From whodunnits to literary fiction: The charting of an author’s transition from crime writer to literary novelist

The study examines the nature and functioning of genre in the commercial marketplace and the negotiations concerning genre labelling that a contemporary writer must undertake in relation to publishers’ decisions, reader expectations and critical responses. Part One assesses and theorises some problems of genre by means of an exploration of the terms ‘crime fiction’ and ‘literary fiction’. Focusing on the perceived conventions and boundaries of the two genres and some important sub-genres, it explores the extent to which such perceptions not only reinforce the notion of a divide between novels labelled as ‘crime’ and novels labelled as ‘literary’, but also perpetuate a debate about the ranking of texts on a ladder of literary merit. Part Two is a self-reflective critical appraisal of my eight novels, written over the fifteen-year period between 1998 and 2013, which underwent this process of commercial classification in both Britain and America, the main English language markets in which they were published. It offers a literary analysis of the novels in the context of their critical reception and in the light of my growing perception of the limitations of crime genre conventions on my choices as a writer and, incrementally, my attempts to outdistance those limitations. Part Three consists of conclusions: these concern the influence of a reader’s knowledge of genre on the reading experience as well as on reader expectations, the influence of a writer’s reputation for one kind of fiction on any aspiration to be recognised as having written another, and the tension, in the lived experience of a fiction writer, between the theoretical fluidity of genre boundaries and their rigidity in practice

Hysteresis in the de Haas-van Alphen Effect

A hysteresis loop is observed for the first time in the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) effect of beryllium at low temperatures and quantizing magnetic field applied parallel to the hexagonal axis of the single crystal. The irreversible behavior of the magnetization occurs at the paramagnetic part of the dHvA period in conditions of Condon domain formation arising by strong enough dHvA amplitude. The resulting extremely nonlinear response to a very small modulation field offers the possibility to find in a simple way the Condon domain phase diagram. From a harmonic analysis, the shape and size of the hysteresis loop is constructed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR

Wildlife art and illustration: drawing in ink - some experiments in Auroville, India

The various styles employed by some artists at the Pitchandikulam studio in Auroville International Township are discussed and some works analysed and commented upon. The basic history and applications of pen and ink drawing and black and white illustration are touched upon and the various schools of thought mentioned and discussed - from it simply being technically accurate and easily printed, to the conundrums with which it is beset

Direct Observation of Condon Domains in Silver by Hall Probes

Using a set of micro Hall probes for the detection of the local induction, the inhomogeneous Condon domain structure has been directly observed at the surface of a pure silver single crystal under strong Landau quantization in magnetic fields up to 10 T. The inhomogeneous induction occurs in the theoretically predicted part of the H-T Condon domain phase diagram. Information about size, shape and orientation of the domains is obtained by analyzing Hall probes placed along and across the long sample axis and by tilting the sample. On a beryllium surface the induction inhomogeneity is almost absent although the expected induction splitting here is at least ten times higher than in silver.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR

Bedeutung der Gesetzgebung zur Luftreinhaltung in der Prävention umweltbedingter Erkrankungen

Air pollution, for example from particulate matter, nitrogen oxides or ozone, is harmful to health. Short-term increases in air pollution can lead to exacerbation of existing lung diseases. Long-term air pollution contributes to the development of cardiorespiratory diseases. According to the European Environment Agency, 53,000 people prematurely died in Germany in 2019 due to particulate matter pollution. Air pollution control is a political task with great public health potential. In recent years, it has significantly contributed to improving air quality and thus health. In view of the new more stringent World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines, the authorities and policy makers worldwide are now confronted with the question of adjusting air quality targets and setting standards. In Europe, the EU Directive on air quality standards is passed by the EU Parliament and the Council of the EU and is binding for air quality targets of member states. Member states can be brought to court for failure to achieve the targets. Therefore, there is a risk that achievable and less ambitious air pollution targets will be set. Even now, the EU guideline values are significantly higher than those in the USA or Switzerland. While "only" 11% of the EU population were exposed to levels above the current EU limit for PM10 in 2020, 71% of the population were exposed to hazardous levels of PM10 following the new recommendation by the WHO. Among the most important and successful air pollution control measures is the reduction of air pollutants at the source: emission control. Despite the energy crisis goals regarding air pollution control and climate protection must not be ignored. Importantly, health protection cannot be left to individuals. Health professionals have an important clinical role in advising sensitive patients on how to deal with short-term elevated levels of air pollutants but beyond that their advisory role in policy is very significant

The centrifugal force reversal and X-ray bursts

Heyl (2000) made an interesting suggestion that the observed shifts in QPO frequency in type I X-ray bursts could be influenced by the same geometrical effect of strong gravity as the one that causes centrifugal force reversal discovered by Abramowicz and Lasota (1974). However, his main result contains a sign error. Here we derive the correct formula and conclude that constraints on the M(R) relation for neutron stars deduced from the rotational-modulation model of QPO frequency shifts are of no practical interest because the correct formula implies a weak condition R* > 1.3 Rs, where Rs is the Schwarzschild radius. We also argue against the relevance of the rotational-modulation model to the observed frequency modulations.Comment: 3 pages, Minor revisions, A&A Letters, in pres

M-Dwarf Fast Rotators and the Detection of Relatively Young Multiple M-Star Systems

We have searched the Kepler light curves of ~3900 M-star targets for evidence of periodicities that indicate, by means of the effects of starspots, rapid stellar rotation. Several analysis techniques, including Fourier transforms, inspection of folded light curves, 'sonograms', and phase tracking of individual modulation cycles, were applied in order to distinguish the periodicities due to rapid rotation from those due to stellar pulsations, eclipsing binaries, or transiting planets. We find 178 Kepler M-star targets with rotation periods, P_rot, of < 2 days, and 110 with P_rot < 1 day. Some 30 of the 178 systems exhibit two or more independent short periods within the same Kepler photometric aperture, while several have three or more short periods. Adaptive optics imaging and modeling of the Kepler pixel response function for a subset of our sample support the conclusion that the targets with multiple periods are highly likely to be relatively young physical binary, triple, and even quadruple M star systems. We explore in detail the one object with four incommensurate periods all less than 1.2 days, and show that two of the periods arise from one of a close pair of stars, while the other two arise from the second star, which itself is probably a visual binary. If most of these M-star systems with multiple periods turn out to be bound M stars, this could prove a valuable way of discovering young hierarchical M-star systems; the same approach may also be applicable to G and K stars. The ~5% occurrence rate of rapid rotation among the ~3900 M star targets is consistent with spin evolution models that include an initial contraction phase followed by magnetic braking, wherein a typical M star can spend several hundred Myr before spinning down to periods longer than 2 days.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables; accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Explaining city branding practices in China’s three mega-city regions: The role of ecological modernization

As global cities, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing operate in international economic networks; however, they are also each firmly embedded within a regional context and are surrounded by less populous and less internationally recognized neighbors. Together they form so-called mega-city regions referred to as the Greater Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Bohai Rim, each encompassing a dozen or so cities. In the wake of staggering economic growth and threatening pollution, these cities are compelled to respond to the challenge of ecological modernization (EM): aim for higher economic value added at lower environmental cost. Cities have particular industrial and regional profiles; consequently they follow different developmental pathways. In order to attract coveted investors, green and high-tech corporations, well-endowed residents and talented workforce, these cities engage in city branding practices. In this contribution, a typology of EM developmental pathways is presented and the 41 cities in the three Chinese mega-city regions are analyzed in terms of their respective pathways and city branding practices. We argue that different industrial and regional profiles allow for different developmental pathways making different city branding strategies likely. Most cities brand themselves in comformity with what their pathway would lead us to predict, except cities with a strongly manufacturing oriented profile; the brands of the latter type deviate markedly from their current reality. Cities adopting branding strategies that contrast sharply with their historical legacy and current profile risk promoting themselves in ways that the outside world is likely to perceive as lacking in credibility

Evaluation of a physical activity promotion program in primary care

Background. Physical inactivity increases the risk of many chronic disorders. It is not clear which strategies are the most appropriate to enable people to adopt a more active lifestyle. Randomized controlled trials have found that brief advice from GPs supported by written material had a significant positive effect on patient's physical activity. The pilot project ‘Move for Health and the Environment' translated this evidence into a program suitable for the real-life situation of busy practices. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in physical activity level of the participating patients 1 year after the intervention. Methods. Patients aged 16-65 years completed a screening questionnaire before consultation with their physician. Insufficiently active patients were offered an information leaflet and a voucher for a physical activity counselling session. One year later, all inactive patients and a random selection of the active were re-contacted and invited to answer identical questions. Results. A total of 1239 (73.9%) returned the follow-up questionnaire. In all, 37.3% of the formerly inactive patients met the threshold of sufficient activity at follow-up, whereas 20.3% of the previously active no longer did. Formerly inactive patients reported an increase of 58.8 minutes/week of moderate and 34.6 minutes/week of vigorous activity and spending more time walking and cycling. Formerly active patients reported less time spent in moderate activities. Conclusions. Systematic counselling in primary care encouraged insufficiently active patients to adopt a more active lifestyle. Yet it became evident that active patients also need counselling to maintain their activity level