National Policies and the Limits of International Integration

In spite of the rapid growth of merchandise trade since the end of World War II, the world economy is far from integrated. Services trade, capital flows, population migration, and price differences demonstrate far more scope for international economic integration. Even among nations with preferential trade agreements, networks of merchandise trade relations are far denser intra-nationally than internationally. The absence of goods trade predicted by trade models when nations have few policy barriers implies that crossing national boundaries is a significant indicator of increased transaction costs. These patterns have caused the world trade agenda to examine some unintended trade restrictions which make up a part of national domestic policies. This focus is apparent in current negotiations such as the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement. New items for negotiation include product standards, competition policies, services, and investment policies. Most contentious are labor and environmental standards, where the potential for protectionist capture is greater and the mutual recognition versus harmonization debate is obscured.deeper integration, free trade, Heckscher-Ohlin model, integration, trade barriers, WTO, International Relations/Trade,

NRL tethered balloon measurements at San Nicolas Island during FIRE IFO 1987

An overview is given of the tethered balloon measurements made during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) marine stratocumulus intensive field observations (IFO) at San Nicolas Island in 1987. The instrument utilized on the balloon flights, the 17 flights over a 10 day period, the state of the data analysis, and some preliminary results are described. A goal of the measurements with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) balloon was to give a unique and greatly improved look at the microphysics of the clear and cloud-topped boundary layer. For this goal, collocated measurements were made of turbulence, aerosol, cloud particles, and meteorology. Two new instruments which were expected to make significant contributions to this effort were the saturation hygrometer, capable of measuring 95 percent less than RH 105 percent (with an accuracy of 0.05 percent near 100 percent) and used for the first time in clouds; and the forward scatter meter which gives in situ LWC measurements at more than 10 Hz. The data set, while unfortunately only partially simultaneous with the bulk of the FIRE stratocumulus observations, is unique and worthwhile in its own right. For the first time accurate RH measurements near 100 percent have been made in-cloud; although, the use of the saturation hygrometer reflected a learning experience which will result is substantially better performance the next time. These measurements were made in conjunction with other microphysical measurements such as aerosol and cloud droplet spectra, and perhaps most important of all, they were all collocated with bivane turbulence measurements thus permitting flux calculations. Thus the analysis of this data set, which consisted of about 50 percent stratocumulus cases including increasing and decreasing partial cloud cover, should lead to new insights on the physical mechanisms which drive the boundary-layer/cloud/turbulence system

EQUAL VOTES, EQUAL MONEY:COURT-ORDERED REDISTRICTING AND THE DISTRIBUTION OFPUBLIC EXPENDITURES IN THE AMERICAN STATES

A study of the effects of legislative re-districting in the states during the 1960's. Also contains data fil

The Politics of Decentralization: Competition in Land Administration and Management in Ghana

Decentralization policy forms part of a broader global ideology and effort of the international donor community in favor of subsidiarity and local participation, and represents a paradigm shift from top-down command-and-control systems. Since 2003, the formalization of property rights through titling became an integral component of decentralized land administration efforts in Ghana. The creation of new forms of local government structures and the related changes in the distribution of responsibilities between different levels of government have an impact on natural resource management, the allocation of rights, and the unequal distribution of powers. This paper aims to understand how decentralization reforms modify the balance of power between public administration, customary authorities, and resource end-users in Ghana. Decentralization’s impact is analyzed based on two case studies. Relying on purposive and snowball sampling techniques, and mixed methods, we conducted 8 key informant interviews with local government bureaucrats in land administration, 16 semi-structured interviews with allodial landholders, 20 biographic interviews and 8 focus group discussions with small-scale farmers. The interviews analyzed the institutions and the roles of actors in land administration. Our case studies show that decentralization has the tendency to increase local competition in land administration where there are no clear distribution of power and obligation to local actors. Local competition and elitism in land administration impact the ability of small-scale farmers to regularize or formalize land rights. Thus, the paper concludes that local competition and the elitism within the land administration domain in Ghana could be the main obstacles towards decentralization reforms

Setting a Foundation for Innovation: A Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country Progress Report

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC) program, a five-year project that funds tribes, tribal-serving health organizations, and Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs) to promote chronic disease prevention amongst American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people. This report examines the strategic assessment and planning work grantees performed in the first two years of GHWIC

Climate adaptation by crop migration.

Many studies have estimated the adverse effects of climate change on crop yields, however, this literature almost universally assumes a constant geographic distribution of crops in the future. Movement of growing areas to limit exposure to adverse climate conditions has been discussed as a theoretical adaptive response but has not previously been quantified or demonstrated at a global scale. Here, we assess how changes in rainfed crop area have already mediated growing season temperature trends for rainfed maize, wheat, rice, and soybean using spatially-explicit climate and crop area data from 1973 to 2012. Our results suggest that the most damaging impacts of warming on rainfed maize, wheat, and rice have been substantially moderated by the migration of these crops over time and the expansion of irrigation. However, continued migration may incur substantial environmental costs and will depend on socio-economic and political factors in addition to land suitability and climate

A cost benefit analysis of radio frequency identification (RFID) implementation at the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA)

This thesis focuses on the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) and its need to reduce its budget through becoming more efficient. There are many means for becoming more efficient; this report will analyze the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology as one way in which DMEA can achieve cost savings. The goal was to construct a working model to simulate factory conditions at electronics manufacturers' facilities, regardless of the size or breadth of production. The end state was to identify all major variables associated with the costs of RFID implementation, and the derived annual benefits, thereby giving decision makers an idea of the relative financial attractiveness of RFID.http://archive.org/details/acostbenefitnaly1094510609US Marine Corps (USMC) autho

The dilemma of women empowerment in informal artisanal and small-scale gold ore mining in Ghana

For several years, women demand more decision-making power from their husbands and the society. Studies indicate that egalitarian decision-making power can be beneficial in many important ways to the household and society, and the pathway to this desire policy objective is through women empowerment. Yet, this is not as obvious as it seems. On the one hand, women empowerment is a game changer. On the other hand, the problem of women empowerment is complex. Thus, our goal is to evaluate the gendered intersectional power dynamics operating in informal artisanal and small-scale mining and the impact on women’s empowerment to balance decision-making power in the household. Theoretically, we ask: How does women empowerment enable women to demand more decision- making power from their husbands following their participation in informal mining? And how do men react to women empowerment? Empirically, 38 biographic inter- views, 6 key informant interviews and 8 focus group discussions were conducted. Results show that informal mining improves the financial power of women and increases their bargaining power to demand more decision-making power from their husbands. Moreover, increase in women’s financial leverage can have a nuanced effect on their empowerment since men can intervene there by playing on the patriarchal rules. In conclusion, women empowerment is complex, and the major challenge is societal. Consequently, policy actions are required to vigorously address societal norms through formal education and awareness creation to bring about transformations