Upgrading in the European Union

Human capital factor endowments have become one of the main determinants of international competitiveness. Both to catch up in the technological race and to increase the long-term flexibility of the workforce, industrialized countries require a highly skilled labour force. This paper analyzes the skills upgrading process in the European Union, as reflected in shifts in the occupational structure of employment and changes in the skill requirements in the various occupational fields. We distinguish between upgrading by recruitment policies and by training policies. Labour Force Survey data shows an increase in skill levels and rather stable participation in continuing vocational education. The data also reveal diverging trends, in the period 1983- 1991, between the various Member States of the European Union, both with regard to the skill level of the working population and the rate of participation in training activities. Estimation results show that, in general, intermediate skilled workers participate more in training activities than highly skilled workers. This suggests some substitutability between initial education (i.e. recruitment policies) and continuing training. However, if we correct for the occupational field in which workers are employed, recruitment policies and training policies appear to be complementary rather than substitutes. This means that within the various occupational fields, continuing training increases the skill gap between highly skilled and intermediately skilled workers. Moreover, both intermediate and highly skilled workers participate significantly more in continuing training than low skilled workers. This again indicates an increase in the skill gap in the labour force in the EU Member States, which means that continuing training fails to achieve the upgrading of low skilled workers which is required if the labour supply is to be adjusted to transfer human resources towards activities which match the EU''s comparative advantages.education, training and the labour market;

Skills Obsolescence: Causes and Cures

Until now there has been surprisingly little research on the causes of and the remedies for skills obsolescence. This study tries to fill that gap to some extent by analysing the relation between risk factors and skills obsolescence. Moreover, the role remedies play to counter skills obsolescence is analysed. Four empirical analyses that relate skills obsolescence to risk factors and remedies are presented. We find that most risk factors identified in the literature can be validated empirically. The remedies for skills obsolescence are not effective in all situations: the results show that there is considerable variation in the effectiveness of the remedies across different types of skills obsolescence. Although current available data does not allow a comprehensive analysis, which also takes account of relations between the various types of skills obsolescence, the results obtained are plausible and offer a starting point for further research.education, training and the labour market;

Improved Mars Helicopter Aerodynamic Rotor Model for Comprehensive Analyses

The Mars Helicopter is part of the NASA Mars 2020 rover mission scheduled to launch in July of 2020. Its goal is to demonstrate the viability and potential of heavier-than-air vehicles in the Martian atmosphere. Ultimately, it aims to bridge the resolution gap between orbiters and the rover as well as allow access to otherwise inaccessible regions. The low density of the Martian atmosphere and the relatively small-scale rotor result in very low Reynolds number flows. The low density and low Reynolds numbers reduce the lifting force and lifting efficiency, respectively. This paper describes the generation of the improved Mars Helicopter aerodynamic rotor model. The goal is to generate a performance model for the Mars Helicopter rotor using a free wake analysis, since this has a low computational cost for design. The improvements in the analysis are two-fold and are expanded on from two prior publications. First, the fidelity of the simulations is increased by performing higher-order two-dimensional time-accurate OVERFLOW simulations allowing for higher accuracy aerodynamic coefficients and a better understanding of the boundary layer behavior as well as its transient features. Second, a version of the model is generated to duplicate the exact testing conditions in the 25-ft. diameter Space Simulator at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which allows for better correlation of rotor performance figures. Previous work correlated performance with that test, but did not consider the higher temperatures in the experiment compared to those of the Martian atmosphere. The higher temperatures in the experiment are expected to give conservative performance estimates, as they give rise to an increase in speed of sound and decrease in observed Reynolds numbers

Isorhodopsin: an undervalued visual pigment analog

Solid state NMR/Biophysical Organic Chemistr