Brush Up Your Webster\u27s

From time to time in Word Ways we have seen logological wordplay illustrated from a bewildering variety of sources. In this article we propose to show that one need not always look in arcane and esoteric references to prove one\u27s point. Why not turn first to the major U.S. dictionary, Webster\u27s Third New International? In particular, we see little if any need for referring to obsolete dictionaries, such as Webster\u27s Second (which only invites Webster\u27s First, which invites who-knows-what), nor to specialized once-only publications. We don\u27t object to these less authoritative works -- we simply wish to point out that these other references should only be considered the prime authority

Stasis Amidst Change: Canadian Pension Reform in an Age of Retrenchment

Faced with aging populations and especially heightened fiscal constraints, large scale pension reforms were implemented in many affluent democracies during the 1990s. Canadian reforms, by contrast, were quite modest and old age security benefits emerged largely unscathed. Drawing on the comparative experience of other OECD nations, we highlight four characteristics of the Canadian pension system and the policy environment to account for this relative stability:(1) the comparatively modest scale of Canadian public sector pension expenditures; (2) relatively greater reliance on general revenue as opposed to payroll taxes to finance these expenditures; (3) the availability of other expenditure targets, notably health care, post-secondary education and social assistance, that could be cut with less political backlash; and (4) a pension design that allocates the public sector share disproportionately to the bottom end of the income distribution, precluding the emergence of the oppositional politics that fueled public debate elsewhere.aging population; pension reform

Policy Change in the Canadian Welfare State: Comparing the Canada Pension Plan and Unemployment Insurance

Focusing on Canada, this paper explores the politics of social policy retrenchment and restructuring in two policy areas: old-age pensions, especially the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and Employment Insurance (EI) [formerly Unemployment Insurance (UI)]. Drawing on historical institutionalism and the literature on ideas and policy change, the paper explains key differences between these two policy areas. The analysis shows that institutional factors like federalism explain some of the differences between the policy areas and programs at stake. Yet, to complement this analysis, the paper also highlights the political consequences of changing ideas and assumptions among policy-makers, which vary strongly from one program to another. In other words, ideational and institutional factors combined to produce distinct patterns of policy change. Overall, the paper suggests that scholars can draw a clear analytical line between ideational and institutional factors before combining them to explain specific episodes of policy change. From a methodological standpoint, the paper also demonstrates the added value of systematic comparisons between distinct policy areas located within the same country.Ideas, institutions, unemployment, pensions, Canada

Income Security and Stability During Retirement in Canada

Post-war policies and subsequent debates had two policy targets: reducing old-age poverty and enhancing income security for the “average worker” after retirement. While we know a lot about the first issue, the second has received less attention as a result of data limitations. We take advantage of unique longitudinal data based on Canadian tax files (the LAD) to examine income replacement rates of older Canadians relative to their economic status when they were in their mid-fifties. In 2005, the replacement income of retired individuals in their mid-seventies who were in the middle of the income distribution at age 55 (in the early 1980s) was between 70 and 80 percent of their previous incomes some 20 years earlier This figure is at the high end of the range (65 to 75 percent) that experts generally consider “adequate” for middle-income retirees to maintain their pre-retirement living standards. However, we also show that there is considerable variation in replacement rates. By age 75, about a quarter of middle-income persons had retirement incomes of less than 60 percent of the income they were receiving in their mid-fifties, a result of differential access to private pension income. We also ask whether income replacement rates have been rising or falling among more recent cohorts of retirees but find little change. Finally, we report results about the stability of incomes in the retirement years. We conclude that year to year instability in family income declines for both high and low income earners as they age, largely because of the stabilizing effect of public pension income sources.retirement, income security

Why Have Poorer Neighbourhoods Stagnated Economically, While the Richer have Flourished? Neighbourhood Income Inequality in Canadian Cities

Higher income neighbourhoods in Canada’s eight largest cities flourished economically during the past quarter century, while lower income communities stagnated. This paper identifies some of the underlying processes that led to this outcome. Increasing family income inequality drove much of the rise in neighbourhood inequality. Increased spatial economic segregation, the increasing tendency of “like to live nearby likeâ€, also played a role. In the end, the differential economic outcomes between richer and poorer neighbourhoods originated in the labour market, or in family formation patterns. Changes in investment, pension income, or government transfers played a very minor role. But it was not unemployment that differentiated the richer from poorer neighbourhoods. Rather, it was the type of job found, particularly the annual earnings generated. The end result has been little improvement in economic resources in poor neighbourhoods during a period of substantial economic growth, and a rise in neighbourhood income inequality.Inequality, Neighbourhood, Poverty

The Utility of Collegiate and Combine Statistics For Identifying Potential in NFL Quarterbacks

Predicting potential is crucial for building a successful sports franchise. In the National Football League (NFL), the annual draft is a process in which franchises select athletes that will presumably improve their teams chances of winning. Considerable resources are used to determine suitable candidates and to test those athletes in a controlled environment. The current study examined the relationship between pre-draft variables and their impact on draft selection of quarterbacks into the National Football League. Associations between measures of collegiate statistics and combine test scores with draft position were considered in order to determine their impact and significance to becoming a professional football player. The analysis showed low correlations between both collegiate and combine statistics to draft position, indicating that the measures used to predict talent are of low validity. Findings are discussed within the context of previous literature on the accuracy of pre-draft measures to draft selection

Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) NDE of cracks in pressure vessels with FEA modelling

Includes bibliographical references.This dissertation describes the results of an attempt to simulate the Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometric fringe patterns observed around a crack or combination of cracks in a pressure vessel by finite element methods. Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) is a coherent optical measurement technique that produces a contour map of the surface displacement of an object when it is stressed. The sensitivity of the techniques is of the order of half the Wavelength of light. The objective of the study was to determine a procedure for the modelling of interferometric fringes by finite elements. The finite element model may then be used to study the effects of crack geometry on fringe patterns and produce a library of reference fringe patterns for comparison with experimental fringe patterns found for unknown flaws. The approach to the problem was to simulate the fringe patterns for a crack free cylinder and compare these with these observed experimentally. The FE model modulus of elasticity was than to be calibrated to minimise uncertainty in the exact value of the elastic modulus. Once the model was calibrated, various cracks and combinations of cracks were introduced into both the physical cylinders and the FE model and fringe patterns obtained were compared. The experimental results for the cracks and combinations of cracks were compared with the finite element predictions at a range of loads