Governance and Performance: Theory-Based Evidence from US Coast Guard Inspections

Given three stylized facts about the US Coast Guard (USCG), namely, soft penalties for safety violations, low incidence of penalties relative to the number of violations, and substantial resources devoted to inspections of vessels, this paper seeks (i) a theoretical lens to view USCG activities and (ii) an empirical assessment of whether those activities improve performance. Harrington’s (1988) model is motivated by these stylized facts about US regulation in general, and provides a solution via targeting of good and poor performers. The model generates hypotheses about optimal regulation in the context of pollution prevention activities of the USCG. An organization-level panel data set consisting of thousands of US flag tank barges is constructed to test those hypotheses. A count model that controls for vessel heterogeneity yields mixed evidence. If USCG inspections are considered exogenous variables (as the theory presumes), they appear to prevent pollution spills. But if inspections are endogenous and respond to previous spills then correcting for endogeneity reverses the earlier result. In addition, violations are found to be good predictors of pollution occurrences, suggesting that inspections are not as effective as they could be. Targeting as in Harrington’s model therefore appears to be incomplete, and the findings suggest that more complete targeting could increase performance. An interesting finding is that stronger penalties could increase performance.Harrington model; Inspections; Penalties; Oil Spills; USCG;

Inequality, polarization and violent conflict: the Maoist insurgency in Nepal

We empirically examine this association between inequality and conflict. The setting is the Maoist rebellion in Nepal that has claimed thousands of lives since it began in 1996. The regional variations across villages in Nepal afford a rich experiment, without having to use crosscountry data, for exploring the nature of association between conflict and inequality

Experimental Parametric Study of Biodiesel to Develop Economic Zero Effluent Discharge (ZED) for Diesel System

In this globalization realm, there in constant growth in the rate of expenditure of fossil fuels, consequent on ever increasing population and urbanization. This gives charge to depletion of finite resources in the near future. Fossil fuel emission causes global-warming also green-house gases are intangible factor which collectively degrading the planet. As such, the situation demands for an alternate source of energy that can be used to overcome the conjectured energy crisis. In contrast to this, if the energy source is clean and renewable, it will reduce the environmental trouble as well. In the quest an alternate and renewable energy resources, scientists have plead with a variety of options among which biodiesel-diesel blends as alternative fuels has become a popular option and is getting the attention of many researchers. This is because scientists have enlist the properties of biodiesel prepared from vegetable oils are very close to commercial diesel and thus it has a promising future as an alternative fuel for diesel engine. Biodiesel being renewable, biodegradable and green fuel can reduce our dependence on conventional/non-renewable fossil fuels and it also helps to keep pure quality of air by reducing obnoxious automotive/vehicular emissions. Possible solution of this problem is to replace or find renewable and economically feasible fuel as an alternative source. Already a lot of work for source which fulfill the criteria of sustainability and economical carried out. But the effluent is critical issues. So characterization and formation of biodiesel with zero effluent is prime objective

Reliable Taxi Ride Sharing System

Now a day?s everyone is using taxi for riding but when there is a need of taxi we have to wait for a long time so for reducing the efforts a taxi-sharing system is developed that accepts taxi passenger?s real-time ride requests sent from browser and schedules proper taxis to pick up them via ridesharing and monetary constraints. The monetary constraints provide benefits for both passengers and taxi drivers: passengers will not pay more compared with ride and distance and driver will get more profit from this. While this system is beneficial in case of environment such as saving energy consumption. Taxi riders and taxi drivers use the taxi-sharing service provided by the system via browser. In this rider will send request and driver will get acknowledgment. A scheduling process is then performed to select a taxi that satisfies the request with minimum increase in travel distance. A ride request generator is developed in terms of the stochastic process modeling real ride requests learned from the data set. Tested on this platform with extensive experiments, this system demonstrates its efficiency and effectiveness

Characterization of a bacterial collar and rhizome rot of banana (Musa paradisiaca) caused by strains of Erwinia chrysanthemi pv. paradisiaca

A serious collar and rhizome rot disease of banana was observed in the north region of Maharashtra state in post rainy season. The disease was caused by the bacterial strains of Erwinia chrysanthemi pv. paradisiaca identified and characterized by morphological, physiological, biochemical and pathogenicity tests. The infection occurred on new banana plantation of one month old in poorly drained soil. In post rainy season, banana plantations of 8 to 10 weeks were found severely infected. E. chrysanthemi pv. paradisiaca produced soft rot symptom onhealthy banana rhizomes within three weeks. Two strains were isolated from the collar and rhizome rotted diseased samples which were similar in morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics, however they differed in the virulence aggressiveness to cause the disease in banana. Strain II caused soft rot symptoms within 19 days, however strain I produced it within 23 days of inoculation with suspension of 3×108 CFU ml-1. The result of this study revealed that strain II was more aggressive as compared to strain I of E. chrysanthemi pv. paradisiaca

The impact of complications and errors on surgeons

All surgical procedures carry with them the potential for adverse events. Dealing with the sequelae of the complications and errors that arise in the course of normal practice is therefore part and parcel of a surgeon’s working life. The challenges and stresses that this creates are now well recognised although surgical training has, until recently, done little to help surgeons prepare for such events and on-going professional and personal support is limited. This review shows that much of the research examining the impact of adverse events has been concentrated in healthcare systems outside of the UK, often markedly different to our own. With notable exceptions, sample sizes are often small and studies are often qualitative. While the latter provide rich and fascinating data, they may not always be representative, particularly if the focus is on serious errors where there is a risk of litigation. Despite the preponderance of complications, which are an acknowledged risk of surgical procedures, there is no research to date which has examined whether or not there are differences in the impact of complications versus errors on surgeons’ professional and personal lives. A national survey is currently planned to provide detailed information about the impact of adverse events – both complications and errors – which will map the way for better targeted support for surgeons to help them use their experiences to enhance their wellbeing and improve their practice

Death and dying in ‘Third Way’ death manuals: Shaping life and death after neoliberalism

In this chapter, I consider what might be called the “Third Way” death manuals of Philip Gould and Kate Gross, who were both, in different ways, involved with the New Labour Project. Their memoirs describe their experiences of dying and are notable for the conclusions to which they come; conclusions which suggest values at odds with the individualist and progressive narratives that shape neoliberal views of what it means to life well. In considering the tensions and possibilities that shape their respective narratives, new ways of living in the face of death become possible

Mealtime support for adults with intellectual disabilities: Understanding an everyday activity

Background: Mealtime support has a direct bearing on the diet-related health of men and women with intellectual disabilities as well as opportunities for expressing dietary preferences. Method: Semi-structured interviews with a sample of direct support staff providing mealtime support to adults with intellectual disabilities. Results: When managing tensions between a person's dietary preferences and ensuring safe and adequate nutrition and hydration, direct support staff are sensitive to a wide range of factors. These include the following: clinical advice; service users’ rights to choose; their (in)capacity to weigh up risks; how service users communicate; the constituents of a healthy diet; and a duty to protect service users' health. Conclusions: Those responsible for setting standards and regulating the care practices need to look beyond too simple ideas of choice and safety to recognize ways in which providing support at mealtimes is a complex activity with serious consequences for people's health and well-being