The Effects of the Minimum Wage in Brazil on the Distribution of Family Incomes: 1996-2001

The Brazilian economy has long relied on the minimum wage, having first implemented a minimum in 1940. Shortly after taking office in 2003, Brazil’s President raised the minimum wage by 20 percent and promised to double the value of the minimum wage before his term ends in 2006. The usual rationale for minimum wage increases is to bring about beneficial changes in the income distribution, by raising incomes of poor and low-income families. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the efficacy of the minimum wage in Brazil in bringing about these changes in the income distribution. We examine data drawn from Brazil’s major metropolitan areas, studying the years after Brazil’s hyper-inflation ended. The estimates provide no evidence that minimum wages in Brazil lift family incomes at the lower points of the income distribution; if anything some of the evidence points to adverse effects on lower-income families.

A Language for Specifying Informational Graphics from First Principles

Informational visualization tools, such as commercial charting packages, provide a standard set of visualizations for tabular data, including bar charts, scatter plots, pie charts, and the like. For some combinations of data and task, these are suitable visualizations. For others, however, novel visualizations over multiple variables would be preferred but are unavailable in the fixed list of standard options. To allow for these cases, we introduce a declarative language for specifying visualizations on the basis of the first principles on which (a subset of) informational graphics are built. The functionality we aim to provide with this language is presented by way of example, from simple scatter plots to versions of two quite famous visualizations: Minard’s depiction of troop strength during Napoleon’s march on Moscow and a map of the early ARPAnet from the ancient history of the Internet. Benefits of our approach include flexibility and expressiveness for specifying a range of visualizations that cannot be rendered with standard commercial systems.Engineering and Applied Science

The Present and Future of Internet Search

Search engines were crucial in the development of the World Wide Web. Web-based information retrieval progressed from simple word matching to sophisticated algorithms for maximizing the relevance of search results. Statistical and graph-based approaches for indexing and ranking pages, natural language processing techniques for improving query results, and intelligent agents for personalizing the search process all show great promise for enhanced performance. The evolution in search technology was accompanied by growing economic pressures on search engine companies. Unable to sustain long-term viability from advertising revenues, many of the original search engines diversified into portals that farm out their search and directory operations. Vertical portals that serve focused user communities also outsource their search services, and even directory providers began to integrate search engine technologies from outside vendors. This article brings order to the chaos resulting from the variety of search tools being offered under various marketing guises. While growing reliance on a small set of search providers is leading to less diversity among search services, users can expect individualized searching experiences that factor in personal information. The convergence of technology and business models also results in more narrowly defined search spaces, which will lessen the quantity of search results while improving their quality

Not a silver bullet: social perspectives on desalination and water reuse in Texas

Climate disruptions threaten water systems and undermine economic growth in urban areas. Stakeholder perspectives for desalination and water reuse are not well known in Texas (USA) although utilities are implementing these water augmentation technologies for municipal and industrial purposes. We use a water portfolio-informed deployment of Q-methodology to identify three social perspectives: Diversification is Key, Conservation Before Desalination, and Private Sector Can Do It. We expected to find strongly supportive and opposed social perspectives, but found nuanced and contingent support for desalination and water reuse. Social perspectives were aware of the financial and political costs of desalination and reuse and did not want desalination and water reuse to reduce the importance of protecting currently sources of potable water in Texas. Cross-cutting themes include the predominance of desalination as the policy-relevant water supply alternative and concerns for human capital at levels ranging from desalination plant operators to legal experts.Fil: Brannstrom, Christian. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Jepson, Wendy. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Beckner, Sydney. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Sneegas, Gretchen. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Seghezzo, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; Argentin

Do not put all your eggs in one basket: social perspectives on desalination and water recycling in Israel

Israel has set ambitious goals in terms of the widespread adoption of desalination and water recycling technologies. Policymakers in Israel consider these technologies as the key to improve urban water security but knowledge of stakeholder views on this policy approach is not well established. We deployed the Q-methodology, a qualitative–quantitative approach, to empirically determine social perspectives on desalination and water recycling across a wide range of stakeholders in the Israeli water sector. We identified the following four distinctive social perspectives: (1) desalination should be the option of last resort; (2) desalination is moving us to an infinite resource; (3) equating savings to resources is a dangerous illusion; and (4) desalination is (risky) electric water. A common characteristic of these perspectives is the belief that desalination is necessary for a water-secure country, but desalination should not be the only source of drinking water in Israel. Our findings indicate that Israeli stakeholders show complex and contingent understandings of the pros and cons of desalination and water recycling and the risks involved in too much reliance on a limited number of water sources. We discuss the potential implications of our findings for water management and security in Israel and other places with water scarcity concerns

Do not put all your eggs in one basket: social perspectives on desalination and water recycling in Israel

Israel has set ambitious goals in terms of the widespread adoption of desalination and water recycling technologies. Policymakers in Israel consider these technologies as the key to improve urban water security but knowledge of stakeholder views on this policy approach is not well established. We deployed the Q-methodology, a qualitative-quantitative approach, to empirically determine social perspectives on desalination and water recycling across a wide range of stakeholders in the Israeli water sector. We identified the following four distinctive social perspectives: (1) desalination should be the option of last resort; (2) desalination is moving us to an infinite resource; (3) equating savings to resources is a dangerous illusion; and (4) desalination is (risky) electric water. A common characteristic of these perspectives is the belief that desalination is necessary for a water-secure country, but desalination should not be the only source of drinking water in Israel. Our findings indicate that Israeli stakeholders show complex and contingent understandings of the pros and cons of desalination and water recycling and the risks involved in too much reliance on a limited number of water sources. We discuss the potential implications of our findings for water management and security in Israel and other places with water scarcity concerns.Fil: Sneegas, Gretchen. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Seghezzo, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Brannstrom, Christian. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Jepson, Wendy. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Eckstein, Gabriel. Texas A&M University; Estados Unido

Using Q-methodology in environmental sustainability research: A bibliometric analysis and systematic review

Q-methodology is a mixed qualitative-quantitative method used to measure social perspectives on issues relating to sustainability and environmental governance in a systematic, replicable manner. Although it has grown in prominence and use over the past two decades, to date there has not been a comprehensive review of the environmental sustainability Q-methodology literature. Using bibliometric analysis and systematic review, this paper examines the rapid growth in published Q-methodology research on sustainable natural resource management and environmental governance. We analysed and iteratively coded 277 empirical Q-studies published between 2000-2018 to establish research trends, shared gaps, and best practices among environmental social science Q-researchers. We also conducted co-authorship and co-citation analyses to identify research clusters using Q-methodology. We find that, while Q-methodology uses a relatively standardized protocol, considerable heterogeneity persists across such domains as study design, p-set identification, concourse and Q-set development, analysis and interpretation. Further, we identify major reporting gaps among Q-methodology publications where researchers do not fully describe or justify subjective decision-making throughout the research phases. The paper ends with recommendations for improving research reporting and increasing the circulation and uptake of up-to-date Q-methodology practices and innovations.Fil: Sneegas, Gretchen. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Beckner, Sydney. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Brannstrom, Christian. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Jepson, Wendy. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Lee, Kyungsun. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Seghezzo, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; Argentin

Pending issues in protection, productivity growth, and poverty reduction

This paper selectively synthesizes much of the research on Latin American and Caribbean labor markets in recent years. Several themes emerge that are particularly relevant to ongoing policy dialogues. First, labor legislation matters, but markets may be less segmented than previously thought. The impetus to voluntary informality, which appears to be a substantial fraction of the sector, implies that the design of social safety nets and labor legislation needs to take a more integrated view of the labor market, taking into account the cost-benefit analysis workers and firms make about whether to interact with formal institutions. Second, the impact of labor market institutions on productivity growth has probably been underemphasized. Draconian firing restrictions increase litigation and uncertainty surrounding worker separations, reduce turnover and job creation, and poorly protect workers. But theory and anecdotal evidence also suggest that they, and other related state or union induced rigidities, may have an even greater disincentive effect on technological adoption, which accounts for half of economic growth. Finally, institutions can affect poverty and equity, although the effects seem generally small and channels are not always clear. Overall, the present constellation of labor regulations serves workers and firms poorly and both could benefit from substantial reform.Labor Markets,Labor Standards,Economic Theory&Research,Work&Working Conditions,Labor Management and Relations

The Luminosity of SN 1999by in NGC 2841 and the Nature of `Peculiar' Type Ia Supernovae

We present UBVRIJHK photometry and optical spectroscopy of the so-called 'peculiar' Type Ia supernova 1999by in NGC 2841. The observations began one week before visual maximum light which is well-defined by daily observations. The light curves and spectra are similar to those of the prototypical subluminous event SN 1991bg. We find that maximum light in B occurred on 1999 May 10.3 UT (JD 2,451,308.8 +/- 0.3) with B=13.66 +/- 0.02 mag and a color of B_max-V_max=0.51 +/- 0.03 mag. The late-time color implies minimal dust extinction from the host galaxy. Our photometry, when combined with the recent Cepheid distance to NGC 2841 (Macri et al. 2001), gives a peak absolute magnitude of M_B=-17.15 +/- 0.23 mag, making SN 1999by one of the least luminous Type Ia events ever observed. We estimate a decline rate parameter of dm15(B)=1.90 mag, versus 1.93 for SN 1991bg, where 1.10 is typical for so-called 'normal' events. We compare SN 1999by with other subluminous events and find that the B_max-V_max color correlates strongly with the decline rate and may be a more sensitive indicator of luminosity than the fading rate for these objects. We find a good correlation between luminosity and the depth of the spectral feature at 580 nm, which had been attributed solely to Si II. We show that in cooler photospheres the 580 nm feature is dominated by Ti II, which provides a simple physical explanation for the correlation. Using only subluminous Type Ia supernovae we derive a Hubble parameter of H_0=75 +12 -11 km/s Mpc, consistent with values found from brighter events.Comment: 36 preprint pages including 18 figures. Near-IR photometry of the SN has been added to the paper. Scheduled to appear in ApJ vol. 613 (September 2004). High-resolution version available from http://www.nd.edu/~pgarnavi/sn99by/sn99by.p

Psychometric testing of the breastfeeding self-efficacy scale to measure exclusive breastfeeding in African American women: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundIn United States, African American women are the least likely group to breastfeed exclusively compared with Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women. It is crucial to examine the perceived confidence of African American women towards practicing exclusive breastfeeding. Previous studies have examined breastfeeding self-efficacy and other factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding. However, there is no research on exclusive breastfeeding self-efficacy of this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the breastfeeding self-efficacy scale to measure exclusive breastfeeding, and the relationship between exclusive breastfeeding self-efficacy and general self-efficacy and demographic variables in African American women.MethodsDescriptive cross-sectional design was used. A convenience sample of 53 pregnant African American women completed an online survey. Construct and criterion-related validity were assessed and reliability of the breastfeeding self-efficacy scale to measure exclusive breastfeeding (BSES-EBF) was examined using Cronbach’s reliability. The general self-efficacy scale measured general self-efficacy. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation and non-parametric analyses were performed using statistical package for social sciences (v.28).ResultsThe breastfeeding self-efficacy to measure exclusive breastfeeding scale had a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.907. One principal component was extracted from the BSES-EBF scale, with an Eigenvalue of 5.271 and which explained 58.57% of the variance in the instrument. The mean prenatal exclusive breastfeeding self-efficacy of participants was 35.15 (±7.41) from a range of 9 to 45. Exclusive breastfeeding was significantly associated with general self-efficacy (r = 0.503, p ≤ 0.001) and exclusive breastfeeding intention (p = 0.034).ConclusionBreastfeeding self-efficacy scale to measure exclusive breastfeeding is a valid and reliable tool to measure exclusive breastfeeding self-efficacy in African American women. African American women had high exclusive breastfeeding self-efficacy (internal motivation). Hence, there is a need to address breastfeeding barriers and provide access to culturally sensitive support (external motivation) to increase exclusive breastfeeding in African American women