Devolution and Accountability Effects in the Public Provision of Water Services in Indonesia

This paper separately evaluates how devolution and accountability, two distinct aspects of the decentralization reforms implemented in Indonesia in the year 2001, influenced the public provision of water services. Using household level data it is found that thedevolution of responsibility does not necessarily affect the provision of public services. Our findings show that the quality of publicly provided water decreased only in cities in which devolution was accompanied by a change in accountability. Robustness checks suggest that these results are driven by changes in the accountability framework rather than trends in the health services.Indonesia, decentralization, accountability, devolution, water

Drop tower setup to study the diffusion-driven growth of a foam ball in supersaturated liquids in microgravity conditions

The diffusion-driven growth of a foam ball is a phenomenon that appears in many manufacturing process as well as in a variety of geological phenomena. Usually these processes are greatly affected by gravity, as foam is much lighter than the surrounding liquid. However, the growth of the foam free of gravity effects is still very relevant, as it is connected to manufacturing in space and to the forma- tion of rocks in meteorites and other small celestial bodies. The aim of this research is to investigate experimentally the growth of a bubble cloud growing in a gas-supersaturated liquid in microgravity conditions. Here, we describe the ex- periments carried out in the drop tower of the Center of Ap- plied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM). In few words, a foam seed is formed with spark-induced cavitation in carbonated water, whose time evolution is recorded with two high-speed cameras. Our preliminary results shed some light on how the size of the foam ball scales with time, in particular at times much longer than what could be studied in normal conditions, i.e. on the surface of the Earth, where the dynamics of the foam is already dominated by gravity after several milliseconds

Residual effect of natural and synthetic zinc chelates on zinc in a soil solution of a waterlogged acidic soil. Evolution of the pH and redox potential.

Zinc chelates have been widely used to correct deficiencies in this micronutrient in different soil types and under different moisture conditions. The aging of the metal in soil could cause a change in its availability. Over time the most labile forms of Zn could decrease in activity and extractability and change to more stable forms. Various soil parameters, such as redox conditions, time, soil type and moisture conditions, affect the aging process and modify the solubility of the metal. In general, redox conditions influence pH and also the chemical forms dissolved in the soil solution. Soil pH also affects Zn solubility; at high pH values, most of the Zn is present in forms that are not bioavailable to plants. The objective of this study was to determine the changes in Zn over time in a soil solution in a waterlogged acidic soil to which synthetic and natural chelates were applie

Los informales de la economía

La agudización de la crisis económica en México en la década de los ochenta se caracteriza por la contracción de la tasa de empleo y la baja de los salarios reales, lo que definió que el empleo informal en sus diversas manifestaciones alcanzara una fuerte proporción. El autoempleo surgió como una alternativa para lograr ingresos o complementar la disminución de los salarios reales

Circular economy: application in the textile industry

Treball Final de Grau en Finances i Comptabilitat. Codi: FC1049. Curs acadèmic: 2016/2017Circular economics is a recent economic model that has emerged as a response to the new needs of society and our planet. These needs have arisen because of the continuous use of a linear economic model, which has been developing since the industrial revolution, with which it has reached a point where there are no longer enough resources to extract, and throught wich we are contaminating the planet more and more. Circular economics, as a solution to these problems, proposes a series of changes, such as the reuse of waste to manufacture new products or the manufacture of products that are long lasting in time so as to generate the least possible residues in the slower and more moderate way. Increasingly, more and more industries are getting involved with the cause and are beginning to be involved in this change. Specifically, the textile industry is beginning to take serious measures in this regard and starting to implement in its production processes the characteristics of the aforementioned circular economy. It is true that a company that pursues social and environmental objectives, in addition to economic ones, is not as profitable today as a company that focuses simply on its economic results without following criteria of respect for the environment and society. But we are facing a change, where more and more entrepreneurs and consumers are more aware of environmental and social importance. And where companies are increasingly acquiring value for their good practices and not just for the profits they get whatever the price to pay

Algunas reflexiones acerca de los derechos de los padres y las competencias estatales en el ámbito de la educación pública

En este trabajo se exponen algunos casos de la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Supremo americano y de la Corte Europea de Derechos Humanos. En ellos se reflejan posibles tensiones entre los derechos de los padres a elegir para sus hijos una formación moral y religiosa conforme a sus convicciones y la competencia de los poderes públicos para fijar el currículum escolar. En torno a esos supuestos se reflexiona acerca de la exención como una posible solución a esos conflictos que compatibiliza el principio democrático de decisión por la mayoría con el respeto a los derechos de las minorías constitucionalmente consagrado