Do Fiscal Transfers Alleviate Business Tax Competition? Evidence from Germany

The paper empirically analyzes the incentive effects of equalizing transfers on business tax policy by exploiting a natural experiment in the state of Lower Saxony which changed its equalization formula as of 1999. We resort to within-state and across-state difference-in-difference estimates to identify the reform effect on municipalities' business tax rates. Confirming the theoretical prediction, the reform had a significant impact on the municipalities’ tax policy in the four years after the reform with a “phasing out” of the effect starting in the fourth to fifth year. The finding is robust to various alternative specifications.equalization grants, tax competition, local public finance, fiscal capacity equalization

Object categorisation, object naming, and viewpoint-independence in visual remembering: Evidence from young children's drawings of a novel object

A simple object-drawing task confirms a three-way association between object categorisation, viewpoint independence, and longer-term visual remembering. Young children (5- to 7-year-olds) drew a familiar object or a novel object, immediately after it had been hidden from view or on the following day. Both objects were shown from a full range of viewpoints or from just two viewpoints, from neither of which would either object normally be drawn after unrestricted viewing. When drawing from short-term memory after restricted viewing, both objects were most likely to be depicted from a seen viewpoint. When drawing from longer-term memory after restricted viewing, the novel object continued to be drawn from a seen viewpoint, but the mug was now most likely to be drawn from a preferred viewpoint from which it had not been seen. Naming the novel object with a novel count noun ("Look at this. This is a dax"), to signal that it belonged to an object category, resulted in it being drawn in the same way as the familiar object. The results concur with other evidence indicating that short-term and longer-term visual remembering are differentially associated with viewpoint-dependent representations of individual objects and viewpoint independent representations of object categories, respectively

Present Developments in Image Analysis

The paper discusses novel methods of analysing oriented textures, explains some of the problems which had to be overcome to make these methods work, and indicates where future developments might be expected. This has required improvements in the methods of intensity gradient analysis, the development of large filter methods for mapping features defined in terms of their texture, and the introduction of ideas from the theory of regionalised variables

Mental Health Chaplains: Practitioners’ perspectives on their value, purpose and function in the UK National Health Service

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in British Journal of Guidance & Counselling on 15/04/2016, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2016.1174767There is limited research into the value, purpose and function of Mental Health (MH) Chaplains. Yet, they are employed within National Health Service Trusts in the UK. Eight MH Chaplains were interviewed to explore how they see their value, purpose and function. The data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The data reveal the relational and spiritual/existential accompaniment nature of their work, which is of transformative value, and which requires MH Chaplains to be able to offer ‘hospitality’ and to work at relational depth which is akin to working with the spiritual dimension of clients within counselling. Other roles include: religious care; offering a visible presence; running groups; training; advocacy; connecting with other services; community liaison; committee work; and staff support

Electoral rules and incentive effects of fiscal transfers: evidence from Germany

The impact electoral rules and fiscal equalization programs have for local públic finance are separately analyzed in the literature. This paper empirically analyzes whether legislator elected under different rules respond differently to changes in fiscal incentives. Using a reform of the electoral rule and the equalization system as a natural experiment, we find that municipalities which elect legislators under proportional rule react less strongly to changes in fiscal incentives

The Use of Turnips for Extending the Grazing Season

The use of short-season crops, such as turnips, is effective for extending the grazing season, following the harvest of small grains. A system of double cropping works particularly well if the intent is to provide a break in crop rotation. Turnips, which are in the brassica family, are fast growing and tolerate cold temperatures. Therefore, they are good for providing high quality and quantity forage for grazing livestock well into the fall (Figure 1)

The Surfaces of Titanate Minerals, Ceramics and Silicate Glasses: Surface Analytical and Electron Microscope Studies

The review evaluates evidence of aqueous surface attack on glasses, titanate minerals and synthetic rock material (Synroc C) available from:- leach rates; surface analysis (XPS, SAM, SIMS); IR spectroscopy; and electron microscopy. Direct observations are described showing the formation of:- ion-exchanged, cation deficient layers; altered glass network and crystal line lattice layers and recrystallised, reprecipitated and surface-segregated layers. The titanate minerals react in the order perovskites \u3e hollandite \u3e fluorite structures (zirconolite, zirkelite, pyrochlore, polymigllyte) \u3e rutile. The formation of amorphous Ti-O films, recrystallising to TiO2 (anatase and brookite), is observed on perovskite and hollandite surfaces. The surface reactivity of the titanate minerals is essentially the same in the ceramic assemblage Synroc C but additional microstructure (intergranular films, pores, triple points, minor phases) complicates the interpretation of first-day leach rates and depth profiles of leached discs. Reinterpretation of apparently congruent and incongruent dissolution data, using this evidence, is given for the glasses and titanate minerals. It is shown that solution analyses do not adequately describe the processes occurring in leaching and dissolution. The three major mechanisms of surface attack - ion-exchange, base catalysed hydrolysis of the network or lattice, and recrystallisation - are compared. Cation-exchange is very fast but limited to a layer no more than 20nm ahead of the reacted layer. Reaction of the titanate lattice is relatively slow and, in ceramics, appears to be limited by the grain size of the perovskite phase. In situ recrystallisation of amorphous TiOx films to TiO2 is fast above 100°C giving a polycrystalline discontinuous layer of varying depth (up to the grain size)

The role of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities as an employers' organisation with an international comparison.

The thesis examines the development and present role of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities as an employers' organisation and contrasts this role with the manner in which the corresponding function is discharged by the local authority associations in the four Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The role embraces three main activities: joint collective bargaining, training and development and other support activities. The history of the joint collective bargaining activity now undertaken by the Convention on behalf of constituent local authorities spans almost half a century. The conclusion is drawn that it has developed on a somewhat piecemeal basis and that despite attempts, most recently in 1986, to introduce a greater element of co-ordination, the present arrangements are unnecessarily complex. Some of the negotiating arrangements are UK-wide, others have a link in to UK arrangements with subordinate Scottish machinery and yet others are unique to Scottish local government. The various negotiating bodies have different dates throughout the year for the settlement of pay claims and there is scope for the creation of anomalies between negotiating groups, since each negotiates and settles independently of the others. The training and development activities of the convention have a much shorter history. The minimal allocation of resources to these activities is criticised. The conclusion is drawn that without a greater allocation, local authorities in Scotland will continue to receive an impoverished service. The range of other support activities is also quite limited, although there has been a discernable development in these over the past four or five years. comparison is made between the present levels of provision and the recommendations of official reports on the provision of central personnel support in local government, spanning some 60 years, which endorses the conclusions drawn, that Scottish local government is not well served by the provision currently made by its central organisation. In relation to the collective bargaining activity, the international element of the research concludes by reference to all four comparator countries that it is possible to develop and work within a less complex model. On the other hand none of the comparators endures the complications of a relationship with negotiating arrangements covering a wider geographical area. The international comparison also highlights the extensive nature of the training and development activities of the local authority associations in three out of the four countries, and concludes that there is generally a greater availability of other support services. Finally, the thesis refers to the government's proposals for the reorganisation of local government in Scotland in the mid-1990s and suggests that the Convention should plan now for an appropriate enhancement of its role as an employers' organisation in support of the local government structure that will be in place following the reorganisation

Subverting National Internet Censorship - An Investigation into existing Tools and Techniques

The announcement of a trial of a National level internet filter in Australia has caused renewed interest in the arena of internet censorship. Whilst details on the schemes being tested have been fairly sparse the announcement of the trial itself, has drawn wide condemnation from privacy advocates throughout the world. Given this announcement it was decided to test and compare three of the most popular free tools available that allow for the bypassing of internet censorship devices such as those used within China. Tests were conducted using three software packages, Freegate, GPass and GTunnel which were analysed through packet capture to determine their likely effectiveness against the speculated methods to be employed by the Australian trials. The tests clearly showed that all three applications provide an easy means of subverting any likely filtering method with GPass and GTunnel the more suitable candidates as Freegate still allowed for plain-text DNS requests

Demonstration-Based Education Generates Behavior Change Related to Conservation Practices

Getting agricultural producers to make changes to their operations is difficult, especially related to complex systems such as the water cycle on managed agricultural lands. We surveyed participants who had watched a rainfall simulator demonstration during the summer of 2015. Results indicate that the demonstration was effective in providing educational outreach on the impact of the water cycle and prompting the adoption of conservation practices and monitoring techniques among producers. The study reinforces the importance in conservation education of learning experiences involving simulation, observation, and group discussion. Our findings may be applicable not only to Extension professionals working with agricultural producers but also to those involved in encouraging conservation practices among other audiences