The Demographic Transition and the Sexual Division of Labor

This paper presents a theory where increases in female labor force participation and reductions in the gender wage-gap are generated as part of a single process of demographic transition, characterized by reductions in mortality and fertility. The paper suggests a link between changes in mortality and transformations in the role of women in society that has not been identified before in the literature. Mortality reductions affect the incentives of individuals to invest in human capital and to have children. Particularly, gains in adult longevity reduce fertility, increase investments in market human capital, increase female labor force participation, and reduce the wage differential between men and women. Child mortality reductions, though reducing fertility, do not generate this same pattern of changes. The model reconciles the increase in female labor market participation with the timing of age-specific mortality reductions observed during the demographic transition. It generates changes in fertility, labor market attachment, and the gender wage-gap as part of a single process of social transformation, triggered by reductions in mortality.

O estudo do solo sob a ótica dos livros didáticos de Geografia no ensino fundamental II: o seu entendimento integrado na paisagem

O estudo do solo sob a ótica dos livros didáticos deGeografia no ensino fundamental II:o seu entendimento integrado na paisage

Applications of Bergman kernel functions

In this paper we revisit the so-called Bergman kernel method (BKM) for solving conformal mapping problems. This method is based on the reproducing property of the Bergman kernel function. The construction of reproducing kernel functions is not restricted to real dimension 2. Results concerning the construction of Bergman kernel functions in closed form for special domains in the framework of hypercomplex function theory suggest that BKM can also be extended to mapping problems in higher dimensions. We describe a 3-dimensional BKM-approach and present two numerical examples.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Programa Operacional "Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação" (POCTI)

Web semântica na Embrapa: o próximo desafio da gestão do conhecimento.

Um problema que enfrentamos hoje na Web é que junto com a informação que buscamos, retorna uma quantidade de informações irrelevantes. Projetada pelos idealizadores da Web, a Web Semântica propõe-se a estruturar a rede de forma que seus dados possam ser compreendidos por qualquer computador nela conectado, refinando essa busca e filtrando do conhecimento que nos interessa, aliviando a sobrecarga de informação com o aumento da precisão

Numerical experiments with Bergman kernel functions in 2 and 3 dimensional cases

Pub. Int. CMAT, 1 (2003)In this paper we revisit the so-called Bergman kernel method - BKM- for solving conformal mapping problems and propose a generalized BKM-approach to extend the theory to 3-dimensional mapping problems. A special software package for quaternions was developed for the numerical experiments

Modeling and simulation of micro direct methanol Fuel Cells

Fuel cells have unique technological attributes: efficiency, absence of moving parts and low emissions. The Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) has attracted much attention due to its potential applications as a power source for transportation and portable electronic devices. With the advance of micromachining technologies, miniaturization of power sources became one of the trends of evolution of research in this area. Based on the advantages of the scaling laws, miniaturization promises higher efficiency and performance of power generating devices, so, MicroDMFC is an emergent technology. Models play an important role in fuel cell development since they facilitate a better understanding of parameters affecting the performance of fuel cells. In this work, a steady state, one-dimensional model accounting for coupled heat and mass transfer, along with the electrochemical reactions occurring in a fuel cell, already developed and validated for DMFC in [1-3], is used to predict Micro DMFC performance. The model takes in account all relevant phenomena occurring in a DMFC. Polarization curves predicted by the model are compared with experimental data existing in literature and the model shows good agreement, mainly for lower current densities. The model is used to predict some important parameters to analyze fuel cell performance, such as water transport coefficient and leakage current density. This easily to implement simplified model is suitable for use in real-time MicroDMFC simulations

Experimental and modeling studies of a micro direct methanol fuel cell

The Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) has attracted much attention due to its potential applications as a power source for transportation and portable electronic devices. Based on the advantages of the scaling laws, miniaturization promises higher efficiency and performance of power generating devices and the MicroDMFC is therefore an emergent technology. In this work, a set of experiences with a MicroDMFC of 2.25 cm2 active area are performed in order to investigate the effect of important operating parameters. Maximum power density achieved was 32.6 mW/cm2 using 4M mehanol concentration at room temperature. Polarization curves are compared with mathematical model simulations in order to achieve a better understanding of how parameters affect performance. The one-dimensional model used in this work takes in account coupled heat and mass transfer, along with the electrochemical reactions occurring in a direct methanol fuel cell and was already developed and validated for DMFC in previous work [1-3]. The model is also used to predict some important parameters to analyze fuel cell performance, such as water transport coefficient and methanol crossover. This easy to implement simplified model is suitable for use in real-time MicroDMFC simulations

Optical limiting behavior of bismuth oxide-based glass in the visible range

The authors report experimental results on the optical limiting behavior of a bismuth oxide-based glass by exciting the samples with nanosecond laser pulses at 532 and 598 nm. The results show that two-photon and free-carrier absorption processes contribute for the nonlinear absorption. Values for β, the two-photon absorption coefficient, and σe, the absorption cross section due to free carriers, were determined. The values for β and σe are dependent on the amount of bismuth oxide in the glass composition