Post 'Celtic Tiger' Ireland, Silver Vigilantes and Public Sociology: Protesting Against Global Neoliberalisation

It is not just publicly funded universities that are facing a cold and hard future in the aftershock of the 2008 global banking crisis. Nations, such as Ireland, are similarly affected as states seek to appease 'the markets' and cover private banks' losses at the public's expense. As this wave of neoliberalisation, or market fundamentalism, proceeds we may ask: what is the role of sociology? Drawing from an exploratory study of financial activism, notably silver vigilantism and the Crash JP Morgan Campaign, this paper endorses global public sociology among threatened publics. As per Michael Burawoy's calls for public sociology, this entails promoting reflexive knowledge and democratic dialogue in the defence of civil society. After outlining the core tenets, strengths and weaknesses of silver vigilantism, the role of public sociology and the need for further research are underscored as the economic crisis continues in post 'Celtic Tiger' Ireland and beyond.Public Sociology; Neoliberalisation; Money; Protest; the Internet

Analysis of the incompressibility constraint in the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method

Smoothed particle hydrodynamics is a particle-based, fully Lagrangian, method for fluid-flow simulations. In this work, fundamental concepts of the method are first briefly recalled. Then, we present a thorough comparison of three different incompressibility treatments in SPH: the weakly compressible approach, where a suitably-chosen equation of state is used; and two truly incompressible methods, where the velocity field projection onto a divergence-free space is performed. A noteworthy aspect of the study is that, in each incompressibility treatment, the same boundary conditions are used (and further developed) which allows a direct comparison to be made. Problems associated with implementation are also discussed and an optimal choice of the computational parameters has been proposed and verified. Numerical results show that the present state-of-the-art truly incompressible method (based on a velocity correction) suffer from density accumulation errors. To address this issue, an algorithm, based on a correction for both particle velocities and positions, is presented. The usefulness of this density correction is examined and demonstrated in the last part of the paper

Inviscid SPH

In smooth-particle hydrodynamics (SPH), artificial viscosity is necessary for the correct treatment of shocks, but often generates unwanted dissipation away from shocks. We present a novel method of controlling the amount of artificial viscosity, which uses the total time derivative of the velocity divergence as shock indicator and aims at completely eliminating viscosity away from shocks. We subject the new scheme to numerous tests and find that the method works at least as well as any previous technique in the strong-shock regime, but becomes virtually inviscid away from shocks, while still maintaining particle order. In particular sound waves or oscillations of gas spheres are hardly damped over many periods.Comment: 14 pages (15 in arXiv), 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Accretion dynamics in neutron star black hole binaries

We perform three-dimensional, Newtonian hydrodynamic simulations with a nuclear equation of state to investigate the accretion dynamics in neutron star black hole systems. We find as a general result that non-spinning donor stars yield larger circularization radii than corotating donors. Therefore, the matter from a neutron star without spin will more likely settle into an accretion disk outside the Schwarzschild radius. With the used stiff equation of state we find it hard to form an accretion disk that is promising to launch a gamma-ray burst. In all relevant cases the core of the neutron star survives and keeps orbiting the black hole as a mini neutron star for the rest of the simulation time (up to several hundred dynamical neutron star times scales). The existence of this mini neutron star leaves a clear imprint on the gravitational wave signal which thus can be used to probe the physics at supra-nuclear densities.Comment: submitted to MNRAS, 23 pages, 16 figure

Media, ‘Fat Panic’ and Public Pedagogy:Mapping Contested Terrain

Discourses regarding a ‘global obesity crisis’ and alternative frames (e.g. weight-inclusive approaches to health) have proliferated through various media of communication. These media range from traditional print and visual formats (e.g. newspapers and television shows) to digital media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube), which enable different publics to produce, and not just consume, text, images and other data relating to the body. Reflecting a sociological understanding of educational practices as extending beyond formal schooling, mediated obesity discourse and counter-movements have also been conceptualised as public pedagogies, which instruct people how to relate to their own and other's bodies, health and subjectivities. This article examines what is critically known about various media at a time when governments and agencies are reinvigorating the global war on obesity, with populations being ‘advised’ to become and remain conscientious weight watchers. In conclusion, the article underscores the salience of social studies of the media when seeking to rethink obesity, incorporating critical reference to moral panic theory and the need to better understand what media can ‘do’ as enactments of public pedagogy.</p

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulations of white dwarf collisions and close encounters

The collision of two white dwarfs is a quite frequent event in dense stellar systems, like globular clusters and galactic nuclei. In this paper we present the results of a set of simulations of the close encounters and collisions of two white dwarfs. We use an up- to-date smoothed particle hydrodynamics code that incorporates very detailed input physics and an improved treatment of the artificial viscosity. Our simulations have been done using a large number of particles (~ 4 \times 10^5) and covering a wide range of velocities and initial distances of the colliding white dwarfs. We discuss in detail when the initial eccentric binary white dwarf survives the closest approach, when a lateral collision in which several mass transfer episodes occur is the outcome of the newly formed binary system, and which range of input parameters leads to a direct collision, in which only one mass transfer episode occurs. We also discuss the characteristics of the final configuration and we assess the possible observational signatures of the merger, such as the associated gravitational waveforms and the fallback luminosities. We find that the overall evolution of the system and the main characteristics of the final object agree with those found in previous studies. We also find that the fallback luminosities are close to 10^48 erg/s. Finally, we find as well that in the case of lateral and direct collisions the gravitational waveforms are characterized by large-amplitude peaks which are followed by a ring-down phase, while in the case in which the binary white dwarf survives the closest approach, the gravitational pattern shows a distinctive behavior, typical of eccentric systems.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Forced Oscillations in Fluid Tori and Quasi-Periodic Oscillations

The kilo-Hertz Quasi--Periodic Oscillations in X-ray binaries could originate within the accretion flow, and be a signature of non--linear fluid oscillations and mode coupling in strong gravity. The possibility to decipher these systems will impact our knowledge of fundamental parameters such as the neutron star mass, radius, and spin. Thus they offer the possibility to constrain the nuclear equation of state and the rotation parameter of stellar--mass black holes. We review the general properties of these oscillations from a hydrodynamical point of view, when the accretion flow is subject to external perturbations and summarize recent results.Comment: Astronomische Nachrichten, in pres

Systemic hypertension in cats with acute kidney injury

Retrospective study of cats presenting to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, Royal Veterinary College with acute kidney injury between 2007 and 2015. Systolic blood pressure was measured using Doppler sphygmomanometry and systemic hypertension was defined pressures ê150 mmHg. Median systolic blood pressure measurement, grade of acute kidney injury (as defined by the International Renal Interest Society), serum creatinine on admission, anuria or oliguria, length of hospitalisation, survival to discharge and six‐month survival were all recorded

Full gait cycle analysis of lower limb and trunk kinematics and muscle activations during walking in participants with and without ankle instability

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Lynsey Northeast, Charlotte N. Gautrey, Lindsay Bottoms, Gerwyn Hughes, Andrew C. S. Mitchell, and Andrew Greenhalgh, ‘Full gait cycle analysis of lower limb and trunk kinematics and muscle activations during walking in participants with and without ankle instability’, Gait & Posture, Vol. 64: 114-118, July 2018. Under embargo until 7 June 2019. The final, definitive version is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2018.06.001Background Chronic ankle instability (CAI) has previously been linked to altered lower limb kinematics and muscle activation characteristics during walking, though little research has been performed analysing the full time-series across the stance and swing phases of gait. Research Question The aim of this study was to compare trunk and lower limb kinematics and muscle activity between those with chronic ankle instability and healthy controls. Methods Kinematics and muscle activity were measured in 18 (14 males, 4 females) healthy controls (age 22.4 ± 3.6 years, height 177.8 ± 7.6 cm, mass 70.4 ± 11.9 kg, UK shoe size 8.4 ± 1.6), and 18 (13 males, 5 females) participants with chronic ankle instability (age 22.0 ± 2.7 years, height 176.8 ± 7.9 cm, mass 74.1 ± 9.6 kg, UK shoe size 8.1 ± 1.9) during barefoot walking trials, using a combined Helen Hayes and Oxford foot model. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was recorded for the tibialis anterior and gluteus medius. Full curve statistical parametric mapping was performed using independent and paired-samples T-tests. Results No significant differences were observed in kinematic or sEMG variables between or within groups for the duration of the swing phase of gait. A significantly increased forefoot-tibia inversion was seen in the CAI affected limb when compared to the CAI unaffected limb at 4–16% stance (p = 0.039). No other significant differences were observed. Significance There appears to be no differences in muscle activation and movement between CAI and healthy control groups. However, participants with CAI exhibited increased inversion patterns during the stance phase of gait in their affected limb compared to their unaffected limb. This may predispose those with CAI to episodes of giving way and further ankle sprains.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio