Conflict and inequality in surface irrigation: a socio-ecological perspective

This paper attempts to understand the role of institutions and governance, in explaining unequal access to canal water under different rules of the game. Two states at different levels of agricultural productivity with different rules of distribution of canal water are chosen to study the problem at project level. While Bihar, at low level of agricultural productivity, represents absence of scientific method of distribution of water, Punjab offers high level of agricultural productivity with the warabandi system. The two case studies offer interesting similarities and dissimilarities in terms of unequal access to water by the tail enders and mechanisms needed to mitigate this inequality. Some similarities are: (a) the tail enders suffer the most with low access to water forcing them to adopt only low water intensive crops in comparison to the head reach and mid reach farmers; and (b) the farmers supplement canal water with ground water. The dissimilarities noticed are: (a) while over exploitation of ground water in Punjab has reached levels beyond natural recharge of aquifers in several places; in Bihar, with low withdrawal of ground water and natural endowment of high water table, such a situation has not arisen; (b) the breaking of canal and water courses for own benefit by the powerful with political clout is rampant in Bihar, rarely attracting a penalty from the irrigation department; (c) the water market for tubewell water (Rs.70 to 80 per hour) has developed in Bihar partly mitigating inequality in access to canal water by the tail enders; no such phenomenon is common in Punjab. The plausible reason for the low density of tubewells in Bihar in contrast to Punjab is low incomes making affordability of tubewell an issue, and (d) cooperative efforts by farmers to lay down pipes through neighbors’ plots to minimize loss of water has succeeded in Punjab; in Bihar such efforts succeeded initially at a small scale but could not sustain without government assistance. The absence of scientific rule for distribution of canal water and the weak canal governance system aggravates the misery of tail enders. In such a scenario, the mitigation of unequal access to water by the tail enders is facilitated by the development of water markets at high cost in a complex situation with tiny holdings and lack of cooperation among the farmers.Length: pp.808-818CanalsWater distributionCrop managementGroundwaterWater market

Spinodal Phase Separation in Liquid Films with Quenched Disorder

We study spinodal phase separation in unstable thin liquid films on chemically disordered substrates via simulations of the thin-film equation. The disorder is characterized by immobile patches of varying size and Hamaker constant. The effect of disorder is pronounced in the early stages (amplification of fluctuations), remains during the intermediate stages and vanishes in the late stages (domain growth). These findings are in contrast to the well-known effects of quenched disorder in usual phase-separation processes, viz., the early stages remain undisturbed and domain growth is slowed down in the asymptotic regime. We also address the inverse problem of estimating disorder by thin-film experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Morphological Phase Separation in Unstable Thin Films: Pattern Formation and Growth

We present results from a comprehensive numerical study of {\it morphological phase separation} (MPS) in unstable thin liquid films on a 2-dimensional substrate. We study the quantitative properties of the evolution morphology via several experimentally relevant markers, e.g., correlation function, structure factor, domain-size and defect-size probability distributions, and growth laws. Our results suggest that the late-stage morphologies exhibit dynamical scaling, and their evolution is self-similar in time. We emphasize the analogies and differences between MPS in films and segregation kinetics in unstable binary mixtures.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures; Accepted for publication in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physic

Direct Evidence on the Informational Properties of Earnings in Loan Contracts

Using a sample of firms that disclose the realizations of earnings used for determining covenant compliance in loan contracts, we provide the first direct evidence on the informational properties of earnings used in the performance covenants included in debt contracts. We find that the earnings measure used in performance covenants does not exhibit asymmetric loss timeliness and has significantly greater cash flow predictive ability than GAAP measures of earnings. We suggest that these results reflect the idea that contracting parties design accounting rules for performance covenants to enhance their efficacy as “tripwires”

Kinetics of Spinodal Phase Separation in Unstable Thin Liquid Films

We study universality in the kinetics of spinodal phase separation in unstable thin liquid films, via simulations of the thin film equation. It is shown that in addition to morphology and free energy,the number density of local maxima in the film profile can also be used to identify the early, intermediate and late stages of spinodal phase separation. A universal curve between the number density of local maxima and rescaled time describes the kinetics of early stage in d = 2, 3. The Lifshitz-Slyozov exponent of -1/3 describes the kinetics of the late stage in d = 2 even in the absence of coexisting equilibrium phases.Comment: 5 figure

Seasonal, annual and inter-annual features of turbulence parameters over the tropical station Pune (18°32' N, 73°51' E) observed with UHF wind profiler

The present study is specifically focused on the seasonal, annual and inter-annual variations of the refractive index structure parameter (Cn2) using three years of radar observations. Energy dissipation rates (ε) during different seasons for a particular year are also computed over a tropical station, Pune. Doppler spectral width measurements made by the Wind Profiler, under various atmospheric conditions, are utilized to estimate the turbulence parameters. The refractive index structure parameter varies from 10−17.5 to 10−13 m−2/3 under clear air to precipitation conditions in the height region of 1.05 to 10.35 km. During the monsoon months, observed Cn2 values are up to 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than those during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Spectral width correction for various non-turbulent spectral broadenings such as beam broadening and shear broadening are made in the observed spectral width for reliable estimation of ε under non-precipitating conditions. It is found that in the lower tropospheric height region, values of ε are in the range of 10−6 to 10−3 m2 s−3. In summer and monsoon seasons the observed values of ε are larger than those in post-monsoon and winter seasons in the lower troposphere. A comparison of Cn2 observed with the wind profiler and that estimated using Radio Sonde/Radio Wind (RS/RW) data of nearby Met station Chikalthana has been made for the month of July 200

Single-Pot Rapid Synthesis of Colloidal Core/Core-Shell Quantum Dots: A Novel Polymer-Nanocrystal Hybrid Material

Colloidal core and core shell Quantum Dots (QD's) are unique and important optoelectronic materials because properties of these QD's can be tailored by configuring core and optimizing shell thickness. In this research work, lead selenide (PbSe) core and PbSe-CdSe (Core-shell) QD's are synthesized using oleic acid as a capping ligand by colloidal route. This simpler, cost-effective and rapid single pot synthesis route for colloidal core-shell quantum dots unlike conventional double-pot approach like cation-exchange and SILAR process has been reported for the very first time. Phase formation of prepared quantum dots is confirmed by XRD analysis, capping ligand presence by IR spectroscopy and morphological information by Scanning electron microscopy respectively. These synthesized inorganic quantum dots are dispersed in Poly (3-hexyl thiophene) polymer for formation of their respective nanocomposites. From PL quenching studies, it was inferred that PbSe-CdSe core-shell quantum dots showed enhanced rate of PL quenching and hence higher value of Stern-Volmer constant (K-SV) than PbSe Core QD's. This confirms that CdSe shell formation on PbSe core significantly passivates the core-surface, increases the stability and enhances the charge transfer mechanism for its potential application in Hybrid Solar cells