Skill gaps: existence and efficiency

Given the interdependences between human capital accumulation and technological change, skill gaps may arise in equilibrium. However, they are not necessarily inefficient, and in this paper we present a model in which the simple absence of such a skill gap can be inefficient.efficiency

The Informational Foundation of the Human Act

This book is the result of a collective research effort performed during many years in both Sweden and Spain. It is the result of attempting to develop a new field of research that could we denominate «human act informatics.» The goal has been to use the technologies of information to the study of the human act in general, including embodied acts and disembodied acts. The book presents a theory of the quantification of the informational value of human acts as order, opposing the living order against entropy. We present acting as a set of decisions and choices aimed to create order and to impose Modernity. Karl Popper’s frequency theory of probability is applied to characterize human acts regarding their degree of freedom and to set up a scale of order in human decisions. The traditional theory of economics and social science characterize the human act as rational, utilitarian and ethical. Our results emphasize that the unique significance of an act lies in its capacity to generate order. An adequate methodology is then presented to defend such hypothesis according to which, the rationality respective irrationality of acting, is in fact only a function of the act’s organizational capacity. From this perspective, it has been necessary to define «order» respective «disorder» as operative concepts that allowed the comparison of the organizational differences generated by each kind of act. According to the presented conclusions, the spontaneity of living, as unconscious thinking, dreaming, loving, etc. and the mainstream of the human acts, are utilitarian, but in an irrational way; they are rooted in unconscious drifts and therefore must be considered irrational-utility acts

Coupled Landau-Zener-Stuckelberg Quantum Dot Interferometers

We investigate the interplay between long-range and direct photon-assisted transport in a triple quantum dot chain where local ac voltages are applied to the outer dots. We propose the phase difference between the two ac voltages as an external parameter, which can be easily tuned to manipulate the current characteristics. For gate voltages in phase opposition we find quantum destructive interferences analogous to the interferences in closed-loop undriven triple dots. As the voltages oscillate in phase, interferences between multiple paths give rise to dark states. Those totally cancel the current, and could be experimentally resolved.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Polymorphic phase boundary in piezoelectric oxides

The design of phase boundaries has now become a consolidated strategy to improve the functional properties of piezoelectric oxides because of the unique properties that may be obtained in their vicinity. In particular, polymorphic phase boundaries (PPBs) have attracted significant interest in recent years because they represent a significant breakthrough in terms of enhanced piezoelectric activity of lead-free piezoelectric oxides. PPBs are temperature-driven phase transitions where both intrinsic and extrinsic contributions maximize, thereby enhancing the macroscopic properties of piezoelectric materials. This tutorial discusses potassium–sodium–niobate-based systems as model materials to reveal some of the most relevant advances in the design of PPBs through compositional modifications. We focus on how PPBs can be modulated by engineered doping and also discuss the direct relation between PPBs and the enhancement of piezoelectric activity. Finally, we briefly describe the main experimental techniques for detecting PPBs.Postprint (author's final draft