Cash-Flow and Savings Practices of Low-Income Households: Evidence From a Follow-Up Study of IDA Participants

This study uses a survey of participants from an Individual Development Account (IDA) matched savings intervention to examine self-reported financial practices (cash flow and savings) five years after the intervention terminated. Latent class analysis produced three groups of financial practices - high, medium, and low functioning. Results showed that some low-income households are carefully managing their finances. Psychological sense of mastery was positively related to high functioning cash-flow and savings. The IDA intervention had no association with latent class membership. Antipoverty interventions should assess the financial practices of participants at the time of service enrollment. Further, social service providers should not assume that households are not already carefully managing their finances

ハイブリダイゼーションによるナノ繊維状キラル分子ゲルの機能化

熊本大

A study on sutijal (purse net) in the Chalan Beel

The present study on fishing technique using sutijal (purse net) in the Chalan Beel was conducted for a period of 3 years from July 2011 to June 2014. Net description, operation details and catch composition were studied through field survey in different parts of studied wetland. Three different categories of sutijal were recorded. Catch composition revealed that all types of aquatic organisms are being caught by this net. Benefit-cost ratio of studied fishing net was also calculated. Frequent fishing by this net, especially in streams of remote areas of the Chalan Beel resulting in decline of fish species and abundance. Appropriate management steps are recommended to get rid of this destructive fishing gear

Fishing gears and methods in the Chalan Beel, Bangladesh

Present study on fishing gears and methods in the Chalan Beel was conducted during the period of July 2011 to June 2014. The Chalan Beel is the large network of fluvial waters body that harbors rich ichthyofaunal diversity. Most of the fishing methods of the Chalan Beel are primitive, based on indigenous traditional knowledge and well suited to turbulent nature of the streams. In this study thirty fishing methods and gears have been documented and classified into five categories- fishing nets, traps, wounding gears, hooks and lines, and others. Many of these were harmful to fishes as well as aquatic biodiversity. Effective measurements are required to make proper use of the Chalan Beel

Bayesian Optimization Algorithm-Based Statistical and Machine Learning Approaches for Forecasting Short-Term Electricity Demand

This article focuses on developing both statistical and machine learning approaches for forecasting hourly electricity demand in Ontario. The novelties of this study include (i) identifying essential factors that have a significant effect on electricity consumption, (ii) the execution of a Bayesian optimization algorithm (BOA) to optimize the model hyperparameters, (iii) hybridizing the BOA with the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous inputs (SARIMAX) and nonlinear autoregressive networks with exogenous input (NARX) for modeling separately short-term electricity demand for the first time, (iv) comparing the model’s performance using several performance indicators and computing efficiency, and (v) validation of the model performance using unseen data. Six features (viz., snow depth, cloud cover, precipitation, temperature, irradiance toa, and irradiance surface) were found to be significant. The Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of five consecutive weekdays for all seasons in the hybrid BOA-NARX is obtained at about 3%, while a remarkable variation is observed in the hybrid BOA-SARIMAX. BOA-NARX provides an overall steady Relative Error (RE) in all seasons (1~6.56%), while BOA-SARIMAX provides unstable results (Fall: 0.73~2.98%; Summer: 8.41~14.44%). The coefficient of determination (R2) values for both models are >0.96. Overall results indicate that both models perform well; however, the hybrid BOA-NARX reveals a stable ability to handle the day-ahead electricity load forecasts

Informal Sector Employment and Economic Growth: Evidence from Developing Countries in SDG Perspective

The understanding of the role of informal employment in economic growth is important to facilitate developing countries in safeguarding the decent work, productive employment, and inclusive growth agenda mentioned in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 8. The present study attempts to this end by investigating the role of informal employment on economic growth with an aim to assist in fulfilling target 8.3 of SDG. This study utilizes the data available for 20 developing countries for the period 2011–2019. Panel data analysis techniques have been applied, considering the percentage of total employment in the informal sector as the main explanatory variable of the models. The relevant macroeconomic indicators are included in the model as control variables. Empirical findings from Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), and Dynamic Fixed Effect (DFE) models indicate a positive effect of informal employment on the economic growth of developing countries. The other macroeconomic indicators, per capita income, national expenditure, money supply, and economic freedom, are also found to contribute to the economic growth of the selected countries. This study reveals an important bidirectional causal association between informal employment and economic growth, a unidirectional causal link from per capita income to informal employment and from informal employment to national expenditure. Taking into account the contribution of the informal sector to the economy, this study fosters the need for achieving the targets mentioned in SDG 8 by adopting appropriate policies rather than punishing this sector immediately

The effect of the informal sector on sustainable development: Evidence from developing countries

This study aims to explore the impact of the informal sector on the sustainability of development. A large panel data set of 50 developing countries that spans over 2010–2019 has been utilized to this end while the informal sector is evaluated in terms of working poverty. Selecting indicators from three dimensions of sustainability, that is, economy, society, and environment, this study has constructed three indices and combines those to construct a symptomatic composite index of sustainability. Both the short run and long run panel data models have been applied to empirically investigate the impact of informal economic activities on the sustainability of development. Economic growth, national expenditure, and economic freedom of countries are used as control variables in the models and the estimated outcomes are found to be robust in empirical investigations. The outcomes of the study imply that the informal sector plays a detrimental role in the sustainable development of developing countries while economic growth and economic freedom contribute positively. Therefore, the prescribed strategy is to reduce informality from business and other economic activities that limit the scope of the economies and to understand the domain through which interventions can be made to move to a more formal economy. Integration of informal business and SMEs into the formal sector and firm-level awareness building in Corporate Social Responsibility can also be suggested to find a path towards sustainable development in addition to increased economic growth and enhanced economic opportunities of the developing countries

Simulation of Traffic Flow Model with Traffic Controller Boundary

This paper considers a fluid dynamic traffic flow model appended with a closure linear velocity-density relationship which provides a first order hyperbolic partial differential equation (PDE) and is treated as an initial boundary value problem (IBVP). We consider the boundary value in such a way that one side of highway treat like there is a traffic controller at that point. We present the analytic solution of the traffic flow model as a Cauchy problem. A numerical simulation of the traffic flow model (IBVP) is performed based on a finite difference scheme for the model with two sided boundary conditions and a suitable numerical scheme for this is the Lax-Friedrichs scheme. Solution figure from our scheme indicates a desired result that amplitude and frequency of cars density and velocity reduces as time grows. Also at traffic controller point, velocity and density values change as desired manner. In further, we also want to introduce anisotropic behavior of cars(to get more realistic picture) which has not been considered here. Doi: 10.12777/ijse.5.1.25-30 [How to cite this article: Sultana, N., Parvin, M. , Sarker, R., Andallah, L.S. (2013). Simulation of Traffic Flow Model with Traffic Controller Boundary. International Journal of Science and Engineering, 5(1),25-30. Doi: 10.12777/ijse.5.1.25-30