Corruption in UK local government: the mounting risks

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The state-private interface in public service provision

Political theory sets out a strong case for the state to play a major role in public service provision. Yet services are often provided by a range of state and non-state actors as well as by collaborative partnerships. This paper surveys the literature, seeking to map arrangements in developing countries and to understand the politics of different types of service provision

A geometric invariant theory construction of moduli spaces of stable maps

We construct the moduli spaces of stable maps, \bar M_g,n(P^r,d), via geometric invariant theory (GIT). This construction is only valid over Spec C, but a special case is a GIT presentation of the moduli space of stable curves of genus g with n marked points, \bar M_g,n; this is valid over Spec Z. Our method follows that used in the case n=0 by Gieseker to construct \bar M_g, though our proof that the semistable set is nonempty is entirely different.Comment: 75 pages LaTeX; the GIT construction of moduli spaces of stable n-pointed curves is now given over the integer

Definiteness and determinacy

This paper distinguishes between definiteness and determinacy. Definiteness is seen as a morphological category which, in English, marks a (weak) uniqueness presupposition, while determinacy consists in denoting an individual. Definite descriptions are argued to be fundamentally predicative, presupposing uniqueness but not existence, and to acquire existential import through general type-shifting operations that apply not only to definites, but also indefinites and possessives. Through these shifts, argumental definite descriptions may become either determinate (and thus denote an individual) or indeterminate (functioning as an existential quantifier). The latter option is observed in examples like ‘Anna didn’t give the only invited talk at the conference’, which, on its indeterminate reading, implies that there is nothing in the extension of ‘only invited talk at the conference’. The paper also offers a resolution of the issue of whether possessives are inherently indefinite or definite, suggesting that, like indefinites, they do not mark definiteness lexically, but like definites, they typically yield determinate readings due to a general preference for the shifting operation that produces them.We thank Dag Haug, Reinhard Muskens, Luca Crnic, Cleo Condoravdi, Lucas Champollion, Stanley Peters, Roger Levy, Craige Roberts, Bert LeBruyn, Robin Cooper, Hans Kamp, Sebastian Lobner, Francois Recanati, Dan Giberman, Benjamin Schnieder, Rajka Smiljanic, Ede Zimmerman, as well as audiences at SALT 22 in Chicago, IATL 29 in Jerusalem, Going Heim in Connecticut, the Workshop on Bare Nominals and Non-Standard Definites in Utrecht, the University of Cambridge, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Konstanz, New York University, the University of Oxford, Rutgers University, the University of Southern California, Stanford University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Beaver was supported by NSF grants BCS-0952862 and BCS-1452663. Coppock was supported by Swedish Research Council project 2009-1569 and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond's Pro Futura Scientia program, administered through the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study. (BCS-0952862 - NSF; BCS-1452663 - NSF; 2009-1569 - Swedish Research Council; Riksbankens Jubileumsfond's Pro Futura Scientia program

Stabilization of DAPI in Base-Catalyzed Sol-Gels Using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Sol-gels can be used as substrates for sensory materials in solutions. A fluorescent dye that binds to DNA, 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), could be used as a biosensor for a solution. Adsorption of DAPI onto silver nanoparticles causes rapid precipitation and loss of DAPI in solution. UV-vis and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) were performed to observe a solution of silver nanoparticles and DAPI. Over time, spectra of the solution greatly diminished and could no longer be accurately observed. To facilitate the stabilization of DAPI in the solution, sol-gels were synthesized via base-catalyzed hydrolysis of tetramethyl orthosilicate while in the DAPI-silver solution. Sol-gels were successfully synthesized and DAPI precipitation was prevented as suggested by UV-vis and SERS

Designing out the urban heat island effect

As the global population reaches an all time high and shows no sign of slowing, and the urban population outnumbers the rural population for the first time in human history, the social, economic and environmental issues faced by those living in urban centres become increasing relevant. The urban heat island effect is a phenomenon witnessed in cities worldwide which sees the ambient air temperatures in cities be significantly higher when compared to temperatures in the rural surroundings. A number of characteristics of cities contribute to the creation of an urban heat island: the removal of vegetation to construct buildings and road; the ability of materials such as concrete, asphalt, steel and brick to absorb, store and release heat; the energy used by a building’s services including heating, air conditioning and ventilation; vehicular movement through a city; and general lack of green spaces. Essentially, urban heat islands are caused by the land use change from natural environment to built environment

Book Review: The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery

Over the last few years, the self-assessment tool known as the Enneagram has blossomed among the college student leaders at our Christian college. One of its values has been to encourage greater self-understanding and awareness as well as a growing sense of empathy for others. The Enneagram has been particularly valuable in helping students discern how they work and play with others

Logical Pitfalls of Assuming Bounded Solutions to Expectational Difference Equations

The precedent for solving expectational difference equations has been to solve converging equations backwards and diverging equations forward by assuming the solution is bounded. This precedent often leads to incorrect solutions and has less than rigorous foundations. More rigorous procedures would be to determine the terminal condition in a finite model and take the limit of that terminal condition as the horizon goes to infinity. Also, whether one solves forward or backwards depends on the context of the difference equation, not on convergence or divergence. These new procedures reveal Woodford’s (2003) model of a cashless economy to be incomplete.expectational difference equations, infinite horizons, Woodford's cashless economy, price indeterminacy, pegging interest rates