Optical Spectral Observations of a Flickering White-Light Kernel in a C1 Solar Flare

We analyze optical spectra of a two-ribbon, long duration C1.1 flare that occurred on 18 Aug 2011 within AR 11271 (SOL2011-08-18T15:15). The impulsive phase of the flare was observed with a comprehensive set of space-borne and ground-based instruments, which provide a range of unique diagnostics of the lower flaring atmosphere. Here we report the detection of enhanced continuum emission, observed in low-resolution spectra from 3600 \AA\ to 4550 \AA\ acquired with the Horizontal Spectrograph at the Dunn Solar Telescope. A small, $\le$0''.5 ($10^{15}$ cm$^2$) penumbral/umbral kernel brightens repeatedly in the optical continuum and chromospheric emission lines, similar to the temporal characteristics of the hard X-ray variation as detected by the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on the Fermi spacecraft. Radiative-hydrodynamic flare models that employ a nonthermal electron beam energy flux high enough to produce the optical contrast in our flare spectra would predict a large Balmer jump in emission, indicative of hydrogen recombination radiation from the upper flare chromosphere. However, we find no evidence of such a Balmer jump in the bluemost spectral region of the continuum excess. Just redward of the expected Balmer jump, we find evidence of a "blue continuum bump" in the excess emission which may be indicative of the merging of the higher order Balmer lines. The large number of observational constraints provides a springboard for modeling the blue/optical emission for this particular flare with radiative-hydrodynamic codes, which are necessary to understand the opacity effects for the continuum and emission line radiation at these wavelengths.Comment: 54 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Gay men, Gaydar and the commodification of difference

Purpose To investigate ICT mediated inclusion and exclusion in terms of sexuality through a study of a commercial social networking website for gay men Design/methodology/approach The paper uses an approach based on technological inscription and the commodification of difference to study Gaydar, a commercial social networking site. Findings Through the activities, events and interactions offered by Gaydar, we identify a series of contrasting identity constructions and market segmentations which are constructed through the cyclic commodification of difference. These are fuelled by a particular series of meanings attached to gay male sexualities which serve to keep gay men positioned as a niche market. Research limitations/implications The research centres on the study of one, albeit widely used, website with a very specific set of purposes. The study offers a model for future research on sexuality and ICTs. Originality/value This study places sexuality centre stage in an ICT mediated environment and provides insights into the contemporary phenomenon of social networking. As a sexualized object, Gaydar presents a semiosis of politicized messages that question heteronormativity while simultaneously contributing to the definition of an increasingly globalized, commercialized and monolithic form of gay male sexuality defined against ICT

Alternative Liability and Deprivation of Remedy: Teaching Old Tort Law New Tricks

The problems presented by “tortfeasor indeterminacy” are perhaps the greatest remaining point of contention in the otherwise generally overlooked requirement of cause-in-fact. The issue is deceptively simple; several defendants have breached a duty to the plaintiff and one of their breaches is the cause-in-fact of plaintiff\u27s injury, but it is impossible to tell which one. As a result, the plaintiff cannot meet his evidentiary burden on the element of cause-in-fact and is unable to recover. In response to the plaintiff\u27s dilemma, courts have developed the doctrines of “alternative liability” and “market-share liability.” Yet many courts and commentators have rejected these solutions as threats to the very structure of the tort law system. Attempts to conceptualize the doctrines have produced a multitude of conflicting explanations, many of which invoke the very rationales that have led to judicial reluctance in utilizing the doctrines. This Note will argue that previous attempts to explain alternative liability are unsatisfactory because they are inconsistent with traditional notions of cause-in-fact. In reaching its conclusion, Part II.A of this Note will discuss the general requirements of cause-in-fact, define the problem of tortfeasor indeterminacy, and explore the difficulties it creates. Part II.B will examine alternative liability, the judicial solution developed by courts in response to tortfeasor indeterminacy. Part II.C will then examine the modification of alternative liability into market-share liability. Part III.A will examine previous explanations promulgated for alternative liability and market-share liability, showing why each is unsatisfactory. Part III.B will present a new explanation for alternative liability based on application of traditional tort rules to an independent cause of action for plaintiff\u27s loss of remedy. Parts III.C and III.D will propose potential legal bases for this cause of action. Part III.E will examine the operation of this new cause of action. Part III.F will then demonstrate how this new explanation leads to the conclusion that joint and several liability, rather than the market-share modification, is the appropriate means for apportioning liability under alternative liability

Alternative Liability and Deprivation of Remedy: Teaching Old Tort Law New Tricks

The problems presented by “tortfeasor indeterminacy” are perhaps the greatest remaining point of contention in the otherwise generally overlooked requirement of cause-in-fact. The issue is deceptively simple; several defendants have breached a duty to the plaintiff and one of their breaches is the cause-in-fact of plaintiff\u27s injury, but it is impossible to tell which one. As a result, the plaintiff cannot meet his evidentiary burden on the element of cause-in-fact and is unable to recover. In response to the plaintiff\u27s dilemma, courts have developed the doctrines of “alternative liability” and “market-share liability.” Yet many courts and commentators have rejected these solutions as threats to the very structure of the tort law system. Attempts to conceptualize the doctrines have produced a multitude of conflicting explanations, many of which invoke the very rationales that have led to judicial reluctance in utilizing the doctrines. This Note will argue that previous attempts to explain alternative liability are unsatisfactory because they are inconsistent with traditional notions of cause-in-fact. In reaching its conclusion, Part II.A of this Note will discuss the general requirements of cause-in-fact, define the problem of tortfeasor indeterminacy, and explore the difficulties it creates. Part II.B will examine alternative liability, the judicial solution developed by courts in response to tortfeasor indeterminacy. Part II.C will then examine the modification of alternative liability into market-share liability. Part III.A will examine previous explanations promulgated for alternative liability and market-share liability, showing why each is unsatisfactory. Part III.B will present a new explanation for alternative liability based on application of traditional tort rules to an independent cause of action for plaintiff\u27s loss of remedy. Parts III.C and III.D will propose potential legal bases for this cause of action. Part III.E will examine the operation of this new cause of action. Part III.F will then demonstrate how this new explanation leads to the conclusion that joint and several liability, rather than the market-share modification, is the appropriate means for apportioning liability under alternative liability

On the Classification of Generalized Pseudo-Orthogonal Lie Groups via Curvature, Cohomology, and Algebraic Structure

The study of Lie groups has yielded a rich catalogue of mathematical spaces that, in some sense, provide a theoretical and computational framework for describing the “world in which we live.” In particular, these topological groups that represent the rigid motions of a space, the behavior of subatomic particles, and the shape of the expanding universe consist of specialized matrices. In what follows, we define a new collection of matrices with a very specific transposition relation and attempt to classify this Lie group algebraically, geometrically, and topologically. We consider fields, $\Bbb{F},$ of characteristic zero and define the group of pseudo-orthogonal matrices to be the set $$GO(p, q; \Bbb{F}) = \{A \in GL(p + q, \Bbb{F}) | A^T \eta A = \lambda \eta for some \lambda \in \Bbb{F}^{\times}\},$$ where $\eta$ is the diagonal matrix in which the first $p$ entries are one and the remaining $q$ entries are −1. After doing so, and verifying that $GO(p, q; \Bbb{F})$ is, indeed, a Lie group, we determine a number of standard algebraic properties that $GO(p, q; \Bbb{F})$ fails to hold and the decomposition of the group as a direct product. We study the metric of $GO(p,q; \Bbb{F})$ and use this metric to determine curvature tensors of the manifold. Further, we document a number of distinct paths attempted to study the topological nature of $GO(p, q; \Bbb{F})$ and provide rationale for these failed attempts and a description of the cyclical nature of cohomology of $GO(p, q; \Bbb{F})$ and its innate cohomological equivalence with its infinite-dimensional universal covering space

Guide to Social Change Led By and With Young People

THE FREECHILD PROJECT HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR A WHILE. In the five years since we began, The Freechild Project has identified three powerful trends in social change led by and with young people: 1. Social change led by young people is not all about young people. Instead, children and youth are working for their communities, their families, their cities, and their world. Action that is focused on youth issues often addresses young people as a whole, not isolating other youth because of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. 2. More action has led to more sophistication, creating more sustainable outcomes. Youth-led social change is not new; the tools and strategies being developed stand on the shoulders of giants from more than a century ago. However, the increasing sophistication and intentionality have heightened the effectiveness of youths\u27 approaches and deepened the impacts they are having throughout communities. 3. A broad youth movement exists today. Media is not talking about it, researchers are generally not aware of it, and even young people do not know they belong to it. However, this decentralization in social movements today is part of a trend called The Multitudes, in which localized action without focal-point leaders is subtly, powerfully changing the world

Harrell Fletcher with Adam Moser

Harrell Fletcher with Adam Moser includes a conversation between the two and a series of project case studies: Learning About the world At the Grocery store, Interviews with children, the Knowledge walking tours, and Hammer yearbook, a collaborative project between Moser and Fletcher. This book is part of the Reference Points series published through Portland State University Art and Social Practice MFA Program. The series is an evolving pedagogical framework in which graduate students formulate and research a significant topic or practitioner(s) related to socially engaged art. Because the series is designed to shift and respond to the concerns of the program\u27s current students and faculty, mode, structure, and content are open-ended.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/reference_points/1008/thumbnail.jp