Credit Default Swaps and Insurance: Against the Potts Opinion

Little attention has been given to the possibility that CDS transactions might be construed as insurance contracts in English law. This article challenges the widespread “Potts opinion”, which states that CDSs are not insurance, because they do not require the protection buyer to sustain a loss or to have an insurable interest in the subject matter. CDSs often do provide protection against loss that the buyer is exposed to; loss indemnity is not a necessary characterisation of an insurance contract; insurable interest does not form part of the definition of insurance, but is an additional requirement of valid insurance; and what matters is the substance not the form of the contract. The situation in the US and Australia is also briefly considered.

Optimization and design of energy transport system for solar cooking application

This paper proposes a hybrid solar cooking system where the solar energy is transported to the kitchen. The thermal energy source is used to supplement the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) that is in common use in kitchens. Solar energy is transferred to the kitchen by means of a circulating fluid. Energy collected from sun is maximized by changing the flow rate dynamically. This paper proposes a concept of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for the solar thermal collector. The diameter of the pipe is selected to optimize the overall energy transfer. Design and sizing of different components of the system are explained. Concept of MPPT is validated with simulation and experimental results. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hybrid Solar Cooking

In the existing traditional solar cookers, the cooking is performed near the collector which may be at an inconvenient location for cooking purposes. This paper proposes a hybrid solar cooking system where the solar energy is brought to the kitchen. The energy source is a combination of the solar thermal energy and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) that is very common in kitchens. The solar thermal energy is transferred to the kitchen by means of a circulating fluid like oil. The transfer of solar heat is a two fold process wherein the energy from the collector is transferred first to an intermediate energy storage tank and then the energy is subsequently transferred from the tank to the cooking load. There are three parameters that are controlled in order to maximize the energy transfer from the collector to the load viz. the fluid flow rate from collector to tank, fluid flow rate from tank to load and the diameter of the pipes. The entire system is modeled using the bond graph approach. This paper discusses the implementation of such a system.

A Study of The Fatigue, Impact and fracture-Toughness Characteristics of Electroslag Refined IS-7670 Alloy

The nuclear, aerospace, naval and missile industries place emphasis on materials with high structural integrity and reliable performance so as to meet certain stringent requirements in service. Strength is not the only criterion for selection. Properties such as fatigue resistance. impact toughness and fracture toughness are equally important. Electroslag refining (ESR) has been used widely and successfully over the years for improving the fatigue resistance, creep resistance, impact strength and fracture toughness of steels and alloy steels. But application of ESR to aluminium alloys is only a recent endeavour. A high-strength aircraft aluminium alloy IS: 7670 was therefore chosen for studies on the fatigue strength and the impact and fracture toughness. The results indicate that the fatigue resistance is considerably improved after refining and that the impact strength and fracture toughness of the refined alloy are comparable with that of the unrefined alloy.

Factors Affecting Knowledge Sharing in Strategic Alliances: The Role of Knowledge Sharing as Strategic Control Behavior among Multinational Enterprises

International strategic alliances (ISAs) have become increasingly important for the stability, growth, and long-term viability of modern business organizations. Alliance partnerships as inter-firm cooperative ventures represent an influential mechanism for asserting corporate strategic control among autonomous multinational enterprises. These different cooperative arrangements are made of equity investments or contractually-based partnerships. Different alliance forms represent different approaches that partner firms adopt to control their mutual dependence on the alliance and on other partners. Earlier research shows that the partner characteristics could provide an explanation for alliance strategic behavior and see alliances as alternative forms to markets or hierarchies for addressing specific strategic needs linked to partners’ characteristics and their subsequent strategic motives. These characteristics of the partners’ and subsequent strategic motives are analyzed as knowledge sharing factors and how these influence inter-firm control in alliances within the context of the focal-firm STMicroelectronics and its alliance partners Nokia, Ericsson and IBM. This study underline that as contracts are incomplete, they are therefore required to maintain mutual dependence based control mechanisms in addition to a contract. For example, mutual dependence based control mechanisms could be joint financial investments and the building of an ownership structure between the parties (e.g., JVs). However, the present study clarifies that subsequent inter-firm control is also exercised through inter-firm knowledge sharing. The present study contributes by presenting a dynamic interplay between competitive and cooperative rent seeking behavior. Such coopetition behavior describes the firm's strategic orientation to achieve a dynamic balance between competitive and cooperative strategies. This balance is seen in knowledge sharing based cooperation and competition behavior. Thus this study clarifies coopetition strategies by introducing the role of inter-firm cooperation and the competitive nature of knowledge sharing. Simultaneous cooperative and competitive behavior is also seen as synergetic rent-seeking behavior. Therefore, this study extends the perspective of previous studies on competitive and cooperative seeking behavior.

Juoksuhaudoista yhteiskuntaan : Vuosien 1965-1975 sotilaallista maanpuolustusta ja puolustusvoimia koskevan joukkotiedotuksen diskursiivinen tarkastelu

The Finnish society developed rapidly in the 1960´s and 1970´s. This was result of international trends. Development of education, urbanization and wide organization of society increased discontent towards prevailing social structure and towards the power elite. Development of technology created possibility to present radical perspectives in mass media. This caused widely spread discussions dividing opinions. The purpose of this thesis was to complement research on national defence and the Finnish Defence Forces especially between years 1965 and 1975. The task of research was to clarify how changes in society and how the significance of this change was interpreted in public discussion about national defence and development of the Defence Forces. The most essential points for this thesis turned out to be discourses structured from public discussion. Main research material consisted of approximately 35000 news, editorials, articles and opinions presented in mass media supplemented by literature, committee reports and other archival sources. Frame of reference for this thesis is based on relativistic worldview. According to this, social reality is relative and there is no single truth. Environment has significant influence on the issue how knowledge and truth are formed. Data analysis was based on critical discourse. The key objective was to clarify the effects of broad changes in society using discursive methods. One essential goal was to form order of discourse using linguistic analysis and also connect discourses to wider sociocultural custom. On this thesis I came to the conclusion that on the review period there were five significant ensembles of discourse. They consisted of several discussions focused on different themes. The discourse of official security policy aimed to define national defence and the position of the Defence Forces as parts of foreign policy. Foreign policy is often perceived as the most significant part of security policy. Historical memory, geographical position of Finland and also the state contracts, changes in international warfare, tasks of the Defence Forces and increasing critic of national defence and the difference in thinking between generations formed the discourse of security policy. In the discourse of the liability to military service, the issue was about individual responsibility to society and national defence. Resisters and unarmed defence demands, encouraged by international examples were the themes. The discourse pointed out how mass media is used to influence and forced the Defence Forces to develop the practices in public information. The discourses of democracy and politics were closer to internal development of the Defence Forces to integrate more into society. The discourse of democracy focused in changing power relationships of the Defence Forces that were known as authoritarian. Issues like conscript and personnel union activity had lot of similarities to general social development. The discourse of politics presented how the Defence Forces were pushed towards parliamentary decision making. The personnel was granted the same rights as other population. Themes related to the discourse on the will to national defence were development of mental national defence, increasing education on national defence and creation of more open public information culture. According to discourses presented above I can state, that the position of the Defence Forces in society was changed between years 1965-1975. This change was advanced by the Defence Forces reformed attitude towards mass media and public information in general. Active participation in public information important became important instead of only answering topics. This positive development created an atmosphere, that was easier for the public to understand and create own pictures of the armed forces. Due to this, I can describe that the defenders and supporters of the armed forces were stuck in their trenches, until discussions presented in discourses and themes developed the Defence Forces to be better fitting part of society. Key words; society, national defence, Defence Forces, discourse, mass media, security policy, liability to military service, conscription, democracy

The Determination of the Surface Tensions of Nickel Sulfur Alloys using the Electromagnetic Oscillating Droplet Technique

An oscillating droplet method combined with electromagnetic levitation technique has been applied to determine the surface tensions of liquid nickel sulphur alloys as a function of the temperature and composition. The natural frequency of the oscillating droplet is evaluated using a Fourier analyser, and the influence of magnetic field strength on the surface tension was considered. Furthermore, the applicability of Butler's equation and subregular solution model for the surface was shown to predict the surface tension of the systems containing the surface active elements.

Potential of bio-DME as a transportation fuel for India

This article discusses the potential of bio-dimethyl ether (DME) as a promising fuel for India in the transportation sector where a majority of imported petroleum in the form of diesel is used. Specifically, the suitability of DME in terms of its properties vis-a-vis those of diesel, ability to liquefy DME at low pressures similar to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and ease of production from renewable feedstock (biomass), and most importantly, very low emissions including near-zero soot levels are some of the features that make it an attractive option. A detailed review presents the state-of-the-art on various aspects such as estimates of potential bio-DME production, methods of synthesis of bio-DME, important physicochemical properties, fuel-injection system-related concerns (both conventional and common-rail system), fuel spray characteristics which have a direct bearing on the engine performance, and finally, exhaust emissions. Future research directions covering all aspects from production to utilization are summarized (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. doi:10.1063/1.3489529]

Modeling and design of a solar thermal system for hybrid cooking application

This paper proposes a hybrid solar cooking system where the solar energy is brought to the kitchen. The energy source is a combination of the solar thermal energy and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) that is in common use in kitchens. The solar thermal energy is transferred to the kitchen by means of a circulating fluid. The transfer of solar heat is a twofold process wherein the energy from the collector is transferred first to an intermediate energy storage buffer and the energy is subsequently transferred from the buffer to the cooking load. There are three parameters that are controlled in order to maximize the energy transfer from the collector to the load viz, the fluid flow rate from collector to buffer, fluid flow rate from buffer to load and the diameter of the pipes. This is a complex multi energy domain system comprising energy flow across several domains such as thermal, electrical and hydraulic. The entire system is modeled using the bond graph approach with seamless integration of the power flow in these domains. A method to estimate different parameters of the practical cooking system is also explained. Design and life cycle costing of the system is also discussed. The modeled system is simulated and the results are validated experimentally. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Locating and sizing plants for bottling propane in south India

Shri Shakti LPG Ltd. (SSLPG) imports and markets propane (referred to as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in India) in south India. It sells LPG in packed (cylinder) form to domestic customers and commercial establishments through a network of dealers. Dealers replenish their stocks of filled cylinders from bottling plants, which in turn receive LPG in bulk from the cheaper of SSLPG's two import-and-storage facilities that are located on the Indian coast. We implemented integer programming to help SSLPG decide on the locations and long-run sizes of its bottling plants. We estimate that our recommended configuration of bottling plants is about $1 million cheaper annually than the one that SSLPG had initially planned.

Study of formation of silicon carbide in the Acheson process

Formation of silicon carbide in the Acheson process was studied using a mass transfer model which has been developed in this study. The century old Acheson process is still used for the mass production of silicon carbide. A heat resistance furnace is used in the Acheson process which uses sand and petroleum coke as major raw materials.: It is a highly energy intensive process. No mass transfer model is available for this process. Therefore, a mass transfer model has been developed to study the mass transfer aspects of the process along with heat transfer. The reaction kinetics of silicon carbide formation has been taken from the literature. It has been shown that reaction kinetics has a reasonable influence on the process efficiency. The effect of various parameters on the process such as total gas pressure, presence of silicon carbide in the initial charge, etc. has been studied. A graphical user interface has also been developed for the Acheson process to make the computer code user friendly.

An appraisal of electric automobile power sources

Road transportation, as an important requirement of modern society, is presently hindered by restrictions in emission legislations as well as the availability of petroleum fuels, and as a consequence, the fuel cost. For nearly 270 years, we burned our fossil cache and have come to within a generation of exhausting the liquid part of it. Besides, to reduce the greenhouse gases, and to obey the environmental laws of most countries, it would be necessary to replace a significant number of the petroleum-fueled internal-combustion-engine vehicles (ICEVs) with electric cars in the near future. In this article, we briefly describe the merits and demerits of various proposed electrochemical systems for electric cars, namely the storage batteries, fuel cells and electrochemical supercapacitors, and determine the power and energy requirements of a modern car. We conclude that a viable electric car could be operated with a 50 kW polymer-electrolyte fuel cell stack to provide power for cruising and climbing, coupled in parallel with a 30 kW supercapacitor and/or battery bank to deliver additional short-term burst-power during acceleration.

Gas Sensing Properties of Tin Oxide Powder Synthesized in the Presence of Surfactants

Nanocrystalline tin oxide powder was prepared using a solution precipitation technique after adding the surfactant sodium bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT). Powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area (BET) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The gas sensitivity for surfactant added powders increased for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) as well as compressed natural gas (CNG), due to the decreased particle size and the increased surface area. The LPG gas sensitivity increased several times using phosphorus treated surfactant AOT.

Coupled electro-mechanical response of an electroactive polymer cantilever structure and its application in energy harvesting

Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMC), piezoelectric polymer composites and nematic elastomer composites are materials, which exhibit characteristics of both sensors and actuators. Large deformation and curvature are observed in these systems when electric potential is applied. Effects of geometric non-linearity due to the chargeinduced motion in these materials are poorly understood. In this paper, a coupled model for understanding the behavior of an ionic polymer beam undergoing large deformation and large curvature is presented. Maxwell's equations and charge transport equations are considered which couple the distribution of the ion concentration and the pressure gradient along length of a cantilever beam with interdigital electrodes. A nonlinear constitutive model is derived accounting for the visco-elasto-plastic behavior of these polymers and based on the hypothesis that the presence of electrical charge stretches/contracts bonds, which give rise to electrical field dependent softening/hardening. Polymer chain orientation in statistical sense plays a role on such softening or hardening. Elementary beam kinematics with large curvature is considered. A model for understanding the deformation due to electrostatic repulsion between asymmetrical charge distributions across the cross-sections is presented. Experimental evidence that Silver(Ag) nanoparticle coated IPMCs can be used for energy harvesting is reported. An IPMC strip is vibrated in different environments and the electric power against a resistive load is measured. The electrical power generated was observed to vary with the environment with maximum power being generated when the strip is in wet state. IPMC based energy harvesting systems have potential applications in tidal wave energy harvesting, residual environmental energy harvesting to power MEMS and NEMS devices.