Improved stove adoption in the Northern Peruvian Andes

This dissertation examines outcomes from a development intervention which introduced improved cooking stoves into the rural communities of the Chalaco District, in the Northern Peruvian Andes. The first chapter introduces the dissertation; it presents the intervention’s context and discusses the social capital concept and how it was measured. The second chapter confirms the informational role of village social capital. It explores how bonding social capital and village-level technology usage patterns mutually influence information diffusion during the initial adoption stages of a new cooking device. The results indicate that the effect of village usage patterns on the household’s usage decision is significantly higher in villages with higher levels of bonding social capital, and that the marginal impact of bonding links on the usage decision may be negative if village success in stove usage at initial adoption stages is relatively low. Social capital indicators were collected before the intervention; therefore, reverse causality should not be critical for identification purposes. Village unobservables are not likely to drive the main results; the effect of village usage patterns on the decision to dismantle the improved stove is also increasing in bonding social capital. The third chapter estimates the effect of the improved stove on firewood consumption during the winter season. To identify the impact of stove usage, it exploits random differences in stoves’ material quality. Given this, an indicator of iron frame failure is used as an instrument to predict stove adoption to determine the causal effect of this device. The instrumental variable results indicate that improved stove usage significantly reduces firewood consumption by approximately 40%. The fourth chapter analyses the impact of the new device on health indicators typically affected by indoor air pollution (IAP). To identify the causal impact of improved stove usage, I follow the same identification strategy discussed in chapter three. The results indicate that improved stove usage, with an operative chimney, reduces self-reported respiratory illness and eye discomfort symptoms. These results are only for housewives, who are more likely to be exposed to IAP. No significant health effects were found for housewives using the improved stove without an operative chimney.Arts, Faculty ofVancouver School of EconomicsGraduat

O estado animo pre competitivo em uma equipe de futebol profissional: Um estudo entre jogadores titulares e reservas

The aim of this paper focuses on determining the importance of the players´mood in a professional football team to study the differences between regular players and substitutes. The sample consisted of players from the AD Alcorcón, a third division team of the Spanish football league (Madrid, Spain), which were evaluated using the short version of the Profile of Mood State (POMS, McNair, Lorr and Droppelmann, 1971), in version of 29 items (Fuentes, García-Merita, Meliá and Balaguer, 1995), for five regular season games, immediately prior to the competition on the stage of promotion to Division 2 A-. By means of a nonparametric test for independent samples Mann-Whitney, significant differences are revealed in two of the five scales of the POMS, in particular, on the scale of anger and depression. The results allow us to reflect on strategies for the optimization of the psychological performance of regular players and substitutes at key moments to improve the ratings provided by players that deviate from the ideal profile "iceberg" (Morgan, 1980a, 1980b).El objetivo de este artículo se centra en profundizar en la importancia que tiene el estado anímico de los jugadores de un equipo de fútbol profesional, abordando su estudio desde un enfoque novedoso como es la comparación de jugadores titulares y suplentes.. La muestra la componen los jugadores de la AD Alcorcón de la Segunda División B del fútbol español (Madrid, España), que fueron evaluados mediante la versión reducida del Profile of Mood State (POMS, MacNair, Lorr and Droppelmann, 1971), en la versión de 29 ítems (Fuentes, García-Merita, Meliá and Balaguer, 1995), durante cinco partidos de la temporada regular -inmediatamente anteriores a la disputa de la fase de ascenso a 2ª División A-. Mediante la prueba no paramétrica para muestras independientes U de Mann-Whitney, se pone de manifiesto que existen diferencias significativas en dos de las cinco escalas del POMS, en concreto, en la escala de cólera y depresión. Los resultados permiten reflexionar sobre las estrategias de optimización del rendimiento psicológico de los jugadores titulares y suplentes en momentos clave de la temporada, ayudando a los entrenadores a crear las condiciones para mejorar las puntuaciones ofrecidas por jugadores que se alejan del perfil ideal “iceberg” (Morgan, 1980a, 1980 b).O objetivo desse artigo foi de aprofundar na importância que tem o estado de animo dos jogadores de uma equipe de futebol profissional, desde uma idéia inovadora como a comparação de jogadores titulares e suplentes. A amostra foi composta por jogadores da equipe AD Alcorcón da segunda divisão B do futebol espanhol (Madrid - - Espanha), os quais foram avaliados mediante a versão reduzida do Profile of Mood State (POMS, MacNair, Lorr and Droppelmann, 1971), na versão de 29 itens (Fuentes, García-Merita, Meliá and Balaguer, 1995), durante cinco jogos da temporada regula – imediatamente anteriores a disputa da fase de ascensão segunda divisão através da prova não paramétrica para amostras independentes U de Mann – Whitney, apresentaram diferenças significativas em duas das cinco escalas do POMS, mas concretamente na escala de cólera e depressão. Os resultados permitem refletir sobre as estratégias de otimização do rendimento psicológico dos jogadores titulares e suplentes em momentos chaves da temporada, ajudando os treinadores para criar as condições para melhorar as pontuações apresentadas pelos jogadores que se afastam do perfil ideal “iceberg” (Morgan 1980ª, 1980b)

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Background: Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods: The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18-49, 50-69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results: NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year. Conclusion: As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population