Caracci and the valuation of exempt organizations

In Caracci v. Commissioner, the Internal Revenue Service faced an important test in its application of Excess Benefit Taxes to disqualified persons of a nonprofit corporation that converted to for-profit status. This Article, written by the taxpayers' valuation expert, details the difficulties in the IRS case and demonstrates the reasons for the Fifth Circuit's reversal of the Tax Court's judgment in favor of the IRS. The author concludes with a number of lessons that taxpayers can take from Caracci.     

Namibia's national assembly and presidential elections 2009: Did democracy win?

National Assembly and presidential elections were held in Namibia on 27 and 28 November 2009. The former liberation movement South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) once again secured an overwhelming majority of votes, which consolidated its de facto one-party rule. But the build up to these elections, the contestation by a newly established party and the disputed election results indicated a growing polarisation and a totalitarian tendency, which dents the positive image hitherto associated with Namibian democracy. This election analysis summarises features before, during and after the elections and puts the voting results into a party political context.     

Richard Rorty und die Reanimation des Pragmatismus im „Zeitalter der Komposition“

In recent years, pragmatism is experiencing a renaissance. Classic authors like George Herbert Mead, William James or John Dewey are entering sociological discussions and neopragmatistic approaches as the actor-network theory or the sociology of conventions are gaining influence. But under what social circumstances is the reanimation of pragmatism happening and what analytical use do pragmatistic tools have? In order to answer this research question the article develops a general model of social order that distinguishes between the states of collision, composition, institution and deconstruction. On this basis, a social diagnosis is articulated, making the currency of the pragmatistic vocabulary understandable. It appears that pragmatism is focused on experimental, creative and hybrid processes of becoming that are typical for the current age of composition. With the help of the often neglected Richard Rorty, the added value of a pragmatistically-informed sociology is shown in an exemplary manner. Therefore, Rorty is introduced as an integrating figure of pragmatistic ideas, from which important impulses for a Darwinian, relational, symmetrical and ironically-engaged sociology could exert.     

The effects of attorney presentation style,attorney gender,and juror gender on juror decisions

Extralegal characteristics of attorneys may play a significant role in the decision-making behavior of jurors. Presentation style, for example, is one factor to which trial lawyers pay a great deal of attention. However, a given style of speech may not be perceived equivalently when used by different speakers. The present study examined the effects of the defense attorney's presentation style and gender, and juror gender on jurors' verdicts and evaluation of the attorney and witness. Undergraduate college students read a brief summary of an assault-and-robbery case, viewed a videotape of either a passive or aggressive male or female attorney interrogating a witness, then rendered a verdict and rated the witness and attorney on characteristics such as competency, credibility, and assertiveness. The results indicated that, overall, aggressive attorneys were more successful at obtaining an acquittal for their clients than passive attorneys, and that male attorneys were more successful than female attorneys; presentation style also interacted with gender of attorney and juror. Some possible mechanisms for these effects are discussed.     

Carbon monoxide poisoning from indoor barbecues--incidents reported to the German-speaking Poison Information Centers and the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Berlin

From 2008 to the end of 2009 the Joint Poison Information Center (PIC) in Erfurt observed 7 incidents involving 17 persons (1 fatality) with signs of carbon monoxide poisoning from indoor barbecues (COFIB). To find out whether COFIB is a regional or a general phenomenon in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, all information about COFIBs recorded by the 11 German-speaking Poison Information Centers and the BfR Berlin were retrospectively analyzed for the period 2000 to 2009. In all, 60 COFIBs (accidental: 90.0 %, suicidal: 8.3%, reason unknown: 1.7%) involving 146 individuals were reported. The number of incidents increased from one case with 2 persons in 2000 to 18 cases involving 34 persons in 2009. The 146 victims (female 26.7%, male 27.4%, gender unknown 45.9%; adults 58.2%, children 24.7%, age unknown 17.1%) lived in 15 of the 16 federal states of Germany and in Switzerland. The highest number of victims was found in Bavaria (23), Brandenburg (18), and Baden-Wuerttemberg (18). The symptoms according to the Poisoning Severity Score were none to mild in 60.3%, moderate in 13.7%, severe in 11.6%, fatal in 6.9% and unratable in 7.5%. No clear correlation was found between the carboxyhemoglobin concentration and the severity of the symptoms. As a rising number of COFIBs often involving several individuals was observed from 2000 to 2009, the general public was informed about the risks of indoor barbecues.     

FDI Liberalisation,Firm Heterogeneity and Foreign Ownership: German Firm Decisions in Reforming India

The paper investigates the role of firm-level productivity and industry-level R&D for multinational enterprises' (MNEs') choice of undertaking foreign direct investment (FDI), and the share of ownership in foreign affiliates. Two firm-specific datasets on German MNEs with varying equity stakes in Indian affiliates are used to account for the two-step decision process. The paper also analyses how German firm decisions were affected by the liberalisation of FDI regulations in India. Results show remarkable differences between the selection and the ownership share equation, and also between the pre-reform and post-reform periods. The evidence clearly reveals the trade-offs involved in selective FDI approvals and foreign ownership restrictions.