Studies Of Paleozoic Fungi. Iv. Wood‐Decaying Fungi In Callixylon Newberryi From The Upper Devonian

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141580/1/ajb208449.pd

Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays Detected by Auger and AGASA:Corrections for Galactic Magnetic Field Deflections, Source Populations, and Arguments for Multiple-Components

The origin and composition of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Events (UHECRs) are under debate. Here we improve constraints on the source population(s) and compositions of UHECRs by accounting for UHECR deflections within existing Galactic magnetic field models (GMFs). We used Monte Carlo simulations for UHECRs detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory and AGASA in order to determine their outside-the-Galaxy arrival directions, and compared these with Galactic and extragalactic sources. The simulations, which used UHECR compositions from protons to Iron and seven models of the ordered GMF, include uncertainties in the GMF and a turbulent magnetic field. The correlation between UHECRs and nearby extended radiogalaxies (Nagar & Matulich 2008) remains valid, even strengthened, within several GMF models. Both the nearest radiogalaxy CenA, and the nearest radio-extended BL Lac, CGCG 413-019, are likely sources of multiple UHECRs. The correlation appears to be linked to the presence of the extended radio source rather than a tracer of an underlying population. It is possible, but unlikely, that all UHECRs originate in the nearby radiogalaxy CenA. For light UHECRs about a third of UHECRs can be "matched" to nearby galaxies with extended radio jets. The remaining UHECRs could also be explained as originating in extended radiogalaxies if one has at least one of: a large UHECR mean free path, a high cluster and/or intergalactic magnetic field, a heavy composition for two-thirds of the detected UHECRs. Several UHECRs have trajectories which pass close to Galactic magnetars and/or microquasars. If extended radiogalaxies are, or trace, UHECR sources, the most consistent models for the ordered GMF are the BS-S and BS-A models; the GMF models of Sun et al. 2008 are acceptable if a dipole component is added.Comment: to appear in A&

Discursive and psychosocial? Theorising a complex contemporary subject

This article outlines one tradition of qualitative research in social psychology, that of discourse analysis and discursive research. It proposes that the tradition offers an alternative conceptualisation of a psychosocial subject to accounts which draw on psychoanalytic theorising. The article reviews some of the problems around conceptualising a subject in discursive terms, then sets out some resolutions. It outlines a narrative-discursive approach to subjectivity and proposes that this is consistent with a psychosocial project to explore the person as inseparable from their social contexts. The narrative-discursive conceptualisation admits of agency and change, avoiding over-complete accounts of subjectification, while retaining the critical and political focus of the discursive tradition. It is also consistent with sociological theorisations of the subjects of late capitalism and neo-liberalism. The article discusses an example of narrative-discursive analysis from research on identities of residence and relationships to place

Model risk – daring to open up the black box

With the increasing use of complex quantitative models in applications throughout the financial world, model risk has become a major concern. Such risk is generated by the potential inaccuracy and inappropriate use of models in business applications, which can lead to substantial financial losses and reputational damage. In this paper we deal with the management and measurement of model risk. First, a model risk framework is developed, adapting concepts such as risk appetite, monitoring, and mitigation to the particular case of model risk. The usefulness of such a framework for preventing losses associated with model risk is demonstrated through case studies. Second, we investigate the ways in which different ways of using and perceiving models within an organisation both lead to different model risks. We identify four distinct model cultures and argue that in conditions of deep model uncertainty, each of those cultures makes a valuable contribution to model risk governance. Thus the space of legitimate challenges to models is expanded, such that, in addition to a technical critique, operational and commercial concerns are also addressed. Third, we discuss through the examples of proxy modelling, longevity risk and investment advice, common methods and challenges for quantifying model risk. Difficulties arise in mapping model errors to actual financial impact. In the case of irreducible model uncertainty, it is necessary to employ a variety of measurement approaches, based on statistical inference, fitting multiple models, and stress and scenario analysis

Anti-Nirvana: crime, culture and instrumentalism in the age of insecurity

‘Anti-Nirvana’ explores the relationship between consumer culture, media and criminal motivations. It has appeared consistently on the list of the top-ten most-read articles in this award-winning international journal, and it mounts a serious neo-Freudian challenge to the predominant naturalistic notion of ‘resistance’ at the heart of liberal criminology and media studies. It is also cited in the Oxford Handbook of Criminology and other criminology texts as a persuasive argument in support of the theory that criminality amongst young people is strongly linked to the acquisitive values of consumerism and the images of possessive individualism that dominate mass media

Pulsar rotation measures and the magnetic structure of our Galaxy

We have obtained 63 rotation measures (RMs) from polarization observations of southern pulsars, of which 54 are new measurements and 3 are varied from previous values. The new pulsar RM data at high Galactic latitudes are mostly consistent with the antisymmetric RM distribution found previously. For the Galactic disc, evidence for a field reversal near the Perseus arm, and possibly another beyond it, is presented. Inside the Solar Circle, in addition to the two known field reversals in or near the Carina-Sagittartus arm and the Crux-Scutum arm, a further reversal in the Norma arm is tentatively identified. These reversals, together with the pitch angle derived from pulsar RM and stellar polarization distributions, are consistent with bisymmetric spiral (BSS) models for the large-scale magnetic field structure in the disc of our Galaxy. However, discrimination between models is complicated by the presence of smaller-scale irregularities in the magnetic field, as well as uncertainties in the theoretical modelling.Comment: 10pages; 8 figures; Accepted by MNRA

Validation of modelling the radiation exposure due to solar particle events at aircraft altitudes

Dose assessment procedures for cosmic radiation exposure of aircraft crew have been introduced in most European countries in accordance with the corresponding European directive and national regulations. However, the radiation exposure due to solar particle events is still a matter of scientific research. Here we describe the European research project CONRAD, WP6, Subgroup-B, about the current status of available solar storm measurements and existing models for dose estimation at flight altitudes during solar particle events leading to ground level enhancement (GLE). Three models for the numerical dose estimation during GLEs are discussed. Some of the models agree with limited experimental data reasonably well. Analysis of GLEs during geomagnetically disturbed conditions is still complex and time consuming. Currently available solar particle event models can disagree with each other by an order of magnitude. Further research and verification by on-board measurements is still neede

Living for the weekend: youth identities in northeast England

Consumption and consumerism are now accepted as key contexts for the construction of youth identities in de-industrialized Britain. This article uses empirical evidence from interviews with young people to suggest that claims of `new community' are overstated, traditional forms of friendship are receding, and increasingly atomized and instrumental youth identities are now being culturally constituted and reproduced by the pressures and anxieties created by enforced adaptation to consumer capitalism. Analysis of the data opens up the possibility of a critical rather than a celebratory exploration of the wider theoretical implications of this process

Magazine and reader constructions of 'metrosexuality' and masculinity: a membership categorisation analysis

Since the launch of men's lifestyle magazines in the 1980s, academic literature has predominantly focused on them as a cultural phenomenon arising from entrepreneurial and commercial initiatives and/or as cultural texts that proffer representations of masculinity such as 'new lad' and 'new dad'. This paper steps aside from the focus on culture and, instead, treats magazine content as a discursive space in which gender and sexuality are oriented to, negotiated, and accomplished within and beyond the magazine itself (i.e. through readers' responses). Specifically, membership categorisation analysis is deployed to explore how the relatively new (and perhaps alternative) category for men - 'metrosexual' - is presented and received. Our analysis suggests that masculinity concerns are central in debates about 'metrosexuality', with self-identified 'metrosexuals' invoking heterosexual prowess and self-respect on the one hand, and critics (e.g. selfidentified 'real men') lamenting 'metrosexuality' for its perceived effeminacy and lack of authenticity on the other. Implications for understanding contemporary masculinities are discussed

Comprehensive Analysis of Market Conditions in the Foreign Exchange Market: Fluctuation Scaling and Variance-Covariance Matrix

We investigate quotation and transaction activities in the foreign exchange market for every week during the period of June 2007 to December 2010. A scaling relationship between the mean values of number of quotations (or number of transactions) for various currency pairs and the corresponding standard deviations holds for a majority of the weeks. However, the scaling breaks in some time intervals, which is related to the emergence of market shocks. There is a monotonous relationship between values of scaling indices and global averages of currency pair cross-correlations when both quantities are observed for various window lengths $\Delta t$.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure