It's not likely you run into many New Yorkers while out in the prairies of North Dakota. Thanks to the LEAF program through the Nature Conservancy, four New York students had the opportunity of a lifetime to work on the ranch at the Nature Conservancy near Cross Ranch Preserve along the Missouri River. The Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF) program provides paid summer internships for high school students and helps educators from environmental high schools share best practices and scientific resources. It sounded like a great opportunity to learn and grow for students like Syed Alam, Henry Dlhopolsky, Nazeeh Muhammad-Myers and Ziliang Wu. Three of the boys are from New York City, while Nazeeh is from New Jersey. The four boys embarked on a journey to Minnesota and began their internship at Weaver Dunes, a unique sand terrace formed by the Mississippi, Zombra and Chippewa rivers. This was a trying location as the boys fought with flies and heat out in this sandy prairie. While there, they learned about the native species and learned about planting of grasses on the prairie. They spent two weeks there before coming to the Cross Ranch Preserve. There they worked with preserve manager Eric Rosenquist and Chris Gordon, both of the Nature Conservancy. They were put to work mending and erecting fences for the reserves bison herd, painting the buildings that have been a part of the ranch for decades and learning about the native grasses and animals that fill the open range in the area.


text:
VIPs are upbeat about Purfleet future after Thames link is made official
Posted: 05.07.20 at 23:01 by The Editor
From left: Mayor Cllr Terry Piccolo, John Rowles, Trevor Bachelor, Jackie Doyle-Price and Ken Dytor.
UPBEAT comments from VIP visitors to the official unveiling of the new signed for renamed Purfleet-on-Thames suggest the town has a big future.
Following approval for the name change after a local campaign headed by the town's community forum, on Saturday afternoon (4 July) the town's new name was given a public launch with the unveiling of new signage at a ceremony attended by a number of VIPs.
Among them was borough mayor Cllr Terry Piccolo who said: ""The involvement of the local Forum in bringing this name change forward must be commended. With the commitment of the local residents I am sure Purfleet-on-Thames has an exciting future".
Borough MP Jackie Doyle-Price, who has been a critic of many of the plans for the town's regeneration proposed by Thurrock Council, was also in upbeat mode at the ceremony and back Purfleet-on-Thames' future by saying: "The location is fantastic, next to our capital city, on the river. What better location can there be?"
Ward councillors Victoria Holloway and Qaisar Abbas were also in a positive frame of mind about the area's future. Cllr Holloway said: "This name change signifies the importance of this place and where it sits on the river and in Thurrock", while Cllr Abbas added: "The old, new name will raise the area's profile."
Cllr Abbas's reference to 'the old' reflected Purfleet's history. It has been more than 100 years since the name Purfleet-on-Thames was first used.
First written reference to Purfleet-on-Thames was in 1866. In early Victorian to late Edwardian times the village of Purfleet attracted up to 1,500 tourists a day who arrived by boat and train.
They came to enjoy the river and rural pleasures of this once popular village. It was a destination of choice for many Londoners.
Hopes are high that it is about to become a destination of choice again after a £1 billion regeneration of the area was approved and is starting to happen.
Reflecting on the two year campaign to make the name change, Purfleet-on-Thames Community Forum chair John Rowles said: "This just shows that by being involved, you can make changes happen."
Ken Dytor head of PCRL (developers of the town regeneration) said: "We are going to be backing the community to the hilt, opening up of the river is going to be really important. This is a real opportunity for us to show the World what Purfleet-on-Thames means, it means a community working together in harmony to get results"
Summing up, forum vice-chair Trevor Batchelor said: "I am delighted to see the name change come to fruition after over 100 years of Purfleet persistence. The new name is like an old friend returning for good this time. A ray of hope for our future with a nod to the past. Allison Campbell MBE suggested the name change nearly 20 years ago; I am proud to have given the final push to make the name change happen".
Residents thanked for patience after latest flooding at blackspot - but how long will they have to wait for a permanent solution to recurring problem?
A LONGSTANDING flooding problem reared its head again today (Sunday, 5 July) in Stanford-le-Hope prompting a ward councillor to say the authority has ...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A painting by Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky has become the subject of a legal battle over claims that it was looted by the Nazis during the second world war.
The Colourful Life or Das Bunte Leben, which has been described as one of the artist's most important works, hangs in a gallery in Germany, but the heirs of a Jewish art collector, Emanuel Lewenstein, now claim that it was sold without the permission of the family in a controversial auction in 1940.
They filed a claim on Friday morning in New York against a German bank which believes it owns the painting. According to the filing, the painting has an estimated value of £65m ($80m).
James Palmer from Mondex, a Canadian company that works with families to reclaim looted art, said that he hoped that the Lewenstein family would be able to prove their ownership.
Dutch art collector Lewenstein bought The Colourful Life after it was painted in 1907. Following Lewenstein's death, his widow loaned it to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam for safekeeping.
When she died shortly before the war, the painting passed to her two children, Robert and Wilhelmine. Wilhelmine left the Netherlands for Mozambique in 1938, and Robert fled to New York in 1939 fearing persecution from the Nazis.
In 1940, the painting was sent to one of the best-known auction houses in Amsterdam at the time, where dozens of looted works were sold. The Lewensteins claim it was sold without the family's permission and at a heavily discounted price, which was due to questions over its ownership, after the Nazis invaded Holland.
The October 1940 catalogue from the Frederik Muller & Co auction house lists dozens of lots. The sale includied several paintings from a famous collection previously owned by Jacques Goudstikker, one of the best-known Jewish art dealers in Amsterdam.
The Kandinsky is listed as lot 204, and was apparently sold for 250 Dutch Guilders, a price representing only 10-20% of its then market value. According to the court documents, no one from the Lewenstein family ever received any proceeds from the sale.
The painting was bought by BayernLB in 1972. and is currently on loan to the Lenbachhaus gallery in Munich.
Last year, a painting by Kandinsky was sold for a record price of £18.5m ($23.2m), so it could represent a huge windfall for the heirs if they can prove it was looted.
Francesca Davis, Robert Lewenstein's daughter, is one of the possible heirs. She was recently sent a photograph of the painting, and said she was amazed by it.
Davis grew up hearing stories about her family's escape from Europe and the Nazis. She said that she thought Kandinsky was an "unbelievable genius".
Daniella Luxembourg, an art dealer and expert, said that Das Bunte Leben was a "seminal piece".
There are jurisdictional issues around where the future of the Kandinsky will be decided. The case will either be resolved in the New York court system or through the German Limbach Commission, which advises on the return of cultural property.
Museums usually follow the "Washington Principles" for handing over looted art. However, the bank is understood to believe that that the artwork is on a long-term loan to the museum, and the financial institution is not covered by the Washington Principles.


Living in a glass house? Don't throw one stone but two.
I value my powers of discernment and judgment. I don't worship them, but I'm grateful for them and therefore work to maintain and refine them.
There's been a rumor on the psych circuit that one shouldn't be judgmental, disingenuous and paradoxical advice since the rumor is itself a judgment that one shouldn't do something. I think judgment is inescapable and so it's best to hone it rather than disavow it disingenuously. I aim to be a discerning weasel-connoisseur able to identify and judge even the subtlest weasel.
Like everyone I live in a glass house, and according to other rumors on the psych circuit, I shouldn't throw stones, not advice I am willing to take since I both express and hone my judgment through the trial and error process of giving and taking feedback. Besides, giving feedback and throwing stones are not the same thing. The advice not to throw stones is suspiciously redundant, advice as tautological as "don't do bad things," when bad things are by definition what you shouldn't do.
Instead of not throwing stones, I try to throw stones in pairs. For every one I throw at someone else's glass house, I try to throw one at the equivalent place on my house. For example, when I criticize someone else's approach I try to find an analog to their approach in my approach. Likewise, when I get angry at someone's bad behavior I try to temper my temper with recollections of my comparably bad behavior.
By throwing stones at my own house, I discover the weaker windows, places where there's room for improvement and therefore where I need to do some home repair and remodeling.
Throwing stones at other people's glass houses, I express the value I place on my fallible yet evolving, improvable and improving powers of judgment. By pairing the stones aimed at their houses with stones aimed at mine, I actively devalue my natural, inevitable but limiting and limitable self-serving double standards. At least that's the goal, my formula for speaking my mind not obnoxiously.
All formulas can be corrupted through compliance with the letter but not the spirit. My formula is no exception so it's worth inventorying some of the more obvious circumnavigations around the spirit of the formula. Here are two. No doubt there are more.
"You're a grotesquely inconsiderate. Of course, I make mistakes too and am humble enough to admit it. Why once I tipped only 14% by mistake."
"You're grotesquely inconsiderate by my standards and before you get a chance to impose the same standards on me, let me render your retaliation moot by telling you that I already know all of my flaws so don't even bother."
Out-maneuvering one's inner weasel is hard work, requiring vigilance because one's inner-weasel offers to take over, saying "leave the vigilance to me," the inner-weasel guarding against inner-weasel encroachment, the fox watching the hen house.
Acknowledging similar failings subdues unjustifiable righteous indignation.
It makes feedback to others easier for them to hear because it peels off the condescension.
It makes the flaws less about personalities and more about temptations and tendencies to which we are all prone.
It demonstrates fair-minded receptivity to feedback from others.
Since we often disguise our appetite for holier than thou oneupsmanship with the rationale that we are only interested in maintaining high standards, it forces us to live up to what otherwise is just rationale.
Every formula has its counter-formula that can be abused too. I'm watching for that also. I get a taste of that when I talk about extremist rhetoric from one political party and it's over-eager defenders snap back at me that the other political party uses rhetoric too. Yes, indeed we all do and I can cite chapter and verse about the other party's rhetoric, but that doesn't obviate questions of degree. To take an unrelated extreme example a mass murderer cannot justify his murder spree by pointing out that those who judge him squash bugs and eat chicken. It's a distorted version of fairness that assumes that all responsibility for all problems must ultimately be evenly shared. We must keep alive the question of sources of fault and blame. I'm just saying that with my formula I'm likely to do a better job of dealing with such questions, and doing a better job of it is very important in these tough times, when striking the right balance on the tough questions of blame and responsibility is that much more important to our well-being and even survival, and when in our reaction to the tough times tempers tend to flair un-tempered.
From glass houses one shouldn't throw stone?
How else can my standards be shown?
Holding me to my standards helps hone.
Newer PostDoes God care who wins the Super Bowl?


text:
Pre-Owned 2015 BMWX5 M Base SUV
at Alpine Buick GMC
Gray Metallic
8-Speed Sport Automatic with Shift Paddles
4.4L V8 DOHC 32V TwinPower Turbo
5YMKT6C56F0C89723
PF0C89723
Internal memory capacity (GB): 20 GB
Compressor: twin turbo
Rear cargo: power liftgate/tailgate
Recent Arrival! Clean CARFAX.
2015 BMW X5 M 4D Sport Utility Gray Metallic AWD 8-Speed Sport Automatic with Shift Paddles 4.4L V8 DOHC 32V TwinPower Turbo
Thanks for looking! If you would like more pictures, a copy of a vehicle history report, or any other information to help make an informed decision we are here to help. Proudly serving Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Littleton, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Golden, Brighton, Greeley, and Boulder for over 10 Years.
* Astounding performance; comprehensively equipped; upscale interior with excellent fit and finish. Source: Edmunds
* From its sleek lines to its sporty athletic stance the BMW X5 demands attention. The X5's aggressive air intakes direct more air to the engine for increased power, centrally positioned fog lights and Xenon Adaptive Headlights with LED Daytime Running Lights distinguish the vehicle's front facia. A matte aluminum finish along with front and rear underside protective cladding, allow the X5 to navigate unpaved roads as easily as tarmac. The long wheelbase and short overhangs at the front and rear, muscular hood and square-shape flared wheel arches, contoured flanks and L-shape rear taillights featuring LED technology all add to the design. With the addition of sumptuous interior materials, the X5 truly becomes a sanctuary of unrivaled comfort and taste. Lower the split-folding rear seats to create up to 66cu. ft. of cargo space or, when equipped with third-row seats for two, the driver can share the journey with up to six passengers. Other features include available panoramic glass moonroof and rear seat DVD player with 8 inch screen. With a single twin-scroll turbocharger the xDrive35i will perform 300hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. Generating 413lb. ft. of torque with 255hp, an inline-six Advanced Diesel engine is available on the xDrive35d. A 4.8L V8 engine yields 445hp and 479 lb-ft of torque on the xDrive50i. The M Power V8 Turbo comes from the M performance division giving the X5 M an impressive 555hp. With BMW Assist, you have an emergency switchboard, navigation system, and information service, all in one on an integrated touchscreen. A premium Harman Kardon system puts the power of 11 speakers at your disposal. Using BMW Apps you can extend the communication and entertainment of your X5 with tailor-made applications. Source: The Manufacturer Summary
All prices do not include $589.50 dealer and handling.
Prices include $1,000 GM Financial Incentive and $1,000 Trade Assistance. Not all buyers will qualify.
** CALL FOR DETAILS (303) 932-8000 **
Love the feel and look but not the quality
By Carrie | on Sunday, December 30, 2018
I have owned Mercedes and Lexus cars, but bought a new BMW X5 35i in 2014 thinking I would own it for years. Within one year, I was having problems: first, with having to replace the battery, next the suspension went out, then the car had to be reprogrammed for $200, and now the passenger seat has literally come apart on the side. I've had this car in the shop more than any other luxury car I've had. Very poor quality for a luxury car.…
The BMW X5 is total Awesomeness!
By Beach/Islander | on Friday, October 19, 2018
The drive, acceleration, handling and overall performance of the X5 is impressive. Additionally, where comparable vehicles are lacking in ride, quiet interior and comfort, the X5 delivers. Another impressive attribute of the X5 is that it's styling differentiates itself from other high-end SUVs; you know it's a BMW, even from a distance. BMW continues to deliver in all areas of high-end vehicles.…
Hands down the best vehicle I have owned.
By Fred | on Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Cannot say enough about this X5. We travel cross country every winter and it is awesome in all weather conditions. The ride, handling and comfort are second to none. I normally trade in at this time but it's to difficult to to get rid of it.…


The earliest part of my life was really challenging. I was born out of wedlock, brought up by my grand aunt, and had a childhood when I felt everything to be a struggle. I started going to church at the age of 12, and sometime after that, I remembered asking God, "Why me?".
Since then, I have had many similar conversationswith others. In fact, an acquaintance saw that I had been putting some faith-related posts on social media and touched base with me. His first question to me was something like this: "Would you still have faith iflife was difficult for you?". His point to me was that if God was all loving, why does He allow bad things to happen, and why does He allow it to happen to good people?
In the Gospel today, Jesus teaches us that those who were killed by Pilate, or who were killed in Siloan were no more guilty that those who were not. This is an important lesson as the Israelites believed that God punished only those who were more sinful than others. This is something relevant for our understanding as well.
Rather than going into a discussion about why bad things happened to people, Jesus stressed the importance that everyone prepare for the time for us to leave this earthly world. He gives the parable about a fruitless fig tree. While the vinyard owner had intended to have the tree cut down, the gardener convinces the owner to keep it for an additional year to fruit, failing which it would be be cut down.
While it continues to live, the fig tree does not know that it has just an additional year. Like the fig tree, we do not know how long more we have. By talking about "perishing", our Lord does not talk about our physical deaths. Rather, He is talking about our eternal lives.
Let us focus on doing the right things, now. We simply do not know when our time on earth is up.
Prayer: Help us to have a sense of urgency Father, to make our faith in You red-hot. Help us to believe and act in line with Your plans.
Thanksgiving: We are grateful to You for Your teaching Lord Jesus. For Your reminder that our time here on earth is limited. Thank You for blessing us with each day to do Your work.


text:
Almondsbury – wieś i civil parish w południowo-zachodniej Anglii (Wielka Brytania), w hrabstwie ceremonialnym Gloucestershire, w dystrykcie (unitary authority) South Gloucestershire, położona na północnym obrzeżu aglomeracji Bristolu. W 2011 roku civil parish liczyła 4705 mieszkańców

Civil parish obejmuje poza wsią Almondsbury kilka mniejszych okolicznych wsi i osad – Hortham, Gaunt's Earthcott, Over, Easter Compton, Compton Greenfield, Hallen i Berwick. W jej granicach znajdują się nieczynne lotnisko Filton oraz centrum handlowe Cribbs Causeway.

W pobliżu znajduje się węzeł drogowy Almondsbury Interchange, gdzie krzyżują się autostrady M4 i M5. Otwarty w 1966 roku, był to pierwszy zbudowany na terenie Wielkiej Brytanii węzeł autostradowy w formie 4-poziomowego krzyża maltańskiego.

Wieś wspomniana została w Domesday Book (1086) pod nazwą Almondesberie.

Przypisy

Wsie w hrabstwie Gloucestershire
Civil parishes w hrabstwie Gloucestershire

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Investor puts apartments up for sale before securing land rights
July 03, 2022 | 08:09
The social housing project Lotus Garden at Phu My District (Dong Thap Province) has not been granted a construction permit by the provincial authority, yet the project was still putting apartments up for sale.
The construction site of the Lotus Garden project at Phu My District, Dong Thap Province.-VNA/VNS Photo
The project has an initial outlay of nearly VND530 billion (US$23 million), financed by the Phuong Nam Transport Construction Exploitation JSC (PNC).
There are around 504 apartments and 14 commercial buildings in its construction plan, which is expected to be completed in Q2/2025.
The Provincial Department of Construction (PDC) revealed that to date, the project investors have not secured a construction permit and proof of land use rights and have not handed in an appraisal dossier. As a result, they are not legally allowed to make sale announcements.
However, the investors are beginning to market their apartments through issuing "Reservation forms" and "Agreement to purchase forms."
Similar offers can also be found on social networks, where home buyers can secure the right to buy apartments by putting down deposits.
Le Van Ngot, deputy director of PDC, said that his department is requesting the investors and relevant brokers to stop the unlawful sale of apartments. The sale will not be re-opened until the project obtains a carte blanche from the authority.
The deputy director also underscored that not all home buyers are eligible for the apartments but only those defined in Decision 35 issued by the People's Committee of Dong Thap Province.
Eligible buyers include people with "meritorious services to the revolution, people with low incomes living in urban areas, military officers, cadres, officials and public servants."
PNC admitted that it was too hasty to offer the right to purchase to customers with deposits. Accordingly, it will return the deposits to the customers and call off the sale.
PNC also said a sale announcement would be made again as soon as the authority gives the project the green light. Sales information will be published at its office, on PDC's websites, and in the media.
So far, the project has completed the geological investigation and load tests and obtained various necessary papers, including environmental and fire safety licenses. Once the construction site is ready, the ground-breaking ceremony will be set.
land rights investor apartments social housing
RoK construction firms interested in Vietnamese market
Making the dream of house ownership come true with VBSP funding
FDI inflow from RoK helps Vietnam move up global value chain ladder
Techcombank landmarks show Vietnam's potential
Industrial zone workers: realities in low-quality living quarters
Premium Asiana Riverside apartments ready for handover
Latest News ⁄ Property
Tax and land-use fee reductions should continue in 2023: MoF
A great chance to invest in commercial property
Genuine estate market relies on demand
Calls for real estate market overhaul
Unpredictable times in real estate sector
APAC Realty acquires additional stake in ERA Vietnam
Localities benefiting from industrial zone squeeze (January 17, 2023 | 11:00)
Real estate stability on top of SBV agenda (January 17, 2023 | 09:33)
Stuck in the mud: reviving the fortunes of Thu Thiem (January 16, 2023 | 16:19)
Investors bullish on real estate in 2023 (January 16, 2023 | 11:39)
Industrial property taking spotlight (January 12, 2023 | 14:50)
Tenants to benefit from Ho Chi Minh City rental market (January 12, 2023 | 08:02)
Phuc Khang Corporation's CEO attains new green building accolades (January 09, 2023 | 07:15)
Property slowdown unlikely to become systemic crisis (January 05, 2023 | 17:09)
Uplifting outlook for 2023 property market (January 05, 2023 | 13:21)
Policies taking shape for real estate market overhaul (January 05, 2023 | 10:29)


text:
Type Associates
A wealth of typographic knowledge, skills and experience
Dry Transfer
Font Sampler
Type is ubiquitous.
Type Associates designs beautiful, functional typefaces for use in print, on the web and on devices.
The current library of 41 font families, comprising 132 fonts, includes popular revivals of old foundry fonts, hand lettered poster styles and scripts, modern sans and serif styles, as well as favourites from our early days in headline typesetting. The library is available through the major font vendors: MyFonts.com, Monotype Imaging, Linotype, Fontspring and You Work For Them.
In addition to its "off-the-shelf" library, Type Associates also consults directly to designers, advertising agencies, publishers and other professionals to meet their bespoke font requirements. With more than 25 years experience in the digital arena and nearly 50 years in the analog field, we can assure our customers a wealth of experience no matter what their font needs. Look at Type Associates' Fonts.
Type Associates' principal is Russell Bean, a typography professional who started his career at an early age in a Sydney advertising agency as production junior whilst studying publication typography, hand lettering and illustration at evening colleges.
Upon grasping a handle on print and press production and finished art procedures from the agency's artist and production manager his next career move came as the art director for a group of regional stores within an electrical appliance chain designing ads and managing type specs and images.
This was followed by management of the "cold type" or headline division of a trade typesetting house. Still in his early twenties it was during this time that he designed his five weight Virginia family which won the inaugural Lettergraphics International Typeface Design Competition and a job in their Los Angeles studios.
As film font producer and chief lettering artist this was a great opportunity to rub shoulders with some of LA's advertising nobility: people like Saul Bass, Gary Burden, David Geffen and the cream of the music and movie scenes soon came knocking on the door. Lettering projects included album covers for famous groups: The Eagles, America, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Doors, singers Jackson Browne, Neil Young and Frank Zappa. One memorable project was an outdoor poster for Diana Ross displayed above a well-known record store on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard.
His foray in sunny Southern California, was followed by a return to his home town of Sydney, Australia to resume his previous position as manager of the trade typesetting house.
With the kudos of his US trip fresh in the minds of Sydney's creatives, he soon teamed up with a long time client to form a headline setting and production studio catering for a large slice of Sydney's advertising agencies, publishers and designers.
After several successful years the partners went their separate ways – Russell continued with the headline service and eventually acquired a small, fully staffed and functioning electronic typesetting firm and added full production art services.
The success of his typesetting studio was rewarded with positions on the executive committees of the Australian Type Directors Club and its successor – the Australian Graphic Design Association.
The introduction of the Macintosh gradually saw clients becoming competitors and the studio was forced to downsize. But Russell could see the future role that the Mac would play in his career and determined that his path could not exclude it. One day a colleague presented him with a beta release of Altsys Fontographer and he set about the steep learning curve that was to follow, designing typefaces and converting some of the collected archive of headline faces to Postscript fonts.
Following a brief excursion to Hong Kong where he managed the production facility of a Japanese font maker, Russell started another studio providing digital printing, inkjet output and other graphic services from a shop-front on the fringe of Sydney city.
This was the time to step up to FontLab and his font production went full tilt submitting his growing library of fonts to the world's major vendors.
Type is everywhere.
The primary objective of typography is to aid readability and communication of the messsage.


text:
Penguins overcome early deficit to defeat Norse
Kailey Coffey (23) looks for a teammate to pass to during the game against IUPUI.
Colin Johnson
Christopher Decker, Managing Editor
Filed under Game Coverage, Sports, Women's Basketball
The NKU women's basketball team fell to Youngstown State 54-51 on the road Thursday night. The Norse fall to 5-15 and 3-6 in conference play while the Penguins improve to 8-12 and 4-5 in Horizon League play.
NKU's Molly Glick scored 18 points on 7-11 shooting while Taryn Taugher scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Chelsea Olsen scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Penguins while Sarah Cash scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds
The Norse got off to a fast start, scoring 21 points in the first quarter while holding the Penguins to 17 points. The Penguins would catch back up, outscoring NKU 10-7 in the second quarter. NKU held a 28-27 lead at halftime despite allowing Youngstown to shoot 50 percent while shooting just 34 percent.
The Norse did force 12 turnovers from the Penguins in the first half.
That trend continued in the second half, as the Norse forced 10 more turnovers. It was shooting that determined the game, however, as the Penguins would shoot 47 percent in the second half while NKU would shoot just 33 percent.
The Norse shot four total free throws and missed all of them while the Penguins made nine of their 13 free throws.
NKU will look ahead to Saturday when they will face Cleveland State in Cleveland at 8 p.m..
Cardinals defeat NKU Baseball late in the game
Norse baseball split double-header against Golden Grizzlies
Norse baseball fall to Butler
Norse softball falls to IUPUI Jaguars
March Madness: NKU's season ends against Texas Tech
Going dancing: Norse defeat Wright State in Horizon Championship
Norse settle score against Oakland Grizzlies 64-63
Norse fight to take down Detroit Mercy, advance in the tournament
Preview: Norse face Titans in first round of Horizon League tournament
NKU women's basketball season comes to an end against IUPUI Jaguars


text:
Books by Date
ECONLIB Books
Cost and Choice: An Inquiry in Economic Theory
By James M. Buchanan
You face a choice. You must now decide whether to read this Preface, to read something else, to think silent thoughts, or perhaps to write a bit for yourself. The value that you place on the most attractive of these several alternatives is the cost that you must pay if you choose to read this Preface now. This value is and must remain wholly speculative; it represents what you now think the other opportunity might offer. Once you have chosen to read this Preface, any chance of realizing the alternative and, hence, measuring its value, has vanished forever. Only at the moment or instant of choice is cost able to modify behavior…. [From the Preface]
First Pub. Date
Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, Inc.
First published in 1969 by Markham Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill. Foreword by Hartmut Kliemt.
The text of this edition is copyright ©: 1999 Liberty Fund, Inc. Picture of James M. Buchanan: File photo detail, courtesy Liberty Fund, Inc. James M. Buchanan, 1963.
Ch. 1, Cost in Economic Theory
Ch. 2, The Origins and Development of a London Tradition
Ch. 3, Cost and Choice
Ch. 4, The Cost of Public Goods
Ch. 5, Private and Social Cost
Ch. 6, Cost Without Markets
The Origins and Development of a London Tradition
Wicksteed and the Calculus of Choice
Wicksteed deserves recognition for having shifted cost theory away from its classical, objective foundations. Although Jevons can with justice be labeled as precursory, the major advance beyond Marshallian conceptions was made by Wicksteed, who tied opportunity cost quite directly to choice. He stated that cost-of-production, "in the sense of the historical and irrevocable fact that resources have been devoted to this or that special purpose, has no influence on the value of the thing produced."
*14 In this respect, cost-of-production does not affect supply. What does affect supply is anticipated cost "in the sense of alternatives still open which must now be relinquished in order to produce this specific article";
*15 this cost "influences the craftsman in determining whether he will produce it or not."
*16 Here, the critical relationship between any measurement of cost and the act of choice is established. At any moment in time, one can look either forward or backward. One looks backward in time in a perspective of foreclosed alternatives. One looks forward in time in a perspective of alternatives that still remain open; choices can be and must be made. With this elementary clarification, cost tends to be a part of choice among alternatives, a choice that must be subjective to the chooser. Cost does not hold the direct relationship to commodity or resource units that it does in both the classical and neoclassical discussion.
Wicksteed fully recognized the many ambiguities that surrounded the usage of the term "cost," and he provided excellent examples.
*17 But when all is said, Wicksteed, too, remained less than wholly clear. When put to it, he chose to define cost-of-production or cost-price as "the estimated value, measured in gold, of all the alternatives that
have been sacrificed in order to place a unit of the commodity in question upon the market"
*18 (italics supplied).
There is no doubt that Wicksteed was a major formative influence on the cost theory that emerged in the late 1920's and early 1930's at the London School of Economics. And, as I hope to show, traces of the "correct" theory of cost are found in the acute observations of Wicksteed. This may not emerge full-blown in Wicksteed for the simple reason that he need elaborate no further in answering his own questions. One feels that Wicksteed's cost theory, as that of Marshall, could have been made fully equal to the challenge presented by the new range of issues of the 1930's.
H. J. Davenport
Herbert J. Davenport was an American economist and, roughly, a contemporary of Wicksteed. His influence was limited to a relatively small group of followers, none of whom were major figures in the history of doctrine. Davenport's insights on opportunity cost, however, if read from the perspective developed in this book, suggest that it is appropriate to place his name between that of Wicksteed and Knight in this summary review.
Davenport's emphasis was on what he called "entrepreneur's cost," and he clearly defined this in a utility dimension. "That is to say, cost as a margin determinant is purely a matter within the personal aspects of entrepreneurship, a managerial fact, a subjective phenomenon, in which all the influences bearing on the psychology of choice between different occupations and leisure have their place."
*19 Furthermore, Davenport explicitly recognized that cost is related to the particulars of the choice situation, and, indeed, his emphasis on entrepreneur's cost stemmed from his criticism of other writers, notably Marshall, who confused this with what Davenport called "collectivist cost."
Embedded in Davenport's treatise,
Value and Distribution, is a conception of opportunity cost that is almost as sophisticated as that developed by Wicksteed. The failure of Davenport's ideas to have more influence than they did have was due, apparently, to his failure to articulate these ideas and also perhaps to his petulance toward the idols of the profession in his time. Davenport would have surely come into his own had he been able to criticize the more flagrant confusions in cost theory that emerged only after the 1920's.
Knight on Cost as Valuation
It is interesting that before he had written any of the papers previously cited, Frank Knight had explicitly referred to cost estimation as a valuation process inherent in choice itself. "[T]he cost of any value is simply the value that is given up when it is chosen; it is just the
reaction or resistance to choice that makes it choice"
*22 (italics supplied). Having made this tie-in between opportunity cost and the decision process, however, Knight tended to confuse the fundamental issues in his later emphasis on alternate-product value, a value determined, presumably, not by the chooser, but in the whole market process.
Robbins, 1934
In a basic paper published in 1934,
*23 Lionel Robbins reacted against the emphasis by Knight and others on an alternate-product conception of opportunity cost, much as Knight himself was led to do in his 1934 and 1935 papers. In so doing, Robbins provided the basis for an opportunity-cost conception that later came to be identified with the London School of Economics. Neither Knight in his 1924 paper nor Robbins realized the importance of the distinction they were making, and Robbins considered himself to be merely clarifying certain ambiguities that had arisen in connection with the emerging Austrian orthodoxy, the source of which he attributed to Wieser. Specifically, Robbins argued that cost must be defined in terms of displaced
value and not in terms of displaced
real product. He demonstrated that once beyond the Smithian deer-beaver model, displaced real product has little meaning. His illustrative examples were those of final goods produced with wholly different inputs or with the same inputs but in differing and fixed coefficients. Shifts in demand generate shifts in cost under such conditions, and these cannot be interpreted in terms of displaced real-product alternatives. Costs are changed because the relative
values of the inputs change, values derived from the demand for final products.
Although these clarifications were useful and represented the main thrust of Robbins' argument, they are not the subject of interest here. More or less as asides, Robbins introduced several statements that involve a different basic notion of cost. He apparently did not think of these statements in this light, perhaps because they were especially obvious to one who had fully learned his Wicksteed and perhaps because, in another sense, they were immaterial to his central theme. I refer to his explicit linking of cost to the act of choice itself. "The process of valuation is essentially a process of choice, and
costs are the negative aspects of this process" (p. 2, italics supplied). "[I]t is the central requirement of any theory of cost that it should explain the
actual resistances which production in any line of industry encounters" (p. 5, italics in original). "The isolated producer thinks of the
sacrifice that he is making by not producing something else" (p. 5, italics supplied).
Unfortunately, after having interspersed these highly provocative remarks in his discussion, Robbins proceeded, almost simultaneously, to obscure their potential impact. In this, Robbins seems to have proceeded much as Knight had a decade before. On the page immediately following the last two statements cited above Robbins said: "The condition that prices shall be equal to cost of production in the value sense is as essential a condition of equilibrium in the Walrasian system as the condition that marginal products shall be proportionate to factor prices" (p. 6). The subtle but essential distinction between cost in the act of choice and cost in the predictive theory of economic behavior has disappeared in this apparently orthodox neoclassical statement.
Mises, Robbins, and Hayek on Calculation in a Socialist Economy
As I suggested in the Preface, latter-day Austrians can with some legitimacy claim that the concept of opportunity cost, here attributed to Jevons, Wicksteed, Davenport, Knight, and ultimately developing into a London tradition, was independently developed by later Austrians and notably by Ludwig von Mises. In his monumental, polemic, and much neglected treatise,
Human Action,*24 Mises advances a theory of opportunity cost that is, indeed, almost equivalent to the full-blown LSE conception to be described later. Mises' explicit treatment of cost in
Human Action will also be discussed later. At this point it is noted only that the German treatise that provides the basis for the English-language work was not published until 1940. For the period in question, therefore, Mises' earlier writings must be examined. In this connection, specific reference must be made to his 1920 paper, in which he argued that economic calculation in a socialist society is impossible,
*25 and to his book which followed in 1922.
A modern reading of these early contributions by Mises suggests that some of the intuitive force of his argument stemmed from a more sophisticated conception of opportunity cost than he was able to make explicit at that time. Mises' attack on the possibility of socialist calculation is wholly consistent with the conception of opportunity cost that emerged more fully later, both at LSE and in his own writings. Although he did not center his early argument directly on the cost problem,
per se, the general tenor of Mises' discussion is clearly and quite closely related to later developments in cost theory, and his contribution to that theory surely deserves recognition alongside those of Wicksteed and Knight. Quite apart from the importance of Mises' own works is his influence on the work of Lionel Robbins and F. A. Hayek, the transplanted Austrian who became one of the central figures of the LSE tradition.
In addition to writing the 1934 paper previously cited, Robbins also participated in the great debate over the possibility of socialist calculation.
*27 An assessment of his contribution at this stage must be closely connected with the assessment made of Mises' work. Robbins' argument might well have been based on a more sophisticated notion of opportunity cost than that which is explicitly discussed, but one senses in a modern reading that, along with Mises and Hayek, he could have been much more effective if he had been able to make more articulate the distinction between objectively measurable cost and cost as an element of a decision process.
Hayek's specific contribution to the development of cost theory that is contained in his part of the debate on socialist calculation is a peculiarly mixed bag. In his "Introduction" to the famous collection of essays,
*28 Hayek foreshadows his later and more explicit methodological emphasis on the necessity of distinguishing between the subjective apparent sense data of the person who chooses in the economic process and the objective data that are available to any external observer. As we shall see, this methodological step is essential to any genuine understanding of cost. It appears, however, that Hayek had not in 1935 incorporated this methodology fully into his own basic theory. In his essay, "The Present State of the Debate," included in the collection, he suggests clearly that cost of production becomes difficult to calculate in a socialist setting primarily because of the absence of the conditions of competitive equilibrium where "cost of production had indeed a very precise meaning."
*29 This emphasis, which was also evident in Robbins' work, left the way open for Lerner's effective reply which argued simply for the adoption of a rule for setting prices at marginal opportunity costs, regardless of the state of the world.
My purpose here is not to evaluate the discussion of socialist calculation, but only to examine that discussion for the contributions it contains to the pure theory of opportunity cost. With the exception of Lerner (whose insight was much more profound, and who was himself a part of the developing LSE tradition), those who argued that socialist calculation is possible accepted an objective definition of cost without any serious critical examination of the issues that such definition might raise.
Hayek, Mises, and Subjectivist Economics
F. A. Hayek was appointed Tooke Professor of Economic Science and Statistics at the London School of Economics in 1931 and held this chair until 1950. Along with Robbins, he must be credited with providing the source of much of the LSE tradition in cost theory, a tradition that seems to have emerged gradually over these two decades. As suggested above, Hayek's contribution was primarily that of providing the underlying methodological basis for the more explicit works on cost by others. He presented the methodology of subjectivist economics with convincing authority; his essays remain recommended reading almost thirty years after their initial publication. And economic theory, generally, should certainly have avoided some major modern confusions if Hayek's essays had been more widely read and understood.
A distinction must be made between the orthodox neoclassical economics which incorporates the
subjective-value or marginal-utility revolution in value theory and the
subjectivist economics of the latter-day Austrians, notably Mises and Hayek. The dependence of price (value) on marginal utility, subjectively determined, can be fully recognized, while essentially an
objective theory of cost is retained. In Jevons' famous statement, marginal utility depends on supply which, in its turn, depends on cost of production. As stated, this theory is wholly objectivist in character, although, of course, the valuation of buyers and sellers is incorporated as a part of the objective data. Costs are objectively determinable, although the theory does not say that costs alone determine value. As contrasted with classical theory, one-way causality is missing, but not the objectivity of the explanation. It is this latter objectivity that is jettisoned, wholly and completely, by both Mises and Hayek. In this respect, they differ sharply with earlier Austrians, although they do not seem fully to sense the distinction. In many respects, they seem much closer to Wicksteed than to Wieser.
There seems no doubt that subjectivist economics was explicitly introduced at LSE by Hayek. In a paper of major importance, published in 1937,
*31 he laid down the central features of the subjectivist methodology, features that he elaborated in considerably more detail in later works.
*32 In his 1937 paper, Hayek gives credit to Mises for the latter's background work,
*33 published in German in 1933, but made available only much later (1960) to English-language scholars. Hayek's initial paper provides, in one sense, the "classical" methodology of the subjectivists, a methodology which is central to a theory of cost that is related directly to choice and that is to be contrasted with the theory of cost embodied in neoclassical orthodoxy.
The subtle distinction between the economics of subjective value and the subjectivist economics espoused by Hayek and Mises was quite naturally obscured so long as the task of economic theory was largely limited to the explanation of market interactions. The famous Jevons statement about supply serves as an illustration. So long as individual producers, responding to the demands of consumers, are the actors whose behavior we seek to explain, there is really no need of inquiring as to whether the costs of production are subjective or objective. Costs are obstacles to the choices of producers, and economists can discuss "laws of cost" in this context without presuming that objective measurement is possible.
With the advent of "welfare economics," regardless of how this might be defined, such previously admissible methodological fuzziness no longer passes muster. If idealized market interaction process—pure or perfect competition—is used as the standard for deriving conditions which are then to be employed as norms for interference with actual market process, the question of objective measurement must be squarely faced. If prices "should" be brought into equality with costs of production, as a policy norm, costs must be presumed
objective, in the sense that they can be measured by others than the direct decision-maker.
Only Hayek and Mises seemed to be completely aware of this problem and of its major importance, although many other economists seem to have been vaguely disturbed by it.
Subjectivist economics, for Hayek and Mises, amounts to an explicit denial of the
objectivity of the data that informs economic choice. The acting subject, the chooser, selects certain preferred alternatives according to his own criteria, and in the absence of external change he attains economic equilibrium. This personalized or Crusoe equilibrium is, however, wholly different from that which describes the interactions among many actors, many choosers. In the latter case, the actions of all others become necessary data for the choices of the single decision-maker. Equilibrium is described not in terms of objectively determined "conditions" or relationships among specific magnitudes, e.g., prices and costs, but in terms of the realization of mutually reinforcing and consistent expectations. The difference between these two approaches, the objectivist and the subjectivist, is profound, but it continues to be slurred over in the neoclassical concentration on the idealized market interaction process in which all individuals behave economically. In an unchanging economic environment populated by purely economic men, the two approaches become identical in a superficial sense. In a universe where all behavior is not purely economic, where genuine choice takes place, the important differences emerge with clarity.
At this juncture in the development of economic theory, we must, I think, ask why the convincing arguments of Hayek exerted so little weight. Without question, objectivist economics continues to carry the day, and few of its practitioners pause to examine critically its methodological foundations. There are, no doubt, several reasons for this failure, but undue attention paid to the definition of equilibrium, although of immense importance in itself, may have retarded acceptance of the more general subjectivist notions. Neutral readers of the impassioned debates on socialist calculation might have been led to think that the central issue was really one that involved the possibly erroneous derivation of policy criteria from stationary equilibrium settings. Indeed this is an issue, but the subjectivist critique is obscured here. As noted earlier, this concentration on equilibrium, of which Hayek, Robbins, and to a lesser extent Mises, all are guilty, left the way open for Lerner to drop all references to general equilibrium in his derivation of the policy rules that explicitly require the introduction of objectively measurable costs.
The Practical Relevance of Opportunity Cost: Coase, 1938
Alongside the more abstract and methodological contributions to cost theory made by Robbins, Hayek, and Mises, other elements of perhaps a more authentic LSE tradition emerged in the 1930's. These reflect the direct application of some of the basic Wicksteed notions to problems that confront the businessman. This "common sense" approach had its roots at LSE in the work of Cannan who continually insisted on starting with problems as they exist. Cannan does not seem to have made specific contributions to cost theory, although he accepted opportunity-cost notions readily.
This practical-business approach was further promoted by Arnold Plant who seems to have contributed significantly, but indirectly, to the development of the London tradition. Plant did not, to my knowledge, treat cost theory explicitly in any of his published works, but the contributions made by his students and colleagues reflect his influence. Both R. H. Coase and G. F. Thirlby, whose contributions are summarized below, were Plant's students.
The contrast between the accountant's definition-measure of cost and that of the neoclassical economist is standard fare. But this contrast—when the full meaning of opportunity cost is incorporated—takes on features that are even now outside the orthodox economist's kit of tools. This can be seen clearly in a series of articles by R. H. Coase, published in 1938, which were written specifically for the enlightenment of accounting practitioners.
*35 These papers remain known to relatively few modern economists despite their exceptionally clear discussion of definitional problems involved in using the term "cost" and their necessary and emphatic insistence that cost be related to the choice process.
"The first point that needs to be made and strongly emphasized is that attention must be concentrated on the variations which will result if a particular decision is taken, and the variations that are relevant to business decisions are those in costs and/or receipts" (p. 106). "It should be noted that accounting records merely disclose figures relating to past operations. Business decisions depend on estimates of the future" (p. 108). "[C]osts and receipts cannot be expressed unambiguously in money terms since courses of action may have advantages and disadvantages which are not monetary in character, because of the existence of uncertainty and because of differences in the point of time at which payments are made and receipts obtained" (p. 116). "The cost of doing anything consists of the receipts which could have been obtained if that particular decision had not been taken. When someone says that a particular course of action is 'not worth the cost,' this merely means that he prefers some other course—the receipts of the individual, whether monetary or nonmonetary does not matter, will be greater if he does not do it. This particular concept of costs would seem to be the only one which is of use in the solution of business problems, since it concentrates attention on the alternative courses of action which are open to the businessman. Costs will only be covered if he chooses, out of the various courses of action which seem open to him, that one which maximizes his profits.
To cover costs and to maximize profits are essentially two ways of expressing the same phenomenon" (p. 123) (italics supplied).
A careful, modern reading of these early papers by Coase indicates that the concept of cost embodied in them is conceptually distinct from the neoclassical paradigm. Coase quite explicitly ties cost to choice, and he rejects any attempt to classify costs into categories—e.g., fixed and variable—independently of the identification of the decision under consideration. Perhaps the most significant contribution, for our purposes, is contained in the italicized statement cited above. Any profit opportunity that is within the realm of possibility but which is rejected becomes a cost of undertaking the preferred course of action. Despite the necessity of accepting this straightforward result of apparently consistent opportunity-cost reasoning, economists were—and are—extremely reluctant to take this step. To include all foregone profits as costs plays havoc with the whole cost-curve apparatus that is a part of our stock-in-trade. And without this how could we teach elementary price theory?
In the strict neoclassical model, costs are distinguished sharply from foregone profits because they are not tied
directly to choice. Costs are objectively measurable outlays, approximated by the value of alternate product. It is useful to keep the classical foundations of the analysis in mind here. Costs, to the extent that they are objective and, hence, externally measurable by an outsider who stands apart from the choice process, provide the basis for a predictive hypothesis about the behavior of acting individuals (firms) and, through this, a hypothesis about prices. The neoclassical objectivist world and the London-Austrian subjectivist world cannot readily be reconciled.
Confusion was confounded by the Robinson-Chamberlin and related contributions in the early 1930's just when the more basic notions in cost theory seemed on the way to being clarified. These contributions elevated the theory of the firm to a position of undue importance in a model that apparently embodied the objectivist rather than the subjectivist notions of cost. If the purpose of analysis is to "explain" the behavior of the firm, choice must be the subject of attention, and costs cannot be objectified. The whole marginal-revenue-marginal-cost apparatus, strictly speaking, remains a part of a central
logic of choice and nothing more because, to the effective decision-taker, both costs and benefits are evaluated in purely subjective terms. It is little wonder that modern developments in the theory of the firm have been concerned with relaxing the artificial and apparent objectivity of cost and revenue streams by substituting more plausible, even if largely nonoperational, utility indicators.
Coase's early work on the theory of the firm was within a choice-explanatory context and without the constraints of the more widely acclaimed contributions of the imperfect and monopolistic competition models. In this context, Coase was fully correct in his argument that foregone profits must be included in opportunity cost and in his insistence that cost be considered as that which can be avoided by not taking a particular decision.
Despite his major contribution toward clarifying the concept of opportunity cost in the context of the theory of the firm, Coase did not in his 1938 papers fully incorporate the "subjectivist economics" of Hayek and Mises into his analysis, nor did he draw the distinction between his concept and that embodied in neoclassical orthodoxy.
G. F. Thirlby and "The Ruler"
Academically, both Vienna and Capetown were close neighbors to London in the 1930's, and, as a consequence of the influence of transplanted LSE economists, the next major contribution to the theory of cost emerged in Capetown. Primarily under the influence of Arnold Plant and W. H. Hutt, an oral tradition developed at Capetown which expanded the London approach. The published results appeared in 1946 in two papers by G. F. Thirlby. In these papers, Thirlby, who had been trained at LSE and who returned to London a few years later, carried forward the process of clarification. He continued until 1960 his attempts to convert other economists to what he considered to be a more acceptable and consistent view of opportunity cost, but his argument seems to have been largely neglected.
In his first 1946 paper, Thirlby, like Coase, related the economist's notions on cost to those of the accountant.
*37 Thirlby had fully incorporated the subjectivist economics of Wicksteed and the latter-day Austrians in his analysis, and his emphasis was on the subjectivity of costs. Citation at some length from this early paper seems warranted here:
To the subjectivist, cost would be understood to refer to the prospective opportunity displaced by the administrative decision to take one course of action rather than another. Cost is inevitably related to the behavior of a person. The person is faced with the possibility of taking one or other of (at least) two courses of action, but not both. He considers the relative significance to him of the two courses of action, and finds that one course is of higher significance than the other. He 'prefers' one course to the other. His prospective opportunity of taking the less-preferred course becomes the prospective cost of his taking the more preferred course. By deciding to take the preferred course, he incurs cost—he displaces the alternative opportunity. The cost is not the things—
e.g., money—which will flow along certain channels as a result of the decision; it is the loss, prospective or realized, to the person making the decision, of the opportunity of using those things in the alternative courses of action.
A fortiori, this cost
cannot be discovered by another person who eventually watches and records the flow of those things along those channels. Cost is not something which is objectively discoverable in this manner; it is something which existed in the mind of the decision-maker before the flow began, and something which may quite likely have been but vaguely apprehended….
Cost is ephemeral. The cost involved in a particular decision loses its significance with the making of a decision because the decision displaces the alternative course of action (italics in original).
Thirlby's emphasis on the ephemeral nature of cost distinguishes his paper from earlier contributions in the LSE tradition. And in this early paper, Thirlby himself wavers in his adherence to this conception which his later writings were to stress. Note that he says "prospective or realized" at one point: he fails to see that the very notion of realized cost produces a contradiction, as he was later to demonstrate. Similarly, his reference to cost being "vaguely apprehended" implies that something different from that which is apprehended emerges at a later point in the decision-action sequence that might be called cost.
The extension of Thirlby's rigorous opportunity-cost reasoning to the question of the relevance and practicability of the so-called "rules" for pricing was straightforward, and this was the content of his second paper, "The Ruler."
*39 Thirlby made it clear that he was relatively uninterested in the much debated "which rule" question, one that obscures the analysis of the "any rule" problem. As in his other paper, stress was placed on the fact that cost was not "an objective something in the sense that it can be scrutinized." The standard definitions and measurements were held to omit valuations of the "lost opportunities," and Thirlby argued that unless these were taken into account, no rule could ever be applied to ensure the satisfactory meeting of people's preferences.
He rejected the orthodox distinction between "long run" and "short run," and he was explicit in saying that "cost occurs only when decisions are made, that is, in planning stages" (p. 259). He clarified the distinction between what we might call the decision, budget, and accounting levels of calculation. Cost is relevant to decision, and it must reflect the value of foregone alternatives. A budget, however, reflects the prospective or anticipated revenue and outlay sides of a decision that
has been made. It is erroneous to consider such prospective outlays as appear in a budget as costs. The budget must, however, also be distinguished from the account, which measures realized revenues and outlays that result from a particular course of action. This clarification is a simple one in itself, but it is highly useful for our purposes. It shows that the forward-looking or
ex ante framework is not, in itself, sufficient to ensure the adoption of the appropriate cost concept. The budget is, by definition, a planning document, an
ex ante projection of events; it does not, however, balance anticipated revenues against anticipated
cost in the relevant opportunity-cost sense. The "cost" side of a budget measures anticipated
outlays which are to be made as a result of a particular course of action's having
already been chosen. It cannot reflect the value of alternative courses of action which might have been selected save in the exceptional case where no alternative revenues in excess of anticipated outlay could be secured.
There is, or should be, no difficulty in convincing critics that cost must be subjective at the moment of choice. But one can fully accept the subjectivist point of view in this respect and still think that, after decision, cost
becomes objective and, hence, measurable. In his earlier paper, Thirlby might not have fully sensed the instantaneous vanishing of cost upon decision. In "The Ruler," however, this point is emphasized. "[T]he cost figure will never become objective; i.e., it will never be possible to check whether the forecast of the alternative revenue was correct, because the alternative undertaking will never come into existence to produce the actual alternative revenue" (p. 264).
Following these two 1946 papers, Thirlby continued to present his ideas on cost, for the most part in the context of a theory for business organization and decision. Although most of the central ideas were developed in the two early papers, some shifts of emphasis are worth noting. In a 1952 paper, Thirlby argued plausibly for a more widespread recognition of a time dimension in economic analysis, particularly with respect to the decision process. "[A] period of time elapses between the making of the decision and the achievement of the results…. A mental deliberation or planning operation, followed by a decision, precedes the business operations which are so planned." Recognition of this would "keep in front of our minds the high degree of subjectivity in the maximization process…. It would prevent our attributing a false objectivity to the cost and revenue figures."
In his latest paper, published in 1960, Thirlby suggests that subtle shifts in the definition of cost lead to confusion about social cost. "The subtle change in the meaning of cost, from the valuation of his
own [the entrepreneur's] displaced end-product to the money input required for the selected course of action, is a change leading to still another conception, which carries with it the suspicion that it is to be regarded as a social cost. It resembles the first meaning of cost, in that it is supposed to be an alternative value displaced, but differs from it in that it is not the entrepreneur's
own valuation of his
own displaced end-product, but other people's (consumers') valuations of products which might have been produced by other entrepreneurs had they not been displaced."
*41 This statement accurately summarizes the distinction between the London conception of opportunity cost and the orthodox conception that is currently held by most economists.
Mises'
Human Action
As I noted earlier, Ludwig von Mises was one of the chief sources for the subjectivist economics expounded at LSE by Hayek, and his work was an influence as well on both Robbins and Thirlby. Mises' earlier work on the possibility of socialist calculation has been mentioned; some reference must now be made to his treatise,
Human Action,*42 published in English in 1949, but based on a work in German published in 1940. In this book, Mises does discuss cost explicitly, even if briefly, and his basic conception is similar to that London conception that is best represented in Thirlby's work. Generically, "costs are equal to the value attached to the satisfaction which one must forego in order to attain the end aimed at" (p. 97). "At the bottom of many efforts to determine nonmarket prices is the confused and contradictory notion of real costs. If costs were a real thing, i.e., a quantity independent of personal value judgments and objectively discernible and measureable, it would be possible for a disinterested arbiter to determine their height…. Costs are a phenomenon of valuation. Costs are the value attached to the most valuable want-satisfaction which remains unsatisfied" (p. 393).
Mises' ideas on cost have been further developed by two of his American followers. In his two-volume treatise,
Man, Economy, and the State, Murray Rothbard adopts a subjectivist conception of cost that is closely akin to that advanced by G. F. Thirlby.
*43 And perhaps the single most satisfactory incorporation of a choice-related notion of cost into a general price-theory context is found in Kirzner's
Market Theory and the Price System.*44
The Death of a Tradition?
At the London School of Economics, the ideas on cost developed by Robbins, Hayek, Coase, Thirlby, and others formed a part of a developing oral tradition which included many participants. Modern adherents to this tradition seem scarce, however, and only Jack Wiseman fully qualifies. In two basic papers published in the 1950's, Wiseman tried as others had earlier tried to apply LSE opportunity-cost logic to the long-discussed problems of marginal-cost pricing, applying this logic both as general criteria for organizing a collectivist economy and as the specific criterion for public-utility enterprise.
Wiseman shifted from LSE to York in 1963 and Thirlby retired from active academic life in 1962. There remain, no doubt, residues of the opportunity-cost tradition at LSE, but this does not inform the mainstream in either the teaching of economic theory or in the scholarly contributions of staff members. In the United States, the influence of Mises and his latter-day Austrian followers seems peripheral to the modern mainstream of economic theory. The concept of opportunity cost which emerged from both the subjectivist-Austrian and the common-sense approaches—the concept that blossomed for two decades at LSE—seems to have lost in its struggle for a place among the paradigms of modern economics. Along with other conundrums in intellectual history, this is not easy to explain. The arguments have not been refuted, and within their limits they surely remain valid. Hopefully, this book will generate a partial resurrection by delineating the methodological foundations of the two parallel theories of economic process.
Appendix to Chapter 2: Shackle on Decision
A survey of London contributions would be incomplete without reference to the work of G. L. S. Shackle. The problem of integrating intellectual constructions within one's own thought is well illustrated in his case. Shackle was a student at LSE in the years when the opportunity-cost conception was being developed. In several of his papers, Thirlby expresses indebtedness to Shackle; and it is immediately evident that Shackle's treatment of the decision process is wholly consistent with the London doctrine of opportunity cost. Yet—and surprisingly—Shackle does not, to my knowledge, make the obvious linkage between his provocative and important work on decision, uncertainty, and time and the work on opportunity cost carried forward by his LSE counterparts. In his general treatment of cost itself, Shackle reverts to orthodoxy.
His contributions to the theory of decision can, nonetheless, be helpful in clarifying the theory of cost, and some selected excerpts from one of his books
*47 seem worth presenting:
When a number of actions, distinguished from each other by the sets of outcomes respectively assigned to them, are
available and choice amongst them is open to the decision-maker, the sets of outcomes, each considered as a whole, are mutually exclusive rivals of each other. Within each set, the members also are mutually exclusive rival hypotheses. Thus these outcomes cannot be matters of fact but are things imagined by the decision-maker. They exist in his imagination, not after but
before his commitment to a particular act; their existence is within the moment of decision and forms part of that act [pp. ix, x].
Decision means literally a cut … a cut between past and future [p. 3]…. We assume that choice amongst a set of rival available acts will be made in view of consequences associated in some manner and degree by the decision-maker with the acts. We also assume that the only consequences relevant for this choice are experiences of the decision-maker…. For three separate reasons … they cannot be experiences coming from outside the decision-maker's mind from sources of stimulus observable in principle by others; they cannot, that is to say, be what we ordinarily speak of as 'real' experiences requiring the intervention of sense perceptions of the external world; they cannot be 'news' [p. 8].
… Outcomes are figments and imaginations [p. 9]. For it is the contention that the outcomes, by comparison of which decision is made, are figments of the individual mind (no matter whether in some later actuality they shall be observed to have come true: nothing could be more irrelevant) [p. 10].
These and many other statements by Shackle could be inserted almost without change in the cost discussions of Coase and Thirlby. Shackle's failure to make the shift of these relevant ideas to his own—though much more elementary—discussion of cost indicates that the classically based predictive theory can exist alongside the logical theory of choice in the thought patterns of a single economist, even though the two theories are incompatible with each other.
Philip H. Wicksteed,
The Common Sense of Political Economy (London: Macmillan, 1910), p. 380.
"These reflections will explain the great ambiguity of the term 'cost price.' … [M]embers of the same trade … will use the word in different senses. One will declare that he is 'making no profits at all,' but is 'selling at a loss,' and another will say that 'things are bad enough with him, but not quite so bad as that,' when they both mean to indicate exactly the same state of affairs. Men will declare in good faith that they are 'selling below cost price,' and yet will never think of suspending operations." Ibid., pp. 380-81.
Ibid., p. 385.
Herbert J. Davenport,
Value and Distribution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1908), p. 273.
See esp. ibid., p. 404.
For a summary of the history of cost theory in which Davenport's ideas are prominently featured, see Bob M. Keeney, "The Evolution of Cost Doctrine" (Mimeographed, Midwestern Economics Association, November 1967).
Frank H. Knight, "Fallacies in the Interpretation of Social Cost,"
Quarterly Journal of Economics, XXXVIII (August 1924), 592f., reprinted in F. H. Knight,
The Ethics of Competition (London: Allen and Unwin, 1935), p. 225.
L. Robbins, "Certain Aspects of the Theory of Cost,"
Economic Journal, XLIV (March 1934), 1-18. Robbins' interest in the issues here was indicated in his earlier paper, "On a Certain Ambiguity in the Conception of Stationary Equilibrium,"
Economic Journal, XL (June 1930), esp. 209-11.
Ludwig von Mises,
Human Action (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1949).
"Die Wirtschaftsrechnung im sozialistischen Gemeinwesen,"
Archiv für Sozialwissenschaften, XLVII (1920), reprinted as "Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth," in F. A. Hayek (ed.),
Collectivist Economic Planning (London: Routledge, 1935).
Die Gemeinwirtschaft (Jena, Germany: Gustav Fischer, 1922). The second German edition appeared in 1932. Mises added an epilogue to this edition at the time of its translation as
Socialism (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1951).
Lionel Robbins,
The Great Depression (New York: Macmillan, 1934), esp. pp. 143-54.
F. A. Hayek (ed.),
Collectivist Economic Planning, op. cit.
A. P. Lerner, "Statistics and Dynamics in Socialist Economics,"
Economic Journal, XLVII (June 1937), 253-70.
F. A. Hayek, "Economics and Knowledge,"
Economica, IV (1937), 33-54, reprinted in Hayek,
Individualism and Economic Order (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948), pp. 33-56.
Additional essays that appeared in 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1943 are included in the two volumes,
Individualism and Economic Order, op. cit., and
The Counter-Revolution of Science (Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press, 1952).
Grundprobleme der Nationalökonomie (Jena, Germany: Gustav Fischer, 1933), translated by George Reisman as
Epistemological Problems of Economics (New York: Van Nostrand, 1960).
See esp. his review of Henderson's
Supply and Demand, reprinted in Edwin Cannan,
An Economist's Protest (London: P. S. King, 1927), pp. 311-14.
R. H. Coase, "Business Organization and the Accountant,"
The Accountant (October-December 1938). These articles are reprinted in David Solomons (ed.),
Studies in Costing (London: Sweet and Maxwell, 1952), pp. 105-58.Along with Coase, other members of Plant's group of young business economists were R. S. Edwards, R. F. Fowler, and David Solomons. This group was interested in making economic theory of greater practical relevance for business operations and especially for accounting practice.
In his later, and more widely known, paper on marginal-cost pricing, Coase's argument for the multi-part tariff was informed throughout by the conception of opportunity cost developed in his earlier papers. His emphasis, as it has been interpreted by later writers, was, however, on the familiar conflict between marginal-cost and profitability criteria. His opportunity-cost defense of multi-part pricing has been largely overlooked. See R. H. Coase, "The Marginal Cost Controversy,"
Economica, XIII (August 1946), 169-82. In a comment on Coase's paper, G. F. Thirlby criticized the implied objectivity of cost. See G. F. Thirlby, "The Marginal Cost Controversy: A Note on Mr. Coase's Model,"
Economica, XIV (February 1947), 48-53.
G. F. Thirlby, "The Subjective Theory of Value and Accounting Cost,"
Economica, XIII (February 1946), 32-49.
Ibid., 33-34.
G. F. Thirlby, "The Ruler,"
South African Journal of Economics, XIV (December 1946), 253-76.
G. F. Thirlby, "The Economist's Description of Business Behavior,"
Economica, XIX (May 1952), 150.
G. F. Thirlby, "Economists' Cost Rules and Equilibrium Theory,"
Economica, XXVII (May 1960), 150.
Mises, op. cit.
See Murray Rothbard,
Man, Economy, and the State (New York: Van Nostrand, 1962), esp. Vol. I, pp. 290-308.
See I. M. Kirzner,
Market Theory and the Price System (New York: Van Nostrand, 1963), esp. Chapter 9.
Jack Wiseman, "Uncertainty, Costs and Collectivist Economic Planning,"
Economica, XX (May 1953), 118-28; and his "The Theory of Public Utility Price—An Empty Box,"
Oxford Economic Papers, IX (February 1957), 56-74.
The manuscript for this book was completed before I had access to the article on "Cost" by A. A. Alchian in
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, III (New York: Macmillan, 1969), pp. 404-15.
G. L. S. Shackle,
Decision, Order and Time in Human Affairs (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961), pp. ix, x.
Categories: James M. Buchanan
RELATED CONTENT By Donald J. Boudreaux
Information and Prices
Modern economists excel at identifying theoretical reasons why markets might fail. While these theories may temper uncritical views of the market, it is important to note that markets do, in fact, work incredibly well. Indeed, markets work so thoroughly and quietly that their success too often goes unnoticed. Consider that the number of different ways to arrange, even in a single dimension, a mere twenty items is far greater than the number of seconds in ten billion years. Now con...
COLLECTION: JAMES M. BUCHANAN
The article you're reading is part of Econlib's James M. Buchanan collection. Explore other James M. Buchanan articles:
The Reason of Rules: Constitutional Political Economy
Geoffrey Brennan and James M. Buchanan
The Power to Tax: Analytical Foundations of a Fiscal Constitution
Democracy in Deficit: The Political Legacy of Lord Keynes
James M. Buchanan and Richard E. Wagner
The Limits of Liberty: Between Anarchy and Leviathan


A portion of the 2,551 acres of marshalnd around the Nassau River that the North Florida Land Trust is buying is being turned over to the National Park Service for the Timicuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.
Three-fourths of Floridians voted for Amendment 1 last year. The constitutional mandate requires the state to spend a third of document-stamp tax money on conservation. But lawmakers earmarked some of the revenue for salaries, water treatment projects and management, which have separate funding sources already outlined.
Some lawmakers have argued the real percentage of people who support Amendment 1 is much lower because voter turnout was low when it was approved.
The Northeast Florida Land Trust's Jim McCarthy says that doesn't make sense.
"If you take that argument to its logical extension, then none of our representatives or state senators or the governor should be in office because such a small percentage of the total population actually voted for them," McCarthy says.
He says this year alone, the trust has used state funds and donations to buy, restore and manage thousands of acres of habitat.
"We're about to close, as a matter of fact, on 2,551 acres of marshland in the Nassau River," McCarthy says.
But he says that success was won despite receiving limited cash from Amendment 1. In fact, he says, lack of funds has caused more than a few land deals to fall through.
"We've lost six projects that we had on our radar that we were working with six owners of significant land in and around the Timicuan in particular that were willing to sell to us if we had the money," McCarthy says.
A Leon County Judge is now mulling a lawsuit by a coalition of environmental groups who share McCarthy's position on Amendment 1.
**Correction: A previous version of this story included an acreage number of 22,551. The real number is 2,551. Jim McCarthy misspoke during our interview.
Supporters of Amendment 1 filed a lawsuit Monday claiming state lawmakers in a newly approved budget misappropriated more than $300 million of the money voters wanted for environmental land management and acquisition.
Also, supporters of the ballot initiative want a court to declare exactly what lawmakers can and can't do with the Amendment 1 money.
Florida voters overwhelmingly said yes to a dedicated funding source for land conservation and no to giving governors more power over the judiciary. Another high-profile amendment fell just shy of what it needed to bring medical marijuana to Florida.
Nearly half the states have legalized marijuana either for recreational or for medicinal purposes, but Florida isn't one of them.
The results of election 2014 and Jacksonville's pension are making headlines this week.
This week, Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. (JCCI) will release the results of its "ReThink Aging" study into finding ways to maximize the quality of life for senior citizens on the First Coast. We discuss making this area an age-friendly region with Jeff Johnson, state director for AARP Florida. Johnson will be the keynote speaker at JCCI's annual meeting this week.


BDPS590BX59 (1) Bluray Disc DVD Player Operating Instructions Getting Started Sony recommends that all viewers take regular breaks while watching 3D video images. The length and the instruction manual andor the caution message of any other device used with, or Bluray Disc contents played with this View a manual of the Sony BDPS590 below. All manuals on ManualsCat.
com can be viewed completely free of charge. By using the 'Select a language' button, you can choose the language of the manual you want to view. Sony BDPS590 Bluray Player Owners Instruction Manual Reprint on Amazon. com.
FREE shipping on qualifying offers. REPRINT of the manual listed in title. This is NOT an original as originals are out of print TV and television manuals and free pdf instructions. Find the user manual you need for your TV and more at ManualsOnline. Here you can view online and download Sony BDPS490 BDPS590 Service Manual in PDF.
BDPS490 BDPS590 service manual will guide through the process and help you recover, restore, fix, disassemble and repair Sony BDPS490 BDPS590 DVD. Sony dealer regarding this product. Model No. BDPS560 Serial No. For customers in the USA If this product is not working properly, please call.
For Customers in Canada If this product is not working properly, please call for Peace of Mind Sony BDPS590 Pdf User Manuals. View online or download Sony BDPS590 Operating Instructions Manual, Specifications Free PDF downloads for Sony BDPS590 manuals at BlueRayManuals. com Sony Blu Ray Players BDPBX59, BDPS590 Operating Instruction: Disc, USB device, Sony Entertainment Network, Network connection online reading and free download.
Sony Blu Ray Players BDPBX59, BDPS590 Operating Instruction: Troubleshooting online reading and free download. View and Download Sony BDPS590 operating instructions manual online.
BDPS590 Bluray Player pdf manual download. Also for: Bdpbx59. Phone and Tablet Apps The best of what Sony has to offer on iOS or Android. Download our apps.


text:
Unified Korean ice hockey team bids emotional farewell
Players of the Korean women's ice hockey team acknowledge fans ahead of Sweden v Korea in Kwandong Hockey Centre, Gangneung, South Korea, February 12, 2018. Source: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
NORTH and South Korean women's ice hockey players have bid an emotional farewell after competing as a unified team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
On the ice, the unified Korean team accomplished very little in the way of results, losing all five games they played and scoring just twice. Off the ice, they were hailed as a symbol of the bonding power of sport while one International Olympic Committee (IOC) member suggested the team should be put forward for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Tears flowed when it came time to say goodbye at Gangneung Olympic Village on Monday, reported South Korea's news agency Yonhap.
SEE ALSO: Rival skaters from Japan and South Korea embrace spirit of 'Peace Olympics'
"It just shows what we did was really special," said Sarah Murray, the unified team's Canadian coach. "We can feel this way about the players and we've only been together for three weeks. It says something about our team. It's really special."
Fans from North Korea cheer on the unified ice hockey team. Source: Reuters/Brian Snyder
South Korea's Randi Heesoo Griffin described her historic goal, the first by the unified Korean team, as "pretty crappy" that was more luck than design.
Nonetheless, it was celebrated on both sides of the demilitarised zone, from Seoul to Pyongyang, as a symbol of what two countries, still technically at war, can accomplish by working together.
The puck that dribbled between Japan goaltender Akane Konishi's pads was collected and will now find a home in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Choi Ji-yeon of South Korea prepared handwritten letters for her North Korean teammates, printing out mobile phone photos she had taken with them as souvenirs. "I told them I would miss them so much because we became very close over the past couple of weeks. I hope to see them again, but I know it's going to be difficult," she said as quoted by Yonhap.
A supporter gets a blue silhouette of the Korean peninsula, which is used in the unification flag, painted on the face before a friendly match between the inter-Korean women's ice hockey team and Sweden in Incheon, South Korea, February 4, 2018. Source: Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji
In a last-minute attempt to re-engage with the North and clear the way for talks over Pyongyang's weapons program, the South suggested just a week before the Pyeongchang Olympics were to open that they form a combined side.
SEE ALSO: Winter Olympics: South Korea to pick up tab for North Korean delegation's stay
The team generated tremendous interest and were one of the Olympics' major storylines but as the Games closed on Sunday it was unclear if it was something the world would see again at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
"We are thinking about this, whether we should continue. I say, 'Why not?'" said Rene Fasel, the head of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
"I think that would be good to do it in 2022, to go to the Beijing Olympics, to keep the North and South Korean team. It is a message of peace and we hope to continue that. We will try."
Additional reporting from Reuters.
{"total":39,"error":"","stumbleupon":0,"facebook_total":32,"pinterest":0,"buffer":1,"twitter":6,"vk":0,"facebook_likes":"32","facebook_comments":"0"}
Topics covered: diplomacy Ice Hockey North Korea Pyeongchang PyeongChang 2018 South Korea The Koreas Winter olympics


text:
Trump Is Totally Confused About 'Why The U.S. Had a Civil War'
President Donald Trump gave a series of revealing interviews this weekend as he marked the 100th day of his presidency, making some bizarre comments about the Civil War and his non-existent relationship with former President Obama.
During an interview with the Washington Examiner's Salena Zito, Trump questioned why the country had a Civil War and suggested former President Andrew Jackson, who was president from 1829 to 1837 and died in 1845, could have prevented the Civil War, which broke out in 1861.
"I mean had Andrew Jackson been a little bit later you wouldn't have had the Civil War. He was a very tough person, but he had a big heart," Trump said during an interview
"He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War, he said, 'There's no reason for this.'"
Jackson, the nation's seventh president, died in 1845. The Civil War began in 1861.
"Had Andrew Jackson been a little bit later, you wouldn't have had the Civil War" @realDonaldTrump told @SalenaZito. Full intv at 2pE, Ch124 pic.twitter.com/d7PuRRm7Md
— SiriusXMPolitics (@SXMPolitics) May 1, 2017
Trump also touted what he said was a "beautiful" letter that Obama left for him in the Oval Office.
"Look, you can figure it out yourself. He was very nice to me with words, but — and when I was with him — but after that, there has been no relationship," Trump said.
Asked if he stands by his unsubstantiated claim that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower in New York City, Trump said, "I don't stand by anything. I think you can take it any way you want.
Our side has been proved very strongly, and everybody is talking about it. And frankly, it should be discussed. I think that's a very big surveillance of our citizens. Think it's a very big topic and it should be No. 1 and we should find out what the hell is going on."
Related Topicsdonald trump
Trump Questions The Happening Of The Civil War. Get's Perfect Response From Dem Lawmaker
Get Ready. Trump's Tax Returns Might Be Coming Soon Thanks To This New Bill


text:
[back to Mountain Index]
Mt Everest Facts
Mt Everest is the world's tallest mountain at 8848 metres (see also top 10 list, 7 natural wonders)
The first people to officially climb the mountain were Sir Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, in 1953
In 2006, Geri Winkler, from Vienna Austria, became the first diabetic to climb Everest. He started his journey from 400 metres below sea-level at the Dead Sea.
The youngest person the climb the mountain is Ming Kipa Sherpa who scaled the peak at 15 years and 9 months.
Junko Tabei from Japan became the first woman to reach the top of Everest, achieving this feat in 1975.
The first double amputee to climb Everest was Mark Inglis from New Zealand, in 2006
The mountain is 60 million years old
Water boils at 70 degree at the top
first 10 climbers to ascend Mt Everest


Reliable quality and good credit standing are our principles, which will help us at a top-ranking position. Adhering to the tenet of "quality first, customer supreme" for Online Exporter Ginseng extract Wholesale to Hyderabad, We sincerely welcome friends from all over the world to cooperate with us on the basis of long-term mutual benefits.
Chances are you know someone dealing with a chronic illness, such as an autoimmune disease like arthritis, MS, lupus, cancer or maybe fibromyalgia.
Current statistics say that over 50 million Americans are suffering from an autoimmune disease, 5 million of those have fibromyalgia.
…see the blog for more details.
YOU HAVE POWER over your own health. You don't have to wait for anyone to tell you what to do – there are a lot of steps you can take to better your life and the lives of those you love.


People who were paralyzed see results with new technology | Silvi, Fedele & Honschke Attorneys at Law, L.L.C.
The Walk Again Project released a small study on Aug 11 that found that people with spinal cord injuries could use brain activity to stimulate control of their legs. The technology used was intended to help people move, but it appears that the brain-machine interface assists with neurological recovery.
Brain-machine interfaces use brain activity to make things happen in virtual reality or with a robotic exoskeleton, and the interface sends signals back that correspond to the activity or behavior. For example, a person could control a device or avatar to make it walk and would then receive the sensation of walking. Eight people who were completely paralyzed because of spinal cord injuries for at least three years were asked to train on the brain-machine interfaces for at least two hours a week for a year.
Researchers evaluated the patients on the study's first day and at different points as the study progressed. After months passed, the patients could move and feel sensations when not using the interface. Four of the patients now have partial paralysis instead of complete paralysis, and all the patients made improvements that allowed them to move at least a bit.
Around 282,000 people with spinal cord injuries live in the U.S., and motor vehicle accidents are one of the main causes. When such an injury is caused by the negligence of another motorist, an attorney could be of assistance in filing a lawsuit seeking compensation from the at-fault driver.