Is skill-biased technological change here yet ? Evidence from Indian manufacturing in the 1990

Most high and middle-income countries showed symptoms of skill-biased technological change in the 1980s. India-a low income country-did not, perhaps because India's traditionally controlled economy may have limited the transfer of technologies from abroad. However the economy underwent a sharp reform and a manufacturing boom in the 1990s, raising the possibility that technology absorption may have accelerated during the past decade. The authors investigate the hypothesis that skill-biased technological change did in fact arrive in India in the 1990s using panel data disaggregated by industry and state from the Annual Survey of Industry. These data confirm that while the 1980s were a period of falling skills demand, the 1990s showed generally rising demand for skills, with variation across states. They find that increased output and capital-skill complementarity appear to be the best explanations of skill upgrading in the 1990s. Skill upgrading did not occur in the same set of industries in India as it did in other countries, suggesting that increased demand for skills in Indian manufacturing is not due to the international diffusion of recent vintages of skill-biased technologies.Economic Theory&Research,Labor Markets,Investment and Investment Climate,Education and Digital Divide,Water and Industry

Pensions and labor turnover in Japan

In the study, an unusually rich dataset containing linked information on pension plans and labor markets was assembled to investigate the effects of wages and pension benefits on job turnover in Japanese manufacturing. Both the description of how wage and pension compensation are structured in Japan, and the research findings on the role pensions play in inducing strong job attachment among Japanese workers, should be of interest to policy makers, personnel managers, and labor economists studying issues of aging and retirement

Analysis of Noise Level and Sound Transmission Loss of Noise Barrier Material for the Construction Site

The construction activities are the common noisy and annoyance work that affected the most to the human lifestyle. Those students and lecturers who stayed at the noise receptor locations might be suffering from the health impairment. The objective of this study is to assess and determine the noise level present throughout the daytime period (9AM - 12PM and 14PM - 17PM) at the respective measurement points. The analysis of noise spectrum of sound source from 125 Hz to 4 kHz is also under the topic of study. The analysis was carried out by comparing with the recommended safe noise level in term of equivalent continuous sound level (LAeq) and sound pressure level (Lp). The objective of selection the best sound transmission loss (STL) of noise barrier material among the 3 material classifications: metal, fibre and polymer is also under investigation. The experiment STL of four different types of noise barrier material was carried out in the small scale of reverberation chambers equipped with the LMS Test Lab and LMS SCADAS Mobile device. The 16 tested one-third octave frequency band which is ranged from 125 Hz to 4 kHz had been used in the experiment. The results revealed that the material of newspaper was delivered to the STL ranged from 0dB to 9.7dB within the low frequency of 125 Hz to 800 Hz. For the material of aluminium foil, it has the optimum performance with at least 5.4dB and above of STL at higher frequency ranged from 1 kHz to 4 kHz. In overall, newspaper is considered as the best noise barrier material as it could reduce the noise level more throughout the selected frequency range in this study. Even though the newspaper is insufficient durable to rain and sunlight, but it is the best noise barrier material among the 3 classifications. The experiment of material that used to cover up the newspaper which is durable to different weather will be conducted in further research

Doping influence of spin dynamics and magnetoelectric effect in hexagonal Y0.7_{0.7}Lu0.3_{0.3}MnO3_{3}

We use inelastic neutron scattering to study spin waves and their correlation with the magnetoelectric effect in Y$_{0.7}$Lu$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$. In the undoped YMnO$_3$ and LuMnO$_3$, the Mn trimerization distortion has been suggested to play a key role in determining the magnetic structure and the magnetoelectric effect. In Y$_{0.7}$Lu$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$, we find a much smaller in-plane (hexagonal $ab$-plane) single ion anisotropy gap that coincides with a weaker in-plane dielectric anomaly at $T_N$. Since both the smaller in-plane anisotropy gap and the weaker in-plane dielectric anomaly are coupled to a weaker Mn trimerization distortion in Y$_{0.7}$Lu$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ comparing to YMnO$_3$ and LuMnO$_3$, we conclude that the Mn trimerization is responsible for the magnetoelectric effect and multiferroic phenomenon in Y$_{1-y}$Lu$_{y}$MnO$_{3}$.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Mechanical self-confinement to enhance energy storage density of antiferroelectric capacitors

The energy storage density of electrical capacitors utilizing antiferroelectric compositions Pb0.99Nb0.02[(Zr0.57Sn0.43)1−yTiy]0.98O3 as dielectrics is measured at a series of temperatures in a series of dielectric compositions with and without self-confinement. Under the applied electric field of 70 kV/cm, a maximum energy density of 1.3 J/cm3 is achieved. The mechanical self-confinement was introduced by partially electroding the central portion of thedielectric ceramic disk. A phase-field model was developed and it confirms the presence of compressive stresses ∼30 MPa in the electroded portion of the dielectric disk and the contribution to the increased energy density from the mechanical confinement

High-Pressure Micellar Solutions of Polystyrene-block-polybutadiene and Polystyrene-block-polyisoprene in Propane Exhibit Cloud-Pressure Reduction and Distinct Micellization End Points

Micellar solutions of polystyrene-block-polybutadiene and polystyrene-block-polyisoprene in propane are found to exhibit significantly lower cloud pressures than the corresponding hypothetical nonmicellar solutions. Such a cloud-pressure reduction indicates the extent to which micelle formation enhances the apparent diblock solubility in near-critical and hence compressible propane. Concentration-dependent pressure-temperature points beyond which no micelles can be formed, referred to as the micellization end points, are found to depend on the block type, size, and ratio. The cloud-pressure reduction and the micellization end point measured for styrene-diene diblocks in propane should be characteristic of all amphiphilic diblock copolymer solutions that form micelles in compressible solvents

High-Pressure Micellar Solutions of Polystyrene-block-polybutadiene and Polystyrene-block-polyisoprene in Propane Exhibit Cloud-Pressure Reduction and Distinct Micellization End Points

Micellar solutions of polystyrene-block-polybutadiene and polystyrene-block-polyisoprene in propane are found to exhibit significantly lower cloud pressures than the corresponding hypothetical nonmicellar solutions. Such a cloud-pressure reduction indicates the extent to which micelle formation enhances the apparent diblock solubility in near-critical and hence compressible propane. Concentration-dependent pressure-temperature points beyond which no micelles can be formed, referred to as the micellization end points, are found to depend on the block type, size, and ratio. The cloud-pressure reduction and the micellization end point measured for styrene-diene diblocks in propane should be characteristic of all amphiphilic diblock copolymer solutions that form micelles in compressible solvents