Sand in the wheels, or oiling the wheels, of international finance? : New Labour's appeal to a 'new Bretton Woods'

Tony Blair’s political instinct typically is to associate himself only with the future. As such, his explicit appeal to ‘the past’ in his references to New Labour’s desire to establish a “new Bretton Woods” is sufficient in itself to arouse some degree of analytical curiosity (see Blair 1998a). The fact that this appeal was made specifically in relation to Bretton Woods is even more interesting. The resonant image of the international economic context established by the original Bretton Woods agreements invokes a style and content of policy-making which Tony Blair typically dismisses as neither economically nor politically consistent with his preferred vision of the future (see Blair 2000c, 2001b)

A Survey of O VI, C III, and H I in Highly Ionized High-Velocity Clouds

(ABRIDGED) We present a Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer survey of highly ionized high-velocity clouds (HVCs) in 66 extragalactic sight lines. We find a total of 63 high-velocity O VI absorbers, 16 with 21 cm-emitting H I counterparts and 47 ``highly ionized'' absorbers without 21 cm emission. 11 of these high-velocity O VI absorbers are positive-velocity wings (broad O VI features extending asymmetrically to velocities of up to 300 km/s). The highly ionized HVC population is characterized by =38+/-10 km/s and <log N_a(O VI)>=13.83+/-0.36. We find that 81% (30/37) of high-velocity O VI absorbers have clear accompanying C III absorption, and 76% (29/38) have accompanying H I absorption in the Lyman series. The lower average width of the high-velocity H I absorbers implies the H I lines arise in a separate, lower temperature phase than the O VI. We find that the shape of the wing profiles is well reproduced by a radiatively cooling, vertical outflow. However, the outflow has to be patchy and out of ionization equilibrium. An alternative model, consistent with the observations, is one where the highly ionized HVCs represent the low N(H I) tail of the HVC population, with the O VI formed at the interfaces around the embedded H I cores. Though we cannot rule out a Local Group explanation, we favor a Galactic origin. This is based on the recent evidence that both H I HVCs and the million-degree gas detected in X-ray absorption are Galactic phenomena. Since the highly ionized HVCs appear to trace the interface between these two Galactic phases, it follows that highly ionized HVCs are Galactic themselves. However, the non-detection of high-velocity O VI in halo star spectra implies that any Galactic high-velocity O VI exists at z-distances beyond a few kpc.Comment: 36 pages, 14 figures (3 in color), accepted to ApJS. Some figures downgraded to limit file siz

Possible Detection of OVI from the LMC Superbubble N70

We present FUSE observations toward four stars in the LMC superbubble N70 and compare these spectra to those of four comparison targets located in nearby field and diffuse regions. The N70 sight lines show OVI 1032 absorption that is consistently stronger than the comparison sight lines by ~60%. We attribute the excess column density (logN_OVI=14.03 cm^-2) to hot gas within N70, potentially the first detection of OVI associated with a superbubble. In a survey of 12 LMC sight lines, Howk et al. (2002a) concluded that there was no correlation between ISM morphology and N_OVI. We present a reanalysis of their measurements combined with our own and find a clear difference between the superbubble and field samples. The five superbubbles probed to date with FUSE show a consistently higher mean N_OVI than the 12 non-superbubble sight lines, though both samples show equivalent scatter from halo variability. Possible ionization mechanisms for N70 are discussed, and we conclude that the observed OVI could be the product of thermal conduction at the interface between the hot, X-ray emitting gas inside the superbubble and the cooler, photoionized material making up the shell seen prominently in Halpha. We calculate the total hydrogen density n_H implied by our OVI measurements and find a value consistent with expectations. Finally, we discuss emission-line observations of OVI from N70.Comment: 9 pages in emulateapj style. Accepted to Ap

Validity and practical utility of accelerometry for the measurement of in-hand physical activity in horses

Background: Accelerometers are valid, practical and reliable tools for the measurement of habitual physical activity (PA). Quantification of PA in horses is desirable for use in research and clinical settings. The objective of this study was to evaluate a triaxial accelerometer for objective measurement of PA in the horse by assessment of their practical utility and validity. Horses were recruited to establish both the optimal site of accelerometer attachment and questionnaire designed to explore owner acceptance. Validity and cut-off values were obtained by assessing PA at various gaits. Validation study- 20 horses wore the accelerometer while being filmed for 10 min each of rest, walking and trotting and 5 mins of canter work. Practical utility study- five horses wore accelerometers on polls and withers for 18 h; compliance and relative data losses were quantified. Results: Accelerometry output differed significantly between the four PA levels (P &#60;0•001) for both wither and poll placement. For withers placement, ROC analyses found optimal sensitivity and specificity at a cut-off of &#60;47 counts per minute (cpm) for rest (sensitivity 99.5 %, specificity 100 %), 967–2424 cpm for trotting (sensitivity 96.7 %, specificity 100 %) and &#8805;2425 cpm for cantering (sensitivity 96.0 %, specificity 97.0 %). Attachment at the poll resulted in optimal sensitivity and specificity at a cut-off of &#60;707 counts per minute (cpm) for rest (sensitivity 97.5 %, specificity 99.6 %), 1546–2609 cpm for trotting (sensitivity 90.33 %, specificity 79.25 %) and &#8805;2610 cpm for cantering (sensitivity 100 %, specificity 100 %) In terms of practical utility, accelerometry was well tolerated and owner acceptance high. Conclusion: Accelerometry data correlated well with varying levels of in-hand equine activity. The use of accelerometers is a valid method for objective measurement of controlled PA in the horse

Choosing the lesser of two evils, the better of two goods: Specifying the roles of ventromedial prefrontal cortex and dorsal anterior cingulate in object choice

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortices (ACd) are considered important for reward-based decision making. However, work distinguishing their individual functional contributions has only begun. One aspect of decision making that has received little attention is that making the right choice often translates to making the better choice. Thus, response choice often occurs in situations where both options are desirable (e.g., choosing between mousse au chocolat or crème caramel cheesecake from a menu) or, alternatively, in situations where both options are undesirable. Moreover, response choice is easier when the reinforcements associated with the objects are far apart, rather than close together, in value. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to delineate the functional roles of the vmPFC and ACd by investigating these two aspects of decision making: (1) decision form (i.e., choosing between two objects to gain the greater reward or the lesser punishment), and (2) between-object reinforcement distance (i.e., the difference in reinforcements associated with the two objects). Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses within the ACd and vmPFC were both related to decision form but differentially. Whereas ACd showed greater responses when deciding between objects to gain the lesser punishment, vmPFC showed greater responses when deciding between objects to gain the greater reward. Moreover, vmPFC was sensitive to reinforcement expectations associated with both the chosen and the forgone choice. In contrast, BOLD responses within ACd, but not vmPFC, related to between-object reinforcement distance, increasing as the distance between the reinforcements of the two objects decreased. These data are interpreted with reference to models of ACd and vmPFC functioning

Primary physical education, coaches and continuing professional development

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Sport, Education and Society, 16(4), 485 - 505, 2011, copyright @ Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13573322.2011.589645.Physical education (PE) in primary schools has traditionally been taught by qualified primary teachers. More recently, some teaching of PE in primary schools has been undertaken by coaches (mostly football coaches). These coaches hold national governing body awards but do not hold teaching qualifications. Thus, coaches may not be adequately prepared to teach PE in curriculum time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of a group of community-based football coaches working in primary schools for the impact of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme on their ability to undertake ‘specified work’ to cover PE in primary schools. The programme focused on four areas identified as important to enable coaches to cover specified work: short- and medium-term planning, pedagogy, knowledge of the curriculum and reflection. Results showed that for the majority of coaches the CPD programme had made them more aware of the importance of these four areas and had helped to develop their knowledge and ability to put this into practice in covering planning, preparation and assessment time. However, further input is still required to develop coaches’ knowledge and understanding in all four areas, but especially their curriculum knowledge, as well as their ability to put these into practice consistently. These findings are discussed in relation to the implications of employing coaches to cover the teaching of PE in primary schools and, if employed, what CPD coaches need to develop the necessary knowledge, skill and understanding for covering specified work in schools

Classical Region of a Trapped Bose Gas

The classical region of a Bose gas consists of all single-particle modes that have a high average occupation and are well-described by a classical field. Highly-occupied modes only occur in massive Bose gases at ultra-cold temperatures, in contrast to the photon case where there are highly-occupied modes at all temperatures. For the Bose gas the number of these modes is dependent on the temperature, the total number of particles and their interaction strength. In this paper we characterize the classical region of a harmonically trapped Bose gas over a wide parameter regime. We use a Hartree-Fock approach to account for the effects of interactions, which we observe to significantly change the classical region as compared to the idealized case. We compare our results to full classical field calculations and show that the Hartree-Fock approach provides a qualitatively accurate description of classical region for the interacting gas.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures; updated to include new results with interaction

Creating citizen-consumers? Public service reform and (un)willing selves

About the book: Postmodern theories heralded the "death of the subject", and thereby deeply contested our intuition that we are free and willing selves. In recent times, the (free) will has come under attack yet again. Findings from the neuro- and cognitive sciences claim the concept of will to be scientifically untenable, specifying that it is our brain rather than our 'self' which decides what we want to do. In spite of these challenges however, the willing self has come to take centre stage in our society: juridical and moral practices ascribing guilt, or the organization of everyday life attributing responsibilities, for instance, can hardly be understood without taking recourse to the willing subject. In this vein, the authors address topics such as the genealogy of the concept of willing selves, the discourse on agency in neuroscience and sociology, the political debate on volition within neoliberal and neoconservative regimes, approaches toward novel forms of relational responsibility as well as moral evaluations in conceptualizing autonomy

Reconstruction of Fundamental SUSY Parameters

We summarize methods and expected accuracies in determining the basic low-energy SUSY parameters from experiments at future e$^+$e$^-$ linear colliders in the TeV energy range, combined with results from LHC. In a second step we demonstrate how, based on this set of parameters, the fundamental supersymmetric theory can be reconstructed at high scales near the grand unification or Planck scale. These analyses have been carried out for minimal supergravity [confronted with GMSB for comparison], and for a string effective theory.Comment: 8 pages, latex, 7 figures, expanded version of contributions to the proceedings of ICHEP.2002 (Amstersdam) and LCWS.2002 (Jeju Island