Gravity and the Newtonian limit in the Randall-Sundrum model

We point out that the gravitational evolution equations in the Randall-Sundrum model appear in a different form than hitherto assumed. As a consequence, the model yields a correct Newtonian limit in a novel manner.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, sign changed and references added. We have also appended a remark on the compatibility of the 4D Poincare invariant metric of Randall and Sundrum with the boundary equation

Cosmology of Randall-Sundrum models with an extra dimension stabilized by balancing bulk matter

We provide the cosmological solutions for Randall-Sundrum models with the bulk energy-momentum $\hat T^5_5$ incorporated. It alters the Friedmann equation for the brane scale factor. We make a specific choice of $\hat T^5_5$ which is adjusted to stabilize the extra dimension. This makes it possible to compactify the extra dimension with a single positive tension brane, and this model provides a RS-type solution to the cosmological constant problem. When the same idea is applied to the RS model with two branes, the wrong sign of Friedmann equation for the negative tension brane can be resolved and usual FRW cosmology is reproduced for the brane.Comment: 11 pages. The interpretation of result for the two brane RS model is correcte

A day at Operation Good Neighbor

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. As I tour the facility, I feel a sense of guilt for all that I have in my life. My clothes are fresh, in style for the most part, and when I have had enough of them, I give to the “unknown” and “unseen” people for whom I feel distance. After my tour is over it is time to go to work. We open the doors and place the sign carefully out in front of the old church that was donated to this venue, which was so foreign to many. I am feeling a little nervous about how I will talk to the people coming in for donations. What will I have in common with them? An hour passes before my first “customer” arrives. Thank goodness, because I was beginning to feel as if I was wasting my time. I pondered, “is there really such a great need in my community; I would know about it if there truly was such a need”. I found my thoughts righteously judging, “just get a job, anything would do, I see signs all over that say help wanted”. “For heavens sake, help yourself climb out of the lowly acceptance of poverty.

From the Editor

[Excerpt] Welcome to Issue no. 2 of Practical Technology for Archives. As with our first issue this issue has a digital focus. It is understandable that this should be the case since many archivists work extensively with digital tools and increasingly have to deal with born-digital records. I would, however, like to stress that we would welcome submissions on analog tools as well. We also welcome submissions in the form of audio or video clips. Hopefully, in future issues we will see a greater diversity in both content and format

Understanding the Personalistic Aspects of Jola Ethnomedicine

This paper discusses the contemporary expression of the personalistic aspects of Jola ethnomedicine. Ethnomedicine pertains to the culturally specific health- associated beliefs and behaviors of a society. Personalistic pertains to medical beliefs and practices that associate disease with direct or intentional factors of a social and supernatural origin. The inherent personalistic aspects of contemporary Jola ethnomedicine are heavily associated with the contemporary religious beliefs and practices of the Jola. In the Gambia, Jola religious beliefs and practices reflect a synthesis of traditional Jola religion and Islam. Contemporary Jola religious beliefs and practices manifest themselves in contemporary Jola ethnomedical beliefs and practices through the use of protective amulets known as jujus. Jujus serve to prevent misfortune, which is often presented in the form of health problems. Jujus are typically inscribed with verses from the Koran and with particular Islamic verses. The use of Islamic verses to address health problems is supported by Hadith, the sayings of the Muslim prophet Mohammed. As a result, the use of protective amulets inscribed with Islamic verses occurs not only in the Gambia but throughout West Africa and the Middle East. Such pervasiveness and continued use of these protective amulets demonstrates the persistence of the personalistic health-associated beliefs and practices as well as their continued relevance among societies experiencing increased exposure to Western medicine

‘I don’t know what I’m doing. How about you?’: Discourse and identity in practitioners dealing with the survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

This research is based on interviews conducted with a voluntary group of health practitioners who care for the adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse in one area of Scotland. This project takes a broadly interpretive approach to the interviews, and examines the processes of sense-making apparent in the scripts of the doctors, community nurse and counsellors who comprise this voluntary Forum. Those interviewed were highly sceptical of traditional medical approaches to dealing with survivors of such abuse, and they all questioned the effectiveness of expert professional knowledge. The research highlights the role of patient disclosure as a key mechanism in the process of their treatment, which is akin to the confessional technology discussed in detail in the work of Michel Foucault. Combined with other medical technologies patient disclosure is revealed as a technique of normalization. In this particular case the experts themselves were engaged in unravelling this process in search of alternative approaches to caring for their patients, which were based on a relationship of equal partnership rather than of expert authority. This research thus begins to illustrate the processes of sense-making and identity formation which exist between professional health care workers and the victims of abuse for whom they care