Social Security and Divorce

People who have divorced are entitled to Social Security spousal benefits if their marriages lasted at least ten years. This paper uses 1985–1995 Vital Statistics data and the 2008–2011 American Community Surveys to analyze how this rule affects divorce decisions. I find evidence that the ten-year rule results in a small increase in divorces for the general population; however, the effects vary greatly by age. Divorce decisions change very little for people under the age of 35. For people 55 and older, however, divorces increase by approximately 20 percent around the ten-year cutoff, which leads to an increase in the likelihood of being divorced of 11.7 percent at ten years of marriage. For people between the ages of 35 and 55, who account for over half of divorces, the likelihood of being divorced increases by almost 6 percent as marriages cross the ten-year mark. This heterogeneity across ages likely exists because older people are more focused on retirement and have less time to remarry. These results indicate many people delay divorcing because they need Social Security benefits

Climate Change and Occupational Health: Are There Limits to Our Ability to Adapt?

This study considers the relationship between temperature and occupational health. The results indicate that both high and low temperatures increase injury rates and that high temperatures have more severe adverse effects in warmer climates, which suggests that avoiding the adverse effects of high temperatures may be easier for workers when hot days are rarer. While research on the effect of temperature on mortality finds substantial capacity for adaption with current technology, the results presented here suggest that outdoor workers face challenges in adapting to high temperatures

An unspoken tool : review of John Schilb's Rhetorical Refusals

The refusal to engage in a topic of discussion, thus breaking away from an expected flow of dialogue, is considered an example of rhetorical refusal. Author John Schilb explores this matter in his book, Rhetorical Refusals: Defying Audiences' Expectations. While the hypothetical situation presented above offers a very general image of rhetorical refusals, and Schilb makes it clear that there are different types, it serves to illustrate the very basic definition of the term, which also serves as the subtitle of the book: defying audiences' expectations

The Effect of Health Insurance on Workers\u27 Compensation Filing: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act\u27s Age-Based Threshold for Dependent Coverage

This paper identifies the effect of health insurance on workers\u27 compensation (WC) filing for young adults by implementing a regression discontinuity design using WC medical claims data from Texas. The results suggest health insurance factors into the decision to have WC pay for discretionary care. The implied instrumental variables estimates suggest a 10 percentage point decrease in health insurance coverage increases WC bills by 15.3 percent. Despite the large impact of health insurance on the number of WC bills, the additional cost to WC at age 26 appears to be small as most of the increase comes from small bills

Theodramatic Discipleship: Rediscovering the Drama of Christ-Centered Witness

The goal of this doctoral project was to explore the fecundity of theatre and drama as a metaphor and model for Christian discipleship and evangelism in a postmodern world. Christian discipleship is essentially about becoming more like Christ. It is argued that the critical need of the Church today is a renewed discipleship culture that unites conversion to Christ with living in and for Christ. Discipleship achieves this through the equally important work of faith formation and faith performance. Formative faith is primarily concerned with Gospel understanding and believing while performative faith focuses on embodying the truths of the Gospel in daily life. This one faith is rooted in the soteriological union of believer with Jesus Christ as a third type of perichoretic relationship. Good News naturally leads to good works. Yet, there is often a large discrepancy between what is believed and what is actually lived out. Furthermore, many Christians understanding of the Gospel is significantly deficient so that the good works of faith are inherently undermined and subverted. Because of both, much of Christianity resembles secular society instead of giving witness as a contrast community to the already present reality of the Kingdom of God and the not yet eschatological hope of its fulfillment. In addition, this discipleship gap often produces a community that organizes antagonistically around what they are against rather than what they are for, creating a witness that is hostile and destructive. The theodramatic model of discipleship naturally embraces and emphasizes formation and performance as essential for creating a faithful discipleship culture and witness. Ultimately, this project seeks to show Jesus Christ as the theodramatic artist par excellence who spoke and acted to present God the Father and then sent his Spirit so that his disciples might once again present Christ back to the world. Content Reader: Dr. Richard Peac

Temperature kinetics of nitrogen dioxide-ammonia reactions

The purpose of this project was to study the rapid rate of reaction of nitrogen dioxide and ammonia and if possible to determine the mechanism of the reaction. The author became interested in this project through his interest in rockets, jets, and the types of fuel that are used to propel them. The prospect of using nitrogen dioxide and ammonia as a possible fuel was the basic reason for the selection of this project. Very little has been done in the study of the reaction of nitrogen dioxide and ammonia, although the reaction seems to be a simple one. How fast does the reaction go to completion and what are the products of the reaction? What path does the reaction follow when an excess of nitrogen dioxide or ammonia is used and what effect does temperature have upon the formation of the reaction products? These are some of the unanswered questions for which the author has tried to find an answer. The author feels that this project is of importance, because as mentioned before, very little has been done on the reaction and there is a possibility that the reaction may be of some economic value as a rocket propellant. It is essential that the fuel used in rockets and jets be cheap and that the products of combustion of the oxidant and the reductant be gaseous. Such is the ease in the reaction of nitrogen dioxide and ammonia. Nitrogen dioxide and ammonia are very cheap to produce. Nitrogen dioxide is produced by oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen. Reduction of nitric oxide, nitrous oxide, and nitrogen dioxide produces ammonia. Neither nitrogen dioxide nor ammonia is very difficult to handle and neither is as susceptible to chance detonation as many other oxidants and reductants. It is believed that much has been learned from the study of the reaction between nitrogen dioxide and ammonia concerning the amount and type of gaseous products formed, the amount and type or solid products formed from the reaction, and the possibility of using the reaction in a commercial application. It is the author\u27s intention to arrive at an overall balanced equation for the reaction of nitrogen dioxide and ammonia, and to give some definite conclusions regarding the reaction --Introduction, pages 1-2

Workers' Compensation

This volume represents an effort to draw policy implications from research in three critical performance areas for workers’ compensation programs; prevention of disabling injury and disease, return to work performance for injured workers, and the adequacy of compensation for those disabled by their workplace