The Role of Trade and Offshoring in the Determination of Child Labour

Incorporating family decisions in a two-period-model of the world economy, we show that trade liberalization may reduce child labour in developing countries where the initial share of skilled workers in the adult workforce though not as large as in developed countries is nonetheless large enough to attract skill-intensive FDI from the latter. If the production activities so relocated are more skill-intensive than those carried out in the destination countries before liberalization, that will in fact tend to offset the downwards pressure on the ratio of skilled to unskilled wage rates (Stolper-Samuelson effect), and thus on the incentive for parents to invest in their children's education, associated with international specialization. The hypothesis is not rejected by the data, and thus helps to explain why child labour has not risen in all developing countries, but risen in some and fallen in others

Nematicity at the Hund's metal crossover in iron superconductors

The theoretical understanding of the nematic state of iron-based superconductors and especially of FeSe is still a puzzling problem. Although a number of experiments call for a prominent role of local correlations and place iron superconductors at the entrance of a Hund's metal state, the effect of the electronic correlations on the nematic state has been theoretically poorly investigated. In this work we study the nematic phase of iron superconductors accounting for local correlations, including the effect of the Hund's coupling. We show that Hund's physics strongly affects the nematic properties of the system. It severely constrains the precise nature of the feasible orbital-ordered state and induces a differentiation in the effective masses of the zx/yz orbitals in the nematic phase. The latter effect leads to distinctive signatures in different experimental probes overlooked so far in the interpretation of experiments. As notable examples the splittings between zx and yz bands at \u393 and M points are modified, with important consequences for angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements

Developing tools for assessing the fluid structure interaction of passive adaptive composite foils

The study presents an experimental and numerical evaluation of bend-twist elastic coupling in composite passive-adaptive structures. Due to the lack of experimental validation in Fluid Structure Inter-action (FSI) investigations, a full-field deformation of an aerofoil-shaped section under wind loading is measured. The experimental analysis is carried out at the University of Southampton 3.5 m x 2.4 m R. J. Mitchell wind tunnel and involves the use of full-field non-contact measurement techniques such as high speed three dimensional Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV).After assessing the validity and repeatability of the experiments, the study focuses on the development of a numerical FSI investigation that involves the use of a structural and a fluid solver to simulate the aero-elastic behaviour of composite tailored structures with different lay-up arrangements. The numerical analysis is developed as a design tool to allow the structure investigated to maximise bend-twist coupling under increased aerodynamic loading

Assessing human-fluid-structure interaction for the international moth

The International Moth is an ultra-lightweight foiling dinghy class. Foil deflections and dynamic sailor-induced motions are identified as two key areas relating to foiling moth performance that are currently ignored in Velocity Prediction Programs (VPP). The impact of foil deflections is assessed by measuring the tip deflection and twist deformation of a T-foil from an International Moth. The full field deformation due to an applied load is measured using Digital Image Correlation (DIC). The foil's structural properties can then be determined based on the measured structural response. The deformations are then calculated for an estimated steady sailing force distribution on the T-foil and their impact on performance is evaluated. To investigate the impact of dynamic sailor motions a system is developed that allows a sailor's dynamic pose to be captured when out on the water by determining the orientations of key body segments using inertial sensors. It is validated against measured hiking moments and is demonstrated to work out on the water whilst sailing. Both these studies pave the way towards developing a Dynamic VPP for the international Moth, which can include unsteady human and foil interactions

Prediction of Wind Fields using Weather Pattern Recognition: Analysis of Sailing Strategy and Real Weather Data in Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competitions were held in Enoshima Bay between the 25th of July and the 4th of August 2021. The climatological and the strategical analysis of the race area for the Swedish Sailing Team was developed in the three years prior to the Olympics (Masino et al., 2021). The result of the three years’ research was a tool named ”Call Book” that provides strategical rules for sailors and coaches both in terms of expected ranges of wind speed and direction and also in terms of trends with explanations for each identified weather pattern. The support team was working not only on the forecast but also on the specific analysis of the weather data in the race areas as measured on the water by the Olympics organising authorities and monitored through the SAP Analytics website (SAP Sailing Analytics, 2021). Two race areas are herein taken into consideration, namely Enoshima and Zushi, where the Swedish Team athletes sailed most of the races. A statistical meta-analysis on the comparison between the forecast issued using the ”Call Book” and measured data on the race areas is carried out, investigating the specific outcome of the strategy of the races with the forecasted meteorological data

Wild bees in Southern Italy: impact of landscape management

ItGli impollinatori sono essenziali per il mantenimento degli ecosistemi, e i tre quarti delle principali colture alimentari del mondo necessitano dell'impollinazione animale per la produzione di frutti e semi. Negli ultimi decenni però stiamo assistendo ad un costante declino di questi importantissimi insetti in tutto il mondo, con un conseguente deficit nella produzione agricola. Se da un lato l'agricoltura è strettamente legata agli impollinatori, dall'altro è una delle cause del loro declino. Per questo motivo, in Italia, è nato il progetto "BeeNet", con lo scopo di valutare lo stato di salute degli ecosistemi agricoli italiani attraverso il monitoraggio delle api da miele e delle api selvatiche. In questo studio vengono presentati i dati del primo anno del progetto, 2021, sulle api selvatiche in due regioni meridionali (Campania e Puglia), comparando due ecosistemi agricoli diversi: uno intensivo e l'altro semi-naturale. Una volta al mese, da febbraio a ottobre, in entrambe le regioni ed entrambi gli ecosistemi, abbiamo campionato le api mediante un transetto (200 × 2 metri) percorso alla mattina e al pomeriggio. Inoltre, nelle stesse giornate abbiamo registrato tutte le specie botaniche mellifere presenti sul transetto. Le differenze riscontrate tra i due tipi di ecosistema indicano che l'agro-ecosistema intensivo ha in generale una biodiversità più bassa e una comunità di api più spostata verso specie generaliste. Questo risultato indica che l'uso di pratiche agricole più impattanti e l'omogeneità dell'ambiente influenzano fortemente, e negativamente, questi insetti e le piante spontanee di cui hanno bisogno per sopravvivere. Tuttavia, le differenze tra le ricchezze di specie e le abbondanze di specie tra i due tipi di ecosistema non sono risultate significative, e una possibile ragione di ciò potrebbe risiedere nell'irrigazione degli ecosistemi intensivi, che forse ha ridotto le differenze. È necessario quindi, in questi ambienti, attuare misure per la tutela degli impollinatori come richiesto dalla Comunità Europea, attraverso strategie mirate come ad esempio la nuova PAC 2023-2027.EnIn 2021, in two southern Italian regions (Campania and Puglia) we compared the biodiversity of both Apoidea and plants between intensive and semi-natural agro-ecosystems, aiming to evaluate the impacts of the agro-environment and agricultural practices on wild bees and spontaneous plant communities in southern Italy. Monthly, from February to October, we performed bee samplings (200 × 2 metres fixed transects) and botanical surveys in each site and region. We found no statistical differences between the two environments, probably because the two intensive agro-ecosystems were irrigated that year. However, the semi-natural agro-ecosystem was characterised by a higher biodiversity (bees and plants) and a higher rate of specialised bee species than the intensive agro-ecosystem, indicating that biodiversity benefits of agro-ecological practices and a more heterogeneous landscape

Fluid-Structure Interaction of a Foiling Craft

Hydrofoils are a current hot topic in the marine industry both in high performance sailing and in new passenger transport systems in conjunction with electric propulsion. In the sailing community, the largest impact is seen from the America’s cup, where boats are sailed at more than 50 knots (over 100 km/h) with 100% “flying” time. Hydrofoils are also becoming popular in the Olympics, as in the 2024 Olympic games 5 gold medals will be decided on foiling boats/boards. The reason for the increasing popularity of hydrofoils and foiling boats is the recent advances in composite materials, especially in their strength to stiffness ratio. In general, hydrofoils have a very small wetted surface area compared to the wetted surface area of the hull. Therefore, after “take-off” speed, the wetted surface area of the hull, and consequently the resistance of the boat, is reduced considerably. The larger the weight of the boat and crew and the higher the speeds, the greater the loads on the hydrofoils will be. The current research investigates the interaction effects between the fluid and structure of the ZP00682 NACRA 17 Z-foil. The study is carried out both experimentally, in SSPA’s cavitation tunnel, and numerically using a fully coupled viscous solver with a structural analysis tool. The experimental methodology has been used to validate the numerical tools, which in turn are used to reverse engineer the material properties and the internal stiffness of the NACRA 17 foil. The experimental flow speed has been chosen to represent realistic foiling speeds found in the NACRA 17 class, namely 5, 7, and 9 m/s. The forces and the deflection of the Z-foil are investigated, showing a maximum deflection corresponding to 24% of the immersed span. Finally, the effects of leeway and rake angles on the bending properties of the Z-foil are investigated to assess the influence of different angles in sailing strategies, showing that a differential rake set-up might be preferred in search for minimum drag

Development of an America's Cup 45 tacking simulator

This paper describes the development of an AC45 simulator conducted as a student Master’s project at the University of Southampton. The main aim was to be able to asses and improve the tacking skills of the helm and the crew through systematic training. The physical interface of the simulator replicates the seating position of the helmsman and the main trimmer and the graphical representation provides the users with visual cues of the simulated boat, boundaries and marks for a sample race course. The theoretical model uses hydrodynamic manoeuvring coefficients based on empirical formulae and experimental data. The aerodynamic forces are pre-calculated using a full-scale RANS CFD simulation. The accuracy of the model is verified against the AC45 racing tracking data to ensure that the speed loss during a tack, experienced by the users of the simulator, is as close to reality as possible. The ultimate aim of the project was to study the potential of the simulator to assess and train the crews, improving their skill in tacking the boat effectively. This has been done by examining the performance of two groups of users over a series of practice sessions. The simulator could be potentially used for training the helmsmen of the Youth America’s Cup Red-Bull teams, which have limited budgets, training days and sailing experience compared to the professional AC sailor

O impacto dos salários na inflação de serviços no Brasil: pressão de demanda ou de custos?

XX Encontro Nacional de Economia Política: desenvolvimento Latino-Americano, Integração e Inserção Internacional - UNILA, Foz do Iguaçu, 26 a 29 de maio de 2015Os preços dos serviços cresceram de forma acelerada no Brasil na última década, ao mesmo tempo em que se observou um aumento sustentado dos salários reais e queda no desemprego. Este artigo busca identifi car os principais determinantes da infl ação de serviços no período, com ênfase no papel que o crescimento dos salários exerceu tanto via custos, quanto pelo aumento da demanda por serviços. Os resultados econométricos do estudo parecem sugerirque as pressões de custo e o confl ito distributivo foram preponderantesna explicaçãodo comportamento da infl ação de serviços no Brasil entre 2005 e 2013Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES); Usina Hidrelétrica de Itaipu (ITAIPU); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) e Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (UNILA