EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS OF NON-TRADABILITY OF FOOD STAPLES IN TANZANIA 1983-1998

Economic reform programs assume that major goods are tradable, such that depreciation of the real exchange rate raises the value of output compared to factor costs in domestic currency. In Tanzania, major food staples that account for most real income are non-tradables in at least one-quarter of the country. This is demonstrated and implications assessed for the constraints imposed on macroeconomic-led adjustment strategiesAgricultural and Food Policy,

The Impacts of On-the-Job Training on Labor Market Outcomes Dual Training System in the Philippines

This paper estimates the impacts of the Philippine Dual Training System (DTS) on labor market outcomes using a recent survey that tracked graduates from DTS and non-DTS programs provided by vocational training institutes. DTS programs partner with local employers to combine on-the-job training (OJT) with the conventional school- or center-based instructions, while non-DTS programs consist solely of the latter. The estimation results in Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design show a significantly positive impact on the most-recent monthly earnings. Quantitatively, the impact on the most-recent monthly earnings attributable to DTS is large, that is, more than 75% increase relative to the average non-DTS program graduate earnings, and the impact significantly increases with the OJT intensity, measured by the number of hours of in-company training and work. The above results indicate that the OJT part of DTS is the essential contributor to higher earnings of the DTS graduates

Admission Requirements and Practices in Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Programs

When establishing admission processes for entry-level doctoral programs, admission requirements for master-level programs provide a comparison for consideration. The purpose of this study was to provide information about admission practices for graduate-level occupational therapy programs. The three aims included: 1) to describe admission requirements of a sample of entry-level master’s programs; 2) to examine the relationship between attrition and admission requirements for the sample; and 3) to provide a summary of admission requirements used by entry-level master and doctoral programs in the United States. Results of the study provided a synthesis of information about admission requirements that included programs’ minimum pre-admission grade point average, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) requirements, and interview processes (e.g., format, time, personnel). A review of the websites for 172 entry-level master’s and doctoral programs across the United States provided a comprehensive description of national admission requirements. Results of a survey of 31 master’s level programs provided information on student demographics (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender), admission requirements, and attrition information for the cohorts admitted in a single year. Survey results also examined the relationship between attrition and admission requirements. Educational programs have opportunities, responsibilities, and challenges associated with the selection of the most qualified applicants to meet academic and professional behavior standards. Periodic examination of admission processes within and across occupational therapy education programs is important for the integrity of the profession

Determinants and implications of the growing scale of livestock farms in four fast-growing developing countries:

"The rapid growth in consumer demand for livestock offers an opportunity to reduce poverty among smallholder livestock farmers in the developing world. These farmers' opportunity may be threatened, however, by competition from larger-scale farms. This report assesses the potential threat, examining various forms of livestock production in Brazil, India, the Philippines, and Thailand. Findings show that the competitiveness of smallholder farms depends on the opportunity cost of family labor and farmers' ability to overcome barriers to the acquisition of production- and market-related information and assets. Pro-poor livestock development depends, therefore, on the strengthening of institutions that will help smallholders overcome the disproportionately high transaction costs in securing quality inputs and obtaining market recognition for quality outputs. These and other findings make this report a useful guide for researchers and others concerned with the opportunities and risks of smallholder livestock farming." from Authors' SummaryDeveloping countries, Economic aspects, Industrialization, Profit efficiency, Environmental externalities, Smallholder competitiveness, Livestock productivity, Livestock Industrialization, Scaling up,

What problems associated with ageing are seen in a specialist service for older people living with HIV?

OBJECTIVES: By 2030 the majority of the people living with HIV in the United Kingdom will be over the age of 50. HIV services globally must adapt to manage people living with HIV as they age. Currently these services are often designed based on data from the wider population or from the experiences of HIV clinicians. This article aims to help clinicians designing inclusive HIV services by presenting the most common needs identified during the first year of a specialist clinic for older people living with HIV at the Ian Charleson Day Centre, Royal Free Hospital in London, United Kingdom. METHODS: The records of all thirty-five patients attending the inaugural nine sessions were reviewed. RESULTS: The median age of attendees was 69 (53-93) with 77% being male, 63% being White, 49% being heterosexual and 97% being virally suppressed respectively. The majority (83%) met the criteria for frailty using the Fried frailty phenotype. Eighteen issues linked to ageing were identified with the most common being affective symptoms (51%), memory loss (37%) and falls (29%). CONCLUSIONS: Whilst older people living with HIV are a heterogeneous group frailty is common and appears to present earlier. HIV services either need to adapt to meet these additional needs or must support users in transitioning to existing services. We feel that our multidisciplinary model is successful in identifying problems associated with ageing in people living with HIV and could be successfully replicated elsewhere

First Phase Space Portrait of a Hierarchical Stellar Structure in the Milky Way

We present the first detailed observational picture of a possible ongoing massive cluster hierarchical assembly in the Galactic disk as revealed by the analysis of the stellar full phase-space (3D positions and kinematics and spectro-photometric properties) of an extended area ($6^{\circ}$ diameter) surrounding the well-known $\it h$ and $\chi$ Persei double stellar cluster in the Perseus Arm. Gaia-EDR3 shows that the area is populated by seven co-moving clusters, three of which were previously unknown, and by an extended and quite massive ($M\sim10^5 M_{\odot}$) halo. All stars and clusters define a complex structure with evidence of possible mutual interactions in the form of intra-cluster over-densities and/or bridges. They share the same chemical abundances (half-solar metallicity) and age ($t\sim20$ Myr) within a small confidence interval and the stellar density distribution of the surrounding diffuse stellar halo resembles that of a cluster-like stellar system. The combination of these evidences suggests that stars distributed within a few degrees from $\it h$ and $\chi$ Persei are part of a common, sub-structured stellar complex that we named LISCA I. Comparison with results obtained through direct $N$-body simulations suggest that LISCA I may be at an intermediate stage of an ongoing cluster assembly that can eventually evolve in a relatively massive (a few $10^5 M_{\odot}$) stellar system. We argue that such cluster formation mechanism may be quite efficient in the Milky Way and disk-like galaxies and, as a consequence, it has a relevant impact on our understanding of cluster formation efficiency as a function of the environment and redshift.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in Ap

Can the Philippines Achieve its CO2 Reduction Commitment with Renewable Energy?

The Philippines always aims to achieve economic growth, which requires expanding economic activities, resulting in increased pollution (Stern, 2017). The country signified its intention to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 75% in COP26 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC], 2021). Part of its strategy to combat CO2 emissions is by increasing its share of renewable energy (RE) sources to at least 35% of the total energy matrix (Department of Energy [DOE], 2021). The Philippines’ ability to reach its COP26 commitment through a scenario approach on the effects of increasing GDP and share of RE to CO2 emissions using Kaya Identity and EKC was investigated. Geometric growth and target-oriented forecasting were performed to generate the forecast period. The Kaya Identity computed the total factor CO2 emissions of the country. The EKC investigated whether increases in GDP, incorporated with the share of RE, result in declining CO2 emissions. Results showed that in scenarios 5 to 7, where GDP and share of RE are increasing based on targets, the Philippines enters post-industrialization stage 3 of environmental responsibility, wherein increases in GDP result in declining CO2 emissions. Evidence suggests the Philippines must remain aggressive in its RE investments to reach its COP26 carbon dioxide emissions reduction commitment

Examining and Evaluating the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) in the Philippine Household Context

Energy poverty refers to insufficient energy consumption to meet one’s basic needs. Measuring energy poverty is a vital calculation for a household assessment concerning accessibility of energy, affordability of energy prices, usage of energy resources, and sufficiency of energy consumption. Previous literature has extensively used the multidimensional energy poverty index (MEPI) to analyze the lack of access to modern energy services, including energy poverty intensity and incidence, and provide a framework for government policymaking. However, there is a variation between countries on how MEPI energy deprivation factors affect household welfare. This study aims to determine more accurate measures of household energy poverty in the Philippines using the 2004 and 2011 Household Energy Consumption Survey (HECS) and illustrate critical factors that affect the energy deprivation scores of the improved MEPI in the Philippine household context. In conclusion, with the improved energy poverty weights and measures that are Philippine-specific, it revealed that households who are multidimensionally energy-poor across all regions have slightly worsened from 2004 to 2011. This calls for more interventions and more appropriate policy implementation of promoting access to modern energy services and aiding to improve the conditions of Philippine households