What are public services worth, and to whom ? Non-parametric estimation of capitalization in Pune

The availability and quality of basic public services are important determinants of urban quality of life. In many cities, rapid population growth and fiscal constraints are limiting the extent to which urban governments can keep up with increasing demand for these services. It therefore becomes important to prioritize provision of those services to best reflect local demand. The authors present a strategy to estimate the demand for public services, which is sensitive to heterogeneity in preferences across types of households, and the nonparametric estimation addresses problems arising from functional form restrictions. Using data from Pune, India, they estimate the demand for public services, as represented by the marginal change in the self-assessed monthly rental price of dwellings from the services. The authors find that the value of publicly provided services accruing to the poor is greater than that going to wealthier households, and even untargeted across-the-board investment in specific services can be progressive.Housing&Human Habitats,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Municipal Financial Management,Economic Theory&Research,Public Sector Management and Reform

Your Place or Mine? On the Residence Choice of Young Couples in Norway

Norwegian registry data is used to investigate the location decisions of a full population cohort of young adults as they complete their education, establish separate households and form their own families. We find that the labor market opportunities and family ties of both partners affect these location choices. Surprisingly, married men live significantly closer to their own parents than do married women, even if they have children, and this difference cannot be explained by differences in observed characteristics. The principal source of excess female distance from parents in this population is the relatively low mobility of men without a college degree, particularly in rural areas. Despite evidence that intergenerational resource flows, such as childcare and eldercare, are particularly important between women and their parents, the family connections of husbands appear to dominate the location decisions of less-educated married couples.intergenerational proximity, marriage, location decisions

Tenure, Divesity, and commitment - community participation for urban service provision

What factors influence community participation in the delivery of urban services? In particular, does security of tenure enhance the probability of participation as it provides individuals with incentives to act collectively in pursuit of a common objective? And are collective efforts less likely to succeed when there is a high degree of heterogeneity in culture or endowments among community members? The authors use household level survey data for Bangalore, India, to show that tenure security has a significant impact on the willingness of residents to participate even when neighborhoods are diverse in terms of their cultural background and welfare status. Their findings suggest that participation is possible in heterogeneous communities when it is a means to a common objective and not a goal by itself.Community Development and Empowerment,Housing&Human Habitats,Social Capital,Decentralization,Health Economics&Finance,Governance Indicators,Housing&Human Habitats,Community Development and Empowerment,Social Capital,Health Economics&Finance

Location and welfare in cities: impacts of policy interventions on the urban poor

Informal settlements are an integral part of the urban landscape in developing countries. These settlements are widely distributed within cities, including central business centers and peripheral areas with environment hazards. In most cases, residents of these settlements do not have access to basic public services and amenities. In this paper, the authors examine the impact of interventions, such as upgrading basic services and resettlement policies, on the welfare of residents of these informal settlements, who are typically the urban poor. To examine these interventions, they estimate models of residential location choice and allow households to be sensitive to commuting costs to work, demand for public services, and preferences for community composition. The authors'empirical analysis is based on recently collected survey data from Pune, India, and shows that poor households prefer to live close to work and in communities that consist of people sharing common socio-demographic characteristics. From the perspective of households living in informal settlements, upgrading settlements in the original place is welfare enhancing. If a household must be relocated, it greatly prefers to be moved to a community that resembles its current community.Municipal Financial Management,Public Health Promotion,Decentralization,Housing&Human Habitats,Urban Services to the Poor,Municipal Financial Management,Housing&Human Habitats,VN-Acb Mis -- IFC-00535908,Urban Housing,City Development Strategies

Порівняльно-правові дослідження засад професійної діяльності працівників НЦБ Інтерполу в Україні

Vårt huvudsyfte har varit att utvärdera huruvida några för gymnasieungdomar tidigare kända begrepp i ämnet matematik kvalitetsmässigt förändras i olika lärandesituationer över tid. I styrdokumenten för gymnasieskolan definieras begreppet kunskap med hjälp av de fyra f:en: Fakta, kunskap som information; Förståelse, att begripa kunskap; Färdighet, kunskapens praktiska sida; Förtrogenhet, kunskap som bedömning. Vi har använt oss huvudsakligen av kvalitativ metod och teknik eftersom vi ville se vilka uppfattningar som avser begreppet ekvation som eleverna hade med sig från tidigare utbildning och hur dessa uppfattningar förändrades över tid. Den kvalitativa metoden är lämplig just för detta ändamål när vi i förväg inte vet vilka svar eleverna kommer att delge oss. Vi har använt oss av tre olika metoder för att få svar på våra frågeställningar nämligen enkät, intervju och utvärdering. Under hösten 2003 genomförde vi två olika undervisningsserier i två parallella klasser på gymnasiet. Med den ena gruppen har vi bedrivit utomhuspedagogik och den andra har undervisats på traditionellt sätt. Grupperna har mött samma problemtyper men arbetat med dem på två helt olika sätt. Det slutliga resultatet visar att majoriteten av eleverna i utegruppen ser tillämpningsmöjligheter utanför skolans värld med ekvationer emedan elever i innegruppen inte gör det utan ser ekvationer som något relaterat till skolmatematiken. Vår tolkning är att utegruppen nått en högre förtrogenhet med begreppet vi undersökt. Vår slutsats är att utomhuspedagogik kan vara en framkomlig väg att lära matematik

Transition Probabilities Of Astrophysical Interest In The Niobium Ions Nb+ And Nb2+

Aims. We attempt to derive accurate transition probabilities for astrophysically interesting spectral lines of Nb II and Nb III and determine the niobium abundance in the Sun and metal-poor stars rich in neutron-capture elements. Methods. We used the time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence technique to measure radiative lifetimes in Nb II. Branching fractions were measured from spectra recorded using Fourier transform spectroscopy. The radiative lifetimes and the branching fractions were combined yielding transition probabilities. In addition, we calculated lifetimes and transition probablities in Nb II and Nb III using a relativistic Hartree-Fock method that includes core polarization. Abundances of the sun and five metal-poor stars were derived using synthetic spectra calculated with the MOOG code, including hyperfine broadening of the lines. Results. We present laboratory measurements of 17 radiative lifetimes in Nb II. By combining these lifetimes with branching fractions for lines depopulating the levels, we derive the transition probabilities of 107 Nb II lines from 4d(3)5p configuration in the wavelength region 2240-4700 angstrom. For the first time, we present theoretical transition probabilities of 76 Nb III transitions with wavelengths in the range 1430-3140 angstrom. The derived solar photospheric niobium abundance log epsilon(circle dot) = 1.44 +/- 0.06 is in agreement with the meteoritic value. The stellar Nb/Eu abundance ratio determined for five metal-poor stars confirms that the r-process is a dominant production method for the n-capture elements in these stars.Integrated Initiative of Infrastructure RII3-CT-2003-506350Swedish Research CouncilKnut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationBelgian FRS-FNRSFRIAUS National Science Foundation AST-0607708, AST-0908978Astronom

Is sunlight good for our heart?

Humans evolved being exposed for about half of the day to the light of the sun. Nowadays, exposure to sunlight is actively discouraged for fear of skin cancer, and contemporary lifestyles are associated with long hours spent under artificial light indoors. Besides an increasing appreciation for the adverse effects of these life-style-related behavioural changes on our chronobiology, the balance between the beneficial and harmful effects of sunlight on human health is the subject of considerable debate, in both the scientific and popular press, and the latter is of major public health significance. While there is incontrovertible evidence that ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in the form of sunlight is a significant predisposing factor for non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancers in pale skinned people,1 a growing body of data suggest general health benefits brought about by sunlight.2 These are believed to be mediated either by melatonin or vitamin D. Melatonin is produced from serotonin by the pineal gland located in the centre of the brain during periods of darkness, and its release is suppressed as a function of the visible light intensity sensed through ocular photoreceptors. Vitamin D is formed by ultraviolet B (UVB)-mediated photolysis of 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin. Both melatonin and vitamin D are pleiotropic hormones that exert a multitude of cellular effects by interacting with membrane and nuclear receptors, and receptor-independent actions. People with more heavily pigmented skin require higher doses of UVB to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D, and this may have been an evolutionary driver to the variation of human skin colour with latitude and intensity of solar irradiation. Our degree of exposure to sunlight is easily modified by behavioural factors such as the use of clothing, sunglasses, and sun-blocking creams, and time spent outdoors. Balancing the carcinogenic risks with the requirement for vitamin D has led to advice on moderating sun exposure, while supplementing food with vitamin D. Guidance on such behaviour is part of the public health campaigns in most countries with Caucasian populations. Following these suggestions, we may, however, be missing out on other health benefits provided by natural sunlight that are less obvious and unrelated to the above classical mediators

Experimental and theoretical lifetimes and transition probabilities in Sb I

We present experimental atomic lifetimes for 12 levels in Sb I, out of which seven are reported for the first time. The levels belong to the 5p$^2$($^3$P)6s $^{2}$P, $^{4}$P and 5p$^2$($^3$P)5d $^{4}$P, $^{4}$F and $^{2}$F terms. The lifetimes were measured using time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence. In addition, we report new calculations of transition probabilities in Sb I using a Multiconfigurational Dirac-Hartree-Fock method. The physical model being tested through comparisons between theoretical and experimental lifetimes for 5d and 6s levels. The lifetimes of the 5d $^4$F$_{3/2, 5/2, 7/2}$ levels (19.5, 7.8 and 54 ns, respectively) depend strongly on the $J$-value. This is explained by different degrees of level mixing for the different levels in the $^4$F term.Comment: 10 page

Rapid culture and identification: a practical method for early preliminary laboratory diagnosis of sepsis

ABSTRACTThis study describes the development of a method for rapid preliminary species identification of bacteria from positive blood culture vials. The method yielded preliminary identification results for 496 (92%) of 541 positive blood cultures within 5 h. The method was capable of identifying the most frequently isolated bacteria (i.e., Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-negative staphylococci, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Enterococcus spp.) to the species level. The method can be established easily, with a materials cost of 2–5 Euros per sample