Industry Benchmarking for Improved VAT Administration

One of the ways to improve the administration of the value added tax (VAT) in the Philippines is through the development of industry standards against which to validate claims of input VAT. This Policy Notes presents some industry benchmarks that may form part of the tool kit in the selection of VAT returns for audit. The benchmarks also provide a diagnosis of the sources of leakages in the VAT system.benchmarks, value added tax

The Cellie Coping Kit for Kids with Craniofacial Conditions: Developing a Culturally Sensitive Psychosocial Support Tool and Coping Resource for Families with School Age Children with Craniofacial Conditions from Diverse Backgrounds

The current project aimed to develop and pilot test a psychosocial support tool and coping resource: the Cellie Coping Kit for Craniofacial Conditions (Cellie Kit). We adapted a cognitive behavioral theory-based tool that promotes resilience and coping, the Cellie Coping Kit, to be appropriate for families of children with craniofacial conditions. Adaptation was guided by an integration of the Cellie Kit adaptation process with heuristic and ecological validity frameworks to increase cultural sensitivity for Hispanic/Latinx families. Kit adaptation and current pilot testing are part of a larger project that includes kit translation, production, and pilot testing of a bilingual Spanish-English Cellie Kit, in addition to the English Cellie Kit development and pilot testing focused on within the current study. Presently, six English speaking families were enrolled and four completed the Cellie Kit Intervention Program, pre- and post-measures, and semi-structured satisfaction interviews and questionnaires at the end of their participation. A mixed-methods approach including descriptive statistics and codebook thematic analysis, were utilized. Study feasibility and acceptability aims were explored through examining researcher fidelity forms, and quantitative and qualitative review of verbal and written participant reports. We found evidence for the feasibility of the coping intervention based on intervention implementation metrics, and both feasibility and acceptability based on participant-reports. Findings will inform future modifications to enhance kit materials and intervention program design as well as guide future evaluation, and potential for integration into routine clinical care

Archaeological Investigations at 41AN115

41AN115 is located in the northwestern part of Anderson County, Texas, on a western terrace of Town Creek approximately nine miles from the Trinity River. It is a multi-component prehistoric occupation, and the artifacts found here indicate it has been used from Late Paleoindian to Woodland period times. The late Paleoindian occupation is represented by Dalton and San Patrice dart points; the Archaic occupations are marked by Bell, Bulverde, and Yarbrough dart points; while the Woodland period occupation includes Gary points and sandy paste pottery. The site was used intermittently over thousands of years as a hunting camp and later as a seasonal campsite. The tool kit included flake knives, gravers, spokeshaves, punches, and scrapers, along with many ground stone tools. The lithic materials chosen for tool use are a combination of local and non-local material with cherts, fine-grained quartzite, ferruginous sandstone, and petrified wood. One Late Archaic occupational features has been found at the site

A Tool-Kit for Ethics Self-Assessment (ESA)

The primary objective of this article is to present the concept of the original tool Tool-Kit for Ethics Self-Assessment (ESA), which was created to strengthen ethical values important in human conduct not only in the area of business but also in other fields of human activities. The text includes a reflection on the search for a universal set of ethical values, a presentation of the context important for undertaking the related initiatives following “An Appeal for a Global Ethics Framework & A Tool-Kit for Ethics Self-Assessment,” a general description of the process of creating and characterizing the ESA concept and information about the declaration of its universal availability. The tool is currently working in twelve languages (esa.sgh.waw.pl). The text also expresses the need to share knowledge of initiatives that, regardless of the format (whether small or large), can contribute to the desired changes in ethics: global, national, and on any other scale. The last part of the study presents observations resulting from the survey conducted in a group of people belonging to Generation Z, using the characteristics of seven clusters of ethical values used in A Tool-Kit for Ethics Self-Assessment (ESA). The survey allowed us to obtain information, thanks to which it could be determined how the views of Generation Z preparing to work in business differ in the area of ethics from the views of mature people. The diagnosis referred to the compliance of choices made by university students with the cluster ordering of ethical values (ideas) used in the Tool-Kit for Ethics Self-Assessment (ESA) tool and those made by a group of mature people, well acquainted with the philosophy of ethics and business practice, and at the same time sensitive to ethics in every aspect of life, not only in economy. This idea stemmed from the assumption that the identification of similarities as well as discrepancies in this respect may be cognitive in determining generational differences. Thanks to the survey, a generalized description of the respondents’ ethical awareness and sensitivity was made, as well as an original radar of student perception of the importance of ethical values in defining an ideal ethical attitude in business, presented here in the formula shown in the Tool-Kit for Ethics Self-Assessment

Environmental and economic optimization and prioritization tool-kit for residential building renovation strategies with life cycle approach

The most recent regulations, as well as the scientific studies, remark the importance of the evaluation of the entire life cycle on building renovations, relative to the environmental impact and economic feasibility, making the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) the prioritizing analysis. The objective of the study is to develop a simplified methodology for the environmental and economic assessment of residential building renovations with life cycle approach. For this, a script-based tool-kit is developed: the first tool optimizes the thickness of envelope insulation based strategies; the second tool is for the prioritization of strategies by assessing their environmental performance and economic feasibility. In order to follow the objective, the development of the two tools is presented: both tools follow a parallel scheme where the input parameters are required by an excel file and the calculation script provides the results automatically by exporting the results excel file. The evaluation provides the quantification of the relative environmental improvement with the net energy ratio (NER), and the economic feasibility by the financial indicator of internal rate of return (IRR). The tool-kit is applied in a case study of a multifamily residential building. The results show, on the one hand, that the usability of the tool-kit can be determinant in the decision-making of stakeholders; and in the other hand, the importance of carrying out a dynamic assessment, taking into account the variation of the results caused by the uncertain parameters that differ in time. Moreover, the tool-kit can assist the development of cost-effective decarbonisation strategies.Part of the work presented in this paper belongs to the research project PIBA-PUE 2020(PUE_2020_1_0013) funded by the Department of Education of the Basque Government. Moreover, this research work is part of the corresponding author's Doctoral Thesis that aims to investigate the holistic assessment of technical renovation solutions of residential buildings in the Basque Country funded by the Predoctoral Training Programme for Non-Doctor Research Personnel of the Department of Education of the Basque Government (PRE_2021_1_0247)

Clean birth kits to improve birth practices: development and testing of a country level decision support tool

Background: Clean birth practices can prevent sepsis, one of the leading causes of both maternal and newborn mortality. Evidence suggests that clean birth kits (CBKs), as part of package that includes education, are associated with a reduction in newborn mortality, omphalitis, and puerperal sepsis. However, questions remain about how best to approach the introduction of CBKs in country. We set out to develop a practical decision support tool for programme managers of public health systems who are considering the potential role of CBKs in their strategy for care at birth. Methods: Development and testing of the decision support tool was a three-stage process involving an international expert group and country level testing. Stage 1, the development of the tool was undertaken by the Birth Kit Working Group and involved a review of the evidence, a consensus meeting, drafting of the proposed tool and expert review. In Stage 2 the tool was tested with users through interviews (9) and a focus group, with federal and provincial level decision makers in Pakistan. In Stage 3 the findings from the country level testing were reviewed by the expert group. Results: The decision support tool comprised three separate algorithms to guide the policy maker or programme manager through the specific steps required in making the country level decision about whether to use CBKs. The algorithms were supported by a series of questions (that could be administered by interview, focus group or questionnaire) to help the decision maker identify the information needed. The country level testing revealed that the decision support tool was easy to follow and helpful in making decisions about the potential role of CBKs. Minor modifications were made and the final algorithms are presented. Conclusion: Testing of the tool with users in Pakistan suggests that the tool facilitates discussion and aids decision making. However, testing in other countries is needed to determine whether these results can be replicated and to identify how the tool can be adapted to meet country specific needs

Promoting Music Therapy Referrals for Neurodivergent Children

Music therapy is perhaps an underutilized, underfunded, and undervalued part of the tool kit available to physicians, parents and children with ASD and other developmental disabilities within Clinton County. There are opportunities to increase referrals for music therapy for children receiving care at the CVPH Family Medicine Center and within the county.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/2020/thumbnail.jp

Dilemma - An Instant Lexicographer

Dilemma is intended to enhance quality and increase productivity of expert human translators by presenting to the writer relevant lexical information mechanically extracted from comparable existing translations, thus replacing - or compensating for the absence of - a lexicographer and stand-by terminologist rather than the translator. Using statistics and crude surface analysis and a minimum of prior information, Dilemma identifies instances and suggests their counterparts in parallel source and target texts, on all levels down to individual words. Dilemma forms part of a tool kit for translation where focus is on text structure and over-all consistency in large text volumes rather than on framing sentences, on interaction between many actors in a large project rather than on retrieval of machine-stored data and on decision making rather than on application of given rules. In particular, the system has been tuned to the needs of the ongoing translation of European Community legislation into the languages of candidate member countries. The system has been demonstrated to and used by professional translators with promising results.Comment: 3 pages, LaTeX, in proceedings of COLING 9

Towards Design for a Nutrient Trading Programme to Improve Water Quality in Lake Rotorua

This paper explores how to enhance the role for academic research (natural sciences, economics and their integration; and stakeholder management) within the development and implementation of water quality policy in New Zealand. Our focus is on the use of market based instruments and particularly nutrient trading programmes, which are one important part of the potential tool kit to address these issues. We discuss why nutrient trading might be an appropriate instrument for the Lake Rotorua catchment. We survey the existing literature and then outline the outstanding scientific, economic and governance questions that need to be addressed to design an effective trading programme. Finally we discuss how to design a process to address these questions drawing on both technical and practical knowledge through a learning process.water quality; emissions trading; non-point source pollution; nutrients; Rotorua; communication; learning