Deflation and Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity: Evidence from Japan

This study empirically analyzed downward nominal wage rigidity using time-series cross-industry data from 1981 to 2002, a period which included deflation. We found that nominal wages remained rigid to downward pressure by expected deflation and labor-market tightness. Estimations according to worker age categories revealed downward wage rigidity with deflationary pressure for most age categories. Wage rigidity during labor-market tightness was greater for younger workers.wage rigidity, nominal wage, deflation, unemployment, Japan

Attitudes toward the Income Gap: Japan-U.S. Comparison

Employing the Japan-U.S. international survey, this study analyzed the cause of rising perception of the widening income gap in Japan. Between these two countries, their distinct value judgments on the substance of gap influence their recognition. Japanese have negative perception of the income gap caused by talent, academic background or luck; it seems relatively weak in the U.S. A large portion of Japanese also think one's income is recently decided by talent, academic background or luck though it should not be. Such disagreement between the desirable and recognized determinants of income is thought to raise their perception of the gap.

Anisotropic Local Correlations and Dynamics in a Relaxor Ferroelectric

Relaxor ferroelectrics have been a focus of intense attention due to their anomalous dielectric characteristics, diffuse phase transitions, and strong piezoelectricity. Understanding the structure and dynamics of relaxors has been one of the long-standing challenges in solid-state physics, with the current model of polar nanoregions in a non-polar matrix providing only a qualitative description of the relaxor phase transitions. In this paper, we investigate the local structure and dynamics in 75%PbMg$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$O$_3$-25%PbTiO$_3$ (PMN-PT) using molecular dynamics simulations and the dynamic pair distribution function technique. We show for the first time that relaxor transitions can be described by local order parameters. We find that structurally, the relaxor phase is characterized by the presence of highly anisotropic correlations between the local cation displacements. These correlations resemble the hydrogen bond network in water. Our findings contradict the current polar nanoregion model; instead, we suggest a new model of a homogeneous random network of anisotropically coupled dipoles.Comment: We combine our manuscript and supplementary information in one file. 5 pages and 3 figures in main text. 3 pages and 3 figures in supplementary informatio

Why Use the Services of Alternative Staffing Organizations: Perspectives from Customer Businesses

Organizations that aim to improve the experiences and employment chances of job seekers who face barriers to employment have, over the years, had to contend directly with potential employers and their requirements. This is particularly true for community-based job brokers that use a temporary staffing model, offering job access and immediate work to their service population.Alternative staffing organizations (ASOs) are worker-centered, social purpose businesses that place job seekers in temporary and "temp-to-perm" assignments with customer businesses, and charge their customers a markup on the wage of the position. These fee-for-service organizations can help job seekers who face labor market barriers gain work experience and access potential employers. Created by community-based organizations and national nonprofits, ASOs are often embedded within larger organizations that provide other employment, training, and human services to their community. The parent organizations may also be operating other social enterprise ventures. Businesses that contract ASOs for staffing services are customers that expect a service, but also represent an opportunity for employment and work experience for job seekers. Thus ASOs must operate with a dual agenda to serve both sides of the equation. In related publications, we have explored how ASOs operate as social enterprises and how the model fits within the goals of the parent organization. With detailed information from five well-established ASOs, and as part of two waves of a demonstration initiated by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, we have documented the employment experiences of workers placed in assignments and their employment status after leaving the ASO. In this paper, we address engagement with businesses and their perspectives on ASO services. This is a major issue for ASOs as well as for other workforce development organizations. ASOs engage with businesses while selling staffing services and monitoring worker performance. By the very nature of temporary staffing, they receive rapid feedback on worker performance and their services from customer businesses. As such, ASOs provide a window into how to connect to potential employers in order to access opportunities. Also, activities of ASOs shed light on how hiring takes place for entry-level jobs, and how customer businesses use ASOs to solve their entry-level hiring problems.This paper demonstrates what can be learned from customers of established ASOs about their reasons for using these services. Specifically, it explores how customer businesses use temporary staffing by ASOs, and for what purposes. What business needs do they meet with ASO services? What are their reasons for using an ASO over conventional staffing agencies? And finally, what causes customer businesses to use an ASO and retain the service over time?These concerns are salient for those organizations considering the creation of an ASO. They also are important for workforce development programs that need to become more active in engaging potential employers and that seek solutions for job seekers who need to connect to employment and need immediate income

Alternative Staffing Organizations and Skills: Linking Temporary Work with Training

This paper provides a brief research background on the field of alternative staffing and what we have learned about connecting job brokering activities with training and education opportunities. This includes drawing on recent research by the Center for Social Policy on the Alternative Staffing Demonstration II, 2008 to 2011, funded by the Charles Stewart (C. S.) Mott Foundation. The paper also offers several points for consideration in connecting temporary help workers to training opportunities. Specifically, it puts the role of alternative staffing in the context of the entry-level job market and discusses the value of staffing services from the perspective of job seekers, customer businesses, and the workforce development field. A number of examples are provided of training programs and partnerships that combine skills development with job brokering. Overall, we address two questions: 1) What do we know about connecting staffing services with training opportunities?, and 2) What are some promising examples of connecting ASO workers to skills training

Electrochemical Detection of Duplex DNA Using Intercalation-Triggered Decomplexation of Ferrocene with β-Cyclodextrin

The redox peak of ferrocenylnaphthalene diimide used as a threading intercalator shifted positively due to the formation of its complex with β-cyclodextrin. This complex collapsed upon the addition of double-stranded DNA, and its redox potential shifted negatively. This behavior was applied for the homogenous detection of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product from Porphyromonas gingivalis, which is important for the diagnosis of periodontal disease, and its quantitative detection was achieved with a detection limit of 2.7 nM

Magnetoelectric control of topological phases in graphene

Topological antiferromagnetic (AFM) spintronics is an emerging field of research, which involves the topological electronic states coupled to the AFM order parameter known as the Néel vector. The control of these states is envisioned through manipulation of the Néel vector by spin-orbit torques driven by electric currents. Here we propose a different approach favorable for low-power AFM spintronics, where the control of the topological states in a two-dimensional material, such as graphene, is performed via the proximity effect by the voltage induced switching of the Néel vector in an adjacent magnetoelectric AFM insulator, such as chromia. Mediated by the symmetry protected boundary magnetization and the induced Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling at the interface between graphene and chromia, the emergent topological phases in graphene can be controlled by the Néel vector. Using density functional theory and tight-binding Hamiltonian approaches, we model a graphene/Cr2O3 (0001) interface and demonstrate nontrivial band gap openings in the graphene Dirac bands asymmetric between the K and K′ valleys. This gives rise to an unconventional quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) with a quantized value of 2e^2/h and an additional steplike feature at a value close to e^2/2h, and the emergence of the spin-polarized valley Hall effect (VHE). Furthermore, depending on the Néel vector orientation, we predict the appearance and transformation of different topological phases in graphene across the 180° AFM domain wall, involving the QAHE, the valley-polarized QAHE, and the quantum VHE, and the emergence of the chiral edge states along the domain wall. These topological properties are controlled by voltage through magnetoelectric switching of the AFM insulator with no need for spin-orbit torques

40. Self-Organized Structures of a Single Polymer Chain : Morphological Variation of Toroids(poster presentation,Soft Matter as Structured Materials)

この論文は国立情報学研究所の電子図書館事業により電子化されました。単一セミフレキシプル高分子は、貧溶媒環境下においてランダムコイル状態からグロビュール状態への一次相転移を起こし、自発的に様々な形状に折り畳まれる。本研究では、特にセミフレキシブル鎖の凝縮状態によく見られるトロイド構造に着目して、高分子鎖の太さ、硬さ、荷電といった物性と、折り畳み後の形状との関係を解析的に明らかにする