Race as Technology: From Posthuman Cyborg to Human Industry

Cyborg and prosthetic technologies frame prominent posthumanist approaches to understanding the nature of race. But these frameworks struggle to accommodate the phenomena of racial passing and racial travel, and their posthumanist orientation blurs useful distinctions between racialized humans and their social contexts. We advocate, instead, a humanist approach to race, understanding racial hierarchy as an industrial technology. Our approach accommodates racial passing and travel. It integrates a wide array of research across disciplines. It also helpfully distinguishes among grounds of racialization and conditions facilitating impacts of such racialization

Hypermedia for language learning: The FREE model at Coventry University

Coventry University is pioneering the integration of hypermedia into the curriculum for the teaching of Italian language and society with the creation of a package based on Nerino Rossi's novel La neve nel bicchiere. The novel was already in use as a basic course text, and developing a hypermedia package was felt to be the ideal way of creating a more stimulating means of access to it. The procedure used in creating the package is described, as are its contents, the ways in which the students use it and the tasks they are given to perform, the feedback from the students, and its impact on their performance. The testing of the prototype has helped in creating a new cognitive model: the FREE (Fluid Role‐Exchange Environment) which functions as a fluid and interactive ‘pool’ where the three main actors, or act ants, ie. the learner, the lecturer and the computer, exchange roles. Within the FREE, students were involved in the construction and evaluation of the courseware, as well as testing the various versions of the prototype. The development and use of hypermedia inside and outside the classroom has made it possible to change both the students’ and the lecturer's attitude towards the material being learnt. However, the courseware does not seem to equip students sufficiently for essay writing, and this problem needs further investigation

Polarimetry in the Visible and Infrared: Application to CMB Polarimetry

Interstellar polarization from aligned dust grains can be measured both in transmission at visible and near-infrared wavelengths and in emission at far-infrared and sub-mm wavelengths. These observations can help predict the behavior of foreground contamination of CMB polarimetry by dust in the Milky Way. Fractional polarization in emission from aligned dust grains will be at the higher range of currently observed values of 4-10%. Away from the galactic plane, fluctuations in Q and U will be dominated by fluctuations in intensity, and less influenced by fluctuations in fractional polarization and position angle.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of "The Cosmic Microwave Background and its Polarization", New Astronomy Reviews, (eds. S. Hanany and K.A. Olive

Self-Inverse and Exchangeable Random Variables

A random variable Z will be called self-inverse if it has the same distribution as its reciprocal 1/Z. It is shown that if Z is defined as a ratio, X/Y, of two rv's X and Y (with Pr[X=0]=Pr[Y=0]=0), then Z is self-inverse if and only if X and Y are (or can be chosen to be) exchangeable. In general, however, there may not exist iid X and Y in the ratio representation of Z.Comment: Statistics and Probability Letters (to appear, 6 pages

Fishing industry and related perspectives on the issues raised by no-take marine protected area proposals

In the face of growing calls for no-take marine protected areas (NTMPAs), the views of fishing industry representatives in south-west (SW) England on related issues are analysed. Only 23% thought NTMPAs were the way forward and a range of concerns were expressed, e.g. that the 'terrestrial' protected areas approach and related biodiversity conservation objectives will be extended to the seas, and that fish yield reductions from the loss of access to NTMPAs are very unlikely to be compensated for through spillover/export. Some interesting approaches to ameliorating these concerns emerged, such as being open and honest that NTMPAs are primarily intended to achieve biodiversity conservation benefits, reducing uncertainty concerning the potential for any secondary fisheries spillover/export benefits, justifying NTMPAs on an objective, rational basis rather than on a subjective, precautionary basis, and the quid pro quo streamlining of wider fisheries management approaches. This research reveals a more diverse range of perspectives amongst fishing industry representatives on the issues raised by NTMPA proposals than is often assumed. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A Note on Diogmitae

published or submitted for publicatio

Examining ‘Race’ in Health Research: the case for ‘listening’ to language

Health researchers must be constantly conscious of the contribution that they may or may not make to the politics of race through language. In order to unpack concepts such as multiculturalism race relations ethnic minority citizenship and so forth at the local level it is necessary to begin to understand concepts of race and racism in a global context through the shifting ontological epistemological and methodological frameworks as they relate to the study of race and racism. This paper unpacks these processes and suggests ways forward for better understanding of the language game and concepts of race in health research. To accomplish this language communication and knowledge transfer in a post-modern era are explored. The 'cookbook' approach to diversity is criticised. A relationship-centred framework is suggested as an alternative with an exploration of the meaning of the terms ethnicity and race constructed dialogically within communities. The concept of meaning itself is discussed as a social and political process constructed through language in health interfaces and power relationships

Risk governance in Nepal: Reflecting on experiences with Risk and Resilience Committees

This paper reports on fieldwork in Nepal, which produces a comparison between two communities of their perception and experience of risk. In particular, it explores contrasting ideas of risk governance based upon a community survey as well as in depth interviews with risk and resilience committee members. The paper moves to a tentative conclusion that suggests, in more urban areas the existence of a formal structure embedded in local government is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for disaster risk reduction; in contrast, in rural areas disaster risk reduction discourse is more difficult because of the overwhelming priority of maintaining livelihood security