ALBERT

Notizen: This article discusses the problem of compiling a balanced set of national accounts at constant prices. The method adopted is based on earlier work on this subject by Burge and Geary. Commodity flows, which are uniquely deflatable, are expressed at constant prices and savings in constant prices is obtained by preserving a balanced set of equations in real terms. The deflation of the external account is discussed.A method is suggested for expressing the national income account in real terms and an “income gain” is deduced for each industrial sector which represents the difference between real income and real product in that sector. The sum of the income gains for the domestic sectors is zero.The constituents of the income/expenditure accounts of households, corporations and general government are expressed at constant prices by selecting suitable deflators in a consistent manner. The accounts in real terms are now unbalanced and are balanced again by inserting a balancing item which is shown to represent a gain to the sector arising from changes in the terms of trade between the sectors. This item is called an “expenditure gain”. The sum of the expenditure gains for the institutional sectors is zero.The system suggested can be extended to cover additional items in the accounts and thus a complete set of national accounts in real terms can be derived.

Notizen: The interrelation between changes in the economic structure, i.e., industrial distribution of income and labor force, and the size distribution of income is studied in this paper in a case study of India (1951–1960).The change in the size distribution of income is the sum of changes due to (1) inter-sectoral factors and (2) intra-sectoral factors. The need for this distinction is emphasized by the result obtained for India, that 85% of the changes in the size distribution may be assigned to inter-sectoral factors, and only 15% to intra-sectoral factors. Since the inter-sectoral factors are significantly influenced by changes in the industrial distribution of income and labor force, our result points out a relation between economic growth and the size distribution which quite often is overlooked in studies of the size distribution.The results obtained in this paper support several cross-section results of Professor Kuznets. In particular some of these are: (a) inter-sectoral inequality in the economic structure widened with economic growth, (b) the inequality in the size distribution of India widened, (c) the level of inequality in India is higher than in any of the eight developed countries considered.

Notizen: The technique of national income accounting is a part of what Hicks has termed “The Fixprice Method”. Deflation is an attempt to approximate a real economy to a fixprice economy. It is shown that if the propositions of macro-dynamics are to hold, this deflation cannot be done in accordance with the price structure prevailing at any particular historical time, but must use that given by the capital theory of value, viz., when returns to labour are equal to zero. For a labour-abundant developing economy this will correspond to prices based on opportunity cost principles.As an illustration, sectoral incomes on this basis have been calculated for the industrial sector of the Indian economy for the years 1951 to 1965.

Notizen: This report summarizes the proceedings of a series of meetings called by the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth of the National Bureau of Economic Research in June of 1966. The major conclusions of the conference, as transmitted to the Statistical Office of the United Nations, were as follows: (1) The aim of integrating the various parts of the system of national accounts, including input-output and financial transactions, is to be welcomed. (2) The more recently developed parts of the system need considerably more work to reach the same level of clarity and usefulness which the national income and product accounts have acquired. (3) Some simplification of the proposed basic system should be considered, involving the identification of a minimum of information that should and could be provided by all countries. (4) In line with the conference's overriding interest in national accounts as an instrument for economic analysis and a means of more informed policy formation, the proposed system needs considerable strengthening in the field of income distribution.

Notizen: Economists' use of the term “equality” in reference to a distribution of incomes has historically been in the sense of a consensus for some statistical characteristic(s) of the distribution rather than a firm concept of equality. Of course such a concept rests on appropriate welfare assumptions about income and its distribution, assumptions which, for the most part, have been left implicit (and unknown) in discussions of income equality in the literature.Our purpose in this paper is dual: first, we wish to discover an unambiguous, welfare-related equality measure. This we accomplish through suitable assumptions on a social welfare function. What is produced is an “index” of equality which describes the performance of a given distribution relative to the maximum welfare derivable from the total income it represents. The measure thus depends functionally on the welfare attributes of income, something which in reality we know little about.This impasse leads us to inquire into the sensitivity of the index over specifications of the welfare function, which is done by comparing equality ranks for the states of the United States for 1960 under various functional forms and among curves within a given form. As an interesting secondary issue, the performance of traditional equality measures is tested relative to the welfare-oriented index to discover implications about their welfare content.It is found that the equality index is, in certain ranges for the welfare function, insensitive to its specification. The findings lead directly to conclusions concerning traditional equality measures, their usefulness in correctly accounting for equality differences among alternative income distributions and, concomitantly, their implicit welfare inputs.

Notizen: This paper presents the results of an investigation of the distribution of Yugoslavia's national income by social classes in 1938. The population in mid-1938 was apportioned among social classes as follows: proletariat 34.6 per cent, middle classes 59.2 per cent, bourgeoisie 5.3 per cent, 0.9 per cent unallocated. About three-quarters of the population was rural. The proletariat amounted to 5.2 million persons, of which 3 million were peasants living on dwarf holdings and 2.2 million were rural and urban wage earners. Unemployment in the non-agricultural sector was 10 per cent; if the agricultural sector is added, overall un- and under-employment amounted to 31 per cent. The bourgeoisie consisted of 0.8 million persons, of which two-fifths were rich peasants. Of the 9 million persons in the middle classes, 7 million were peasants with small and medium holdings. The remainder were mainly minor entrepreneurs in the non-agricultural sector. The proletariat accounted for 35 per cent of total population but only 18 per cent of aggregate income, whereas the bourgeoisie with 5 per cent of the population received 26 per cent of aggregate income. The distribution of income among the various groups of the non-agricultural population was more unequal than among the groups of the agricultural population. Estimates are preesented of the distribution of income by various types and sources, for agricultural and non-agricultural population, together with income per capita, average earnings per employed worker, labor productivity, and capital intensity, the last by industrial branches as well as social classes.

Notizen: One of the most characteristic features of Japan's public sector is the predominant role of the Treasury system, which operates not only budgetary funds of the central government but also various other funds such as Postal Savings Funds and surplus funds of public corporations.Among the general account and 45 special accounts of the Treasury system, the Foodstuff Control, the Foreign Exchange Fund and the Trust Fund play important roles, both through their intra-governmental transactions and through their transactions with private sectors. Particularly noticeable is the role played by the Trust Fund Bureau, which serves as a financial institution for government agencies. Surplus and accumulated funds in the Postal Savings and other special accounts of the Government are deposited in the Trust Fund Bureau, which employs these funds for intra-governmental ways and means loans, and for government loans and investment programs.Another feature of Japan's Treasury system is that it deposits all the Treasury funds solely with the Bank of Japan.The activities of local authorities and local public enterprises are also largely financed by Treasury funds, and are intertwined with the Treasury system.The statistical systems for monetary and financial flow analysis developed by the Bank of Japan, therefore, place stress on the analysis of flows of Treasury funds, and are based on an institutional sectoring to reflect the flows of funds as they actually take place. One exception is the Monetary Survey compiled in accordance with the IMF formula, which adopts a kind of functional sectoring for international comparison purposes.In the last three years, Japan's public sector, which had long stood rather neutral in the financial patterns of the economy, has begun to show an increasing financial deficit. With the increasing financial deficit of the sector, the financial patterns of the nation as a whole are undergoing remarkable changes.

Notizen: South Korea began its measurement of Gross National Product during the turbulent 1950's, a period of postwar rebuilding and of political and social changes. With only a small and largely inexperienced staff, and with little support from other statistical agencies whose data were essential to adequate GNP measurement, the Bank of Korea began this task in the early 1950's. Early estimates were extremely rough; over the years, the statistical staff was trained and other statistical agencies were upgraded. Measurements of output in the large agricultural sector and in manufacturing have gradually but consistently been strengthened as recent input-output data has been developed. Gaps still persist, particularly in the wholesale and retail sectors, but certain strengths are present: an outstanding job has been done in product pricing. The author describes the evolution of Korea's improving GNP program, presents its sources of data and its methodologies, and gives an assessment of problems of the past and prospects for the future.

Notizen: This paper is concerned with the sensitivity of estimates of the aggregate capital stock of the United States to the statistician's choice of depreciation method. The usual depreciation charge can be shown to include allowances both for physical deterioration and for obsolescence. If one interprets the gross stock as the stock of surviving assets, then the various net stocks defined by depreciation accounting may be interpreted as a revaluation of these assets by means of an index of embodied technical change. Estimates of the United States capital stock were generated under eight sets of assumptions. These estimates are compared with respect to level, trend, and implications for other aggregate statistical indicators. The conclusion is reached that the assumptions which define a country's stock of tangible capital are of considerably greater importance than has often been supposed.

Notizen: The contention in this paper is that the present method of treating interest and net rents as transfers rather than as payments for services provided creates problems in the measurement of production by industry and that the difficulties encountered in explaining the treatment of interest items in the different tables of the National Accounts are even more apparent when one views the National Accounts framework as an integrated reflection of economic reality.It is argued that the lending of money arises from the stretching out of the production and consumption process, and the interest charges constitute a charge for the administrative services and risk involved. This is somewhat analagous to the charges for hiring out real goods and services. A similar case is made for the treatment of rents with the exception of imputed net rent where it is contended that economic risk is incurred only when production is undertaken for sale and that there should be no entrepreneurial return where the production is for the use of the owner-producer.It is suggested that an alternative treatment of interest and rents as payments for services is more realistic. Its adoption in the National Accounts would eliminate the need for imputations now made to account for the production of financial intermediaries, as well as the unconvincing explanations put forward for the present treatment of interest on consumer and public debt. Finally, it would serve to integrate the production accounts with the financial flows and the related financial structure.

Notizen: This paper is a part of a larger study of economic growth in Canada, following the methods developed by Edward Denison in his book The Sources of Economic Growth in the United States and the publication Why Growth Rates Differ. The new material in this paper relates to Canada and the Canadian/U.S. comparison, while the material on Northwest Europe is drawn from the Brookings study.The present paper sets out the results to date on the differences in real output per employed person between Canada and the United States for one year, 1960. At this stage in our research the results indicate that the level of real output per employed person in Canada was about 20 per cent lower than in the United States in that year. On the basis of historical output data, it would appear that this margin of difference in Canadian/U.S. product levels has persisted throughout the present century.The central part of this paper examines the significance of differences in factor inputs in Canada and the United States and their contribution to the difference in income. The level of inputs per employed person in Canada accounts for only about 2 percentage points of the income difference between Canada and the United States. These results indicate that the overwhelming part of the difference in output per employed person between the two countries reflects the differences in output in relation to total factor inputs, rather than the magnitude of other factor inputs used in combination with labour.This result is consistent with earlier studies by Denison and others which have indicated the crucial importance of output in relation to total factor inputs, both in output growth over time and intercountry comparisons of output level.The body of the paper can give only brief attention to the numerous conceptual and statistical questions that arise in such a wide-ranging study, and the authors do not pretend to have tackled, let alone resolved, all of the wide range of problems related to this study. Nor do they claim any high degree of precision for the results, especially in the light of the statistical limitations of the basic data.

Notizen: Dudley Seers and his colleagues in working with various less developed economies have proposed a modified version of an input-output table for making projections and tests of consistency in planning. The table includes only the important inter-sectoral flows. By making a simplifying assumption with regard to the non-included inter-sectoral flows, an algebraic formulation of the modified input-output table is possible. The resulting matrix of input-output coefficients and final demands can be transformed into a Leontief input-output matrix which is block triangular and composed of two-blocks, one of which is diagonal. Given a set of final demands it is very easy to solve for the total output of each of the sectors. The amount of computation involved is directly related to the number of intersectoral flows included in the original modified input-output table.

Notizen: Capital requirements may be expressed in various ways but when comparisons are to be made between situations of great variety it is best to express them per unit of annual product. The definition of product also raises difficulties. Here it is measured net of agricultural inputs but still gross of industrial inputs. The study approaches the problem by first considering the capital requirements of the simplest types of agriculture and then moving up the scale towards the more advanced. Simple forms of crop culture using hand tools may require only 0.1 to 0.2 of a year's product in the form of capital. These requirements increase when livestock are added, either for draught power or for their products. Increases also occur when tree and bush crops are introduced. In the less favourable climates, capital is also needed for the provision of shelter. When comparisons are possible between farms of different sizes, the greater capital requirements per unit of product for the smaller farms are clearly to be seen. In general the amount of capital per unit of product in agriculture is tending to fall, both through improvements in techniques and through an increase in the average size of holding.

Notizen: The purpose of the paper is to describe current and constant price estimates of Japanese central and local government postwar domestic expenditures by economic type and function recently completed by Miss Yoshiko Kido, International Christian University, Tokyo, and myself. The rationale of the functional classification is to estimate those government expenditures which enhance the economy's productive capacity.Expenditures are divided into four broad functional categories: developmental, disaster repair and prevention, social welfare, and general government. These four categories are subdivided to two levels of disaggregation. We were able to break down government fixed investment, government enterprise inventory investment, current domestic transfers and subsidies into 42 functional components. For constant price series, each functional component by economic type was deflated by separate price indexes. We followed the Economic Planning Agency's procedure for the official national accounts of assuming no productivity change in the provision of government services.Our results are generally comparable to the official national accounts estimates. The major difference is that we attribute considerably more fixed investment to local governments, and correspondingly less to the central level.Government expenditures had the following characteristics. Growth was rapid; in real terms the public sector use of the economy's resources in 1963 was 2.2 times more than in 1952. The elasticity of government expenditures to GNP was unity in current prices, slightly less in real terms. The government postwar share in GNP has been smaller than in European nations and, unlike them, was not rising. This reflects the underlying growth strategy of emphasis upon private business fixed investment. Government consumption expenditures declined relative to GNP, and investment rose.Developmental expenditures comprised the largest share (40–45 per cent) of the government total. The elasticities to GNP of government expenditures by economic and functional categories are provided and discussed.A simple test was made of the cyclical relationship of government expenditures (both total and by category) to GNP. The results suggest that government expenditures, rather than contra-cyclical, were pro-cyclical in effect.

Notizen: Economic planning can in principle be seen as consisting of two phases: first a description of all possible development paths, and second a choice of “the best one” from among these possibilities. In the present paper the measurement of real capital is discussed in relation to the needs of the first of these two phases. In section 2 of the paper it is argued that the most relevant measure of capital for this purpose is the gross value of the existing capital stock, i.e. the total value without accounting for depreciation. In section 3 of the paper different ways of estimating this gross capital stock are discussed. In sections 4, 5 and 6 there follows a discussion of how one can correct the capital measures for changes in efficiency with age, for “embodied technical progress” and for different durabilities. The latter correction leads to concepts which are equivalent to measuring “capital services” as a factor of production. The treatment of maintenance and repair will be important for the interpretations of some of these “corrections.” The final section of the paper suggests a model which requires data on vintages of capital.

Notizen: The paper is concerned with non-monetized transactions which are dimensionally important in developing countries. The notion of degree of monetization attaches to all real flows. It is necessary to analyze non-monetized transactions in order to a have a better understanding of the producing and consuming activities of households which contribute a large part of national product in less developed countries. Among different non-monetized flows, particular attention is paid to the use of the output of own production for different purposes. A survey of Indian information on the degree of non-monetization shows that it is different for different flows: highest for consumption, intermediate for current inputs and lowest for investments. Cross section Indian data indicate that the degree of non-monetization is expected to fall with the improvement in the average household expenditure and urbanisation but it may rise if development occurs largely through agricultural improvement. Some of the Indian findings may apply to other developing countries as well. Normally, estimates of expenditure elasticities based on cross section data are obtained from consumption expenditure on a particular item (e) and the aggregate consumption expenditure (E) without going into the question of the degree of non-monetization of either element. Since traditional models of consumer behaviour apply only to the relation between money expenditure on a particular item (em) and the aggregate money expenditure (Em), it is suggested that the relation between e and E should be broken down into relations between (i) em and Em, (ii) ek and Ek where these are the corresponding kind elements and (iii)among E, Em and Ek. Some estimates of elasticity based on this scheme are presented indicating that the procedure is reasonable and suggesting that this type of analysis would probably furnish a suitable framework for answering relevant questions in the field.

Notizen: 1. The problems presented have arisen in practice when carrying out international comparisons of national income and its elements between the CMEA countries. Some rough conclusions are drawn from the nearly completed comparison of consumption level between Poland and Austria.2. The basic methodological principles of the comparison were similar to the methods used by the group of economists directed by Milton Gilbert and Irving Kravis in their comparison relating to Western European countries. However, a number of new problems have emerged in the course of our work which required practical and theoretical solutions.Some differences in theoretical approach between the Gilbert-Kravis study and ours are discussed. Gilbert and Kravis based their comparison as far as possible on average prices of commodity groups or quantity data, and price indexes for representative goods were applied only as a practical necessity. On the contrary in our study we based our calculation mainly on representative goods and their price relation as this method, in our opinion, takes into account quality differences, which escape from the picture in the Gilbert-Kravis method.3. Some special theoretical and practical problems of comparisons between countries having market economies and those with planned economies are presented in terms of the example of the comparison of consumption levels between Austria and Poland.Three groups of questions are pointed out: (1) the problem of the definition and boundaries of the aggregates compared; (2) the problem of differences in pricing in the groups of products and services compared, resulting from the social policy of the government concerned; and (3) the problem of differences arising from general price policies in the countries compared.4. At the end of the paper it is suggested that it would be useful to work out a “statistical information system”, which would make possible detailed comparisons of the volume of consumption among several countries and groups of countries without the need of conducting direct comparisons between each pair of countries.

Notizen: The principle of the mise-á-la-masse method is to earth one current electrode of a pair in a conducting mineral show (in a borehole, in an outcrop etc.) and measure the resulting distribution of electric potentials. The distribution will, to some extent, reflect the geometry of the ore mass of which the mineral show forms a part.In a mise-á-la-masse survey of a lead-zinc deposit in Central Sweden electric potentials were measured on the surface of the ground as well as in some 25 drillholes, in either case with earthings (successively) in three different parts of the irregular ore deposit. Besides this, measurements were made in drillholes with earthings in two further drillholes.Geologic correlation between the drillholes is difficult in the present case on account of the irregular geometry of the ore deposit. However, the mise-á-la-masse measurements clearly showed the dip and the pitch of the ore body, established connections between the different ore widths encountered in the various holes, and yielded information about the shape of the ore mass.In particular, the survey showed that the ore lenses must be crescent-shaped rather than tabular, and the dip was indicated to be westerly, instead of easterly as originally presumed.Three-dimensional models of equipotential surfaces were constructed from the observed drillhole and surface potentials (using transparent plastic sheets and thin copper wire) and these helped to elucidate the mass geometry further.The surface and underground potential data collected in the present case should be of nterest to geophysicists working on analytic continuation problems.

Notizen: The author comments the techniques and methods used in continuous seismic profiling by the Monaco Oceanographic Museum during the last five years.Pinger probe give informations on the Mud layering and thickness. On the shelf or in abyssal plains, boomer and sparker are employed and allow to rise various geological conclusions. South coast of France, continental shelf in the Gulf of Lion, abyssal plain of the Ligurian Sea and Lake of Geneva are the areas concerned to with the results.

Notizen: The author proposes the parameter Δ2/ΔT1 for possible application in aeromagnetic surveying making use of already available gradiometer systems equipped with sensors separated vertically.

Notizen: Geophysical field equipment has undergone rapid changes in the past decade; from simple AGC amplifiers and galvo cameras to binary gain switching amplifiers and digital recorders, all in an attempt to keep pace with the new geophysical interpretive methods developed, and the growing acceptance of the terminology, methods, and philosophy of communication theory.The additional tools of the digital recorder and digital computer make it possible to utilize these new techniques in geophysical processing. Accomplishing these new techniques demands severe requirements on the digital field recording process in handling the decreasing energy return from the seismometer, and to fully realize the capabilities of digital techniques in reducing data. Simple automatic gain control may be used. However, in the more sophisticated interpretive methods, such as autoregression and deconvolution, it is necessary to reconstruct the actual energy levels in the computer. Recording the control signal used in master AGC or programmed gain control may prove satisfactory; however the accuracy of control versus gain is limited to I% for such analog instrumentation.To utilize the computer to its fullest extent, and to accurately perform these new techniques, requires an accuracy of I% or better. This accuracy is obtainable by using a step gain control where the gain is increased by fixed steps in which each step represents a gain in amplification by a constant factor. The accuracy in this case can be made dependent only on the tolerance of resistors used as attenuators or feedback elements. Preferably the constant factor of gain steps should be a number easily handled by the computer. By using 6 db steps it becomes a simple matter to shift binary numbers, such as multiplying or dividing by 10 in the decimal system.The requirements or parameters for such an amplifier system, and the elements of the amplifier necessary to achieve these requirements are presented.

Notizen: Consideration is given to the use of a configuration of four electrodes set in a square array for resistivity measurements.It is found that, by passing current successively between different pairs of electrodes, an apparent resistivity can be determined which is both more sensitive to the position of the array centre and less dependent on orientation than the measures usually obtained with colinear arrays of electrodes. At the same time the observations made enable the degree of the departure of local conditions from conditions of lateral homogeneity to be assessed.Theoretical and practical examples of the use of this electrode system are given and the use of the system both as a tool in mapping and in depth investigations is considered.It is shown that provided electrode spacings are suitably arranged the results of a probe carried out using the square array can be interpreted by conventional methods.The system is shown to have particular advantages in the investigation of lateral resistivity variations and the reduced dependence on orientation makes possible the recasting of interpretation data in an orientationally invariant form with a consequent drastic reduction in the number of type curves required for a particular problem.

Notizen: A large self-potential anomaly was outlined in 1963–64 at Tantahuatay near Hualgayoc in the Andes of northern Peru. Peak value recorded was–1842 millivolts–thus making it one of the strongest, or perhaps the strongest, SP anomaly ever measured. A lack of detailed geological data precludes the formulation of an adequate explanation for the Tantahuatay anomaly, but geological and mineralogical similarities with the well-documented Venencocha anomaly near Cerro de Pasco, Peru (Kruger and Lacy, 1949), suggest that the anomaly arises from sulfuric acid associated with the mineral alunite. The anomaly obviously cannot be explained by the half-cell mechanism of Sato and Mooney (1960), who place a limit of 700 millivolts on self-potential anomalies over sulfide bodies. Further study of the Tantahuatay anomaly would be of interest in understanding self-potential mechanisms in general.

Notizen: Book review in this articleF. S. Grant and G. F. West, Interpretation Theory in Applied Geophysics, McGraw-Hill Comp., New York, 1965, 583 pp., price $ 17.50.Archaeo-Physica. Technische und naturwissenschaftliche Beiträge zur Feldarchäologie. Mit Beitragen von E. Le Borgne, I. Scollar, J. D. Mudie, J. Görier, H.-J. Appel, G. Strunk-Lichtenberg, Böhlau Verlag, Köln, Graz, 1965, 202 pp., 124 fig.H. Takeuchi, Theory of the Earth's Interior, Blaisdell Publishing Company, Waltham (Mass.), Toronto, London, 1966, 131 pp.G. D. Garland, The Earth's Shape and Gravity, The Commonwealth and International Library, Geophysics Division, Pergamon Press, Oxford, London, Edinburgh, New York, Paris, Frankfurt, 1965, 183 pp., price: 17s 6d.

Notizen: The electromagnetic field radiated from a magnetic dipole lying on the ground is considered, in the extremely low frequency range (DC to 20 000 Hertz).Theoretical and experimental data are given on the characteristics of the surface wave (vanishing wave) generated at the air-ground interface, in the case of an homogeneous subsurface.The case of a subsurface with electrical resistivity varying with depth is considered.It is shown how the above-mentioned characteristics may be applied in the quantitative investigation of the electrical resistivity of the subsurface as a function of depth, in a method using the measurements on the ground of all the components of the radiated field: horizontal electrical components, vertical and horizontal magnetic components.

Notizen: Book review in this articleHandbuch der Physik/Encyclopedia of Physics, Ed.: S. FlüggeThe Aurora. By S.-I. Akasofu, S. Chapman and A. B. Meinel.Time-Variations of Cosmic Rays. By S. E. Forbush.Magnetic Properties of Rocks and Minerals. By T. Nagata.

Notizen: A formula is developed for the vertical magnetic field due to an alternating current passing through a long horizontal cable placed on a two-layer ground. The variations of the phase and amplitude ratio of the vertical field, along profiles perpendicular to the cable line are investigated. Within the limits encountered in practice, it is found that if the upper layer is conductive, as compared to the lower layer, the phase may vary appreciably whereas the amplitude ratio changes as in the case of vacuum.

Notizen: Book review in this articleN. A. Ogil'vi, D. I. Fedorovich, Groundwater Seepage Rates. English translation by N. H. Choksy, Consultants Bureau, New York 1966, 33 pp., 12 fig.

Notizen: Mapping of fault patterns is an important part of geophysical exploration. A computerized digital template analysis method is described which tests gravity maps for the effects of faults by comparing measured gravity data with calculated master curves. The interpreted gravity data are incorporated in a tectonic map using geological symbols and units, for ready use by the geologists.Tectonics can be investigated by gravity detailing if the smallest undulations on the Bouguer map are taken into consideration. Up to now, residual and derivative gravity maps have explained gravity effects by assuming spherical bodies which are almost unknown in geology. The method discussed here uses tectonic elements, such as fault-blocks and dikes as a basis of interpretation instead of the spherical bodies of the conventional interpretation methods.Gravity data can be easily and relatively cheaply obtained in the early phases of exploration by area wide spot coverage following lines of easy access such as roads, etc. Seismic studies, by contrast, have the disadvantage of being executed along predetermined profile lines. Only after sufficient detailing do seismic profiles permit-if at all -an areal mapping of faults. Thus a tectonic map is obtained only at the end of a geophysical survey instead of being available prior to the planning of costly seismic profiles. The use of gravimetric data and their interpretation by the suggested method provides tectonic detail maps in the early phases of geophysical studies.In addition, this article discusses a general geophysical interpretation method, using the investigation of faults by gravity as an example. Applications of this method for different gravity and magnetics problems as well as for combined interpretations are outlined. Detailed case histories will be published in later articles.

Notizen: To be able to make use of all existing probe interpretation techniques, it is desirable that field resistivity observations be conducted in such a way that it is possible to construct an equivalent curve for the surface variation of potential about a point source. Further, the usual parallel layer interpretation will only be justified in as much as the observed potential curve is compatible with such a subsurface geometry. Thus, whilst a potential curve may be constructed from suitable finite potential differences obtained using a Wenner configuration of electrodes, it can be shown, using the tri-potential technique of measurements, that these potential differences may arise partly from lateral resistivity variations.In this paper, a ladder network technique is employed to display these lateral effects and an adjustment method proposed to reduce them. The adjusted potential differences obtained form a consecutive series suitable for summation to give the potential function. These values are subject to further minimum adjustments required for them to comply with slope and curvature conditions for a layered medium. After forming the potential curve by summation, a final numerical smoothing process is carried out. From this smoothed potential curve, corresponding Wenner and Schlumberger curves can readily be derived for interpretation.The method proposed thus attempts to extract from the observed data the maximum part which can be reconciled with a purely depth variation of resistivity. A method is also proposed for compounding the ‘errors of closure’ of the network to provide a Lateral Inhomogeneity Index which gives a measure of the departure of the observed data from the basic interpretation requirements.The method involves no great labour, but can readily be programmed for a computer if desired. Examples are given of the application of the method to field observations. In the interest of objectivity, the final smoothing has been confined to a single stage but in certain very extreme examples a further stage may prove desirable.

Notizen: In one geophysical survey over a salt dome in the Gulf of Mexico, data taken from a single magnetic and seismic shipborne traverse demonstrated significantly the importance of magnetic measurements. The reduced magnetic and seismic profiles were integrated with gravity measurements from an earlier survey demonstrating the value of obtaining simultaneous geophysical data. The traverse was approximately 25 miles in length, 135 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas. The observed gradient averaged approximately 2 gammas per 1000 feet and crosses the southwest corner of a large shallow salt dome called the Way Dome. The recorded magnetic profile over the salt dome shows a negative magnetic anomaly extending for approximately 12 miles with a maximum amplitude of approximately 20 gammas. This negatively anomaly is due to the negative susceptibility contrast between the salt and cap rock that truncates the surrounding parent sediments. The shape of the negative anomaly correlates well with the continous seismic record and clearly delineates the topographical and structural features of the salt dome. The recorded analog magnetic profile was replotted, with both the regional gradient and time variations removed, which makes the observed anomaly much sharper than is noticeable on the original recorded strip chart record. A theoretical magnetic anomaly was calculated using a computer program for comparison to the observed anomaly. The results showed good correlation.

Notizen: Amplitudes of the vertical ground motion are larger in the critical angle region than in the near vertical region, especially amplitudes coming from deeper boundaries or interfaces with small velocity contrast. Four basic boundary models are used to derive specific travel time patterns for first order and higher order interfaces. The transition from reflected waves to diving waves in the supercritical angle region is shown for the different models.Examples from wide angle surveys in Bavaria and in the Buchara region in the USSR have many characteristic similarities. Travel time patterns and asymptotic velocities are almost identical. The most important boundaries of the continental crust - the Mohorovč Ić discontinuity and the top of the crystalline basement - correspond to two boundary models mentioned before. Amplitude and frequency investigations have been used to derive items of the M-discontinuity. It is certainly a gradient zone and seems to have a lenticular structure with material of stepwise different velocities.

Notizen: When a small, transparent replica of a seismic section is illuminated by a homogeneous beam of coherent, monochromatic parallel light a diffraction pattern is created that is representation of the double Fourier spectrum of the recorded seismic waves, i.e. their spectrum in terms of frequency, f, and apparent wave number, k.Masking selected parts of this diffraction pattern causes the spectrum to be filtered: the recomposition of the filtered spectrum then provides a filtered section.The ideal seismic section for this purpose would be a continuous variable density section obtained from recording made at every point of the seismic line. The light transmission coefficient (in terms of light amplitude) at each spot of the replica should be linearly related to the instantaneous seismic signal strength at the spot on the seismic section to which it refers.Unfortunately we cannot make recordings at every point of a seismic line and in our practically realisable recordings we have to be content with sampling in the direction of the location coordinate x. This means that with variable density recordings aliasing will be present and evident in the spectrum obtained in the direction of k; furthermore, the aliased spectrum is also multiplied by a sine function of k because the recording obtained at a given station is not presented on the seismic section as a single line along the time axis, but occupies the entire width of the trace.The diffraction patterns created by variable density recordings of dipping sine waves, including clipped recordings, and of the effect of dip filtering in such sections are discussed. The efficiency of dip rejection is shown to decrease with increasing dip.The diffraction pattern of a variable density recording is found to be characterised by a relationship between point pairs in the pattern.No such simple relationship has been found for the diffraction pattern of a variable area section; the spectra of such VAR sections belong to a very special class, because the amplitude transmission coefficient has only two values, viz. 0 and 1.Consequently, selective masking of the diffraction pattern of a VAR section may give rise to a filtered profile that does not look like a VAR section at all.General statements about the diffraction pattern of VAR sections are hard to give, because the transmission coefficient at a given point in the replica is not proportional to the signal level in the seismic section at the relevant point.In the case of VAR presentation of harmonic waves it was found that, as well as the aliasing effect in the k direction, higher harmonics of the frequency are also introduced.Some synthetic examples are given that show dip filtering to be less effective with VAR than with variable density recordings.Some arguments are advanced in favour of the opinion that high-pass filtering of VAR sections will have less success than low-pass filtering. This is demonstrated by two synthetic examples.

Notizen: The theory is explained and practical applications are shown for a numerical procedure in seismology. Particularly the problems concerning the generation of waves under the action of external pressures, and their propagation, in non-homogeneous, both elastic and absorbing media, have been carried out. These problems have been assumed mono-dimensional and refer to plane and spherical waves.The procedure is based on the solution, by means of series, of the wave differential equation, non-homogeneous, and with non-constant coefficients. It is a direct numerical method whose advantage is, mainly, the possibility of tackling, without great difficulties, problems regarding non-homogeneous elastic and absorbing media.On the contrary the methods which require the theoretical expression of the solutions by means of formulae, generally, present conceptual and numerical difficulties.As examples of application of this procedure, the following cases have been carried out by means of numerical calculations.a) Propagation of a wave, initially of symmetrical shape, in a viscoelastic medium; from the results it appears that the wave propagates without losing its symmetry, i.e. without sensible dispersion. A theoretical analysis has been carried out to justify this result, showing that the dispersion in viscoelastic media is noticeable only for relatively high frequencies. It seems that the practical absence of dispersion in field experiments do not exclude necessarily the viscoelastic character of absorption.b) Generation of plane waves under the effect of a uniform pressure distributed on the plane surface of a medium. The way the length and the shape of the generated wave depends not only on the type of pressure acting on the surface but also on the near surface impedance variations has been studied.c) Generation of a spherical wave under the action of a pressure in a spherical hole.The examples treated show how the length and shape of the wave depends on the radius of the hole. Particularly the frequencies of the wave spectrum are proportional to this radius, for a given type of pressure acting in the hole.The characteristics of this procedure would also permit the study of media for which the stress-strain relations are not univocal and linear (non linear absorption). This study, interesting for the wave propagation in rocks, is worth while to be carried out in a special paper.

Notizen: For the computation of the vertical component Hz of the magnetic field of a horizontal A.C. dipole lying on the earth's surface, a recurrence formula is presented for a horizontally stratified half space, to obtain the (n+ 1)-layer case from the w-layer case.By means of several computed diagrams for the two-layer case, Hz can be determined for different ratios of conductivity of the subsoil and that of the overburden. Thereby the distance from the dipole as well as the layer thickness h are expressed in terms of the wave length A of a plain wave in the overburden. Assuming a sufficiently large conductivity difference, the results show that evidence about the subsurface conditions can be obtained if the distance between the measuring coil and the dipole is of the order of A/3, and if the thickness h of the layer varies within the range A/100 〈 h 〈 A/6.As an example for the 3-layer case, a nonconducting intermediate layer is assumed.

Notizen: A nomogram is presented which enables evaluation of the components of magnetic attraction of a homogeneous finite rectangular prism, and of gravitational attraction due to a uniform rectangular lamina.In practice any three-dimensional body could be approximated by a number of right rectangular prisms of varying dimensions governed by the shape of the body. The magnetic attraction of the whole body is then obtained by numerical summation of the effects of the constituent prisms.For evaluating the gravitational effect, the cross-section of the body corresponding to each elevation contour is approximated by a number of rectangular laminae (or by a stepping polygon) the attraction of which can be determined with the aid of the same nomogram. The total gravitational attraction of the body is obtained by a process of graphical integration along the vertical axis.

Notizen: In [50] and [51] a theory has been developed relating formation factor, permeability and porosity of porous sedimentary rock by means of statistical parameters of the pore system, and further, tying those statistical parameters to other macroscopically measurable quantities like capillarity, capillary retention, flow dispersion etc. This paper deals with experimental methods and apparatus for checking the theoretically derived relations using columns of packed loose or artificially consolidated sands or other granular matter. Some initial experiments, mainly intended for checking out equipment and methods are reported. The discussion of the results so far shows good agreement with the theory in most cases, except for the irreducible water saturation. However, for a definite statement on the general validity of the theory more data must be accumulated.

Notizen: Some of the methods such as regional removal and second derivative calculations which can be used to outline anomalies on potential data maps can be thought of as a filtering operation. The analysis and design of such two-dimensional filters by means of direct and inverse two-dimensional Fourier transforms have been considered.An analysis of several published sets of second derivative coefficient sets indicates that, in general, they are not a good approximation to the theoretical second derivative filter. Alternate methods of designing regional removal and second derivative filters are discussed. The properties of various two-dimensional filters are further illustrated by means of maps obtained from the convolution of several of these filters with a set of observed field data. These maps show the large changes in anomaly shape which can result from the inclusion or rejection of various wavelength components.

Notizen: Integration of the continuous seismic reflection profiler with the marine refraction method on engineering surveys offers a solution to hidden layer problems, allowing both layer velocity and thickness to be computed.

Notizen: This paper is the follow-up of an earlier paper by the same author on the calculation of standard-graphs for horizontally stratified subsoils. The method which was developed in that earlier paper was destined for handwork; it was laid down in master-tables. The present paper deals with the presentation of similar methods to the computer expert in purely mathematical denotation. Two different denotations are described for the calculation of the image pole strengths involved. The first denotation is an improved version of Watsons formulae; it gives the total strengths. The second denotation preserves the character of successive approximations as described in the previous paper. Both denotations have been worked out until a six layer resistivity profile, but actually there is no limitation to the number of layers. There is no restriction to the resistivities of any layer. The only condition is now that all interface depths must be integers.This paper is followed by a paper on the relevant computer program by Argelo in this same issue

Notizen: Book review in this articleJ. Frihagen, Electron Density Profiles in Ionosphere and Exosphere, North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1966, price N. fls. 60,–.J. A. E. Allum, Photogeology and Regional Mapping, Pergamon Press, London, 1966, 107 pages, 16 plates, 23 figures, price 17 s 6 d net.

Notizen: High precision gravity surveys have to be examined at different points of view: the accuracy which one can expect on the final results, regardless to their distribution, the shape and amplitude of the expected anomalies, depending on these factors, which grid of stations is convenient in each particular case.Under certain condition, using an appropriate procedure, involving strict criteria, it is possible to get on the Bouguer map the same accuracy as the reading one.However an accuracy closed to 0,01 mgal does not imply that anomalies as 0,01 or 0,02 mgal deserved attention. Numerous factors limit our appreciation of significant anomalies to 0,05 mgal, may be a little less.When cavites are concerned, it is always necessary to define the extreme dimensions an depth of volumes which may give detectable anomalies.Some example are given illustrating different aspects of this particular type of geophysical prospecting.

Notizen: Several papers presented at the last SEG Convention in Houston by Schneider, Backus et al have shown how important and fruitful it was to obtain a continuous knowledge of the velocity functions and they have solved their problem by a Dynamic Correlation Analysis. Our purpose is to introduce here a method based on the best summation of a set of traces instead of the best correlation.Practically, this approach has several advantages:1) Two traces only can be correlated at each step whereas the summation can bear on any number of them;2) Optimizing the summation is actually what we are looking for since, at the long end, the success of the improvement is evaluated from the compositing of several traces either weighted or not.On the other hand, an advantage of correlation is the possibility of adding correlations obtained at several places in a same neighbourhood in order to improve the results. With the summation method this is feasible only when dips are inexistent: we shall see that the difficulty due to the dip effect can be turned around.The basic principle of the method can be summed up as follows: traces relating to a same reflection point are considered; several composites are made, each after applying different move out corrections ranging widely around an estimated adequate velocity function. At each time coordinate, the best adapted velocity function, i.e. the one that yields the best phase relation between reflected events, corresponds to the composite trace the average amplitude of which is the largest.This way, the velocity function corresponding to primary reflections as well as those corresponding to multiple reflections can be established accurately.Some examples are shown.

Notizen: The problem of elastic waves–from point sources–in layered media is solved in a general and elementary way. Only the simplest principles of the Theory of Functions are necessary. The solutions can immediately be used for numerical applications.

Notizen: The symmetry shown, by the function describing the magnetic anomaly due to a dyke or vertical fault step leads to a method by which an observed profile may be adjusted to conform with that symmetry. By making these adjustments a minimum the ideal dyke or fault profile closest to the observations is constructed. In three of four possible situations this is interpreted by simple geometry.Parallelpiped models may be transformed into two dykes for symmetry analysis. Depth limited models are not so amenable, even in special cases.

Notizen: The use of digital recorders and computers in seismic exploration promises major enhancement of the quality of final documents available to interpreters. The ultimate objectives of recording and processing remain what they always have been:1 Record the reflection wavelet as a function of time; this requirement has been met with satisfactory accuracy for a number of years.2. Record the reflection wavelets with sufficient fidelity to permit the interpreter to recognize them.Various factors affect our ability to achieve this second objective. Certain recording errors are associated with digital recording systems. However, an understanding of the sources of error will enable the operator to use his system properly and to estimate the noise level or inaccuracy of field recordings. Field operations do not require rigorous error analysis; in most cases a satisfactory approximation can be obtained from simple calculations.Three types of “noise”–seismic, instrument and power line–introduce errors. Factors which contribute to over-al recording system error include specifically input noise, power supply ripple, crosstalk, A-D conversion error, quantizing noise, aliasing, distortion. Examination of each component of a recording system, permits the determination of its ultimate effect on the over-all noise level–or error level–of the entire system.Many of the error sources produce statistically independent noise which is not correlative. Where this is true, error voltages from various sources may be combined by taking the square root of the sum of the mean square noise voltages, giving a result slightly greater than the largest single voltage if one source is much greater than any other source. This simplification can be used to estimate over-all system noise levels. Distortion and crosstalk depend on signal amplitude and should be added algebraically in each category. Each final sum should be used as a statistically independent noise source with respect to other system noise sources.Using the foregoing examples and simplified system for estimating over-all system noise, and assuming that much of the distortion (which limits signal/instrument noise ratio to 54 db) can be removed by filtering, we determine that the combined effect of all sources of error is to reduce the system S/N ratio to approximately 74 db.With proper care digital field recording systems can produce very good field records, and exotic computer processes can enhance signal and reduce various forms of noise. However, one always must recall that the level of confidence which one can place in an interpretation of seismic data must be dependent on a knowledge of the accuracy of the basic data.

Notizen: The Terrapak is a new seismic energy source of the surface energy source type. Essentially, the Terrapak consists of a compressed air piston which transmits a shock to the ground by means of a striker plate attached to the piston rod. The Terrapak is truck-mounted together with its ancillary equipment. Shocks can be generated at 8 second intervals, and although the weight of the striker is relatively low (approximately 1400 Ibs) the impact velocity exceeds 66 ft/sec. The energy available is about 85,000 ft. lb., which is equivalent to that produced by conventional weight-dropping methods. The power spectrum of the seismic wave produced by the Terrapak is spread out towards the higher frequencies because its impact velocity is greater than that of a dropping weight.There is a noticeable difference between noise records made with the Terrapak and noise records made with a conventional weight-dropping technique. The same noise frequencies are found in both cases, but low frequency noise is stronger with weight dropping than with the Terrapak, whereas the intermediate frequency reflections obtained using the Terrapak are more suitable for correlation.The expansion of the compressed air generates a sound wave, the effects of which must be eliminated by the use of multiple geophone arrays. A spectrum analysis of the records has confirmed that the waves produced by the Terrapak are rich in intermediate frequency components. This facilitates the picking of reflections in normal areas where the apparent frequency of the reflections is about 30 to 35 c/s.

Notizen: This paper includes publication of two algorithms, to be processed on a digital computer. The algorithms are based upon the two mathematical denotations, presented by Dr. J. C. van Dam in this same issue. The computer programs are written in Algol, in the form of procedures (i.e. subroutines to be activated from a surrounding Algol program).Each of the two procedures is preceded by a numerical analysis. Some remarks are made about the reliability of each of the two procedures, the production and the computing time required.

Notizen: The theory of statistical communication provides an invaluable framework within which it is possible to formulate design criteria and actually obtain solutions for digital filters. These are then applicable in a wide range of geophysical problems. The basic model for the filtering process considered here consists of an input signal, a desired output signal, and an actual output signal. If one minimizes the energy or power existing in the difference between desired and actual filter outputs, it becomes possible to solve for the so-called optimum, or least squares filter, commonly known as the “Wiener” filter. In this paper we derive from basic principles the theory leading to such filters. The analysis is carried out in the time domain in discrete form. We propose a model of a seismic trace in terms of a statistical communication system. This model trace is the sum of a signal time series plus a noise time series. If we assume that estimates of the signal shape and of the noise autocorrelation are available, we may calculate Wiener filters which will attenuate the noise and sharpen the signal. The net result of these operations can then in general be expected to increase seismic resolution. We show a few numerical examples to illustrate the model's applicability to situations one might find in practice.

Notizen: In order to adequately understand the complicated, anelastic processes governing wave propagation in soils or highly weathered rock it seems desirable first to have available a convenient laboratory material for such propagation studies the frequency dependent rheological parameters of which are known beforehand. A property measurement program has been conducted to determine the complex Young's modulus and the complex shear modulus of a commercially available viscoelastic material over a broad spectral region.

Notizen: In the year 1958 the Service for Water Management of the „Rijkswaterstaat” started its program of geo-electrical resistivity prospecting in the western part of the Netherlands. The aim of this program was to obtain data on the salinity distribution of the ground water.The ground water regime in this part of the Netherlands is most intricate. This is due to the geological and geo-hydrological conditions and to the low elevation of the land. Many reclaimed areas are up to several metres below mean sea level.The resistivity data obtained are closely related to the salinity of the ground water. On the basis of bore hole data it was even possible to arrive at calibration curves for the salinity of the ground water in sand deposits. Under special conditions it was also possible to draw conclusions with respect to the presence of less permeable formations as e.g. clay layers.Some remarks are given on the practical performance and the interpretation of the measurements.A review is given of the work done until now. Some results are shown by means of maps of the salinity distribution of the ground water in the western and northern parts of the Netherlands.Two examples are described of the use of the data obtained during the survey in the province of Zuid-Holland.Another two examples are presented of detailed investigations for special purposes in relatively small areas.

Notizen: In mountainous areas it is an inadequate procedure to reduce gravity observations by merely subtracting the effect of an infinite flat slab of material between the station and sea-level, and adding a terrain correction. A programme is described which directly computes the effect of masses above sea-level, and mass-deficiencies below it; as well as the effect of compensating masses under the Pratt and Airy isostatic systems. As an example, the method has been applied to a regional gravity survey of Papua and New Guinea where it is seen to remove the usually high correlation of the Bouguer anomaly with local topography.

Notizen: This paper reviews Labour's record on the NHS since the 1997 general election. The record shows increased financial investment especially since 2002, coupled with a marked centralisation of strategy and management which is proving counter-productive to further modernisation.

Notizen: The paper questions whether the recent reform package of the NHS will solve its ongoing problems, or whether a more fundamental reappraisal of the system is required.

Notizen: As the total cost of clinical negligence claims has grown in the UK in recent years, calls for reform have resurfaced. The government now plans a White Paper on the subject next years. This paper assesses some of the economic arguments surrounding such reform. It suggests that the principle of negligence performs a useful economic function, that there is sum uncertainty surrounding the precise costs of the UK's clinical negligence, and that costs of alternative systems may sometimes be larger than they first appear.

Notizen: This paper outlines the structure of healthcare in Canada and describes trends in health expenditures. Particular attention is paid to trends in Canada's most populous province, Ontario. Three temporal episodes of health expenditure growth in Ontario are identified: 1980–91, a period of rapid growth; 1991–98, a period of restraint; and 1998-present, a period of expenditure resurgence. Health policy initiatives designed to enhance the efficient, effective and equitable access to healthcare services are briefly reviewed.

Notizen: The US healthcare system is fragmented, chaotic and wasteful, and prevailing American social values and attitudes to health and healthcare are profoundly different from those found in the United Kingdom. Even so, there are many useful ideas and important lessons to be drawn from the US experience. The transfer of policy ideas and innovations needs, however, to take account of the differences in culture and context.