Ethnodevelopment within the Bolivian Aymara : a case study in Laja : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The Aymaran people have lived on the Andean altiplano between the valley where today's city of La Paz sits and Lake Titicaca for over 800 years. During that time they have been conquered by the Inca Kingdom, the Spanish Crown and the mestizo governors of the Republic of Bolivia. Despite this history of submission the Aymara have maintained their unique cultural identity strong and pure. Life on the altiplano has always been a challenge and today is no exception. Harsh weather conditions and isolation from mainstream Bolivian society have limited the possibility of economic development for the thousands of Aymaran communities spread across the altiplano. One such rural community is Laja, the original location of the city of La Paz, today home to an Aymaran population of 707. For decades, authors within the discipline of development studies have been seeking sustainable solutions for rural communities like Laja. The introduction of the theories of alternative development in the 1980s helped focus development studies on the issues that would truly impact on world poverty after the weaknesses of mainstream development theories became evident. Arising from the alternative development paradigm came the theory of ethnodevelopment. [From Introduction

Does It Pay, at the Margin, to Work and Save? -- Measuring Effective Marginal Taxes on Americans' Labor Supply and Saving

Building on Gokhale, Kotlikoff, and Sluchynsky's (2002) study of Americans' incentives to work full or part time, this paper uses ESPlanner, a life-cycle financial planning program, in conjunction with detailed modeling of transfer programs to determine a) total marginal net tax rates on current labor supply, b) total net marginal tax rates on life-cycle labor supply, c) total net marginal tax rates on saving, and d) the tax-arbitrage opportunities available from contributing to retirement accounts. In seeking to provide the most comprehensive analysis to date of fiscal incentives, the paper incorporates federal and state personal income taxes, the FICA payroll tax, federal and state corporate income taxes, federal and state sales and excise taxes, Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, Medicaid benefits, Foods Stamps, welfare (TAFCD) benefits, and other transfer program benefits. The paper offers four main takeaways. First, thanks to the incredible complexity of the U.S. fiscal system, it's impossible for anyone to understand her incentive to work, save, or contribute to retirement accounts absent highly advanced computer technology and software. Second, the U.S. fiscal system provides most households with very strong reasons to limit their labor supply and saving. Third, the system offers very high-income young and middle aged households as well as most older households tremendous opportunities to arbitrage the tax system by contributing to retirement accounts. Fourth, the patterns by age and income of marginal net tax rates on earnings, marginal net tax rates on saving, and tax-arbitrage opportunities can be summarized with one word -- bizarre.

Comparing Average and Marginal Tax Rates Under the FairTax and the Current System of Federal Taxation

This paper compares marginal and average tax rates on working and saving under our current federal tax system with those that would arise under a federal retail sales tax, specifically the FairTax. The FairTax would replace the personal income, corporate income, payroll, and estate and gift taxes with a 23 percent effective retail sales tax plus a progressive rebate. The 23 percent rate generates more revenue than the taxes it replaces, but the rebate's cost necessitates scaling back non-Social Security expenditures to their 2000 share of GDP. The FairTax's effective marginal tax on labor supply is 23 percent. Its effective marginal tax on saving is zero. In contrast, for the stylized working households considered here, current effective marginal labor taxes are higher or much higher than 23 percent. Take our stylized 45 year-old, married couple earning $35,000 per year with two children. Given their federal tax bracket, the claw-back of the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the FICA tax, their marginal tax is 47.6 percent. The FairTax imposes a zero marginal tax on saving meaning that reducing this year's consumption by a dollar permits one to increase the present value of future consumption by a dollar. In contrast, the existing federal tax system imposes very high marginal taxes on future consumption. For our stylized working households foregoing a dollar's consumption this year to uniformly raise consumption in all future years raises the present value of future consumption by only 45.8 to 77.4 cents, i.e., the effective marginal tax rates on uniformly raising future consumption via saving facing our households ranges from 22.6 percent to 54.2 percent. The FairTax also reduces most of our stylized households' remaining average lifetime tax rates - and, often, by a lot. Consider our stylized 30 year-old, single household earning$50,000. The household's average remaining lifetime tax rate under the current system is 21.1 percent. It's 16.2 percent under the FairTax.

(terre) me up

rigidity conforms mindless souls, mindless minds, mindless bodies

Facilitation of immigrant integration in Canada: Storytelling for educational understanding

ABSTRACT Facilitation of immigrant integration in Canada: Storytelling for educational understanding After a review of three doctoral dissertations examining the differential adaptation and acculturation of African youth and adult immigrants and refugees to Canada and the U.S.A., several important factors are identified: language, cultural heritage, community support, schooling and academic concerns, cultural identity, social relationships and gender. These same factors are also highlighted in the novels by Kim Thuy, telling through compelling vignettes the immigration and settlement story of a Vietnamese mother and her children as refugees in Canada. Contrasting the academic research approach to the storytelling approach, the thesis makes the case for using authentic storytelling by immigrants and refugees for a better educational understanding and positive facilitation of acculturation and adaptation. Five structured case studies/vignettes are then developed telling the stories of five different African immigrants to Canada and the United States. In order to enact this storytelling approach with different stakeholders a framework of seven domains of inclusion developed by Dei and McDermott is proposed: 1. Representation; 2. language; 3. Family, community school interface; 4. Co-operative education; 5. Equity and values education; 6. Indigenous/community/local cultural knowledges; 7. Spirituality and learning

Effect of melanocortin-1 receptor in the regulation of beta3-adrenoceptor agonist-induced BAT thermogenesis

Adipose tissue is comprised of brown and white adipose tissues. In particular, brown adipose tissues (BAT) or brown fat contain rich amount of beta3-adrenoceptors (β3AR) and they are regulated by sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Indeed, BAT contains unique protein called uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) that causes non-shivering thermogenesis via mitochondrial uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation respiratory chain. Central melanocortin system (CMS) that involves melanocortin-3 and melanocortin-4 receptors regulates energy intake and energy expenditure (EE). CMSmediated EE occurs through the involvement of BAT. It is known that defective CMS signaling produces obese phenotype because of altered CMS action in EE. Preliminary work from my research group has found the similar kind of EE alteration and obese characteristics in melanocortin-1 receptor deficient (MC1Re/e) mice. The aim of the present experiment centers on finding if this defective EE in MC1Re/e mice is occurring via BAT thermogenesis. Using mutant yellow MC1Re/e mice and wild type C57BL/6 mice, β3AR agonist CL-316243 was administered intraperitoneally to induce BAT thermogenesis. Infrared thermography (IRT) technique was used to measure the temperatures of interscapular area overlying BAT and lower body (LB) area that is devoid of BAT. Results showed no significant difference between WT and MC1Re/e mice in terms of induced BAT temperature increment suggesting that defective MC1R responsible for reduced EE and increased adiposity is not associated with BAT thermogenic activity. However, small notable variance in temperature difference of BAT and LB between the genotypes implicated the possible role of MC1R in BAT-originated heat transmission across the body via impaired vasodilatation

Impact of a 'vegetables first' approach to complementary feeding on later intake and liking of vegetables in infants : a randomised controlled trial : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Nutritional Science at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Figures are reused with permission, or under a Creative Commons licence.Background: Most children worldwide do not meet vegetable intake recommendations, which has implications for health, including an increased risk of obesity and chronic diseases later in life. A ‘vegetables first’ approach to complementary feeding has emerged as a promising strategy to promote vegetable consumption in children. This approach prioritises vegetables as first foods, capitalising on young infants’ willingness to try new foods and establish food preferences that comprise healthy eating. While some authorities have started to encourage the introduction of vegetables first, more longitudinal randomised, controlled studies are needed to strengthen the evidence-base. In addition, there is a concern that a focus on vegetables as first foods may negatively impact infant iron status, which needs to be addressed. Aims and objectives: The overall aim of this study was to determine whether exposure to vegetables-only during the first four weeks of complementary feeding increases later vegetable intake and liking, compared to a control group which includes both fruit and vegetables. The primary objective was to examine whether providing vegetable-only first foods results in higher intake of vegetables at 9 months of age, compared to a control. Secondary objectives were to examine infants’ acceptance of vegetable-only first foods, to assess whether intervention effects are maintained at 12 months of age, and to describe the iron status of infants who had participated in the trial. Methods/Design: In this longitudinal randomised, controlled, parallel-group study, 117 Auckland mother-infant dyads, received either vegetables-only (veg-only, n = 61) or a combination of fruit and vegetables (control, n = 56) for a duration of four weeks, starting from the first day of complementary feeding at around 4–6 months of age. At 9 months of age all infants were offered target vegetables at home: broccoli (day 1), spinach (day 2) and pear (day 3). At 12 months of age, mothers completed infant feeding questionnaires only. The primary outcome measure was intake (grams) of vegetables at 9 months of age. Additional food acceptance variables were mother-rated liking (5-point Likert scale), frequency of positive/negative behaviours (%), rate of eating (grams/min), rate of acceptance (video coding) and daily intake/preferences of fruit and vegetables (food frequency/liking questionnaires). Infants’ iron status (n = 75) was assessed at baseline, post-intervention and 9 months of age via capillary blood samples. Independent t-tests and Mann-Whitney tests were performed for the primary analysis. Demographic data was collected at baseline via an online questionnaire, and written consent obtained from all participants. Results: Of those who completed the 4-week intervention, 108 (92 %) provided intake data needed for the primary analysis at 9 months of age (veg-only, n = 56; controls, n = 52). Most (> 90 %) mothers had a university qualification or higher and were European ethnicity with adequate access to food. Intake of the target vegetables at 9 months was significantly higher among veg-only infants than controls: median (25th, 75th percentile) for broccoli was 47.0 (27.0, 72.0) vs 30.0 (16.0, 62.0) grams, P = 0.024, respectively; spinach was 37.0 (19.0, 55.0) vs 24.0 (12.0, 41.0) grams, P = 0.028, respectively. Daily vegetable intake was also significantly higher: veg-only group, 86.3 (52.5, 146.3) grams vs controls 67.5 (37.5, 101.3) grams, P = 0.042. Veg-only infants consumed the target vegetables at a faster rate (broccoli, P < 0.001; spinach, P = 0.004) and showed greater acceptance than controls (all target vegetables P = 0.018). Fruit intake (target and daily) was similar, as were all other acceptance variables. At 12 months of age (n = 107), these effects were maintained as daily vegetable intake was 20 % higher in the veg-only group, than controls (P = 0.021); daily fruit intake and liking of vegetables and fruit remained similar. With respect to secondary outcomes, intake, rate of eating and liking of the study foods during the 4-week intervention were similar between groups and increased significantly between week one and four (all P < 0.001). Frequency of negative behaviours in response to study foods in both groups significantly decreased over time (both P < 0.001) while positive behaviours did not change (veg-only P = 0.07; control P = 0.147). In terms of iron status, most were iron sufficient at baseline (93 %) and at 9 months of age (92 %). Conclusion: Providing vegetables as first foods increased vegetable intake at 9 months of age, and may be an effective strategy for improving child vegetable consumption and developing a preference for vegetables in infancy. Meanwhile, vegetable-only first foods were well-accepted and iron status maintained, which may be of encouragement to parents. However, given limited generalisability, more research investigating ways to support families in feeding vegetables as first foods at a population level is warranted

Grasping the Void: Immersion Tactics Using Gesture Controlled Physics Interaction Systems in Virtual Reality

This thesis uses the HTC Vive in Unity to compare two different types of object interaction systems in order to determine the effectiveness of physics based interaction systems in a virtual environment. The research problem that motivates this project is the fact that there is no standardized method for defining successful object interaction techniques in VR. There are numerous interaction techniques in VR that fall short of simulating realistic object interaction. This project explores a physics based interaction system and examines how effective it is by comparing it to a non-physics based system. A model house with various interactable objects is created to compare the two interaction systems. The first system, the naive interaction system, parents an object to the controller model, allowing the user to pick up and throw things in a very simple fashion. This system is compared to a physics based Newtonian system that takes into account mass and velocity during object interactions. The Newtonian system promotes a much deeper sense of immersion for a user due to how accurately the system simulates real life physical interactions. It is clear that creating a high level of mental and physical presence is crucial for a VR experience. Object interaction systems are an integral component of a VR experience that directly contribute to the realism and levels of virtual presence that a user achieves within a virtual environment. The results of this project conclude that physics based interaction systems provide levels of realism and immersion that the naive systems currently cannot achieve The results of this project are beneficial because they demonstrate the positive impact physics based interaction systems have on a VR experience and the need for improved physics systems for the future of VR development

Internet and the Efficiency of Decentralized Markets: Evidence from Automobiles

We estimate the causal effect of Internet on volume of trade in a major distributed marketplace. From 1997 to 2007, a period during which residential Internet use tripled, Internet increased the volume of used cars traded in California by 7.2 percent. This implies a substantial welfare gain due to reductions in market frictions of approximately $43 million per year relative to 1997 Internet penetration levels. These gains are likely attributable to search and matching cost reductions and increased symmetry of information availability across buyers and sellers. Intriguingly, the effect is stronger in thick markets and urban areas, implying that Internet may help to diminish choice overload. Our results suggest that policies promoting broadband Internet deployment may enhance efficiency