perspective, as proposed by us (Kingdom et al 2007a, 2007b), but a variant of the Jastrow illusion. Maniatis suggests that the Jastrow illusion is an example of simultaneous size contrast, and that the Leaning Tower illusion is the orientation analog of the Jastrow. In other words the Leaning Tower illusion is an example of simultaneous tilt (or orientation) contrast, or acute-angle expansion, ...

This article presents a monitoring indicators system that predicts whether a local government in Taiwan is heading for fiscal distress and identifies a suitable fiscal policy that would allow the local government to achieve fiscal balance in the long run. This system is relevant to stockholders’ interest, simple for national audit bodies to use, and provides an early warning of fiscal distress ...

A century ago, everyone thought time and distance were well defined physical concepts. But neither proved absolute. Instead, measures/reports of time and distance were found to depend on one’s reference point, specifically one’s direction and speed of travel, making our apparent physical reality, in Einstein’s words, “merely an illusion.” Like time and distance, standard fiscal measures, includ...