Last glacial maximum radiative forcing from mineral dust aerosols in an Earth System model

The mineral dust cycle in pre-industrial (PI) and last glacial maximum (LGM) simulations with the CMIP5 model HadGEM2-A is evaluated. The modeled global dust cycle is enhanced at the LGM, with larger emissions in the Southern hemisphere, consistent with some previous studies. Two different dust uplift schemes within HadGEM2 both show a similar LGM/PI increase in total emissions (60% and 80%) and global loading (100% and 75%), but there is a factor of three difference in the top of the atmosphere net LGM-PI direct radiative forcing (-1.2Wm−2 and -0.4Wm−2, respectively). This forcing is dominated by the short-wave effects in both schemes. Recent reconstructions of dust deposition fluxes suggest that the LGM increase is overestimated in the Southern Atlantic and underestimated over east Antarctica. The LGM dust deposition reconstructions do not strongly discern between these two dust schemes because deposition is dominated by larger (2-6Îijm diameter) particles for which the two schemes show similar loading in both time periods. The model with larger radiative forcing shows a larger relative emissions increase of smaller particles. This is because of the size-dependent friction velocity emissions threshold and different size distribution of the soil source particles compared with the second scheme. Size-dependence of the threshold velocity is consistent with the theory of saltation, implying that the model with larger radiative forcing is more realistic. However, the large difference in radiative forcing between the two schemes highlights the size distribution at emission as a major uncertainty in predicting the climatic effects of dust cycle changes

Best value and workplace partnership in local government

Purpose – This paper explores employee experiences concerning job security/insecurity, workload, job satisfaction and employee involvement in the aftermath of Best Value reviews in a local authority. Design/methodology/approach – Using a mix of quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques employees’ experiences of Best Value reviews in a local authority are compared and contrasted with council staff employed elsewhere in the authority to establish the extent to which workplace partnership principles have taken hold under a Best Value regime. Findings – Little evidence of positive outcomes was found from partnership at work under a Best Value regime. The constraints imposed by central government, under which managers in the public sector operate, contributed significantly to partnership at work remaining little more than a hollow shell. Originality/value – This paper provides a recent in-depth case study of the experience of workplace partnership, which was developed not discrete from but as part of the Best Value modernisation programme in a local authority

Sustainable Development: The Search for the Tipping Point

The United Nations recently launched the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Literature indicates the need for an authoritative definition of sustainable development. Sustainable Human Development is analyzed through the lens of Gladwell’s The Tipping Point as a framework for guiding ethical development practice and instigating changes in human behavior

The Egyptians in Sydney

Although Egyptians are generally known to be a non-migrating people closely tied to their land, the late 1950s and 1960s saw waves of Egyptians leaving their homeland for Europe, North America and Australia. Migration to Australia was limited prior to this period. In 1933, there were only 500 Egyptian-born people recorded as living in Australia. This number jumped to 8,000 in 1954 and 22,000 by 1966. Today there are around 34,000 Egyptian-born people in Australia and approximately 16,500 of them (nearly 50 per cent) live in Sydney.Around three-quarters of Egyptian migrants settled in Australia before 1976. However, there were substantial numbers of 'recent arrivals' (accounting for almost 15 per cent of this group) in 1986–91. Most of these later migrants came under the family reunion scheme. Generally the Egyptian community is a highly educated one, with qualification levels that exceed those of the average Australian. Today many Egyptian migrants living in Sydney belong to the professional and managerial classes

Dust in and around galaxies: dust in cluster environments and its impact on gas cooling

Simulating the dust content of galaxies and their surrounding gas is challenging due to the wide range of physical processes affecting the dust evolution. Here we present cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of a cluster of galaxies, $M_\text{200,crit}=6 \times 10^{14}\,{\rm M_\odot}$, including a novel dust model for the moving mesh code {\sc Arepo}. This model includes dust production, growth, supernova-shock-driven destruction, ion-collision-driven thermal sputtering, and high temperature dust cooling through far infrared re-radiation of collisionally deposited electron energies. Adopting a rather low thermal sputtering rate, we find, consistent with observations, a present-day overall dust-to-gas ratio of $\sim 2\times 10^{-5}$, a total dust mass of $\sim 2\times 10^9\,{\rm M_\odot}$, and a dust mass fraction of $\sim 3\times 10^{-6}$. The typical thermal sputtering timescales within $\sim 100\,{\rm kpc}$ are around $\sim 10\,{\rm Myr}$, and increase towards the outer parts of the cluster to $\sim 10^3\,{\rm Myr}$ at a cluster-centric distance of $1\,{\rm Mpc}$. The condensation of gas phase metals into dust grains reduces high temperature metal-line cooling, but also leads to additional dust infrared cooling. The additional infrared cooling changes the overall cooling rate in the outer parts of the cluster, beyond $\sim 1\,{\rm Mpc}$, by factors of a few. This results in noticeable changes of the entropy, temperature, and density profiles of cluster gas once dust formation is included. The emitted dust infrared emission due to dust cooling is consistent with observational constraints.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. MNRAS accepte

The ethical imperative of ascertaining and respecting the wishes of the minimally conscious patient facing a life-or-death decision.

Individuals with disorders of consciousness, and those with locked-in syndrome (LIS), have significantly impaired ability to communicate by conventional means. Although the most severely affected patients – those in coma and vegetative state (VS) – are wholly unaware of their surroundings, people in a minimally conscious state (MCS) may be, and those with LIS are, aware of their situation, and it is known that some of them wish to die. Their physical disabilities make it impossible for them to end their own lives, so they have to rely on others’ willingness to comply with their requests to be allowed to die. English judges, although expressing profound sympathy for individuals in MCS or with LIS in such circumstances, have declined to permit their assisted deaths, holding that this would breach the Suicide Act 1961. This paper reviews some significant recent advances in neuroimaging techniques that may enable some individuals who have been diagnosed as being in MCS or VS to give deliberate positive or negative answers to simple questions. This paper argues that, wherever possible, the wishes of those with who are able to communicate only via neuroimaging should be sought, should be respected and, wherever practicable, should be acted upon. To do otherwise is to infringe the last vestige of autonomy of people who have already lost their dignity, their independence and, in some cases, their desire to live

Impact of Dietary Cation-Anion Difference on Steer Performance and Carcass Characteristics

The data support the conclusion that Rumaferm (LF), liquid cattle feed, may be supplemented in feedlot cattle diets up to 5% DM in a concentrate-based diet if dietary cation-anion difference is balanced, as this product contains greater concentrations of sulfur and chloride contributing to a negative DCAD. Cattle receiving the LF diet showed decreased performance compared to the controls (CON) when DCAD was negative; however, when DCAD values were corrected to be positive, performance of the LF steers was recovered to similar values as the CON

Sustainability principles: a review and directions

In 1987 the publication of Our Common Future by the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development proposed the concept of sustainable development as an ideal for the global economy and corporations. In seeking sustainable economic growth and sustainability at the enterprise level, a number of “sustainability principles” or codes of conduct emerged. A great deal of intellectual effort, managerial resources, and publicity are devoted to these principles. While these principles have created some dialogue, and helped to lead some organizations in the direction of sustainability, their practical effectiveness remains uncertain. This paper provides an overview of sustainability principles within the context of evolving literature on sustainable development. It describes their purpose and content, the rationale for their creation, and who adopts them. We explore what functions these principles serve, and how they can be made more useful and compelling for businesses, governments, non-profit organizations, investors, and concerned people in general

The Real Terrorist was Me: An Analysis of Narratives Told by Iraq Veterans Against the War in an Effort to Rehumanize Iraqi Civilians and Soldiers

War often necessitates or compels the dehumanization of the enemy. Taking away the humanity of a group of people makes them easier to kill and commit atrocities against them while relieving the soldiers, as well as the public at large, of having to deal with any moral dilemmas related to their actions. Additionally, once a people have been dehumanized, it is a difficult task to change those attitudes, particularly when it causes one to examine their own role in civilian causualties, war crimes, and other abuses. While it is not a new phenomena for servicemen and women to return from war and join a social movement dedicated to educating the public and politicians about the human costs of war, we have chosen to focus on just one such organization: Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). Examining IVAW narratives is especially useful to the literature on dehumanization and rehumanization as the veterans were not only witnesses to the Iraq War, but also actors within the war. Their narratives include insights into the dehumanization process and rehumanization process that are not found in the narratives of other antiwar activists. This research was done by collecting and analyzing testimonies given by members of IVAW during their Winter Soldier event. Through this method we found that members of IVAW used narratives to rehumanize enemy civilians and soldiers in an effort to decrease public approval of war. Members used several methods to rehumanize the Iraqi people and decrease apathy among Americans concerning the War in Iraq: they asked their audience to take the perspective of Iraqis, employed role reversals, emphasized the social roles and family ties of civilians, and highlighted the effects of war on children