Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RISK AND INSURANCE IN VILLAGE INDIA: COMMENT

THE PROTECTION OF POOR HOUSEHOLDS in high-risk agrarian economies from shocks to their incomes has often been seen as a compelling motive for various forms of policy intervention including transfers of cash or food, credit subsidies, and public employment schemes (for a survey see Lipton and Ravallion (1995)). The desirability of such "safety net" policies clearly depends on how well pre-existing risk-sharing arrangements work. While it is commonly thought that, without effective policy intervention, rural households are vulnerable to village-wide shocks such as adverse prices or poor rains, it is less clear to what extent risk-sharing institutions within the village mitigate the effects of idiosyncratic income risk stemming, for instance, from ill-health or localized crop damage.2 Several recent papers have used household-level data to implement tests of risk-sharing that might inform such concerns.3 These tests are based on the proposition that with perfect risk-sharing, consumption at the household level should be insured against idiosyncratic risks and thus depend solely on the realization of the aggregate risk (Wilson (1968); Diamond (1967)). Townsend (1994) tests this implication of perfect intra-village risk-sharing using longitudinal household data on consumptions and incomes for three villages in India. He reports that the full-insurance hypothesis provides a surprisingly good benchmark in that household consumptions co-move and do not appear to be much influenced by contemporaneous own income. Our aim here is to examine the robustness of this potentially important finding. We have two main concerns. The first is that the specification Townsend adopts potentially biases his test towards the null hypothesis of full insurance because it yields inconsistent estimates of the key test parameter under a plausible alternative. We therefore estimate a different specification that generates consistent estimates under both the null and the alternative. Our second concern is that a particular form of measurement error in the consumption data Townsend uses may have further biased his results toward the null hypothesis of full-insurance. To address this concern, we use an instrumental variables procedure when we implement the test of consumption insurance with Townsend's consumption data. We also re-estimate the test equations with a measure of consumption derived from the same underlying primary data by an alternate method. Finally, Townsend reports 1Discussions with Robert Townsend stimulated our interest in this investigation. The staff of the
Stunted Growth Caused by Blast Disease in Rice Seedlings Is Associated with Changes in Phytohormone Signaling Pathways

In response to pathogen attack, plants prioritize defense reactions generally at the expense of plant growth. In this work, we report that changes in phytohormone signaling pathways are associated with the stunted plant growth caused by blast disease in rice seedlings. Infection of rice seedlings with blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (race 007.0) at the four-leaf stage (three true leaves) resulted in considerable inhibition of the growth of the upper uninfected distal leaves; the length of leaf blade and leaf sheath of the sixth and seventh leaf was reduced by 27 and 82%, and 88 and 72%, respectively, compared to that in the uninoculated plant control. Interestingly, cutting off the blast-infected fourth leaf blade within 2 days post inoculation (dpi) significantly rescued the inhibition of leaf growth, implying that an inhibitory substance(s) and/or signal was generated in the blast-infected leaves (fourth leaf) and transmitted to the upper distal leaves (sixth and seventh) during the 2-dpi period that induced growth inhibition. Expression analysis of marker genes for phytohormone pathways revealed acute activation of the jasmonate (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathways, and repression of auxin, gibberellic acid (GA) and salicylic acid (SA) signaling pathways, in the sixth leaf. The genes related to cell wall expansion were also significantly downregulated. In the blast-infected fourth leaf, JA pathway was activated within 2 dpi, followed by activation of ABA pathway 3 dpi. Further, leaf inhibition caused by blast infection was partially rescued in the rice mutant line coleoptile photomorphogenesis 2 (cpm2), which is defective in the gene encoding allene oxide cyclase (OsAOC). These results indicate that the JA signaling pathway is at least partly involved in the growth inhibition processes. Collectively, our data suggest that, upon pathogen attack, rice seedlings prioritize defense reactions against the infecting pathogen by temporarily ceasing plant growth through the systemic control of phytohormone pathways.
PROACTIVE HRM FOR REDUCING KNOWLEDGE RISKS — EVALUATING COMMITMENT AND TRUSTWORTHINESS

Although the first look might suggest otherwise, knowledge protection is a complex phenomenon that does not lend itself to easy classification. Discussion easily turns to intellectual property rights (IPRs) such as patents or secrecy, while other aspects such as human resource management (HRM) for knowledge protection is neglected. Yet, innovative firms depend on their knowledgeable employees to generate new innovation, to assist in profiting from them, and maintain the capabilities for later innovative activities. Therefore both reactive and proactive action is needed to mitigate problems with knowledge leaving and leaking. This study addresses the ways in which companies can prepare for knowledge-related risks as early as during employee recruitment. The findings from our case study suggest that somewhat different issues are considered in relation to different types of risks (leaving and leaking), and that while intuition plays a notable role in proactive assessment, a more analytical approach can also be taken.
Health, Wealth, and the Role of Institutions

A positive relationship between socioeconomic status and health has been observed over many populations and many time periods. One of the factors mediating this relation is the institutional environment in which people function. We consider longitudinal data from two countries with very different institutional environments, the United States and The Netherlands. To structure the empirical analysis, we develop a theoretical model relating changes in health status to income and changes in income to health status. We show that income or wealth inequality is closely connected with health inequality. We empirically estimate counterparts to the theoretical relationships with generally corroborative results.
An Economic Appraisal of Two Strategies in Geriatric Screening

Screening for preventive geriatric health care has become common in many Norwegian municipalities. Different methods are used to screen for unreported need of intervention. There is little information available about which is the most costeffective method. This article describes a comparison of two screening models. The first screening was conducted by means of a personal interview held at a health clinic and the second by a postal questionnaire. The results show that a postal questionnaire study was more cost-effective than the health-clinic consultation. It demanded no more resources than the health-clinic model, but had a wider effect because it covered a broader spectrum with regard to response, proportion of the total population and the proportion of respondents for whom an intervention was implemented.
Modelling Socioeconomic Neighbourhood Change due to Internal Migration in England

In England, deprived neighbourhoods were the focus of a number of policy initiatives constructed by the previous Labour government. The evaluations of these programmes and other earlier interventions have shown that attempts to improve neighbourhood socioeconomic outcomes might be affected by people selectively moving in and out of targeted areas. Nonetheless, there is very little evidence that provides an appreciation of this effect. This paper examines the effect of internal migration on the concentration of low-income families in neighbourhoods in England during 2002–07 using a multilevel growth curve model. Explanatory variables in the model include the regional area and district type of a neighbourhood as well as whether the neighbourhood is ranked within the 20 per cent most deprived in England. The findings suggest that deprived neighbourhoods increase their concentration of poor families at a faster rate than all other neighbourhoods. However, the increase is marginal.
A microfluidic device for parallel 3‐D cell cultures in asymmetric environments

We demonstrate a concept for how a miniaturized 3‐D cell culture in biological extracellular matrix (ECM) or synthetic gels bridges the gap between organ‐tissue culture and traditional 2‐D cultures. A microfluidic device for 3‐D cell culture including microgradient environments has been designed, fabricated, and successfully evaluated. In the presented system stable diffusion gradients can be generated by application of two parallel fluid flows with different composition against opposite sides of a gel plug with embedded cells. Culture for up to two weeks was performed showing cells still viable and proliferating. The cell tracer dye calcein was used to verify gradient formation as the fluorescence intensity in exposed cells was proportional to the position in the chamber. Cellular response to an applied stimulus was demonstrated by use of an adenosine triphosphate gradient where the onset of a stimulated intracellular calcium release also depended on cell position.
Formal project organization and informal social networks: regional advantages in the emergent animation industry in Oslo, Norway.

This article focuses on the social networks that facilitate projects based activities in one particular part of cultural industries. Cultural industries are dependent on flexible ways of organizing their work because they operate in unpredictable markets. However, the organization of work in temporary projects challenges some key assumptions when it comes to the need for long-term, stable relationships for innovative and effective organizations. A key question is thus how firms that do not have a formal organization that creates stable relationships manage to create continuity in what they do. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with core firms that operate within the animation industry in Oslo, Norway. The findings show that in the animation industry, projects are part of the formal organization of the industry, while social networks are part of the informal organization and that different stages in the projects are governed by different types of network relations. The main conclusion is that mutual trust within the project networks and a strong shared sense of common vision between the members in the project networks are key factors that explain how the animation industry can function without formal organizational structures.
Sub-s Switching Time in Silicon-on-Insulator Mach – Zehnder Thermooptic Switch

We have demonstrated both rise and fall times below 1 s with 10%–90% modulation in a silicon-on-insulator thermooptical Mach–Zehnder switch. The switch is based on 9m-thick and 10m-wide single-mode rib waveguides. Very fast switching was achieved by using a differential control method. The switch was driven with a digital signal processor accompanied by simple electronic circuitry.
A predictor-based compensation for electromechanical delay during neuromuscular electrical stimulation-II

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is a promising technique to restore functional mobility in persons with paraplegia. Closed-loop control of NMES allows precise and accurate limb control in critical tasks such as gait restoration or gait retraining. However, a major cause of degraded performance and instability during NMES control is electromechanical delay (EMD). Uncertainty, exogenous disturbances (e.g., spasticity), and particularly, unknown nonlinear muscle force-length and muscle force-velocity relationships in the musculoskeletal system complicate control design to compensate for EMD. Despite these difficulties, a predictor-based control method that compensates for EMD in the uncertain musculoskeletal system is developed in this paper. The developed control method is an improvement over our previous work in which only proportional-derivative (PD)-type delay compensating controller was developed for a completely unknown nonlinear musculoskeletal system. The result incorporates integral control in the previous PD-based control design (i.e., a PID-type delay compensating controller is developed) and is shown to achieve uniformly ultimately bounded tracking.
Fostering Traditional Yucatec Maya Management of Natural Resources through Microcredits: A Community Case Study

In this research we show the way in which a small Yucatec Mayan community conducts a diversified management strategy of its natural resources, as well as how this strategy is supplemented and financed by microfinance. The local description of the ecological process of succession was used for describing the strategy of nature appropriation. Network analysis was used for studying how productive activities are correlated, depending on households having or not having microcredits. Results show that households carry out a diversified management strategy of natural resource in which 12 productive activities are implemented in 5 different land-use units. Study findings show that the network of productive activities of households with microfinance is more interconnected, and that 59% of the people are devoting their microcredits to finance traditional activities such as crop fields, beekeeping, or home gardens, which are the most socially, economically, and ecologically contextualized productive activities in the region.
Tobacco water: a special form of tobacco use in the Mizoram and Manipur states of India.

BACKGROUND Tuibur and hidakphu are watery tobacco products made by passing tobacco smoke through water. These have neither been described in the health literature nor are there any reports of epidemiological studies on these products. We collected information on the use of these products in Mizoram and Manipur. METHODS We conducted two surveys. In the first, we spoke to personnel involved in tobacco water manufacturing, marketing and sale. In the second, we carried out a house to house survey of adults on the attitude and behaviour towards the use of tobacco products in 25 randomly selected villages each in Aizawl district of Mizoram and Churchandpur district of Manipur. RESULTS About 7% of persons surveyed in Aizawl (872 of 12 185) and Churchandpur (139 of 2137) used tobacco water, which is stored and sold in bottles. It is sipped and retained in the mouth for 5-10 minutes and then spat out. Among tobacco water users, about 90% of users in Churchandpur and about 40% in Aizawl sipped tobacco water more than 5 times a day. The use of other tobacco products in both districts was also high. CONCLUSION The use of tobacco water has been a part of the culture of some communities in Mizoram and Manipur for a long time. These communities also have a very high incidence of tobacco use. To discourage the use of such tobacco products, these communities should be educated about the harmful effects of tobacco use on a priority.
Effect of proprioception training on knee joint position sense in female team handball players

Background: A number of studies have shown that proprioception training can reduce the risk of injuries in pivoting sports, but the mechanism is not clearly understood. Aim: To determine the contributing effects of propioception on knee joint position sense among team handball players. Study design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Two professional female handball teams were followed prospectively for the 2005–6 season. 20 players in the intervention team followed a prescribed proprioceptive training programme while 19 players in the control team did not have a specific propioceptive training programme. The coaches recorded all exposures of the individual players. The location and nature of injuries were recorded. Joint position sense (JPS) was measured by a goniometer on both knees in three angle intervals, testing each angle five times. Assessments were performed before and after the season by the same examiner for both teams. In the intervention team a third assessment was also performed during the season. Complete data were obtained for 15 subjects in the intervention team and 16 in the control team. Absolute error score, error of variation score and SEM were calculated and the results of the intervention and control teams were compared. Results: The proprioception sensory function of the players in the intervention team was significantly improved between the assessments made at the start and the end of the season (mean (SD) absolute error 9.78–8.21° (7.19–6.08°) vs 3.61–4.04°(3.71–3.20°), p<0.05). No improvement was seen in the sensory function in the control team between the start and the end of the season (mean (SD) absolute error 6.31–6.22°(6.12–3.59°) vs 6.13–6.69°(7.46–6.49°), p>0.05). Conclusion: This is the first study to show that proprioception training improves the joint position sense in elite female handball players. This may explain the effect of neuromuscular training in reducing the injury rate.
Does Immigration Affect Whether US Natives Major in Science and Engineering?

Immigration may affect the likelihood that US natives major in science or engineering. Foreign-born students may crowd US natives out of science or engineering, or they may have positive spillovers on US natives that attract or retain them in those fields. This study uses data on college majors from the 2009–11 American Community Surveys to examine the effect of the immigrant share in US natives’ age cohort while they are in high school or in college. We find some evidence that immigration adversely affects whether US-born women who graduated from college majored in a science or engineering field.
Office Seeking and Policy Pursuit In Coalition Theory

In most coalition theories, assumptions about policy payoffs for parties and politicians have been used to constrain the coalitions which office-seeking parties can form, thus improving the fit between the expected formation of minimal-winning coalitions and coalitions that actually form. This paper considers policy maximization as a motivating assumption in its own right, one which may influence parties to the exclusion of office seeking or in varying combinations with it. Conversely, office seeking may preclude policy concerns or combine with them in various ways. Because this model characterizes these relationships as variable rather than assuming that office seeking will predominate, it can accommodate problems earlier theories ignored, such as the frequent occurrence of minority governments. We argue the case that this formulation can relate coalition formation to other aspects of government behavior and can lead to an empirical investigation using better policy indicators than have been available before.
Off-Farm Earnings: the Impact of Economic Structure

Local economic structure, or opportunities to earn nonfarm income, should have significant implications for farm family income. This paper reports the results of an analysis of the off-farm earnings of Georgia and Oklahoma farm operators. Unlike earlier studies, this analysis examines the relationship between the economic region in which a farm operator resides and his allocation of labor to non farm activities. The following section of the paper presents the theoretical basis for the analysis. This is followed by sections on the empirical model, the data, the results and the conclusions.
Real-time tracking with an embedded 3D camera with FPGA processing

People tracking is a crucial component of many intelligent video surveillance systems and recent developments in embedded computing architectures and algorithms allow us to design compact, lightweight and energy efficient systems aimed at tackling this problem. In particular, the advent of cheap RGBD sensing devices enables to exploit depth information as additional cue. In this paper we propose a 3D tracking system aimed to become the basic node of a distributed system for business analytics applications. In the envisioned distributed system each node would consist of a custom stereo camera with on-board FPGA processing coupled with a compact CPU based board. In the basic node proposed in this paper, aimed at raw people tracking within the sensed area of a single device, the custom stereo camera delivers, in real time and with minimal energy requirements, accurate dense depth maps according to state-of-the-art computer vision algorithms. Then, the CPU based system, by processing this information enables reliable 3D people tracking. In our system, deploying the FPGA front-end, the main constraint for real time 3D tracking is concerned with the computing requirement of the CPU based board and, in this paper, we propose a fast and effective node for 3D people tracking algorithm suited for implementation on embedded devices.
Product architecture and product development: Case study of Korean shipbuilding firms

This study examines why shipbuilding firms use both standardized and customized design, and analyzes the impact of design architecture choices on competitiveness. Case study findings suggest that Hyundai Heavy Industry Corporation (HHIC) adopts package unit development strategy for cost competitiveness. HHIC's product development processes utilize package unit design to its suppliers which then provide their product by units. In this way, HHIC has accomplished drastic reduction of production processes by half. On the other hand, instead of modular product architecture, Samsung Heavy Industry Corporation (SHIC) emphasizes dual strategic options which integrate both standardization and customization orientation. Low cost vessels use the standardized modules in its two Chinese subsidiaries by blocks which are transported to Gerje Island in Korea for final assembly and completion. Since standardized vessels in general have low added values, SHIC also adopts customization strategy for high premium value products. These two-firm case analyses suggest future product development strategy of shipbuilding industry. Like HHIC, firms may respond to individual customer requirements through internal modular standardization and thus minimize overall development and production costs. On the other hand, like SHIC, firms may pursue both standardization (i.e., economies of scale) and customization strategy (i.e., economies of scope). Both HHIC and SHIC's strategy have both advantages and disadvantages. SHIC is sensible when the global shipbuilding market grows and order volume continues to increase. These two different types of strategies of leading Korean global firms have meaningful implications on other shipbuilding firms of other nations. As shipbuilding industry moves toward military-purpose of submarines and other large combat battleships beyond commercial ship and vessels, these case studies provide interesting insight from both theoretical and managerial standpoints.