The Garden of Earthly Delights Triptych, interior, center panel, lower portion, Birds and Couples: detail

Hieronymus Bosch; grisaille, oil on wood

Couples dancing at the Little Club

Daybook, image #12

Taxation of couples: a mirrleesian approach for non-unitary households

Optimal tax theory in the Mirrlees’ (1971) tradition implicitly relies on the assumption that all agents are single or that couples may be treated as individuals, despite accumulating evidence against this view of household behavior. We consider an economy where agents may either be single or married, in which case choices result from Nash bargaining between spouses. In such an environment, tax schedules must play the double role of: i) defining households’ objective functions through their impact on threat points, and; ii) inducing the desired allocations as optimal choices for households given these objectives. We find that the taxation principle, which asserts that there is no loss in relying on tax schedules is not valid here: there are constrained efficient allocations which cannot be implemented via taxes. More sophisticated mechanisms expand the set of implementable allocations by: i) aligning the households’ and planner’s objectives; ii) manipulating taxable income elasticities, and; iii) freeing the design of singles’ tax schedules from its consequences on households’ objectives.

Safer Conception Among HIV-1 Sero-Discordant Couples in East Africa: Understanding Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experiences

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Antiretroviral Treatment as Prevention in African HIV-1 Serodiscordant Couples: Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

The Residential Stratification of Mixed-Race Couples

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Morphological features of interfacial intermetallics and interfacial reaction rate in Al-11Si-2.5Cu-(0.15/0.60)Fe cast alloy/die steel couples

Soldering reactions are commonly observed during high pressure die casting of aluminium alloys, and involve the formation and growth of interfacial intermetallics between the die and the cast alloy. It is generally believed that close to 1% Fe is necessary in the aluminium alloy to reduce soldering. However, the role of iron in the interfacial reaction has not been studied in detail. In this investigation, reaction couples were formed between H13 tool steel substrates and an Al-11Si-2.5Cu melt containing either 0.15 or 0.60% Fe. Examination revealed distinctly different intermetallic layer morphology. The overall growth and chemistry of the reaction layer and the reaction rate measured by the consumption of the substrate were compared for the two alloy melts. It was demonstrated that a higher iron content reduces the rate of interfacial reaction, consistent with an observed thicker compact ( solid) intermetallic layer. Hence, the difference in reaction rate can be explained by a significant reduction in the diffusion flux due to a thicker compact layer. Finally, the mechanism of the growth of a thicker compact layer in the higher iron melt is proposed, based on the phase relations and diffusion both within and near the interfacial reaction zone. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Verbal and physical aggression in couples where the female partner is drinking heavily

This study evaluated (i) frequencies of aggression in maritally distressed problem drinking (DP) women relative to controls, (ii) aggression, marital satisfaction, and partner drinking in predicting female drinking, and (iii) discrepant within-couple drinking in predicting marital distress. The sample included 27 DP women, 24 maritally distressed nonproblem drinking women (DNP women), and 24 women with neither problem (NDNP women). DP women reported frequencies of physical aggression similar to DNP women, but less male verbal aggression than DNP women. Predictors of female drinking were marital satisfaction and male drinking, but aggression did not predict female drinking. Female marital satisfaction was predicted by interspousal discrepancies in drinking after accounting for verbal aggression.

'It's a double-edged thing':the paradox of civil partnership and why some couples are choosing not to have one

Since their introduction in 2005, thousands of same-sex couples in the UK have had a civil partnership. However, many other couples have chosen not to have one. This qualitative study explores why some same-sex couples are choosing not to have a civil partnership. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 people (five couples and two individuals) who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual, and analysed using discourse analysis. Participants' accounts were characterised by ambivalence about civil partnership, and three main paradoxes were identified: the 'good but not good enough' paradox, the 'unwanted prize' paradox and the 'legal rights v. social oppression paradox. A major source of ambivalence was support for rights but resistance to assimilation into dominant heteronormative cultural frameworks. Participants negotiated this ambivalence in a variety of ways, including considering how to have a civil partnership that is different from 'marriage', and adopting a pragmatic position. The analysis highlights the importance of social recognition and support for a range of relationship forms and identities, as well as for an ongoing critical debate about civil partnerships and same-sex marriage. © The Author(s) 2011.