Influential Factors in Employment Location Selection Based on “Push-Pull” Migration Theory—A Case Study in Three Gorges Reservoir Area in China

In China, farmers employed in non-farm work have become important socio-economic actors, but few studies have examined the farmers' perspective in making their work location choices. Based on "push-pull" migration theory, this paper utilizes sectional data from a 2013 survey of farmers in China's Three Gorges Reservoir area to empirically analyze the factors influencing migrant workers' choice of employment location. The results indicate that 60.46% of laborers have migrated from their home province, whereas 39.54% have remained in their home province. Focusing on personal, household, and community characteristics—in addition to the economic characteristics of the sample counties—multinomial logistic regression models reveal that farmer-laborers' employment location decisions are influenced by their personal capital endowment(age, years of education and social networks), family structure(the number of laborers, elders, children and students), home village characteristics(location, economic development level and the degree of relief of the land) and home county economic development level. Notably, male and female laborers' location decisions reveal a converging trend, and their differences are not pronounced. Per capita arable land area has little influence on location decisions, whereas the educational level of laborers has a significant impact. The results differ significantly from those found in previous studies.

Microwave-assisted polyol synthesis of LiMnPO4/C and its use as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries

We synthesized LiMnPO4/C with an ordered olivine structure by using a microwave-assisted polyol process in 2：15 （v/v） water-diethylene glycol mixed solvents at 130℃ for 30min. We also studied how three surfactants-hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, polyvinylpyrrolidone k30 （PVPk30）, and polyvinylpyrrolidone k90 （PVPk90）-affected the structure, morphology, and performance of the prepared samples, characterizing them by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, trans- mission electron microscopy, charge/discharge tests, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. All the samples prepared with or without surfactant had orthorhombic structures with the Pnmb space group. Surfactant molecules may have acted as crystal-face inhibitors to adjust the oriented growth, morphol- ogy, and particle size of LiMnPO4. The microwave effects could accelerate the reaction and nucleation rates of LiMnPO4 at a lower reaction temperature. The LiMnPO4/C sample prepared with PVPk30 exhib- ited a flaky structure coated with a carbon layer （-2 nm thick）, and it delivered a discharge capacity of 126 mAh/g with a capacity retention ratio of -99.9% after 50 cycles at 1C. Even at 5C, this sample still had a high discharge capacity of 110 mAh/g, demonstrating good rate performance and cycle performance. The improved performance of LiMnPO4 likely came from its nanoflake structure and the thin carbon layer coating its LiMnPO4 particles. Compared with the conventional polyol method, the microwave-assisted polyol method had a much lower reaction time.