Working Paper 141 - Always Late: Measures and Determinants of Disbursement Delays at the AfDB

Over the years, an abundant number of studies have pointed to long delays at project start-up as one of the main impediments to the performance of development operations in Africa. The influence and importance of time delays on project performance emphasizes the need for a systematic effort to understand why some projects delay so much and others do not. This study attempts to identify the projects’ characteristics which affect the probability to experience delays. Using a sample of African Development Bank Projects, statistical and econometric analyses are employed to identify the determinants of long delays in project start-up in the agricultural sector. The dataset used, consists of all the 525 agricultural sector operations approved by the Bank between 1990 and 2007. Analyses generally reveal that long gestation and delays at project start-up is prominent for agricultural sector projects and is a potential bottleneck for the Bank funded operations. Time delays have significantly improved for newly approved operations. Close to half of the time delay to the first disbursement is due to the delay between commitment and loan effectiveness. Multinational projects are significantly more efficient in term of delays at start-up. The smaller the cost of the operation, the greater will be the probability to experience long start-up delays. The longer the planned implementation period of a project, the higher the start-up delay will be. Projects with many components have lower probability of experiencing delays at start up. After a project has entered into force, the time elapsed to first disbursement will be longer for ADB countries. The paper concludes by outlining a number of implications for effective strategies to mitigate long delays encountered throughout the project cycle in the agricultural sector.

The Leisured Testes: White Ball-breaking as Surplus Masculinity in Jackass

In Jackass: Number Two (2006), Bam Margera allows Ryan Dunn to brand his posterior with a hot iron depicting male genitalia. Bam cannot tolerate the pain enough to remain perfectly still, so the brand touches him several times, resulting in multiple images that seem blurry or in motion. Bam’s mother, who usually plays the role of game audience for his antics, balks when she learns that her son has been hurt as well as permanently marked. She asks Dunn why anyone would ever burn a friend. “Cause it was funny,” Dunn answers.[i] Jackass mines the body in pain as well as the absurd and the taboo, often dealing with one or more of the body’s abject excretions. Jackass offers no compelling narrative arc or cliffhangers, presenting instead a series of discrete segments that explore variations on the singular eponymous focus of the show: playing the fool. This deliberate idiocy is the show’s greatest strength, and its excesses seem calculated to repeatedly provide the viewer with a mix of schadenfreude, horror, and disbelief. Like Bam’s mother, we watch and we recoil

Mise en relation de la cartographie du rendement avec la distribution spatiale de l'état de surface du sol observée par télédétection. Application dans un contexte d'agriculture de précision.

Ce travail de thèse répond à une demande émanant du Groupe Coopératif Occitan (GCO) et s'inscrit dans une problématique de recherche actuelle. Le GCO cherchait à travers ce travail, d'une part à aider l'agriculteur à définir de zones de modulation intra parcellaire et d'autre part à identifier au sein d'un bassin agricole les zones de plus grand potentiel pour la mise en place d'une démarche d'agriculture de précision. La problématique de recherche se place donc dans un contexte d'agriculture de précision. Elle concerne l'étude de la relation spatiale entre la variabilité spatiale du sol et celle du rendement à l'échelle intra parcellaire, sur l'étendue d'un bassin d'action. Pour analyser cela, il est préalablement nécessaire d'acquérir et de comprendre la variabilité intra parcellaire de chacune des deux variables : le rendement et le sol. La première partie de ce manuscrit s'attache à l'analyse du rendement. Le travail de terrain réalisé dans le cadre de cette thèse (acquisition et traitement des cartes de rendement et enquêtes chez les agriculteurs) est présenté ainsi que l'explication de la variabilité intra parcellaire à laquelle il a permis d'aboutir. Dans une seconde partie, le manuscrit s'attache à l'analyse du sol. Une synthèse bibliographique ainsi qu'un travail de terrain sur les sols de la zone d'étude sont présentés. Puis, l'approche d'observation du sol par télédétection est proposée. L'originalité de cette approche repose sur l'étude de la variabilité des sols (le pattern) et non de la valeur de réflectance. Cela permet de surmonter un des problèmes récurrents de l'étude des sols par télédétection qui est le nombre de facteurs influençant cette mesure. Compte tenu de cette approche et sous l'hypothèse que le « vrai pattern » du sol correspond à celui qui est temporellement stable, nous avons proposé une méthode permettant d'identifier les images où ce pattern est présent à l'échelle parcellaire. La source de cette variabilité est ensuite expliquée. Le « vrai pattern » de sol, identifié par télédétection, est alors confronté aux cartes de rendement. Les relations spatiales entre ces deux variables sont analysées. Cette analyse apporte des éléments de réponse à la question scientifique posée. La dernière partie du manuscrit consiste à la classification du bassin versant en zones de variabilité locale, ayant une signification agronomique. Un descripteur de cette variabilité, basé sur une fenêtre glissante, est proposé. Cette spatialisation répond à la deuxième attente du GCO. ABSTRACT : In a precision agriculture approach, this thesis is the result of a demand of the Groupe Coopératif Occitan : - help the farmer to define the management intra field zones and – to identify at agriculture basin scale the zones with a higher potential in precision agriculture. Previously is necessary study the spatial relation between soil and yield at intra field and agriculture basin scale. The analysis of : - yield was approached by a field work (yield map and sample survey) to explain the sources of yield variability – soil was approached by remote sensing. The originality of this approach is the study of the soil variability (pattern) and not the value of the reflectance. An identification method of the images where the soil pattern is present is proposed ; then, the variability is explained. Finally the spatial relation between the soil and yield is studied

Os Efeitos e Repercussões da Covid-19 sobre a Segurança Alimentar e os Canais de Comercialização dos Agricultores Familiares em Foz do Iguaçu – PR

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso apresentado ao Instituto Latino-Americano de Economia, Sociedade e Política da Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana, como requisito parcial à obtenção do título de Bacharel em Desenvolvimento Rural e Segurança Alimentar.O estudo refere-se aos impactos da pandemia por Covid-19 sobre os agricultores familiares que atuam em canais de comercialização de proximidade. A pandemia gerou efeitos e repercussões sobre a renda dos agricultores e a segurança alimentar. A questão colocada no estudo tem em vista observar em que medida os agricultores familiares foram impactados pela pandemia da Covid-19 nos momentos de lockdowns e de fechamento de fronteiras. Por sua vez, o objetivo do estudo visa compreender de que forma os agricultores familiares, que atuam nos mercados de proximidade, foram impactados pela pandemia tanto nos canais de comercialização quanto na segurança alimentar. Trata-se de uma abordagem qualitativa, com 05 lideranças de agricultores familiares de Foz do Iguaçu a partir de um questionário aberto. Justifica a pesquisa a necessidade de avaliar os impactos sobre as famílias dos agricultores com vistas a mitigar seus efeitos e repercussões negativas e potencializar os positivos que ocorreram. Observou-se que houve impactos negativos sobre a renda financeira, mas que a segurança alimentar e nutricional foi pouco ou nada afetada

A sociologia na educação básica como campo de inserção dos intelectuais na vida pública: algumas hipóteses de pesquisa

A compreensão do papel dos intelectuais tem sido alvo de diversos estudos na tentativa de mapear seu protagonismo nos arranjos políticos contemporâneos. No caso brasileiro a intelectualidade sempre demonstrou uma particular vocação pública. Vocação essa que vem consubstanciando reflexões sobre o campodisciplinar, conforme lemos no debate de M. Burawoy acerca da sociologia pública. Trata-se da reivindicação do necessário engajamento da disciplina no campo da cultura e da sociedade sem, no entanto, comprometer a objetividade científica. Todavia, a escassez de espaços de interação entre a atividade intelectual e o público em geral constitui um obstáculo na construção do diálogo entre a ciência institucionalizada e a sociedade. Nesse sentido, a hipótese aqui avançada enfoca os profissionais do ensino de sociologia como operadores efetivos de um importante espaço de interação entre a Universidade e a sociedade por meio de um público específico: jovens matriculados no ensino médio brasileiro. O argumento sustenta que este espaço configura um virtuosocampo de aproximação entre os intelectuais e a vida pública, contribuindo com o incremento da reflexão sobretemas caros à democracia