Policy analysis of iron micronutrient programs at USAID: The FANTA program in East Africa and the micronutrient initiative in Bihar region of India, using comparative cost effective and cost benefit analysis

It is the aim of this paper to examine iron supplementation programs which receive funding from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) but approach combating iron deficiency anemia in two vastly different ways. A brief literature review and background information on iron deficiencies and the differences between supplementation programs and micronutrient fortification were reviewed. Two non-governmental organizations (NGO's) were examined for this paper: the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance II (FANTA) and the MicroNutrient Initiative. The FANTA program included an educational component to their supplementation program while the MicroNutrient Initiative solely used supplementation of micronutrients to their population. Methods used were cost-benefit analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis to determine the overall effectiveness of each program in reducing iron deficiency anemia in each population, if the added costs of the incentives in the FANTA program changed the cost-effectiveness of the program compared to the MicroNutrient Initiative program and to determine which program imparted the greatest benefit to each population by reducing the disease burden in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY). Results showed that the unit cost of the FANTA program per person was higher than the MicroNutrient Initiative program due to the educational component. The FANTA program reduced iron deficiency anemia less overall but cost less for each percentage point of anemia decreased in their respective populations. The MicroNutrient Initiative program had a better benefit cost ratio for the populations it served. The MicroNutrient Initiative's large scale program imparted many advantages by reducing unit cost per person and decreasing iron deficiency anemia. The FANTA program was more effective at decreasing iron deficiency anemia with less money: $5,660 per 1% decrease in iron deficiency anemia versus $18,450 per 1% decrease in iron deficiency anemia for the MicroNutrient Initiative program. ^ In conclusion, economic analysis cannot measure all of the benefits associated with programs that contain an educational component or large scale supplementation. More information needs to be gathered by NGOs and reported to USAID, such as detailed prevalence rates of iron deficiency anemia among the populations served. Further research is needed to determine the effects an educational supplementation program has on compliance rates of participants and motivation to participate in supplementation programs whose aim is to decrease iron deficiency anemia in a targeted population.^

SIRGAS reference frame realization SIR11P01

To estimate the kinematics of the SIRGAS reference frame, the Deutsches Geodätisches Forschungsinstitut (DGFI) as the IGS Regional Network Associate Analysis Centre for SIRGAS (IGS RNNAC SIR), yearly computes a cumulative (multi-year) solution containing all available weekly solutions delivered by the SIRGAS analysis centres. These cumulative solutions include those models, standards, and strategies widely applied at the time in which they were computed and cover different time spans depending on the availability of the weekly solutions. This data set corresponds to the multi-year solution SIR11P01. It is based on the combination of the weekly normal equations covering the time span from 2000-01-02 (GPS week 1043) to 2011-04-16 (GPS week 1631), when the IGS08 reference frame was introduced. It refers to ITRF2008, epoch 2005.0 and contains 230 stations with 269 occupations. Its precision was estimated to be ±1.0 mm (horizontal) and ±2.4 mm (vertical) for the station positions, and ±0.7 mm/a (horizontal) and ±1.1 mm/a (vertical) for the constant velocities. Computation strategy and results are in detail described in Sánchez and Seitz (2011). The IGS RNAAC SIR computation of the SIRGAS reference frame is possible thanks to the active participation of many Latin American and Caribbean colleagues, who not only make the measurements of the stations available, but also operate SIRGAS analysis centres processing the observational data on a routine basis (more details in http://www.sirgas.org). The achievements of SIRGAS are a consequence of a successful international geodetic cooperation not only following and meeting concrete objectives, but also becoming a permanent and self-sustaining geodetic community to guarantee quality, reliability, and long-term stability of the SIRGAS reference frame. The SIRGAS activities are strongly supported by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the Pan-American Institute for Geography and History (PAIGH). The IGS RNAAC SIR highly appreciates all this support.

Modelling of the TICS Catalyse : Realization of a project

An action of modelling of the Territorial Intelligence Community Systems or TICS began in 2009 at the end of the CaEnti project. It has several objectives: - Establish a set of documents understandable by computer specialists who are in charge of software developments, and by territorial intelligence specialists. - Lay the foundation of a vocabulary describing the main notions of TICS domain. - Ensure the evolution and sustainability of tools and systems, in a highly scalable research context. The definition of models representing the data manipulated by the tools of the suitcase Catalyse is not sufficient to describe in a complete way the TICS domain. We established a correspondence between this computer vocabulary and vocabulary related to the theme to allow communication between computer scientists and territorial intelligence specialists. Furthermore it is necessary to describe the roles of TICS. For that it is interesting to use other kinds of computing models. In this communication we present the modelling of TICS project with business process

Modelling of the TICS Catalyse : Realization of a project

An action of modelling of the Territorial Intelligence Community Systems or TICS began in 2009 at the end of the CaEnti project. It has several objectives: - Establish a set of documents understandable by computer specialists who are in charge of software developments, and by territorial intelligence specialists. - Lay the foundation of a vocabulary describing the main notions of TICS domain. - Ensure the evolution and sustainability of tools and systems, in a highly scalable research context. The definition of models representing the data manipulated by the tools of the suitcase Catalyse is not sufficient to describe in a complete way the TICS domain. We established a correspondence between this computer vocabulary and vocabulary related to the theme to allow communication between computer scientists and territorial intelligence specialists. Furthermore it is necessary to describe the roles of TICS. For that it is interesting to use other kinds of computing models. In this communication we present the modelling of TICS project with business process

Modelling of the TICS Catalyse : Realization of a project

An action of modelling of the Territorial Intelligence Community Systems or TICS began in 2009 at the end of the CaEnti project. It has several objectives: - Establish a set of documents understandable by computer specialists who are in charge of software developments, and by territorial intelligence specialists. - Lay the foundation of a vocabulary describing the main notions of TICS domain. - Ensure the evolution and sustainability of tools and systems, in a highly scalable research context. The definition of models representing the data manipulated by the tools of the suitcase Catalyse is not sufficient to describe in a complete way the TICS domain. We established a correspondence between this computer vocabulary and vocabulary related to the theme to allow communication between computer scientists and territorial intelligence specialists. Furthermore it is necessary to describe the roles of TICS. For that it is interesting to use other kinds of computing models. In this communication we present the modelling of TICS project with business process

The 2008 DGFI Realization of the ITRS: DTRF2008 (data)

The DTRF2008 is a realization of the International Terrestrial Reference System ITRS. The DTRF2008 consists of station positions and velocities of global distributed observing stations of the space geodetic observation techniques VLBI, SLR, GPS and DORIS. The DTRF2008 was released in May 2010 and includes the observation data of the techniques up to and including 2008. The observation data are processed and submitted by the corresponding international services: IGS (International GNSS Service, http://igscb.jpl.nasa.gov) IVS (International VLBI Service, http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov) ILRS (International Laser Ranging Service, http://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov) IDS (International DORIS Service, http://ids-doris.org). The DTRF2008 is an independent ITRS realization, which is computed on the basis of the same input data as the ITRF2008 (IGN, Paris). Both realizations differ with respect to their computation strategies: while the ITRF2008 is based on the combination of solutions, the DTRF2008 is computed by the combination of normal equations. The DTRF2008 comprises the coordinates of 559 GPS-, 106 VLBI-, 122 SLR- and 132 DORIS-stations. The reference epoch is 1.1.2005, 0h UTC. The Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP) - that means the coordinates of the terrestrial and the celestial pole, UT1-UTC and the Length of Day (LOD) - were simultaneously estimated with the station coordinates. The EOP time series cover the period of 1983 to 2008. The station names are the official IERS indications: cdp numbers or 4-character IDs and DOMES numbers (http://itrf.ensg.ign.fr/doc_ITRF/iers_sta_list.txt). The solution is available in different file formats (SINEX and SSC), see below. A detailed description of the solution is given by Seitz M. et al. (2012). The results of a comparison of DTRF2008 and ITRF2008 is given by Seitz M. et al. (2013). More information as well as residual time series of the station positions can be made available by request.

Mapping the Antarctic Polar Front: Weekly realizations from 2002 to 2014, links to NetCDF file and MPEG4 movie

We map the weekly position of the Antarctic Polar Front (PF) in the Southern Ocean over a 12-year period (2002-2014) using satellite sea surface temperature (SST) estimated from cloud-penetrating microwave radiometers. Our study advances previous efforts to map the PF using hydrographic and satellite data and provides a unique realization of the PF at weekly resolution across all longitudes. The mean path of the PF is asymmetric; its latitudinal position spans from 44 to 64° S along its circumpolar path. SST at the PF ranges from 0.6 to 6.9 °C, reflecting the large spread in latitudinal position. The average intensity of the front is 1.7 °C per 100 km, with intensity ranging from 1.4 to 2.3 °C per 100 km. Front intensity is significantly correlated with the depth of bottom topography, suggesting that the front intensifies over shallow bathymetry. Realizations of the PF are consistent with the corresponding surface expressions of the PF estimated using expendable bathythermograph data in the Drake Passage and Australian and African sectors. The climatological mean position of the PF is similar, though not identical, to previously published estimates. As the PF is a key indicator of physical circulation, surface nutrient concentration, and biogeography in the Southern Ocean, future studies of physical and biogeochemical oceanography in this region will benefit from the provided data set.

Experiment: Marine fungi may benefit from ocean acidification

Recent studies have discussed the consequences of ocean acidification for bacterial processes and diversity. However, the decomposition of complex substrates in marine environments, a key part of the flow of energy in ecosystems, is largely mediated by marine fungi. Although marine fungi have frequently been reported to prefer low pH levels, this group has been neglected in ocean acidification research. We present the first investigation of direct pH effects on marine fungal abundance and community structure. In microcosm experiments repeated in 2 consecutive years, we incubated natural North Sea water for 4 wk at in situ seawater pH (8.10 and 8.26), pH 7.82 and pH 7.67. Fungal abundance was determined by colony forming unit (cfu) counts, and fungal community structure was investigated by the culture-independent fingerprint method Fungal Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (F-ARISA). Furthermore, pH at the study site was determined over a yearly cycle. Fungal cfu were on average 9 times higher at pH 7.82 and 34 times higher at pH 7.67 compared to in situ seawater pH, and we observed fungal community shifts predominantly at pH 7.67. Currently, surface seawater pH at Helgoland Roads remains >8.0 throughout the year; thus we cannot exclude that fungal responses may differ in regions regularly experiencing lower pH values. However, our results suggest that under realistic levels of ocean acidification, marine fungi will reach greater importance in marine biogeochemical cycles. The rise of this group of organisms will affect a variety of biotic interactions in the sea.

The gap between recognition and the 'compensation business' : the claim against Britain for compensation by Kenya's former Mau Mau fighters

During the first Kibaki administration (2002-2007), a movement by the former Mau Mau fighters demanded recognition for the role that they had played in the achievement of independence. They began to demand, also, monetary compensation for past injustices. Why had it taken over 40 years (from independence in 1963) for the former Mau Mau fighters to initiate this movement? What can be observed as the outcome of their movement? To answer these questions, three different historical currents need to be taken into account. These were, respectively, changing trends in the government of Kenya, progress in historical research into the actual circumstances of colonial control, and a realization, based on mounting experience, that launching a legal action against Britain could turn out to be a lucrative initiative. This paper concludes that, regardless of the actual purpose of the legal case, neither of their objectives was certain to be achieved. Two inescapable realities remain: the doubts cast on the reputation of the government by its decision to lift the Mau Mau‟s outlaw status – a decision that was widely seen as a latter-day example of the „Kikuyu favouritism‟ policy followed by the first Kibaki administration – and the popular interpretation of the involvement of Leigh Day, well known in Kenya ever since the unexploded bombs case for its success in obtaining substantial compensation payments, as a vehicle for squeezing large amounts of money from the British government for the benefit of the Kikuyu people.

Did the least developed countries benefit from duty-free quota-free access to the Japanese market?

Countries classified as least developed countries (LDCs) were granted duty-free quota-free (DFQF) access to the Japanese market. This study examines the impact of that access and finds that, in general, it did not benefit the LDCs. The construction of concordance tables for Japan's 9 digit tariff line codes enables analysis at the tariff line level, which overcomes a possible aggregation bias. The exogenous nature of DFQF access mitigates the endogeneity problem. Various estimation models, including the triple difference estimator, show that in general the LDCs did not benefit from DFQF access to the Japanese market. The total value of imports from LDCs has been increasing, but the imports granted both zero tariffs and substantial preference margins over non-LDC countries were not successful. These findings suggest that for LDCs the tariff barrier is a relatively small obstacle: Trade is affected more strongly by other factors, such as infrastructure, nontariff barriers, geographic distance, and cultural differences.

User benefit assessment by a dynamic LUTI model for Madrid

Assessing users’ benefit in a transport policy implementation has been studied by many researchers using theoretical or empirical measures. However, few of them measure users’ benefit in a different way from the consumer surplus. Therefore, this paper aims to assess a new measure of user benefits by weighting consumer surplus in order to include equity assessment for different transport policies simulated in a dynamic middle-term LUTI model adapted to the case study of Madrid. Three different transport policies, including road pricing, parking charge and public transport improvement have been simulated through the Metropolitan Activity Relocation Simulator, MARS, the LUTI calibrated model for Madrid). A social welfare function (WF) is defined using a cost benefit analysis function that includes mainly costs and benefits of users and operators of the transport system. Particularly, the part of welfare function concerning the users, (i.e. consumer surplus), is modified by a compensating weight (CW) which represents the inverse of household income level. Based on the modified social welfare function, the effects on the measure of users benefits are estimated and compared with the old WF ́s results as well. The result of the analysis shows that road pricing leads a negative effect on the users benefits specially on the low income users. Actually, the road pricing and parking charge implementation results like a regressive policy especially at long term. Public transport improvement scenario brings more positive effects on low income user benefits. The integrated (road pricing and increasing public services) policy scenario is the one which receive the most user benefits. The results of this research could be a key issue to understanding the relationship between transport systems policies and user benefits distribution in a metropolitan context.

Full-Wafer Roller-NIL Processes for Silicon Solar Cell Texturisation

The highest solar cell efficiencies both for c-Si and mc-Si were reached using template based texturing processes. Especially for mc-Si the benefit of a defined texture, the so called honeycomb texture, was demonstrated impressively. However, up until now, no industrially feasible process has been available to pattern the necessary etching masks with the sufficient resolution. Roller-Nanoimprint Lithography (Roller-NIL) has the potential to overcome these limitations and to allow high quality pattern transfers, even in the sub-micron regime, in continuous in-line processes. Therefore, this etch-mask patterning technique is a suitable solution to bring such elaborate features like the honeycomb texture to an industrial realization. Beyond that, this fast printing-like technology opens up new possibilities to introduce promising concepts like photonic structures into solar cells.

A Cost-Benefit analysis model for technical debt management considering uncertainty and time

In the last few years, technical debt has been used as a useful means for making the intrinsic cost of the internal software quality weaknesses visible. This visibility is made possible by quantifying this cost. Specifically, technical debt is expressed in terms of two main concepts: principal and interest. The principal is the cost of eliminating or reducing the impact of a, so called, technical debt item in a software system; whereas the interest is the recurring cost, over a time period, of not eliminating a technical debt item. Previous works about technical debt are mainly focused on estimating principal and interest, and on performing a cost-benefit analysis. This cost-benefit analysis allows one to determine if to remove technical debt is profitable and to prioritize which items incurring in technical debt should be fixed first. Nevertheless, for these previous works technical debt is flat along the time. However the introduction of new factors to estimate technical debt may produce non flat models that allow us to produce more accurate predictions. These factors should be used to estimate principal and interest, and to perform cost-benefit analysis related to technical debt. In this paper, we take a step forward introducing the uncertainty about the interest, and the time frame factors so that it becomes possible to depict a number of possible future scenarios. Estimations obtained without considering the possible evolution of the interest over time may be less accurate as they consider simplistic scenarios without changes.