The Roles of Openness and Labor Market Institutions for Employment Dynamics during Economic Crises

Employment effects of the recent global economic crisis have differed significantly across countries. An active public debate currently focuses on external shocks and the role of labor market policies as a driver of those differences. In this note, we analyze the roles of integration into the global economy and different labor market institutions during different phases of past global economic downturns and domestic banking and debt crises. We find that domestic debt and banking crises were much more severe in their impact on employment than were global economic downturns. On average, the reduction in employment growth was more than twice as strong. We also find that openness to trade has both deepened the contractionary effects on employment and allowed for a faster recovery. High severance pay dampened the employment effect in both domestic crises and global economic downturns, whereas very high unemployment benefits were associated with stronger reductions in employment growth.openness, labor, labor market, employment, crisis, integration, debt, banking, unemployment, recovery, severance pay

The Role of Relationship Conflict for Momentary Loneliness and Affect in the Daily Lives of Older Couples

Background: Intimate partner relationships foster individuals' well-being throughout the lifespan. However, dissatisfying or conflict-laden relationships can have a detrimental impact on well-being and relationship quality. The majority of older adults live together with a spouse/partner, and intimate relationships are one of the most important social contexts in their daily lives. Purpose: Expanding on previous research, we examined the role of previous conflict on experiences of loneliness and affect in the daily lives of older partners from a dyadic perspective. Relationship duration and quality, personality traits (neuroticism and extraversion), conflict frequency during the measurement period, physical health as well as age were considered as moderators. Study Sample and Data Analysis: We used data from an experience sampling study with 151 older heterosexual couples (302 participants; 65+ years old) reporting on their positive and negative affect, loneliness, and previous experience of relationship conflict 6 times a day for 14 days. Data were analyzed using dyadic multilevel models. Results: For both men and women within couples, previous conflict was associated with an increased experience of negative affect and loneliness and a decreased experience of positive affect. Higher neuroticism predicted less positive and more negative affect following conflict for women and more loneliness for men. Higher relationship satisfaction predicted less increase in negative affect after conflict for female partners. Age, relationship duration, physical health, extraversion, and the number of conflict episodes showed no moderating effects. Conclusions: Our results support the notion that relationship conflict deteriorates emotional well-being in old age and renders older adults lonelier even in the context of intimate partner relationships

Firm responses to employment subsidies: a regression discontinuity approach to the 2012 Spanish labour market reform

This study focuses on the employment effect of a hiring subsidy available to firms with less than 50 employees, granted in the context of the 2012 Spanish labour market reform. Exploiting the arbitrary firm size threshold using regression discontinuity design, estimates show on average 2 percentage points higher employment growth for firms that became eligible for the scheme. However, tests and complementary regressions suggest that the higher employment growth for smaller firms in 2013 is driven by a 2010 reform, which imposes more stringent reporting requirements on larger firms. Accounting for this using difference-in-discontinuity regressions, we fail to find any significant effect of the subsidy on increasing employment of eligible firms. While our study suggests several pitfalls arising from size-contingent regulations, more data are needed to test for benecial long-term effects from the hiring subsidy in addressing duality of the Spanish labour market

The Role of Openness and Labour Market Institutions for Employment Dynamics during Economic Crises

Employment effects of the 2008/9 global economic crisis have differed significantly across countries. As a consequence, an active public debate has emerged on the impact of external shocks and the role of public institutions and policies in mitigating them. We contribute to this debate by analyzing the role of integration into the global economy and different labour market institutions during past phases of global economic downturns as well as domestic banking and debt crises. We find that domestic debt and banking crises were much more severe in terms of their impact on employment than global economic downturns. On average, the reduction in employment growth was more than twice as strong. Openness to trade is found to have initially deepened the contractionary effects on employment, but also allowed for a faster recovery. High severance pay dampened the employment effects of both domestic crises and global economic downturns. High unemployment benefits were associated with stronger reductions in employment growth, but the effect seems to be non-linear and driven mainly by countries in the highest 20th percentile of unemployment benefits.labour market / employment / economic recession / economic implication

Daily self-esteem and relationship quality in first-time parents

Do people feel better about themselves on days when they are more satisfied with their relationship? This study addressed this question in a sample of 238 first-time parents who provided daily reports of their self-esteem and relationship quality 6 weeks before, 6 months after, and 18 months after the birth of their first child. Consistent with theory and between-person evidence, we found both mothers and fathers to have higher self-esteem on days when they were more satisfied with their relationship than on an average day. The link between daily relationship quality and self-esteem was robust across the transition to parenthood and generalized across people with different levels of dispositional self-esteem and ages

The Mediating Role of Affective States in Short-Term Effects of Activity Engagement on Working Memory in Older Age

Introduction: It has been shown that activity engagement is associated with cognitive ability in older age, but mechanisms behind the associations have rarely been examined. Following a recent study which showed short-term effects of activity engagement on working memory performance appearing 6 h later, this study examined the mediating role of affective states in this process. Methods: For 7 times per day over 2 weeks, 150 Swiss older adults (aged 65–91 years) reported their present (sociocognitive/passive leisure) activities and affective states (high-arousal positive, low-arousal positive, high-arousal negative, and low-arousal negative) and completed an ambulatory working memory task on a smartphone. Results: Multilevel vector autoregression models showed that passive leisure activities were associated with worse working memory performance 6 h later. Passive leisure activities were negatively associated with concurrent high-arousal positive affect (and high-arousal negative affect); high-arousal positive affect was negatively associated with working memory performance 6 h later. A Sobel test showed a significant mediation effect of high-arousal positive affect linking the time-lagged relationship between passive leisure activities and working memory. Additionally, sociocognitive activities were associated with better working memory performance 6 h later. Sociocognitive activities were associated with concurrent higher high- and low-arousal positive affect, which, however, were not associated with working memory performance 6 h later. Thus, a mediation related to sociocognitive activities was not found. Discussion: Passive leisure activities could influence working memory performance through high-arousal positive affect within a timeframe of several hours. Results are discussed in relation to an emotional, and possibly a neuroendocrine, pathway explaining the time-lagged effects of affective states on working memory performance

Colonização Germânica no Vale do Taquari: os colonos católicos de Santa Clara (século XIX)

O presente trabalho consiste na pesquisa e análise sobre o histórico de colonização germânica no Vale do Taquari, enfocando-se a Fazenda Santa Clara, localizada atualmente no município de Santa Clara do Sul/RS, no século XIX. Buscou-se analisar diversas fontes históricas, encontradas em diferentes acervos no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, bem como analisar diversas bibliografias que tratam sobre a imigração e colonização. A partir destes estudos, foi possível observar o processo de colonização no Vale do Taquari, bem como a organização e constituição da Fazenda Santa Clara e de outras comunidades próximas, em suas primeiras décadas de ocupação. Investigou-se a forte presença de germânicos católicos nesta comunidade, buscando compreender as suas características religiosas e as relações inter-étnicas com as outras comunidades localizadas na proximidade. Objetivou-se, assim, contribuir para uma melhor compreensão destes processos históricos do Vale do Taquari e de Santa Clara do Sul

Avaliação de habilidades numéricas iniciais a partir do test of early mathematics ability (Tema-3) : um estudo de adaptação e validação

As habilidades aritméticas iniciais constituem parte do construto de senso numérico, o qual envolve um conjunto de habilidades que a criança desenvolve gradativamente, a partir de suas interações com o meio social, e que são de grande relevância para o bom desempenho na matemática. Pesquisadores da área chamam a atenção para a importância da avaliação precoce das habilidades aritméticas iniciais uma vez que estas são fortes preditoras do desempenho matemático posterior. No Brasil, o que tem dificultado a avaliação precoce de tais habilidades é o fato de que há uma grande carência de instrumentos de medida padronizados para avaliação das competências matemáticas em crianças. Diante disso, os objetivos da presente dissertação se propõem a investigar as habilidades aritméticas iniciais em crianças brasileiras, realizando um estudo de adaptação e validação de um instrumento de medida, o Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3). Participaram do estudo 2 tradutores bilíngues, 3 juízes especialistas e, da etapa de estudo piloto, 204 crianças (50% meninas), entre 3 e 8 anos de idade, estudantes de escolas públicas do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Os resultados da análise fatorial confirmatória mostraram uma solução de um único fator para o TEMA-3 com cargas fatoriais altas. A fidedignidade do instrumento foi verificada obtendo-se resultados com altos índices de confiabilidade e as análises de correlação item-total indicaram que cada item correlacionou-se fortemente com os demais itens da medida. Tais resultados revelaram que o TEMA-3, por apresentar bons índices de ajuste da escala e índices de consistência interna aceitáveis, um instrumento promissor e útil para avaliação de habilidades aritméticas iniciais. O estudo revelou importantes evidências de validade com correlações positivas significativas, entre o desempenho no TEMA-3 e as demais variáveis envolvidas no estudo: idade, nível socioeconômico, desempenho intelectual, escolaridade dos pais e gênero. A idade e o tempo de escolaridade mostraram-se fortemente associadas ao desempenho dos estudantes, assim como o nível socioeconômico e escolaridade da mãe. Na direção inversa, o estudo evidenciou diferenças de desempenho entre as escolas participantes, apesar de todas elas serem públicas, achado que necessita ser melhor investigado em estudos futuros. O presente estudo traz implicações tanto para o campo de pesquisa, quanto implicações educacionais e clínicas. A importância da pesquisa é notória uma vez que a mesma evidenciou a possibilidade de uso do instrumento de medida TEMA-3 para a avaliação das habilidades aritméticas iniciais. Assim, torna-se uma importante ferramenta de diagnóstico de dificuldades precoces na matemática viabilizando a elaboração de programas de intervenção adequados e eficazes em idade precoce, buscando minimizar dificuldades futuras na área e, consequentemente, refletindo resultados mais positivos na proficiência em matemática dos estudantes brasileiros.The initial arithmetic skills are part of the number sense construct, which involves a set of skills gradually developed by children based on their interactions with the social environment. These skills are of great relevance for a good performance in mathematics. Researchers in the field highlight the importance of early assessment of early arithmetic skills, as these are strong predictors of later mathematical performance. In Brazil, the lack of standardized measuring instruments to assess children's math skills has hampered their early assessment. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the initial arithmetic skills in Brazilian children through a study of adaptation and validation of a measurement instrument, the Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3). The study included 2 bilingual translators and 3 expert judges. The pilot study stage was conducted on 204 children (50% girls) aged 3 to 8 from public schools in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The results of the confirmatory factorial analysis showed a single-factor solution for TEMA-3 with high factorial loadings. The accuracy of the instrument was verified. The results showed high levels of trustworthiness, and the analysis of item-total correlation indicated that each item was strongly correlated to the other ones of the measure. These results revealed that TEMA-3 is a promising and applicable instrument for assessing initial arithmetic skills due to its good scale adjustment indexes and acceptable internal consistency indexes. The study delivered valuable evidence and significant positive correlations between the performance on TEMA-3 and the other variables involved in the study: age, socioeconomic level, intellectual performance, parental education, and gender. Age and time of schooling were strongly associated with the student performance, besides the socioeconomic position and education of the mother. On the other hand, the study revealed different performances among the participating schools, even though they were all public. That is a finding that needs to be better investigated in future studies. The present study has implications for the field of research besides educational and clinical implications. The current research is notoriously relevant since it demonstrated the possibility of using the TEMA-3 measurement instrument for assessing initial arithmetic skills. Thus, it becomes a meaningful tool for diagnosing early difficulties in mathematics. It enables the development of adequate and effective intervention programs at early age and reduces the chances of future adversities in the area. Consequently, it yields more positive results for the mathematics proficiency of Brazilian scholars

Uso da informática nas aulas de matemática : possibilidades e contribuições

Esta monografia tem por objetivo salientar a importância da utilização de recursos variados no processo de ensino/aprendizagem da Matemática, dentro do contexto educacional contemporâneo. A Matemática é uma disciplina trabalhada muitas vezes de forma totalmente tradicional, o que nos leva a questionar se essa metodologia motiva os alunos a desenvolverem um estudo com entusiasmo, reflexão e sentido. Atualmente, há a possibilidade de tornar a aprendizagem da matemática mais significativa utilizando, por exemplo, softwares educativos. Porém, estes softwares precisam ser bem escolhidos pelo professor para que tenham relação com os conteúdos e habilidades desenvolvidos em sala de aula, além de estarem fundamentados na proposta pedagógica da Matemática da escola para que de fato contribuam no processo de ensino/aprendizagem. Esta monografia apresenta uma prática realizada com o uso de um software educativo nas aulas de Matemática de uma turma de alunos de ensino fundamental. A metodologia utilizada no estudo de caso levou em consideração a aprendizagem significativa dos alunos, baseada em Ausubel e Jonassen. Além disso, baseou-se também no Ciclo de aprendizagem de Kolb. Por meio da prática realizada em sala de aula com a turma de alunos, verificou-se a importância do uso das tecnologias, pelo aumento de interesse, motivação e participação por parte dos educandos. Nos dias de hoje nenhum professor pode ignorar o uso das tecnologias em sala de aula