geotechnical Solutions for Construction of the “Business Center” in Moscow

An example of a complex geotechnical solution is cited for the construction of buildings housing the Business Center in Moscow, which includes the analysis, design, and construction of a trench enclosure for the building complex, including an architectural monument with an underground level, and a newly constructed building with from two to three underground levels, as well as the church of Saint Peter and Paul on Yauze, which abuts the buildings under construction.     

Fire drainage system

Present firesafety measures were conceived to deal with hypothetical fires spreading by destruction of successive compartment boundaries. A new firesafety system, referred to as the fire drainage system, is designed to cope with real-world fires spreading mainly by convection. It confines fire and smoke to the room of origin and to a small corridor element adjacent to the room. The system can be designed to operate without the use of water and electric energy. The fundamentals of its design are described and some experimental information is presented. Reference: T. Z. Harmathy and I. Oleszkiewicz, Fire Drainage System,Fire Technology, Vol. 23, No. 1, February 1987, p. 26.This paper is a contribution from the Institute for Research in Construction, National Research Council of Canada.     

Dynamic forecasting of travel demand,residential location and land development

TheChicago Area Transportation/Land-Use Analysis System (CATLAS) is a large scale urban simulation model which synthesizes location rent analysis from urban economics with travel demand analysis from transportation planning. This paper describes the theoretical formulation, empirical estimation and policy application of CATLAS to the evaluation of CBD-oriented rapid transit projects in Chicago.     

Bestandsaufnahme Grundwasser nach der EU-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie im Koordinierungsraum Mulde-Elbe-Schwarze Elster

Kurzfassung Die Wasserrahmenrichtlinie regelt den Schutz von Grund- und Oberflächengewässern und fordert eine nachhaltige Wassernutzung. Sie legt einen Zeitplan fest, um bis zum Jahr 2015 für alle Gewässer einen guten Zustand zu erreichen. Der erste Schritt ist eine Bestandsaufnahme der Gewässer. Für das Grundwasser besteht diese aus einer erstmaligen Beschreibung, einer weitergehenden Beschreibung und der Prüfung der Auswirkungen menschlicher Tätigkeit auf das Grundwasser. Die Wasserrahmenrichtlinie wird unabhängig von administrativen Grenzen innerhalb von hydrologischen Einzugsgebieten umgesetzt. Im deutschen Teil des Flusseinzugsgebietes der Elbe wurden 5 Koordinierungsräume gegründet. Der Koordinierungsraum Mulde-Elbe-Schwarze Elster (MES) wird vorgestellt. Beispielhaft für die angewandten Methoden wird die Beurteilung diffuser Stoffeinträge in das Grundwasser bei der erstmaligen Beschreibung erläutert. Die Ergebnisse der Bestandsaufnahme Grundwasser im Koordinierungsraum MES werden präsentiert. Von 54 Grundwasserkörpern ist für 25 Körper aufgrund der Belastungen durch Punktquellen und diffuse Quellen, wegen des mengenmäßigen Zustands oder sonstiger anthropogener Einwirkungen die Zielerreichung nach der Wasserrahmenrichtlinie unklar/unwahrscheinlich.

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Status review groundwater for the Water Framework Directive in the coordination zone Mulde-Elbe-Schwarze Elster

Abstract The Water Framework Directive (WFD) governs the protection of groundwater and surface water and promotes sustainable water use. It sets up a timetable to ensure that a good status of all waters will be achieved by 2015. The first step is a status review of the waters. For groundwater, this procedure is divided into an initial characterisation, a further characterisation and a review of the impacts of human activity on groundwater. The WFD is to be implemented independently of administrative boundaries within hydrological river basins. In the German part of the Elbe river basin district five coordination zones have been established. The Mulde-Elbe-Schwarze Elster (MES) coordination zone is introduced. As an example for the applied methods, the assessment of the pressures of groundwater by diffuse sources (initial characterisation) will be explained. Then the outcome of the status review groundwater in the coordination zone MES will be presented: From the 54 individual bodies of groundwater 25 bodies will probably not achieve the environmental objectives of the WFD because of the pressures point sources, diffuse sources, quantitative status or other anthropogenic impacts.

     

Smoke Control in Hospitals

Full scale fire tests have been carried out in order to study the influence of different ventilating principles on the time point of fire detection and the smoke filling of a four-bed room. Using conventional mechanical ventilating systems as smoke exhaust systems the time difference left for evacuation of the fire room can be positively influenced. With the conventional ventilating system operating there is a significant difference between time points of detection of the ionization and optical smoke detectors, for both flaming and smoldering fire. Using the low momentum displacement ventilation this difference is reduced, resulting in possibilities for the ionization smoke detector to be optimized for both flaming and smoldering fires. Reference: Øystein Meland and Eimund Skåret, Smoke Control in Hospitals,Fire Technology, Vol. 22, No. 1, February 1986, p. 33.     

Objective function tradeoff curves in a rural economic development,activity analysis planning model

A common dilemma in economic development planning is that the achievement of one objective often constrains the achievement of another, resulting in a range of options or tradeoffs among alternatives. This paper examines pairs of economic objectives for a multicounty planning region (e.g., maximize balance-of-trade surplus, maximize local employment) and derives tradeoff curves which might prove useful to planners. Several objectives examined might be considered as capital-oriented (e.g., maximize trade surplus). These objectives yield regional economic outcomes more similar to each other than to outcomes from labor-oriented objectives (e.g., maximize local employment). The range of the tradeoff curve is much greater for pairs of objectives between than within these two groups. The range and curvature of the tradeoff curves tend to increase as the level of the curve shifts outward due to a relaxation of the constraints for exports and incommuting labor. This suggests that conflicts may increase as regions become more open to trade and commuting; the need for compromise among differing local interests increases accordingly.     

Collapsed spring observations in arson investigations: A critical metallurgical evaluation

Observation of collapsed coiled (steel) furniture springs has been utilized for several decades or more by arson investigators as an indicator of whether an accelerant or smoldering source (such as a cigarette) caused a fire. This paper cites the contradictory literature, synopsizes metallurgical phenomena operative when coiled steel springs are subjected to fires, and presents empirical data from U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Laboratory testing. It is concluded that observation of the collapsed state of coiled furniture/bedding springs is not a reliable indicator of whether a fire was initiated by a smoldering cigarette or accelerated by the presence of a hydrocarbon.     

A continuous Leontief dynamic input-output model

This paper extends the Leontief dynamic input-output model by incorporating continuous lags, capacity constraints, excess capacity and limits on disinvestment in each sector. These extensions result in phase changes, where sectors discretely change from one set of conditions to another. The resulting system of equations is solved by numerical methods and applied to the U.S. economy. Projections for the 1952 to 1962 period are compared with actual levels.     

Demand models incorporating price differences across political boundaries

Whenever a consumer can acquire a good or service more conveniently by paying a per-unit premium, the number of units purchased in a particular transaction becomes important. Furthermore, the potential convenience associated with the consumption process is often independent of the number of units of the good being purchased. This implies that the price of convenience (POC) can be defined as the increment to total cost incurred by the decision to purchase at the premium price. The POC will influence a consumer's decision to participate in either the high-priced or the low-priced market.While the notion of a price of convenience is quite general, this paper focuses on an area where it may be particularly relevant. When political boundaries are present and create a differential in the real price of some good on each side of a border, the price of convenience will be an important determinant of the demand for commodities (near the border) in both jurisdictions. The POC model is examined here as an extension to a special case of the notion of market locational accessibility, where accessibility enters discretely, rather than as a continuous variable. Simple logit models are argued to be appropriate for empirical applications when only a binary side-of-border decision is being modeled. If this decision is embedded in a hierarchy of convenience choices, multinomial logit techniques are suggested.The authors wish to thank D. Classman, C. Hives, A. Redish, J. Wyatt, and I. Perkins.     

Alternative approaches to the estimation of economic impacts resulting from supply constraints: Comment and elaboration

Davis and Salkin previously derived impact equations for supply constraints in terms of partitioned direct coefficients matrices under alternative assumptions. This paper derives equivalent equations under both assumptions but in terms of partitioned inverses. Impacts of supply constraints then may be interpreted by means of corresponding gross output multipliers, and in terms of the total (direct and indirect) effects of the supply constraints.Formerly Senior Economist, Federal Emergency Management Agency.     

Regional economic growth by policy-induced capital flows: II. Policy simulation results

This second part of the paper refers to a model, described in Part I, that has been designed to analyze alternative allocation strategies of regional economic growth policy: movement of the workers to the jobs (passive factor stocks adjustment) or jobs to the workers (active factor stocks adjustment). After concentrating on the main properties of the model structure, the references of the parameters and initial values to empirical data are discussed. Model results derived on the basis of parameters representative for the case of passive adjustment policy are studied, also extensively taking account of the impacts of parameter variations. Then follows the analysis of simulation results of active adjustment. The main purpose of all calculations is to demonstrate that the model is able to generate reasonable and consistent policy effects. Moreover, with respect to the model and its parameters this paper attempts to contribute to finding a solid standpoint as to the preconditions of a successful active regional economic policy.The author is indebted to Petra Leutloff, Darmstadt, for setting up and running the computer program for the numerical implementation of the model. At later dates numerical results were produced by Georg Zink and Hagen Bobzin, Siegen.     

Prefailure of Rock Soils under Dynamic Loading

The effect of loading and unloading regimes on the threshold of the appearance and number of cracks, which precede their avalanche propagation that accompanies complete failure of the soil, is established. It is demonstrated that the appearance of pioneer cracks contributes to an increase in ultimate deformations of the soil, corresponding to its failure and energy consumption of the deformation process.     

The effect of aggregation on the output multipliers in input-output models

This paper compares the output multipliers of the 1967 National input output model (367 industries) with the multipliers of the aggregated version (81 industries). The results show that, generally, the set of industries in the full model that were aggregated together for the reduced model, display a wide range of output multiplier values. Therefore, the output multiplier of an aggregated industry may not be truly representative of any of the industries that were joined together. Finally we show how information for a particular firm or disaggregated industry can be incorporated in an aggregated input-output model to obtain a close estimate of the actual output multiplier for that firm or industry.     

Shell Foundations on Tamped Soil Beds

A method is proposed for the installation of a shell foundation on a bed formed from a compacted soil pillar, which repeats the internal shape of the shell, and which can be formed by a special conical die. Results are cited for full-scale tests under field conditions, and an approximate method is proposed for estimation of the bearing capacity of the soil bed from static-probe data.     

Experience with Construction of Underground Sections of Buildings by the “From Top Down” Scheme

Experience gained with the method of installing the underground section of a building from the top down is described in an example of the construction of specific projects in Moscow, design, construction and monitoring problems are exposed, advantages and disadvantages of this method are indicated, and observational data are cited for the settlements of existing buildings located within the zone of influence of new construction.     

Intermediate goods and the location of productive activity

This paper assesses the impact of the production and use of an intermediate good upon the location of productive activity in an economy consisting of two asymmetrically sized regions. The Nash equilibria of locations of an upstream and two downstream firms are completely defined in the the space of parameters transport cost and intensity of vertical linkages. While the relationship between transport cost and agglomeration is usually regarded as a decreasing one, the inclusion of an intermediate good can make it nonmonotonic.Received: September 2003/Accepted:01 March 2004The author wishes to thank the Editor of The Annals of Regional Science and three anonymous referees for helpful comments. The usual disclaimer applies.