The poverty reports,negative income taxation,and the constitution: an analysis and a compromise proposal†

Abstract. After some background discussion of the causes of and solutions to the problem of poverty, and an evaluation of the two recently published reports on this subject, the paper focuses on some political and economic constraints that are likely to be critical to the success of any proposal for a guaranteed annual income. Among these are the constitutional issue of who should control any GAI scheme, the relationship between a GAI and the present tax system, and the appropriateness of uniform guarantee levels across the nation. A compromise GAI scheme is then proposed which attempts to satisfy the relevant constraints, both economic and constitutional. Sommaire. Après une discussion préliminaire des causes de la pauvreté et de ses solutions possibles, ainsi qu'une évaluation des deux récents rapports sur le sujet, l'auteur étudie certaines contraintes politiques et économiques susceptibles de devenir des éléments critiques pour le succès de toute proposition de revenu annuel garanti. Entre autres, sont discutés, le probème constitutionnel du siège de l'autorité sur un plan de revenu annuel garanti, de la relation entre un tel plan et le présent système de taxation et de la désirabilité de niveaux unifonnes garantis à 1'échelle nationale. Enfin, un compromis est offert sous la forme d'un plan qui s'efforce de satisfaire les contraintes pertinentes de nature économique et constitutionnelle.     

A Bargaining Model of Holdouts and Takings

The holdout problem is commonly cited as the justification foreminent domain, but the nature of the problem is not well understood.This article models the holdout problem in a bargaining framework,where a developer seeks to acquire several parcels of land fora large-scale development. We show that in the absence of eminentdomain, holdouts are a significant threat, resulting in costlydelay. However, if the developer has the power to use eminentdomain to acquire the land from holdouts, all sellers will bargain,thus avoiding delay. An offsetting cost is that owners may negotiateprices below their true value, possibly resulting in excessivetransfer of land to the developer.     

An investigation into the use of calculating the first derivative of absorbance spectra as a tool for forensic fibre analysis.

A range of fibre samples was measured using J&M MSP400 and J&M MSP800 microspectrophotometers across the visible and UV/visible wavelength ranges respectively. The first derivative of the absorbance spectra was then calculated and studied. When the absorbance spectra produced for some samples were broad and featureless, the first derivative spectra provided more points of comparison that facilitated discrimination. For many of the samples, calculating the first derivative did not result in any additional discrimination due to the high number of points of comparison present in the absorbance spectra. However, for the samples that exhibited a high level of intra-sample colour variation (e.g. through uneven dye uptake common in cotton and wool, etc.), which was evident in the absorbance spectra, the associated first derivative spectra highlighted this variation between the fibres and could potentially have resulted in false exclusions. The results show that whilst calculating first derivative can be a useful aid in the comparison of spectra, a high degree of caution is required when applying this method to fibres which exhibit a large intra-sample variation in colour.     

Developmental validation of a novel lateral flow strip test for rapid identification of human blood (Rapid Stain Identification™-Blood)

Human blood is the body fluid most commonly encountered at crime scenes, and blood detection may aid investigators in reconstructing what occurred during a crime. In addition, blood detection can help determine which items of evidence should be processed for DNA-STR testing. Unfortunately, many common substances can cause red-brown stains that resemble blood. Furthermore, many current human blood detection methods are presumptive and prone to false positive results. Here, the developmental validation of a new blood identification test, Rapid Stain Identification™-Blood (RSID™-Blood), is described. RSID™-Blood utilizes two anti-glycophorin A (red blood cell membrane specific protein) monoclonal antibodies in a lateral flow strip test format to detect human blood. We present evidence demonstrating that this test is accurate, reproducible, easy to use, and highly specific for human blood. Importantly, RSID™-Blood does not cross-react with ferret, skunk, or primate blood and exhibits no high-dose hook effect. Also, we describe studies on the sensitivity, body fluid specificity, and species specificity of RSID™-Blood. In addition, we show that the test can detect blood from a variety of forensic exhibits prior to processing for DNA-STR analysis. In conclusion, we suggest that RSID™-Blood is effective and useful for the detection of human blood on forensic exhibits, and offers improved blood detection when compared to other currently used methods.