Esta dissertação trata do financiamento do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), trazendo os gastos tributários em saúde como mecanismo importante de análise nas relações entre o Estado e o Direito sob a influência do capital portador de juros. A temática relaciona-se ao campo da saúde coletiva, que visa contribuir ao debate da economia da saúde. Assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar os gastos tributários na saúde no orçamento da Seguridade Social, no que tange, especificamente, ao financiamento do SUS, a partir do papel do Estado no contexto da dominância do capital portador de juros. Nesta perspectiva, ressalta-se os gastos tributários proporcionados às pessoas físicas e jurídicas, à indústria farmacêutica (medicamentos e produtos químicos) e às organizações sem fins lucrativos (hospitais filantrópicos), pois estes dispositivos legais podem encorajar determinados comportamentos dos contribuintes, ou então, de viabilizar a redução/isenção do imposto/contribuição a pagar de certos grupos sociais dominantes. Este trabalho se utiliza de dados secundários extraídos das estatísticas da Receita Federal do Brasil, do Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada e do Sistema de Integração Financeira do Governo Federal para se evidenciar os gastos tributários em saúde selecionados nesta pesquisa. O referencial teórico que norteia este trabalho é o materialismo histórico dialético de Marx, trazendo a luz aspectos importantes para se compreender a lógica das políticas econômicas brasileiras no capitalismo contemporâneo. Desta forma, a renúncia fiscal (gasto tributário) na saúde realça no curto prazo, o caráter benéfico das famílias e empresas reaverem os dispêndios em bens e serviços privados de saúde. Entretanto, no longo prazo, evidencia-se o agravamento das desestruturas sociais, posto que os trabalhadores e as famílias de baixa renda comprometem-se (proporcionalmente) mais com os gastos em saúde, devido ao caráter regressivo do sistema tributário brasileiro. Além disso, as isenções, deduções e alíquotas zero (gasto tributário) à indústria farmacêutica e aos hospitais filantrópicos, podem exprimir aspecto de distorção na prioridade de recursos direcionados ao SUS. Assim, é possível admitir que, sob a égide do capital portador de juros, o Estado é capaz de transformar o plano ideológico do corpo social da sociedade capitalista. / This dissertation deals with the financing of the Unified Health System (SUS), bringing health tax expenditures as an important mechanism of analysis in the relations between the State and the Law under the influence of interest bearing capital. The theme is related to the field of public health, which aims to contribute to the debate on health economics. Thus, the objective of this research is to analyze health tax expenditures in the Social Security budget, specifically regarding SUS financing, from the role of the State in the context of the dominance of interest bearing capital. In this perspective, the tax expenditures provided to individuals and legal entities, the pharmaceutical industry (medicines and chemical products) and non-profit organizations (philanthropic hospitals) are highlighted, as these legal provisions may encourage certain behaviors of the taxpayers, to enable the reduction / exemption of the tax / contribution payable from certain dominant social groups. This work uses secondary data extracted from the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service, the Institute of Applied Economic Research and the Federal Government\'s Financial Integration System to show the tax expenditures selected in this research. The theoretical framework that guides this work is the dialectical historical materialism of Marx, bringing to light important aspects to understand the logic of Brazilian economic policies in contemporary capitalism. In this way, the fiscal waiver (tax spending) on health highlights in the short term the beneficial character of families and companies recovering the expenditure on private health goods and services. However, in the long term, there is evidence of worsening of social structures, since workers and low-income families are (proportionally) more committed to health spending, due to the regressive nature of the Brazilian tax system. In addition, exemptions, deductions and zero rates (tax expenditures) to the pharmaceutical industry and philanthropic hospitals can express an aspect of distortion in the priority of resources directed to SUS. Thus, it is possible to admit that, under the aegis of interest bearing capital, the state is capable of transforming the ideological plane of the social body of capitalist society

This collection of five papers explores the validity of exam accommodations in Ireland, in particular the spelling and grammar waiver, an accommodation unique to Ireland. A review of the literature relating to each accommodation is followed by two papers investigating the validity of the spelling and grammar waiver. A spelling and grammar waiver can be granted to a student with a specific learning disability who attains a standard score of 85 or below on a spelling test. Two groups of students were compared- those who had or had not been granted a waiver, Mock exam scripts of both groups were marked both with and without a spelling and grammar waiver by experienced markers. When a spelling and grammar waiver was applied, the scores of both groups significantly increased. The ‘boost’ received by students who had been granted a waiver was not significantly higher than the ‘boost’ received by the other students, suggesting that the spelling and grammar waiver gives an advantage to all who receive it. Examiner markings were re-examined in a follow up study to investigate possible examiner bias. Results found that elements of the marking scheme, which should not have been affected by a spelling and grammar waiver, were marked more leniently when the examiner marked students’ scripts which had a spelling and grammar waiver applied to it. These studies suggest that the spelling and grammar waiver is not a valid accommodation. In the following study, three spelling tests commonly used by teachers to apply for accommodations were compared. Significant differences were found among the scores. Students scoring below the cut off point for a spelling and grammar waiver ranged from 5.8% to 43.8% depending on the test used. These significant differences in scores across the three tests highlighted the need for an Irish normed spelling test. The final paper details the creation and standardisation of a spelling test in the Republic of Ireland. Limitations to each study and areas of further research are addressed. Suggestions to improve the validity of the spelling and grammar waiver by using an alternative marking scheme and teacher training are discussed.

Older individuals overwhelmingly prefer to receive long-term services and supports (LTSS) in home and community-based settings. Medicaid elderly 1915(c) waivers have become the primary mechanism that states use to provide home and community-based services (HCBS) to older individuals. Given the positive effects elderly waivers have on the quality of life of older individuals, I examined why states adopt elderly waivers; the extent of the substantive differences in program quality across elderly waivers; and the factors associated with elderly waiver program quality, contrasted with the factors associated with elderly waiver program size (i.e., number of participants and expenditures). I examined how state contextual, institutional, and political factors, as well as factors external to the states, including neighboring state and federal policy activity, influenced state policy decisions pertaining to elderly waiver adoptions and program quality and size. First, I performed a retrospective analysis using state-level longitudinal data from 1992-2010 to conduct a discrete time-series repeated event history analysis (EHA) to identify the variables associated with state adoptions of elderly waivers. Second, I created a measure of elderly waiver program quality consisting of four equally weighted components of waivers thought to be associated with the provision of higher quality HCBS to older individuals, including: eligibility criteria, self-determination supports, range of services provided, and participant protections. Using correlational analyses, I examined the relationships between program quality and size. Third, I performed retrospective ordinary least squares (OLS) analyses using waiver program-level data from 2015 to examine elderly waiver program quality and size and fixed-effects OLS using data from 1993-2010 to examine elderly waiver program size. I identified 63 elderly waiver adoptions across 35 states between 1992 and 2010, which were significantly associated with state contextual and external factors. Consistent with previous research, I found that contextual factors, including the number of older individuals, the supply of long-term care facilities and whether the state already had an elderly waiver program, affected state decisions to adopt elderly waivers. There was significant variation in each of the four component and overall quality scores and weak associations between program quality and size. I found that state contextual factors, including market and Medicaid program characteristics, influenced elderly waiver program quality and size. In addition, program quality was shaped by the capacity of state policymaking institutions (e.g., governorships and legislatures), while program size was shaped by neighboring state and federal policy activity. The findings from this research suggest that elderly waiver adoptions and program quality and size are shaped through different policymaking pathways. Efforts to improve the quality of elderly waiver programs should consider the capacity of state executive officials in addition to contextual determinants and focus on improving existing elderly waiver programs. Given that most waivers scored well on eligibility and participant protections, efforts to improve the quality of elderly waiver programs should focus on expanding self-direction supports opportunities, the types of waiver services, and eliminating restrictions placed on service delivery (e.g., waiting lists).

Thesis (M.A.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Directed by Saundra Westervelt; submitted to the Dept. of Sociology. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 28, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-71).

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The purpose of this thesis is to determine the potential gain from using information from state criminal history files as a screen for enlistment. Additionally, two more fundamental questions are addressed. First, what is the level of pre-service criminal behavior in the recruit population and to what extent is it 'hidden' from the Navy? Second, does pre-service criminal behavior affect first term performance, and if so, how large is the effect? The data examined are composed of MEPCOM personnel files combined with state criminal history records which allow determination of recruits' actual recorded criminal backgrounds. Four measures of recruit success are identified: first-term unsuitability attrition; promotion to paygrade E-4; reenlistment eligibility; and retention beyond EAOS. Employing cross-tabulations and logit models, this research compares the effects of juvenile versus adult offenses, felony versus non-felony offenses, and convictions versus arrests on the likelihood of success. The results indicate that a moral waiver process relying on self- disclosure may not be effective in identifying an individual's criminal background and that recruits with pre-service criminal histories are more likely to attrite for unsuitability and are less likely to promote to E-4, be reenlistment eligible, or remain in the Navy beyond their EAOS. This study suggests adult felony criminal histories are effective predictors of future recruit success and recommends using state criminal information in the recruit selection process.

The decision of an estate owner to employ a trust as an estate planning instrument normally involves the disposal of all or part of his growth assets to the trust. This is done to ensure that the value of such growth assets is pegged down in his personal estate, whilst any growth in the assets occurs in the trust. The objective is to minimise any estate duty that will be payable after his death. The transfer of such assets and the concomitant negotiation of the settlement of the purchase price are normally agreed to occur on loan account which will be repayable on demand. Subsequent to the disposal of the assets, it is a well established estate planning technique for the estate owner to reduce the loan account by annually waiving R30 000 of such loan in favour of the trust. This results in reducing the debit loan (asset) in the hands of the estate owner and thereby also improving his position from an estate duty point of view. The liability (credit loan) of the trust is thereby annually reduced. Because an individual can donate R30 000 annually free of donations tax, no additional donations tax liability will be incurred when applying this technique. Most estate owners that have applied the abovementioned technique, include in their will a provision whereby they bequeath any outstanding loan from the trust at the date of the testator's death, to the trust as a legatee. On 1 October 2001 South Africa entered into a new tax dispensation with the introduction of capital gains tax (CGT). Comprehensive legislation was included in the Income Tax Act (8th schedule) to regulate this new form of taxation. Paragraph 12(5) of the 8th schedule specifically stipulates that a reduction or waiver of a loan/debt will attract CGT. Therefore the above mentioned techniques of donating a portion, and subsequently bequeathing the outstanding loan amount to a trust suddenly became the target of SARS' close scrutiny from a CGT perspective. Hence, it was no surprise that the first High Court decision on CGT had recently been delivered in this regard. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate and scrutinise, not only the decision in the abovementioned court case, but also the various opinions and arguments raised on this topic. The submission is that the findings and conclusions of such an investigation should enable those involved in estate planning and the preparation of wills to be wary of the CGT risks attached to the abovementioned techniques and to avoid the pitfalls. Certain recommendations and conclusions to achieve the same estate planning result, are proposed in this dissertation. Certain suggestions were also made with regards to the wording of provisions to be included in a will in order to bequeath a loan or debt to a trust without the risk of attracting unforeseen CGT. / Thesis (LL.M. (Estate Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The decision of an estate owner to employ a trust as an estate planning instrument normally involves the disposal of all or part of his growth assets to the trust. This is done to ensure that the value of such growth assets is pegged down in his personal estate, whilst any growth in the assets occurs in the trust. The objective is to minimise any estate duty that will be payable after his death. The transfer of such assets and the concomitant negotiation of the settlement of the purchase price are normally agreed to occur on loan account which will be repayable on demand. Subsequent to the disposal of the assets, it is a well established estate planning technique for the estate owner to reduce the loan account by annually waiving R30 000 of such loan in favour of the trust. This results in reducing the debit loan (asset) in the hands of the estate owner and thereby also improving his position from an estate duty point of view. The liability (credit loan) of the trust is thereby annually reduced. Because an individual can donate R30 000 annually free of donations tax, no additional donations tax liability will be incurred when applying this technique. Most estate owners that have applied the abovementioned technique, include in their will a provision whereby they bequeath any outstanding loan from the trust at the date of the testator's death, to the trust as a legatee. On 1 October 2001 South Africa entered into a new tax dispensation with the introduction of capital gains tax (CGT). Comprehensive legislation was included in the Income Tax Act (8th schedule) to regulate this new form of taxation. Paragraph 12(5) of the 8th schedule specifically stipulates that a reduction or waiver of a loan/debt will attract CGT. Therefore the above mentioned techniques of donating a portion, and subsequently bequeathing the outstanding loan amount to a trust suddenly became the target of SARS' close scrutiny from a CGT perspective. Hence, it was no surprise that the first High Court decision on CGT had recently been delivered in this regard. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate and scrutinise, not only the decision in the abovementioned court case, but also the various opinions and arguments raised on this topic. The submission is that the findings and conclusions of such an investigation should enable those involved in estate planning and the preparation of wills to be wary of the CGT risks attached to the abovementioned techniques and to avoid the pitfalls. Certain recommendations and conclusions to achieve the same estate planning result, are proposed in this dissertation. Certain suggestions were also made with regards to the wording of provisions to be included in a will in order to bequeath a loan or debt to a trust without the risk of attracting unforeseen CGT. / Thesis (LL.M. (Estate Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 19-20).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universiẗat Göttingen, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 387-406).

The New Jersey 2011 Adequate Yearly Progress report revealed that 53% (n = 75) of state schools that failed to meet standards were put on a 'priority school' list. The 2015 priority school list consisted of 66 schools. In response, New Jersey created Regional Achievement Centers to provide collaborative professional development (PD) for effective instruction in the lowest performing schools. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of priority schoolteachers regarding experiences with past PD initiatives and PD under the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility waiver focusing on collaborative approaches that include job-embedded coaching and teacher networks. The research questions were germane to attempts to address failing schools through PD. The conceptual framework guiding the study was Fullan's educational change theory in which teachers learn by collaborating with other teachers and coaches. Through snowball sampling, 8 priority schoolteachers participated in semistructured in-depth interviews using an online conferencing tool. Data were analyzed by Moustakas' modified version of van Kaam's method. Participants did not perceive that past PD attempts addressed the needs of failing schools. Key findings regarding job-embedded coaching and teacher networks were that support given by coaches strengthened the participants' instructional practice, and teacher networks enabled the participants to collaboratively learn from each other. Positive social change may occur as district and school officials include teachers in PD planning. Adapting PD in this manner may improve implementation of PD initiatives for classroom instruction to increase student achievement.