A content analysis of financial advertisements

The main objective of this thesis is to expose the present format assumed by financial advertisements. This objective was met by content analysing all financial advertisements which appeared in two years copies of the Investors Chronicle. The specific issues addressed in meeting the research objective were those of: The relative importance placed on financial advertisements in each year studied; the relative stress placed on a financial entry; page size assumed by each advertisement and; advertisement constitution. The above objective was furnished by studying: i] Conceptual Framework projects connected with financial reporting; ii] Behavioral\psychological factors in the presentation decision of management\preparers. iii] The nature of the advertising process. The study shows that there is much room for improvement in the presentation of financial advertisements, as when viewed from a critical angle less than neutral representations can be detected. It argues that such a problem can be addressed through regulation - a conceptual framework covering this area was recommended

The effect of Limber and flat-sky approximations on galaxy weak lensing

We review the effect of the commonly-used Limber and flat-sky approximations on the calculation of shear power spectra and correlation functions for galaxy weak lensing. These approximations are accurate at small scales, but it has been claimed recently that their impact on low multipoles could lead to an increase in the amplitude of the mass fluctuations inferred from surveys such as CFHTLenS, reducing the tension between galaxy weak lensing and the amplitude determined by Planck from observations of the cosmic microwave background. Here, we explore the impact of these approximations on cosmological parameters derived from weak lensing surveys, using the CFHTLenS data as a test case. We conclude that the use of small-angle approximations for cosmological parameter estimation is negligible for current data, and does not contribute to the tension between current weak lensing surveys and Planck

Estimating sowing and harvest dates based on the Asian summer monsoon

Sowing and harvest dates are a significant source of uncertainty within crop models, especially for regions where high-resolution data are unavailable or, as is the case in future climate runs, where no data are available at all. Global datasets are not always able to distinguish when wheat is grown in tropical and subtropical regions, and they are also often coarse in resolution. South Asia is one such region where large spatial variation means higher-resolution datasets are needed, together with greater clarity for the timing of the main wheat growing season. Agriculture in South Asia is closely associated with the dominating climatological phenomenon, the Asian summer monsoon (ASM). Rice and wheat are two highly important crops for the region, with rice being mainly cultivated in the wet season during the summer monsoon months and wheat during the dry winter. We present a method for estimating the crop sowing and harvest dates for rice and wheat using the ASM onset and retreat. The aim of this method is to provide a more accurate alternative to the global datasets of cropping calendars than is currently available and generate more representative inputs for climate impact assessments. We first demonstrate that there is skill in the model prediction of monsoon onset and retreat for two downscaled general circulation models (GCMs) by comparing modelled precipitation with observations. We then calculate and apply sowing and harvest rules for rice and wheat for each simulation to climatological estimates of the monsoon onset and retreat for a present day period. We show that this method reproduces the present day sowing and harvest dates for most parts of India. The application of the method to two future simulations demonstrates that the estimated sowing and harvest dates are successfully modified to ensure that the growing season remains consistent with the internal model climate. The study therefore provides a useful way of modelling potential growing season adaptations to changes in future climate

(1+3) Covariant Dynamics of Scalar Perturbations in Braneworlds

We discuss the dynamics of linear, scalar perturbations in an almost Friedmann-Robertson-Walker braneworld cosmology of Randall-Sundrum type II using the 1+3 covariant approach. We derive a complete set of frame-independent equations for the total matter variables, and a partial set of equations for the non-local variables which arise from the projection of the Weyl tensor in the bulk. The latter equations are incomplete since there is no propagation equation for the non-local anisotropic stress. We supplement the equations for the total matter variables with equations for the independent constituents in a cold dark matter cosmology, and provide solutions in the high and low-energy radiation-dominated phase under the assumption that the non-local anisotropic stress vanishes. These solutions reveal the existence of new modes arising from the two additional non-local degrees of freedom. Our solutions should prove useful in setting up initial conditions for numerical codes aimed at exploring the effect of braneworld corrections on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum. As a first step in this direction, we derive the covariant form of the line of sight solution for the CMB temperature anisotropies in braneworld cosmologies, and discuss possible mechanisms by which braneworld effects may remain in the low-energy universe.Comment: 22 pages replaced with additional references and minor corrections in Revtex4, and accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Implications of Lorentz covariance for the guidance equation in two-slit quantum interference

It is known that Lorentz covariance fixes uniquely the current and the associated guidance law in the trajectory interpretation of quantum mechanics for spin particles. In the non-relativistic domain this implies a guidance law for the electron which differs by an additional spin-dependent term from that originally proposed by de Broglie and Bohm. In this paper we explore some of the implications of the modified guidance law. We bring out a property of mutual dependence in the particle coordinates that arises in product states, and show that the quantum potential has scalar and vector components which implies the particle is subject to a Lorentz-like force. The conditions for the classical limit and the limit of negligible spin are given, and the empirical sufficiency of the model is demonstrated. We then present a series of calculations of the trajectories based on two-dimensional Gaussian wave packets which illustrate how the additional spin-dependent term plays a significant role in structuring both the individual trajectories and the ensemble. The single packet corresponds to quantum inertial motion. The distinct features encountered when the wavefunction is a product or a superposition are explored, and the trajectories that model the two-slit experiment are given. The latter paths exhibit several new characteristics compared with the original de Broglie-Bohm ones, such as crossing of the axis of symmetry.Comment: 27 pages including 6 pages of figure

Cidadania médica, culturas e poder nos cuidados perinatais e pediátricos de imigrantes

Through detailed ethnographic descriptions of Cape Verdean student migrant mothers' encounters with the Portuguese health system, based on two years of fieldwork, the aim of the paper is to elucidate the power relations inherent in institutionalised medical encounters through which cultural differences are ignored, misconstrued and criticised in order to provide a critical reflection upon the principle of equal, universal treatment for all. The observation of medical encounters constitutes part of a broader methodological approach of accompanying the mothers to appointments with doctors, social workers and immigration officials, as well as conducting semi-structured interviews with the women upon their experiences of motherhood. The ethnography not only highlights the shortcomings of a policy of blind universalism which denies difference in the name of humanism and human rights but also reveals the need to make a conceptual distinction between "health literacy" and "health systems literacy". By demonstrating how biomedical knowledge cannot be separated from the cultural context within which it is practised, the paper argues that promoting the systems literacy of immigrants who are literate in alternative health approaches and systems should be regarded as part of a wider strategy to increase the intercultural competency of doctors and patients alike. Refraining from using the term "health literacy" which implicitly labels immigrants as "illiterate", acknowledges their cultures and alternative health practices and concerns and contributes towards dissolving the knowledge hierarchies between doctors and immigrant patients.Através de uma descrição detalhada das consultas médicas de mães Cabo-Verdianas, estudantes em Portugal, observadas ao longo de dois anos de trabalho de campo, este artigo pretende elucidar as relações de poder inerentes na institucionalização da biomedicina em que as diferenças culturais são ignoradas, mal-entendidas e criticadas, oferecendo uma análise crítica sobre o princípio de tratamento igual para todos. A observação das consultas médicas faz parte de uma abordagem metodológica mais abrangente de acompanhar mães nas suas consultas com assistentes sociais e oficiais da imigração e de realizar entrevistas semi-estruturadas com as mulheres sobre as suas experiências de maternidade. A etnografia revela não só as limitações de uma política de um universalismo cego que nega as diferenças em nome do humanismo e dos direitos universais como revela a necessidade de se fazer uma distinção conceptual entre "literacia no domínio da saúde" (LDS) e "literacia dos sistemas de saúde" (LSS). Ao demonstrar como a biomedicina não pode ser separada do contexto cultural no qual é praticada, o artigo argumenta que o objectivo de promover a LSS de imigrantes, conhecedores de outras abordagens e sistemas de saúde, devia ser considerado como uma estratégia mais ampla de promoção de competência intercultural que visa ajudar tanto os médicos como os pacientes. Evitar utilizar o termo LDS que implicitamente rotula imigrantes como "analfabetos", é uma forma de valorizar as suas culturas, práticas e interesses alternativas em matéria de saúde e de ajudar a dissolver a hierarquia dos saberes entre médicos e pacientes imigrantes

Invited Review: IPCC, Agriculture and Food - A Case of Shifting Cultivation and History.

Since 1990 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has produced five Assessment Reports (ARs), in which agriculture as the production of food for humans via crops and livestock have featured in one form or another. A constructed data base of the ca. 2,100 cited experiments and simulations in the five ARs were analysed with respect to impacts on yields via crop type, region and whether or not adaptation was included. Quantitative data on impacts and adaptation in livestock farming have been extremely scarce in the ARs. The main conclusions from impact and adaptation are that crop yields will decline but that responses have large statistical variation. Mitigation assessments in the ARs have used both bottom-up and top-down methods but need better to link emissions and their mitigation with food production and security. Relevant policy options have become broader in later ARs and included more of the social and non-production aspects of food security. Our overall conclusion is that agriculture and food security, which are two of the most central, critical and imminent issues in climate change, have been dealt with in an unfocussed and inconsistent manner between the IPCC five ARs. This is partly a result of agriculture spanning two IPCC working groups but also the very strong focus on projections from computer crop simulation modelling. For the future, we suggest a need to examine interactions between themes such as crop resource use efficiencies and to include all production and non-production aspects of food security in future roles for integrated assessment models

Constraints on the neutrino mass and the primordial magnetic field from the matter density fluctuation parameter σ8\sigma_8

We have made an analysis of limits on the neutrino mass based upon the formation of large-scale structure in the presence of a primordial magnetic field. We find that a new upper bound on the neutrino mass is possible based upon fits to the cosmic microwave background and matter power spectrum when the existing independent constraints on the matter density fluctuation parameter $\sigma_8$ and the primordial magnetic field are taken into account.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, final version to appear in Phys. Rev. D, to match proof

Enhanced Leaf Cooling Is a Pathway to Heat Tolerance in Common Bean

Common bean is the most consumed legume in the world and an important source of protein in Latin America, Eastern, and Southern Africa. It is grown in a variety of environments with mean air temperatures of between 14°C and 35°C and is more sensitive to high temperatures than other legumes. As global heating continues, breeding for heat tolerance in common bean is an urgent priority. Transpirational cooling has been shown to be an important mechanism for heat avoidance in many crops, and leaf cooling traits have been used to breed for both drought and heat tolerance. As yet, little is known about the magnitude of leaf cooling in common bean, nor whether this trait is functionally linked to heat tolerance. Accordingly, we explore the extent and genotypic variation of transpirational cooling in common bean. Our results show that leaf cooling is an important heat avoidance mechanism in common bean. On average, leaf temperatures are 5°C cooler than air temperatures, and can range from between 13°C cooler and 2°C warmer. We show that the magnitude of leaf cooling keeps leaf temperatures within a photosynthetically functional range. Heat tolerant genotypes cool more than heat sensitive genotypes and the magnitude of this difference increases at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, we find that differences in leaf cooling are largest at the top of the canopy where determinate bush beans are most sensitive to the impact of high temperatures during the flowering period. Our results suggest that heat tolerant genotypes cool more than heat sensitive genotypes as a result of higher stomatal conductance and enhanced transpirational cooling. We demonstrate that it is possible to accurately simulate the temperature of the leaf by genotype using only air temperature and relative humidity. Our work suggests that greater leaf cooling is a pathway to heat tolerance. Bean breeders can use the difference between air and leaf temperature to screen for genotypes with enhanced capacity for heat avoidance. Once evaluated for a particular target population of environments, breeders can use our model for modeling leaf temperatures by genotype to assess the value of selecting for cooler beans

What can be learned from the lensed cosmic microwave background B-mode polarization power spectrum?

The effect of weak gravitational lensing on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies and polarization will provide access to cosmological information that cannot be obtained from the primary anisotropies alone. We compare the information content of the lensed B-mode polarization power spectrum, properly accounting for the non-Gaussian correlations between the power on different scales, with that of the unlensed CMB fields and the lensing potential. The latter represent the products of an (idealised) optimal analysis that exploits the lens-induced non-Gaussianity to reconstruct the fields. Compressing the non-Gaussian lensed CMB into power spectra is wasteful and leaves a tight degeneracy between the equation of state of dark energy and neutrino mass that is much stronger than in the more optimal analysis. Despite this, a power spectrum analysis will be a useful first step in analysing future B-mode polarization data. For this reason, we also consider how to extract accurate parameter constraints from the lensed B-mode power spectrum. We show with simulations that for cosmic-variance-limited measurements of the lensed B-mode power, including the non-Gaussian correlations in existing likelihood approximations gives biased parameter results. We develop a more refined likelihood approximation that performs significantly better. This new approximation should also be of more general interest in the wider context of parameter estimation from Gaussian CMB data.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. Very minor changes to match version accepted by Phys. Rev.