Showing papers on "Boom published in 2000"

The Generation of Memory: Reflections on the "Memory Boom" in Contemporary Historical Studies

Abstract: “Whoever says memory, says Shoah.” This is the cryptic remark of one of the fathers of the “memory boom” among historians, Pierre Nora, French political scientist, publisher at the prestigious house of Gallimard, and the agent provocateur and inspiration behind one of the most influential ventures in cultural history over the last twenty years, Les lieux de mémoire. In a series of stately tomes published between 1984 and 1992, Nora solicited and reshaped essays by leading French scholars that, taken together, constitute an inventory of knowledge and conjecture about memory in the French historical context memory as frozen in statues, in objects, in street names, in ceremonies, in political parties, in legends, in myths, even in historical works. The success of this venture has been astonishing. The collection has sold over half a million copies in France alone. All

Maestro: Greenspan's Fed and the American Boom

Abstract: Who is responsible? From the President to the Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, to Wall Street to the role of emerging technologies, this book investigates the ideas and politics that have established the USA as a pre-eminent economic power.

Explaining the investment boom of the 1990s

Abstract: Real equipment investment in the United States has boomed in recent years, led by soaring investment in computers. We find that traditional aggregate econometric models completely fail to capture the magnitude of this recent growth - mainly because these models neglect to address two features that are crucial (and unique) to the current investment boom. First, the pace at which firms replace depreciated capital has increased. Second, investment has been more sensitive to the cost of capital. We document that these two features stem from the special behavior of investment in computers and therefore propose a disaggregated approach. This produces an econometric model that successfully explains the 1990s equipment investment boom.

Has Germany Finally Fixed its High-Tech Problem? The Recent Boom in German Technology-Based Entrepreneurship:

Abstract: Since 1997, Germany has witnessed an unprecedented boom in high-tech start-ups and IPOs. Long considered a "desert" for high tech and entrepreneurship alike, Germany has witnessed a spectacular mushrooming of technology-based firm foundings in the past three years, transforming the country from a laggard to the clear leader in European high-tech entrepreneurship. Though seeming to come from nowhere and confounding the conventional wisdom about Germany's strengths and weaknesses, the take-off in German high-tech did not come overnight, but instead capped a good three decades of trial-and-error in high-tech sponsorship policies. This article puts the current high-tech boom into perspective by retracing the historical evolution of Germany's technology policies.

Development and Test of Deployable Ultra-Lightweight CFRP-Booms for a Solar Sail

Abstract: The Institute of Structural Mechanics of the Ger- man Aerospace Center is developing ultra lightweight, deploy- able boom structures made of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRP booms). Although the concept of CFRP booms can be universally applied to a number of tasks, its application in the development of a Solar Sail demonstrator and the results are pre- sented in this report. The CFRP booms have high bending and torsion stiffness and, additionally, the folding concept enables transportation within a very tight volume. Towards the end of 1999, it was possible to prove the use of the booms, by means of a 20x20 m 2 demonstrator, as an essential structurally mechani- cal part of a solar sail. The goal in the next phase of the project is the realisation of a 40x40 m 2 flyable version in 2004-2005.

Explaining the Investment Boom of the 1990s

Abstract: Real equipment investment in the United States has boomed in recent years, led by soaring investment in computers. We find that traditional aggregate econometric models completely fail to capture the magnitude of this recent growth - mainly because these models neglect to address two features that are crucial (and unique) to the current investment boom. First, the pace at which firms replace depreciated capital has increased. Second, investment has been more sensitive to the cost of capital. We document that these two features stem from the special behavior of investment in computers and therefore propose a disaggregated approach. This produces an econometric model that successfully explains the 1990s equipment investment boom.

Crane-mounted concrete pump apparatus

Abstract: A crane-mounted concrete pumper has been provided wherein a telescoping boom assembly is pivotally and rotatably mounted on the platform of the truck. A concrete conduit is positioned in the interior of the boom assembly and has its intake end operatively connected to a concrete pump mounted on the truck by means of a flexible concrete hose. An extension boom is pivotally mounted on the boom assembly and may be pivoted from a folded, inoperative position to an extended position. A concrete conduit is provided in the interior of the extension boom and is placed into communication with the concrete conduit in the boom assembly when the extension boom is in its extended position. The crane may be either used to pump concrete or used in a conventional fashion. An aerial platform is provided on the boom assembly to enable an operator to pump or spray concrete.

Boom and bust? The changing nature of UN peacekeeping

Abstract: (2000). Boom and bust? The changing nature of UN peacekeeping. International Peacekeeping: Vol. 7, Managing Armed Conflicts in the 21st Century, pp. 37-54.

Foldable boom for an agricultural sprayer

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a folding boom for an agricultural sprayer. The boom includes a first piece pivotally connected to a second piece. The folding boom also includes a hydraulic cylinder for hydraulically pivoting the first boom piece relative to the second boom piece between a folded orientation and an extended orientation. The hydraulic cylinder includes a cylinder portion in which a piston structure is mounted. The cylinder portion and the piston structure are configured to slide axially relative to one another when the first boom piece is pivoted relative to the second boom piece. The folding boom further includes an accumulator in fluid communication with the cylinder portion for accumulating hydraulic fluid when the first boom piece collides with an obstruction and is pivoted from the extended orientation toward the folded orientation.

A corner irrigation system including a gps guidance system

Abstract: A self-propelled irrigation machine including an elongated main boom pivoted at one end to a center pivot and supported on a plurality of self-propelled, non-steerable drive towers. An extension boom is pivotally secured to the other end of the main boom for irrigating corner areas of the field. A steerable drive tower supports the extension boom and includes a pair of steerable drive wheels. The guidance and control for the extension boom utilizes GPS receivers as position sensors. The system is comprised of two GPS units, two microprocessor based smart boxes, a communications link running from the pivot to the steerable drive unit, and an angle sensor to monitor the angle of the corner arm steerable wheels.

Split boom coupling structure

Abstract: A coupling structure for a split boom power tool is provided The structure permits any of a variety of lower tubular boom members with their working tools to be quickly and easily coupled to or uncoupled from an upper tubular boom member having a power source The structure includes compatibly sized end portions on the upper and lower boom members that allow them to be quickly and easily telescopically joined and also provide a strengthened joint A clamping member is provided with a locating tab that is receivable in a locating hole in the tube of the upper boom member to allow the clamp to be quickly and positively positioned at the joint A plurality of tool orienting openings are provided in the end portion of the upper boom member and clamp to receive a spring loaded locking pin carried in the lower boom member to position the tool at a desired angular working orientation The locating tab further serves to align the tool orienting openings in the clamp and upper boom member as the clamp is positioned on the upper boom member

Financial Cycles and Building Booms: A Supply Side Account

Abstract: In this paper, I undertake a reexamination of recent cycles of boom and bust in the US commercial property markets. I apply aspects of the post-Keynesian investment theory developed by Hyman Minsky...

From cycles to shocks : Progress in business-cycle theory

Abstract: Boom leads to recession, recession to boom, and the economy is caught in a self-sustaining cycle. Or is it? More recent economic theory states that cyclical fluctuations in the economy are caused by shocks and other disturbances that continually buffet the economy. In this article, Satyajit Chatterjee examines the historical process by which the explanation of fluctuations in the economy has evolved from a theory of cycles to one of shocks.

Control device for construction machine

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the operability of a control device for a construction machine by eliminating the need for operating a tamping mode switch during tamping and enhance workability by permitting tamping and push-up operations at an optimum boom output. SOLUTION: The control device for the construction machine having a stick and a boom includes a plurality of operating members operated by an operator for actuating the stick and the boom; hydraulic pumps 51 and 52 for discharging hydraulic fluid in a tank; a hydraulic actuator for driving the boom; a tamping determining means 2 for determining whether or not tamping is carried out according to the operation of the boom operating member 54a and the stick operating member 54b which are included in the plurality of operating members; and output control means 4 and 5 for controlling the output of the boom driven by the hydraulic actuator for driving the boom. When the tamping determining means 2 determines that the tamping is being carried out, the output control means 4 and 5 control the boom output to the optimum output required for the tamping.

What drives consumption booms

Abstract: Consumption booms have been common in both industrial and developing countries, and several explanations have been offered for their occurrence. These include economy wide wealth effects associated with favorable movements in the terms of trade or euphoric expectations triggered by macroeconomic reforms, Ricardian effects associated with fiscal stabilization, lending booms following financial liberalization, and a variety of distortions in inter-temporal relative prices. Using a large cross-country sample of booms, this article assesses how widely applicable these explanations are. The key finding is that wealth effects linked to favorable movements in the terms of trade and anticipated improvements in macroeconomic performance seem to have been more important empirically than explanations relying primarily on fiscal phenomena or distortions in inter-temporal relative prices.

Retractable counterweight for straight-boom aerial work platform

Abstract: There is disclosed a load lifting device, where the device includes a boom which pivots in order to lift or reposition a load. One form of the device includes a boom pivotable about a horizontal axis for lifting the load, a first end of which extends to one side of the horizontal axis to lift the load. The boom comprises a second end extending from the horizontal axis, a linearly shiftable counterweight, and a link which connects the second end of the boom to the counterweight to shift the counterweight in a first direction when the boom is pivoted to lift a load, and in a second direction when the boom is pivoted to lower a load. The device provides a highly efficient apparatus.

Tack welding jig for boom of triangular section

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily effect the assembly and the tack welding of a boom of triangular section with excellent accuracy. SOLUTION: Length setting means 30a, 30b on which insertion angle setting means 40a, 40b are mounted on an oscillating manner are arranged on an upper surface of a main bed 21 slidably in the longitudinal direction of the boom. Insertion means 50a, 50b to which a top bracket 10 and a foot bracket 12 are positioned and fixed are slidably attached to the insertion angle setting means 40a, 40b. A center bracket positioning means 70 to position and fix a center bracket 2 is installed on an approximately center part of the main bed 21, and a tube positioning means 90 to position a top tube 4 and a foot tube 5 is provided on the center bracket position means 70 and the insertion angle setting means 40a, 40b. After each member is positioned, the insertion means 50a, 50b are moved to the center bracket 2 side, and each member is simultaneously inserted and assembled.

Hydraulic circuits for tree-harvesting knuckle booms

Abstract: The two boom members and hydraulic cylinders of a knuckle boom tree harvesting machine are so arranged and proportioned that with a single control movement during reaching and retracting actions the working tool head is made to travel in an approximately horizontal path. The cylinders and control valve are so connected that during horizontal reaching action load-supporting pressurized oil from a collapsing cylinder is not required to be dumped to the reservoir in the conventional heat generating manner, but is rather shunted directly to an extending cylinder where it continues to do useful load support work. Energy waste to hydraulic oil heat and fuel consumption is significantly reduced. Although these advances have been particularly developed for disc saw felling and stroke delimbing of trees they can also be applied to other knuckle boom applications where horizontal reaching is a major function.

Crane with a telescopic boom

Abstract: Segments can be telescoped out of the base boom with boom guides of a telescopic boom of a crane, which in either their extended or retracted positions are locked by locking pins. After releasing the locking pin connections, the segments can be moved in and out with a single-stage hydraulic piston-cylinder unit, one end of which is attached to the boom guide through two strokes so that each segment to be moved in or out is coupled either to the inside or the outside end area of the movable part of the piston-cylinder unit. In order to obtain a simpler structure, a movable ring or a movable pipe with a coupling device to couple the segments is placed on the cylinder by the piston rod fastened to the boom guide piece, which can be locked to either the internal or the external end area of the cylinder.

Are stabilization programs expansionary

Abstract: The empirical evidence presented in this paper casts doubts on the by now widely accepted "fact"that exchange rate based stabilization programs are expansionary. Even though these programs were associated with output booms, no evidence was found to support the thesis that the booms were caused by the stabilization programs. Rather, positive external shocks seem to have caused both the output booms and the stabilization programs.

Development of space inflatable/rigidizable STR aluminum laminate booms

Abstract: Development of inflatable structures for space applications has progressed rapidly in the past few years. Noticeable advances have been achieved in several key technology areas, such as system concepts, analysis tools, material selection and characterization, and inflation deployment control. However, many challenges remain to be overcome before the inflatable structures can be actually incorporated into space flight systems. One of these challenges is the development of suitable in-space rigidi/ation methods and many researchers in the space inflatables community are currently working toward this goal. This paper describes the concept and development of a new type of space inflatable/rigidizable structures, called the springtape-reinforced aluminum laminate booms (simply, STR booms). Analysis and test results related to buckling capability, effects of stowage, modal characteristics, and dynamic responses of SRT booms are presented and discussed. Additional research efforts are also recommended for improving structural integrity of the STR booms, as well as developing load-carrying booms over 50 meters. Copyright © 2000 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. The U.S. Government has a royalty-free license to exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for governmental purpose. All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner.

Sail furling system

Abstract: A roller furling system for sailing yachts contains a rotating mandrel mounted within a boom of the vessel, and furls or reefs the sail within the boom. The furler includes the hollow boom which has a slot on the upper surface to permit the sail to enter, foot first. A rotating mandrel is mounted within the boom and a drum, attached to the after end of the boom and concentric with the mandrel, provides means to rotate the mandrel. A winding line is wound around the drum and is redirected by a series of pulleys out of the forward end of the boom. The boom is mounted on, and above a gooseneck fitting attached to the mast, thereby providing full access to the mast end of the boom slot. A sail feeder provides easy entry of the sail into the boom slot, and prevents jamming, particularly jamming caused by the forward end of the sail battens. The feeder has two sides along the boom slot, and an end piece, which prevents the batten ends from jamming above the end of the boom slot. The luff of the sail is attached to a luff extrusion having a U-shaped cross section, which rotates about an axis close to, and parallel to the mast to which it is attached. The weight of the drum and pulleys at the after end of the mast is supported by a boom vang. An offset halyard box is also used at the top of the luff extrusion to maintain an efficient airfoil. In an alternate embodiment, the drum is caused to rotate by a motor located in proximity to the drum, and coupled by a gear reduction train.

The Post-Boom in Spanish American Fiction

Abstract: The article discusses the dating of the beginning of the Post-Boom, the factors involved in discussing it, and lists possible representative writers belonging to it. The views of Skármeta, Allende and others are reported and a list of possible Post-Boom characteristics is suggested. It is argued that there are difficulties in the way of relating the Post-Boom easily to Postmodernism, but that the notion of Post-colonialism may prove helpful in future criticism. This article is available in Studies in 20th Century Literature: http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol19/iss1/3 The Post-Boom in Spanish American Fiction Donald L. Shaw University of Virginia Any attempt to discuss the Post-Boom in Spanish American fiction must attempt to deal with four questions: 1. Can we postulate some general characteristics of the PostBoom? In other words, what does the term mean? 2. Can we, as yet, say anything useful about periodization? In other words, when did the Post-Boom begin? 3. Can we name a suitable group of representative Post-Boom novelists? In other words, who are the Post-Boomers? 4. Can we relate the Post-Boom convincingly to Postmodernism? In other words, where does the Post-Boom fit? Questions 1 and 2 can be answered fairly briefly, if somewhat arbitrarily. We can agree with Elzbieta Sklodowska that the Post-Boom began in the mid-1970s (ix). A suitable date might be 1975, that of the publication of Antonio Skarmeta's first novel, Sone que la nieve ardia, which is about the collapse of the left wing Allende government in Chile. Just as the great decade of the Boom was the sixties, so the great decade of the Post-Boom appears to be the eighties, beginning in 1982 with the runaway success of Isabel Allende's La Casa de los Espiritus and including a number of works that indicate the adoption of a PostBoom stance by older Boom authors such as Jose Donoso, who weighed in early with La misteriosa desaparicion de la marquesita de Loria in 1980, the lesser-known but very representative Carlos Martinez Moreno of Uruguay with El color que el infierno me escondiera (1981), Gabriel Garcia Marquez himself, with El amor en los tiempos del colera (1985), and Mario Vargas Llosa with I,Quien mato a Palomino Molero? (1986). Just as a number of Boom novelists were active before 1 Shaw: The Post-Boom in Spanish American Fiction Published by New Prairie Press 12 STCL, Volume 19, No. 1 (Winter, 1995) the sixties, so a number of Post-Boom novelists were active before 1975. The question is not when they began to publish, but when they began to emerge recognizably as a group whose work illustrated a definite shift of outlook and technique. As to representative writers: Skarmeta who does not readily accept the term Post-Boom, mentions in addition to fellow Chileans like Ariel Dorfman: Jose Agustin, Gustavo Sainz and Jorge Aguilar Mora from Mexico, Luis Rafael Sanchez (Puerto Rico), Manuel Puig and Eduardo Gudiiio Kieffer (Argentina), Reinaldo Arenas and Miguel Barnet (Cuba), Oscar Collazos (Colombia) and Sergio Ramirez (Nicaragua) (\"Al fin\" 139). Ricardo Piglia mentions his fellow Argentines Juan Jose Saer and Puig, Skarmeta, Dorfman, Rafael Humberto MorenoDuran (Colombia), Agustin, Sainz and Jose Emilio Pacheco (Mexico) (Viereck 131). We must, of course, add Mempo Giardinelli (Argentina), and most importantly the new group of women novelists including Isabel Allende (Chile), Luisa Valenzuela (Argentina), Elena Poniatowska (Mexico) and sundry others. It is with the Post-Boom that women novelists in Spanish America really come into their own. So far, so good. But the real task is to try to outline some ofthe main characteristics of the Post-Boom as we see them at present.' It helps to recognize that to some extent the Post-Boom is a reaction against the Boom on the part of younger writers who tended to be critical of it on three grounds: I. excessive elitism and reader-unfriendliness 2. excessive cosmopolitanism and desire for universality at the expense of the here and now in Spanish America 3. excessive emphasis on technique, on the supposed mysteriousness of reality, and on the possible inability of language to express it. This is not the place to enter into a detailed discussion of the characteristics of the Boom in order to try to clarify the degree to which those of the Post-Boom might be different. I and other critics have given our views on this elsewhere.2 Suffice it to say that what characterizes the Boom writers above all is their radical questioning: a) of reality and b) of the writer's task. This is seen as having led to the rejection of oldstyle realism, with its simple assumptions about time and about cause and effect, and its replacement on the one hand by a heightened sense of the mystery and ambiguity of things and on the other by a greater 2 Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature, Vol. 19, Iss. 1 [1995], Art. 3 http://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol19/iss1/3 DOI: 10.4148/2334-4415.1359