How do different entitlements to unemployment benefits affect the transitions from unemployment into employment?

In Portugal duration of benefits is exclusively age determined while replacement rates are essentially uniform. We exploit differences in potential maximum duration of benefits for nearly matched pairs of individuals to determine the effects of benefit duration on job finding. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Magnetic field effect on the thresholds of a sequence of transitions in the electroconvection of a homeotropic nematic liquid crystal

We present a detailed analysis of the characteristics of electroconvection patterns in a homeotropic nematic liquid crystal under the influence of a variable magnetic field. An unambiguous observation of low frequency

Electron-impact excitation of Ni II: Effective collision strengths for optically allowed fine-structure transitions

In this paper, we present collision strengths and Maxwellian averaged effective collision strengths for the electron-impact excitation of Ni II. Attention is expressly concentrated on the optically allowed fine-structure transitions between the 3d 9, 3d 84s, and 3d 74s 2 even parity levels and the 3d 84p and 3d 74s 4p odd parity levels. The parallel RMATRXII R-matrix package has been recently extended to allow for the inclusion of relativistic fine-structure effects. This suite of codes has been utilized in conjunction with the parallel PSTGF and PSTGICF programs in order to compute converged total collision strengths for the allowed transitions with which this study is concerned. All 113 LS terms identified with the 3d 9, 3d 84s, 3d 74s 2, 3d 84p, and 3d 74s 4p basis configurations were included in the target wavefunction representation, giving rise to a sophisticated 295 jj-level, 1930 coupled channel scattering complex. Maxwellian averaged effective collision strengths have been computed at 30 individual electron temperatures ranging from 30 to 1,000,000 K. This range comfortably encompasses all temperatures significant to astrophysical and plasma applications. The convergence of the collision strengths is exhaustively investigated and comparisons are made with previous theoretical works, where significant discrepancies exist for the majority of transitions. We conclude that intrinsic in achieving converged collision strengths and thus effective collision strengths for the allowed transitions is the combined inclusion of contributions from the (N + 1) partial waves extending to a total angular momentum value of L = 50 and further contributions from even higher partial waves accomplished by employing a "top-up" procedure.

Structural phase transitions in low-dimensional ion crystals

A chain of singly charged particles, confined by a harmonic potential, exhibits a sudden transition to a zigzag configuration when the radial potential reaches a critical value, depending on the particle number. This structural change is a phase transition of second order, whose order parameter is the crystal displacement from the chain axis. We study analytically the transition using Landau theory and find full agreement with numerical predictions by Schiffer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 818 (1993)] and Piacente [Phys. Rev. B 69, 045324 (2004)]. Our theory allows us to determine analytically the system's behavior at the transition point.

Electronic states and spin-forbidden cooling transitions of AlH and AlF

The feasibility of laser cooling AlH and AlF is investigated using ab initio quantum chemistry. All the electronic states corresponding to the ground and lowest two excited states of the Al atom are calculated using multi-reference configuration interaction (MRCI) and the large AV6Z basis set for AlH. The smaller AVQZ basis set is used to calculate the valence electronic states of AlF. Theoretical Franck-Condon factors are determined for the A(1)Pi -> X(1)Sigma(+) transitions in both radicals and found to agree with the highly diagonal factors found experimentally, suggesting computational chemistry is an effective method for screening suitable laser cooling candidates. AlH does not appear to have a transition quite as diagonal as that in SrF (which has been laser cooled) but the A(1)Pi -> X(1)Sigma(+) transition transition of AlF is a strong candidate for cooling with just a single laser, though the cooling frequency is deep in the UV. Furthermore, the a (3)Pi -> X(1)Sigma(+) transitions are also strongly diagonal and in AlF is a practical method for obtaining very low final temperatures around 3 mu K.

‘Towards a Green New Deal on the Island of Ireland: from economic crisis to a new political economy of sustainability’

This article begins from the assumption (which may seem controversial to many) that anyone who thinks that our current economic crisis is a temporary blip until ‘normal service’ (i.e. a return to ‘business as usual’) is resumed, profoundly misunderstands the severity and significance of what’s happening to the global economy and its impacts on the future prosperity of the island of Ireland. The economic recession represents nothing short of a re-structuring of the global economy and the creation of a new dispensation between governments, markets and citizens. The full implications of the re-regulation of the market, with the state bailing out and part nationalising the financial sector in both jurisdictions on the island (as in other parts of the world) have yet to be seen, but what we are witnessing is the emergence of a new economic model. Those who think we can, or even ought to, return to the pre-2008 economic model, are gravely mistaken. The current economic downturn marks the end of the ‘neo-liberal’ model and the beginnings of the transition (an inevitable transition, this article will argue) towards a new low carbon, renewable, green and sustainable economy and society.