Effect of strong opinions on the dynamics of the majority-vote model

We study how the presence of individuals with strong opinions affects a square lattice majority-vote model with noise. In a square lattice network we perform Monte-Carlo simulations and replace regular actors σ with strong actors μ in a random distribution. We find that the value of the critical noise parameter q c is a decreasing function of the concentration r of strong actors in the social interaction network. We calculate the critical exponents β/ν, γ/ν, and 1/ν and find that the presence of strong actors does not change the Ising universality class of the isotropic majority-vote model.The authors acknowledge financial support from UPE (PFA2016, PIAEXT2016) and the funding agencies FACEPE (APQ-0565-1.05/14), CAPES and CNPq. The Boston University Center for Polymer Studies is supported by NSF Grants PHY-1505000, CMMI-1125290, and CHE-1213217, by DTRA Grant HDTRA1-14-1-0017, and by DOE Contract DE-AC07-05Id14517. (UPE (PFA, PIAEXT); APQ-0565-1.05/14 - FACEPE; CAPES; CNPq; PHY-1505000 - NSF; CMMI-1125290 - NSF; CHE-1213217 - NSF; HDTRA1-14-1-0017 - DTRA; DE-AC07-05Id14517 - DOE)Published versio

Using focus groups in political science and international relations

Following widespread use in political marketing and polling, focus groups are slowly gaining recognition as a useful and legitimate method in political science. Focus groups can however be far more than just a secondary qualitative method to primary quantitative public opinion research: they can be used to study the micro-level process of social construction. The process in which key sub-groups collectively contest and justify the actions of elite political actors via shared values is one way to study how legitimacy is conferred. This article therefore argues that focus groups can be particularly useful for research that examines everyday narratives in world politics

Governing austerity in the United Kingdom: anticipatory fiscal consolidation as a variety of austerity governance

This article analyses the logic underpinning austerity governance in the UK. Taking the UK’s relative fiscal and monetary policy autonomy as a starting point, the article unpacks and analyses how the UK has charted a successful course between the imperatives of social stability and market credibility. At the heart of this ‘success’ is a fundamentally anticipatory governing logic. Fiscal consolidation was justified and enacted as a pre-emptive and preventative intervention in order to anticipate an indebted and thus disciplined future. Contrary to conventional wisdom, then, UK austerity is not necessarily just geared towards swingeing spending cuts, because the direction of travel towards an imagined debt- and deficit-free future is just as important as reaching the destination itself under the logic of anticipatory fiscal consolidation

Traveling length and minimal traveling time for flow through percolation networks with long-range spatial correlations

We study the distributions of traveling length l and minimal traveling time t through two-dimensional percolation porous media characterized by long-range spatial correlations. We model the dynamics of fluid displacement by the convective movement of tracer particles driven by a pressure difference between two fixed sites (''wells'') separated by Euclidean distance r. For strongly correlated pore networks at criticality, we find that the probability distribution functions P(l) and P(t) follow the same scaling Ansatz originally proposed for the uncorrelated case, but with quite different scaling exponents. We relate these changes in dynamical behavior to the main morphological difference between correlated and uncorrelated clusters, namely, the compactness of their backbones. Our simulations reveal that the dynamical scaling exponents for correlated geometries take values intermediate between the uncorrelated and homogeneous limiting cases

Spatio-temporal dynamics of quantum-well excitons

We investigate the lateral transport of excitons in ZnSe quantum wells by using time-resolved micro-photoluminescence enhanced by the introduction of a solid immersion lens. The spatial and temporal resolutions are 200 nm and 5 ps, respectively. Strong deviation from classical diffusion is observed up to 400 ps. This feature is attributed to the hot-exciton effects, consistent with previous experiments under cw excitation. The coupled transport-relaxation process of hot excitons is modelled by Monte Carlo simulation. We prove that two basic assumptions typically accepted in photoluminescence investigations on excitonic transport, namely (i) the classical diffusion model as well as (ii) the equivalence between the temporal and spatial evolution of the exciton population and of the measured photoluminescence, are not valid for low-temperature experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Concentration Dependence of Superconductivity and Order-Disorder Transition in the Hexagonal Rubidium Tungsten Bronze RbxWO3. Interfacial and bulk properties

We revisited the problem of the stability of the superconducting state in RbxWO3 and identified the main causes of the contradictory data previously published. We have shown that the ordering of the Rb vacancies in the nonstoichiometric compounds have a major detrimental effect on the superconducting temperature Tc.The order-disorder transition is first order only near x = 0.25, where it cannot be quenched effectively and Tc is reduced below 1K. We found that the high Tc's which were sometimes deduced from resistivity measurements, and attributed to compounds with .25 < x < .30, are to be ascribed to interfacial superconductivity which generates spectacular non-linear effects. We also clarified the effect of acid etching and set more precisely the low-rubidium-content boundary of the hexagonal phase.This work makes clear that Tc would increase continuously (from 2 K to 5.5 K) as we approach this boundary (x = 0.20), if no ordering would take place - as its is approximately the case in CsxWO3. This behaviour is reminiscent of the tetragonal tungsten bronze NaxWO3 and asks the same question : what mechanism is responsible for this large increase of Tc despite the considerable associated reduction of the electron density of state ? By reviewing the other available data on these bronzes we conclude that the theoretical models which are able to answer this question are probably those where the instability of the lattice plays a major role and, particularly, the model which call upon local structural excitations (LSE), associated with the missing alkali atoms.Comment: To be published in Physical Review

For Baby's Sake: Final Evaluation Report

For Baby’s Sake is an intervention for expectant parents who want to break the cycle of domestic abuse and support their baby’s early emotional and social development. Both parents join For Baby’s Sake, whether together as a couple or not, and may be supported until their baby is aged two. The programme takes a whole-family approach that deals with the entire cycle and history of domestic violence and abuse, identifying and directly addressing the trauma or traumas that lie at the heart of the problem. The Stefanou Foundation, a UK charity, designed and created For Baby’s Sake and commissioned King’s College London to conduct an independent evaluation of the programme’s operation during the prototype phase in two sites in Hertfordshire and London from 2015-2019. For Baby’s Sake is the culmination of over ten years of investment, effort and continuous learning and the Stefanou Foundation is proud to publish its independent evaluation by a team of researchers from King’s College London, University of Warwick, University of Central Lancashire, University of Cambridge and McMaster University, Canada. The full report is available to download at www.forbabyssake.org.uk The report is being launched in the context of COVID-19 and the creation of new domestic abuse legislation, so this joint summary by the Stefanou Foundation and the academic evaluation team provides some current context before outlining the key findings from the independent evaluation. COVID-19 shines a spotlight on the challenges for those experiencing domestic violence and abuse (DVA) to come forward for support, as well as the physical, emotional and psychological risks and impact of the abuse. The pandemic is also raising questions about how best to support mental health and emotional regulation, especially for those with underlying needs caused by previous trauma. The welcome passage of the domestic abuse legislation through Parliament is drawing attention to the nature of domestic abuse and how best to address it. There are more calls to assist those who perpetrate abuse in changing their behaviour. There is growing recognition of the evidence that children are directly affected by domestic abuse and should be recognised as victims and not simply witnesses. For Baby’s Sake makes a distinctive contribution on all of these points. It creates a different opportunity for families to seek and receive support, through allocating practitioners to work individually and separately with both parents. It takes a trauma-informed approach to address the mental health needs of parents and babies. It underlines that the call to recognise and support child victims of domestic abuse must include babies, who are particularly affected from pregnancy until the age of two. This is because of how domestic abuse can affect the development of babies’ brains, bodies and relationships with their parents over that timescale. The academic evaluation report includes evidence from practitioners, stakeholders and a sample of parents who agreed to be interviewed up to three times during the course of the evaluation (2015 – 2019) and provides extensive data including validated research assessments. The four-year evaluation aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability and impact of For Baby’s Sake as well as provide lessons for future research. Having stated the extent and profound risks and impact of the experience of DVA for parents and children during the perinatal period (conception to age two) and beyond, and having conducted a systematic evidence review, the report recognises that For Baby’s Sake is the first programme to address key limitations of existing interventions. The programme is at the vanguard of the move towards whole-family, trauma-informed approaches. For Baby’s Sake takes a unique approach, with practitioners working individually and separately with both parents, from pregnancy, combining evidence-based elements to break cycles of DVA, address the impact of parents’ own childhood trauma and improve adult mental health, alongside parenting interventions focused on infant mental health and parent-infant attachment. Results of the evaluation show the successful embedding of For Baby’s Sake in its first two diverse prototype sites (Stevenage, North Herts and Welwyn Hatfield districts of Hertfordshire and London Three Boroughs - Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham). Across both sites, the programme received referrals, particularly from children’s social care, and attracted both co-parents to engage, demonstrating the feasibility of this novel aspect of the model, and sustained this engagement, with only 18% and 11% of all those referred disengaging following sign-up in Hertfordshire and London Three Boroughs respectively. Those engaged in For Baby’s Sake, and recruited to the evaluation, had complex interpersonal abuse histories. There were challenges for service users in reporting on their experience and perpetration of domestic abuse, which included reports of bi-directional abuse in some relationships. The evaluation found that at their first, baseline interview, many service users did not acknowledge experiencing DVA or using DVA behaviours within the previous year, though they were much more likely to disclose that there had been domestic abuse at some time in the relationship. Almost all mothers also reported that they had experienced abuse at some stage from someone other than their co-parent. At the second interview, they were more likely to disclose experiencing abuse or using abusive behaviours. Evidence suggests that the initial low reports of abuse may be due to minimisation, to not recognising certain behaviours as abusive or to reluctance to disclose due to fear or shame. Qualitative data indicate how the therapeutic work could have affected disclosure of abuse, by enabling mothers to understand domestic abuse more clearly and link that knowledge to their experience. Service user interviews pointed to their multiple, complex needs, indicating the success of For Baby’s Sake in reaching its target population. A substantial proportion of men and women had symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as high numbers of disordered personality traits. As expected, the majority of parents reported adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), with many experiencing various forms of abuse and trauma and over half reporting that they experienced DVA as children. These childhood experiences link directly to one of the key reasons for expectant co-parents to engage in For Baby’s Sake. Many of the mothers and fathers explained how their motivation for change stemmed from their desire to provide a better life for their children and to be different kinds of parents in order to prevent their children having the same upbringing as they did. Similarly, practitioners reflected that the central emphasis on the baby is crucial in engaging service users and in facilitating healthy parenting behaviours, leading to secure attachments. The voluntary nature of For Baby’s Sake, and the contrast with service users’ previous experience of interventions, also acted as a motivating factor. Parents felt that the voluntary approach meant they did not feel coerced into participating and found interactions with the For Baby’s Sake teams to be non- judgemental, inviting and welcoming. Mothers and fathers engaging in For Baby’s Sake were positive about the programme, with many describing how ithad exceeded their expectations. They were able to identify the impacts for them, their relationships and their children, and to explore their successes, including gaining confidence and recognising and challenging abusive behaviours. These learnings were perceived to resonate particularly among some women from minority ethnic backgrounds who described how certain cultural expectations could create barriers to recognising domestic abuse and to speaking out against certain behaviours. The evaluation finds merit in the For Baby’s Sake approach ofsupporting parents whether together as a couple or not and making it clear that the programme has no goal in principle about parents staying together or separating. Each service user is supported and empowered to recognise and acton their own goals in this respect. The evaluation noted how these goals changed for some service users who expected to stay in the relationship but found personal growth instead. Over two thirds of women and all of the men interviewed for the evaluation were in a relationship with their co-parentatbaseline interviews. This reduced across time, with only a third of both men and women remaining in this relationship at the two-year follow-up. The researchers suggested that changes in the intimate relationship status with the co-parent can represent a useful assessment of the outcome of the programme. Mothers and fathers described how For Baby’s Sake had facilitated step- changes in their relationships with their babies and in their understanding of what parenting input babies need to develop. For the babies, birth and child developmentoutcomesatoneandtwoyears(includingbabies’ social, emotional and behavioural development) were largely in the normal range and only a third of families had any social care input at the two-year stage. This contrasted with 70% at baseline, of which 56% were either under a Child Protection Plan or Child in Need processes. Throughout the evaluation report, consistent messages about the mechanisms for change enabled by For Baby’s Sake were reflected by service users and practitioners alike. Parents talked about the value of the whole-family therapeutic approach, which provides support for the needs of the individual, within intimate and/or co-parenting relationships, and for the needs of the children. Parents are provided with tools and strategies to manage and improve their situations and feelings, including learning about visualisation and mindfulness, practising time-outs and using an anger scale. Many fathers, in particular, reflected on how the therapeutic model allowed them space to acknowledge their own emotions and to use tools and develop methods to instil healthy coping mechanisms. Another key mechanism for change was identified as the ability to develop a close therapeutic relationship with a highly skilled practitioner over a long period of time. Practitioners reflected that they were able to focus in a detailed way on a specific member of the family, while working with their colleagues to develop a holistic picture of the issues for all members of the family and understand much better any risks and safeguarding issues. Many parents specifically identified the Inner Child module, the therapeutic core of For Baby’s Sake, as particularly beneficial, building trust and working therapeutically with practitioners to examine their childhoods through a trauma-informed lens. For mothers, the Inner Child module was reported as giving them time and space to explore different aspects of their lives, process their childhood experiences and their experience of DVA as adults and build self-esteem and a sense of empowerment. For fathers, benefits were described in helping them to understand that what happened to them as a child was not their fault but that they were responsible for the behaviours and actions they engaged in as adults. This led to greater awareness among some fathers of the impact of their behaviour, a willingness to take responsibility for their actions, the commitment to no longer use violence and abuse and the desire to put the needs of their co-parents and children first. This shift ‘from being me-centred to child-centred’ describes practitioners’ and service users’ views thatplacing the baby atthe centre ofthe work and adopting a whole-family and co-parenting approach provide the best opportunity to affect change in parents’ lives and improve children’s outcomes and safety. Many families spoke of the value in receiving psychoeducation on how DVA impacts on children and in receiving general parenting support. Parents identified their learning about child brain development and how attachments form as contributing to them becoming more confident in their parenting and improving communication in their family. Building on this, mothers and fathers who took part in Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) within the programme perceived it had helped them to focus on attachment and sensitive, attuned parenting, allowing them to see the bonds they had developed with their child and providing reassurance about their parenting abilities. The researchers interviewed multi-agency professionals in Hertfordshire and London who reported on their views of For Baby’s Sake and their experience of working with the teams. They valued the holistic, whole family approach, endorsed the programme for being evidence-based and reported that the For Baby’s Sake teams were highly trained, skilled and responsive. Stakeholders described effective joint working practices and communication, with children’s social care and health in particular, citing how this would result in collaborative working around the safeguarding of children and families. The evaluation also described how dialogue between For Baby’s Sake and local stakeholders helped to build and strengthen understanding of the programme and encouraged this dialogue to continue at local and national levels. The evaluation report also provides valuable learning about the research process itself, concluding that it is feasible and acceptable to collect quantitative and qualitative data through a range of self-report, observational, staff and researcher-administered measures. These data can be collected from all family members among this cohort of families with multiple complex needs and intergenerational trauma histories, although data collection, from fathers in particular, across multiple time points can be challenging. Realist research methodologies that use qualitative and quantitative techniques to examine what works best for whom, when and in what context, are suggested for use in future evaluation, to suit the holistic and continuously developing nature of For Baby’s Sake. Undertaking longer-term follow-up of those engaged in prototype For Baby’s Sake sites and the introduction of a comparator group who receive standard support are encouraged for consideration in any future evaluation of the effectiveness of For Baby’s Sake. The evaluation team suggests further research is required with a larger sample in order to undertake a full economic evaluation of the programme. Finally, the report includes many insights and ideas to consider as the Stefanou Foundation and its partners continue to develop and roll-out For Baby’s Sake beyond its (now four) delivery sites. These include: • Development of an assessment of fidelity using key principles of For Baby’s Sake rather than adherence to specific elements of the programme manual, to reflect the flexibility now embedded within the programme that enables the match with service users’ needs and circumstances • Drawing on feedback about language and messaging to ensure the programme’s approach is well understood. For example, guarding against ‘victim’ and ‘perpetrator’ terminology which fathers found to be blaming, providing assurance to mothers about the programme’s approach to supporting one parent when the other parent disengages, and clarifying to stakeholders that the programme is not prescriptive about models of co- parenting • Developing a new outcome assessment to measure changes to the relationship status of co-parents throughout the programme, alongside indicators regarding not only practitioners’ assessment of risk but also parents’ perceptions of safety and risk of harm, both for themselves and for their children, to indicate the success of the programme • Providing training to local authorities and sharing learning from For Baby’s Sake more widely, including on adopting trauma-informed approaches to all of the factors (individual, family/personal relationships, communities and societal) that can contribute to domestic abuse and make it challenging to break the cycle • Finding new ways to examine the full range of outcomes achieved by families, reflecting the difficulty of applying quantitative measures to assess outcomes for families and longer-term outcomes for children. This would build on the Foundation’s move to incorporate more qualitative approaches that describe families’ journeys through For Baby’s Sake as a way to ‘show the true impact’ in addition to quantitative measures The evaluation has confirmed that For Baby’s Sake is the first programme to fill an important gap in provision through its unique approach. This early research evaluation into the prototype phase found that the majority of individuals who engaged in the evaluation and remained in the programme over time reported a positive experience, were able to identify specific ways that they had changed their behaviour and related these to aspects of the programme. These findings, alongside the recognition by the evaluation team of the importance of the innovation and the careful, evidence-based approach of the Foundation in creating and operating the programme, support the creation of two new sites in Cambridgeshire and Blackpool in 2019 and early 2020 respectively, and will contribute to the case for further expansion of For Baby’s Sake. The Stefanou Foundation is keen to work with partners to achieve this expansion, to reach more families, break the cycle of domestic abuse and give babies the best start in life

First record of Rhabdoceras suessi (Ammonoidea, Late Triassic) from the Transylvanian Triassic Series of the Eastern Carpathians (Romania) and a review of its biochronology, paleobiogeography and paleoecology

Abstract The occurrence of the heteromorphic ammonoid Rhabdoceras suessi Hauer, 1860, is recorded for the first time in the Upper Triassic limestone of the Timon-Ciungi olistolith in the Rarău Syncline, Eastern Carpathians. A single specimen of Rhabdoceras suessi co-occurs with Monotis (Monotis) salinaria that constrains its occurrence here to the Upper Norian (Sevatian 1). It is the only known heteromorphic ammonoid in the Upper Triassic of the Romanian Carpathians. Rhabdoceras suessi is a cosmopolitan species widely recorded in low and mid-paleolatitude faunas. It ranges from the Late Norian to the Rhaetian and is suitable for high-resolution worldwide correlations only when it co-occurs with shorter-ranging choristoceratids, monotid bivalves, or the hydrozoan Heterastridium. Formerly considered as the index fossil for the Upper Norian (Sevatian) Suessi Zone, by the latest 1970s this species lost its key biochronologic status among Late Triassic ammonoids, and it generated a controversy in the 1980s concerning the status of the Rhaetian stage. New stratigraphic data from North America and Europe in the subsequent decades resulted in a revised ammonoid biostratigraphy for the uppermost Triassic, the Rhaetian being reinstalled as the topmost stage in the current standard timescale of the Triassic. The geographic distribution of Rhabdoceras is compiled from published worldwide records, and its paleobiogeography and paleoecology are discussed

Identification of New SRF Binding Sites in Genes Modulated by SRF Over-Expression in Mouse Hearts

Background To identify in vivo new cardiac binding sites of serum response factor (SRF) in genes and to study the response of these genes to mild over-expression of SRF, we employed a cardiac-specific, transgenic mouse model, with mild over-expression of SRF (Mild-O SRF Tg). Methodology Microarray experiments were performed on hearts of Mild-O-SRF Tg at 6 months of age. We identified 207 genes that are important for cardiac function that were differentially expressed in vivo. Among them the promoter region of 192 genes had SRF binding motifs, the classic CArG or CArG-like (CArG-L) elements. Fifty-one of the 56 genes with classic SRF binding sites had not been previously reported. These SRF-modulated genes were grouped into 12 categories based on their function. It was observed that genes associated with cardiac energy metabolism shifted toward that of carbohydrate metabolism and away from that of fatty acid metabolism. The expression of genes that are involved in transcription and ion regulation were decreased, but expression of cytoskeletal genes was significantly increased. Using public databases of mouse models of hemodynamic stress (GEO database), we also found that similar altered expression of the SRF-modulated genes occurred in these hearts with cardiac ischemia or aortic constriction as well. Conclusion and significance SRF-modulated genes are actively regulated under various physiological and pathological conditions. We have discovered that a large number of cardiac genes have classic SRF binding sites and were significantly modulated in the Mild-O-SRF Tg mouse hearts. Hence, the mild elevation of SRF protein in the heart that is observed during typical adult aging may have a major impact on many SRF-modulated genes, thereby affecting Cardiac structure and performance. The results from our study could help to enhance our understanding of SRF regulation of cellular processes in the aged heart

Representational predicaments for employees: Their impact on perceptions of supervisors\u27 individualized consideration and on employee job satisfaction

A representational predicament for a subordinate vis-à-vis his or her immediate superior involves perceptual incongruence with the superior about the subordinate\u27s work or work context, with unfavourable implications for the employee. An instrument to measure the incidence of two types of representational predicament, being neglected and negative slanting, was developed and then validated through an initial survey of 327 employees. A subsequent substantive survey with a fresh sample of 330 employees largely supported a conceptual model linking being neglected and negative slanting to perceptions of low individualized consideration by superiors and to low overall job satisfaction. The respondents in both surveys were all Hong Kong Chinese. Two case examples drawn from qualitative interviews illustrate and support the conceptual model. Based on the research findings, we recommend some practical exercises to use in training interventions with leaders and subordinates. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC