2,867 research outputs found
The environmental consequences for the European Community of population factors worldwide and within the Community
The Leopard in Africa: Biological and Cultural Realities
The author comments on a proposal to change the leopard\u27s status in Africa from endangered to threatened, which would open the leopard up to sport hunting. This proposed change would be a mistake, in the author\u27s opinion. While the leopard still occurs in satisfactory numbers in some countries despite being rarely seen, its population is much lower than it could in other countries. The author notes that the real problem is not the species\u27 biological status but the institutional, socio-cultural, and economic considerations. Wildlife conservation in Africa is challenging enough without the further complications that sport hunting brings
Consumption and Sustainable Development: The Role of Perverse Subsidies
human development, consumption, globalization
Peer-group and price influence students drinking along with planned behaviour
This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ 2008 The Authors.Aims: To examine the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), as a framework for explaining binge drinking among young adults. Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight students in a cross-sectional design study completed self-report questionnaires examining attitudes to drinking, intention to drink and drinking behaviour in university. Binge drinking was defined for females (and males) as consuming ‘four (males—five) or more pints of beer/glasses of wine/measures of spirits’ in a single session. Results: Drinking alcohol was common; 39.6% of males and 35.9% of females reported binge drinking. The TPB explained 7% of the variance in intention to drink. Overall, 43% of the variance in intention, 83% of the variance in total weekly consumption and 44% of the variance in binge drinking was explained. The frequency of drinking and the drinking behaviour of friends significantly predicted intention to drink and binge drinking, respectively. Binge drinkers were influenced by peers and social-situational factors. Pressure to drink was greater for males; undergraduates were influenced by the size of the drinking group, ‘special offer’ prices, and the availability of alcohol. Conclusions: The TPB appeared to be a weak predictor of student drinking but this may be a result of how constructs were measured. With friends’ drinking behaviour emerging as a significant predictor of alcohol consumption, interventions seeking to reduce excessive drinking should target the role of peers and the university environment in which drinking occurs
Surface Tension between Kaon Condensate and Normal Nuclear Matter Phase
We calculate for the first time the surface tension and curvature coefficient
of a first order phase transition between two possible phases of cold nuclear
matter, a normal nuclear matter phase in equilibrium with a kaon condensed
phase, at densities a few times the saturation density. We find the surface
tension is proportional to the difference in energy density between the two
phases squared. Furthermore, we show the consequences for the geometrical
structures of the mixed phase region in a neutron star.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures (Latex
The conductivity of dense molecular gas
We evaluate the conductivity tensor for molecular gas at densities ranging
from 10^4 to 10^15 cm^-3 for a variety of grain models. The Hall contribution
to the conductivity has generally been neglected in treatments of the dynamics
of molecular gas. We find that it is not important if only 0.1 micron grains
are considered, but for a Mathis-Rumpl-Nordsieck grain-size distribution (with
or without PAHs) it becomes important for densities between 10^7 and 10^11
cm^-3. If PAHs are included, this range is reduced to 10^9 -- 10^10 cm^-3.
The consequences for the magnetic field evolution and dynamics of dense
molecular gas are profound. To illustrate this, we consider the propagation of
Alfven waves under these conditions. A linear analysis yields a dispersion
relation valid for frequencies below the neutral collision frequencies of the
charged species. The dispersion relation shows that there is a pair of
circularly polarised modes with distinct propagation speeds and damping rates.
We note that the gravitational collapse of dense cloud cores may be
substantially modified by the Hall term.Comment: MNRAS accepted; 9 pp incl 8 figs, LaTeX, uses epsf.sty mn.st
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