Theory of disordered unconventional superconductors

In contrast to conventional s-wave superconductivity, unconventional (e.g. p or d-wave) superconductivity is strongly suppressed even by relatively weak disorder. Upon approaching the superconductor-metal transition, the order parameter amplitude becomes increasingly inhomogeneous leading to effective granularity and a phase ordering transition described by the Mattis model of spin glasses. One consequence of this is that at low enough temperatures, between the clean unconventional superconducting and the diffusive metallic phases, there is necessarily an intermediate superconducting phase which exhibits s-wave symmetry on macroscopic scales.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Migrants at work: perspectives, perceptions and new connections. Work, Employment and Society, 34 (5) . pp. 745-748. ISSN 0950-0170

Migration – and the experiences of migrants – continue to occupy an important and controversial place in the scholarly and political debates on contemporary labour markets and societies. As new scenarios emerge at local, national and global levels, new insights and perspectives become necessary. The articles in this themed issue reflect the interest Work, Employment and Society has had in the topic of labour migrations and migrants at work for well over a decade and which led, for example, to the themed issue Migration at Work: Spaces, Borders and Boundaries in 32(5), 2018. Migration has of course been a prominent issue across the social sciences, and in recent years particularly in relation to the ‘refugee crisis’ of 2015 and to intra-European migration ahead of and in light of Brexit. The experiences of migrants from Eastern and Central Europe in the workplace, their overqualification and devaluing of their cultural capital, and their positioning within segmented labour markets have produced a number of articles in past issues (e.g. Ciupijus, 2011; Samaluk, 2016; Sirkeci et al., 2018) to which those in the current issue (Leschke and Weiss; Rydzik and Anitha) make an important addition. [...

Working Lives in India: current insights and future directions

India presents a rich context for research on work and employment, epitomising the paradox of an ‘emerging economy’ but one where 92.4 percent of the workforce is informal - insecure, unprotected, poor – and women and disadvantaged groups most vulnerable. It displays a wide range of production relations in its formal/informal economy, embedded in diverse social relations, and the related forms of exploitation and resistance. This e-special issue of Work, Employment and Society (WES) aims to review existing WES scholarship on India since 2001, identifying both gaps in scholarship and fruitful avenues for future research on India. The purpose is to showcase some of this scholarship while also advancing the internationalization and expansion of the journal’s presence in countries in the Global South. This effort is timely as decolonisation of scholarship and increased focus on the South is on the intellectual agenda, challenging established structures of power and knowledge in academia

Hybrid EEG-fNIRS asynchronous brain-computer interface for multiple motor tasks

Non-invasive Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) have demonstrated great promise for neuroprosthetics and assistive devices. Here we aim to investigate methods to combine Electroencephalography (EEG) and functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) in an asynchronous Sensory Motor rhythm (SMR)-based BCI. We attempted to classify 4 different executed movements, namely, Right-Arm—Left-Arm—Right-Hand—Left-Hand tasks. Previous studies demonstrated the benefit of EEG-fNIRS combination. However, since normally fNIRS hemodynamic response shows a long delay, we investigated new features, involving slope indicators, in order to immediately detect changes in the signals. Moreover, Common Spatial Patterns (CSPs) have been applied to both EEG and fNIRS signals. 15 healthy subjects took part in the experiments and since 25 trials per class were available, CSPs have been regularized with information from the entire population of participants and optimized using genetic algorithms. The different features have been compared in terms of performance and the dynamic accuracy over trials shows that the introduced methods diminish the fNIRS delay in the detection of changes

Productivity Analysis Method Using Partial Productivity and Total Productivity in the Framework of Industrial Business Development Tofu Craftsmen in Manado City

This entrepreneurial role in economic development includes increasing per capita output and income which includes initiatives and changes in business structures and society. The main problem is the low business productivity that affects the contribution of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the regional economy, especially in the city of Manado. This study aims to measure the level of partial productivity and total productivity of the Tofu industry craftsmen in Manado City. The subject of this study is the owner of the tofu industry craftsman factory in Manado City. Whereas the object of the research is the business productivity of the Tofu industry, including: 1) Raw Materials, 2) Labor, 3) Materials, 4) Energy, and 5) Capital for 5 (five) weeks. Data analysis in this study uses a method of measuring productivity ratios. The result of the research and measurements show the total productivity level of tofu producers experiencing fluctuations and tends to decrease with indexes ranging from 1.04 % to 0.90% per production. Keywords: partial productivity, total productivity, tofu craftsme