Submission to standards committee consultation on lobbying the Scottish Parliament, 28 February

The Stirling Media Research Institute has been engaged in an ongoing programme of research into the public relations and lobbying industry in Scotland, the UK and Europe since 1996 . We have been encouraged by the Standards Committee's recognition of the importance of lobbying as a matter of both professional and public concern, and we welcome the opportunity to respond to the consultation paper. Our contribution is offered in the spirit of independent academic analysis. We have monitored the growth and development of the lobbying industry in Scotland and interviewed a wide range of lobbyists and public relations professionals ranging across the commercial (consultancy and in-house) and voluntary sectors. As part of our research activity, the SMRI has been a corporate member of ASPA since its inception. When we joined, it was made clear we were researchers and not in any way engaged in professional lobbying. Our research at the UK and European levels has also brought us into contact with commercial and voluntary sector lobbyists who work in other jurisdictions, and has broadened our perspective on the issues relating to lobbying

A New S-S' Pair Creation Rate Expression Improving Upon Zener Curves for I-E Plots

To simplify phenomenology modeling used for charge density wave (CDW)transport, we apply a wavefunctional formulation of tunneling Hamiltonians to a physical transport problem characterized by a perturbed washboard potential. To do so, we consider tunneing between states that are wavefunctionals of a scalar quantum field. I-E curves that match Zener curves - used to fit data experimentally with wavefunctionals congruent with the false vacuum hypothesis. This has a very strong convergence with electron-positron pair production representations.The similarities in plot behavior of the current values after the threshold electric field values argue in favor of the Bardeen pinning gap paradigm proposed for quasi-one-dimensional metallic transport problems.Comment: 22 pages,6 figures, and extensive editing of certain segments.Paper has been revised due to acceptance by World press scientific MPLB journal. This is word version of file which has been submitted to MPLBs editor for final proofing. Due for publication perhaps in mid spring to early summer 200

An equitriangular integral transform and its applications

Equitriangular integral transform for solving boundary value problems in viscous flow and heat transfe

An open question: Are topological arguments helpful in setting initial conditions for transport problems in condensed matter physics?

The tunneling Hamiltonian is a proven method to treat particle tunneling between different states represented as wavefunctions in many-body physics. Our problem is how to apply a wave functional formulation of tunneling Hamiltonians to a driven sine-Gordon system. We apply a generalization of the tunneling Hamiltonian to charge density wave (CDW) transport problems in which we consider tunneling between states that are wavefunctionals of a scalar quantum field. We present derived I-E curves that match Zenier curves used to fit data experimentally with wavefunctionals congruent with the false vacuum hypothesis. THe open question is whether the coefficients picked in both the wavefunctionals and the magnitude of the coefficents of the driven sine Gordon physical system should be picked by topological charge arguements that in principle appear to assign values that have a tie in with the false vacuum hypothesis first presented by Sidney ColemanComment: 17 pages, 4 figures (1a to 2b) on two pages. Specific emphasis on if or not topological arguements a la Trodden, Su et al add to formulation of condensed matter transport problem

A fully (3+1)-D Regge calculus model of the Kasner cosmology

We describe the first discrete-time 4-dimensional numerical application of Regge calculus. The spacetime is represented as a complex of 4-dimensional simplices, and the geometry interior to each 4-simplex is flat Minkowski spacetime. This simplicial spacetime is constructed so as to be foliated with a one parameter family of spacelike hypersurfaces built of tetrahedra. We implement a novel two-surface initial-data prescription for Regge calculus, and provide the first fully 4-dimensional application of an implicit decoupled evolution scheme (the ``Sorkin evolution scheme''). We benchmark this code on the Kasner cosmology --- a cosmology which embodies generic features of the collapse of many cosmological models. We (1) reproduce the continuum solution with a fractional error in the 3-volume of 10^{-5} after 10000 evolution steps, (2) demonstrate stable evolution, (3) preserve the standard deviation of spatial homogeneity to less than 10^{-10} and (4) explicitly display the existence of diffeomorphism freedom in Regge calculus. We also present the second-order convergence properties of the solution to the continuum.Comment: 22 pages, 5 eps figures, LaTeX. Updated and expanded versio

Second order superintegrable systems in conformally flat spaces. IV. The classical 3D Stäckel transform and 3D classification theory

This article is one of a series that lays the groundwork for a structure and classification theory of second order superintegrable systems, both classical and quantum, in conformally flat spaces. In the first part of the article we study the Stäckel transform (or coupling constant metamorphosis) as an invertible mapping between classical superintegrable systems on different three-dimensional spaces. We show first that all superintegrable systems with nondegenerate potentials are multiseparable and then that each such system on any conformally flat space is Stäckel equivalent to a system on a constant curvature space. In the second part of the article we classify all the superintegrable systems that admit separation in generic coordinates. We find that there are eight families of these systems

Superintegrable Systems in Darboux spaces

Almost all research on superintegrable potentials concerns spaces of constant curvature. In this paper we find by exhaustive calculation, all superintegrable potentials in the four Darboux spaces of revolution that have at least two integrals of motion quadratic in the momenta, in addition to the Hamiltonian. These are two-dimensional spaces of nonconstant curvature. It turns out that all of these potentials are equivalent to superintegrable potentials in complex Euclidean 2-space or on the complex 2-sphere, via "coupling constant metamorphosis" (or equivalently, via Staeckel multiplier transformations). We present tables of the results

Solar array subsystems study

The effects on life cycle costs of a number of technology areas are examined for a LEO, 500 kW solar array. A baseline system conceptual design is developed and the life cycle costs estimated in detail. The baseline system requirements and design technologies are then varied and their relationships to life cycle costs quantified. For example, the thermal characteristics of the baseline design are determined by the array materials and masses. The thermal characteristics in turn determine configuration, performance and hence life cycle cost

A Chandra Survey of the X-ray Properties of Broad Absorption Line Radio-Loud Quasars

This work presents the results of a Chandra study of 21 broad absorption line (BAL) radio-loud quasars (RLQs). We conducted a Chandra snapshot survey of 12 bright BAL RLQs selected from SDSS/FIRST data and possessing a wide range of radio and CIV absorption properties. Optical spectra were obtained nearly contemporaneously with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope; no strong flux or BAL variability was seen between epochs. We also include in our sample 9 additional BAL RLQs possessing archival Chandra coverage. We compare the properties of (predominantly high-ionization) BAL RLQs to those of non-BAL RLQs as well as to BAL radio-quiet quasars (RQQs) and non-BAL RQQs for context. All 12 snapshot and 8/9 archival BAL RLQs are detected, with observed X-ray luminosities less than those of non-BAL RLQs having comparable optical/UV luminosities by typical factors of 4.1-8.5. (BAL RLQs are also X-ray weak by typical factors of 2.0-4.5 relative to non-BAL RLQs having both comparable optical/UV and radio luminosities.) However, BAL RLQs are not as X-ray weak relative to non-BAL RLQs as are BAL RQQs relative to non-BAL RQQs. While some BAL RLQs have harder X-ray spectra than typical non-BAL RLQs, some have hardness ratios consistent with those of non-BAL RLQs, and there does not appear to be a correlation between X-ray weakness and spectral hardness, in contrast to the situation for BAL RQQs. RLQs are expected to have X-ray continuum contributions from both disk-corona and small-scale jet emission. While the entire X-ray continuum in BAL RLQs cannot be obscured to the same degree as in BAL RQQs, we calculate that the jet is likely partially covered in many BAL RLQs. We comment briefly on implications for geometries and source ages in BAL RLQs.Comment: 48 pages, 5 tables, 14 figures, accepted by Ap