John Locke\u27s Theory of Property, and the Dispossession of Indigenous Peoples in the Settler-Colony

This paper explores how John Locke’s theory of property, elaborated in chapter five of his Second Treatise of Government, provided a compelling conceptual and practical justification for the appropriation of Indigenous peoples’ territories in America by the early English settler-colonists of the 17th century. It examines how his property theory facilitated the nullification of Native American conceptions of land through the superimposition of European private property regimes in the settler colony. It further highlights briefly how indistinguishable dynamics also characterize the contemporary Israeli/Palestinian settler-colonial context, where the reverberations of Locke’s thought on property are pervasive. To do so, this paper examines two of the key components of Locke’s conceptualization of property (namely, human beings’ transition from a state of nature to political society, and the agricultural improvement argument) specifically in the context of their application in settler-colonial settings. Ultimately, this paper hopes to generate a more exhaustive appreciation of Locke’s theory of property by underlining its implications in settler-colonial enterprises and its function in abetting the expropriation of autochthonous lands

Gambling, Risk, and Law: Exploring the changing roles of the individual and the state in a multi-faceted gambling regulation arena

This paper presents an examination of ways in which risk is deployed to govern the gambling market. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, it seeks to explore how the dominant socio-political discourse of neoliberalism as well as the perception of risk as a rationality and technology of government inform the ways in which the gambling industry and its associated risks are increasingly governed through the individual gambler, rather than through state-enforced mechanisms. Besides confirming Foucault’s observations that the practice of government occurs at numerous levels and is delegated to various (non-state) actors, the growing reliance on individuals as a form of governance in the gambling industry also showcases the gradually changing relationship between the individual and the state. A relationship once characterised by the omnipresence of a paternalistic and assertive state becomes a relationship of cooperation and mutual reliance for the purposes of promoting both governance efficiency in an increasingly diverse and complex gambling market as well as the welfare for individual gamblers

Measuring weak lensing masses on individual clusters

We present weak lensing mass estimates for a sample of 458 galaxy clusters from the redMaPPer Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR8 catalogue using Hyper Suprime-Cam weak lensing data. We develop a method to quickly estimate cluster masses from weak lensing shear and use this method to estimate weak lensing masses for each of the galaxy clusters in our sample. Subsequently, we constrain the mass-richness relation as well as the intrinsic scatter between the cluster richness and the measured weak lensing masses. When calculating the mass-richness relation for all clusters with a richness $\lambda>20$, we find a tension in the slope of the mass-richness relation with the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 stacked weak lensing analysis. For a reduced sample of clusters with a richness $\lambda>40$, our results are consistent with the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 analysis.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2022

Social Identity Moderates the Effects of Team-Referent Attributions on Collective Efficacy but Not Emotions

Team-referent attributions are associated with collective efficacy and emotions (Allen et al. 2009). However, the contextual factors in which these attributions are formulated have been largely ignored. Therefore, the current research was designed to examine whether social identity could moderate the way individuals think about their team-referent attributions. Across two studies (cross-sectional and longitudinal), the moderating role that social identity has on these relationships was examined. In study 1, athletes (N = 227) on sport teams (K = 30) completed questionnaires assessing social identity, attributions for their team’s most recent performance (team-referent attributions), collective efficacy and emotions. Multilevel linear models revealed that social identity moderated the relationships between team-referent attributions and collective efficacy after team defeat. In Study 2, American football team players (N = 43) completed measures of collective efficacy before each game and social identity and attributions after each game. Multilevel linear models revealed that, after a team victory, social identity moderated the relationships between post-game team-referent attributions and subsequent pre-game collective efficacy. Results also indicated that the relationship between controllability and collective efficacy varied at different levels of social identity across the entire season. The results of these studies extend attribution theory by demonstrating that the relationships between team-referent attributions and collective efficacy might be moderated by social identity. Future studies may look to implement interventions aimed at maximizing collective efficacy through attribution retraining strategies while also encouraging the development of social identit

Expanding Scottish energy data – electricity demand

This report was commissioned to develop new and improved methodologies for collecting and assessing energy data in Scotland in three areas: • Electricity use in properties – Development of a methodology to determine an annual time series of electricity use for heating and for non-heating purposes for electrically heated properties • Electricity use for heat pumps – Development of a methodology to determine an annual time series of electricity use by heat pumps in properties • Low-carbon energy use in transport – Development of a methodology to determine an annual time series of low-carbon transport energy. The work draws on data from a variety of sources including Home Analytics, Non-Domestic Analytics, the Scottish House Condition Survey, MOT data and Department for Transport Vehicle Licensing Statistics

Expanding Scottish energy data - heat

This report was commissioned to develop new and improved methodologies for collecting and assessing energy data in Scotland in three areas: • Weather correcting heat demand: developing a method to weather correct non-gas heating demand data • Heat demand across different fuels and sectors in Scotland: producing an annual time series of heat demand across different fuel types in the industrial, commercial and domestic sectors. This is space and water heating; process heating in industrial properties is not included. The fuel types investigated were: coal, manufactured fuels, petroleum products, gas, electricity, bioenergy and waste. • Emissions factors for different heating fuels and sectors: identifying Scottish specific emissions factors for different heating fuels in order to generate heating emission values for Scotland as a whole. The work draws on data from a variety of sources including Home Analytics, Non-Domestic Analytics, the Scottish House Condition Survey

Attributional consensus: The importance of agreement over causes for team performance to interpersonal outcomes and performance

Objectives: Investigate (a) the effects of attributional consensus on interpersonal outcomes and performance, (b) the effects of attribution type (i.e., adaptive/maladaptive) on performance, and (c) the interactive effects between attributional consensus and attribution type on performance. Design: Across two studies (i.e., vignette and behavioural experiments), independent samples t-tests were used to examine the main effects of attributional consensus on interpersonal outcomes. A 2 (attributional consensus: high, low) x 2 (attribution type: adaptive, maladaptive) x 2 (time: pre, post) ANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor was used to analyse the main and interaction effects of attributional consensus and attribution type on performance. Method: In Study 1, participants (N = 100) read a vignette describing a hypothetical situation in which they and their partner agreed or disagreed over an adaptive or maladaptive attribution. They then completed measures of conflict and cohesion. In Study 2, participants (N = 56) completed an experiment in which they performed a dart throwing task with a partner (a confederate) and were subsequently told they failed the task. After selecting an adaptive or maladaptive attribution, the confederate then agreed or disagreed with the participant. Measures of conflict, cohesion, social identity, and performance were then taken. Results: High attributional consensus led to lower levels of conflict and higher levels of cohesion and social identity. Further, regardless of attribution type, high attributional consensus led to better performance. Conclusion: Overall the results provide evidence for the positive effects of high attributional consensus on interpersonal and performance outcomes

Multi-level parallel clocking of CCDs for: improving charge transfer efficiency, clearing persistence, clocked anti-blooming, and generating low-noise backgrounds for pumping

A multi-level clocking scheme has been developed to improve the parallel CTE of four-phase CCDs by suppressing the effects of traps located in the transport channel under barrier phases by inverting one of these phases throughout the transfer sequence. In parallel it was apparent that persistence following optical overload in Euclid VIS detectors would lead to undesirable signal released in subsequent rows and frames and that a suitable scheme for flushing this signal would be required. With care, the negatively biased electrodes during the multi-level transfer sequence can be made to pin the entire surface, row-by-row, and annihilate the problematic charges. This process can also be extended for use during integration to significantly reduce the unusable area of the detector, as per the clocked anti-blooming techniques developed many years ago; however, with the four-phase electrodes architecture of modern CCDs, we can take precautionary measures to avoid the problem of charge pumping and clock induced charge within the science frames. Clock induced charge is not all bad! We also propose the use of on-orbit trap-pumping for Euclid VIS to provide calibration input to ground based correction algorithms and as such a uniform, low noise background is require. Clock induced charge can be manipulated to provide a very suitable, low signal and noise background to the imaging array. Here we describe and present results of multi-level parallel clocking schemes for use in four-phase CCDs that could improve performance of high precision astronomy applications such as Euclid VIS

The MedSeq Project: a randomized trial of integrating whole genome sequencing into clinical medicine

Background: Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is already being used in certain clinical and research settings, but its impact on patient well-being, health-care utilization, and clinical decision-making remains largely unstudied. It is also unknown how best to communicate sequencing results to physicians and patients to improve health. We describe the design of the MedSeq Project: the first randomized trials of WGS in clinical care. Methods/Design This pair of randomized controlled trials compares WGS to standard of care in two clinical contexts: (a) disease-specific genomic medicine in a cardiomyopathy clinic and (b) general genomic medicine in primary care. We are recruiting 8 to 12 cardiologists, 8 to 12 primary care physicians, and approximately 200 of their patients. Patient participants in both the cardiology and primary care trials are randomly assigned to receive a family history assessment with or without WGS. Our laboratory delivers a genome report to physician participants that balances the needs to enhance understandability of genomic information and to convey its complexity. We provide an educational curriculum for physician participants and offer them a hotline to genetics professionals for guidance in interpreting and managing their patients’ genome reports. Using varied data sources, including surveys, semi-structured interviews, and review of clinical data, we measure the attitudes, behaviors and outcomes of physician and patient participants at multiple time points before and after the disclosure of these results. Discussion The impact of emerging sequencing technologies on patient care is unclear. We have designed a process of interpreting WGS results and delivering them to physicians in a way that anticipates how we envision genomic medicine will evolve in the near future. That is, our WGS report provides clinically relevant information while communicating the complexity and uncertainty of WGS results to physicians and, through physicians, to their patients. This project will not only illuminate the impact of integrating genomic medicine into the clinical care of patients but also inform the design of future studies. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT0173656