Ikuzo Nihongo: Learning Japanese Through Reading Manga (Japanese Comics)

For my UMCUR project, I\u27ve made a How-to-Speak-Japanese comic book. I incorporate story elements into Japanese lessons to make learning Japanese more fun and less intimidating

The Application Of Self-Employment Tax To Limited Liability Companies: A Critical Analysis

One of the significant issues that has arisen in connection with limited liability companies (LLCs) electing to be taxed as a partnership is the application of self-employment tax to its members.  The issue of when an LLC member’s distributive share of LLC income is subject to self-employment tax has not been definitively answered.  This paper reviews the current rules on when an LLC member’s distributive share of LLC income is subject to self-employment tax and analyzes proposals that have been made to clarify the law in this area.&nbsp

The Influence Of Prospect Theory And Psychological Commitment On The Tax-Reporting Aggressiveness Of Professional Tax Return Preparers

According to prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky 1979), decision makers perceive outcomes as gains or losses from a reference point and behave differently depending on how the outcome is framed. Decision makers will be risk-averse if the perceived outcome is viewed as a gain and risk-seeking if it is perceived as a loss.  Research applying prospect theory to the decision-making of tax preparers by using their client’s year-end payment status as the reference point has not been successful (see e.g., Duncan et al. 1988; Sanders and Wyndelts 1989; LaRue and Reckers 1989).  One possible explanation for the lack of consistent results in this area is that tax preparers do not internalize the framing of their client’s payment status and thus do not have a psychological commitment to the decision outcome.  It is the client who is in a gain or loss position, not the tax preparer. This paper reports the results of an experiment applying prospect theory and psychological commitment to tax preparer decision-making.  We hypothesized that tax preparers’ personal involvement in placing their client in a particular year-end tax situation (payment due or refund) will cause them to use the client’s year-end payment status as the reference point and to behave in a manner consistent with the predictions of prospect theory.  In particular, we hypothesized that personal involvement in placing their client in a year-end payment due situation will cause tax preparers to frame the decision as a loss and thus behave in a risk-seeking manner.   We also hypothesized that personal involvement in placing their client in a year-end refund situation will cause tax preparers to frame the decision as a gain and engage in more risk-averse behavior than tax preparers not so involved.  Using a sample of 104 professional tax return preparers, we found no evidence that psychological commitment to their client’s year-end payment status caused tax preparers to behave in a manner consistent with prospect theory.  We did, however, find evidence that more experienced tax preparers took more aggressive tax-reporting positions than those with less experience.  We also found that males took more aggressive tax-reporting positions than females

Habitat Use by Different Size Classes of Bowhead Whales in the Central Beaufort Sea during Late Summer and Autumn

The frequency distributions of bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) size classes were studied as functions of year, location, water depth, and date. Whales were classified by size and status as calves, small subadults (non-calves < 10 m); large subadults (10–13 m); and adults (> 13 m). Adults include mothers with calves, which were also counted separately. During mid-August to early October of 1982, 1984–86, and 1998–2000, calibrated vertical photography was used to obtain known-scale images of 901 different whales in waters up to 200 m deep between Flaxman and Herschel islands (146? to 139? W) in the central Beaufort Sea. Age composition of the whales photographed over all years of our study was calves 6.2%, small subadults 31.4%, large subadults 33.3%, and adults 29.1%. We found proportionally more subadults and fewer adults than are estimated to be in the overall population, and this result was found both before and after making allowance for reduced effort to obtain photographs early and late in the migration period. Thus parts of the central Beaufort Sea up to 200 m deep appear to be more heavily used by subadult bowheads than by adults in most years. Significant interannual variation existed in length-frequency distributions of whales among years, geographic subdivisions of the study area, water depth categories, and time periods. This variation was due to variable use of the study area by each size class in different years, differences in the water depths used by different size classes, and different migration timing by each size class. In all years, small subadult whales were the dominant group in shallow (< 20 m) nearshore habitats, and the size of the whales increased with increasing water depth. Timing of movements into and through the study area were also related to size class: small subadults arrived first in late August and departed in late September, and adults arrived last in late September. Mothers and calves arrived in early September and were common until at least early October.La répartition des fréquences de la baleine boréale (Balaena mysticetus) en fonction des classes de dimensions a été étudiée à la lumière de critères tels que l’année, l’emplacement, la profondeur de l’eau et la date. Les baleines étaient classées d’après leurs dimensions et leur état, comme suit : baleineaux, petites baleines immatures (non-baleineaux < 10 m); grosses baleines immatures (10–13 m); et baleines adultes (> 13 m). Les adultes comprenaient les mères avec leurs baleineaux, qui étaient aussi comptés séparément. De la mi-août au début octobre 1982, 1984 à 1986 et 1998 à 2000, nous nous sommes servi de photographies verticales calibrées pour obtenir des images d’échelle connue de 901 baleines différentes dans des eaux pouvant atteindre une profondeur de 200 m entre les îles Flaxman et Herschel (146? à 139?O), dans le centre de la mer de Beaufort. La composition par âge des baleines photographiées au cours de toutes les années visées par l’étude s’établissait comme suit : 6,2 % de baleineaux, 31,4 % de petites baleines immatures, 33,3 % de grosses baleines immatures et 29,1 % de baleines adultes. De manière proportionnelle, nous avons repéré plus de baleines immatures et moins de baleines adultes comparativement aux estimations de telles baleines au sein de la population générale, résultat qui a été trouvé tant avant qu’après avoir tenu compte de l’effort réduit pour obtenir des photographies vers le début et vers la fin de la période de migration. Par conséquent, certaines parties du centre de la mer de Beaufort où l’eau atteint une profondeur allant jusqu’à 200 m semblent plus utilisées par les baleines boréales immatures que par les baleines adultes pendant la plupart des années. Par ailleurs, il existait une variation interannuelle importante sur le plan de la répartition des fréquences de longueur des baleines en fonction des années, des subdivisions géographiques de la région à l’étude, des catégories de profondeur de l’eau et des périodes. Cette variation était attribuable à l’utilisation variable de la région visée par l’étude par chaque classe de dimension au cours des différentes années, aux différences de profondeur de l’eau utilisée par les différentes classes de dimension ainsi qu’aux périodes de migration différentes de chaque classe de dimension. Dans le cas de toutes les années, les petites baleines immatures dominaient les habitats peu profonds (< 20 m) en zone côtière, et la taille des baleines augmentait en fonction de la profondeur de l’eau. Le moment des déplacements vers la région à l’étude et dans celle-ci dépendait également de la classe de dimension : les petites baleines immatures arrivaient en premier, vers la fin août et repartaient vers la fin septembre, tandis que les baleines adultes arrivaient en dernier, vers la fin septembre. Les mères et leurs baleineaux arrivaient au début septembre et y restaient au moins jusqu’au début octobre

The Impact Of Communication On The Accounting Firm/Client Relationship

This paper presents the results of a study designed to gather information on communication between an accounting firm and its clients.  We first provide descriptive information on clients’ perceptions regarding the frequency, method, and importance of communication with their accounting firm.  We then provide evidence on the relationship between effective communication and both client satisfaction and accounting firm/client conflict.  We find that that the use of effective communication techniques by an accounting firm is positively related to client satisfaction and negatively related to firm/client conflict.  The overall results of this study suggest that accounting firms can effectively use collaborative communication, which focuses on using communication to build better relationships between firms, to manage client relations

Service Quality In Accounting Firms: The Relationship Of Service Quality To Client Satisfaction And Firm/Client Conflict

This paper presents the results of a study using the marketing-based SERVQUAL scale to examine the relationship between service quality and both client satisfaction and firm/client conflict in an accounting firm setting.  Using a sample of 154 clients, we confirm that service quality is positively related to clients’ satisfaction with their accounting firm and negatively related to firm/client conflict.  We also examine the individual dimensions of service quality to provide insight into specific steps accounting firms can take both to increase client satisfaction and to decrease firm/client conflict

The Relationship Of Service Quality To Client Satisfaction In An Accounting Firm Setting

This paper presents the results of a study using the marketing-based SERVQUAL scale to examine the relationship between service quality and client satisfaction in an accounting firm setting.  Using a sample of 154 clients, we confirm that service quality is positively related in clients’ satisfaction with their accounting firm.  More importantly, we examine the individual dimensions of service quality to provide insight into specific steps accounting firms can take to increase client satisfaction

Biochemical quantification of total brain glycogen concentration in rats under different glycemic states.

All (13)C NMR studies of brain glycogen to date relied on observing the incorporation of (13)C label into glycogen, and thus interpretation was potentially affected by changes in (13)C label turnover rates. The goal of this study was to quantify total brain glycogen concentration under conditions of hypoglycemia or normoglycemia using biochemical methods. Rats were sacrificed using a focused microwave fixation device. The results showed that metabolism of brain glycogen was Glc- and insulin-sensitive and that insulin-induced hypoglycemia promoted a gradual glycogenolysis. Moreover, we show that there are very mild effects of isoflurane and alpha-chloralose anesthesia on brain glycogen concentration. Altogether these results show that total brain glycogen serves as a substantial source of glucosyl units during insulin-induced moderate hypoglycemia and therefore may be neuroprotective. Finally we also conclude that previous interpretation of (13)C NMR spectroscopy data accurately reflected the changes in total brain glycogen content

Physical Violence by Partner during Pregnancy and Use of Prenatal Care in Rural India

The role of physical violence during pregnancy on receipt of prenatal care is poorly understood, particularly for South Asian countries that have high levels of both fertility and domestic violence. Data from the 1998/1999 Indian National Family Health Survey and a 2002/2003 follow-up survey that re-interviewed women in four states were analyzed, examining the association between physical violence during pregnancy and the uptake of prenatal care. Women who experienced physical violence during pregnancy were less likely to receive prenatal care, less likely to receive a home-visit from a health worker for a prenatal check-up, less likely to receive at least three prenatal care visits, and less likely to initiate prenatal care early in the pregnancy. This study highlighted the constraining effect that the experience of physical domestic violence during pregnancy had on the uptake of prenatal care for women in rural India. Maternal health services must recognize the unique needs of women experiencing violence from their intimate partners