Collapse

Through large sculptural works that are often caricatures of representational objects, my work explores the complicated moments and tangled histories of childhood Jewish schooling in Winnipeg and travels to Israel and Palestine as an adult. My thesis exhibition Collapse, as well as most of my graduate work, examines my investigation through manmade constructions that control and restrict or unite and connect the movement of others. Sculptures about a destroyed bridge’s imagined longing for exotic places, a giant onion serving as a resuscitation mechanism against tear gas or a construction crane to Armageddon are some examples of work that explore the poetry I find in dichotomies, and serve as a series of recollections that negotiate experiences beyond full understanding

How Qualitative Research Changed Me: A Narrative of Personal Growth

This piece recounts personal changes I underwent while collecting data for my dissertation. Stemming from my own personal experiences of anomie and feelings of not belonging to the languages and cultures of either Canada or Israel , this inquiry examined the collusion of my attitudes with the attitudes of advanced Hebrew learners of diverse backgrounds and beliefs in a Canadian undergraduate university class. As the themes of claims and ownership of the Hebrew language emerged between clashing sub-groups in the classroom, I examined my own biases and stereotypes regarding language, and ultimately grew into a peaceful acceptance of my position between languages and cultures

The Taxation of Family Religious Orders

Some promoters have reportedly claimed that individuals may avoid income taxes without changing their life styles in any manner by using a kit available at a substantial price to form and utilize a “family religious order,” i.e., a religious order consisting of an individual and his immediate family; the individual directs the order as its minister. In accord with a “vow of poverty” the family members assign all their assets, income, and the use of their personal services to the family religious order. In return, the family religious order provides the family members with all their former living expenses, including the rent-free use of their former home and possible “spiritual retreats” to traditional vacation areas. The only creed that members of the religious order must adhere to is the U.S. Constitution; moreover, the members of the order may continue to belong to and exercise the precepts of any traditional religion. The success of this scheme presupposes the validity of three propositions: first, the income payed by third parties for the use of the individual’s services and property will be considered earnings of the religious order rather than the individual; second, the family religious order, a religious organization, is not subject to income taxes; and third, any payments that the religious order makes to its members, particularly its minister, will not be subject to income taxes. Each of these propositions is, to say the least, quite dubious. Aside from a religious veneer for the purported recipient of the individual\u27s income, family religious orders are very similar to family estate trusts. Individuals also assign all their assets, income and the use of their services to a controlled entity, a trust whose trustees and beneficiaries are the individual and his immediate family. The trust purportedly compensates the individual for the use of his services by permitting him and his family to continue to enjoy their prior life style, but this compensation is a tax-free benefit for the individual and deductible by the trust. Although the Internal Revenue Service (hereinafter designated as the “IRS”) has become so concerned about the tax evasion possibilities of family religious orders, that it recently added an audit procedure for examining returns associated with such organizations, it has not issued a single ruling targeted specifically at family religious orders. By contrast, the IRS has issued numerous rulings targeted at family estate trusts. The IRS has, however, recently issued many rulings to the effect that compensation paid by third parties for the use of services of a member of a religious order, whether or not the order is a family religious order, is usually includable in the member\u27s gross income, if an employer-employee relationship exists between a third party and the member. This policy is contrary to traditional tax principles, and it is causing many members of traditional religious orders, who are assigned to positions outside their order\u27s church, such as military or prison chaplains, to face improper challenges of their tax returns. Moreover, such policies provide IRS examiners with no guidance regarding the treatment of the self-employed who try to evade taxes by means of family religious orders

Rectal Microbicides: Investments and Advocacy

The first-ever report tracking rectal microbicide research and development expenditures, was released on April 24 by the International Rectal Microbicide Working Group (IRMWG) at a special symposium titled "Rectal Microbicides - A New Frontier in HIV Prevention" at the Microbicides 2006 conference in Cape Town, South Africa."This important document describes the current landscape of rectal microbicide research and helps define what resources will be needed to develop a safe and effective rectal microbicide," said one of the field's chief researchers and a key organizer of the symposium, Dr. Ian McGowan of the Center for Prevention Research at the UCLA AIDS Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine.Similar to a vaginal microbicide, a rectal microbicide may be formulated as a gel, cream or lubricant and would provide protection against HIV and other STDs in the absence of a condom during anal intercourse. Studies show that up to 30% of the heterosexual population in many cultures engages in anal intercourse, making the development of a safe, effective rectal microbicide a desperately needed new prevention option for women, males who have sex with males, and gay men around the world."At any given moment, more heterosexual women than gay men are engaging in anal intercourse," said Anna Forbes, Global North Programs Coordinator for the Global Campaign for Microbicides. "A receptive sex partner is a receptive sex partner. We need rectal microbicides, just as we need vaginal microbicides, to help receptive sex partners save their own lives."According to the report, funding for rectal microbicide research totaled US$34 million between 2000 and 2006, an increase from US$2 million in 2000. The U.S. public sector, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH),contributed 97.4% of these funds. Philanthropic funding totaled US$739,649 between 2000 and 2006, accounting for approximately 2.2$350 million over 10-15 years, for an average of US$35 million per year, to build a comprehensive rectal microbicide research program." Recommendations for researchers include recruiting new scientists to the field and promoting rectal microbicide research within the scientific community. Advocates must "promote global, national and regional surveillance efforts to determine the percentage of HIV infection attributed to anal intercourse in order to better assess the need for rectal microbicide development," says the report