Impact of large-scale dynamic versus thermodynamic climate conditions on contrasting tropical cyclone genesis frequency

Significant advances have been made in understanding the key climate factors responsible for tropical cyclone (TC) activity, yet any theory that estimates likelihood of observed TC formation rates from mean climate states remains elusive. The present study investigates how the extremes of observed TC genesis (TCG) frequency during peak TC seasons are interrelated with distinct changes in the large-scale climate conditions over different ocean basins using the global International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) dataset and ERA-Interim for the period 1979–2014. Peak TC seasons with significantly high and low TCG frequency are identified for five major ocean basins, and their substantial spatial changes in TCG are noted with regionally distinct differences. To explore the possible climate link behind such changes, a suite of potentially relevant dynamic and thermodynamic climate conditions is analyzed. Results indicate that the observed changes in extreme TCG frequency are closely linked with distinct dominance of specific dynamic and thermodynamic climate conditions over different regions. While the combined influences of dynamic and thermodynamic climate conditions are found to be necessary for modulating TC formation rate over the North Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and southern Indian Oceans, significant changes in large-scale dynamic conditions appear to solely control the TCG frequency over the western Pacific and South Pacific basins. Estimation of the fractional changes in genesis-weighted climate conditions also indicates the coherent but distinct competing effects of different climate conditions on TCG frequency. The present study further points out the need for revising the existing genesis indices for estimating TCG frequency over individual basins

Constitutional Impediments to Decentralization in the World\u27s Largest Federal Country

Decentralization is often advocated as a means of improving local democracy and enhancing what economists call allocative efficiency. In federal countries, where power is already divided between national and state governments, decentralization involves the devolution of power from state to local governments. The world’s largest federal country, India, took an unusual step to advance decentralization: it passed the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act to confer constitutional status on municipalities. However, India’s efforts to promote the devolution of power through a national urban renewal scheme have not succeeded for three reasons. The first is that India’s decentralization process is incomplete. Political decentralization has been stymied by the language of the constitutional amendment itself; administrative decentralization has been hampered by the comparative advantage of entrenched state-level institutions; and fiscal decentralization has not occurred because financial responsibility—but not significant revenue—has been devolved. The second reason is that decentralization has been undertaken in a top-down manner, which has exacerbated Center-state relations and mitigated the goal of allocative efficiency. Third is the relative weakness of local governance structures, which has created a Catch-22 situation: as long as the local governments lack significant capacity, the states are reluctant to devolve power to them. Additional effort needs to be directed towards an effective model of cooperative federalism. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi poised to create “smart cities” and promote urban renewal, it is critical to understand why India’s prior decentralization efforts have largely failed. The lessons learned over the past decade are an important guide to the future of cities in India as well as in other federal countrie

Parent Employment and the Use of Child Care Subsidies

A growing body of research is starting to shed light on the ways child care subsidies are achieving one of their central goals—supporting employment for low-income parents. Second in the series Reviews of Research on Child Care Subsidies, this research brief summarizes the Research Connections literature review of the same title, Parent Employment and the Use of Child Care Subsidies, which examines recent research addressing the basic question: What parent employment outcomes are associated with the use of child care subsidies? That is, how do employment decisions and patterns for low-income parents with subsidies tend to differ from those of low-income parents without them? For which subgroups of these parents—such as, those with or without high school diplomas, with or without cash assistance histories—do child care subsidies appear to make more difference? What factors in addition to subsidies influence parents' employment decisions? While these questions are posed broadly in terms of "parents," the research to date focuses on "mothers.

School-Age Child Care Arrangements

School-age children spend time in an array of care arrangements. The most common nonparental after-school arrangements are center- or school-based programs, relative care, and self-care

Predictors of Child Care Subsidy Use

In 2004, spending on child care subsides from the main U.S. public funding sources—Child Care and Development Fund and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families—reached more than $11 billion (Field Initiated Child Care Research Projects, 2004). A growing body of research, employing a range of methodologies and data sources, has begun to identify the characteristics and child care arrangements of low-income families and children most likely to participate in subsidy programs. Although child care subsidy research is still a young field, preliminary findings on predictors of child care subsidy use are emerging. This research brief summarizes the Research Connections literature review of the same title, Predictors of Child Care Subsidy Use, which examines recent research addressing the basic question: What family and child care characteristics are associated with the use of child care subsidies? That is, among eligible families, what factors tend to predict which families will actually use assistance to help pay for the care and education their children need while parents work or participate in education and training? Given that the rate of subsidy use remains relatively low, policymakers want to know what distinguishes the families that use these services

Toward a National Strategy to Improve Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Care

Family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) child care is a widely used form of care for young children in the United States, particularly for children birth through age 2. It accounts for 46 percent of the hours these youngest children spend in nonparental care. Thirty-three experts from a range of research, policy, and practice organizations came together for a symposium on FFN care on November 2, 2005 entitled: Improving Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care: Toward a National Strategy. (See Appendix B for a participant list.) This symposium report outlines the picture of current FFN research, practice, and policy that emerged and identifies next steps to strengthen all three areas. A major step that would support practice, policy, and research alike is to increase public awareness of the widespread use of FFN care by families of all economic levels and ethnicities. The goals of the symposium were to: Review research, policy, and program issues related to improving the quality of family, friend, and neighbor care for children from infancy through school-age. Develop a set of recommendations for state and federal action, and foundation and other private sector initiatives to improve policies, expand research, and improve programming for young children and their families using FFN care. Supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the A. L. Mailman Family Foundation, and the Rauch Foundation, the symposium was organized by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) of the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University and held in Baltimore, Maryland. Welcomes were extended by Ruth Mayden (Casey Foundation), Luba Lynch (Mailman Foundation), Daphny Leveille (Rauch Foundation), and Lee Kreader (NCCP)

Impact of Training and Education for Caregivers of Infants and Toddlers

Training and education of infant and toddler caregivers is one important factor associated with the quality of child care they provide. In response to research showing that high-quality care supports positive development in young children, policymakers have established training and education requirements for licensed providers and launched numerous initiatives to train and educate caregivers. Caregivers themselves believe training and education to be important, including relative and unregulated family child care providers, many of whom express interest in accessing training although not required by regulation to do so. What approaches to caregiver training and education are the most likely to improve the quality of care for children under age 3 in family child care homes and centers? To help answer this question, this brief describes research findings on a small number of training initiatives targeting infant and toddler caregivers where quality was observed before and after training. While it is too soon to draw firm generalizations from this young and scattered body of research, findings from these studies raise pertinent considerations for policymakers. (See Research-to-Policy Connections No. 2, Infant and Toddler Child Care Quality, for a list of observational instruments frequently used to measure quality.) Other research has focused on increases in provider knowledge and/or self-reported changes in caregiving practices as a result of training and education. It is not clear whether effects found using either of these measures correspond to effects on quality seen with observational measures

B2B relationship calculus: quantifying resource effects in service-dominant logic

Increasingly, knowledgeable business-to-business (B2B) customers and evolving customer needs are leading to seismic shifts in vendor–client interactions. Across industries, sellers are changing their business models from a simple goods orientation to a hybrid goods–services model, placing greater emphasis on delivering complete customer solutions. In such an environment, companies must find ways to prioritize investments in resource development. The service-dominant (S-D) logic framework offers significant insights into this challenge; however, these effects have not been tested quantitatively. This study addresses that gap, examining the influence of various seller resources on buyer satisfaction. An empirical analysis of buying organizations that purchased and implemented business intelligence systems finds that “augmented” operant resources that the buyers ascribe to the software’s sellers—resources that go above and beyond expectations—are the most significant predictors of both successful technology assimilation and overall customer relationship quality. In particular, an augmented operant resource reflecting a seller’s ability to see value creation opportunities from the buyer’s perspective (value mindset) has up to three times the effect on relationship satisfaction as “core” operant resources such as product-specific expertise or basic interpersonal service skills. These results can help sellers prioritize resource investments

Infant and Toddler Child Care Quality

With over half the nation's infants and toddlers in regular, nonparental child care, the quality of that care is a priority concern for policymakers. Many studies show that high-quality child care supports the positive social, emotional, and cognitive development of young children. The research summarized in this policy brief identifies factors that tend to predict higher quality within arrangement types—family child care, center care, and relative care—and describes the range of quality found in each type. Although different studies measure child care quality in different ways, many researchers group quality measures into two categories, structural and process. Both examine factors that support the responsive and reliable relationships with caregivers so essential for the healthy development of infants and toddlers. Structural measures—child-staff ratio and group size, caregivers' general education and specialized training, their tenure and income—look at aspects of arrangements that support positive child-adult relationships and child development. Process measures directly examine children's experiences, including caregivers' interactions with the children—their attention, warmth, and responsiveness. Though less direct, structural factors are less costly for researchers to study than process factors, which require direct observations. Unlike process factors, structural factors can be regulated by policymakers. Many instruments are used to measure quality in infant and toddler child care arrangements (see the Resources Section for a list of frequently use ones). Most are designed to examine the global quality of child care arrangements—producing a composite rating based on observations of routines, practices, facilities, and equipment—and utilize both process and structural measures. Some are more exclusively composed of process measures. Researchers continue to develop new measures and instruments in this young field of inquiry