The contribution of a ‘synergic theory of change’ approach to democratising evaluation

This paper focuses on an evaluation of three projects working with young people in innovative ways to tackle societal alcohol misuse. Rather than presenting the findings of the evaluation per se, the paper presents learning from using theory-based approaches in a collaborative way to evaluate these complex, multi-strand initiatives. Traditional evaluations conducted by academics without collaboration with stakeholders can fail to meet the needs of those delivering interventions. Drawing on interviews with practitioners involved in delivering the projects, the paper adds new evidence to epistemological debates by introducing the notion of a ‘synergic theory of change’, whereby academic expertise and the skills, knowledge and experiences of stakeholders are subject to dialogue, and a theory of change becomes the result of collaborative consensus building. This way of using theory of change in evaluation requires researchers to work in a spirit of co-production and dialogue, and it can move evaluation away from being an exercise that seeks to judge interventions and, by extension, practitioners, to one which prioritises a shared learning journey. Using a synergic theory of change approach has the potential to change the nature of evaluation and lead to a different kind of relationship between researchers and practitioners than traditional methods-based approaches allow

Chandra Observation of M84, Radio Lobe Elliptical in Virgo cluster

We analyzed a deep Chandra observation of M84, a bright elliptical galaxy in the core of the Virgo cluster. We find that the spatial distribution of the soft X-ray emission is defined by the radio structure of the galaxy. In particular we find two low density regions associated with the radio lobes and surrounded by higher density X-ray filaments. In addition to a central AGN and a population of galactic sources, we find a diffuse hard source filling the central 10 kpc region. Since the morphology of the hard source appears round and is different from that seen in the radio or in soft X-rays, we propose that it is hot gas heated by the central AGN. Finally, we find that the central elemental abundance in the X-ray gas is comparable to that measured optically.Comment: accepted to ApJ Letters, Oct 2000. 5 pages in emulateap

The XMM-Newton Detection of Diffuse Inverse Compton X-rays from Lobes of the FR-II Radio Galaxy 3C98

The XMM-Newton observation of the nearby FR-II radio galaxy 3C 98 is reported. In two exposures on the target, faint diffuse X-ray emission associated with the radio lobes was significantly detected, together with a bright X-ray active nucleus, of which the 2 -- 10 keV intrinsic luminosity is (4 -- 8) \times 10^{42} erg s-1. The EPIC spectra of the northern and southern lobes are reproduced by a single power law model modified by the Galactic absorption, with a photon index of 2.2-0.5+0.6 and 1.7-0.6+0.7 respectively. These indices are consistent with that of the radio synchrotron spectrum, 1.73 +- 0.01 The luminosity of the northern and southern lobes are measured to be 8.3-2.6+3.3 \times 10^{40} erg s-1 and 9.2-4.3+5.7 \times 10^{40} erg s-1, respectively, in the 0.7 -- 7 keV range. The diffuse X-ray emission is interpreted as an inverse-Compton emission, produced when the synchrotron-emitting energetic electrons in the lobes scatter off the cosmic microwave background photons. The magnetic field in the lobes is calculated to be about 1.7 \mu G, which is about 2.5 times lower than the value estimated under the minimum energy condition. The energy density of the electrons is inferred to exceed that in the magnetic fields by a factor of 40 -- 50.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

PCR for the detection of pathogens in neonatal early onset sepsis.

BACKGROUND: A large proportion of neonates are treated for presumed bacterial sepsis with broad spectrum antibiotics even though their blood cultures subsequently show no growth. This study aimed to investigate PCR-based methods to identify pathogens not detected by conventional culture. METHODS: Whole blood samples of 208 neonates with suspected early onset sepsis were tested using a panel of multiplexed bacterial PCRs targeting Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS), Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS), Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Ureaplasma parvum, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis and Mycoplasma genitalium, a 16S rRNA gene broad-range PCR and a multiplexed PCR for Candida spp. RESULTS: Two-hundred and eight samples were processed. In five of those samples, organisms were detected by conventional culture; all of those were also identified by PCR. PCR detected bacteria in 91 (45%) of the 203 samples that did not show bacterial growth in culture. S. aureus, Enterobacteriaceae and S. pneumoniae were the most frequently detected pathogens. A higher bacterial load detected by PCR was correlated positively with the number of clinical signs at presentation. CONCLUSION: Real-time PCR has the potential to be a valuable additional tool for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis

The iron cage of the profession: a critique on closure in the Australian accounting profession

This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the process of closure that occurs within the constructs of professions. The discussion in this paper focuses on the professional accounting bodies in Australia and how they have devolved a form of bureaucratic control over the education process through the credentialing of membership and accreditation of accounting degrees. Weber\u27s theory of bureaucracy in conjunction with Closure theory provide the framework upon which this critique is drawn. Implicit in the regulatory role of the accounting bodies is the justification of the practice of accounting and the status of the members of the professional bodies. Once those within the professional associations accept the right of the professional bodies to determine the educational requirements for membership along with the practice of accreditation of curriculum forms the iron cage. The practice of accreditation and credentialing exists in other disciplines such as medicine, engineering and law so that there exists parallels for claiming a legitimate basis for the intervention of the professional accounting bodies

A Chandra detection of diffuse hard X-ray emission associated with the lobes of the radio galaxy 3C 452

An 80 ksec Chandra ACIS observation of the radio galaxy 3C 452 is reported. A diffuse X-ray emission associated with the lobes has been detected with high statistical significance, together with the X-ray nucleus of the host galaxy. The 0.5--5 keV ACIS spectrum of the diffuse emission is described by a two-component model, consisting of a soft thermal plasma emission from the host galaxy halo and a hard non-thermal power-law component. The hard component is ascribed to the inverse Comptonization of cosmic microwave background photons by the synchrotron emitting electrons in the lobes, because its spectral energy index, 0.68+-0.28, is consistent with the radio synchrotron index, 0.78. These results reveal a significant electron dominance in the lobes. The electrons are inferred to have a relatively uniform distribution, while the magnetic field is compressed toward the lobe periphery.Comment: 4 figures, 2 tables, Accepted by ApJL (to appear in the December 1 issue

Observation of quantum interference as a function of Berry's phase in a complex Hadamard optical network

Emerging models of quantum computation driven by multi-photon quantum interference, while not universal, may offer an exponential advantage over classical computers for certain problems. Implementing these circuits via geometric phase gates could mitigate requirements for error correction to achieve fault tolerance while retaining their relative physical simplicity. We report an experiment in which a geometric phase is embedded in an optical network with no closed-loops, enabling quantum interference between two photons as a function of the phase.Comment: Comments welcom

Multifrequency VLA observations of the FR I radio galaxy 3C 31: morphology, spectrum and magnetic field

We present high-quality VLA images of the FR I radio galaxy 3C 31 in the frequency range 1365 to 8440 MHz with angular resolutions from 0.25 to 40 arcsec. Our new images reveal complex, well resolved filamentary substructure in the radio jets and tails. We also use these images to explore the spectral structure of 3C 31 on large and small scales. We infer the apparent magnetic field structure by correcting for Faraday rotation. Some of the intensity substructure in the jets is clearly related to structure in their apparent magnetic field: there are arcs of emission where the degree of linear polarization increases, with the apparent magnetic field parallel to the ridges of the arcs. The spectral indices are significantly steeper (0.62) within 7 arcsec of the nucleus than between 7 and 50 arcsec (0.52 - 0.57). The spectra of the jet edges are also slightly flatter than the average for their surroundings. At larger distances, the jets are clearly delimited from surrounding larger-scale emission both by their flatter radio spectra and by sharp brightness gradients. The spectral index of 0.62 in the first 7 arcsec of 3C 31's jets is very close to that found in other FR I galaxies where their jets first brighten in the radio and where X-ray synchrotron emission is most prominent. Farther from the nucleus, where the spectra flatten, X-ray emission is fainter relative to the radio. The brightest X-ray emission from FR I jets is therefore not associated with the flattest radio spectra, but with a particle-acceleration process whose characteristic energy index is 2.24. The spectral flattening with distance from the nucleus occurs where our relativistic jet models require deceleration, and the flatter-spectra at the jet edges may be associated with transverse velocity shear. (Slightly abridged)Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

On the Use of Group Theoretical and Graphical Techniques toward the Solution of the General N-body Problem

Group theoretic and graphical techniques are used to derive the N-body wave function for a system of identical bosons with general interactions through first-order in a perturbation approach. This method is based on the maximal symmetry present at lowest order in a perturbation series in inverse spatial dimensions. The symmetric structure at lowest order has a point group isomorphic with the S_N group, the symmetric group of N particles, and the resulting perturbation expansion of the Hamiltonian is order-by-order invariant under the permutations of the S_N group. This invariance under S_N imposes severe symmetry requirements on the tensor blocks needed at each order in the perturbation series. We show here that these blocks can be decomposed into a basis of binary tensors invariant under S_N. This basis is small (25 terms at first order in the wave function), independent of N, and is derived using graphical techniques. This checks the N^6 scaling of these terms at first order by effectively separating the N scaling problem away from the rest of the physics. The transformation of each binary tensor to the final normal coordinate basis requires the derivation of Clebsch-Gordon coefficients of S_N for arbitrary N. This has been accomplished using the group theory of the symmetric group. This achievement results in an analytic solution for the wave function, exact through first order, that scales as N^0, effectively circumventing intensive numerical work. This solution can be systematically improved with further analytic work by going to yet higher orders in the perturbation series.Comment: This paper was submitted to the Journal of Mathematical physics, and is under revie