Long-term Dividends Research Articles

Maternal health in Sri Lanka: 75 years of national commitment towards excellence

Sri Lanka has a legacy of religious and cultural practices promoting health, and its rulers have been responsive to health needs of the populace. The healthcare milieu that prevailed in the pre-colonial and colonial periods favorably influenced the evolution of maternal health in the last 75 years. Since independence, maternal health in the country improved in many dimensions and directions, in the backdrop of multiple sociodemographic changes and geopolitical fluxes, while far-reaching advances in the medico-technological and communication fields were taking place at global level.By 1948, maternal health services were extensive with maternity hospitals, midwifery training school and functional health units in place. The establishment of a cadre of government-trained midwives instead of training traditional birth attendants (TBAs) was a key policy decision that brought long-term dividends. The WHO supported training primary health care workers even before opening their country office in 1952. In the early days, obstetricians relied mostly on their skills to conduct dexterous maneuvers with the generous use of rotational forceps rather than resorting to abdominal deliveries.The Family Planning Association was founded in 1953, which introduced family planning services to the country till the government took over the subject in 1958. A rigorous campaign (punchi pawla raththaran), promoting sterilization was conducted for population control in 1974, which resulted in the total fertility rate coming down significantly.Maternal Death Surveillance and Response system (MDSR) was established in 1981 which has been recognized globally as a success and is being upscaled to a confidential Inquiry status. Commitment and untiring efforts of the Ministry of Health: Family Health Bureau, professional organizations, development partners including the WHO, have contributed for the achievements in the area of women’s health.

Maternal Health in Sri Lanka: 75 years of national commitment towards excellence.

Sri Lanka has a legacy of religious and cultural practices promoting health, and its rulers have been responsive to health needs of the populace. The healthcare milieu that prevailed in the pre-colonial and colonial periods favorably influenced the evolution of maternal health in the last 75 years. Since independence, maternal health in the country improved in many dimensions and directions, in the backdrop of multiple sociodemographic changes and geopolitical fluxes, while far-reaching advances in the medico-technological and communication fields were taking place at global level. By 1948, maternal health services were extensive with maternity hospitals, midwifery training school and functional health units in place. The establishment of a cadre of government-trained midwives instead of training traditional birth attendants (TBAs) was a key policy decision that brought long-term dividends. The WHO supported training primary health care workers even before opening their country office in 1952. In the early days, obstetricians relied mostly on their skills to conduct dexterous maneuvers with the generous use of rotational forceps rather than resorting to abdominal deliveries. The Family Planning Association was founded in 1953, which introduced family planning services to the country till the government took over the subject in 1958. A rigorous campaign (punchi pawla raththaran), promoting sterilization was conducted for population control in 1974 ,which resulted in the total fertility rate coming down significantly. Maternal Death Surveillance and Response system (MDSR) was established in 1981 which has been recognized globally as a success and is being upscaled to a confidential Inquiry status. Commitment and untiring efforts of the Ministry of health: Family Health Bureau, professional organizations, development partners including the WHO, have contributed for the achievements in the area of women's health.

Threatened North African seagrass meadows have supported green turtle populations for millennia

"Protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity" is the second official aim of the current UN Ocean Decade (2021 to 2030) calling for the identification and protection of critical marine habitats. However, data to inform policy are often lacking altogether or confined to recent times, preventing the establishment of long-term baselines. The unique insights gained from combining bioarchaeology (palaeoproteomics, stable isotope analysis) with contemporary data (from satellite tracking) identified habitats which sea turtles have been using in the Eastern Mediterranean over five millennia. Specifically, our analysis of archaeological green turtle (Chelonia mydas) bones revealed that they likely foraged on the same North African seagrass meadows as their modern-day counterparts. Here, millennia-long foraging habitat fidelity has been directly demonstrated, highlighting the significance (and long-term dividends) of protecting these critical coastal habitats that are especially vulnerable to global warming. We highlight the potential for historical ecology to inform policy in safeguarding critical marine habitats.

Contemplating Peace between India and Pakistan

India-Pakistan relations are at an inflection point with India’s dramatic revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy and its desired objective to transform the nature of the Kashmir conflict from a “bilateral” (involving Pakistan) to a “unilateral” status (excluding Pakistan). Pakistan, on the other hand, has embarked on a diplomatic offensive making the case against India’s majoritarian politics in Kashmir as detrimental not only to the Kashmiris but also to the strategic stability between the two rivals. This article reasons that India’s and Pakistan’s dominant zero-sum strategies—premised on winning while ensuring the other’s loss—are least likely to come to fruition. Given the present nature of ties, the way forward is for the two states to engage in a minimalist framework where mutual interests, as opposed to dominant positions, are put forth as a basis for engagement. Second, engagement more than agreement should be the short- to medium-term goal. Finally, any talk during this time on freezing the Kashmir conflict is least likely to bring any long-term dividends for peace and stability between the two regional adversaries.

STRATEGY OF RANKING COMMERCIAL BANKS USING EXPRESS ANALYSIS OF ACCOUNTING STATEMENTS

Article presents method of integral ranking the commercial banks using express analysis of accounting statements. The implementation complex procedure, including analytical, mathematical and software data processing, is at forefront. The main focus of article is strategy of obtaining an integral indicator that influences the decision to invest in the banking sector by various groups of clients. The significant emphasis for individuals who want to save their savings and increase a little due to interest income is placed on the balance of profit and equity. Capital multiplication is not the only strategic decision in banking sector. The strategy should be based on reliability, high stability and balanced indicators. The use of speculative transactions is not provided for in this work, therefore, investor, even if he buys shares of bank, does it for the purpose of long-term dividends, and not for the purpose of resale. The study examined nine banks, the most promising and dynamic (Sberbank was not taken into account as state-oriented structure). The authors identified important indicators for nine Russian banks, the adaptation of indicators was carried out in the SAV mode (C: profit to equity, A: equity to assets, B: liquid resources to assets), to reduce priority. The authors of the article consider the material useful for financial analysts, researchers, individual entrepreneurs and bank employees, as well as for citizens who save money in banks.

Effects of Persistent Undernutrition During Adolescence on Learning Skills: Findings From a Longitudinal Study of 16,000 Adolescents in India

ObjectivesLimited evidence exists on longitudinal impacts of undernutrition on learning skills as adolescents mature. This study aimed to examine the effect of undernutrition in early adolescence on learning skills in late adolescence. MethodsWe used longitudinal data from a project called UDAYA that surveyed 16,929 adolescents aged 10–19 years from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India in 2015–16 (wave 1) and again in 2018–19 (wave 2). Adolescents’ ability to read a story and solve division problems at age 19–22 years was assessed using the Annual Status of Education Report tools. We characterized adolescents’ nutrition status into 4 groups: never undernourished (e.g., not stunted in wave 1 and 2), recovered (e.g., stunted in in wave 1 but not stunted in wave 2), faltered (e.g., not stunted in wave 1 but stunted in wave 2), and persistent (e.g., stunted in both waves). These 4 groups were created for stunting, thinness, and anemia. We used multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for key demographics, environmental factors, and sampling design. ResultsUndernutriton was high (51% were anemic, 19% thin, and 36% stunted) in both survey rounds. Nearly one third of adolescents had persistent stunting or anemia, and 11% had persistent thinness. Compared to those who were never stunted, adolescents with persistent stunting had poorer reading (adjusted odds ratio: 0.66, 95% confidence interval: 0.53–0.83) and math (0.70, 0.56–0.89) skills. Reading ability was also poorer in adolescents who experienced growth faltering (0.61, 0.42–0.90) or who were stunted in wave 1 but not stunted in wave 2 (0.64, 0.44–0.93). Persistent thinness was negatively associated with reading (0.71, 0.54–0.93) but not math skills. Persistent anemia was also negatively associated with reading skills, but the association did not remain significant in the fully adjusted model. ConclusionsIn a high poverty sample of Indian adolescents, persistent undernutrition during adolescence was associated with poor learning skill. Promisingly, most of those who recovered from undernutrition in the 2–3 year period between surveys showed catch-up in learning. Ensuring appropriate nutrition during this period of rapid physical and cognitive maturation will yield long-term dividends for wellbeing. Funding SourcesBill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Vascular-immuno-phenotypic (VIP) model for locally advanced and oligo-metastatic cancer: A hypothesis

Primary Hypothesis: In cancer therapy, normalization of the vasculature, and not disruption, to facilitate the reversal of the immuno-phenotypic changes, is the sine-qua-non for cancer elimination. The triad of normalization of the vasculature, leading to the improved immunological tumour microenvironment and increased susceptibility of resistant phenotypic cancer cells (VIP model), forms the basis of this hypothesis. This article hypothesizes the absolute need for vascular normalization for the eradication of cancer. Locally advanced and oligometastatic cancers have the potential to be cured with aggressive therapy. The focus on vascular normalization its clinical relevance in this situation is essential. Most traditional approaches have focused on the elimination of cancer by targeting and disrupting vasculature. Initially, antiangiogenic drugs showed significant promise in animal experiments. However, this vascular disruption approach has not paid the expected long-term dividends in the clinical setup. However, antiangiogenics are playing a significant role when used concurrently with chemotherapy/immunotherapy. Antiangiogenics have dual temporal actions - an initial normalization effect with improved oxygenation followed by pruning of blood vessels, resulting in exaggerated hypoxia along with a rebound progression. The literature is replete with phenomena of initial vascular normalization with a paradigm shift in the immuno-phenotypic milieu of cancer as part of vascular targeting approaches. The hypothesis in this article stresses the need to have strategies to extend this normalization window or to have pre-clinical trials to optimize the dose scheduling of antiangiogenics cyclically along with chemo/targeted/immune therapy and other combination therapies. We can implement this hypothesis by a combinatorial harmonization of present-day cancer therapies in the setting of tumor vasculature integrity. In addition, based on the proposed hypothesis, the current normalization effect of antiangiogenics and newer therapy development should focus primarily on normalization of the vasculature as well as targeting hypoxia-Inducible-factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 α) in the presence of differential genetic modulation of vascular endothelial cell resistance enhancement along with cancer cell sensitization. Also, the article enumerates six supporting hypotheses supplementing the primary hypothesis.

Preventing teacher violence against children: the need for a research agenda

Preventing teacher violence against children: the need for a research agenda

Are Donations Bigger in Texas? Analyzing the Impact of a Policy to Match Donations to Texas’ Emerging Research Universities

We examine the impact of the Texas Research Incentive Program (TRIP), a state policy that offers matching funds to incentivize private-sector donations to certain public universities. We use a national dataset and employ a generalized difference-in-differences approach with matching procedures to estimate the treatment effect of TRIP on revenues at eligible institutions. Results show that TRIP is associated with increases in revenue from private gifts and state grants/contracts, which suggests that policymakers can leverage public investment to incentivize private donations. We do not detect a statistically significant relationship between TRIP and endowments, so donations are likely used for short-term funding and do not create long-term dividends. We consider potential social consequences of selecting certain universities to benefit from incentive policies.

Public-private Partnership: How and Why Six Community Colleges Loved and Left a For-profit Partner

Colleges are increasingly open to partnering with private entities to implement new and innovative programs. Community colleges, in particular, may find such partnerships beneficial, given that these institutions often lack the necessary resources to invest up-front in programs that may yield strong long-term dividends. In this article we report on an examination of a partnership between a privately-held firm and six community colleges, which had established honors programs with the goal of facilitating students’ transfer to highly selective institutions. Our analysis traces the evolution of the partnership and the reasons for its eventual failure, and we offer insights for public institutions and privately-held companies wishing to establish similar partnerships.

Academic Response to Storm-Related Natural Disasters-Lessons Learned.

On 30 October 2017, selected faculty and administrators from Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) grantee institutions gathered to share first-hand accounts of the devastating impact of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which had interrupted academic activities, including research, education, and training in Puerto Rico, Florida, and Texas. The presenters reviewed emergency response measures taken by their institutions to maintain community health care access and delivery, the storm-related impact on clinical and research infrastructure, and strategies to retain locally grown clinical expertise and translational science research talent in the aftermath of natural disasters. A longer-term perspective was provided through a comparative review of lessons learned by one New Orleans-based institution (now more than a decade post-storm) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Caring for the internal and external communities associated with each institution and addressing the health disparities exacerbated by storm-related events is one key strategy that will pay long-term dividends in the survival of the academic institutions and the communities they serve.

Dividing the Union: Jesse Burgess Thomas and the Making of the Missouri Compromise by Matthew W. Hall

Reviewed by: Dividing the Union: Jesse Burgess Thomas and the Making of the Missouri Compromise by Matthew W. Hall Aaron J. Silverman Dividing the Union: Jesse Burgess Thomas and the Making of the Missouri Compromise. By Matthew W. Hall. (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2016. Pp. xvi, 269. $29.50, ISBN 978-0-8093-3456-8.) Matthew W. Hall’s Dividing the Union: Jesse Burgess Thomas and the Making of the Missouri Compromise offers a refreshing perspective on the [End Page 160] Missouri Compromise. Hall creates a parallel narrative between the rise of Thomas’s political career and the erection of a federal dividing line between slave and free soil. Born along the Potomac River at the beginning of the American Revolution, Jesse Burgess Thomas, like many men of his generation, sought landed opportunity along the Ohio frontier. First moving to Kentucky as a child, Thomas then settled in Indiana Territory in 1803. There, Thomas married a wealthy widow, invested in land, and managed to be elected to the territorial assembly. In 1808 Thomas was elected as Indiana’s territorial delegate to Congress, where he successfully machinated to separate the proslavery Illinois Territory from Indiana. After completing his term of service in the nation’s capital, Thomas resettled again, this time in Illinois Territory. The Thomas family relocated to what was colloquially known as Egypt, the southern, proslavery section of Illinois. In Illinois Thomas rose from territorial judge, to state constitutional delegate, and then to United States senator. By this time Thomas had become the owner of at least six enslaved persons, which likely colored his political decisions regarding slavery in Illinois. As presiding officer of Illinois’s 1818 state constitutional convention, Thomas spearheaded a constitution that allowed for the continuation of racial slavery as “indentured servitude,” that permitted the importation of slaves for work at government salt mines, and that contained provisions to potentially transform Illinois into a proslavery state. Hall’s narrative climaxes with Thomas’s service as a U.S. senator. Just a few months into his first Senate term, Thomas found himself mired in both the Panic of 1819 and the Missouri controversy. While Thomas was deeply interested in public land as a salve to the panic, he also became one of the leading compromisers during the Missouri crisis. Here Dividing the Union temporarily shifts its focus away from Thomas and toward an intricate discussion of the figures behind the Missouri Compromise. For more than a year, three issues split Congress over admitting Missouri to the Union: gradual emancipation as a condition of statehood, restriction of slave importation after statehood, and limiting slavery in the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase. Thomas never gave any significant remarks during the crisis; he did, however, help shepherd the ultimate compromise bills through both houses of Congress. Such political adeptness allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state without restriction to slave importation, Maine to be admitted as a free state, and Missouri’s southern boundary to be set as the line separating slave territory and free. Yet Thomas’s success in suspending sectional crisis did not provide him long-term dividends, for his political career declined as Jacksonian partisanship rose in the wake of the 1819 panic. A political enemy of Andrew Jackson and with few allies and little of substance in the congressional record, Thomas returned to the Old Northwest in 1829. In Ohio Thomas turned his attention to landed enterprise, became a Whig, and sponsored the local antislavery Episcopal church. Dividing the Union provides great insight into the complexities of the so-called Era of Good Feelings, the problematic legacy of the Northwest Ordinance, and the ambiguity of free soil in the Old Northwest. For if Thomas’s compromising attitude on slavery maintained the Union in 1820, his suicide in 1853 likely evinced his remorse at his complicity in [End Page 161] aiding the slaveholding faction. The Missouri Compromise lasted only another year; the Union it saved, another seven. Aaron J. Silverman College of the Canyons Copyright © 2017 The Southern Historical Association

Volatility and Dividends II - Consistent Cash Dividends

We discuss a time-homogeneous equity stock price modelling approach with a consistent dividend process such that at any point, conditional on the state variables of the model, short-term implied dividends are cash-like (constant) and long-term dividends are proportional.Our approach is based on a general representation for dividend paying stocks where we prove that the stock price process is the sum of an inner process plus the sum of the expectation of all future (appropriately discounted) dividends under the risk-neutral measure.This note summarizes results presented in 2012 at Global Derivatives. We discuss dividend dynamics in the proposed approach; calibration to dividend options and the equity implied volatility surface are only touched upon.

A Trinity of Saviours—Parent, Teacher and Child: Human Capital Theory and Early Childhood Education in New Zealand

THERE IS A CONTEMPORARY trinity, of mother, child and teacher, who together ‘grow’ both the present and future workers of the national economy. Economic truths assert that mothers can best meet their young child's needs by being in the workplace, while entrusting her child to a skilled educator. Human Capital Theory discourse has penetrated the lives of our youngest citizens. Human Capital theorists maintain that state investments in early childhood education will be cost effective; will pay long-term economic dividends.

Priorities for a 21st-Century Defense: Aligning U.S. Army Environmental Science and Engineering Officer Resources with the Department of Defense Strategic Guidance

The recently published Department of Defense (DoD) strategic guidance highlights the need to ?shape a joint force for the future.? Supporting requirements to shape the joint force while the overall DoD force structure is reduced will be challenging. Fortunately, based on its unique training and experience, the Army Environmental Science and Engineering Officer (ESEO) profession is positioned today to fill anticipated joint public health requirements. Obtaining the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) approval to meet these requirements will have near-term consequences for the ESEO profession as some existing (albeit antiquated) authorizations may go unfilled. However, long-term dividends for the Medical Service Corps (MSC), AMEDD, Army, and DoD will be achieved by realigning critical resources to future joint and interagency requirements. Assigning ESEOs now to organizations such as the Theater Special Operations Commands (TSOCs), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with perceived and real joint force health protection/public health requirements through unique means will ensure our profession remains relevant today and supports the joint force of tomorrow.

Towards an improved investment approach for an effective response to HIV/AIDS

Substantial changes are needed to achieve a more targeted and strategic approach to investment in the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic that will yield long-term dividends. Until now, advocacy for resources has been done on the basis of a commodity approach that encouraged scaling up of numerous strategies in parallel, irrespective of their relative effects. We propose a strategic investment framework that is intended to support better management of national and international HIV/AIDS responses than exists with the present system. Our framework incorporates major efficiency gains through community mobilisation, synergies between programme elements, and benefits of the extension of antiretroviral therapy for prevention of HIV transmission. It proposes three categories of investment, consisting of six basic programmatic activities, interventions that create an enabling environment to achieve maximum effectiveness, and programmatic efforts in other health and development sectors related to HIV/AIDS. The yearly cost of achievement of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2015 is estimated at no less than US$22 billion. Implementation of the new investment framework would avert 12·2 million new HIV infections and 7·4 million deaths from AIDS between 2011 and 2020 compared with continuation of present approaches, and result in 29·4 million life-years gained. The framework is cost effective at $1060 per life-year gained, and the additional investment proposed would be largely offset from savings in treatment costs alone.

Developing and Fostering a Dynamic Program for Training in Veterinary Pathology and Clinical Pathology: Veterinary Students to Post-graduate Education

Recent reports project a deficiency of veterinary pathologists, indicating a need to train highly qualified veterinary pathologists, particularly in academic veterinary medicine. The need to provide high-quality research training for veterinary pathologists has been recognized by the veterinary pathology training program of the Ohio State University (OSU) since its inception. The OSU program incorporates elements of both residency training and graduate education into a unified program. This review illustrates the components and structure of the training program and reflects on future challenges in training veterinary pathologists. Key elements of the OSU program include an experienced faculty, dedicated staff, and high-quality students who have a sense of common mission. The program is supported through cultural and infrastructure support. Financial compensation, limited research funding, and attractive work environments, including work-life balance, will undoubtedly continue to be forces in the marketplace for veterinary pathologists. To remain competitive and to expand the ability to train veterinary pathologists with research skills, programs must support strong faculty members, provide appropriate infrastructure support, and seek active partnerships with private industry to expand program opportunities. Shortages of trained faculty may be partially resolved by regional cooperation to share faculty expertise or through the use of communications technology to bridge distances between programs. To foster continued interest in academic careers, training programs will need to continue to evolve and respond to trainees' needs while maintaining strong allegiances to high-quality pathology training. Work-life balance, collegial environments that foster a culture of respect for veterinary pathology, and continued efforts to reach out to veterinary students to provide opportunities to learn about the diverse careers offered in veterinary pathology will pay long-term dividends for the future of the profession.

Strategies for Making Research More Accessible to Dental Students

Increasing student involvement in research has potential rewards for both faculty and students. Both groups have demands on their time, interest, and commitment that frequently result in low student research activity. Dental schools can make research more accessible to students by increasing student understanding of the importance of research, establishing rotating research positions, providing compensation, pursuing projects that interest students, and providing time in the curriculum for research by restructuring the basic sciences curriculum during the first two years of dental school. No attempt to make the research process easier or more accessible should compromise the integrity of the scientific process, but increasing students' research involvement will pay long-term dividends for dental schools and the profession.

FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: Chemical industry hails trade pact

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) finally made it to the White House Rose Garden. Last week, bone-weary negotiators from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. wrapped up their marathon bargaining sessions and President Bush announced the historic agreement in a Rose Garden speech. Now the tough part of the process begins. The president must sell the package to an increasingly skeptical, if not hostile, Congress. The chemical industry will be in the President's corner on what has become a very controversial issue. At press time, only an executive summary, and not the final negotiated text, was available. But initial reactions from chemical industry spokesmen are very positive. Robert A. Roland, president of the Chemical Manufacturers Association, says several aspects of the treaty should pay long-term dividends for U.S. manufacturers in general and for the chemical industry in particular. Based on our current understanding, U.S. negotiators have addressed the needs and concerns of the chemical ...

Preventing Ceramic Failures when Integrating Fixed and Removable Prostheses

The successful integration of fixed and removable units requires diagnostic skill, careful planning, and adherence to detail in execution. Failures can be either in function or esthetics, may occur in either the fixed or removable segment, and can be catastrophic or insidious. Success demands that all the customary requirements for each independent unit, fixed or removable, be met and then the additional requirements for integration be ascertained and fulfilled. In such situations there are an exponentially greater number of possibilities for failure. When the dentist is alert to the potential for failure he may intercept and prevent it. Meticulous care pays long-term dividends in the lasting satisfaction of a patient who enjoys imporved masticatory performance, preservation of the existing tissues, and self-confidence borne from a smile that does not reveal differences between the natural and the simulation of nature. The integration of fixed and removable units is another manifestation of the skillful blending of science and art.