Microchannel spatial light modulator

The Microchannel Spatial Light Modulator (MSLM), a versatile, highly sensitive, and optically addressed device being developed for real time optical information processing is discussed. The MSLM operates by converting an input optical image into a charge distribution at the surface of an electro-optic crystal. The charge distribution generates an electric field which modulates the refractive index of the crystal and thereby the phase or intensity of an image readout beam. Prototype devices employing 250 micron thick crystals exhibited a spatial resolution of 5 cycles/mm at 50% contrast, an exposure sensitivity of 2.2 nJ/cu cm and framing rates of 40 Hz with full modulation depth. The image processing operations that have been achieved using the internal processing mode of the MSLM include contrast reversal, contrast enhancement, edge enhancement, image addition and subtraction, analog and digital intensity thresholding, and binary level logic operations such as AND, OR, EXCLUSIVE OR, and NOR

Epilogue: Bourdieu's legacy?

Assessing the main points of impact of the work of Bourdieu in contemporary academic scholarship

Introduction: the importance of Bourdieu

An overview of the development of Bourdieu's work and of how it has been taken up in France and elsewhere. The importance of his work in vast areas of academic knowledge is assessed and the contributions in the book are outlined in terms of the legacy of his work

Using mixed methods for analysing culture : The Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion project

This paper discusses the use of material generated in a mixed method investigation into cultural tastes and practices, conducted in Britain from 2003 to 2006, which employed a survey, focus groups and household interviews. The study analysed the patterning of cultural life across a number of fields, enhancing the empirical and methodological template provided by Bourdieu’s Distinction. Here we discuss criticisms of Bourdieu emerging from subsequent studies of class, culture and taste, outline the arguments related to the use of mixed methods and present illustrative results from the analysis of these different types of data. We discuss how the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods informed our analysis of cultural life in contemporary Britain. No single method was able to shed light on all aspects of our inquiry, lending support to the view that mixing methods is the most productive strategy for the investigation of complex social phenomena

Firewood consumption and energy transition: A survey of sources, methods and explanations in Europe and North America

This article surveys current literature on historical wood fuel use in North America and Europe. It focuses in particular on the quality of national-level data, highlighting and examining the different methods employed by official bodies to collect this; and in turn, the different assumptions used by historians to use partial data in models to estimate overall consumption. Problematic differences are revealed, along with the likely over-estimation of commonly-used data on the United States in the nineteenth century. It is shown that generally aggregate firewood consumption did not decline in many countries until after World War Two, and remained significant especially in rural domestic uses. The article concludes with a discussion of drivers for different levels of consumption and transition to substitute fuels, highlighting the limitations of price data and the importance of local labour markets for understanding the propensity to use wood fuel or switch to alternatives</jats:p

The Role of Energy Quality in Shaping Long-Term Energy Intensity in Europe

On the European aggregate level there is an inverted-U curve for long-term energy intensity. In the 19th century aggregate European energy intensity rose, followed by a declining trend during the 20th century. This article discusses the possible explanations for the declining trend during the 20th century and explores the role of energy quality as expressed in energy prices. For the first time a complete set of national energy retail prices covering two centuries has been constructed and used for Britain, while the energy price data previously available for Sweden until 2000 has been updated to 2009. This allows us to explore the role of energy quality in shaping long-term energy intensity. We find no relation between energy quality and energy intensity in the 19th century, while energy quality may have stimulated the declining energy intensity in Europe over the 20th century, but is not the sole or even main reason for the decline. Rather, increased economic efficiency in the use of energy services seems to have been the main driver for the decline after 1970, presumably driven by the information and communication technology

Food studies and the integration of multiple methods

The study of food and eating draws evidence from many different disciplines using many different methods. This paper argues that this should be viewed positively; the idea that there is one best method, or suite of methods, to which every social scientist should be committed is at odds with both processes of knowledge formation and the complexity of alimentary life. The argument pursued is that complex research questions necessitate multiple sources and methods, the greatest challenge being to fashion and to justify an integrated interpretation of different types of data. The paper examines these issues with reference to debates about the use of mixed methods, which have mostly focused on the reconciliation within a single study of quantitative and qualitative data. The exploration is illustrated by evidence from a study of the activity of eating out. It is suggested that the combination of evidence produced by different methods may be the key to generating explanations, and ultimately theories, which transcend disciplinary boundaries

Trends in social capital: Membership of associations in Great Britain, 1991–98

This Note uses the British Household Panel Study (BHPS) to consider the changing volume and distribution of voluntary association membership (and hence social capital) in Great Britain. We aim to supplement Hall's study of trends in social capital published in this Journal with more recent and longitudinal data. This allows us to show that whilst the volume of social capital is not declining, it is becoming increasingly class specific, and that its relative aggregate stability masks considerable turnover at the individual level. These findings are significant for current debates on social capital