Leveraging private investment to expand renewable power generation: Evidence on financial additionality and productivity gains from Uganda

Effectively mitigating climate change entails a quick upscaling and redirection of electricity infrastructure investment. Given that the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions increases until 2050 will come from low- and middle-income countries, finding cost-effective ways to mitigate climate change while meeting development targets is essential. However, recent research has shown some of the limitations of broad financing mechanisms, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and existing carbon markets. This has resulted in a growing interest in designing novel investment support schemes, such as modifications of targeted feed-in-tariffs (FiTs) that may be more cost effective and better targeted towards particular outcomes when compared to traditional deployment subsidies or broad financing mechanisms. We evaluate the design and outcomes of one such novel support schemes: the GET FiT (Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariff) investment support scheme in Uganda, which has attracted ~ 453 million USD in private sector investment for 17 small-scale renewable energy projects (solar, hydro, bagasse) in only three years. Using financial modelling on detailed project-level data, we find that the majority of projects were additional and would therefore not have been built without the subsidy. In addition, using firm-level panel data, we show that power outages hamper manufacturing performance in Uganda. In the absence of reliable outage-data for the entire Ugandan territory, we use nightlight variations to proxy changes in outages. We show that outages have declined substantially since the introduction of GET FiT. Yet, our analysis also demonstrates that programmes to incentivise additional renewable generation in developing countries funded internationally or domestically should liaise closely with grid authorities to ensure that supply does not outstrip demand.European Union’s Horizon 2020 INNOPATHS project (Grant agreement no. 730403) The Department of Land Economy and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Cambridge Heinrich Böll Foundation

Group-Based Parent Training Interventions for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: a Literature Review

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders should have access to interventions to help them understand and support their child. This literature review examines the existing evidence for group-based parent training interventions that support parents of children with autism. From the literature, core intervention processes and outcomes are identified and include parenting and parent behaviour, parent health, child behaviour and peer and social support. Results show a positive trend for intervention effectiveness, but findings are limited by low-quality studies and heterogeneity of intervention content, outcomes and outcome measurement. Future research should focus on specifying effective intervention ingredients and modes of delivery, consistent and reliable outcome measurement, and improving methodological rigour to build a more robust evidence base

Helicity sensitive terahertz radiation detection by dual-grating-gate high electron mobility transistors

We report on the observation of a radiation helicity sensitive photocurrent excited by terahertz (THz) radiation in dual-grating-gate (DGG) InAlAs/InGaAs/InAlAs/InP high electron mobility transistors (HEMT). For a circular polarization the current measured between source and drain contacts changes its sign with the inversion of the radiation helicity. For elliptically polarized radiation the total current is described by superposition of the Stokes parameters with different weights. Moreover, by variation of gate voltages applied to individual gratings the photocurrent can be defined either by the Stokes parameter defining the radiation helicity or those for linear polarization. We show that artificial non-centrosymmetric microperiodic structures with a two-dimensional electron system excited by THz radiation exhibit a dc photocurrent caused by the combined action of a spatially periodic in-plane potential and spatially modulated light. The results provide a proof of principle for the application of DGG HEMT for all-electric detection of the radiation's polarization state.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Mutual effects of fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and fireworks on cause-specific acute cardiovascular mortality: a case-crossover study in communities affected by aircraft noise

Ambient air pollution is the leading cause of environmental mortality and morbidity worldwide. However, the individual contributions to acute mortality of traffic-related air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are still debated. We conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study for a population located around Zurich airport in Switzerland, including 24,886 adult cardiovascular deaths from the Swiss National Cohort. We estimated the risk of cause-specific cardiovascular mortality associated with daily NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations at home using distributed lag models up to 7 days preceding death, adjusted for daily temperature, precipitation, acute night-time aircraft noise, firework celebrations, and holidays. Cardiovascular mortality was associated with NO2, whereas the association with PM2.5 disappeared upon adjustment for NO2. The strongest association was observed between NO2 and ischemic stroke mortality (odds ratio = 1.55 per 10 mug/m(3), 95% confidence intervals = 1.20-2.00). Cause-specific mortality analyses showed differences in terms of delayed effect: odds ratios were highest at 1-3 days after exposure for most outcomes but at lags of 3-5 days for heart failure. Individual vulnerabilities to NO2 associated cardiovascular mortality also varied by cause of death, possibly highlighting the role of different behaviours and risk factors in the most susceptible groups. The risk of cardiovascular mortality was also increased on firework days and after public holidays, independent from NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations. This study confirms the association between ambient NO2, as a marker for primary emissions, and acute cardiovascular mortality in a specific setting around a major airport. Future research should clarify the role of additional air pollutants including ultra-fine particles on cardiovascular diseases to inform most efficient control measures

The role of extreme temperature in cause-specific acute cardiovascular mortality in Switzerland: a case-crossover study

Since the 2003 heatwave in Europe, evidence has been rapidly increasing on the association between extreme temperature and all-cause mortality. Little is known, however, about cause-specific cardiovascular mortality, effect modification by air pollution and aircraft noise, and which population groups are the most vulnerable to extreme temperature. We conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study in Zurich, Switzerland, including all adult cardiovascular deaths between 2000 and 2015 with precise individual exposure estimates at home location. We estimated the risk of 24,884 cardiovascular deaths associated with heat and cold using distributed non-linear lag models. We investigated potential effect modification of temperature-related mortality by fine particles, nitrogen dioxide, and night-time aircraft noise and performed stratified analyses across individual and social characteristics. We found increased risk of mortality for heat (odds ratio OR = 1.28 [95% confidence interval: 1.11-1.49] for 99th percentile of daily Tmean (24 degrees C) versus optimum temperature at 20 degrees C) and cold (OR = 1.15 [0.95-1.39], 5th percentile of daily Tmean (-3 degrees C) versus optimum temperature at 20 degrees C). Heat-related mortality was particularly strong for myocardial infarctions and hypertension related deaths, and among older women (>75 years). Analysis of effect modification also indicated that older women with lower socio-economic position and education are at higher risk for heat-related mortality. PM2.5 increased the risk of heat-related mortality for heart failure, but not all-cause cardiovascular mortality. This study provides useful information for preventing cause-specific cardiovascular temperature-related mortality in moderate climate zones comparable to Switzerland

Scatterometry reference standards to improve tool matching and traceability in lithographical nanomanufacturing

High quality scatterometry standard samples have been developed to improve the tool matching between different scatterometry methods and tools as well as with high resolution microscopic methods such as scanning electron microscopy or atomic force microscopy and to support traceable and absolute scatterometric critical dimension metrology in lithographic nanomanufacturing. First samples based on one dimensional Si or on Si 3 N 4 grating targets have been manufactured and characterized for this purpose. The etched gratings have periods down to 50 nm and contain areas of reduced density to enable AFM measurements for comparison. Each sample contains additionally at least one large area scatterometry target suitable for grazing incidence small angle X ray scattering. We present the current design and the characterization of structure details and the grating quality based on AFM, optical, EUV and X Ray scatterometry as well as spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. The final traceable calibration of these standards is currently performed by applying and combining different scatterometric as well as imaging calibration methods. We present first calibration results and discuss the final design and the aimed specifications of the standard samples to face the tough requirements for future technology nodes in lithography

Livestock keepers’ attitudes: Keystone of effective community-based breeding programs

Livestock keepers in southwestern Burkina Faso hold the local Lobi taurine breed, local Zebu cattle, and their crosses. Some communities in the region have begun to implement community-based cattle breeding programs (CBBPs), which involve animal tagging and recording and, potentially, also bull sharing. Based on the hypothesis that the participation of livestock keepers in CBBPs depends on their attitudes towards these programs, we used questionnaires to survey the attitudes of 125 farmers towards cattle breeding strategies and tools. Results were analyzed using principal component analysis. Farmers showed a highly positive attitude towards maintaining the features of their preferred cattle breed, but their attitudes varied substantially towards crossbreeding for breed improvement. Farmers generally agreed that performance was more important than animal appearance, and most of them were willing to cooperate with breeders’ associations but were skeptical about sharing their bulls with other farmers. The majority was reluctant to record performance data, which may be due to a capacity deficit and their confidence in being able to select the best animals based purely on phenotype. Our analysis suggests that breeders’ associations, as a key component of CBBPs, should lay down clear rules and obligations for their members from the outset. Timely consideration of farmers’ attitudes towards different breeding tools may improve their uptake and guarantee the sustainability of CBBPs