Concerning several methods for estimating crop acreages using remote sensing data

The objective of this paper is to present a comprehensive survey of the proportion estimation methods so far found in the literature and a newly proposed method based on the concept of statistically equivalent blocks. All methods are restricted to the case of normal mixtures only. Graphical and semigraphical techniques are excluded. Several proportion estimation methods have been described and their properties discussed.     

Estimation of Acute Toxicity by Fitting a Dose-Time-Response Surface

In acute toxicity testing, organisms are continuously exposed to progressively increasing concentrations of a chemical and deaths of test organisms are recorded at several selected times. The results of the test are traditionally summarized by a dose-response curve, and the time course of effect is usually ignored for lack of a suitable model. A model which integrates the combined effects of dose and exposure duration on response is derived from the biological mechanisms of aquatic toxicity, and a statistically efficient approach for estimating acute toxicity by fitting the proposed model is developed in this paper. The proposed procedure has been computerized as software and a typical data set is used to illustrate the theory and procedure. The new statistical technique is also tested by a data base of a variety of chemical and fish species.     

How economic development can overcome culture: Demographic change in Punjab,India

This paper looks at the recent declines in fertility and mortality that have occurred in the state of Punjab in India and examines the evidence on the proposition that these have resulted from changes in the sociocultural structure of Punjab - especially those aspects of this structure which influence levels of female status. The article concludes that in fact rates of birth and death (especially at the older ages) have fallen in spite of the persistence of cultural norms and practices that limit female autonomy and that should therefore theoretically favour high fertility and mortality. It is suggested that at this stage of the state's demographic transition it might be more useful to look for causes in the relatively remarkable economic prosperity that the area has witnessed in the last two decades.     

Achievements,capabilities and the concept of well-being

Conclusion Sen's book raises a variety of new and important issues concerning human wellbeing and its measurement. However it also leaves plenty of open questions and uncovered ground. Its argument for shifting our attention from commodities to functionings is powerful and I hope this will find increasing favour among welfare economists and other social scientists. Regarding its argument for shifting attention from achievements to capabilities, I am more skeptical.Some of the concepts developed in this book can have important applications to questions beyond that of measurement, questions which Sen does not touch on in this book. For instance, the concept of exploitation is difficult to describe in a utility-based framework. This is because people who are chronically exploited learn to adjust to their predicament and may achieve a reasonable level of utility and may not even strive for change. A definition of exploitation based on utility or choice would fail to identify such people. The concept of well-being can be useful in identifying the chronically exploited. This is just one of many possible directions that can be pursued from here.     

A study of combustibility of wastes of two hospitals for determining disposal by incineration

Determination of quantity, quality and characteristics of the wastes of two hospitals located in the same sector of a class B city was undertaken to review the present dumping method of disposal. On an average 1,424.71 and 224.6 kgs. of five types of wastes as per the moisture content were found daily for seven days in these two hospitals of 1000 general beds, and 600 long stay beds for chest tuberculosis and other Cardiothoracic diseases respectively. The wastes of first hospital had higher combustibility due to its sprawling nature and activities for general patients than that of the second multistoreyed hospital treating special cases. A combustibility analysis of hospital wastes would help to decide whether to adopt incineration for disposal.     

Diffusion approximations for insurance risk processes

We consider a risk-reserve process for an insurance company where premium income and the claim sum process are modeled as a renewal reward processes. Moreover, dividends are paid out according to a barrier rule. The aim of the article is to establish a diffusion approximation of this model and to compute ruin probabilities (in finite and in infinite time) and other relevant statistics approximately using the limiting diffusion process. We also demonstrate that, under special circumstances, there exists a stationary distribution for the limiting diffusion.     

A MONETARY BUSINESS CYCLE MODEL FOR INDIA

A New Keynesian monetary business cycle model is constructed to study why monetary transmission in India is weak. Our models feature banking and financial sector frictions as well as an informal sector. The predominant channel of monetary transmission is a credit channel. Our main finding is that base money shocks have a larger and more persistent effect on output than an interest rate shock, as in the data. The presence of an informal sector hinders monetary transmission. Contrary to the consensus view, financial repression in the form of a statutory liquidity ratio and administered interest rates, does not weaken monetary transmission. (JEL E31, E32, E44, E52, E63)     

A new and easy-to-use measure of literacy,its axiomatic properties and an application

It can be argued that just as there are different kinds of literacy, there are different kinds of illiteracy. A “proximate illiterate,” i.e. an illiterate who has easy access to a literate person, is clearly better off than someone without such access. The existing literature that takes account of these differences (1) defines an illiterate person to be a proximate illiterate if he or she lives in a household with at least one literate person and (2) derives new measures of literacy which typically exceed the standard literacy rate. The latter risks generating policy complacency. The aim of this paper is to suggest a measure of literacy that is not limited by (1) and (2). The measure is axiomatically characterized and its use is illustrated with a numerical exercise for the provinces of South Africa. We wish to thank James Foster and Tapan Mitra for discussions and comments. Any remaining errors are our own.     

Does Infant Cognition Research Undermine Sociological Theory? A Critique of Bergesen's Attack on Durkheim

This article discusses how the results of infant research challenge the assumptions of the classical sciences of social behaviour. According to A.J. Bergesen, the findings of infant research invalidate Durkheim's theory of mental categories, thus requiring a re‐theorizing of sociology. This article argues that Bergesen's reading of Emile Durkheim is incorrect, and his review of the infant research in fact invalidates his argument. Reviewing the assumptions of sociology in the light of the findings of infant research, it is argued that the real challenge is to formulate a research strategy that combines the findings of the two sciences.