Beyond Buddhism and animism:A psychometric test of the structure of Burmese Theravada Buddhism

Anthropologists and religious scholars have long debated the relationship between doctrinal Theravada Buddhism, so-called 'animism', and other folk practices in southeast Asian societies. A variety of models of this relationship have been proposed on the basis of ethnographic evidence. We provide the first psychometric and quantitative evaluation of these competing models, using a new scale developed for this purpose, the Burmese Buddhist Religiosity Scale. Having tested existing hypotheses in our first study (n = 2285) we formulated an alternative model, which was then tested in our second study (n = 3377). We argue that this model provides support for a two-dimensional distinction between great and little traditions, shedding light on decades-old theoretical debates. Far from being in conflict, the transnational religious tradition of the literati and the variegated religious practices of locals appear to be reflected in two complementary dimensions of religiosity. This distinction has been heretofore neglected in psychometric research, but arguably merits attention beyond Buddhism, in the psychology of religion more generally. Our findings suggest that, insofar as research on religiosity relies on doctrinal pronouncements denigrating little traditions as mere superstition, it may be blinded to a crucial dimension of religious life

EVOLUTION OF IR-SELECTED GALAXIES IN Z~0.4 CLUSTERS

Wide-field optical and near--IR ($JHK$) imaging is presented for two rich galaxy clusters: Abell~370 at $z=0.374$ and Abell~851 (Cl0939+47) at $z=0.407$. Galaxy catalogs selected from the near--IR images are 90\% complete to approximately 1.5 mag below $K^\ast$ resulting in samples with $\sim$100 probable member galaxies per cluster in the central $\sim$2 Mpc. Comparison with $HST$ WFPC images yields subsamples of $\sim$70 galaxies in each cluster with morphological types. Analysis of the complete samples and the $HST$ subsamples shows that the $z\sim 0.4$ E/S0s are bluer than those in the Bower et al.\ (1992) Coma sample in the optical$-K$ color by $0.13$~mag for Abell~370 and by $0.18$~mag for Abell~851. If real, the bluing of the E/S0 populations at moderate redshift is consistent with that calculated from the Bruzual and Charlot (1993) models of passive elliptical galaxy evolution. In both clusters the intrinsic scatter of the known E/S0s about their optical$-K$ color--mag relation is small ($\sim 0.06$ mag) and not significantly different from that of Coma E/S0s as given by Bower et al.\ (1992), indicating that the galaxies within each cluster formed at the same time at an early epoch.Comment: uuencoded gzipped tar file containing latex files of manuscript (42 pages) plus tables (9 pages); figures available by anonymous ftp at ftp://ipac.caltech.edu//pub/pickup/sed ; accepted for publication in the Ap

Radiation damage effects in charge coupled devices

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The effects of Sr90 beta radiation and Co60 gamma radiation on the operation of EEV buried channel charge coupled devices (CCDs) have been studied. This work was instigated by the need to qualify CCDs for the SLD vertex detector. However, the work is also relevant to other small signal, low noise applications. The results of the batch qualification are presented and the data base of ionising radiation effects on EEV CCDs has been extended to include the effects of irradiation whilst clocking at 180K. Particular attention has been aimed at investigating the charge transfer degradation due to low levels of bulk defects. The measured energy level, capture cross section and introduction rate of the main radiation induced defect agrees well with published results for the Si-E centre. Annealing studies are also presented. A model for the charge transfer degradation is proposed. This includes the effects of temperature, readout rate, signal density and irradiation type and energy. Observations are also presented on the effect of irradiation on the noise characteristics of the single stage output circuit. For low noise applications the output is run in buried channel mode. In this mode the increase in noise is dominated by the change in the operating point of the output MOSFET.EEV and the Science and Engineering Research Counci

A computationally-efficient numerical model to characterize the noise behavior of metal-framed walls

Architects, designers, and engineers are making great efforts to design acoustically-efficient metal-framed walls, minimizing acoustic bridging. Therefore, efficient simulation models to predict the acoustic insulation complying with ISO 10140 are needed at a design stage. In order to achieve this, a numerical model consisting of two fluid-filled reverberation chambers, partitioned using a metal-framed wall, is to be simulated at one-third-octaves. This produces a large simulation model consisting of several millions of nodes and elements. Therefore, efficient meshing procedures are necessary to obtain better solution times and to effectively utilise computational resources. Such models should also demonstrate effective Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) along with acoustic-fluid coupling to simulate a realistic scenario. In this contribution, the development of a finite element frequency-dependent mesh model that can characterize the sound insulation of metal-framed walls is presented. Preliminary results on the application of the proposed model to study the geometric contribution of stud frames on the overall acoustic performance of metal-framed walls are also presented. It is considered that the presented numerical model can be used to effectively visualize the noise behaviour of advanced materials and multi-material structures

The K-selected Butcher-Oemler Effect

[abridged] We investigate the Butcher-Oemler effect in a sample of K-selected galaxies in 33 clusters at 0.15 < z < 0.92. We attempt to duplicate the original Butcher-Oemler analysis as closely as possible given the characteristics of our data. We find that the infrared selected blue fractions are lower than those measured in the optical and that the trend with redshift is much weaker. Comparison with optical data in clusters in common with Butcher & Oemler (1984) shows that infrared selection is the primary difference between our study and optically selected samples. We suggest that the Butcher-Oemler effect is in large part due to a population of star-forming low mass galaxies which will evolve into dwarf galaxies. These early results point to the need for larger and deeper infrared samples of cluster galaxies to address this issueComment: 37 pages, 19 figures, ApJ accepted (vol 598 n1

Building on shifting sands: co-operation and morality in the new Chinese co-operative movement

Since the beginning of China’s transition to a market economy, there have been other voices, calling for a different kind of change. One such voice is the co-operative movement, which has continued to grow in recent years. However, China’s new co-operatives suffer from widespread problems, which vitiate the principles put forward by activists. Based on two years of multi-sited fieldwork in the cooperative movement, this thesis explores the experience of the co-operatives, and the activists and institutions which promote them. Framing the analysis in terms of the cultural evolution of co-operation, it argues that the cooperatives are threatened by a range of factors. The erosion of social capital and material interdependence resulting from urbanisation and modernisation tends to undermine the foundations of the system of mutual aid based on indirect reciprocity. Meanwhile, the trauma of the Cultural Revolution and the uncertainty of the reform era have rendered alternative forms of collectivistic morality equally unable to support co-operation. While many co-operatives have succeeded by carefully avoiding any form of co-operation which requires trust or costly monitoring, some problems cannot be solved in this way. In particular, the thesis argues that participation in democratic decision-making is itself a collective action problem, which co-operatives cannot, by their very nature, avoid. And when activists and the state provide resources to help overcome these challenges, the result is often a ‘crowding out’ of co-operation. Finally, the thesis explores the idea that the difficulties of the co-operatives may reflect a shift in the psychological underpinnings of co-operation in wider Chinese society. Through a combination of life history interviews with young people experiencing moral conflict, and a psychometric survey designed to measure differences in moral reasoning, it argues that non-market forms of cooperation are being undermined by a process of interlinked social and psychological change

IDCS J1426.5+3508: The Most Massive Galaxy Cluster at z>1.5z > 1.5

We present a deep (100 ks) Chandra observation of IDCS J1426.5+3508, a spectroscopically confirmed, infrared-selected galaxy cluster at $z = 1.75$. This cluster is the most massive galaxy cluster currently known at $z > 1.5$, based on existing Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) and gravitational lensing detections. We confirm this high mass via a variety of X-ray scaling relations, including $T_X$-M, $f_g$-M, $Y_X$-M and $L_X$-M, finding a tight distribution of masses from these different methods, spanning M$_{500}$ = 2.3-3.3 $\times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$, with the low-scatter $Y_X$-based mass $M_{500,Y_X} = 2.6^{+1.5}_{-0.5} \times 10^{14}$ M$_\odot$. IDCS J1426.5+3508 is currently the only cluster at $z > 1.5$ for which X-ray, SZ and gravitational lensing mass estimates exist, and these are in remarkably good agreement. We find a relatively tight distribution of the gas-to-total mass ratio, employing total masses from all of the aforementioned indicators, with values ranging from $f_{gas,500}$ = 0.087-0.12. We do not detect metals in the intracluster medium (ICM) of this system, placing a 2$\sigma$ upper limit of $Z(r < R_{500}) < 0.18 Z_{\odot}$. This upper limit on the metallicity suggests that this system may still be in the process of enriching its ICM. The cluster has a dense, low-entropy core, offset by $\sim$30 kpc from the X-ray centroid, which makes it one of the few "cool core" clusters discovered at $z > 1$, and the first known cool core cluster at $z > 1.2$. The offset of this core from the large-scale centroid suggests that this cluster has had a relatively recent ($\lesssim$500 Myr) merger/interaction with another massive system.Comment: Minor changes to match accepted version, results unchanged; ApJ in pres