When do we stop digging? Conditions on a fundamental theory of physics

In seeking an answer to the question of what it means for a theory to be fundamental, it is enlightening to ask why the current best theories of physics are not generally believed to be fundamental. This reveals a set of conditions that a theory of physics must satisfy in order to be considered fundamental. Physics aspires to describe ever deeper levels of reality, which may be without end. Ultimately, at any stage we may not be able to tell whether we've reached rock bottom, or even if there is a base level – nevertheless, I draft a checklist to help us identify when to stop digging, in the case where we may have reached a candidate for a final theory. Given that the list is – according to (current) mainstream belief in high-energy physics – complete, and each criterion well-motivated, I argue that a physical theory that satisfies all the criteria can be assumed to be fundamental in the absence of evidence to the contrary (i.e., I argue that the necessary conditions are jointly sufficient for a claim of fundamentality in physics)

What is the point of reduction in science?

The numerous and diverse roles of theory reduction in science have been insufficiently explored in the philosophy literature on reduction. Part of the reason for this has been a lack of attention paid to reduction2 (successional reduction)---although I here argue that this sense of reduction is closer to reduction1 (explanatory reduction) than is commonly recognised, and I use an account of reduction that is neutral between the two. This paper draws attention to the utility---and incredible versatility---of theory reduction. A non-exhaustive list of various applications of reduction in science is presented, some of which are drawn from a particular case-study, being the current search for a new theory of fundamental physics. This case-study is especially interesting because it employs both senses of reduction at once, and because of the huge weight being put on reduction by the different research groups involved; additionally, it presents some unique uses for reduction---revealing, I argue, the fact that reduction can be of specialised and unexpected service in particular scientific cases. The paper makes two other general findings: that the functions of reduction that are typically assumed to characterise the different forms of the relation may instead be understood as secondary consequences of some other roles; and that most of the roles that reduction plays in science can actually also be fulfilled by a weaker relation than (the typical understanding of) reduction

Marketing space : a conceptual framework for marketing events

Despite the growing resonance of events within the marketing domain, they continue to receive scant coverage in academic literature, and remain a poor relation to other forms of marketing communication. This detracts from them realising their potential as a relevant and pervasive marketing delivery method. Couched between the authors previous and future (ongoing) empirical work in this area, this article provides much needed conceptual development. The paper introduces the core construct of ‘marketing space’ and associated framework. Marketing space represents the distinctive environment a marketing event creates, which is unlike that cultivated by other communication methods. Marketing space is a transient reality where representatives of an organisation come together physically, and in a planned manner, with a gathering of existing and future customer’s, clients, and wider stakeholders. Marketing events are a grouping that comprises a wide and rich variety of event types, which can be termed ‘marketing event platforms’. These range from the largest of congresses or trade shows, to the smallest and most intimate of seminars or hospitality events. The conceptual framework of marketing space, with associated concepts provides the basis of a new lexicon for practitioners and academics interested in, and utilising, events for marketing purpose. The paper also explores the rationale for the growing resonance of marketing events; examining the characteristics of events, including experiential, interactive, targeted, and relational. The paper ends with the introduction of two dichotomies to the lexicon of marketing events’ direct and indirect events, and exclusive and non exclusive events

Environments of massive stars and the upper mass limit

The locations of massive stars (> 8 Msun) within their host galaxies is reviewed. These range from distributed OB associations to dense star clusters within giant HII regions. A comparison between massive stars and the environments of core-collapse supernovae and long duration Gamma Ray Bursts is made, both at low and high redshift. We also address the question of the upper stellar mass limit, since very massive stars (VMS, Minit >> 100 Msun) may produce exceptionally bright core-collapse supernovae or pair instability supernovae.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, review paper from IAU Symposium 279: Death of Massive Stars: SNe and GRBs (P. Roming, N. Kawai & E. Pian, eds.

Wolf-Rayet content of the Milky Way

An overview of the known Wolf-Rayet (WR) population of the Milky Way is presented, including a brief overview of historical catalogues and recent advances based on infrared photometric and spectroscopic observations resulting in the current census of 642 (v1.13 online catalogue). The observed distribution of WR stars is considered with respect to known star clusters, given that <20% of WR stars in the disk are located in clusters. WN stars outnumber WC stars at all galactocentric radii, while early-type WC stars are strongly biased against the inner Milky Way. Finally, recent estimates of the global WR population in the Milky Way are reassessed, with 1,200+/-100 estimated, such that the current census may be 50% complete. A characteristic WR lifetime of 0.25 Myr is inferred for an initial mass threshold of 25 Msun.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, to appear in proceedings of International Workshop on Wolf-Rayet Stars (editors W.-R. Hamann, A. Sander, and H. Todt, publisher Universit\"atsverlag Potsdam

Evaluation of the generations together programme: learning so far. Research report DFE-RR082

"This report presents the findings from the evaluation of the Generations Together Demonstrator programme. This study was undertaken by York Consulting LLP on behalf of the then Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF); this is now the Department for Education (DfE)... The overarching aims of the evaluation were to: undertake a robust assessment of the effectiveness of intergenerational practice in improving individual’s attitudes and behaviours towards other generations; provide a greater understanding of the key challenges and critical success factors for the effective implementation and delivery of intergenerational practice, particularly in terms of partnership working; undertake a cost effectiveness assessment of each of the projects." - Page i