CSR, tax and development

This article explores and critically examines the connections between tax and development on the one hand and tax and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the other. It does so because, while there is increasing recognition of the importance of taxation to efforts to resource the state and to finance ways of tackling poverty, there is a surprising lack of attention to tax avoidance and evasion as a CSR issue for transnational corporations operating in the South, even among those companies that pride themselves on being CSR leaders. We review evidence of these trends, provide an empirical analysis of how leading firms deal with tax in their corporate reporting and make the case for including taxation as a new frontier in progressive CSR

The Distribution of Income by Sectors of the Population

I interpret the 'distribution of income by sectors of the population' to refer to the personal distribution of income, with evidence about it derived from household surveys. Section 1 outlines the links between the personal and factor income distributions, and includes a discussion of research using National Accounts data to check the quality of household survey income data. Section 2 provides a number of breakdowns of the personal income distribution in Britain using a variety of methods and subgroup types (including age, family type, housing tenure, and economic status). Section 3 draws attention to longitudinal issues - how much individuals' incomes and subgroup membership changes between one year and the next, and the links between them. Section 4 provides a summary and concluding remarks.

Inequality and the GB2 income distribution

The generalized entropy class of inequality indices is derived for Generalized Beta of the Second Kind (GB2) income distributions, thereby providing a full range of topsensitive and bottom-sensitive measures. An examination of British income inequality in 1994/95 and 2004/05 illustrates the analysis.inequality, generalized entropy indices, generalized Beta of the second kind distribution, GB2 distribution, Singh-Maddala distribution, Dagum distribution

Review of Maximum Likelihood Estimation with Stata by Gould, Pitblado, and Sribney

The new book by Gould, Pitblado, and Sribney (2003) is reviewed. Copyright 2003 by StataCorp LP.maximum likelihood, Stata programming

Is the Value Added Tax Naturally Progressive?

A broad based consumption tax, such as a value added tax, is generally considered to be a regressive tax. This conclusion, however, has not taken into account the fact that in developing countries the commodities on which poor households spend most of their income, even if they are included in the legal tax base, are administratively impractical to tax. This paper employs a rich data set on household incomes and expenditures for the Dominican Republic. The data set covers 2042 goods and services purchased by households of different income and consumption levels. It also contains information on the type of establishment from which the items were purchased. With this information, we estimate the effective rate of tax that has been paid on each item purchased by households. These estimations include the effect of the different rates of the tax compliance across households with different expenditure levels. The results of the study show that the burden of the current VAT in the Dominican Republic is progressive over all the quintiles of household expenditure. Furthermore, if the base of the VAT is made comprehensive, the estimated incidence of the burden of the VAT is still progressive over all the quintiles of household expenditure.Value Added Tax, incidence, compliance

Flat device for heat concentration or dispersion

Device provides low-cost unit for efficiently transferring heat between, either to or from, flat surface and central point or region. It is based upon vapor heat transfer principle and therefore, extends applicability of heat pipe

Dendritic cells activated with products released by schistosome larvae drive Th2-type immune responses, which can be inhibited by manipulation of CD40 costimulation

The early immune events in response to infective larvae of the parasitic helminth Schistosoma mansoni are poorly understood, but here for the first time we report on the potential of products released by schistosome larvae (material released in the first 3 It after transformation [0-3hRP]) to stimulate the maturation of dendritic cells (DC) and alter their T-cell-polarizing function. This was performed in comparison with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and zymosan A, which classically activate DC to prime for Th1- and Th2-type responses, respectively. In our study, immature bone marrow-derived DC stimulated in vitro with 0-3hRP exhibited up-regulated expression of major histocompatibility complex class II, CD40, and CD86 and increased production of interleukin 12p40 (IL-12p40) and IL-6, albeit at lower levels than in response to LPS or zymosan A. Using an in vitro ovalbumin peptide-restricted priming assay, DC matured with 0-3hRP exhibited a potent capacity to drive Th2 polarization of CD4(+) cells from DO11.10 transgenic mice. This was characterized by increased IL-4 production (but not gamma interferon) of a magnitude similar to that primed by DC matured with zymosan A. Inoculation of DO11.10 mice with 0-3hRP-activated DC pulsed with ovalbumin peptide also led to the development of a Th2-type polarized response in the skin-draining lymph nodes and spleen. However, ligation of CD40 on DC by anti-CD40 antibody treatment reversed the ability of 0-3hRP-activated DC to prime for Th2-type responses and instead caused the induction of a more Th1-type response

“What is my story?”: older people re-framing their lives through digital storytelling. An ethnographic approach

This study sets out to explore the use of digital storytelling with older people in community settings and residential care homes. It seeks to understand how older people experience and engage with the process of digital storytelling and explore how this facilitates the telling of stories from lived experience. The need for the study flows from an earlier EU-funded project, using digital storytelling with older people to bridge the digital divide. Literature discussing digital storytelling and its application within the contexts of health, education and community engagement are discussed as well as key debates concerning voice and listening. The potential for digital storytelling within narrative research and humanistic gerontology is also explored. Ethnography was considered the most suitable methodology for the project, resonating with the underlying ethos of digital storytelling and my own practice. A chapter is dedicated to close examination of the digital storytelling process, presenting the ‘classic’ model, discussing its merits and challenges in using with older people. Adaptations made during fieldwork to enable people who had cognitive or physical impairments to participate are presented. These were important developments, to remove barriers and not deny them the opportunity of voicing and being listened to. Analysis of the stories produced revealed themes concerned with identity and its loss, rituals and attitudes for life, work and gender, glimpses into harsh childhoods and the relationship between nation macro stories and individual micro stories. A thematic analysis drawn from semi-structured group interviews discusses the process as a means to develop empathy, improve confidence and self-esteem, increase understanding of others and provide the space for voicing and deep listening. The study concludes with a discussion on the affinity between humanistic gerontology and digital storytelling, proposing a collaborative approach to developing a significant body of work within the field of ageing studies, using digital storytelling and placing older people at the centre