Thucydides and The Peloponnesian War Politics and Power

The Greek word historie gave us our word history, \u27\u27 but its original meaning was less precise. It meant enquiry research, and it came to have its present meaning research into the past because it was the word used by the first historian, Herodotus of Halicarnassus, to characterize his own work. His book, which deals with the wars between the Greeks and the Persians in the opening decades of the fifth century B.C., is the product of the questions he asked; of the visits he made to cities, temples, and battlefields; of his insatiable curiosity about the past not only of the Greeks but also of the foreign, especially tho Eastern, nations with whom they came into contact

Fifth Century Athens

For the last few days you have been reading one man\u27s unfinished account of a war in which he himself fought over 2,300 years ago. You may at times have doubted the wisdom of the higher authorities who gave you this assignment, and yet you could not fail to be impressed by the intellectual power of Thucydides, the clarity of his exposition, the depth of his political analysis; above all, by the fact that here, in an ancient text, political and military events are described and analyzed with a detachment, a freedom from prejudice and preconceptions, which seems to belong rather to the mind of a modern scientist than of a fifth-century Greek

EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURAL BANK MANAGEMENT: THE IMPACT OF STATE REGULATORY POLICIES

We evaluate agricultural bank management performance, focusing on the impacts of interstate banking laws on productivity change. The generalized Malmquist productivity index decomposes productivity change into technological change, technical efficiency change, and change in scale economies. While managerial productivity rose from 1982 to 1991, states that adopted the most liberal interstate banking laws experienced the most improvement in productivity. Large agricultural banks were more efficient.generalized Malmquist index, interstate banking, Agricultural Finance, Financial Economics,

EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF AGRICULTURAL BANK MANAGEMENT: THE IMPACT OF STATE REGULATORY POLICIES

We evaluate agricultural bank management performance, focusing on the impacts of interstate banking laws on productivity change. The generalized Malmquist productivity index decomposes productivity change into technological change, technical efficiency change, and change in scale economies. While managerial productivity rose from 1982 to 1991, states that adopt the most liberal interstate banking laws experienced the greatest improvement in productivity. Large agricultural banks were more efficient in states that had more liberalized interstate banking laws while small agricultural banks fared better in states with more restrictive laws.generalized Malmquist index, interstate banking, productivity change, Agricultural Finance,

Cosmic Background dipole measurements with Planck-High Frequency Instrument

This paper discusses the Cosmic Background (CB) dipoles observations in the framework of the Planck mission. Dipoles observations can be used in three ways: (i) It gives a measurement of the peculiar velocity of our Galaxy which is an important observation in large scale structures formation model. (ii) Measuring the dipole can give unprecedent information on the monopole (that can be in some cases hard to obtain due to large foreground contaminations). (iii) The dipole can be an ideal absolute calibrator, easily detectable in cosmological experiments. Following the last two objectives, the main goal of the work presented here is twofold. First, we study the accuracy of the Planck-HFI calibration using the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) dipole measured by COBE as well as the Earth orbital motion dipole. We show that we can reach for HFI, a relative calibration between rings of about 1% and an absolute calibration better than 0.4% for the CMB channels (in the end, the absolute calibration will be limited by the uncertainties on the CMB temperature). We also show that Planck will be able to measure the CMB dipole direction at better than 1.7 arcmin and improve on the amplitude. Second, we investigate the detection of the Cosmic Far-Infrared Background (FIRB) dipole. Measuring this dipole could give a new and independent determination of the FIRB for which a direct determination is quite difficult due to Galactic dust emission contamination. We show that such a detection would require a Galactic dust emission removal at better than 1%, which will be very hard to achieve.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, submitted to A&A, uses aa.sty V5.

Ongoing transients in carbonate compensation

Uptake of anthropogenic CO2 is acidifying the oceans. Over the next 2000 years, this will modify the dissolution and preservation of sedimentary carbonate. By coupling new formulas for the positions of the calcite saturation horizon, zsat, the compensation depth, zcc, and the snowline, zsnow, to a biogeochemical model of the oceanic carbonate system, we evaluate how these horizons will change with ongoing ocean acidification. Our model is an extended Havardton-Bear-type box model, which includes novel kinetic descriptions for carbonate dissolution above, between, and below these critical depths. In the preindustrial ocean, zsat and zcc are at 3939 and 4750 m, respectively. When forced with the IS92a CO2 emission scenario, the model forecasts (1) that zsat will rise rapidly (“runaway” conditions) so that all deep water becomes undersaturated, (2) that zcc will also rise and over 1000 years will pass before it will be stabilized by the dissolution of previously deposited CaCO3, and (3) that zsnow will respond slowly to acidification, rising by ∼1150 m during a 2000 year timeframe. A further simplified model that equates the compensation and saturation depths produces quantitatively different results. Finally, additional feedbacks due to acidification on calcification and increased atmospheric CO2 on organic matter productivity strongly affect the positions of the compensation horizons and their dynamics.

Experience of Health Leadership in Partnering With University-Based Researchers in Canada – A Call to “Re-imagine” Research

Background: Emerging evidence that meaningful relationships with knowledge users are a key predictor of research use has led to promotion of partnership approaches to health research. However, little is known about health system experiences of collaborations with university-based researchers, particularly with research partnerships in the area of health system design and health service organization. The purpose of the study was to explore the experience and perspectives of senior health managers in health service organizations, with health organization-university research partnerships. Methods: In-depth, semi-structured interviews (n = 25) were conducted with senior health personnel across Canada to explore their perspectives on health system research; experiences with health organization-university research partnerships; challenges to partnership research; and suggested actions for improving engagement with knowledge users and promoting research utilization. Participants, recruited from organizations with regional responsibilities, were responsible for system-wide planning and support functions. Results: Research is often experienced as unhelpful or irrelevant to decision-making by many within the system. Research, quality improvement (QI) and evaluation are often viewed as separate activities and coordinated by different responsibility areas. Perspectives of senior managers on barriers to partnership differed from those identified in the literature: organizational stress and restructuring, and limitations in readiness of researchers to work in the fast-paced healthcare environment, were identified as major barriers. Although the need for strong executive leadership was emphasized, “multi-system action” is needed for effective partnerships. Conclusion: Common approaches to research and knowledge translation are often not appropriate for addressing issues of health service design and health services organization. Nor is the research community providing expertise to many important activities that the healthcare system is taking to improve health services. A radical rethinking of how we prepare health service researchers; position research within the health system; and fund research activities and infrastructure is needed if the potential benefits of research are to be achieved. Lack of response to health system needs may contribute to research and ‘evidence-informed’ practice being further marginalized from healthcare operations. Interventions to address barriers must respond to the perspectives and experience of health leadership

Gesture use in communication between mothers and offspring in wild orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) from the Sabangau peat-swamp forest, Borneo

Funding: US Fish and Wildlife Service Great Apes Conservation Fund, ARCUS, The Kronendak Foundation, and the Borneo Nature Foundation (BNF).Research on captive and wild great apes has established that they employ large repertoires of intentional gestural signals to achieve desired goals. However, gestural research has focused on African great apes, with orang-utan data limited to a few captive studies. We address this gap by describing gesture use in wild Southwest Bornean orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) mother and offspring pairs. We conducted focal follows on 16 individuals in the Sabangau peat-swamp forest in Borneo, Indonesia. The resulting 681 hours of video footage yielded 1,299 communicative signals: 858 vocal signals and 441 gestural signals. Eleven vocal signal types and twenty-one gesture types met the criterion for inclusion in the repertoire; however, the repertoire did not approach asymptote and further gesture types will likely be identified in the future. Signallers used gestures of any modality in higher frequency when the recipient was paying visual attention, and took the recipient’s visual attention into account when selecting gesture modalities. Orang-utans employed hands and arms more than legs and feet in gesturing, but were more flexible in their choice of limb than chimpanzees using the same gestures. Orang-utans were highly responsive to gestural requests, using them to achieve eight goals and, where successful, responding either before gesturing ended or in under 1-second in 90% of communications. Our findings on the range of gesture types and impact of visual attention support findings from captive orang-utans; and those on responsiveness and limb-use highlight the importance of studying ape communication in the social and ecological context to which it is adapted.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

QUBIC: The QU Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology

One of the major challenges of modern cosmology is the detection of B-mode polarization anisotropies in the CMB. These originate from tensor fluctuations of the metric produced during the inflationary phase. Their detection would therefore constitute a major step towards understanding the primordial Universe. The expected level of these anisotropies is however so small that it requires a new generation of instruments with high sensitivity and extremely good control of systematic effects. We propose the QUBIC instrument based on the novel concept of bolometric interferometry, bringing together the sensitivity advantages of bolometric detectors with the systematics effects advantages of interferometry. Methods: The instrument will directly observe the sky through an array of entry horns whose signals will be combined together using an optical combiner. The whole set-up is located inside a cryostat. Polarization modulation will be achieved using a rotating half-wave plate and interference fringes will be imaged on two focal planes (separated by a polarizing grid) tiled with bolometers. We show that QUBIC can be considered as a synthetic imager, exactly similar to a usual imager but with a synthesized beam formed by the array of entry horns. Scanning the sky provides an additional modulation of the signal and improve the sky coverage shape. The usual techniques of map-making and power spectrum estimation can then be applied. We show that the sensitivity of such an instrument is comparable with that of an imager with the same number of horns. We anticipate a low level of beam-related systematics thanks to the fact that the synthesized beam is determined by the location of the primary horns. Other systematics should be under good control thanks to an autocalibration technique, specific to our concept, that will permit the accurate determination of most of the systematics parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysic

Changes in Sensitization Rate to Weed Allergens in Children with Increased Weeds Pollen Counts in Seoul Metropolitan Area

The prevalence of allergic diseases in children has increased for several decades. We evaluated the correlation between pollen count of weeds and their sensitization rate in Seoul, 1997-2009. Airborne particles carrying allergens were collected daily from 3 stations around Seoul. Skin prick tests to pollen were performed on children with allergic diseases. Ragweed pollen gradually increased between 1999 and 2005, decreased after 2005 and plateaued until 2009 (peak counts, 67 in 2003, 145 in 2005 and 83 grains/m3/day in 2007). Japanese hop pollen increased between 2002 and 2009 (peak counts, 212 in 2006 and 492 grains/m3/day in 2009). Sensitization rates to weed pollen, especially ragweed and Japanese hop in children with allergic diseases, increased annually (ragweed, 2.2% in 2000 and 2.8% in 2002; Japanese hop, 1.4% in 2000 and 1.9% in 2002). The age for sensitization to pollen gradually became younger since 2000 (4 to 6 yr of age, 3.5% in 1997 and 6.2% in 2009; 7 to 9 yr of age, 4.2% in 1997 and 6.4% in 2009). In conclusion, sensitization rates for weed pollens increase in Korean children given increasing pollen counts of ragweed and Japanese hop