An examination of the relationship between firm size and export activity in the New Zealand lumber industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies, Massey University

This thesis explores the relationship between export activity and firm size, with specific reference to New Zealands lumber industry. The main purpose of this investigation is to identify firm characteristics which link firm size to export behavior. This task basically involves exploring the literature to identify possible linking variables and.conducting tests to determine whether or not these characteristics actually link export activity and firm size in New Zealand's lumber industry. · Two major areas of research were drawn upon to produce the hypotheses of this study: determinants of export activity and firm size-related variables in the lumber industry. The former body of literature is well-defined and very extensive. A great deal of empirical research has been done on firm-level export behavior (though unfortunately very little theoretical study has been done to link export behavior back to microeconomics. The second area of research is not very well­ defined. Inferences on the relationship between various characteristics and firm size are drawn from the literature on lumber production in New Zealand. These inferences are supplemented by scattered pieces of research on the linkage between firm size and firm characteristics, as well as by sensible guesses as to how certain characteristics are associated with firm size. Using these two areas of research, hypotheses were drawn as to how firm size and export activity are linked. Based upon these two areas of study then, nine characteristics were identified as possible links between firm size and export activity: proximity to a city, product quality, production cost, legal structure, foreign ownership, managerial experience and education, marketing skill, export­ related information, and managerial attitudes and ambition. It was decided to test these hypotheses by conducting a survey of New Zealand's lumber industry. This particular industry was selected because it was felt that a greater understanding of the export dynamics of this sector would assist policymakers in stimulating New Zealand's economy. In all, 26 lumber mills (out of 40 that were contacted) agreed to participate in the survey. On the whole, it was found that some characteristics do link firm size to export activity. Specifically, legal structure, managerial experience and education, and managerial attitudes and ambition were found to be significantly related to both export activity and firm size. These results suggest that firm size can be indirectly linked to export activity. However, researchers should be aware that the nature of this link could possibly vary with industry, place and time. Hence, using firm size as a predictor of export activity should be avoided until more research is conducted

The Demonstration of a Robotic External Leak Locator for the International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) and all currently conceivable future manned spacecraft are susceptible to mission impacts due to fluid/gas leaks to the exterior environment. For example, there is a well-known risk of ammonia leaks from the ISS External Active Thermal Control System (EATCS) loops and as of 2016 there was no method to locate them. It was, therefore, critical to develop a method for detecting and locating leaks to preserve vehicle health. The Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) was developed and deployed to the ISS to provide this capability. An on-orbit validation and demonstration was successfully completed in December 2016 and leak locating operations occurred in February 2017. This paper discusses the results of these exercises including measurements of the environment around ISS, detection of a small ammonia leak and implementation of leak locating methodologies. RELL is a collaboration between NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and Johnson Space Center (JSC) and was launched to the ISS as a Technology Demonstration Payload in December 2015 on Orbital-ATK Commercial Resupply Flight 4

Resilience and Leadership in Dangerous Contexts

Daniel B. Cnossen was born and raised in Topeka, growing up on a small farm. He spent his childhood reading, running, playing sports, and working on the farm. Cnossen enrolled in the United States Naval Academy in 1998. He had never before seen the ocean and did not know how to swim, but he asked his new friends at the academy to teach him; he would often skip lunch to spend time in the pool. Cnossen joined the Navy triathlon team to strengthen his swimming. By his senior year, he had been elected captain of the team, which he helped lead to a national championship. After graduation, he headed to San Diego to undergo training as a Navy SEAL. Cnossen served several tours overseas. On September 6, 2009, less than thirty-six hours on the ground in Kandahar, Afghanistan, he activated a landmine, losing both legs and suffering internal injuries. Lieutenant Cnossen is now back in the United States facing new challenges. He is doing so with the same dedication and enthusiasm that he used to surmount previous challenges. He is positive and appreciative of his friends and family, and he is happy to be alive. Described by some as stoic, Cnossen is seen by those who know him best as soft-spoken and humble. No one as full of curiosity, zest, and humor as he is could be described as stoic. As Cnossen began his rehabilitation, he noted that now he would be able to do even more pull-ups. While at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Cnossen and other troops were visited by President Barack Obama. As the president was leaving, he noticed a copy of War and Peace on Cnossen\u27s bedside table. The two men joked that merely lifting the book would be another form of physical therapy

Resilience and Leadership in Dangerous Contexts

Daniel B. Cnossen was born and raised in Topeka, growing up on a small farm. He spent his childhood reading, running, playing sports, and working on the farm. Cnossen enrolled in the United States Naval Academy in 1998. He had never before seen the ocean and did not know how to swim, but he asked his new friends at the academy to teach him; he would often skip lunch to spend time in the pool. Cnossen joined the Navy triathlon team to strengthen his swimming. By his senior year, he had been elected captain of the team, which he helped lead to a national championship. After graduation, he headed to San Diego to undergo training as a Navy SEAL. Cnossen served several tours overseas. On September 6, 2009, less than thirty-six hours on the ground in Kandahar, Afghanistan, he activated a landmine, losing both legs and suffering internal injuries. Lieutenant Cnossen is now back in the United States facing new challenges. He is doing so with the same dedication and enthusiasm that he used to surmount previous challenges. He is positive and appreciative of his friends and family, and he is happy to be alive. Described by some as stoic, Cnossen is seen by those who know him best as soft-spoken and humble. No one as full of curiosity, zest, and humor as he is could be described as stoic. As Cnossen began his rehabilitation, he noted that now he would be able to do even more pull-ups. While at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Cnossen and other troops were visited by President Barack Obama. As the president was leaving, he noticed a copy of War and Peace on Cnossen\u27s bedside table. The two men joked that merely lifting the book would be another form of physical therapy

Retrieval, reuse, revision and retention in case-based reasoning

El original está disponible en www.journals.cambridge.orgCase-based reasoning (CBR) is an approach to problem solving that emphasizes the role of prior experience during future problem solving (i.e., new problems are solved by reusing and if necessary adapting the solutions to similar problems that were solved in the past). It has enjoyed considerable success in a wide variety of problem solving tasks and domains. Following a brief overview of the traditional problem-solving cycle in CBR, we examine the cognitive science foundations of CBR and its relationship to analogical reasoning. We then review a representative selection of CBR research in the past few decades on aspects of retrieval, reuse, revision, and retention.Peer reviewe

Manipulating levels of socially evaluative threat and the impact on anticipatory stress reactivity

Previous work suggests that relative increases in socially evaluative threat modulate the psychobiological stress response. However, few studies have compared stressors which manipulate the level of socially evaluative threat to which the participant is exposed. Here we present two studies. In the first, we assessed the integrity of an ecologically valid, laboratory stressor (direct socially evaluated multitasking) and its effects on acute psychobiological reactivity and ability to evoke an anticipatory response prior to participation. Specifically, we assessed whether the expectation and experience of direct social evaluation (multitasking while standing and facing an evaluator) evokes greater reactivity than indirect evaluation (over-the-shoulder evaluation). In the second study, we sought to replicate the findings regarding acute stress reactivity whilst extending the assessment window to assess the extent to which the stressor evokes anticipatory responses. As hypothesized, greater reactivity was observed following direct social evaluation compared with indirect observation. Increases in anxiety, heart rate and blood pressure were demonstrated across both studies and the paradigm therefore provides an ecologically valid technique for the activation of psychological and cardiovascular stress responding. Additionally, anticipation of experiencing socially evaluated multitasking led to increases in anxiety, tension, and worry prior to the event itself, supporting previous suggestions that threat anticipation may prolong the activation of stress mechanisms. In the present studies we assessed whether the expectation and experience of direct social evaluation evokes greater reactivity than indirect evaluation. The findings have demonstrated that direct social evaluation of multitasking is a more potent stressor than multitasking with indirect evaluation. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the period of anticipation of stressful events may be critical to understanding the process of stress regulation, and as such we recommend extending the sampling window to allow for the investigation of these processes

Estimating the cost of increasing retention in care for HIV-infected patients: results of the CDC/HRSA retention in care trial.

Background: Retaining HIV patients in medical care promotes access to antiretroviral therapy, viral load suppression, and reduced HIV transmission to partners. We estimate the programmatic costs of a US multisite randomized controlled trial of an intervention to retain HIV patients in care.Methods: Six academically affiliated HIV clinics randomized patients to intervention (enhanced personal contact with patients across time coupled with basic HIV education) and control [standard of care (SOC)] arms. Retention in care was defined as 4-month visit constancy, that is, at least 1 primary care visit in each 4-month interval over a 12-month period. We used microcosting methods to collect unit costs and measure the quantity of resources used to implement the intervention in each clinic. All fixed and variable labor and nonlabor costs of the intervention were included.Results: Visit constancy was achieved by 45.7% (280/613) of patients in the SOC arm and by 55.8% (343/615) of patients in the intervention arm, representing an increase of 63 patients (relative improvement 22.1%; 95% confidence interval: 9% to 36%; P < 0.01). The total annual cost of the intervention at the 6 clinics was $241,565, the average cost per patient was$393, and the estimated cost per additional patient retained in care beyond SOC was $3834.Conclusions: Our analyses showed that a retention in care intervention consisting of enhanced personal contact coupled with basic HIV education may be delivered at fairly low cost. These results provide useful information for guiding decisions about planning or scaling-up retention in care interventions for HIV-infected patients.VoRSUNY DownstateCommunity Health SciencesN/

The spectrum of engagement in HIV care: do more than 19% of HIV-infected persons in the US have undetectable viral load?

VoRSUNY DownstateCommunity Health SciencesN/