BURDEN SHARING AT THE IMF

In the context of the financial governance of the International Monetary Fund, what are the equity implications of the way in which the IMF distributes the cost of running its regular (non-concessionary) lending operations as well as how it funds its concessionary lending and debt relief operations? While the IMF charges borrowers roughly what it pays its creditor members for the resources used in its regular lending operations, its overhead costs (administrative budget plus addition to reserves) are shared between the two groups of members in a less equitable manner. With overhead costs rising inexorably to meet the increasing number and range of responsibilities being placed on the institution – largely at the instance of the IMF‘s principal creditors by virtue of their dominant majority of voting power – the under-representation of the IMF’s debtors undermines the legitimacy of its decision making. With regard to the concessionary lending and debt relief operations, some of the IMF’s funding modalities have involved a substantial contribution by IMF debtors, sometimes under pressure. While this has been accepted as part of an intra-developing-country burden-sharing exercise, it has also significantly reduced the cost to developed countries of meeting their responsibilities to the poorest members of the international community.

THE FUTURE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

This paper looks at the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the evolving global financial system from the perspective of developing country interests. It finds that on certain issues, such as the scope and purposes of its lending operations, a consensus has been reached that IMF should continue to serve all its members, including the poorest, and that its resources should be available for supporting macro-relevant structural reforms as well as for dealing with financial crises. On a number of other issues, there remain differences between industrial and developing country views, including on the extension of IMF surveillance to cover the observance of international standards and codes. Largely unsettled are the modalities of the involvement of the private sector in crisis resolution, with special reference to the development of arrangements in the international sphere that would be analogous to domestic bankruptcy procedures, including the declaration of standstills and principles for orderly and equitable debt workouts. The liberalization of the capital account and the choice of exchange regimes are two interconnected areas in which international prescriptions conflict with developing country insistence on the preservation of national autonomy and in favour of intermediate regimes, as opposed to corner solutions. The scope and content of IMF conditionality raises the issue of how to reconcile it with the importance of assuring country ownership. Finally, the governance of IMF poses questions about the exercise of decision-making powers in the institution. Developing country positions are evolving in all these areas, especially on the subject of private-sector involvement in financial crisis prevention and resolution. However, there appears to be a general preference for a more rules-based framework, rather than one derived on a “case-by-case” basis. There are four areas of great interest to developing countries where the international debate has remained muted or has been largely absent in the recent literature: these relate to the surveillance over, and coordination of, the macroeconomic policies of the three principal international currency issuers; the relationship of international and regional arrangements; the distribution of voting power in both IMF and the international system generally, and the future evolution of the international reserve system.

Synthesis of communication nets

Imperial Users onl

Child sexual abuse leads to Psychological disorders: Literature review

This scholarly paper explains the relationship between child sexual abuse and psychological disorders. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a forceful sexual contact with a child who is incapable of consenting. The impact of sexual abuse can range from physical to very severe psychological effects. Psychological disorders caused by child sexual abuse include panic disorder, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, low self-esteem and post-traumatic stress disorder. The phenomenon of child sexual abuse is shaped by some important theories like behavioral, psychodynamic, attachment, cognitive and integrated theory. These theories may help to develop a sound empirical base through which cost effective strategies can be made to prevent child sexual abuse. Although child sexual abuse is considered as an offensive act in Pakistan, but it is usually hidden in our society. Approximately 3,861 and 1,204 child sexual abuse cases were reported in 2012 and 2013 respectively from Pakistan. A series of current cases of child sexual abuse has brought the issue to the limelight. Child sexual abuse affects not only the individual but also the families and societies on large scale. Therefore, an integrated approach focusing on the parents, teachers and medical professionals can be proposed to prevent this issue. Prevention programs such as parenting education, home-visiting programs, public education, and training sessions can be developed. Therefore, it is highly important for the families and communities to work together with the support of stakeholders, so that a voice can be raised against CSA and this will ultimately reduce psychological problems in the society

Unmet need for Contraception and unintended Pregnancies among women of reproductive age group: A situation analysis

Each year approximately 210 million pregnancies occur worldwide and more than one-third (75 to 80 million) of these are unintended, more than half of these (46 million) unintended pregnancies undergo unsafe abortions. In Pakistan 16% of the births are reported to be unwanted and if the unwanted fertility is eliminated, total fertility in Pakistan would be 3.1 births per woman. Total demand for family planning in Pakistan is 55%, while the contraceptive prevalence rate is 35% and unmet need for family planning is 20%. Reasons for unmet need and unintended pregnancy include lack of permission, fear of side effects, poor quality and limited access to family planning services. Moreover, non-use of contraceptive methods and method failure are important reasons for unintended pregnancy. Women of reproductive age experience multiple adverse outcomes due to unintended pregnancy. These women neither care for themselves nor for their family and due to such careless behavior the likelihood of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality increases. Research on intervention programs for unintended pregnancy needs to be done in future. It is important to focus on how intervention programs should be designed, delivered and examined. Intervention strategies should aim to reduce unintended pregnancy by focusing on all the identified factors so that infant and maternal mortality and morbidity as well as the need for abortion is decreased and the overall well-being of the family is maintained and enhanced. Thus, improved community efforts are required to educate women about family planning as well about the proper use of family planning methods. Improved counseling and proper follow up is required especially of those women who adopt any method. Since improper treatment, incomplete follow up and limited choice of method might lead the women to discontinue the methods, therefore role of quality of care of existing services in improving women’s ability to achieve their desired reproductive goals should be given an attention. In addition to improving the quality of existing family planning services, the focus should be on the follow up of women for assessing the adherence to method and addressing their problems related to any method

Infection control in labor and delivery room, learning from the small hospital based project

Background: It has been estimated that around 36% of the neonatal deaths occur due to infection in the lower and middle income countries. Infection control is a more substantial area of concern, particularly in Labor and delivery room. Multiple factors can cause infection in the labor room, therefore it is important to assess various factors of maternal and neonatal infection. Hence we explored multiple factors through this project and developed the action plan to address those factors effectively.Methods: During our Leadership and Management course, we conducted a project in Labor room pertaining to a prevalent issue. The whole process from identification of the issue to the resolution was supposed to be in the light of leadership and management concepts. After a thorough analysis and discussion, an action plan was formulated considering the resources, audience, facilities and time required for implementation and evaluation. Every step was mentioned in the action plan for identification of issue till the evaluation of the project.Findings: Factors of infection were grouped under six broad headings including staff, environment, practices, equipment, factors related to patient and others. These were diagrammatically represented through “Fishbone” Diagram.Conclusion: Infection is a common issue in the hospital setting and we tried to assess the factors of infection in the labor room. We identified multiple factors of infection and tried to address those factors by developing a simple action plan. We found that infection can be controlled by taking very simple precautionary measures without incurring a lot of cost

Estimation of the engineering elastic constants of a directionally solidified superalloy for finite element structural analysis

The temperature-dependent engineering elastic constants of a directionally solidified nickel-base superalloy were estimated from the single-crystal elastic constants of nickel and MAR-MOO2 superalloy by using Wells' method. In this method, the directionally solidified (columnar-grained) nickel-base superalloy was modeled as a transversely isotropic material, and the five independent elastic constants of the transversely isotropic material were determined from the three independent elastic constants of a cubic single crystal. Solidification for both the single crystals and the directionally solidified superalloy was assumed to be along the (001) direction. Temperature-dependent Young's moduli in longitudinal and transverse directions, shear moduli, and Poisson's ratios were tabulated for the directionally solidified nickel-base superalloy. These engineering elastic constants could be used as input for performing finite element structural analysis of directionally solidified turbine engine components

Thermal-structural analyses of Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) hot section components

Three dimensional nonlinear finite element heat transfer and structural analyses were performed for the first stage high pressure fuel turbopump (HPFTP) blade of the space shuttle main engine (SSME). Directionally solidified (DS) MAR-M 246 and single crystal (SC) PWA-1480 material properties were used for the analyses. Analytical conditions were based on a typical test stand engine cycle. Blade temperature and stress strain histories were calculated by using the MARC finite element computer code. The structural response of an SSME turbine blade was assessed and a greater understanding of blade damage mechanisms, convective cooling effects, and thermal mechanical effects was gained

Low self-esteem leads to depression among elderly: Case study of nursing home

Background: Self-esteem is defined as “how we value our self”; it affects our trust and relationships in every part of life. Person with low self-esteem may feel powerless and incompetent about himself/herself. Moreover, low self-esteem operates as a risk factor for depression, which is most common disorder among elderly people both in developed and developing countries, causing multiple behavioral changes as well as may increase the chances of depression and suicide among the elderly people. Objective: The objective of this case study was to understand the problems faced by elderly people in the nursing home and to relate the self-esteem with depression among them.Methods: A face to face in-depth interview was conducted with a 70-year-old female living in the nursing room. Her perceptions for life were explored through a questionnaire.Findings of case study: It was observed that old lady was unable to express herself and was reluctant in sharing her views with interviewer. According to her, she was introverted and was unable to interact socially with other people because of physical disability. She used to feel unworthy and always used to think that she cannot do anything and was not encouraged by her colleagues and always been criticized by others. She was found to be depressed and had no meaning to life. Conclusion: It can be concluded that depression is one of the common problems among geriatric population, attributed to low self-esteem. Based on the personal observation during the interview, it is recommended that such clients should be encouraged, educated and counseled appropriately to enhance their trust and confidence. There should be some mechanism by which a space can be provided to them to interact with people outside their limited circle and to share their problems with their colleagues and relatives if possible. This may enhance their self-esteem and may decrease the chances of depression among elderly