PROPOSED ACCOUNTING STANDARD REQUIRES CAPITALIZATION OF ALL LONG-TERM LEASES FOR LESSEES

Accounting for leases has been a controversial issue both internationally and in the United States for a number of years. The focus of the issue has been whether or not simply disclosing the amount of lease commitments by the lessee in the notes to the financial statements is adequate financial reporting for long-term leases classified as operating leases. In 2010 the Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board jointly issued an exposure draft, Leases (Topic 840), requiring lessees to report an asset and liability for the present value of the committed lease payments or contracts that extend for more than one year. In July 2011, the two boards agreed to re-expose their proposal for this leases standard. A revised proposal was issued in May 2013. This paper examines changes in several balance sheet and income statement ratios by industry and specifically for a grocery store, a merchandiser, and an airline, that will result from the new accounting standard. As expected, ratios involving liabilities change in a direction making the companies appear more risky. In addition, the income statements are revised by imputing interest on the assumed capitalized amount of noncancellable leases and the interest coverage ratios are recalculated. Two companies reporting profits show a decline in the ratio while the airline actually experiences the ratio changing from negative to positive

The effect of fresh seaweed and a formulated diet supplemented with seaweed on the growth and gonad quality of the collector sea urchin, Tripneustes gratilla, under farm conditions

This gonad enhancement study investigates the effect of different fresh and formulated feeds and feeding regimes on the growth and gonad quality of wild-collected adult sea urchin, Tripneustes gratilla, under farm conditions for over 18 weeks. In the first 12 weeks (phase 1), urchins were fed fresh Ulva rigida (U); a 50:50 mixture of fresh U. rigida and Gracilaria gracilis (UG); fresh G. gracilis (G) and a formulated diet 20U (containing 20% U. rigida), and in the final 6 weeks (phase 2) of the study, diet was changed to a formulated feed (20U diet). By the end of phase 1, urchins fed the 20U diet produced gonads (50.72 ± 5.4 g) that were significantly heavier (p < .001) than the gonads of urchins fed the fresh seaweed diets (U, UG & G). By the end of phase 2, gonad weight of urchins in treatment groups UG-20U and G-20U were similar to those fed the 20U-20U diet. Gonad colour of urchins in the G-20U treatment became significantly lighter (ANOVA, p = .029) and poorer quality, compared with urchins in the U-20U group. This gonad enhancement study, conducted on wild collected adult T. gratilla, has shown that a formulated feed (20U diet) can enhance gonad growth and produce commercially acceptable gonads. This farm-based study supports previous findings from aquarium-based studies by our group and indicates that short-term sea urchin gonad enhancement can be carried out under farm conditions in South Africa

Who Gives a Trump? Evidence of Framing Effects in Tax Policy

We use a framed survey to measure how associating the name “Trump” with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) affects people’s satisfaction of said Act. Our research included 72 participant clients from a Volunteer Income Tax Assistants (VITA) program, who were asked to provide baseline data regarding political affiliation and attitudes prior to having tax returns completed. We find that using the name “Trump” with people who self-identify as Republican results in more satisfaction with the Act, whereas, for people with who do not self-identify as Republican, association with the name “Trump” does not precipitate stronger or weaker satisfaction with the Act

Breaking the Curve with CANDELS: A Bayesian Approach to Reveal the Non-Universality of the Dust-Attenuation Law at High Redshift

Dust attenuation affects nearly all observational aspects of galaxy evolution, yet very little is known about the form of the dust-attenuation law in the distant Universe. Here, we model the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies at z = 1.5--3 from CANDELS with rest-frame UV to near-IR imaging under different assumptions about the dust law, and compare the amount of inferred attenuated light with the observed infrared (IR) luminosities. Some individual galaxies show strong Bayesian evidence in preference of one dust law over another, and this preference agrees with their observed location on the plane of infrared excess (IRX, $L_{\text{TIR}}/L_{\text{UV}}$) and UV slope ($\beta$). We generalize the shape of the dust law with an empirical model, $A_{\lambda,\delta}=E(B-V)\ k_\lambda\ (\lambda/\lambda_V)^\delta$ where $k_\lambda$ is the dust law of Calzetti et al. (2000), and show that there exists a correlation between the color excess ${E(B-V)}$ and tilt $\delta$ with ${\delta=(0.62\pm0.05)\log(E(B-V))}$+ ${(0.26~\pm~0.02)}$. Galaxies with high color excess have a shallower, starburst-like law, and those with low color excess have a steeper, SMC-like law. Surprisingly, the galaxies in our sample show no correlation between the shape of the dust law and stellar mass, star-formation rate, or $\beta$. The change in the dust law with color excess is consistent with a model where attenuation is caused by by scattering, a mixed star-dust geometry, and/or trends with stellar population age, metallicity, and dust grain size. This rest-frame UV-to-near-IR method shows potential to constrain the dust law at even higher ($z>3$) redshifts.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, resubmitted to Ap

Coupled ecological and management connectivity across administrative boundaries in undeveloped landscapes

Human-induced ecological boundaries, or anthropogenic ecotones, may arise where administrative boundaries meet on undeveloped lands. Landscape-level ecological processes related to factors such as fire, invasive species, grazing, resource extraction, wildlife, and water may be affected due to unique management strategies adopted by each administrative unit. Over time, different management can result in discernible ecological differences (e.g., species composition or soil characteristics). Thus, fragmentation in the management landscape can correspond to ecological fragmentation. Different ecological patterns may emerge due to an increase in the number of management units in a region, or due to an increase in the number of different types of management units in the region. Temporal effects and collaboration history can also affect the emergence of ecotones. We use conceptual models to explore the relationship between these aspects of management fragmentation and the anthropogenic ecotones between management parcels. We then use examples of different management challenges to explore how anthropogenic ecotones can disrupt ecological flows. Our models suggest that cross-boundary collaboration that enhances management connectivity is likely essential to ecological connectivity in the face of environmental and social change

The Evolution of the Galaxy Stellar Mass Function at z= 4-8: A Steepening Low-mass-end Slope with Increasing Redshift

We present galaxy stellar mass functions (GSMFs) at $z=$ 4-8 from a rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) selected sample of $\sim$4500 galaxies, found via photometric redshifts over an area of $\sim$280 arcmin$^2$ in the CANDELS/GOODS fields and the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The deepest Spitzer/IRAC data yet-to-date and the relatively large volume allow us to place a better constraint at both the low- and high-mass ends of the GSMFs compared to previous space-based studies from pre-CANDELS observations. Supplemented by a stacking analysis, we find a linear correlation between the rest-frame UV absolute magnitude at 1500 \AA\ ($M_{\rm UV}$) and logarithmic stellar mass ($\log M_*$) that holds for galaxies with $\log(M_*/M_{\odot}) \lesssim 10$. We use simulations to validate our method of measuring the slope of the $\log M_*$-$M_{\rm UV}$ relation, finding that the bias is minimized with a hybrid technique combining photometry of individual bright galaxies with stacked photometry for faint galaxies. The resultant measured slopes do not significantly evolve over $z=$ 4-8, while the normalization of the trend exhibits a weak evolution toward lower masses at higher redshift. We combine the $\log M_*$-$M_{\rm UV}$ distribution with observed rest-frame UV luminosity functions at each redshift to derive the GSMFs, finding that the low-mass-end slope becomes steeper with increasing redshift from $\alpha=-1.55^{+0.08}_{-0.07}$ at $z=4$ to $\alpha=-2.25^{+0.72}_{-0.35}$ at $z=8$. The inferred stellar mass density, when integrated over $M_*=10^8$-$10^{13} M_{\odot}$, increases by a factor of $10^{+30}_{-2}$ between $z=7$ and $z=4$ and is in good agreement with the time integral of the cosmic star formation rate density.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures, ApJ, in pres

Quantifying ecological variation across jurisdictional boundaries in a management mosaic landscape

Context Large landscapes exhibit natural heterogeneity. Land management can impose additional variation, altering ecosystem patterns. Habitat characteristics may reflect these management factors, potentially resulting in habitat differences that manifest along jurisdictional boundaries. Objectives We characterized the patchwork of habitats across a case study landscape, the Grand Canyon Protected Area-Centered Ecosystem. We asked: how do ecological conditions vary across different types of jurisdictional boundaries on public lands? We hypothesized that differences in fire and grazing, because they respond to differences in management over time, contribute to ecological differences by jurisdiction. Methods We collected plot-scale vegetation and soils data along boundaries between public lands units surrounding the Grand Canyon. We compared locations across boundaries of units managed differently, accounting for vegetation type and elevation differences that pre-date management unit designations. We used generalized mixed effects models to evaluate differences in disturbance and ecology across boundaries. Results Jurisdictions varied in evidence of grazing and fire. After accounting for these differences, some measured vegetation and soil properties also differed among jurisdictions. The greatest differences were between US Forest Service wilderness and Bureau of Land Management units. For most measured variables, US Forest Service non-wilderness units and National Park Service units were intermediate. Conclusions In this study, several ecological properties tracked jurisdictional boundaries, forming a predictable patchwork of habitats. These patterns likely reflect site differences that pre-date jurisdictions as well as those resulting from different management histories. Understanding how ecosystem differences manifest at jurisdictional boundaries can inform resource management, conservation, and cross-boundary collaborations