Cash on the Table? A Behavioral Analysis of Refund Claimants and Annuitants in the Illinois Teachers\u27 Retirement System

This dissertation documents pension benefit choices made by public school teachers enrolled in the Illinois Teachers\u27 Retirement System (TRS), where they choose between taking a lump-sum withdrawal of their refundable contributions and deferring a pension benefit. The analysis explores the extent to which vested teachers enrolled in TRS separate from service with positive pension wealth, estimates how much money is left on the table at a conventional discount rate, and investigates what types of teachers display higher or lower discount rates as indicated by cashout patterns. To control for the relative attractiveness between choices, the analysis relies on three central measures: the pension-wealth-to-cash-out-ratio, net pension wealth, and the internal rate of return. Thirty-six percent of classroom teachers in TRS choose to withdraw their refundable contributions, and this estimate arguably provides a lower bound for similar final salary defined benefit pension plans in other states. Results from behavioral models find higher cashout rates among male, African American, and Hispanic teachers; teachers who work in rural districts; and teachers who did not receive a degree from an elite institution in Illinois. These results indicate higher discount rates among these groups. I find no evidence in the data of a relationship between subject endorsements and cashout decisions. Behavioral findings are consistent across models that assume different discount rates. The analysis concludes with an estimate of the aggregate leakage that occurs among TRS members who take a refund claim. Leakage is defined as NetPW for refund claimants who quit when the value of their pension wealth outweighs their refundable contributions. Leakage that refund claimants experience since 1980, adjusted for taxes and penalties, amount to $34,120 per refund claimant among all members and$35,229 per refund claimant among classroom teachers. Over four-fifths of this leakage, however, occurred since 2000. Annuitants incur about $9,000 per member. Relative to the overall fiscal health of TRS, total leakage by members since 1980 as a percentage of pension debt is 0.2 percent. The findings in this analysis suggest a set of policy implications, both for retirement security and for how some teachers value their retirement benefits

Пространство эстетизации повседневных жизненных практик:динамика, противоречия, социальный контекст

Научно-квалификационная работа посвящена актуальной проблеме, обусловленной дискуссионным характером социокультурных изменений, вызванных "пространственным поворотом", эстетизацией повседневности и обществом переживаний. Эстетизация, затрагивающая все сферы человеческой деятельности, и дигитализация, меняющая способ коммуникации современного индивида и формирующая новый "фокус" восприятия мира, определяют современное "общество переживаний" и "экономику впечатлений", трансформируют характер и цель социального взаимодействия, отношения человека с миром, ведут к смещению ценностных ориентиров. В работе дается характеристика концепций "общества переживаний", "экономики впечатлений", "эстетизация повседневности"; проанализирована эволюция этих идей.The scientific and qualification work is devoted to the actual problem, caused by the controversial nature of the sociocultural changes caused by the "spatial turn", aesthetisation of everyday life and the experience society. Aesthetization, affecting all spheres of human activity, and digitalization, changing the way of communication of a modern individual and forming a new "focus" of the world perception determine the modern "experience society" and " experience economy", transform the nature and purpose of social interaction, human relations with the world, lead to the displacement of value points. The work describes the concepts of the "experience society", " experience economy", " aesthetisation of everyday life "; The evolution of these ideas is analyzed

Lernen durch Kulturkontakt. Eine Prozeßanalyse der Akkulturation deutscher Studienreferendare in multikuturellen Klassen

Ein Ziel der qualitativen Längsschnittuntersuchung ist die inhaltsanalytische Rekonstruktion der Unterschiede individueller Veränderungen bei deutschen Studienreferendaren, die während ihres Referendariats einem kontinuierlichen Kontakt mit Schülern anderer kultureller Orientierungen ausgesetzt sind. Es wird von der Annahme ausgegangen, daß die Struktur und Richtung von Veränderungen abhängig davon sind, inwieweit es den Referendaren gelingt, unverträgliche kulturelle Validitäten eigener Verhaltensweisen und derjenigen von Schülern mit anderen kulturellen Orientierungen kognitiv und affektiv zu verarbeiten, und welche Interkulturalitätsstrategie sie wählen. Dargestellt werden die vor Beginn des Referendariats erwarteten eigenen Veränderungen der Referendare durch Kulturkontakt, ihre Veränderungen durch ihre Erfahrungen nach dessen Beendigung sowie solche, die sich in einer tutoriell gelenkten Auseinandersetzung mit fremdkulturellen Sichtweisen ermitteln ließen. Es lassen sich deutliche Unterschiede in den Akkulturationsverläufen feststellen. Die mit der Erfahrung zunehmende kognitive Differenzierung im Umgang mit kulturbezogenen Phänomenen wird mehrheitlich als Chance für individuelle Veränderungen gewertet. (DIPF/Orig.)One of the aims of this qualitative longitudinal study focusing on novice teachers is the contentanalytic reconstruction of the differences in individual changes triggered by continuous contact with students of another cultural background in multicultural schools. The underlying hypothesis is that the structure and direction of changes depends on the young teacher\u27s ability to cope both cognitively and affectively with incompatible cultural validities in their own behavior and in that of students of a different cultural background as well as on the intercultural strategy chosen. The authors sketch the personal changes through cultural contact expected by the beginning teachers before starting their practical training, the changes resulting from the experiences made during that time as they manifest themselves at the end of training phase, and those changes which could be detected in tutorially guided discussions of foreign cultural positions. The results show clear differences in the acculturation processes. By the majority, the increase in cognitive differentiation resulting from experiences made in dealing with cultural phenomena is regarded as an opportunity for personal change. (DIPF/Orig.

Use of meat juice and blood serum with a miniaturised protein microarray assay to develop a multi-parameter IgG screening test with high sample throughput potential for slaughtering pigs

Background Serological screening of pig herds at the abattoir is considered a potential tool to improve meat inspection procedures and herd health management. Therefore, we previously reported the feasibility of a miniaturised protein microarray as a new serological IgG screening test for zoonotic agents and production diseases in pigs. The present study investigates whether the protein microarray-based assay is applicable for high sample throughput using either blood serum or meat juice. Material and methods Microarrays with 12 different antigens were produced by Abbott (formerly Alere Technologies GmbH) Jena, Germany in a previously offered ‘ArrayTube’ platform and in an ‘ArrayStrip’ platform for large-scale use. A test protocol for the use of meat juice on both microarray platforms was developed. Agreement between serum and meat juice was analysed with 88 paired samples from three German abattoirs. Serum was diluted 1:50 and meat juice 1:2. ELISA results for all tested antigens from a preceding study were used as reference test to perform Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis for both test specimens on both microarray platforms. Results High area under curve values (AUC > 0.7) were calculated for the analysis of T. gondii (0.87), Y. enterocolitica (0.97), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (0.84) and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (0.71) with serum as the test specimen and for T. gondii (0.99), Y. enterocolitica (0.94), PRRSV (0.88), A. pleuropneumoniae (0.78) and Salmonella spp. (0.72) with meat juice as the test specimen on the ArrayStrip platform. Cohens kappa values of 0.92 for T. gondii and 0.82 for Y. enterocolitica were obtained for the comparison between serum and meat juice. When applying the new method in two further laboratories, kappa values between 0.63 and 0.94 were achieved between the laboratories for these two pathogens. Conclusion Further development of a miniaturised pig-specific IgG protein microarray assay showed that meat juice can be used on microarray platforms. Two out of twelve tested antigens (T. gondii, Y. enterocolitica) showed high test accuracy on the ArrayTube and the ArrayStrip platform with both sample materials

Personal professional vision for administrative practice : a reflective essay

It is important for every future administrator to think about and reflect upon their values and beliefs regarding educational leadership. By identifying these ideas early in their education, one can better learn how to put them into administrative practice. Without this set of beliefs, a future administrator may find it difficult to evolve into an effective leader. In order to attain this growth, I will utilize the six Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) and the Iowa Standards for School Leaders (ISSL) and their respective indicators for knowledge, disposition, and performance. The standards for visionary, instructional, organizational, collaborative, ethical, and political leadership will be employed to organize and articulate my belief system for administrative leadership and practice

Zum Magnetischen Verhalten der Alkalimetallozonide KO3, RbO3 und CsO3

Die magnetischen Suszeptibilitäten von K03, Rb03 und Cs03 wurden zwischen 3,6 und 250 Κ bestimmt. Die Verbindungen zeigen oberhalb von 50 Κ Curie-Weiss-Verhalten. Die aus den Anstiegen der Curie-Wciss-Geraden berechneten magnetischen Momente (1,74 μ-β für K 0 3 und Cs03 ; 1,80 μ,^ für Rb03 ) entsprechen dem Spinmoment für isolierte 0 3 _-Anionen mit jeweils einem ungepaarten Elektron. Die (9-Werte betragen —34Κ (K03) , —23 Κ (Rb03)und —10Κ (Cs03 ). Bei tiefen Temperaturen zeigen die für K 0 3 und R b 0 3 erhaltenen Suszeptibilitätskurven jeweils ein breites Maximum (20 bzw. 17 K.) sowie ein Minimum (6K). Dieses Verhalten, das auf eine zunächst mit fallender Temperatur einsetzende niederdimensionale, antiferromagnetische und eine anschließende dreidimensionale magnetische Ordnung deutet, wird im Zusammenhang mit den intermolekularen Sauerstoff—Sauerstoff-Abständen diskutiert

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic related stressors on patients with anxiety disorders

The COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures are affecting mental health, especially among patients with pre-existing mental disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the first wave and its aftermath of the pandemic in Germany (March–July) on psychopathology of patients diagnosed with panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and specific phobia who were on the waiting list or in current treatment at a German university-based outpatient clinic. From 108 patients contacted, forty-nine patients (45.37%) completed a retrospective survey on COVID-19 related stressors, depression, and changes in anxiety symptoms. Patients in the final sample (n = 47) reported a mild depression and significant increase in unspecific anxiety (d = .41), panic symptoms (d = .85) and specific phobia (d = .38), while social anxiety remained unaltered. Pandemic related stressors like job insecurities, familial stress and working in the health sector were significantly associated with more severe depression and increases in anxiety symptoms. High pre-pandemic symptom severity (anxiety/depression) was a risk factor, whereas meaningful work and being divorced/separated were protective factors (explained variance: 46.5% of changes in anxiety and 75.8% in depressive symptoms). In line with diathesis-stress models, patients show a positive association between stressors and symptom load. Health care systems are requested to address the needs of this vulnerable risk group by implementing timely and low-threshold interventions to prevent patients from further deterioration.Peer Reviewe

Анализ эффективности применения технологии одновременно-раздельной эксплуатации пластов на месторождениях Западной Сибири

Анализ эффективности применения технологии одновременно-раздельной эксплуатации пластов на месторождениях Западной Сибири, предложение нового инновационного подхода к повышению эффективности ОРЭ на месторождениях Западной-Сибири.Analysis of the efficiency of application of the technology of simultaneous-separate operation of reservoirs in the fields of Western Siberia, proposing a new innovative approach to increasing the efficiency of the wholesale electricity market in the fields of Western Siberia