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Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / Public relations probably can do more to gain public tolerance of a phenomenon such as the sonic boom than any other procedure or proqram that might be undertaken by a service or commercial organization. This study attempts to show how the United States Air Force has applied an intense program of public relations toward that goal. T11e Air Force campaign of briefings, publicity, and handling of citizens' complaints was -investigated through inspection of Air Force official records and joint Air Force-commercial campaign materials. The methods currently used were found to be generally effective, with some parts more effective than others. The findings of this study may be of interest to commercial airlo.nes for assistance in planning their own approach to the problem when supersonic airliners are put into general use.

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Student Number : 9709049J - MSc research report - School of Construction Economics and Management - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / Spiralling violent crime in South Africa has led to the increased use of access control to restrict access to suburbs and thus make it more difficult to perpetrate violent crime against residents. This neighbourhood enclosure normally takes the form of booms, palisade fences and security guards to close off entire suburbs that were once or still are public property. This study examines the effect of the implementation of neighbourhood enclosure on property values. The primary methodology used to research this concentrated on the analysis of residential property values, bond approvals and relative amounts of property transferred within the period of late 2002 and mid 2004. Analysis was based on information available at the deed’s office. Limitations included the small sample size and the availability of information. Applicants for suburban closures can use the results of the study to verify or discredit claims of property value increases. Municipalities can match property values to services and rates. Results showed that property values that were found to be either similar in adjacent open and enclosed areas or more expensive in enclosed areas. The latter trend was evident in higher value properties. This illustrates a higher demand for properties in these enclosed areas than in the adjacent open areas. Further analysis of prices showed that, in all cases over the same period, prices increased by more in enclosed areas than in open areas. This statistic proves the hypothesis, that neighbourhood enclosure increases the value of properties within the enclosure when compared to similar properties in adjacent open areas. Analysis of the value of bonds granted in an area showed that banks appear to ignore the enclosure status of the immediate area.

This thesis consists of five stand-alone chapters empirically evaluating questions relating to the life cycle of natural resource extraction. We use three different data sets to shed light on the local impacts of natural resource booms and busts. In chapter 2 to 4 we use the household budget survey of Kazakhstan to explore the impacts of the oil boom on the local population. In the second chapter, we explore the distributional effects of the oil boom and show that average household income increased and income inequality decreased. In the third chapter we study how the increase in average income was perceived by the local population and find that households' satisfaction with income decreased. In the fourth chapter we study how the boom affected households' expenditure and show that the likelihood that households pay tuition fees for tertiary education increased. In chapter 5, we explore the long-term impacts of a negative labour demand shock following the coal mine closures in the UK. To do this we construct a new data set containing the location of all active coal mines since 1981 and link it to the UK census. We find that the dramatic lay off of miners since 1981 was associated with a persistent reduction in female labour force participation in the affected districts. In chapter 6, we study the determinants of drilling costs and their impact on the real price of oil using a new global data set on the number of exploration wells drilled and costs of drilling. To do this, we propose a structural model of the upstream sector in the oil and gas industry. The model allows us to decompose the variation in the reduced form errors of the estimated VAR into three structural shocks, and estimate the dynamic responses of the variables in the system to these shocks. We confirm that the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry is subject to increasing costs. But we do not find that the real oil price is permanently affected by shocks to costs of drilling.

Thesis. 1976. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Ocean Engineering. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Engineering. / Bibliography: leaves 83-84. / by Robert J. Van Houten. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M. S.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Singhose, William; Committee Member: Costello, Mark; Committee Member: Whiteman, Wayne

Thin-ply composite materials display remarkable versatility and hold great promise for applications in the space industry. They are characterized by exceptional attributes such as a high strength-to-weight ratio, fatigue resistance, and the ability to conform to high curvatures without failure. This study investigates the behavior of thin-ply composite materials and structures, with a particular emphasis on their relevance to deployable space applications. Deployable structures such as solar sails, are large structures that are designed to be compactly folded into small volumes to fit inside the spacecraft for the purpose of carrying them to space. These structures utilize the strain energy during folding, to facilitate the deployment sequence and attain the intended original configuration of the structure. However, the viscoelastic nature of the composite material leads to a reduction of strain energy over the storage period, leading to shape inaccuracies after deployment. Our research includes an in-depth analysis of the viscoelastic properties of the composite material and the behavior of structures following folding and subsequent deployment. The viscoelastic mechanical properties of the materials were assessed through a numerical multi-scale homogenization approach. We examined thin-ply laminates with varying orientations and ply arrangements and conducted experimental studies to validate the numerical models. We subsequently incorporated the viscoelastic properties of the laminates into the simulation of deployable structures. The laminate properties were evaluated both at the ply level and at the laminate level. Numerical simulations were conducted to study the behavior of a composite boom during folding, stowage, deployment, and subsequent shape recovery. Our research extended to characterizing the composite material based on available test data, as well as examining the stowage and recovery behavior of a structure constructed from unidirectional composites.

Although several studies have sought to identify the determinants of export diversity and sophistication, few have examined the role of historical events in shaping or reshaping them. In my first chapter I use data on CIA interventions during the Cold War period. I show that such interventions had a negative impact on the range of goods exported by affected countries. I provide evidence that this effect persisted in the long run. In my second chapter, I study the local impact of trade union strength on employment during resource booms. I use unionization and coverage rates along with the presence of state level right to work laws as proxies for weak unions. The empirical strategy limits the sample to resource abundant US counties that share a border across states and utilizes county pair-year fixed effects to compare average responses to oil booms in resource rich counties located in states with weak unions to responses in adjacent resource rich counties in states with relatively strong unions. Results suggest that within a relatively small geographic radius, union strength does not seem to have an impact on the response of employment to booms. There is some evidence to suggest that the results point to the existence of spillover effects where employment in weak union locations is influenced by proximity to strong unions. In my final chapter I exploit variation in resource wealth between English speaking Caribbean nations who take identical exams at the secondary school level. I test the hypothesis that booms alter the incentive for academic excellence in secondary school students. To isolate the impact changing incentives have on academic performance, I control for education expenditure and other demand and supply side factors. Results suggest that booms improve performance mainly for female students.