The nexus between extreme weather events,sexual violence,and early marriage: a study of vulnerable populations in Bangladesh

Population and Environment - This study aims to explore whether a relationship exists between extreme weather events, sexual violence, and early marriage. We selected two districts in Bangladesh...     

New Methods for Evaluating Energy Infrastructure Development Risks

Many energy technologies that can provide reliable, low-carbon electricity generation are confined to nations that have access to robust technical and economic capabilities, either on their own or through geopolitical alliances. Equally important, these nations maintain a degree of institutional capacity that could lower the risks associated with deploying emergent energy technologies such as advanced nuclear or carbon capture and storage. The complexity, expense, and scrutiny that come with building these facilities make them infeasible choices for most nations. This paradigm is slowly changing, as the pressing need for low-carbon electricity generation and ongoing efforts to develop modular nuclear and carbon capture technologies have opened the door for potentially wider markets, including in nations without substantial institutional capacity. Here, using advanced nuclear technologies as our testbed, we develop new methods to evaluate national readiness for deploying complex energy infrastructure. Specifically, we use Data Envelopment Analysis—a method that eliminates the need for expert judgment—to benchmark performance across nations. We find that approximately 80% of new nuclear deployment occurs in nations that are in the top two quartiles of institutional and economic performance. However, 85% of potential low-carbon electricity demand growth is in nations that are in the bottom two quartiles of performance. We offer iconic paradigms for deploying nuclear power in each of these clusters of nations if the goal is to mitigate risk. Our research helps redouble efforts by industry, regulators, and international development agencies to focus on areas where readiness is low and risk correspondingly higher.     

Inventory Control and Scheduling of Multiple Products in a Common Facility*

Consider a set of chemical products to be produced in a single facility. Each product has its own unique reaction time (which is assumed to be independent of its batch size), as well as other cost and demand values. In this paper, we address the problem of determining the optimal number of batches, batch sizes, and an accompanying production schedule for these products in the single facility that will minimize the total cost. Two different algorithms have been developed for this problem, the performances of which are contrasted with classical cyclic production schedules. Finally, some guidelines for the application of these methods to real-life problems are outlined.     

On Ehrhart polynomials and probability calculations in voting theory

In voting theory, analyzing the frequency of an event (e.g. a voting paradox), under some specific but widely used assumptions, is equivalent to computing the exact number of integer solutions in a system of linear constraints. Recently, some algorithms for computing this number have been proposed in social choice literature by Huang and Chua (Soc Choice Welfare 17:143–155 2000) and by Gehrlein (Soc Choice Welfare 19:503–512 2002; Rev Econ Des 9:317–336 2006). The purpose of this paper is threefold. Firstly, we want to do justice to Eugène Ehrhart, who, more than forty years ago, discovered the theoretical foundations of the above mentioned algorithms. Secondly, we present some efficient algorithms that have been recently developed by computer scientists, independently from voting theorists. Thirdly, we illustrate the use of these algorithms by providing some original results in voting theory. Helpful comments by Philippe Clauss and his team are gratefully acknowledged.     

Supervisor commitment to employees: Does agreement among supervisors' and employees' perceptions matter?

Using 322 matched employee–supervisor dyads, we investigate how level and direction of employee–supervisor (dis)agreement on supervisor's affective commitment to the employee relate to organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, leader–member exchange, and job performance. Results from polynomial regression and response surface analyses indicate that level of employee–supervisor agreement matters: the most beneficial outcomes appear when supervisors and employees agree that the supervisor is highly committed to the employee whereas the least favorable outcomes appear when dyads' members agree that the supervisor has low commitment to the employee. Direction of employee–supervisor disagreement is also important as employee overestimation of supervisor commitment is associated with more favorable outcomes than employee underestimation. However, for two of the outcomes (organizational commitment and emotional exhaustion), the effect of employee–supervisor disagreement was attributable to a main effect of employee perceptions of supervisor commitment. We discuss the implications of these findings for the understanding of employee–supervisor relationships.     

Prospective study of birth interval dynamics in rural Bangladesh

Abstract A group of 209 married, fecund women in rural Bangladesh were studied prospectively for 24 months from 1969 to 1971 to define some of the biological and sociological factors relating to fertility performance. These women were selected from a larger study population of 112,000 that had been followed with a daily house-to-house vital registration programme since 1966. The selected women were interviewed bi-weekly and were asked questions about menstruation, pregnancy, lactation, husband's occupational absences, and monthly urine tests for pregnancy were taken. The results for 193 non-contracepting women revealed that the seasonal pattern of births previously observed in this population could be associated with a corresponding seasonal pattern of conceptions and that this was due to a seasonal trend in fecundability. The highest conception rates were in the coolest months of the year. Post-partum lactational amenorrhoea was very prolonged, averaging 17 months for women with a surviving child. The appearance of the first post-partum menstrual flow (onset of ovulation) also had a seasonal trend which could not be adequately explained. The median waiting time to conception, once menstruation had resumed was eight months. This interval was influenced by seasonal fluctuations, as well as by the age of women and by husbands' absences. The foetal wastage rate was 15·0 per 100 conceptions, with 62 per cent of the foetal losses occurring during the second month of gestation. Overall, the average birth interval was 33 months, with the prolonged lactational amenorrhoea accounting for almost 45 per cent of this interval. From the Department of Population Dynamics, Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.     

Underinvestment in a Profitable Technology: The Case of Seasonal Migration in Bangladesh

Hunger during pre‐harvest lean seasons is widespread in the agrarian areas of Asia and Sub‐Saharan Africa. We randomly assign an $8.50 incentive to households in rural Bangladesh to temporarily out‐migrate during the lean season. The incentive induces 22% of households to send a seasonal migrant, their consumption at the origin increases significantly, and treated households are 8–10 percentage points more likely to re‐migrate 1 and 3 years after the incentive is removed. These facts can be explained qualitatively by a model in which migration is risky, mitigating risk requires individual‐specific learning, and some migrants are sufficiently close to subsistence that failed migration is very costly. We document evidence consistent with this model using heterogeneity analysis and additional experimental variation, but calibrations with forward‐looking households that can save up to migrate suggest that it is difficult for the model to quantitatively match the data. We conclude with extensions to the model that could provide a better quantitative accounting of the behavior.     

Reflections on conducting research on the ‘war on terror’: religious identity,subjectivity and emotions

In recent years there has been an increase in literature which has explored the insider/outsider position through ethnic identities. However, there remains a neglect of religious identities, even though it could be argued that religious identities have become increasingly important through being prominent in international issues such as the ‘war on terror’ and the Middle East conflict. Through drawing on the concept of subjectivity, I reflect on research I conducted on the impact of the ‘war on terror’ on British Muslims. I explore the space between the insider/outsider position demonstrating how my various subjectivities – the ‘non-Islamic appearance I’, the ‘Muslim I’, the ‘personal I’, the ‘exploring I’, the ‘Kashmiri I’ or the ‘Pakistani I’, the ‘status I’ and the ‘outsider I’ – assisted in establishing trust, openness and commonality. I conclude by demonstrating how the ‘emotional I’ allowed me to manage my own emotions and participants emotions.     

A Study of An Alternative School for Pregnant and/or Parenting Teens: Quantitative and Qualitative Evidence

In response to multiple problems faced by pregnant and parenting teens, many alternative school-based comprehensive programs have been established throughout the United States. By collecting data from a sample of enrollees of such a school-based comprehensive program and comparing them with data collected from a sample of non-enrollees, the present study systematically evaluates the program. The results of the study seem to suggest that the program participants were more likely to have higher educational aspiration, better reproductive health outcomes, higher contraceptive use, and more breast-feeding practice and intention than those of their non-participating counterparts. The implications of the study findings for comprehensive school-based program for pregnant and/or parenting teens are discussed.Ruhul Amin is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Health Disparities Solutions and Senior Research Scientist in the Institute for Urban Research, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21239. Dorothy C. Browne is the Director of the Institute for Urban Research, Jamir Ahmed is a research assistant at the Center for Health Disparities Solutions and Takanori Sato is research assistants at the Institute for Urban Research, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21239.