Aluminum/Stainless Steel Conductor Technology: A Case for its Adoption in the US

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. G. Forman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Rail Systems ◽  
The Us ◽  
Economic Perspectives

Numerous technologies exist for providing electrical power to transit systems. Where overhead space is costly or where overhead structures may be deemed obtrusive, 3rd rail is a reliable and cost-effective way to provide considerable power to transit vehicles. Since the early years of railway electrification, 3rd rail conductors have evolved from steel to aluminum/steel composite to aluminum/stainless steel compositions. Aluminum stainless steel conductors are currently used in approximately 40% of the over 10,000km of 3rd rail systems worldwide. Adoption of this technology in the United States, however, stands at less than 5%. This paper examines aluminum/stainless steel 3rd rail technology from technical and economic perspectives. The author makes a case for its adoption in new and existing 3rd rail systems in the United States.

Aluminum Stainless Steel Conductor Technology: Current Adoption by North American Transit Authorities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Forman
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
North American ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Electrical Efficiency ◽  
Rail Systems ◽  
Steel Composite

Abstract Since the early years of railway electrification, 3rd rail conductors have evolved from steel to aluminum/steel composite to aluminum/stainless steel composition. Aluminum stainless steel (ALSS) conductors are currently in use in approximately 75% of the nearly 20,000 km of 3rd rail systems worldwide and continue to gain acceptance by North American transit authorities. Electrical efficiency improvement with ALSS ranges from 1.6 to 2.5 times that of steel aluminum and steel rails. At 33% of the weight of steel rail and 60% of aluminum-steel composite rail, ALSS offers considerable costs-savings in freight, handling, and installation. Though electrical efficiency and light weight are among the more widely known benefits of ALSS 3rd rail, durability has significantly improved since the introduction of ALSS technology in the late 20th Century. The implementation of signaling technologies such as CBTC has enabled increased train throughput; however the lack of necessary available power (voltage) to support these headways can be a limiting factor to capacity improvements. Upgrading legacy 3rd rail to ALSS is a cost-effective means of increasing available power with minimal disruption. Drop-in replacement profiles of ALSS 3rd rail have been developed for several common legacy profiles to include 150lb steel and 85C, facilitating replacement of existing 3rd rail. This paper examines the technical and economic aspects of aluminum/stainless steel 3rd rail and its adoption by several North American transit authorities. The author explains the characteristics, benefits and limitations of aluminum stainless steel 3rd rail with comparisons to legacy steel and steel-aluminum power rails.

READING THE RUNES? THE UNITED STATES AND THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS SEEN THROUGH THE WIKILEAKS CABLES

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 827-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTYN FRAMPTON ◽  
EHUD ROSEN
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Strategic Alliance ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Intelligence Gathering ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood

ABSTRACTThe aftermath of Hosni Mubarak's forced abdication as president of Egypt in 2011 brought the culmination of a long-running debate over whether Western governments should engage with the Muslim Brotherhood. At the heart of that debate was the question of how to judge the Brothers: as ‘moderates’ with whom the US might do business, or as part of a movement ultimately hostile to American interests. As this article demonstrates, the idea of engaging in some form of dialogue with the Brotherhood is itself nothing new to United States diplomats. An examination of the Wikileaks cache of documents confirms that contacts of varying kinds have existed since the first half of the 1980s (with dialogue only abandoned for a brief period during the early years of the ‘war on terror’). Such contacts were a product of the normal, low-level political intelligence-gathering conducted by all American embassies; at no stage were they allowed to jeopardize America's key strategic alliance with the Mubarak regime. Nevertheless, the cables pertaining to the Muslim Brotherhood do reveal the limits of such diplomacy, with officials often struggling either to understand the character of the Brotherhood, or read the runes of its internal contours. In particular, the question of whether the Muslim Brothers should indeed be seen as ‘moderates ‘– and as suitable partners for the US – is shown to be one of enduring, but unresolved, concern. The history of this relationship thus serves as a crucial backdrop to contemporary debates and developments.

scholarly journals THE FOUR-FIELD MODEL OF ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William Balée
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Field Model ◽  
Cultural Anthropology ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
The Us

This paper assesses the historical and institutional origins of anthropology in the United States in order to understand the development of the four-field model, the persistence of which is considered distinctive of anthropology in the United States. An Atlantic Enlightenment saw the origins of anthropology in the United States. The four fields of anthropology can be traced to the Enlightenment. The four fields were brought together in the context of museums and learned societies in the 19th century United States. The focus of anthropology changed in the early 20th century with the placement of anthropology in the context of the university and the German concept of the defended dissertation as the principal gateway to professionalization (introduced by Boas). Four-field anthropology programs also existed in diverse countries, but did not persist except in the US beyond the early years of the 20th century. Anthropology in the US as a four-field discipline grew throughout the 1930s. After World War II, the discipline expanded greatly in the United States, partly due to the G.I. Bill as well as to increased demand for anthropology courses. Anthropology continued to grow in terms of numbers of institutions offering the PhD and numbers of new doctorates in the field into the 1970s, stabilizing around 400 per year. The usual rank order in number of doctorates per field per year continues to be the same in the early 2000s as it was thirty years ago: cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, linguistic anthropology. The four field unity of the discipline came under critical scrutiny in the late 20th century, with the principal criticism being that the holism of the four fields appears to be a function of 19th century museum mentality, but the four fields regardless of cleavages have nevertheless remained together in the same departments in most universities. That trend appears to be continuing in general at the present time in the United States. Keywords: four fields of anthropology, history of anthropology, US university system.

scholarly journals Reducing Recidivism through Correctional Education: The Roles of Neoclassical and Behavioral Economics

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 22-31
Author(s):  
Laura Erickson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Correctional Education ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Behavioral Economic ◽  
Recidivism Rates ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Perspectives ◽  
Reducing Recidivism

The correctional system in the United States is expensive and often punitive rather than rehabilitative. One potential way to reduce both recidivism rates and criminal justice spending is through correctional education. This paper explores the value of correctional education through both neoclassical and behavioral economic perspectives and considers potential tradeoffs and implementation challenges to expanding correctional education. Policymakers and the public at large may hesitate to provide such a service, but it is important to consider cost-effective ways to reduce recidivism. Ultimately, evidence suggests that correctional education is an effective way to reduce recidivism rates and potentially save money.

scholarly journals Selection Tool Use: A Focus on Personality Testing in Canada, the United States, and Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Risavy ◽  
Peter Fisher ◽  
Chet Robie ◽  
Cornelius Konig
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Personnel Selection ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personality Testing ◽  
Personality Tests ◽  
General Mental Ability ◽  
Selection Tool ◽  
The Us ◽  
Practice Gaps

The purpose of this paper is to provide new data regarding the current staffing practices being used by organizations in Canada and the United States (US) as well as a comparison with existing data from Germany (Diekmann & König, 2015). Data regarding the beliefs of human resource (HR) practitioners in terms of using personality tests in personnel selection is also provided. A geographically representative sample of 453 HR practitioners across Canada and the US were surveyed. Although general mental ability testing has previously been found to be highly valid and cost effective, this selection tool was among the least commonly used in all three countries. Personality tests were also rarely used (especially in Canada and the US) and research–practice gaps still appear to be an issue (e.g., HR practitioners’ preference for personality types as opposed to traits).

scholarly journals Cost-Effectiveness of Short-Course Radiation Plus Temozolomide for the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Among Elderly Patients in China and the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jigang Chen ◽  
Xin Tong ◽  
Mingyang Han ◽  
Songfeng Zhao ◽  
Linjin Ji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Newly Diagnosed ◽  
Life Years ◽  
The Us

Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a fatal type of brain tumor with a high incidence among elderly people. Temozolomide (TMZ) has proven to be an effective chemotherapeutic agent with significant survival benefits. This study aimed to evaluate the economic outcomes of radiotherapy (RT) and TMZ for the treatment of newly diagnosed GBM in elderly people in the United States (US) and China.Methods: A partitioned survival model was constructed for RT plus TMZ and RT alone among patients with methylated and unmethylated tumor status. Base case calculations and one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Life-years, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), costs (in 2021 US dollars [$] and Chinese Yuan Renminbi [¥]), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated.Results: RT plus TMZ was found to be associated with significantly higher costs and QALYs in all groups. Only US patients with methylated status receiving RT plus TMZ had an ICER ($89358.51) less than the willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of $100000 per QALY gained when compared with receiving RT alone. When the WTP threshold ranged from $100000 to $150000 from the US perspective, the probability of RT plus TMZ being cost-effective increased from 80.5 to 99.8%. The cost of TMZ must be lower than ¥120 per 20 mg for RT plus TMZ to be cost-effective among patients with methylated tumor status in China.Conclusion: RT plus TMZ was not cost-effective in China, and a reduction in the TMZ price was justified. However, it is highly likely to be cost-effective for patients with methylated tumor status in the US.

scholarly journals The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on public transit demand in the United States

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0242476
Author(s):  
Luyu Liu ◽  
Harvey J. Miller ◽  
Jonathan Scheff
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Distance Analysis ◽  
Base Points ◽  
Local Spread ◽  
The Us

The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions led to major transit demand decline for many public transit systems in the United States. This paper is a systematic analysis of the dynamics and dimensions of this unprecedented decline. Using transit demand data derived from a widely used transit navigation app, we fit logistic functions to model the decline in daily demand and derive key parameters: base value, the apparent minimal level of demand and cliff and base points, representing the initial date when transit demand decline began and the final date when the decline rate attenuated. Regression analyses reveal that communities with higher proportions of essential workers, vulnerable populations (African American, Hispanic, Female, and people over 45 years old), and more coronavirus Google searches tend to maintain higher levels of minimal demand during COVID-19. Approximately half of the agencies experienced their decline before the local spread of COVID-19 likely began; most of these are in the US Midwest. Almost no transit systems finished their decline periods before local community spread. We also compare hourly demand profiles for each system before and during COVID-19 using ordinary Procrustes distance analysis. The results show substantial departures from typical weekday hourly demand profiles. Our results provide insights into public transit as an essential service during a pandemic.

The United States and the Iranian Nuclear Programme

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Hurst
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nixon Administration ◽  
Comprehensive Plan ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nuclear Issue ◽  
The Relationship

The United States, Iran and the Bomb provides the first comprehensive analysis of the US-Iranian nuclear relationship from its origins through to the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. Starting with the Nixon administration in the 1970s, it analyses the policies of successive US administrations toward the Iranian nuclear programme. Emphasizing the centrality of domestic politics to decision-making on both sides, it offers both an explanation of the evolution of the relationship and a critique of successive US administrations' efforts to halt the Iranian nuclear programme, with neither coercive measures nor inducements effectively applied. The book further argues that factional politics inside Iran played a crucial role in Iranian nuclear decision-making and that American policy tended to reinforce the position of Iranian hardliners and undermine that of those who were prepared to compromise on the nuclear issue. In the final chapter it demonstrates how President Obama's alterations to American strategy, accompanied by shifts in Iranian domestic politics, finally brought about the signing of the JCPOA in 2015.

‘To see oursels as ithers see us’: Reflections on Scottish Independence from the United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Euan Hague ◽  
Alan Mackie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Us ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Scottish Diaspora

The United States media have given rather little attention to the question of the Scottish referendum despite important economic, political and military links between the US and the UK/Scotland. For some in the US a ‘no’ vote would be greeted with relief given these ties: for others, a ‘yes’ vote would be acclaimed as an underdog escaping England's imperium, a narrative clearly echoing America's own founding story. This article explores commentary in the US press and media as well as reporting evidence from on-going interviews with the Scottish diaspora in the US. It concludes that there is as complex a picture of the 2014 referendum in the United States as there is in Scotland.

Palestine Unbound

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-134
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Task Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Tel Aviv ◽  
The Us ◽  
Intention To Move ◽  
Arab Israeli Conflict ◽  
The U.S

This section, updated regularly on the blog Palestine Square, covers popular conversations related to the Palestinians and the Arab-Israeli conflict during the quarter 16 November 2017 to 15 February 2018: #JerusalemIstheCapitalofPalestine went viral after U.S. president Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced his intention to move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. The arrest of Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi for slapping an Israeli soldier also prompted a viral campaign under the hashtag #FreeAhed. A smaller campaign protested the exclusion of Palestinian human rights from the agenda of the annual Creating Change conference organized by the US-based National LGBTQ Task Force in Washington. And, UNRWA publicized its emergency funding appeal, following the decision of the United States to slash funding to the organization, with the hashtag #DignityIsPriceless.

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