Trump\u27s Tax Plan...Will it Make America Great Again?

The research and analysis is presented in order to develop an understanding of the new tax law and its implications to the individual tax payer. To gain perspective on tax reform, a brief history of the origin of tax and its development over time in the United States is given. After a basic understanding of tax and its reform is gained, I go on to present the major changes contained in the law. This paper concentrates on the policy changes to individuals as opposed to businesses. I included charts that I believe support the analysis that is provided. Following the presentation of changes to the current tax law, I project the law’s possible effect on the economy and the average American. This section of the report is succinct, showing a visualization of estimated GDP growth over the next 10 years. I mention the average monetary effect each class of American should observe following the law’s implementation. I conclude that even though a modest tax reduction is expected for most Americans, this tax law is geared toward big business and the real benefits for individuals will be experienced indirectly

Subjects, Experiences, and the Passage of Time: A neo-Parfittian account

The A and B-theorists of time disagree over whether time passes in reality. The B-theorist denies it does, and so, despite its successes, stands at an intuitive disadvantage. The A-theorist on the other hand is able to argue that our experience of time provides evidence of its passage. This ‘argument from experience’ expresses what I take to be the main motivation behind the A-theory. My aim is to provide the B-theorist with a response. The general thrust is that the argument from experience rests upon a mistaken view about the self – namely, Non-Reductionism. If we instead assume a Reductionist view, it should be rejected. Derek Parfit argues that, given Reductionism, it can be an empty question whether persons persists through change. After defining and justifying Reductionism, I argue for a stronger claim: it is always an empty question whether persons – and their experiences – persist. That is to say, what we naturally describe as a single persisting person (or experience) could just as accurately be described as a series of distinct momentary persons (or experiences). This claim is defended, then put to work against the argument from experience. Firstly, I argue it follows from this claim that we could not have veridical experiences of temporal passage. So, even if we do experience time as passing, we couldn’t take this as evidence that time really does pass. Finally, I propose a cognitive error account of temporal experience whereby although we believe we experience time as passing, this belief is false. I argue that the intuition to the contrary should be regarded as a side effect of a faulty, Non-Reductionist conceptual scheme. If we were to assimilate a Reductionist conceptual scheme instead, it would be impossible to conceptualise an experience of passage. In other words, time would not seem to pass

Open Bibliography

Poster presented at the VSMF Symposium held at the Unilever Centre on 2011-01-17.More research is published currently than can be understood or followed by a researcher without the aid of a computer. We need Open shareable information on research publications, an Open Bibliography, to build the services that enable researchers to explore their field and discover the research they need. Producers of bibliographic data such as libraries, publishers, universities, scholars or social reference management communities have an important role in supporting the advance of humanity's knowledge. For society to reap the full benefits from bibliographic endeavours, it is imperative that bibliographic data be made open - that is, available for anyone to use and re-use freely for any purpose

Reducing Equifinality Using Isotopes in a Process-Based Stream Nitrogen Model Highlights the Flux of Algal Nitrogen from Agricultural Streams

The fate of bioavailable nitrogen species transported through agricultural landscapes remains highly uncertain given complexities of measuring fluxes impacting the fluvial N cycle. We present and test a new numerical model named Technology for Removable Annual Nitrogen in Streams For Ecosystem Restoration (TRANSFER), which aims to reduce model uncertainty due to erroneous parameterization, i.e., equifinality, in stream nitrogen cycle assessment and quantify the significance of transient and permanent removal pathways. TRANSFER couples nitrogen elemental and stable isotope mass‐balance equations with existing hydrologic, hydraulic, sediment transport, algal biomass, and sediment organic matter mass‐balance subroutines and a robust GLUE‐like uncertainty analysis. We test the model in an agriculturally impacted, third‐order stream reach located in the Bluegrass Region of Central Kentucky. Results of the multiobjective model evaluation for the model application highlight the ability of sediment nitrogen fingerprints including elemental concentrations and stable N isotope signatures to reduce equifinality of the stream N model. Advancements in the numerical simulations allow for illumination of the significance of algal sloughing fluxes for the first time in relation to denitrification. Broadly, model estimates suggest that denitrification is slightly greater than algal N sloughing (10.7% and 6.3% of dissolved N load on average), highlighting the potential for overestimation of denitrification by 37%. We highlight the significance of the transient N pool given the potential for the N store to be regenerated to the water column in downstream reaches, leading to harmful and nuisance algal bloom development

The Epistemology of Necessity

The thesis examines the direct reference theory of proper names and natural kind terms as expounded by Saul Kripke, Hilary Putnam and others and finds that it has not succeeded in replacing some kind of description theory of the reference of such terms - although it does concede that the traditional Fregean theory is not quite correct. It is argued that the direct reference theory is mistaken on several counts. First of all it is question-begging. Secondly, it is guilty of a 'use/mention' confusion. And thirdly, and most importantly, it fails to deal with the notion of understanding. The notion of understanding is crucial to the present thesis - specifically, what is understood by a proper name or natural kind term. It is concluded that sense (expressed in the form of descriptions) is at least necessary for reference, which makes a significant difference to Kripke's claim that there are necessary a posteriori truths as well as contingent a priori truths. It is also argued that sense could be sufficient for reference, if it is accepted that it is speakers who effect reference. In this sense, sense determines reference. The thesis therefore not only argues against the account of reference given by the direct reference theorists, it also gives an account of how proper names and natural kind terms actually do function in natural language. As far as the epistemology of necessity is concerned the thesis concludes that Kripke (along with many others) has not succeeded in establishing the existence of the necessary a posteriori nor the contingent a priori from the theory of direct reference. Whether such truths can be established by some other means, or in principle, is not the concern of the thesis; although the point is made that, if a certain view of sense is accepted, then questions of necessity and a priority seem inappropriate

Studying media events in the European social surveys across research designs, countries, time, issues, and outcomes

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Palgrave via the DOI in this record.Scholars often study isolated media effects using one method at one time point in one country. We seek to generalise the research in this area by examining hundreds of press-worthy events across dozens of countries at various points in time with an array of techniques and outcome measures. In particular, we merge a database containing thousands of events with five waves of the European Social Survey to conduct analyses across countries and individuals as well as within countries and for specific respondents. The results suggest that there is an impressive degree of heterogeneity when it comes to how citizens react to political developments. Some events generate significant opinion changes when groups of individuals who are 'treated' are compared with 'control' cases. However, other events produce modest or even null findings with methods that employ different counterfactuals. Thus, findings of both strong and weak media effects that scholars have uncovered over the years could be a function of methodological choices as well as context-specific factors such as institutional arrangements, media systems, eras, or event characteristics. Data limitations also make some research designs possible while they preclude others. We conclude with advice for others who wish to study political events in this manner as well as discussion of media effects, broadly construed