Representation in Westminster in the 1990s : The ghost of Edmund Burke

Why are 'trustee' notions of representation still invoked in the UK House of Commons in the 1990s? In answering this question this article analyses the premises of Burkean theory and the arguments that these premises are of little relevance in the late twentieth century. Despite these dismissals of trusteeship, Burkean ideas are still articulated in the Commons some 200 years after they were first voiced. The idea of trusteeship can prove extremely useful to justify the actions of representatives when those actions conflict with constituency 'opinion', party policy or the wishes of interest groups. Examples of the occasions when Burkean notions have been invoked in the 1990s are provided

A combined R-matrix eigenstate basis set and finite-differences propagation method for the time-dependent Schr\"{od}dinger equation: the one-electron case

In this work we present the theoretical framework for the solution of the time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation (TDSE) of atomic and molecular systems under strong electromagnetic fields with the configuration space of the electron's coordinates separated over two regions, that is regions $I$ and $II$. In region $I$ the solution of the TDSE is obtained by an R-matrix basis set representation of the time-dependent wavefunction. In region $II$ a grid representation of the wavefunction is considered and propagation in space and time is obtained through the finite-differences method. It appears this is the first time a combination of basis set and grid methods has been put forward for tackling multi-region time-dependent problems. In both regions, a high-order explicit scheme is employed for the time propagation. While, in a purely hydrogenic system no approximation is involved due to this separation, in multi-electron systems the validity and the usefulness of the present method relies on the basic assumption of R-matrix theory, namely that beyond a certain distance (encompassing region $I$) a single ejected electron is distinguishable from the other electrons of the multi-electron system and evolves there (region II) effectively as a one-electron system. The method is developed in detail for single active electron systems and applied to the exemplar case of the hydrogen atom in an intense laser field.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, submitte

R-matrix Floquet theory for laser-assisted electron-atom scattering

A new version of the R-matrix Floquet theory for laser-assisted electron-atom scattering is presented. The theory is non-perturbative and applicable to a non-relativistic many-electron atom or ion in a homogeneous linearly polarized field. It is based on the use of channel functions built from field-dressed target states, which greatly simplifies the general formalism.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX2e, submitted to J.Phys.

Half-Life of 14^{14}O

We have measured the half-life of $^{14}$O, a superallowed $(0^{+} \to 0^{+})$ $\beta$ decay isotope. The $^{14}$O was produced by the $^{12}$C($^{3}$He,n)$^{14}$O reaction using a carbon aerogel target. A low-energy ion beam of $^{14}$O was mass separated and implanted in a thin beryllium foil. The beta particles were counted with plastic scintillator detectors. We find $t_{1/2} = 70.696\pm 0.052$ s. This result is $1.5\sigma$ higher than an average value from six earlier experiments, but agrees more closely with the most recent previous measurement.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Toilet talk: (Trans)Gendered negotiation of public spaces

Public toilet provision in the UK fails to meet the needs of cis women while trans communities are absent from current building regulations. This research explores how individuals negotiate differing positions on toilet provision and accessibility. The data was formed of online posts on Dezeen, a forum for building design professionals, and Mumsnet, a parenting forum, in response to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government ‘Technical review on increasing accessibility and provision of toilets for men and women’. Discursive Psychology was used to explore how accessibility to toilets is constructed. There is also an opportunity to explore how a discursive approach can be applied interdisciplinary with town planning and the built environment. Gender identities are situated and constructed within public toilets. Talk about refuge in public bathrooms involved the negotiation of who belonged in differing gender categories and who warranted a need for refuge. Where men are explicitly acknowledged as an issue, cis and trans women are collectively identified as requiring a safe space. Cis women are presented as a threat to trans women and other cis women who are misgendered. Discourse about toilet provision draws upon both heteronormative ideology to challenge access to trans people and others who challenge normative gender roles. Talk about toilets involves warranting ‘place-identity’ as gender identity is situated and access limited to those who are constructed as belonging

Modal Theory of Skin Effect in Single and Multiple Turn Coils

The skin effect in circularly symmetric structures is formulated in terms of an integral equation, which may be solved in terms of the normal modes of the corresponding integral equation eigenvalue problem. The necessary modal functions are computed numerically, using a simple discrete model of the coil. The modal series solution easily accounts for electrical excitation of the coil as for external magnetic fields. A comparison with so-called "direct" calculation methods, as well as with published experimental results, shows that the method is capable of good accuracy, while effecting substantial economies in computation

Ionization of hydrogen atoms by electron impact at 1eV, 0.5eV and 0.3eV above threshold

We present here triple differential cross sections for ionization of hydrogen atoms by electron impact at 1eV, 0.5eV and 0.3eV energy above threshold, calculated in the hyperspherical partial wave theory. The results are in very good agreement with the available semiclassical results of Deb and Crothers \cite{DC02} for these energies. With this, we are able to demonstrate that the hyperspherical partial wave theory yields good cross sections from 30 eV \cite{DPC03} down to near threshold for equal energy sharing kinematics.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure

Finite sample weighting of recursive forecast errors

This paper proposes and tests a new framework for weighting recursive out-of-sample prediction errors according to their corresponding levels of in-sample estimation uncertainty. In essence, we show how to use the maximum possible amount of information from the sample in the evaluation of the prediction accuracy, by commencing the forecasts at the earliest opportunity and weighting the prediction errors. Via a Monte Carlo study, we demonstrate that the proposed framework selects the correct model from a set of candidate models considerably more often than the existing standard approach when only a small sample is available. We also show that the proposed weighting approaches result in tests of equal predictive accuracy that have much better sizes than the standard approach. An application to an exchange rate dataset highlights relevant differences in the results of tests of predictive accuracy based on the standard approach versus the framework proposed in this paper