Tanzania HIV/AIDS and Malaria Indicator Survey 2011-12(Preliminary Results)

Preliminary results (tables only) for the malaria indicators and selected HIV indicators. The results were released by the National Bureau of Statistics on 11 October 2012. Full results of the survey are still being compiled and will be included in the final report

Effect of backscatter-to-extinction ratio on lidar inversions

One way of deriving the atmospheric extinction coefficient from lidar measurements is to start from the single scattering lidar equation. Simulations of lidar experiments and extinction coefficient calculation were conducted and the resulting errors examined. In order to make the simulation realistic, the volume backscatter coefficients and extinction coefficients used in the simulation were based on measured particle distributions, in this case on the particle size distributions measured in Meppen, Germany in the fall of 1980. In that experiment particle size distributions were measured with a balloon-borne particle spectrometer during balloon descents from about 600 meters above ground to the surface. Each particle spectrum represented a layer of at most a few meter thickness, so an altitude resolved profile of particle size spectra is measured. A Mie code was used to compute linear extinction coefficient and volume backscatter coefficient profiles from the particle size spectra for each balloon sounding

Measurement

This two-part activity provides an introduction to the basics of measurement (linear, mass, volume, density) and discusses the role of inferential statistics in comparing any two measurements. The concept of random variations in measurements is introduced, which leads to a discussion of binomial distributions and probability in comparing measurements and results. Students will use online databases to form null hypotheses and test them using an online t-test calculator. Links to datasets, an online statistical application, and to related sites are also provided. Educational levels: Undergraduate lower division, High school

How (not) to measure competition

We discuss and apply a new measure of competition: the elasticity of a firm's profits with respect to its cost level. A higher value of this profit elasticity (PE) signals more intense competition. Using firm level data we compare PE with the most popular competition measures such as the price cost margin (PCM). We show that PE and PCM are highly correlated on average. However, PCM tends to misrepresent the development of competition over time in markets with few firms and high concentration, i.e. in markets with high relevance for competition policy and regulation. So, just when it is needed the most PCM fails whereas PE does not. From this, we conclude that PE is a more reliable measure of competition.

Liftings, Young measures, and lower semicontinuity

This work introduces liftings and their associated Young measures as new tools to study the asymptotic behaviour of sequences of pairs $(u_j,Du_j)j$ for $(u_j)_j \in \mathrm{BV}(\Omega;\mathbb{R}^m)$ under weak* convergence. These tools are then used to prove an integral representation theorem for the relaxation of the functional $$\mathcal{F}\colon u\to\int_\Omega f(x,u(x),\nabla u(x)) \;\mathrm{dx},\quad u\in\mathrm{W}^{1,1}({\Omega};\mathbb{R}^m),\quad {\Omega}\in\mathbb{R}^d\text{ open},$$ to the space $\mathrm{BV}(\Omega; \mathbb{R}^m)$. Lower semicontinuity results of this type were first obtained by Fonseca and M\"uller [Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 123 (1993), 1-49] and later improved by a number of authors, but our theorem is valid under more natural, essentially optimal, hypotheses than those currently present in the literature, requiring principally that $f$ be Carath\'eodory and quasiconvex in the final variable. The key idea is that liftings provide the right way of localising $\mathcal{F}$ in the $x$ and $u$ variables simultaneously under weak* convergence. As a consequence, we are able to implement an optimal measure-theoretic blow-up procedure.Comment: 75 pages. Updated to correct a series of minor typos/ inaccuracies. The statement and proof of Theorem have also been amended- subsequent steps relying upon the Theorem did not require updatin

The Problem of Measure Sensitivity Redux

Fitelson (1999) demonstrates that the validity of various arguments within Bayesian confirmation theory depends on which confirmation measure is adopted. The present paper adds to the results set out in Fitelson (1999), expanding on them in two principal respects. First, it considers more confirmation measures. Second, it shows that there are important arguments within Bayesian confirmation theory and that there is no confirmation measure that renders them all valid. Finally, the paper reviews the ramifications that this "strengthened problem of measure sensitivity" has for Bayesian confirmation theory and discusses whether it points at pluralism about notions of confirmation

Research gaps in scale up of family planning and reproductive health programming

The Evidence Project, in collaboration with the Evidence to Action Project, the Health Policy Project, and MEASURE Evaluation convened a meeting to discuss research gaps related to scale-up. The meeting was held at the request of USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health (OPRH) to help guide their research strategy. The meeting had four objectives: discuss scale-up experiences and the role of research and monitoring for strengthening program performance at scale; identify research gaps related to scale-up; prioritize the scale-up research gaps for OPRH; identify next steps for addressing these priority research gaps. This meeting generated a rich discussion about the need to better document the scale-up process, particularly the vertical (institutionalization) aspect of scale-up. Key questions revolved around determining capacity building for scale, identifying and disseminating the facilitating factors, working with key health-system elements as defined by WHO, shortening the scale-up timeframe, and balancing sustainability with equity. The results of this meeting will be used to inform the OPRH Research Strategy and the work of implementing partners

The n-Dimensional Bailey-Divisia Measure as a General-Equilibrium Measure of the Welfare Costs of Inflation

This paper shows that in economies with several monies the Bailey-Divisia multidimensional consumers surplus formula may emerge as an exact general-equilibrium measure of the welfare costs of in ation, provided that preferences are quasilinear.