Migration,sex bias, and child growth in rural Pakistan

Temporary economic migration is undertaken largely in response to resource constraints. This is evident in the volume of remittances sent back by migrants to their families of origin. In agricultural settings, where those left behind are likely to face considerable exposure to uninsured income risk, such resource flows should translate into better risk bearing capacity. In this paper the author takes up this question by asking whether economic migration allows households to avoid costly risk coping strategies. She focuses on early child growth since there is considerable epidemiological evidence that very young children are particularly vulnerable to shocks that lead to growth faltering, with substantial long-term health consequences. The data come from rural Pakistan, where, as in the rest of Asia, son preference is substantial and there are large gender gaps in most developmental outcomes. As such, the interest is in examining also whether migration-induced resource flows allow households to extend better nutrition and health care protection to girls. Recent work on the intra-household allocation of resources and risk has also shown that gender differences in the relative burden of risk may be important and that the allocation of resources to daughters is often one margin along which poor households adjust to uninsurable transitory income shocks. After accounting for selection into migration, the results indicate that migration has a substantially larger positive impact on growth outcomes for young girls. And the growth advantage is sustained among older girls, suggesting potential intergenerational benefits of averting nutritional and other health shocks for girls in early childhood. These results are further validated by restricting the sample to migrant households and comparing the growth outcomes of siblings before and after migration.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Anthropology,Youth and Governance,Gender and Development,Adolescent Health

Community-based (and driven) development : A critical review

Community-based (and driven) development (CBD/CDD) projects have become an important form of development assistance, with the World Bank's portfolio alone approximating 7 billion dollars. The authors review the conceptual foundations of CBD/CDD initiatives. Given the importance of the topic, there are, unfortunately, a dearth of well-designed evaluations of such projects. But there is enough quantitative and qualitative evidence from studies that have either been published in peer-reviewed publications or have been conducted by independent researchers to glean some instructive lessons. The authors find that projects that rely on community participation have not been particularly effective at targeting the poor. There is some evidence that CBD/CDD projects create effective community infrastructure, but not a single study establishes a causal relationship between any outcome and participatory elements of a CBD project. Most CBD projects are dominated by elites and, in general, the targeting of poor communities as well as project quality tend to be markedly worse in more unequal communities. However, a number of studies find a U-shaped relationship between inequality and project outcomes. The authors also find that a distinction between potentially"benevolent"forms of elite domination and more pernicious types of"capture"is likely to be important for understanding project dynamics and outcomes. Several qualitative studies indicate that the sustainability of CBD initiatives depends crucially on an enabling institutional environment, which requires upward commitment. Equally, the literature indicates that community leaders need to be downwardly accountable to avoid a variant of"supply-driven demand-driven development."Qualitative evidence also suggests that external agents strongly influence project success. However, facilitators are often poorly trained and inexperienced, particularly when programsare rapidly scaled up. Overall, a naive application of complex contextual concepts like"participation,""social capital,"and"empowerment"is endemic among project implementers and contributes to poor design and implementation. In sum, the evidence suggests that CBD/CDD is best done in a context-specific manner, with a long time-horizon, and with careful and well-designed monitoring and evaluation systems.Community Development and Empowerment,Decentralization,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Health Economics&Finance,Development Economics&Aid Effectiveness,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Health Economics&Finance,Development Economics&Aid Effectiveness,Community Development and Empowerment,Poverty Assessment

A study to assess the effectiveness of a self-instructional module on prevention and control of nosocomial infection in terms of knowledge and practice among staff nurses working in surgical unit of the Civil hospital, Ahmadabad

Background: Nosocomial infection is also called as 'Hospital Acquired- Infection’. It can be defined as an infection whose development is favoured by a hospital environment, such as one acquired by a patient during a hospital visit or one developing among hospital staff. The nosocomial infection rate is alarming and is estimated at about 30-35 percent of all hospital admissions. Many lives are lost because of the spread of infections in hospitals. Nosocomial infections are important contributors for morbidity and mortality. They became more important public health problem with increasing economic and human impact. Aims and objective: To assess the knowledge and practice of the staff nurses working in surgical unit of civil hospital Ahmedabad before and after the administration of self-instruction module on prevention of control of nosocomial infection (HAIs). To find co-relation between pre-test knowledge and post-test knowledge. Material and Methods: This study was conducted using the quasi experimental research approach and research design used was one group pre and post test.30 staff nurses working in surgical unit of civil hospital Ahmedabad are selected by convenient sampling method. Collection tool used on staff nurse was structured knowledge questionnaire and observational checklist Results: findings revealed that majority of sample (46.66%) were in the age between 21 to 30 years. According to qualification highest percentages (43.33%) belong to G.N.M. Majority had experience between 5 to 7 years (30%). Study findings revealed that the knowledge score of the sample show marked increase as seen in the post-test score of the experimental group indicates that the self-instructional module was effective in improving the knowledge and practice of the samples.  Key words:  Nosocomial infection, Prevention, control, staff nurs

Incentives, supervision, and sharecropper productivity

Although sharecropping has long fascinated economists, the determinants of this contractual form are still poorly understood and the debate over the extent of moral hazard is far from settled. The authors address both issues by emphasizing the role of landlord supervision. When tenant effort is observable, but at a cost to the landlord, otherwise identical share-tenants can receive different levels of supervision and have different productivity. Unique data on monitoring frequency collected from sharetenants in rural Pakistan confirm that, controlling for selection,"supervised"tenants are significantly more productive than"unsupervised"ones. Landlords'decisions regarding the intensity of supervision and the type of incentive contract to offer depend importantly on the cost of supervising tenants.Contract Law,Economic Theory&Research,Investment and Investment Climate,Municipal Housing and Land,Urban Housing

Incomplete contracts and investment : a study of land tenancy in Pakistan

When contracts are incomplete, relationship-specific investments may be underprovided due to the threat of opportunistic expropriation or holdup. The authors find evidence of such underinvestment on tenanted land in rural Pakistan. Using data from households cultivating multiple plots under different tenure arrangements, they show that land-specific investment is lower on leased plots. This result is robust to the possible effects of asymmetric information in the leasing market. Greater tenure security also increases land-specific investment on leased plots. Moreover, variation in tenure security appears to be driven largely by heterogeneity across landlords, suggesting that reputation may be important in mitigating the holdup problem.Investment and Investment Climate,Municipal Housing and Land,Contract Law,Economic Theory&Research,Real Estate Development

Watta satta : bride exchange and women's welfare in rural Pakistan

In a setting where husbands wield considerable coercive power, forms of marriage should adapt to protect the interests of women and their families. The authors study the pervasive marriage custom of watta satta in rural Pakistan, a bride exchange between families coupled with a mutual threat of retaliation. They show that watta satta may be a mechanism to coordinate the actions of two sets of in-laws, each of whom wish to restrain their sons-in-law but who only have the ability to restrain their sons. The authors'empirical results support this view. The likelihood of marital inefficiency, as measured by estrangement, domestic abuse, and wife's mental health, is significantly lower in watta satta arrangements as compared with conventional marriages, but only after properly accounting for selection.Population&Development,Anthropology,Education and Society,Gender and Law,Gender and Law

Crossing boundaries : gender, caste and schooling in rural Pakistan

Can communal heterogeneity explain persistent educational inequities in developing countries? The paper uses a novel data-set from rural Pakistan that explicitly recognizes the geographic structure of villages and the social makeup of constituent hamlets to show that demand for schooling is sensitive to the allocation of schools across ethnically fragmented communities. The analysis focuses on two types of social barriers: stigma based on caste affiliation and female seclusion that is more rigidly enforced outside a girl's own hamlet. Results indicate a substantial decrease in primary school enrollment rates for girls who have to cross hamlet boundaries to attend, irrespective of school distance, an effect not present for boys. However, low-caste children, both boys and girls, are deterred from enrolling when the most convenient school is in a hamlet dominated by high-caste households. In particular, low-caste girls, the most educationally disadvantaged group, benefit from improved school access only when the school is also caste-concordant. A policy experiment indicates that providing schools in low-caste dominant hamlets would increase overall enrollment by almost twice as much as a policy of placing a school in every unserved hamlet, and would do so at one-sixth of the cost.Primary Education,Education For All,Disability,Adolescent Health,Tertiary Education

Business Opportunity in India for Composter

The purpose of this thesis was to find out business opportunity for composter business in India. Business environment, Market overview, legal barriers, and Implemen-tation plan for foreign company were the task to highlight in this thesis along with recommendation. The whole thesis consists of seven main sections and under each of the main section there are subsections to describe the idea clearly. The main sections are Introduction, objectives of the research, theoretical information, research methodology, implementation of research, recommendation and conclusion. The introduction section has described the general overview of the thesis and the objectives of the research section has define thesis topic. The theoretical information has covered the theory related to writing business opportunity for composter. The research methodology section has shown method for thesis research. The implementation of research section which is the main bone of the thesis title ‘business opportunity in India for composter’. The last sections have drawn the result of the research. The theoretical information included the relevant points needed to write thesis. Mainly books have been used for the theory except few websites. Few statistics data have been used to explain the theory. The implementation of research sections has covered implantation plan, industry analysis, PEST and SWOT analysis and business possibilities. The final part of the research has shown accessibility and visibility of the business opportunity for composter though political instability and culture difference issues but helpful for business expansion in future

Molecular subtypes of intestinal-type gastric cancer: Association with T-lymphocytes and formins

Despite the decline of gastric cancer (GC) incidence in Western countries over the last decade, it is still one of the most significant causes of cancer mortality worldwide. The traditional morphology-based grading systems, including the world health organization (WHO) and Lauren's grading systems, have limited applicability in managing treatment choices, as they poorly catch the molecular heterogeneity of GC. Thus, classifications based on molecular features are needed. Recent genome analyses have shown that GC consists of several molecular subtypes characterized by distinct alterations. In our study, we used tissue-based methods, i.e., immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, in the molecular classification of GC, emphasizing the intestinal subtype. Our results show that GC can be divided into four nonoverlapping subtypes based on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positivity, mismatch repair protein (MMR), and TP53 aberration status. In conclusion, GC molecular subtyping can be performed with a simple methodology applicable to clinical routine. Host immune response is an important predictive and prognostic factor in many cancer types, including GC. Detailed information on the accumulation of tumorinfiltrating T lymphocytes in the different molecular GC subtypes and their prognostic correlation is scarce. We analyzed the presence of CD3+, CD8+, and FOXP3+ (Forkhead box P3) T lymphocytes in the molecular subtypes of intestinal-type GC. We found that EBV+ cancers harbor increased lymphocyte infiltration and a high CD8+/FOXP3+ ratio. In addition, we found that high numbers of CD8+ and CD3+ T lymphocytes are associated with better survival, and their accumulation is an independent prognostic factor. Formin proteins regulate the actin cytoskeleton and cell migration and play an essential role in cancer call functions. However, the expression and clinical association of formins in GC remains largely undiscovered. Here we analyzed the expression of FHOD1 and FMNL1 formins in GC cell lines and clinical samples of intestinal- type GC. We found that FHOD1 expression in cancer cells correlated with high intratumoral CD8+ T lymphocyte infiltration. Reduced FHOD1 expression was seen in the tumors with aberrant TP53. FMNL1 expression in cancer cells was associated with the size of the tumors and the stage of the disease. The results demonstrate a link between FHOD1 and FMNL1 expression with biological features of GC. However, we did not find a correlation between formin expression and GC prognosis.Suolistotyyppisen mahasyövän molekyylityypit: Assosiaatio T-lymfosyyttien ja forminien kanssa Vaikka mahasyövän esiintyminen on viime vuosikymmeninä laskenut kehittyneissä maissa, se on edelleen yksi tärkeimmistä syöpäkuolemien aiheuttajista. Mahasyöpä on biologialtaan monimuotoinen. Tästä syystä perinteinen kudosmorfologiaan perustua luokittelu, kuten WHO:n tai Laurénin luokitus, hyödyttää hoitopäätöksien tekoa vain rajallisesti. Molekulaarisiin piirteisiin perustuvan luokituksen kehittäminen olisikin tärkeää. Genomianalyyseihin perustuva tutkimus on osoittanut, että mahasyöpä koostuu useista molekulaarisista alatyypeistä. Analyysimenetelmät ovat kuitenkin monimutkaisia ja vaativat erityisosaamista. Tutkimuksessamme käytimme kliiniseen käyttöön soveltuvia menetelmiä; immunohistokemiaa ja in situ-hybridisaatiota mahasyöpien luokitteluun. Tulosten perusteella yksinkertaisen algoritmin avulla mahasyövät voidaan luokitella eri alaryhmiin Ebstain-Barr virus-positiivisuuden, TP53 poikkeavuuden ja MMR-puutoksen perusteella. Kliinisesti eroaviin alaryhmiin tapahtuva jaottelu voidaan siis toteuttaa yksinkertaisella ja kliiniseen diagnostiikkaan soveltuvalla menetelmällä Immuunijärjestelmän toiminta on tärkeä syövän ennusteen kannalta. Yksityiskohtaista tietoa siitä, miten T solut hakeutuvat eri mahasyövän alatyyppeihin ja liittyvät taudin käyttäytymiseen ei toistaiseksi ole. Tässä tutkimuksessa analysoimme CD3, CD8 ja FOXP3 antigeenejä ilmentävien T-lymfosyyttien esiintymistä intestinaalisen mahasyövän alatyypeissä. Tulosten perusteella EBV+ syövissä on runsaimmin T-lymfosyyttejä ja korkein CD8+/FOXP3-suhde. Totesimme myös, että runsas T-lymfosyyttien määrä korreloi intestinaalisen mahasyövän parempaan ennusteeseen ja toimii itsenäisenä ennustetekijänä. Formiiniproteiinit säätelevät solujen aktiinitukirankaa ja solujen migraatiota, ja ovat tärkeitä syöpäsolujen toiminnassa. Kuitenkin formiinien esiintymistä ja tehtäviä mahasyövässä tunnetaan huonosti. Tässä tutkimuksessa analysoimme FHOD1 ja FMNL1 formiineja mahasyöpäsolulinjoissa ja intestinaalista alatyyppiä edustavien mahasyöpien kudosnäytteissä. Kasvainsolujen FHOD1:n ilmentyminen oli yhteydessä korkeaan intratumoraalisten T-lymfosyyttien määrään. FHOD1:n alentunutta ekspressiota nähtiin syövän alatyypissä, johon liittyy TP53 mutaatio. FMNL1:n ilmentyminen puolestaan korreloi kasvaimen kokoon ja taudin leviämisasteeseen. Tulosten perusteella FHOD1 ja FMNL1-formiinien ilmentyminen liittyy mahasyövän biologisiin piirteisiin, joskaan ilmentymisellä ei näytä olevan yhteyttä mahasyövän ennusteeseen

Migration, school attainment, and child labor : evidence from rural Pakistan

Inequalities in access to education pose a significant barrier to development. It has been argued that this reflects, in part, borrowing constraints that inhibit private investment in human capital by the poor. One promise of the recent proposals to open international labor markets to allow for the temporary economic migration of low-skilled workers from developing to industrial countries is its potential impact on human capital accumulation by the poor. The large remittance flows from migrants to their communities of origin underscores this aspect of migration. However, migration can also transform expectations of futureemployment and induce changes in household structure that can exert an independent effect on the private returns to investment in human capital. The author explores the relationship between temporary economic migration and investment in child schooling. A key challenge is to deal appropriately with selection into migration. She finds that the potential positive effects of temporary economic migration on human capital accumulation are large. Moreover, the gains are much greater for girls, yielding a very substantial reduction in gender inequalities in access to education. Significantly, though, the gains appear to arise almost entirely from the greater resource flows to migrant households. The author cannot detect any effect of future migration prospects on schooling decisions. More significantly, she does not find any protective effect of migration-induced female headship on schooling outcomes for girls. Rather, female headship appears to protect boys at the cost of girls.Gender and Development,Primary Education,Youth and Governance,Anthropology,Education For All