Dodging the Draft (Tax): How China\u27s Draft Inheritance Tax Law Turns a Blind Eye to the Rich, a Good Eye to the Masses, and How a Reorientation Can Be Realized

This Note will examine the 2004 Draft Inheritance Tax Law and provide suggestions for improving the law. Part II provides a background of the social and political context leading up to the Draft Law and of the developments since 2004. Part III examines the Draft Law itself and comments on its shortcomings, omissions, and areas needing improvement. Finally, Part IV summarizes the arguments for and against the tax examined in Part III and concludes that a wealth transfer tax could be a useful tool to achieve China’s numerous social objectives. The Draft Law of 2004, however, requires many serious revisions before implementation

Expanding Intersectionality Praxis: Informing Culturally-Responsive Programming for Black and Latino Gay and Bisexual Young Men

Black/Latino gay/bisexual young men face a multitude of health disparities caused by various determinants of health. However, despite the awareness of the gaps, health intervention research rarely explores the impact of current health intervention strategies on Black/Latino gay/bisexual young men’s overall health and well-being. Traditional health interventions are deficit-based, health condition-specific, and often limited in their cultural-specificity. As health-related fields move toward holistic, evidence-based practices, new primary prevention approaches need to emerge. Using qualitative investigation strategies, this study included primary analysis of participatory workshop artifacts, and secondary analysis of survey and focus group data. This study identified critical factors necessary for the development of asset-based, culturally-responsive, social justice-oriented interventions that could serve as new, alternative prevention strategies for Black/Latino gay/bisexual young men. By applying intersectionality praxis to critical factor assessment, the study findings indicate that Black/Latino gay/bisexual young men conceptualize a cohesive, integrated, positive identity, but struggle through oppressive experiences along the way. However, by traversing through trepidation unique asset-enhancement strategies emerge. These young men at the intersection express deep commitment to self-acceptance, self-preservation, empowerment, and community advocacy, which may serve as intersectionality-based intervention and policy creation leverage points. These findings inform not only the formation of culturally-responsive interventions, but also societal infrastructure development, and systems-level change that could lead to new cultural norms and values leading to true health equity and social justice for Black/Latino gay/bisexual young men in the United States

Structural basis for ligand-binding and activation of D1-like dopamine receptors

The D1-like dopamine receptors have been implicated in the etiology of several neurological and psychiatric disorders. Recent advances in neurobiology have demonstrated the potential utility of D1-like dopamine receptor agonists as therapeutic compounds. Despite immense promise, there are no D1 centrally available agonists currently available as therapeutic compounds. Moreover, there are no selective ligands that can distinguish between the two D1-like receptors (D1 and D5). One of the major obstacles to the discovery of such agents is limited information about the structural basis for ligand-binding and activation of the D1-like receptors. There are few such studies that have been done with the D1 receptor, and virtually none with the D5 receptor. This dissertation was aimed at gaining a greater understanding of the structural mechanisms necessary for ligand-binding, receptor activation, and receptor internalization. Rationally- selected point mutations of the D1-like receptors were made, and detailed analysis of binding and function made for a series of structurally and functionally diverse test compounds. Work in this dissertation provides the first experimental evidence that T3.37 plays an important role in binding and activation of D1-like receptors. Studies of a TM6 phenylalanine at residue at position 6.51 revealed that this residue plays a key role in coupling ligand binding to receptor activation. Studies of another aromatic residu

A Systematic Review - The Effect of Hospice and Palliative Care

Many older adults nearing death experience unnecessarily invasive and costly healthcare treatments, often causing more harm than good. Hospice and palliative care interventions offer a possible solution to this problem by prioritizing high-quality and cost-effective care with a strong focus on comfort and satisfaction. The authors of this paper seek to answer the following question: Do hospice and palliative care interventions directed toward older adults at the end of life improve quality of life, cost of care, and satisfaction? This paper thoroughly reviews and critically appraises existing research related to the effect of hospice and palliative care directed toward older adults at the end of life. Twenty primary studies published between 2011 and 2016 were identified, reviewed, and critically evaluated in an effort to answer this question. The publications were diverse in objective, scope, and design, but all contributed to the conversation regarding this potential solution to substandard care for older adults at the end of life. Based on the existing evidence, the authors came to the following conclusion: hospice and palliative care interventions are associated with improved quality of life in five out of six measured areas, decreased cost of care, and high satisfaction for care recipients and providers alike. Ten recommendations for clinical practice and five recommendations for future research are discussed

Community Reactions to Campaigns Addressing Crystal Methamphetamine Use Among Gay and Bisexual Men In New York City

Crystal methamphetamine (aka “crystal meth”) use with high-risk sex has become an emerging health problem for gay and bisexual men in New York City since the late 1990s. Public health campaigns were eventually developed to encourage gay and bisexual men to avoid or reconsider using crystal meth. Reactions to three campaigns were measured with a cross-sectional survey administered in 2004. Among an ethnically-diverse sample of 971 gay and bisexual men, 61.8% reported seeing the campaigns. Those who reported ever using crystal meth, recent use, and recent use with sex were significantly more likely to have seen the campaigns. In general, white men, HIV-negative men, and men not currently using crystal meth responded more positively to the campaigns than their counterparts; yet, more men of color reported having discussions with partners and friends about their crystal use as a result of these campaigns. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed

What We Not Finna Do: Respectfully Collaborating with Skinfolk and Kinfolk in Black Feminist Participatory Action Research

In this article, we (Black community social psychologists and community organizers with over 40 years of collaborative research experience) share the successes and challenges of using Black Feminist Participatory Action Research to actualize The Community Engaged Research Academy (CERA). CERA was a two-year multi-method project (utilizing community dialogues, focus groups, surveys, PhotoVoice, body mapping, and space mapping) aimed at teaching Bronx patients the language and ethics of research. CERA did not merely teach research methods for its own sake. It redressed research and schooling as sites of trauma and humiliation for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) persons by nurturing the capacity of participants to develop research projects without researchers. We scrutinize the missteps and accomplishments of the CERA project to offer a tangible example of what attending to racial justice in community psychological inquiry looks like from all facets. Our imagined audience of readers is composed of burgeoning and veteran Black community psychologists, members of community-based organizations, and members of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). We write to this audience mindful that analyzing what went wrong, and right would be instructive to academicians and practitioners, about how to ethically and respectfully collaborate with skinfolk and kinfolk. We start by interweaving a brief engagement in critical reflexivity about our prior experiences with Black participatory research as next generation Black scholars/organizers, which grounds our theoretical framework. We move to a discussion of community-academic partnerships (CAPs) within Black communities, where our engagement with the scholarship that has influenced our work refuses the traditional structure of a literature review. Historically, CAPs between Black professionals (researchers, doctors, nurses, educators, social workers, etc.) and Black communities have not always begun or ended well (Brown, 2017; 2019; Chilisa, 2009; Freimuth et al., 2001; Guishard et al, 2005; Guishard, 2009; 2015; Heyward, 2019; Jordan et al., 2001; Smith & Guishard, 2017; Suarez-Balcazar, Harper, & Lewis, 2005). Too often, the epistemes, theories, methodologies, and approaches to community engagement Black community psychologists learn, from largely whitestream institutions, are imbued with scientific racism, are extractive, and some likely with exploitative intentions. This past work has done more harm than good and has made our kinfolk distrustful of us and our intentions. We share our confrontations with ways of being, we had to leave behind and adopt to accomplish the CERA project. Some of the lessons we learned included centering Black community psychology, embracing critical race praxis, naming sacred moments that were excluded from the purview of research, and honoring the complex stories Black patients shared with us with hermeneutics of love (Guishard, 2016; hooks, 2001a; hooks, 2001b; Laura, 2013). We move to analyzing moments within the Community Engaged Research Academy that taught us much about the importance of healing-centered engagement. We offer: unwaveringly committing to loving all and not some Black folx, checking your professional humility before you wreck the project, being of service before making an ask, developing community agreements, articulating refusals, shared decision making, returning findings quickly, and shared ownership of the products of our research as ethical levers to readers. It is important to note that in addition to being evaluated by our institution’s IRBs, the CERA project was also constantly evaluated by members of a local community-based IRB. The Bronx Community Research Review Board (The BxCRRB) ethically assessed the extent to which we attended to the project’s focus and remained accountable to Black and Brown Bronx patients. We conclude by sharing the community agreements, template for our research presentations, and an evaluation tool we developed, with the BxCRRB, with hopes that they: 1) will expand and build upon critical race community psychological interventions, 2) can be reused and remixed by other CAPs between Black community psychologists and Black communities

What We Not Finna Do: Respectfully Collaborating with Skinfolk and Kinfolk in Black Feminist Participatory Action Research

In this article, we (Black community social psychologists and community organizers with over 40 years of collaborative research experience) share the successes and challenges of using Black Feminist Participatory Action Research to actualize The Community Engaged Research Academy (CERA). CERA was a two-year multi-method project (utilizing community dialogues, focus groups, surveys, PhotoVoice, body mapping, and space mapping) aimed at teaching Bronx patients the language and ethics of research. CERA did not merely teach research methods for its own sake. It redressed research and schooling as sites of trauma and humiliation for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) persons by nurturing the capacity of participants to develop research projects without researchers. We scrutinize the missteps and accomplishments of the CERA project to offer a tangible example of what attending to racial justice in community psychological inquiry looks like from all facets. Our imagined audience of readers is composed of burgeoning and veteran Black community psychologists, members of community-based organizations, and members of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). We write to this audience mindful that analyzing what went wrong, and right would be instructive to academicians and practitioners, about how to ethically and respectfully collaborate with skinfolk and kinfolk. We start by interweaving a brief engagement in critical reflexivity about our prior experiences with Black participatory research as next generation Black scholars/organizers, which grounds our theoretical framework. We move to a discussion of community-academic partnerships (CAPs) within Black communities, where our engagement with the scholarship that has influenced our work refuses the traditional structure of a literature review. Historically, CAPs between Black professionals (researchers, doctors, nurses, educators, social workers, etc.) and Black communities have not always begun or ended well (Brown, 2017; 2019; Chilisa, 2009; Freimuth et al., 2001; Guishard et al, 2005; Guishard, 2009; 2015; Heyward, 2019; Jordan et al., 2001; Smith & Guishard, 2017; Suarez-Balcazar, Harper, & Lewis, 2005). Too often, the epistemes, theories, methodologies, and approaches to community engagement Black community psychologists learn, from largely whitestream institutions, are imbued with scientific racism, are extractive, and some likely with exploitative intentions. This past work has done more harm than good and has made our kinfolk distrustful of us and our intentions. We share our confrontations with ways of being, we had to leave behind and adopt to accomplish the CERA project. Some of the lessons we learned included centering Black community psychology, embracing critical race praxis, naming sacred moments that were excluded from the purview of research, and honoring the complex stories Black patients shared with us with hermeneutics of love (Guishard, 2016; hooks, 2001a; hooks, 2001b; Laura, 2013). We move to analyzing moments within the Community Engaged Research Academy that taught us much about the importance of healing-centered engagement. We offer: unwaveringly committing to loving all and not some Black folx, checking your professional humility before you wreck the project, being of service before making an ask, developing community agreements, articulating refusals, shared decision making, returning findings quickly, and shared ownership of the products of our research as ethical levers to readers. It is important to note that in addition to being evaluated by our institution’s IRBs, the CERA project was also constantly evaluated by members of a local community-based IRB. The Bronx Community Research Review Board (The BxCRRB) ethically assessed the extent to which we attended to the project’s focus and remained accountable to Black and Brown Bronx patients. We conclude by sharing the community agreements, template for our research presentations, and an evaluation tool we developed, with the BxCRRB, with hopes that they: 1) will expand and build upon critical race community psychological interventions, 2) can be reused and remixed by other CAPs between Black community psychologists and Black communities

Integral Relaxation Time of Single-Domain Ferromagnetic Particles

The integral relaxation time \tau_{int} of thermoactivating noninteracting single-domain ferromagnetic particles is calculated analytically in the geometry with a magnetic field H applied parallel to the easy axis. It is shown that the drastic deviation of \tau_{int}^{-1} from the lowest eigenvalue of the Fokker-Planck equation \Lambda_1 at low temperatures, starting from some critical value of H, is the consequence of the depletion of the upper potential well. In these conditions the integral relaxation time consists of two competing contributions corresponding to the overbarrier and intrawell relaxation processes.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

A statistical method to optimize the chemical etching process of zinc oxide thin films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an attractive material for microscale and nanoscale devices. Its desirable semiconductor, piezoelectric and optical properties make it useful in applications ranging from microphones to missile warning systems to biometric sensors. This work introduces a demonstration of blending statistics and chemical etching of thin films to identify the dominant factors and interaction between factors, and develop statistically enhanced models on etch rate and selectivity of c-axis-oriented nanocrystalline ZnO thin films. Over other mineral acids, ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) solutions have commonly been used to wet etch microscale ZnO devices because of their controllable etch rate and near-linear behaviour. Etchant concentration and temperature were found to have a significant effect on etch rate. Moreover, this is the first demonstration that has identified multi-factor interactions between temperature and concentration, and between temperature and agitation. A linear model was developed relating etch rate and its variance against these significant factors and multi-factor interactions. An average selectivity of 73 : 1 was measured with none of the experimental factors having a significant effect on the selectivity. This statistical study captures the significant variance observed by other researchers. Furthermore, it enables statistically enhanced microfabrication processes for other materials