Intra-Firm Human Capital Externalities in Tunisia

In this case-study, we use matched worker-firm Tunisian data to elicit the roles of intra-firm human capital and modern firm features in worker remunerations. We show that the estimated return to education in wage equations is not modified when replacing in the list of regressors the firm dummies, representing observed and unobserved firm heterogeneity, by the first three factors of a Principal Component Analysis of the observed firm characteristics. These factors can be interpreted as: the activity sector, the intra-firm human capital density and the modernity of the firm. These results constitute an interesting argument in favour of the presence of intra-firm human capital externalities. Moreover, the estimated education coefficient does not change when the three factors are replaced by three surrogate variables, respectively: the textile industry dummy, the intra-firm mean education, and the firm’s age.economic development, rate of returns, human capital, wage differentials, intra-firm knowledge externalities, Tunisia.

A Detailed Study of Giants and Horizontal Branch Stars in M68: Atmospheric Parameters and Chemical Abundances

In this paper, we present a detailed high-resolution spectroscopic study of post main sequence stars in the Globular Cluster M68. Our sample, which covers a range of 4000 K in $T_{eff}$, and 3.5 dex in $log(g)$, is comprised of members from the red giant, red horizontal, and blue horizontal branch, making this the first high-resolution globular cluster study covering such a large evolutionary and parameter space. Initially, atmospheric parameters were determined using photometric as well as spectroscopic methods, both of which resulted in unphysical and unexpected $T_{eff}$, $log(g)$, $\xi_{t}$, and [Fe/H] combinations. We therefore developed a hybrid approach that addresses most of these problems, and yields atmospheric parameters that agree well with other measurements in the literature. Furthermore, our derived stellar metallicities are consistent across all evolutionary stages, with $\langle$[Fe/H]$\rangle$ = $-$2.42 ($\sigma$ = 0.14) from 25 stars. Chemical abundances obtained using our methodology also agree with previous studies and bear all the hallmarks of globular clusters, such as a Na-O anti-correlation, constant Ca abundances, and mild $r$-process enrichment.Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journa

Concepts for conformal and body-axis attitude information for spatial awareness presented in a helmet-mounted display

A piloted simulation study has been conducted to evaluate two methods of presenting attitude information in a helmet-mounted display (HMD) for spatial awareness in a fighter airplane. One method, the body-axis concept, displayed the information relative to the body axis of the airplane. The quantitative results of this study favored the body-axis concept. Although no statistically significant differences were noted for either the pilots' understanding of roll attitude or target position, the pilots made pitch judgment errors three times more often with the conformal display. The subjective results showed the body-axis display did not cause attitude confusion, a prior concern with this display. In the posttest comments, the pilots overwhelmingly selected the body-axis display as the display of choice

Embodied innovation and regulation of medical technoscience: transformations in cancer patienthood

Biomedical advances are transforming the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Patienthood is also transforming, as patients actively participate in research, innovation and regulation of novel technologies and therapies. In this paper we explore the new kinds of practices that patients are performing in their roles as research subject, co-researchers, donors, campaigners, representatives and consumers of novel stratified therapies. We outline their embodied contributions to clinical trials, biobanks and stratified therapies prior to, during and after having cancer. Exploring how patienthood involves donating more than tissue or data to these developments, we consider their emotional and identity work which informs and shapes the novel diagnostics and therapies being developed. We also consider how this kind of work is stratified according to the social and biological location of participants, and end by reflecting on the implications of our analysis for the organisation and regulation of biomedicine

The changing brain: Neuroscience and the enduring import of everyday experience

Discourses of ‘neuroplasticity’ have become increasingly apparent in the neurosciences and wider society. These connect with broader narratives about the ‘changing brain’ throughout the life-course. Here, we explore their presence in the talk of a range of publics. Their presence is indicative of how novel neuroscience is accepted, or not, by our participants. In particular, we suggest that any acceptance of the science relates to their personal and/or professional experiences of change (to their own or others’ subjectivities) rather than to some intrinsic and widely-held significance of scientific concepts per se. Accordingly, we also submit that it is in part through the congruence of some neuroscientific claims to everyday experiences and perspectives that the former are rendered legible and salient. In this respect, ‘lay’ knowledge has considerable import for the wider cultural authorisation of that of ‘experts’

Higher physical fitness levels are associated with less language decline in healthy ageing

Healthy ageing is associated with decline in cognitive abilities such as language. Aerobic fitness has been shown to ameliorate decline in some cognitive domains, but the potential benefits for language have not been examined. In a cross-sectional sample, we investigated the relationship between aerobic fitness and tip-of-the-tongue states. These are among the most frequent cognitive failures in healthy older adults and occur when a speaker knows a word but is unable to produce it. We found that healthy older adults indeed experience more tip-of-the-tongue states than young adults. Importantly, higher aerobic fitness levels decrease the probability of experiencing tip-of-the-tongue states in healthy older adults. Fitness-related differences in word finding abilities are observed over and above effects of age. This is the first demonstration of a link between aerobic fitness and language functioning in healthy older adults