Taxes, Natural Resource Endowment, and the Supply of Labor: New Evidence

Using the work – leisure choice model, this paper computes equilibrium hours-worked for a number of Arab, non-oil-producing and labor-abundant countries and major oil-producing, tax-free and labor-scarce countries, for which actual data are unavailable. We estimate hours-worked for the G7, and show that the model fits the data well. We use this evidence as a yardstick to evaluate the model for the Arab countries for which no actual data are available. The model explains hours-worked in Arab, non-oil-producing countries well, but it fails to explain hours-worked in the oil-producing – tax-free countries. With the effective marginal tax rate close to zero, hours-worked increase significantly. We show that natural resource endowment is a required predicting factor for the model in this case. It turned out that natural resource capital acts exactly as a tax. In other words, it increases the wedge between real wages and marginal productivity, hence, natural resource wedge. The higher the natural resource endowment the less hours people worked. Most importantly, we provide a wider support to the model and confirm that the labor supply is elastic in all Arab countries. This finding confirms previous research that workers respond to incentives, which has serious implications for tax and social security policies. We also provide some policy simulation pertinent to poverty and welfare.Hours-worked; labor wedge; natural resource endowment; poverty; welfare

Partnerships Promoting a Culture of Inclusion in Maine\u27s Early Childhood Workforce

This poster session highlighted the Maine UCEDD’s role as a statewide resource and collaborative partner in advancing inclusive practice in Maine’s early care and education system. It covered the delivery of a continuum of supports for inclusion; examined collaborations that create systemic impact; and reviewed the services needed to increase knowledge, skills and application of practices to improve the quality of early care and education settings in Maine.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ccids_posters/1009/thumbnail.jp

The nature of professional small business advisor knowledge and the knowledge transmission process : A regional Australian perspective

This thesis specifically examines the relationship between professional business advisor (PBA) knowledge and the knowledge transmission actions undertaken by such advisors when addressing the knowledge requirements of businesses, specifically Regional Australian small businesses. The thesis adopts a qualitative research approach to explore perceptions of individuals who provide advisory services to small businesses, within the context of Regional Australia. The analysis undertaken is a practical application of the critical realist research paradigm to explain how human agency, social structures, and mechanisms interact in the process of creating a knowledge transmission event by PBAs. The conceptual framework developed in this thesis brings together key concepts from scholarly research disciplines of knowledge management, information management, communications, services marketing and business advice. The conceptual framework reflects the research aims and provides the basis for the research methodology. The framework is of a unique critical realist research design that allows the study to progress through sequential world views. Each world view allows the continual broadening of the reality being studied, enabling more focused answers to the research questions posed. This study focuses on PBAs who service small businesses operating in four inner regional and two outer regional locations within the State of Victoria. Over the six regions, a total of 29 face-to-face interviews were conducted, along with one focus group in each region. The findings from this database, using the conceptual framework as a guide, identified a complex, heterogeneous, open environment in which PBA knowledge transmission occurs. This research process recognises PBAs as social structures with causal powers whose knowledge stock is the primary mechanism through which these powers are exercised to generate a knowledge transmission event. A significant conclusion emerges that PBA tacit (and not explicit) knowledge is a conditional mechanism which gate-keeps whether the PBA knowledge transmission event is enacted.Doctor of Philosoph

Government funded business programs : advisory help or hindrance?

This study seeks, through the perspective of Professional Business Advisors (PBAs), to understand how government business programs help and/or hinder the provision of small business advisory services in a regional (non-metropolitan) Australian setting. An emergent theme identifies such programs as significant conduits for regional business knowledge transmission. However, those programs are also perceived by PBAs, who deliver such programs, as imposing substantial constraints for provision of such services. The identified constraining factors include issues of PBAs’ financial viability, ineligibility of businesses to access such programs, capriciousness of programs, and clash between technology utilisation and infrastructure reliability in some non-metropolitan regional areas. Regional Australian PBAs service a heterogeneous collection of businesses across large geographic areas. Yet, the potential for PBAs to support the process of knowledge transmission is severely constrained by current government programs aimed at start-up businesses, but ignoring organisational growth. Such constraints raise concerns that have regional policy implication

Maine Head Start and Early Head Start Needs Assessment Report 2015 Annual Update

The Maine Head Start and Early Head Start Needs Assessment Report 2015 Annual Update presents findings from a broad survey of directors and staff representing the 11 non-tribal Head Start grantees in Maine. This report serves as one source of information from which to assess partnerships and develop a strategic plan for the MHSSCO to enhance collaboration with other Maine early childhood system partners to support families and children in Maine

Dusting Off the Tool Box: Tips for Trainers

This resource provides information to help instructors prepare, conduct, and review their presentations. It is divided into 3 sections. Within each section are subcategories with basic information and some simple resources or activities to assist instructors as they reflect upon their teaching practices and plan for a training event. The material is organized in the following way: Section 1: Things to Know; Section 2: Things to Do; and Section 3: Resources

Government business programs and regional business knowledge transmission by professional business advisor

Based on research seeking to understand mechanisms affecting the provision of small business advisory services in a Regional (non-metropolitan) Australian setting, by what are called Professional Business Advisors (PBAs), an emergent theme identifies government business programs and initiatives as significant conduits for regional business knowledge transmission. However, those programs and initiatives are also perceived to impose substantial constraints for PBAs providing services in regional communities. The identified constraining factors include issues of financial viability for PBAs, ineligibility of many regional small businesses to access government funded initiatives, capriciousness of government programs, and clash between technology utilisation and infrastructure reliability in some non-metropolitan regional areas. Regional Australian PBAs service a heterogeneous collection of businesses across large geographic areas. Yet, the potential influence that these PBAs have in the process of knowledge transmission is severely constrained by current government programs aimed both at start-up regional businesses and those pursuing organisational growth. Such constraints raise concerns that have regional policy implications

Aptamer-Based Detection of Caffeine and Theophylline Through Utilization of Gold Nanoparticles and Graphene Oxide

The caffeine and theophylline aptamers were used in tandem with gold nanoparticles and graphene oxide to study potential methods for small molecule detection. The AuNP approach is a label-free approach, and the graphene oxide-based sensor is a fluorescence based approach. Each sensor is based off previous literature reporting sensors for DNA targets; more recent literature uses both methods for small molecule detection, but fails to consider target-nanomaterial interactions. The works presented in this thesis serve to determine whether such an interaction exists, and how it may affect the accuracy of the sensors