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An attempt is made in this article to examine the effect of new policy instruments implemented by the self-governing Namibia on the aspects of human development. We analysed whether the changes in fiscal policy adopted in postindependence era have improved the quality of life of Namibians as compared to pre-independence era. Time series data on government expenditures as well as health and education related indicators for the period 1980 to 2015 has been used for the purpose of analysis. Impacts of per capita government expenditure on healthcare and education on reduction in mortality, increase in life expectancy at birth, rising literacy and growth of people acquiring higher education/technical education have been examined. During 1980 to 1990, Namibia was under South African control, a colonial era, and, therefore, in the 1991 to 2015 period Namibia was independent. The study reveals that Namibians are better off in the post-independence as compared to the colonial era on major parameters. However, changes in policy have not been successful in transforming the lives of Namibians to the levels expected. There is still ample scope for improvement in the fiscal management of the country. Keywords: Policy Instruments; Healthcare; Education; Human Development; Namibia; South Africa, Introduction The history of Namibia passed through several distinct stages, from tribal demarcations to the creation of political borders that was marked by colonialism in the late nineteenth century to [...]

Bis‐coumarins are distinguished derivatives of coumarin which bear numerous pharmaceutical and other applications. In continuation of our ongoing research towards the development of benign protocols for various heterocyclic systems, herein we report an Amberlyst 15 mediated synthesis of unsymmetrical bis‐coumarins via in situ generation and cyclization of symmetrical bis‐coumarinyl methanes derived from o‐hydroxy aromatic aldehydes and 4‐hydroxy coumarin. Aldehydes of both electron‐donating and electron‐withdrawing units underwent smooth conversion to their respective unsymmetrical bis‐coumarins (76–98 % yield) without leaving any side products or intermediates. The catalyst used in the present protocol is cost‐effective, eco‐friendly, and readily available which could be recovered and reused several times. This methodology offers operational simplicity, low catalyst loading, and avoids the use of toxic solvents/reagents and the product can be isolated without chromatography. DFT study indicated that the driving force for the cyclisation of symmetrical bis‐coumarin is the minimization of the tetrahedral bond angle deviations along with other small non‐covalent interactions. Some DFT data was also verified with the data obtained from the X‐rays crystallographic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and statement of the problem: Apart from housing attributes like structural, locational and neighborhood attributes, choice for residential house is also influenced by socio-economic conditions such as income, education, employment as well as community or ethnicity of people and their neighbors. Choice for homogenous community or religion in the neighborhood would be due to convenience of cooperation, adjustment, verbal communication, family security and cultural affinity. Research methodology and data: This paper examines the impact of homogeneity of neighbors' religion and community on the residential housing choice in Dimapur town of Nagaland state, India. Chi-square test and independent sample T-test have been computed to check whether homogeneity of culture and religion significantly affect the demand for housing and its price or not. Cohen's d value has also been estimated to measure their effects. Truncated Regression Techniques have been used to examine the overall impact of religion or community of neighbor on the choice and house price (rent) paid by the individuals. Research findings: Across religious groups on an average Muslims have the lowest average family income in the study area and they pay the lowest average monthly rent. On the other hand, community wise Naga's earn the maximum and also pay relatively higher rent than any other community. Family income, family size and duration of stay are found to have significantly positive impacts on rent. Results of Chi-square test and independent sample T-test reveal that homogeneity of neighbors' religion does not significantly affect choice of location and willingness to pay of the sample respondents but homogeneity of neighbors' community with that of respondent's own community significantly influence choice of location and they are willing to pay even higher price (rent) for living near the people of same community. Policy implications: Despite cosmopolitan character of the town, the strong preference of residents to reside among the people belonging to their own community and higher willingness to pay would be due to security, convenience and psychological attachment. Differences in capability and willingness to pay have important policy implications for the construction of house and resource allocation. Thus, government may ensure security and take steps to remove cultural affinity in order to address this differential rent. Keywords: Housing Choice, Neighbors' Religion and Community, Dimapur Town, Rent. JEL Classifications: C12, C 34, R 21, R 23 Contact author's email addresses: vvupru@yahoo.com, utpalkde@gmail.com, INTRODUCTION Recent literature on housing choice considered housing attributes like structural characteristics (building materials, size, floor, attachments etc), locational conveniences (distance from workplace, marketplace, educational institutions) and neighborhood environment (pollution [...]