Grassroots and Habermas in West Bend: Some Reflections

The West Bend Memorial Library controversy is an instructive example of how the framing assumptions—the ground—of public space have come under attack not only from the re-evaluation of social legitimacy heralded and embodied by an economics-based paradigm but equally from those who stand in opposition to what Habermas characterizes as the bourgeoisie-established criterion of political legitimacy: that is to say, enlightenment rationality. While the grassroots movement in support of the public library ethos stood with the nineteenth century’s enlightenment rationality, the group promoting censorship of LGBTQ-themed materials stood firmly in the more socially relevant, refeudalized, public sphere of the early twenty-first century—one in which the legitimating function of rational discourse has been eroded by opinion and manipulative publicity. This explains why the grassroots effort was itself largely irrelevant to the outcome of events. The library’s autonomy was kept in place not by social or political forces (both subject to refeudalization) but by the law. The grassroots movement to support the library thus illuminates the cracks, or fault lines, resulting from a change in how “public space” (and, thus, public institutions) have come to be understood during the last one hundred years, and, specifically, in the resulting change in modes of sanctioned discourse: specifically, from rational public debate to manipulative publicity

Thorium ceramics data manual. Volume II. Nitrides. Revised

Physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of thorium nitrides, alone and in combination with other nitrides and other thorium compounds. are collected from the literature through January 1973 (51 references). The thorium-nitrogen phase equilibrium is reviewed. Although mechanical property data are still sparse, recent physical and chemical characterization of ThN has confirined its high metallic conductivity, furnished detaii on hydrolysis and oxidation, and expanded the knowledge of the (Th,U)N and Th(C,N) systems. (auth

Finite element simulation of three-dimensional free-surface flow problems

An adaptive finite element algorithm is described for the stable solution of three-dimensional free-surface-flow problems based primarily on the use of node movement. The algorithm also includes a discrete remeshing procedure which enhances its accuracy and robustness. The spatial discretisation allows an isoparametric piecewise-quadratic approximation of the domain geometry for accurate resolution of the curved free surface. The technique is illustrated through an implementation for surface-tension-dominated viscous flows modelled in terms of the Stokes equations with suitable boundary conditions on the deforming free surface. Two three-dimensional test problems are used to demonstrate the performance of the method: a liquid bridge problem and the formation of a fluid droplet

Feasibility study for improved steady-state initialization algorithms for the RELAP5 computer code

A design for a new steady-state initialization method is presented that represents an improvement over the current method used in RELAP5. Current initialization methods for RELAP5 solve the transient fluidflow balance equations simulating a transient to achieve steady-state conditions. Because the transient solution is used, the initial conditions may change from the desired values requiring the use of controllers and long transient running times to obtain steady-state conditions for system problems. The new initialization method allows the user to fix thermal-hydraulic values in volumes and junctions where the conditions are best known and have the code compute the initial conditions in other areas of the system. The steady-state balance equations and solution methods are presented. The constitutive, component, and specialpurpose models are reviewed with respect to modifications required for the new steady-state initialization method. The requirements for user input are defined and the feasibility of the method is demonstrated with a testbed code by initializing some simple channel problems. The initialization of the sample problems using, the old and the new methods are compared

Astrophysical Reaction Rates for 10^{10}B(p,α\alpha)7^{7}Be and 11^{11}B(p,α\alpha)8^{8}Be From a Direct Model

The reactions $^{10}$B(p,$\alpha$)$^{7}$Be and $^{11}$B(p,$\alpha$)$^{8}$Be are studied at thermonuclear energies using DWBA calculations. For both reactions, transitions to the ground states and first excited states are investigated. In the case of $^{10}$B(p,$\alpha$)$^{7}$Be, a resonance at $E_{Res}=10$ keV can be consistently described in the potential model, thereby allowing the extension of the astrophysical $S$-factor data to very low energies. Strong interference with a resonance at about $E_{Res}=550$ keV require a Breit-Wigner description of that resonance and the introduction of an interference term for the reaction $^{10}$B(p,$\alpha_1$)$^{7}$Be$^*$. Two isospin $T=1$ resonances (at $E_{Res1}=149$ keV and $E_{Res2}=619$ keV) observed in the $^{11}$B+p reactions necessitate Breit-Wigner resonance and interference terms to fit the data of the $^{11}$B(p,$\alpha$)$^{8}$Be reaction. $S$-factors and thermonuclear reaction rates are given for each reaction. The present calculation is the first consistent parametrization for the transition to the ground states and first excited states at low energies.Comment: 27 pages, 5 Postscript figures, uses RevTex and aps.sty; preprint also available at http://quasar.physik.unibas.ch/ Phys. Rev. C, in pres

Elastic deformation of a fluid membrane upon colloid binding

When a colloidal particle adheres to a fluid membrane, it induces elastic deformations in the membrane which oppose its own binding. The structural and energetic aspects of this balance are theoretically studied within the framework of a Helfrich Hamiltonian. Based on the full nonlinear shape equations for the membrane profile, a line of continuous binding transitions and a second line of discontinuous envelopment transitions are found, which meet at an unusual triple point. The regime of low tension is studied analytically using a small gradient expansion, while in the limit of large tension scaling arguments are derived which quantify the asymptotic behavior of phase boundary, degree of wrapping, and energy barrier. The maturation of animal viruses by budding is discussed as a biological example of such colloid-membrane interaction events.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, REVTeX style, follow-up on cond-mat/021242

Can forest management based on natural disturbances maintain ecological resilience?

Given the increasingly global stresses on forests, many ecologists argue that managers must maintain ecological resilience: the capacity of ecosystems to absorb disturbances without undergoing fundamental change. In this review we ask: Can the emerging paradigm of natural-disturbance-based management (NDBM) maintain ecological resilience in managed forests? Applying resilience theory requires careful articulation of the ecosystem state under consideration, the disturbances and stresses that affect the persistence of possible alternative states, and the spatial and temporal scales of management relevance. Implementing NDBM while maintaining resilience means recognizing that (i) biodiversity is important for long-term ecosystem persistence, (ii) natural disturbances play a critical role as a generator of structural and compositional heterogeneity at multiple scales, and (iii) traditional management tends to produce forests more homogeneous than those disturbed naturally and increases the likelihood of unexpected catastrophic change by constraining variation of key environmental processes. NDBM may maintain resilience if silvicultural strategies retain the structures and processes that perpetuate desired states while reducing those that enhance resilience of undesirable states. Such strategies require an understanding of harvesting impacts on slow ecosystem processes, such as seed-bank or nutrient dynamics, which in the long term can lead to ecological surprises by altering the forest's capacity to reorganize after disturbance