325 research outputs found
The Conservatives and the Union: The 'New English Toryism' and the Origins of Anglo-Britishness
The Union has for over a century been one of the cornerstones of Conservative politics, but with the changes to the old union state in the last 20âyears, its value has been increasingly questioned. While the Conservative Party remains committed to maintaining the Union, a new English Toryism is emerging, which has a strong continuity with an older English Toryism which was partially buried by the ascendancy of Unionism. English Tories have always considered the Union to be desirable, but it comes second in their thinking to the need to protect the sovereignty of the British state, the core of which is England and its traditional institutions. What is new about the contemporary Conservative Party is that there is within it the revival of an English Toryism which is happy to discard the older clothes of Empire and Union once so important to Conservative identity and which is unabashedly English in its focus. For an increasing number of contemporary Conservatives, there no longer seems to be any passion about defending the Union or even of continuing to think about the United Kingdom in Unionist terms
Topology from the Simulated Sloan Digital Sky Survey
We measure the topology (genus curve) of the galaxy distribution in a mock
redshift catalog designed to resemble the upcoming Sloan Digital Sky Survey
(SDSS). The catalog, drawn from a large N-body simulation of a Lambda-CDM cos-
mological model, mimics the anticipated spectroscopic selection procedures of
the SDSS in some detail. Sky maps, redshift slices, and 3-D contour maps of the
mock survey reveal a rich and complex structure, including networks of voids
and superclusters that resemble the patterns seen in the CfA redshift survey
and the Las Campanas Redshift Survey (LCRS). The 3-D genus curve can be
measured from the simulated catalog with superb precision; this curve has the
general shape predicted for Gaussian, random phase initial conditions, but the
error bars are small enough to demonstrate with high significance the subtle
departures from this shape caused by non-linear gravitational evolution. These
distortions have the form predicted by Matsubara's (1994) perturbative anal-
ysis, but they are much smaller in amplitude. We also measure the 3-D genus
curve of the radial peculiar velocity field measured by applying distance-
indicator relations (with realistic errors) to the mock catalog. This genus
curve is consistent with the Gaussian random phase prediction, though it is of
relatively low precision because of the large smoothing length required to
overcome noise in the measured velocity field. Finally, we measure the 2-D
topology in redshift slices, similar to early slices from the SDSS and to
slices already observed in the LCRS. The genus curves of these slices are
consistent with the observed genus curves of the LCRS, providing further
evidence in favor of the inflationary CDM model with Omega_M~0.4. The catalog
is publicly available at http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~dhw/sdss.html.Comment: ASTeX 4.0 Preprint Style, 5 GIF figures (Figs 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 6; see
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~wcolley/SDSS_Top/ for PostScript versions), 7
PostScript figures. Figure 5 and Table 1 have minor corrections since
publicatio
Constraints on the assembly and dynamics of galaxies. II. Properties of kiloparsec-scale clumps in rest-frame optical emission of z ~ 2 star-forming galaxies
We study the properties of luminous stellar clumps identified in deep, high
resolution HST/NIC2 F160W imaging at 1.6um of six z~2 star-forming galaxies
with existing near-IR integral field spectroscopy from SINFONI at the VLT.
Individual clumps contribute ~0.5%-15% of the galaxy-integrated rest-frame
~5000A emission, with median of about 2%; the total contribution of clump light
ranges from 10%-25%. The median intrinsic clump size and stellar mass are ~1kpc
and log(Mstar[Msun])~9, in the ranges for clumps identified in rest-UV or line
emission in other studies. The clump sizes and masses in the subset of disks
are broadly consistent with expectations for clump formation via gravitational
instabilities in gas-rich, turbulent disks given the host galaxies' global
properties. By combining the NIC2 data with ACS/F814W imaging available for one
source, and AO-assisted SINFONI Halpha data for another, we infer modest color,
M/L, and stellar age variations within each galaxy. In these two objects, sets
of clumps identified at different wavelengths do not fully overlap;
NIC2-identified clumps tend to be redder/older than ACS- or Halpha-identified
clumps without rest-frame optical counterparts. There is evidence for a
systematic trend of older ages at smaller galactocentric radii among the
clumps, consistent with scenarios where inward migration of clumps transports
material towards the central regions. From constraints on a bulge-like
component at radii <1-3kpc, none of the five disks in our sample appears to
contain a compact massive stellar core, and we do not discern a trend of bulge
stellar mass fraction with stellar age of the galaxy. Further observations are
necessary to probe the build-up of stellar bulges and the role of clumps in
this process.Comment: 29 pages, 11 figures. Revised version accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
A new view of electrochemistry at highly oriented pyrolytic graphite
Major new insights on electrochemical processes at graphite electrodes are reported, following extensive investigations of two of the most studied redox couples, Fe(CN)64â/3â and Ru(NH3)63+/2+. Experiments have been carried out on five different grades of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) that vary in step-edge height and surface coverage. Significantly, the same electrochemical characteristic is observed on all surfaces, independent of surface quality: initial cyclic voltammetry (CV) is close to reversible on freshly cleaved surfaces (>400 measurements for Fe(CN)64â/3â and >100 for Ru(NH3)63+/2+), in marked contrast to previous studies that have found very slow electron transfer (ET) kinetics, with an interpretation that ET only occurs at step edges. Significantly, high spatial resolution electrochemical imaging with scanning electrochemical cell microscopy, on the highest quality mechanically cleaved HOPG, demonstrates definitively that the pristine basal surface supports fast ET, and that ET is not confined to step edges. However, the history of the HOPG surface strongly influences the electrochemical behavior. Thus, Fe(CN)64â/3â shows markedly diminished ET kinetics with either extended exposure of the HOPG surface to the ambient environment or repeated CV measurements. In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveals that the deterioration in apparent ET kinetics is coupled with the deposition of material on the HOPG electrode, while conducting-AFM highlights that, after cleaving, the local surface conductivity of HOPG deteriorates significantly with time. These observations and new insights are not only important for graphite, but have significant implications for electrochemistry at related carbon materials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes
A simple Home-Made Turbidimeter (HMT) for turbidity measurements using Hyalella curvispina Shoemaker 1942 (Crustacea: Amphipoda) for the assessment of environmental quality of coastal waters
From mood to movement: English nationalism, the European Union and taking back control
This article considers whether the 2016 EU referendum can be perceived as an English nationalist movement. Specifically, attention is given to examining how memories of the former British Empire were nostalgically enveloped in anxieties regarding Englandâs location within the devolved UK state. The comments and work of Enoch Powell and George Orwell are used to help explore the link between nostalgia and anxiety in accounts of English nationalism. Despite their opposing political orientations, when considered together, it is argued that both men provide a unique cross-political perspective on Englishness, empire and nostalgia. By way of exploring these themes in relation to the EU referendum, Augheyâs assertion that English nationalism can be perceived as both a âmoodâ and âmovementâ is used to highlight how a sense of English anxiety regarding its lack of national sovereignty (mood), as well as a desire to reclaim this sovereignty by renegotiating trade relations with the âAnglo-sphereâ (movement), were conjoined in the popular referendum slogan, âtake back controlâ. In conclusion, it is argued that the contextualization of the referendum can be predicated upon an orientation to empire that steers away from glorifying pro-imperial images of England/Britain, towards a more positive and progressive appropriation of the EU referendum as a statement of national change and belonging
Performing women: The gendered dimensions of the UK new research economy
This paper explores the development and maintenance of familiar gendered employment patterns and practices in UK universities, which are exemplars of new modes of knowledge production, commodification and marketisation. After discussing in detail the evidence of gender discrimination in UK higher education and the changes in the academic labour process consequent to the incorporation, at least at the policy level, of universities into the âknowledge economyâ, institution-specific data is used to highlight the gendered aspects of the research economy from the three intermeshing perspectives of research culture, research capital and the research production process. This nexus is constructed in such a way as to systematically militate against womenâs full and equal involvement in research. Lack of transparency, increased competition and lower levels of collegiate activity coupled with networking based on homosociability are contributing to a research production process where women are marginalized
Chest wall syndrome among primary care patients: a cohort study
BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of chest pain differs strongly between outpatient and emergency settings. In general practice, the most frequent cause is the chest wall pain. However, there is a lack of information about the characteristics of this syndrome. The aims of the study are to describe the clinical aspects of chest wall syndrome (CWS). METHODS: Prospective, observational, cohort study of patients attending 58 private practices over a five-week period from March to May 2001 with undifferentiated chest pain. During a one-year follow-up, questionnaires including detailed history and physical exam, were filled out at initial consultation, 3 and 12 months. The outcomes were: clinical characteristics associated with the CWS diagnosis and clinical evolution of the syndrome. RESULTS: Among 24 620 consultations, we observed 672 cases of chest pain and 300 (44.6%) patients had a diagnosis of chest wall syndrome. It affected all ages with a sex ratio of 1:1. History and sensibility to palpation were the keys for diagnosis. Pain was generally moderate, well localised, continuous or intermittent over a number of hours to days or weeks, and amplified by position or movement. The pain however, may be acute. Eighty-eight patients were affected at several painful sites, and 210 patients at a single site, most frequently in the midline or a left-sided site. Pain was a cause of anxiety and cardiac concern, especially when acute. CWS coexisted with coronary disease in 19 and neoplasm in 6. Outcome at one year was favourable even though CWS recurred in half of patients. CONCLUSION: CWS is common and benign, but leads to anxiety and recurred frequently. Because the majority of chest wall pain is left-sided, the possibility of coexistence with coronary disease needs careful consideration
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