Why didn't scientists predict the earthquakes?

The earthquakes that caused devastation in Haiti on 12 January 2010 and in Chile on 27 February 2010 have reminded us once more of the tremendous destructive power of nature. The magnitude 7 Haiti earthquake is believed to have claimed 230,000 lives; in contrast current estimates of fatalities caused by the magnitude 8.8 Chilean earthquake stand at less than 1,000, even though the earthquake released 500 times the energy of the Haiti event. However, in both countries there has been destruction of homes, businesses and infrastructure on a huge scale, creating a human and economic catastrophe that will take years to recover from

Research support: models and professionalisation

This presentation was given by Mr Simon Kerridge, Secretary of the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA), at the BRAM-NET Annual Event on the 17th February 2011. The event was organised by Dr Rosa Scoble and hosted at Brunel University. BRAM-NET (The Brunel Research Administrators & Managers Network) is a forum to share best practice and information on new initiatives between colleagues supporting research in the centre and academic areas at Brunel University

Isotopic constraints on the origin of meteoritic organic matter

Salient features of the isotopic distribution of H, C and N in the organic material found in carbonaceous meteorites are noted. Most organic fractions are strongly enriched in D with respect to the D/H ratio characteristic of H2 in the protosolar system; substantial variations in C-13/C-12 ratio are found among different molecular species, with oxidised species tending to be C-13 enriched relative to reduced species; some homologous series reveal systematic decrease in C-13/C-12 with increasing C number; considerable variation in N-15/N-14 ratio is observed within organic matter, though no systematic pattern to its distribution has yet emerged; no interelement correlations have been observed between isotope enrichments for the different biogenic elements. The isotopic complexity echoes the molecular diversity observed in meteoritic organic matter and suggests that the organic matter was formed by multiple processes and/or from multiple sources. However, existence of a few systematic patterns points towards survival of isotopic signatures characteristic of one or more specific processes. The widespread D enrichment implies either survival of many species of interstellar molecule or synthesis from a reservoir containing a significant interstellar component. Several of the questions raised above can be addressed by more detailed determination of the distribution of the H, C and N isotopes among different well-characterized molecular fractions. Thus, the present study is aimed at discovering whether the different amino acids have comparable D enrichments, which would imply local synthesis from a D-enriched reservoir, or very viable D enrichments, which would imply survival of some interstellar amino acids. The same approach is also being applied to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Because the analytical technique employed (secondary ion mass spectrometry) can acquire data for all three isotopic systems from each molecular fraction, any presently obscured interelement isotopic correlation should also be revealed, which will aid in identifying pertinent synthetic processes

Primordial material in meteorites

Primordial is a term which applied to material that entered the solar system early and became incorporated into a meteorite without totally losing its identity. Identification of such material surviving in meteorites is so far solely through recognition of anomalous isotopic compositions of generally macroscopic entities contained within those meteorites. Isotopic anomalies are, by definition, isotopic compositions which differ from the canonical solar system abundances in ways which cannot be explained in terms of local processes such as mass dependent fractionation, cosmic ray induced spallation or decay of radionuclides. A comprehensive account of isotopic anomalies is impractical here, so it is necessary to be selective. Issues which are potentially addressable through the study of such primordial material are examined. Those issues will be illustrated with specific, but not exhaustive, examples

Quantum behaviour of hydrogen and muonium in vacancy-containing complexes in diamond

Most solid-state electronic structure calculations are based on quantum electrons and classical nuclei. These calculations either omit quantum zero-point motion and tunnelling, or estimate it in an extra step. Such quantum effects are especially significant for light nuclei, such as the proton or its analogue, μ+. We propose a simple approach to including such quantum behaviour, in a form readily integrated with standard electronic structure calculations. This approach is demonstrated for a number of vacancy-containing defect complexes in diamond. Our results suggest that for the NHV- complex, quantum motion of the proton between three equivalent potential energy minima is sufficiently rapid to time-average measurements at X-band frequencies

Women-owned small and medium enterprises in England: analysis of factors influencing the growth process

Practical implications – This research has implications for government or other business development agencies seeking to understand the growth patterns and problems of women-owned enterprises in the East of England. Originality/value – There are few British studies that have focussed on growth oriented women-owned businesses. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by attempting to understand the nature and activities of such business, by analysing the main growth factors and their influence on different growth strategies.Purpose – This study attempts to understand the nature and activities of growth-oriented women-owned businesses in the East of England by highlighting the problems faced by women entrepreneurs during the growth process. Design/methodology/approach – The approach analysed the main growth factors and their influence on the adoption of different growth strategies. An online questionnaire was designed using Snap survey software™, with results exported to SPSS™ for analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected via a variety of scaled, open-ended, rank order, dichotomous, multiple choice and open questions. Findings – The research indicates that most do not opt to develop growth-oriented businesses, choosing instead small, non-scalable, locally focused businesses providing services or operating in low-tech industries. Women who are growth-oriented appear to be inhibited due to a lack of access to, and control over such resources as, capital, business premises, information and technology, production inputs, appropriate childcare, qualifications, experience, training facilities and appropriate assistance from business development agencies. Non-effective accumulation and use of social capital hinders access to appropriate decision-making circles, and limits the probability of accessing critical management and financing resources, especially through the venture capital industry

Market orientation and service quality of public sector sport and recreation providers: a case study approach.

This study examines market orientation and service quality constructs within the public sector sport and recreation providers in the U.K. A preliminary review of the literature regarding marketing as a concept, its implementation and the constructs of service quality concludes that two models measure the constructs of market orientation and service quality adequately. These are the Kohli and Jaworski (1990) market orientation model and the Cronin and Taylor (1992; 1994) service quality measure. The market orientation model has been effectively linked to performance in other studies. Related studies concerning marketing in this sector have either concentrated upon generic issues, or attempts to measure service quality, but not the implementation of the marketing concept i.e. market orientation, simultaneously combined with the measurement of service quality. This research thus attempts to ful a void in knowledge by examining the market orientation and service quality constructs, and the link to organisational performance measured directly by income, expenditure and attendance for this service sector. This is in order to make a contribution to the more effective marketing and service quality management practice for this service industry. Employing a combined research design this study investigates the dimensional structures of the two constructs and the link to performance vía quantitative means. This approach also determines the existence of other related dimensions via the qualitative research methods adopted. Finally, evaluating the results against performance criteria to determine, where appropriate statistical significance. The nature of this service provisión enabled staff to be used for the quantitative study to measure the market orientation and service quality constructs to gain a surrogate "customer perspective". The two construct models proved to be reasonably robust, with many of the elements being retaíned in both after the iterative removal of elements via Cronbach alpha reliability tests. After principal component analysis, the dimensional constructs of both models were confirmed with the retained elements, although some dimensions subdivided due to questionnaire content (negatively worded items) and contextually specific items discovered in the service quality constructs (staff and physical facilities being considered as tangibles, but in two dimensional constructs). Múltiple analysis of variance identifíed some significant differences between the four cases, identifying a statistically significant link with performance for market orientation and service quality against the more extreme measurements of income, and attendance. This was only for two of the dimensional constructs of "Reliability" and "Tangibles" for the service quality dimensions however but still providing a useful method to determine a "non management" perspective for these two elements. The qualitative phase identifíed the possibility of other important dimensions whích included elements of the Narver and Slater (1990) market orientation dimensional construct, "competitor orientation" and "interfunctional coordination", and a further dimensión of "resources", which is probably unique to this service sector. lt was concluded that use could be made of the statistically significant elements that were found from this study of the dimensions of market orientation and service quality as a single measurement instrument. They could provide an indicative means of identifying important measures linked to functional issues underlying the marketing processes i.e. intelligence gathering, intelligence dissemination and responsiveness, as well as effective perceptual measurements of the "reliability" and "tangibles" which make up this service provisión

Three `species' of Schr\"odinger cat states in an infinite-range spin model

We explore a transverse-field Ising model that exhibits both spontaneous symmetry-breaking and eigenstate thermalization. Within its ferromagnetic phase, the exact eigenstates of the Hamiltonian of any large but finite-sized system are all Schr\"odinger cat states: superpositions of states with `up' and `down' spontaneous magnetization. This model exhibits two dynamical phase transitions {\it within} its ferromagnetic phase: In the lowest-temperature phase the magnetization can macroscopically oscillate between up and down. The relaxation of the magnetization is always overdamped in the remainder of the ferromagnetic phase, which is divided in to phases where the system thermally activates itself {\it over} the barrier between the up and down states, and where it quantum tunnels.Comment: 7 pages, added numerical result

The Management of Metrics: Globally agreed, unique identifiers for academic staff are a step in the right direction.

The Metric Tide report calls for research managers and administrators to champion the use of responsible metrics within their institutions. Simon Kerridge looks at greater detail at specific institutional actions. Signing up to initiatives such as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) is a good start. Furthermore, by mandating unique and disambiguated identifiers for academic staff, like ORCID iDs, links between researchers, projects (and outputs) will become more robust

A Reading of Ephesians in the Light of the Hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur

This thesis applies the hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur to the Epistle to the Ephesians with the aim of investigating how the reader might live her life in response to the text. Ricoeur’s concept of narrative identity is used as a theoretical framework for exploring the existential appropriation of the text by the reader. The first half of the thesis is an introduction to, and critical engagement with, the basic principles of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics: the autonomy of the text, the relationship between biblical texts and history, and the referential quality of metaphor and narrative. In the second half of the thesis these principles are applied to Ephesians. Paul’s identity as the one who testifies to the revelation, and his status as a paradigm of a life lived out in response to the narrative of the text, is explored. Then the focus shifts to the reader, and her appropriation of the life of Christ. Ricoeur’s summary of the Christian life, as an interchange of death and childhood, is tested against the metaphors of spiritual death and childhood in the text to discover whether the Epistle can sustain Ricoeur’s reading. Both a Freudian and a feminist hermeneutic of suspicion are employed to test the status of the Father in relation to the reader as she takes on the sonship of Christ. Finally the ethical implications of the new narrative identity of the reader are explored, using the narrative ethics set out in Oneself as Another as a prism for reading the ethics of Ephesians, with special attention to the problematic passages on slavery and patriarchal marriage. The conclusion reflects upon the ultimate aim of Ricoeur’s hermeneutical strategy: to reach a second naiveté where, beyond the practice of criticism, the text calls the reader