On the Persistence of Job Creation in Old and New Firms

We suggest a new method to analyze the success of firm creation by looking at the persistence of new jobs created in old and in new firms. Compared to survival rates of new versus old firms, this measure has the advantage that the sustainability of job creation in different circumstances is investigated. We analyze 21 years of job creation in Austria and find that new jobs last significantly longer in new than in old firms. Moreover, the survival of new jobs depends upon the state of the business cycle at the time of job creation, on the number of jobs created, and, for existing firms, on firm age.job creation, new firms, reallocation, persistence

On the Persistence of Firm Expansion. The survival of new jobs in Austrian firms

While the volatility of job creations has been studied extensively, the survival chances of new jobs are less researched. The question when and how to expand a firm is of importance, both from the firm’s and from a macro perspective. Adjustment cost theories and arguments about option values of investment in firm expansion make predictions about the timing, sequencing and form of firm expansions. When we analyze 21 years of job creation in Austria, we find that the survival of new jobs (and of new firms) depends upon the state of the business cycle at the time of job creation, on the number of jobs created, and on firm age. Jobs in new firms last longer than new jobs in continuing firms.Job creation, Business cycle, Reallocation, Persistence

Job creation and job destruction in a regulated labor market: The case of Austria

We study Austrian job reallocation in the period of 1978 to 1998, using a large administrative dataset where we correct for "spurious" entries and exits of firms. We find that on average 9 out of 100 randomly selected jobs were created within the last year, and that about 9 out of randomly selected 100 jobs will be destroyed within the next year. Hence, Austrian job flows seem to be of comparable magnitude as in other countries, similar to the well-known results of Davis et al. (1996) for the United States. Job reallocation appears to be driven primarily by idiosyncratic shocks. However, job creation increases significantly during cyclical upswings whereas job destruction rises in downturns. We also find substantial persistence of job creation and destruction. We show that the pronounced pattern of job reallocation rates falling with firm size and age continues to hold when we use a set of controls. Finally, we show that - controlling for sector and for firm size composition - Austrian job reallocation rates are only half the rates for the U. S. This result is not surprising given the impact of tighter regulation and labor law in Austria.Labor reallocation; job flows; labor market regulation

How to Make European BMHI Education F.A.I.R.

Experts in biomedical and health informatics (BMHI) are desperately sought throughout Europe. In Germany, for example, the shortage of young professionals is currently being drastically exacerbated by major government projects (Medical Informatics Initiative) and funding for the digitalization of medicine. To train the next generation, there are numerous study programs in Europe at bachelor, master and doctoral level, some of which have been compiled in a database by the European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI); four new BMHI study programs in Austria, Montenegro, Portugal and the UK have been accredited by the EFMI1. In principle, the EU's Bologna regulations support the mobility of students across the EU, both to gain experience abroad and to take advantage of educational opportunities that are useful and necessary to achieve one's career goals. However, it is a challenge to find the programs that match the individual career and learning goals of (prospective) students in the Europe-wide offer of study programs and courses. Similar to the FAIR principles for data sharing, it is also necessary that educational offers are (F) findable, but also (A) accessible, (I) interoperable and (R) reusable. Own projects that use ontologies to ensure clear terminology in BMHI (SNIK2, HITO3) and can provide catalogues of learning objectives (HI-LONa4), activities of professional societies such as the German GMDS to define catalogues of learning objectives in all areas of BMHI5, international and Romanian projects for a Medical Informatics and Digital Health Multilingual Ontology (MIMO)6, the EU project HosmartAI7 in which EFMI promotes education and FAIRness, and the EFMI Accreditation and Certification Committee contribute in different ways to FAIRness in educational offerings. However, further efforts are needed to achieve real FAIRness in BMHI training provision, which EFMI is well placed to coordinate

The threshold level of urinary cadmium associated with increased urinary excretion of retinol-binding protein and β2-microglobulin: a re-assessment in a large cohort of nickel-cadmium battery workers

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the threshold value of urinary cadmium (CdU) for renal dysfunction on the basis of relationships unconfounded by protein degradation, diuresis and the renal effects associated with chronic smoking. Methods We studied 599 workers (451 men, mean age 45.4 years) who were employed in four nickel-cadmium battery plants for 18.8 years on average. After adjustment for covariates by multiple regression, the CdU threshold values for increased concentrations of retinol-binding protein (RBPU) and b(2)-microglobulin (b(2)-mU) were assessed by logistic regression and benchmark dose analyses using as referents workers with CdU10, respectively. The benchmark dose (BMD5) and the benchmark dose lower limit (BMDL5) for a 5% excess in the background prevalence of abnormal RBPU and b(2)-mU were estimated at 5.1/3.0 and 9.6/5.9. When excluding ever smokers, odds for abnormal RBPU and b(2)-mU were both increased only among workers with CdU>10 (OR, 21.8, 95% CI, 6.4-74.4 and OR, 15.1, 95% CI, 3.6-63.1, respectively). In never smokers, these BMD5/BMDL5 of CdU were estimated at 12.6/6.6 and 12.2/5.5 while in ever smokers they were 6.2/4.9 and 4.3/3.5. Conclusions On the basis of associations undistorted by smoking and adjusted for covariates, the BMDL5 of CdU for low-molecular-weight proteinuria induced by occupational exposure to Cd can be reliably estimated between 5.5 and 6.6 μg/g creatinine

Quantifying Wicking in Functionlized Surfaces

Wicking remains the enigmatic key factor in many research areas. From boiling in power plants, to anti-icing on plane wings, to medical instruments, to heat pipes, efficiency and safety depend on how quickly a surface becomes wet. Yet wicking remains difficult to quantify and define as a property of the surface. This experiment strives to measure the wicking property by examining the rate that a liquid can be pulled out of a container. A superhydrophilic surface is placed in contact with the liquid at the bottom of a tube so that the volume flow rate across the surface can be monitored by a camera. By tracking the liquid level in the tube as a function of time, the wicking property of the surface can be quantified. Different tube sizes were compared to ensure that a property of the surface was being accurately measured

Sheared Ising models in three dimensions

The nonequilibrium phase transition in sheared three-dimensional Ising models is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations in two different geometries corresponding to different shear normals. We demonstrate that in the high shear limit both systems undergo a strongly anisotropic phase transition at exactly known critical temperatures T_c which depend on the direction of the shear normal. Using dimensional analysis, we determine the anisotropy exponent theta=2 as well as the correlation length exponents nu_parallel=1 and nu_perp=1/2. These results are verified by simulations, though considerable corrections to scaling are found. The correlation functions perpendicular to the shear direction can be calculated exactly and show Ornstein-Zernike behavior.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Experimental Determination of the Uncertainty of the Absorption Coefficient of Crystalline Silicon

Based on a combined analysis of spectroscopic ellipsometry, reflectance and transmittance measurements as well as spectrally resolved luminescence measurements and spectral responsivity measurements, we present data of the coefficient of band-to-band absorption of crystalline silicon at 295 K in the wavelength range 250 - 1450 nm. A systematic measurement uncertainty analysis according to the "Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurements" (GUM) is carried out for each method, showing that the relative uncertainty of the absorption coefficient data so determined is of the order of 0.3% at 300 nm, 1% at 900 nm, 10% at 1200 nm and 180% at 1450 nm. The data are consolidated by comparison of measurements carried out independently at different institutions. The uncertainty of solar cell energy conversion predictions by means of simulations due to the uncertainty of the absorption coefficient data is shown to be of the order of 0.1% relative.Deutsche Bundesstiftung UmweltState of Lower Saxon