Researching trust in the police and trust in justice: a UK perspective

This paper describes the immediate and more distant origins of a programme of comparative research that is examining cross-national variations in public trust in justice and in the police. The programme is built around a module of the fifth European Social Survey, and evolved from a study funded by the European Commission. The paper describes the conceptual framework within which we are operating – developed in large measure from theories of procedural justice. It reviews some of the methodological issues raised by the use of sample surveys to research issues of public trust in the police, public perceptions of institutional legitimacy and compliance with the law. Finally it gives a flavour of some of the early findings emerging from the programme

A rational approach to the treatment of osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a common, costly and serious disease. The life-time risk of an osteoporotic fracture in Caucasian women approximates 50%. Epidemiologic fracture data in South Africa are limited, but the incidence of osteoporosis appears to be similar in white, Indian and mixed ancestry (Coloured) females.South African Family Practice Vol. 49 (9) 2007: pp. 26-3

Near-IR Spectropolarimetry of NGC 1088

Original paper can be found at: http://www.astrosociety.org/pubs/cs/035-069.html--Copyright Astronomical Society of the PacificThe current unified model of Seyfert galaxies, as proposed by Antonucci and Miller (1985), has most, if not all, Seyfert 2 galaxies hosting a Seyfert 1 type nucleus in their cores. The broad lines from the type 1 nucleus can be scattered and be seen in the polarized flux spectrum, provided the geometry is correct. Whether the mechanism is electron or dust scattering has been a question of some debate. Since dust would normally have a low scattering efficiency in the infrared, near-IR spectropolarimetry should help in determing the nature of the scatterers. To this end we present the first near-IR spectropolarimetry of NGC 1068 a "Seyfert 2" galaxy in which polarized broad lines have been observed at optical wavelengths

Southern Surface Rupture Associated with the M 7.3 1992 Landers, California, Earthquake

Although most evidence suggests that the 28 June 1992 M 7.3 Landers earthquake ruptured unilaterally north, significant surface rupture was mapped on the Eureka Peak and Burnt Mountain faults, to the south of the Landers epicenter. An eyewitness account reports that surface rupture occurred on the northern Eureka Peak fault within approximately 35 sec of the mainshock initiation. Array analysis of the Landers mainshock provides evidence in support of this report; a significant southern subevent in the early mainshock coda. I also analyze dense array recordings of a M 5.6 aftershock that occurred 3 min after the mainshock at 34°7.65′N, 116°23.82′W and show that there is strong evidence that this event was also associated with significant rupture on the Eureka Peak fault. This analysis thus suggests that the Eureka Peak fault rupture was not caused by direct bilateral mainshock rupture but instead was initially triggered less than a minute after the mainshock and reruptured by the M 5.6 aftershock. Results for the evolution of the Landers sequence suggest that mainshock subevents may in some cases be accurately described as aftershocks (i.e., disjoint triggered events) that occur within the duration of mainshock strong ground motion

Empirical Green’s Function Analysis of Recent Moderate Events in California

I use seismic data from portable digital stations and the broadband Terrascope network in southern California to investigate radiated earthquake source spectra and discuss the results in light of previous studies on both static stress drop and apparent stress. Applying the empirical Green's function (EGF) method to two sets of M 4–6.1 events, I obtain deconvolved source-spectra estimates and corner frequencies. The results are consistent with an ω^2 source model and constant Brune stress drop. However, consideration of the raw spectral shapes of the largest events provides evidence for a high-frequency decay more shallow than ω^2. The intermediate (≈f^(–1)) slope cannot be explained plausibly with attenuation or site effects and is qualitatively consistent with a model incorporating directivity effects and a fractional stress-drop rupture process, as suggested by Haddon (1996). However, the results obtained in this study are not consistent with the model of Haddon (1996) in that the intermediate slope is not revealed with EGF analysis. This could reflect either bandwidth limitations inherent in EGF analysis or perhaps a rupture process that is not self-similar. I show that a model with an intermediate spectral decay can also reconcile the apparent discrepancy between the scaling of static stress drop and that of apparent stress drop for moderate-to-large events

A two micron polarization survey toward dark clouds

A near infrared (2.2 micron) polarization survey of about 190 sources was conducted toward nearby dark clouds. The sample includes both background field stars and embedded young stellar objects. The aim is to determine the magnetic field structure in the densest regions of the dark clouds and study the role of magnetic fields in various phases of star formation processes, and to study the grain alignment efficiency in the dark cloud cores. From the polarization of background field stars and intrinsically unpolarized embedded sources, the magnetic field structure was determined in these clouds. From the intrinsic polarization of young stellar objects, the spatial distribution was determined of circumstellar dust around young stars. Combining the perpendicularity between the disks and magnetic fields with perpendicularity between the cloud elongation and magnetic fields, it is concluded that the magnetic fields might have dominated nearly all aspects of cloud dynamics, from the initial collapse of the clouds right through to the formation of disks/tori around young stars in these low to intermediate mass star forming clouds of the Taurus, Ophiuchus, and Perseus

Wide parameter search for isolated pulsars using the Hough transform

We use the Hough transform to analyze data from the second science run of the LIGO interferometers, to look for gravitational waves from isolated pulsars. We search over the whole sky and over a large range of frequencies and spin-down parameters. Our search method is based on the Hough transform, which is a semi-coherent, computationally efficient, and robust pattern recognition technique. We also present a validation of the search pipeline using hardware signal injections.Comment: Presented at GWDAW-9 in Annecy, France (Dec. 2004). 11 pages, 5 Figures. To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Scientific overview and historical context of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquake sequence

The central and eastern United States has experienced only 5 historic earthquakes with Mw 7.0, four during the New Madrid sequence of 1811-1812: three principal mainshocks and the so-called «dawn aftershock» following the first mainshock. Much of the historic earthquake research done in the United States has focused on the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), because the largest New Madrid earthquakes may represent the archetype for the most damaging earthquakes to be expected in intraplate regions. Published magnitude values ranging from 7.0 to 8.75 have generally been based on macroseismic effects, which provide the most direct constraint on source size for the events. Critical to the interpretation of these accounts is an understanding of their historic context. Early settlments clustered along waterways, where substantial amplification of seismic waves is expected. Analyzing the New Madrid intensity values with a consideration of these effects yields preferred values of Mw 7.2-7.3, 7.0, and 7.4-7.5 for the December, January, and February mainshocks, respectively, and of 7.0 for the «dawn aftershock». These values are consistent with other lines of evidence, including scaling relationships. Finally, I show that accounts from the New Madrid sequence reveal evidence for remotely triggered earthquakes well outside the NMSZ. Remotely triggered earthquakes represent a potentially important new wrinkle in historic earthquake research, as their ground motions can sometimes be confused with mainshock ground motions