bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Examination of the Effect of Taxation as An Incentive in Revitalizing Urban Local Economic Development in Elizabeth, New Jersey
Authors: Beckett-Camarata Jane
Published: May 2024

This paper examines the relationship between business climate (tax incentives) and economic development in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Its purpose is to understand how the city uses taxation as an incentive in its local economic development policy to revitalize the city and to explore the policy implications for urban revitalization. the research consists of two parts: (1) analyses of qualitative data on business climate and (2) a face to face interview with the mayor. the findings have important policy implications because they provide evidence to support the bureaucratic decisions to pursue tax policies in economic development planning. the findings, consistent with prior research, suggest that (1) people, not jobs, are the driving force in economic development, and (2) economic revitalization may be less a function of the level of taxes in place and more a function of the proper mix of taxes and their relationship to economic development.
Dedicated Funding for Arts, Culture, and Science
Authors: Martell Christine R.
Published: May 2024

As funding for arts and culture has shifted increasingly to subnational governments, this article presents special tax districts as a funding option for local arts, cultural, and scientific organizations. It follows with discussion of the fiscal response of other funding sources, decision-making issues, and support building strategies. Experiences from a special tax district used to fund local arts and cultural organizations in the Denver metropolitan area illustrate the conceptual issues. the article concludes with lessons learned.
Creation and Successful Implementation of A New Budgeting-And Accounting-System in Germany, with Stress on Electronic Tools (1)
Authors: Gornas Juergen
Published: May 2024

A fundamental characteristic of the new German Budgeting and Accounting System (BAS) is the management process, which uses administration products as the basis. An important goal of monitoring and controlling is to guarantee the maintenance of the substance of the public infrastructure resources. to achieve this, the currently used cash resources concept will be extended to a total economic resources concept. Therefore the annual budget consists of two plans, a cash-based plan which registers cash receipts and payments and an accrual-based income plan which accounts for the revenues and expenses. This new BAS can develop its effectiveness for monitoring and controlling only by running Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. This is indispensable with regard to e-government applications.
Social Security beyond Pension Reform
Authors: Charlton Roger
Published: May 2024

This concluding essay expresses optimism over possibilities for the emergence of a new consensus on policies to address the needs of poor older people world-wide as a prioritized element within wider strategies both to close the global social security coverage gap and to reform the management and delivery of social protection. However, it tempers this optimism with caution over prospects for their easy implementation. This caution, in part, stems from the lasting implications of the pensions reform agenda pursued from the mid-1990s which undermined the principles and practice of state-managed contributory social security. Moreover, implementation of ambitious, but also urgently needed, social pension reform programmes designed to extend coverage radically by providing older people in even the poorest countries with small, but regular, cash incomes will not be automatic, and, given existing, well entrenched, donor approaches and arrangements, will require significant amounts of new donor money to be found. Since remedial programmes designed to address the global coverage crisis will be based on non-contributory principles, their adoption threatens further to marginalize already weakened contributory social security institutions. Particular care, therefore, needs to be taken to involve the Geneva institutions if the new era of pension reform is not to repeat the mistakes of its predecessor and, specifically, is to lead to the wider reform and strengthening of social security provision world-wide.
Voluntary Supplementary Health Insurance in Denmark
Authors: Pedersen Kjeld Møller
Published: May 2024

About 40% of the Danish adult population carry some kind of voluntary health insurance, far more than in the other Scandinavian countries. This somewhat paradoxical situation in a tax financed system with large free and equal access is analysed, both from the demand and the supply side. Based on a representative year 2000 survey the determinants of insurance coverage and the effects on utilization of holding VHI is analysed statistically. There are few statistically significant gradients distinguishing insured from non-insured. the theoretically expected effects of insurance are observed. on the supply side the widespread VHI, in particular those covering elective surgery, have not been sufficient to develop a sustainable and significant private for-profit hospital sector.
Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Mega Sporting Events: A General Equilibrium Assessment
Authors: Madden John R
Published: May 2024

This article employs a multiregional CGE model to examine the effects of a mega sporting event, the Sydney 2000 summer Olympics, on economic and financial variables within a single analytical framework. Simulations are conducted for three phases over a 12-year period. Careful attention is paid to the presence of constraints on labour supply and capital and on the sources of savings funding Olympic investments. Simulations are conducted under the assumption that no effects from the Games remain on the debt position of Australian governments or the nation's external debt five years after the Sydney Games. the results indicate that provided there is not too large a financial loss on the Games, inclusive of construction costs, that a modest positive impact on the state hosting the Games can occur. the degree to which this positive impact comes at the expense of other states depends crucially on assumed labour-market conditions.
Government Consumption Expenditures and the Current Account
Authors: Cavallo Michele
Published: May 2024

This paper focuses on the effects on the current account of changes to two distinct components of government consumption expenditures, expenditure on goods and expenditure on hours worked. I find that changes to government expenditure on hours do not directly affect the current account and that their effect is considerably smaller – one order of magnitude – than the effect of changes to government expenditure on goods. These findings indicate that considering government consumption as entirely expenditure on goods can lead to overestimating its role in accounting for movements in the current account balance.
Are Research and Development Tax Credits Effective? The Economic Impacts of A R&D Tax Credit in New Hampshire
Authors: Gittell Ross , Tebaldi Edinaldo
Published: May 2024

This paper uses detailed study of a proposed research and development (R&D) tax credit in one U.S. state, New Hampshire, to gain insight on an important public finance issue: the motivations for and the economic costs and benefits of R&D tax credits. the paper reviews the policy considerations and assesses the potential economic impacts of enacting a proposed R&D tax credit in New Hampshire in 2006. Policy analysis and formal economic modeling of the economic costs and benefits of alternative R&D tax credit policies are provided for New Hampshire. This includes estimates of the potential employment and personal income gains, changes in R&D investments, and tax revenue costs. the review of the state R&D tax credit policies and the New Hampshire modeling and simulations support the view that a R&D tax credit policy can have a positive impact on a state's R&D investments, employment and income growth. It also highlights, however, that the net fiscal effect can be negative and that the aggregate (national) welfare effects are not adequately considered and require further inquiry.
A Structural Analysis of Italy's Fiscal Policies after Joining the European Monetary Union: Are We Learning from Our Past?
Authors: Marino Maria Rosaria , Momigliano Sandro , Rizza Pietro
Published: May 2024

Italy's public finances improved dramatically in the period 1992–97, helping to secure participation in the European Monetary Union from the outset. There was considerable fiscal loosening in the years that followed, and the primary balance declined steadily from almost 7 per cent of GDP in 1997 to virtually zero in 2006. the paper examines the development of public finances from 1998 to 2006. the “structural” developments in the main budgetary components are assessed, excluding the effects of the economic cycle and of temporary measures. the analysis shows a rapid deterioration up to 2003, whose roots can be traced back to the consolidation of the early 1990s, achieved primarily by means of tax increases and cuts in capital expenditure. Since 2004 there has been a structural improvement, initially modest but substantial in 2006 Sustaining this adjustment and making further progress may again prove difficult, as the fiscal correction is similar in nature to the previous consolidation effort.
Symposium on Heterogeneity and Public Policy: Part 1
Authors: Winer Stanley L.
Published: May 2024

It is a cliché to observe that modern democratic states are composed of citizens with diverse interests. Yet it seems fair to say that the formal study of how heterogeneity in an electorate - of incomes, preferences, political influence and in other dimensions -plays a role in shaping the policies that emerge in competitive democratic equilibria is, if not in its infancy, still far from mature. the purpose of this symposium is to call attention to the importance of explicitly addressing the role of heterogeneity in theoretical and applied research on public policy and to contribute to this task.
The Distributive Implications of Indivisible Goods
Authors: Usher Dan
Published: May 2024

An indivisible good is an ideal type with interesting properties and strong implications about public policy. It is a good -such as a heart transplant or a treatment for AIDS - that must be consumed in a fixed amount or not at all. the community's demand curve for an indivisible good is a rotation of the distribution of income. Monopolization of ordinary goods can be expected to reduce everybody's consumption; monopolization of indivisible goods knocks out low-income consumers. Deadweight loss from monopolization has a distinct distributional aspect best captured in a utility-weighted measure. Indivisible goods are strong candidates for public provision and for the expropriation of patents.
Optimal Taxation and Environmental Policy in A Decentralized Economic Federation with Environmental and Labor Market Externalities
Authors: Sjögren Tomas
Published: May 2024

This paper concerns optimal taxation and environmental policy in the presence of transboundary environmental damage and labor market distortions, where the latter gives rise to wage bargaining externalities between countries. I consider a decentralized economic federation where the federal government chooses emission targets to be implemented by the national governments. The results show that the labor market externality will influence the target levels for emissions chosen by the central government. I then proceed to characterize the optimal tax policy at the national level. The decentralized federation structure produces incentives for the national governments to use the tax policy to influence the policies chosen by the federal level. It is shown how these objectives interact with the additional objective to minimize the distortion on the national labor market.
Fiscal Incentives, Maquiladoras, and Local Standard of Living in Mexico before and after Nafta
Authors: Huato Julio
Published: May 2024

This work finds that maquiladora activity exerts no robust net influence on various nonincome measures of standard of living in Mexico: literacy rate, school enrollment rates, basic housing amenities, life expectancy, infant mortality, and an overall index of human development. The maquiladora program, an array of tax benefits designed to foster foreign-owned in-bond for-export manufacturing plants, introduced in Mexico in the 1960s, experienced a remarkable expansion in the late 1990s. In the early 1990s, the program was used as a prototype of the fiscal incentives necessary to attract foreign investment, considered necessary to promote social development. Legislative changes and NAFTA provisions were modeled after it. Although small, the main data set is supplemented to control for the effects of non-maquiladora economic activity and prior growth. To account for possible endogeneity, maquiladora activity is instrumented with a measure of road transportation time to the nearest major border city in the United States. Robust OLS, IV-TSLS, and IV-GLS regressions are used to estimate the effects.
Procyclical State Spending in the Usa: The Impact of Political Ideology
Authors: Abbott Andrew , Jones Philip
Published: May 2024

Fiscal policy is procyclical when government expenditures and tax revenues increase during periods of economic growth and decrease during periods of economic slowdown. This paper estimates sub-central government spending and revenue cyclicality in the USA. The panel dataset comprises observations for 51 states from 1963 to 2006. The paper considers why some sub-central governments are more likely to spend procyclically. The first hypothesis is that differences in cyclicality across the states of the USA reflect differences in voters’ political ideologies. The second is that differences in cyclicality reflect differences in political networks. States are more likely to spend procyclically if the state governor is a Democrat. Ideology is relevant but the likelihood of procyclical spending is even higher if there is a coincidence between a Democratic state governor and Democratic president.
How Does Local Government Amalgamation Affect Spending? Evidence from Louisville, Kentucky
Authors: Faulk Dagney , Schaal Pamela , Taylor Charles D.
Published: May 2024

While local government consolidation (amalgamation) has a long history among U.S. cities and counties, few studies have provided a rigorous analysis of the impact of consolidation on spending. This article addresses this issue through analysis of the 2003 consolidation of Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA. We use financial data on the level and share of spending by function before and after the consolidation to examine changes in inflation adjusted spending. Total spending was variable after consolidation but generally higher than in the preconsolidation period. Per capita expenditures tended to be flatter. Several spending categories (general government and administration, inspections and permits, culture and recreation) increased around the time of the consolidation and then returned to the preconsolidation spending levels. Solid waste expenditures were relatively consistent over the entire period. Spending on public safety and public works increased and remained higher after consolidation. There were changes in spending priorities with public safety and public works experiencing substantial increases and the share of spending on general administration decreasing immediately following consolidation.
An Evaluation of the Connection between Economic Volatility and Governmental Savings Levels for Illinois, North Carolina, and Mississippi Counties
Authors: Stewart LaShonda M. , Phillips Jeremy N. , Modlin Steve
Published: May 2024

Local governments are continually facing challenges that can drastically influence savings levels and service provisions. From deteriorating fiscal environments to escalating internal costs, maintaining adequate undesignated revenue streams becomes increasingly difficult. The authors evaluate the connection between economic volatility and governmental savings levels. They find that volatility influences counties’ level of saving, but there are differences in how volatility in specific revenue sources affects the size of savings. The findings indicate that counties in Illinois, North Carolina, and Mississippi are able to save in accordance with evolving fiscal conditions. Volatility among various revenue streams, unemployment, and even ideology of the electorate all have significant influence on county fund balance levels. The authors conclude that savings increase with volatility and counties use their savings to fill budget gaps in times of fiscal stress.
Income Based Property Tax Relief: Circuit Breaker Tax Expenditures
Authors: Anderson John E.
Published: May 2024

This article provides an overview of the mechanisms used by states to provide income-based property tax relief, commonly called circuit-breakers. Based on the analogy to an electrical circuit breaker, these mechanisms provide property tax relief to overburdened taxpayers. The main advantage of such mechanisms, when compared to other forms of property tax relief such as blanket homestead exemptions, is that the tax relief is linked to income in some manner. In this way, circuit breakers provide targeted property tax relief. A wide variety of mechanisms are used by the 34 states with circuit breakers, so this article reviews the various types of circuit breaker features, including single threshold, multiple threshold, sliding scale and hybrid or quasi-circuit breakers being analyzed. Design features for each of these mechanisms are considered and evaluated. Issues in circuit breaker program administration are also considered. The benefits, costs, and distributional consequences of circuit breaker programs are reviewed with an eye toward program evaluation. Several design features are recommended based on this review and analysis of circuit breakers. Finally a case study of the Idaho quasi circuit breaker program analyzed in this article is an example of how a state can evaluate its property tax relief program.
The impact of Demand Factors on the Supply of Local Public Services in Estonian Municipalities
Authors: Reiljan Janno , Ülper Aivo , Puolokainen Tarmo
Published: May 2024

The goal of this paper is to model and assess the influence of demand-side factors on the supply of mixed local public services in Estonian municipalities.

Population size and structure, as well as income levels and employment structures of the residents of the municipalities, are considered the demand-side factors of mixed local public services in this study. The supply of these services are described through different types of budget expenditure per resident or service user, but also through the shares of different expenditure types in total expenditure in Estonian local governments budgets. The significance, direction and intensity of the influence of potential factors on supply of local mixed public services is identified using correlation analysis, principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis.

The results of the empirical analysis show many statistically significant relationships between demand-side factors and supply indicators, but only a small share of the differences between municipalities in terms of the level and structure of budget expenditures on mixed local public services is described through multiple regression models based on the principal components of demand-side factor sets. Consequently, the effectiveness of the supply of mixed local public services is not high and needs improvement in Estonian municipalities.
Estimating the Elasticity of Personal Income Tax to Gross Earnings from Income Tax Statements in Greece: Implications for Tax Buoyancy
Authors: Tagkalakis Athanasios O.
Published: May 2024

Using data from income tax statements aggregated at the regional level we estimate the elasticity of income tax to gross earnings over the period 2005–2010. Controlling for time and regional effects we find an elasticity of 2.45, which is 45% larger compared to earlier OECD studies. Relying on Girouard and Andre (2005) findings we translate this into an elasticity of income tax with respect to output gap, which ranges from 2.205–2.45, substantially above recent IMF estimates (see Belinga et al 2014). Based on this evidence, and the IMF estimations for the narrowing of the output gap in 2014–2016, we compute that the gains from PIT related buoyancy effects can range from 1653.1 million euro to 1845.6 million euro (or 0.87–0.97% of GDP) over the period 2014–2016, compared to the baseline scenario (of 1338.7 million or 0.70% of GDP) that relies on the OECD elasticities. However, the tax data at hand could underestimate the true elasticity of income tax relative to earnings and the gains from buoyancy that could be realized in future years in view of the fact that they do not reflect the dramatic changes that took place in the subsequent years (increase in tax burden on account of extraordinary taxes, abolition of tax exemption etc. that increased the progressivity of the tax system).
Post-Disaster Local Infrastructure Reconstruction Finance: A Comparative Analysis of Policy Intervention in the Japanese Earthquake and Queensland Flood Disasters
Authors: de Souza Simone V. , Kinoshita Yukio , Dollery Brian
Published: May 2024

While local infrastructure damage represents only one dimension of the catastrophic effects of natural disasters, given the critical role of local infrastructure - such as local roads, power supplies and water provision - in sustaining human life and enabling recovery, post-disaster infrastructure reconstruction constitutes a capstone in any disaster planning regime. This paper considers local infrastructure reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011 and the massive floods which struck Queensland over the summer of 2010/11 in order to identify common problems facing policymakers concerned with post-disaster reconstruction. It is argued that given the critical need to rapidly gather information on post-disaster damage, coordinate intergovernmental cooperation in reconstruction, and have in place the requisite administrative capacity to legitimately and speedily authorize intergovernmental transfers, an ongoing administrative structure should be established which can fulfil these key functions in the event of any natural disaster.
Taxing Choices for Ecnomic Growth with Social Justice and Environmental Protection in the People's Republic of China
Authors: Shah Anwar
Published: May 2024

This paper provides an analysis of the structure of existing taxes in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paper concludes that while the overall tax system is well structured, significant shortcomings remain especially to address concerns relating to growth with equity, environmental protection and having a sustainable system of local finances. Further the tax system must adapt to ever changing domestic and global economic environment to retain international competitiveness. Tax reform is also needed to deal with fallouts from unbridled growth such as environmental degradation, social exclusion, urban sprawl, food insecurity and widening vertical and horizontal income disparities. The paper provides pathways to the reform of central and local taxation that attempt to address the above challenges.
Government Expenditures and Equity of Opportunity in China
Authors: Guo Shen , Hu Hebo , Liu Lezheng , Yin Xundong
Published: May 2024

Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data, this paper explores the impacts of government expenditures on equity of opportunities in China by estimating intergen-erational income mobility in provinces with different size of government expenditures. We find that China's government expenditures, especially spending on education, health and social welfare can enhance intergenerational income mobility and therefore improve the equity of opportunity. In contrast, government spending on infrastructures has no significant impacts on intergenerational income mobility. This paper provides empirical support to the structural reform of government expenditures in China.
Merger Myths: A Functional Analysis of Scale Economies in New South Wales Local Government
Authors: Fahey Glenn , Drew Joseph , Dollery Brian
Published: May 2024

Structural reform through municipal mergers is ubiquitous across the developed world and Australian local government is no exception. Advocates of council consolidation, including the New South Wales (NSW) Government in its current amalgamation program, frequently contend that larger local government entities will generate cost savings through scale economies, despite the fact that different municipal functions exhibit a wide range of production characteristics. in the NSW case, no empirical evidence has been presented in support of the claim that amalgamation will induce greater economies of scale. in order to examine this claim empirically, we undertook a functional municipal expenditure analysis for NSW using 2014 data. Our results cast considerable doubt on the scale economies claim made by the NSW Government.
Consumers’ Behavioral Response to Sales Taxes on Food in Kansas
Authors: Srithongrung Arwiphawee
Published: May 2024

This study examines the effects of sales taxes on food in Kansas counties from 2012 to 2013. Sales taxes that include sales of food for at-home consumption may be more stable due to their low price elasticity of demand. However, border effects caused by tax rate differentials across jurisdictions may create significant revenue losses for local governments. This study improves the reliability of existing empirical results by calculating an index of the relative tax burden of a county and all surrounding counties. Unlike existing studies where dummy variables are used to indicate whether the adjacent county has lower tax rate, we employ a measure of relative tax burdens as an indicator of sales tax policy differentials. Empirically, we employ a difference estimator on panel data with corrections for heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation. Our results suggest that food sales in Kansas are sensitive to tax rate differentials.
Increasing Transparency through Compliance: Revisiting Local Government Audit Findings
Authors: Modlin Steve
Published: May 2024

The financial audit process continues to provide insight into the various activities associated with government service provision. Traditionally, the audit process has provided information about the financial position of the unit through an accurate presentation of financial records. Previous research has determined that even with an amalgamation of strict legislation through heavy state oversight and accounting standards, there continues to be a relationship between government characteristics and reporting occurrences. This study undertakes a reexamination of independent auditor findings in professionally administered county governments. Initial findings indicate a substantial decline in overall reporting problems, but an increase in compliance issues. Less experienced finance officers and elevated levels of budget allotments are among the factors that increase the probability of state citation issuance.
Local Responses to School Finance Equalization: Wealth Or Place?
Authors: Combs Alex , Foster John , Toma Eugenia F.
Published: May 2024

Over the past 50 years, a combination of court cases and legislative actions has greatly reduced the variance in revenues across school districts within states by removing local property tax as the major revenue source for schools. This paper examines a single state, Kentucky, over a long period of time to examine the extent to which localities can offset state efforts to remove property wealth as the basis of revenue disparities. the empirical results suggest that even in a state with a strong state education reform and constraints on revenues, the property wealth of localities continues to enter as a significant determinant of local contributions to education that exceeds to some degree the state efforts to offset inequality among districts. Indeed, wealth exhibits a stronger effect on revenues now than when the reform was introduced. Moreover, in Kentucky, the districts located in the Appalachian region of the state continue to contribute less own-source revenues not because of the property wealth differences but because of other “place-based” factors that cannot be captured in the data.
Do Environmental Shocks and Budgetary Constraints on Public Organizations Increase Employee Turnover?
Authors: Hayes Michael S.
Published: May 2024

Previous public management and organizational theory literature focuses primarily on the employee- and organizational-level characteristics that influence employee turnover. However, other potential determinants of employee turnover, such as factors external to the organization, are understudied. the current paper addresses this gap in the literature by examining the effect of the interaction between environmental shocks and budgetary constraints on employee turnover. Using a nationally representative teacher-level dataset, this paper tests the hypothesis that, after the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), teachers in states with binding tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) on school districts become more likely to turnover than their counterparts in other states. This paper finds evidence to support this hypothesis. Following the passage of NCLB, a teacher in a state with a binding TEL is 8.7 percentage points more likely to leave the teaching profession relative to all other teachers. This result is primarily driven by those teachers in states without a prior school accountability policy. Overall, this study adds to prior research on public employee turnover, TELs, and school accountability.
Impacts of Revenue Diversification and Revenue Elasticity on State Fiscal Health
Authors: Yan Wenli , Carr Douglas A.
Published: May 2024

Revenue diversification and elasticity of the revenue portfolio are important characteristics of a revenue structure. Using state financial data from 2007–2012, this study identifies the different impacts of revenue diversification and revenue portfolio elasticity on the fiscal health of US states. Fiscal health is measured by a comprehensive set of indicators including measures of revenue, expenditure, operating position, and debt. We find that during an economic downturn fiscal health is improved by revenue diversification but reduced by a more elastic revenue structure. Furthermore, the overall positive impact of revenue diversification outweighs the negative effect of revenue elasticity. Findings provide important guidance in designing a sound tax portfolio that generates adequate revenue while being able to withstand significant stress from business cycles.
Public Capital Budgeting and Management: The Concept and Its Application in Three Important Federations
Authors: Ermasova Natalia , Mikesell John L.
Published: May 2024

This paper reviews the literature on national government capital budgeting approaches, identifies the standard features expected to be found in such processes, and compares how the procedures are applied in three large and significant federations, the German Federal Republic, the Russian Federation, and the United States. the study uses a comparative case study approach to uncover contrasts, similarities, and patterns of capital budgeting in these countries. This paper examines infrastructure status and gaps and how capital budgeting procedures identified here can help resolve problems. the main finding is that effectively managing and budgeting capital expenditures are among the most pressing challenges to contemporary governments and the effort requires comprehensive and systematic planning, centralized execution and project management, and infrastructure maintenance.
Status Quo Bias in Municipal Bond Underwriter Selection
Authors: Dzigbede Komla D.
Published: May 2024

Status quo bias is the tendency to select a previously chosen alternative disproportionately often in decision-making. Selecting the status quo when the current state is not objectively superior to other available alternatives results in a suboptimal outcome. This article extends the concept of status quo bias to municipal debt issuance. It analyzes a specific behavioral decision-making situation involving a state government that repeatedly uses the same underwriting firm disproportionately often, even when use of the same underwriter continually returns higher interest costs. the article uses data on California state general obligation bonds and Monte Carlo simulation techniques to analyze several paths of interest costs that deviate from a hypothetical optimal outcome. the analysis offers useful insights for state government debt management in complex and evolving markets where, in some cases, repeated use of the same underwriting firm might result in continually higher interest costs and limit interest cost savings.
Summer (Somewhere) in the City
Authors: Bass Madeline Jaye
Published: May 2024

This (found) poem in three acts creates a conversation between Stuart Hall and Danez Smith, situated in the larger context of the long struggle for Black livingness. First comes the warning, descriptions of the violent now; HERE. Act II is a re-reading or re-writing of the secret codes of slavery and anti-Black violence, a play and exchange between realities and imaginaries, the tensions in Black social life; WHERE. The closing act insists that we dream of something different, a nod to a life Stuart Hall tried to write into existence, a life that his work is still writing; SOMEWHERE. By putting Stuart Hall in posthumous conversation with Danez Smith, I perform the kind of imaginary geographic maneuvering that characterizes Hall’s study, expanding the transatlantic and cross-generational capacity of cultural studies. Such a study, in a world where the African diaspora has been made commodity, is critical to the making of a world where Black(s) live(s) (matter).
Advances in Composite Biofilm Biomimetic Nanodrug Delivery Systems for Cancer Treatment
Authors: Meng Yanyan , Chen Shaoqing , Wang Cheli , Ni Xinye
Published: May 2024

Single biofilm biomimetic nanodrug delivery systems based on single cell membranes, such as erythrocytes and cancer cells, have immune evasion ability, good biocompatibility, prolonged blood circulation, and high tumor targeting. Because of the different characteristics and functions of each single cell membrane, more researchers are using various hybrid cell membranes according to their specific needs. This review focuses on several different types of biomimetic nanodrug-delivery systems based on composite biofilms and looks forward to the challenges and possible development directions of biomimetic nanodrug-delivery systems based on composite biofilms to provide reference and ideas for future research.
A Duoethnography on Disability and Allyship Within a Vision Science Doctoral Program: Perspectives on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility
Authors: Martiniello Natalina , Wittich Walter
Published: May 2024

People with visual impairments (those who are blind or who have low vision) continue to experience an unemployment rate of 70% or higher across all sectors but remain especially under-represented within higher education and the research ecosystem. Among the barriers emphasized by people with visual impairments are those related to accessibility and inclusion. It is within this socio-historical context that we began our interactions as a blind graduate student (Martiniello) and a sighted PhD. supervisor (Wittich) in the process of completing a doctoral program in vision science. Utilizing duoethnography as a methodological approach, we juxtapose two perspectives on a shared experience. Over a period of five years, we explored the ways in which our interactions as a trainee with lived experience and sighted ally have shaped our perspectives on disability inclusion in (and while doing) disability research and the role of allyship in the context of academia. We use examples from our lived experiences to illustrate the ways in which we negotiated the role of allyship throughout the research process, including the impact of accessibility and inclusion while completing a scoping review, semi-structured interviews and thematic content analysis. These collective experiences set the stage for new forms of advocacy and allyship to emerge. To the best of our knowledge, Dr Martiniello remains the first and only blind person to graduate in Canada with a PhD in Vision Science. Hopefully, she will not be the last.
Seasonal migration directs and facilitates gene flow in the Broad-tailed and Lucifer Sheartail Hummingbirds
Authors: Gutierrez-Toro Juan Camilo , Campos Mosos Héctor Anibal
Published: May 2024

Gene flow, the movement of genes between populations, profoundly influences genetic and phenotypic homogeneity among populations. This study investigates gene flow patterns in two migratory hummingbird species, Selasphorus platycercus and Calothorax lucifer, shedding light on the intricate interplay between migration, resource availability, and genetic diversity. Using previously published information on microsatellites, we examine the genetic makeup and the movement of genes within populations. Selasphorus platycercus displays distinct genetic groups which can be associated with its migratory behaviour. Gene flow analysis suggests a higher level of connectivity among populations sharing winter ranges. In contrast, Calothorax lucifer populations exhibit genetic divergence despite overlapping winter ranges, possibly due to environmental niche adaptation and limited reproductive opportunities for dispersing individuals. While geographical distance does not explain genetic differentiation in these species, environmental niche similarities appear to facilitate gene flow. This study underscores the significance of migratory routes, resource availability, and niche adaptation in shaping gene flow dynamics in hummingbirds. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for the conservation and management of these unique avian populations.
Importance of FDA-Integrated Continuous Glucose Monitors to Ensure Accuracy of Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Authors: Klonoff David C. , Gabbay Monica , Moon Sun Joon , Wilmot Emma G.
Published: May 2024

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has been shown to improve glycemic control and self-monitoring, as well as to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia. Integrated CGM (iCGM) FDA-cleared systems with published performance data are established nonadjunctive and accurate CGM tools that can directly inform decision-making in the treatment of diabetes (i.e., insulin dosing). Studies have assessed accuracy and safety data of CGMs that were eventually cleared for iCGM by the FDA and that informed the recommendation for their nonadjunctive use. Subsequent robust clinical trials and real-world studies demonstrated clinical effectiveness with improvements in a range of patient outcomes. In recent years, a number of non-iCGM-approved CGM devices have entered the market outside the United States worldwide. Some of these non-iCGM-approved CGM devices require additional user verification of blood glucose levels to be performed for making treatment decisions, termed adjunctive. Moreover, in many non-iCGM-approved CGM devices, accuracy studies published in peer-reviewed journals are scarce or have many limitations. Consequently, non-iCGM-approved CGM devices cannot be automatically perceived as having the same performance or quality standards than those approved for iCGM by the FDA. As a result, although these devices tend to cost less than iCGMs that carry FDA clearance and could therefore be attractive from the point of view of a health care payer, it must be emphasized that evaluation of costs should not be limited to the device (such as the usability preference that patients have for nonadjunctive sensors compared to adjunctive sensors) but to the wider value of the total benefit that the product provides to the patient.
Platform sub-imperialism
Authors: Seto Kenzo Soares
Published: May 2024

This commentary explores Brazil's role in Latin American platform capitalism, integrating Ruy Mauro Marini's theoretical framework with contemporary studies of platform capitalism. It examines the connections between Latin American platforms, overexploitation, and data accumulation, leading to the concept of platform sub-imperialism: The emergence of certain Southern countries as platform sub-imperialist powers, acting as regional centers of data and capital accumulation through the expansion of their platforms into neighboring countries. This positioning constitutes an intermediate state between hegemonic nations and “digital colonies” in the international division of platform labor, data accumulation, and technological dependency.
Open Access, Scholarly Communication, and Open Science in Psychology: An Overview for Researchers
Authors: Mullen Laura Bowering
Published: May 2024

Scholarly communication, Open Access (OA), and open science practices in Psychology are rapidly evolving. However, most published works that focus on scholarly communication issues do not target the specific discipline, and instead take a more “one size fits all” approach. When it comes to scholarly communication, research practices and traditions vary greatly across and within disciplines. This monograph presents a current overview that aims to cover Open Access (OA) and some of the newer open science-related issues that are affecting Psychology. Issues covered include topics around OA of all types, as well as other important scholarly communication-related issues such as the emergence of preprint options, the evolution of new peer review models, citation metrics, persistent identifiers, coauthorship conventions, field-specific OA megajournals, and other “gold” OA psychology journal options, the challenges of interdisciplinarity, and how authors are availing themselves of green and gold OA strategies or using scholarly networking sites such as ResearchGate. Included are discussions of open science strategies in Psychology such as reproducibility, replication, and research data management. This overview will allow psychology researchers to get up to speed on these expansive topics. Further study into researcher behavior in terms of scholarly communication in Psychology would create more understanding of existing culture as well as provide researchers with a more effective roadmap to the current landscape. As no other single work is known to provide a current look at scholarly communication topics that is specifically focused on Psychology, this targeted overview aims to partially fill that niche.
Restoring Functionality: Humeroradial Total Elbow Revision for Salvaging Total Elbow Arthroplasty Failure and Ulnar Bone Loss
Authors: Shepard Samuel , Mufarreh Naem A , Shine Samuel J , Bamberger H Brent
Published: May 2024

As the number of total elbow arthroplasty (TEA) continues to increase worldwide, one might predict the number of revision TEA would rise as well. The most common indications for revision TEA include (a) loosening, (b) infection, and (c) periprosthetic fracture. Although the rate of revision TEA procedures continues to rise due to the infrequency in which they are performed compared to other arthroplasty surgeries, no gold standard algorithm or procedure for managing severe ulnar bone loss in revision TEA has been determined. Various surgical techniques and strategies including allograft-prosthesis composite, custom long prosthesis with or without allograft, and resection arthroplasty have all been employed in attempting to address severe ulnar bone loss in revision TEA. Though the reported outcomes are mixed at best between each treatment strategy with similar complication rates. Another option is implanting the ulnar component into the radius. In those patients with severe ulnar bone loss, a humeroradial TEA revision can provide stability, restore range of motion, and provide pain relief.
The role of physical activity in animal-assisted interventions for autism: A systematic review
Authors: Sylvia Ann-Marie , Alhassan Sofiya , Potter Katie
Published: May 2024

Purpose: Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) may have therapeutic effects for autism. Physical activity (PA) has many established benefits for autism. AAIs appear to involve PA, which may drive some of their beneficial effects. The purpose of this review was to quantify the extent to which AAIs involve PA and to describe the PA dose. Methods: A systematic search was conducted for relevant articles published between January 2015 and May 2022. A total of 1,949 articles were identified with 38 articles eligible for inclusion. PA involvement and dose were determined by matching the intervention description to PA values in the Compendium of Physical Activities. Results: PA was involved in 31 of the studies. Animal species included horses ( n = 17), dogs ( n = 17), dolphins ( n = 3), and cats ( n = 1). All horse, 70% of dog and 67% of dolphin studies included PA. PA dose varied; however, horse and dolphin studies involved moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA and dog studies involved light-intensity PA. PA was assessed in only one study. Conclusion: AAIs for autism involve PA but are not designed as PA interventions nor is PA measured. AAIs could be designed as animal-assisted PA interventions to capitalize on the benefits of PA for both overall health and characteristics of autism.
What use is the concept of the digital? Embracing the retro
Authors: Beer David
Published: May 2024

Responding to this journal's inaugural editorial statement, this forum piece reflects on the ongoing usefulness of the concept of the digital itself. The digital as a term could be regarded to encapsulate too much of social life to be effective as an analytical point of reference. Beginning with the unstated evocations of the term, the article turns back to earlier work on digital sociology in an attempt to put this concept into context and to think about its value. It argues for embracing the digital's retro properties by reflecting on how it might be used to understand the relations between past, present and future. The article concludes by thinking about how potential issues with the term digital can be turned to the advantage of the researcher and also how a renewed agenda for research on digital society might yet be devised, especially in the pages of this new journal.