Updating the UK's code for fiscal stability

The 1998 Code for Fiscal Stability sets out the framework within which UK fiscal policy is now set. While having such a code does not make it easier for a Government to meet its fiscal objectives, it may improve the economic credibility of the policy process. To date the Code has generally worked well, and in any case many of the Treasury's practices exceed the minimum requirements of the Code. However, improvements could be made in the light of recent experiences. In particular it would be preferable for less emphasis to be placed on the precise forecasts for fiscal aggregates and greater emphasis to be placed on the magnitude of the risks to those forecasts. Using the projections contained in the March 2004 Budget, and information on the size of errors made in the past, we estimate that there is now a 60% chance that the Chancellor's "golden rule" will be met without further tax increases or spending cuts. This compares to 74% for the forecast made by the Treasury 12 months earlier. As well as clarifying how cautious forecasts are, the uncertainty surrounding projections for fiscal aggregates also has implications for the way in which progress towards any fiscal rules should be interpreted.

How to Improve the Debt Ceiling to Fit a Partisan Government: A Global Examination of Which International Solutions Excel

This Note explores the changing role the debt ceiling has played within the United States and considers how that role should be altered moving forward. The debt ceiling\u27s history and its political connections are discussed as a backdrop to how the United States might alter the debt ceiling to limit both future government shutdown and political gridlock. This Note examines both domestic and international solutions to the debt ceiling problem with an emphasis on the latter. In particular, the Note focuses on the possible international solution of adopting a system similar to Denmark\u27s debt ceiling, or adopting a high debt-to- GDP ratio, similar to other non-U.S. countries

Functional Morphology of the Distal Forelimb and the Evolution of Tool Use in Humans

Previous research on the biomechanics of tool use has focused heavily on traits correlated with locomotion, tool manufacturing, and habitual tool use. Features like the breadth of the metacarpals, relative length of the thumb, styloid process of the third metacarpal, and the breadth of the apical tufts are skeletal features associated with the use and development of stone tools. However, there are many traits of the distal forelimb that may also be correlated directly with the development and use of tools. The purpose of this research is to analyze morphological features of the hands and compare them to features of the arm in humans, fossil Homo and the great apes to understand how the hominin distal arm functions as a mosaic in response to the use of stone tools. The results indicate a separation between tool-users and non-tool users when all distal forelimb dimensions are examined. Omo 40-19 falls closer to non-tool users when univariate plots of ulna length and breadth are examined. Ratios of hand measurements to radius length are better at polarizing the tool-users from non-tool users than are hand dimensions to ulna length ratios. These results highlight the role of the radius in stabilizing the hand during stone tool production

The Effects of Antecedent and Consequence Strategies on Data Collection in a Human Service Organization

Antecedent and consequence strategies in the research literature to improve employee performance within human service organizations have included behavioral skills training (BST) and performance-based incentive programs, among others. The current study continued this line of research in which participants were members of a human service organization and were responsible for collecting data on clients’ responding during programming. The purpose was to evaluate the effects of antecedent and consequence-based strategies on the accuracy of data collected by participants. The results showed that BST was effective at increasing accurate data collection across all participants and that the consequence-based intervention, in the form of incentives, maintained or increased accurate data collection for three out of the four participants

Understanding Uncontested Prosecutor Elections

Prosecutors are very powerful players in the criminal justice system. One of the few checks on their power is their periodic obligation to stand for election. But very few prosecutor elections are contested, and even fewer are competitive. As a result, voters are not able to hold prosecutors accountable for their decisions. The problem with uncontested elections has been widely recognized, but little understood. The legal literature has lamented the lack of choice for voters, but any suggested solutions have been based on only anecdote or simple descriptive analyses of election data. Using a logistic regression analysis, this Article estimates the individual effects of a number of variables on prosecutor elections. It finds that several factors that have been previously identified as contributing to an uncontested election are not, in fact, what drives uncontested elections for prosecutors. Instead, the factors with the largest effect are whether an incumbent runs and the population of the district. It also identifies two features of state election law that contribute to the dearth of contested elections. The Article concludes by noting that these factors suggest specific policy changes that could help to increase the number of contested and competitive elections—thus ensuring that voters can help guide important criminal justice decisions in their communities

Multiple achromatic plumage ornaments signal to multiple receivers

We investigated whether achromatic plumage traits can act as multiple ornaments in an Arctic-breeding passerine, the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis). Specifically, we examine whether multiple ornaments are providing multiple differing messages, are redundant, are unreliable signals of male quality, or are aimed at different receivers. We measured plumage reflectance and pigmentation patterns made conspicuous during male inter-and intrasexual displays that advertise different plumage regions. Our results indicate that although several aspects of male plumage may have redundant messages, different body regions appear aimed at different receivers. The wings of males-displayed primarily toward females during courtship-appear to indicate a pair\u27s future reproductive performance. Conversely, melanin-based plumage reflectance displayed during intrasexual threat displays provides information on territory features and a male\u27s capacity to defend it (i.e., territory size, territory quality, testosterone levels). Taken together, we suggest that snow buntings have multiple ornaments that provide information of differential importance in inter-versus intrasexual communication. This study demonstrates that achromatic plumage traits can serve in complex communication. © 2012 The Author

Below the Waterline: Developing a Transformational Learning Collaborative for Foundation Program Officers

Learning from fellow grantmakers is imperative in today’s ever-changing world. In late 2016, four health legacy foundations partnered to launch the Health Legacy Collaborative Learning Circle, creating an opportunity to understand not just the participating foundations’ visible investments and programs, but also the underlying behaviors, structures, and mindsets that ultimately explain why certain results were or were not achieved. This article describes the yearlong process of creating the collaborative, and presents a new learning framework — based on the iceberg metaphor — that can be used to create learning environments that test and expand assumptions about promising approaches to common population health challenges, explore organizational best practices related to programming and operations, and understand the roles and impacts peer health legacy foundations have in their communities. For the learning circle participants, the process provided a new and valuable problem-solving tool that allows their organizations to have a more profound impact on the communities they serve. This article concludes with recommendations for how other foundations can create similar transformational learning journeys with their fellow grantmakers

Philosophy applied to social welfare: the philosophy of, for, with, and against social welfare

This chapter examines the "of" when discussing the "philosophy of" social welfare and its demands. It analyzes the link (the "of") between traditional philosophy and welfare practices, such as policy making, implementation, administration, and delivery. How do philosophers address broad-based questions, such as what are the state's responsibilities to its citizens? Which needs and rights should affect public decision-making? And how to distribute welfare equitably? Those tasked with delivering welfare – not just the policy architects but the social workers, social care support staff, health professionals, and so on – may turn the tables on these important philosophical questions. Instead, they may ask how philosophy is best distributed within the provision of welfare? Where should philosophy be located, with policymakers, academia, social workers, clients, etc.? And what effects should philosophy have on and in social welfare systems? The traditional "philosophy of" arrangement sits apart from the practical application of welfare professionals. Often, the "of"-relationship suggests a certain critical distance that sometimes forms an unhelpful hierarchy. By examining these conventional philosophical frameworks, the practitioner can uncover the layers of unhelpful hierarchy that influence their jobs

The songs we love to hate: a pedagogical analysis of Twenty-four Italian songs and arias

I. Opera Role: April 4, 2014, 7:30 p.m., Aycock Auditorium. Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) II. Solo Recital: April 13, 2014, 5:30 p.m., Recital Hall. “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten” from Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78 (Johann Sebastian Bach); “Wenn des Kreuzes Bitterkeiten” from Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 99 (Johann Sebastian Bach); “?????,” “? ???????, ????? ?????,” “???????” from ????? ?????? (Six Duets), op. 46 (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky); “La pesca” from Soirées musicales (Gioacchino Rossini), “Le gittane” from Péchés de vieillesse (Gioacchino Rossini); Pavane, op. 50 (Gabriel Fauré), El desdichado (Camille Saint-Saëns); Chanson Espagnole (Claude Debussy); “Rede, Mädchen, allzu liebes,” “Die grüne Hopfenranke,” “Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel,” “Wenn so lind dein Aug emir,” “Am Donaustrande, da steht ein Haus,” “Nein, es ist nicht auszukommen,” “Schlosser auf! Und mache Schlösser,” “Ein dunkeler Schacht ist Liebe,” “Es bebet das Gesträuche” from Liebeslieder Walzer, op. 52 (Johannes Brahms) III. Solo Recital: October 17, 2015, 3:30 p.m., Recital Hall. “O kühler Wald,” “Dein blaues Auge,” “Der Jäger,” “Heimweh II,” “In stiller Nacht” from Deutsche Volkslieder, WoO 33 (Johannes Brahms); Zigeunerlieder, Op. 55 (Antonín Dvorák); “Chanson d’avril,” “Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe,” “Vieille Chanson,” “Ouvre ton coeur” (Georges Bizet); Three Mountain Ballads (Clifford Shaw) IV. D.M.A. Research Project. THE SONGS WE LOVE TO HATE: A PEDAGOGICAL ANALYSIS OF TWENTY-FOUR ITALIAN SONGS AND ARIAS. Despite its widespread use in voice studios across the United States, no comprehensive pedagogical study of Twenty-Four Italian Songs and Arias exists to date. This document combines data from a 2017 survey of 282 US voice teachers with the author’s own analysis of the collection to provide an analysis of each song’s pedagogical value and a guide to the use of the collection as a whole. [This abstract has been edited to remove characters that will not display in this system. Please see the PDF for the full abstract.]]]> 2018 Twenty-four Italian songs and arias of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Songs, Italian $x Analysis, appreciation Singing$x Instruction and study English http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/Taylor_uncg_0154D_12623.pdf oai:libres.uncg.edu/25207 2019-02-26T09:05:55Z UNCG Preliminary notes on bat activity and echolocation in northwestern Argentina Kalcounis-Rüppell, Matina C. NC DOCKS at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro <![CDATA[We recorded echolocation sequences to examine activity of bats in 4 biomes of northwestern Argentina during August 1997 (early southern spring). Our aims were to evaluate the level of bat activity among the four biomes and to preliminarily investigate whether the acoustic structure of echolocation signals conformed to general predictions. We sampled bat activity in sites representing high Andean Puna desert, lowland Chaco thornscrub, lowland Monte desert, montane Yungas forest and montane Chaco thornscrub. No bats were recorded in the Puna, while of the other biomes the least to the most active were: Monte desert, Yungas forest, lowland Chaco thornscrub and montane Chaco thornscrub. Our preliminary results suggest that echolocation signal structure differed among the biomes. In general, signals recorded from bats in Yungas forest were of relatively high frequency whereas signals recorded from bats in Monte desert were of relatively long duration. We show that bats in the less complex biomes tend to be less active. The results of this short-term, preliminary study highlight the high level of bat activity in the Chaco and the opportunity for further study of the bat community in northwestern Argentina