Capacity-building activities related to climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment and economic valuation for Fiji

The Terms of Reference for this work specified three objectives to the Fiji component: Objective 1a: to provide a prototype FIJICLIM model (covered under PICCAP funding) Objective 1b: to provide training and transfer of FIJICLIM Objective 1c: to present and evaluate World Bank study findings and to identify future directions for development and use of FIJICLIM (2-day workshop) Proceedings of the training course and workshop were prepared by the Fiji Department of Environment. The summaries from these proceedings reflect a very high degree of success with the contracted activities

Dynamical reduction of the dimensionality of exchange interactions and the "spin-liquid" phase of κ\kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2X_2X

We show that the anisotropy of the effective spin model for the dimer Mott insulator phase of $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2X$ salts is dramatically different from that of the underlying tight-binding model. Intra-dimer quantum interference results in a model of coupled spin chains, where frustrated interchain interactions suppress long-range magnetic order. Thus, we argue, the "spin liquid" phase observed in some of these materials is a remnant of the Tomonaga-Luttinger physics of a single chain. This is consistent with previous experiments and resolves some outstanding puzzles. An erratum [Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 199901 (2018).] is added as an appendix.Comment: Accepted by PRL, 6 pages, 5 figure

Sustained load crack growth design data for Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy tanks containing hydrazine

Sustained load crack growth data for Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy in hydrazine per MIL-P-26536 and refined hydrazine are presented. Fracture mechanics data on crack growth thresholds for heat-treated forgings, aged and unaged welds, and aged and unaged heat-affected zones are reported. Fracture mechanics design curves of crack growth threshold stress intensity versus temperature are generated from 40 to 71 C

The effects of climate change and variation in New Zealand: An assessment using the CLIMPACTS system

Along with a need to better understand the climate and biophysical systems of New Zealand, the need to develop an improved capacity for evaluating possible changes in climate and their effects on the New Zealand environment has been recognised. Since the middle of 1993 the CLIMPACTS programme, has been focused on the development of such a capacity, in the first instance for the agricultural sector. the goals of this present assessment are: 1. To present current knowledge on likely scenarios of climate change and associated uncertainties in New Zealand; 2. To present current knowledge, based on quantitative analyses using a consistent set of scenarios, on the likely effects of climate change on a range of agricultural and horticultural crops of economic importance; 3. To demonstrate, by way of this report and the associated technical report, the capacity that has been developed for ongoing assessments of this kind in New Zealand. This report has been prepared for both the science and policy communities in New Zealand. There are two main components: 1. The detailed findings of the assessment, presented in a series of chapters; 2. An annex, which contains technical details on models used in the assessment

Towards mechanomagnetics in elastic crystals: insights from [Cu(acac)2_2]

We predict that the magnetic properties of \cuacac, an elastically flexible crystal, change dramatically when the crystal is bent. We find that unbent \cuacac\ is an almost perfect Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid. Broken-symmetry density functional calculations reveal that the magnetic exchange interactions along the chains is an order of magnitude larger than the interchain exchange. The geometrically frustrated interchain interactions cannot magnetically order the material at any experimentally accessible temperature. The ordering temperature ($T_N$), calculated from the chain random phase approximation, increases by approximately 24 orders of magnitude when the material is bent. We demonstrate that geometric frustration both suppresses $T_N$ and enhances the sensitivity of $T_N$ to bending. In \cuacac, $T_N$ is extremely sensitive to bending, but remains too low for practical applications, even when bent. Partially frustrated materials could achieve the balance of high $T_N$ and good sensitivity to bending required for practical applications of mechanomagnetic elastic crystals

The Trouble with the MDGs: Confronting Expectations of Aid and Development Success

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are unlikely to be met by 2015, even if huge increases in development assistance materialize. The MDGs are a set of quantitative, time-bound targets for indicators such as poverty, education and mortality in developing countries adopted unanimously by the UN in 2000. However, the rates of progress required by many of the goals are at the edges of or beyond historical precedent. At the same time, there appear to be limits to the degree to which aid can contribute to development outcomes. Estimates of the ‘cost’ of reaching the MDGs are nevertheless frequently misinterpreted to mean that a certain quantity of aid—such as the oft-cited $50 billion—could cause the Goals to be met. Despite many benefits of the MDGs, there has been little discussion so far of potential costs of the specific form taken by these goals, especially the creation of unreasonable expectations about what is achievable in a short time frame and about the role of aid in the development process. Many countries making extraordinarily rapid progress on MDG indicators, due in large part to aid, will nonetheless not reach the MDGs. Unrealistic targets thus may turn successes into perceptions of failure, serving to undermine future constituencies for aid (in donors) and reform (in recipients). This would be unfortunate given the vital role of aid and reform in the development process and the need for long-term, sustained aid commitments. Though goal-setting can be useful, these particular goals might be better viewed not as practical targets but instead as valuable reminders of the stark contrast between the world we have and the world we want, and as a call to redouble our search for interventions to close the gap more rapidly.Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), development assistance

An investigation of children's peer trust across culture: is the composition of peer trust universal?

The components of children's trust in same-gender peers (trust beliefs, ascribed trustworthiness, and dyadic reciprocal trust) were examined in samples of 8- to 11-year-olds from the UK, Italy, and Japan. Trust was assessed by children's ratings of the extent to which same-gender classmates kept promises and kept secrets. Social relations analyses confirmed that children from each country showed significant: (a) actor variance demonstrating reliable individual differences in trust beliefs, (b) partner variance demonstrating reliable individual differences in ascribed trustworthiness, and (c ) relationship variance demonstrating unique relationships between interaction partners. Cultural differences in trust beliefs and ascribed trustworthiness also emerged and these differences were attributed to the tendency for children from cultures that value societal goals to share personal information with the peer group

Methyl 2-[(ferrocenylcarbonyl)amino]thiophene-3-carboxylate

The title compound, [Fe(C₅H₅)(C₁₂H₁₀NO₃S)], was synthesized from ferrocenecarboxylic acid and methyl 2-aminothiophene-3-carboxylate in modest yield. The substituted ring system is essentially planar through the amidothienylcarboxylate moiety, η⁵-(C₅H₄)CONH(C₄H₂S)CO₂Me, with the amido unit at an angle of 3.60 (7)° to the five-atom thienyl group, which is oriented at an angle of 3.17 (7)° to the ester moiety. The primary hydrogen bond is an intramolecular N-H...O=Ccarboxylate interaction [N...O 2.727 (2) Å], and the main intermolecular hydrogen bond involves a thienyl carboxylate and the carboxylate of a symmetry-related molecule [C...O 3.443 (3) Å]