A Bayesian approach to the estimation of maps between riemannian manifolds

Let \Theta be a smooth compact oriented manifold without boundary, embedded in a euclidean space and let \gamma be a smooth map \Theta into a riemannian manifold \Lambda. An unknown state \theta \in \Theta is observed via X=\theta+\epsilon \xi where \epsilon>0 is a small parameter and \xi is a white Gaussian noise. For a given smooth prior on \Theta and smooth estimator g of the map \gamma we derive a second-order asymptotic expansion for the related Bayesian risk. The calculation involves the geometry of the underlying spaces \Theta and \Lambda, in particular, the integration-by-parts formula. Using this result, a second-order minimax estimator of \gamma is found based on the modern theory of harmonic maps and hypo-elliptic differential operators.Comment: 20 pages, no figures published version includes correction to eq.s 31, 41, 4

Assessing the knock-on effects of flooding on road transportation (article)

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThe dataset associated with this article is available in ORE: https://doi.org/10.24378/exe.1384Flooding can affect every aspect of our lives and road transportation is no an exception. However, the interaction between floods and transportation was not investigated closely in the past. As transportation is the lifeline of any economy, it is essential to analyse potential dangers and threads that can lead to network capacity restraints. Considering the potential of flooding to affect large areas for long durations, disruptions to transportation can result in extensive knock-on effects. To examine how flooding can impact road transportation a novel methodology was developed into a software tool which integrates flood and traffic models. The flood is simulated with InfoWorks flood model and the traffic is represented by a detailed microscopic model (SUMO), which simulates individual vehicles and their interactions. The two systems are integrated in a dynamic way, whereby changes in the flood propagation dictates the temporal variation of road network capacity restrictions. Depending on the flood characteristics, a flooded road in the traffic model undergoes either a speed limit reduction or a complete closure. Once a road has been closed for traffic, vehicles that originally pass through it are forced to choose alternative routes to reach their unique destinations. The reroute will put an additional strain on a system that is already suffering reduced network capacity. The most vulnerable roads in the network are identified after a comparison of the traffic conditions under normal and flooded situation. The results indicate that the locations of flooded streets cannot be directly associated with the most severely congested areas emphasising the significance of the knock-on effects when describing flood impacts on road transportation.European Commissio

Challenging empowerment: AIDS-affected southern African children and the need for a multi-level relational approach

Critics of empowerment have highlighted the concept's mutability, focus on individual transformation, one-dimensionality and challenges of operationalisation. Relating these critiques to children's empowerment raises new challenges. Drawing on scholarship on children's subjecthood and exercise of power, alongside empirical research with children affected by AIDS, I argue that empowerment envisaged as individual self-transformation and increased capacity to act independently offers little basis for progressive change. Rather it is essential to adopt a relational approach that recognises the need to transform power relationships at multiple levels. This analysis has implications for our wider understanding of empowerment in the 21st century. © The Author(s) 2013.This research was funded by DFID

New WHO Violence Prevention Information System, an interactive knowledge platform of scientific findings on violence.

Scientific information on violence can be difficult to compile and understand. It is scattered across websites, databases, technical reports and academic journals, and rarely addresses all types of violence. In response, in October 2017 WHO released the Violence Prevention Information System or Violence Info, an online interactive collection of scientific information about the prevalence, consequences, risk factors and preventability of all forms of interpersonal violence. It covers homicide, child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, elder abuse and sexual violence

Design, Implementation and First Measurements with the Medipix Neutron Camera in CMS

The Medipix detector is the first device dedicated to measuring mixed-field radiation in the CMS cavern and able to distinguish between different particle types. Medipix2-MXR chips bump bonded to silicon sensors with various neutron conversion layers developed by the IEAP CTU in Prague were successfully installed for the 2008 LHC start-up in the CMS experimental and services caverns to measure the flux of various particle types, in particular neutrons. They have operated almost continuously during the 2010 run period, and the results shown here are from the proton run between the beginning of July and the end of October 2010. Clear signals are seen and different particle types have been observed during regular LHC luminosity running, and an agreement in the measured flux rate is found with the simulations. These initial results are promising, and indicate that these devices have the potential for further and future LHC and high energy physics applications as radiation monitoring devices for mixed field environments, including neutron flux monitoring. Further extensions are foreseen in the near future to increase the performance of the detector and its coverage for monitoring in CMS.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, submitted to JINS

Flood impacts on road transportation using microscopic traffic modelling technique

The research presented in this paper proposes a novel methodology for modelling the impacts of floods on traffic. Often flooding is a complex combination of various causes (coastal, fluvial and pluvial). Further, transportation systems are very sensitive to external disturbances. There is insufficient knowledge on the interactions in these complex and dynamic systems. This paper proposes a methodology for integrating a flood model (MIKE Flood) and a traffic model (SUMO). Traffic on inundated roads will be interrupted or delayed according to the manner of flood propagation. As a consequence, some trips will be cancelled or rerouted and other trips will be indirectly affected. A comparison between the baseline and a flood scenario yields the impacts of that flood on traffic, estimated in terms of lost business hours, additional fuel consumption, and additional CO2 emissions. The outcome suggests that the proposed methodology can help to quantify the flood impact on transportation.Research on the PEARL (Preparing for Extreme And Rare events in coastaL regions) project is funded by the European Commission through Framework Programme 7, Grant Number 603663

Spectroscopy at B-factories Using Hard Photon Emission

The process of hard photon emission by initial electrons (positrons) at B-factories is discussed. It is shown that studies of the bottomonium spectroscopy will be feasible for the planned integrated luminosity of the B-factory experiments.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, 1 fugure, Submitted to Int.Jour.Mod.Phys.

Measuring surface-area-to-volume ratios in soft porous materials using laser-polarized xenon interphase exchange NMR

We demonstrate a minimally invasive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique that enables determination of the surface-area-to-volume ratio (S/V) of soft porous materials from measurements of the diffusive exchange of laser-polarized 129Xe between gas in the pore space and 129Xe dissolved in the solid phase. We apply this NMR technique to porous polymer samples and find approximate agreement with destructive stereological measurements of S/V obtained with optical confocal microscopy. Potential applications of laser-polarized xenon interphase exchange NMR include measurements of in vivo lung function in humans and characterization of gas chromatography columns.Comment: 14 pages of text, 4 figure

Trouble at the top: The construction of a tenant identity in the governance of social housing organizations

The project of citizen governance has transformed the social housing sector in England where 20,000 tenants now sit as directors on the boards of housing associations, but the entrance of social housing tenants to the boardroom has aroused opposition from the chief executives of housing companies and triggered regulatory intervention from government inspectors. This paper investigates the cause of these tensions through a theoretical framework drawn from the work of feminist philosopher Judith Butler. It interprets housing governance as an identificatory project with the power to constitute tenant directors as regulated subjects, and presents evidence to suggest that this project of identity fails to completely enclose its subject, allowing tenant directors to engage in ‘identity work’ that threatens the supposed unity of the board. The paper charts the development of antagonism and political tension in the board rooms of housing companies to present an innovative account of the construction and contestation of identities in housing governance