Arts and craftiness: an economic analysis of art heists

We study the incentives that museums face in determining how much resources to invest in the protection of their artwork from theft. We present and analyze a game-theoretic model of art heists that accounts for the strategic interactions between museums’ and art thieves’ decisions and that incorporates several key features of the black market for stolen art. We find that the equilibrium level of security museums choose need not be monotonic in the true market value or the black market value of artwork, i.e., increasing the value of an art piece—whether it is the true market value or the black market value—does not necessarily lead museums to invest more in protecting their artwork. The effects of parameter changes in the model that reflect a shift of public policy depend critically on what type of policy change is considered. For instance, an increase in the penalty imposed for committing art theft cannot raise the amount of theft in equilibrium and could in fact lead museums to increase their level of security. On the other hand, investing more resources on law enforcement agencies so that they are better able to solve art crimes can actually increase the amount of theft in equilibrium by causing museums to spend less on security.     

Determination of silver ion with various concentrations of hydrogen chloride as precipitant

It has been shown that 0.15 N hydrogen chloride solution is most suitable for employment as precipitant in the quantitative estimation of silver ion, this procedure reducing adsorption to a minimum.When a more dilute solution of reagent is applied, there is a tendency for a portion of the silver to remain dissolved.When hydrogen chloride possessing a greater concentration than 0.15 N is utilized in this determination, adsorption of Cl? ion, and, to a lesser extent, of Ag+ ion, readily occurs.The data presented here have been obtained by careful application of a recognized method, during the course of which temperature effect, and solubility data were given due consideration. Meticulous nephelometric examination was subsequently accorded each experimental sample prior to the calculation of results.     

Psychological Factors in Community College Student Retention

This study explored psychological factors in the context of a community college population purported to impact decisions to remain in college from one semester to another. Researchers examined results from 1191 responses from students attending a community college in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The study further explored the predictive power of four factors—career decision self-efficacy, career locus of control, education-employment connection, and intent to return—on both intent to return and on actual return to the college. Results indicated that intent to return was significantly predictive of actual return among this community college population. Additionally, age and gender differences, along with differences in the various psychological factors had differential impacts on each other, as well as on intent to return and subsequent return. Implications are discussed.