Naturalness of the Coleman-Glashow Mass Relation in the 1/N_c Expansion: an Update

A new measurement of the Xi^0 mass verifies the accuracy of the Coleman-Glashow relation at the level predicted by the 1/N_c expansion. Values for other baryon isospin mass splittings are updated, and continue to agree with the 1/N_c hierarchy.Comment: 6 pages, revte

Anisotropies in the stochastic gravitational-wave background: Formalism and the cosmic string case

We develop a powerful analytical formalism for calculating the energy density of the stochastic gravitational wave background, including a full description of its anisotropies. This is completely general, and can be applied to any astrophysical or cosmological source. As an example, we apply these tools to the case of a network of Nambu-Goto cosmic strings. We find that the angular spectrum of the anisotropies is relatively insensitive to the choice of model for the string network, but very sensitive to the value of the string tension $G\mu$.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures; PRD published versio

Sociological Knowledge and Transformation at ‘Diversity University’, UK

This chapter is based on a case study of one UK university sociology department and shows how sociology knowledge can transform the lives of ‘non-traditional’ students. The research from which the case is drawn focused on four departments teaching sociology-related subjects in universities positioned differently in UK league tables. It explored the question of the relationship between university reputation, pedagogic quality and curriculum knowledge, challenging taken-for-granted judgements about ‘quality’ and in conceptualising ‘just’ university pedagogy by taking Basil Bernstein’s ideas about how ‘powerful’ knowledge is distributed in society to illuminate pedagogy and curriculum. The project took the view that ‘power’ lies in the acquisition of specific (inter)disciplinary knowledges which allows the formation of disciplinary identities by way of developing the means to think about and act in the world in specific ways. We chose to focus on sociology because (1) university sociology is taken up by all socio-economic classes in the UK and is increasingly taught in courses in which the discipline is applied to practice; (2) it is a discipline that historically pursues social and moral ambition which assists exploration of the contribution of pedagogic quality to individuals and society beyond economic goals; (3) the researchers teach and research sociology or sociology of education - an understanding of the subjects under discussion is essential to make judgements about quality. ‘Diversity’ was one of four case study universities. It ranks low in university league tables; is located in a large, multi-cultural English inner city; and, its students are likely to come from lower socio-economic and/or ethnic minority groups, as well as being the first in their families to attend university. To make a case for transformative teaching at Diversity, the chapter draws on longitudinal interviews with students, interviews with tutors, curriculum documents, recordings of teaching, examples of student work, and a survey. It establishes what we can learn from the case of sociology at Diversity, arguing that equality, quality and transformation for individuals and society are served by a university curriculum which is research led and challenging combined with pedagogical practices which give access to difficult-to-acquire and powerful knowledge

Converting energy from fusion into useful forms

If fusion power reactors are to be feasible, it will still be necessary to convert the energy of the nuclear reaction into usable form. The heat produced will be removed from the reactor core by a primary coolant, which might be water, helium, molten lithium-lead, molten lithium-containing salt, or CO2. The heat could then be transferred to a conventional Rankine cycle or Brayton (gas turbine) cycle. Alternatively it could be used for thermochemical processes such as producing hydrogen or other transport fuels. Fusion presents new problems because of the high energy neutrons released. These affect the selection of materials and the operating temperature, ultimately determining the choice of coolant and working cycle. The limited temperature ranges allowed by present day irradiated structural materials, combined with the large internal power demand of the plant, will limit the overall thermal efficiency. The operating conditions of the fusion power source, the materials, coolant, and energy conversion system will all need to be closely integrated.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy December 11, 201

Research instrumentation for tornado electromagnetics emissions detection

Instrumentation for receiving, processing, and recording HF/VHF electromagnetic emissions from severe weather activity is described. Both airborne and ground-based instrumentation units are described on system and subsystem levels. Design considerations, design decisions, and the rationale behind the decisions are given. Performance characteristics are summarized and recommendations for improvements are given. The objectives, procedures, and test results of the following are presented: (1) airborne flight test in the Midwest U.S.A. (Spring 1975) and at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida (Summer 1975); (2) ground-based data collected in North Georgia (Summer/Fall 1975); and (3) airborne flight test in the Midwest (late Spring 1976) and at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida (Summer 1976). The Midwest tests concentrated on severe weather with tornadic activity; the Florida and Georgia tests monitored air mass convective thunderstorm characteristics. Supporting ground truth data from weather radars and sferics DF nets are described

On Putting Knowledge 'First'

There is a New Idea in epistemology. It goes by the name of ‘knowledge first,’ and it is particularly associated with Timothy Williamson’s book Knowledge and Its Limits. In slogan form, to put knowledge first is to treat knowledge as basic or fundamental, and to explain other states—belief, justification, maybe even content itself—in terms of knowledge, instead of vice versa. The idea has proven enormously interesting, and equally controversial. But deep foundational questions about its actual content remain relatively unexplored. We think that a wide variety of views travel under the banner of ‘knowledge first’ (and that the slogan doesn’t help much with differentiating them). Furthermore, we think it is far from straightforward to draw connections between certain of these views; they are more independent than they are often assumed to be. Our project here is exploratory and clarificatory. We mean to tease apart various ‘knowledge first’ claims, and explore what connections they do or do not have with one another. Our taxonomy is offered in §2, and connections are explored in §3. The result, we hope, will be a clearer understanding of just what the knowledge first theses are. We conclude, in §4, with some brief suggestions as to how we think the various theses might be evaluated

Factors influencing the development and carbohydrate metabolism of Echinococcus granulosus in dogs

Echinococcus granulosus adult worms, 35 days postinfection, were measured for dispersion in the intestines of 10 dogs, a range of morphological characters, and the excreted end products of carbohydrate catabolism following 4 hr incubation in vitro. Most worms were found in the proximal sections of the small intestine, but the pattern of dispersion differed between dogs. Worm development varied both between dogs and between different regions of the small intestine of individual dogs. Overall there was a high level of variability with no simple patterns. Worm metabolism was related to worm development and, also independently, to local population density within the intestine. Larger, more mature worms produced less lactate and, at higher densities. worms tended to produce more acetate and succinate (pathways with a higher energy yield than lactate) and less ethanol. Thus, both more developed worms and high population density are associated with a shift from cytosolic to mitochondrial metabolism. The variation between worm populations along the small intestine along with the observed variation between worm populations from sibling dogs infected with genetically identical parasites suggests that the local host environment has a significant effect on parasite development

“Aspirational capital” and transformations in first-generation Alevi-Kurdish parents’ involvement with their children’s education in the UK

With a focus on the London Alevi-Kurdish community from Turkey, the aim of this article is to analyse changes in parenting and home-school relations of two cohorts of first-generation parents arriving in the nineties (Nineties parents) and the noughties (Millennial parents). Against a backdrop of national data showing that “Turkish” children persistently underachieve in schools across Europe, this exploration of differences within the first generation challenges deficit models of home-school relations. Through adding “differences within a generation” to intersectional analyses of home-school relations, it facilitates the exploration of parents’ migration context, ethnicity, religion and community. Additionally, the article addresses migrant parents' access to different forms of capital in navigating the education system. This includes the contributions of children, the community associations and local schools which have made a difference to Nineties and Millennial parents’ relationships with schools. Finally, the analysis demonstrates how community activism can have much more powerful effects than parents acting alone

Public libraries as settings for the development of critical health literacy in children.

Health literacy enables people to access, understand, appraise, remember and use information about health. Critical health literacy is a domain of health literacy and enables individuals and communities to engage in social and political processes for action on the determinants of health. Promoting critical health literacy early in the life course may contribute to improved health outcomes in the long term. Yet children’s opportunities to develop critical health literacy are limited and tend to be school based. There are recognised barriers to implementing critical health literacy interventions in schools. The aim of this study is to broaden the range of settings based approaches available by exploring the potential role of public libraries as community-based supportive environments for children’s critical health literacy. The study was designed in consultation with a Children’s Advisory Group of eight children. The setting is a public library system in England. The theoretical and methodological framework is institutional ethnography. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 children, and semi-structured text-elicitation interviews were conducted with 19 public library staff and community stakeholders. The data were analysed through the lens of a conceptual model based on the literature. The model provided an organising framework for the data and informed a keywords approach to analysis. The findings show that texts produced by the public library sector refer to health literacy support for local communities as part of the public library service offer, but the library was not perceived as a setting for health, and schools influence the health literacy development opportunities available for children there. Critical health literacy was seen as beyond the remit of the library, although one activity promoting critical health literacy was identified. This activity acknowledged the wider determinants of health, was accessible to children, involved children in how it was run, and facilitated children’s informed action for health. A revised conceptual model is proposed that identifies the necessary conditions, or antecedents, for public libraries to be a supportive environment for children’s critical health literacy development. The revised model situates the public library in a coordinated, multisetting (supersetting) approach with other settings where children spend time, including but not limited to schools. The study advances the theory and application of a supersetting approach to the development of critical health literacy in children and highlights the possibilities of non-traditional settings for health. It also contributes to the ongoing development of institutional ethnography and health literacy research with children