Does childcare matter for maternal labor supply?: Pushing the limits of the regression discontinuity framework

We use an extension of the RD approach based on a kindergarten enrollment cutoff date and a new resampling design to estimate the causal impact of subsidized childcare availability on Hungarian mothers' labor market participation around the 3rd birthday of the child. Besides standard fuzzy RD, which holds calendar time constant, we apply an alternative version where child's age is held constant, which enables us to (a) separate the childcare effect from other, age-specific effects, and (b) consider the effect of not only point, but interval cutoffs for eligibility. We combine RD with a difference-in-differences approach using a comparison group of mothers with children aged 4-5 to control for seasonal effects (parent selection, child development, within-year labor market fluctuations). Our estimates indicate that a mother with a 3 year old is 15% more likely to be active if her child is eligible for subsidized kindergarten, corresponding to previous estimates of labor supply elasticity of 0.3-0.75. This suggests that increased subsidized childcare availability and parental leave alone cannot explain the sharp increase in the rate of maternal participation seen around children's 3rd birthday, highlighting the importance of other factors such as separation preferences and flexible work forms

Using conjoint analysis for the consumer optimization of champignon products with enhanced vitamin D content

One of the latest results of developments related to cultivated mushrooms in recent decades is champignons with an enhanced vitamin D content, which help fight global vitamin D deficiency as a natural source of vitamin D. In the assessment of this new product from a consumer point of view, conjoint analysis was used for the first time, and it proved to be effective in identifying consumer needs, and may help product development with valuable information. The conjoint analysis, previously not used in the case of mushroom products, showed that it is the Hungarian origin and the enhanced vitamin D content which is most appreciated by consumers when judging the product. Through carrying out the survey with the joint recording of socio-demographic data, consumer groups can be identified, creating a potential for targeted marketing

Anyanyelv, iskolában és azon kívül. Az anyanyelvi nevelés a grammatika aspektusából

A hazai anyanyelvi nevelés válsága köztudott, erről folytatott szakmai diskurzus azonban alig hallható. A közoktatás a sokszor át nem gondolt képességfejlesztés égisze alatt és a kritikátlanul átvett „hogyan lehet gyorsan, könnyen” módszerek bűvöletében nagy mennyiségben bocsátja ki az állásinterjú-alanyokat és a kapcsolatteremtésre többé-kevésbé képes állampolgárokat. Csak néhány – jórészt a pedagógusképzésben is elkötelezett és a modern nyelvészetet is művelő – kolléga hallatja hangját egy koherens szemléletmód kialakítása érdekében és mondja, hogy az érdemi tudás ennél mélyebben rejlik, a nyelvtan is kreativitást fejleszt, a házi feladat lehet érdekes, a PISA-mérések eredménye a nyelvi elemzésekkel javulhatna

Nemkonvencionális litográfia plazmonikus nanoszerkezetekkel

A jelen munkában egy újszerű plazmonikus nanoszerkezetet mutatunk be, mellyel diffrakciós határ alatti fotolitográfia valósítható meg. A javasolt szerkezet kialakítása a fotoreziszt felszínén önszerveződő nanogömb réteg segítségével történik, melyet a maszkoló gömbrétegen át fémréteg leválasztása követ. A gömbök eltávolítása után a létrejött bow-tie fémrészecske rendszer a fényt lokalizált felületi plazmon rezonancia útján fókuszálja, és a fotorezisztet exponálja. A rezisztben kialakuló intenzitáseloszlást a Maxwell-egyenletek numerikus megoldásával számoltuk, majd kioldási modellek segítségével megbecsültük a rezisztben előhívás után kialakuló profilt. A szimulációk segítségével meghatározhatók a litográfiai elrendezés optimális geometriai és anyag paraméterei, a megvilágító hullámhossz és a kioldási paraméterek a különböző periodikus mintázatok kialakításához

The effect of UV radiation on the mycelia growth of white button mushroom and the pathogenic fungi of cultivated mushrooms

Agaricus bisporus (LANGE/IMBACH) is the most commonly cultivated edible mushroom of the world. Hungarian production of this species takes place mainly in limestone cellars and in no longer used stables. In most of these facilities the growing conditions are not always optimal; it is difficult to face the hygienic regulations and to ensure effective prevention. Two pathogenic fungi - Verticillium fungicola var. fungi cola PREUSS (dry bubble disease) and Mycogone perniciosa MAGNUS (wet bubble disease) - are the most serious diseases occurring during the growing period. The sterilizing ability of UV radiation is well known. In our experiment the effect of UV light on the in vitro tissue culture of white button mushroom and the two diseases were examined. The aim of the study was to determine which UV light range and irradiation time is more effective against the two pathogens. With proper application, UV irradiation could function as an additional technique in mushroom protection, by preventing diseases in growing houses and cellars

The effect of UV light on the Vitamin D content and mycelial growth of oyster mushroom

Vitamin D2 is essential for maintaining the proper functioning of a human body, and to prevent and help cure various diseases. Mushrooms are one of the few natural sources of vitamin D. Many experiments aimed to increase the vitamin D level of cultivated mushrooms, by irradiating them with UV light to turn their ergosterol content into vitamin D. The subjects of most of these studies were post-harvest sliced or whole mushrooms. Our goal was to treat pre-harvest oyster mushroom with UV light, while the mushrooms are still growing and biologically active. UV lamps (operating on 254 and 312 nm) and 6 time periods of irradiation (15 to 90 minutes) were used. After three consecutive days of treatments the yield were measured and samples were taken for vitamin D2 analysis. A parallel, in vitro experiment took place in the laboratory as well, where the same treatments (wavelengths and irradiation times) were applied on the tissue cultures of the same oyster mushroom cultivar used in the in vivo experiment. The mycelia growth was measured in case of all treatments. Data showed considerable increase in vitamin D2 levels of the treated oyster mushrooms at every time period. UV irradiation caused no change in yield, but affected the growth of the in vitro tissue cultures significantly

Childcare and Maternal Labor Supply – a Cross-Country Analysis of QuasiExperimental Estimates from 7 Countries

Evidence from single country studies suggests that the effect of subsidized childcare availability on maternal labor supply varies greatly by institutional context. We provide estimates of the childcare effect around age 3 of children for 7 EU countries, based on harmonized data and the same quasi-experimental methodology, and evaluate their cross-country variation in light of key institutional factors (leave policies, labor market characteristics, cultural norms). The identification of the childcare effect utilizes birthdate-based kindergarten eligibility cutoffs specific to each country in an instrumental variables approach. We combine data on mothers from the EU-LFS, eligibility cutoffs gathered from country experts and verified using further datasets, and country-level institutional characteristics from various sources. We discuss the role of the context, timing, and the point of estimation. The results suggest that the childcare effect is the highest in CEE countries, where at this child age, maternal participation is still relatively low compared to that of mothers with older children, and leaves with job protection are just ending. We find less evidence of an impact in Southern EU countries, where leaves end at a much earlier age, and maternal participation at older child ages is low. Western EU countries also show some impact, despite the already high maternal participation rates prior to this age. Specific policy implications are derived from the results in light of the EU Barcelona targets for childcare expansion under age 3

QUALIFICATION OF MASS COMPOSITION CHARACTERISTICS OF ROCKS

Various laboratory experiments have been performed to qualify products made of stone. These studies are of a petrographic, rock-physical and technological nature. In the course of qualifying studies, rock-physical characteristics are also obtained which are only indirectly or not at all applied in qualification, such as e.g. bulk density or water absorption. It would be expedient to use these parameters and their system of correlation to make qualification more reliable. The possibilities and limits of this idea are discussed in this paper