686 research outputs found
Self-Ratings of Confidence in Clinical and Critical Thinking Problem-Solving as a Function of Post-Qualification Experience. A Study of Radiation Therapists
Recognising one’s abilities and limits in clinical tasks is a valuable part of professionalism. This study investigated the self-ratings of problem-solving confidence of radiation therapists in two domains: clinical scenarios and critical thinking items. We divided the sixty participants into three groups based on post-qualification experience (PQE), and found that greater PQE was linked with higher self-rated confidence on clinical scenarios, but not in critical thinking items.
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The Problem of the Lonza, with an Unpublished Text
The famous "three beasts”–lonza, leone, pupa–which Dante mentions in the first canto of the Inferno have already caused so much discussion, mostly profitless, that one may well hesitate before adding to the bibliography of the subject–unless, indeed, one is able to bring forward some really new material. In particular, the identity and the symbolism of the lonza have challenged ingenuity. As usual, the older commentators are in substantial agreement; the word lonza was evidently no stumbling-block to them symbols respectively of lust, pride and avarice
The link between post-qualification experience and self-confidence ratings in two problem-solving domains: a study of radiation therapists
Recognising one’s abilities and limits in clinical tasks is a valuable part of professionalism. This study investigated the self-ratings of problem-solving confidence of radiation therapists (RTs) in two domains: clinical scenarios and critical thinking items (CTIs). We divided the 60 participants into three groups based on post-qualification experience (PQE), and found that greater PQE was linkedwith higher selfrated confidence for clinical scenarios, but not for CTIs
Make the Alberta Carbon Levy Revenue Neutral
The new carbon levy of 3 billion in net revenue by 2018, and possibly as much as 1 in revenue through the corporate income tax in Alberta is 1.71. These taxes therefore impose higher costs on the economy than they raise in revenue. Swapping revenue from the carbon levy for these taxes in a revenue neutral manner would lower these costs, generating a substantial return to the provincial economy relative to other uses. If the government wants to fund other priority areas – be it public infrastructure, investment in complementary initiatives to reduce emissions, or even deficit reduction – it is better to finance these initiatives through more efficient and less costly taxes than a carbon tax. The basic approach advocated here is as follows: price emissions appropriately by way of a carbon levy, use the revenue to reduce existing taxes in a revenue-neutral manner, evaluate the benefits of spending money on other initiatives, and finance those initiatives using the least costly configuration of taxes possible (subject to equity considerations)
Plucking the Golden Goose: Higher Royalty Rates on the Oil Sands Generate Significant Increases in Government Revenue
The Alberta government’s 2009 New Royalty Framework elicited resistance on the part of the energy industry, leading to subsequent reductions in the royalties imposed on natural gas and conventional oil. However, the oil sands sector, subject to different terms, quickly accepted the new arrangement with little complaint, recognizing it as win-win situation for industry and the government. Under the framework, Alberta recoups much more money in royalties — about $1 billion over the two year period of 2009 and 2010 — without impinging significantly on investment in the oil sands. This brief paper demonstrates that by spreading the financial risks and benefits to everyone involved, the new framework proves it’s possible to generate increased revenue without frightening off future investment. The same model could conceivably be applied to the conventional oil and natural gas sectors
The Big and the Small of Tax Support for R&D in Canada
Innovation is critical in the knowledge-based economy. It is generally accepted that governments have an important role to play in promoting innovative activity and R&D. Both the federal and provincial governments in Canada provide tax subsidies, and other forms of support, for R&D. Changes to various programs offered by the federal government were introduced in Budget 2012, most particularly related to the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit program. This paper analyzes the state of tax subsidies for R&D both pre- and post-budget, and at both the federal and provincial level. It is shown that there is a patchwork of effective tax subsidy rates in Canada, which vary both between and within provinces, between small versus large firms, and across sectors and types of R&D activity. The result is a misallocation of R&D resources and a system of government support that is less effective than it could be. On some dimensions Budget 2012 was a move in the right direction, but on other dimensions matters were made worse, resulting in a reconfiguration of tax support across R&D activities that is more distortionary and less efficient. Most particularly, the post-budget tax system heavily favours small firms over large firms, and labour intensive R&D over capital intensive R&D. This paper offers a lucid examination of R&D tax support pre- and post-budget, and argues persuasively that Canadian governments should adopt a more uniform, less distortionary approach to tax subsidies for R&D if they are truly interested in setting innovation free
The Distribution of Well-Being in Ireland
Objectives There is a substantial knowledge gap about the distribution of mental heath in community populations. The European Social Survey is particularly useful as it contains information on over 40,000 individuals, including 2,286 Irish adults. The objective of this study is to conduct a large scale statistical analysis to examine the distribution and determinants of mental well-being in a large representative sample of the Irish population. Method Analysis of the European Social Survey using robust multiple linear and non-linear regression techniques. The data-set contains WHO-5 scores and subjective well-being for a sample of 2,286 Irish people interviewed in their homes in 2005. Results Ireland has the second highest average WHO-5 score among the 22 countries in the European Social Survey. Multiple linear regression analysis across the distribution of WHO-5 reveals a well-being gradient largely related to education and social capital variables. A probit model examining the determinants of vulnerability to psychiatric morbidity reveals that a similar set of factors predict scores below the threshold point on the WHO-5 scale. Conclusions The results are consistent with marked differences in mental well-being across education levels and variables relating to social capital factors. Such indicators provide a useful index for policy-makers and researchers. However, much further work is needed to identify causal mechanisms generating observed differences in mental health across different socioeconomic groups.Psychological well-being, WHO-5
Who Pays the Corporate Tax? Insights from the Literature and Evidence for Canadian Provinces
Who bears the burden, or incidence, of the corporate income tax (CIT)? This is an important, if not somewhat contentious, policy issue. In this paper we provide a discussion of the existing research on the question, viewing it through a Canadian policy lens. We also use some new results from a companion technical paper, which undertakes one of the few empirical investigations of the issue using Canadian data, to discuss the implications of increases in corporate taxes for wages in Canadian provinces.While it is clear that people, not corporate entities, ultimately bear the burden of corporate taxes, a key question is which people? The answer to this question has important implications for the equity, or fairness, of the tax system. Much of the recent focus in policy discussions concerns the allocation of the burden of the CIT between owners of capital and labour. Since income from capital tends to be concentrated with wealthier individuals, if the burden of the CIT falls mostly on the owners of capital, it increases the progressivity of the tax system. On the other hand, if the tax is borne mostly by labour through lower wages, the CIT is less progressive.Much of the research into the incidence of the CIT has employed theoretical simulation models. Early models of this type, which were based on a closed economy with fixed supplies of labour and capital, suggested that most of the burden of the CIT would be borne by the owners of capital throughout the economy, and not just the shareholders of firms in the corporate sector. Subsequent extensions of those models into a small open economy setting, where capital and goods are highly mobile between jurisdictions (countries, provinces), predict that most of the burden of the CIT will be borne by other inputs that are relatively inelastic in supply, such as labour. These small open economy models are particularly relevant for Canada. Viewing the results of these models through a Canadian lens, we conclude that there is good reason to expect that much of the burden of corporate taxes in Canada, particularly those levied by provincial governments, will fall on labour through lower wages.While useful, the predictions of these simulation models should be viewed with caution, largely because of the sensitivity of the results to the underlying assumptions. A nascent empirical literature has emerged that provides econometric-based estimates of the distribution of the burden of corporate taxes. While this research is relatively new, our reading is that the evidence is mounting that corporate taxes are indeed borne to a significant extent by labour through lower wages. However, there is very little empirical work done in an explicitly Canadian context.In a companion technical paper we employ Canadian data to examine the impact of provincial corporate taxes on wages. Our results suggest that, consistent with the predictions of the open economy simulation models, provincial corporate taxes adversely affect the capital/labour ratio, which lowers the productivity of labour which, in turn, lowers wages. Accounting for the shrinkage in the corporate tax base in response to an increase in the tax rate, we calculate that for every 1.52 for Alberta to 830 per year, which amounts to a 525 per household
The GST and Financial Services: Pausing for Perspective
The treatment of financial services has long been viewed as one of the more technical, and difficult, areas in value added taxation. Financial intermediaries add value by reducing transaction costs for clients. While in principle this value added should be taxed under a comprehensive VAT, this has proven to be difficult to do in practice because of measurement issues. The predominant approach adopted in most countries — albeit with several variations on the theme — has thus been to exempt most financial services from VAT. This was the approach adopted in Canada at the initiation of the GST just over twenty years ago. While this approach is far from perfect, and introduces several distortions into the economy, it has by and large been concluded that it is the most practical approach to dealing with financial services under a VAT. Two decades of legal wrangling and Ottawa’s habit of retroactively legislating changes to the GST as it relates to financial services have served to muddy the waters in Canada. Recent changes have significantly altered the scope for exemption and resulted in an uneven playing field across financial services. This paper argues that the best solution for Canada is to stick with the exemption approach, but to go back to basics with an eye for reducing existing distortions and restoring a semblance of neutrality. Specifically, the paper calls for a reset of the “arranging for” exemption for financial services; the creation of a new GST-recovery system for financial services; a new structure for taxing imported supplies; and a limit to retroactive legislative amendments and minimum requirements for future amendments. The authors also argue that consideration should be given to zero-rating “business to business” financial transactions so as to remove the GST embedded in transactions between financial institutions and businesses
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