Introduction

What are the strategies, modalities and aspirations of island-based, stateless nationalist and regionalist parties in the twenty-first century? Political independence is now easier to achieve, even by the smallest of territories; yet, it is not so likely to be pursued with any vigour by the world's various persisting sub-national (and mainly island) jurisdictions. Theirs is a pursuit of different expressions of sub-national autonomy, stopping short of independence. And yet, a number of independence referenda are scheduled, including one looming in Scotland in autumn 2014

A different appetite for sovereignty? Independence movements in subnational island jurisdictions

Local autonomy in a subnational jurisdiction is more likely to be gained, secured or enhanced where there are palpable movements or political parties agitating for independence in these smaller territories. A closer look at the fortunes, operations and dynamics of independence parties from subnational island jurisdictions can offer some interesting insights on the appetite for sovereignty and independence, but also the lack thereof, in the twenty-first century.peer-reviewe

The first millikelvin cryocooler (mKCC): Design and performance

The design and performance of the first millikelvin cryocooler (mKCC) is presented. The mKCC is based upon a tandem Adiabatic Demagnetisation Refrigerator (ADR) that uses two single ADRs operated out of phase and connected to a common cold stage to provide continuous cooling. Development of this mKCC is part of an on-going research program to ultimately achieve sub-100 mK continuous cooling and builds upon our previous research, with each single ADR in the mKCC being a fast thermal response miniature ADR using a single crystal tungsten magnetoresistive heat switch as detailed in our 2015 publication [1]. With the mKCC operating from a 3.6 K bath temperature, the goal is to achieve continuous cooling at 250 mK (sub-100 mK is not possible without additional pre-cooling). The mKCC has dimensions of 120 × 56 × 228 mm and a mass of 4.67 kg. It can operate on very fast timescales – each superconducting magnet can be ramped to 2 Tesla in 30 s and the Chromium Potassium Alum pills have a measured sub-second thermal response, resulting in each miniature ADR being recycled in minutes. Unconventionally, the mKCC uses single crystal tungsten magnetoresistive heat switches. We present the performance of the first version of the fully automated mKCC (from a 3.6 K bath temperature), which has been determined by undertaking a range of tests analysing the cool down from 3.6 K to the operating temperature, the baseline performance, the thermal stability at the continuous stage, the reliability and repeatability in performance and the cooling power at a range of operating temperatures. The base temperature has been measured to be 750 mK and we have demonstrated that the mKCC can be operated at any temperature between 750 mK and 3 K, with the program-controlled transition between operating temperatures taking approximately 60 s. The cooling power of the mKCC (in addition to parasitic load) has been measured at a range of temperatures between 800 mK and 3 K by applying a heat load to the continuous stage via a heater; the maximum cooling power at 800 mK is 6 µW, increasing to 32 µW at 1 K and 412 µW at 3 K. In addition we conducted a six-week continuous test during which each ADR undertook 5,498 5.5 min cycles with no significant variation in performance detected. To conclude, we compare the measured performance of the mKCC to the expected performance based on mathematical thermal modelling and the performance of the miniature ADR. Whilst the measured performance does not meet the expected performance in terms of base temperature or cooling power, we have identified the limiting factors and discuss them here

Multivariate morphometric analysis of Apis cerana of southern mainland Asia

Multivariate morphometric analyses were performed on a series of worker honeybees, Apis cerana, representing 557 colonies from all of southern mainland Asia extending from Afghanistan to Vietnam south of the Himalayas. Scores from the principal components analysis revealed five statistically separable but not entirely distinct morphoclusters of bees: (1) the Hindu Kush, Kashmir, N. Myanmar, N. Vietnam and S. China; (2) Himachal Pradesh region of N. India; (3) N. India, Nepal; (4) central and S. Myanmar and Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, S. China and peninsular Malaysia; (5) central and S. India. The major morphoclusters are distributed coherently with the different climatic zones of the region. While populations are definable, nomenclatural adjustments remain for the future

Qualitative interviews in psychology: problems and possibilities

This paper distinguishes a series of contingent and necessary problems that arise in the design, conduct, analysis and reporting of open-ended or conversational qualitative interviews in psychological research. Contingent problems in the reporting of interviews include: (1) the deletion of the interviewer; (2) the conventions of representation of interaction; (3) the specificity of analytic observations; (4) the unavailability of the interview set-up; (5) the failure to consider interviews as interaction. Necessary problems include: (1) the flooding of the interview with social science agendas and categories; (2) the complex and varying footing positions of interviewer and interviewee; (3) the orientations to stake and interest on the part of the interviewer and interviewee; (4) the reproduction of cognitivism. The paper ends with two kinds of recommendation. First, we argue that interviews should be studied as an interactional object, and that study should feed back into the design, conduct and analysis of interviews so that they can be used more effectively in cases where they are the most appropriate data gathering tools. Second, these problems with open-ended interviews highlight a range of specific virtues of basing analysis on naturalistic materials. Reasons for moving away from the use of interviews for many research questions are described

Quantum resonances in selective rotational excitation of molecules with a sequence of ultrashort laser pulses

We investigate experimentally the effect of quantum resonance in the rotational excitation of the simplest quantum rotor - a diatomic molecule. By using the techniques of high-resolution femtosecond pulse shaping and rotational state-resolved detection, we measure directly the amount of energy absorbed by molecules interacting with a periodic train of laser pulses, and study its dependence on the train period. We show that the energy transfer is significantly enhanced at quantum resonance, and use this effect for demonstrating selective rotational excitation of two nitrogen isotopologues, $^{14}N_2$ and $^{15}N_2$. Moreover, by tuning the period of the pulse train in the vicinity of a fractional quantum resonance, we achieve spin-selective rotational excitation of para- and ortho-isomers of $^{15}N_2$.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

The Parkes Observatory Pulsar Data Archive

The Parkes pulsar data archive currently provides access to 144044 data files obtained from observations carried out at the Parkes observatory since the year 1991. Around 10^5 files are from surveys of the sky, the remainder are observations of 775 individual pulsars and their corresponding calibration signals. Survey observations are included from the Parkes 70cm and the Swinburne Intermediate Latitude surveys. Individual pulsar observations are included from young pulsar timing projects, the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array and from the PULSE@Parkes outreach program. The data files and access methods are compatible with Virtual Observatory protocols. This paper describes the data currently stored in the archive and presents ways in which these data can be searched and downloaded.Comment: Accepted by PAS

Reproductive Biology of the Cape Honeybee: A Critique of Beekman et al: A critique of "Asexually Produced Cape Honeybee Queens (Apis mellifera capensis) Reproduce Sexually,” authors: Madeleine Beekman, Michael H. Allsopp, Julianne Lim, Frances Goudie, and Benjamin P. Oldroyd. Journal of Heredity. 2011:102(5):562-566

Laying workers of the Cape honeybee parthenogenetically produce female offspring, whereas queens typically produce males. Beekman et al. confirm this observation, which has repeatedly been reported over the last 100 years including the notion that natural selection should favor asexual reproduction in Apis mellifera capensis. They attempt to support their arguments with an exceptionally surprising finding that A. m. capensis queens can parthenogenetically produce diploid homozygous queen offspring (homozygous diploid individuals develop into diploid males in the honeybee). Beekman et al. suggest that these homozygous queens are not viable because they did not find any homozygous individuals beyond the third larval instar. Even if this were true, such a lethal trait should be quickly eliminated by natural selection. The identification of sex (both with molecular and morphological markers) is possible but notoriously difficult in honeybees at the early larval stages. Ploidy is however a reliable indicator, and we therefore suggest that these "homozygous” larvae found in queen cells are actually drones reared from unfertilized eggs, a phenomenon well known by honeybee queen breeder