Breakdown of Burton-Prime-Slichter approach and lateral solute segregation in radially converging flows

A theoretical study is presented of the effect of a radially converging melt flow, which is directed away from the solidification front, on the radial solute segregation in simple solidification models. We show that the classical Burton-Prim-Slichter (BPS) solution describing the effect of a diverging flow on the solute incorporation into the solidifying material breaks down for the flows converging along the solidification front. The breakdown is caused by a divergence of the integral defining the effective boundary layer thickness which is the basic concept of the BPS theory. Although such a divergence can formally be avoided by restricting the axial extension of the melt to a layer of fi…

Experimental and numerical study of anomalous thermocapillary convection in liquid gallium

Thermocapillary Marangoni convection of liquid gallium was studied experimentally and numerically. A specially designed experimental setup ensured an oxide-free surface of the liquid gallium for a very long time. The convective flow at the free surface was found to be directed opposite to both buoyancy-driven and ordinary thermocapillary convection. The anomalous direction of the thermocapillary flow was explained by the presence of a small amount of a surface-active contaminant—lead adsorbed at the free surface. Two different approaches were used to describe the observed phenomenon. First, the flow was treated as a pure thermocapillary convection with a modified dependence of the surface t…

INNOVATION AS A KEY FACTOR IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

There is international scientific consensus that economic progress will be driven by innovation, namely the invention and application of new technologies. Research and Development (R&D) is one category of spending that develops and drives these new technologies. From the perspective of competiveness, private sector firms are prone to focus their R&D on “applied” projects and many government-sponsored technological advances have been instrumental in driving economic growth and rising living standards. According to the published literature, it is expected that countries engaging in R&D activities have a comparative advantage in export of products, and countries with the “largest” R&D expendit…

Velocity measurements in the liquid metal flow driven by a two-phase inductor

We present the results of velocity measurements obtained by ultrasonic Doppler velocimetry and local potential probes in the flow of GaInSn eutectic melt driven by a two-phase inductor in a cylindrical container. This type of flow is expected in a recent modification to the floating zone technique for the growth of small-diameter single intermetallic compound crystals. We show that the flow structure can be changed from the typical two toroidal vortices to a single vortex by increasing the phase shift between the currents in the two coils from 0 to 90 degrees. The latter configuration is thought to be favourable for the growth of single crystals. The flow is also computed numerically and a …

The Contribution of Technological Change on EU’s Exports Performance

Cost-effectiveness of prison system development - comparison of the European countries

The possibility to achieve successful resocialization of former prisoners back into society is an ongoing public debate, making it challenging for policymakers to implement prisoner rehabilitation programs capable of maintaining the public safety while allocating public funds in the most efficient way. The main aim of this study is to examine what is necessary for an investment in prison system development to be justified. The hypothesis of this study suggests that such investment can be cost-effective by reducing crime and recidivism rates in the long term by ensuring proper rehabilitation of prisoners. Accordingly, this research compares various European countries regarding their imprison…

European Union's Competitiveness and Export Performance in Context of EU – Russia Political and Economic Sanctions

Abstract This paper aims to explore performance of European Union's export in context of competitiveness targets enclosed in Europe 2020 strategy. Authors are addressing recent geo-political events regarding EU-Russia political and economic sanctions. Authors evaluate only economic results from sanctions and do not make an analysis of the nature of political sanctions. Paper gives an overview of the European Union trade performance within last 15 years and makes detailed analysis of the trade structure. Further, authors address European Union – Russia trade and nature of the trade. At the end of the article authors evaluate impact of the sanctions that took effect within a last year.

QUALITY COMPETITIVENESS OF LATVIA’S METAL INDUSTRY IN THE IRON AND STEEL PRODUCT GROUPS

The aim of this paper is to develop framework for evaluation of quality competitiveness of countries exports and to use this framework to examine quality competitiveness of Latvia’s metal industry in the iron and steel product groups. To achieve this aim authors studied topic related scientific literature and used appropriate methods to examine quality competitiveness according to the other researchers and authors own developed approach. To successfully achieve the aim of the paper and fulfill the tasks set the following research methods were used: 1) monographs method; 2) logical - constructive; 3) statistical analysis techniques: structural analysis and regression analysis; 4) graphical m…

The Contribution of Technological Change on EU's Exports

Abstract The competitiveness of European countries is a constant concern in an environment dominated by the globalization of markets. Export competitiveness is an important dimension of a country's competitiveness. On top of that, in support to competitiveness, innovation is considered as a strong variable according to the Schumpeterian framework. This paper explores the relationship between technological change and international trade according to the OECD technological classification and the United Nations International System of Industrial Classification third revision for the 2 and 3 digit divisions of the manufacturing sector industry. An exploratory analysis is carried out on four Eur…

Competitiveness Gap of the European Union Member Countries in the Context of Europe 2020 Strategy

Abstract This paper is addressing issues of the competitiveness gap of the European Union member countries in the context of Europe 2020 strategy's smart growth. Authors are examining current competitiveness situation when economic performance of some countries are significantly better than others and how does it fit in the competitiveness framework set by Europe 2020 strategy. To have a closer look at the smart growth of European Union member countries authors examine R&D expenditures and their impact on patents and high-technology share in exports as one of the indicators of the competitiveness.

QUALITY COMPETITIVENESS OF LATVIA’S WOOD INDUSTRY

Quality is a complex phenomenon and there exist no general accepted definition, which fits every purpose and all the complexities in teal economics. While competitiveness of enterprises has been studied by many scholars around the world, competitiveness of nations is a relatively new discipline. Studies of export competitiveness in the world markets are not new. Several attempts to evaluate export competitiveness have been made in the past, primarily in Eastern Europe. In Czechoslovakia, for example, a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the study was undertaken already in the 1960’s. Similar approach was used by World Bank studies of the price and quality competitiveness of exports by o…

Dynamics of real labour productivity and real compensation in Latvia

Relationship between labour productivity and wages is an important issue not only for economists, but also for policy makers. In the last decades, we have witnessed that in the EU15 wage growth has been lagging productivity growth. At the same time in Latvia, also in some other central and eastern European member states, wages increased more than productivity, rising concerns about disbalance in the economy. However, comparison of wage level and productivity level in Latvia and respective levels in the EU15 shows that wage level in Latvia is much below the EU15 average value in absolute terms, but also in relation to productivity level. To understand whether dissimilarities in wage and prod…