Personality Characteristics and Labour Market Entry an exploration

In an explorative study, the value of four personality constructs in predicting success in the labour market entry has been analysed with a sample of graduates in economics from Maastricht University. The research question is: do personality characteristics predict labour market entry success and how much weight do these ‘soft’ factors have compared to the traditional ‘hard’ human capital factors like study results? Two out of the four constructs, i.e. (internal) Locus of control and Type A behaviour appear to have a positive effect on labour market success. The effects are independent of the effects of study results and other traditional human capital variables. Locus of control affects getting a job soon after graduation and having tenure, whereas Type A behaviour affects having tenure and wages. Study results merely affect job quality indicators. For obtaining an academic job, the human capital factors have a positive effect while personality has no effect at all. The findings underline the relevance of further labour market research with respect to the importance and role of the so called ‘soft’ factors like personality characteristics. At the same time, the role of ‘hard’ human capital factors is not to be neglected. Both types of factors seem to have their own and independent effects. Future research directions are given and implications of the study are discussed.labour market entry;

A Study of the SP Geophysical Technique in a Campus Setting

The self potential (SP) method is a simple and inexpensive geophysical surveying technique, which involves measuring electrical potentials on the surface due to charge separations in the subsurface. These charge separations can arise from a number of different physical and electrochemical processes, and hence interpretations tend to be qualitative. Small anomalies are typically neglected as transient, inexplicable, or uninteresting. In contrast, large negative anomalies associated with ore bodies are noted for their constancy. In this study, an area on the campus of Memorial University was repeatedly surveyed in order to determine which natural and anthropogenic features generated SP anomalies, and whether these anomalies were constant or transient. We found anomalies associated with a building, a buried metallic pipe, trees, and subtler ground variations. The locations of anomalies, both large and small, were notably unvarying over a period of days and weeks. The building always generated a significant negative anomaly, but the sign of other anomalies (including that associated with the pipe) and the magnitude of all anomalies varied with time. In a second area dominated by a shallow sewer pipe, SP data allowed modeling of the burial depth and charge distribution of the pipe. Our results show that SP can be a useful and reliable method for shallow ground surveys, but that the time-varying nature of both sign and magnitude of small to moderate anomalies should be taken into account in data collection and interpretation. Résumé La méthode des potentiels spontanés est une technique d’exécution de levés géophysiques simple et peu dispendieuse consistant à mesurer les potentiels électriques à la surface liés aux séparations des charges dans le sous-sol. Ces séparations des charges peuvent découler d’un certain nombre de processus physiques et électrochimiques différents, de sorte que les interprétations données ont tendance à être qualitatives. On néglige généralement les petites anomalies, les considérant comme des anomalies transitoires, inexplicables ou peu intéressantes. En revanche, on note les anomalies négatives poussées qui sont associées aux corps minéralisés en raison de leur constance. Dans le cadre de cette étude, on a réalisé des levés répétés dans un secteur du campus de l’Université Memorial pour déterminer quelles particularités naturelles et artificielles produisaient des anomalies des PS et si ces anomalies étaient constantes ou transitoires. Nous avons découvert des anomalies associées à un bâtiment, à un tuyau en métal enfoui, à des arbres et à des irrégularités du terrain plus subtiles. Fait remarquable, les emplacements des anomalies, tant prononcées que minimes, n’ont pas changé au cours d’une période de plusieurs jours et semaines. Le bâtiment a toujours produit une anomalie négative marquée, mais le signal d’autres anomalies (notamment celle associée au tuyau) et la magnitude de toutes les anomalies ont varié au fil du temps. Dans un second secteur où était surtout présent un tuyau d’égout peu profond, les données des PS ont permis la modélisation de la profondeur d’enfouissement et de la distribution des charges du tuyau. Nos résultats révèlent que la polarisation spontanée peut s’avérer une méthode utile et fiable pour les levés terrestres peu profonds, mais qu’il faudrait tenir compte de la nature variable des signaux et de la magnitude des anomalies minimes à moyennes lors de la collecte et de l’interprétation des données. [Traduit par la redaction

Production Strategies of Livestock Herders in the Grasslands of Kazakhstan: Implications for the Marketing of Fine Fibres

Goat populations have been rising in Kazakhstan over the past ten years since independence and goats are preferred by farmers trying to restock. Quality of cashmere production is the key to profitable and sustainable sales to world markets for this luxury good. However, Kazakhstan did not develop a cashmere industry in the Soviet period so today goats are sheared rather than combed and little profit is made from cashmere. Goats, as well as sheep and camels are currently multi-purpose animals providing income from sales of animals, cashmere, milk and meat. This will change as the terms of trade change for high quality cashmere and households comb for fine down

Technical design

To convert Bergenmeersen from a flood control area (FCA) to a flood control area with controlled reduced tide (FCA-CRT), the existing dykes were modified and a new inlet and outlet construction was built. This chapter outlines the hydraulic and geotechnical design. This encompasses raising the existing ring dyke around the area, the new stability calculations and the modified dyke revetment along the water and land side. The inlet and outlet structure is also described. The hydraulic boundary conditions are extremely important to the design

Addressing Gaps to Promote Co-learning and Bidirectional Capacity Building in Community Engaged Research: Challenges and Untapped Opportunities

Moderator: Stephenie Lemon, Ph.D., UMass Worcester Prevention Research Center Session Titles and Presenters -Learning From Each Other: Other Partnerships, Other Experiences - Linda Silka, Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine -What is Research Literacy? - Lauren R. Powell, PhD Candidate Clinical and Population Health Research, UMass Medical School -Learning by Doing to Enhance a Community-University Partnership - TBN, The Puerto Rican Cultural Center - Phil Granberry, PhD, The Gaston Institute, UMass Boston -Enhancing Cultural Competency in Research Teams: The Promise of Simulation-based Training - Marie Boone, Executive Vice President of Planning, Mosaic Cultural Complex Session Description: Community engagement is increasingly recognized as an essential approach for the development of a body of health-related research that will ultimately improve population health status and promote health equity. However, this approach poses many challenges as well as untapped opportunities. Specific to this session, co-learning and bidirectional capacity building are widely promulgated core principles of community engaged research. The intent of the principles are for community and academic members to learn from each other in both formal and informal ways, leveraging respective strengths, in order to develop sustainable knowledge, skills and resources. In a community–university, partnerships, researchers and community residents must commit not only to sharing their skills and experiences, but also to learning from and valuing each other’s skills. This requires that both groups engage in a bidirectional learning process. Through this co-learning and capacity building, research partnerships and participation can be improved and ultimately the research itself can potentially have greater impact. The purpose of this session is to provide a series of brief presentations from academia and community organizations that will outline specific issues experienced in promoting co-learning and bidirectional capacity for academic teams, community partners and community members and to describe local efforts to enhance co-learning, bidirectional capacity and community engaged research overall