300 research outputs found
Re-orientalism and Representation: Aman Sethi Talks About Delhi
No full textIn the (re)presentation of India by Indian authors writing in English there is an overlooked, long-standing tradition of sterling commentaries produced by social analysts. In the best of that tradition which blurs the divide between the literary and journalistic, Aman Sethi, in A Free Man (2012), crosses significant class boundaries to represent Delhi with disconcerting rawness through stories of its itinerant labourers. This article investigates whether Sethi’s innovative methods of data collection and modes of representation used to deconstruct the alterity of subaltern representation are able to resist re-orientalism and address the crisis of authenticity in Indian writing in English (IWE); or whether re-orientalism is inexorably reiterated as a result of the distance and difference in positionality between author and subject. Focusing on representation via the form of non-fiction narrative, it discusses the extent to which form and authorial intention to avoid strategic exoticism and staged marginality can circumvent the pitfalls of re-orientalism when representing the subaltern
“the struggle to be free”: A Conversation with Aman Sethi
No full textInternational audienceAman Sethi is an Indian journalist and the author of A Free Man (2011), a literary reportage on the lives of homeless daily wage workers in an Old Delhi labour market. In the following interview, Sethi looks back on A Free Man, a book he views as an attempt to try and capture the workers’ “struggle to be free” in an oppressive world, eleven years after its publication. He also reflects on his journalistic and creative practice both in this book and in earlier and later pieces. He insists on his keenness to experiment with new techniques for writing non-fiction and on the necessity to project oneself into spaces that differ from one’s own.Aman Sethi est un journaliste indien et l’auteur de A Free Man (2011), un reportage littéraire sur la vie de travailleurs journaliers sans-abri d’un marché de Old Delhi. Dans l’entretien qui suit, Sethi revient sur A Free Man, ouvrage dans lequel il tente de saisir la « lutte des travailleurs pour la liberté » au sein d’un monde d’oppression, onze années après sa publication. Il s’interroge également sur sa pratique journalistique et créative à la fois dans ce livre et dans des articles antérieurs et postérieurs. Il insiste sur sa volonté d’expérimenter et de développer de nouvelles techniques d’écriture non-fictionnelle et sur la nécessité de se projeter dans des espaces différents du sien
Food Security in South Asia : Issues and Opportunities
No full textFood security is defined as economic access to food along with food production and food availability. Agriculture in the SAR (South Asian Region) is caught in a low equilibrium trap with low productivity of staples, supply shortfalls, high prices, low returns to farmers and area diversification - all these factors can be a threat to food security. South Asia still has the highest number of people (423 millions) living on less than one dollar a day. The region has the highest concentration of undernourished (299 million) and poor people with about 40 per cent of the worlds hungry. Despite an annual 1.7 per cent reduction in the prevalence of undernourishment in the region in the past decade, the failure to reduce the absolute number of the undernourished remains a major cause for concern. Estimates by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) indicate that by 2010, Asia will still account for about one-half of the worlds undernourished population, of which two-thirds will be from South Asia. Though SAARC countries have established a food bank to meet the needs of food security in the region, it has not been operational even during times of crisis. This is despite the felt need of member nations to evolve mechanisms to make the SAARC Food Security Reserve operational. It is against this background that this study has been undertaken. Conducted in collaboration with think-tanks from South Asian countries, it aims to identify issues relating to food security, the policy initiatives taken to tackle these issues, evaluate these policies and suggest measures to overcome identified constraints in order to improve the food security situation in the region.South Asia, food security, Safety Nets, Food Bank
Optimal Cash Management Under Uncertainty
No full textWe solve an agent's optimization problem of meeting demands for cash over time with cash deposited in bank or invested in stock. The stock pays dividends and uncertain capital gains, and a commission is incurred in buying and selling of stock. We use a stochastic maximum principle to obtain explicitly the optimal transaction policy.Cash management, Stochastic control, Maximum principle, Risky assets
Techno-economic environmental risk analysis of advanced biofuels for civil aviation
No full textCommercial aviation has demonstrated its ability to be a key driver of global socio-economic growth to this date. This growth, resulting from an ever increasing need for air-travel, has been observed to be environmentally unsustainable. Any technological enhancements to the upcoming fleet of aircraft or operational improvements have been overshadowed by this very demand for air-travel. Any further investigation into innovative concepts and optimisation approaches bring in trade-off difficulties due to limitations in current technology. This creates a constraint on design space exploration. The need to mitigate civil aviation’s environmental impact has necessitated this sector to expand its frontier and seek radical technologies. Among a range of other technologies, advanced biofuels for civil jet engines have been claimed to be one of the most promising solutions.
“Techno-economic Environmental Risk Analysis (TERA) of Advanced Biofuels for Civil Aviation” is a study that contributes to knowledge through conception plus application of quantitative/ qualitative approaches to assess the technical viability, financial feasibility and environmental competence of 2nd and 3rd generation biojet fuels, through their application into the existing scenario of civil aviation, against that of the fossil-derived conventional jet fuel (Conv.Jet fuel). TERA of advanced biofuels aims to accomplish the aforementioned through a holistic, multi-disciplinary study entailing life cycle studies, carbon-foot printing, sustainability analysis, fuel chemistry, virtual studies comprising combustion thermodynamic, engine/aircraft performance and emission prediction, economic studies entailing biofuel price prediction and business case analysis as opposed to earlier studies.
TERA of Advanced biofuels study entails development of elaborate life cycle models, ALCEmB (Assessment of Life Cycle Emissions of Biofuels) and ALCCoB (Assessment of Life Cycle Cost of Biofuels) to predict life cycle emissions and costs, respectively, of the advanced biofuels from the point of raw material generation to the point of finished product consumption (a “cradle-grave” approach). A virtual experiment, to assess the impact of the “performance” properties of the advanced biofuels on a representative twin-shaft turbofan/airframe combination, relative to that of Conv.Jet fuel, was also undertaken through numerical modelling and simulation.Evaluation through ALCEmB revealed that Camelina-SPK, Microalgae-SPK and Jatropha-SPK delivered 70%, 58% and 64% savings in life cycle emission, relative to Conv.Jet fuel. The Net Energy Ratio (NER) analysis indicates that current technology for the biofuel processing is energy efficient and technically feasible. An elaborate post-combustion gas property evaluation infers that the Bio-SPKs exhibit improved thermodynamic behaviour. This thermodynamic effect has a positive impact on mission-level fuel consumption which reflected as fuel savings in the range of 3 - 3.8% and, therefore, emission savings of 5.8-6.3% in CO2 and 7.1-8.3% in LTO NOx, relative to that of Jet-A1. An economic feasibility analysis which entails prediction of hypothetical biofuel price prediction and its impact on direct operating cost (DOC) of an aircraft which infers that Bio-SPKs, over a user-defined medium-range mission profile, costs an additional 95-100% in terms of aircraft DOC, relative to that operated with conventional Jet-fuel, within short (2020) and medium (2020). However, the advanced biofuels are able to exhibit financial competence from 2020 onwards, relative to that of Conv.Jet fuel. However, the Bio-SPKs exhibit this economic feasibility only against a backdrop of persistent Conv.Jet fuel price volatility and severe environmental taxation between the analysis periods (2020-2075
Regional determinants of FDI in China: A new approach with recent data
No full textWe empirically investigate the factors that drive the uneven regional distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to China.s 31 provinces from 1995 to 2006. The aim of this paper is to explain the investment patterns in (partly) foreign funded firms across these provinces. We use factor analysis and derive four factors that may drive FDI: institutions, labor costs, market potential, and geography. The factor analysis then structures our dataset to concentrate on these four clusters consisting of 42 province specific and time-varying items. Factor analysis not only helps us to identify the latent dimensions which are not apparent from direct study, but also facilitates econometrics with reduced number of variables. We apply fixed effects panel estimation and GMM to account for endogeneity. In line with theoretical predictions we find that foreign investors choose and invest more in provinces with better institutions, lower labor costs, and larger market size. Nonlinear results denote that the positive effects of infrastructure and market potential on FDI are complementary to each other, which is in line with the economic geography literature. In particular the effect of market size on FDI is larger in provinces with better institutions. Sub-sample study confirms the existences of a large disparity between East and West. In the poorer large western provinces FDI is strongly driven by the geographical factor in contrast to the east of China where institutions play a significant role to build the .factory of the world.. Robustness tests indicate that two sub-dimensions of institutions, namely infrastructure and governance, are important to determine the location choice of FDI in China.FDI, China, factors analysis, regional and spatial distribution of FDI, location choice
Development of gas turbine combustor preliminary design methodologies and preliminary assessments of advanced low emission combustor concepts
No full textIt is widely accepted that climate change is a very serious environmental
concern. Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other emissions in the global
atmosphere have increased substantially since the industrial revolution and now
increasing faster than ever before. There is a thought that this has already led
to dangerous warming in the Earth’s atmosphere and relevant changes around.
Emissions legislations are going to be stringent as the years will pass. Hydro
carbon fuel cost is also increasing substantially; more over this is non-
renewable source of energy.
There is an urgent need for novel combustor technologies for reducing emission
as well as exploring alternative renewable fuels without effecting combustor
performance. Development of novel combustors needs comprehensive
understanding of conventional combustors. The design and development of gas
turbine combustors is a crucial but uncertain part of an engine development
process. At present, the design process relies upon a wealth of experimental
data and correlations. Some major engine manufacturers have addressed the
above problem by developing computer programs based on tests and empirical
data to assist combustor designers, but such programs are proprietary. There is
a need of developing design methodologies for combustors which would lead to
substantial contribution to knowledge in field of combustors. Developed design
methodologies would be useful for researchers for preliminary design
assessments of a gas turbine combustor.
In this study, step by step design methodologies of dual annular radial and axial
combustor, triple annular combustor and reverse flow combustor have been
developed. Design methodologies developed could be used to carry out
preliminary design along with performance analysis for conventional combustion
chambers. In this study the author has also proposed and undertaken
preliminary studies of some novel combustor concepts.
A novel concept of a dilution zone less combustor has been proposed in this
study. According to this concept dilution air would be introduced through nozzle
guide vanes to provide an optimum temperature traverse for turbine blades.
Preliminary study on novel dilution zone less combustor predicts that the length
of this combustor would be shorter compared to conventional case, resulting in
reduced weight, fuel burn and vibrations. Reduced fuel burn eventually leads to
lower emissions.
Another novel concept of combustor with hydrogen synthesis from kerosene
reformation has been proposed and a preliminary studies has been undertaken
in this work. Addition of hydrogen as an additive in gas turbine combustor
shows large benefits to the performance of gas turbine engines in addition to
reduction in NOx levels. The novel combustor would have two stages,
combustion of ~5% of the hydrocarbon fuel would occur in the first stage at
higher equivalence ratios in the presence of a catalyst, which would eventually
lead to the formation of hydrogen rich flue gases. In the subsequent stage the
hydrogen rich flue gases from the first stage would act as an additive to
combustion of the hydrocarbon fuel. It has been preliminary estimated that the
mixture of the hydrocarbon fuel and air could subsequently be burned at much
lower equivalence ratios than conventional cases, giving better temperature
profiles, flame stability limits and lower NOx emissions.
The effect of different geometrical parameters on the performance of vortex
controlled hybrid diffuser has also been studied. It has been predicted that
vortex chamber in vortex controlled hybrid diffuser does not play any role in
altering the performance of diffuser.
The overall contribution to knowledge of this study is development of combustor
preliminary design methodologies with different variants. The other contribution
to knowledge is related to novel combustors with a capability to produce low
emissions. Study on novel combustor and diffuser has yielded application of two
patent applications with several other publications which has resulted in a
contribution to knowledge. A list of research articles, two patents, awards and
achievements are presented in Appendix C
Tariff rates, tariff revenue, and tariff reform : some new facts
No full textThe ad valorem tariff rateson specific products and the ratio of tariff revenue to import value, the collected rate, are only tenuously related, contend the authors. Using tariff and revenue data (at the tariff code line level of detail) for three developing countries, the authors compare the statutory ad valorem tariff rates (official rates) with the ratio of tariff revenues to import values (collected rates). They document four facts: (1) the collected rate for any given item of the tariff code has almost no relationship to the official rate for that item; (2) the variation of collected rates around the official rate increases as the level of the official rate increases; (3) the collected rates increase much less, on average, than one-for-one with the official rates; and (4) above a certain level, collected rates do not increase at all despite increases in official rates. Collection rates appear to level off at roughly 50 percent. (In Kenya, collected rates are lower for high-tariff than for moderate-tariff items. Assigning lower rates for the high-tariff items would actually increase revenue on those items.) The implications of these findings are twofold for calculating general revenue. The rates are not the critical determinant of revenues. The revenue implications of large rate changes can be offset by modest changes in the system of exemptions, for example. The benefit of eliminating exemptions is primarily transparency. The costs of programs that provide import exemptions for, say, regional promotion, are often hidden in customs statistics. Secondly, if pressures that cause collected rates not to increase one-for-one with tariff rates will continue to be present in any tariff regime, then these must be factored into tariff reform design.TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Export Competitiveness,Environmental Economics&Policies,Trade and Regional Integration,Economic Theory&Research
Rent - seeking trade policy : a time series approach
No full textUsing a time-series approach, the author analyzes the relationship between the extent of rent-seeking trade policy and both political and economic variables. For rent-seeking trade policy, the indicator he uses is the number of foreign-trade regulations passed each year for the benefit of a single firm or industry. The author uses data from Uruguay for 1925-83. Uruguay, which experienced an impressive economic decline, is an outstanding example of a rent-seeking society. After being a wealthy economy in midcentury, it suffered almost complete stagnation, which led to social and policital disintegration by the end of the 1960s. Three decades of restrictive regulations on foreign trade had created a nearly closed economy by the end of the 1960s. It was worth analyzing whether policymakers'great receptiveness to demands for protection could account for Uruguay's decline. Over the period 1925-83, the author finds almost 4,000 laws, decrees, and administrative resolutions that create, maintain, or modify a foreign-trade regulation for the benefit of a single firm or industry. About half of them explicitly identify the petitioner - usually a firm or guild. Since the size of the Uruguayan economy changed over the period studied, the author scales the annual number of regulations by output or exports to measure the extent of rent-seeking trade policy. The author shows that the extent of rent-seeking trade policy increased with discretionary policies and under dictatorship. (In the period studied, there were two stages of democracy - until 1932 and from 1943-72 - and two stages of dictatorship.) He also shows that rent-seeking trade restrictions increased under import-substitution strategies and, more unexpectedly, under active export promotion. This suggests that discretionary power leads to wasteful distribution, whether it is used to support inward- or outward-oriented policies. Finally, the author analyzes the correlation between innovations in the trade policy indicator and innovations in the growth rates of output and exports, with a lag of up to 20 years. Surprisingly, he finds a positive correlation with output growth rates after two or three years. But the correlation becomes negative some years later, particularly in the case of exports. The short-run positive impact on growth rates, together with the surprisingly long time lag before the negative impact, may account for policymakers'receptiveness to demands for protection.Trade Policy,Achieving Shared Growth,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies
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