8,201 research outputs found
Reusing Human Resources Management Standards for Employment Services
Employment Services (ESs) are becoming more and more important for Public Administrations where their social implications on sustainability, workforce mobility and equal opportunities play a fundamental strategic importance for any central or local Government. The EU SEEMP project aims at improving facilitate workers mobility in Europe. Ontologies are used to model descriptions of job offers and curricula; and for facilitating the process of exchanging job offer data and CV data between ES. In this paper we present the methodological approach we followed for reusing existing human resources management standards in the SEEMP project, in order to build a common âlanguageâ called Reference Ontology
Downward Wage Rigidities and Other Firmsâ Responses to an Economic Slowdown: Evidence from a Survey of Colombian Firms
This paper uses a wage setting survey of 1,305 Colombian firms to explore the nature and sources of wage rigidities. This is the first study of a non-European emerging economy that uses evidence from a survey of firms to analyse this topic. The survey was carried out during the first half of 2009, when the Colombian economy was showing signs of a slowdown in economic activity and increasing unemployment. The sample is fully representative of the population under study. The results provide evidence of nominal and real downward wage rigidities in the country. The most important factor in not reducing base wages during an economic slowdown is to avoid the loss of more experienced and productive workers, which is related to the efficiency wage theory in its adverse selection version. In addition, ordered logit regressions were used to determine what factors are related to wage rigidities. The findings indicate that, in general, permanent contracts, workforce composition, labour intensity and the presence of collective agreements play an important role in explaining wage rigidities in the country.Wage rigidities, survey evidence, efficiency wages, Colombia, labour market, ordered logit. Classification JEL: C25, J30, J50
Wage Adjustment Practices and the Link between Price and Wages: Survey Evidence from Colombian Firms
The aim of this paper is to explore firmsâ wage adjustment practices in the Colombian formal labor market; specifically, the timing and frequency of wage increases, as well as the link between wage and price changes. To this end, we use an ad hoc survey of 1,305 small, medium and large firms belonging to all economic sectors, except the public sector. The results show most of the firms adjust base wages annually, mainly during the first quarter, which suggests wage changes in Colombia are time-dependent. Also, wage increases were concentrated around observed inflation and none of the firms cut wages. Moreover, factors associated with the performance of firms and workers alike are the main determinants of wage adjustments. Regarding the link between wages and price changes, econometric results indicate this relationship is stronger in sectors where labor costs represent a higher share of total costs and in firms operating in sectors with higher labor productivity.Wage increases, labor market, survey evidence, logit models, Colombia. Classification JEL: D22, J30, C25.
Are wages rigid in Colombia?: Empirical evidence based on a sample of wages at the firm level
This paper uses Colombian data at the firm level for the period 1999 to 2006 to provide microeconomic evidence on the existence and extent of downward nominal wage rigidity. To conduct the analysis, we use a rich panel of firms for white and blue collar workers, consisting of 1517 firms for the former and 781 firms for the latter. The presence of wage rigidity is determined by means of three statistic techniques used in recent literature, such as the analysis of the histograms of the distribution of wage changes, the LSW statistic and the Kahn test. The results suggest the existence of downward nominal wage rigidities; it is worth mentioning that rigidity is higher for blue collar workers than white collar workers, since the increase in the wages of the blue workers is generally done by taking into account the change in the minimum wage, which is why a higher rigidity would be expected.Wage rigidity, Kahn test, LSW Statistic, Colombia. Classification JEL: J31, E24, C23
Hydrogen and muonium in diamond: A path-integral molecular dynamics simulation
Isolated hydrogen, deuterium, and muonium in diamond have been studied by
path-integral molecular dynamics simulations in the canonical ensemble.
Finite-temperature properties of these point defects were analyzed in the range
from 100 to 800 K. Interatomic interactions were modeled by a tight-binding
potential fitted to density-functional calculations. The most stable position
for these hydrogenic impurities is found at the C-C bond center. Vibrational
frequencies have been obtained from a linear-response approach, based on
correlations of atom displacements at finite temperatures. The results show a
large anharmonic effect in impurity vibrations at the bond center site, which
hardens the vibrational modes with respect to a harmonic approximation.
Zero-point motion causes an appreciable shift of the defect level in the
electronic gap, as a consequence of electron-phonon interaction. This defect
level goes down by 70 meV when replacing hydrogen by muonium.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
Massive pre-main sequence stars in M17
The formation process of massive stars is still poorly understood. Massive
young stellar objects (mYSOs) are deeply embedded in their parental clouds,
they are rare and thus typically distant, and their reddened spectra usually
preclude the determination of their photospheric parameters. M17 is one of the
best studied HII regions in the sky, is relatively nearby, and hosts a young
stellar population. With X-shooter on the ESO Very Large Telescope we have
obtained optical to near-infrared spectra of candidate mYSOs, identified by
Hanson et al. (1997), and a few OB stars in this region. The large wavelength
coverage enables a detailed spectroscopic analysis of their photospheres and
circumstellar disks. We confirm the pre-main sequence (PMS) nature of six of
the stars and characterise the O stars. The PMS stars have radii consistent
with being contracting towards the main sequence and are surrounded by a
remnant accretion disk. The observed infrared excess and the (double-peaked)
emission lines provide the opportunity to measure structured velocity profiles
in the disks. We compare the observed properties of this unique sample of young
massive stars with evolutionary tracks of massive protostars by Hosokawa &
Omukai (2009), and propose that these mYSOs near the western edge of the HII
region are on their way to become main-sequence stars (
) after having undergone high mass-accretion rates ( ). Their spin
distribution upon arrival at the zero age main sequence (ZAMS) is consistent
with that observed for young B stars, assuming conservation of angular momentum
and homologous contraction.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Appendixes A and B have been
truncated due to size limitations, the full version will be available on A&
Thermal Conductivity of Partially Graphitized Biocarbon Obtained by Carbonization of Medium-Density Fiberboard in the Presence of a Ni-Based Catalyst
The thermal conductivity k and resistivity Ï of biocarbon matrices, prepared by carbonizing medium-density fiberboard at Tcarb = 850 and 1500°C in the presence of a Ni-based catalyst (samples MDFC( Ni)) and without a catalyst (samples MDF-C), have been measured for the first time in the temperature range of 5â300 K. X-ray diffraction analysis has revealed that the bulk graphite phase arises only at Tcarb = 1500°C. It has been shown that the temperature dependences of the thermal conductivity of samples MDFC- 850 and MDF-C-850(Ni) in the range of 80â300 K are to each other and follow the law of k(T) ~ T1.65, but the use of the Ni-catalyst leads to an increase in the thermal conductivity by a factor of approximately 1.5, due to the formation of a greater fraction of the nanocrystalline phase in the presence of the Ni-catalyst at Tcarb = 850°C. In biocarbon MDF-C-1500 prepared without a catalyst, the dependence is k(T) ~ T1.65, and it is controlled by the nanocrystalline phase. In MDF-C-1500(Ni), the bulk graphite phase formed increases the thermal conductivity by a factor of 1.5â2 compared to the thermal conductivity of MDF-C-1500 in the entire temperature range of 5â300 K; k(T = 300 K) reaches the values of ~10 W mâ1 Kâ1, characteristic of biocarbon obtained without a catalyst only at high temperatures of Tcarb = 2400°C. It has been shown that MDF-C-1500(Ni) in the temperature range of 40â300 K is characterized by the dependence, k(T) ~ T1.3, which can be described in terms of the model of partially graphitized biocarbon as a composite of an amorphous matrix with spherical inclusions of the graphite phaseRussian Foundation for Basic Research 14-03- 0049
Encountering the Viper: Edward Bliss Emerson and Slavery
The journal of Edward Bliss Emerson often mentions topics that piqued his curiosity because they were unusual or puzzling. Few subjects were as foreign to him as slavery. Writing in 1831-32, Emerson provides us a series of aural and visual vignettes rather than a coherent commentary on slavery as a way of life. Focusing on the everyday aspects of the institution instead of the politics and economics behind it, Emerson nevertheless suggests the different lenses through which slavery was viewed by a New England intellectual and others
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