8,157 research outputs found
Technological Capability and Productivity Growth: An Industrialized / Industrializing Country Comparison
The importance of technical change as a crucial element explaining inter-country differences in levels and rates of change in industrial productivity has been increasingly acknowledged. Hence, growing significance has been attached to developing the capability to generate such change. However, the perceived nature of that capability (described here as technological capability) and its links to productivity growth are still poorly understood. This paper empirically explores the links between (i) technological capability (the causal variable) (ii) the generation of technical changes (the intermediate variable) and (iii) productivity growth (the end-result variable). In particular, it examines organizational dimensions of technological capability.
L'importance des changements techniques comme éléments clés expliquant les différences entre pays quant aux niveaux et aux taux de productivité industrielle est de plus en plus reconnue. En conséquence, il y a un intérêt croissant quant au développement des capacités nécessaires à de tels changements. Cependant, la nature de cette capacité (dite capacité technologique) et ses liens avec la croissance de productivité est encore peu comprise. Cet article explore empiriquement les liens entre (i) la capacité technologique (variable causale) (ii) la génération de changements techniques (variable intermédiaire) et (iii) la croissance de productivité (variable résultante). En particulier, il examine les dimensions organisationnelles de la capacité technologique.technological capability, organizational systems, technical change, productivity growth, pulp and paper, India, Canada, capacité technologique, systèmes organisationnels, changement technique, croissance de productivité, pâtes et papiers, Inde, Canada
Ultrafast Transient Dynamics of Adsorbates on Surfaces Deciphered: The Case of CO on Cu(100)
Time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy constitutes an invaluable experimental
tool for monitoring hot-carrier induced surface reactions. However, the absence
of a full understanding on the precise microscopic mechanisms causing the
transient spectral changes has been limiting its applicability. Here we
introduce a robust first-principles theoretical framework that successfully
explains both the nonthermal frequency and linewidth changes of the CO internal
stretch mode on Cu(100) induced by femtosecond laser pulses. Two distinct
processes engender the changes: electron-hole pair excitations underlie the
nonthermal frequency shifts, while electron-mediated vibrational mode coupling
gives rise to linewidth changes. Furthermore, the origin and precise sequence
of coupling events are finally identified.Comment: Article as accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters; 5
pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl
White Dwarf Cosmochronology in the Solar Neighborhood
The study of the stellar formation history in the solar neighborhood is a
powerful technique to recover information about the early stages and evolution
of the Milky Way. We present a new method which consists of directly probing
the formation history from the nearby stellar remnants. We rely on the volume
complete sample of white dwarfs within 20 pc, where accurate cooling ages and
masses have been determined. The well characterized initial-final mass relation
is employed in order to recover the initial masses (1 < M/Msun < 8) and total
ages for the local degenerate sample. We correct for moderate biases that are
necessary to transform our results to a global stellar formation rate, which
can be compared to similar studies based on the properties of main-sequence
stars in the solar neighborhood. Our method provides precise formation rates
for all ages except in very recent times, and the results suggest an enhanced
formation rate for the solar neighborhood in the last 5 Gyr compared to the
range 5 < Age (Gyr) < 10. Furthermore, the observed total age of ~10 Gyr for
the oldest white dwarfs in the local sample is consistent with the early
seminal studies that have determined the age of the Galactic disk from stellar
remnants. The main shortcoming of our study is the small size of the local
white dwarf sample. However, the presented technique can be applied to larger
samples in the future.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Early Childhood Intervention. Rationale, Timing and Efficacy
This paper provides a brief review of the economic rationale for investing in early childhood. It discusses the optimal timing of intervention, with reference to recent work in developmental neuroscience, and asks how early is early? It motivates the need for early intervention by providing an overview of the impact of adverse factors during the antenatal and early childhood period on outcomes later in life. Early childhood interventions, even poorly designed ones, are costly to implement, therefore it is vital that interventions are well-designed if they are to yield high economic and social returns. The paper therefore presents a set of guiding principles for the effectiveness of early intervention. It concludes by presenting a case for a new study of the optimal timing of interventions.Early childhood intervention, brain development, optimal timing
Potential-energy (BCS) to kinetic-energy (BEC)-driven pairing in the attractive Hubbard model
The BCS-BEC crossover within the two-dimensional attractive Hubbard model is
studied by using the Cellular Dynamical Mean-Field Theory both in the normal
and superconducting ground states. Short-range spatial correlations
incorporated in this theory remove the normal-state quasiparticle peak and the
first-order transition found in the Dynamical Mean-Field Theory, rendering the
normal state crossover smooth. For smaller than the bandwidth, pairing is
driven by the potential energy, while in the opposite case it is driven by the
kinetic energy, resembling a recent optical conductivity experiment in
cuprates. Phase coherence leads to the appearance of a collective Bogoliubov
mode in the density-density correlation function and to the sharpening of the
spectral function.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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