Pattern of childhood falls in a low-income setting: a cross-sectional study in Dar es Salaam

The objective was to determine patterns and circumstances of childhood falls in a low-income setting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This cross sectional study is based on a household survey conducted in July 2009. A total of 3927 children up to age 18 from 1928 households in 15 sampled wards were surveyed through a structured questionnaire. The current study includes information regarding fall occurrence, socio-demographic and economic factors. Data were analysed using chi-square, t-test and logistic regression. Male children had 42% higher odds of falls compared to females, and rural residents had more than two times higher odds compared to urban residents. Falls occurred three times more among age group 1-4 and two times more among age group 5-9 compared to those between 15 and 18 years. Most falls occurred outdoors (62%) while playing (51%) with boys being over-represented. Females and children aged 1-4 years fell more from stairs whereas most infants fell from furniture. Male gender, younger age groups and rural residence were significant factors for fall injuries. The circumstances in which these falls occur also differ significantly. Intervention efforts should emphasise these patterns.     

Relationship Quality and the Theory of Planned Behavior models of behavioral intentions and purchase behavior

Using real-life purchase behavior data of apparel and survey information, this study compares the Relationship Quality and the Theory of Planned Behavior models. The attitude towards the buying behavior, the subjective norm and perceived behavioral control (antecedents of the buying intention in the Theory of Planned Behavior) are better predictors of behavioral intentions than Relationship Quality. In both models intentions fully mediate the impact of attitudinal antecedents on behavior, both in terms of purchase incidence and purchase behavior (amount spent, number of visits, and types of products bought). Frequency and recency of prior buying behavior and, to a lesser extent, its monetary value, predict subsequent purchase incidence, above and beyond the impact of attitude and intention. Attitudinal antecedents of behavior significantly predict buying behavior, but they become insignificant when buying behavior is included in the model.     

The Gravity Model and Trade Efficiency: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis of Eastern European Countries' Potential Trade

The opening up process of the eastern European countries is characterised by an increasing degree of trade integration with their Western neighbouring countries. Typically, the degree of East–West trade integration is assessed by comparing actual trade volumes with potential trade volumes projected from the gravity model parameters estimated for a group of countries that best represent normal trade relations. This approach, however, does not compare trade levels against a maximum level of trade feasible for the group of eastern European countries. This paper using a stochastic frontier specification of the gravity model is able to identify the efficiency of trade integration relative to maximum potential levels. The findings, based on a panel data set of bilateral exports from 17 Western European countries to the 10 new member states over the 1994–2007 period, indicate a high degree of East–West trade integration close to two‐thirds of frontier estimates, suggesting a low degree of trade resistances.     

EU enlargement and the evolution of European production networks

We analyse the regionalisation of the European Union's production networks and the impact of enlargement by looking at trends in trade in intermediate and final products in different types of technology between 1995 and 2007. We find that enlargement has coincided with quite major changes in the structure of trade within and beyond the EU. Overall we find that the new member states of the EU12 have become a more important source of goods both for the sub-region itself and for the EU15.We look at trends in different types of products and technologies. We find that there has been greater regional consolidation of production networks in lower tech goods, while in high tech goods global sources of inputs - especially ASEAN + 3 - are becoming more important. Overall the EU12 is becoming a more important source of both intermediate and final products, especially within its own sub-region. This evolution makes the companies in the sub-region very dependent on the EU home market.     

Seasonality in industry specific indices

This study examines seaonality in three industry specific stock market indices; the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 20 Transportation, the S&P 40 Utilities, and the S&P 40 Financial. The results support the existence of a weekend effect in the transportation index. There is no evidence of a weekend effect in the utilities and financial indices. Both the transportation and financial indices exhibit the January effect. The utilities index, however, shows no evidence of a January effect. The finding of a weekend and a January effect at the industry level is significant because select mutual funds enhance the ability of investors to capitalize on such anomalies.     

Do banks matter for the risk of a firm's investment portfolio? Evidence from foreign direct investment programs

The study explores the role of banks as debt and equity holders for the riskiness of a firm's investment strategy using a panel of Japanese firms in the electronics industry in the period 1992–2004 for the empirical analysis. Based on a conceptual framework grounded in agency and financial intermediation theories, we find that a larger involvement of banks as debt holders in a firm is associated with lower foreign direct investment portfolio risk, while the shareholdings of universal banks increase it, supporting the theoretical predictions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Persistent myths about emergency seed aid

Seed interventions are the major agricultural response during emergency and recovery phases of humanitarian relief. They are implemented by diverse agencies, and widely promoted: for instance the FAO alone managed 400 such projects between 2003 and 2005. However, seed aid suffers from a lack of critical attention, perpetuating widespread myths among practitioners, policymakers, and the larger humanitarian community. This paper challenges five predominant myths about seed aid: (1) seed aid is needed whenever food aid is; (2) seed aid can do no harm; (3) disasters wipe out seed systems; (4) effective implementation is a straightforward logistical exercise, and; (5) improved seed is the best form of aid. These myths are juxtaposed with recent empirical work across a range of countries, particularly in Eastern and Southern Africa. The perpetuation of such myths highlights a serious absence of scrutiny of emergency seed aid, and helps explain why such aid is repeated year after year in many sites, with little apparent positive effect. The paper argues that the invisibility of seed aid is a major cause for the lack of oversight and concludes that donors and farmer beneficiaries must become centrally involved in seed aid governance.     

Inter-state Competition,Land Conflicts and Resistance in India

Literature on fiscal federalism has long debated whether inter-jurisdictional competition between subnational units encourages a “race to the bottom”, with competition to attract mobile capital leading to lower taxation and expenditure, and, consequently, the under-provision of public goods. The principal concerns of this literature have been taxation and expenditure, but the ability of state governments to acquire land for industry is also critical in the context of subnational competition. In this article, the authors ask how Indian state governments resolve the tensions arising from their dual role as both wooer and regulator of capital, as they simultaneously facilitate land acquisition and engage with movements that challenge it. The authors demonstrate that there is no simple “race to the bottom”. Inter-state competition has not produced a simple equation in favour of capital and a side-lining of the concerns of those displaced. Subnational approaches to land acquisition must be understood within local political, social and economic contexts.     

区域交通与土地利用耦合关系研究

在系统分析了区域交通与土地利用特征的基础上,对区域交通与土地利用的相互作用机制进行了研究,并提出了区域交通-土地利用耦合系数的概念.以黄石市1996-2004年间的交通、城镇建设和耕地的用地规模进行分析,结果显示近年来黄石市的交通-土地利用存在较为密切的关系,近年来交通得到较大发展,因而耦合系数呈增长趋势.