44,420 research outputs found
The limits of market-based governance and accountability - PFI refinancing and the resurgence of the regulatory state
The refinancing of PFI (Private Finance Initiative) projects currently represents one of the most contentious aspects of Public Private Partnership in the UK. The negative publicity associated with UK PFI refinancing deals is associated with two main factors, namely evidence of massive private sector profit making in connection with past refinancing deals, and the âfailureâ of private sector financiers to share refinancing profits with public sector organisations in line with government recommendations. This paper examines the ongoing âdance of non-regulationâ associated with PFI refinancing on the basis of traditional Marxist notions of âcontradictions of capitalismâ. Our analysis commences with the argument that PFI represents a prototypical case of an alliance between finance capital and the state, which has been created with the principal purpose of establishing a new source of profits for the private sector. A Marxist analysis of state-business relationships would predict such an alliance to show tendencies towards instability which could arise from a number of factors. These include, among others, the inherent lack of legitimacy of such an alliance vis a vis established policy goals and the stakeholders associated with them; a lack of a credible regulatory framework which, as a systemic prerequisite of private sector profit making, further exacerbates existing problems of legitimation; and, perhaps most importantly, the potentially self-defeating attempt by capital to maximise gains from the exploitation of the existing alliance without concern for the possibility of a political or regulatory backlash. Examining the recent history of PFI refinancing we find evidence of most of these destabilising tendencies which we expect to trigger calls for a greater regulation of PFI projects in the future
The limits of market-based governance and accountability - PFI refinancing and the resurgence of the regulatory state
The refinancing of PFI (Private Finance Initiative) projects currently represents one of the most contentious aspects of Public Private Partnership in the UK. The negative publicity associated with UK PFI refinancing deals is associated with two main factors, namely evidence of massive private sector profit making in connection with past refinancing deals, and the âfailureâ of private sector financiers to share refinancing profits with public sector organisations in line with government recommendations. This paper examines the ongoing âdance of non-regulationâ associated with PFI refinancing on the basis of traditional Marxist notions of âcontradictions of capitalismâ. Our analysis commences with the argument that PFI represents a prototypical case of an alliance between finance capital and the state, which has been created with the principal purpose of establishing a new source of profits for the private sector. A Marxist analysis of state-business relationships would predict such an alliance to show tendencies towards instability which could arise from a number of factors. These include, among others, the inherent lack of legitimacy of such an alliance vis a vis established policy goals and the stakeholders associated with them; a lack of a credible regulatory framework which, as a systemic prerequisite of private sector profit making, further exacerbates existing problems of legitimation; and, perhaps most importantly, the potentially self-defeating attempt by capital to maximise gains from the exploitation of the existing alliance without concern for the possibility of a political or regulatory backlash. Examining the recent history of PFI refinancing we find evidence of most of these destabilising tendencies which we expect to trigger calls for a greater regulation of PFI projects in the future
Atmospheric turbulence and superstatistics
Nonequilibrium systems with large-scale fluctuations of a suitable system
parameter are often effectively described by a superposition of two statistics,
a superstatistics. Here we illustrate this concept by analysing experimental
data of fluctuations in atmospheric wind velocity differences at Florence
airport.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. New version to appear in Europhysics News (2005
The Infrared Nucleus of the Wolf-Rayet Galaxy Henize 2-10
We have obtained near-infrared images and mid-infrared spectra of the
starburst core of the dwarf Wolf-Rayet galaxy He 2-10. We find that the
infrared continuum and emission lines are concentrated in a flattened ellipse
3-4'' or 150 pc across which may show where a recent accretion event has
triggered intense star formation. The ionizing radiation from this cluster has
an effective temperature of 40,000 K, corresponding to stars, and
the starburst is years old.Comment: 17 pages Latex, 7 postscript figures, 1 postscript table, accepted to
A
Parity-Violating Electron Scattering and Neucleon Structure
The measurement of parity violation in the helicity dependence of
electron-nucleon scattering provides unique information about the basic quark
structure of the nucleons. In this review, the general formalism of
parity-violating electron scattering is presented, with emphasis on elastic
electron-nucleon scattering. The physics issues addressed by such experiments
is discussed, and the major goals of the presently envisioned experimental
program are identified. %General aspects of the experimental technique are
reviewed and A summary of results from a recent series of experiments is
presented and the future prospects of this program are also discussed.Comment: 45 pages, 9 figure
Transverse electric scattering widths for strips-Fourier transform technique
A technique which is based on Fourier transformations is introduced for predicting scattering widths. For a strip it is shown that explicit determination of the linear current density is not necessary for bistatic or monostatic scattering width calculations. Comparisons of the predictions of the technique are made with the integral equation technique predictions, which do not require explicit evaluations of linear current densities
Phase II of the ASCE Benchmark Study on SHM
The task group on structural health monitoring of the Dynamic Committee of ASCE was formed in
1999 at the 12
th
Engineering Mechanics Conference. The task group has designed a number of analytical
studies on a benchmark structure and there are plans to follow these with an experimental program. The
first phase of the analytical studies was completed in 2001. The second phase, initiated in the summer of
2001, was formulated in the light of the experience gained on phase I and focuses on increasing realism in
the simulation of the discrepancies between the actual structure and the mathematical model used in the
analysis. This paper describes the rational that lead the SHM task group to the definition of phase II and
presents the details of the cases that are being considered
The population of deformed bands in Cr by emission of Be from the S + Mg reaction
Using particle- coincidences we have studied the population of final
states after the emission of 2 -particles and of Be in nuclei
formed in S+Mg reactions at an energy of . The data were obtained in a setup
consisting of the GASP -ray detection array and the multidetector array
ISIS. Particle identification is obtained from the E and E signals of
the ISIS silicon detector telescopes, the Be being identified by the
instantaneous pile up of the E and E pulses. -ray decays of the
Cr nucleus are identified with coincidences set on 2 -particles
and on Be. Some transitions of the side-band with show
stronger population for Be emission relative to that of 2
-particles (by a factor ). This observation is interpreted as
due to an enhanced emission of Be into a more deformed nucleus.
Calculations based on the extended Hauser-Feshbach compound decay formalism
confirm this observation quantitatively.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures accepted for publication in J. Phys.
- âŠ