Individual behaviour in the cash/shadow economy in Australia: Facts, empirical findings and some mysteries

This paper first gives an explanation of the behaviour which motivates individuals to engage in the shadow economy. It will be shown that people who fear being caught by tax authorities will be less likely to work in the shadow economy and those who earn more money in the official economy will also work less in the shadow economy. The result of a logistic regression shows that if others are seen to be engaged in the shadow economy then this increases subsequent demand for such activities. It was found that on average, a shadow economy worker earned AUS$2135.31 during the year 2000, and households spent AUS$2,293.00 for these services. Using micro-data to calculate an overall aggregate figure for the estimated size of the shadow economy in Australia during the year 2000, it was found that between 4.81% and 8.8% of the gross national income (GNI) was earned in the cash economy.

IN DEFENSE OF DISPARATE IMPACT: AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALIZE THE PROMISE OF THE FAIR HOUSING ACT

Abstract: Twice in the past three years, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Fair Housing cases, and, each time, under pressure from civil rights leaders who feared that the Supreme Court might narrow current Fair Housing Act jurisprudence, the cases settled just weeks before oral argument. Settlements after the Supreme Court grants certiorari are extremely rare, and, in these cases, the settlements reflect a substantial fear among civil rights advocates that the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in cases such as Shelby County v. Holder and Fisher v. University of Texas are working to dismantle many of the protections of the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s. The sole issue in both of the recently settled Fair Housing Act cases was whether disparate impact analysis – a type of analysis that some on the Supreme Court may view as requiring racial preferences – is valid under the Fair Housing Act. This article argues that in order to have a chance at achieving the goal of its sponsors – “to replace the ghettos [with] truly integrated and balanced living patterns,”– the Fair Housing Act cannot just take aim at the aberrant individual who intentionally denies a person housing because of his or her race. Instead, the Fair Housing Act must recognize claims based on disparate impact analysis alone. This article argues that disparate impact analysis is especially needed to address urban redevelopment decisions because such decisions are often made through a multi-party protracted process, in which a discriminatory intent may be impossible to discern or entirely absent. Additionally, it is the outcome of large-scale urban redevelopment projects that will truly shape racial housing patterns in the twenty-first century

The Prison to Homelessness Pipeline: Criminal Record Checks, Race, and Disparate Impact

Study after study has shown that securing housing upon release from prison is critical to reducing the likelihood of recidivism,1 yet those with criminal records— a population that disproportionately consists of racial minorities—are routinely denied access to housing, even if their offense was minor and was shown to have no bearing on whether the applicant would be likely to be a successful renter. In April of 2016, the Office of General Counsel for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued much anticipated guidance dealing directly with the racially disparate impact of barring those with criminal records from public and private housing. After decades of seeming to encourage local public housing providers to adopt harsh policies barring applicants with criminal records regardless of the nature or recency of the crime, the Obama-era guidance from HUD represents a sea change in federal policy and will force local housing authorities to grapple with the potentially disparate impacts of harsh criminal record policies. The guidance is particularly timely, given that HUD issued a rule clarifying the burden of proof in disparate impact cases in 20132 and the Supreme Court affirmed that disparate impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act in its 2015 decision in Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.3 Additionally, while the Trump administration seems focused on rolling back Obama-era protections in some arenas, this guidance has remained in place. Even if withdrawn by HUD, the guidance has already inspired local policies restricting the use of criminal background checks in housing decisions potentially giving rise to a new era for those seeking housing after being released from prison.4 This Article first puts the problem of using criminal records to evaluate potential tenants into historical context, discussing the particular impact of the rising rates of incarceration on minority communities. Next, the Article delves into the guidance itself, examining what it does and does not require of housing providers, with a focus on public housing. Finally, the Article provides insight into what is missing from the guidance, what might be done to strengthen it, how advocates might use it, and how housing providers might work to limit both their legal exposure and moral culpability related to the disparate impact the use of criminal records in housing decisions has on minorities

Racism Knocking at the Door: The Use Of Criminal Background Checks in Rental Housing

One of the harshest collateral consequences of an arrest or conviction is the impact a criminal record can have on one’s ability to secure housing. Because racial bias permeates every aspect of the criminal justice system as well as the housing market, this collateral consequence—the inability to find a place to live after an arrest or conviction—disproportionately affects minorities. In 2016, after decades of appearing to encourage local public housing providers to adopt harsh policies barring applicants with criminal records, the Office of General Counsel for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) issued guidance instructing public and private housing providers to take in to account the potentially disparate effects of such policies on racial minorities (the “HUD Guidance”). Recognizing that African Americans and Latinos are “arrested, convicted and incarcerated at rates disproportionate to their share of the general population,” HUD advised that any policy that “restricts access to housing on the basis of criminal history” may have an unlawful disparate impact based on race. The HUD Guidance on the potentially disparate impact of the use of criminal background checks has remained in place, though it is expected to be rolled back like many other Obama-era policies; thus, the question has now become how municipalities and housing providers will interpret and give effect to the HUD Guidance. This article examines how one such municipality—the District of Columbia—has grappled with putting the HUD Guidance into effect via legislative changes

In Defense of Disparate Impact: Urban Redevelopment and the Supreme Court’s Recent Interest in the Fair Housing Act

Twice in the past three years, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Fair Housing cases, and, each time, under pressure from civil rights leaders who feared that the Supreme Court might narrow current Fair Housing Act jurisprudence, the cases settled just weeks before oral argument. Settlements after the Supreme Court grants certiorari are extremely rare, and, in these cases, the settlements reflect a substantial fear among civil rights advocates that the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in cases such as Shelby County v. Holder and Fisher v. University of Texas are working to dismantle many of the protections of the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s. The sole issue in both of the recently settled Fair Housing Act cases was whether disparate impact analysis – a type of analysis that some on the Supreme Court may view as requiring racial preferences – is valid under the Fair Housing Act. This Article argues that in order to have a chance at achieving the goal of its sponsors – “to replace the ghettos [with] truly integrated and balanced living patterns,” – the Fair Housing Act cannot just take aim at the aberrant individual who intentionally denies a person housing because of his or her race. Instead, the Fair Housing Act must recognize claims based on disparate impact analysis alone. This Article posits that disparate impact analysis is particularly critical in the context of urban redevelopment decisions because such decisions are often made through a multi-party protracted process, in which a discriminatory intent may be impossible to discern or entirely absent. It is the outcome of large-scale urban redevelopment projects, not individual decisions to rent or sell, that will truly shape racial housing patterns in the twenty-first century

Individual behaviour in Australia's shadow economy: facts, empirical findings and some mysteries

This paper attempts to explain the behaviour that motivates individuals to engage in the shadow economy. Results show that those who fear being caught by tax authorities are less likely to supply or purchase work in the shadow economy. Further, those who earn more money in the ‘official’ economy, work less in the shadow economy, but purchase more shadow economy work. The results of logistic regressions show that when working in the shadow economy is seen as socially acceptable, shadow economy activities are higher. Additional findings showed that, on average, a shadow economy worker earned AUS$2135.31 during 2000, and households spent AUS$2293.00 for these services. Using micro-data to calculate an overall aggregate figure for the estimated size of the shadow economy in Australia during 2000, it was found that between 4.81% and 8.8% of the gross national income (GNI) was earned in the shadow economy

“All we ever wanted was everything.” Zur Aktualität der Psychoanalyse als Gesellschaftskritik

Über eine historische Verortung der Psychoanalyse im Zusam­menhang mit der Kritischen Theorie nähert sich der Beitrag der Frage nach der heutigen gesellschaftstheoretischen Relevanz der Psychoanalyse. Entlang der Ent­subjektivierungsthese der Kritischen Theorie und entgegen der Annahme, Psycho­analyse verliere aufgrund ihrer historischen Bedingtheit ihre Relevanz und ihren Wirkungsraum, soll hier Psychoanalyse als historisch­materialistisches, bewegliches und notwendiges Instrument zeitgenössischer Gesellschaftskritik diskutiert wer­den. Gerade in Hinblick auf die neoliberale Transformation der kapitalistischen Produktionsweise und den daraus resultierenden Anforderungen an die Subjekte wird der normative Anspruch der Psychoanalyse als kritischer Spiegel aktueller Verhältnisse immer wichtiger. Denn die für eine «gelungene» Individuation notwen­dige Herausbildung autonomer Subjektivität scheint innerhalb einer neoliberalen Subjektivierung, trotz der Erweiterung von Freiheitsspielräumen, kaum realisierbar zu sein

Synthesis and Characterization of Sequence-Defined Stiff Oligomers Using the Sonogashira Reaction

Konjugierte Stäbchenmoleküle sind interessante Verbindungen für elektronische Anwendungen. Mehrere iterative Syntheseverfahren zu monodispersen Phenylalkin-Oligomeren wurden publiziert, aber nur ein Beispiel zu derartigen sequenzdefinierten Oligomeren existiert. Dabei könnten sequenzdefinierte, konjugierte Oligomere einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Erforschung von Struktur-Eigenschafts-Beziehungen liefern. In dieser Arbeit wird ein lineares Syntheseverfahren zu sequenzdefinierten Phenylalkin-Oligomeren in Lösung vorgestellt. Dafür wurden verschiedene Bausteinmoleküle mit einem Halogen und einer geschützten Dreifachbindung synthetisiert. Verschiedene Dialkyloxysubstituenten zur besseren Löslichkeit weisen zusätzlich elektronenschiebende Eigenschaften auf. Des Weiteren wurden Elektronenakzeptor-Bausteine hergestellt. Die Stäbchenmoleküle wurden über Zyklen von Sonogashira Kreuzkupplung und anschließender Entschützung der Dreifachbindung realisiert. Zunächst wurde Phenylacetylen als Starteinheit mit einem Bausteinmolekül umgesetzt und das entsprechende Monomer erhalten. Mit dem vorgestellten Syntheseverfahren konnten ein monodisperses und ein sequenzdefiniertes Pentamer in jeweils zehn Reaktionsschritten erhalten werden. Die Ausbeute für das monodisperse Pentamer belief sich dabei auf 18% und 116 Milligramm. Für das sequenzdefinierte Pentamer wurde eine Ausbeute von 3.2% und 73.6 Milligramm erhalten. Die finalen Produkte sowie die entsprechenden Intermediate wurden vollständig mit 1H und 13C-NMR, IR-Spektroskopie und Massenspektrometrie charakterisiert. Zusätzlich wurde SEC und DSC durchgeführt und die photophysikalischen Eigenschaften mit UV/Vis-Spektroskopie untersucht. Ein direkter Oligomerisierungsversuch zu monodispersen Stäbchenmolekülen mit einem Kettenstopper führte zu einem Gemisch aus vielen Oligomeren und rechtfertigt die iterative Reaktionsführung. In dieser Arbeit wurden außerdem Stäbchenmoleküle mit Farbstoffen, die eine thermisch aktivierte verzögerte Fluoreszenz aufweisen, mittels Sonogashira Reaktion verknüpft und vollständig charakterisiert. Mit diesen Verbindungen könnten optoelektronische Vorgänge in organischen Solarzellen untersucht werden

Celebrating the stories of black cellular biologists and the path towards diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM

Black scientists have made major contributions to their scientific communities, but their stories and work have not received well-deserved recognition due to systemic inequities within science and academia. By celebrating the stories of Black scientists, we aim to encourage students of color and underrepresented groups to pursue a caree in the natural sciences. Here we tell the stories of Ernest E. Just, Sandra A. Murray and Avery August, three Black cellular biologists from three different generations who have made major contributions to the scientific community using microscopy. The presented project is carried out as part of the Buehler Biomedical Imaging Center that was established in 2018 through a generous grant from the Buehler Family Foundation and its president A.C. Buehler \u2778 and Elisabeth Buehler Smith \u2711

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon skin permeation efficiency in vitro is lower through human than pigskin and decreases with lipophilicity

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are persistent environmental pollutants, which occasionally appear as contaminants in consumer products. Upon dermal contact, transfer of PAH into the stratum corneum (s.c.) and migration through the skin may occur, resulting in this class of highly toxic compounds to become bioavailable. In this study, dermal penetration through human and porcine skin of 24 PAH, comprising broad molar mass (M: 152–302 g/mol) and octanol-water partition coefficient (logP: 3.9–7.3) ranges, was evaluated via Franz diffusion cell in vitro assays. More lipophilic and potentially more toxic PAH had decreased permeation rates through the rather lipophilic s.c. into the more hydrophilic viable (epi-)dermis. Furthermore, human skin was less permeable than pigskin, a commonly used surrogate in skin penetration studies. In particular, the s.c. of human skin retains a greater share of PAH, an effect that is more pronounced for smaller PAH. Additionally, we compared the skin permeation kinetics of different PAH in pigskin. While small PAH (M 252 g/mol, logP ≥ 6) do not fully permeate the skin up to 48 h. This indicates that highly lipophilic PAH do not become bioavailable as readily as their smaller congeners when transferred to the skin surface. Our data suggest that pigskin could be used as a surrogate for worst case scenario estimates of dermal PAH permeation through human skin