Migration distance from birthplace and its association with relative income and employment share among heterosexual couples in Switzerland

Among heterosexual couples, employment of the female partner may suffer from household migration often driven by the job of the male partner. Most research has traditionally focused on the distance moved after couple formation and has neglected how far partners live from their birthplaces. Recent life course research has shown that staying in, leaving or returning to the place of origin of one or both partners often reflects couples’ work-family arrangements. This study contributes to this literature by examining the division of employment between partners and their relative contribution to household income according to migration distances. We analyse data from a national sample of economically active individuals living with heterosexual partners in Switzerland. When controlling for selectivity of migrant couples, the analysis confirms that long-distance household migration benefits men’s relative earnings. Among couples who migrated within the same region, employment is more equally shared between partners than among other couples, including non-migrant couples. The relative distance to birthplaces also matters. Women’s contribution to household income is higher among couples in which men migrated close to women’s birthplace and is lower among couples where women migrated close to men’s birthplace compared to women in other couples. This study suggests that future research on household migration should consider important social ties and places beyond the ‘last family move’ and the mechanisms by which these ties and places influence couples’ decisions about where to live together and economic outcomes

Understanding the reconstruction of personal networks through residential migration trajectories

This article examines how residential trajectories influence the spatiality and composition of personal networks. Three mechanisms are considered: the addition of spatially close network members, the selection of spatially distant network members, and the substitution of spatially distant network members by spatially close ones. An ego-centred network analysis combined with sequence analysis of residential experiences is used to capture the personal networks and the residential trajectories of individuals from two birth cohorts in Switzerland. A series of regression models tests the association between the types of personal networks that individuals develop, in terms of both spatial dispersion and composition, and their residential trajectories. The results show that individuals who moved far away from their place of birth are embedded in large and diversified personal networks, which include spatially distant relatives, local nuclear family members, and local friends. On average, individuals who experienced residential migration have larger and more diverse personal networks than individuals who stayed close to their place of birth. The addition mechanism accounts for much of this greater diversity.</p

KTa0.6Nb0.4O3 Ferroelectric Thin Film Behavior at Microwave Frequencies for Tunable Applications

"©20xx IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE."International audienceIn this study about the relationships between structural and microwave electrical properties of KTa1-xNbxO3 (KTN) ferroelectric materials, a KTN thin film was deposited on different substrates to investigate how KTN growth affects the microwave behavior. Interdigital capacitors and stubs were made on these films through a simple engraving process. Microwave measurements under a static electric field showed the importance of the substrate on the circuit behavior and, notably, on the tuning factor

Pulsed laser deposited KNbO3_3 thin films for applications in high frequency range

Potassium niobate thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition on various substrates. Influence of deposition conditions on film characteristics was studied. Structural investigation evidenced that single phase polycrystalline randomly oriented films were grown on sintered alumina whereas epitaxial films were grown on (100)SrTiO$_3$ and (100)MgO substrates. The microstructure was highly controlled by the structural characteristics. Interdigited capacitors built from KNbO3 films on two different substrates (alumina and MgO) showed the strong influence of the structural characteristics on the dielectric behavior. The variation of the equivalent capacitance measured on the interdigital capacitor on MgO was 6.4% at 2.5 GHz while it was 1.5% on alumina, in both cases for a moderate applied field of $\sim$15 kV cm$^{-1}$. The results show the potentiality of these ferroelectric materials for use in frequency agile microwave electronics

Sr1-xBaxSnO3 system applied in the photocatalytic discoloration of an azo-dye

International audienceSemiconductor materials have received substantial attention as photocatalysts for controlling water pollution. Among these materials, perovskite-structured SrSnO3 is a promising candidate for this application, whereas BaSnO3 exhibits very low activity. In the present work, Sr1−xBaxSnO3 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1) was synthesized by solid-state reaction and was applied in the photocatalytic discoloration of the organic dye Remazol Golden Yellow. The perovskite structure was obtained for all compositions of the solid solutions with both Sr2+ and Ba2+ present in the lattice. A remarkable change in the short-range symmetry was observed as the amount of Ba2+ increased, and this change led to a decrease in the band gap of the material. Although the BaSnO3 was not active toward water photolysis, the discoloration induced by this perovskite was twice that induced by SrSnO3. The two materials appear to feature different mechanisms of photodegradation: the direct mechanism prevails in the case of BaSnO3, whereas the indirect mechanism appears to play a key role in the case of SrSnO3

Intercomparison of Permittivity Measurement Techniques for Ferroelectric Thin Layers

International audienceThe dielectric properties of a KTa0.65Nb0.35O3 (KTN) ferroelectric composition for a submicronic thin layer were measured in the microwave domain using different electromagnetic characterization methods. Complementary experimental techniques (broadband methods versus resonant techniques, waveguide versus transmission line) and complementary data processing procedures (quasi-static theoretical approaches versus full-wave analysis) were selected to investigate the best way to characterize ferroelectric thin films. The measured data obtained from the cylindrical resonant cavity method, the experimental method that showed the least sources of uncertainty, were taken as reference values for comparisons with results obtained using broadband techniques. The error analysis on the methods used is discussed with regard to the respective domains of validity for each method; this enabled us to identify the best experimental approach for obtaining an accurate determination of the microwave dielectric properties of ferroelectric thin layers

Clinical laboratory reference values amongst children aged 4 weeks to 17 months in Kilifi, Kenya: A cross sectional observational study

Reference intervals for clinical laboratory parameters are important for assessing eligibility, toxicity grading and management of adverse events in clinical trials. Nonetheless, haematological and biochemical parameters used for clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa are typically derived from industrialized countries, or from WHO references that are not region-specific. We set out to establish community reference values for haematological and biochemical parameters amongst children aged 4 weeks to 17 months in Kilifi, Kenya. We conducted a cross sectional study nested within phase II and III trials of RTS, S malaria vaccine candidate. We analysed 10 haematological and 2 biochemical parameters from 1,070 and 423 community children without illness prior to experimental vaccine administration. Statistical analysis followed Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute EP28-A3c guidelines. 95% reference ranges and their respective 90% confidence intervals were determined using non-parametric methods. Findings were compared with published ranges from Tanzania, Europe and The United States. We determined the reference ranges within the following age partitions: 4 weeks to <6 months, 6 months to less than <12 months, and 12 months to 17 months for the haematological parameters; and 4 weeks to 17 months for the biochemical parameters. There were no gender differences for all haematological and biochemical parameters in all age groups. Hb, MCV and platelets 95% reference ranges in infants largely overlapped with those from United States or Europe, except for the lower limit for Hb, Hct and platelets (lower); and upper limit for platelets (higher) and haematocrit(lower). Community norms for common haematological and biochemical parameters differ from developed countries. This reaffirms the need in clinical trials for locally derived reference values to detect deviation from what is usual in typical children in low and middle income countries