58 research outputs found

    One hundred days: the effects of India's employment guarantee program on child work

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    The challenge of evaluating anti-poverty interventions in non-experimental settings lies in establishing a causal linkage between an intervention and a desired outcome. While randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are rightfully regarded as the gold standard, they are not practically or ethically feasible in all development projects. This dissertation focuses on the use of natural experiments to evaluate the intended and unintended consequences of anti-poverty interventions on children. Designed around unplanned events, natural experiments provide information comparable to RCTs, and are cost and time efficient. Article 1 summarizes the evidence from natural experiments on the effects of interventions that increase income and education. Article 2 summarizes the evidence from several natural experiments that evaluate the effects of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), an employment policy. Broad findings suggest that while the policy successfully targeted poor households, and increased rural employment and wages, it had the unintended consequence of increasing child labor, and decreasing educational outcomes. Article 3 uses data from a nationally representative survey to evaluate the effects of the policy on child work. Results suggest that child and household level characteristics have a significant effect on determining child work. Further, as suggested by the literature, children living in households that worked under the policy are more likely to be engaged in work (both paid and domestic) than children living in non-participant households. While it is not possible to make causal attributions, possible explanations include unintended effects of the policy or household selection effects.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Neeta Goe

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    POVERTY, DEVELOPMENT AND DISABILITY

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    Hendriks (1999:111) highlights the point that all studies during the past decade indicate, namely that person’s with disabilities and their families are disproportionately represented amongst the poorest of poor. With the change of perception of persons with disabilities, it is now realised that environmental factors and the context in which such persons live are crucial in the success of their becoming productive members of society. As a result of this understanding, the socio-economic empowerment of persons with disabilities within a developmental framework is being advocated. The author will highlight the need for synergy between mainstream development and those developments specifically for persons with disabilities, given the South African context. In South Africa the majority of the population lives in poverty and in underdeveloped communities with few resources and opportunities. It is argued that it would be difficult to meet the needs of the disabled in these circumstances. In such situations most disability issues are important to all development: equality, empowerment, human rights, poverty and marginalisation (Lee cited in Yeo, 2001:8). In the light of this, the author stresses the need for, and the benefit of, integrating disability issues into all development programmes at community level. The integration of disability issues into all development programmes is a cost-effective approach in dealing with poverty and disability in resource-poor settings. Challenges in implementing this approach will be discussed

    Assessment of Dermatology Clinic Resources at Safety-Net Hospitals: Results from a National Survey

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    The general metadata -- e.g., title, author, abstract, subject headings, etc. -- is publicly available, but access to the submitted files is restricted to UT Southwestern campus access and/or authorized UT Southwestern users.BACKGROUND: The extent of resources available to outpatient dermatology clinics at safety-net hospitals providing care to the underserved is not well characterized. Identification of resource gaps can direct strategies that improve dermatologic care to this population. OBJECTIVE: To determine the state of resources at safety-net dermatology clinics. We hypothesized that staffing and specialty services at safety-net hospital dermatology clinics were suboptimal, and that these clinics have long patient wait-times and high no-show rates. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess resources at outpatient dermatology clinics in safety-net hospitals affiliated with US dermatology residency programs. Surveys consisting of 42 questions were sent via e-mail to the chiefs of outpatient dermatology clinics at 50 safety-net hospitals. The survey was administered between July and October 2016. RESULTS: 31 (62%) safety-net dermatology clinics participated in the survey. The median wait time for the third next available appointment for a new and follow-up patient was 45 (interquartile range: 30-90) days and 30 (16.5-55) days, respectively. The median no-show rate was 30% (24.5-35). Clinics reported median ratios of 3 providers to 1 nurse (1.75-4), and 2 providers to 1 medical assistant (2-4). 58.1% utilized non-paid dermatology attendings. 93.5% offered dermatopathology and pediatric dermatology services, while 41.9% had on-site Mohs surgery. CONCLUSION: Patients face long wait times and no-show rates are high, with suboptimal provider to support staff ratios. Most clinics had access to dermatology subspecialty care, such as pediatric dermatology, and dermatopathology. Expanding staffing, improving patient no-show rates, and use of teledermatology could improve access to dermatologic care in safety-net hospital systems

    Anisotropy in Diffusion and Electrical Conductivity Distributions of TX-151 Phantoms

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    abstract: Among electrical properties of living tissues, the differentiation of tissues or organs provided by electrical conductivity is superior. The pathological condition of living tissues is inferred from the spatial distribution of conductivity. Magnetic Resonance Electrical Impedance Tomography (MREIT) is a relatively new non-invasive conductivity imaging technique. The majority of conductivity reconstruction algorithms are suitable for isotropic conductivity distributions. However, tissues such as cardiac muscle and white matter in the brain are highly anisotropic. Until recently, the conductivity distributions of anisotropic samples were solved using isotropic conductivity reconstruction algorithms. First and second spatial derivatives of conductivity (∇σ and ∇2σ ) are integrated to obtain the conductivity distribution. Existing algorithms estimate a scalar conductivity instead of a tensor in anisotropic samples. Accurate determination of the spatial distribution of a conductivity tensor in an anisotropic sample necessitates the development of anisotropic conductivity tensor image reconstruction techniques. Therefore, experimental studies investigating the effect of ∇2σ on degree of anisotropy is necessary. The purpose of the thesis is to compare the influence of ∇2σ on the degree of anisotropy under two different orthogonal current injection pairs. The anisotropic property of tissues such as white matter is investigated by constructing stable TX-151 gel layer phantoms with varying degrees of anisotropy. MREIT and Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DWI) experiments were conducted to probe the conductivity and diffusion properties of phantoms. MREIT involved current injection synchronized to a spin-echo pulse sequence. Similarities and differences in the divergence of the vector field of ∇σ (∇2σ) among anisotropic samples subjected to two different current injection pairs were studied. DWI of anisotropic phantoms involved the application of diffusion-weighted magnetic field gradients with a spin-echo pulse sequence. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of diffusion tensors were compared to characterize diffusion properties of anisotropic phantoms. The orientation of current injection electrode pair and degree of anisotropy influence the spatial distribution of ∇2σ. Anisotropy in conductivity is preserved in ∇2σ subjected to non-symmetric electric fields. Non-symmetry in electric field is observed in current injections parallel and perpendicular to the orientation of gel layers. The principal eigenvalue and eigenvector in the phantom with maximum anisotropy display diffusion anisotropy.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Bioengineering 201

    The Journey of Rolls-Royce towards Self-Directed Teams: An analysis of the Team Champion Model

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    Rolls-Royce has embarked on a journey towards Self-directed work teams. A salient feature of being self directed is giving employees the autonomy, the power to self manage, self regulate and self organize. Management have to equip the teams with the right training and development to gain all the knowledge and skills to be self-directed. A part of this has to do with transferring knowledge and skills from the functional domains to the teams. Rolls-Royce has developed a model, called the Team Champion (TC) Model that will enable and facilitate the transfer of knowledge from the functional experts to the team. This project focuses on the application of the TC model. The scope of this project is to uncover three objectives: to assess how well the TC model has been communicated and understood down the multiple layers of the organization, and the extent to which employee and managerial perceptions overlap; to assess the barriers TC model face and will face in the future and to asses the future vision of the model. A qualitative study approach is adopted where an in-depth interview with thirteen informants uncovered some of the research objectives of this study. Due to the lack of literature on transfer of knowledge from support group to teams in the teamworking domain, the author ventured into areas of knowledge transfer, team building, team development and the cultural aspect (dealing with changes in the attitudes and behaviours of employees) of teamworking. The interview findings were carefully coded and presented in themes, which were later analysed with reference to the literature review. A conclusion chapter follows which leads into a section incorporating limitations of the study
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