Effect of climate and geography on worldwide fine resolution economic activity

Geography, including climatic factors, have long been considered potentially important elements in shaping socio-economic activities, alongside other determinants, such as institutions. Here we demonstrate that geography and climate variables satisfactorily explain the worldwide economic activity as measured by the per capita Gross Cell Product (GCP-PC) at a fine geographical resolution, typically much higher than country average. A 1° by 1° GCPPC dataset has been key for establishing and testing a direct relationship between 'local' geography/climate and GCP-PC. Not only have we tested the geography and climate hypothesis using many possible explanatory variables, importantly we have also predicted and reconstructed GCP-PC worldwide by retaining the most significant predictors. While this study confirms that latitude is the most important predictor for GCP-PC when taken in isolation, the accuracy of the GCP-PC prediction is greatly improved when other factors mainly related to variations in climatic variables, rather than average climatic conditions as typically used, are considered. However, latitude diminishes in importance when only the wealthier parts of the globe are considered. This work points to specific features of the climate system which explain economic activity, such as the variability in air pressure. Implications of these findings range from an improved understanding of why socio-economically better-off societies are geographically placed where they are in the present, past and future to informing where new economic activities could be established in order to yield favourable economic outcomes based on geography and climate conditions

Gender Differences in Recognition of Coauthored Research: Evidence from the Italian Academia

I use data from Italian National Qualification evaluations to analyse whether women and men re-ceive differential credit for their coauthored work. National-level committees assess applicants' research quality, and a positive assessment is a requirement for promotion to associate and full professorship in Italian universities. I find that, conditional on the candidates’ individual characteristics and publications’ average qual-ity, the returns to an extra last- and middle-authored publication are, respectively, 35% and over 50% lower for women. On the other hand, I find no gender differences in the returns to single- and first-authored publications. The evidence is consistent with the possibility that women are evaluated differently from men in the presence of information asymmetries and stereotypes. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that gender differences in the attribution of credit for coauthored work emerge only in applications for associate professorship, where information asymmetries are larger. Moreover, stereotypes in science seem to penalise women when they undertake leadership roles as heads of labs, as women appear to suffer a last-authorship penalty in STEMM fields (sci-ence, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine). Additionally, using data on all publications in the Italian academia from the past twenty years, I explore whether observed coauthorship patterns are consistent with the possibility that women anticipate a coauthorship disadvantage. I find some support for the hypothesis that women might strategically engage in coauthorship in the presence of potential information asymmetries and stereotypes. In fact, in smaller fields, there are no gender differences in the propensity to coauthor, whereas in larger ones, women have fewer coauthors than men. In STEMM fields where authors are listed alphabetically, the gender difference in the share of female coauthors is consistently larger than in STEMM fields where authors are listed according to contribution

Locally Non-rigid Registration for Mobile HDR Photography

Image registration for stack-based HDR photography is challenging. If not properly accounted for, camera motion and scene changes result in artifacts in the composite image. Unfortunately, existing methods to address this problem are either accurate, but too slow for mobile devices, or fast, but prone to failing. We propose a method that fills this void: our approach is extremely fast---under 700ms on a commercial tablet for a pair of 5MP images---and prevents the artifacts that arise from insufficient registration quality

Correlation functions by Cluster Variation Method for Ising model with NN, NNN and Plaquette interactions

We consider the procedure for calculating the pair correlation function in the context of the Cluster Variation Methods. As specific cases, we study the pair correlation function in the paramagnetic phase of the Ising model with nearest neighbors, next to the nearest neighbors and plaquette interactions in two and three dimensions. In presence of competing interactions, the so called disorder line separates in the paramagnetic phase a region where the correlation function has the usual exponential behavior from a region where the correlation has an oscillating exponentially damped behavior. In two dimensions, using the plaquette as the maximal cluster of the CVM approximation, we calculate the phase diagram and the disorder line for a case where a comparison is possible with results known in literature for the eight-vertex model. In three dimensions, in the CVM cube approximation, we calculate the phase diagram and the disorder line in some cases of particular interest. The relevance of our results for experimental systems like mixtures of oil, water and surfactant is also discussed.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX file, 7 figure

Attitudes toward accommodations and academic well-being of college students with disabilities

College students with disabilities remain an understudied population, especially on topics relating to academic success. As more students with disabilities are struggling to complete their college education it calls for more research to be done to ensure students are taking advantage of any resources that can be beneficial for them. This study can contribute to empirical literature about how accommodations and other support service for college students with disabilities can impact academic well-being. The research questions advanced in the study are: 1) Is there a difference in the attitudes of students who are availing and not availing to accommodations? and (2) Is there a difference in the academic well-being of students who are availing and not availing to accommodations? Participants are 92 college students with disabilities from a medium size public university in New Jersey. Two validated Likert-type scales and a demographic questionnaire comprised an online survey completed by the participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U test. Key findings indicated students availing of accommodations have significantly more favorable attitudes and higher academic satisfaction than their peers who were not availing of accommodations

Reconstruction of Multidecadal Country-Aggregated Hydro Power Generation in Europe Based on a Random Forest Model

Hydro power can provide a source of dispatchable low-carbon electricity and a storage solution in a climate-dependent energy mix with high shares of wind and solar production. Therefore, understanding the effect climate has on hydro power generation is critical to ensure a stable energy supply, particularly at a continental scale. Here, we introduce a framework using climate data to model hydro power generation at the country level based on a machine learning method, the random forest model, to produce a publicly accessible hydro power dataset from 1979 to present for twelve European countries. In addition to producing a consistent European hydro power generation dataset covering the past 40 years, the specific novelty of this approach is to focus on the lagged effect of climate variability on hydro power. Specifically, multiple lagged values of temperature and precipitation are used. Overall, the model shows promising results, with the correlation values ranging between 0.85 and 0.98 for run-of-river and between 0.73 and 0.90 for reservoir-based generation. Compared to the more standard optimal lag approach the normalised mean absolute error reduces by an average of 10.23% and 5.99%, respectively. The model was also implemented over six Italian bidding zones to also test its skill at the sub-country scale. The model performance is only slightly degraded at the bidding zone level, but this also depends on the actual installed capacity, with higher capacities displaying higher performance. The framework and results presented could provide a useful reference for applications such as pan-European (continental) hydro power planning and for system adequacy and extreme events assessments

Weather & Climate Services for the Energy Industry

Climate Change; Climate Forecasting; Energy Industry; Climate Risk Management; Meteorolog

Ideales hegemónicos de belleza femenina y concursos de belleza locales

Beauty pageants offer a stage for the display of hegemonic ideals of beauty. Behind the media spectacle, they lodge power discourses that are expressed through the body. Pageants like Miss Universe or Miss Ecuador present women which bodies aspire to be icons of a national identity. These pageants can give a testimony of the several political, social and historical processes that a country may face. Even though, women beauty is governed by international and permanent standards, the queen acquires new characteristics in each election. Talking about a local pageant like Reina de Quito, offers a different analysis. This investigation shows a platform where beauty ideals reaffirm each year and never change. In addition, this pageant presents static moral values that are rooted to a society. This investigation presents a local ideal of beauty that is defined from race and social class.Los concursos de belleza femenina son espacios que ofrecen una plataforma para la exhibición de ideales hegemónicos de belleza. Detrás del espectáculo mediático, albergan discursos de poder que se expresan a través del cuerpo. Certámenes como Miss Universo o Miss Ecuador presentan mujeres cuyos cuerpos buscan ser íconos de una identidad nacional. Estos concursos dan cuenta de distintos procesos políticos, sociales e históricos. Pese a que en ellos la belleza femenina se rige a ciertos estándares permanentes e internacionalmente aceptados, adquiere nuevos significados y nuevas características en cada elección. Hablar de un concurso como Reina de Quito ofrece un análisis distinto. Este estudio propone un acercamiento a una plataforma donde el ideal de belleza femenina se reafirma cada año y no se reinventa. Así, presenta una radiografía de una sociedad en donde el ideal de belleza se encuentra atravesado por discursos y valores estáticos. Esta investigación académica hace un acercamiento a un ideal local de belleza que se define desde la raza y la clase social