Veel fouten in statuten ANBI's

De statuten van een algemeen nut beogende instelling (aNBi) moeten voldoen aan allerlei formele eisen. Bij een steekproefje van de Belastingdienst was de helft van de beoordeelde statuten niet in orde. En natuurlijk moet de instelling het algemeen nut beogen. Of dat ook gebeurt, staat nogal eens ter discussie

Manned maneuvering unit applications for automated rendezvous and capture

Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C) is an important technology to multiple National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) programs and centers. The recent Johnson Spacecraft Center (JSC) AR&C Quality Function Deployment (QFD) has listed on-orbit demonstration of related technologies as a near term priority. Martin Marietta has been evaluating use of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) for a low cost near term on-orbit demonstration of AR&C technologies such as control algorithms, sensors, and processors as well as system level performance. The MMU Program began in 1979 as the method of repairing the Space Shuttle (STS) Thermal Protection System (the tiles). The units were not needed for this task, but were successfully employed during three Shuttle flights in 1984: a test flight was flown in in February as proof of concept, in April the MMU participated in the Solar Max Repair Mission, and in November the MMU's returned to space to successfully rescue the two errant satellites, Westar and Palapa. In the intervening years, the MMU simulator and MMU Qualification Test Unit (QTU) have been used for Astronaut training and experimental evaluations. The Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVA) Retriever has used the QTU, in an unmanned form, as a free-flyer on the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Precision Air Bearing Floor (PABF). Currently, the MMU is undergoing recertification for flight. The two flight units were removed from storage in September, 1991 and evaluation tests were performed. The tests demonstrated that the units are in good shape with no discrepancies that would preclude further use. The Return to Flight effort is currently clearing up recertification issues and evaluating the design against the present Shuttle environments

The appeal of the Functional Fitness MOT to older adults and health professionals in an outpatient setting: a mixed-method feasibility study

Purpose: To understand the views and perceptions regarding the Functional Fitness MOT (FFMOT), a battery of functional tests followed by a brief motivational interview, of both the older people undergoing it and the health professionals delivering it. Patients and methods: Physically inactive older adults (n=29) underwent the FFMOT and subsequently attended focus groups to share their perceptions of it and to discuss the barriers, motivators, health behavior change, and scope to improve physical activity (PA) levels. PA levels were recorded at baseline and again at 12 weeks together with a post-intervention questionnaire concerning behavior change. Participating physiotherapists and technical instructors were interviewed. Results: Most participants felt they had learned about their abilities and comparisons with their peers, had a change in perception about the importance of good balance and strength, and felt the FFMOT helped raise their awareness of local and self-directed physical activity opportunities. Most felt their awareness of the need for PA had not changed, but 25% of participants started a new organized PA opportunity. The health professionals perceived the FFMOT as being easy to administer, educating, and motivating for participants to increase their PA. Space, time, finances, and insecurity about having the necessary skills to conduct the FFMOTs were seen as barriers in implementing the FFMOT in daily practice. Conclusion: Over half of those offered the FFMOT accepted it, suggesting it is appealing. However, most participants felt they were already active enough and that their awareness of the need for PA had not changed. There were positive perceptions of the FFMOT from both professionals and older people, but both felt the FFMOT could be held in a community venue. The overall findings suggest that the FFMOT is feasible in the clinical setting, but its effectiveness has yet to be determined

Population ageing and the international capital market

Abstract This paper analyses the effects of ageing on the international capital market. The first part applies a simple model and distinguishes between the cases of a small open economy and a closed economy to explore the separate effects of ageing, the design of pension schemes and government policy on savings, labour supply and the interest rate. The second part of the paper analyses cross-border capital flows and spillover effects caused by international differences in ageing patterns, pension schemes and policy reactions. The final part is devoted to the quantitative effects found by various recent simulation studies

Retirement Flexibility and Portfolio Choice in General Equilibrium

This paper explores the interaction between retirement flexibility and portfolio choice in an overlapping-generations model of a closed economy. Retirement flexibility is often seen as a hedge against capital market risks which justifies more risky asset portfolios. We show, however, that this positive relationship between risk taking and retirement flexibility is weakened - and under some conditions even turned around - if not only capital market risks but also productivity risks are considered. Productivity risk in combination with a high elasticity of substitution between consumption and leisure creates a positive correlation between asset returns and labour income, reducing the willingness of consumers to bear risk. Moreover, it turns out that general equilibrium effects can either increase or decrease the equity exposure, depending on the degree of substitutability between consumption and leisure

Flexible Pension Take-up in Social Security

This paper studies the redistribution and welfare effects of increasing the flexibility of individual pension take-up. We use an overlapping-generations model with Beveridgean pay-as-you-go pensions, where individuals differ in ability and life span. We find that introducing flexible pension take-up can induce a Pareto improvement when the initial pension scheme contains within-cohort redistribution and induces early retirement. Such a Pareto-improving reform entails the application of uniform actuarial adjustment of pension entitlements based on average life expectancy. Introducing actuarial non-neutrality that stimulates later retirement further improves such a flexibility reform

The VLTI/MIDI survey of massive young stellar objects - Sounding the inner regions around intermediate- and high-mass young stars using mid-infrared interferometry

We aim to characterize the distribution and composition of circumstellar material around young massive stars, and to investigate exactly which physical structures in these objects are probed by long-baseline mid-infrared interferometric observations. We used the two-telescope interferometric instrument MIDI of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer of the European Southern Observatory to observe a sample of 24 intermediate- and high-mass young stellar objects in the N band (8-13 micron). We had successful fringe detections for 20 objects, and present spectrally-resolved correlated fluxes and visibility levels for projected baselines of up to 128 m. We fit the visibilities with geometric models to derive the sizes of the emitting regions, as well as the orientation and elongation of the circumstellar material. Fourteen objects in the sample show the 10 micron silicate feature in absorption in the total and correlated flux spectra. For 13 of these objects, we were able to fit the correlated flux spectra with a simple absorption model, allowing us to constrain the composition and absorptive properties of the circumstellar material. Nearly all of the massive young stellar objects observed show significant deviations from spherical symmetry at mid-infrared wavelengths. In general, the mid-infrared emission can trace both disks and outflows, and in many cases it may be difficult to disentangle these components on the basis of interferometric data alone, because of the sparse spatial frequency coverage normally provided by current long-baseline interferometers. For the majority of the objects in this sample, the absorption occurs on spatial scales larger than those probed by MIDI. Finally, the physical extent of the mid-infrared emission around these sources is correlated with the total luminosity, albeit with significant scatter.Comment: 36 pages, 22 figures. Accepted to Astronomy and Astrophysic