DFT screened-exchange approach for investigating electronical properties of graphene-related materials

We present ab initio calculations of the bandstructure of graphene and of short zigzag graphene nanoribbons by the screened-exchange-LDA method (sX-LDA) within the framework of density functional theory (DFT). The inclusion of non-local electron-electron interactions in this approach results in a renormalization of the electronic bandstructure and the Fermi velocity compared to calculations within local density approximation (LDA) gives good agreement with experiment. Similarly, the band gaps in zigzag nanoribbons (ZGNR) are widened by more than 200%, being of similar magnitude than bandgaps from past studies based on quasiparticle bandstructures. We found a noticeable effect of non-local exchange on the spin-polarization of the electronic ground state of ZGNRs, compared to LDA and GGA-PW91 calculations.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Discrimination against seafarers post 11th September 2001 (United States) and post 7th July 2005 (United Kingdom)

The significance of this study derives from the fact that the United States, with the support of the United Kingdom approached the IMO with new domestic legislation for the US maritime industry. This legislation, the MTSA, was to be introduced to regulate the maritime industry for fear that if the aviation industry has been compromised for acts of terror to be committed (11th September), it must be assumed that the maritime sector may be used by terrorists for the same ends It is an established fact that shipping is the oldest transport industry, in existence long before the invention of aircraft. The modern maritime sector is the most highly regulated industry by the IMO and ILO, and has, to date, not been compromised by terrorists to launch an attack on any sovereign State. The thesis addresses the violation of seafarer’s human rights in post- 11th September 2001 (USA), and post-7th July 2005 (UK). The research identifies the problems that affect seafarers’ rights, welfare and well-being which are embedded in the US Homeland Security Act, Patriot Act, and UK Home Office Anti-terrorism Act respectively. The most influential Resolution which gave the US and the UK the all clear to override international law is the United Nation’s Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1373. UNSCR 1373 is a mandatory order with no time limit, and it is not confined to a particular conflict but rather aimed at an undefined, yet expected, threat of global terrorism. The US and the UK declared seafarers potential terrorists in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. However, the importance of maintaining strong respect for human rights while ensuring national security was missing in the content of the UNSCR 1373 after 9/11. The UNSCR 1373 paved the way for the US to introduce their domestic legislation, MTSA, to the IMO which overrides seafarers’ Treaties, Conventions, State sovereignty and freedom of movement. The thesis investigated the denial of seafarers’ shore leave to seek welfare support as the central focus of the research to determine if a powerful State can override other sovereign States’ domestic law without considering the effect it will have on the rights of people. The US and the UK are sovereign States where terrorists used aviation and terrestrial transport objects to attack their infrastructures and kill civilians. However, both transport sectors have no common grounds with the maritime transport sector and yet seafarers are the group being victimised for the failings of the aviation and terrestrial transport industries. The author dentified the security Code which saw seafarers being declared as potential terrorists by the US and the UK. It has to be understood that there must be a proper balance struck between the needs of maritime security, and the protection of seafarers’ rights to maintain the safety and operations of the ship. The research demonstrated how the domestic legislations contained within the MTSA 2002, the HSA 2002 and the UKBA (Home Office) conflict with the ILO’s Convention No.185 post- 11th September 2001 and 7th July 2005, hence delaying the ratification of the latter by the US and the UK

Glocalization, consumption, and cricket: The Indian Premier League

© 2018, © The Author(s) 2018. With India’s robust, neo-liberal economic growth and the growing buying power of the Indian consumers, cricket, a popular sport in India, too, has been transformed. Indian Premier League is a short-format, high-value cricket league that features major international cricket stars who come to India to join one of the eight franchised teams that take part in this competitive tournament. Using the sociological framework of glocalization, this article argues that the intersection of the global economic forces and the local culture that celebrates cricket has created a glocal space for its performance, and with the mediation of communication technology, it has widened the viewership globally. Infused with Indian money, motifs, and meanings, a new spectacle of consumption is on offer. The emergent consumer culture has transformed the game itself, adding a showbiz quality to it. Through the analysis of Indian Premier League cricket, this article sheds light on the consequences of cultural globalization, at once homogenizing and heterogenizing, an essential characteristic of glocalization

Hybrid functional calculations of the Al impurity in silica: Hole localization and electron paramagnetic resonance parameters

We performed first-principle calculations based on the supercell and cluster approaches to investigate the neutral Al impurity in smoky quartz. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements suggest that the oxygens around the Al center undergo a polaronic distortion which localizes the hole being on one of the four oxygen atoms. We find that the screened exchange hybrid functional successfully describes this localization and improves on standard local density approaches or on hybrid functionals that do not include enough exact exchange such as B3LYP. We find a defect level at about 2.5 eV above the valence band maximum, corresponding to a localized hole in a O 2p orbital. The calculated values of the g tensor and the hyperfine splittings are in excellent agreement with experiment.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

Glocalization, globalization and migration: the case of Scottish football supporters in North America

The concept of glocalization is used to analyse the ways in which social actors construct meanings, identities and institutional forms within the sociological context of globalization, conceived in multidimensional terms. This article seeks to advance the sociological grasp of glocalization processes through a field-work-rooted study of particular migrant, culturally defined social groups: North American-based supporters of the Scottish football teams Celtic and Rangers. The authors examine four features of glocalization in regard to the migrant experience: the transplantation of the original local culture to a new context; subsequent intracultural identities and practices; intercultural identities and practices; and the potential for the reproduction of ‘glocal’ identities. Further, they consider projects of glocalization that are attendant upon each of these features. A model is developed that facilitates future comparative and critical investigation in regard to the glocalization projects of social groups that are defined variously by ethnicity, migration or popular culture

Sport and globalization: transnational dimensions

The aims of this special issue are to both raise the social scientific status of sport and to advance understanding of transnational processes through the role of sport in global change. The Introduction argues that sport, like globalization, can be understood in transdisciplinary terms, and the papers included contributions informed by sociology, anthropology, political sciences and history. As well as placing the issue in the context of recent studies of sport and globalization, the Introduction outlines the seven papers. Placed together they move from analyses of broader globalizing and multi-sport issues towards consideration of how transnational processes impact upon individual sports - with examples from cricket, baseball and association football - ending with regional and national dimensions

Mapping the global football field: a sociological model of transnational forces within the world game

This paper provides a sociological model of the key transnational political and economic forces that are shaping the 'global football field'. The model draws upon, and significantly extends, the theory of the 'global field' developed previously by Robertson. The model features four quadrants, each of which contains a dominant operating principle, an 'elemental reference point', and an 'elemental theme'. The quadrants contain, first, neo-liberalism, associated with the individual and elite football clubs; second, neo-mercantilism, associated with nation-states and national football systems; third, international relations, associated with international governing bodies; and fourth, global civil society, associated with diverse institutions that pursue human development and/or social justice. We examine some of the interactions and tensions between the major institutional and ideological forces across the four quadrants. We conclude by examining how the weakest quadrant, featuring global civil society, may gain greater prominence within football. In broad terms, we argue that our four-fold model may be utilized to map and to examine other substantive research fields with reference to globalization. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2012

Recovering the social: globalization, football and transnationalism

In this article, we place the social and football (as a sporting realm) at the heart of social scientific analysis of globalization processes. Our theoretical framework sets out, in turn, the concepts of glocalization, with particular reference to what we term the 'duality of glocality'; transnationalism, notably its socio-historical aspects; connectivity, with particular reference to its antonym, 'disconnectivity'; and cosmopolitanism, with strong focus on what we term its 'thick' and 'thin' variants. We explore the interplay of these concepts and processes within three broad domains of the 'football world': supporter subcultures, sport journalism, and Japanese football culture. We conclude in part by arguing for greater exploration of sport's role in regard to global processes and of the interrelationships between the duality of glocality and the thick/thin variants of cosmopolitanism