Lack of access to water has a significant impact on the health of people in tribal areas, where water in households as well as for productive purposes is essential for life. In resource-limited settings such as hilly tribal areas, implementation of an integrated watershed management programme (IWMP) can have a significant impact on public health by providing a solution to water scarcity and related problems. The professional stakeholders in rural healthcare and development administration are important pillars of the system that implements various programmes and policies of government and non-government organizations, and act as facilitators for the improvement of public health in tribal areas. Information about the perceptions of these stakeholders on public health implications of the integrated watershed management programme is important in this context. A qualitative study was conducted using face to face semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) with stakeholders involved in healthcare provision, education and development administration. The transcripts of interviews and FGDs were analyzed using manifest and latent content analysis. The perceptions and experiences shared by healthcare and development administration stakeholders suggest that implementation of IWMP in tribal areas helps efficient water and agriculture management, which results in improved socio-economic conditions that lead to positive health outcomes.
Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Ghanapur-2 Microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and the physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 572 ha in Yadgir taluk & district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought-prone with an average annual rainfall of 866 mm, of which about 652 mm is received during south-west monsoon, 138 mm during north-east and the remaining 76 mm during the rest of the year. An area of 534 ha (95%) in the microwatershed is covered by soils and 38 ha (22%) by others (habitation and water bodies). The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below. The soils belong to 5 soil series and 8 soil phases (management units) and 3 land management units. The length of crop growing period is about 120-150 days starting from 1st week of June to 4th week of October. From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated. Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 250 m grid interval. Land suitability for growing 26 major agricultural and horticultural crops was assessed and maps showing the degree of suitability along with constraints were generated. Entire area in the microwatershed is suitable for agriculture. About 83 per cent area of the microwatershed has soils that are very deep (>150 cm) and 10 per cent soils are very shallow to moderately shallow (200 mm/m) in available water capacity. Entire area in the microwatershed has very gently sloping (1-3% slope) lands. An area of about 46 per cent each are slightly (e1) and moderately (e2) eroded and 2 per cent area is severely (e3) eroded. An area of about 4 per cent soils is slightly alkaline (pH 7.3-7.8), 69 per cent soils are moderately alkaline (pH 7.8 - 8.4) and 20 per cent soils are strongly alkaline (pH 8.4-9.0). The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the soils in the entire area of the microwatershed is dominantly 0.75%) in organic carbon. About 36 per cent area is low (57 kg/ha) in available phosphorus. About 1 per cent is low (337 kg/ha) in available potassium. Available sulphur is low (20 ppm) in 9 per cent area of the microwatershed. Available boron is low (1.0 ppm) in 4.5 ppm) in 91 per cent area of the microwatershed. Available manganese and copper are sufficient in all the soils of the microwatershed. Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) in an area of about 88% and sufficient in 5 per cent area of the microwatershed. The land suitability for 26 major agricultural and horticultural crops grown in the microwatershed was assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the Microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum - 524(92) Sapota - - Maize - - Pomegranate - 476(83) Bajra - 524(92) Musambi - 476(83) Groundnut - - Lime - 476(83) Sunflower - 476(84) Amla - 524(92) Redgram - 420(73) Cashew - - Bengal gram 56 (10) 468(82) Jackfruit - - Cotton 56 (10) 468(82) Jamun - 476(83) Chilli - 525(92) Custard apple - 524(92) Tomato - - Tamarind - 476(83) Drumstick - 476(83) Mulberry - - Mango - - Marigold - 524(92) Guava - - Chrysanthemum - 524(92) Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the identified LMUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and other horticulture crops. Maintaining soil-health is vital for crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested for these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc., Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required. As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and submarginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. This would help in not only supplementing the farm income but also provide fodder and fuel and generate lot of biomass which would help in maintaining an ecological balance and also contribute to mitigating the climate change. SALIENT FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY The data on households sampled for socio economic survey indicated that 35 farmers were sampled in Ghanapur-2 micro-watershed among them 7 (20 %) were landless, 5 (14.29 %) were marginal farmers, 15 (42.86 %) were small farmers, 6 (17.14 %) were semi medium farmers and 2 (5.71%) were medium farmers. The data indicated that there were 77 (55 %) men and 63 (45 %) women among the sampled households. The average family size of landless farmers' was 5.5, marginal farmers' was 4.9, small farmers' was 5.8, semi medium farmers' was 6.2 and medium farmers' was 9. The data indicated that, 14 (10 %) people were in 0-15 years of age, 67 (47.86 %) were in 16-35 years of age, 49 (35 %) were in 36-60 years of age and 10 (7.14 %) were above 61 years of age. The results indicated that Ghanapur-2 had 17.14 per cent illiterates, 18.57 per cent of them had primary school, 5.71 per cent of them had middle school, 50 per cent of them had high school education, 2.86 per cent of them had PUC and 1.43 per cent of them had degree education. The results indicate that, 74.29 per cent of household heads were practicing agriculture, 20 per cent of the household heads were agricultural labourers and 5.71 cent of the household heads were General Labour. The results indicate that agriculture was the major occupation for 32.86 per cent of the household members, 37.86 per cent were agricultural labourers, 2.14 per cent were in general labour, 0.71 per cent were Household industry, 3.57 per cent were private service and Trade & Business , 6.43 per cent were students, housewives and children. The results show that, 0.71 per cent of the population in the micro watershed has participated in Raitha Sangha. The results indicate that 100 per cent of the households possess katcha house. The results show that 91.43 per cent of the households possess TV, 2.86 per cent of the households possess DVD/VCD Player, 14.29 per cent of the households possess motor cycle and 71.43 per cent of the households possess mobile phones. The results show that the average value of television was Rs. 8,953, DVD/VCD Player was Rs. 2,000, motor cycle was Rs. 44,000 and mobile phone was Rs. 2,824. About 2.86 per cent each of the households possess bullock cart, Plough, Sprinkler and Harvester. The results show that the average value of bullock cart was Rs. 13,000, plough was Rs. 5,000, sprinkler was Rs. 500 and the average value of Harvester was Rs. 400. 2 The results indicate that, 8.57 per cent of the households possess bullocks, 2.86 per cent of the households possess local cow and Sheep and 8.57 per cent of the households possess Buffalo. The results indicate that, average own labour men available in the micro watershed was 1.71, average own labour (women) available was 1.43, average hired labour (men) available was 5.89 and average hired labour (women) available was 4.91. The results indicate that, 85.71 per cent of the households opined that the hired labour was adequate. The results indicate that, households of the Ghanapur-2 micro-watershed possess 33.99 ha (79.24 %) of dry land and 8.90 ha (20.76 %) of irrigated land. Marginal farmers possess 3.89 ha (100 %) of dry land. Small farmers possess 21.05 ha (100 %) of dry land. Semi medium farmers possess 4.05 ha (41.67 %) of dry land and 5.67 ha (58.33 %) of irrigated land. Medium farmers possess 5 ha (60.71 %) and 3.24 ha (39.29 %) of irrigated land. The results indicate that, the average value of dry land was Rs. 567,647.06 and the average value of irrigated land was Rs. 437,863.64. In case of marginal famers, the average land value was Rs. 720,416.67 for dry land. In case of small famers, the average land value was Rs. 574,529.02 for dry land. In case of semi medium famers, the average land value was Rs. 889,200 for dry land and Rs. 564,571.43 for irrigated land. In case of medium farmers, the average land value was Rs. 159,870.55 for dry land and Rs. 216,125 for irrigated land. The results indicate that, there were 3 functioning and de-functioning bore wells in the micro watershed. The results indicate that, there were 1 functioning and de-functioning open wells in the micro watershed. The results indicate that, bore well was the major irrigation source in the micro water shed for 8.57 per cent of the farmers and open well was the irrigation source in the micro water shed for 2.86 per cent of the farmers. The results indicate that, the depth of bore well was found to be 4.01 meters and the depth of open well was found to be 1.83 meters. The results indicate that, small and semi medium farmers had an irrigated area of 1.21 ha and 2.83 ha respectively. The results indicate that, farmers have grown cotton (8.18 ha), groundnut (3.32 ha), red gram (28.06 ha) and sorghum (2.02 ha). Marginal farmers have grown red gram and cotton. Small farmers have grown red gram, groundnut and cotton. Semi medium farmers have grown cotton, sorghum and groundnut. Medium farmers have grown red gram. The results indicate that, the cropping intensity in Ghanapur-2 micro-watershed was found to be 97.17 per cent. 3 The results indicate that, 94.29 per cent of the households have bank account and 91.43 per cent of the households have savings. The results indicate that, 94.29 per cent of the households have availed credit from different sources. The results indicate that, 30.30 per cent of the households have borrowed from commercial bank and 3.03 per cent of the households have borrowed from moneylender traders. The results indicate that, the average credit amount borrowed by households in micro-watershed was Rs, 15,909.09. The results indicate that, 90.91 per cent of the households borrowed from institutional sources for the purpose of agricultural production and 9.09 per cent for Healthcare. The results indicate that, 100 per cent of the households borrowed from private sources for the purpose of agricultural production. The results indicated that 100 per cent of the households not paid their loan borrowed from institutional sources. The results indicated that 100 per cent of the households did not repay their loan borrowed from private sources. The results indicate that, 81.82 per cent opined that the loan amount borrowed from helped to perform timely agricultural operations and 9.09 per cent opined that the loan amount borrowed from easy accessibility of credit. The results indicate that, around 100 per cent opined that the loan amount was adequate to fulfil the requirement. The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for Cotton was Rs. 31117.88. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 52002.32. The net income from Cotton cultivation was Rs. 20884.44. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1: 1.67. The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for groundnut was Rs. 42675.97. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 47273.06. The net income from groundnut cultivation was Rs. 4597.09. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1: 1.11. The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for Red gram was Rs. 30982.58. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 71422.49. The net income from Red gram cultivation was Rs. 40439.90. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1: 2.31. The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for Sorghum was Rs. 15222.38. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 19760. The net income from Sorghum cultivation was Rs. 4537.62. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1: 1.3. 4 The results indicate that, 37.14 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate and 2.86 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was inadequate and 14.29 per cent of the households opined that green fodder was adequate The results indicate that the annual gross income was Rs. 36,714.29 for landless farmers, for marginal farmers it was Rs. 149,200, for small farmers it was Rs. 128,200, semi medium farmers it was Rs. 144,500 and medium farmers it was Rs. 180,000. The results indicate that the average annual expenditure is Rs. 8,570. For landless households it was Rs. 10,000, for marginal farmers it was Rs. 9,640, for small farmers it was Rs. 3,327.78, for semi medium farmers it was Rs. 7,388.89 and medium farmers it was Rs. 43,750. The results indicate that, sampled households have grown 11 mango tree in their field and 2 mango trees in backyard. The results indicate that, households have planted 24 neem and 2 tamarind trees in their field and also 4 neem and 1 tamarind trees in their backyard. The results indicated that, households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 8,885.77 for land development and households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 714.29 for Subsidiary enterprises. The results indicated that government subsidy was the source of additional investment for 2.86 per cent for land development and subsidiary enterprises. Own funds was the source of additional investment for 2.86 per cent for land development. Soft loan was the source of additional investment for 65.71per cent for land development and 2.86 per cent for subsidiary enterprises. The results indicated that, cotton was sold to the extent of 100 per cent, groundnut was sold to the extent of 77.78 per cent, Redgram was sold to the extent of 88.86 per cent and sorghum to the extent of 25 per cent. The results indicated that, about 82.86 per cent of the farmers sold their produce to regulated markets. The results indicated that, 82.86 per cent of the households have used tractor as a mode of transportation. The results indicated that, 45.71 per cent of the households have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the farm. The results indicated that, 45.71 per cent have shown interest in soil test. The results indicated that, 5.71 per cent have adopted Summer Ploughing and mulching, 2.86 per cent have adopted Dead Furrow and 2.86 per cent have adopted Combination of deep and shallow root crops. The results indicated that, 97.14 per cent of the households used firewood as a source of fuel. 5 The results indicated that, piped supply was the major source of drinking water for 91.43 per cent of the households in the micro watershed and bore well was the source of drinking water for 2.86 per cent of the households in the micro watershed. The results indicated that, Electricity was the major source of light for 97.14 per cent of the households in micro watershed. The results indicated that, 25.71 per cent of the households possess sanitary toilet facility. The results indicated that, 97.14 per cent of the sampled households possessed BPL cards. The results indicated that, 97.14 per cent of the households participated in NREGA programme. The results indicated that, cereals were adequate for 82.86 per cent of the households, pulses were adequate for 74.29 per cent of the households, oilseed were adequate for 68.57 per cent, vegetables were adequate for 65.71 per cent, fruits were adequate for 48.57 per cent, milk were adequate for 60 per cent and meat were adequate for 14.29 per cent, Egg and meat were adequate for 57.14 per cent. The results indicated that, cereals were inadequate for 5.71 per cent of the households, pulses were inadequate for 11.43 per cent of the households, oilseeds were inadequate for 14.29 per cent, vegetables were inadequate for 17.14 per cent, fruits were inadequate for 34.29 per cent, milk were inadequate for 22.86 per cent, egg were inadequate for 31.43 per cent and meat were inadequate for 28.57 per cent of the households. The results indicated that, lower fertility status of the was the constraint experienced by 80 per cent of the households, wild animal menace on farm field (11.43 %), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (71.43 %), Inadequacy of irrigation water (80 %), high rate of interest on credit (82.86 %), low price for the agricultural commodities (80 %), inadequacy extension service (68.57 %), high cost of fertilizer and plant protection chemicals (77.14 %), lack of marketing facilities in the area (74.29 %) and Lack of transport for safe transport of the Agril produce to the market (5.71 %). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project
Not Available ; The land resource inventory of Balachakra-1 Microwatershed was conducted using village cadastral maps and IRS satellite imagery on 1:7920 scale. The false colour composites of IRS imagery were interpreted for physiography and the physiographic delineations were used as base for mapping soils. The soils were studied in several transects and a soil map was prepared with phases of soil series as mapping units. Random checks were made all over the area outside the transects to confirm and validate the soil map unit boundaries. The soil map shows the geographic distribution and extent, characteristics, classification, behavior and use potentials of the soils in the microwatershed. The present study covers an area of 401 ha in Yadgir taluk & district, Karnataka. The climate is semiarid and categorized as drought-prone with an average annual rainfall of 866 mm, of which about 652 mm is received during south-west monsoon, 138 mm during north-east and the remaining 76 mm during the rest of the year. An area of 346 ha in the microwatershed is covered by soils, 16 ha by rock outcrops and about 38 ha by others (habitation and water bodies). The salient findings from the land resource inventory are summarized briefly below. The soils belong to 9 soil series and 11 soil phases (management units) and 7 land management units. The length of crop growing period is about 120-150 days starting from 1st week of June to 4th week of October. From the master soil map, several interpretative and thematic maps like land capability, soil depth, surface soil texture, soil gravelliness, available water capacity, soil slope and soil erosion were generated. Soil fertility status maps for macro and micronutrients were generated based on the surface soil samples collected at every 320 m grid interval. Land suitability for growing 29 major agricultural and horticultural crops was assessed and maps showing the degree of suitability along with constraints were generated. Entire area in the microwatershed is suitable for agriculture. About 35 per cent area of the microwatershed has soils that are deep to very deep (100 - >150 cm) and 52 per cent soils are very shallow to moderately shallow (200 mm/m) in available water capacity, less than 1 per cent area low (51-100 mm/m) and 52 per cent area very low (4.5 ppm) in the entire cultivated area of the microwatershed. Available manganese and copper are sufficient in the entire cultivated area of the microwatershed. Available zinc is deficient (<0.6 ppm) in the entire cultivated area of the microwatershed. The land suitability for 29 major crops grown in the microwatershed were assessed and the areas that are highly suitable (S1) and moderately suitable (S2) are given below. It is however to be noted that a given soil may be suitable for various crops but what specific crop to be grown may be decided by the farmer looking to his capacity to invest on various inputs, marketing infrastructure, market price and finally the demand and supply position. Land suitability for various crops in the Microwatershed Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Crop Suitability Area in ha (%) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Highly suitable (S1) Moderately suitable (S2) Sorghum - 129(32) Guava - - Maize - 129(32) Sapota - - Bajra - 129(32) Pomegranate - - Groundnut - - Musambi - - Sunflower - - Lime - - Redgram - 129(32) Amla - - Bengal gram - - Cashew - - Cotton - - Jackfruit - - Chilli - - Jamun - - Tomato - - Custard apple - - Brinjal - - Tamarind - - Onion - - Mulberry - - Bhendi - - Marigold - - Drumstick - - Chrysanthemum - - Mango - - Apart from the individual crop suitability, a proposed crop plan has been prepared for the identified LMUs by considering only the highly and moderately suitable lands for different crops and cropping systems with food, fodder, fibre and horticulture crops. Maintaining soil-health is vital for crop production and conserve soil and land resource base for maintaining ecological balance and to mitigate climate change. For this, several ameliorative measures have been suggested to these problematic soils like saline/alkali, highly eroded, sandy soils etc., Soil and water conservation treatment plan has been prepared that would help in identifying the sites to be treated and also the type of structures required. As part of the greening programme, several tree species have been suggested to be planted in marginal and sub marginal lands, field bunds and also in the hillocks, mounds and ridges. This would help in not only supplementing the farm income but also provide fodder and fuel and generate lot of biomass which would help in maintaining an ecological balance and also contribute to mitigating the climate change. SALIENT FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY The data on households sampled for socio economic survey indicated that 35 farmers were sampled in Balachakra-1 micro-watershed among them 2 (5.71 %) were landless and small farmers, 9 (25.71 %) were marginal farmers, 14 (40 %) were semi medium farmers and 3 (8.57 %) were medium farmers. The data indicated that there were 84 (51.22 %) men and 80 (48.78 %) women among the sampled households. The average family size of landless farmers' was 4, marginal farmers' and semi medium farmers was 4.5, small farmers' was 5.1 and medium farmers' was 6.5. The data indicated that, 35 (21.34 %) people were in 0-15 years of age, 76 (46.34 %) were in 16-35 years of age, 47 (28.66 %) were in 36-60 years of age and 6 (3.66 %) were above 61 years of age. The results indicated that Balachakra-1 had 28.66 per cent illiterates, 25.61 per cent of them had primary school education, 1.83 per cent of them had middle school education, diploma and degree, 31.10 per cent of them had high school education and 6.71 per cent of them had PUC education 0.61 per cent of them had Diploma and ITI and 2.44 per cent of them had Degree education. The results indicate that, 94.29 per cent of household heads were practicing agriculture and 5.71 per cent of the household heads were agricultural laborer. The results indicate that agriculture was the major occupation for 37.20 per cent of the household members, 18.29 per cent were agricultural laborers, 1.83 per cent were general laborers, 1.22 per cent were Household industry, 4.27 per cent were Trade & Business, 19.51 per cent were in student, 11.59 per cent were housewives and 5.49 per cent were children. The results show that, 100 per cent of the population in the micro watershed has not participated in any local institutions. The results indicate that 2.86 per cent of the households possess thatched house and 97.14 per cent of the households possess katcha house. The results show that 85.71 per cent of the households possess TV, 2.86 per cent of them possess mixer/grinder, 11.43 per cent of the households possess motor cycle and 80 per cent of the households possess mobile phones. The results show that the average value of television was Rs. 6,790, mixer/grinder was Rs. 2,000, motor cycle was Rs. 40,000 and mobile phone was Rs. 2,548. About 2.86 per cent each of the households possess plough, Seed/Fertilizer Drill, Sprinkler, Weeder and Harvester. The result shows that, the average value of plough was Rs. 10,000, seed/ fertilizer drill was Rs. 15,000, Sprinkler was Rs. 5,000 Weeder was Rs. 200 and Harvester was Rs. 150. 2 The results indicate that, 28.57 per cent of the households possess bullocks and 5.71 per cent of the households possess local cow. The results indicate that, average own labour men available in the micro watershed was 1.97, average own labour (women) available was 1.32, average hired labour (men) available was 7.23 and average hired labour (women) available was 7.49. The results indicate that, 91.43 per cent of the households opined that the hired labour was adequate. The results indicate that, households of the Balachakra-1 micro-watershed possess 24.63 ha (60.25 %) of dry land and 16.25 ha (39.75 %) of irrigated land. Marginal farmers possess 6.21 ha (100 %) of dry land. Small farmers possess 16.39 ha (91.01 %) of dry land and 1.62 ha (8.99 %) of irrigated land. Semi medium farmers possess 2.02 ha (19.88 %) of dry land and 8.15 ha (80.12 %) of irrigated land. Medium farmers possess 6.48 ha (100 %) of irrigated land. The results indicate that, the average value of dry land was Rs. 966,080.52 and the average value of irrigated land was Rs. 381,419.68. In case of marginal famers, the average land value was Rs. 740,195.44 for dry land. In case of small famers, the average land value was Rs. 1,073,382.71 for dry land and Rs. 370,500 for irrigated land. In case of semi medium famers, the average land value was Rs. 790,400 for dry land and the average land value was Rs. 429,032.26 of irrigated land. In case of medium famers, the average land value was Rs. 324,187.50 of irrigated land. The results indicate that, there were 5 de-functioning and 9 functioning bore well in the micro watershed. The results indicate that, there were 1 de-functioning and 1 functioning open well in the micro watershed. The results indicate that, bore well was the major irrigation source in the micro water shed for 25.71 per cent of the farmers and open well was the major irrigation source in the micro water shed for 2.86 per cent of the farmers. The results indicate that, the depth of bore well was found to be 17.68 meters and the depth of open well was found to be 1.31 meters. The results indicate that marginal, small, semi-medium and medium farmers had an irrigated area of 0.89 ha, 1.62 ha, 7.02 ha and 4.45 ha respectively. The results indicate that, farmers have grown red gram (11.08 ha), cotton (17.01 ha), sorghum (2.43 ha), Groundnut (9.54 ha) and paddy (3.04 ha). The results indicate that, the cropping intensity in Balachakra-1 micro-watershed was found to be 95.26 per cent. The results indicate that, 82.86 per cent of the households have bank account and savings. The results indicate that, 82.86 per cent of the households have availed credit from different sources. 3 The results indicate that, 31.03 per cent of the households have borrowed from commercial bank and 6.90 per cent of the households have Grameena Bank and 34.48 per cent of the households have borrowed from moneylender traders. The results indicate that, the average credit amount borrowed by households in micro-watershed was Rs, 90,517.24. The results indicate that, 100 per cent of the households borrowed from institutional sources for the purpose of agricultural production. The results indicate that, 55.56 per cent of the households borrowed from private sources for the purpose of agricultural production, 11.11 per cent of the households borrowed from private sources for the purpose of income generating activities, Construction-house, Construction-cattle shed and Healthcare. The results indicated that 100 per cent of the households not paid their loan borrowed from institutional sources. The results indicated that 100 per cent of the households did not repay their loan borrowed from private sources. The results indicate that, 100 per cent opined that the loan amount borrowed from helped to perform timely agricultural operations. The results indicate that, around 30 per cent opined that the loan amount was adequate to easy accessibility of credit around and 70 per cent opined that the loan amount was adequate to helped to perform timely agricultural operations. The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for red gram was Rs. 44235.53. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 43599.31. The net income from red gram cultivation was Rs. -636.22. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1: 0.99. The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for cotton was Rs. 45439.91. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 65467.19. The net income from cotton cultivation was Rs. 20027.28. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1: 1.44. The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for Paddy was Rs. 46322.08. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 40755. The net income from Paddy cultivation was Rs. -5567.08. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1: 0.88. The results indicate that, the total cost of cultivation for groundnut was Rs. 52546.75. The gross income realized by the farmers was Rs. 87949.72. The net income from groundnut cultivation was Rs. 35402.96. Thus the benefit cost ratio was found to be 1: 1.67. The results indicate that, 42.86 per cent of the households opined that dry fodder was adequate. 4 The results indicate that the annual gross income for marginal farmers it was Rs. 103,777.78, for small farmers it was Rs. 122,000, for semi medium farmers it was Rs. 189,000 and medium farmers it was Rs. 112,500. The results indicate that the average annual expenditure is Rs. 8,223.25. For marginal farmers it was Rs. 6,209.88, for small farmers it was Rs. 3,064.36, for semi medium farmers it was Rs. 14,836.73 and for medium farmers it was Rs. 28,388.89. The results indicate that, households have planted 34 neem and 1 Peepul tree in their field also 2 neem trees in their backyard. The results indicated that, households have an average investment capacity of Rs. 6,942.86 for land development and Rs. 142.86 for irrigation facility. The results indicated that Soft loan was the source of additional investment for 65.71 per cent for land development and 2.86 per cent for irrigation facility. The results indicated that, cotton was sold to the extent of 100 per cent, groundnut was sold to the extent of 96.45 per cent, paddy was sold to the extent of 64.62 per cent and red gram was sold to the extent of 88.24 per cent. The results indicated that, 20 per cent of the farmers sold their produce to local/village merchants, 74.29 per cent of them sold in regulated markets and 5.71 per cent of them sold in cooperative marketing Society. The results indicated that, 97.14 per cent of the households have used tractor as a mode of transportation for their agricultural produce and 2.86 per cent of the households have used Cart as a mode of transportation for their agricultural produce. The results indicated that, 2.86 per cent of the households have experienced soil and water erosion problems in the farm. The results indicated that, 42.86 per cent have shown interest in soil test. The results indicated that, 2.86 per cent have field bunding and graded bund, 37.14 per cent have adopted Summer Ploughing, 25.71 per cent have adopted Dead Furrow and 14.29 per cent have adopted Mulching. The results indicated that, 100 per cent have graded bund. The results indicated that, 97.14 per cent of the households used firewood and 2.86 per cent of the households used Dung Cake as a source of fuel. The results indicated that, piped supply was the major source of drinking water for 88.57 per cent of the households in the micro watershed and 11.43 bore well was the major source of drinking water for 11.43 per cent. The results indicated that, Electricity was the major source of light for 100 per cent of the households in micro watershed. The results indicated that, 37.14 per cent of the households possess sanitary toilet facility. 5 The results indicated that, 100 per cent of the sampled households possessed BPL card. The results indicated that, 94.29 per cent of the households participated in NREGA programme. The results indicated that, cereals were adequate for 100 per cent, pulses were adequate for 94.29 per cent, oilseed were adequate for 74.29 per cent of the households, vegetables were adequate for 65.71 per cent, fruits was adequate for 34.29 per cent and milk were adequate for 51.43 per cent, Egg were adequate for 42.86 per cent and Meat were adequate for 20 per cent. The results indicated that, pulses were inadequate for 5.71 per cent of the households, oilseed were inadequate 25.71 per cent of the households, vegetables were inadequate for 34.29 per cent, fruits was inadequate for 65.71 per cent, milk were inadequate for 45.71 per cent and egg were inadequate for 54.29 per cent and meat were inadequate for 77.14 per cent. The results indicated that, lower fertility status of the soil was the constraint experienced by 80 per cent of the households, wild animal menace on farm field (25.71 %), frequent incidence of pest and diseases (88.57%) and low price for the agricultural commodities (67.65%), High cost of Fertilizers and plant protection chemicals (91.43 %), inadequacy of irrigation water (80 %), high rate of interest on credit (80 %), Low price for the agricultural commodities (77.14 %), and Lack of transport for safe transport of the Agril produce to the market (88.57 %), Inadequate extension services (65.71 %), lack of marketing facilities in the area (85.71 %) and Lack of transport for safe transport of the Agril produce to the market (2.94%). ; Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka (World Bank Funded) Sujala –III Project
Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Author -- 1 Defining Clinical Co-Management and Its Impact on Effective and Efficient Healthcare Delivery -- Why Clinical Co-Management? -- Clinical Co-Management Is the Strategic and Regulatory Mechanism That Can Serve as the Catalyst in Truly Integrating a Healthcare System -- The Problem, Again, Is Alignment -- What Is Clinical Co-Management? -- Failure Lies in a Silo Perspective -- Benefits of Clinical Co-Management -- CCMA Development Process -- Barriers to Successful Implementation -- What to Expect? -- References -- 2 Clinical Co-Management in Historical Perspective -- Introduction -- Medicare's Inception and the Prospective Payment System -- Watershed Year One: 1965 -- Watershed Year Two: 1983 -- On the Road to Managed Care -- Watershed Year Three: 1997 -- Going Forward: Opportunities and Barriers -- Watershed Year Four: 2010 -- References -- 3 Clinical Co-Management as the Bridge Toward Bundled Care -- Push from Fee-for-Service toward Bundling -- Difficulties of Bundled Care: Lessons from Previous Bundling Attempts -- Clinical Co-Management as the Precursor to Bundling -- References -- 4 Ccma: A Physician's Perspective -- Preface -- Physician's Introduction -- Preoperative Care -- Intraoperative Care -- Postoperative Care -- Clinical Co-Management as the Solution to Implementation -- References -- 5 Regulatory Compliance -- Legal Considerations -- Stark Law -- Anti-Kickback Statute -- Civil Monetary Penalties Law -- Policy Concerns Underlying Fraud and Abuse Laws -- 6 Implementation -- Determine the Scope -- Legal Structure of the CCMA -- Administrative Structure -- Compensation Structure -- Base Compensation -- Incentive Compensation -- Metrics and Data -- Third-Party Valuation -- Ongoing Performance Measure Development.
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Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- INTRODUCTION. The Watershed of Healthcare Decision Making -- 1. Medicalized Birth and the Current of Centralized Care -- 2. Medicalized Death and the Current of Centralized Care -- 3. Safe Harbors for Demedicalized Birth and Death -- 4. Navigating the Regulation Tributary -- 5. Swept Away on the Reimbursement Headwater -- 6. Caught in the Riptide of Risk -- 7. Black Birth and Death in the Medicalized Rapids -- CONCLUSION. Reshaping the Watershed -- Appendix. Interview Information -- Glossary -- Notes -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W.
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chapter 1 Who Is Responsible for Case Management? -- chapter 2 Financial Incentives -- chapter 3 The Watershed Years of the American Healthcare Delivery System -- chapter 4 Key Obstacles in Reducing Length of Stay -- chapter 5 Opportunities for Eective Use of Post Acute Venues -- chapter 6 Post Acute Venues and Their Roles in the Continuum -- chapter 7 Case Management at the Epicenter of an Integrated Health System -- chapter 8 Diagnosis-Related Group Review -- chapter 9 Meaningful Data -- chapter 10 Conclusion -- chapter 11 Examination Questions -- chapter 12 Class Exercises.
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While Central Asia's Soviet-era physical infrastructure crumbles, and the quality and availability of public healthcare and education decline, the police remain the one institution that controls the state's most remote territories. This article argues that, over the past two decades, the functions of Central Asian police forces have become increasingly punitive. Their negative influence was particularly visible in the aftermath of public protests in the 2000–2010s that resulted in fatal clashes between police units and civilian population. These watershed events were followed by government decisions to overhaul their police forces to preempt a recurrence of public protest. Depending on how willing the incumbent regimes are to control political dissent and how capable the state is in performing these control functions, changes in the Interior Ministries follow. When political will is matched by the economic and administrative resource of the state, policing functions are distributed among additional state institutions. But when the regime lacks the resources to upgrade policing techniques to the desired level, it almost always requests international support to facilitate police reform.
Mexico is at the center of the global battle over abortion. In 2007, a watershed reform legalized the procedure in the national capital, making it one of just three places across Latin America where it was permitted at the time. Abortion care is now available on demand and free of cost through a pioneering program of the Mexico City Ministry of Health, which has served hundreds of thousands of women. At the same time, abortion laws have grown harsher in several states outside the capital as part of a coordinated national backlash. In this book, Elyse Ona Singer argues that while pregnant women in Mexico today have options that were unavailable just over a decade ago, they are also subject to the expanded reach of the Mexican state and the Catholic Church over their bodies and reproductive lives. By analyzing the moral politics of clinical encounters in Mexico City's public abortion program, Lawful Sins offers a critical account of the relationship among reproductive rights, gendered citizenship, and public healthcare. With timely insights on global struggles for reproductive justice, Singer reorients prevailing perspectives that approach abortion rights as a hallmark of women's citizenship in liberal societies
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- Livelihood Transformations and Sustainability in India -- The Exodus in Times of Pandemic: Mobility, Migration and Livelihood of Informal Migrant Workers during COVID 19 Crisis in India -- Challenges in Livelihood of Residents in Kilinochchi District, Sri Lanka due to Water Scarcity -- Tobacco cropping increases sediment delivery in a subtropical agricultural catchment in Brazil -- Digital Elevation Model and Irrigation Management Planning in Bangladesh -- Small Holder Tea Farming in West Bengal, India: An Exploratory Insight -- The Transition of Traditional Agriculture in Nagaland, India: A Case Study of Shifting (Jhum) Cultivation -- Land Use Land Cover Dynamics in Baku Micro-watershed Area of Ausgram Block-II, Purba Barddhaman District, West Bengal, India -- Spatio-Temporal Changes of Crop Combination in Selected C.D. Blocks of Purba Bardhaman District, West Bengal, India -- Development of Sericulture in Murshidabad with Special Reference to Women's Participation -- Opportunities and the Challenges of Tourism Industry in Bangladesh -- Socio-economic Development through Tourism: An Investigative Study for the Himalayan State Sikkim, India -- Tourism Potentials of Fossil Parks as Geoheritage Sites: A Study in Western and South Western Region of West Bengal, India -- Classifying the million plus urban agglomerations of India - geographical types and quality of life -- Urban Rejuvenation and Social Sustainability in Smart City: An Empirical Study of Community Aspirations -- Urban Wetlands: Opportunities and challenges in Indian Cities – A case of Bhubaneswar City, Odisha -- Analysing Spatial Inequalities of Amenities in Jammu City using Geoinformatics -- Land Suitability Analysis of Settlement Concentration using GIS-based Multicriteria decision-making Technique in Fringe area of Siliguri Town, West Bengal (India) -- GIS-based healthcare accessibility analysis- A case study of selected municipalities of Hyderabad -- Dynamics of Disease Diffusion: A Critical Analysis of Dengue Outbreak in Kolkata and Adjacent Areas -- Tuberculosis Patients in Malda District of West Bengal, Eastern India: Exploring the Ground Reality -- An Assessment Study on Hierarchical Integrity of Road Connectivity and Nodal Accessibility of Maternal Health Care Service centres in Itahar Block, Uttar Dinajpur District, West Bengal -- Strategies for Sustainable Tribal Development in Purulia District, West Bengal, India: A Socio-Ecological Perspective -- Development of Tribal Livelihood in Manbazar-II Block of Purulia District, West Bengal, India -- The Fourth Paradigm in Geographical Sciences -- Establishing relationships of cellular communication coverage provided by governmental and non-governmental companies as a function of digital elevation, population density, and transport infrastructure in Jodhpur District, Rajasthan. .
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Abstract Background Environmentally induced, occupational diseases are increasing worldwide, especially in rural agricultural communities. Poverty-associated malnutrition, environmental hazards and pollution, and lack of access to clean water, safe sanitation, and modern healthcare facilities are often associated with these chronic illnesses. Method The authors systematically reviewed occupational public health issues that have been related to the environment. General interpretations of results were included as per the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Pertinent publications from research databases were reviewed on (A) the risk–benefits, (B) the prevalence of risk factors for various diseases, (C) the benefits of not ignoring the risk factors (i.e., broader evidence), and (D) the risks, effects, and outcomes of different types of interventions. The authors used chronic kidney disease of multifactorial origin (CKDmfo) as an example to explore the theme. Emphasis was given to the regions with emerging economies and developing countries located in the vicinity of the equator. Findings Geographical, socio-economic and aetiological similarities exist for many chronic non-communicable diseases that are affecting tropical countries around the equator. The authors identified manufacturing, mining, and agriculture as the biggest polluters of the environment. In addition, deforestation and associated soil erosion, overuse of agrochemicals, and irresponsible factory discharge (e.g., chemicals and paint, from rubber and textile factories, etc.), all contribute to pollution. To decrease the escalating incidences of environmentally induced diseases, governments should work proactively to protect the environment, especially watersheds, and take steps to minimise harmful occupational exposures and strictly enforce environmental regulations. Conclusion Creating public awareness of environmental issues and their relationship to public health is essential. This includes regular monitoring and periodic publication of the quality of water, air and soil; preventing deforestation and man-made soil erosion, increasing forest and ground cover, preventing occupational injuries, judicious and safe use of agrochemicals, sustainable agriculture and development programs, and implementing legislation to protect and conserve water heriage and the environment. These actions are essential both for a healthier environment and for the health of the people who live in that environment. Such measures would also decrease public health threats .
In: Decision analysis: a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, INFORMS, Band 9, Heft 4, S. 373-379
ISSN: 1545-8504
Ali E. Abbas (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He received an M.S. in electrical engineering (1998), an M.S. in engineering economic systems and operations research (2001), a Ph.D. in management science and engineering (2003), and a Ph.D. (minor) in electrical engineering, all from Stanford University. He worked as a lecturer in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford and worked in Schlumberger Oilfield Services, where he held several international positions in wireline logging, operations management, and international training. He has also worked on several consulting projects for mergers and acquisitions in California, and cotaught several executive seminars on decision analysis at Strategic Decisions Group in Menlo Park, California. His research interests include utility theory, decision making with incomplete information and preferences, dynamic programming, and information theory. Dr. Abbas is a senior member of the IEEE and a member of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). He is also an associate editor for the Decision Analysis and Operations Research journals of INFORMS. Email: aliabbas@illinois.edu . Kash Barker (" Decision Trees with Single and Multiple Interval-Valued Objectives ") is an assistant professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. He holds a Ph.D. in systems engineering from the University of Virginia, where he was a research assistant in the Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems, and B.S. and M.S. degrees in industrial engineering from the University of Oklahoma. His primary research interests lie in modeling interdependent economic systems and decision making for large-scale system sustainment, with research funded by the National Science Foundation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Army Research Office. Email: kashbarker@ou.edu . J. Eric Bickel (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus " and " A Simulation-Based Approach to Decision Making with Partial Information ") is an assistant professor in the Graduate Program in Operations Research (Department of Mechanical Engineering) at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition, Professor Bickel is a fellow in both the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy (CIEEP) and the Center for Petroleum Asset Risk Management (CPARM). His research interests include the theory and practice of decision analysis and its application in the energy and climate-change arenas. His work has addressed the modeling of probabilistic dependence, value of information, scoring rules, calibration, risk preference, decision education, decision making in sports, and climate engineering as a response to climate change. Prior to returning to academia, Professor Bickel was a senior engagement manager for Strategic Decisions Group. He has consulted around the world in a range of industries, including oil and gas, electricity generation/transmission/delivery, energy trading and marketing, commodity and specialty chemicals, life sciences, financial services, and metals and mining. Professor Bickel is the vice president/president-elect of the Decision Analysis Society and an associate editor for Decision Analysis. He holds an M.S. and Ph.D. from the Department of Engineering–Economic Systems at Stanford University. Email: ebickel@mail.utexas.edu . Vicki M. Bier (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is a full professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she is currently department chair and also directs the Center for Human Performance and Risk Analysis. She is also the past president of the Decision Analysis Society and is an associate editor for Decision Analysis. Her research interests include applications of operations research, risk analysis, and decision analysis to problems of homeland security and critical infrastructure protection. Email: bier@engr.wisc.edu . Samuel E. Bodily (" Multiplicative Utilities for Health and Consumption ") is the John Tyler Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School. He has published textbooks and more than 40 articles in journals ranging from Harvard Business Review to Management Science. His publications relate to decision and risk analysis, multiattribute utility, forecasting, strategy modeling, revenue management, and eStrategy. Along with Casey Lichtendahl, he was runner-up for the 2012 Decision Analysis Publication Award. He has edited special issues of Interfaces on Decision and Risk Analysis, and Strategy Modeling and Analysis. Professor Bodily has published well over 120 cases, including a couple of the 10 best-selling cases at Darden. He received the Distinguished Casewriter Wachovia award from Darden in 2005 and three other best case or research Wachovia awards. Professor Bodily is faculty leader for the executive program Strategic Thinking and Action. He is the course-head of and teaches in a highly valued first-year M.B.A. course in decision analysis; has a successful second-year elective, Management Decision Models; and has taught eStrategy and Strategy. He is a past winner of the Decision Sciences International Instructional Award. He has served as chair of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society. He has taught numerous executive education programs for Darden and private companies, has consulted widely for business and government entities, and has served as an expert witness. Professor Bodily was on the faculties of MIT Sloan School of Management and Boston University and has been a visiting professor at INSEAD Singapore, Stanford University, and the University of Washington. He has Ph.D. and S.M. degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. in physics from Brigham Young University. Email: bodilys@virginia.edu . David V. Budescu (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is the Anne Anastasi Professor of Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology at Fordham University. He held positions at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and the University of Haifa, and visiting positions at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Gothenburg, the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, the Hebrew University, and the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion). His research is in the areas of human judgment, individual and group decision making under uncertainty and with incomplete and vague information, and statistics for the behavioral and social sciences. He is on the editorial boards of Applied Psychological Measurement, Decision Analysis (associate editor), Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Journal of Mathematical Psychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition (2000–2003), Multivariate Behavioral Research, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (1992–2002), and Psychological Methods (1996–2000). He is past president of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making (2000–2001), fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and an elected member of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychologists. Email: budescu@fordham.edu . John C. Butler (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is a clinical associate professor of finance and the academic director of the Energy Management and Innovation Center in the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, the outgoing secretary/treasurer of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society, and an associate editor for Decision Analysis. Professor Butler received his Ph.D. in management science and information systems from the University of Texas at Austin in 1998. His research interests involve the use of decision science models to support decision making, with a particular emphasis on decision and risk analysis models with multiple-performance criteria. Professor Butler has consulted with a number of organizations regarding the application of decision analysis tools to a variety of practical problems. Most of his consulting projects involve use of Visual Basic for Applications and Excel to implement complex decision science models in a user-friendly format. Email: john.butler2@mccombs.utexas.edu . Enrico Diecidue (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is an associate professor of Decision Sciences at INSEAD (France) and holds a Ph.D. from the CentER (Center for Economic Research), Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Since 2001 he has been a resident faculty member at INSEAD, except for 2008–2009 when he was a visiting professor at Wharton and 2010–2011 when he was on sabbatical at the Erasmus School of Economics (the Netherlands). His main research interests are in individual decision making under uncertainty, health decisions, and experimental economics. He is interested in the role of regret, aspiration levels, and time in individual decisions. His current research is also addressing the role of groups in complex and ambiguous decisions. Professor Diecidue's research has appeared in leading journals in economics and management. He is on the editorial board of Journal of Risk and Uncertainty and is an associate editor for Decision Analysis. He teaches M.B.A., executive M.B.A., and executive participants on topics such as uncertainty, data and judgment, decision making under uncertainty, risk management, and management decision making. He has won teaching awards at INSEAD and Wharton. Email: enrico.diecidue@insead.edu . Robin L. Dillon-Merrill (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is an associate professor in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Professor Dillon-Merrill seeks to understand and explain how and why people make the decisions that they do under conditions of uncertainty and risk. This research specifically examines critical decisions that people have made following near-miss events in situations with severe outcomes (i.e., hurricane evacuation, terrorism, NASA mission management, etc.). She has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security through the University of Southern California's National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis for Terrorism Events. She has served as a risk analysis and project management expert on several National Academies Committees, including the review of the New Orleans regional hurricane protection projects and the application of risk-analysis techniques to securing the Department of Energy's special nuclear materials. She is an associate editor for Decision Analysis. Email: rld9@georgetown.edu . Raimo P. Hämäläinen (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is a professor of operations research and director of the Systems Analysis Laboratory at Aalto University, Finland. He received his M.Sc. and Dr. Tech. degrees in systems theory and applied mathematics from the Helsinki University of Technology. His research interests include decision analysis, risk and game theory, and experimental economics, as well as dynamic optimization with aerospace applications. He is widely known for his work in environmental decision making and energy policy. He is the designer of widely used decision analysis software, including the first Web-based value tree software, Web-HIPRE; Smart-Swaps; and the Joint Gains negotiation support system. He has recently introduced the concept of Systems Intelligence, which opens a new perspective to organizational learning and personal growth. He is on the editorial board of a number of journals, including Decision Analysis (associate editor), European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of Group Decision and Negotiation, and EURO Journal on Decision Processes. Dr. Hämäläinen has received the Edgeworth-Pareto Award of the International Society for Multiple Criteria Decision Making. He is also the honorary president of the Finnish Operations Research Society. Email: raimo.hamalainen@aalto.fi . Ralph L. Keeney (" Value-Focused Brainstorming ") is a research professor emeritus at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. His education includes a B.S. in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in operations research from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests are in the areas of decision making and risk analysis. He has applied such work to important personal decisions and as a consultant for private and public organizations addressing corporate management problems, environmental and risk studies, and decisions involving life-threatening risks. Prior to joining the Duke faculty, Professor Keeney was a faculty member in Management and Engineering at MIT and at the University of Southern California, a research scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, and the founder of the decision and risk analysis group of a large geotechnical and environmental consulting firm. Professor Keeney is the author of many books and articles, including Value-Focused Thinking, Decisions with Multiple Objectives, coauthored with Howard Raiffa, and Smart Choices, coauthored with John S. Hammond and Howard Raiffa, which has been translated into 15 languages. Dr. Keeney was awarded the Ramsey Medal for distinguished contributions in decision analysis by the Decision Analysis Society and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. Email: keeney@duke.edu . L. Robin Keller (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is a professor of operations and decision technologies in the Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. and M.B.A. in management science and her B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has served as a program director for the Decision, Risk, and Management Science Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Her research is on decision analysis and risk analysis for business and policy decisions and has been funded by NSF and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her research interests cover multiple attribute decision making, riskiness, fairness, probability judgments, ambiguity of probabilities or outcomes, risk analysis (for terrorism, environmental, health, and safety risks), time preferences, problem structuring, cross-cultural decisions, and medical decision making. She is the outgoing Editor-in-Chief of Decision Analysis, published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). She is a Fellow of INFORMS and has held numerous roles in INFORMS, including board member and chair of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society. She is a recipient of the George F. Kimball Medal from INFORMS. She has served as the decision analyst on three National Academy of Sciences committees. She has been appointed to the editorial board of the new EURO Journal on Decision Processes. Email: lrkeller@uci.edu . Anton Kühberger (" Explaining Risk Attitude in Framing Tasks by Regulatory Focus: A Verbal Protocol Analysis and a Simulation Using Fuzzy Logic ") is a professor of psychology at the University of Salzburg, Department of Cognition and Development, and a member of the Center of Neurocognitive Research at the University of Salzburg. His research interests include the following areas: judgment and decision making, in particular framing, and the role of risk, ambiguity, and uncertainty in decision making; thinking and reasoning, in particular counterfactual thinking and the notion of rationality; and social cognition, in particular the foundation of the understanding of oneself and others either by a theory of mind or by simulation. In addition, he is interested in the development of scientific methods such as verbal protocol analysis and in understanding the role statistics for the accumulation of knowledge. He is a member of the editorial board of several scholarly journals and currently is vice-dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Salzburg. Email: anton.kuehberger@sbg.ac.at . Kenneth C. Lichtendahl Jr. (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus " and " Multiplicative Utilities for Health and Consumption ") is an assistant professor of business administration at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. He is an associate editor for Decision Analysis. He received his Ph.D. in decision sciences from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. His research focuses on decision analysis, Bayesian statistics, game theory, and dynamic programming. Email: lichtendahlc@darden.virginia.edu . Jason R. W. Merrick (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is a professor in the Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has a D.Sc. in operations research from George Washington University. He teaches courses in decision analysis, risk analysis, and simulation. His research is primarily in the area of decision analysis and Bayesian statistics. He has worked on projects ranging from assessing maritime oil transportation and ferry system safety, the environmental health of watersheds, and optimal replacement policies for rail tracks and machine tools. He has received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, the American Bureau of Shipping, British Petroleum, and Booz Allen Hamilton, among others. He has also performed training for Infineon Technologies, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and Capital One Services. He is an associate editor for Decision Analysis and the EURO Journal on Decision Processes. Email: jrmerric@vcu.edu . Luis Vicente Montiel (" A Simulation-Based Approach to Decision Making with Partial Information ") is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. His main research interest is mathematical modeling for optimization under uncertainty, with a special interest in decision analysis and simulation learning for optimization. His current research is dedicated to providing a theoretical and practical framework for approximating joint distributions under partial information. Luis has a Ph.D. in operations research from the University of Texas, an M.S. in financial engineering from Columbia University, and an M.S. in management science and engineering from Stanford University. Email: lvmontiel@utexas.edu . Jay R. Simon (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") is an assistant professor in the Defense Resources Management Institute of the Naval Postgraduate School. He holds a Ph.D. in operations and decision technologies from the Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, an M.S. in management science and engineering, and a B.S. in mathematical and computational science from Stanford University. His primary research interest is multiattribute preference modeling, particularly involving outcomes that occur over time, space, or groups of people. His current and recent work includes a prostate cancer decision model, preference models for health decisions, preferences over geographical data, altruistic utility modeling, and multiattribute procurement. He is an associate editor for Decision Analysis and is the webmaster and social media officer for the Decision Analysis Society of INFORMS. Email: jrsimon@nps.edu . Christian Wiener (" Explaining Risk Attitude in Framing Tasks by Regulatory Focus: A Verbal Protocol Analysis and a Simulation Using Fuzzy Logic ") received his doctorate from the University of Salzburg, Austria. His first research area was the application of the EEG in connection with dyslexia. Later he moved to the area of social cognition, where his research was focused on framing and especially the simulation of decision-making behavior using a fuzzy-logic expert system. Since the completion of his dissertation, he has been working as a clinical psychologist with developmentally delayed children. Email: christian.wiener@gmx.at . Kaycee J. Wilson (" Decision Trees with Single and Multiple Interval-Valued Objectives ") completed M.S. and B.S. degrees in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Oklahoma in 2012 and 2010, respectively. Her primary interests lie in healthcare operations and reliability-based decision making, and she holds a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Email: kaycee.j.wilson-1@ou.edu . George Wu (" From the Editors: Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus ") has been on the faculty of the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business since September 1997. His degrees include an A.B. (applied mathematics, 1985), an S.M. (applied mathematics, 1987), and a Ph.D. (decision sciences, 1991), all from Harvard University. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Chicago, Professor Wu was on the faculty at Harvard Business School. Professor Wu worked as a decision analyst at Procter & Gamble prior to starting graduate school. His research interests include descriptive and prescriptive aspects of decision making, in particular decision making involving risk; cognitive biases in bargaining and negotiation; and managerial and organizational decision making. Professor Wu is a coordinating editor for Theory and Decision, an advisory editor for Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, on the editorial boards of Decision Analysis (associate editor) and the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, and a former department editor of Management Science. Email: wu@chicagobooth.edu .
In: Decision analysis: a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, INFORMS, Band 9, Heft 2, S. 204-210
ISSN: 1545-8504
Debarun Bhattacharjya (" Formulating Asymmetric Decision Problems as Decision Circuits " and " From Reliability Block Diagrams to Fault Tree Circuits ") is a research staff member in the Risk Analytics team within the broader Business Analytics and Math Sciences division at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. He received his Ph.D. in management science and engineering at Stanford University. His primary research interests lie in decision and risk analysis, and probabilistic models and decision theory in artificial intelligence. Specifically, he has pursued research in probabilistic graphical models (influence diagrams and Bayesian networks), value of information, sensitivity analysis, and utility theory. His applied work has been in domains such as sales, energy, business services, and public policy. He has coauthored more than 10 publications in highly refereed journals and conference proceedings, as well as two patents. He was nominated by IBM management for the Young Researcher Connection at the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) Practice Conference in 2010. Email: debarunb@us.ibm.com . May Cheung (" Regulation Games Between Government and Competing Companies: Oil Spills and Other Disasters ") is an undergraduate senior in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University at Buffalo. Her research interests are in decision analysis, optimization, and simulation with respect to complex, high-impact decisions. Email: mgcheung@buffalo.edu . Léa A. Deleris (" From Reliability Block Diagrams to Fault Tree Circuits ") is a research staff member and manager at IBM Dublin Research Laboratory, where she oversees the Risk Collaboratory, a three-year research project funded in part by the Irish Industrial Development Agency around risk management, from stochastic optimization to the communication of risk information to decision makers. Prior to joining the Dublin lab, she was a research staff member with the Risk Analytics Group, Business Application and Mathematical Science Department, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York. Her primary interests have been in the fields of decision theory and risk analysis. Her work is currently focused on leveraging natural language processing techniques to facilitate the construction of risk models, distributed elicitation of expert opinions, and value of information problems. She holds a Ph.D. in management science and engineering from Stanford University. Email: lea.deleris@ie.ibm.com . Philippe Delquié (" Risk Measures from Risk-Reducing Experiments ") is an associate professor of decision sciences at the George Washington University, and holds a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor Delquié's teaching and research are in decision, risk, and multicriteria analysis. His research is at the nexus of behavioral and normative theories of decision, addressing issues in preference elicitation, value of information, nonexpected utility models of choice, and risk measures. Prior to joining the George Washington University, he held academic appointments at INSEAD, the University of Texas at Austin, and École Normale Supérieure, France, and visiting appointments at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. He is on the editorial board of Decision Analysis and has completed a term as an associate editor. Email: delquie@gwu.edu . Lorraine Dodd (" Regulating Autonomous Agents Facing Conflicting Objectives: A Command and Control Example ") is a highly respected international contributor to command and leadership studies within military and UK governmental command, control, intelligence and information analysis, and research. She has an honours degree in pure mathematics and an M.Sc. in operational research and management science from the University of Warwick majoring in catastrophe theory and nonlinearity. Her main interest is in sense-making, decision making, and risk taking under conditions of uncertainty, confusion, volatility, ambiguity, and contention, as applied to the study of institutions, organizations, society, people, and governance. She uses analogy with brain functions and coherent cellular functions to develop mathematical models of complex decision behavior. Her most recent studies include an application of a multiagency, multiperspective approaches to collaborative decision making and planning, and development of an "open-eyes/open-mind" framework to provide support to leaders when dealing with complex crises and "black swans." She has developed an understanding of the nonlinear, slow and fast dynamics of behavior, in particular, of means of organizing for agility in complex and uncertain environments. Email: l.dodd@cranfield.ac.uk . Rachele Foschi (" Interactions Between Ageing and Risk Properties in the Analysis of Burn-in Problems ") has an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Rome La Sapienza, where she also worked as a tutor for the courses of calculus and probability. Currently, she is an assistant professor in the Economics and Institutional Change Research Area at IMT (Institutions, Markets, Technologies) Advanced Studies, in Lucca, Italy. Her research interests include stochastic dependence, reliability, stochastic orders, point processes, and mathematical models in economics. Random sets and graphs, linguistics, and behavioral models are of broader interest to her. Email: rachele.foschi@imtlucca.it . Simon French (" Expert Judgment, Meta-analysis, and Participatory Risk Analysis ") recently joined the Department of Statistics at the University of Warwick to become the director of the Risk Initiative and Statistical Consultancy Unit. Prior to joining the University of Warwick, he was a professor of information and decision sciences at Manchester Business School. Simon's research career began in Bayesian statistics, and he was one of the first to apply hierarchical modeling, particularly in the domain of protein crystallography. Nowadays he is better known for his work on decision making, which began with his early work on decision theory. Over the years, his work has generally become more applied: looking at ways of supporting real decision makers facing major strategic and risk issues. In collaboration with psychologists, he has sought to support real decision makers and stakeholders in complex decisions in ways that are mindful of their human characteristics. He has a particular interest in societal decision making, particularly with respect to major risks. He has worked on public risk communication and engagement and the wider areas of stakeholder involvement and deliberative democracy. Simon has worked across the public and private sectors, often in contexts that relate to the environment, energy, food safety, and the nuclear industry. In all of his work, the emphasis is on multidisciplinary and participatory approaches to solving real problems. Email: simon.french@warwick.ac.uk . L. Robin Keller (" From the Editors: Games and Decisions in Reliability and Risk ") is a professor of operations and decision technologies in the Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. and M.B.A. in management science and her B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has served as a program director for the Decision, Risk, and Management Science Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Her research is on decision analysis and risk analysis for business and policy decisions and has been funded by NSF and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her research interests cover multiple attribute decision making, riskiness, fairness, probability judgments, ambiguity of probabilities or outcomes, risk analysis (for terrorism, environmental, health, and safety risks), time preferences, problem structuring, cross-cultural decisions, and medical decision making. She is currently the editor-in-chief of Decision Analysis, published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). She is a fellow of INFORMS and has held numerous roles in INFORMS, including board member and chair of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society. She is a recipient of the George F. Kimball Medal from INFORMS. She has served as the decision analyst on three National Academy of Sciences committees. Email: lrkeller@uci.edu . Miguel A. Lejeune (" Game Theoretical Approach for Reliable Enhanced Indexation ") is an assistant professor of decision sciences at the George Washington University (GWU) and holds a Ph.D. degree from Rutgers University. Prior to joining GWU, he was a visiting assistant professor in operations research at Carnegie Mellon University. His areas of expertise/research interests include stochastic programming, financial risk, and large-scale optimization. He is the recipient of a Young Investigator/CAREER Research Grant (2009) from the Army Research Office. He also received the IBM Smarter Planet Faculty Innovation Award (December 2011) and the Royal Belgian Sciences Academy Award for his master's thesis. Email: mlejeune@gwu.edu . Jason R. W. Merrick (" From the Editors: Games and Decisions in Reliability and Risk ") is a professor in the Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has a D.Sc. in operations research from the George Washington University. He teaches courses in decision analysis, risk analysis, and simulation. His research is primarily in the area of decision analysis and Bayesian statistics. He has worked on projects ranging from assessing maritime oil transportation and ferry system safety, the environmental health of watersheds, and optimal replacement policies for rail tracks and machine tools, and he has received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Coast Guard, the American Bureau of Shipping, British Petroleum, and Booz Allen Hamilton, among others. He has also performed training for Infineon Technologies, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and Capital One Services. He is an associate editor for Decision Analysis and Operations Research. He is the information officer for the Decision Analysis Society of INFORMS. Email: jrmerric@vcu.edu . Gilberto Montibeller (" Modeling State-Dependent Priorities of Malicious Agents ") is a tenured lecturer in decision sciences in the Department of Management at the London School of Economics (LSE). With a first degree in electrical engineering (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil, 1993), he started his career as an executive at British and American Tobacco. Moving back to academia, he was awarded a master's degree (UFSC, 1996) and a Ph.D. in production engineering (UFSC/University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom, 2000). He then continued his studies as a postdoctoral research fellow in management science at the University of Strathclyde (2002–2003). He is an area editor of the Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, and he is on the editorial board of Decision Analysis and the EURO Journal on Decision Processes. His main research interest is on supporting strategic-level decision making, both in terms of decision analytic methodologies and of decision processes. He has been funded by the AXA Research Fund, United Kingdom's EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), and Brazil's CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior). His research has been published in journals such as the European Journal of Operational Research, Decision Support Systems, and OMEGA—The International Journal of Management Science. One of his papers, on the evaluation of strategic options and scenario planning, was awarded the Wiley Prize in Applied Decision Analysis by the International Society of Multi-Criteria Decision Making. He has had visiting positions at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, Austria) and the University of Warwick (United Kingdom), and is a visiting associate professor of production engineering at the University of São Paulo (Brazil). He also has extensive experience in applying decision analysis in practice; over the past 17 years he has provided consulting to both private and public organizations in Europe and South America. He is a regular speaker at the LSE Executive Education courses. Email: g.montibeller@lse.ac.uk . M. Elisabeth Paté-Cornell (" Games, Risks, and Analytics: Several Illustrative Cases Involving National Security and Management Situations ") specializes in engineering risk analysis with application to complex systems (space, medical, etc.). Her research has focused on explicit inclusion of human and organizational factors in the analysis of systems' failure risks. Her recent work is on the use of game theory in risk analysis with applications that have included counterterrorism and nuclear counterproliferation problems. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the French Académie des Technologies, and of several boards, including Aerospace, Draper Laboratory, and In-Q-Tel. Dr. Paté-Cornell was a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from December 2001 to 2008. She holds an engineering degree (applied mathematics and computer science) from the Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble (France), an M.S. in operations research and a Ph.D. in engineering-economic systems, both from Stanford University. Email: mep@stanford.edu . Jesus Rios (" Adversarial Risk Analysis: The Somali Pirates Case ") is a research staff member at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. He has a Ph.D. in computer sciences and mathematical modeling from the University Rey Juan Carlos. Before joining IBM, he worked in several universities as a researcher, including the University of Manchester, the University of Luxembourg, Aalborg University, and Concordia University. He participated in the 2007 SAMSI program on Risk Analysis, Extreme Events, and Decision Theory, and led work in the area of adversarial risk analysis. He has also worked as a consultant for clients in the transportation, distribution, energy, defense, and telecommunication sectors. His main research interests are in the areas of risk and decision analysis and its applications. Email: jriosal@us.ibm.com . David Rios Insua (" Adversarial Risk Analysis: The Somali Pirates Case ") is a professor of statistics and operations research at Rey Juan Carlos University and a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences. He has written 15 monographs and more than 90 refereed papers in his areas of interest, which include decision analysis, negotiation analysis, risk analysis, and Bayesian statistics, and their applications. He is scientific advisor of AISoy Robotics. He is on the editorial board of Decision Analysis. Email: david.rios@urjc.es . Fabrizio Ruggeri (" From the Editors: Games and Decisions in Reliability and Risk ") is the director of research at IMATI CNR (Institute of Applied Mathematics and Information Technology at the Italian National Research Council) in Milano, Italy. He received a B.Sc. in mathematics from the University of Milano, an M.Sc. in statistics from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Ph.D. in statistics from Duke University. After a start as a researcher at Alfa Romeo and then a computer consultant, he has been working at CNR since 1987. His interests are mostly in Bayesian and industrial statistics, especially in robustness, decision analysis, reliability, and stochastic processes; recently, he got involved in biostatistics and biology as well. Dr. Ruggeri is an adjunct faculty member at the Polytechnic Institute (New York University), a faculty member in the Ph.D. program in mathematics and statistics at the University of Pavia, a foreign faculty member in the Ph.D. program in statistics at the University of Valparaiso, and a member of the advisory board of the Ph.D. program in mathematical engineering at Polytechnic of Milano. An ASA Fellow and an ISI elected member, Dr. Ruggeri is the current ISBA (International Society for Bayesian Analysis) president and former ENBIS (European Network for Business and Industrial Statistics) president. He is the editor-in-chief of Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry and the Encyclopedia of Statistics in Quality and Reliability, and he is also the Chair of the Bayesian Inference in Stochastic Processes workshops and codirector of the Applied Bayesian Statistics summer school. Email: fabrizio@mi.imati.cnr.it . Juan Carlos Sevillano (" Adversarial Risk Analysis: The Somali Pirates Case ") is a part-time lecturer at the Department of Statistics and Operations Research II (Decision Methods) at the School of Economics of Complutense University. He holds a B.Sc. in mathematics from Complutense University and an M.Sc. in decision systems engineering from Rey Juan Carlos University. Email: sevimjc@ccee.ucm.es . Ross D. Shachter (" Formulating Asymmetric Decision Problems as Decision Circuits ") is an associate professor in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, where his teaching includes probability, decision analysis, and influence diagrams. He has been at Stanford since earning his Ph.D. in operations research from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982, except for two years visiting the Duke University Center for Health Policy Research and Education. His main research focus has been on the communication and analysis of the relationships among uncertain quantities in the graphical representations called Bayesian belief networks and influence diagrams, and in the 1980s he developed the DAVID influence diagram processing system for the Macintosh. His research in medical decision analysis has included the analysis of vaccination strategies and cancer screening and follow-up. At Duke he helped to develop an influence diagram-based approach for medical technology assessment. He has served on the Decision Analysis Society (DAS) of INFORMS Council, chaired its student paper competition, organized the DAS cluster in Nashville, and was honored with its Best Publication Award. For INFORMS, he organized the 1992 Doctoral Colloquium and has been an associate editor in decision analysis for Management Science and Operations Research. He has also served as Program Chair and General Chair for the Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence Conference. At Stanford he served from 1990 until 2011 as a resident fellow in an undergraduate dormitory, and he was active in planning the university's new student orientation activities and alcohol policy. Email: shachter@stanford.edu . Jim Q. Smith (" Regulating Autonomous Agents Facing Conflicting Objectives: A Command and Control Example ") has been a full professor of statistics at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom for 18 years, receiving a Ph.D. from Warwick University in 1977, and has more than 100 refereed publications in the area of Bayesian decision theory and related fields. He has particular interests in customizing probabilistic models in dynamic, high-dimensional problems to the practical needs of a decision maker, often using novel graphical approaches. As well as teaching decision analysis to more than 3,000 top math students in the United Kingdom and supervising 23 Ph.D. students in his areas of expertise, he has been chairman of the Risk Initiative and Statistical Consultancy Unit at Warwick for 10 years, engaging vigorously in the university's interaction with industry and commerce. His book Bayesian Decision Analysis: Principles and Practice was published by Cambridge University Press in 2010. Email: j.q.smith@warwick.ac.uk . Refik Soyer (" From the Editors: Games and Decisions in Reliability and Risk ") is a professor of decision sciences and of statistics and the chair of the Department of Decision Sciences at the George Washington University (GWU). He also serves as the director of the Institute for Integrating Statistics in Decision Sciences at GWU. He received his D.Sc. in University of Sussex, England, and B.A. in Economics from Boğaziçi University, Turkey. His areas of interest are Bayesian statistics and decision analysis, stochastic modeling, statistical aspects of reliability analysis, and time-series analysis. He has published more than 90 articles. His work has appeared in journals such as Journal of the American Statistical Association; Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Ser. B.; Technometrics; Biometrics; Journal of Econometrics; Statistical Science; International Statistical Review; and Management Science. He has also coedited a volume titled Mathematical Reliability: An Expository Perspective. Soyer is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, a fellow of the Turkish Statistical Association, and a fellow of the American Statistical Association. He was vice president of the International Association for Statistical Computing. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Statistical Association and is currently an associate editor of the Applied Stochastic Models in Business and Industry. Email: soyer@gwu.edu . Fabio Spizzichino (" Interactions Between Ageing and Risk Properties in the Analysis of Burn-in Problems ") is a full professor of probability theory at the Department of Mathematics, the Sapienza University of Rome. He teaches courses on introductory probability, advanced probability, and stochastic processes. In the past, he has also taught courses on basic mathematical statistics, Bayesian statistics, decision theory, and reliability theory. His primary research interests are related to probability theory and its applications. A partial list of scientific activities includes dependence models, stochastic ageing for lifetimes, and (semi-)copulas; first-passage times and optimal stopping times for Markov chains and discrete state-space processes; order statistics property for counting processes in continuous or discrete time, in one or more dimensions; sufficiency concepts in Bayesian statistics and stochastic filtering; and reliability of coherent systems and networks. He also has a strong interest in the connections among the above-mentioned topics and in their applications in different fields. At the present time, he is particularly interested in the relations among dependence, ageing, and utility functions. Email: fabio.spizzichino@uniroma1.it . Sumitra Sri Bhashyam (" Modeling State-Dependent Priorities of Malicious Agents ") is a Ph.D. candidate in the Management Science Group at the London School of Economics (LSE). Her Ph.D. thesis is supervised by Dr. Gilberto Montibeller and cosupervised by Dr. David Lane. Her research interests include decision analysis, multicriteria decision analysis, preference modeling, and preference change. Before coming to study in the United Kingdom, Sri Bhashyam studied mathematics, physics, and computer sciences in France for two years, after which she moved to the United Kingdom to complete a B.A.Hons in marketing communications and then an M.Sc. in operational research from the LSE. She worked as a project manager at Xerox and, subsequently, as a consultant for an SME (small and medium enterprise) to help them set up their quality management system. Alongside the Ph.D., and participating in other research and consultancy projects, she has been a graduate teaching assistant for undergraduate, master, and executive students at the LSE. The courses she teaches include topics such as normative and descriptive decision theory, prescriptive decision analysis, simulation modeling and analysis. Email: s.sribhashyam@lse.ac.uk . Jun Zhuang (" Regulation Games Between Government and Competing Companies: Oil Spills and Other Disasters ") has been an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York (SUNY-Buffalo), since he obtained his Ph.D. in industrial engineering in 2008 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Zhuang's long-term research goal is to integrate operations research and game theory to better mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from both natural and man-made hazards. Other areas of interest include healthcare, sports, transportation, supply chain management, and sustainability. Dr. Zhuang's research has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) and National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) through the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Dr. Zhuang is a fellow of the 2011 U.S. Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program (AF SFFP), sponsored by the AFOSR. Dr. Zhuang is also a fellow of the 2009–2010 Next Generation of Hazards and Disasters Researchers Program, sponsored by the NSF. Dr. Zhuang is on the editorial board of Decision Analysis and is the coeditor of Decision Analysis Today. Email: jzhuang@buffalo.edu .