Socio-Economic Determinants of School Attendance in India

This paper investigates the socio-economic determinants of school attendance in India, and the possible causes of disadvantage faced by the girl child. Based on Census data for 1981 and 1991, the determinants of inter-district variations in school attendance are explored, separately for boys and girls. A similar analysis is applied to the gender bias in school attendance. The results indicate that school attendance is positively related to school accessibility and parental education, and negatively related to poverty and household size. Interestingly, a positive association emerges between women's labour-force participation and children's school attendance; possible explanations of this pattern are discussed. The gender bias in school attendance declines with school accessibility and parental education, and rises with household size. Panel data analysis based on the random-effects model supports the cross-section findings.

Consumers and Sustainability at Walmart: A Student\u27s Perspective

To further encourage students to analyze initial goals in comparison with outcomes over time, we have developed a consumer-oriented case—“Consumers and Sustainability at Walmart: A Student’s Perspective”—that moves beyond the perspective of internal Walmart participants to explores issues of sustainability from the point of view of a typical Walmart shopper. In this case, we examine the experience of a fictional student shopper who goes to Walmart and wants to buy sustainable products, which helps raise questions for students about what Walmart’s actions mean to them as consumers, citizens as well as business professionals. The case also asks students to evaluate the progress that Walmart has made in its stores over the course of its sustainability journey, particularly in comparison to its initial aspirations and goa

WIC PARTICIPATION AND THE NUTRIENT INTAKE OF PRESCHOOLERS

Quantile regression is used to evaluate the effect of WIC participation on the nutrient intakes of WIC-eligible preschoolers. Estimates based on 1994-96, 1998 CSFII data show that the WIC effects vary by quantile for iron and zinc while the effects are equal across quantiles for calcium.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Nutrition Labeling in the Food-Away-From-Home Sector: An Economic Assessment

Americans spent about 46 percent of their total food budget on food away from home in 2002, up from 27 percent in 1962. Such foods tend to be less nutritious and higher in calories than foods prepared at home, and some studies have linked eating away from home to overweight and obesity in adults and children. Current nutrition labeling law exempts much of the food-away-from-home sector from mandatory labeling regulations. Because consumers are less likely to be aware of the ingredients and nutrient content of away-from-home food than of foods prepared at home, public health advocates have called for mandatory nutrition labeling for major sources of food away from home, such as fast-food and chain restaurants. This report provides an economic assessment of a food-away-from home nutrition labeling policy, including justifications for policy intervention and potential costs and benefits of the policy.Diet quality, food labeling, government regulation, health, mandatory disclosure, nutrition information, Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, obesity, reformulation Acknowledgments, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Neural Network Based Approach for the Generation of Road Feel in a Steer-By-Wire System

Steer-by-wire is an advanced steering system which connects the steering wheel with the front wheel by using motors and sensors. Generating the road feel in steer by wire system is an important criterion since there is no mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheel. In present work, Neural Network method is proposed for generating artificial road feel to the driver using the vehicle dynamic parameters such as vertical displacement, self-aligning moment and front wheel angle as inputs. Proposed neural network model was trained using the vehicle dynamic models for estimating the current to be supplied to the feedback motor according to the changing road conditions. Three different road profiles are selected such as dry, wet and icy for the simulation purpose and the estimated motor current values for the road surfaces using neural network are presented. From the simulation results for the sinusoidal road surface and sinusoidal steering angle driver input, it is clear that the neural network based method is able to produce the varying road feel to the driver for the different road conditions

The Decline in Consumer Use of Food Nutrition Labels, 1995-2006

This report examines changes in consumers’ use of nutrition labels on food packages between 1995-96 and 2005-06. The analysis finds that, although a majority of consumers report using nutrition labels when buying food, use has declined for most label components, including the Nutrition Facts panel and information about calories, fats, cholesterol, and sodium. By contrast, use of fiber information has increased. The decline in label use is particularly marked for the cohort of adults less than 30 years old.Nutrition Facts panel, Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, nutrition label use, Diet and Health Knowledge Survey, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Agricultural and Food Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing,