Taxes and the poor: A microsimulation study of implicit and explicit taxes

The authors measure the cumulative burden on low-income households resulting from explicit taxes (state and federal income, and payroll taxes) and implicit taxes (reductions of program benefits as earnings rise). With monthly data from the 1990 Survey of Income and Program Participation, a simulation model calculates the benefits and taxes households receive and pay in 1990. A household's marginal tax rate is established by simulating the benefits and taxes the household would receive and pay if each member aged 15 or more received additional earnings of $10 per month. The changes in income that would result if all household members age 15 or older took a half-time, minimum-wage job are also calculated. Typical cumulative marginal tax rates on poor households are found to be about 27 percent, but this masks considerable variation across states as a result of differences in program eligibility rules, state income taxes, and state AFDC policies. The tax burdens resulting from taking a half-time minimum-wage job also vary greatly across states, and participants in AFDC and food stamps face median marginal tax rates significantly above the rates for all poor households. A consistent result, however, is that typical tax rates on the poor rarely exceed 60 percent when income changes resulting from incremental changes in monthly earnings are calculated. The authors conclude that for most poor households, tax rates are not so high as to diminish the possible effectiveness of such policies as the Earned Income Tax Credit, which try to make work more attractive than welfare.

Prodigal Pets: A History of Animal Sheltering in America and the Origin of the No Kill Movement

In 224 pages, this book traces the history of animal sheltering in the United States of America and its gradual transition from 1990 onwards into support for the no-kill goal in which less than 10% of animals entering shelters are euthanized. The includes extensive reporting identifying trends in animal shelter intakes and outcomes. All sources are carefully cited.https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/ebooks/1028/thumbnail.jp

Narrative

The idea of the genius, the mad scientist, the enlightened person – oftentimes displaced from society – who has the most interesting and creative ideas from bolts of lightning of genius is consolidated in popular culture, whether in films, comics or in science fiction books. In many cases found in popular culture, emphasis is given to the idea of the hero with razor-sharp intelligence, always accompanied by a high level of creativity that defies any kind of logical pattern or law, accentuating a feature of popular beliefs: That creativity is a wild, lawless territory that few professions or people, including artists in general and scientists, can fathom out. This is the point this text addresses: Is creativity something that really evades logic? Is there something that characterizes, in logical terms, what we call creative genius? To shed some light on these questions, we resort to some ideas from the broad theoretical framework of the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), focusing on a specific type of logical reasoning, called abductive, as the concept of creativity for Pierce is associated with it

Balancing Company Policies And Employee Needs: A Human Resource Management Case Study

An HRM case dealing with problems encountered as employee lifestyles conflict with organizational necessity.  Discussion concerns how the case is used to exhibit the alignment between HRM and business strategy

Anti-inflammatory effects of methoxyphenolic compounds on human airway cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The respiratory epithelium plays a central role in the inflammatory response in asthma and other diseases. Methoxyphenolic compounds are purported to be effective anti-inflammatory agents, but their effects on the airway epithelium have not been well characterized.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human airway cells were stimulated with TNF-α in the presence or absence of 4-substituted methoxyphenols and resveratrol. The expression of various cytokines was measured by qPCR, ELISAs, and protein arrays. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured with a reactive fluorescent probe (3',6'-diacetate-2',7'-dichlorofluorescein). Activation of NF-κB was measured by nuclear translocation and phosphorylation. Ribonuclear protein association with mRNA was assessed with a biotin-RNA affinity isolation assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Multiple inflammatory mediators were inhibited by methoxyphenols, including: CCL2, CCL5, IL-6, IL-8, ICAM-1, MIF, CXCL1, CXCL10, and Serpin E1. IC₅₀values were obtained for each compound that showed significant anti-inflammatory activity: diapocynin (20.3 μM), resveratrol (42.7 μM), 2-methoxyhydroquinone (64.3 μM), apocynin (146.6 μM), and 4-amino-2-methoxyphenol (410 μM). The anti-inflammatory activity did not correlate with inhibition of reactive oxygen species production or NF-κB activation. However, methoxyphenols inhibited binding of the RNA-binding protein HuR to mRNA, indicating that they may act post-transcriptionally.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Methoxyphenols demonstrate anti-inflammatory activity in human airway cells. More potent compounds that act via similar mechanisms may have therapeutic potential as novel anti-inflammatory agents.</p

A Study of Land Surface Processes Using Land Surface Models Over the Little River Experimental Watershed

Three different land surface models (Hydrological improvements to the Simplified version of the Simple Biosphere model (HySSiB), Noah model, and Community Land Model (CLM)) were simulated on the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Land Information System platform at 1-km resolution over the Little River Experimental Watershed, Georgia, and the simulated results were analyzed to address the local-scale land-atmosphere processes. All the three models simulated the soil moisture in space and time realistically. The Noah model produced higher soil moisture whereas the CLM got lower soil moisture with many dry down phases. CLM and HySSiB models were oversensitive to the atmospheric events. Different vertical discretizations of the model layers affected the soil moisture results in all the three models. The arithmetic model ensemble mean soil moisture performed reasonably well even at individual in-situ measurement sites. We found that different model schemes partitioned the incoming water and energy differently and hence produced different results for the water and energy budget parameters. In CLM, the energy and water budget parameters were very closely connected to the soil moisture (e.g., evaporation, latent, and sensible heat) change. HySSiB produced very high surface runoff and very low subsurface runoff. The Noah model did not produce much surface and subsurface runoff resulting in high surface soil moisture. We did not find much variability in Noah latent heat, sensible heat, and ground heat fluxes. From soil moisture data assimilation point of view, the mean bias removed Noah soil moisture was found to be better than other data sets

Density of large predators on commercial farmland in Ghanzi, Botswana

Accurate estimates of predator densities are important for the conservation management of large predator populations. Predator densities outside of protected areas are often understudied and management decisions are based on assumptions of predator numbers. This study conducted three spoor surveys on commercial farmland in Botswana to estimate large predator densities. Brown hyaenas (Hyaena brunnea) were found to occur evenly across both cattle and game farms at higher densities than previously assumed. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and leopards (Panthera pardus) were more commonly located on game ranches, at or below population density assumptions. This study demonstrated the importance but difficulties of conducting predator surveys on farmland, where study animals are often at risk of persecution by landowners, due to the perceived or real threat predators may pose to livestock and stocked game.Cheetah Conservation, Chester Zoo and Rufford small grants.http://www.sawma.co.za/am201

Steak Location Within the Semitendinosus Muscle Impacts Metmyoglobin Accumulation on Steaks During Retail Display

Beef color is a major attribute consumers utilize to make purchasing decisions. It is estimated poor color shelf-life of beef steaks costs the meat industry more than $1 billion annually. Shelf-life color is influenced by a balance of two biochemical processes within steaks: metmyoglobin reducing ability and oxygen consumption. Steaks that exhibit a greater metmyoglobin reducing and a reduced oxygen consumption are typically characterized as more color stable. Characteristics of the muscle fiber or muscle cell are what determine the properties of a steak. Commonly, muscles with more oxidative fibers have an elevated oxygen consumption and reduced metmyoglobin reducing ability. The Semitendinosus muscle or eye of round possesses a divergent muscle fiber isoform distribution based on the location steaks are fabricated. The objective of this study was to examine effects of steak location on muscle fiber type distribution and metmyoglobin accumulation of Semitendinosus steaks