When Languages Die: The Extinction Of The World\u27s Languages And The Erosion Of Human Knowledge

In When Languages Die, K. David Harrison illustrates the individual face of language loss, as well as its global scale. Languages are the accretion of thousands of years of a people\u27s science and art - from observations of ecological patterns to creation myths. The author shows that the disappearance of a language is a loss not only for the community of speakers itself but also for our common human knowledge of mathematics, biology, geography, philosophy, agriculture, and linguistics. In this century, we face a massive erosion of the human knowledge base. The global abandonment of indigenous languages will bring a massive loss of accumulated knowledge and culture - this book argues for the irreplaceable nature of these unique knowledge systems and the urgency of documenting them before they are lost forever

Commitment during stenotele differentiation in Hydra is localized near the S/G2 boundary in the terminal cell cycle

The timing of commitment during stenotele differentiation in Hydra was determined. Regeneration of isolated distal regions of the body column induces stenotele differentiation. The kinetics of appearance of committed stenotele precursors was determined in such regenerating pieces. Using [3H]thymidine labeling and hydroxyurea sensitivity, the G1/S and the S/G2 boundaries of the precursor population was also determined. Comparison of these results indicates that stenotele commitment is localized near the S/G2 boundary in the terminal cell cycle of nests of precursor cells

Capital Structure and Political Risk in Asia-Pacific Real Estate Markets

This study investigates the determinants of capital structure decisions by real estate firms, with a specific focus on the impact of political risk on leverage. Using a sample of Asia-Pacific REITs and listed property trusts, we find those firms with properties located in countries characterized by relatively high degrees of political risk, such as political instability, and/or greater uncertainty in the ability to repatriate and monetize profits from international investment activities, employ less debt than their counterparts operating in more politically stable environments. This core finding remains robust to alternative sample selection criteria including the division of the sample into high versus low market-to-book value firms, and also holds within the subset of organizations that are active in raising additional capital in the secondary markets

Advisor Choice in Asia-Pacific Property Markets

This paper examines advisor choice decisions by publicly traded REITs and listed property companies in Asia-Pacific real estate markets. Using a sample of 168 firms, we find robust evidence that firms strategically evaluate and compare the increased agency costs associated with external advisement against the potential benefits associated with collocating decision rights with location specific soft information. Our empirical results reveal real estate companies tend to hire external advisors when they invest in countries: 1) that are more economically and politically unstable, 2) whose legal system is based on civil law, 3) where the level of corruption is perceived to be high, and 4) when disclosure is relatively poor. Additionally, we find the probability of retaining an external advisor is directly related to the expected agency costs. Lastly, we find evidence of return premiums in excess of 13 % for firms whose organizational structure matches their investment profile. As such, we conclude that the decision to hire an external advisor represents a value relevant trade-off between the costs and benefits of this organizational arrangement

Influence of different polishing materials in the material removal of steel samples

The quality of injection moulded polymer optic parts depends on the surface finish of the respective mould. In order to improve and control the surface finish of the mould it is important to be able to keep the material removal constant during the polishing process of these moulds. This will provide a tactical material removal therefore allowing a controlled correction of the mould’s surface geometry. The aim of this work is to study the influence of different polishing materials in the material removal rate and its reproducibility during the polishing process of hardened steel. Different polyurethane polishing materials with different fillers were tested. It was observed that the filler material of the polyurethane is crucial in order to obtain constant and reproducible results. Experiments were carried out with an industrial robot and the material removal’s depth value was compared