This report compares the film industry incentive programs of other states with the Texas incentive program and examines their respective economic and fiscal impacts. In Texas, the economic impact of the moving media industry approached $345 million in 2007. This report also identifies strategies proposed to enhance Texas' future competitive position in the moving media industry.

To a worker contemplating retirement, there is perhaps no more important question than "How long will my money last?" Congress has a strong interest in the income security of older Americans because much of their income is either provided directly from public programs like Social Security, or in the case of pensions and retirement accounts, is subsidized through tax deductions and deferrals. This report discusses risks involved with retirement fund disbursement and strategies for dealing with such risks.

To a worker contemplating retirement, there is perhaps no more important question than "How long will my money last?" Congress has a strong interest in the income security of older Americans because much of their income is either provided directly from public programs like Social Security, or in the case of pensions and retirement accounts, is subsidized through tax deductions and deferrals. This report looks at strategies to help deal with the following risks: longevity, investment, inflation, and unexpected events.

Article on e-government services and how libraries can provide helpful online government resources.

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Gugger Homestead, in Helotes, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, floor plans, and photographs.

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Hicks-Gregg House, in Brownsville, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, floor plans, and photographs.

Application materials submitted to the Texas Historical Commission requesting a historic marker for the Lockhart Vocational High School, in Lockhart, Texas. The materials include the inscription text of the marker, original application, narrative, and photographs.

This report discusses the provisions of multilateral and bilateral agreements addressing the status of U.S. armed forces abroad, which are commonly referred to as Status of Force Agreements (SOFA), and provides a survey of current SOFAs.

This report provides an overview of the history of the nonforeign COLA and locality pay programs; identifies and describes potential changes to the existing nonforeign COLA system, including the possibility of instituting locality pay; and analyzes the potential effects of keeping the existing system or adopting a nonforeign COLA phase-out plan.

This report examines the statutory procedures governing covert action and associated questions to consider.

This report provides the results of a random survey of adult Texas residents aged 18 and older to measure the citizen participation rates, the distribution and frequency of play, and the demographic profiles of the past-year lottery players and non-players.

Report on the TDCJ's potential savings on health care costs by releasing some offenders aged 55+.

Annual report detailing expenditures by the Texas Department of Transportation during 2008, including the unified transportation program (UTP), turnpike and toll road projects, and some rail facilities, as well as the amount of bonds, public securities, and other funds used for transportation projects.

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This report discusses two potential roles the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have in helping to resolve the current global financal crisis

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This report summarizes and describes the EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) final revisions to the NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards). The summary also explores how the revisions are contentious in certain areas that may not be meeting those standards which materializes as congressional oversight.

This report assesses recent international developments as the leaders from a number of nations work to reach a consensus on an informal set of best practices regarding national restrictions on foreign investment for national security purposes.

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At the request of the University Materials Council, a national workshop was convened to examine 'Gender Equity Issues in Materials Science and Engineering.' The workshop considered causes of the historic underrepresentation of women in materials science and engineering (MSE), with a goal of developing strategies to increase the gender diversity of the discipline in universities and national laboratories. Specific workshop objectives were to examine efforts to level the playing field, understand implicit biases, develop methods to minimize bias in all aspects of training and employment, and create the means to implement a broadly inclusive, family-friendly work environment in MSE departments. Held May 18-20, 2008, at the Conference Center at the University of Maryland, the workshop included heads and chairs of university MSE departments and representatives of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the Department of Energy (DOE-BES), and the national laboratories. The following recommendations are made based on the outcomes of the discussions at the workshop. Many or all of these apply equally well to universities and national laboratories and should be considered in context of industrial environments as well. First, there should be a follow-up process by which the University Materials Council (UMC) …

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In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This report summarizes the results of TC25, the second test campaign using a high moisture lignite coal from the Red Hills mine in Mississippi as the feedstock in the modified Transport Gasifier configuration. TC25 was conducted from July 4, 2008, through August 12, 2008. During TC25, the PSDF gasification process operated for 742 hours in air-blown gasification mode. Operation with the Mississippi lignite was significantly improved in TC25 compared to the previous test (TC22) with this fuel due to the addition of a fluid bed coal dryer. The new dryer was installed to dry coals with very high moisture contents for reliable coal feeding. The TC25 test campaign demonstrated steady operation with high carbon conversion and optimized performance of the coal handling and gasifier systems. Operation during TC25 provided the …

We have studied the extraction of niobium and tantalum from mixed hydrochloric acid/lithium chloride media by bis(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphate (HDEHP) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphite (BEHP) as a function of hydrogen ion (H+) concentration. The amount of niobium extracted by both HDEHP and BEHP decreased with increasing hydrogen ion concentration. Equilibrium with niobium occurred within 10 s at all hydrogen ion concentrations for both systems. For tantalum, the amount extracted increased until 6 - 9 M H+, before decreasing at higher H+ concentrations when extracted by both HDEHP and BEHP. Equilibrium occurred within 10 s at two H+ concentrations when extracted by HDEHP. The data obtained are used as the basis to discuss the speciation of Nb and Ta under the conditions studied and to evaluate possible extraction mechanisms.

The search for the fundamental constituents of matter has been pursued and studied since the dawn of civilization. As early as the fourth century BCE, Democritus, expanding the teachings of Leucippus, proposed small, indivisible entities called atoms, interacting with each other to form the Universe. Democritus was convinced of this by observing the environment around him. He observed, for example, how a collection of tiny grains of sand can make out smooth beaches. Today, following the lead set by Democritus more than 2500 years ago, at the heart of particle physics is the hypothesis that everything we can observe in the Universe is made of a small number of fundamental particles interacting with each other. In contrast to Democritus, for the last hundred years we have been able to perform experiments that probe deeper and deeper into matter in the search for the fundamental particles of nature. Today's knowledge is encapsulated in the Standard Model of particle physics, a model describing the fundamental particles and their interactions. It is within this model that the work in this thesis is presented. This work attempts to add to the understanding of the Standard Model by measuring the relative branching fraction of the …