From Branch Ministries to Selma: Why the Internal Revenue Service Should Strictly Enforce the Section 501(C)(3) Prohibition Against Church Electioneering

On Sunday, March 4, 2007, congregations in African American churches in Selma, Alabama, commemorated the forty-second anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the 1965 Selma voting-rights march. Celebrating with them were Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, both candidates in the 2008 presidential election. Despite federal regulations prohibiting §501(3) nonprofit religious organizations from engaging in partisan political activities, Senators Clinton and Obama each made a campaign stop at prominent African American churches, delivering sermon-like speeches during Sunday services

Situational influences on rhythmicity in speech, music, and their interaction.

Brain processes underlying the production and perception of rhythm indicate considerable flexibility in how physical signals are interpreted. This paper explores how that flexibility might play out in rhythmicity in speech and music. There is much in common across the two domains, but there are also significant differences. Interpretations are explored that reconcile some of the differences, particularly with respect to how functional properties modify the rhythmicity of speech, within limits imposed by its structural constraints. Functional and structural differences mean that music is typically more rhythmic than speech, and that speech will be more rhythmic when the emotions are more strongly engaged, or intended to be engaged. The influence of rhythmicity on attention is acknowledged, and it is suggested that local increases in rhythmicity occur at times when attention is required to coordinate joint action, whether in talking or music-making. Evidence is presented which suggests that while these short phases of heightened rhythmical behaviour are crucial to the success of transitions in communicative interaction, their modality is immaterial: they all function to enhance precise temporal prediction and hence tightly coordinated joint action

A corpus-based approach to infinitival complements in early Latin

A theory-based perspective is essential to a full understanding of infinitive clauses in early Latin. Some previous work focusing on syntactic theory has failed to include appropriate Latin data or has not explained it adequately. More recent theoretical perspectives have taken the approach of Functional Grammar, dismissing much of the variation in word order and embedded clause types as driven merely by pragmatics. This study examines the syntax of early Latin from a Government and Binding viewpoint, with the aim of fully marrying the theory with the data to account for the infinitival variations. A corpus was created from the complete extant works of Accius, Caecilius, Cato, Ennius, Livius Andronicus, Lucilius, Naevius, Pacuvius, and the anonymous Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus as well as five selected plays from Plautus and three from Terence (comprising a total of over 200,000 words with 3,828 infinitives). One of the main findings is that certain structures such as passivization are a strategy to avoid the syntatic ambiguity that would otherwise result from the confluence of multiple accusative-case assignments. The results show that infinitival complements with more than one overt accusative noun phrase are relatively rare (occurring in only 14% of contexts), while structures that avoid ambiguity, such as finite clause variants, passivization, and null noun phrases, are more frequent (occurring in about one fourth of possible contexts). The study also provides a baseline for examining grammaticalization and other language changes in the history of Latin

Impact of HIV and AIDS on Elderly Caregivers in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The UN General Special Assembly on HIV/AIDS reported that Thailand\u27s elderly are living on the edge of poverty. Those who become caregivers for the children who have been orphaned by AIDS incur even greater challenges. The 2007 Survey of Older Persons of Thailand concluded that there is a range offinancial and social safety nets provided by the government, nongovernmental (NGO), and faith-based organizations (FBOs) to help the elderly caregivers and their families. The research literature offered limited studies on Thailand\u27s elderly caring for these children. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the social, religious, and familial experiences of this population. The theoretical framework was Erikson\u27s theory of the 8 ages of man. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 elderly caregivers participating in the Grandma Cares Partnership Program. They were asked about their caregiving experiences, cultural and Buddhist beliefs, and programs that help them. Data were verified through member checking with a translator. The details of thecaregivers\u27 experiences and environments were transcribed and analyzed with Creswell\u27s 6-step process to identify textural and structural themes and patterns. Results of this study indicated that caregivers gained comfort and strength from Buddha\u27s teachings, as well as from their cultural beliefs, to continue to maintain a home for these children, but they would like more support. Implications for social change include informing policy makers and leaders of the Thai government, NGOs, and FBOs that more financial and educational support is still needed to help these caregivers. Plans are in place for the caregivers to share their insights with their representatives, in order to make their lives more manageable

Temporal integration in the perception of speech: Introduction

International audienceIn studies of speech perception, temporal integration refers to how chunks of information arriving at the ears at different times are linked together by the listener in mapping speech sounds onto meaning. Classical models focused on the perceptual grouping of acoustic cues contained in short stretches of time in the identification of phonetic segments. In recent years, however, a different view has emerged as speech perception has come to be studied within a broader context and from a multidisciplinary perspective. Thus, the relevance of non-local, long-domain cues to phonological contrasts has been demonstrated. The status of the phonetic segment as a basic perceptual unit has been debated. And the primacy of the auditory channel over the visual channel has been questioned. These issues have profound implications for how temporal integration is defined and accounted for

Temporal integration in the perception of speech: Introduction

International audienceIn studies of speech perception, temporal integration refers to how chunks of information arriving at the ears at different times are linked together by the listener in mapping speech sounds onto meaning. Classical models focused on the perceptual grouping of acoustic cues contained in short stretches of time in the identification of phonetic segments. In recent years, however, a different view has emerged as speech perception has come to be studied within a broader context and from a multidisciplinary perspective. Thus, the relevance of non-local, long-domain cues to phonological contrasts has been demonstrated. The status of the phonetic segment as a basic perceptual unit has been debated. And the primacy of the auditory channel over the visual channel has been questioned. These issues have profound implications for how temporal integration is defined and accounted for

An Oversight Agenda for Customs and Border Protection: Americas Largest, Least Accountable Law Enforcement Agency

The nation's largest law enforcement agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is also its least transparent and accountable. The need for oversight and reform is pressing: Along the border, there have been numerous examples of CBP encounters leading to civilian deaths.This report proposes a bottom-up, good governance approach to reforms, and identifies six discrete needs for oversight which have in common a focus on changing CBP culture. It steers clear of border-policy debates by focusing on increased professionalism and transparency, as well as on improved processes for addressing misconduct. These oversight topics address a culture of impunity that must be — or at least must become — unacceptable to every CBP leader, officer, and agent among the many who do serve honorably

A Fireside Chat with Supreme Court Justices McMillian and Warren

The Women\u27s Law Student Association is hosting the 38th Annual Edith House Lecture featuring Georgia Supreme Court Justices Carla Wong McMillian and Sarah Hawkins Warren. Inaugurated in 1983, the Edith House Lecture Series honors one of the first female graduates of the School of Law, Edith Elizabeth House. House was co-valedictorian of the law class of 1925 and enjoyed a distinguished career in public service. In a moderated “fireside chat” format, Justices McMillian and Warren spoke about their backgrounds, experiences as women in the legal profession, and paths to Georgia’s highest court. Students and faculty had the opportunity to ask questions at the end