Technology, Identification, and Access to Social Programs: Experimental Evidence from Panama

Access to identification cards (IDs) is often required to claim government benefits. However, it is unclear which policies to increase ID ownership are more effective. We experimentally analyze the effect of two policy interventions to induce the timely renewal of identification cards on access to a government social program in Panama. Sending reminders about expiration dates increased the probability of on-time renewals and of accessing benefits from a social program by 12 and 4.3 percentage points, respectively, relative to a control group. In contrast, allowing individuals to renew their ID online only increased renewals and access to benefits by 8 and 2.9 percentage points, respectively. This result was driven by lower-income individuals. The results suggest that policies to increase ownership of valid identity documentation can reduce inclusion errors in government programs and that simply granting access to digital tools may not be enough to unlock important effects.

Hydroenergy Harvesting Assessment: The Case Study of Alviela River

The current paper aims to develop and to apply a methodology for assessing the hydroenergy harvesting potential in water systems taking into account both technical and economic aspects. The methodology is a five-step procedure: (i) data collection and analysis; (ii) technology identification; (iii) energy harvesting assessment; (iv) economic analysis; and (v) final recommendation of the technological solution. The case study is located in the water source of the Alviela River, in Portugal. The energy harvesting potential is assessed for three turbine types, adequate for the 2.5 m available head: two propeller turbines, with and without adjustable blades, and the Archimedes screw turbine. Results show that the most feasible solution is the Archimedes screw turbine, with 3 m3/s rated discharge and 55 kW rated power, the capital cost of 160 k€, the internal rate of return above 10% and the payback period of eight years. This solution has the potential for harvesting energy in low-head sites with a wide range of flow rates.

Reliability Augmentation through Technological Applications in Indian Aircraft Maintenance Training sector

The paper focuses on the technological needs in Indian aircraft maintenance training sector towards reducing the human errors and to enhance the maintenance reliability. An overview of Indian MRO s’ skill requirements and the immediate necessity to improve the standards in maintenance human factors and technology based training is elaborated. The existing level of Indian AMT training in comparison to international standards are discussed to spot the areas with scope of improvement and the weak link in existing process. Need of maintenance training with intense knowledge and practical exposure can downturn maintenance errors and aid in cutting cost of the maintenance expenditure by increasing reliability were discussed. Impact of Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS), in augmenting current maintenance performance and its importance in terms of efficient operation and Labour maintenance were reviewed. Technology identification to address the need for improvement in traditional training, using the applications of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in maintenance training would equip the Aircraft Maintenance Trainees (AMT’s) with complete knowledge and practice were analysed. This view point can be a thought provoking research to evaluate a right road map for improving the current Indian aircraft maintenance training sector to global standards resulting in optimising the state of India’s MRO self-reliance ability.

Late Intra-Uterine Fetal Demise with Fetal Hydrops: Challenges of Management Planning in Indonesia

<p>Intra-Uterine Fetal Demise (IUFD) is defined as death of human conception at age of 20 weeks’ gestation or older or with a minimum 500-g birthweight before complete delivery from the mother and induced termination involved. In 2015, Indonesia has contributed a stillbirth rate of 13 out of 1,000 total births in which 17.1% of the cases were caused by congenital anomalies. Fetal Hydrops as a pathological condition in which there is an accumulation of fluid in fetal soft tissues and serous cavities. With the advancements of sonographic technology, identification of fetal hydrops has become uncomplicated. However, what remains a challenge is to investigate etiology and determine management. In order to plan proper management, the etiology of fetal hydrops must first be determined to predict the prognosis of fetal hydrops. In Indonesia; limited facilities and experts combined with high costs in etiology determination and management have complicated the matter. Furthermore, the strong influence of several Eastern communities’ norms and religious views have further complicated both physicians and patients in decision making. In this report, we present a case of late intra-uterine fetal demise with fetal hydrops, whom was admitted on her 35 weeks age gestation. We performed elective Caesarean Section in order to deliver the stillborn fetus, with no significant post-operative complication. Unfortunately, this condition was actually diagnosed earlier during 20^th weeks of gestation, hence advised to continue the pregnancy without further evaluation and information to the mother regarding the hydrops condition.</p>