In economics, the Laffer curve, popularized by supply-side economist Arthur Laffer, illustrates a theoretical relationship between rates of taxation and the resulting levels of government's tax revenue. The Laffer curve assumes that no tax revenue is raised at the extreme tax rates of 0% and 100%, and that there is a tax rate between 0% and 100% that maximizes government tax revenue. The shape of the curve is a function of taxable income elasticity - i.e., taxable income changes in response to changes in the rate of taxation. The Laffer curve is typically represented as a graph that starts at 0% tax with zero revenue, rises to a maximum rate of revenue at an intermediate rate of taxation, and then falls again to zero revenue at a 100% tax rate. However, the shape of the curve is uncertain and disputed among economists. Under the assumption that the revenue is a continuous function of the rate of taxation, the maximum illustrated by the Laffer curve is a result of Rolle's theore...

 The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award to students to study at the University of Oxford. Established in 1903, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world and considered to be among the most prestigious international scholarship programs. Its founder, Cecil John Rhodes, wanted to promote unity between English-speaking nations and instill a sense of civic-minded leadership and moral fortitude in future leaders, irrespective of their chosen career paths. Initially restricted to male applicants from countries that are today within The Commonwealth, Germany, and the United States, the scholarship is now open to applicants from all backgrounds and from across the globe (click  here  to see the various Rhodes Constituencies). Since its creation, controversy has surrounded its inital exclusion of women, historical failure to select black Africans, and Cecil Rhodes' own standing as a British imperialist. In his will, Rhodes specified that he did not ...

 Pharmacokinetics (from Ancient Greek  Pharmakon  "drug" and  kinetikos  "moving, putting in motion"), sometimes abbreviated  PK , is a branch of pharmacology dedicated to determine the fate of substances administered to a living organism. The substances of interest include any chemical xenobiotic such as pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, food additives, cosmetics, etc. It attempts to analyze chemical metabolism and to discover the fate of a chemical from the moment it is administered up to the point at which it is completely eliminated from the body. Pharmacokinetics is the study of how an organism affects a drug, whereas pharmacodynamics (PD) is the study of how the drug affects the organism. Both together influence dosing, benefit, and adverse effects as seen in PK/PD models. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) defines pharmacokinetics as: Process of the uptake of drugs by the body, the biotransformation they undergo, the distri...

Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics--including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting--that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or what it "means" to be human. This usage has proven to be controversial in that there is dispute as to whether or not such an essence actually exists. Arguments about human nature have been a central focus of philosophy for centuries and the concept continues to provoke lively philosophical debate. While both concepts are distinct from one another, discussions regarding human nature are typically related to those regarding the comparative importance of genes and environment in human development (i.e., "nature versus nurture"). Accordingly, the concept also continues to play a role in fields of science, such as neuroscience, psychology, and social science (such as sociology), in which various theorists claim to have yielded insight ...

A paramedic is a health care professional whose primary role is to provide advanced emergency medical care for critical and emergent patients who access the emergency medical system. Not all ambulance personnel are paramedics. In English-speaking countries, there is an official distinction between paramedics and emergency medical technicians (or emergency care assistants), in which paramedics have additional educational requirements and scope of practice. The paramedic role is closely related to other health care positions, especially the emergency medical technician, with paramedics often being on higher grade with more responsibility and autonomy following substantially greater education and training. The primary role of a paramedic is to stabilize people with life-threatening injuries and transport these patients to a higher level of care (typically an emergency department). Due to the nature of their job, paramedics work in many environments, including roadways, people's home, ...

The International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission (IOC AC) is a majority elected body that serves as a link between athletes and the IOC. The mission of the IOC AC is to ensure that athletes' viewpoint remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement decisions, representing future, current, and recently retired Olympic athletes. The IOC AC aims to provide athletes with a platform to share their voice and experiences, and be part of change and decisions shaping the future of sport. Olympic Agenda 2020 and 2020+5 recommendation further support and protect clean and fair sport, and promote athletes' rights and responsibilities, which is at the heart of the commission's work. The current Chair of the IOC AC is Zimbabwean Olympic gold medalist and swimmer Kirsty Coventry. Her role is to set the commission's focus and lead strategy implementation following on the work of her predecessor, Angela Ruggiero. As Chair, she serves as a member of the IOC Executive Board on be...

 Hawthorne effect refers to a type of human reactivity in which individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed. Descriptions of this well-known and remarkable effect, which was discovered in the context of a research conducted at the Hawthorne Western Electric plant, some scholars feel turned out to be fictional. The original research involved workers who made electrical relays at the Hawthorne Works, a Western Electric plant in Cicero, Illinois. Between 1924 and 1927, the famous lighting study was conducted. Workers experienced a series of lighting changes in which productivity was said to increase with almost any change in the lighting. This turned out not to be true. In the study that was associated with Elton Mayo, which ran from 1928 to 1932, a series of changes in work structure were implemented (e.g., changes in rest periods) in a group of five women. However, this was methodologically poor uncontrolled study that did not perm...