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This article outlines a set of methodological, theoretical, and other issues relating to the conduct of good outcome studies. The article begins by considering the contribution of evidence-based medicine to the methodology of outcome research. The lessons which can be applied in outcome studies in nonmedical settings are described. The article then examines the role of causal pathways between interventions and outcomes and especially the importance of delineating them in advance of undertaking investigations. The development of designs based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with fully articulated causal pathways is described. Ways of supplementing RCTs with methods to highlight elements in the causal pathway in outcome studies are indicated. The importance of adhering to best practice in reporting and analysis is also noted.

Multilingualism is a cultural cornerstone of Europe and firmly anchored in the European treaties including full language equality. However, language barriers impacting business, cross-lingual and cross-cultural communication are still omnipresent. Language Technologies (LTs) are a powerful means to break down these barriers. While the last decade has seen various initiatives that created a multitude of approaches and technologies tailored to Europe's specific needs, there is still an immense level of fragmentation. At the same time, AI has become an increasingly important concept in the European Information and Communication Technology area. For a few years now, AI – including many opportunities, synergies but also misconceptions – has been overshadowing every other topic. We present an overview of the European LT landscape, describing funding programmes, activities, actions and challenges in the different countries with regard to LT, including the current state of play in industry and the LT market. We present a brief overview of the main LT-related activities on the EU level in the last ten years and develop strategic guidance with regard to four key dimensions.

Infrastructural development is characteristically multifaceted, but studies tend to be focused on limited context which has shed more light on structural issues at the cost of increased ambiguity as regards institutional factors that influence infrastructural development. Combining institutional theory and institutional analysis and development framework (IADF), this research studies how institutional factors influence infrastructural development. In particular, it explores three questions: what are the main differences that exist in policymaking processes? How do stakeholders interact in infrastructural development in Nigeria? How can institutions enhance infrastructural development? The findings show that institutional arrangements and legitimacy pressures are the main reasons for organizational passivity which produce under-performing infrastructures. Initially, mimetic pressures influenced infrastructural development practices as companies imitated other company's structures that were perceived to be beneficial to attain certain goals. However, coercive pressures by government and normative pressures wielded through professional network of actors appear to be more potent institutional instruments for reducing unresponsiveness. We concluded that favourable institutional pressures support infrastructural development practices, which indicates the need for more structured decision-making process based on collective participation of relevant stakeholders.

Rural access infrastructural development projects in post 2001 Afghanistan represent a vital component of the economic recovery of the state. This thesis examines four of the most prevalent of these projects implemented by the World Bank, and in doing so substantiates the significant challenges faced by both the international development aid community and domestic implementing agencies. These challenges not only impact the efficiency and outcomes of these rural access projects, but are also significantly observable across a broader set of infrastructural development and rehabilitation programs throughout Afghanistan. While these issues are certainly exacerbated by the austere operational climate of the region itself, referring to ongoing conflict, government capacity and legitimacy limitations, and economic instability, they should more accurately be understood as symptomatic of greater structural contradictions within contemporary "development" paradigms. The future success or failure of Afghanistan's economic recovery will depend on the international aid community's ability to aggressively reform its aid goals and success indicators, facilitate domestic institutional agency in establishing and realizing development goals, and definitively separating aid goals and operations from military ones.

This article analyses two important issues pertaining to Indian economy. One is the numerical target under rule-based fiscal correction mechanism being followed by Indian government and second is on infrastructural investment requirements. India lags behind many countries in the world including some of the developing ones both in terms of stock and quality of infrastructure. There exist huge investment requirements in order to foster the economic growth and efficiently utilise the available resources. In the recent years, there is a significant contribution from the private sector towards infrastructural investment. However, private participation is concentrated in few sectors which are commercially viable and hence in the remaining key areas, like rural infrastructure, government is the sole investor. In India, excess spending by the central government is restricted under Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 and for the state governments under state-specific Fiscal Responsibility Legislations. The Act limits the fiscal deficit (FD) to 3 per cent of GDP for central government and 3 per cent of GSDP for state governments. FD is capped due to its adverse impact on macroeconomy. However, the available literature shows mixed evidence. Most importantly, revenue deficit (RD) component covers major portion of FD and only a meagre amount is left for capital investments. This article debates whether 3 per cent cap on FD is advisable in all the circumstances and also analyses whether infrastructural investment gap can be filled with available fiscal-deficit amount. This article finds that there is an infrastructural investment gap of '5,165.20 billion in the 12th Plan period and concludes that it makes no harm even though FD crosses 3 per cent cap given that amount in entirety is spent on capital formation.

International audience ; Multilingualism is a cultural cornerstone of Europe and firmly anchored in the European treaties including full language equality. However, language barriers impacting business, cross-lingual and cross-cultural communication are still omnipresent. Language Technologies (LTs) are a powerful means to break down these barriers. While the last decade has seen various initiatives that created a multitude of approaches and technologies tailored to Europe's specific needs, there is still an immense level of fragmentation. At the same time, AI has become an increasingly important concept in the European Information and Communication Technology area. For a few years now, AI-including many opportunities, synergies but also misconceptions-has been overshadowing every other topic. We present an overview of the European LT landscape, describing funding programmes, activities, actions and challenges in the different countries with regard to LT, including the current state of play in industry and the LT market. We present a brief overview of the main LT-related activities on the EU level in the last ten years and develop strategic guidance with regard to four key dimensions.

International audience ; Multilingualism is a cultural cornerstone of Europe and firmly anchored in the European treaties including full language equality. However, language barriers impacting business, cross-lingual and cross-cultural communication are still omnipresent. Language Technologies (LTs) are a powerful means to break down these barriers. While the last decade has seen various initiatives that created a multitude of approaches and technologies tailored to Europe's specific needs, there is still an immense level of fragmentation. At the same time, AI has become an increasingly important concept in the European Information and Communication Technology area. For a few years now, AI-including many opportunities, synergies but also misconceptions-has been overshadowing every other topic. We present an overview of the European LT landscape, describing funding programmes, activities, actions and challenges in the different countries with regard to LT, including the current state of play in industry and the LT market. We present a brief overview of the main LT-related activities on the EU level in the last ten years and develop strategic guidance with regard to four key dimensions.

In view of these issues, this paper proposes an optimal approach to design and regulation of commodity contingent instruments for private enterprises. The design of these instruments is likely to significantly alleviate the capital constraints in emerging markets, particularly in Eurasia. A commodity contingent security usually consists of a combination of a traditional debt security (a bond) and several units of a financial instrument, the payoff of which is in some well-defined way linked to the price of a traded commodity. Although commodity contingent securitization can, in theory, be applied at both the national and the private level, the proposals in this paper are directed mainly toward private sector funding. Government plays an important and complementary role in determining the success of these instruments. Government should provide tax subsidies to external sources of private sector capital, design a regulatory framework that preserves the integrity and professional reputation of these infant markets, and, more generally, foster a social consensus for entrepreneurship and growth.

This paper examines the role of the media in portraying infrastructure projects in Kenya. The paper analyses print media and more specifically the main newspapers in Kenya- The Nation newspapers and The Standard newspapers published in a period of one calendar year; between January 1st 2014 and December 31st 2014.To establish which stories fall into infrastructure and related categories, the researchers identified keywords that were found in the story. These were transport, power, building and construction, telecommunication and water and sanitation. In order to understand how The Nation and The Standard newspapers primed infrastructure information. The paper looked at article placement, type of story, tone, article size, theme of article, focus, function and article prominence. It also looked at captions and graphics use. The research found that both newspapers had most of articles on infrastructure published in the inner pages leaving prime pages for other news, especially politics. Major infrastructure stories found their space on the cover page only when the President made a public address especially during Kenya's public holidays. The study also found out that that infrastructure theme that was mostly covered was transport even as most of issues came from the government and the media only reported events as they unfolded-reactive reporting. In-depth analysis of infrastructure issues was not given emphasis. The reporters tended to only answer the elements of news; the 5Ws and H only. The impacts of the stories were not stressed nor were there investigative pieces on the subject. More space of prominence needs to be allocated to infrastructural development issues.

Climate change has the potential to impact infrastructure in Metro Vancouver municipalities through the changing hydrological regime including increased frequency and severity of storm and rainfall events, as well as through sea level rise. Municipalities are at different stages of responding to climate change, and different challenges and barriers exist when adapting infrastructure to climate change. These challenges and barriers are as follows: Organizational and Regulatory These challenges include issues of jurisdiction in terms of what the municipality controls and what is outside of their control, and ensuring that different groups are able to work together and comprise different timelines, budgets, needs and goals. There could be a stronger level of coordination and leadership to better connect different municipalities in the region. Recommendation: Conduct partnership studies and projects with municipalities that have shared geographies (i.e. coastlines), infrastructure, or interests. This will better connect the region and create a more unified and strengthened response to climate change. Perception Some municipalities have identified perception barriers when responding to climate change. These occur based on the degree of public understanding and willingness to support adaptation initiatives, as well as the amount of political will for mayor and council. These are influenced by the perception of climate change as being in the distant future, as well as competing priorities for immediate action. Recommendation: Public outreach should occur around the benefits of pursuing infrastructural adaptations to climate change. Because few infrastructural changes have been implemented thus far as a direct response to climate change, less public outreach has occurred. However, this will influence public perceptions and the willingness of city council to pursue decisions around climate change adaptation. Economic One continual challenge when implementing infrastructural adaptations is the amount of funding available. This is both with regards to time and resources allocated towards conducting studies and developing strategies, as well as implementing these strategies through infrastructural changes. Recommendation: Conduct partnership studies and projects with multiple municipalities. This will facilitate cross-municipal collaboration as well as reduce the financial and resource pressures placed on one individual municipality. Informational Although data and information about climate change is available, this is not practical for establishing design criteria. This can lead to adjacent municipalities interpreting values differently, and responding in different ways. Additionally, a challenge exists when trying to adapt to climate change while considering seismic potential of the region. Recommendation: Work with municipalities to translate climate change data and studies into more coherent design criteria. Additionally, when establishing design criteria this should consider seismic potential, and how climate change will interact with that. ; Arts, Faculty of ; Geography, Department of ; Unreviewed ; Undergraduate