World Bank treatment of the social impact of adjustment programs

Since 1987 the Bank's operational guidelines have required President's Reports supporting structural adjustment loans (SALs) to pay particular attention to an analysis of the short term impact of the adjustment program on the poor and to measures proposed to alleviate negative effects. The authors review how SAL President's Reports prepared between July 1986 and December 1988 have addressed the social impact issue. The authors find that most efforts to address this issue have focused on targeted projects, including special employment programs, nutrition projects, resettlement projects, and credit, severance pay, and retraining projects for displaced workers. By contrast, there has been little analysis of the impact of the chosen policy mix on major sub-groups in poverty. Design modifications other than reallocations of social expenditures, have received relatively less attention. For example, the composition, incidence, and effectiveness of public expenditures and their implications for reducing poverty have not generally been examined. In preparing for adjustment operations, Bank staff should explore policy choices that eliminate economic distortions in a way that creates a basis for a more equitable pattern of long-term growth. To the extent that some adjustment measures may hurt the poor in the short term, this should be mitigated through appropriate modifications in SAL design and carefully designed targeted projects.Environmental Economics&Policies,Poverty Assessment,Health Economics&Finance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,ICT Policy and Strategies

Finite volume approach for the instationary Cosserat rod model describing the spinning of viscous jets

The spinning of slender viscous jets can be described asymptotically by one-dimensional models that consist of systems of partial and ordinary differential equations. Whereas the well-established string models possess only solutions for certain choices of parameters and set-ups, the more sophisticated rod model that can be considered as $\epsilon$-regularized string is generally applicable. But containing the slenderness ratio $\epsilon$ explicitely in the equations complicates the numerical treatment. In this paper we present the first instationary simulations of a rod in a rotational spinning process for arbitrary parameter ranges with free and fixed jet end, for which the hitherto investigations longed. So we close an existing gap in literature. The numerics is based on a finite volume approach with mixed central, up- and down-winded differences, the time integration is performed by stiff accurate Radau methods

Being at war: Norwegian Afghanistan veterans’ experiences of military service and their coping strategies related to deployment, combat and stressful situations.

Klarer ikke gjennomføre sak: Failed to perform step 1 in Navigate Stage 'Activate Adobe Reader + Click Center' on page 'Read PDF' - Unable to match any windows with the query termsBackground: The Norwegian military contribution to Afghanistan has resulted in thousands of soldiers being deployed. Several studies have been conducted to investigate the factors that contribute to the development of mental health problems. Isolating and describing why, and in which setting these potential stressors produce adverse health effects are challenging. It may be dependent on how the individual subjectively perceives the situation. More knowledge about this process might be of use in identifying which events are more likely to have adverse effects on mental health. The aim of the study was to gain insight into the mind frame and coping mechanisms used by Norwegian Afghanistan veterans. Looking at how the soldiers regarded deployment to a warzone and experienced combat. Analysis of the data attempted to describe how they responded to combat situations. Method: Qualitative interviews using thematic analysis were applied to interpret the data. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted. The participants are former soldiers with an average at 8,8 years of service. Each participant had either three or four deployments to Afghanistan. Results: Analysis identified four main themes. Theme 1 (Subjective perception on deployment) explores how the participants view being deployed. Theme 2 (The first firefight) and theme 3 (The death of a colleague) explore how the soldiers perceive and react in the situations implied by the theme. Theme 4 (No plan survives the confrontation with reality) looks at severe situations where things can go wrong. Conclusion: The participants in the study had a positive mind frame towards deployment to Afghanistan. Combat situations were framed as both positive and negative. The findings suggest that the ability to personally and effectively intervene is regarded as an important criterion for how the participants view success, regardless of personal risk or outcome of a combat situation. This study further suggests that coping strategies in the military unit can be a cooperative project. It is indicated that non-danger-based events may be perceived as more traumatic than danger-based events while they are unfolding

An analysis of the heating and densification process during rotational molding of a thermoplastic powder in a uniaxially rotating cylindrical cavity

This dissertation presents the results of an experimental and theoretical investigation of the heating and densification portion of the rotational molding process in a uniaxial, cylindrical mold. A thorough literature survey is included which reviewed past analysis of the rotational molding process and other areas that assisted in understanding of the process. The results presented in this dissertation included an analysis of the densification process by use of Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM) photography producing intermediate correlations between the physical properties of the densifying material and neck radius of adjacent coalescing spheres. In addition, a hybrid experimental procedure coupled with a small computer simulation was devised to determine the actual initial thermal conductivity and diffusivity of the powdered polymeric material. Finally, a computer program was written to simulate the heating and densification process during the rotational molding process. Results showed good agreement with actual experimental findings

Water-accelerated organic transformations

Rather than quenching all reactive intermediates and arresting the reaction, the addition of catalytic or stoichiometric (1-10 equiv.) quantities of H2O to organic and organometallic processes can lead to surprisingly beneficial effects on reaction rate, product yield, and regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity. A most intriguing aspect of H2O-promoted transformations is the role that this strong Lewis-base can play in providing a source for more highly Lewis-acidic species. This scenario is most likely operative when H2O is added to reaction mixtures containing alanes, but organozinc reagents or organocuprates also seem to be transformed accordingly. In addition, the oxide or hydroxide ligand on the metal presents a source for chelation interactions that change aggregation states of organometallics and can provide anchimeric assistance. In many cases, water has been found to be an effective hydrolyzing agent leading to secondary products that serve as catalysts or promoters. In some cases, it has been shown that water provides a quenching agent capable of driving chemical equilibria towards the desired products

Model for coiling and meandering instability of viscous threads

A numerical model is presented to describe both the transient and steady-state dynamics of viscous threads falling onto a plane. The steady-state coiling frequency w is calculated as a function of fall height H. In the case of weak gravity, w ~ H^{-1} and w ~ H are obtained for lower and higher fall heights respectively. When the effect of gravity is significant, the relation w ~ H^2 is observed. These results agree with the scaling laws previously predicted. The critical Reynolds number for coil-uncoil transition is discussed. When the gravity is weak, the transition occurs with hysteresis effects. If the plane moves horizontally at a constant speed, a variety of meandering oscillation modes can be observed experimentally. The present model also can describe this phenomenon. The numerically obtained state diagram for the meandering modes qualitatively agrees with the experiment.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Pettit Lake: A New Treasure for Silverton

70 pagesThis report includes student work from the LA 489/589 Advanced Design Studio in fall term of 2019. This work was executed by landscape architecture students in collaboration with the city of Silverton with the goal of presenting cohesive designs for the Pettit Lake property as a public park and possible income-generating resource for the City. Site analyses of geology, hydrology, landslide risk assessment, existing park assets, soils, sunlight, acoustics, and historical vegetation are included, as well as background research on the city of Silverton; The Oregon Garden, which abuts the site; and Don Pettit, the former resident of the site. Students working in small groups developed three combined plans as well as eight individual designs. Student final projects, focusing on design goals and objectives for the site, include passive day-use parks, naturalistic campgrounds, hiking trails, funiculars, and wildlife interpretation centers. Various potential design layouts and programmatic combinations are included in this report in response to the city of Silverton’s program matrix elements. Eight distinct designs were produced, which were combined into three plans. Of key importance for Silverton community members were the retention of the site’s natural character and calm, secluded quality, while still allowing public enjoyment of the landscape. Students incorporated these objectives into their final designs

A discrete geometric approach for simulating the dynamics of thin viscous threads

We present a numerical model for the dynamics of thin viscous threads based on a discrete, Lagrangian formulation of the smooth equations. The model makes use of a condensed set of coordinates, called the centerline/spin representation: the kinematical constraints linking the centerline's tangent to the orientation of the material frame is used to eliminate two out of three degrees of freedom associated with rotations. Based on a description of twist inspired from discrete differential geometry and from variational principles, we build a full-fledged discrete viscous thread model, which includes in particular a discrete representation of the internal viscous stress. Consistency of the discrete model with the classical, smooth equations is established formally in the limit of a vanishing discretization length. The discrete models lends itself naturally to numerical implementation. Our numerical method is validated against reference solutions for steady coiling. The method makes it possible to simulate the unsteady behavior of thin viscous jets in a robust and efficient way, including the combined effects of inertia, stretching, bending, twisting, large rotations and surface tension