The Demands of Inclusive Growth: Lessons from South Asia (The Mahbub Ul Haq Memorial Lecture)

This paper examines the concept of inclusive growth, compares and contrasts it with related concepts such as pro-poor growth and equitable growth, and analyses the recent experience of South Asia through the lens of this concept. A common experience of the region is that spells of rapid growth have been marked by accelerated poverty reduction on the one hand rising income inequality on the other. The contrasting movements in poverty and inequality render intriguing the question of whether South Asia has experienced inclusive growth or not. The reduction in poverty suggests inclusiveness, while the rise in inequality suggests otherwise. The implication is that the growth process has been inclusive in some dimensions but not in others. Closer examination shows that in each country of the region horizontal equity (between groups) has been served better than vertical equity (within groups). Thus, while the growth process has opened up plentiful opportunities for most groups of people to enjoy the benefits of growth, thereby making poverty reduction possible at an accelerated pace, in every group some individuals have failed to link up with the growth process, thereby exacerbating inequality. The problem was that within each group some individuals lacked the skills and endowments required to integrate with the growth process. Improving the ‘integrability’ of these people is an essential demand of inclusive growth.Inclusive Growth, Poverty, Inequality, South Asia

Expanding Voice and Accountability Through the Budgetary Process

human development, democracy

Reference management software (RMS) in an academic environment: a survey at a research university in Malaysia

Reference Management Software is used by researchers in academics to manage the bibliographic citations they encounter in their research. With these tools, scholars keep track of the scientific literature they read, and to facilitate the editing of the scientific papers they write. This study presents the results of a quantitative survey performed at a research university in Malaysia. The aims of the survey were to observe how much these softwares are used by the scientific community, to see which softwares are most known and used, and to find out the reasons and the approaches behind their usage. Manually questionnaire was distributed to the Master and PhD students at all faculties in Jun 2014. The data collected were analysed through a constant comparative analysis, and the following categories were drawn: a basic practical approach to the instrument, the heavy impact of the time factor, the force of habit in scholars, economic issues, the importance of training and literacy, and the role that the library can have in this stage. Describing the present situation, the study gives final directions to the libraries to better perform effective tasks about the matter. This study presented here is the first survey of the actual distribution and usage of Reference Management Software in a research university in Malaysia. This picture can give an important glance to Reference Management Software as one of the elements in the academic digital librarie

Construction and demolition waste - a shift toward Lean Construction and Building Information Model

Waste in the construction industry is a devastating dilemma, especially that construction and demolition activities are considered as the highest waste generator globally. Countries have developed regulations: policy-makers and professional associations have provided norms and policies to manage C&D waste. Previous studies, however, have revealed insufficiencies in the current regulations and norms in incentivizing the industry practices toward waste prevention, since its culture is characterized by the gap in technological use, insufficient knowledge, poor planning, and poor information flow. This research provides a literature review on the current research findings and trends in managing C&D waste. Then based on design theory and theory of production, an exploratory research consisting of BIM and Lean construction concepts is provided. Lean can maximize the value of construction by addressing waste within portfolios, projects, and operations; BIM offers an enhanced collaborative platform with improved design practice and information management throughout buildings’ life cycle. The proposed conceptual framework enables economic, environmental, and social benefits to allow practitioners collaborate, analyze, and minimize construction waste throughout buildings’ life cycle.(undefined

A large-scale study of a poultry trading network in Bangladesh: implications for control and surveillance of avian influenza viruses

Since its first report in 2007, avian influenza (AI) has been endemic in Bangladesh. While live poultry marketing is widespread throughout the country and known to influence AI dissemination and persistence, trading patterns have not been described. The aim of this study is to assess poultry trading practices and features of the poultry trading networks which could promote AI spread, and their potential implications for disease control and surveillance. Data on poultry trading practices was collected from 849 poultry traders during a cross-sectional survey in 138 live bird markets (LBMs) across 17 different districts of Bangladesh. The quantity and origins of traded poultry were assessed for each poultry type in surveyed LBMs. The network of contacts between farms and LBMs resulting from commercial movements of live poultry was constructed to assess its connectivity and to identify the key premises influencing it

COMBREX: a project to accelerate the functional annotation of prokaryotic genomes

COMBREX (http://combrex.bu.edu) is a project to increase the speed of the functional annotation of new bacterial and archaeal genomes. It consists of a database of functional predictions produced by computational biologists and a mechanism for experimental biochemists to bid for the validation of those predictions. Small grants are available to support successful bids.National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (Go grant 1RC2GM092602-01

Failure of lactate clearance predicts the outcome of critically ill septic patients

Purpose: Early lactate clearance is an important parameter for prognosis assessment and therapy control in sepsis. Patients with a lactate clearance >0% might differ from patients with an inferior clearance in terms of intensive care management and outcomes. This study analyzes a large collective with regards to baseline risk distribution and outcomes. Methods: In total, 3299 patients were included in this analysis, consisting of 1528 (46%) ≤0% and 1771 (54%) >0% patients. The primary endpoint was intensive care unit (ICU) mortality. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were used to compare both groups: A baseline model (model 1) with lactate clearance as a fixed effect and ICU as a random effect was installed. For model 2, patient characteristics (model 2) were included. For model 3, intensive care treatment (mechanical ventilation and vasopressors) was added to the model. Models 1 and 2 were used to evaluate the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Model 3 was only used to evaluate the primary outcomes. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with respective 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results: The cohorts had no relevant differences regarding the gender, BMI, age, heart rate, body temperature, and baseline lactate. Neither the primary infection focuses nor the ethnic background differed between both groups. In both groups, the most common infection sites were of pulmonary origin, the urinary tract, and the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with lactate clearance >0% evidenced lower sepsis-related organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores (7 ± 6 versus 9 ± 6; p < 0.001) and creatinine (1.53 ± 1.49 versus 1.80 ± 1.67; p < 0.001). The ICU mortality differed significantly (14% versus 32%), and remained this way after multivariable adjustment for patient characteristics and intensive care treatment (aOR 0.43 95% CI 0.36–0.53; p < 0.001). In the additional sensitivity analysis, the lack of lactate clearance was associated with a worse prognosis in each subgroup. Conclusion: In this large collective of septic patients, the 6 h lactate clearance is an independent method for outcome prediction

COMBREX: a project to accelerate the functional annotation of prokaryotic genomes

COMBREX (http://combrex.bu.edu) is a project to increase the speed of the functional annotation of new bacterial and archaeal genomes. It consists of a database of functional predictions produced by computational biologists and a mechanism for experimental biochemists to bid for the validation of those predictions. Small grants are available to support successful bids.National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (Go grant 1RC2GM092602-01