The implications of condominium neighbourhoods for long-term urban revitalisation.

Condominium neighbourhoods are emerging in intensifying city centres as a response to market and demographic preferences for homeownership. While the multi-ownership structure of individual condominium buildings accommodates a short-term demand, the long-term implications for neighbourhoods is a source of concern. In particular, the presence of unit owners with varied acquisition objectives can lead to an anticommons problem resulting in building disinvestment due to an inability to reach decisions on sustainable maintenance fees and capital reserve funds, and a lack of end of lifecycle planning. The city of Toronto is experiencing unprecedented condominium development and serves as the basis for a case study that assesses the anticipated future neighbourhood challenges associated with a predominantly condominium-based form of ownership. Twenty-two local stakeholders were interviewed to identify problems that are viewed as sources of concern due to decisions made during the early stages of a building’s lifecycle and the absence of a neighbourhood planning strategy. An analysis of the results indicates that lock-in, lacunae and neighbourhood effects will likely complicate revitalisation efforts as condominium neighbourhoods become more prevalent. Limited stakeholder recognition further suggests that it is necessary to raise a greater awareness of the potential anticommons impediments to long-term collective revitalisation actions

Analysis of Economic Depreciation for Multi-Family Property

This paper uses a hedonic pricing model and National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries data to estimate economic depreciation for multi-family real estate. The findings indicate that investment grade multi-family housing depreciates approximately 2.7% per year in real terms based on total property value. This implies a depreciation rate for just the building of about 3.25% per year. With 2% inflation, this suggests a nominal depreciation rate of about 5.25% per year. Converted into a straight-line depreciation rate that has the same present value, this suggests a depreciable life of 30.5 years - as compared to 27.5 years allowed under the current tax laws. Thus, these laws are slightly favorable to multi-family properties by providing a tax depreciation rate that exceeds economic depreciation, which is in part due to inflation that has been less than expected during the past decade.

A systemic approach to the database marketing process

The role of database marketing (DBM) has become increasingly important for organisations that have large databases of information on customers with whom they deal directly. At the same time, DBM models used in practice have increased in sophistication. This paper examines a systemic view of DBM and the role of analytical techniques within DBM. It extends existing process models to develop a systemic model that encompasses the increased complexity of DBM in practice. The systemic model provides a framework to integrate data mining, experimental design and prioritisation decisions. This paper goes on to identify opportunities for research in DBM, including DBM process models used in practice, the use of evolutionary operations techniques in DBM, prioritisation decisions, and the factors that surround the uptake of DBM.<br /

Effects of seasonal variation in prey abundance on field metabolism, water flux, and activity of a tropical ambush foraging snake

The responses of animals to seasonal food shortages can have important consequences for population dynamics and the structure and function of food webs. We investigated how an ambush foraging snake, the northern death adder Acanthophis praelongus, responds to seasonal fluctuations in prey availability in its tropical environment. In the dry season, field metabolic rates and water flux, as measured by doubly labeled water, were significantly lower than in the wet season. Unlike some other reptiles of the wet-dry tropics, death adders showed no seasonal difference in their resting metabolism. About 94% of the decrease in energy expended in the dry season was due to a decrease in activity and digestion, with lower body temperatures accounting for the remainder. In the dry season, death adders were less active and moved shorter distances between foraging sites than in the wet season. Analysis of energy expenditure suggested that adders fed no more than every 2-3 wk in the dry season but fed more frequently during the wet season. Unlike many lizards that cease feeding during the dry season, death adders remain active and attempt to maximize their energy intake year-round

Planning Information Infrastructure through a New Library Research Partnership: Interim Report, July 2005

This document is an interim report on a Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER). This interim report was submitted to the National Science Foundation in July 2005.The Cornell Language Acquisition Laboratory and Albert R. Mann Library are in the midst of developing an innovative collaboration between a research laboratory and an academic library to plan for the data preservation and discovery needs of the twenty-first century. Digital technology and internet communication now provide the opportunity to revolutionize the research process, through the ability to store, preserve, share, discover, and reanalyze vast amounts of data. While some disciplines, such as genomics or astronomy, have already developed sophisticated information technology infrastructure for these tasks, others are only beginning such work. In many, if not most research fields, it is especially difficult for those uninitiated to discover where data are located, what they describe, and how they may be used. This project has begun to tackle these issues by taking advantage of the library's existing expertise in preservation, archiving, and metadata creation, building on the existing ontology-software tools the library has developed, and introducing a new conceptual framework that divides the tasks of data sharing into discrete levels that may be managed and presented in defferent ways not only for different audiences but respecting political divisions and control issues that will always be present throughout the laboratories and institutions of academia.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. 0437603. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation

Acute Ingestion Of L-Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate Fails To Improve Muscular Strength And Endurance In ROTC Cadets

International Journal of Exercise Science 6(2) : 91-97, 2013. L-Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AAKG) is purported to stimulate the release of nitric oxide, and is suggested to facilitate muscular performance by increasing blood flow and increase oxygen and nutrient delivery to the working muscle. However, the ergogenic benefit of AAKG during resistance exercise has not been established. Therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of acute AAKG ingestion in active ROTC Cadets on measures of one-repetition maximal strength (1RM) and muscular endurance. Nineteen apparently healthy males ingested either AAKG (3 g) or a placebo 45 minutes prior to resistance testing in a randomized, double-blind crossover design. Initially, blood lactate (BLA) was obtained followed by 1RM testing on the barbell bench press and leg press. Upon determination of 1RM, participants completed repetitions to failure at 60% of 1RM. Blood lactate measures were immediately taken following the final repetition. Analysis revealed no significant differences between the conditions for bench press 1RM. Additionally, there were no differences between conditions for 1RM leg press, or for number of repetitions performed for the bench press or leg press. Blood lactate values did increase significantly from baseline to post-bench press in both the AAKG (t33 = 7.56, p \u3c 0.01) and placebo conditions (t33 = 8.45, p \u3c 0.01). Further, BLA lactate levels were also significantly greater post leg-press in the AAKG (t33 = 9.23, p \u3c 0.01) and placebo (t33 = 8.10, p \u3c 0.01). The results indicate that acute AAKG supplementation provides no ergogenic benefit in this study

The Broadband XMM-Newton and NuSTAR X-ray Spectra of Two Ultraluminous X-ray Sources in the Galaxy IC 342

We present results for two Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULXs), IC 342 X-1 and IC 342 X-2, using two epochs of XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations separated by $\sim$7 days. We observe little spectral or flux variability above 1 keV between epochs, with unabsorbed 0.3--30 keV luminosities being $1.04^{+0.08}_{-0.06} \times 10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for IC 342 X-1 and $7.40\pm0.20 \times 10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ for IC 342 X-2, so that both were observed in a similar, luminous state. Both sources have a high absorbing column in excess of the Galactic value. Neither source has a spectrum consistent with a black hole binary in low/hard state, and both ULXs exhibit strong curvature in their broadband X-ray spectra. This curvature rules out models that invoke a simple reflection-dominated spectrum with a broadened iron line and no cutoff in the illuminating power-law continuum. X-ray spectrum of IC 342 X-1 can be characterized by a soft disk-like black body component at low energies and a cool, optically thick Comptonization continuum at high energies, but unique physical interpretation of the spectral components remains challenging. The broadband spectrum of IC 342 X-2 can be fit by either a hot (3.8 keV) accretion disk, or a Comptonized continuum with no indication of a seed photon population. Although the seed photon component may be masked by soft excess emission unlikely to be associated with the binary system, combined with the high absorption column, it is more plausible that the broadband X-ray emission arises from a simple thin blackbody disk component. Secure identification of the origin of the spectral components in these sources will likely require broadband spectral variability studies.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, 5 Tables, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa