Working Papers
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Publication Supplementary Materials: Reparametrization of 3D CSC Dubins Paths Enabling 2D Search(2024-10-08) Ling Xu; Yuliy Baryshnikov; Cynthia Sung; Sung, CynthiaThis paper addresses the Dubins path planning problem for vehicles in 3D space. In particular, we consider the problem of computing CSC paths – paths that consist of a circular arc (C) followed by a straight segment (S) followed by a circular arc (C). These paths are useful for vehicles such as fixed-wing aircraft and underwater submersibles that are subject to lower bounds on turn radius. We present a new parameterization that reduces the 3D CSC planning problem to a search over 2 variables, thus lowering search complexity, while also providing gradients that assist that search. We use these equations with a numerical solver to explore numbers and types of solutions computed for a variety of planar and 3D scenarios. Our method successfully computes CSC paths for the large majority of test cases, indicating that it could be useful for future generation of robust, efficient curvature-constrained trajectories.Publication Floods, Community Infrastructure, and Children's Heterogeneous Learning Losses in Rural India(2025-02-03) Hannum, Emily; Khalid, Nazar; Behrman, Jere R.; Thapa, AmritIndia has the world’s largest number of school-aged children. The majority live in rural areas, many of which are highly flood-prone. Previous studies document that in such areas, floods are associated with lower enrollments, attendance, and learning, in some cases with differentiation by gender, caste/religion, and family SES. Previous literature suggests that components of community infrastructure have positive associations with children’s learning. However, previous literature has not addressed whether better community physical and social infrastructures are associated with (1) smaller flood-related learning losses on average, (2) different learning for marginalized versus other children in the absence of floods, and (3) different vulnerabilities to floods for marginalized versus other children. This paper finds that (1) most aspects of community physical and social infrastructure are not associated with lower flood-related learning losses on average, but proximity to towns and several components of social infrastructure are associated with lower flood-related learning losses on average, (2) community physical and social infrastructure components have heterogeneous associations, in some cases increasing, in most cases not affecting, and in other cases reducing disparities in learning between marginalized and other children in the absence of floods, and (3) community physical and social infrastructure components have heterogeneous effects, in some cases increasing, in most cases not affecting, and in other cases reducing disparities in learning between marginalized and other children in the presence of floods.Publication Intergenerational Mobility in Depression and Anxiety in India(2025-03-06) Hervé, Justine; Mani, Subha; Behrman, Jere R.; Laxminarayan, Ramanan; Nandi, ArindamThis paper is the first to provide estimates of intergenerational associations in mental health for a low- and middle-income country. Using rich mental health data on ∼4,000 parent-child pairs in India, we find intergenerational associations in depression and anxiety scores to be 0.61 and 0.68, respectively, suggesting low mobility in mental health. However, once we allow for the mobility estimates to vary along the distribution of parental mental health, we find notable heterogeneity- while minimal symptoms of anxiety and depression in parents persist into the next generation, children of parents with mild to severe symptoms experience significant improvements in mental health. This upward mobility in mental health is largely driven by high socioeconomic-status households. Importantly, we show that even minimal symptoms have significant economic implications for both children and adults. Our findings suggest that programs that improve mental health in one generation can also facilitate intergenerational mobility in mental health and related outcomes.Publication Assessing The Viability Of Investment: An In-Depth Analysis Of The Brazilian Renewable Energy Sector(2024-05-01) Figueroa, FatimaOver the past decade, the renewable energy landscape globally has undergone significant transformations. Driven by the need for energy security, national goals, and a push toward net-zero emissions by 2050, the sector has seen substantial shifts. Geopolitical conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, and rising tensions in the Middle East have intensified concerns about energy security in a world where energy demand continues to grow. This research seeks to identify the factors that have transformed the Brazilian renewable energy sector and to explore potential areas for future investment.Publication A Bayesian Nonparametric Approach to Dynamic Latent Factor Modeling(2024-05-01) Liu, KevinBayesian nonparametric (BNP) models often offer flexibility benefits over their parametric counterparts since their use of infinite-dimensional parameter spaces reduces the need to make unnecessarily strict modeling assumptions. Examples of BNP applications include the Indian buffet process (IBP) in latent factor modeling and the Gaussian process (GP) in nonlinear regression. This paper approaches the task of dynamic latent factor modeling – that is, characterization of latent factors that influence observed trends over time – by proposing the IBPGP model, a BNP model that incorporates nonparametric methods both in relating latent factors to observed trends and in modeling the latent factors as functions of time. The paper then describes a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling algorithm to estimate model parameters, and it applies this algorithm to a small, simulated dataset. The inference results indicate the potential for recovery of true parameters but also reveal opportunities for improvement in the sampling paradigm.