Internet use, in- and exclusion in decision-making processes within political parties

This paper investigates the effect of internet-use on democratic decision-making processes within political parties. Through two case studies of the Green Party and the Pirate Party Germany, the influence of internet-use on these processes and their inclusiveness are shown. We argue that how the internet is used in democratic processes impacts on participation and inclusion.How internet technology interacts with decision making processes within parties depends on the existing party structure and culture. Thus, in order to achieve meaningful and inclusive participation, the institutional framework and the influence it has must be considered in process and tool design. Whereas the affordances of specific online tools have been evaluated, the institutional context in which they are embedded have so far been widely ignored. We offer a structure for analysis of these foundation

A Census of the Chamaeleon I Star-Forming Region

Optical spectroscopy has been obtained for 179 objects that have been previously identified as possible members of the cluster, that lack either accurate spectral types or clear evidence of membership, and that are optically visible (I<18). I have used these spectroscopic data and all other available constraints to evaluate the spectral classifications and membership status of a total sample of 288 candidate members of Chamaeleon I that have appeared in published studies of the cluster. The latest census of Chamaeleon I now contains 158 members, 8 of which are later than M6 and thus are likely to be brown dwarfs. I find that many of the objects identified as members of Chamaeleon I in recent surveys are actually field stars. Meanwhile, 7 of 9 candidates discovered by Carpenter and coworkers are confirmed as members, one of which is the coolest known member of Chamaeleon I at a spectral type of M8 (~0.03 M_sun). I have estimated extinctions, luminosities, and effective temperatures for the members and used these data to construct an H-R diagram for the cluster. Chamaeleon I has a median age of ~2 Myr according to evolutionary models, and hence is similar in age to IC 348 and is slightly older than Taurus (~1 Myr). The measurement of an IMF for Chamaeleon I from this census is not possible because of the disparate methods with which the known members were originally selected, and must await an unbiased, magnitude-limited survey of the cluster.Comment: 59 pages, 22 figure

Testing the Blazar Paradigm: ASCA Observations of FSRQs with Steep Soft X-ray Spectra

We present the first observations at medium-hard X-rays with ASCA in 1998 August--November of four Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs), characterized by unusually steep soft X-ray spectra (photon index, \Gamma_{0.2-2.4 keV} \sim 2-2.5), as previously measured with ROSAT. Such steep X-ray slopes are similar to those observed in synchrotron-dominated BL Lacs and are unexpected in the context of the recent blazar paradigm, where sources with strong emission lines (such as FSRQs) are dominated in soft X-rays by a flat inverse Compton tail. We find that the ASCA spectra of the four FSRQs are consistent with a power law model with \Gamma_{2-10 keV} \sim 1.8, flatter than their ROSAT spectra. This indicates the onset of an inverse Compton component at energies \gtrsim 2 keV, in agreement with the blazar unification scheme. However, these objects are still anomalous within the blazar class for their steep soft X-ray continua which, together with non-simultaneous data at longer wavelengths, hint at the possibility that the synchrotron emission extends to soft X-rays. This would imply an anomalously high synchotron peak frequency for a quasar with luminous broad lines, challenging current blazar unification schemes. Alternatively, a plausible explanation for the steep optical-to-soft X-ray continua of the four FSRQs is thermal emission from the accretion disk, similar to the blazars 3C~273 and 3C~345. In the Appendix, we present fits to the SIS data in an effort to contribute to the ongoing calibration of the the time-dependence of the SIS response at low energies.Comment: accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Supersonic water masers in 30 Doradus

We report on extremely high velocity molecular gas, up to -80 km/s relative to the ambient medium, in the giant star-formation complex 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), as observed in new 22 GHz H2O maser emission spectra obtained with the Mopra radio telescope. The masers may trace the velocities of protostars, and the observed morphology and kinematics indicate that current star formation occurs near the interfaces of colliding stellar-wind blown bubbles. The large space velocities of the protostars and associated gas could result in efficient mixing of the LMC. A similar mechanism in the Milky Way could seed the galactic halo with relatively young stars and gas.Comment: 11 pages plus 1 PS and 1 EPS figure, uses AASTeX preprint style; accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter

On the Identification of High Mass Star Forming Regions using IRAS: Contamination by Low-Mass Protostars

We present the results of a survey of a small sample (14) of low-mass protostars (L_IR < 10^3 Lsun) for 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission performed using the ATNF Parkes radio telescope. No new masers were discovered. We find that the lower luminosity limit for maser emission is near 10^3 Lsun, by comparison of the sources in our sample with previously detected methanol maser sources. We examine the IRAS properties of our sample and compare them with sources previously observed for methanol maser emission, almost all of which satisfy the Wood & Churchwell criterion for selecting candidate UCHII regions. We find that about half of our sample satisfy this criterion, and in addition almost all of this subgroup have integrated fluxes between 25 and 60 microns that are similar to sources with detectable methanol maser emission. By identifying a number of low-mass protostars in this work and from the literature that satisfy the Wood & Churchwell criterion for candidate UCHII regions, we show conclusively for the first time that the fainter flux end of their sample is contaminated by lower-mass non-ionizing sources, confirming the suggestion by van der Walt and Ramesh & Sridharan.Comment: 8 pages with 2 figures. Accepted by Ap

A Near-Infrared Imaging Survey of the Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud

We describe a near-infrared imaging survey covering approximately 1 square deg of the Chamaeleon I dark cloud. The survey is complete for K < 15.0, H < 16.0, and J < 16.5, roughly two magnitudes more sensitive than previous large scale surveys. We use the large number of background stars detected to derive an accurate near-infrared extinction law for the cloud and select new candidate members with near-infrared color excesses. We list about 100 candidates of the cloud with K > 12.0, based on their positions in the J-H, H-K color-color diagram. These new stars have low luminosities (K > 12 -- 16, H-K > 0.5 -- 1.5) and may have masses close to or even below the hydrogen burning limit.Comment: 33 pages (including tables), 8 figure

The effectiveness of manual stretching in the treatment of plantar heel pain: a systematic review

Background: Plantar heel pain is a commonly occurring foot complaint. Stretching is frequently utilised as a treatment, yet a systematic review focusing only on its effectiveness has not been published. This review aimed to assess the effectiveness of stretching on pain and function in people with plantar heel pain. Methods: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, and The Cochrane Library were searched from inception to July 2010. Studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria were independently assessed, and their quality evaluated using the modified PEDro scale. Results: Six studies including 365 symptomatic participants were included. Two compared stretching with a control, one study compared stretching to an alternative intervention, one study compared stretching to both alternative and control interventions, and two compared different stretching techniques and durations. Quality rating on the modified Pedro scale varied from two to eight out of a maximum of ten points. The methodologies and interventions varied significantly between studies, making meta-analysis inappropriate. Most participants improved over the course of the studies, but when stretching was compared to alternative or control interventions, the changes only reached statistical significance in one study that used a combination of calf muscle stretches and plantar fascia stretches in their stretching programme. Another study comparing different stretching techniques, showed a statistically significant reduction in some aspects of pain in favour of plantar fascia stretching over calf stretches in the short term. Conclusions: There were too few studies to assess whether stretching is effective compared to control or other interventions, for either pain or function. However, there is some evidence that plantar fascia stretching may be more effective than Achilles tendon stretching alone in the short-term. Appropriately powered randomised controlled trials, utilizing validated outcome measures, blinded assessors and long-term follow up are needed to assess the efficacy of stretching

New OH Zeeman measurements of magnetic field strengths in molecular clouds

We present the results of a new survey of 23 molecular clouds for the Zeeman effect in OH undertaken with the ATNF Parkes 64-m radio telescope and the NRAO Green Bank 43-m radio telescope. The Zeeman effect was clearly detected in the cloud associated with the HII region RCW 38, with a field strength of 38+/-3 micro-Gauss, and possibly detected in a cloud associated with the HII region RCW 57, with a field strength of -203+/-24 micro-Gauss. The remaining 21 measurements give formal upper limits to the magnetic field strength, with typical 1-sigma sensitivities <20 micro-Gauss. For 22 of the molecular clouds we are also able to determine thecolumn density of the gas in which we have made a sensitive search for the Zeeman effect. We combine these results with previous Zeeman studies of 29 molecular clouds, most of which were compiled by Crutcher (1999), for a comparsion of theoretical models with the data. This comparison implies that if the clouds can be modeled as initially spherical with uniform magnetic fields and densities that evolve to their final equilibrium state assuming flux-freezing then the typical cloud is magnetically supercritical, as was found by Crutcher (1999). If the clouds can be modeled as highly flattened sheets threaded by uniform perpendicular fields, then the typical cloud is approximately magnetically critical, in agreement with Shu et al. (1999), but only if the true values of the field for the non-detections are close to the 3-sigma upper limits. If instead these values are significantly lower (for example, similar to the 1-sigma limits), then the typical cloud is generally magnetically supercritical.Comment: 39 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

The new generation CMB B-mode polarization experiment: POLARBEAR

We describe the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization experiment called Polarbear. This experiment will use the dedicated Huan Tran Telescope equipped with a powerful 1,200-bolometer array receiver to map the CMB polarization with unprecedented accuracy. We summarize the experiment, its goals, and current status

HST/NICMOS detection of a partially embedded, intermediate-mass pre-main-sequence population in the 30 Doradus Nebula

We present the detection of an intermediate-mass pre-main-sequence population embedded in the nebular filaments surrounding the 30 Doradus region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using HST/NICMOS. In addition to four previously known luminous Class I infrared ``protostars,'' the NICMOS data reveal 20 new sources with intrinsic infrared excess similar to Galactic pre-main sequence stars. Based on their infrared brightness, these objects can be identified as the LMC equivalent of Galactic pre-main sequence stars. The faintest LMC Young Stellar Objects in the sample have colors similar to T Tauri and have about the same brightness as T Tauri if placed at the distance of the LMC. We find no evidence for a lower-mass cut-off in the initial mass function. Instead, the whole spectrum of stellar masses from pre-main sequence stars with ~1.5Mo to massive O stars still embedded in dense knots appears to be present in the nebular filaments. The majority of the young stellar objects can be found to the north of the central starburst cluster R136. This region is very likely evolving into an OB association.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, uses emulateapj.sty and psfig.sty. accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal (August 2001 issue