Comparative Advantage in Disaster Response

This paper introduces a framework for a systematic analysis of the comparative advantages of various types of emergency responders. Our hypothesis is that one can define and then test comparative advantages across categories of actors and that a policy-making framework can help prepare better disaster responses in the future. We present an analytic framework that categorizes NGOs, governments, militaries and private responders at various levels. This initial theoretical framework provides a structure to begin to analyze comparative advantage. It suggests that there might be better combinations and sequences of responders in given situations. With the basic theory set forth, the framework is tested against data from two cases: 1) the disaster response following the 2004 Tsunami in Sri Lanka and 2) the response in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Ultimately, this work is intended to inspire other researchers interested in questions of disaster response to employ this methodology to develop and publish cases as well, creating a body of analysis that could then be further refined into policy recommendations to improve humanitarian emergency efforts.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 38. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers

Parental leave policies and the gender division of housework. Studying the association between different leave indicators and the unexplained gender gap in housework.

Series: Working Papers / Institut für Sozialpoliti

Does parental leave influence the gender division of labour? Recent empirical findings from Europe.

There has been increasingly interest in parental leave policies as instruments for the implementation of gender equality in society. This review essay explores the link between parental leave policies and the gender division of labour - referring to both paid employment and unpaid family work. Against this backdrop the essay systematically reviews evidence from quantitative empirical research on the effects of parental leave policies on mothers' employment and fathers' involvement in family work. The article suggests that there are several aspects of parental leave that seem to be especially relevant for the gender division of labour, such as the duration of leave, the provision of payments, and an individual entitlement of non-transferable leave rights. In a concluding section the article summarizes the results, discusses doubts and questions raised by the material and identifies promising areas of future research that are crucial for a better understanding of the effects of parental leave on the gender division of labour. (author's abstract)Series: Working Papers / Institut für Sozialpoliti

Excerpts From The Life Of Mr. P. Pixie Dash

Get away you nasty thing! Who asked your help on this theme? Really, I wasn\u27t aware of what a sour drip you actually are. Funny how you reject me. Me, the only key to security you have. Some people just can\u27t see beyond their noses. Mr. P. Pixie Dash, senior member of the firm, Dash, Parenthesis, and Bracket, was lolling against the third line of page three orating on the latest dividend offered by his company

Investigation of the Toxic Affect of Manganese on Ruminal Microbial Digestion and Growth

This research investigated the toxic effect of manganese, in a reduced chemical state, on rumen microbial metabolism and growth. The reduced form of manganese is the soluble state found in subsurface waters and has a high red-ox potential. In the study, we investigated the effects of reduced manganese at varying concentrations, on rumen microbial ability to replicate and metabolize carbohydrates. The hypotheses that we tested were as follows: (1) reduced manganese decreases the rate of pH drop associated with rumen culture fermentation of a com based diet and (2) reduced manganese decreases the bacterial growth in rumen culture, as measured by bacterial DNA quantification. In this study, rumen culture material was obtained from a rumen canulated cow and dosed with test materials in randomly assigned flasks at 37° C. Cultures were replicated three times on different days. Test materials were dosed to result in the reduced form of manganese at concentrations of 0 ppm, 1.5 ppm, 3 ppm, 6 ppm, 12 ppm, 24 ppm, 48 ppm, and 96 ppm. Samples from each flask were obtained at 0 hr., 3 hr., 6 hr., 9 hr., and 12 hr. for measuring pH and at 0 hr., 3 hr., and 6 hr. for DNA. In these experiments, manganese inhibited the growth of the microbial population at \u3e 3 ppm, but the rate of pH drop was not altered among the treatments used in this study

Indian Head Rock back in Kentucky after 3-year fight with Ohio

Article on the return of Indian Head Rock to Kentucky from November 10, 2010.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/indian_head_rock/1046/thumbnail.jp

Discovering Souls Below: Mythology, Lore, and Christian Feminism in Contemporary Fantasy

There are few things I love more than sitting on a warm, sunny beach with my toes in the sand. With a cool breeze rippling off the waves and the smell of salty ocean, it is easy to feel completely at peace. Yet last summer, as I sat limply in a beach chair experiencing all those sensations, I wondered, “What if this was my last day on earth, and I knew it?” More specifically, what if we chose such a serene day as our last? Of course, that reminded me there is only one way to truly choose our last day alive, and it is desperate, hopeless, and morbid. What would lead me to make that excruciating decision