DTI Economics Paper No. 2: A comparative study of the British and Italian Textile and Clothing Industries.

Commissioned by: Association of Suppliers to the British Clothing Industry Conference, Hucknell, Nottingham, February 2004 During the 1990s the Italian clothing and textiles industry grew while the British, French and German textile and clothing industries declined by 40%. In 2001 the Italian textiles & clothing sector was three times larger than the British, accounting for 11.7% of Italian manufacturing output but only 3.3% in Britain. In 2000 Italian fabric exports were 15 times that of the UK. The study was conducted in response to a recommendation by the Textiles and Clothing Strategy Group (TCSG), comprising UK industry, trade unions, Higher Education and the DTI. The purpose of the study was to account for these differences, assess relative merits against value for money and identify best practice in the Italian industry. The methodology comprised comparative analysis and case studies of British and Italian textile mills and tailoring manufacturers, based on my initial recommendations. We visited 5 textile mills in Yorkshire and 15 in Italy plus 3 factories in each country. I conducted a detailed comparative technical analysis of the construction of suit jackets against 13 devised criteria, a number of interviews,compared technologies, equipment and manufacturing methods across all factories, against 8 criteria, drawing on my specialist knowledge and experience as a menswear clothing technologist. The technical reports I compiled formed a section of the final report. Findings were presented to the Clothing Strategy Group and published by the DTI as their Economic Paper No 2 . I made further presentations to industry and academic groups including ASBCI, FCDE, The Textile Society, Savile Row Tailors Association, and LSE. Other outcomes were a publication in the Journal of the Textile Society Text, an article in Selvedge magazine and contributions to the Encyclopaedia of Clothing by Thomson Gale. As a result of this research further consultancy projects have been conducted with the Industry Forum and ASBCI

Faraday Conversion in Turbulent Blazar Jets

Low ($\lesssim 1\%$) levels of circular polarization (CP) detected at radio frequencies in the relativistic jets of some blazars can provide insight into the underlying nature of the jet plasma. CP can be produced through linear birefringence, in which initially linearly polarized emission produced in one region of the jet is altered by Faraday rotation as it propagates through other regions of the jet with varying magnetic field orientation. Marscher has begun a study of jets with such magnetic geometries using the Turbulent Extreme Multi-Zone (TEMZ) model, in which turbulent plasma crossing a standing shock in the jet is represented by a collection of thousands of individual plasma cells, each with distinct magnetic field orientations. Here we develop a radiative transfer scheme that allows the numerical TEMZ code to produce simulated images of the time-dependent linearly and circularly polarized intensity at different radio frequencies. In this initial study, we produce synthetic polarized emission maps that highlight the linear and circular polarization expected within the model.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

"Orphan" γ\gamma-ray Flares and Stationary Sheaths of Blazar Jets

Blazars exhibit flares across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Many $\gamma$-ray flares are highly correlated with flares detected at longer wavelengths; however, a small subset appears to occur in isolation, with little or no correlated variability at longer wavelengths. These "orphan" $\gamma$-ray flares challenge current models of blazar variability, most of which are unable to reproduce this type of behavior. Macdonald et al. have developed the Ring of Fire model to explain the origin of orphan $\gamma$-ray flares from within blazar jets. In this model, electrons contained within a blob of plasma moving relativistically along the spine of the jet inverse-Compton scatter synchrotron photons emanating off of a ring of shocked sheath plasma that enshrouds the jet spine. As the blob propagates through the ring, the scattering of the ring photons by the blob electrons creates an orphan $\gamma$-ray flare. This model was successfully applied to modeling a prominent orphan $\gamma$-ray flare observed in the blazar PKS 1510$-$089. To further support the plausibility of this model, Macdonald et al. presented a stacked radio map of PKS 1510$-$089 containing the polarimetric signature of a sheath of plasma surrounding the spine of the jet. In this paper, we extend our modeling and stacking techniques to a larger sample of blazars: 3C 273, 4C 71$.$01, 3C 279, 1055$+$018, CTA 102, and 3C 345, the majority of which have exhibited orphan $\gamma$-ray flares. We find that the model can successfully reproduce these flares, while our stacked maps reveal the existence of jet sheaths within these blazars.Comment: 19 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1505.0123

Porphyromonas gingivalis, ethanol, and chronic diseases.

This dissertation is an investigation into the relationships among Porphyromonas gingivalis, ethanol, and a series of chronic diseases, focusing primarily on atherosclerosis. It uses evolutionary theory to understand clinical parameters related to chronic disease biology. The initial research question was, If people who drink a glass of wine each day have a lower risk for atherosclerosis, could one explanation involve antibacterial effects on pathogens associated with causing atherosclerosis, namely, Porphyromonas gingivalis? . This dissertation is divided into four chapters. Chapter One provides the foundational information pertinent to the dissertation. Chapter Two describes an in- vitro experiment aimed at understanding how ethanol influences planktonic Porphyromonas gingivalis. Chapter Three details an in-vitro experiment aimed at learning how ethanol influences Porphyromonas gingivalis when it exists in a biofilm. Chapter Four explores how Porphyromonas gingivalis and ethanol influence rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer\u27s disease, chronic kidney disease, and type II diabetes. Chapters Two and Three provide primary information resulting from experiments that I designed and performed, while Chapter Four is more theoretical in nature. The experiments detailed in Chapters Two and Three were designed to understand how ethanol may differentially impact Porphyromonas gingivalis in the bloodstream relative to the oral cavity. The value of this dissertation lies in the synthesis of new ideas related to how the most widely used drug (ethanol) can influence the leading cause of death worldwide, heart disease. The use of ethanol as a systemic antimicrobial agent with regards to chronic infectious diseases has generally been overlooked. The hypothesis that ethanol consumption suppresses P. gingivalis growth in the blood, but not the oral cavity, is supported by experiments and a review of the literature presented in this dissertation

Positive psychology and romantic scientism: Reply to comments on Brown, Sokal, & Friedman (2013)

This is a response to five comments [American Psychologist 69, 626-629 and 632-635 (2014)] on our article arXiv:1307.7006.Comment: PDF, 9 page

Deepening Partisan-Identity Polarization in the US: A Content Analysis of Major Party Platforms, 1980-2016

This thesis examines Democratic and Republican party platforms over the 1980-2016 period in a content analysis to test claims of partisanship increasing on identity lines in American politics. As a key issue facing democracies in recent years, polarization has coincided with challenges for democratic governance. Cases of ‘pernicious’ polarization that extend partisan rifts into social life, and especially those that feature an ‘existential’ or ‘formative rift\u27 dynamic as in the US case, may be prone to intractable partisan conflict and politics amenable to democratic erosion. The tensions may also create space for democracy enhancements. The findings of the content analysis offer support for increasing partisan-identity polarization in American politics in recent decades. Republican party platforms seem to increasingly reproduce a historical majoritarian appeal on religious-cultural or ethnic identity lines, in contrast to Democratic party platforms that likewise increasingly contest the meaning of ‘American’ in more identitarian albeit inclusive in a multicultural sense of community and belonging

Breeding Bird and Vegetation Communities of Reelfoot Lake

Emergent plant communities at Reelfoot Lake were once dominated by giant cutgrass (Zizaniopsis miliacea). Cutgrass was used by relatively large numbers of secretive marsh birds, such as least bitterns (/xobrychus exilis). Water levels were stabilized in the early 1940s, which allowed cutgrass marshes to succeed to water willow (Decodon verticillatus) marshes. There is no information on the extent of water willow or its value to breeding birds on Reelfoot Lake. The objectives of this study were to 1) determine the extent and type of emergent plant communities on Reelfoot, 2) describe the breeding avian communities using these emergent plant communities, and 3) evaluate an interim nationwide secretive marsh bird monitoring protocol. During 2003, I used printed DOQQs to ground-truth emergent plant communities on Reelfoot. I determined that 93% of the emergent marsh was dominated by water willow. Cutgrass- and cattail-dominated marshes made up the remainder. Most marshes had a substantial amount of woody growth. Secretive marsh bird surveys and habitat data collection were conducted on Reelfoot and nearby Black Bayou during the 2003 breeding season. A total of 66 observations were made of 4 species during surveys, including least bitterns, pied-billed grebes (Podilymbus podiceps), common moorhens ( Gallinula chloropus), and king rails (Rallus elegans). American coots (Fulica americana) were also observed, but not during surveys. Logistic regression with stepwise selection found least bitterns were positively related to the percent cover of cutgrass (parameter estimate = 7.76, Wald chi-square = 4.70, P \u3c 0.04). Over 90% of plots with 20% cutgrass had at least 1 least bittern. In contrast, only 50% of plots with\u3c 20% cutgrass had at least 1 least bittern. A 20-ha cutgrassdominated unit on Black Bayou had greater species richness than surveyed areas on Reelfoot Lake. Apparent declines of secretive marsh birds on Reelfoot have coincided with the replacement of cutgrass by water willow. Songbird surveys and habitat data collection were conducted during the 2002 and 2003 breeding seasons. Several species of songbirds associated with closed-canopy forests were found in the marshes on Reelfoot. These birds were negatively associated with cutgrass (parameter estimate = -0.258, Wald chisquare = 5.19, P \u3c 0.03) but positively related to percent cover of woody species (parameter estimate = 0.06, Wald chi-square = 2.85, P \u3c 0.10). This indicates that as woody species increase at the expense of marsh vegetation, Reelfoot bird communities may shift from marsh-dependent species to those associated with closed-canopy fofests. If management for secretive marsh birds and marsh songbirds becomes a goal on Reelfoot Lake, vegetation manipulation may be necessary. A drawdown and possibly other management tools with the goals of replacing water willow with sparse stands of cutgrass and reducing woody vegetation may improve breeding habitat for many species of marsh-dependent birds on Reelfoot Lake