Erwartungen von Beschäftigten an die sozial-ökologische Transformation (Employees' Expectations of the Social-Ecological Transformation)

Die Studie beruht auf einer repräsentativen Beschäftigtenumfrage. Die Erhebung dokumentiert erstmals mit einem Fokus auf Beschäftigte, wie diese über den Klimawandel und die anstehende sozial-ökologische Transformation denken. Sie zeigt, dass sich Beschäftigte in der Tendenz gut informiert fühlen und zugleich sehr besorgt über den Klimawandel sind. Viele sehen eine hohe Dringlichkeit für Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung der Klimakrise und erwarten hier aktives Handeln vor allem von der Bundesregierung und den Unternehmen, sind aber in vielen Bereichen auch persönlich zu Veränderungen bereit. (The study is based on a representative employee survey. For the first time, the survey documents how employees in Germany think about climate change and the upcoming socio-ecological transformation. It shows that employees tend to feel well informed and at the same time very concerned about climate change. Many see a high level of urgency for measures to mitigate the climate crisis and expect active action here, especially from the federal government and companies, but are also personally willing to make changes in many areas.

Overcoming Postcommunist Labour Weakness: Attritional and Enabling Effects of MNCs in Central and Eastern Europe

Based on micro-level analysis of the developments in the steel sector in Poland, Romania and Slovakia, this paper examines the effects of multinational corporations (MNCs) on labour unions in Central and Eastern Europe. It makes a three-fold argument. First, it shows that union weakness can be attributed to unions’ strategies during the restructuring and privatization processes of postcommunist transition. Consequently, tactics used for union regeneration in the West are less applicable to CEE. Rather, the overcoming of postcommunist legacy is linked to the power of transnational capital. Through attritional and enabling effects, ownership by MNCs forces the unions to focus their efforts on articulating workers’ interests. The paper examines the emerging system of industrial relations in the sector and explores the development of the capabilities needed to overcome postcommunist legacies

Investigation of Single Boron Acceptors at the Cleaved Si:B (111) Surface

The cleaved and (2 x 1) reconstructed (111) surface of p-type Si is investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Single B acceptors are identified due to their characteristic voltage-dependent contrast which is explained by a local energetic shift of the electronic density of states caused by the Coulomb potential of the negatively charged acceptor. In addition, detailed analysis of the STM images shows that apparently one orbital is missing at the B site at sample voltages of 0.4 - 0.6 V, corresponding to the absence of a localized dangling-bond state. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy confirms a strongly altered density of states at the B atom due to the different electronic structure of B compared to Si.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Labour protests during the pandemic: The case of hospital and retail workers in 90 countries

With a novel methodology searching news events from world’s largest news agencies via the online GDELT project, this report documents protest of key workers against their working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 90 countries

Effects of Magnetic Order on the Upper Critical Field of UPt3_3

I present a Ginzburg-Landau theory for hexagonal oscillations of the upper critical field of UPt$_3$ near $T_c$. The model is based on a $2D$ representation for the superconducting order parameter, $\vec{\eta}=(\eta_1,\eta_2)$, coupled to an in-plane AFM order parameter, $\vec{m}_s$. Hexagonal anisotropy of $H_{c2}$ arises from the weak in-plane anisotropy energy of the AFM state and the coupling of the superconducting order parameter to the staggered field. The model explains the important features of the observed hexagonal anisotropy [N. Keller, {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 73}, 2364 (1994).] including: (i) the small magnitude, (ii) persistence of the oscillations for $T\rightarrow T_c$, and (iii) the change in sign of the oscillations for $T> T^{*}$ and $T< T^{*}$ (the temperature at the tetracritical point). I also show that there is a low-field crossover (observable only very near $T_c$) below which the oscillations should vanish.Comment: 9 pages in a RevTex (3.0) file plus 2 postscript figures (uuencoded). Submitted to Physical Review B (December 20, 1994)

A global analysis of worker protest in digital labour platforms

This paper presents findings from the Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest, a database of platform worker protest events around the world in four platform sectors: ride-hailing, food delivery, courier services and grocery delivery for the period January 2017 to July 2020. The findings show that the single most important cause of platform worker protest is pay, followed by employment status, and health and safety

Critical Behavior of the Conductivity of Si:P at the Metal-Insulator Transition under Uniaxial Stress

We report new measurements of the electrical conductivity sigma of the canonical three-dimensional metal-insulator system Si:P under uniaxial stress S. The zero-temperature extrapolation of sigma(S,T -> 0) ~\S - S_c\^mu shows an unprecidentedly sharp onset of finite conductivity at S_c with an exponent mu = 1. The value of mu differs significantly from that of earlier stress-tuning results. Our data show dynamical sigma(S,T) scaling on both metallic and insulating sides, viz. sigma(S,T) = sigma_c(T) F(\S - S_cT^y) where sigma_c(T) is the conductivity at the critical stress S_c. We find y = 1/znu = 0.34 where nu is the correlation-length exponent and z the dynamic critical exponent.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

E1gE_{1g} model of superconducting UPt3_3

The phase diagram of superconducting UPt$_3$ is explained in a Ginzburg-Landau theory starting from the hypothesis that the order parameter is a pseudo-spin singlet which transforms according to the $E_{1g}$ representation of the $D_{6h}$ point group. We show how to compute the positions of the phase boundaries both when the applied field is in the basal plane and when it is along the c-axis. The experimental phase diagrams as determined by longitudinal sound velocity data can be fit using a single set of parameters. In particular the crossing of the upper critical field curves for the two field directions and the apparent isotropy of the phase diagram are reproduced. The former is a result of the magnetic properties of UPt$_3$ and their contribution to the free energy in the superconducting state. The latter is a consequence of an approximate particle-hole symmetry. Finally we extend the theory to finite pressure and show that, in contrast to other models, the $E_{1g}$ model explains the observed pressure dependence of the phase boundaries.Comment: RevTex, 29 pages, 18 PostScript figures in a uuencoded, gzipped tar file. PostScript version of paper, tar file of PostScript figures and individual PostScript figures are also available via anonymous ftp at ftp://nym.physics.wisc.edu/anonymou/papers/upt3

Contour models of cellular adhesion

The development of traction-force microscopy, in the past two decades, has created the unprecedented opportunity of performing direct mechanical measurements on living cells as they adhere or crawl on uniform or micro-patterned substrates. Simultaneously, this has created the demand for a theoretical framework able to decipher the experimental observations, shed light on the complex biomechanical processes that govern the interaction between the cell and the extracellular matrix and offer testable predictions. Contour models of cellular adhesion, represent one of the simplest and yet most insightful approach in this problem. Rooted in the paradigm of active matter, these models allow to explicitly determine the shape of the cell edge and calculate the traction forces experienced by the substrate, starting from the internal and peripheral contractile stresses as well as the passive restoring forces and bending moments arising within the actin cortex and the plasma membrane. In this chapter I provide a general overview of contour models of cellular adhesion and review the specific cases of cells equipped with isotropic and anisotropic actin cytoskeleton as well as the role of bending elasticity.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1304.107

From 2D to 3D: novel nanostructured scaffolds to investigate signalling in reconstructed neuronal networks

To recreate in vitro 3D neuronal circuits will ultimately increase the relevance of results from cultured to whole-brain networks and will promote enabling technologies for neuro-engineering applications. Here we fabricate novel elastomeric scaffolds able to instruct 3D growth of living primary neurons. Such systems allow investigating the emerging activity, in terms of calcium signals, of small clusters of neurons as a function of the interplay between the 2D or 3D architectures and network dynamics. We report the ability of 3D geometry to improve functional organization and synchronization in small neuronal assemblies. We propose a mathematical modelling of network dynamics that supports such a result. Entrapping carbon nanotubes in the scaffolds remarkably boosted synaptic activity, thus allowing for the first time to exploit nanomaterial/cell interfacing in 3D growth support. Our 3D system represents a simple and reliable construct, able to improve the complexity of current tissue culture models