Defining ethnicity in a cultural and socio-legal context : the case of Scottish gypsy-travellers

Scottish Gypsy/Travellers are 'to be regarded' as an ethnic group in Scotland by both the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive until a test case in a court of law clarifies matters. Since 2000-01 this fact has not been contested in any meaningful way and it is now the case that Gypsy/Traveller children, if they choose, can tick their own box in school Census counts. It logically follows from this that they can, in principle, experience racial discrimination. As it stands Scottish Gypsy/Travellers are undoubtedly as much an 'ethnic group' as any other which is currently protected by the Race Relations Act 1976 (as amended 2000) despite the fact that at the moment they generally lack the substantive protection of the Act in the Scottish context. It follows that Scottish Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland or Britain can experience racial discrimination which is not dissimilar to that experienced by all the minority ethnic groups currently protected by race relations legislation, including English Gypsies and Irish Travellers. Whether they do experience racism is, of course, a matter for the police and courts to address in the individual cases that occur rather than any academic analysis. The next stage of the process will, eventually, see a test case come before the Scottish courts and complete its journey through the legal system. Only when this happens will the socio-legal status of Scottish Gypsy/Traveller ethnicity be firmly decided

The socially organized basis of everyday ‘economic’ conduct: evidence from video recordings of real-life pre-verbal salesperson-shopper encounters in a showroom retail store

This paper reports the results of an analysis of the ways shoppers regularly occasioned (or attempted to occasion) or avoided (or attempted to avoid) verbal encounters with salespersons in a retail store. These everyday events are of vital importance for retail researchers and practitioners as they not only precede and influence but also make possible th

The Effect of Fishermen's Quotas on Expected Catch Rates

Fishermen's quotas have the effect of truncating catches at the quota limit. Hence the expected catch is smaller than the quota. A simple search model is developed that provides an estimation of the factor by which expected catches are reduced.Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty,

The Accountability and Independence of the Auditors-General of Australia: A Comparison of their Enabling Legislation

This paper compares the enabling legislation of the nine auditors-general of Australia from perspectives of public-sector accountability and auditor independence. Following on from the Joint Committee of Public Accounts (JCPA) 1989 and 1996 reports, and in particular English and Guthrie (2000), this study finds general similarities in the enabling legislation for all auditors-general, and striking similarities between the legislation of the commonwealth and Victoria. The policy implications of this study's findings are that for all auditors-general provisions in their enabling legislation could be further strengthened

Nineteenth Colin Clark Lecture: November 2009: What Have we Learnt? The Great Depression in Australia from the Perspective of Today

This lecture examines the lessons learnt from Australia’s experience in the 1930s, and how these lessons have informed more recent economic policy decisions including the policy responses to the current global financial crisis. The lecture argues that the lessons learnt from the Great Depression have informed the macroeconomic frameworks of today. While Australia’s policy frameworks of the 1930s were tragically ill equipped to cope with anything other than small, inconsequential macroeconomic or financial market shocks, the policy frameworks put in place in the modern era have rendered the economy much more resilient to such shocks.

Gamma-ray Timing of Redback PSR J2339-0533: Hints for Gravitational Quadrupole Moment Changes

We present the results of precision gamma-ray timing measurements of the binary millisecond pulsar PSR J2339$-$0533, an irradiating system of "redback" type, using data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope. We describe an optimized analysis method to determine a long-term phase-coherent timing solution spanning more than six years, including a measured eccentricity of the binary orbit and constraints on the proper motion of the system. A major result of this timing analysis is the discovery of an extreme variation of the nominal 4.6-hour orbital period $P_{\rm orb}$ over time, showing alternating epochs of decrease and increase. We inferred a cyclic modulation of $P_{\rm orb}$ with an approximate cycle duration of 4.2 years and a modulation amplitude of $\Delta P_{\rm orb}/ P_{\rm orb} = 2.3 \times 10^{-7}$. Considering different possible physical causes, the observed orbital-period modulation most likely results from a variable gravitational quadrupole moment of the companion star due to cyclic magnetic activity in its convective zone.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Optimized Blind Gamma-ray Pulsar Searches at Fixed Computing Budget

The sensitivity of blind gamma-ray pulsar searches in multiple years worth of photon data, as from the Fermi LAT, is primarily limited by the finite computational resources available. Addressing this "needle in a haystack" problem, we here present methods for optimizing blind searches to achieve the highest sensitivity at fixed computing cost. For both coherent and semicoherent methods, we consider their statistical properties and study their search sensitivity under computational constraints. The results validate a multistage strategy, where the first stage scans the entire parameter space using an efficient semicoherent method and promising candidates are then refined through a fully coherent analysis. We also find that for the first stage of a blind search incoherent harmonic summing of powers is not worthwhile at fixed computing cost for typical gamma-ray pulsars. Further enhancing sensitivity, we present efficiency-improved interpolation techniques for the semicoherent search stage. Via realistic simulations we demonstrate that overall these optimizations can significantly lower the minimum detectable pulsed fraction by almost 50% at the same computational expense.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures; includes ApJ proof correction

Analytics and complexity: learning and leading for the future

There is growing interest in the application of learning analytics to manage, inform and improve learning and teaching within higher education. In particular, learning analytics is seen as enabling data-driven decision making as universities are seeking to respond a range of significant challenges that are reshaping the higher education landscape. Experience over four years with a project exploring the use of learning analytics to improve learning and teaching at a particular university has, however, revealed a much more complex reality that potentially limits the value of some analytics-based strategies. This paper uses this experience with over 80,000 students across three learning management systems, combined with literature from complex adaptive systems and learning analytics to identify the source and nature of these limitations along with a suggested path forward

Australia's service sector: a study in diversity

This paper seeks to dispel some of the myths commonly harboured about service jobs, service trade and the contribution services make to productivity improvements and living standards. Services account for more than three-quarters of national output and for four out of every five jobs.services - employment - international service trade - productivity

How the youth of Britain’s Roma, Gypsy, and Traveller communities fight the injustices they face

The youth of the Roma, Gypsy, and Traveller communities are committed to fighting the injustices they face, writes Colin Clark. He argues that this form of activism may finally end the racism and stigma against them