Quasars are more luminous than radio galaxies - so what?

Surveys to find high-redshift radio galaxies deliberately exclude optically-bright objects, which may be distant radio-loud quasars. In order to properly determine the space density of supermassive black holes, the fraction of such objects missed must be determined within a quantitative framework for AGN unification. I briefly describe the receding torus model, which predicts that quasars should have more luminous ionizing continua than radio galaxies of similar radio luminosity, and present evidence to support it. I also suggest two further tests of the model which should constrain some of its parameters.Comment: 6 pages. To appear in "Radio galaxies: past, present and future", eds M. Jarvis et al., Leiden, Nov 200

Pervasiveness and efficacy in regulatory governance – neo-liberalism as ideology and practice in European telecommunications reorganisation

Telecommunications provides one of the most well-developed examples of the growth of neo-liberalism. The sector is interesting since the contrast between its pre neoliberal and post neo-liberal characteristics is particularly stark. This paper explores the impacts of neo-liberalism in European telecommunications, placing particular focus on the EU institutional context. It considers the conseqences of neo-liberalism as ideology, on the one hand, and practice, on the other. It finds that, ideologically, neoliberalism has become deeply pervasive in European telecommunications and for its advocates can be regarded as a highly successful project spanning almost 30 years. In terms of practice, the paper argues that the pursuit of neo-liberalism has been less successful. In particular, competition has proven complex and difficult to create and there are concerns over the ability of the neo-liberal model to provide sufficient investment to deliver new Next Generation Networks. However, these deficiencies tend to be under-played due to the ideological and rhetorical success of the neo-liberal project in telecommunications.

Representing Darwin : Art, Taxidermy and Bio-politics at the Darwin Museum Moscow, 1907-2009

This paper looks at aspects of the relationships between art, taxidermy, bio-politics and the shifting representations of Darwinian evolutionary theory within the history of the Darwin Museum, Moscow from 1907 to 2009. The museum began in 1907 at the Higher Womens’ Courses institute in Moscow, with a collection of stuffed birds belonging to the founder, Dr Aleksandr Kots. It was nationalised by the Bolsheviks in 1918 and opened to the general public in 1924. Soviet Decrees in 1926, 1946 and 1968 promised the construction of a dedicated building, which, however was only realised after the fall of the USSR, opening in 1995. Today it is the leading natural history museum in Russia, designated the Scientific, Informational and Methodological Centre of the Russian Association of Natural History Museums, under the Russian National Committee of ICOM – the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Natural History. What the new museum explicitly shares with its previous incarnations is a commitment to the use of art - including graphics, painting, photography, sculpture, taxidermy, as well as the art of museum display - as means to engage the viewer with Darwin’s evolutionary theory, and to emphasise the variety and variation in nature. Indeed, many of the current exhibits include art works and mounted specimens dating back to the earliest days of the museum’s existence. Today, as in the past, the displays are designed by artists in conjunction with curatorial subject experts. In narrating a partial history of the museum, I want to draw attention to the mesh of connections and contrasts with western approaches to Darwinian science and museological representations of evolution. Among the connections, are the use of taxidermy and art to provide an educational spectacle, particularly for the education of women; links with zoopsychology, early genetic science and discourse on eugenics; as well as reference to a ‘progress’ model of human evolution common in popular culture. The differences relate to how Darwinism was politically, and scientifically nuanced within shifting historical contexts: as intrinsically, politically radical in the pre-revolutionary era; as the basis for understanding and prompting a new stage of human evolution in the Revolutionary1920s-30s; and as diametrically opposed to genetic science in the Lysenkoist period between 1938 and the 1960s. I will begin by looking briefly at the role of taxidermy, leading on to consider the Museum’s engagement, firstly with issues of micro-evolution, and secondly with macro-evolution, where I will focus particularly on approaches to the evolution of humankind.Peer reviewe

Economic development in Spain, 1850-1936

Indicators of the good health of Spanish economic history include the growing number of publications in English, the proliferation in the number of academic journals within Spain, and the fact that the 1998 International Economic History Congress is to be held in Seville. It is not possible to provide here a general note on all aspects of recent research, but this essay offers a critical examination of the major arguments advanced for the slow growth in the Spanish economy over the century or so before the civil war of 1936-9. The period after 1936 has been excluded because, although many of the obstacles to development remained until the 1960s, three excellent surveys of the literature have recently been published.' Where possible, English versions of works are cited, and the essay lists only those Spanish publications which are likely to be relatively easily obtainable. After considering recent estimates of economic growth and development, the survey tries to explain the slow change by looking at three areas: agriculture, industry, and the role of the state.Publicad

Borrowing, risks and charges in the water industry : a rejoinder to the Cuthberts

In their article* in the June 2006 issue of this Commentary, Jim and Margaret Cuthbert address a number of questions to the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, the industry regulator. These questions reflect the authors' concerns about some regulatory procedures and decisions, concerns that they have expressed earlier elsewhere. The Cuthberts' criticisms can be summarised in the proposition that Scottish Water should be allowed to borrow more money, and thereby be able to lower its current charges to customers