Aid Package Research Articles

Preliminary observations of the impacts the 22 February Christchurch earthquake had on organisations and the economy

On 22 February 2011, Canterbury and its largest city Christchurch experienced its second major earthquake within six months. The region is facing major economic and organisational challenges in the aftermath of these events. Approximately 25% of all buildings in the Christchurch CBD have been “red tagged” or deemed unsafe to enter. The New Zealand Treasury estimates that the combined cost of the February earthquake and the September earthquake is approximately NZ$15 billion [2]. This paper examines the national and regional economic climate prior to the event, discusses the immediate economic implications of this event, and the challenges and opportunities faced by organisations affected by this event. In order to facilitate recovery of the Christchurch area, organisations must adjust to a new norm; finding ways not only to continue functioning, but to grow in the months and years following these earthquakes. Some organisations relocated within days to areas that have been less affected by the earthquakes. Others are taking advantage of government subsidised aid packages to help retain their employees until they can make long-term decisions about the future of their organisation. This paper is framed as a “report from the field” in order to provide insight into the early recovery scenario as it applies to organisations affected by the February 2011 earthquake. It is intended both to inform and facilitate discussion about how organisations can and should pursue recovery in Canterbury, and how organisations can become more resilient in the face of the next crisis.

Sponsoring Democracy: The United States and Democracy Aid to the Developing World, 1988-20011

As democratization has advanced in the developing world, developed countries such as the United States have implemented explicit strategies of democracy promotion by providing assistance to governments, political parties, and other non-governmental groups and organizations through a variety of channels. This analysis examines the relationship between democracy support by the US Agency for International Development and democratization in the developing world between 1988 and 2001. In a model that examines the simultaneous processes linking democratization and democracy aid, we argue that carefully targeted democracy assistance has greater impact on democratization than more generic economic aid packages. We test the relationship in a simultaneous equation model, supplemented by several time-series cross-sectional regressions. Our data reveal a positive relationship between specific democracy aid packages and progress toward democracy. We conclude by weighing the implications of these findings for democratization and democracy promotion policies.

Marketing Merit Aid: The Response of Flagship Campuses to State Merit Aid Programs

This article identifies the conundrum that exists between removing financial access barriers to college and the student recipients’ inability to sustain reenrollment. After reviewing the findings of 7 research studies related to the impact of financial aid on persistence, the article concludes with a discussion of possible intervention strategies to employ in conjunction with financial aid packages.

Funkcjonowanie sektora motoryzacyjnego w okresie kryzysu w latach 2008−2009

This paper presents the complexity of the past two years in the Polish automotive industry and the impact and consequences of the economic downturn. The last two years were extremely challenging for the entire economy, especially the motor industry. The demand for cars decreased at the turn of 2008 and 2009. A dramatic plunge in sales has immediately taken a toll on suppliers and an entire economy. To prevent economic disaster, governments of many states allocated billions of euros and dollars to fund stimulating plans for buyers of the new vehicles. It was an aid which largely saved the sector from the decline. The additional aid packages for the entire economy and the financial sector managed to stabilize the disrupted economy.

Foreign aid as counterterrorism policy

This paper presents a model where foreign aid bolsters a developing country’s proactive counterterrorism efforts against a resident transnational terrorist group. In stage 1 of the game, the donor country allocates resources to terrorism-fighting tied aid, general assistance, and defensive actions at home. The recipient country then decides its proactive campaign against the common terrorist threat in stage 2, while the terrorists direct their attacks against the donor and recipient countries in stage 3. Terrorists’ choices in the final stage provide a solid microfoundation for the terrorists’ likelihood of success function. In stage 2, greater tied aid raises the recipient country’s proactive measures and regime instability, while increased general aid reduces these proactive efforts and regime instability. In stage 1, a donor’s homeland security decisions are interdependent with its aid package to a recipient country, hosting resident transnational terrorists. This interdependency and its implications have gone unrecognized to date.

Medicaid Funding Boost May Rescue At-Risk MH Services

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Government NewsFull AccessMedicaid Funding Boost May Rescue At-Risk MH ServicesRich DalyRich DalySearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:3 Sep 2010https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.45.17.psychnews_45_17_019AbstractMany states whose revenues have plunged due to the recession will be able to avoid implementing massive reductions in their Medicaid programs following congressional passage of a bill that extends federal financial assistance to those programs.About $16 billion in Medicaid assistance was included in a $26 billion measure (HR 1586) passed in August and signed by President Obama that will also provide states with funds to rehire public-school teachers and other state and local government workers who lost their jobs due to funding cuts resulting from budget shortfalls.The Medicaid appropriation will extend by an additional six months—to June 30, 2011—an increase in federal Medicaid payments to the states, known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, that was enacted as part of the federal stimulus measure (PL 111-5).About 60 percent of states had already passed budgets that assumed the federal government would provide the additional Medicaid assistance in the wake of falling tax revenues during the recession. If the added federal funding had fallen through, those state legislatures would have had to scramble to find sufficient cuts or tax increases to make up the difference.The National Governors Association, in a letter to congressional leaders, said that the states' total estimated budget shortfall for the 2010-2012 period is expected to be $116 billion. The letter described the extended Medicaid payments as “the best way to help states bridge the gap between their worst fiscal year and the beginning of recovery.” Medicaid is dually funded by states and the federal government. The measure provides a 6.2 percent across-the-board increase to each state's Medicaid program and extra funding for states with the highest unemployment rates.The federal Medicaid boost was urged by mental health advocates, who were alarmed that many states had already sought budget savings through cuts in their mental health programs and that more such cuts could result from a lack of additional federal assistance.For instance, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) said in July that her state would cut mental health and prescription drug coverage under its Medicaid program if the state didn't receive the full $560 million it needed in federal Medicaid assistance, according to local media reports.“Medicaid is the primary funder of community-based mental health services and supports, including psychiatric rehabilitation and intensive case management,” said Laurel Stine, director of federal relations at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. “The passage of this extension will help ensure that states can continue providing vital health care and recovery-oriented services and help fulfill community integration efforts for many individuals with disabilities.”Those who urged Congress to increase Medicaid funding highlighted the program's expansive coverage—compared with many private insurance plans—of treatment for psychiatric illnesses. Medicaid is already the largest single payer for mental health care in the United States, funding about 25 percent of such care. Advocates link the current number of Americans who have recently turned to Medicaid for their mental health care to their difficulties finding jobs that offer health insurance while struggling with the challenges of psychiatric illness.But funding mental health treatment could actually save states money by avoiding other costly medical and criminal-justice spending on people whose untreated mental illness results in deterioration of their condition. For instance, the New England Healthcare Institute estimated that the cost of poor medication adherence—linked to increased hospitalizations and worsening of illnesses—already reaches $290 billion annually, or 13 percent of all health care expenditures.Republicans in Congress objected to the Medicaid measure because of the way it is to be paid for, which is in part through raising $10 billion in taxes from U.S.-based multinational companies, while antipoverty activists complained that other offsets would phase out an increase in food-stamp payments implemented through the stimulus measure.More information on the state aid package is posted at <http://dpc.senate.gov/dpcdoc.cfm?doc_name=lb-111-2-133>. ISSUES NewArchived

BOOK REVIEW: Introduction to veterinary anatomy and physiology revision aid package

BOOK REVIEW: Introduction to veterinary anatomy and physiology revision aid package

Zur juristischen Begründung des ‚Rettungsschirms‘

Summary The financial and guarantee aids within the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism suspend the Stability and Growth Pact as the basis of the European Economic and Monetary Union. The actual ‘suspension’ from the ‘no bail-out’ restriction (Art. 125 TFEU) and the prohibition of funding national debts (Art. 123 TFEU) transfers risks and financial burdens from deeply indebted states to solvent EU member states. This is the beginning of an unauthorized ‘transfer union’. This analysis does not display any evidence of market failure with respect to a potential domino effect for other EU member states. In addition, a destabilizing speculation cannot be identified. The case ‘Greece’ is rather a special case which has become a common model for other member states, caused by the Council of the European Union and the aid packages. Speculations build a part of the observable market reactions apart from pure hedging, but they simply indicate political system errors. The interventions by the European Central Bank do not lead to functioning markets. These interventions rather lead to yield structures that are inadequate in terms of risks and scarcity. Therefore they will cause a misallocation of financial resources with high economic costs.

Maternal Health, Social Conservatism and Hypocrisy: Canadian Edition

Recent policy and funding announcements by the Canadian Conservative government regarding abortion has stunned many local and international spectators. This Conservative government has announced that its international aid package to the poor and developing countries will no longer cover the cost of legal abortion. At present, Canada’s decision only affects a small number of developing countries that have legalized abortion as a standard medical practice. However this should be taken as a grim warning and indication that Canada will be moving in the direction of excluding abortion from future aid packages to all poor and developing countries. Why do Canadians need to financially assist those who need or may need abortion services in poor and developing countries? The position I wish to take on this issue is concern for victims of rape who are forced to use shady, medically questionable and dangerous backroom practices to abort their unwanted, forced pregnancy when they cannot afford covering the expenses at legal and safe medical facilities. Globally, sexual violence is a vicious reality. This horrific act is even more pronounced in conflict zones where rape is consistently used as a weapon of war (e.g. Rwandan genocide). This victimization is further exacerbated when the victims are denied of justice due to gender discrimination or even worse when they are denied of basic sound and safe medical care to deal with this brutal assault and its damaging outcomes such as an unwanted pregnancy. Dangerous and unsafe abortion is recognized as one of the major health problems in poor and developing countries where it is typically practiced in an unregulated, unsanitary environment. Under these circumstances, abortion service providers are usually untrained and unqualified where they put women’s life at risk of various medical complications (e.g. sepsis, anemia, cervical tear, pelvic abscess uterine perforation with peritonitis, chemical vaginitis and other genital and abdominal trauma), even death (AbouZahr 1998.) Current literature clearly necessitates an urgent attention to this major global catastrophe and justifiably we should view this task as a moral imperative that first world countries, Int J Ment Health Addiction (2010) 8:421–422 DOI 10.1007/s11469-010-9278-1

Simulating the Effects of Financial Aid Packages on College Student Stopout, Reenrollment Spells, and Graduation Chances

This study investigates the impact that different financial aid packages have on student stopout, reenrollment, and graduation probabilities. The authors simulate how various financial aid packaging regimes affect the occurrence and timing of these events. Their findings indicate that the number and duration of enrollment and stopout spells affect graduation chances. Simulations conducted indicate that the way financial aid is packaged over students’ academic careers can significantly affect their stopout, reenrollment, and subsequent graduation chances.

An Appraisal of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Strategy to Counter Terrorism

In nearly nine years since 9/11, United States is still trying to determine a viable strategy to combat terrorism. With regard to US efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Washington appears on verge of proving Churchill's quip, the United States always does right thing after first trying everything else. (1) Correspondingly, current relations between Pakistan and United States are a paradox. Never before has their security depended so much on mutual cooperation and support, yet both sides are plagued by mutual mistrust and misgivings. (2) If Pakistan is to emerge from this conflict as a stable, prosperous, culturally diverse, peaceful, and stabilizing influence within region, United States and Pakistan need to dispel their suspicions and reconcile differences. Because of globalized nature of ominous terrorist threat, success of Pakistan is critical to security of United States, region, and indeed entire international community. (3) Trust and suspicion, cooperation and dissension, agreement and disagreement, accusations and atonement continue to pervade US-Pakistan relationship. Strategic events have forced United States and Pakistan into close cooperation on three separate occasions: during Cold War (the 1950s and 1960s); during fight against Russians (the 1980s); and currently in global war against terrorism. (4) Despite differences in a number of areas, relationship between two countries has been inexorably drawn together by re-emerging coincident interests. The current war on terrorism is most recent and provides considerable impetus for further cooperation. The recently announced Afghanistan-Pakistan (AFPAK) Strategy adopted by current US Administration provides a starting point for furthering cooperation between United States and Pakistan in war on terrorism and yet there are a number of issues remaining to be addressed. This article examines history of US-Pakistan relations providing insight on previous oscillations in relationship, assesses current US-Pakistani cooperation in war against terrorism within context of recently announced AFPAK Strategy, and recommends ways to enhance relationship and improve cooperation between both nations. Background The birth of India and Pakistan coincided with early years of Cold War. Significantly, partitioning of India and Pakistan led to two countries' different alignments with contending superpowers. India joined Union of Soviet Socialite Republic (USSR) camp while Pakistan chose to align with West. (5) This initial alignment logically evolved into US-Pakistan military cooperation and support. As a consequence Pakistan received much needed military support in terms of training and military hardware. This was a period of close cooperation and, according to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Pakistan became America's most allied ally in Asia. (6) The United States' suspension of aid during 1965 India-Pakistan war, and repeat of same action six years later during 1971 India-Pakistan war, destroyed Pakistan's trust in fidelity of US-Pakistan relationship. For example, when India attacked East Pakistan in 1971 with military support from US SR, Pakistan approached United States for support, request was denied. Shortly thereafter, East Pakistan became an independent country, Bangladesh. This was followed by India's development of a nuclear weapons program (dramatically tested in 1974) that essentially drove Pakistan into developing a similar program. Pakistan's pursuit of a nuclear program cast a dark shroud over US-Pakistan relations and undermined cooperative efforts ever since. Most notably, President Jimmy Carter and Congress suspended all US aid to Pakistan in April 1979 because of nuclear program. Just nine months later, however, in response to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, United States offered Pakistan a $400 million aid package (much larger than previously proffered package). …

An emerging donor in education and development: A case study of China in Cameroon

This paper analyzes China's new approaches of education aid to Africa through a case study of Cameroon. China's cooperation has been characterized by different discourses and different historic relationships with recipient countries than those of traditional donors. Sino-African policies have gone through different stages, each connected to wider political and economic realities. Currently, a broadening of China's engagement with Africa can be noticed through increasing aid packages and the inclusion of African countries other than those that had traditionally been close to China. Cameroon has been one of the countries that have had a relatively extended cooperation with China. Four types of Chinese education aid to Africa are illustrated by this paper: (i) Confucius Institutes, which are providing language and culture-related training in host countries; (ii) longer term scholarships and short-term training for Africans in China; (iii) school construction; and (iv) stand-alone education projects. By analyzing how these three different types of aid are taking place in Cameroon, various and apparently contradictory strategies and discourses materialize.

Baseline investigation of medical aid following Wenchuan Eathquake

Objective This paper aims to make clear the post-disaster medical needs of residents in the disaster areas and changes among the poor population, for the purpose of policy recommendations on post-disaster medical assistance. Methods Such methods as in-home questionnaire survey and literature study were used to study the income, prevalence rate and mental health of 4 380 households in 10 counties (cities and districts) in the disaster areas. Results In the hardest hit areas, 80. 4% and 52. 8% of residents in rural and urban areas are dependent on government relief respectively;the proportion of poor population resulting from the disaster rose from 5% before the disaster to over 75% afterwards in the hard-hit areas, while such a population rose to 15% in the hardest-hit areas and about 10% in general disaster areas;It is estimated that the new medical aid funds in Sichuan Province will reach 350 million yuan, two-fold that of the budget for 2009;In the hardest hit areas, the two-week prevalence rate per thousand people is twice that found in the third survey of health services in 2003, characterized of acute respiratory illness and rheumatoid;In the hardest-hit areas, nearly 70% of the residents are exposed to high mental health risks. Conclusion Recommendations: Strengthening the raising and use of medical aid fund;dynamic management for the population in need of post-disaster medical aid;Developing appropriate medical aid packages to fit post-disaster health needs and postdisaster disease characteristics;and consolidating the connection between medical aid and primary medical insurance system. Key words: Wenchuan Earthquake; Medical aid; Baseline investigation; Assessment

Thermal and mechanical characteristics of cork filled insulation for aerospace applications

The effects of cork powder loadings on selected physicomechanical, thermal and ablative properties of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) based thermal insulations were studied in comparison to asbestos filled EPDM thermal insulation. Ethylene propylene diene monomer was compounded with other ingredients, such as fillers, process aid and curing package, and characterised for required properties. It was observed that increasing cork loading up to 33 parts per hundred parts of rubber caused an increase in hardness and tensile strength. Elongation at break, however, decreased with increasing cork percentage in the formulations. Thermal and ablation properties of the thermal insulations were studied by ballistic evaluation motors and oxyacetylene torch. Cork filled vulcanisates had more ablation and better insulative properties than asbestos filled vulcanisates. About 39% reduction in density of the thermal insulation was possible using cork filled insulation instead of asbestos filled insulations.

Understanding Racial Differences in the Effects of Loans on Degree Attainment: A Path Analysis

Recent trends in the financing of higher education have increased the urgency of understanding how financial aid affects degree attainment among college students. Specifically, increased reliance on loans in the composition of financial aid packages renders it critical for policymakers and institutional leaders to understand the impact of borrowing on degree attainment. This study was aimed at understanding the complex relationship between loan amounts and degree completion using path modeling techniques. Results reveal that the process by which loans influence attainment is complex and varies across racial groups. The direct effect of loans on degree attainment was positive for Black students and negative for their Asian, Latina/o, and White counterparts. That direct effect was strongest for Latina/o students. Loan amounts also exhibited several indirect influences on attainment, via their effects on various mediating variables, among all four groups. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Recent developments in infrastructure and capacity building at the Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya (THK), Sri Lanka towards improving care given to patients with trauma and emergencies

Sri Lanka was devastated by the Asian Tsunami of 2004 December which took lives of nearly 40,000 people. Galle District too had a substantial share of the losses amounting to over 5,000 lives. Although most of these deaths were not preventable, a significant number of deaths could have been prevented if THK was in a state of disaster preparations. In the wake of the tsunami disaster among many donations that poured into Sri Lanka, an aid package of around 500 million Sri Lankan rupees was donated by the Government of Victoria to construct an Emergency and Trauma Centre (ETC) for THK under a project named 'Health for South'. The Government of Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Victoria in February 2005 to enable implementation of several aid packages including the 'Health for South' project. DOI: 10.4038/gmj.v14i1.1162 Galle Medical Journal Vol.14(1) 2009 1-4

The Agrarian Dispute: The Expropriation of American-Owned Rural Land in Postrevolutionary Mexico

The Agrarian Dispute: The Expropriation of American-Owned Rural Land in Postrevolutionary Mexico

Student support and academic performance: experiences at private universities in Mexico

Financial aid to students in tertiary education can contribute to human capital accumulation through two channels: increased enrollment and improved student performance. We pay particular attention to the latter channel, and study its quantitative importance in the context of a student support program from the Sociedad de Fomento a la Educación Superior (Society for the Promotion of Higher Education) (SOFES) implemented at private universities in Mexico. Administrative data provided by SOFES are analyzed using a regression‐discontinuity design. The advantage of the regression‐discontinuity method is that it represents a natural experiment with randomly assigned treatment so that selection issues are minimized. The empirical results suggest that this financial aid package (loans and scholarships) contributes to better academic performance.

Three-Dimensional Aerodynamic Simulations of Jumping Paratroopers and Falling Cargo Payloads

The aim is to develop computational techniques for studying aerodynamic interactions between multiple objects when an object exits and separates from an aircraft. The object could be a paratrooper jumping out of a transport aircraft or a package of emergency aid dropped from a cargo plane. In all these cases, the computational challenge is to predict the dynamic behavior and path of the object, so that the separation process is safe and effective. Here we have correctly modeled a paratrooper jumping from a transport aircraft and an emergency aid package dropped from a cargo plane. Because these phenomena have been realistically modeled, we can now make model design changes to the aircraft geometry that beneficially affect the falling trajectories, preventing problems such as paratrooper crossover as well as locating the fallen payload. Moreover, these multibody techniques can be extended to other problems, such as the hemological flow of human immunodeficiency virus virions.

Foreign Aid, Infrastructure Development and Welfare: An Intertemporal Analysis

AbstractThe author examines the welfare implications of foreign aid within the framework of a two‐period, two‐country model of international trade. It is up to the donor country to decide what fraction of any given aid package is to be made available for the recipient's immediate consumption in period one, and what part should be allocated for investment in infrastructure that expands the recipient's production possibilities in period two. The focus of the analysis is on the conditions under which both countries agree or disagree on the manner in which the aid funds should be divided between the two options.