154 research outputs found
Sectoral allocation by gender of Latin American workers over the liberalization period of the 1990s
No full textThe recent restructuring of Latin American economies has renewed interest in the effects of trade liberalization, on labor markets, and on the gender division of labor. The author does not attempt to establish casuality between economic reforms, and the types of jobs that men and women hold. Instead, she provides a detailed description of the trends in male, and female formal, and informal sector participation during the economic reform period in Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica. The author first compares the gender composition of the formal, informal wage, and self-employment sectors in a year before reforms (1988 for Argentina, 1989 for Brazil, and Costa Rica), and a year after reforms implementation (1997 for Argentina, 1995 for Brazil and Costa Rica). Although women continued to be more likely than men to work in the informal wage sector, there is no trend of"masculinization"or"feminization"of the informal sector, or any other. Instead, in Argentina men have overtaken women as the most prevalent workers in the informal wage sector, while in Brazil, the opposite has occurred (as men move into self-employment). In Costa Rica there have been no statistical, observable changes. The author then considers the distribution across sectors within each gender group, to identify whether men, and women are more likely to select different sectors in the post-reform period relative to the pre-reform period. Among both men, and women in all three countries (except Brazilian men), workers have become more likely to hold informal wage jobs, and less likely to hold formal sector jobs. Trends in human capital accumulation explain these changes for both men, and women, while changes in gender roles, primarily in homecare and marriage, do not seem to have an effect.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Labor Policies,Population&Development,Public Health Promotion,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Population&Development,Banks&Banking Reform,Work&Working Conditions
Quality of life and wellbeing among HIV outpatients in East Africa: a multicentre observational study.
No full textBACKGROUND: Global health investment has reduced HIV mortality and transmission. However, little is known of patient-reported outcomes alongside ART rollout. This study aimed to measure wellbeing using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS) among outpatients at PEPFAR-funded facilities. METHODS: In a multicentre 2 country cross-sectional study, adults attending 12 facilities in Kenya and Uganda gave self-reported data on quality of life (physical and mental wellbeing dimensions), functional and a measure of multidimensional problems (physical, psychological, social and spiritual). RESULTS: Among the 1,337 participants, multidimensional problems were more common in psychological, spiritual and social domains than in physical. In multivariable analysis using GEE to adjust for facility effect, the mental health subscale of quality of life was lower for people with limited functional status (B = -5.27, 95% CI -5.99, 1. -4.56 p < 0.001) and higher for wealthier people (B = 0.91, 95% CI 0.48, 1.33, p < 0.001). The physical health subscale of quality of life was lower for those with limited functional status (B = -8.58, 95% CI -9.46 to -7.70, p < 0.001) and those who had a caregiver present (B = -1.97, 95% CI -3.72 to -0.23, p = 0.027), higher for wealthier people (B = 1.14, 95% CI 0.65, 1.64, p < 0.001), and positively associated with CD4 count (B = 1.61, 95% CI 1.08-2.14, p < 0.001). Multidimensional problems were more burdensome for people with limited functional status (B = -2.06, 95% CI -2.46 to -1.66, p < 0.001), and less burdensome with more education (B = 0.63, 95% CI 0.25-1.00, p = 0.001) or ART use (B = 0.94, 95% CI 0.34-1.53, p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Multidimensional problems are highly prevalent, and worse with declining function. Importantly, ART use does not appear to be protective for self-reported physical and mental dimensions of quality of life. Assessment and management of self-reported wellbeing must form part of HIV care and treatment services to ensure maximum benefit from ART investment
Proyecto Arqueológico Regional San Bartolo, Informe anual no. 7., séptima temporada 2008
No full textAnnual field report for the San Bartolo Regional Archaeology Project. Principal Investigators: Mónica Urquizú and William Saturno
Breadwinner or caregiver? - how household role affectslabor choices in Mexico
No full textRecent volatility in the Mexican economy, has required households to alter patterns of participation in the labor force, voluntarily or not. The author uses panel data to examine patterns of labor force entry among adult men, and women with different household responsibilities, asking whether gender is a primary determinant, shaping these patterns. She finds that labor supply patterns are driven more by household role, than by gender. Heads of households, regardless of sex, behave similarly. Women who have neither spouses, nor children behave more like men, than like married women. They are also more likely than any other group to have inflexible, higher-paying jobs in the formal sector - which raises the question: Do employers discriminate, based on gender, or on household structure? She also detects a strong added-worker effect among secondary workers, a result not detected in the labor markets of developed countries that have social insurance programs. Finally she finds that wives'choice of sector during downturns, is subject to the households'earning needs, that husbands use informal wage, or contract employment as an employer of last resort, only in response to negative income shocks to the household, and that single mothers do not select the informal sector over the formal sector in response to either expected, or realized negative income shocks. The policy implications? Interventions that target women aren't necessarily appropriate, because women are heterogeneous. And programs that aid household heads - male or female - should be directed toward employment that will last beyond the economic shock.Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Markets,Educational Policy and Planning,Labor Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Labor Markets,Educational Policy and Planning,Health Monitoring&Evaluation
William Gilmore Simms and John Pendleton Kennedy: Southern Literature and the Spectre of Thomas Jefferson
No full textDuring the Antebellum Era, many of Thomas Jefferson’s concepts became part of the great debate that led to the Civil War. The debate over Jeffersonianism incorporated all aspects of Thomas Jefferson’s life. From slavery and agriculture to manufacturing, industrialization, and tariffs, all played a part in the splintering of the American nation. While some would say that slavery caused the Civil War, the real cause was the incompatibility of the various visions Americans held for the future of their nation. Like the great conflict of the 1790s between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, the men of the antebellum era divided over an industrialized nation and an agricultural one. The only difference between the antebellum debate and that of the 1790s was that in the 1830s, 40s, and 50s, all parties claimed to be rooted in the political ideals of Thomas Jefferson. This crisis of Jeffersonianism began in the early 1830s when South Carolina nullified the Tariff of 1832. The reactions of President Andrew Jackson during the Nullification Crisis led to the creation of political ideologies that opposed the Jacksonian Democrats. The two most important political groups were the nationalists and the extreme states’ rights men. While the crisis was resolved without bloodshed, it left the political foundations of America in shambles. Neither of the parties formed during the Nullification Crisis was a major party; rather, members of both political parties filled the ranks of these minority groups. Men influential enough to sway the nation their way formed these new political organizations. John C. Calhoun organized the extreme states’ rights men. Using Jefferson’s theory of nullification laid down in the Kentucky Resolution, he convinced South Carolina to nullify the Tariff of 1832. Like Jefferson, the extreme states’ rights men saw agriculture as the future of America. They believed in a central government with little power that could be controlled by the states. Most of the men included in this group lived in the South and then later called for the South to secede. The literary voice of the extreme states’ rights men was William Gilmore Simms. Editor, author, and sometimes politician, Simms converted from nationalism to secessionism. Like Calhoun, Simms began changing his political views after the Nullification Crisis. Through his literature, he justified Southern institutions and actions by defining them as Jeffersonian in nature. His defense was that Jefferson was a Southerner, who owned a plantation, as well as slaves, and who made his living from the earth. If it was good enough for Jefferson, it was good enough for America. The nationalists, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. They favored federal power over the states, internal improvements, and an industrialized nation, as opposed to an agricultural nation. They were not against agriculture; however, they believed that agriculture should support the industrialized growth of America. Led by men like Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, the nationalists pushed for internal improvements and the industrialization of America. Like extreme states’ rights men, the nationalists claimed to be the heirs of Jefferson. In this case, they drew their Jeffersonian roots from the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. During his presidency, Jefferson actually strengthened the federal government’s power, with the Louisiana Purchase and the enforcement of the Embargo of 1807. John Pendleton Kennedy became the voice of the nationalists. Through his writing, he defended nationalist ideologies by poking fun at the South for relying solely on commercial agriculture for its survival. Kennedy believed that the true Jeffersonian vision for America was one in which agriculture supported industry. The farmers of America would feed the workers who produced their items for trade with the rest of the world, creating a flourishing trade system that would strengthen American power. The crisis in Jeffersonianism affected all areas of American society, from North to South, and East to West. However, the different political ideologies could not be contained within individual sections of the country. The politics of the time were confusing, because men bounced from party to party on a whim. Every election year saw the major-party candidates fighting for nominations in their own parties, as well as against third-party candidates. In the end, the political crisis ended after the Civil War. The men of the antebellum era strove to build Jefferson’s America, but in the process, they adjusted their ways and built Hamilton’s instead
Prediciton of the remaining service life of superheater and reheater tubes in coal-biomass fired power plants
No full textAs a result of concern about the effects of CO2 emssions on the global warming, there is increasing pressure to reduce such emissions from power generation systems. The use of biomass co-firing with coal in conventional pulverised fuel power plants has provided the most immediate route to introduce a class of fuel that is regarded as both sustainable and carbon neutral as it produces less net CO2 emissions. In the future it is anticipated that increased levels of biomass will be required to use in such systems to accomplish the desired CO2 emissions targets. The use of biomass, however, is believed to result in severe fireside corrosion of superheater and reheater tubing and cause unexpected early failures of tubes, which can lead to significant economic penalties. Moreover, future pulverised fuel power systems will need to use much higher steam temeptures and pressures to increase the boiler efficiency. Higher operating temperatures and pressures will also increase the risk of fireside corrosion damage to the boiler tubing and lead to shorter component life.
Predicting the remaining service life of superheater and reheater tubes in coal-biomass fired power plants is therefore an important aspect of managing such power plants. The path to this type of failure of heat exchangers involves five processes: combustion, deposition, fireside corrosion, steam-side oxidation, and creep. Various models or partial models each of these processes are available from existing research, but to fully understand the impact of new fuel mixtures (i.e. biomass and coal) and changing operating conditions on such failures, an integrated model of all of these processes is required.
This work has produced an integrated set of models and so predicted the remaining service life of superheater/reheater tubes based on the three frameworks which have been developed by analysing those models used in depicting the five processes: one was conceptual and the other two were based on mathematical model. In addition, the outputs of the integrated mathematical models were compared with the laboratory generated data from Cranfield University as well as historical data from Central Electricity Research Laboratories.
Furthermore, alternative models for each process were applied in the model and the results were compared with other models results as well as with the experimental data. Based on these comparisons and the availability of models constants the best models were chosen in the integrated model.
Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the effect of different model input values on the residual life superheater and reheater tubing. Mid-wall metal temperature of tubes was found to be the most important factor affecting the remaining service life of boiler tubing. Tubing wall thickness and outer diameter were another critical input in the model. Significant differences were observed between the residual life of thin-walled and thick-walled tubes
The management of absence: why it matters : an analysis of absence management issues, with a case study based in a UK academic library
No full textThis paper seeks to give an overview of some ongoing research into absence management practices in a UK university library. The aim of the research in question is to evaluate the effectiveness of current management practices
Plant-plant and plant-insect interactions: Direct and indirect effects of plant neighbors
No full textIn greenhouse and field experiments using Amaranthus retroflexus and Chenopodium album, I investigated whether competition and artificial leaf herbivory acted synergistically in depressing plant growth (height, diameter, and vegetative mass) and reproduction (reproductive mass and time of flowering). In several experiments, competition and herbivory had a negative synergistic effect on reproductive mass, vegetative mass, and diameter of A. retroflexus, and on reproductive and vegetative mass of C. album.In a field experiment to determine the indirect effects of second order plant neighbors, I grew target plants (either A. retroflexus or C. album) with near or far neighbors, or with both near and far neighbors. Second order neighbors had a positive indirect effect on reproductive mass of A. retroflexus.Using field plantings of A. retroflexus and C. album, which are hosts of the common sooty wing skipper (Pholisora catullus), I studied the effects of varying the relative quality and number of host neighbors on skipper egg numbers. As C. album is the preferred host, I was able to manipulate neighbor quality by changing the neighbor species. Through path analysis, I examined the direct effect of neighbor species and number of neighbors on target plant egg numbers, as well as the indirect effects on egg numbers via changes in plant attractiveness effected by changes in competition environments. For both plant species, proximity to non-conspecifics, as opposed to conspecifics, directly reduced egg numbers. However, competition from non-conspecifics had less impact on the absolute attractiveness of the target plants, thus they indirectly increased egg numbers. An increased number of neighbors of either species reduced egg numbers both directly and indirectly.Additionally, I found that P. catullus larvae consistently had higher survivorship on C. album than A. retroflexus, but only the August broods of adult skippers showed a preference for ovipositing on C. album. The July broods of skippers did not discriminate between species. Host plants close to nectar sources did not receive more eggs than plants farther from nectar sources.Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-07T13:33:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Proyecto Arqueológico Regional de Bolonchén, Temporada de Campo 2009
No full textAnnual field report for the Bolonchén Regional Archaeology Project. Principal Investigators: Tomás Gallareta Negrón, George J. Bey, III, and William M. Ringle
Social policy and macroeconomics : the Irish experience
No full textThe remarkable performance of the Irish economy in recent years has attracted much attention. Within a 10-year period the economy went from an 18 percent unemployment rate to nearly full employment, while the ratio of debt to GDP fell from 120 percent to less than 50 percent. Inevitably, this success was also accompanied by problems, as infrastructure came under increasing stress, environmental difficulties became more evident, and a changing social structure resulted in some groups becoming increasingly marginalized. What worked and what did not? In particular, are there lessons that may be relevant for other countries facing similar difficulties, especially in Asia and Latin America? McCarthy focuses on three features of Ireland's economic achievements. Two of these features are external: the opening to Europe and the role of foreign direct investment. The third and perhaps most"exportable"feature is domestic: the role of a social pact. This pact was initially between employers, trade unions, and the government. Subsequent pacts were extended to include a variety of other groups. McCarthy discusses the far-reaching impact of this series of pacts on health, poverty, employment, education, and social welfare. Ireland now faces a number of challenges, including the slowdown in the global economy, a fall in resource transfers from the European Union, and the potential effects of the entry into the EU of Hungary and Poland.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Poverty Assessment,National Governance
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