Municipal OPEB Contributions: The Roles of Governance Structure, Fiscal, and Socioeconomic Factors During and After the Great Recession

Many governments offer other postemployment benefits (OPEB) to their employees, and discretionary contributions to OPEB plans are important to plan financial well-being. This paper reports a study of municipalities' actual annual contributions to their OPEB plans from fiscal year 2008 through 2015, a time span encompassing the Great Recession and subsequent gradual recovery. Giving effect to cities' governance structure (form of organization and extent of employee unionization) and certain fiscal and socioeconomic variables, we estimate a model of plan contributions normalized by the related actuarially required contributions. We find that Mayor-Council (MC) cities are associated with comparatively higher OPEB plan contributions relative to Council-Manager cities. We control for MC cities' discount rates to address the consequences of optimistic rate assumptions. The effect of unionization on contributions is evident directly, but unionization is not noteworthy when conditioned on form of government. This suggests that MC cities manage their OPEB plans in a fiscally accountable manner.

Curie temperature adjustment in the solid solution Gd1–x Y x PtMg

GdPtMg and YPtMg (both crystallize with the ZrNiAl-type structure) form a complete solid solution Gd1–x Y x PtMg. Samples in x = 0.1 steps were synthesized from the elements in sealed tantalum ampoules in an induction furnace and characterized by Guinier powder patterns. The structures of four members of the solid solution were refined from single-crystal X-ray diffractometer data, confirming the mixed occupation of the Gd/Y site; however, without any indication for Gd/Y ordering. Temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal Curie-Weiss behavior for all samples and ferromagnetic ordering in the low-temperature regime. The Curie temperature drops linearly from 97.6 K for GdPtMg to 3.7 K for Gd0.1Y0.9PtMg. All samples are soft ferromagnets. The Gd/Y substitution is a suitable tool for adjusting magnetic ordering temperatures of gadolinium intermetallics over a broad temperature range.

AN ANALYSIS OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE USED IN POEM OF THE ECHOING GREEN BY WILLIAM BLAKE

The purpose of this research is to study an analysis of figurative language in poetry. People are interested in reading literary books because reading literary books makes them to understand about life, human and nature. Reading literary books can get pleasure. The language used in poetry make more complex. Figurative language can make create interesting poetry. It is important to know the meaning of poems. Sometimes people read poetry without understanding the meaning conveyed. Poetry is a collection of words that express emotions or ideas into a literary text. In poetry there are many elements of language. English poetry can help students to improve their vocabulary skills. Poetry improves skills in listening word for word conveyed from the reader of the poem. Poetry analysis examines the elements of language to understand literary works as a whole. Analyzing a poem line by line allows you to learn about its structure, form, language, metric patterns, and themes. Hopefully this research can be widely accepted so that readers will be interested in knowing more about poetry and it is nuances

Dunia Fauna Kumpulan Puisi Jantung Lebah Ratu

This article discusses the world of fauna from a collection of poems called Jantung Lebah Ratu by Nirwan Dewanto. This poetry collection contains sixty-six poems with three subtitles; Kantung Kesatu: Biru Kidal, Kantung Kedua: Kuning Silam and Kantung Ketiga: Merah Suam. Of the forty-six poems, nine were taken with the theme of fauna. The focus of this research is two things, namely to reveal the structure and to reveal the world of fauna in the poetry collection Jantung Lebah Ratu. The method used to collect data is the literature study method. The description method is used to analyze the data. The analysis technique used in this research is purposive sampling technique. The analysis of the nine poems uses structural theory from Fananie, Atmazaki, Pradopo and Michael Riffaterre's semiotic theory. Based on the results of the analysis, it was found that the nine poems were analyzed in terms of structure (form and content). Then, to reveal the world of fauna, a semiotic theory was used. The sound play of assonance, alliteration, deep rhyme, final rhyme, imagery and figurative language that the poet wants to convey are able to make readers imagine about the world of fauna.

The Polymorphism of 2-Benzoyl-N,N-diethylbenzamide

The crystal structures of two new polymorphs of 2-benzoyl-N,N-diethylbenzamide were obtained after recrystallization trials with different solvents. The new forms II and III were monoclinic and crystallized in the same space group with similar a, b and c lengths but different β angles. The forms had no conformation differences within themselves; however, the long-range packing (>two unit cells) was not isostructural. In comparison with the previously published crystal structure, form I, different conformations and packing arrangements were observed. The new form II was thermally characterized and stable at room temperature, when heated up to its melting point and when cooled to −170 °C. Additionally, once form II was re-heated, a fourth form is observed after a phase transition from the monoclinic to the orthorhombic crystal systems, form IV.

The Personality Structure of the Main Character in Marwah Mamduh’s Novel Na’am Ahwâkarya

This study aimed to describe the personality structure of the main character in Marwah Mamdouh’s novel Na'am Ahwaka using Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic approach. Marwah Mamdouh presented a fictional story that illustrated the personality structure form, namely the condition of the soul and the emotional outbursts experienced by the character. This research employed a qualitative descriptive method to express the personality structure forms of the main characters in the novel. The obtained research data as words, phrases, sentences, and discourse showed the personality structure of the main characters in the novel. The findings of the research were narratives that showed the structure of personality comprising, first, Id which was a part of the psychology; second, Ego which was the only area of the mind that had contact with the reality; third, Super Ego was the absorption of individuals from combined values and moral values that provide a boundary between the good and bad things. This study concluded that id dominated all the problems experienced by the main character in the novel.

Mechanical Characteristics of Asphalt Pavement Pothole Maintenance

Traditionally, potholes are mainly paved for maintenance, and the asphalt mixture needs to be compacted. But due to the construction quality problem, the compacting degree of asphalt mixture may not be enough and the void ratio of asphalt mixture may not meet the requirements, resulting in the premature damage of the potholes after repair. If the repair material can be prefabricated, this problem will be well solved. So, based on the structure form of the prefabricated rapid maintenance of asphalt pavement, this paper aims to determine the most unfavorable loading position in pothole repair, which was established by the ANSYS software with the finite element model. The results show that the most unfavorable loading position of tensile stress for patch materials and joint filling material is C1-1 (A2-2) and the most unfavorable loading position of shear stress for joint filling material and leveling layer is B2-1 and C1-5. Subsequently, the influences of the material modulus, size, thickness, and modulus of the old pavement material on the potholes are calculated by using the finite element model under the most unfavorable loading position.

Systematic reviews: Structure, form and content

This article aims to provide an overview of the structure, form and content of systematic reviews. It focuses in particular on the literature searching component, and covers systematic database searching techniques, searching for grey literature and the importance of librarian involvement in the search. It also covers systematic review reporting standards such as PRISMA-P and PRISMA, critical appraisal and tools and resources to support the review and ensure it is conducted efficiently and effectively. Finally, it summarizes the requirements when screening search results for inclusion in the review, and the statistical synthesis of included studies’ findings.

Creating conference posters: Structure, form and content

This article aims to provide an overview of the form, structure and content of conference posters for researchers who intend to submit an academic poster to a conference. It focuses in particular on the design and layout of academic conference posters, making some suggestions for possible poster layouts. It also provides information about factors influencing conference selection. Finally, it summarises some top tips to be considered when creating a conference poster such as font selection and use of images.

EMPLOYMENT FLEXIBILITY IN UKRAINE: ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS

The changes in the economic and social spheres that occur in conditions of rapid technological changes and affect the structure, form and nature of employment are studied. It is argued that increasing employment flexibility, which is in line with the idea of expanding economic freedom for employers and employees, may exacerbate the social risks associated, in particular, with a weakening of the social security of employed. The existing foreign mechanisms of risk prevention in promoting employment flexibility are analysed, and it had reflected in the flexicurity concept. It is proved that the strengthening of employment flexibility in Ukrainian practice is accompanied by three main tendencies: diversification of employment forms that are characterized by flexibility; maintaining the rigidity of labour legislation on employment and employment in the public sector; preservation of the non-sufficient and inefficient level of social protection of flexible employment. Various points of view of different scientists on employment flexibility are analysed that allowed to study the specific forms of flexible employment in the Ukrainian economy. Proposals had developed to improve the conditions for the development of flexible employment, covering organizational, economic and institutional vectors. Keywords: employment, employment flexibility, social security, flexicurity. JEL Classification J24, J62 Formulas: 0; fig.: 3; tabl.: 0; bibl.: 16.