In the Interests of clients or commerce? Legal aid, supply, demand, and 'ethical indeterminacy' in criminal defence work

As a professional, a lawyer's first duty is to serve the client's best interests, before simple monetary gain. In criminal defence work, this duty has been questioned in the debate about the causes of growth in legal aid spending: is it driven by lawyers (suppliers) inducing unnecessary demand for their services or are they merely responding to increased demand? Research reported here found clear evidence of a change in the handling of cases in response to new payment structures, though in ways unexpected by the policy's proponents. The paper develops the concept of 'ethical indeterminacy' as a way of understanding how defence lawyers seek to reconcile the interests of commerce and clients. Ethical indeterminacy suggests that where different courses of action could each be said to benefit the client, the lawyer will tend to advise the client to decide in the lawyer's own interests. Ethical indeterminacy is mediated by a range of competing conceptions of 'quality' and 'need'. The paper goes on to question the very distinction between 'supply' and 'demand' in the provision of legal services

Unlocking the secrets of Al-tobermorite in Roman seawater concrete

Ancient Roman syntheses of Al-tobermorite in a 2000-year-old concrete block submerged in the Bay of Pozzuoli (Baianus Sinus), near Naples, have unique aluminum-rich and silica-poor compositions relative to hydrothermal geological occurrences. In relict lime clasts, the crystals have calcium contents that are similar to ideal tobermorite, 33 to 35 wt%, but the low-silica contents, 39 to 40 wt%, reflect Al3+ substitution for Si4+ in Q(2)(1Al), Q(3)(1Al), and Q(3)(2Al) tetrahedral chain and branching sites. The Al-tobermorite has a double silicate chain structure with long chain lengths in the b [020] crystallographic direction, and wide interlayer spacing, 11.49 angstrom. Na+ and K+ partially balance Al3+ substitution for Si4+. Poorly crystalline calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H) cementitious binder in the dissolved perimeter of relict lime clasts has Ca/(Si+Al) = 0.79, nearly identical to the Al-tobermorite, but nanoscale heterogeneities with aluminum in both tetrahedral and octahedral coordination. The concrete is about 45 vol% glassy zeolitic tuff and 55 vol% hydrated lime-volcanic ash mortar; lime formed <10 wt% of the mix. Trace element studies confirm that the pyroclastic rock comes from Flegrean Fields volcanic district, as described in ancient Roman texts. An adiabatic thermal model of the 10 m(2) by 5.7 m thick Baianus Sinus breakwater from heat evolved through hydration of lime and formation of C-A-S-H suggests maximum temperatures of 85 to 97 degrees C. Cooling to seawater temperatures occurred in two years. These elevated temperatures and the mineralizing effects of seawater and alkali- and alumina-rich volcanic ash appear to be critical to Al-tobermorite crystallization. The long-term stability of the Al-tobermorite provides a valuable context to improve future syntheses in innovative concretes with advanced properties using volcanic pozzolans

Global analysis of the controls on seawater dimethylsulfide spatial variability

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) emitted from the ocean makes a significant global contribution to natural marine aerosol and cloud condensation nuclei, and therefore our planet&rsquo;s climate. Oceanic DMS concentrations show large spatiotemporal variability, but observations are sparse, so products describing global DMS distribution rely on interpolation or modelling. Understanding the mechanisms driving DMS variability, especially at local scales, is required to reduce uncertainty in large scale DMS estimates. We present a study of mesoscale and sub-mesoscale (&lt;100 km) seawater DMS variability that takes advantage of the recent expansion in high frequency seawater DMS observations and uses all available data to investigate the typical distances over which DMS varies in all major ocean basins. These DMS spatial variability lengthscales (VLS) are uncorrelated with DMS concentrations. DMS concentrations and VLS can therefore be used separately to help identify mechanisms underpinning DMS variability. When data are grouped by sampling campaigns, almost 80 % of the DMS VLS can be explained using the VLS of sea surface height anomalies, density, and chlorophyll-a. Our global analysis suggests that both physical and biogeochemical processes play an equally important role in controlling DMS variability, in contrast with previous results based on data from the low&ndash;mid latitudes. The explanatory power of sea surface height anomalies indicates the importance of mesoscale eddies in driving DMS variability, previously unrecognised at a global scale and in agreement with recent regional studies. DMS VLS differs regionally, including surprisingly high frequency variability in low latitude waters. Our results independently confirm that relationships used in the literature to parameterise DMS at large scales appear to be considering the right variables. However, contrasts in regional DMS VLS highlight that important driving mechanisms remain elusive. The role of sub-mesoscale features should be resolved or accounted for in DMS process models and parameterisations. Future attempts to map DMS distributions should consider the length scale of variability.</p

Mediation in the Law Curriculum

Cited by Lord Neuberger in ‘Educating Future Mediators’ at the 4th Civil Mediation Council National Conference, May 201

Structural Evolution of a Composite Middle to Lower Crustal Section: The Sierra de Pie de Palo, Northwest Argentina

The Sierra de Pie de Palo of northwest Argentina preserves middle to lower crustal metamorphic rocks that were penetratively deformed during Ordovician accretion of the Precordillera terrane to the Gondwana margin. New structural, petrologic, and geochronologic data from a 40 km structural transect reveals that the Sierra de Pie de Palo preserves a middle to lower crustal ductile thrust complex consisting of individual structural units and not an intact ophiolite and cover sequence. Top-to-the-west thrusting occurred intermittently on discrete ductile shear zones from ∼515 to ∼417 Ma and generally propagated toward the foreland with progressive deformation. Ordovician crustal shortening and peak metamorphic temperatures in the central portion of the Sierra de Pie de Palo were synchronous with retro-arc shortening and magmatic flare-up within the Famatina arc. Accretion of the Precordillera terrane resulted in the end of arc flare-up and the onset of synconvergent extension by ∼439 Ma. Continued synextensional to postextensional convergence was accommodated along progressively lower grade shear zones following terrane accretion and the establishment of a new plate margin west of the Precordillera terrane. The results support models of Cordilleran orogens that link voluminous arc magmatism to periods of regional shortening. The deformation, metamorphic, and magmatic history within the Sierra de Pie de Palo is consistent with models placing the region adjacent to the Famatina margin in the middle Cambrian and not as basement to the Precordillera terrane

On the vertical distribution of smoke in the Amazonian atmosphere during the dry season

PublishedLidar observations of smoke aerosols have been analysed from six flights of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements BAe-146 research aircraft over Brazil during the biomass burning season (September 2012). A large aerosol optical depth (AOD) was observed, typically ranging 0.4–0.9, along with a typical aerosol extinction coefficient of 100–400 Mm−1. The data highlight the persistent and widespread nature of the Amazonian haze, which had a consistent vertical structure, observed over a large distance ( ∼ 2200 km) during a period of 14 days. Aerosols were found near the surface; but the larger aerosol load was typically found in elevated layers that extended from 1–1.5 to 4–6 km. The measurements have been compared to model predictions with the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM) and the ECMWF-MACC model. The MetUM generally reproduced the vertical structure of the Amazonian haze observed with the lidar. The ECMWF-MACC model was also able to reproduce the general features of smoke plumes albeit with a small overestimation of the AOD. The models did not always capture localised features such as (i) smoke plumes originating from individual fires, and (ii) aerosols in the vicinity of clouds. In both these circumstances, peak extinction coefficients of the order of 1000–1500 Mm−1 and AODs as large as 1–1.8 were encountered, but these features were either underestimated or not captured in the model predictions. Smoke injection heights derived from the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) for the region are compatible with the general height of the aerosol layers.Airborne data were obtained using the BAe-146-301 Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA) flown by Directflight Ltd and managed by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM), which is a joint entity of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Met Office. SAMBBA was funded by the Met Office and NERC (grant NE/J009822/1). Patrick Chazette and the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) are kindly thanked for help fixing our lidar prior to SAMBB

Is it cheating or learning the craft of writing? Using Turnitin to help students avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism is a growing problem for universities, many of which are turning to software detection for help in detecting and dealing with it. This paper explores issues around plagiarism and reports on a study of the use of Turnitin in a new university. The purpose of the study was to inform the senior management team about the plagiarism policy and the use of Turnitin. The study found that staff and students largely understood the university’s policy and Turnitin’s place within it, and were very supportive of the use of Turnitin in originality checking. Students who had not used Turnitin were generally keen to do so. The recommendation to the senior management team, which was implemented, was that the use of Turnitin for originality checking should be made compulsory where possible - at the time of the study the use of Turnitin was at the discretion of programme directors. A further aim of the study was to contribute to the sector’s body of knowledge. Prevention of plagiarism through education is a theme identified by Badge and Scott (2009) who conclude an area lacking in research is "investigation of the impact of these tools on staff teaching practices". Although a number of recent studies have considered educational use of Turnitin they focus on individual programmes or subject areas rather than institutions as a whole and the relationship with policy

Policy, Performativity and Partnership: an Ethical Leadership Perspective

This article identifies the need to think differently about educational partnerships in a changing and turbulent post compulsory policy environment in England. The policy and institutional contexts in which universities and colleges currently operate seem to be fuelling performativity at the expense of educational values. There appears to be a sharp interruption in the steady increase in educational partnerships as a vehicle for increasing and widening participation in higher education. We are witnessing a marked change in university / college relationships that appears to be a consequence of government calling a halt to increased participation in higher education, creating an increasingly competitive market for a more limited pool of student places. The implication that educational policy at the national level determines a particular pattern or mode of leadership decision making throughout an institution should however be resisted. Policy developments that challenge the moral precepts of education should not be allowed to determine how a leader acts, rather they should prompt actions that are truly educational, rooted in morality, and atached to identifiable educational values. Educational leaders have agency to resist restricted discourses in favour of ethical and principled change strategies that are a precondition for sustainable transformative partnerships in post compulsory education. University leaders in particular are called upon to use their considerable influence to resist narrow policy or managerial instrumentalism or performativity and embrace alternatives that are both educationally worthwhile and can enhance institutional resilience

Are chimpanzees really so poor at understanding imperative pointing? Some new data and an alternative view of canine and ape social cognition

There is considerable interest in comparative research on different species’ abilities to respond to human communicative cues such as gaze and pointing. It has been reported that some canines perform significantly better than monkeys and apes on tasks requiring the comprehension of either declarative or imperative pointing and these differences have been attributed to domestication in dogs. Here we tested a sample of chimpanzees on a task requiring comprehension of an imperative request and show that, though there are considerable individual differences, the performance by the apes rival those reported in pet dogs. We suggest that small differences in methodology can have a pronounced influence on performance on these types of tasks. We further suggest that basic differences in subject sampling, subject recruitment and rearing experiences have resulted in a skewed representation of canine abilities compared to those of monkeys and apes

Polarized point sources in the LOFAR Two-meter Sky Survey: A preliminary catalog

The polarization properties of radio sources at very low frequencies (h45m–15h30m right ascension, 45°–57° declination, 570 square degrees). We have produced a catalog of 92 polarized radio sources at 150 MHz at 4.′3 resolution and 1 mJy rms sensitivity, which is the largest catalog of polarized sources at such low frequencies. We estimate a lower limit to the polarized source surface density at 150 MHz, with our resolution and sensitivity, of 1 source per 6.2 square degrees. We find that our Faraday depth measurements are in agreement with previous measurements and have significantly smaller errors. Most of our sources show significant depolarization compared to 1.4 GHz, but there is a small population of sources with low depolarization indicating that their polarized emission is highly localized in Faraday depth. We predict that an extension of this work to the full LOTSS data would detect at least 3400 polarized sources using the same methods, and probably considerably more with improved data processing