The price elasticity of charitable giving : does the form of tax relief matter?

This paper uses a survey-based approach to test alternative methods of channeling tax relief to donors – as a tax rebate for the donor or as a matched payment to the receiving charity. On accounting grounds these two are equivalent but, in line with earlier experimental studies, we find that gross donations are significantly more responsive to a match change than to a rebate change. We show that the difference can largely be explained by the fact that a majority of donors do not adjust their nominal donations in response to a change in subsidy. This evidence adds to the growing empirical literature suggesting that consumers may not react to tax changes. In the case of tax subsidies for donations, this has implications for policy design – for the UK a match-based system is likely to be more effective at increasing money going to charities

Designing of Gold Nanoprism-Based Reversible and Ultra-sensitive Molecular Sensors

poster abstractPhotoswitchable molecules have attracted a great deal of attention over the past few years in designing molecular machines. Among photoswitchable molecules, azobenzene is widely studied due to its transcis photoisomeration, which produces a simple structure and spectra, and is photo and electrochemically active. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties of the metal nanostructures in conjunction with the photswitching properties of the azobenzene molecules allow the nanoscale environment to be more controlled and to ultimately improve the sensing abilities of the metallic nanostructures. We have developed a method of constructing a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of azobenzene-containing alkanethiol molecules on the surface of chemically synthesized gold nanoprisms as molecular sensor. The reversible photoswiching properties of azobenzene were studied by monitoring the LSPR peak shift of gold nanoprisms by absorption spectroscopy. It was found that the substratebound gold nanoprisms functionalized with azobenzene alkanethiol molecules resulted in a ~30 nm LSPR peak red shift. The photoswitching behavior of the azobenzene molecules attached to the prisms was monitored after cycling exposure to UV and visible light. A ~12 nm LSPR blue shift was observed as the light exposure was switched from visible to UV light due to the trans to cis isomeration of the azobenze. The LSPR peak shift was found to be reversible as the light source was switched back and forth several times from UV to visible light. The reversible photoswitching of azobenzene-functionalized gold nanoprisms demonstrates their potential as ultra-sensitive molecular sensors for a broad range of applications from nanoelectrochemical systems to medicine

Employee Stock Options: A Standard Setting Saga

In this case, you will examine one of the most dramatic standard-setting sagas of our time: the setting of accounting standards related to employee stock options (ESOs). In particular, you will explore the important issues addressed by each standard, as well as the subsequent challenges that developed—which, in turn, led to the issuance of even more accounting guidance

“Just as Bad as Prisons”: The Challenge of Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline Through Teacher and Community Education

Drawing upon the authors’ experiences working in schools as teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and community members, this study utilizes a Critical Race Theory of education in examining the school-to-prison pipeline for black male students. In doing so, the authors highlight the particular role educators play in the school-to-prison pipeline, focusing particularly on how dispositions toward black males influence educator practices. Recommendations and future directions are provided on how education preparation programs can play a critical role in the transformation of black male schooling

Clouds in the Crystal Ball: Presidential Expectations and the Unpredictable Behavior of Supreme Court Appointees

This article will analyze the pitfalls that presidents face in hoping that their nominees\u27 judicial performance will comport with presidential expectations

Teamwork Training Needs Analysis for Long-Duration Exploration Missions

The success of future long-duration exploration missions (LDEMs) will be determined largely by the extent to which mission-critical personnel possess and effectively exercise essential teamwork competencies throughout the entire mission lifecycle (e.g., Galarza & Holland, 1999; Hysong, Galarza, & Holland, 2007; Noe, Dachner, Saxton, & Keeton, 2011). To ensure that such personnel develop and exercise these necessary teamwork competencies prior to and over the full course of future LDEMs, it is essential that a teamwork training curriculum be developed and put into place at NASA that is both 1) comprehensive, in that it targets all teamwork competencies critical for mission success and 2) structured around empirically-based best practices for enhancing teamwork training effectiveness. In response to this demand, the current teamwork-oriented training needs analysis (TNA) was initiated to 1) identify the teamwork training needs (i.e., essential teamwork-related competencies) of future LDEM crews, 2) identify critical gaps within NASAs current and future teamwork training curriculum (i.e., gaps in the competencies targeted and in the training practices utilized) that threaten to impact the success of future LDEMs, and to 3) identify a broad set of practical nonprescriptive recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of NASAs teamwork training curriculum in order to increase the probability of future LDEM success

Fever of Unknown Origin in the Elderly: Lymphoma Presenting as Vertebral Compression Fractures

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111209/1/j.1532-5415.1994.tb06080.x.pd