Floer homology for magnetic fields with at most linear growth on the universal cover

The Floer homology of a cotangent bundle is isomorphic to loop space homology of the underlying manifold, as proved by Abbondandolo-Schwarz, Salamon-Weber, and Viterbo. In this paper we show that in the presence of a Dirac magnetic monopole which admits a primitive with sublinear growth on the universal cover, the Floer homology in atoroidal free homotopy classes is again isomorphic to loop space homology. As a consequence we prove that for any atoroidal free homotopy class and any sufficiently small T>0, any magnetic flow associated to the Dirac magnetic monopole has a closed orbit of period T belonging to the given free homotopy class. In the case where the Dirac magnetic monopole admits a bounded primitive on the universal cover we also prove the Conley conjecture for Hamiltonians that are quadratic at infinity, i.e., we show that such Hamiltonians have infinitely many periodic orbits.Comment: 24 pages, V2 - minor corrections, final version to appear in JF

Translated points and Rabinowitz Floer homology

We prove that if a contact manifold admits an exact filling then every local contactomorphism isotopic to the identity admits a translated point in the interior of its support, in the sense of Sandon [San11b]. In addition we prove that if the Rabinowitz Floer homology of the filling is non-zero then every contactomorphism isotopic to the identity admits a translated point, and if the Rabinowitz Floer homology of the filling is infinite dimensional then every contactmorphism isotopic to the identity has either infinitely many translated points, or a translated point on a closed leaf. Moreover if the contact manifold has dimension greater than or equal to 3, the latter option generically doesn't happen. Finally, we prove that a generic contactomorphism on $\mathbb{R}^{2n+1}$ has infinitely many geometrically distinct iterated translated points all of which lie in the interior of its support.Comment: 13 pages, v2: numerous corrections, results unchange

The ‘Ombuds Watchers’: Collective Dissent and Legal Protest Among Users of Public Services Ombuds

This article examines the phenomenon of the ‘ombuds watchers’. These are groups of dissatisfied users of public service ombuds schemes who engage in legal protest against the current system of redress for citizen-state complaints. Through the lens of legal consciousness scholarship we propose a framework that conceptualizes the collectivized protest of the ombuds watchers. Based on an empirical dataset, our analysis has shown that the ombuds watchers meet each of the defining characteristics of dissenting collectivism and demonstrates the existence of forms of legal consciousness which present ‘opportunities to build alternative imaginaries and institutions’ (Morgan and Kutch 2015, p. 567). Our case study provides an insight into the potential for dissenting collectives to challenge the hegemonic structures of state law, while at the same time emphasising the continuing power of legal ideology in shaping popular understandings of justice. The article also suggests a pathway for future empirical research into ombuds

The design and relevance of a computerised therapy program for indigenous Māori adolescents.

Background: Depression is a major health issue among Māori indigenous adolescents, yet there has been little investigation into the relevance or effectiveness of psychological treatments for them. Further, consumer views are critical for engagement and adherence to therapy. However, there is little research regarding indigenous communities’ opinions about psychological interventions for depression. Objective: The objective of this study was to conduct semistructured interviews with Māori (indigenous New Zealand) young people (taitamariki) and their families to find out their opinions of a prototype computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (cCBT) program called Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-factor thoughts (SPARX), a free online computer game intended to help young persons with mild to moderate depression, feeling down, stress or anxiety. The program will teach them how to resolve their issues on their own using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as psychotherapeutic approach. Methods: There were seven focus groups on the subject of the design and cultural relevance of SPARX that were held, with a total of 26 participants (19 taitamarki, 7 parents/caregivers, all Māori). There were five of the groups that were with whānau (family groups) (n=14), one group was with Māori teenage mothers (n=4), and one group was with taitamariki (n=8). The general inductive approach was used to analyze focus group data. Results: SPARX computerized therapy has good face validity and is seen as potentially effective and appealing for Māori people. Cultural relevance was viewed as being important for the engagement of Māori young people with SPARX. Whānau are important for young peoples’ well-being. Participants generated ideas for improving SPARX for Māori and for the inclusion of whānau in its delivery. Conclusions: SPARX computerized therapy had good face validity for indigenous young people and families. In general, Māori participants were positive about the SPARX prototype and considered it both appealing and applicable to them. The results of this study were used to refine SPARX prior to it being delivered to taitamariki and non-Māori young people