Structural stability, magnetic and electronic properties of Co2MnSi(001)/MgO heterostructures: A density functional theory study

A computational study of the epitaxial Co2MnSi(001)/MgO(001) interface relevant to tunneling magnetoresistive (TMR) devices is presented. Employing ab initio atomistic thermodynamics, we show that the Co- or MnSi-planes of bulk-terminated Co2MnSi form stable interfaces, while pure Si or pure Mn termination requires non-equilibrium conditions. Except for the pure Mn interface, the half-metallic property of bulk Co2MnSi is disrupted by interface bands. Even so, at homogeneous Mn or Co interfaces these bands contribute little to the minority-spin conductance through an MgO barrier, and hence such terminations could perform strongly in TMR devices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 fig

Spill(ing) Over The Edges — Accounts of Black Fugitive Women

Alexis Pauline Gumbs' Spill widersetzt sich herrschenden Konventionen des Essay-Stils, indem es äußerst experimentelle und poetische Elemente einsetzt. Aus verschiedenen Perspektiven erzählt es die Geschichte schwarzer vertriebener Frauen und ihres Kampfes um Unabhängigkeit und Freiheit. Unterschiedliche weibliche narrative und lyrische Stimmen thematisieren Rassismus und Gewalt gegenüber schwarzen Frauen im Alltag. Spill folgt hierbei der Geschichte der Versklavung von Völkern aus Afrika bis zu den Auswirkungen dieser Geschichte auf den heutigen Alltag von schwarzen Frauen. Gumbs widmet ihr Buch in dieser Hinsicht Hortense J. Spillers Black, White, and in Colour.Alexis Pauline Gumbs' Spill is experimental and poetic in its rejection of the classic essaystyle. From different perspectives, Spill tells the story of black fugitive women and their struggle for independence. Different female narrative and lyrical voices from various backgrounds deal with anti-black violence and racism in their everyday lives. They go back to the enslavement of black people, tracing its effects to black women's lives nowadays. The book is dedicated to Hortense J. Spillers' Black, White, and in Colour and invites the reader to reread and rethink Spillers' work

(Re)inventing the Human — Representations of Humanism in Sylvia Wynter’s Work

Der Sammelband On Being Human as Praxis gibt einen anschaulichen Überblick über die Arbeit von Sylvia Wynter. Ihre Texte beleuchten ein breites Spektrum an Themen, wie zum Beispiel Literatur, Geschichte, Kritische Theorie und Religion und bedient sich dabei verschiedener Genres; unter anderem Aufsätze, Dramen und Interviews. Der Sammelband beleuchtet diese Vielfalt, indem die verschiedenen Autor_Innen Themen wie Rassismus, Macht, die Frage nach "schwarzen Körpern" und „schwarzen Geographien" nachgehenOn Being Human as Praxis attempts to offer a conclusive overview of Sylvia Wynter’s work. The essays presented in this anthology engage with her texts through different, individualized lenses. Wynter’s work addresses a wide range of topics like literature, history, critical theory, and religion, and includes several genres such as essays, plays, and interviews. The essays reflect upon this variety by covering various topics including race and racial differences, the concept of power, the question of black bodies, and black geographies

Phase diagram of the excitonic insulator

Motivated by recent experiments, which give strong evidence for an excitonic insulating phase in $\rm TmSe_{0.45}Te_{0.55}$, we developed a scheme to quantitatively construct, for generic two-band models, the phase diagram of an excitonic insulator. As a first application of our approach, we calculated the phase diagram for an effective mass two-band model with long-range Coulomb interaction. The shielded potential approximation is used to derive a generalized gap equation controlling for positive (negative) energy gaps the transition from a semi-conducting (semi-metallic) phase to an insulating phase. Numerical results,obtained within the quasi-static approximation, show a steeple-like phase diagram in contrast to long-standing expectations.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, SCES'05, accepted for publication in Physica

The liability in delict of judges for wrongs committed in the course of judicial proceedings : an historical analysis of the relative immunity of the South African judiciary

Bibliography: p. xix-lvii.The focus of this thesis is on an aspect of judicial accountability that has not hitherto attracted much attention in South African law: the civil liability of the judiciary for wrongs committed in the course of judicial proceedings. More particularly, the thesis examines to what extent a South African judicial officer may be held liable in delict for infringing the proprietary or personality rights of another - almost invariably a litigant appearing before the judicial officer. The wrongful conduct in question is usually the giving of a judgement without a proper legal foundation (wrong judgement), but it may take a variety of other forms, for example defamation, insult or, less commonly, physical assault. Since judicial liability is not an invention of the modem constitutional state, but has deep and ancient roots, the investigation is inevitably and essentially an historical one. The thesis traces the development of such liability in Roman law, in early medieval law, in the ius commune (i.e., the Italian school of the Glossators and the Commentators), in Roman-Dutch law, in English law, and finally, in the South African usus hodiernus. The assessment of the modem South African law is a critical one. The question is asked whether the narrow scope of judicial liability that is presently recognised is an adequate safeguard against abuse of the judicial office, and whether it is compatible with the new constitutional order in South Africa. The topicality and controversial nature of the subject is evident from the submissions made by the judiciary to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in October 1997. It is apparent that the judges are suspicious of attempts to make them more accountable for their actions, regarding these as encroachments on their traditional independence. Significantly, it also appears that the threat of civil liability is not one that is taken seriously. The approach adopted in this thesis is that a proper balance needs to be struck between judicial independence and judicial accountability; and that, as history teaches us, civil liability is an essential component of such accountability