A Hidden Broad-Line Region in the Weak Seyfert 2 Galaxy NGC 788

We have detected a broad H alpha emission line in the polarized flux spectrum of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 788, indicating that it contains an obscured Seyfert 1 nucleus. While such features have been observed in ~15 other Seyfert 2s, this example is unusual because it has a higher fraction of galaxy starlight in its spectrum, a lower average measured polarization, and a significantly lower radio luminosity than other hidden Seyfert 1s discovered to date. This demonstrates that polarized broad-line regions can be detected in relatively weak classical Seyfert 2s, and illustrates why well-defined, reasonably complete spectropolarimetric surveys at H alpha are necessary in order to assess whether or not all Seyfert 2s are obscured Seyfert 1s.Comment: 10 pages using (AASTEX) aaspp4.sty and 4 postscript figures. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Research Notes, in pres

Review of Imagining Minds: The Neuro-Aesthetics of Austen, Eliot and Hardy

Imagining Minds sets out to read nineteenth-century fiction in the context of modern theories of human cognition and of the mind/body relationship, making the central contention that \u27the novel is an aesthetic map to and experience of the nature of the mind-brain\u27 (9; Young\u27s italics). Young takes up concepts from a range of modern psychological theories, especially those of Antonio Damasio, and also makes frequent reference to the revolutionary, and still seminal, work of William James, as a framework within which to investigate how the three major novelists of the title represent the mind\u27s problematic relations with the world as well as its necessary and intimate connections with the body. The resulting analysis deliberately sidelines historical contextualization to concentrate, instead, on the continued pertinence of fiction even to current scientific psychological concepts, but also on the insights which it offers any reader into his or her own subjectivity. Having outlined relevant theoretical approaches to the mind which she goes on to deploy in her discussion of the fiction, Young turns first to Emma, reading the story of its heroine\u27s personal development in the light of psychological concepts such as Damasio\u27s \u27extended consciousness’, which moves beyond simple consciousness of the self to a fuller location of the self in the context of the past, the future, and of other people. James\u27s insistence on the distinction between rational knowledge and more profound, bodily awareness comes into play in Young\u27s charting of Emma\u27s maturation, and his wider sense of the inseparability of the mental and physical is used in the subsequent discussion of Anne Elliot\u27s necessary reconnection with her bodily self in Persuasion, as she reunites with Wentworth. Later, Young examines Jude the Obscure in relation to James\u27s comments on the importance of particular objects of \u27interest\u27 in subjective life, and in connection with modern theories of manic behaviour. The psychoanalytic reading of Tess of the D\u27Urbervilles, which forms the final chapter, takes up an approach to the novel which has, of course, been used before, but Young\u27s discussion is new particularly in that it is also rooted in modern neuroscience and psychology

Mixed metal alkoxides as ascatalyst precursors

This thesis describes research carried out to explore the use of mixed metal alkoxides as precursors of materials with catalytic activity in synthesis-gas chemistry. The alkoxide derived catalyst materials are compared against catalysts prepared by traditional co-precipitation methods. A discussion of the project objectives introduces the work and Chapter 1 includes a chronological survey of the literature up to the present day. A brief discussion of the commercial uses of alkoxides is given. Chapter 2 describes the general methods of synthesis and the properties of simple and bimetallic alkoxides; M(OR)(_x) and M[M'(OR)(_n)](_x) respectively. A more detailed treatment of the alkoxides of the first row transition elements is given, with emphasis on the properties and characteristics responsible for their possible potential as catalyst precursors. Chapter 3 deals with the catalytic aspects of ammonia and methanol synthesis. The preparation of industrial, heterogeneous catalysts has traditionally been carried out by co-precipitation of, for example, basic carbonates. The catalytic materials obtained may display catalytic activities which vary markedly (and not always controllably) with the precipitation, ageing, calcinations and/or reduction conditions employed. A discussion of the reaction mechanisms involved in ammonia and methanol syntheses is included. Several mixed metal alkoxides have been prepared from metals known to have catalytic activity in synthesis-gas chemistry (i.e. Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn and Al). These metal alkoxides (e.g. Cu[Al(OPr(^1) (_4)](_2) ) have been characterised and found to compare well with literature data. Analyses, Infra-red and Mass-spectra are reported. After conversion to catalytic materials the alkoxide derived compounds were examined for surface properties ( oxide phases present, copper surface area, crystallite size, pore size distributions and pore volumes). The alkoxide materials compared quite well with the precipitated analogues and there was a difference in the properties of materials derived from different alkoxy groups. These studies were limited to the copper-aluminium alkoxides. The formation of a nickel (II) chloride, HMPA adduct is reported

Earth's structure from a bayesian analysis of seismic signals and noise

The prevailing drive of modern seismology is to improve our knowledge of the Earth's structure, composition, and dynamics through an analysis of seismic waveforms. With increasing computing power, number and quality of seismic stations, and length of data records, the resolution and spatial coverage of current Earth models has improved substantially over the past few decades. Yet many limitations remain. The advent of ambient noise seismology has provided the solution to many issues, such as the irregular distribution of earthquakes, biases from structures outside the model region, earthquake location errors, and lack of near-surface resolution. Despite improvements to data quality and quantity and the introduction of unconventional datasets such as ambient seismic noise, a persisting shortcoming of many tomographic inversions is ad-hoc error estimation, parameterization, and regularization, which prevent a meaningful portrayal of model complexity and uncertainty. With the rapid increase in computing power, non-linear techniques based on densely sampling favorable regions of model space are now becoming tractable for real-world tomographic problems and directly address these shortcomings. One such recently introduced and promising method is transdimensional and hierarchical Bayesian inference. This alternate approach allows model parameterization and resolution to be driven by the data. This thesis presents a collection of seismic inverse problems using real world datasets, some of which are tackled using fully non-linear Bayesian statistics. The benefits of a probabilistic approach are demonstrated for datasets targeting the uppermost crust down to the core through the development of novel methods of inversion and uncertainty quantification. To begin, an unconventional methodology for studying earthquake focal mechanisms in intraplate settings is presented through the inversion of ambient noise, receiver functions, and dispersion curves. The ambient seismic noise imaging approach of this study is subsequently applied to Tasmania - to which it is highly suited - and the resulting group and phase velocity maps help decipher Tasmania's enigmatic tectonic history. The same ambient noise dataset is further manipulated to yield a 3D shear velocity model of the region using a two-step transdimensional, hierarchical ensemble inference approach. Two prominent low-velocity anomalies offer insight into the Paleozoic evolution of the east Gondwana margin and support a connection between Tasmania and mainland Australia since the Cambrian. This approach is also applied to a larger dataset encompassing much of mainland southeast Australia. The Bayesian approach is also applied to a global dataset of differential body wave travel times in an effort to reveal P-wave velocity heterogeneity in the lowermost mantle. Another deep Earth application is demonstrated through an inversion for the time-dependent differential rotation of the inner core with respect to the rest of the mantle using careful measurements of earthquake doublets. The transdimensional nature of the inversion problem means that the data drive the number of free parameters constraining the differential rotation pattern, which exhibits much more complexity than the simple linear trend long-promoted by previous studies. The contents of this thesis help augment the diverse and wide-reaching applications for Bayesian statistics, which will continue to improve with future increases in computational power

Successful Approaches to Ending Female Genital Cutting

Female genital cutting (FGC) is practiced in 28 African countries; infibulation is practiced in nine African countries. Six unsuccessful approaches to ending FGC are reviewed: cultural absolutism, cultural relativism, health education, feminism, human rights legislation, and psychosocial approaches. Two successful programs that have resulted in communities abandoning FGC, including Tostan in Senegal, are described. Successful programs are community-led, aim to change social norms in the whole community, and empower women. Governments and NGOs should use community-led programs based on participatory methods as recommended interventions in order to promote community-wide abandonment of FGC

Absence of a Family Safety Net for Homeless Families

Analysis of data from interviews of 80 mothers in five shelters for homeless families suggests that the availability of housing support from kin may be a selection mechanism determining which families become homeless. The availability of kin housing support is seen as a function of four factors: family structure, proximity, control of adequate housing resources, and estrangement. Policy implications are discusse