Towards a radiocarbon calibration for oxygen isotope stage 3 using New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis)

It is well known that radiocarbon years do not directly equate to calendar time. As a result, considerable effort has been devoted to generating a decadally resolved calibration curve for the Holocene and latter part of the last termination. A calibration curve that can be unambiguously attributed to changes in atmospheric ¹⁴C content has not, however, been generated beyond 26 kyr cal BP, despite the urgent need to rigorously test climatic, environmental, and archaeological models. Here, we discuss the potential of New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis) to define the structure of the ¹⁴C calibration curve using annually resolved tree rings and thereby provide an absolute measure of atmospheric ¹⁴C. We report bidecadally sampled ¹⁴C measurements obtained from a floating 1050-yr chronology, demonstrating repeatable ¹⁴C measurements near the present limits of the dating method. The results indicate that considerable scope exists for a high-resolution ¹⁴C calibration curve back through OIS-3 using subfossil wood from this source

Managing diversity in organisations: practitioner and academic perspectives: report from a gender in management special interest group research event

Purpose - This report aims to provide a brief summary of the presentations made by researchers and practitioners at the Gender in Management Special Interest Group’s research event, Managing Diversity in Organisations: Practitioner and Academic Perspectives. Design/methodology/approach - The research seminar was chaired by Dr. Adelina Broadbridge (University of Stirling) and Dr. Gillian Maxwell (Glasgow Caledonian University), and featured five presentations related to diversity in organisations, with a focus on gender issues. Twenty-five delegates were in attendance. Findings - The academic research presented provided empirical evidence that women continue to face barriers to career progress in a number of industry sectors. The industry presentations provided examples of organisational efforts to improve diversity both among staff and customers. Research limitations/implications - More needs to be done to ensure that women enjoy career opportunities equal to those of men in a variety of industry sectors. Even in organisations where women are comparatively well represented, such as professional services firms, research indicates that they are disadvantaged in terms of career development and progress. Originality/value - This session provided a valuable opportunity for practitioners and academics to meet and share information regarding the state of diversity in today’s workplace

Insights into the interaction of iodide and iodine with Cu(II)-loaded bispicolylamine chelating resin and applications for nuclear waste treatment

Radioiodine is a challenging contaminant to remove from aqueous wastestreams, resulting from spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. To create a selective, economical adsorbent, a Cu-loaded bispicolylamine chelating resin was produced, from commercially available reagents and its performance for removal of aqueous iodide and iodine was assessed. The resin possessed a large equilibrium uptake capacity of 305 ± 14 mg.g−1 iodide and 2940 ± 180 mg.g−1 total iodine. Performance was close to maximal over a pH range of 2–10. Capacity was reduced by ~55% by the addition of cocontaminants nitrate and molybdate, but resistance to suppression was greatly superior to non-modified polyamine resins, clearly seen in dynamic column experiments. The uptake mechanism was investigated spectroscopically and was found to proceed via ligand-exchange, with some in-situ REDOX chemistry occurring, resulting in the formation of Cu(I) and triiodide. The latter was concurrently adsorbed on to the resin and occupied both strong (Cu-associated) and weak (charge-transfer complex formation) binding sites. Thermal decomposition of the loaded resins revealed that the captured iodine was volatised at several different temperatures, according to strength of adsorption, but a large fraction was converted to stable CuI, suggesting a possible pathway towards volume-reduction and immobilisation as a final wasteform

The First VERITAS Telescope

The first atmospheric Cherenkov telescope of VERITAS (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) has been in operation since February 2005. We present here a technical description of the instrument and a summary of its performance. The calibration methods are described, along with the results of Monte Carlo simulations of the telescope and comparisons between real and simulated data. The analysis of TeV $\gamma$-ray observations of the Crab Nebula, including the reconstructed energy spectrum, is shown to give results consistent with earlier measurements. The telescope is operating as expected and has met or exceeded all design specifications.Comment: Accepted by Astroparticle Physic

The Influence of Dormitory Architecture On Resident Behavior

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66943/2/10.1177_001391657300500402.pd

Study of large hemispherical photomultiplier tubes for the ANTARES neutrino telescope

The ANTARES neutrino telescope, to be immersed depth in the Mediterranean Sea, will consist of a 3 dimensional matrix of 900 large area photomultiplier tubes housed in pressure resistant glass spheres. The selection of the optimal photomultiplier was a critical step for the project and required an intensive phase of tests and developments carried out in close collaboration with the main manufacturers worldwide. This paper provides an overview of the tests performed by the collaboration and describes in detail the features of the PMT chosen for ANTARES