An Analysis of the Determinants of Job Satisfaction when Individuals’ Baseline Satisfaction Levels May Differ

A growing literature seeks to explain differences in individuals’ self-reported satisfaction with their jobs. Most of the accumulated evidence so far has, however, been based on cross-sectional data and when panel data have been used, individual unobserved heterogeneity has been modelled following the random effects approach, namely using the ordered probit model with random effects. This paper makes use of longitudinal data for Denmark, taken from the waves 1995-1999 of the European Community Household Panel, and estimates fixed effects ordered logit models using the estimation methods proposed by Ferrer-i-Carbonel and Frijters (2004) and Das and Van Soest (1999). For comparison and testing purposes a random effects ordered probit is also estimated. Estimations are carried out separately on the samples of men and women for individuals’ overall satisfaction with the jobs they hold. We find that using the fixed effects approach (that clearly rejects the random effects specification), considerably reduces the number of key explanatory variables. In addition to wages, good health and being a public sector employee are particularly important in explaining individual differences in job satisfaction. Moreover, the impact of being employed on a temporary contracts or working in the public sector differs between the genders.job satisfaction; fixed effects ordered logit model; random effects

A Second-Order Finite Volume Method for Field-Scale Reservoir Simulation

Subsurface reservoirs are large complex systems. Reservoir flow models are defined on complex grids that follow geology with relatively large block sizes to make consistent simulations feasible. Reservoir engineers rely on established reservoir simulation software to model fluid flow. Nevertheless, fluid front position inaccuracies and front smearing on large grids may cause significant errors and make it hard to predict hydrocarbon production efficiency. We investigate higher-order methods that reduce these undesired effects without refining the grid, thus making reservoir simulation more accurate and robust. For this paper, we implemented a second-order finite volume method with linear programming (LP) reconstruction in the open-source industry-grade reservoir simulator OPM Flow (part of the open porous media initiative, OPM). We benchmark it against the first-order method on full-scale cases with standard coarse and refined grids. We prepared open refined-grid models of a synthetic reservoir with an unstructured grid and refined Norne field example. Our results confirm that the LP method predicts front positions as accurately as the first-order method on the refined grid for problems dominated by transport. These include the water alternating gas scenario on the synthetic reservoir and piston-type injection on the Norne field. Moreover, we study the gains from the LP method for CO2 injection problems on the Norne field with full multi-phase complexity beyond transport. We observe the relevant difference between the first- and the second-order methods in these cases. However, in some configurations, the reservoir complexity overshadows the gains from the second-order methods.publishedVersio

Re-viure l'arquitectura rural de l'Alt Pirineu i Aran: estudi dels elements constructius tradicionals i la seva rehabilitació

L’Alt Pirineu i Aran és conegut pel seu paisatge boscós i d’alta muntanya i per tenir un clima fred que deixa caure algunes nevades durant l’hivern. S’ha de destacar també la seva arquitectura tradicional, de caire rural, que va directament vinculada a l’activitat econòmica de la família, en aquest cas l’agricultura i la ramaderia. Degut a una disminució de la població que segueix treballant al camp, l’emigració cap a les ciutats i l’increment del turisme al llarg de l’últim segle, l’arquitectura rural d’aquesta zona ha patit un període d’abandonament i degradació. Aquest estudi parteix d’una ruta per l’Alt Pirineu i Aran on s’observa l’estat d’aquestes edificacions dins els pobles rurals. Amb la intenció d’apostar per una rehabilitació d’aquests nuclis per evitar el seu despoblament, és necessari estudiar amb profunditat la seva tècnica constructiva. Està basada en un senzill sistema de murs autoportants de pedra i una estructura de forjats i coberta de fusta amb recobriment de llosa o teula. La recerca sobre el sistema constructiu tradicional juntament amb l’anàlisi de rehabilitacions executades en la última dècada permet definir uns criteris d’intervenció a l’hora de definir un projecte de rehabilitació en l’arquitectura rural. És imprescindible valorar la construcció existent com a exemple de patrimoni històric, i reparar només aquells elements que no garanteixen la integritat de la construcció. És important la utilització de tècniques constructives que siguin respectuoses amb l’arquitectura existent, intentar seguir la lògica constructiva tradicional i utilitzar materials de proximitat i compatibles amb els originals. Una intervenció responsable en les construccions rurals pot ajudar a reactivar els nuclis rurals dels petits pobles de l’Alt Pirineu i Aran

Transformative education in agroecology: student, teacher, and client involvement in colearning

Educational methods have evolved rapidly in agroecology, which is a complex and holistic field without a long history or the formal tradition of any single academic discipline. Definitions of agroecology have evolved from its initial conception as a marriage of agriculture with ecology, to an aggregation of different paths including science, practices, and movements, and recently as a broad appreciation of the ecology of food systems. In contrast with traditional courses that begin with a history of the discipline and review the contributions of early leaders, we have embraced phenomenology to firmly establish roots in students’ learning through their experiences interacting with farmers and practitioners in food systems. We have pursued close collaborations among students, teachers, farmers, processors, retailers, consumers, and government officials to build ownership of the learning process in a transdisciplinary education model. Working together in the learning landscape, we have codeveloped visions of sustainable systems for the future. As a team, we are searching for meaning and applications to help advance substantial changes in the production and consumption of food and more importantly, a transformation in thinking about educational alternatives. Our learning program’s focus is catalyzing the student journey by developing five competencies: observation, dialogue, participation, reflection, and visioning. Implementing the program requires fundamental changes towards colearning involving students, instructors, and stakeholders, plus modifications in the institutional environment. With well-focused skills and practice, our graduates are prepared to deal with a complex and unpredictable future, where many of the questions and challenges are yet to be discovered. By involving students and others in design, this becomes a process of empowering each participant to take responsibility for their education and preparing them for lifelong learning with the motivation to be an active and responsible agent of change

EVALUATION OF STUDENT REFLECTIVE DOCUMENTS IN AGROECOLOGY EDUCATION: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF EXPERIENTAL LEARNING

This paper describes an evaluation of experiential learning in agroecology, based on analysis of learning outcomes as described by students in their individual Learner (Reflection) Documents. Galt et al. (2013) highlighted the importance of reflective essays in reinforcing experiential learning. Each fall semester since 2000, students in an agroecology course in farming and food systems at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) have submitted a self-evaluation of their learning as well as the teaching process. Their Learner Document is based on a log the students write about their experiences in the field, including interactions with stakeholders on farms and in communities, and lectures and discussion sessions with students and facilitators in and out of the classroom. Together with practical aspects described in the log is an in-depth reflection by each student on the learning process. While the students work in teams of four to six people to produce a Client (Stakeholder) Document, in cooperation with their stakeholders in the farming and food system, the Learner Document is written individually and reflects their personal learning experience

Educational innovations in agroecology: Learning-centred open-ended cases

Open-ended cases present students with learning situations where a particular dilemma on the farm or in the community food system has not been resolved. With minimal but focused prior preparations, students interview farmers and food system stakeholders to build context for the case and to discover the philosophy, goals, and major challenges faced by clients. Student teams build a rich picture of the current reality, including major elements, interactions, and driving forces both internal and external. Instead of reaching prescriptive recommendations, students develop multiple potential future scenarios that could be used by stakeholders to resolve the situation, and evaluate a priori the most likely outcomes of following each scenario. These are presented back to the farmer or community, and a visioning session is held to bring all the players to the table and decide on the most constructive future course of action. We have found this method to be highly stimulating to students, as they work in a team with instructors and clients to plan a desirable future. Students report that the learning experience has been valuable to their subsequent thesis research as well as contributing to their effectiveness on jobs after the university.Keywords: agroecology, systems learning, action learning, education for responsible action, organic farming system

Cultivating multi-cultural teams: lessons learned in the "milpa" of an Agroecology MSc course

Traditional milpa polycultures of maize-bean-squash consistently have higher yields and are more resilient to stresses than monocultures. This synergistic outcome builds on species differences in physiology and morphology. In our agroecology program, the faculty work as milperos, intentionally developing multi-cultural teams that are capable of building upon their differences

Initial collateral measurements of some properties of Calanus finmarchicus

In general, acoustic quantification of zooplankton such as Calanus finmarchicus requires the use of models, among other reasons, to aid in the interpretations of data collected on animals whose scattering properties change with development stage, season, and other environmentally linked factors. In conjunction with a project to determine acoustic scattering signatures of zooplankton and fish, a study is being performed to measure physical, morphometric, and biochemical properties of selected euphausiid species and Calanus finmarchicus. An important feature of this study is the performance of a suite of measurements on animals collected at the same time and place. The measurement methods being used to study Calanus are presented here together with results from the initial field experiment. The criticism of interested parties is solicited

Decrease in sick leave among patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the first 12 months after start of treatment with tumour necrosis factor antagonists: a population-based controlled cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: /st> To investigate the effect of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on sick leave (SL) and disability pension (DP) in a population-based setting in southern Sweden. METHODS: /st> All patients with RA in the South Swedish Arthritis Treatment Group register living in the county of Skåne (population 1.2 million), who started their first treatment with a TNF antagonist between January 2004 and December 2007 and were 18-58 years at treatment start (n=365), were identified. For each patient with RA, four matched reference subjects from the general population were randomly selected. Data were linked to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency register and the point prevalence of SL and DP as well as days of SL and DP per month were calculated from 360 days before until 360 days after treatment start. RESULTS: /st> At treatment start 38.6% of the patients with RA were registered for SL. During the first 6 months this share dropped to 28.5% (decrease by 26.2%, p There was a marked decline in SL during the first 6 months of TNF antagonist treatment in patients with RA in southern Sweden, maintained throughout the first year, which was not offset by a corresponding increase in DP