From Informal to Formal Finance: The Transformation of an Indigenous Institution in Nepal

Rotating savings and credit associations (RoSCAs) are, next to moneylenders, the most prevalent type of informal finance around the world. In 1988, Seibel & Shrestha traced the evolution of the dhikuti, as RoSCAs are called in Nepal, and published the results under the title Dhikuti: The Small Businessman?s Informal Self-Help Bank in Nepal in Savings and Development (XII, 2:183-200). Ten years later, a remarkable institutional innovation had occurred, benefiting from a change in the legal framework: the transformation of an organization of dhikuti origins into the Himalaya Finance & Savings Company. No subsidy or technical assistance was involved. HFSC provides doorstep savings collection services to low-income people throughout the country, shifting at the same time from group to individual technology. Matching assets and liabilities, it combines two categories of term finance: medium-term savings contracts and medium-term loans. Continuing its morphogenesis, HFSC is now ready to transform itself into a bank and to pursue an even more vigorous course of internal resource mobilization. -- La tontine, ? côté du pr?teur d'argent, est le type de finance informelle le plus répandu au monde. En 1988, Seibel et Shrestha ont tracé l'évolution des dhikuti, les tontines Népalaises, et ont publié le résultat sous le titre Dhikuti: The Small Businessman's Informal Self-Help Bank in Nepal dans Savings and Development (XII, 2:183-200). Dix ans apr?s, une innovation institutionelle remarquable a eu lieu, grâce ? un changement du cadre juridique: la transformation d'une organisation d'origine dhikuti en Himalaya Finance & Savings Company, et cela sans avoir reçu ni de subventions ni d'assistance technique. Partout dans le pays, HFSC collecte quotidiennement de l'épargne des pauvres ? leurs maisons, changeant en m?me temps de la technologie de groupe ? une approche individuelle. Deux catégories de financement ? terme ont étées combiné pour équilibrer l'actif et le passif: des contrats d'épargne de trois ans et des pr?ts d'un ? trois ans. En continuant le proc?s d'évolution, la compagnie financi?re se prépare maintenant ? se transfomer en une banque pour suivre un cours de mobilisation d'épargne encore plus vigoreux.

Eine kritische Analyse von Ruschs Theorien zur Bodenfruchtbarkeit als Grundlage für die Bodenbewirtschaftung im Ökologischen Landbau

Auf die in den 50er und 60er Jahren publizierten Theorien zur Bodenfruchtbarkeit von Hans Peter Rusch wird im organisch-biologischen Landbau heute noch Bezug genommen. Zu nennen sind hier der Rusch-Test zur Einstufung der biologischen Qualität der organischen Substanz und von Böden, die Systematisierung des Abbaus organischer Substanz im Boden und der Humusbildung sowie die Flächenkompostierung. Ruschs Lehren zielen auf eine Verbesserung der Bodengare durch effiziente Zufuhr organischer Substanz und Humusbildung sowie auf die Verbesserung der Ausnutzung von Nährstoffen. Gegen den Geist seiner Zeit grenzte sich Rusch von der Mineraldüngung ab und hebt die auch heute unbestrittene Rolle des Humus für die Bodenfruchtbarkeit hervor. Die tatsächliche Bedeutung von Ruschs Nachweismethoden zur Charakterisierung der Abbaubarkeit von Materialien und von mikrobiellen Kennziffern im Boden für die Landwirtschaft ist vermutlich gering und wissenschaftlich nicht belegt. Sein systematischer Ansatz zum Abbau organischer Substanz im Boden, zur Humusbildung und seine daraus abgeleiteten Konsequenzen für das Management von Wirtschaftsdüngern und anderen in der Landwirtschaft anfallenden organischen Materialien sind auch nach heutigen Kenntnisstand nicht zu widerlegen, erfordern aber eine Überprüfung

Contribution of organic farming to conserving and improving biodiversity in Germany – the example avi-fauna

Although it is the aim of organic farming to increase biodiversity, there is little knowledge about the impact of organic farming on birds. From 2001 to 2003, the number of breeding birds was recorded annually on the organic experimental farm of the Institute of Organic Farming (600 ha), and on adjacent conventional and organic farms (60 ha and 40 ha) in Northern Germany. The number of skylark (Alauda arvensis) territories increased considerably after the conversion from conventional to organic farming on the premises of the Institute. Their number remained unvaried on the conventional farm. The highest density of skylark territories was found on the farm which has been under organic management for many years. The number of yellowhammer (Emberiza citronella) territories fluctuated largely in relation to the availability of field margin strips, both on conventional and organic land. During the breeding season aerial hunters (swallows and swifts) and raptors significantly preferred organic fields. Outside the breeding season, densities of raptors (in autumn and in winter), seed-eating birds (in autumn) and insect-eating birds (in autumn) were significantly higher on organic than on conventional fields

Kurzfristige Auswirkungen des Pflugverzichts auf Collembolen- Gemeinschaften des Bodens

Collembolans, a widespread group of soil fauna, could potentially be used as indicators of management changes in (organic) farming systems. Therefore, we studied effects of reduced tillage compared with conventional tillage on collembolan communities in the short term. Results of a two-year field trial showed that collembolan communities are likely influenced by different tillage systems. However, these effects could not be statistically verified. Furthermore, annual variation seems to strongly influence the composition of collembolan communities. We tend to assign these effects to different crops cultivated during our study

Constraining Particle Variation in Lunar Regolith for Simulant Design

Simulants are used by the lunar engineering community to develop and test technologies for In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), excavation and drilling, and for mitigation of hazards to machinery and human health. Working with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), other NASA centers, private industry and academia, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is leading NASA s lunar regolith simulant program. There are two main efforts: simulant production and simulant evaluation. This work requires a highly detailed understanding of regolith particle type, size, and shape distribution, and of bulk density. The project has developed Figure of Merit (FoM) algorithms to quantitatively compare these characteristics between two materials. The FoM can be used to compare two lunar regolith samples, regolith to simulant, or two parcels of simulant. In work presented here, we use the FoM algorithm to examine the variance of particle type in Apollo 16 highlands regolith core and surface samples. For this analysis we have used internally consistent particle type data for the 90-150 m fraction of Apollo core 64001/64002 from station 4, core 60009/60010 from station 10, and surface samples from various Apollo 16 stations. We calculate mean modal compositions for each core and for the group of surface samples and quantitatively compare samples of each group to its mean as a measurement of within-group variance; we also calculate an FoM for every sample against the mean composition of 64001/64002. This gives variation with depth at two locations and between Apollo 16 stations. Of the tested groups, core 60009/60010 has the highest internal variance with an average FoM score of 0.76 and core 64001/64002 has the lowest with an average FoM of 0.92. The surface samples have a low but intermediate internal variance with an average FoM of 0.79. FoM s calculated against the 64001/64002 mean reference composition range from 0.79-0.97 for 64001/64002, from 0.41-0.91 for 60009/60010, and from 0.54-0.93 for the surface samples. Six samples fall below 0.70, and they are also the least mature (i.e., have the lowest I(sub s)/FeO). Because agglutinates are the dominant particle type and the agglutinate population increases with sample maturity (I(sub s)/FeO), the maturity of the sample relative to the reference is a prime determinant of the particle type FoM score within these highland samples

Wohlfahrtseffekte von Rüstungs- und Raumfahrtausgaben : das Beispiel der Vereinigten Staaten.

Verteidigungshaushalt; Rüstungsindustrie; Luft- und Raumfahrtindustrie; Externer Effekt; Industriepolitik; Theorie; USA;

Ökologische und ökonomische Auswirkungen des zeitweisen Pflugverzichts beim Anbau von Triticale und Kleegras

Reduced tillage is often not applied in organic farming, because of expected increased weed pressure and, as a result, decreasing yields. On the other hand, the positive influence of reduced tillage on soils, for example on beneficial soil animals, is well known. Therefore, we investigated the influence of occasional reduced tillage (ORT) on yields of triticale and grass-clover and on earthworm biomass. Occasional reduced tillage means only setting aside the plough before drilling selected crops, which are known to perform well under the given local conditions. Already four weeks after drilling triticale, a positive effect on earthworm biomass could be revealed, which could be confirmed through the entire study. Yields of triticale and grass-clover did not generally decrease. In some cases, with appropriate nutrient supply and low to moderate weed pressure, they even increased. Overall, it could be shown that ORT has the potential to improve resource efficiency, while at the same time promoting beneficial soil organisms like earthworms

Vom Dilemma der Händler zum Dilemma der Bürokraten: eine Theorie des sozialen Wandels von der Moralgesellschaft zur Marktgesellschaft

Der Autor entwickelt eine Plausibilitätserklärung für das empirische Phänomen von Kleinhändlern und Handelsminoritäten in Bauerngesellschaften und Gesellschaften im Transformationsprozess zur Marktwirtschaft. Er beschreibt das Dilemma von Händlern, Profite erwirtschaften zu müssen, aber gleichzeitig den moralischen Anforderungen ihrer Gesellschaft zu genügen. In seiner Argumentation wird deutlich, dass die Akteure deshalb soziale Aktionsstrategien zur Vermeidung dieses Dilemmas verfolgen, welche in zahlreichen empirischen Feldforschungen beobachtet werden können. Der Autor diskutiert ferner das Dilemma in modernen Gesellschaften auf der Ebene des Wohlfahrtsstaates, welcher eine Balance zwischen wirtschaftlichen Interessen und sozialen Belangen finden muss: Aus dem Dilemma von Händlern wird das Dilemma von Bürokraten. (ICI2

The (co-)production of arrival neighbourhoods. Processes governing housing markets in three german cities

In recent years, an emerging strand of research has focused on the role arrival neighbourhoods play for newcomers finding their footing in a new urban context. However, little is known about the underlying factors and drivers influencing their function(ing). This concerns in particular the role of the local housing market and its players in shaping their emergence and development. The paper deals with the question of how arrival neighbourhoods are (co-)produced by housing market players and how the latter are embedded in local governance structures. Looking at three German arrival neighbourhoods, the article illustrates how they are co-produced by ownership structures and the allocation practices of different housing market players. However, the strengthening of an arrival neighbourhood´s function not only depends on ownership structures but also on the capacities of municipal housing providers and civil society organisations, their strategic goals and the will for (concerted) action. Our findings show that arrival neighbourhoods can take on an important citywide function, enabling newcomers to gain a foothold in the city if three criteria are met: they are accessible/affordable for low-income groups, are equipped with infrastructures for newcomers, and are permeable with regard to residents’ relocation to other neighbourhoods

Diatom taphocoenoses in the coastal upwelling areas off western South America

Diatom floral analysis of 116 sediment surface samples obtained off Peru reveals a boundary in the sediments between coastal upwelling influenced sediments and sediments outside the highly productive realm. Sinuous patterns of relative abundance for meroplanktic species (Actinocyclus octonarius, Actinoptychus senarius, and Cyclotella striata/stilorum) may preserve the meander-like patterns of surface water parameters off Peru. The occurrence of loci of high abundance of diatom valves per gram of dry sediment, and the limited occurrence of Skeletonema costatam and of a species of the genus Delphineis are additional pieces of evidence that upwelled tongues of cold water have a correspondingly patchy sediment signal