Astm Standardization News

A compilation of all ASTM standards issued each year.

In Cooperation among Nations, Joseph M. Grieco offers a provocative answer to a fundamental question in world politics: How does the anarchical nature of the international system inhibit the willingness of states to work together even when they share common interests? Grieco examines the capacity of two leading contemporary theories—modem political realism and the newest liberal institutionalism—to explain national responses to the non-tariff barrier codes negotiated during the Tokyo Round of international trade talks. According to his interpretation of realist theory, Grieco characterizes states as "defensive positionalists." As such, they often fail to cooperate because they fear that a joint endeavor, while producing positive gains for all participants, might also generate disparities in gains among the partners involved. Grieco demonstrates that this realist concept of defensive state positionalism gives rise to a better understanding of the systemic constraints on international collaboration and of the impact of anarchy on states than is offered by neoliberal institutionalism. Drawing on previously unreported archival materials, Grieco rigorously applies the two theories to an empirical analysis of the cooperative efforts of the United States and the European Community during the 1980s to regulate and reduce non-tariff trade barriers through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

This study fills a gap in standardization literature. It is the first academic analysis of national standardization organizations. These organizations exist in every country and may be private or governmental organizations. The first national standardization th organizations were founded in the early decades of the 20 century and were aimed at rationalizing industrial production. Their mode of operation reflects the sense of co operation at the national level and - in the telecommunications and electrotechnical field - at the intemationallevel as well. Now, however, the scene has changed, with companies operating internationally. Standards for products, processes, and services are crucial factors in determining success or failure on a fiercely competitive market, especially when functional compatibility is a prerequisite, as is the case in computer and telecommunications technologies. As a consequence, rather homogeneous needs of participants in standardization have given way to conflicting interests. This prompts a discussion about the traditional role of national standardization organizations. They increasingly depend on their exclusive links to the international standardization organizations ISO and IEC, and, in the case of Europe, the regional organizations CEN and CENELEC. In many cases, formal standardization organizations are not the obvious bodies for developing standards to meet business needs. Is this inevitable or could they improve performance and regain their market share? Henk de Vries answers this question against the background of current developments in standardization at the international, European, and national levels.

Contents: v. 1. Subject index; alphanumeric list.

Processing, Properties, and Design of Advanced Ceramics and Composites II, Ceramic Transactions Volume 261 Narottam P. Bansal, Ricardo H. R. Castro, Michael Jenkins, Amit Bandyopadhyay, Susmita Bose, Amar Bhalla, J.P. Singh, Morsi M. Mahmoud, Gary Pickrell, and Sylvia Johnson; Editors This proceedings volume contains a collection of 36 papers (~350 pages) from the following symposia held during the 2016 Materials Science and Technology (MS&T’16) meeting held in Salt Lake City, UT, October 24-27, 2016: Advanced Materials for Harsh Environments Advances in Dielectric Materials and Electronic Devices Advances in Ceramic Matrix Composites Ceramic Optical Materials Controlled Synthesis, Processing, and Applications of Structural and Functional Nanomaterials Innovative Processing and Synthesis of Ceramics, Glasses and Composites International Standards for Properties and Performance of Advanced Ceramics Multifunctional Oxides Rustum Roy Memorial Symposium on Processing and Performance of Materials Using Microwaves, Electric, and Magnetic Fields Sintering and Related Powder Processing Science and Technology Surface Properties of Biomaterials Thermal Protection Materials and Systems Zirconia Based Materials for Cutting Edge Technology