On the use of lognormal distribution for environmental data analysis

Contaminant concentration data from Superfund sites is quite often positively skewed, and the log-normal theory based statistical procedures are typically used for such data. Recent work in the environmental statistics literature, however, has shown that the use of log-normal theory based formulas, such as the H-statistic confidence interval, is problematic. The performance of the H -- UCL in the presence of non -- detects in the sample is investigated via simulated examples. When comparing mean contaminant concentration at a site with that of the background, the 2-sample t-test on log-transformed data is commonly used. A part of this thesis deals with investigation of power of the t-test on log-transformed data by using Monte Carlo simulation

The turnover of public tubewells in Uttar Pradesh: a case study of a successful cooperative societyLength: pp.231-242Length: pp.177-190

Irrigation managementPrivatizationTube wellsCooperativesCase studies

Key issues in participatory irrigation management

The recent developments in irrigation sector in the developing world are dominated by PIM/IMT concept. Although the conditions of success and the impediments discussed in this paper concerning the concept are in the context of India, the same are applicable to all countries that are aspiring to achieve success in this respect. Therefore, the aspiring countries, including India must be cautious of the financial allurements of donor agencies because PIM seems to suffer from a number of infirmities that cannot be overridden but in exceptional cases. This is borne out of the fact that although the concept of PIM is being tried in India for over last thirty years, it has yet to achieve even a semblance of acceptability and replicability, not to talk of scaling up. Large canal systems in India contain nearly 40 percent of country’s total irrigation potential of 94 million ha, a substantial part of which, remains unutilised. The main reason behind the lack of utilisation is the ill maintenance of irrigation systems, particularly micro systems at lower levels and those at the farm level. Faced on the one hand, by the near collapse of such irrigation systems and on the other, utter financial crunch, administrators are susceptible to donors like World Bank and Asian Development Bank, who are currently coming forward with funds with the conditionality of PIM. Coupled with this alluring prospect is India’s experience of the last three decades with the concept of PIM. The scenario that exists in India provides both an opportunity and challenge. The paper based on the author’s experience as a researcher/consultant cutting across country’s cultural and geographical boundaries, short lists conditions of success of PIM/IMT along with a close scrutiny and analysis of the impediments that impinge on its path.Length: pp.541-557Irrigation managementParticipatory managementWater users associationsFarmer-agency interactions

A family of well-behaved Karmarkar spacetime describing interior of relativistic stars

We are presenting a family of new exact solutions for relativistic anisotropic stellar objects by considering four dimensional spacetime embedded in five dimensional Pseudo Euclidean space known as Class I solutions. These solutions are well-behaved in all respects, satisfy all energy conditions and the resulting compactness parameter is also within Buchdahl limit. The well-behaved nature of the solutions for a particular star solely depends on index n. We have discussed the solutions in detail for the neutron star XTE J1739-285 (M = 1.51M$\odot$, R = 10.9 km). For this particular star, the solution is well behaved in all respects for $8 \le n \le 20$. However, the solutions with n < 8 possess increasing trend of sound speed and the solutions belong to n > 20 disobey causality condition. Further, the well-behaved nature of the solutions for PSR J0348+0432 (2.01M$\odot$, 11 km), EXO 1785-248 (1.3M$\odot$, 8.85 km) and Her X-1 (0.85M$\odot$, 8.1 km) are specified by the index n with limits $24 \le n \le 54$, $1.5 \le n \le 4$ and $0.8 \le n \le 2.7$ respectively.Comment: 8 pages, 17 figires, 1 tabl

Food and nutrition security in Timor-Leste

This report is a literature review on Food and Nutrition Security in Timor-Leste based on data from surveys conducted by the Timor-Leste National Statistics Directorate, as well as from national and international organizations working in Timor-Leste. This review was supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)-funded project “Strategy for Investment in Fisheries in East Timor”. This report describes the current food and nutrition situation in Timor-Leste for the purpose of planning and implementing interventions aimed at improving food and nutrition security, especially within aquatic agricultural systems. The potential role of aquaculture in improving food and nutrition security is considered, with reference to the recently endorsed Timor-Leste National Aquaculture Development Strategy (2012-2030) developed by the National Directorate of Fisheries and Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

Implications Of Bulk Water Transfer On Local Water Management Institutions: A Case Study of the Melamchi Water Supply Project in Nepal

To mitigate a drinking water crisis in Kathmandu valley, the Government of Nepal initiated the Melamchi Water Supply Project in 1997, which will divert water from the Melamchi River to Kathmandu city's water supply network. In the first phase, the Project will divert 170,000 cubic meters of water per day (at the rate of 1.97M3/sec), which will be tripled using the same infrastructure as city water demand increases in the future. The large scale transfer of water would have farreaching implications in both water supplying and receiving basins. This paper analyzes some of the major changes related to local water management and socioeconomics brought about by the Project and in particular the changes in the local water management institutions in the Melamchi basin. Our study shows that traditional informal water management institutions were effective in regulating present water use practices in the water supplying basin, but the situation will vastly change because of the scale of water transfer, and power inequity between the organized public sector on one side and dispersed and unorganized marginal water users on the other. The small scale of water usage and multiple informal arrangements at the local level have made it difficult for the local users and institutions to collectively bargain and negotiate with the central water transfer authority for a fair share of project benefits and compensation for the losses imposed on them. The process and scale of project compensation for economic losses and equity over resource use are at the heart of the concerns and debates about the Melamchi water transfer decision. The Project has planned for a one-time compensation package of about US$18 million for development infrastructure related investments and is planning to share about one percent of revenue generated from water use in the city with the supplying basin. The main issues here are what forms of water sharing governance, compensation packages, and water rights structures would emerge in relation to the project implementation and whether they are socially acceptable ensuring equitable distribution of the project benefits to all basin communities. In addition, these issues of the Melamchi project discussed in this paper are equally pertinent to other places where rural to urban water transfer projects are under discussion