The Origin of Power-Law Emergent Scaling in Large Binary Networks

In this paper we study the macroscopic conduction properties of large but finite binary networks with conducting bonds. By taking a combination of a spectral and an averaging based approach we derive asymptotic formulae for the conduction in terms of the component proportions p and the total number of components N. These formulae correctly identify both the percolation limits and also the emergent power law behaviour between the percolation limits and show the interplay between the size of the network and the deviation of the proportion from the critical value of p = 1/2. The results compare excellently with a large number of numerical simulations

The changing patterns of group politics in Britain

Two interpretations of ways in which group politics in Britain have presented challenges to democracy are reviewed: neo-corporatism or pluralistic stagnation and the rise of single issue interest groups. The disappearance of the first paradigm created a political space for the second to emerge. A three-phase model of group activity is developed: a phase centred around production interests, followed by the development of broadly based 'other regarding' groups, succeeded by fragmented, inner directed groups focusing on particular interests. Explanations of the decay of corporatism are reviewed. Single issue group activity has increased as party membership has declined and is facilitated by changes in traditional media and the development of the internet. Such groups can overload the policy-making process and frustrate depoliticisation. Debates about the constitution and governance have largely ignored these issues and there is need for a debate

Internet Facilitated Rape: A Multivariate Model of Offense Behavior

In recent years there has been a significant increase in individuals reporting they have been raped by someone they have met through the internet (IFR). Previous literature has primarily focused on child victims, hence, the overriding aim of this study is to further our understanding of IFR in terms of overt crime scene behaviour. The sample consisted of 144 single IFR cases and two comparative samples of age-matched non-IFR offenders (confidence approach and surprise approach). Thirty-eight crime scene actions were coded as either present or absent for each offence. Findings suggest that the platforms IFR offenders use to meet their victims were not suggestive of the behaviour they were likely to display. In terms of specific offence behaviours, the IFR and confidence approach samples were considerably similar and both samples were comparatively different from the surprise approach cases. A smallest space analysis of the IFR sample revealed three distinct themes of behaviour with 71% of cases being assigned to a dominant behavioural theme. The practical and theoretical implications of the findings will be discussed

Elite opinion and foreign policy in post-communist Russia

Russian elite opinion on matters of foreign policy may be classified as ‘Liberal Westerniser’, ‘Pragmatic Nationalist’ and ‘Fundamentalist Nationalist’, terms that reflect longstanding debates about the country’s relationship with the outside world. An analysis of press statements and election manifestoes together with a programme of elite interviews between 2004 and 2006 suggests a clustering of opinion on a series of strategic issues. Liberal Westernisers seek the closest possible relationship with Europe, and favour eventual membership of the EU and NATO. Pragmatic Nationalists are more inclined to favour practical co-operation, and do not assume an identity of values or interests with the Western countries. Fundamentalist Nationalists place more emphasis on the other former Soviet republics, and on Asia as much as Europe, and see the West as a threat to Russian values as well as to its state interests. Each of these positions, in turn, draws on an identifiable set of domestic constituencies: Liberal Westernisers on the promarket political parties, Pragmatic Nationalists on the presidential administration and defence and security ministries, and Fundamentalist Nationalists on the Orthodox Church and Communists

Early Potent Protection against Heterologous SIVsmE660 Challenge Following Live Attenuated SIV Vaccination in Mauritian Cynomolgus Macaques

Background: Live attenuated simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) vaccines represent the most effective means of vaccinating macaques against pathogenic SIV challenge. However, thus far, protection has been demonstrated to be more effective against homologous than heterologous strains. Immune correlates of vaccine-induced protection have also been difficult to identify, particularly those measurable in the peripheral circulation. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we describe potent protection in 6 out of 8 Mauritian-derived cynomolgus macaques (MCM) against heterologous virus challenge with the pathogenic, uncloned SIVsmE660 viral stock following vaccination with live attenuated SIVmac251/C8. MCM provided a characterised host genetic background with limited Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) and TRIM5α allelic diversity. Early protection, observed as soon as 3 weeks post-vaccination, was comparable to that of 20 weeks vaccination. Recrudescence of vaccine virus was most pronounced in breakthrough cases where simultaneous identification of vaccine and challenge viruses by virus-specific PCR was indicative of active co-infection. Persistence of the vaccine virus in a range of lymphoid tissues was typified by a consistent level of SIV RNA positive cells in protected vaccinates. However, no association between MHC class I /II haplotype or TRIM5α polymorphism and study outcome was identified. Conclusion/Significance: This SIV vaccine study, conducted in MHC-characterised MCM, demonstrated potent protection against the pathogenic, heterologous SIVsmE660 challenge stock after only 3 weeks vaccination. This level of protection against this viral stock by intravenous challenge has not been hitherto observed. The mechanism(s) of protection by vaccination with live attenuated SIV must account for the heterologous and early protection data described in this study, including those which relate to the innate immune system

Using seasonal forecasts to inform the management of water resources during drought

Water is considered to be one of the main mechanisms through which people will experience climate change, with the number of people estimated to become exposed to water scarcity projected to increase sharply in the future. Water resource managers in the UK have access to a range of meteorological and hydrological indicators of drought. However these data are limited in their utility to directly forecast how systems should be managed to reduce impacts on water users. At present there is no generically applicable method to provide such an outlook. We are working with practitioners and regulators in the UK water industry to demonstrate the use of seasonal forecasts to support decision-making during drought. The work is funded by Copernicus through the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) with the aim of showing how Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data can be used in sectoral contexts. C3S data are combined with both operational practices and the latest UK water resources planning developments to provide metrics of value tailored to the needs of water resource managers. National and industry stakeholders have been fully engaged from the outset, co-creating a tool to evaluate, visualise, and communicate the potential impact of emerging droughts in a meaningful way. The tool reads water supply system information presented by water companies including drought response surfaces, operational decisions, and demand. The water supply system is simulated using seasonal forecasts, and an assessment of drought likelihood and vulnerability is provided along with an estimate of the associated uncertainty. Impacts are presented in terms of consequences for stakeholders and contextualised in terms of system vulnerabilities and the historic record. This tool supports operational decision-making, in particular when deliberating the timing of supply and demand-side interventions as a drought develops, and communicating such risks to stakeholders

Reflections on Sculptural Thinking in Fashion Design

This paper explores three-dimensional thinking in fashion design; it does this by engaging with theories, concepts and philosophies related to thought and the experience of creating three-dimensional artifacts, which are common to both sculpture and fashion. Central to this relationship is the employment of the senses with respect to perception and cognition. Of particular interest is the sense of touch,and how sensory experience encounters notions of empathy and mimicry in a phenomenological encounter with others: whether animate or inanimate. The research emerged through conversations between a fashion designer, Kevin Almond and a contemporary artist, Stephen Swindells. The sensibility of the paper, and much ofthe analysis and debates, thus adopt a creative practitioners perspective. A conceptual current running through the conversation, and subsequently the paper, touched upon whether following a line of thought becomes analogous to visually and mentally tracing a human form in a psychological space – and what is the significance for fashion of the interrelationships between sculptural thinking and phenomenological encounters with others within urban environments