Project-based and self-directed learning

This article discusses the benefits of project-based and self-directed learning to develop competency in utilizing a second language and working collaboratively. The background premise of these modes of learning is provided, demonstrating that they work well for differentiated levels and language skills and improve student competence. Some of the areas examined are intercultural and scientific, ones that require the use of specific language in context. In addition, the concept of creating projects that increase student investment and motivation to make learning more relevant is juxtaposed with a student’s competency in an area after having participated in traditional approaches to learning. The overall benefit of the use of project-based and self-directed learning is that it allows the student to develop a higher skill set and greater engagement with the subject matter, producing better language and content outcomes

Supply Constraints and Housing Prices

This paper analyzes the effects of land use constraints on housing prices. We provide a new framework for evaluating policy when mobility across regions is allowed but limited. A key result is that loosening regulatory constraints within individual regions would have little effect on prices for plausible parameterizations. For example, we show reasonable conditions under which, even if every building in Manhattan were 100 stories tall, prices would fall by less than 15 percent.housing supply and markets, regulatory policies, land use patterns

Optimal Commodity Taxation when Land and Structures must be Taxed at the Same Rate

We show that the optimal property tax rate rises with the ratio of land rents to structure and land development costs. California’s high ratio of income to property tax revenue and the distribution of Federal housing subsidies thus appear geographically misplaced. Proportional taxation of non-housing commodities is not optimal, even when elasticities with respect to wages are identical. Absent externalities, the desirability of transportation taxes and “anti-sprawl” growth controls hinge on the relative importance of time versus money in commuting costs.

Optimal Commodity Taxation When Land and Structures Must Be Taxed at the Same Rate

We show that the optimal property tax rate rises with the ratio of land rents to structure and land development costs. Californias high ratio of income to property tax revenue and the distribution of Federal housing subsidies thus appear geographically misplaced. Proportional taxation of non-housing commodities is not optimal, even when elasticities with respect to wages are identical. Absent externalities, the desirability of transportation taxes andanti-sprawl growth controls hinge on the relative importance of time versus money in commuting costs.Property Taxes, Henry George Theorem

Color terms and color concepts

In their lead articles, both Kowalski and Zimiles, 2006 and O’Hanlon and Roberson, 2006 declare a general relation between color term knowledge and the ability to conceptually represent color. Kowalski and Zimiles, in particular, argue for a priority for the conceptual representation in color term acquisition. The complexities of the interaction are taken up in the current commentary, especially with regard to the neuropsychological evidence. Data from aphasic patients also argue for a priority for abstract thought, but nevertheless it may still be that the use of color terms is the only way in which to form color categories even if both linguistic and attentional factors play an important role

Un Estudio Comparativo De La Ley Judaica Y La Ley Constitucional De Los Estados Unidos Sobre La Pena Capital

Desde 1966 a 1972, a pesar de estatutos permitiendo la pena capital en la mayoria de los estados, s6lo tres hombres fueron ejecutados en todos los Estados Unidos. Un observador objetivo habria citado esta tendencia como un pron6stico del abandono gradual de esta pena definitiva

A Comparative Study Of The Jewish And The United States Constitutional Law Of Capital Punishment

The Jewish view on the death penalty is that it should exist but it should never be used .... [lI]t is Governor Pataki\u27s job to ensure :order. But he must remember that as a leader he must exhibit attributes of both the father and the mother. Governor Pataki is a nice man. But if he acts on the death penalty, he will be the leader of a bloody governmen

Sex significantly influences transduction of murine liver by recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors through an androgen-dependent pathway.

A systematic evaluation of the influence of sex on transduction by recombinant adeno-associated viral vector (rAAV) indicated that transgene expression after liver-targeted delivery of vector particles was between 5- to 13-fold higher in male mice compared with female mice, irrespective of the proviral promoter or cDNA and mouse strain. Molecular analysis revealed that the rAAV genome was stably retained in male liver at levels that were 7-fold higher than those observed in females. Further, the sex difference in transduction was observed with AAV-2- and AAV-5-based vectors, which use distinct receptor complexes for infection. In concordance with the differences in AAV transduction, gel shift analysis with nuclear extracts derived from the liver of mice and humans revealed substantially higher binding of host nuclear protein to the rep-binding site (RBS) of AAV inverted terminal repeat (ITR) in males compared with females. Transduction efficiency and binding of nuclear protein to RBS was dramatically reduced in male mice by castration. In contrast, although oophorectomy did not significantly influence rAAV transduction, administration of 5alpha dihydrotestosterone, prior to gene transfer, increased stable hepatocyte gene transfer in females to levels observed in male mice, implying that androgens significantly influence hepatocyte gene transfer. Interestingly, sex did not have a significant effect on AAV gene transfer into nonhepatic tissue, indicating that there are distinct tissue- and sex-specific differences in the mechanisms responsible for efficient transduction with this vector. These results have significant implications for gene therapy of autosomal and acquired disorders affecting the liver

Annuities and Individual Welfare

This paper advances the theory of annuity demand. First, we derive sufficient conditions under which complete annuitization is optimal, showing that this well-known result holds true in a more general setting than in Yaari (1965). Specifically, when markets are complete, sufficient conditions need not impose exponential discounting, intertemporal separability or the expected utility axioms; nor need annuities be actuarially fair, nor longevity risk be the only source of consumption uncertainty. All that is required is that consumers have no bequest motive and that annuities pay a rate of return for survivors greater than those of otherwise matching conventional assets, net of administrative costs. Second, we show that full annuitization may not be optimal when markets are incomplete. Some annuitization is optimal as long as conventional asset markets are complete. The incompleteness of markets can lead to zero annuitization but the conditions on both annuity and bond markets are stringent. Third, we extend the simulation literature that calculates the utility gains from annuitization by considering consumers whose utility depends both on present consumption and a which they have become accustomed. The value of annuitization hinges critically on the size of the initial standard-of-living relative to wealth.