Economic Populism in Post-Soviet Lithuania

In 2003, the Economist published a lauding article about Lithuania called Baltic Tiger. This was the nickname given to the Baltic states during their economic boom in the early 21st century. A popular perception that the Baltic countries quickly transformed after independence into capitalist systems had become prevalent. In actuality, the transition to a free market economy was tumultuous, marred by ideological shifts in the electorate. This research explores the motivations behind Lithuanian political activism. Why has Lithuania supported different political ideologies instead of favoring one consistently? Why did the ex-Communists return to power so soon after independence? What motivates Lithuanian political support? This paper will argue it is the conjunction of three main factors: economic pragmatism, populist candidates and a lack of strong ideological affiliations

Effective Dissipation and Turbulence in Spectrally Truncated Euler Flows

A new transient regime in the relaxation towards absolute equilibrium of the conservative and time-reversible 3-D Euler equation with high-wavenumber spectral truncation is characterized. Large-scale dissipative effects, caused by the thermalized modes that spontaneously appear between a transition wavenumber and the maximum wavenumber, are calculated using fluctuation dissipation relations. The large-scale dynamics is found to be similar to that of high-Reynolds number Navier-Stokes equations and thus to obey (at least approximately) Kolmogorov scaling.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures new version with only 4 figures; title changed; manuscript changed; accepted by PR

Two-fluid model of the truncated Euler Equations

A phenomenological two-fluid model of the (time-reversible) spectrally-truncated 3D Euler equation is proposed. The thermalized small scales are first shown to be quasi-normal. The effective viscosity and thermal diffusion are then determined, using EDQNM closure and Monte-Carlo numerical computations. Finally, the model is validated by comparing its dynamics with that of the original truncated Euler equation

A framework for the evaluation of turbulence closures used in mesoscale ocean large-eddy simulations

We present a methodology to determine the best turbulence closure for an eddy-permitting ocean model through measurement of the error-landscape of the closure's subgrid spectral transfers and flux. We apply this method to 6 different closures for forced-dissipative simulations of the barotropic vorticity equation on a f-plane (2D Navier-Stokes equation). Using a high-resolution benchmark, we compare each closure's model of energy and enstrophy transfer to the actual transfer observed in the benchmark run. The error-landscape norms enable us to both make objective comparisons between the closures and to optimize each closure's free parameter for a fair comparison. The hyper-viscous closure most closely reproduces the enstrophy cascade, especially at larger scales due to the concentration of its dissipative effects to the very smallest scales. The viscous and Leith closures perform nearly as well, especially at smaller scales where all three models were dissipative. The Smagorinsky closure dissipates enstrophy at the wrong scales. The anticipated potential vorticity closure was the only model to reproduce the upscale transfer of kinetic energy from the unresolved scales, but would require high-order Laplacian corrections in order to concentrate dissipation at the smallest scales. The Lagrangian-averaged alpha-model closure did not perform successfully for forced 2D isotropic Navier-Stokes: small-scale filamentation is only slightly reduced by the model while small-scale roll-up is prevented. Together, this reduces the effects of diffusion.Comment: 44 pages, 21 figures, 1 Appendix, submitted to Ocean Modelin

Nature of complex singularities for the 2D Euler equation

A detailed study of complex-space singularities of the two-dimensional incompressible Euler equation is performed in the short-time asymptotic r\'egime when such singularities are very far from the real domain; this allows an exact recursive determination of arbitrarily many spatial Fourier coefficients. Using high-precision arithmetic we find that the Fourier coefficients of the stream function are given over more than two decades of wavenumbers by \hat F(\k) = C(\theta) k^{-\alpha} \ue ^ {-k \delta(\theta)}, where \k = k(\cos \theta, \sin \theta). The prefactor exponent $\alpha$, typically between 5/2 and 8/3, is determined with an accuracy better than 0.01. It depends on the initial condition but not on $\theta$. The vorticity diverges as $s^{-\beta}$, where $\alpha+\beta= 7/2$ and $s$ is the distance to the (complex) singular manifold. This new type of non-universal singularity is permitted by the strong reduction of nonlinearity (depletion) which is associated to incompressibility. Spectral calculations show that the scaling reported above persists well beyond the time of validity of the short-time asymptotics. A simple model in which the vorticity is treated as a passive scalar is shown analytically to have universal singularities with exponent $\alpha =5/2$.Comment: 22 pages, 24 figures, published version; a version of the paper with higher-quality figures is available at http://www.obs-nice.fr/etc7/euler.pd

Developing a typology for peer education and peer support delivered by prisoners

Peer interventions delivered for prisoners by prisoners offer a means to improve health and reduce risk factors for this population. The variety of peer programs poses challenges for synthesizing evidence. This paper presents a typology developed as part of a systematic review of peer interventions in prison settings. Peer interventions are grouped into four modes: peer education, peer support, peer mentoring and bridging roles, with the addition of a number of specific interventions identified through the review process. The paper discusses the different modes of peer delivery with reference to a wider health promotion literature on the value of social influence and support. In conclusion, the typology offers a framework for developing the evidence base across a diverse field of practice in correctional health care

A systematic review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of peer education and peer support in prisons.

BACKGROUND: Prisoners experience significantly worse health than the general population. This review examines the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of peer interventions in prison settings. METHODS: A mixed methods systematic review of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness studies, including qualitative and quantitative synthesis was conducted. In addition to grey literature identified and searches of websites, nineteen electronic databases were searched from 1985 to 2012. Study selection criteria were: Population: Prisoners resident in adult prisons and children resident in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). INTERVENTION: Peer-based interventions Comparators: Review questions 3 and 4 compared peer and professionally led approaches. OUTCOMES: Prisoner health or determinants of health; organisational/ process outcomes; views of prison populations. STUDY DESIGNS: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed method evaluations. RESULTS: Fifty-seven studies were included in the effectiveness review and one study in the cost-effectiveness review; most were of poor methodological quality. Evidence suggested that peer education interventions are effective at reducing risky behaviours, and that peer support services are acceptable within the prison environment and have a positive effect on recipients, practically or emotionally. Consistent evidence from many, predominantly qualitative, studies, suggested that being a peer deliverer was associated with positive effects. There was little evidence on cost-effectiveness of peer-based interventions. CONCLUSIONS: There is consistent evidence from a large number of studies that being a peer worker is associated with positive health; peer support services are also an acceptable source of help within the prison environment and can have a positive effect on recipients. Research into cost-effectiveness is sparse. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO ref: CRD42012002349

A qualitative synthesis of the positive and negative impacts related to delivery of peer-based health interventions in prison settings

Background Peer interventions involving prisoners in delivering peer education and peer support in a prison setting can address health need and add capacity for health services operating in this setting. This paper reports on a qualitative synthesis conducted as part of a systematic review of prison-based peer interventions. One of the review questions aimed to investigate the positive and negative impacts of delivering peer interventions within prison settings. This covered organisational and process issues relating to peer interventions, including prisoner and staff views. Methods A qualitative synthesis of qualitative and mixed method studies was undertaken. The overall study design comprised a systematic review involving searching, study selection, data extraction and validity assessment. Studies reporting interventions with prisoners or ex-prisoners delivering education or support to prisoners resident in any type of prison or young offender institution, all ages, male and female, were included. A thematic synthesis was undertaken with a subset of studies reporting qualitative data (n=33). This involved free coding of text reporting qualitative findings to develop a set of codes, which were then grouped into thematic categories and mapped back to the review question. Results Themes on process issues and wider impacts were grouped into four thematic categories: peer recruitment training and support; organisational support; prisoner relationships; prison life. There was consistent qualitative evidence on the need for organisational support within the prison to ensure smooth implementation and on managing security risks when prisoners were involved in service delivery. A suite of factors affecting the delivery of peer interventions and the wider organisation of prison life were identified. Alongside reported benefits of peer delivery, some reasons for non-utilisation of services by other prisoners were found. There was weak qualitative evidence on wider impacts on the prison system, including better communication between staff and prisoners. Gaps in evidence were identified. Conclusions The quality of included studies limited the strength of the conclusions. The main conclusion is that peer interventions cannot be seen as independent of prison life and health services need to work in partnership with prison services to deliver peer interventions. More research is needed on long-term impacts