Confederation Research Articles

Polarization of Journalists' Attitudes Regarding State Bonds to Press Freedom and Media Continuity

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a myriad of alterations and substantial repercussions across numerous domains of human existence. Beyond merely affecting the healthcare sector, COVID-19 has also exerted influence over the sustainability of educational systems, economic structures, public governance, and even the journalistic field. These circumstances have led to a notable decline in advertising revenues within the media, necessitating reductions in employee wages, implementation of layoffs, and in some instances, declarations of insolvency. A strategic governmental intervention designed to mitigate the economic ramifications of the pandemic on the press has been the establishment of collaborative initiatives between governmental bodies and media organizations, which includes the provision of financial assistance. Although these initiatives are ostensibly intended to bolster the media sector, they have subsequently manifested as a potential jeopardy to the autonomy of the press. Employing qualitative methodologies grounded in critical paradigms, the research undertook an analysis of both primary and secondary data, acquired through comprehensive interviews with journalists and stakeholders in media policy, alongside extensive desk research utilizing diverse documentary sources. The findings of the investigation indicated that the collaboration between the case study television station and the Indonesian government during the pandemic, while yielding benefits for both entities, engendered a power dynamic that compromised the independence of the media in the context of the pandemic.

New Insights into Anionic Redox in P2-Type Oxide Cathodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Manganese/nickel-based layered transition metal oxides have caught the attention of studies as promising cathodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). It is reported that utilizing both cationic and anionic redox reactions is a promising method for higher energy density cathodes. However, the anionic redox reaction comes at the expense of irreversible oxygen release. Hence, a Li-Mg cosubstituted P2-Na0.67Li0.07Mg0.07Ni0.28Mn0.58O2 material with a honeycomb-ordered superstructure was designed. The Ni3+/Ni4+ redox couple and the anionic redox reaction are proven to have a competitive relationship. Density functional theory calculations reveal the effect of O 2p nonbonding states from Li and prove that Mg-O bonds can stabilize the Ni-O eg states. In situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements and galvanostatic charging/discharging derived dV/dQ, representing resistance changes with time, are obtained to reveal the mechanism of the anionic redox reaction. This study presents the effect and mechanism of the O 2p nonbonding state and Mg-O bonds of manganese/nickel-based layered oxides.

Estimation of Tax Benefit of US Nonprofit Hospitals

Nonprofit hospitals are under increasing scrutiny to justify the generous tax benefit they receive due to their tax-exempt status. Quantifying the value of the tax benefit they receive at the federal, state, and local levels is critical for designing informed public health policies and ensuring nonprofit hospitals' taxpayer accountability. To estimate the financial benefit that nonprofit hospitals derive from their tax-exempt status and assess how the benefit is distributed across state and local communities. Using methodologies and measures consistent with current tax law and practice and data from 2021 Medicare Cost Reports, this study calculated the total financial benefit from nonprofit hospitals' tax-exempt status for all US nonprofit hospitals with the required Cost Reports data. Nonprofit hospitals' total tax benefit, which equals the sum of federal and state income tax, sales tax, property tax, the fair market value of charitable contributions from donors, savings from tax exemptions on issued bonds, and federal unemployment tax. A total of 2927 US nonprofit hospitals received a $37.4 billion total tax benefit in 2021 from federal income tax ($11.5 billion; 31%), sales tax ($9.1 billion; 24%), property tax ($7.8 billion; 21%), state income tax ($3.7 billion; 10%), charitable contributions ($3.2 billion; 8%), bond financing ($2.1 billion; 6%), and federal unemployment tax ($200 million; <1%). Tax benefit varied substantially across states, from $25 098 (Delaware) to $159 464 (Massachusetts) per hospital bed and from $19 (Alabama) to $275 (Massachusetts) per capita. Tax benefit was highly concentrated, with 7% (n = 212) of hospitals accounting for half of the total amount. This study highlights the wide variation of nonprofit hospitals' tax benefit across states, its high concentration among a small number of hospitals, and the primary role played by state and local taxes. Policy efforts to strengthen nonprofit hospitals' taxpayer accountability are likely to be more effective when pursued at the local level. The detailed standardized estimation road map can be used by various stakeholders to estimate tax benefit for external valuation and reporting purposes, updated as laws change, and improved upon as better data sources become available.

ИЗ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ БИОГРАФИИ Х. А. ПАЭСА: КОНФЛИКТ БОЛИВАРИАНСКОЙ ИДЕОЛОГИИ И ЛАТИНОАМЕРИКАНСКИХ ЛАТИФУНДИСТОВ В 1826–1827 гг.

The article examines the contradictions that arose in the political leadership of the independent state of Greater Colombia after liberation of Latin America territory from Spain. After Simon Bolivar, the leader of revolution movement, organized the administration of Greater Colombia, disagreements began among the regional leaders of the federation, backed by local landowning and trading elites and caudillos, mainly due to contradictions between personal interests and attempts at state centralization of land question by the new power. Also the leaders of Venezuela and Columbia didn’t agree with the Bolivar wishes to unite all newly free territories in one confederate state – And confederation – following the United States of America. The main struggle unfolded between the appointed Vice-President of the Great Columbia Francisco de Paula Santander and Venezuelan military leader Jose Antonio Paez. This led Paez to a request sent to Bolivar to assume, as the leader of the nation and the entire liberation movement, full power in Greater Colombia, and as a result of this Bolivar reconciled rival powers.

Political polarization and state government bonds

This study examines the effect of political polarization in state legislatures on state bond yields in the United States. Political polarization, defined as the ideological divide between Democratic and Republican members of the state legislative chambers, reflects legislators' willingness to seek bipartisan compromises. We expect high polarization states to be riskier because they are likelier to experience gridlock, negatively affecting economic development and debt service commitment. Findings suggest a significant positive relation between bond yields and political polarization. A one-standard-deviation increase in polarization increases bond yields by 7.81 basis points and total interest expense by $2.3 million for an average bond issue. Additionally, this study finds that the effect of polarization on bond yields is stronger for general obligation bonds.

Excited State Bond Homolysis of Vanadium(V) Photocatalysts for Alkoxy Radical Generation.

Advancements in photocatalysis have transformed synthetic organic chemistry, using light as a powerful tool to drive selective chemical transformations. Recent approaches have focused on metal-halide ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) photoactivated bond homolysis reactions leveraged by earth-abundant elements to generate valuable synthons for radical-mediated cross-coupling reactions. Of recent utility, oxovanadium(V) LMCT photocatalysts exhibit selective alkoxy radical generation from aliphatic alcohols upon blue light (UVA) irradiation under mild conditions. The selective photochemical liberation of alkoxy radicals is valuable for applying late-stage fragmentation approaches in organic synthesis and depolymerization strategies for nonbiodegradable polymers. Steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy were used to assign the electronic structure of three well-defined V(V) photocatalysts in their ground and excited states. We assign the excited state for this transformation at earth-abundant vanadium(V), interrogating the electronic structure using static UV-visible absorption, ultrafast transient absorption, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy coupled to computational approaches. These findings afford assignments of the short-lived excited state intermediates that dictate selective homolytic bond cleavage in metal alkoxides, illustrating the valuable insight gleaned from fundamental investigations of the molecular photochemistry responsible for light-escalated chemical transformations.

Effect of State Bonds on the Private Sector: Evidence from a Growing Economy

Effect of State Bonds on the Private Sector: Evidence from a Growing Economy

Congress of States: Proceedings of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America ed. by R. David Carlson (review)

Congress of States: Proceedings of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America ed. by R. David Carlson (review)

Exploration of sensing behavior B3O3 quantum dot toward methyl halides; a quantum chemical approach

In this study, B3O3 quantum dot has been used for sensing of various methyl halides for the first time. The suitable cavity of B3O3 makes it more suitable for the sensing of variety of analytes. The three, very simple and most important methyl halides (CH3F, CH3Cl and CH3Br) are selected to adsorb on B3O3 surface. Density functional theory (DFT) method with appropriate basis set was implemented. Among the considered complexes, methyl bromide complex CH3Br@B3O3) showed higher interaction energy of −16.90 kcal mol−1. The noncovalent interaction (NCI) analysis identified the existence of van der Waals interactions among all analytes and adsorbent. The density of state (DOS) and natural bond orbital (NBO) charges analyses identified the charge transfer and conductive properties of B3O3 nanosheet after interaction with alkyl halides. Frontier molecular orbital study revealed the electronic attributes of considered complexes. It is revealed that B3O3 quantum dot can be a very good choice for sensing of methyl halides and could be helpful for monitoring and reducing the environmental pollution.

Union strategies in conflict: A comparative study of strike fund institutionalisation and infrastructural resources

AbstractThis article unveils the establishment or rejection of strike funds as a tangible organisational tool towards union renewal. Despite strike funds being a necessary and recurring instrument in the organisation of strikes, they have seldom been theorised as a distinct (infrastructural) power resource fundamental to understanding unions’ readiness and preparation for industrial conflict. Institutionalised strike funds, supported by union dues, provide economic support to strikers, reinforce their collective identity, legitimise a more confrontational position towards collective bargaining and may garner support from the broader community. Additionally, strike funds may serve as tools to attract members and shape narratives that can influence corporate positions and public opinion during labour disputes. Through a comparative analysis of 10 confederal unions in Spain, we illustrate the different strategic views that unions may hold with respect to them. Crucially, we find that the presence or absence of strike funds reflects the specific political position a union adopts concerning industrial conflict and how they may possibly articulate them with other power resources. Hence, the institutionalisation of strike funds involves a complex union renewal process, which is also influenced by a comparative learning process between unions. Finally, we also explain the flourishing of different strike funds during the last decades that derive from a spillover effect between counterpower and radical unions.

Teaching Black Educational Philanthropy Through Photography, 1863–1920s

This article explores the use of photography as a strategy for teaching Black educational philanthropy. Ordinary consumer-philanthropists, white and Black, saw value in the production, sale, and circulation of photography for the support of African American schools in the former Confederate states. In reading these historic photographs, students bear witness to the curated photographic collection of liberated children, traveling choirs, and Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campus communities who left little-to-no written records. The materiality and content of the historic photographs enhances the teaching of Black educational philanthropy from the Civil War to the early Jim Crow era.

Jacob D. Green and Britain’s Nineteenth-Century Black Abolitionist Network

ABSTRACT Jacob D. Green’s speaking career in England (1863-66) is an exploration of how an independent, self-financed Black speaker became a networked abolitionist building on the achievements of other expatriate African American activists like Moses Roper and James Watkins. Born enslaved in Maryland, Green made serial escapes from enslavement in Kentucky and elsewhere in the United States, sojourning in Toronto before arriving in Lancashire at about age forty-eight with evidently few funds. Green appealed to cotton and woollen mill town residents to oppose enslavement and the Confederate States of America from where most of North-West England’s cotton originated. He initially lectured under the sponsorship of nonconformist ministers in Yorkshire and built a network that included ministers in the United Methodist Free Church, Congregational Union, capitalists, and tradespeople. Nonconformist sponsorship led to an 1864 move to Heckmondwike in the centre of his lecture circuit. He connected with those who sponsored other Black abolitionists, burgeoning his network by speaking in West Yorkshire towns and cities that had hosted African American orators before. As a networked abolitionist, he earned income from speaking and publishing an autobiography and may have died in England in 1866.

Composition-dependent brittleness and ductility of the multicomponent phase (Fe, Cr)23(C, B)6 in Fe–Cr–B–C alloys: First-principles calculations and modeling

(Fe, Cr)23(C, B)6, as a strengthening phase in Fe–Cr–B–C alloys, has not been reported on the relationship between its properties and composition over the entire composition range. (Fe, Cr)23(C, B)6 tends to exhibit brittleness, which is difficult to regulate through traditional experiments. The mechanical properties of (Fe, Cr)23(C, B)6 phase in Fe–Cr–B–C alloy have been studied by first principles calculation. With the help of CALPHAD method, the distribution of elastic constant, modulus, hardness and fracture toughness in the whole component space was obtained, so that the suitable component with good wear resistance and strong toughness was obtained. The mechanical properties of (Fe, Cr)23(C, B)6 phase is better in the range of ∼0.4–0.6 at. % B and ∼0.5–0.7 at. % Cr. The mechanism of these differences is explained in terms of state density, bond length, population analysis and differential charge density, as the addition of boron and the increase in chromium content led to a significant increase in the formation of covalent bonds between metals and non-metals, in which these bonds play a decisive role. The combination of the first principles calculation and the CALPHAD model provides a feasible model for constructing the composition-property relationship of medium entropy compounds.

Enhancing the Vickers hardness of Yttrium borides through bond optimization

The hard nature of transition metal boride reminds a conundrum. Compared to the diboride, we propose that the high hardness of transition metal boride strongly depends on the structural feature and bonding state (bond type, bond number and bond direction) in addition to the network B-B covalent bond. To demonstrate our idea, we symmetrically study the structural configuration, hardness, elastic properties and bonding state of the B-rich Y-B borides by using the first-principles method. The hexagonal YB2, tetragonal YB4, cubic YB6 and cubic YB12 are studied. The convex hull implies that YB4 has better thermodynamic stability in comparison to the YB2, YB6 and YB12. Importantly, it is found that the calculated Vickers hardness of the cubic YB12 is 41.4 GPa, indicating that YB12 is a potential superhard material. However, the Vickers hardness of YB2, YB4 and YB6 is lower than 40 GPa. Naturally, the high harness of YB12 is determined by the network B-B covalent bond. For non-superhard materials (YB2, YB4 and YB6), the hardness is related not only to the 3D network B-B covalent bond but also to the structural feature and bond state, particularly for TM-B bond. Compared to the strong B-B covalent bond, the Y-B bond plays an important role in harness because the Y-B bond is not surrounded by the 3D network B-B covalent bond. Therefore, we believe that the bond type and bond arrangement play an important role in hardness. This work can provide new design rule to adjust the structural feature and bond state to enhance the Vickers hardness of transition metal borides superhard materials.

The Moderating Effect of Interest Rates and Inflation on the Effect of Bond Coupons and Bond Maturity on the Price of Fixed Rate (FR) Series RI State Bonds in 2022

The Moderating Effect of Interest Rates and Inflation on the Effect of Bond Coupons and Bond Maturity on the Price of Fixed Rate (FR) Series RI State Bonds in 2022

Error of relativistic effective core potentials for closed-shell diatomic molecules of p-block heavy and superheavy elements in DFT and TDDFT calculations.

Pseudopotentials (PP) are extensively used in electronic structure calculations, particularly for molecules containing heavy elements. Parameters in PPs are mainly determined from abinitio results, and errors of such PPs in density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been studied previously. However, PP errors on results with spin-orbit coupling and those in time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations have not been reported previously. In this work, we investigate the error of the small-core energy-consistent Stuttgart/Koln pseudopotentials in DFT and TDDFT calculations with and without spin-orbit coupling. Ground state bond lengths, harmonic frequencies, dissociation energies, and vertical excitation energies for a series of closed-shell diatomic heavy and superheavy p-block molecules are calculated using several popular exchange-correlation functionals. PP errors are estimated by comparing with results using the all-electron Dirac-Coulomb (-Gaunt) Hamiltonian. Our results show that the difference between ground state properties and most excitation energies in scalar-relativistic calculations with the PP and those of all-electron calculations is quite small. This difference becomes somewhat larger when spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is present, especially for properties that are affected by SOC to some extent. In addition, the errors of the PPs are insensitive to the employed exchange-correlation functionals in most cases. Our results indicate that reasonable DFT and TDDFT results can be obtained using the small-core energy-consistent Stuttgart/Koln pseudopotentials for heavy and super-heavy p-block molecules.

State corporate tax changes and bond pricing: U.S. evidence

In this study, we empirically investigate whether and to what extent state tax changes may affect the cost of debt. We employ staggered changes in state corporate income tax rates in the U.S. as exogenous shocks and estimate the effects of these state tax changes on bond at-issue yield spreads. We find a significant and positive relation between bond yield spreads and state tax increases but an insignificant relation between bond yield spreads and state tax decreases. On average, tax increases result in an increase of 34 basis points in the average bond yield spread. In addition, we document that bond investors demand higher yield spreads because tax increases aggravate firms' default risk by increasing firm leverage and return volatility. Moreover, we extend our analysis to equity holders and report a negative relation between stock market reaction to bond issuances subject to state tax increases.

Mechanochemistry of Pterodactylane.

Pterodactylane is a [4]-ladderane with substituents on the central rung. Comparing the mechanochemistry of the [4]-ladderane structure when pulled from the central rung versus the end rung revealed a striking difference in the threshold force of mechanoactivation: the threshold force is dramatically lowered from 1.9 nN when pulled on the end rung to 0.7 nN when pulled on the central rung. We investigated the bicyclic products formed from the mechanochemical activation of pterodactylane experimentally and computationally, which are distinct from the mechanochemical products of ladderanes being activated from the end rung. We compared the products of pterodactylane's mechanochemical and thermal activation to reveal differences and similarities in the mechanochemical and thermal pathways of pterodactylane transformation. Interestingly, we also discovered the presence of elementary steps that are accelerated or suppressed by force within the same mechanochemical reaction of pterodactylane, suggesting rich mechanochemical manifolds of multicyclic structures. We rationalized the greatly enhanced mechanochemical reactivity of the central rung of pterodactylane and discovered force-free ground state bond length to be a good low-cost predictor of the threshold force for cyclobutane-based mechanophores. These findings advance our understanding of mechanochemical reactivities and pathways, and they will guide future designs of mechanophores with low threshold forces to facilitate their applications in force-responsive materials.

NATIONAL ACADEMIC ASSOCIATIONS OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS AS PARTICIPANTS OF HISTORICAL POLITICS IN THE USA

The aim of the study is to examine the activities of professional academic associations in the U.S., which are close to the memory institutions in Europe. The author examines the role of professional associations as memory institutions in the development of memorial culture through the representation of the past in contemporary politics, its reflection in public and public spaces of American society. The novelty of the study lies in the comparison of institutions that determine the main vectors and trajectories of historical policy as memory policy in the United States. The article analyses the problems of the activities of institutionalized actors of collective memory policy in the U.S., including the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians and the Southern Historical Association. It hypothesizes that these groups can shape civil society versions of collective memory as alternatives to politically motivated use of the past by political elites. The article deals with the institutional and formal features of historical politics in the United States, the participation of historical associations in memorial conflicts and “memory wars”, issues of politicization of history and the academic community’s attempts at forming a canon of historical collective memory which is formally free from ideological influences. The activities of professional historical associations have supposedly been a factor in the development of revisionism in the interpretation of the history of the American South and the Confederate States of America. Therefore, the author considers the role and responsibility of American historians as public intellectuals who shaped compromise versions of memorial culture that contributed to the consolidation of society. The article highlights the contribution of professional historical associations as memory institutions to the development of mnemonic spaces of American society and its memorial culture. It analyses the attempts of American historians to preserve the “purity” of academic research in the context of the growing ideologization and instrumentalization of history by ruling elites. The research results suggest that memory institutions are an important factor in the development of contemporary identities in the United States in the context of revision of the past and the formation of new or alternative memorial canons in American political culture.

Impact of investment and R&amp;D expenditures on company performance in the industry 4.0 era

AbstractThis paper aims to evaluate the influence of investment and R&amp;D expenditures on the performance of large companies that are headquartered in the Europe using regression analysis of the generalized method of moments. The independent control variables are GDP per capita and the interest rate represented by the yield of 10-year state bonds. The sample period is 2010–2018. Our result shows that the growth of R&amp;D expenditures and investments negatively affected the profitability ratios of the firms in the year of implementation. While concentrating on the macroeconomic control variables, the results support an assumption about the positive effects of GDP on the majority of the net income, ROA and ROE estimates. On the other hand, negative effects of interest rates were found.