COLLECTIVE POLITICS OF FOODGRAINS MARKETS IN SOUTH ASIA

Summary With the help of case material from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Bangladesh, the politics of market organization is examined. Political parties do not have consistent positions on private trade and are responded to opportunistically by foodgrains traders. Traders are politically active in a variety of local religious and social service institutions within which they build networks. The commodity association is the principal arena of mercantile politics. Formed defensively in response to threats by the state or by unionized labour, they have developed systematic lobbying capability. They have also developed self?regulatory functions, extending to physical security, law and order and enforcement of the terms of participation of smaller traders. The article concludes by discussing the implications of such politics for state intervention. Resumé La politique collective des marchés de graine alimentaire en Asie du sud L'article examine l'aspect politique de l'organisation des marchés sous forme d'études de cas au Tamil Nadu, au Bengal de l'Ouest, et au Bangladesh. La position des partis politiques sur le commerce privé est ni uniforme ni constante, ainsi la réponse des négociants en graine alimentaires y est opportuniste. L'activité politique des négociants se constate dans une variété d'institutions locales (religion; services sociaux) au sein desquelles elles fondent des réseaux. L'association commoditaire est le plus important foyer de la politique mercantile. Formées en tant que réponse défensive à la menace de l'état ou de la syndicalisation de la main?d'oeuvre, ces associations ont développé des capacités de sollicitation systématique. Elles ont également développé des fonctions autorégulatrices qui pénètrent jusque dans la sécurité physique, l'ordre public, et la mise en vigueur des termes de participation qui contrôlent les moins importants négociants. L'article aboutit à une discussion des implications des politiques de ce genre sur l'intervention de l'état. Resumen La política colectiva de los mercados de granos en Asia del sur Se examinan en este artículo las políticas de organización de mercado con la ayuda de información proveniente de experiencias en Tamil Nadu, Bengala Occidental y Bangladesh. Los partidos políticos no mantienen posiciones consistentes con respecto al comercio privado y reciben reacciones oportunistas por parte de los comerciantes en granos. Estos últimos son políticamente muy activos en una variedad de instituciones de servicio sociales y religiosas dentro de las cuales construyen redes de comunicación. La asociación de productores es el principal escenario de la política mercantil. Formada como defensa a las amenazas del estado o de los sindicatos, ha desarrollado una sistemática capacidad para cabildeos. También has desarrollado funciones auto?regulatorias, que se extienden hasta la seguridad física, el orden público y la aplicación efectiva de los términos de participación de los pequeños comerciantes. El artículo concluye examinando las implicaciones que estas pautas pueden tener para la intervención estatal

Walking with lions: why there is no role for captive-origin lions Panthera leo in species restoration

Despite formidable challenges and few successes in reintroducing large cats from captivity to the wild, the release of captives has widespread support from the general public and local governments, and continues to occur ad hoc. Commercial so-called lion Panthera leo encounter operations in Africa exemplify the issue, in which the captive breeding of the lion is linked to claims of reintroduction and broader conservation outcomes. In this article we assess the capacity of such programmes to contribute to in situ lion conservation. By highlighting the availability of wild founders, the unsuitability of captive lions for release and the evidence-based success of wild-wild lion translocations, we show that captive-origin lions have no role in species restoration. We also argue that approaches to reintroduction exemplified by the lion encounter industry do not address the reasons for the decline of lions in situ, nor do they represent a model that can be widely applied to restoration of threatened felids elsewher

Fluctuating Elastic Rings: Statics and Dynamics

We study the effects of thermal fluctuations on elastic rings. Analytical expressions are derived for correlation functions of Euler angles, mean square distance between points on the ring contour, radius of gyration, and probability distribution of writhe fluctuations. Since fluctuation amplitudes diverge in the limit of vanishing twist rigidity, twist elasticity is essential for the description of fluctuating rings. We find a crossover from a small scale regime in which the filament behaves as a straight rod, to a large scale regime in which spontaneous curvature is important and twist rigidity affects the spatial configurations of the ring. The fluctuation-dissipation relation between correlation functions of Euler angles and response functions, is used to study the deformation of the ring by external forces. The effects of inertia and dissipation on the relaxation of temporal correlations of writhe fluctuations, are analyzed using Langevin dynamics.Comment: 43 pages, 9 Figure

Quantum error rejection code with spontaneous parametric conversion

We propose a linear optics scheme with SPDC process to test the fault tolerance property of quantum error correction code. To transmit an unknown qubit robustly through the noisy channel, one may first encode it into a certain quantum error correction code and then transmit it. The remote party decodes it and stores it. Sending a qubit in such a way can significantly reduces the error rate compared with directly sending the qubit itself. Here we show how to realize such a scheme by linear optics.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. A. 18 pages, 2 figure, minor erros corrected and more explanations added to increase the readabilit

Self-adapting method for the localization of quantum critical points using Quantum Monte Carlo techniques

A generalization to the quantum case of a recently introduced algorithm (Y. Tomita and Y. Okabe, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 86}, 572 (2001)) for the determination of the critical temperature of classical spin models is proposed. We describe a simple method to automatically locate critical points in (Quantum) Monte Carlo simulations. The algorithm assumes the existence of a finite correlation length in at least one of the two phases surrounding the quantum critical point. We illustrate these ideas on the example of the critical inter-chain coupling for which coupled antiferromagnetic S=1 spin chains order at T=0. Finite-size scaling relations are used to determine the exponents, $\nu=0.72(2)$ and $\eta=0.038(3)$ in agreement with previous estimates.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, published versio

The First VERITAS Telescope

The first atmospheric Cherenkov telescope of VERITAS (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) has been in operation since February 2005. We present here a technical description of the instrument and a summary of its performance. The calibration methods are described, along with the results of Monte Carlo simulations of the telescope and comparisons between real and simulated data. The analysis of TeV $\gamma$-ray observations of the Crab Nebula, including the reconstructed energy spectrum, is shown to give results consistent with earlier measurements. The telescope is operating as expected and has met or exceeded all design specifications.Comment: Accepted by Astroparticle Physic

The Physics of Cluster Mergers

Clusters of galaxies generally form by the gravitational merger of smaller clusters and groups. Major cluster mergers are the most energetic events in the Universe since the Big Bang. Some of the basic physical properties of mergers will be discussed, with an emphasis on simple analytic arguments rather than numerical simulations. Semi-analytic estimates of merger rates are reviewed, and a simple treatment of the kinematics of binary mergers is given. Mergers drive shocks into the intracluster medium, and these shocks heat the gas and should also accelerate nonthermal relativistic particles. X-ray observations of shocks can be used to determine the geometry and kinematics of the merger. Many clusters contain cooling flow cores; the hydrodynamical interactions of these cores with the hotter, less dense gas during mergers are discussed. As a result of particle acceleration in shocks, clusters of galaxies should contain very large populations of relativistic electrons and ions. Electrons with Lorentz factors gamma~300 (energies E = gamma m_e c^2 ~ 150 MeV) are expected to be particularly common. Observations and models for the radio, extreme ultraviolet, hard X-ray, and gamma-ray emission from nonthermal particles accelerated in these mergers are described.Comment: 38 pages with 9 embedded Postscript figures. To appear in Merging Processes in Clusters of Galaxies, edited by L. Feretti, I. M. Gioia, and G. Giovannini (Dordrecht: Kluwer), in press (2001

Crossovers in Unitary Fermi Systems

Universality and crossover is described for attractive and repulsive interactions where, respectively, the BCS-BEC crossover takes place and a ferromagnetic phase transition is claimed. Crossovers are also described for optical lattices and multicomponent systems. The crossovers, universal parameters and phase transitions are described within the Leggett and NSR models and calculated in detail within the Jastrow-Slater approximation. The physics of ultracold Fermi atoms is applied to neutron, nuclear and quark matter, nuclei and electrons in solids whenever possible. Specifically, the differences between optical lattices and cuprates is discussed w.r.t. antiferromagnetic, d-wave superfluid phases and phase separation.Comment: 50 pages, 15 figures. Contribution to Lecture Notes in Physics "BCS-BEC crossover and the Unitary Fermi Gas" edited by W. Zwerge