Although arsenic contamination was originally considered an environmental problem, its impact on human beings is now widely deemed a serious health issue. This study examines whether international ...communities perceive arsenic as a health issue and discusses current challenges regarding arsenic contamination in Cambodia. Using comprehensive panel data covering 122 health aid recipient countries across three-plus decades (1990-2020), the first part of our study finds that the recipients' health needs caused by major incidences (HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria) are all important factors determining health aid. However, health aid is conditionally effective on countries with high arsenic contamination when they have a better governance level. In this context, we conduct a case study focusing on Cambodia, where arsenic contamination is quite serious but given less attention than in other countries. In Cambodia, both inter-governmental coordination and coordination among international organizations are weak, and no long-term blueprint for arsenic mitigation has yet been developed. To fundamentally and sustainably address this problem, we suggest that Cambodia establish a control tower incorporating government, research institutes, and international agencies.
Purpose: This study investigated the effects of the EU carding system for IUU fishing on its trading partners carded for illegal fishing practices, with the purpose of analyzing the extent to which ...the carding system affected trade between the EU and third countries identified and penalized for IUU fishing, and to identify factors influencing the likelihood of card removal. Design/methodology/approach: The study used fishery and aquaculture trade data from 2004 to 2020 from the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products on 26 carded countries. Major analytic tools applied in this study include OLS, Panel Random Effect, Logit and Probit Models. Findings: The study confirmed that being carded by the EU for IUU fishing significantly negatively impacted countries' fishery trade flows, especially in the case of red cards. Furthermore, increases in capture of wild fish and corruption reduced the likelihood of having the card removed. Research limitations/implications: An important limitation of this study is that it did not account for the influence of other major industry players (such as Japan, USA, China) on the country's overall trade flows. Notwithstanding, it explored how certain variables reduced the likelihood of card removal, finding that countries with higher levels of corruption and fish capture were less likely to have their cards revoked, putting them at a further disadvantage. The findings are especially important in the context of the fishing industry which supports local economies in many developing countries that are usually the target of such coercive measures. Restricted trade flows are especially damaging to small-scale fishers who are often forgotten in the global fight against IUU fishing. This study brings attention to the carding system's potential for trade disruptions and future applications of this sanctioning mechanism should take this under advisement. Originality/value: Studies of the EU carding system's produced effects remain scarce, with existing ones focusing either on individual countries or on the mechanism's general potential for curbing IUU fishing. Considering the global nature of the fishing industry and the harmful potential of the carding system for vulnerable coastal communities, this study attempted to achieve a broader and more in-depth understanding of the EU carding system's effects by examining all countries that were carded for IUU fishing from the enforcement of the IUU Regulation until 2020.
In this paper, a heterodyne laser interferometer, which is used as a sensor for high-precision displacement measurement, is introduced to measure ground vibration and seismic waves as a seismometer. ...The seismic wave is measured precisely through the displacement variation obtained by the heterodyne laser interferometer. The earthquake magnitude is estimated using only the P-wave magnitudes for the first 3 s through the total noise enhanced optimization (TNEO) model. We use data from southern California to investigate the relationship between peak acceleration amplitude ( P d ) and the earthquake magnitude ( M g ). For precise prediction of the earthquake magnitude using only the P d value, the TNEO model derives the relation equation between P d and the magnitude, considering the noise present in each measured seismic data. The optimal solution is obtained from the TNEO model based objective function. We proved the performance of the proposed method through simulation and experimental results.
Purpose: This study examines the impacts of health expenditures on infant mortality. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a comprehensive panel data of 100 countries (31 developed and ...69 developing countries) for 18 years (2000-2017) and, based on the Hausman Test, applies fixed effect analyses. Findings: Not only a negative relationship between health expenditures and the infant mortality rate but its diminishing returns are found. This pattern turns out to be stronger in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. It appears that a country can easily target the most needed class or region to effectively minimize infant mortality given a limited amount of health expenditure, but that same amount may not suffice in reaching defined goals. Research limitations/implications: This implies that the rising amounts of health expenditure would be needed if countries seek to decrease infant mortality at the same rate as they had previously done. To expedite a response, multi-agency or multi-national coordination is essential, and an effective means of mobilizing resources, such as basket funding or program-based approaches, would be desirable. Originality/value: With an up-to-date dataset, this study confirms the effectiveness of health expenditure disbursement with its diminishing returns, which may shed light to developing countries in designing relevant policies.
This study analyzes research trends on photovoltaic–thermal (PVT) systems used in buildings. The applications of PVT systems are also classified into system design, material and fluid types, and ...operating methods. Although many studies proposed new types of PVT systems and applications to improve system performance, there are few reports on the design and operating methods for the system, which consists of the PVT system and hot water storage tank in real-scale buildings. Therefore, our research team conducted a quantitative evaluation of a small household with a PVT system and hot water storage tank installed, according to design factors. The results of the parametric study showed that electricity production was more sensitive to changes in system capacity than those in heat production. By contrast, the change in heat production was dominant in response to the change in the installation angle and load profile of domestic hot water. Through energy simulation, it was found that the PVT system could provide 95% of the annual thermal energy for the domestic hot water consumption of the target buildings.
This study empirically tests the effectiveness of two main aid modalities, conventional project-type aid and modern program-type aid, on a country’s economic growth and its budget expenditures. With ...respect to growth, neither type of aid showed a significant positive effect. In terms of fiscal response, however, both modalities indeed appeared to increase public expenditures in partner countries. This study specifically examines the case of Tanzania, among the countries where program-based approach (PBA) is most active. Tanzanian data support the abovementioned empirical findings; the country’s PBA, a specifically results-based approach (RBA) as an advanced version of PBA, is indeed positively related to government expenditures.
Inbound education official development assistance (ODA) has been known to be spread across regions regardless of geographic proximity. This not only negatively impacts effectiveness to manage aid, ...but also to sustain aid long-term. This study examines aid disbursement pattern of the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and South Korea, which are all members of OECD's Development Assistance Committee that allocates inbound education ODA. With the empirical results confirming Korea's lack of concentration in education ODA, this study recommends establishing satellite campuses as a more viable, operative solution than the previously suggested solution of establishing a specialized agency focusing on scholarship programs. As validated by Nagoya University's Asian Satellite Campuses Institute (ASCI), transferring much of work to the online platform reduces time and financial costs. Furthermore, satellite campuses are expected to facilitate various means of partnerships among aid donor countries that are implementing similar programs. International collaborative efforts could help improve the quality of inbound education and play an important role in attracting bright prospective students. Thus, donor countries could utilize online education platform to overcome severe geographic obstacles in distance education and increase effectiveness of its inbound education ODA.
The effectiveness of Aid for Trade has been widely discussed since the WTO launched the aid for trade initiative in 2005. Using a comprehensive panel data from 143 developing countries provided by ...the OECD, this research assesses the effect of Aid for Trade policy and regulation on exports. To observe regional implications, the independent variables were interacted with regional dummies. Empirical findings show that Aid for Trade in trade policy and regulation has a significant positive effect on the exports of Asian countries. After looking at transition economies in Asia, this paper suggests that aid for trade policy and regulation such as government led initiatives can have a positive effect on the trade performance and regional integration of transition economies in the Greater Mekong Subregion or the CLMV Countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam).
Most geolocation methods use only the time difference of arrival for estimating the emitter's location. In this letter, to obtain the velocity estimate values of an active target, we use the ...frequency difference of arrival. The iterated dual-extended Kalman filter (EKF) algorithm is used as a geolocation process for a moving emitter. In comparison with the dual-EKF algorithm, the parameter estimation filter's update speed of the iterated dual-EKF algorithm shows a high convergence rate through the iteration process. To verify the performance of the proposed algorithm, simulation results by using the iterated dual-EKF algorithm are presented.
South Korea's official development assistance (ODA) is “spread thinly” to many recipient countries. It's inbound education ODA is no exception. In spite of the growing number of long‐term scholarship ...recipients, South Korea considers too many countries, regardless of geographical proximity, which reduces the program's effectiveness to manage and sustain aid. This contrasts sharply with the Japanese system in which only a small number of Asian countries are considered. The linking of scholarship allocation to priority partner countries that already lack concentration may be a contributing factor. Based on a gravity model and using a dataset of scholarship recipients funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, this study examines the two ODA programs and recommends the establishment of an agency to focus on scholarship programs to enhance selection and concentration.
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