The Ethnic 'Other' in Ukrainian History Textbooks: The Case of Russia and the Russians

This paper examines portrayals of Russia and the Russians in two generations of Ukrainian history textbooks. It observes that the textbooks are highly condemning of Ukraine's main ethnic other in the guise of foreign ruler: the tsarist authorities and the Soviet regime are always attributed dubious and malicious intentions even if there is appreciation for some of their policies. By contrast, the books, certainly those of the second generation, refrain from presenting highly biased accounts of the ethnic other as a national group (i.e. Russians). Instances where negative judgements do fall onto Russians are counterbalanced by excerpts criticizing ethnic Ukrainians or highlighting conflicting interests within the Ukrainian ethnic group. The negative appraisal of the ethnic other as foreign ruler is clearly instrumental for the nation-building project as it sustains a discourse legitimating the existence of Ukraine as independent state. However, recent trends in history education, the paper concludes, suggest that the importance of nurturing patriotism as a national policy objective is diminishing

Dynamical extensions for shell-crossing singularities

We derive global weak solutions of Einstein's equations for spherically symmetric dust-filled space-times which admit shell-crossing singularities. In the marginally bound case, the solutions are weak solutions of a conservation law. In the non-marginally bound case, the equations are solved in a generalized sense involving metric functions of bounded variation. The solutions are not unique to the future of the shell-crossing singularity, which is replaced by a shock wave in the present treatment; the metric is bounded but not continuous.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur

The determination of the electron-phonon interaction from tunneling data in the two-band superconductor MgB2

We calculate the tunneling density of states (DOS) of MgB2 for different tunneling directions, by directly solving the real-axis, two-band Eliashberg equations (EE). Then we show that the numeric inversion of the standard single-band EE, if applied to the DOS of the two-band superconductor MgB2, may lead to wrong estimates of the strength of certain phonon branches (e.g. the E_2g) in the extracted electron-phonon spectral function alpha^(2)F(omega). The fine structures produced by the two-band interaction turn out to be clearly observable only for tunneling along the ab planes in high-quality single crystals. The results are compared to recent experimental data.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, proceedings of M2S-HTSC-VII conference, Rio de Janeiro (May 2003

Some peculiarities of motion of neutral and charged test particles in the field of a spherically symmetric charged object in General Relativity

We propose the method of investigation of radial motions for charged and neutral test particles in the Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m field by means of mass potential. In this context we analyze special features of interaction of charges and their motions in General Relativity and construct the radial motion classification. For test particles and a central source with charges $q$ and $Q$, respectively, the conditions of attraction (when $qQ>0$) and repulsion (when $qQ<0$) are obtained. The conditions of motionless test particle states with respect to the central source are investigated and, in addition, stability conditions for such static equilibrium states are found. It is shown that stable states are possible only for the bound states of weakly charged particles in the field of a naked singularity. Frequencies of small oscillations of test particles near their equilibrium positions are also found.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure

Dynamics of a self-gravitating thin cosmic string

We assume that a self-gravitating thin string can be locally described by what we shall call a smoothed cone. If we impose a specific constraint on the model of the string, then its central line obeys the Nambu-Goto equations. If no constraint is added, then the worldsheet of the central line is a totally geodesic surface.Comment: 20 pages, latex, 1 figure, final versio

Volterra Distortions, Spinning Strings, and Cosmic Defects

Cosmic strings, as topological spacetime defects, show striking resemblance to defects in solid continua: distortions, which can be classified into disclinations and dislocations, are line-like defects characterized by a delta function-valued curvature and torsion distribution giving rise to rotational and translational holonomy. We exploit this analogy and investigate how distortions can be adapted in a systematic manner from solid state systems to Einstein-Cartan gravity. As distortions are efficiently described within the framework of a SO(3) {\rlap{\supset}\times}} T(3) gauge theory of solid continua with line defects, we are led in a straightforward way to a Poincar\'e gauge approach to gravity which is a natural framework for introducing the notion of distorted spacetimes. Constructing all ten possible distorted spacetimes, we recover, inter alia, the well-known exterior spacetime of a spin-polarized cosmic string as a special case of such a geometry. In a second step, we search for matter distributions which, in Einstein-Cartan gravity, act as sources of distorted spacetimes. The resulting solutions, appropriately matched to the distorted vacua, are cylindrically symmetric and are interpreted as spin-polarized cosmic strings and cosmic dislocations.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX, 9 eps figures; remarks on energy conditions added, discussion extended, version to be published in Class. Quantum Gra

Kinstate intervention in ethnic conflicts : Albania and Turkey compared

Albania and Turkey did not act in overtly irredentist ways towards their ethnic brethren in neighboring states after the end of communism. Why, nonetheless, did Albania facilitate the increase of ethnic conflict in Kosovo and Macedonia, while Turkey did not, with respect to the Turks of Bulgaria? I argue that kin-states undergoing transition are more prone to intervene in external conflicts than states that are not, regardless of the salience of minority demands in the host-state. The transition weakens the institutions of the kin-state. Experiencing limited institutional constraints, self-seeking state officials create alliances with secessionist and autonomist movements across borders alongside their own ideological, clan-based and particularistic interests. Such alliances are often utilized to advance radical domestic agendas. Unlike in Albania's transition environment, in Turkey there were no emerging elites that could potentially form alliances and use external movements to legitimize their own domestic existence or claims

The place of strategic environmental assessment in the privatised electricity industry

The private sector has given relatively little attention to the emergence of strategic environmental assessment (SEA); even recently privatised utilities, where SEA might be deemed particularly appropriate, and whose activities are likely to fall within the scope of the European Union SEA Directive, have shown less interest than might be expected. However, the global trend towards the privatisation of state-owned enterprises makes the adaptation of SEA towards these industries all the more pressing. This paper addresses the place that SEA might take within the electricity sector, taking the privatised UK electricity industry as an example. Particular challenges are posed by the radical restructuring of the industry, designed to introduce competitive behaviour, making the development of comprehensive SEA processes problematic, and requiring SEA to be placed in the context of corporate environmental policy and objectives.</p

Study protocol: a randomised controlled trial investigating the effect of exercise training on peripheral blood gene expression in patients with stable angina

Background: Exercise training has been shown to reduce angina and promote collateral vessel development in patients with coronary artery disease. However, the mechanism whereby exercise exerts these beneficial effects is unclear. There has been increasing interest in the use of whole genome peripheral blood gene expression in a wide range of conditions to attempt to identify both novel mechanisms of disease and transcriptional biomarkers. This protocol describes a study in which we will assess the effect of a structured exercise programme on peripheral blood gene expression in patients with stable angina, and correlate this with changes in angina level, anxiety, depression, and exercise capacity. Methods/Design: Sixty patients with stable angina will be recruited and randomised 1: 1 to exercise training or conventional care. Patients randomised to exercise training will attend an exercise physiology laboratory up to three times weekly for supervised aerobic interval training sessions of one hour in total duration. Patients will undergo assessments of angina, anxiety, depression, and peripheral blood gene expression at baseline, after six and twelve weeks of training, and twelve weeks after formal exercise training ceases. Discussion: This study will provide comprehensive data on the effect of exercise training on peripheral blood gene expression in patients with angina. By correlating this with improvement in angina status we will identify candidate peripheral blood transcriptional markers predictive of improvements in angina level in response to exercise training