Job Security and Fertility: Evidence from German Reunification

This paper uses the special occupational status of German civil servants in combination with the unforeseen event of German reunification to study empirically the relationship between job security and fertility. The civil servant-status provides extreme job security as well as good possibilities to combine work and family lives. The fast introduction of the civil service system after reunification represents an exogenous (re-)assignment of individual employment risks in Eastern Germany, and thus allows one to control for occupational self-selection. While no strong evidence for a link between job security and fertility emerges for men, the paper demonstrates a clear link between labor market and demographic outcomes for women, especially in Western Germany and most pronounced for higher educated females between age 25 and 40. This strong relationship is the result of occupational self-selection coupled with a civil servantspecific birth timing pattern and a small causal impact of job security on fertility. It shows that female civil servants are not primarily a selected group of very family oriented individuals, but rather both family as well as career oriented.In dieser Studie wird der Einfluss von Arbeitsplatzsicherheit auf die Wahrscheinlichkeit einer Elternschaft untersucht. Dafür wird zum einen der spezielle Status von Beamten in Deutschland und zum anderen das natürliche Experiment der deutschen Wiedervereinigung genutzt. Der Beamtenstatus bietet ein sehr hohes Maß an Arbeitsplatzsicherheit sowie -flexibilität im Hinblick auf die Vereinbarkeit von Berufs- und Familienleben. Die schnelle Einführung des westdeutschen Beamtensystems in Ostdeutschland nach der deutschen Wiedervereinigung kann als exogene Variation im Hinblick auf die Arbeitsplatzsicherheit der dort betroffenen Individuen gesehen werden. Während sich für Männer kein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen Arbeitsplatzsicherheit und Fertilität findet, zeigt sich ein solcher für Frauen, insbesondere in Westdeutschland und am stärksten ausgeprägt für höher qualifizierte Frauen im Alter von 25 bis 40 Jahren. Die starke Korrelation zwischen dem Beamtenstatus und einer zukünftigen Elternschaft bei Frauen ist das Resultat von beruflicher Selbstselektion, eines Beamten-spezifischen Geburten-Timings und einem kleinen direkten Effekt von Arbeitsplatzsicherheit auf die Fertilitätsentscheidung. Weiterführende Analysen legen nahe, dass verbeamtete Frauen keine selektierte Gruppe von überaus familienorientierten Individuen darstellen, sondern dass sie vielmehr sowohl familien- als auch karriereorientiert sind. Die empirischen Ergebnisse deuten folglich darauf hin, dass die Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf für Frauen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Berufswahl spielt

Household Savings Decision and Income Uncertainty

This paper empirically investigates the effects of changes in the interest rate as well as transitory income uncertainty on households' consumption-savings decision. Applying a structural demand model to German survey data, we estimate the uncompensated interest rate elasticity for savings, in line with the literature, to around zero. Accordingly, any policy-induced variation of net returns to savings is expected to have no significant effects on the level of savings. Moreover, we find significant effects of precautionary savings on the consumption-savings decision. As a result of a doubling of transitory income uncertainty, an average household increases savings by 4:4%. These effects vary by household composition and social status

Electrical insulation properties of sputter-deposited SiO2, Si3N4 and Al2O3 films at room temperature and 400 degrees C

In this paper the breakdown field strength and resistivity of sputter-deposited Al2O3, SiO2 and Si3N4 layers are investigated in the temperature range between room temperature and 400 degrees C. All the investigated layers showed excellent insulation properties, even at elevated sample temperature. One example of industrial application is the deposition of electrical insulation layers onto the membranes of pressure sensors using cluster type sputter equipment

OPTICAL COATINGS FORMED BY GRADIENT REFRACTIVE INDEX MATERIALS / METALŲ OKSIDŲ IR JŲ MIŠINIŲ PANAUDOJIMAS KINTAMO LŪŽIO RODIKLIO OPTINĖMS DANGOMS FORMUOTI

Recent advances in ion beam sputtering technology enabled efficient deposition of different oxide mixture coatings. In the present investigation, coating materials ZrO2and SiO2 were utilized for the synthesis of different mixtures. The goal of the conducted investigation was to explore the potential of ZrO2/SiO2 mixtures, especially for applications in the range of the UV spectral. Deposited dielectric mirrors having classical quarter-wave and “rised” design with ZrO2/SiO2 mixture for 266 nm and 355 nm showed good resistance to laser radiation. We also investigated the “fatigue” behavior of LIDT’s in LBO crystals with single, dual and triple wavelength anti-reflective coatings (AR@355, AR@532+1064 and AR@355+532+1064) in order to optimize design and layer materials. The influence of gradient refractive index profiles on damage resistance is of a special interest. We selected a few designs of antireflective coatings which demonstrated the best resistance to laser radiation. An experimental study on rugate filter coatings showed the need for a more accurate characterization of optical properties of metal oxides and their corresponding mixtures. Santrauka Šiame darbe tiriamas jonapluoščio dulkinimo technologija dengtų ZrO2/SiO2 ir jų mišinių optinių savybių pritaikymas kintamo lūžio rodiklio (Rugate tipo) optinėms interferencinėms dangoms formuoti. Mišiniuose naudojant mažą ZrO2 frakciją, buvo išplėstas šios medžiagos pritaikymas UV srityje. Remiantis gautais rezultatais, suformuotos didelio atspindžio (HR) ir skaidrinančios (AR) dangos esant λ = 355 nm bangos ilgio spinduliuotei, taip pat teoriškai sumodeliuotos ir suformuotos daugiabangio skaidrinimo (AR@ 355+532+ 064) Rugate tipo dangos ant LBO (LiB3O5) netiesinių kristalų. Palygintos šių dangų optinės savybės su tomis dangomis, kuriose panaudoti gryni metalo oksidai (fiksuoto lūžio rodiklio). Atliktas Rugate tipo dangų, pasižyminčių siaura didelio (R > 99,9 %) atspindžio zona ties 532 nm ir pralaidumu likusioje spektro dalyje, teorinis modeliavimas ir eksperimentinis garinimas. Raktiniai žodžiai: Rugate tipo dangos, metalų oksidai ir jų mišiniai, LBO kristalai, notch filtrai, jonapluoštis dulkinima

Acute Skin Damage and Late Radiation-Induced Fibrosis and Inflammation in Murine Ears after High-Dose Irradiation

The use of different scoring systems for radiation-induced toxicity limits comparability between studies. We examined dose-dependent tissue alterations following hypofractionated X-ray irradiation and evaluated their use as scoring criteria. Four dose fractions (0, 5, 10, 20, 30 Gy/fraction) were applied daily to ear pinnae. Acute effects (ear thickness, erythema, desquamation) were monitored for 92 days after fraction 1. Late effects (chronic inflammation, fibrosis) and the presence of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1)-expressing cells were quantified on day 92. The maximum ear thickness displayed a significant positive correlation with fractional dose. Increased ear thickness and erythema occurred simultaneously, followed by desquamation from day 10 onwards. A significant dose-dependency was observed for the severity of erythema, but not for desquamation. After 4 × 20 and 4 × 30 Gy, inflammation was significantly increased on day 92, whereas fibrosis and the abundance of TGFβ1-expressing cells were only marginally increased after 4 × 30 Gy. Ear thickness significantly correlated with the severity of inflammation and fibrosis on day 92, but not with the number of TGFβ1-expressing cells. Fibrosis correlated significantly with inflammation and fractional dose. In conclusion, the parameter of ear thickness can be used as an objective, numerical and dose-dependent quantification criterion to characterize the severity of acute toxicity and allow for the prediction of late effects

Layered Al2O3-SiO2 and Al2O3-Ta2O5 thin-film composites for high dielectric strength, deposited by pulsed direct current and radio frequency magnetron sputtering

Multilayer thin films have the potential to act as high dielectric strength insulation for wire and microelectronics. In this study, films consisting of 2, 4 or 8 layers, composed of Al2O3 with SiO2 or Ta2O5, were prepared via pulsed direct current and radio frequency magnetron sputtering to a thickness of between 152 and 236 nm. The dielectric strengths of all films exceeded the 310 Vμm−1 achieved for PDC Al2O3. Maximum dielectric strengths were obtained for four layer composites; Al2O3-SiO2-Al2O3-SiO2 (466 Vμm−1) and Al2O3-Ta2O5-Al2O3-Ta2O5 (513 Vμm−1), each containing two PDC-Al2O3 and two RF-SiO2/Ta2O5 layers. Whilst the average dielectric strength was higher in the Ta2O5 composites, they suffered from higher leakage prior to breakdown with ca. 6.5 nA compared to ca. 0.1 nA for SiO2 composites. The mechanical properties of the composites were poorer due to increased intrinsic coating stress. Samples exhibited complete interfacial delamination with maximum coating adhesion strengths of 22 and 25 MPa. The variance resulted from larger coefficient of thermal expansion for Ta2O5 compared to SiO2. Sputtered composites of Al2O3 and either SiO2 or Ta2O5 had high breakdown strength with reasonable adhesion and could be suitable for insulating copper conductors in the aerospace and automotive industries