6-dimensional nearly Kaehler manifolds of cohomogeneity one

We consider 6-dimensional strict nearly Kaehler manifolds acted on by a compact, cohomogeneity one automorphism group G. We classify the compact manifolds of this class up to G-diffeomorphisms. We also prove that the manifold has constant sectional curvature whenever the group G is simple.Comment: 14 page

Discordance Between Mitochondrial and Nuclear Contact Zones Within Antelope Ground Squirrels (Ammospermophilus)

A common biogeographic pattern found in many co-distributed species along the Baja California peninsula is the genetic divergence in the Vizcaíno Desert. This separation is hypothesized to have been caused by a mid-peninsular seaway that formed during the late Miocene-middle Pleistocene and later dried, allowing contact again between formerly isolated populations. Previous phylogeographic studies on the antelope ground squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus) show a mitochondrial DNA break through the middle of the peninsula. We investigated whether (1) the mitochondrial pattern of divergence and secondary contact between the northern and southern Ammospermophilus clades are consistent with results from genome-wide nuclear data and (2) whether genetic admixture is occurring. One hundred thirty-three samples were collected spanning from the northwest US south into the Baja California peninsula and pooled using ddRADseq protocol. Our nuclear DNA analyses show a 335 km divergence between the two contact zones and low levels of admixture. Several individuals belonging to the southern clade have a northern mitochondrial haplotype, suggesting introgression. This introgression and lack of admixture suggests that there may have been ancestral hybridization between the now reproductively isolated populations.No embargoAcademic Major: Zoolog

Readers, readers, writers and engineers

Extended review of books <i>Knowledge, Power and Learning</i> and <i>Learning, Space and Identity</i>, both ed. Carrie Paechter et al., Paul Chapman Publishing (2001). ISBNs 0-769-6937-3 and 0-7619-6939-X

Open budget data: mapping the landscape

This report offers analysis of the emerging issue of open budget data, which has begun to gain traction amongst advocates and practitioners of financial transparency. Issues and initiatives associated with the emerging issue of open budget data are charted in different forms of digital media. The objective is to enable practitioners – in particular civil society organisations, intergovernmental organisations, governments, multilaterals and funders – to navigate this developing field and to identify trends, gaps and opportunities for supporting it. How public money is collected and distributed is one of the most pressing political questions of our time, influencing the health, well-being and prospects of billions of people. Decisions about fiscal policy affect everyone - determining everything from the resourcing of essential public services, to the capacity of public institutions to take action on global challenges such as poverty, inequality or climate change. Digital technologies have the potential to transform the way that information about public money is organised, circulated and utilised in society, which in turn could shape the character of public debate, democratic engagement, governmental accountability and public participation in decision-making about public funds. Data could play a vital role in tackling the democratic deficit in fiscal policy and in supporting better outcomes for citizens

Are Persons Members of a Natural Kind?

A quick answer to the question posed by the title is that they may be. Since the prevailing consensus - I think it is fair to say - regards persons not to be members of a natural kind, a longer answer is required. Sketching an outline of how that answer might proceed is the purpose of the present paper

The Endgame: America’s Exit from Syria

Ever since the 2011 Arab Spring protests in Syria fueled civil war costing nearly half a million lives to date, the US response has been cautious indecision. Syria became a proxy war with Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, the Turks, ISIS, the Kurds, and the local Syrian opposition all competing to support or oust Assad. All but the Kurds and select Syrian resistance groups opposed America. With billions spent on questionable war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, President Obama, the American public, and most of the military establishment were leery of direct US involvement in Syria. Apart from supporting the fight against ISIS and half-hearted demands that Bashar al Assad step aside as leader of Syria, neither President Obama nor President Trump have committed US troops to achieving anything more comprehensive. Optimally, the US should encourage multilateral efforts to negotiate Assad’s removal from office with Russia, address Turkish fears of Kurdish independence, or pressure Iran and Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria. Under present circumstances facing US policymakers, such optimizing is illusory. Whatever the limits and possibilities of USFP in the region today, it is clear that America needs a tactical retreat to reconsolidate its power and purpose to fight its Russian and Iranian foes another day when the direct stakes for American interests are higher