Intangible training capital and productivity in Europe

This paper employs industry data, derived from linking the EU LFS to productivity accounts from EU KLEMS, to examine workforce training and productivity in European Union original members states. Training activities are modelled as intangible investments by firms and cumulated to stocks so their impact can be evaluated within a production function framework, including links to the use of information and communications technology (ICT). The results suggest significantly positive effects of training on productivity, both direct and interacted with ICT, with different impacts in services than in production industries. These results are robust to the use of instrumental variables methods, both lagged instruments and a set of variables that capture features of the operation of labour markets

Skill bias, age and organizational change

This paper considers evidence on the impact of ICT on demand for different types of workers, focusing in particular on the age dimension. It first examines data from EUKLEMS using regressions standard in the literature and suggests ICT may have adversely affected older workers, in particular high skilled males aged 50 and over. The paper then uses data from the EU Labour Force Survey, linked to EUKLEMS, to examine whether the observed differences by worker type could be due to variations in on the job training. It shows that training linked to ICT use can explain some of the wage variation and that reluctance by older men to undertake training has a role as well as lower offers of training by firms

Skill bias, age and organizational change

This paper considers evidence on the impact of ICT on demand for different types of workers, focusing in particular on the age dimension. It first examines data from EUKLEMS using regressions standard in the literature and suggests ICT may have adversely affected older workers, in particular high skilled males aged 50 and over. The paper then uses data from the EU Labour Force Survey, linked to EUKLEMS, to examine whether the observed differences by worker type could be due to variations in on the job training. It shows that training linked to ICT use can explain some of the wage variation and that reluctance by older men to undertake training has a role as well as lower offers of training by firms

Intrinsic default mode network connectivity predicts spontaneous verbal descriptions of autobiographical memories during social processing.

Yang X-F, Bossmann J, Schiffhauer B, Jordan M, Immordino-Yang MH. Intrinsic default mode network connectivity predicts spontaneous verbal descriptions of autobiographical memories during social processing. Frontiers in Psychology. 2013;3(Suppl.):112

New measures of workforce skills in the EU

This paper presents new data series designed to yield a more complete picture of the growth in average skill levels embedded in the EU workforce, comparing with competitor countries such as the US and China. Harmonised data from EU surveys are employed to extend coverage in existing databases to more countries, to cover the period of the financial crisis, and to skills acquired through informal workforce training. The results indicate growth in labour quality in the EU15 marginally below the US, convergence of the group of new member states to the EU15 but no sign of convergence of China to more developed regions. There is evidence of a pronounced rise in labour quality in most countries after 2007, consistent with theories of labour hoarding, but with some notable exceptions. Expanding the conventional measures of labour quality to include informal training leads to small but significant increases in the growth of human capital in some EU15 member states

Dual wavelength (ultraviolet and green) photodetectors using solution processed Zinc Oxide nanoparticles

Narrow-band photoconductivity with a spectral width of 0.16 eV is obtained from solution-processed colloidal ZnO nanocrystals beneath the band-edge at 2.25 eV. A new model involving electron transfer from deep defects to discrete shallow donors is introduced to explain the narrow spectrum and the exponential form of the current rise and decay transients. The defects are tentatively assigned to neutral oxygen vacancies. The photocurrent responsivity can be enhanced by storage in air and this correlates with the formation of carbonate surface species by capture of carbon dioxide during storage. This controllability is exploited to develop a low-cost and scalable photolithographic approach to pixelate photodetectors for applications such as object discrimination, sensing etc. The spectral response can be spatially patterned so that dual (ultraviolet and green) and single (ultraviolet only) wavelength detecting ZnO pixels can be produced on the same substrate. This presents a new sensor mode with applications in security or full colour imaging

Prenatal Predictors of Infant Self-Regulation: The Contributions of Placental DNA Methylation of NR3C1 and Neuroendocrine Activity

We examined whether placental DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene, NR3C1 was associated with self-regulation and neuroendocrine responses to a social stressor in infancy. Placenta samples were obtained at birth and mothers and their infants (n = 128) participated in the still-face paradigm when infants were 5 months old. Infant self-regulation following the still-face episode was coded and pre-stress cortisol and cortisol reactivity was assessed in response to the still-face paradigm. A factor analysis of NR3C1 CpG sites revealed two factors: one for CpG sites 1-4 and the other for sites 5-13. DNA methylation of the factor comprising NR3C1 CpG sites 5-13 was related to greater cortisol reactivity and infant self-regulation, but cortisol reactivity was not associated with infant self-regulation. The results reveal that prenatal epigenetic processes may explain part of the development of infant self-regulation

Discerning the clinical relevance of biomarkers in early stage breast cancer

Purpose Prior data suggest that breast cancer patients accept significant toxicity for small benefit. It is unclear whether personalized estimations of risk or benefit likelihood that could be provided by biomarkers alter treatment decisions in the curative setting. Methods A choice-based conjoint (CBC) survey was conducted in 417 HER2-negative breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy in the curative setting. The survey presented pairs of treatment choices derived from common taxane- and anthracycline-based regimens, varying in degree of benefit by risk of recurrence and in toxicity profile, including peripheral neuropathy (PN) and congestive heart failure (CHF). Hypothetical biomarkers shifting benefit and toxicity risk were modeled to determine whether this knowledge alters choice. Previously identified biomarkers were evaluated using this model. Results Based on CBC analysis, a non-anthracycline regimen was the most preferred. Patients with prior PN had a similar preference for a taxane regimen as those who were PN naïve, but more dramatically shifted preference away from taxanes when PN was described as severe/irreversible. When modeled after hypothetical biomarkers, as the likelihood of PN increased, the preference for taxane-containing regimens decreased; similarly, as the likelihood of CHF increased, the preference for anthracycline regimens decreased. When evaluating validated biomarkers for PN and CHF, this knowledge did alter regimen preference. Conclusions Patients faced with multi-faceted decisions consider personal experience and perceived risk of recurrent disease. Biomarkers providing information on likelihood of toxicity risk do influence treatment choices, and patients may accept reduced benefit when faced with higher risk of toxicity in the curative setting