National Security Risks? Uncertainty, Austerity and Other Logics of Risk in the UK government’s National Security Strategy

Risk scholars within Security studies have argued that the concept of security has gone through a fundamental transformation away from a threat-based conceptualisation of defence, urgency and exceptionality to one of preparedness, precautions and prevention of future risks, some of which are calculable, others of which are not. This article explores whether and how the concept of security is changing due to this ‘rise of risk’, through a hermeneutically grounded conceptual and discourse analysis of the United Kingdom government’s national security strategy (NSS) from 1998 to 2011. We ask how risk-security language is employed in the NSS; what factors motivate such discursive shifts; and what, if any, consequences of these shifts can be discerned in UK national security practices. Our aim is twofold: to better understand shifts in the security understandings and policies of UK authorities; and to contribute to the conceptual debate on the significance of the rise of risk as a component of the concept of security

Quantitative comparison of electron temperature fluctuations to nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations in C-Mod Ohmic L-mode discharges

Long wavelength turbulent electron temperature fluctuations (k[subscript lower case y]ρ[subscript lower case s]  0.8) of Ohmic L-mode plasmas at Alcator C-Mod [E. S. Marmar et al., Nucl. Fusion 49, 104014 (2009)] with a correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic. The relative amplitude and frequency spectrum of the fluctuations are compared quantitatively with nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations using the GYRO code [J. Candy and R. E. Waltz, J. Comput. Phys. 186, 545 (2003)] in two different confinement regimes: linear Ohmic confinement (LOC) regime and saturated Ohmic confinement (SOC) regime. When comparing experiment with nonlinear simulations, it is found that local, electrostatic ion-scale simulations (k[subscript lower case y]ρ[subscript lower case s] ≲ 1.7) performed at r/a ∼ 0.85 reproduce the experimental ion heat flux levels, electron temperature fluctuation levels, and frequency spectra within experimental error bars. In contrast, the electron heat flux is robustly under-predicted and cannot be recovered by using scans of the simulation inputs within error bars or by using global simulations. If both the ion heat flux and the measured temperature fluctuations are attributed predominantly to long-wavelength turbulence, then under-prediction of electron heat flux strongly suggests that electron scale turbulence is important for transport in C-Mod Ohmic L-mode discharges. In addition, no evidence is found from linear or nonlinear simulations for a clear transition from trapped electron mode to ion temperature gradient turbulence across the LOC/SOC transition, and also there is no evidence in these Ohmic L-mode plasmas of the “Transport Shortfall” [C. Holland et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 052301 (2009)].United States. Department of Energy (Grant No. DE-SC0006419)United States. Department of Energy (Grant No. E-FC02-99ER54512)United States. Department of Energy. Office of Science (Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231

The production of the new gauge boson BHB_{H} via e−γe^{-}\gamma collision in the littlest Higgs model

The new lightest gauge boson $B_H$ with mass of a few hundred GeV is predicted in the littlest Higgs model. $B_H$ should be accessible in the planed ILC and the observation of such particle can strongly support the littlest Higgs model. The realization of $\gamma\gamma$ and $e\gamma$ collision will open a wider window to probe $B_H$. In this paper, we study the new gauge boson $B_{H}$ production processes $e^{-}\gamma\to e^{-}\gamma B_{H}$ and $e^{-}\gamma\to e^{-}Z B_{H}$ at the ILC. Our results show that the production cross section of the process $e^{-}\gamma\to e^{-}Z B_{H}$ is less than one fb in the most parameter spaces while the production cross section of the process $e^{-}\gamma\to e^{-}\gamma B_{H}$ can reach the level of tens fb and even hundreds of fb in the sizable parameter spaces allowed by the electroweak precision data. With the high luminosity, the sufficient typical signals could be produced, specially via $e^{-}\gamma\to e^{-}\gamma B_{H}$. Because the final electron and photon beams can be easily identified and the signal can be easily distinguished from the background produced by $Z$ and $H$ decaying, $B_H$ should be detectable via $e\gamma$ collision at the ILC. Therefore, the processes $e^{-}\gamma\to e^{-}\gamma B_{H}$ and $e^{-}\gamma\to e^{-}Z B_{H}$ provide a useful way to detect $B_{H}$ and test the littlest Higgs model.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. Some typos have been corrected, we have added some new references, and there are also some changes in equation 1

Performance and scientific collaboration of Iran Occupational Health Journal: A scientometric analysis

Background: Of common scientometric indices is evaluating the performance and scientific collaboration of journals and organizations. Iran Occupational Health Journal belongs to Iran University of Medical Sciences and committed to providing scientific evidence for improving occupational health. Based on the importance of health at work, this study aimed to evaluate the Journal�s performance and scientific collaboration in the field. Methods: This is a scientometric study using both citation and content analyses. Complete enumeration survey method and Scimago data were used to collect all information about published articles between 2012 and 2017. Content analysis was performed to find about the articles� dominant subject area. The data on the number of authors, the authors' organizational affiliation, the type of articles, and the affiliated centers with the most number of articles were reported. Data were analyzed using Excel 2016 software. Results: The Journal�s performance in various indices such as reducing the time between receive and accept of papers has had an improving trend for 6 consecutive years. The Journal has published mostly in subjects of ergonomics (59 articles) and then safety (52 articles). The Journal�s SJR in Scopus has had an increasing trend from 0.101 in 2012 to 0.220 in 2017. Conclusion: Based on the collected data and Scimago indices, the performance of Iran Occupational Health Journal has shown an improving trend over the studied years. The priorities of published subjects in the Journal are in agreement with the research priorities for occupational health in Iran. Thus, the Journal�s continuous improvement regarding examined criteria is highly expected. © 2019 Iran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Low spatial autocorrelation in mountain biodiversity data and model residuals

Spatial autocorrelation (SAC) is a common feature of ecological data where observations tend to be more similar at some geographic distance(s) than expected by chance. Despite the implications of SAC for data dependencies, its impact on the performance of species distribution models (SDMs) remains controversial, with reports of both strong and negligible impacts on inference. Yet, no study has comprehensively assessed the prevalence and the strength of SAC in the residuals of SDMs over entire geographic areas. Here, we used a large-scale spatial inventory in the western Swiss Alps to provide a thorough assessment of the importance of SAC for (1) 850 species belonging to nine taxonomic groups, (2) six predictors commonly used for modeling species distributions, and (3) residuals obtained from SDMs fitted with two algorithms with the six predictors included as covariates. We used various statistical tools to evaluate (1) the global level of SAC, (2) the spatial pattern and spatial extent of SAC, and (3) whether local clusters of SAC can be detected. We further investigated the effect of the sampling design on SAC levels. Overall, while environmental predictors expectedly displayed high SAC levels, SAC in biodiversity data was rather low overall and vanished rapidly at a distance of similar to 5-10 km. We found low evidence for the existence of local clusters of SAC. Most importantly, model residuals were not spatially autocorrelated, suggesting that inferences derived from SDMs are unlikely to be affected by SAC. Further, our results suggest that the influence of SAC can be reduced by a careful sampling design. Overall, our results suggest that SAC is not a major concern for rugged mountain landscapes.Peer reviewe

An availability study for a SME

A case study of an availability analysis for a small commercial company is presented. The analysis was carried out to meet a customer requirement for the availability of an electronic ground-based system in a benign environment. Availability calculations were based on failure data provided and an explanation of the methodology and problems encountered and dealt with are discussed. The methodology includes failure classification according to MIL-HDBK-781A and how it may be used to promote and develop internal processes. A commentary on the background to reliability/availability specification is provided and a number of recommendations for monitoring reliability and availability are given

Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention in High HIV Prevalence Settings: What Can Mathematical Modelling Contribute to Informed Decision Making?

Published versio

Exploring the impact of an evolving war and terror blogosphere on traditional media coverage of conflict

This article analyses the evolution of a war and terror blogosphere between 2001 and 2011. It identifies seven areas where blogs and related online genres could provide ‘alternative’ accounts to traditional media narratives of conflict. The article also assesses the challenges and opportunities of blogs in each area from the perspective of the working journalist in order to deepen our understanding of the changing influence of blogs on traditional media narratives of conflict. Parallel accounts and interpretations of conflict will collaborate and compete in a war and terror blogosphere in the future, but it has been significantly influenced by the adoption of blogging by military actors since 2008. The war and terror blogosphere is no longer a relatively unmonitored online space which is having an impact on both the production of ‘alternative’ accounts of conflict and the incorporation of these accounts into traditional journalism

Social Value of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas in England and Wales.

The U.K. government is committed to establishing a coherent network of marine protected areas by 2012 and the recentMarine and Coastal Access Act, 2009 will designate marine conservation zones and provide wider access rights to the coast. To fulfill these goals, this article argues the need for a clearer, shared understanding of the social value of protected areas in creating new designations and managing existing ones. Although marine and coastal environments attract many people and are vitally important in terms of realized and potential social value, the majority of the public in the United Kingdom lacks understanding and awareness regarding them. Combined with this, the social value of marine and coastal protected areas (MCPAs) have been largely ignored relative to conservation and economics, with the latter invariably taking precedence in environmental policymaking. Social value reflects the complex, individual responses that people experience in a given place. Many reasons determine why one area is valued above another, and this research investigates the social value of MCPAs from a practitioner’s perspective through a series of interviews. Understanding why we “socially” value MCPAs will ultimately equip managers with an informed understanding of these spaces, influence management decisions, and, potentially, policymaking. This article defines social value in the context of MCPAs in England and Wales from a practitioner perspective, explores key concepts, and suggests possible improvements in decision-making

Lower Hybrid Current Drive Experiments in Alcator C-Mod

A Lower Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD) system has been installed on the Alcator C-MOD tokamak at MIT. Twelve klystrons at 4.6 GHz feed a 4x22 waveguide array. This system was designed for maximum flexibility in the launched parallel wave-number spectrum. This flexibility allows tailoring of the lower hybrid deposition under a variety of plasma conditions. Power levels up to 900 kW have been injected into the tokomak. The parallel wave number has been varied over a wide range, n|| ~ 1.6–4. Driven currents have been inferred from magnetic measurements by extrapolating to zero loop voltage and by direct comparison to Fisch-Karney theory, yielding an efficiency of n20IR/P ~ 0.3. Modeling using the CQL3D code supports these efficiencies. Sawtooth oscillations vanish, accompanied with peaking of the electron temperature (Te0 rises from 2.8 to 3.8 keV). Central q is inferred to rise above unity from the collapse of the sawtooth inversion radius, indicating off-axis cd as expected. Measurements of non-thermal x-ray and electron cyclotron emission confirm the presence of a significant fast electron population that varies with phase and plasma density. The x-ray emission is observed to be radialy broader than that predicted by simple ray tracing codes. Possible explanations for this broader emission include fast electron diffusion or broader deposition than simple ray tracing predictions (perhaps due to diffractive effects)