Depreciation of Intangibles: An Area of the Tax Law in Need of Change

Under tax law in 1993, depreciation of many purchased intangibles was denied on the theory that they have an unlimited, or at least indeterminate life. However, many taxpayers challenged this theory on the ground that intangibles are subject to wear and tear like any other asset. This Comment argues that the imprecise factual nature of this issue has led to unnecessary complexity and uncertainty, a great burden on the courts, and unfair treatment of taxpayers. The Comment analyzes justifications for the depreciation of goodwill and other intangibles in the nature of goodwill. It examines possible solutions to these problems with a view toward significantly reducing the inequity and controversy, and recommends a legislative solution

Males\u27 and Females\u27 Attitudes Toward a Prospective Social Group Member with a History of Mental Illness

Attitudes of male and female subjects toward a prospective social group member who did/did not have a history of mental illness were investigated. The cognitive, behavioral and affective components of subjects\u27 attitudes were measured. Results from the cognitive measure indicated that: 1) Subjects in the experimental condition perceived the confederate less positively on personal characteristics indicative of moral character. 2) Male subjects perceived the confederate as more dependable when she had a history of mental illness, while female subjects perceived her as less dependable when she disclosed history of mental illness. On the behavioral and affective component measures, there were no significant differences between the groups

Quantifying Near-Bank Turbulence Through a Storm Event

Sediment is a leading cause of water quality impairment for streams and rivers. Streambank erosion is a dominant source contributing to sediment pollution and there is a growing need for adopting management practices to reduce it. Bank retreat occurs from a combination of fluvial erosion, subaerial processes, and mass failure. Fluvial entrainment, initiated by near-boundary turbulence, is one of the main drivers of streambank retreat as it leads to unstable streambank geometries. This research characterized the turbulent structure of flow near the toe of a streambank throughout a storm event, at times of high shear stress. The specific objectives included designing and building a field mount to support in-stream velocimeters during high flow events, quantifying the distribution of Reynolds stresses and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) through a storm hydrograph, and identifying the relationship between hydraulic radius and turbulent stresses.;Three-dimensional velocity was measured using a Sontek 16-MHz ADV (Field) and two-dimensional velocity was measured using a Sontek SL3000 (ADCP) at baseflow and through a storm hydrograph at an experimental cross-section (West Run in Morgantown, WV). Velocity was measured (2 min sample time at 25 Hz) and stream stage was recorded every seven minutes with the ADV throughout a 17 hour storm event. One time-averaged velocity measurement (5 min sample time, 1 Hz) and stream stage were recorded continuously throughout an 8 hour storm event using the ADCP. Physical stability was monitored by measuring channel geometry, grain roughness, and vegetation parameters (i.e. location, size, and density) before and after each storm event. Reynolds stresses, turbulent kinetic energy, and turbulence intensities were calculated for each velocity time series, resulting in a time distribution of shear stress and turbulence characteristics.;This research resulted in the development of methods for ADV and ADCP deployment throughout storm events, including the use of two custom fabricated mounts. The study also found that TKE increased with an increase in stage height, while Reynolds stresses indicated no linear trend. Applied shear stress estimated by average boundary shear stress was found to be roughly 18 to 43 times greater than applied shear stress estimated by turbulence statistics, which may alter the ability of models to predict erosion depending on the method used. Finally, a comparison of the ADV and ADCP indicated that the ADV shows higher potential for obtaining near-bank velocity measurements and estimating local applied shear stress. Ultimately, these results will provide information on current instrumentation and methods used in the field and will provide information on the distribution of streambank erosion potential throughout storm events

A Most Disgraceful, Sordid,Disreputable, Drunken Brawl : Paul Cadmus and the Politics of Queerness in the Early Twentieth Century

This paper examines the work of Paul Cadmus from 1930 to 1948. Over the span of nearly three decades, Cadmus\u27s art evolved from covert depictions of queer culture to an explicit depiction of the politics of queerness in immediate postwar America. Cadmus’s legacy is unique because his art documents the shifting conceptualizations of gender and sexuality in the first half of the twentieth century. He is also notable because he so masterfully maneuvered the liminal space between private and public, painting subversive images immersed in covert queerness early in his career and later using queer art as a tool of political commentary

The Loving Analogy: Race and the Early Same-Sex Marriage Debate

In the early same-sex marriage debates advocates and opponents of marriage equality often relied upon comparing mixed-race marriage jurisprudence and the Loving v Virginia decision in order to conceptualize same-sex marriage cases. Liberal commentators relied upon the analogy between the Loving decision in order to carve out space for the protection of same-sex marriage rights. Conservative scholars, however, denounced the equal protection and due process claims that relied on the sameness of race and sexuality as inexact parallels. Finally, queer and black radicals called the goal of marriage equality into question by highlighting the white supremacist and heterosexist nature of marriage as an institution. By examining the arguments put forth by liberal scholars, conservative commentators, and black queer radicals, this paper explores the sociolegal effects of the analogy. Though effective in front of the bar, culminating in the Obergefell decision in 2015, the Loving analogy proved contentious in bot the legal and social spheres

Employee voice and the ambiguity of organisational size: a comparative case study of employee voice mechanisms and practices used by a multinational engineering company and one of their suppliers in each of their manufacturing operations including how their respective degrees of employee voice influence productivity, product quality and health and safety issues

This thesis compares the level of employee voice operating between two companies from the same industrial sector, one being a large multinational and the other a SME with a view to evaluate if size is a determinant. The findings are that whilst the level of voice is not statistically significantly associated with size and is not very different between the two organisations, size is not the direct determinant, it is other factors often connected with size that control it; namely the degree of formality and proceduralism. The very procedural nature of the organisation in the multinational appears to be a key factor retarding the involvement by employees whilst in the SME it is the lack of procedures designed to encourage participation which appears to be a factor retarding employee voice. Furthermore, both companies suffer from an absence of direct involvement of shop floor personnel due to the absence of team meetings, for differing reasons; a lack of confidence in the ability of team leaders in the SME and the lack of their permanent allocation to teams in the MNE. It is stressed that these findings can only be assumed correct for these two particular companies but the research strategy could usefully be applied to other pairs of company differing in size but from different sectors and using longitudinal studies, rather than this type of cross-sectional study. There is however a warning that before any useful data can be accumulated regarding productivity and other operational outcomes, meaningful measures of potential outcomes must be in place or designed and agreement on how any such operational improvements are to be attributed to the level of employee voice and engagement by employees