Tracking jobs in clean industries in New England

Tracking jobs in clean industries—often called “green jobs”—is difficult because, unlike the high-technology sector, the clean-industries sector lacks a standard definition of which industries the sector actually comprises. This article explores four definitions of the sector: two defined by measures developed by analysts at highly respected institutions, and two defined by measures we created based on widely used databases. We use these definitions to analyze the composition and concentration of jobs in clean industries in New England and each state in the region and compare these figures with the national average. In doing so we show how the findings vary with the definition of the clean-industries sector.Industries - New England ; Environmental protection - New England

Reexamining what survey data say about currency risk and irrationality using the cointegrated VAR

This paper reports new evidence of a time-varying risk premium, and against the usual interpretation of irrationality, in survey data for three major currency markets. Using the cointegrated VAR to better focus on the issue of persistence, the deviations from Uncovered Interest Parity are found to be non-stationary implying a time-varying risk premium. Further, the relationship between the forecast error and the lagged forward discount, which has been interpreted as implying irrationality, is a spurious regression, being non-stationary at the 1% level. In fact, the forecast error and forward discount do not even appear to share the same order of integration

Testing the Expectations Hypothesis with Survey Forecasts: The Impacts of Consumer Sentiment and the Zero Lower Bound in an I(2) CVAR [post-print]

Monthly interest rate forecasts from nearly 50 major financial institutions are used to examine the expectations hypothesis at the short end of the term structure for the Canadian T-bill market and Libor markets in the US, UK, and Switzerland. Using CVARs, the term premium is found to move inversely with consumer sentiment in all four samples at the 1% level. Extension to the polynomial CVAR also suggests that a fall in the interest rate raises the premium, at least temporarily. This is interpreted as arising from the decreasing upside potential for bond price movements related to the zero lower bound

Potential field theory and its applications to classical mechanical problems

Advances in many scientific fields are expected to come from work in nanotechnology. Engineering at nano-scales presents novel problems that classical mechanics cannot solve. Many engineers are uncomfortable designing at this level because classical or continuum mechanics does not apply and quantum mechanics is said to apply in a tangible way. There are unique opportunities to contribute to the design, controls, and analysis of systems that are particularly suited to mechanical engineering. Within the derivations of classical mechanics are assumptions that limit its use to bulk engineering. These assumptions are examined to determine what principles can be extended to smaller scales. To allow engineers to do their job at these scales, it is necessary to understand strength and how changing scales affects the strength of material this leads directly to sets of variables necessary for engineering at any scale. Potential field theory is an old method that is experiencing a resurgence of interest. Potential fields are used to study quantum mechanics at the atomic scale, crack and dislocation mobility at the micro-scale, and even bulk analysis. It encompasses many problems that can be formulated using partial differential equations. These series solutions are well suited for computerized numerical approximation. Because of recent advances in computational abilities, potential field theory deserves a fresh look as a candidate for multiscale modeling and as the math that binds each level together

Currency risk and imperfect knowledge: Cointegrated VAR analyses with survey data

Much progress has been made in understanding excess returns in the foreign exchange market through the use of survey data on traders\u27 exchange rate forecasts. On the whole, this literature, which is reviewed in chapter 1, has found that excess returns derive from both violations of the rational expectations hypothesis (non white-noise forecast errors) as well as a time-varying risk premium. What this literature has not done however is to determine whether any of the existing models of the risk premium can account for the time-varying risk premium found in survey data. The second and third chapters use the Cointegrated VAR model to test the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the Consumption CAPM, and the Keynes-Imperfect Knowledge Economics (IKE) gap model, which relate the risk premium to the exchange rate\u27s variance, covariance with consumption, and deviation from Purchasing Power Parity respectively. The strongest support is found for the Keynes-IKE gap model. The analysis of this model is then extended in chapter 4 to the I(2) CVAR framework, which is a unique empirical approach designed to account for data which undergoes persistent changes over time without the need for data transformations which cause a loss of information. The I(2) model also allows for more rigorous testing of the theory and a better examination of the dynamics between the exchange rate, expectations, prices, and interest rates. The Keynes-IKE gap model still performs quite well. Further, persistent changes are found for the real exchange rate in several instances, which is problematic for standard REH theory but fully compatible with the IKE theory

The Effects of US State-Level Energy and Environmental Policies on Clean Tech Innovation and Employment

This paper explores the influence of US state-level policies meant to address climate change on clean technology industry development. The largest influence of climate change policies is identified as being on energy research employment. Only some policies seem to contribute positively to clean tech employment while other policies appear to discourage employment growth. The magnitudes of the short term effects, even when statistically significant, are modest. Negative impacts on employment are identified for several mandate-oriented, so called command and control, policies including vehicle greenhouse gas standards, energy efficiency resource standards, and renewable portfolio standards with the former two having increasing negative effects over time. The findings suggest that climate change policy advocates should be careful to not assume that there will be positive clean tech employment benefits from state-level energy and environmental policies. Instead, the benefits from these policies may derive primarily from other considerations beyond the scope of this paper, including health and environmental benefits and reduction of dependence on foreign energy sources

High precision dynamic multi-interface profilometry with optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has mostly been used for high speed volume imaging but its profilometry potentials have not been fully exploited. This paper demonstrates high precision (as good as ~50nm) multi-interface profilometry using a Fourier domain OCT system without special anti-vibration devices. The precision is up to two orders of magnitudes better than the depth resolution of the OCT. Detailed analysis of the precision achieved for different surfaces is presented. The multi-interface profiles are obtained as a by-product of the tomography data. OCT has advantage in speed and sensitivity at detecting rough and internal interfaces compared to conventional optical profilometry. An application of the technique to the dynamic monitoring of varnish drying on paint-like substrates is demonstrated, which provides a better understanding of the formation of surface roughness. The technique has potential benefits in the field of art conservation, coatings technology and soft matter physics

Multilayer Modelling of Lubricated Contacts: A New Approach Based on a Potential Field Description

A first integral approach, derived in an analogous fashion to Maxwell’s use of potential fields, is employed to investigate the flow characteristics, with a view to minimising friction, of shear-driven fluid motion between rigid surfaces in parallel alignment as a model for a lubricated joint, whether naturally occurring or engineered replacement. For a viscous bilayer arrangement comprised of immiscible liquids, it is shown how the flow and the shear stress along the separating interface is influenced by the mean thickness of the layers and the ratio of their respective viscosities. Considered in addition, is how the method can be extended for application to the more challenging problem of when one, or both, of the layers is a viscoelastic material

Challenge and Hope in Radiotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most critical global health issues. With frequent association of viral liver disease, HCC is highly complex, harboring both cancer and chronic liver disease. The tumor stage and underlying liver function are both major determinants of the treatment selection as well as prognosis in HCC patients, thus allowing no more than a 20% chance for potentially curative therapies. Radiotherapy technology has been evolved remarkably during the past decade, and radiation can be precisely delivered, thereby permitting higher doses to the tumour and reduced doses to surrounding normal tissues. There has been increasing interest in the merits of radiotherapy in HCC over the past few years, as indicated by a Pub Med search. Radiotherapy has been used as the definitive therapy with curative intent in early stage tumours. It has been used also in combination with TACE for intermediate stage tumours. In locally advanced tumours, radiotherapy has been combined with systemic agents. Despite its efficacy, radiotherapy has not yet been incorporated into the standard management guidelines of HCC. The lack of high evidence level data, especially randomized controlled trials, has posed an obstacle in including radiotherapy into the routine treatment schema of HCC. Therefore, well-designed prospective studies are strongly recommended using developing technology for radiotherapy alone or combination therapies. Also, many issues such as the optimal dose-fractionation, intra- or extrahepatic metastasis after radiotherapy, and radiation-induced hepatic dysfunction remain to be solved. In this review, current status of radiotherapy for HCC will be discussed with regard to technical consideration and combination strategy. The limitation and future perspectives will also be discussed