927 research outputs found
The political identities of neighbourhood planning in England
The rise of neighbourhood planning has been characterised as another step in a remorseless de-politicisation of the public sphere. A policy initiated by the Coalition Government in England to create the conditions for local communities to support housing growth, neighbourhood planning appears to evidence a continuing retreat from political debate and contestation. Clear boundaries are established for the holistic integration of participatory democracy into the strategic plan-making of the local authority. These boundaries seek to take politics out of development decisions and exclude all issues of contention from discussion. They achieve this goal at the cost of arming participatory democracy with a collective identity around which new antagonisms may develop. Drawing on the post-political theories of Chantal Mouffe this paper identifies the return of antagonism and conflict to participation in spatial planning. Key to its argument is the concept of the boundary or frontier that in Mouffe’s theoretical framework institutionalises conflict between political entities. Drawing on primary research with neighbourhood development plans in England the paper explores how boundary conditions and boundary designations generate antagonism and necessitate political action. The paper charts the development of the collective identities that result from these boundary lines and argues for the potential for neighbourhood planning to restore political conflict to the politics of housing development
New Constraints on the Galactic Halo Magnetic Field using Rotation Measures of Extragalactic Sources Towards the Outer Galaxy
We present a study of the Milky Way disk and halo magnetic field, determined
from observations of Faraday rotation measure (RM) towards 641 polarized
extragalactic radio sources in the Galactic longitude range 100-117 degs,
within 30 degs of the Galactic plane. For |b| < 15 degs, we observe a symmetric
RM distribution about the Galactic plane. This is consistent with a disk field
in the Perseus arm of even parity across the Galactic mid-plane. In the range
15<|b|<30 degs, we find median rotation measures of -15+/-4 rad/m^2 and -62+/-5
rad/m^2 in the northern and southern Galactic hemispheres, respectively. If the
RM distribution is a signature of the large-scale field parallel to the
Galactic plane, this suggests that the halo magnetic field toward the outer
Galaxy does not reverse direction across the mid-plane. The variation of RM as
a function of Galactic latitude in this longitude range is such that RMs become
more negative at larger |b|. This is consistent with an azimuthal magnetic
field of strength 2 microGauss (7 microGauss) at a height 0.8-2 kpc above
(below) the Galactic plane between the local and the Perseus spiral arm. We
propose that the Milky Way could possess spiral-like halo magnetic fields
similar to those observed in M51.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ.
Electronic version of Table 1 is available via email from the first autho
Invariant construction of solutions to Einstein's field equations - LRS perfect fluids II
The properties of LRS class II perfect fluid space-times are analyzed using
the description of geometries in terms of the Riemann tensor and a finite
number of its covariant derivatives. In this manner it is straightforward to
obtain the plane and hyperbolic analogues to the spherical symmetric case. For
spherically symmetric static models the set of equations is reduced to the
Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation only. Some new non-stationary and
inhomogeneous solutions with shear, expansion, and acceleration of the fluid
are presented. Among these are a class of temporally self-similar solutions
with equation of state given by , and a class of
solutions characterized by . We give an example of geometry
where the Riemann tensor and the Ricci rotation coefficients are not sufficient
to give a complete description of the geometry. Using an extension of the
method, we find the full metric in terms of curvature quantities.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figur
SDSS J094604.90+183541.8: A Gravitationally Lensed Quasar at z=4.8
We report the discovery of a gravitationally lensed quasar identified
serendipitously in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The object, SDSS
J094604.90+183541.8, was initially targeted for spectroscopy as a luminous red
galaxy, but the SDSS spectrum has the features of both a z=0.388 galaxy and a
z=4.8 quasar. We have obtained additional imaging that resolves the system into
two quasar images separated by 3.06 arcsec and a bright galaxy that is strongly
blended with one of the quasar images. We confirm spectroscopically that the
two quasar images represent a single lensed source at z=4.8 with a total
magnification of 3.2, and we derive a model for the lensing galaxy. This is the
highest redshift lensed quasar currently known. We examine the issues
surrounding the selection of such an unusual object from existing data and
briefly discuss implications for lensed quasar surveys.Comment: AJ accepted, 9 pages, 6 figures, referee suggestions include
The Covariant Approach to LRS Perfect Fluid Spacetime Geometries
The dynamics of perfect fluid spacetime geometries which exhibit {\em Local
Rotational Symmetry} (LRS) are reformulated in the language of a
"threading" decomposition of the spacetime manifold, where covariant fluid and
curvature variables are used. This approach presents a neat alternative to the
orthonormal frame formalism. The dynamical equations reduce to a set of
differential relations between purely scalar quantities. The consistency
conditions are worked out in a transparent way. We discuss their various
subcases in detail and focus in particular on models with higher symmetries
within the class of expanding spatially inhomogeneous LRS models, via a
consideration of functional dependencies between the dynamical variables.Comment: 25 pages, uuencoded/compressed postscript fil
Engineering Support Systems for Industrial Machines and Plants
In the business of industrial machines and plants, rapid and detailed estimates for planning installation, replacement of equipment, or maintenance work are key requirements for meeting the demands for greater reliability, lower costs and for maintaining safe and secure operation. These demands have been addressed by developing technology driven by IT. When replacing equipment at complex building or plants with high equipment density, the existing state of the installation locations and transportation routes for old and new equipment need to be properly measured. We have met this need by developing parts recognition technology based on 3D measurement, and by developing high-speed calculation technology of optimal routes for installation parts. This chapter provides an overview of these development projects with some real business application results
Biodiversity, traditional medicine and public health: where do they meet?
Given the increased use of traditional medicines, possibilities that would ensure its successful integration into a public health framework should be explored. This paper discusses some of the links between biodiversity and traditional medicine, and addresses their implications to public health. We explore the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services to global and human health, the risks which human impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity present to human health and welfare
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