Flexibility at the margin and labor market volatility in OECD countries

We argue that segmented labor markets with flexibility at the margin (e.g., just affecting fixed-term employees) may achieve similar volatility than fully deregulated labor markets. Flexibility at the margin produces a gap in separation costs among matched workers that cause fixed-term employment to be the main workforce adjustment device. Moreover, in the presence of limitations in the duration and number of renewals of fixed-term contracts, firms respond by fostering labor turnover which further raises the volatility of the labor market. We present a matching model with temporary and permanent jobs where (i) the gap in firing costs and (ii) restrictions in the use of fixedterm contracts play the central role to explain the similar volatility observed in many regulated labor markets with flexibility at the margin vis-à-vis the fully deregulated ones.

Partial Disability System and Labor Market Adjustment: The Case of Spain

Although partially disabled individuals in Spain are allowed to combine the receipt of disability benefits with a job, the empirical evidence shows that employment rates for this group of individuals are very low. Therefore, in this paper we construct labor market model with search intensity and matching frictions in order to identify the incentives and disincentives to work provided by the partial disability system in Spain from the point of view of both disabled individuals and employers. According to the model, the high employment rate gap observed between nondisabled and disabled workers can be partially explained by the presence of a lower level of productivity and higher searching costs among disabled individuals that discourage them from looking for jobs. Moreover, the design of the Spanish Disability System also contributes in explaining this gap. We also analyze the role of business cycle conditions in shaping the labor market transitions of disabled individuals

Node assembly for waste level measurement: embrace the smart city

Municipal Solid Waste Management Systems (MSWMS) worldwide are currently facing pressure due to the rapid growth of the population in cities. One of the biggest challenges in this system is the inefficient expenditure of time and fuel in waste collection. In this regard, cities/- municipalities in charge of MSWMS could take advantage of information and communication technologies to improve the overall quality of their infrastructure. One particular strategy that has been explored and is showing interesting results is using a Wireless Sensors Network (WSN) to monitor waste levels in real-time and help decision-making regarding the need for collection. The WSN is equipped with sensing devices that should be carefully chosen considering the real scenario in which they will work. Therefore, in this work, three sets of sensors were studied to evaluate which is the best to be used in the future WSN assembled in Bragança, Portugal. Sets tested were HC-SR04 (S1), HC-SR04 + DHT11 (S2), and US-100 (S3). Tests considered for this work were air temperature and several distances. In the first, the performance of each set to measure a fixed target (metal and plastic box) was evaluated under different temperatures (1.7 - 37 ℃). From these results, two best sets were further used to assess distance measurement at a fixed temperature. This test revealed low absolute errors measuring the distances of interest in this work, ranging from 0.18% to 1.27%.This work has been supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/05757/2020, UIDB/00690/2020, LA/P/0045/2020, UIDB/50020/2020, and UIDP/50020/2020. Adriano Silva was supported by FCT-MIT Portugal PhD grant SFRH/BD/151346/2021, and Thadeu Brito was supported by FCT PhD grant SFRH/BD/08598 /2020. Jose L. Diaz de Tuesta acknowledges the finantial support through the program of Atraccion de Talento of Atraccion al Talento of the Comunidad de Madrid (Spain) for the individual research grant 2020-T2/AMB-19836.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Degradation of paracetamol by wet peroxide oxidation using carbon nanotubes synthesized from plastic solid waste

Within increased production and economic/social dependence of plastic utilization, an environmental problem has also emerged. In this scenario, plastic solid waste (PSW) recycling/management/recovery has become a problem of public concern, with a global generation estimated at 150 million tonnes per year. Materials produced from PSW can be classified as primary (performance/characteristics equivalent to virgin plastic), secondary (performance’s requirement lower than the original application), tertiary (PSW used as feedstock for the generation of chemicals and fuels), and quaternary (energy recovery via incineration) recycled materials [1]. For instance, pyrolysis of PSW has been extensively used for the thermochemical conversion of useless PSW into oil, gas, and carbon materials, thus classified as terciary recycled material.Adriano S. Silva thanks his doctoral Grant with reference SFRH/BD/151346/2021 financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), with funds from NORTE2020, under MIT Portugal Program. This work was financially supported by UIDB/05757/2020 (CeDRI), UIDB/00690/2020 (CIMO), LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE), UIDB/50020/2020, UI-DP/50020/2020 (LSRE-LCM) and funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). Fernanda F. Roman acknowledges the national funding by FCT through the individual research grant SFRH/BD/143224/2019info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of the current electric energy needs in subsidized residential users

In this paper it is considered the characterization and behaviour of the residential energy demand of users located in socioeconomic sectors of the Department of Atlántico, also, the participation of communities to declare the typical energy consumption at the residential level. The results are based on direct measurement sources which allows the development of energy efficiency projects, renewable energies that respond to the needs of the communities and seek to encourage the proliferation of renewable energy projects by adequately sizing the installed capacities of the resources, with the possibility of establishing grid connection as well as systems for energy management in residential users

Business model for the optimization of energy consumption by VAC equipment in service sector buildings

Electricity consumption has been growing in recent decades, and it is estimated that air conditioning accounts for 30% of a building’s total electricity consumption. However, in hot climates this percentage may be even higher, which has led to the development of energy management techniques aimed at reducing the high electric bills paid by end users. This article proposes a business model for the commercialization of intelligent solutions for the optimization of electricity consumption by air conditioning equipment (VAC) in service sector buildings. The study used the Canvas methodology to validate the proposed model, in combination with other techniques such as SCAMPER, interviews, and discussion groups, among others, to validate the proposed business model aimed at the introduction of new techniques for the commercialization of air conditioning. Service-sector buildings exposed to the climate conditions of the Colombian Caribbean region were used as case study. The results summarize the characteristics of the business model, including the respective validations of the nine “Canvas” modules, which enabled reviewing two possible scenarios offering different alternatives for implementation of this initiative

Child care costs, household liquidity constraints, and gender inequality

In a model with endogenous female labour supply and wages, we show that liquidity constraints that prevent households from buying child care generate an inefficiency and amplify gender gaps in the labour market. We evaluate the relative merits of paid maternity leave, child care subsidies, and government loans in mitigating liquidity constraints and promoting gender equality. While an extension in the duration of the leave has ambiguous effects, child care subsidies and loans in the form of child care vouchers remove the liquidity constraints and reduce gender gaps in participation and wages. We illustrate the mechanisms at play in a numerical example using Spanish data

Atmospheric gravity waves in the Red Sea : a new hotspot

© The Author(s), 2011. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. The definitive version was published in Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics 18 (2011): 71-79, doi:10.5194/npg-18-71-2011.The region of the Middle East around the Red Sea (between 32° E and 44° E longitude and 12° N and 28° N latitude) is a currently undocumented hotspot for atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs). Satellite imagery shows evidence that this region is prone to relatively high occurrence of AGWs compared to other areas in the world, and reveals the spatial characteristics of these waves. The favorable conditions for wave propagation in this region are illustrated with three typical cases of AGWs propagating in the lower troposphere over the sea. Using weakly nonlinear long wave theory and the observed characteristic wavelengths we obtain phase speeds which are consistent with those observed and typical for AGWs, with the Korteweg-de Vries theory performing slightly better than Benjamin-Davis-Acrivos-Ono theory as far as phase speeds are concerned. ERS-SAR and Envisat-ASAR satellite data analysis between 1993 and 2008 reveals signatures consistent with horizontally propagating large-scale internal waves. These signatures cover the entire Red Sea and are more frequently observed between April and September, although they also occur during the rest of the year. The region's (seasonal) propagation conditions for AGWs, based upon average vertical atmospheric stratification profiles suggest that many of the signatures identified in the satellite images are atmospheric internal waves.This research was conducted with support from KAUST (King Abdullah University for Science and Technology) in collaboration with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Biology Department. Some support was also provided by a Treaty of Windsor Grant awarded by the British Council (Portugal)