Thermal insulation blanket material

A study was conducted to provide a tailorable advanced blanket insulation based on a woven design having an integrally woven core structure. A highly pure quartz yarn was selected for weaving and the cells formed were filled with a microquartz felt insulation

Central banks, trade unions and reputation - is there room for an expansionist manoeuvre in the European Union?

It is now a few years since the introduction of the common currency, and Europe is still experiencing high unemployment. The conventional logic attributes this problem to strong trade unions and other flaws in the labour market. This article takes a different approach. Using a game theoretic model we look at the changes that occur if trade unions and the central bank have different options to choose from in a climate of uncertainty. In a singlestage game the most probable outcome is a high unemployment rate as high as the NAIRU. However, there is also a slight chance that a central bank might take the risk associated with employment expansion (if trade unions cooperate the risk pays off). Moreover, results change dramatically if the game is repeated. This allows for effects on the trade union's reputation. It can be shown that this, in turn, improves the likelihood of employment expansion. --Monetary Policy,labour unions,reputation building,employment,EMU

How does Institutional Setting Affect the Impact of EU Structural Funds on Economic Cohesion? New Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

Structural Funds are the main instrument of the EU cohesion policy. Their effective use is subject to an ongoing debate in political and scientific circles. European fiscal assistance under this heading should promote economic and social cohesion in the member states of the European Union. Recently, the domestic institutional capacity to absorb, to distribute and to invest Structural Funds effectively has become a crucial determinant of the cohesion process and has attracted attention of the scientific community. The aim of this study is to shed light on the effectiveness of Structural Funds in the countries of the first Central and Eastern European enlargement round in 2004. Using regional data for these countries, we have a look on the impact of several institutional governance variables on the effectiveness of Structural Funds. In the interpretation of results, reference is made to regional economics. Results of the empirical analysis indicate an influence of certain institutional variables on the effectiveness of Structural Funds in the new member states.EU cohesion policy, Structural Funds, institutional setting, EU new member states

Central Banks, Trade Unions and Reputation – Is there Room for an Expansionist Manoeuvre in the European Union?

It is now a few years since the introduction of the common currency, and Europe is still experiencing high unemployment. The conventional logic attributes this problem to strong trade unions and other flaws in the labour market. This article takes a different approach. Using a game theoretic model we look at the changes that occur if trade unions and the central bank have different options to choose from in a climate of uncertainty. In a singlestage game the most probable outcome is a high unemployment rate as high as the NAIRU. However, there is also a slight chance that a central bank might take the risk associated with employment expansion (if trade unions cooperate the risk pays off). Moreover, results change dramatically if the game is repeated. This allows for effects on the trade union’s reputation. It can be shown that this, in turn, improves the likelihood of employment expansion.Central Bank, Reputation, Trade Unions

Fiscal Spending Multiplier Calculations based on Input-Output Tables – with an Application to EU Members

Fiscal spending multiplier calculations have been revived in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Much of the current literature is based on VAR estimation methods and DSGE models. The aim of this paper is not a further deepening of this literature but rather to implement a calculation method of multipliers which is suitable for open economies like EU member states. To this end, Input-Output tables are used as by this means the import intake of domestic demand components can be isolated in order to get an appropriate base for the calculation of the relevant import quotas. The difference of this method is substantial – on average the calculated multipliers are 15% higher than the conventional GDP fiscal spending multiplier for EU members. Multipliers for specific spending categories are comparably high, ranging between 1.4 and 1.8 for many members of the EU. GDP drops due to budget consolidation might therefore be substantial if monetary policy is not able to react in an expansionary manner.fiscal spending multiplier calculation, Input-Output calculus, income-expenditure model, European Union, stimulus, consolidation

Generating random networks with given degree-degree correlations and degree-dependent clustering

Random networks are widely used to model complex networks and research their properties. In order to get a good approximation of complex networks encountered in various disciplines of science, the ability to tune various statistical properties of random networks is very important. In this manuscript we present an algorithm which is able to construct arbitrarily degree-degree correlated networks with adjustable degree-dependent clustering. We verify the algorithm by using empirical networks as input and describe additionally a simple way to fix a degree-dependent clustering function if degree-degree correlations are given.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Distribution, phylogeography and hybridization between two parapatric sibling ant species of the genus Temnothorax

The present-day range distribution of many species has been influenced by re-occuring glacials of the past. By the retreat into different refugia situated in more southerly regions, species were geographically separated and sometimes diverged into separate lineages. After having re-occupied their formerly ice-covered habitats, these species pairs nowadays often exhibit parapatric distribution and some hybridize along their contact zones. Such a scenario probably also accounts for the origin of the very common monogynous and monandrous ant sibling species Temnothorax nylanderi and T. crassispinus. While the latter inhabits Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, T. nylanderi can be found in Western Europe. They occasionally hybridize along a narrow contact zone in North-Western Germany. In this study, using morphometry and genetic markers, the position of the contact zone in Southern Germany and Northern Italy was determined. The differentiation within and between the two species was analysed and the genetic structure of Central and South European T. nylanderi populations was compared. Further, the impact of hybridization on colony level was studied in detail. Previous findings were confirmed, that T. nylanderi can be exclusively found in Western and T. crassispinus in Eastern Europe, separated by a small zone of overlap. In Bavaria, the contact zone is situated along the Franconian Jura. South of the Alps, it probably lies somewhere in North-Eastern Italy, because in Slovenia and Croatia, only T. crassispinus has been found. The contact zone therefore runs far more west than expected from previous results. The genetic division between the species was constant with 2.4% and 3.5 % divergence in the CO Ι and Cyt b haplotypes, suggesting that the species might have split 1.5-2 Myr ago. Both species exhibited genetic uniformity on the nuclear and mitochondrial level. Their haplotypes revealed a lack of geographical origin, indicating rapid post-glacial recolonization. Further population genetic studies using microsatellite markers on several Central and South European T. nylanderi populations revealed equal rates of heterogenous (two or more matrilines) colonies due to colony fusion, a typical characteristic of this species. Thus, also in southern populations, colony odour appears to be mainly environmentally determined. Besides that, no bottleneck-induced north-south differences in genetic variability could be proofed. The significant inbreeding in both South and North European populations is probably a species-specific trait. It might result from random mating over time and habitat patchiness. As the sibling species are morphologically very similar, hybrids were classified by heterozygosity at the diagnostic allozyme locus GPI. Like in Northern Germany, both species co-occured in a rather narrow contact zone, which does not extend over more than 25 km. The narrowness of the contact zone apparently demonstrates hybrid inferiority. This was further confirmed by the detailed analysis of the hybrid zone, were almost no fertile hybrid queens were found. Pure hybrid colonies, consisting of exclusively heterozgous workers were rare. Instead most colonies contained both hybrid and T. crassispinus workers and co-occurred with pure T. crassispinus colonies. Besides that, the weight of hybrid virgin queens, which were as abundant as pure species� gynes (mostly T. crassispinus), is apparently negatively influenced by hybridization. However not directly, because co-occuring homozygous queens in hybrid colonies were also lighter. Mating was found to be almost exclusively unidirectional according to mitochondrial DNA data. Mixed hybrid colonies apparently originate by colony fusions between pure and hybrid lineages, as other reasons can be ruled out. The existence of interspecific colony fusions in nature has been additionally supported by laboratory experiments, where heterospecific fusions could be documented. This is probably facilitated by the high relatedness between the species and the environmentally influenced nestmate discrimination. Hybridization between the sibling species T. crassispinus and T. nylanderi apparently leads to an evolutionary dead-end. However it does not seem to be too costly, as hybrid colonies produced slightly more workers than pure species colonies