Marine preference cargo market: Opportunities for minority shippers

Conclusion It appears that the general cargo market should not be the primary target for a minority shipper. After a more detailed analysis of the market, on a specific commodity basis and by trading areas, a profitable niche may be developed for a minority shipper in the Dry Bulk market, in light of the recently completed Russian grain deal. Fifty percent of that tonnage must be moved in U.S. flag vessels. Under the terms of the new grain treaty, the Soviets are obligated to purchase 5.9 million long tons (2,240 pounds) of grain annually, with the right to purchase two million more tons. The agreement is for five years, beginning in 1976.     

Homeownership Effects of Alternative Mortgage Instruments*

Most of the interest in alternatives to the standard mortgage instrument has centered on the ability of the alternatives to improve on the performance of the mortgage instrument over the business cycle. The focus in this paper is on the long-term effects on homeownership rates and associated additional residential construction. The instruments are found to offer potentially large increases in homeownership rates by reducing monthly mortgage payments. Widespread adoption of those instruments causing larger payment reductions would allow around one million more households to become owner-occupants. The demand for new single-family homes would increase over the long run by 3 to 4 percent a year. Homeownership could be further increased by a time-limited subsidy directed at moderate income families.     

The Rise and Fall of Maya Civilization

Abstract . ‘Savages,’ as Europeans considered the Americans of ancient times, never built the great Mayan centers. The builders of great cities in Meso-America were a well-organized group with an adequate land base and a rather sophisticated technology. From 300 B.C. to 900 A.D. the Maya developed and perfected an agriculture-based economy with a well developed commerce, writing, art, science, religion and government, as well as an advanced architecture of monuments, palaces, temples and pyramids. Their civilization reached intellectual heights unique in the Western Hemisphere. What conditions caused its decline and fall? Interpreting the geographic and historical record in the light of the relevant social sciences, one can say a complex of circumstances: ecological abuse, exploitation of the working population, mismanagement, militarism, bad weather, famines, and epidemics.     

Jungle Geopolitics in Guyana: How a Communist Utopia That Ended in Massacre Came to be Sited

Abstract . When nearly 1,000 American men, women and children lost their lives in a mass murder and suicide rite in 1978 staged by a madman, Jim Jones, a former Christian minister turned Communist leader, many Americans asked, “Why?” The press, overcoming earlier lethargy, amassed facts permitting a sophisticated psychological and sociological explanation. Neglected, however, was the question why was the Jonestown Communist utopia sited in the Guyana jungle? Given the human and geographical circumstances, its siting in the Guyana rainforest was highly probable, affording evidence that, to some extent, at least, people and their geography determine human events.