Theoretical and Experimental Investigations of Collective Microwave Phenomena in Solids Semiannual Status Report, 1 Apr. - 30 Sep. 1966

Theory and experiments in microwave propagation and amplification using solid state devices, and calculations of electronic deflection of laser beam

Theoretical and Experimental Investigations of Collective Microwave Phenomena in Solids Semiannual Status Report, 1 Oct. 1967 - 31 Mar. 1968

Microwave amplification in high resistivity GaAs and Gunn effect in GaAs oscillator

Using parse features for preposition selection and error detection

We evaluate the effect of adding parse features to a leading model of preposition usage. Results show a significant improvement in the preposition selection task on native speaker text and a modest increment in precision and recall in an ESL error detection task. Analysis of the parser output indicates that it is robust enough in the face of noisy non-native writing to extract useful information

Bitcoin and the Definition of Foreign Currency

The IRS recently dealt a blow to Bitcoin enthusiasts by ruling that Bitcoin and other similar currencies should be treated as property-and not foreign currency-for income tax purposes. As a result, those who use bitcoins to purchase goods or services must report gain or loss on each transaction if the bitcoins have changed value between the time they were acquired and spent. Treating Bitcoin as a foreign currency would have permitted individuals to take advantage of the $200 personal-use exemption and required taxpayers to adopt a formulaic system for tracking the basis of commingled bitcoins. The IRS \u27s decision seems correct as a matter of positive law, but laws can always be changed. In this Article I consider whether Bitcoin should be treated as a foreign currency for income tax purposes. I conclude that tax authorities should adopt a foreign currency definition that excludes bitcoin and similar currencies because (1) a broad definition could create significant administrative and line-drawing problem , and (2) the government has little interest in promoting alternate currencies. Nor should authorities extend the personal-use exemption to virtual currencies. In contrast, authorities should extend the basis rules applicable to foreign currency to virtual currencies to prevent taxpayers from using the basis rules to improperly reduce their tax obligations

Linguistics

Contains reports on three research projects.National Institute of Mental Health (Grant 5 P01 MH13390-09

Complex Realities, Simple Beauties: Interactions between the Development of Physics Ideas and Western Civilization, from Ancient Times to the Late Nineteenth Century

An instructive text covering the history of Physics concepts within the western tradition. It begins with a brief history of the human species, including discussions of food-gathering technology, early settlements, and the development of culture. It continues on to trace the development of human intellectual culture through ancient history and European history, charting a course through Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, and Arabic mathematical and scientific contributions. Much of the book examines the interaction of science with historical factors such as war and rule changes. It challenges readers to think about ways of knowing and the process of developing systematic knowledge

Returns on FDI: Does the U.S. Really Do Better?

According to the U.S. external accounts, U.S. investors earn a significantly higher rate of return on their foreign investments than foreigners earn in the United States. This continued strong performance has produced a positive net investment income balance despite the deterioration in the U.S. net asset position in recent years. We examine the major competing explanations for the apparent differential between the rates of return. In particular, almost the entire difference occurs in FDI, where American firms operating abroad appear to earn a persistently higher return than that earned by foreign firms operating in the U.S. We first review a number of explanations in the literature for this differential. We then offer some new evidence on the role of income shifting between jurisdictions with varying rates of taxation. Using country-specific income and tax data, we find that about one-third of the excess return earned by U.S. corporations abroad can be explained by firms reporting "extra" income in low tax jurisdictions of their affiliates.