Identifying Spatial Efficiency–Equity Trade-offs in Territorial Development Policies: Evidence from Uganda

Abstract

We contribute to the debate on the spatial allocation of infrastructure investments by examining where these investments generate the highest economic return (‘spatial efficiency’), and identifying trade-offs when infrastructure coverage is made more equitable across regions (‘spatial equity’). We estimate models of firm location choice in Uganda, drawing on insights from the new economic geography literature. The main findings show that manufacturing firms gain from being in areas that offer a diverse mix of economic activities. Public infrastructure investments in other locations are likely to attract fewer private investors, and will pose a spatial efficiency–equity trade-off.     

Use of PCR-RFLP for differentiation of calliphorid larvae (Diptera,Calliphoridae) on human corpses

Blowfly larvae found on human corpses are important for the estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) and other questions of forensic relevance. Some of these species are difficult to differentiate morphologically, therefore a molecular method was elaborated for species identification. Specific fragments of the COI and COII region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were amplified followed by digestion with different restriction enzymes. Using a 1.3 kb fragment, identification of Lucilia sericata, Calliphora vicina and Calliphora vomitoria was possible by digestion with only one restriction enzyme using either DraI or HinfI. Furthermore, we sequenced 349 bp (a part of the COI and COII regions) from the same three species and found 34 nucleotide distinctions between C. vicina and L. sericata, 30 between C. vomitoria and L. sericata and 15 between the two Calliphora species. These results aid in quick identification of species used for estimation of PMI.     

Diagnostic Value of PSA and AP Tests for the Detection of Spermatozoa in Postmortem Swabs from the Genital and Anal Region in Males

The aim of this study was to clarify whether positive results for prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) and acid phosphatase (AP) occur in postmortem swabs from the genito‐anal region in males (n = 80; 4 regions) and females (n = 20; 3 regions) and to calculate the positive predictive value (PPV) concerning the presence of spermatozoa. In male subjects, the highest incidence of positive test results was found in urethral swabs (PSA 76%, AP 71%) and the lowest frequencies appeared in perianal and rectal swabs (15–20%). Microscopic evaluation for spermatozoa was positive between 39% in urethral swabs and 1% in rectal swabs. PPV regarding positive identification of spermatozoa was 33.3% for PSA and 31.5% for AP. The combination of both tests yielded a PPV of 38.2%. In female cases, no spermatozoa were identified, and one case was PSA‐ and AP‐positive in perianal swabs. Our findings indicate that PSA and AP tests are of limited value for the postmortem detection of spermatozoa in male subjects.     

Results-based management: friend or foe?

Results-based management (RBM) is well entrenched as a management tool for international development practice. Yet after a decade of its use, many development practitioners view RBM in a negative light, considering it to be a donor requirement that diverts time, energy, and resources away from actually doing development work. This article provides some broad reflections on RBM from a distinctive vantage point: the perspective of the project (or programme) evaluator. The article reflects on challenges associated with RBM and draws from these reflections a number of suggested strategies to improve its use. It concludes that development practitioners need to be more aggressive in implementing RBM.     

Focusing on How Rather Than on Whom: Constructing a Process-Based Framework for Interpreting the Press Clause in the Network-Society Era

The Internet has made it possible for anyone to become a publisher, thus raising questions regarding how the press clause of the First Amendment will be defined in the twenty-first century. This study proposes a process-based framework for understanding the press clause that moves away from the historically problematic questions that arise with approaches that seek to determine who is a journalist. This approach aligns with historical conceptualizations of the press clause and the characteristics of the network society. The proposed framework is drawn from an analysis of recent lower-court cases in which citizen publishers claimed protections that have traditionally been associated with journalism, as well as an examination of the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States and of legal scholars’ historical understandings of the clause.     

Earth system governance: a research framework

The Earth System Science Partnership, which unites all major global change research programmes, declared in 2001 an urgent need to develop “strategies for Earth System management”. Yet what such strategies might be, how they could be developed, and how effective, efficient and equitable such strategies would be, remains unspecified. It is apparent that the institutions, organizations and mechanisms by which humans currently govern their relationship with the natural environment and global biochemical systems are not only insufficient—they are also poorly understood. This article presents the science programme of the Earth System Governance Project, a new 10-year global research effort endorsed by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP). It outlines the concept of earth system governance as a challenge for the social sciences, and it elaborates on the interlinked analytical problems and research questions of earth system governance as an object of study. These analytical problems concern the overall architecture of earth system governance, agency beyond the state and of the state, the adaptiveness of governance mechanisms and processes as well as their accountability and legitimacy, and modes of allocation and access in earth system governance. The article also outlines four crosscutting research themes that are crucial for the study of each analytical problem as well as for the integrated understanding of earth system governance: the role of power, knowledge, norms and scale.     

Gorbachev: “Radically” Implementing Brezhnev's Reforms

Prospects for realization of the current round of economic reforms proposed by the new Soviet leadership are critically analyzed in light of the fate of similar measures embodied in the 1965 (Brezhnev/Kosygin) reforms. Levels of genuine restructuring incorporated in the present reforms are thought to be inadequate to support the major objectives of steamlining decision making and increasing autonomy at the enterprise level. As in the past, policy changes (now embodied in the labor discipline campaign) rather than reforms per se will be relied upon to provide much of the improvement in economic performance. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 113, 124.     

The Aftermath of the 19th Conference of the CPSU: A Soviet Economy Roundtable

The aftermath of the 19th Conference of the Communist Party, held in Moscow from June 28 to July 1, 1988, is analyzed by eight Western observers. The discussion covers impacts of the Conference on Soviet society and abroad, General Secretary Gorbachev's speech at the Central Committee Plenum on July 29, 1988, and reviews results of his policies since 1985. It proceeds to look at the current transitional period of Soviet reforms, including the formation of new enterprise forms and horizontal links in the economy. Finally, the discussants view prospects for political and economic development in the future. journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 052, 124, 113.