Perspectives from the Field: SDC Cooperation for Property Taxation

This paper reviews three projects implemented in the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s (SDC) Democratisation, Decentralisation and Local Governance Network (DDLGN) that aim to provide incentives for local governments to increase tax compliance and revenues. The investigation focuses on three projects that aim to improve local revenue mobilisation: (1) a competition among municipalities in Serbia, (2) a performance-based grant system in Kosovo, and (3) a project on municipal social accountability in Mozambique. By doing this, we highlight practical problems and obstacles linked to the collection of property tax, and pragmatic ways in which local tax revenues can be boosted.SDC-DDLG Networ

Shareholder Reactions to Judicial Decisions Affecting Sales Tax and Direct Marketing Activities

This study examines shareholder reactions to judicial decisions that affect sales tax collection by firms conducting direct marketing activities.  Abnormal returns are measured for four dates related to the 1992 United States Supreme Court decision in Quill.  Results do not indicate statistically significant returns, but some tests indicate differential firm reactions.  Therefore, abnormal returns are also calculated for subsets of firms that are relatively more affected by the court decisions, but no statistically significant results are obtained.  More research is needed in order to determine whether sales tax avoidance is a meaningful incentive for mail order and Internet purchasers

Trainingen tegen de vogelgriep

Indonesië is wereldwijd het hardst getroffen door de vogelgriep. In een poging het virus de kop in te drukken, vroeg de Indonesische overheid in 2004 Nederland om hulp met de bestrijding. Sindsdien werken Wageningen International en het Centraal Veterinair Instituut (CVI) samen met GD Deventer en Universiteit Utrecht aan een strategie om de vogelpest op West-Java onder controle te krijge

Field trial for assessment of avian influenza vaccination effectiveness in Indonesia

The aim of this field study was to determine the efficacy of vaccination against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus strain H5N1 in Indonesia. A limited, prototype clinical trial was performed using a standardised treatment group, in which poultry flocks were vaccinated at least twice with a selected H5N1 vaccine, and a control group comprising flocks treated with nonstandardised procedures chosen by the farmer. Each group consisted of six flocks comprising either layers or native chickens. Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody levels were determined by regular serum sampling, and outbreak surveillance relied on non-Al-vaccinated sentinel birds. After three vaccinations high antibody titres were produced in the treatment group, and the percentage of layers with an HI titre > 40 was approximately 90%. Although no conclusions can be drawn regarding reduction of virus transmission, this study demonstrated that 11 farms remained free from Al during the observation period, and that a surveillance programme based on differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) can be implemented

Assessment of Native Sulfur Potential of State-Owned Lands, Trans-Pecos Texas

A model of the requisite geologic and chemical conditions for native sulfur mineralization in evaporite rocks enables an objective first approximation of the regional sulfur potential in and surrounding the sulfur districts of Trans-Pecos Texas. From studies of Gulf Coast salt-dome cap-rock occurrences of native sulfur, it is known that sulfur mineralization in commercial quantities is dependent upon the coexistence of several factors: (1) anaerobic, sulfate-reducing bacteria, (2) hydrocarbons, (3) circulating meteoric groundwater, (4) shallow (< 2,500 ft of ground surface) and voluminous deposits of anhydrite and/or gypsum, (5) faults, joints, pervasive dissolution features, or some combination thereof in the evaporite deposit, and (6) structural traps. Bacteria, contained in a mixture of groundwater, hydrocarbons, and dissolved calcium sulfate, metabolize the dilute hydrocarbons to form hydrogen sulfide through the chemical reduction of sulfate ions. Oxygenated groundwater then oxidizes the hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur. Fracture systems allow the mixture of these ingredients and also permit their migration to traps, which provide sufficient residence time necessary for the formation of sulfur in commercial quantities. Definition and evaluation of these geologic aspects in the study areas form the basis of this assessment model.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Post-operative neuromuscular function of patients receiving non-depolarising muscle relaxants at Universitas Hospital, Bloemfontein, South Africa: research

Objectives: To determine the number of patients whose non-depolarising muscle relaxation is adequately reversed. To define factors that contribute to reversal. Design: A cross sectional study. Setting: Universitas Hospital recovery room over a 2 month period. Subjects: Patients that received non-depolarising muscle relaxants and who gave informed consent. Outcome measures: A quantitative train-of-four (TOF) ratio was determined within 5 to 15 minutes after arrival in the recovery room. Results: Recovery to TOF>0.9: 57.1% [95% CI 44.8%; 68.9%] patients. Recovery to TOF >0.8: 82.9% [95% CI 72.0%; 90.8%] patients. More patients who received vecuronium recovered to a TO

Therapeutic equivalence study of two formulations (innovator v. generic) of beclomethasone dipropionate in adult asthmatic patients

Objective. To study the therapeutic equivalence of two formulations (innovator v. generic) of beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) 400 pg twice daily administered per metered dose inhaler (MDO, in adults with moderate to severe asthma.Methods. A double-blind randomised parallel-group trial was performed with a 2-week run-in and an 8-week treatment period. Thirty-six symptomatic adult asthmatics on a mean daily dose of 750 μg inhaled corticosteroids during run-in, a mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) of 70% predicted normal and a mean histamine concentration provoking a 20% reduction in FEV1 (histamine PC20 of 0.11 mg/l were randomised to one of the two treatment groups. Primary variables were morning peak expiratory flow (mPEF), FEV1 and histamine PC20- Secondary variables were β2-agonist use, symptom score and nocturnal awakening. The Schuirmann two one-sided tests procedure was used for the statistical analysis. Ninety-five per cent confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for the differences in means.Results. The mean differences end of treatment to baseline for the two formulations (Becotide and Beclate) respectively were: mPEF 5.61/min (0 -16.4- 27.6) and -22.31/min (0 -35.6 - -9); FEV 1 -2.90/0 (0 -11 - 5.2) and 0.2% (0 -4.8 -5.2); Histamine PC20-0.04 mg/ml (0 -0.15- 0.06) and 0.02 mg/ mi (0 -0.37 - 0.4). Changes in clinical variables were not conclusive. The mean differences with CIs for Primary variables were contained within the limits set for equivalence. The sample size was sufficient to differentiate the groups for mPEF, but this was not of clinical significance.Conclusion. After 8 weeks of treatment the two formulations of BDP, delivered by MDI through a large-volume spacer, were therapeutically equivalent in moderate-to-severe asthmatic adults

Subsidiary Linkage Patterns: Learning Prospects and Spillover Risks

This paper investigates the pattern of subsidiaries' local vertical linkages under varying levels of competition and subsidiary capabilities. Contrary to most previous literature, we explicitly account for the double role of such linkages as conduits of learning prospects as well as potential channels for spillovers to competitors. We find a curvilinear relationship between the extent of competitive pressure and the quality of a subsidiary's set of local linkages. Furthermore, the extent to which a subsidiary possesses capabilities moderates this relationship: Very capable subsidiaries in strongly competitive environments tend to shy away from high quality linkages. We discuss our findings in light of the literature on spillovers and inter-organizational linkages