The determinants of work autonomy and employee involvement: A multilevel analysis

Although work autonomy (WA) and employee involvement (EI) are often subsumed into a single construct in the literature, we argue that there is theoretical and empirical ground to meaningfully distinguish the two notions. To better understand a) the extent to which WA and EI are distinct constructs and b) the factors that explain their respective levels, we use the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey to build sound indexes of WA and EI, provide a picture of the level of both constructs in 31 European countries and analyse their predictors through multilevel structural models. The results show that WA and EI differ significantly in what concerns their macro-level but not micro-level predictors. Whereas union density and generalised trust strongly influence EI, only generalised trust impacts WA. Documenting that generalised trust as a macro-social trait is powerfully associated with organizational choices is a key contribution of the paper.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Job polarisation: Capturing the effects of work organisation

This article critically challenges the findings and assumptions of mainstream job polarisation literature. Based on the European Working Conditions Survey data and on the Job Demand-Control model, which allows for capturing the organisational dimension of jobs, we examine the patterns and evolution of occupations in 22 European countries from 2005 to 2015. Instead of pervasive job polarisation, we observe a near-pervasive trend of upgrading job quality, suggesting that job polarisation may be caused by the undervaluation/devaluation of jobs low in the occupational hierarchy – not by computerisation-driven changes in work tasks. Indeed, only the former can explain the decrease in the number of low-quality jobs while the number of low-paid jobs increases. After documenting the relevance of firm-level organisational choices, we suggest that counteracting job polarisation requires, beyond meso-level collective bargaining, a public intervention that promotes participatory decision-making in firms.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Declining autonomy at work in the EU and its effect on civic behaviour

The aim of this paper is to show that social benefits may accrue from work environments that support autonomous forms of work. Based on social psychology, economics and philosophy approaches, we argue that autonomy is a basic human need which, when satisfied, enhances civic behavior. Using individual data from the EWCS, we find evidence of the positive effect of work autonomy on volunteer work and political/trade union activities. Overall, work autonomy has decreased over the last fifteen years for all skill levels in the EU, though there are substantial differences between countries. Organizational practices that promote autonomy should be deliberately stimulated if civic participation is to be furthered.FC

Event-Driven Network Programming

Software-defined networking (SDN) programs must simultaneously describe static forwarding behavior and dynamic updates in response to events. Event-driven updates are critical to get right, but difficult to implement correctly due to the high degree of concurrency in networks. Existing SDN platforms offer weak guarantees that can break application invariants, leading to problems such as dropped packets, degraded performance, security violations, etc. This paper introduces EVENT-DRIVEN CONSISTENT UPDATES that are guaranteed to preserve well-defined behaviors when transitioning between configurations in response to events. We propose NETWORK EVENT STRUCTURES (NESs) to model constraints on updates, such as which events can be enabled simultaneously and causal dependencies between events. We define an extension of the NetKAT language with mutable state, give semantics to stateful programs using NESs, and discuss provably-correct strategies for implementing NESs in SDNs. Finally, we evaluate our approach empirically, demonstrating that it gives well-defined consistency guarantees while avoiding expensive synchronization and packet buffering

Synthesis of atomically thin hexagonal boron nitride films on nickel foils by molecular beam epitaxy

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a layered two-dimensional material with properties that make it promising as a dielectric in various applications. We report the growth of h-BN films on Ni foils from elemental B and N using molecular beam epitaxy. The presence of crystalline h-BN over the entire substrate is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy is used to examine the morphology and continuity of the synthesized films. A scanning electron microscopy study of films obtained using shorter depositions offers insight into the nucleation and growth behavior of h-BN on the Ni substrate. The morphology of h-BN was found to evolve from dendritic, star-shaped islands to larger, smooth triangular ones with increasing growth temperature

Phenomenological study of the electronic transport coefficients of graphene

Using a semi-classical approach and input from experiments on the conductivity of graphene, we determine the electronic density dependence of the electronic transport coefficients -- conductivity, thermal conductivity and thermopower -- of doped graphene. Also the electronic density dependence of the optical conductivity is obtained. Finally we show that the classical Hall effect (low field) in graphene has the same form as for the independent electron case, characterized by a parabolic dispersion, as long as the relaxation time is proportional to the momentum.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Vanishing Viscosity Limits and Boundary Layers for Circularly Symmetric 2D Flows

We continue the work of Lopes Filho, Mazzucato and Nussenzveig Lopes [LMN], on the vanishing viscosity limit of circularly symmetric viscous flow in a disk with rotating boundary, shown there to converge to the inviscid limit in $L^2$-norm as long as the prescribed angular velocity $\alpha(t)$ of the boundary has bounded total variation. Here we establish convergence in stronger $L^2$ and $L^p$-Sobolev spaces, allow for more singular angular velocities $\alpha$, and address the issue of analyzing the behavior of the boundary layer. This includes an analysis of concentration of vorticity in the vanishing viscosity limit. We also consider such flows on an annulus, whose two boundary components rotate independently. [LMN] Lopes Filho, M. C., Mazzucato, A. L. and Nussenzveig Lopes, H. J., Vanishing viscosity limit for incompressible flow inside a rotating circle, preprint 2006

Earnings quality and governance quality: a comparative analysis between traditional and new Brazilian capital market

This research focuses on the relationship between the quality of financial reporting and the level of corporate governance of Brazilian firms, particularly between New Market and Traditional Market. We measure earnings quality based on a widely used accruals model. Governance quality is represented by the type of market the firms chooses to be listed in. Firms that opt for the New Market must apply more stringent governance principles. The empirical analysis shows evidence of a positive relationship between the quality of financial reporting and the level of corporate governance. Thus, firms listed on the New Market characterized by better governance practices evidence better quality financial reporting.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Eigenfunctions of the Laplacian and associated Ruelle operator

Let $\Gamma$ be a co-compact Fuchsian group of isometries on the Poincar\'e disk \DD and $\Delta$ the corresponding hyperbolic Laplace operator. Any smooth eigenfunction $f$ of $\Delta$, equivariant by $\Gamma$ with real eigenvalue $\lambda=-s(1-s)$, where $s={1/2}+ it$, admits an integral representation by a distribution \dd_{f,s} (the Helgason distribution) which is equivariant by $\Gamma$ and supported at infinity \partial\DD=\SS^1. The geodesic flow on the compact surface \DD/\Gamma is conjugate to a suspension over a natural extension of a piecewise analytic map T:\SS^1\to\SS^1, the so-called Bowen-Series transformation. Let $\ll_s$ be the complex Ruelle transfer operator associated to the jacobian $-s\ln |T'|$. M. Pollicott showed that \dd_{f,s} is an eigenfunction of the dual operator $\ll_s^*$ for the eigenvalue 1. Here we show the existence of a (nonzero) piecewise real analytic eigenfunction $\psi_{f,s}$ of $\ll_s$ for the eigenvalue 1, given by an integral formula \psi_{f,s} (\xi)=\int \frac{J(\xi,\eta)}{|\xi-\eta|^{2s}} \dd_{f,s} (d\eta), \noindent where $J(\xi,\eta)$ is a $\{0,1\}$-valued piecewise constant function whose definition depends upon the geometry of the Dirichlet fundamental domain representing the surface \DD/\Gamma