Loosening controls in times of an impatient society: Chinese state-society relations during Xi Jinping’s honeymoon period

The new Chinese leadership’s recent loosening of controls and reactions from social forces follow an established political playbook. The question is whether a seemingly more assertive society will continue to play by the rules

The failure of cosmological perturbation theory in the new ekpyrotic and cyclic ekpyrotic scenarios

Cosmological perturbation theory fails in the new ekpyrotic and cyclic ekpyrotic scenarios, before the scale factor of the Universe reaches zero. As a result, a recently-proposed recipe for evolving the curvature perturbation through the bounce in these scenarios cannot be justified.Comment: 10 pages. v2: Logic of the demonstration of non-linearity stated more explicitely. Remarks on non-singular bounces removed for inclusion in a later paper. v3: As accepted by Phys Lett B v4: Comment on the paper of Banks and Fischler removed following its withdrawal; more precise abstrac

Targeting accuracy and impact of a community-identified waiver card scheme for primary care user fees in Afghanistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>User fees are a known common barrier to using health services, particularly among the poor. When fees are present, many facilities have waiver systems for poor patients to exempt them from paying. Targeting waivers to patients who need them most has been a challenge, especially in fragile states, where relevant data are limited and trust in institutions is low.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Community-based targeting of vulnerable households was piloted in Afghanistan and evaluated for its feasibility, accuracy and effect on care-seeking. Waiver cards were distributed to very poor and female-headed households in catchment areas of 26 facilities in 10 provinces of Afghanistan in 2005 as one component of a larger health financing study. Households were nominated by community leaders using general guidelines to support 15% of the poorest members. In most cases, waiver cards were pro-actively distributed to them. Targeting accuracy, perceptions, as well the cards' effects on utilization were evaluated in 2007 through household surveys, health facility data, and in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with facility staff and community leaders.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The waiver system was implemented quickly at all but one facility charging fees. Facility staff and community leaders reported favorable perceptions of implementation and targeting accuracy.</p> <p>However, an analysis of the asset index of beneficiaries indicated that although targeting was progressive, significant leakage and high levels of under-coverage occurred; 42% of cards were used by people in the wealthiest three quintiles, and only 19% of people in the poorest quintile received a card. Households with waiver cards reported higher rates of care-seeking for recent illnesses compared to those without cards (p = 0.02).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Community identification of beneficiaries is feasible in a fragile state. Several recommendations are discussed to improve targeting accuracy of a waiver card system in the future, in light of this research and other international experiences.</p

Rules for Computing Symmetry, Density and Stoichiometry in a Quasi-Unit-Cell Model of Quasicrystals

The quasi-unit cell picture describes the atomic structure of quasicrystals in terms of a single, repeating cluster which overlaps neighbors according to specific overlap rules. In this paper, we discuss the precise relationship between a general atomic decoration in the quasi-unit cell picture atomic decorations in the Penrose tiling and in related tiling pictures. Using these relations, we obtain a simple, practical method for determining the density, stoichiometry and symmetry of a quasicrystal based on the atomic decoration of the quasi-unit cell taking proper account of the sharing of atoms between clusters.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Designing Cyclic Universe Models

Recent advances in understanding the propagation of perturbations through the transition from big crunch to big bang (esp. Tolley et al. hep-th/0306109) make it possible for the first time to consider the full set of phenomenological constraints on the scalar field potential in cyclic models of the universe. We show that cyclic models require a comparable degree of tuning to that needed for inflationary models. The constraints are reduced to a set of simple design rules including "fast-roll" parameters analogous to the "slow-roll" parameters in inflation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Minor typos and figure correcte

Christine Loh et Civic Exchange (éd.), Functional Constituencies: A Unique Feature of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, 2006, 390 p.

Comme le suggère le titre de cet ouvrage collectif, les collèges socio-professionnels (CSP, en anglais Functional Constituencies) pour l’élection du parlement hongkongais, le Conseil législatif (Legislative Council, Legco), constituent effectivement une caractéristique propre à Hong Kong et sans équivalent dans les régimes politiques modernes. Aujourd’hui, seuls 50 % des sièges du Legco sont élus par les circonscriptions géographiques (CG). L’autre moitié des députés est élue par les CSP, com..

Dark-Energy Dynamics Required to Solve the Cosmic Coincidence

Dynamic dark energy (DDE) models are often designed to solve the cosmic coincidence (why, just now, is the dark energy density $\rho_{de}$, the same order of magnitude as the matter density $\rho_m$?) by guaranteeing $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_m$ for significant fractions of the age of the universe. This typically entails ad-hoc tracking or oscillatory behaviour in the model. However, such behaviour is neither sufficient nor necessary to solve the coincidence problem. What must be shown is that a significant fraction of observers see $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_m$. Precisely when, and for how long, must a DDE model have $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_{m}$ in order to solve the coincidence? We explore the coincidence problem in dynamic dark energy models using the temporal distribution of terrestrial-planet-bound observers. We find that any dark energy model fitting current observational constraints on $\rho_{de}$ and the equation of state parameters $w_0$ and $w_a$, does have $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_m$ for a large fraction of observers in the universe. This demotivates DDE models specifically designed to solve the coincidence using long or repeated periods of $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_m$.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.