Recent trends in inequality and poverty in developing countries

This chapter reviews the empirical evidence on the levels and trends in income/consumption inequality and poverty in developing countries. It includes a discussion of data sources and measurement issues, evidence on the levels of inequality and poverty across countries and regions, an assessment of trends in these variables since the early 1980s, and a general discussion of their determinants. There has been tremendous progress in the measurement of inequality and poverty in the developing world, although serious problems of consistency and comparability still remain. The available evidence suggests that on average the levels of national income inequality in the developing world increased in the 1980s and 1990s, and declined in the 2000s. There was a remarkable fall in income poverty since the early 1980s, driven by the exceptional performance of China over the whole period, and the generalized improvement in living standards in all the regions of the developing world in the 2000s.Este trabajo corresponde al capítulo 10 de Handbook of Income Distribution, volume 2, editado por A. Atkinson y F. Bourguignon.Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS

Classification of heart rate variability in patients with mild hypertension

The diagnostic performance of two pattern classification methods to detect hypertension was evaluated in a population of 29 mildly hypertensive and 20 normal subjects. The heart rate variability (HRV) signal of each subject was recorded during rest and isometric handgrip exercise. Feature vectors composed of up to 6 features from both the time and frequency domain representation of the HRV signal were constructed and applied to a Bayes' likelihood classifier and a voting k-nearest neighbours classifier. Each subject was classified as hypertensive or normal, and the classification compared to the clinical diagnosis for each subject. The diagnostic performance of each classifier/feature vector combination was evaluated using the leave-one-out method. The best performance of 90% correct classifications was achieved using a nearest neighbour classifier, a Euclidean distance metric and 3 features. The Bayes' classifier achieved a best performance of 84% correct classification. The work shows promise for the detection of the autonomic disturbance which precedes and accompanies the hypertensive state

Infinite-derivative linearized gravity in convolutional form

This article aims to transform the infinite-order Lagrangian density for ghost-free infinite-derivative linearized gravity into non-local form. To achieve it, we use the theory of generalized functions and the Fourier transform in the space of tempered distributions ${\mathcal{S}}^{\prime }$. We show that the non-local operator domain is not defined on the whole functional space but on a subset of it. Moreover, we prove that these functions and their derivatives are bounded in all ${\mathbb{R}}^{3}$ and, consequently, the Riemann tensor is regular and the scalar curvature invariants do not present any spacetime singularity. Finally, we explore what conditions we need to satisfy so that the solutions of the linearized equations of motion exist in ${\mathcal{S}}^{\prime }$

Research in the globalscape : conceptual tools for understanding sites

[[WORKSHOP Within EDRA 35, 2004: Design With Spirit Moderated by Julia Nevarez with contributions from Denise Alcantara, Clio Capitanachi, Jeffrey Pall Wandersman, Suzanne Scheld, Bob Bechtel, Constatine Kijanenko, Dana Taplin, Robert Marans, Ashraf M. Salama, Michael Mitrany, and Sanjoy Mazundar]] Purposes and objectives: While previous workshops have deal with urban research methodologies, this workshop will help uncover those conceptual tools used in the study of environments. While the epistemological foundations of research include a consideration for the origins, methods and limits of knowledge, this workshop will focus on the methods and discuss concepts and spatial metaphors used to speak of the city. Explicitly and implicitly conceptual tools, such as spatial metaphors help to advance the analysis of urban phenomena. Little explanation is given to the underlying conceptual and spatial metaphors of urban though. This workshop will attempt at uncovering the epistemologies produced by the craft of research in the global context by 1) presenting research in specific sites, 2) identifying and describing the spatial metaphors used in the analysis of cities and other settled areas, and 3) examining the discourses these spatial metaphors represent. Expected outcomes: This workshop seeks to offer a platform where to discuss the conceptual tools used in urban research, specifically spatial metaphors that help the analysis of the city and other settled areas. The workshop also seeks to identify the discourses from which these spatial metaphors emerge as a way to advance our awareness of how knowledge is obtained through research. An identification of concepts and spatial metaphors will help identify the possible benefits and limitations of using such conceptual and analytical tools in the production of knowledge about the urban environment. Plans to involve the audience:A reference list and selection of readings will be distributed to participants. There will be three presentations by workshop members that will provide examples of conceptual tools used in the analysis o furban research. A group exercise will help participants in different subgroups identify other conceptual tools that they use in their current research. An open group discussion about the sub-group activities will follow.List of possible participants: Denise Alcantara, Clio Capitanachi, Jeffrey Pall Wandersman, Suzanne Scheld, Bob Bechtel, Constatine Kijanenko, Dana Taplin, Robert Marans, Ashraf M. Salama, Michael Mitrany, and Sanjoy Mazundar