Conflict and inequality in surface irrigation: a socio-ecological perspective

This paper attempts to understand the role of institutions and governance, in explaining unequal access to canal water under different rules of the game. Two states at different levels of agricultural productivity with different rules of distribution of canal water are chosen to study the problem at project level. While Bihar, at low level of agricultural productivity, represents absence of scientific method of distribution of water, Punjab offers high level of agricultural productivity with the warabandi system. The two case studies offer interesting similarities and dissimilarities in terms of unequal access to water by the tail enders and mechanisms needed to mitigate this inequality. Some similarities are: (a) the tail enders suffer the most with low access to water forcing them to adopt only low water intensive crops in comparison to the head reach and mid reach farmers; and (b) the farmers supplement canal water with ground water. The dissimilarities noticed are: (a) while over exploitation of ground water in Punjab has reached levels beyond natural recharge of aquifers in several places; in Bihar, with low withdrawal of ground water and natural endowment of high water table, such a situation has not arisen; (b) the breaking of canal and water courses for own benefit by the powerful with political clout is rampant in Bihar, rarely attracting a penalty from the irrigation department; (c) the water market for tubewell water (Rs.70 to 80 per hour) has developed in Bihar partly mitigating inequality in access to canal water by the tail enders; no such phenomenon is common in Punjab. The plausible reason for the low density of tubewells in Bihar in contrast to Punjab is low incomes making affordability of tubewell an issue, and (d) cooperative efforts by farmers to lay down pipes through neighbors’ plots to minimize loss of water has succeeded in Punjab; in Bihar such efforts succeeded initially at a small scale but could not sustain without government assistance. The absence of scientific rule for distribution of canal water and the weak canal governance system aggravates the misery of tail enders. In such a scenario, the mitigation of unequal access to water by the tail enders is facilitated by the development of water markets at high cost in a complex situation with tiny holdings and lack of cooperation among the farmers.Length: pp.808-818CanalsWater distributionCrop managementGroundwaterWater market

Executive Stock Options, Differential Risk-Taking Incentives, and Firm Value

The sensitivity of stock options\u27 payoff to return volatility, or vega, provides risk-averse CEOs with an incentive to increase their firms\u27 risk more by increasing systematic rather than idiosyncratic risk. This effect manifests because any increase in the firm\u27s systematic risk can be hedged by a CEO who can trade the market portfolio. Consistent with this prediction, we find that vega gives CEOs incentives to increase their firms\u27 total risk by increasing systematic risk but not idiosyncratic risk. Collectively, our results suggest that stock options might not always encourage managers to pursue projects that are primarily characterized by idiosyncratic risk when projects with systematic risk are available as an alternative

Single-Pot Rapid Synthesis of Colloidal Core/Core-Shell Quantum Dots: A Novel Polymer-Nanocrystal Hybrid Material

Colloidal core and core shell Quantum Dots (QD's) are unique and important optoelectronic materials because properties of these QD's can be tailored by configuring core and optimizing shell thickness. In this research work, lead selenide (PbSe) core and PbSe-CdSe (Core-shell) QD's are synthesized using oleic acid as a capping ligand by colloidal route. This simpler, cost-effective and rapid single pot synthesis route for colloidal core-shell quantum dots unlike conventional double-pot approach like cation-exchange and SILAR process has been reported for the very first time. Phase formation of prepared quantum dots is confirmed by XRD analysis, capping ligand presence by IR spectroscopy and morphological information by Scanning electron microscopy respectively. These synthesized inorganic quantum dots are dispersed in Poly (3-hexyl thiophene) polymer for formation of their respective nanocomposites. From PL quenching studies, it was inferred that PbSe-CdSe core-shell quantum dots showed enhanced rate of PL quenching and hence higher value of Stern-Volmer constant (K-SV) than PbSe Core QD's. This confirms that CdSe shell formation on PbSe core significantly passivates the core-surface, increases the stability and enhances the charge transfer mechanism for its potential application in Hybrid Solar cells

Amplification of Fluctuations in Unstable Systems with Disorder

We study the early-stage kinetics of thermodynamically unstable systems with quenched disorder. We show analytically that the growth of initial fluctuations is amplified by the presence of disorder. This is confirmed by numerical simulations of morphological phase separation (MPS) in thin liquid films and spinodal decomposition (SD) in binary mixtures. We also discuss the experimental implications of our results.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Response of nigella (Nigella sativa L) variety NRCSS AN 1 to different agro-tech- niques

A field study was conducted during the winter seasons of 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 to studythe response of nigella (Nigella sativa L.) variety NRCSS AN-1 to different agro-techniquesunder semi-arid conditions. The yield attributes viz. number of capsules/plant, number ofseeds/capsule and 1000 seed weight were significantly high when crop was sown on 15 Octoberfollowed by 1 October sowing. Significantly higher seed yield of 8.84 q/ha was recordedwhen crop was sown on 15 October. The seed yield of 7.86 q/ha was significantly higherwith row spacing of 30 cm. The plant height and number of branches/plant were more atseed rate of 7 and 8 kg/ha and were noticed significantly high as compared to seed ratetreatment of 9 kg/ha. However, the seed yield attributes and seed yield (8.24 q/ha) weresignificantly high at seed rate of 8 kg/ha. The fertilizer dose of 50 kg N, 25 kg P2O5 and 20 kgK2O /ha was found optimum and produced higher seed yield of 7.87 q/ha. The days to 50%flowering was not affected considerably with different treatments. The essential oil contentincreased significantly when crop was sown at wider spacing of 40 cm and with applicationof fertilizer dose of 50 kg N, 25 kg P2O5 and 20 kg K2O /ha. &nbsp

Influence of sheep manure, vermicompost and Azotobactor sp. on growth and yield of ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi Sprague)

A field experiment was conducted at Ajmer (Rajasthan) to study the influence of sheep manure,vermicompost and bio-fertilizer on growth and yield of ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi). Theexperiment consisted of 16 treatments comprising of three levels of sheep manure (5.0, 7.5,and 10.0 t ha-1), three levels of vermicompost (2, 3, and 4 t ha-1) and recommended fertilizerdose (90 kg N, 40 kg P2O5 and 30 kg K2O ha-1) with and without Azotobactor  sp. and control.The results revealed that application of Azotobactor sp. alone and with sheep manure,vermicompost and recommended fertilizer dose resulted in higher growth parameters, yieldattributes and yield of ajowan over control. Increasing levels of sheep manure (5.0, 7.5 and10.0 t ha-1) and vermicompost (2, 3, and 4 t ha-1) exhibited higher yield over their respectivelower doses. The highest seed (16.35 q ha-1), stover (33.14 q ha-1) and biological yield (49.49 qha-1) of ajowan was obtained with application of sheep manure @ t 10 ha-1 with Azotobactorsp. &nbsp

Declining drinking among adolescents: are we seeing a denormalisation of drinking and a normalisation of non-drinking?

Background In the early 2000s, alcohol use among young people began to decline in many western countries, especially among adolescents (aged between 12-17 years old). These declines have continued steadily over the past two decades, against the backdrop of much smaller declines among the general population. Argument Hypotheses examining individual factors fail adequately to provide the necessary ‘big picture’ thinking needed to understand declines in adolescent drinking. We use the normalisation thesis to argue that there is strong international evidence for both processes of denormalisation of drinking and normalisation of non-drinking occurring for adolescents in many western countries. Conclusions Research on declining adolescent drinking provides evidence of both denormalisation of alcohol consumption and normalisation of non-drinking. This has implications for enabling policy environments more amenable to regulation and increasing the acceptability of non-drinking in social contexts. Normalisation theory (and its various interpretations) provides a useful multi-dimensional tool for understanding declines in adolescent drinking

Examining trends in the representation of young people and alcohol in Australian newspapers over twenty years (2000-2019)

Background: The news media can reflect and influence public opinion, as well as affect individual practice. In the context of significant changes in alcohol consumption among young people over the past twenty years, we examined Australian newspaper reporting of young people (under 18 years) and alcohol to assess whether there have been changes over time in the content and slant of articles that reflect or elucidate these trends. Methods: Factiva was used to search newspaper articles from major Australian newspapers over a twenty year period (2000-2019). After screening, two researchers coded 2,415 newspaper articles across four key domains: article type, article theme, sources cited and topic slant (e.g. approving, disapproving tone). Change over time across the study period was assessed using joinpoint Poisson regression analyses. Results: There was a significant increase in articles on young people and alcohol between 2000 and 2008, before a corresponding decrease to 2019. Policy or prevention strategies were the most common theme of articles (35.8%), followed by articles reporting on risks or harms associated with alcohol use for young people (18.1%). Researchers were the most common source reported (25.1%), followed by politicians (19.0%). Three quarters of articles (75.9%) had a socially disapproving topic slant, which increased significantly up until 2011, with a corresponding decrease thereafter. Conclusion: Attention to, and problematisation of, young people and alcohol increased in the first decade of this millennium which may have acted to sustain or accelerate declining drinking trends. However, this dissipated back to baseline levels in the second decade, which may indicate a lag time in recognition of young people’s drinking becoming less of a public health ‘problem’

Why is adolescent drinking declining? A systematic review and narrative synthesis

Background: Adolescent drinking has declined across many developed countries from the turn of the century. The aim of this review is to explore existing evidence examining possible reasons for this decline. Methods: We conducted systematic searches across five databases: Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Informit Health and Scopus. Studies were included if association between declining alcohol consumption and potential explanatory factors were measured over time. Narrative synthesis was undertaken due to substantial methodological heterogeneity in these studies. Results: 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Five studies found moderate evidence for changes in parental practices as a potential cause for the decline. Five studies that examined whether alcohol policy changes influenced the decline found weak evidence of association. Three studies explored whether alcohol use has been substituted by illicit substances but no evidence was found. Two studies examined the effect of a weaker economy; both identified increase in adolescent alcohol use during times of economic crisis. One study indicated that changes in exposure to alcohol advertising were positively associated with the decline and another examined the role of immigration of non-drinking populations but found no evidence of association. One study tested participation in organised sports and party lifestyle as a potential cause but did not use robust analytical methods and therefore did not provide strong evidence of association for the decline. Conclusions: The most robust and consistent evidence was identified for shifts in parental practices. Further research is required using robust analytical methods such as ARIMA modelling techniques and utilising cross-national data