Industry reallocations in a globalizing economy

We distill the main insights from recent trade models on firms responses to globalisation. Our primary aim is to assess the economic impact and the welfare implications of the resulting reallocation of resources across firms and countries. In sodoing, we bring theory into life through the numerical implementation of a theoretical framework calibrated on European data, which encompasses aspects of economic geography, firm heterogeneity, and firms organizational choices. Our final purpose isto provide a comprehensive background for empirical investigations and to stimulate further theoretical research.international integration, resource reallocation, economic geography, firm heterogeneity, multinationals

Projective 3D-reconstruction of Uncalibrated Endoscopic Images

The most common medical diagnostic method for urinary bladder cancer is cystoscopy. This inspection of the bladder is performed by a rigid endoscope, which is usually guided close to the bladder wall. This causes a very limited field of view; difficulty of navigation is aggravated by the usage of angled endoscopes. These factors cause difficulties in orientation and visual control. To overcome this problem, the paper presents a method for extracting 3D information from uncalibrated endoscopic image sequences and for reconstructing the scene content. The method uses the SURF-algorithm to extract features from the images and relates the images by advanced matching. To stabilize the matching, the epipolar geometry is extracted for each image pair using a modified RANSAC-algorithm. Afterwards these matched point pairs are used to generate point triplets over three images and to describe the trifocal geometry. The 3D scene points are determined by applying triangulation to the matched image points. Thus, these points are used to generate a projective 3D reconstruction of the scene, and provide the first step for further metric reconstructions

Algal culture studies for CELSS

Microalgae are well-suited as a component of a Closed Environmental Life Support System (CELSS), since they can couple the closely related functions of food production and atmospheric regeneration. The objective was to provide a basis for predicting the response of CELSS algal cultures, and thus the food supply and air regeneration system, to changes in the culture parameters. Scenedesmus growth was measured as a function of light intensity, and the spectral dependence of light absorption by the algae as well as algal respiration in the light were determined as a function of cell concentration. These results were used to test and confirm a mathematical model that describes the productivity of an algal culture in terms of the competing processes of photosynthesis and respiration. The relationship of algal productivity to cell concentration was determined at different carbon dioxide concentrations, temperatures, and light intensities. The maximum productivity achieved by an air-grown culture was found to be within 10% of the computed maximum productivity, indicating that CO2 was very efficiently removed from the gas stream by the algal culture. Measurements of biomass productivity as a function of cell concentration at different light intensities indicated that both the productivity and efficiency of light utilization were greater at higher light intensities

Performance-based Remuneration for Civil Servants

Within the ongoing discussion about the Governance system in Indonesia and a reform of its PublicAdministration according to principles of Good Governance, a new remuneration system for civilservants is regarded a strategic key issue. The article outlines dimensions of the issue and gives aninsight on discourse and current reform approaches. An outlook on necessary steps ahead stresses, thatAdministrative Reform is not a topic for th

An overview of the Remote Associates Test in different languages

The Remote Associates Test (RAT, CRA) is a classical creativity test used to measure creativity as a function of associative ability. The RAT has been administered in different languages. Nonetheless, because of how embedded in the language the test is, only a few items are directly translatable, and most of the time the RAT is created anew in each language. This process of manual (and in two cases computational) creation of RAT items is guided by the researchers’ understanding of the task. However, are the RAT items in different languages comparable? In this paper, different RAT stimuli datasets are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Significant differences are observed between certain datasets in terms of solver performance. The potential sources of these differences are discussed, together with what this means for creativity psychometrics and computational vs. manual creation of stimuli

Characterization of Photosynthetic Efficiency and Growth of Selected Microalgae in Dense Culture

An objective of the Aquatic Species Program is the development of large scale culturing systems for the production of fuels from lipid-rich microalgae. A major constraint to any such culturing system is the provision of sufficient light in the most economical manner possible, which has led to the use of shallow outdoor ponds that are illuminated using natural sunllght

Algal culture studies related to a Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS)

In many respects, algae would be the ideal plant component for a biologically based controlled life support system, since they are eminently suited to the closely coupled functions of atmosphere regeneration and food production. Scenedesmus obliquus and Spirulina platensis were grown in three continuous culture apparatuses. Culture vessels their operation and relative merits are described. Both light and nitrogen utilization efficiency are examined. Long term culture issues are detailed and a discussion of a plasmid search in Spirulina is included