A Subelliptic Analogue of Aronson-Serrin's Harnack Inequality

We show that the Harnack inequality for a class of degenerate parabolic quasilinear PDE \p_t u=-X_i^* A_i(x,t,u,Xu)+ B(x,t,u,Xu), associated to a system of Lipschitz continuous vector fields $X=(X_1,...,X_m)$ in in \Om\times (0,T) with \Om \subset M an open subset of a manifold $M$ with control metric $d$ corresponding to $X$ and a measure $d\sigma$ follows from the basic hypothesis of doubling condition and a weak Poincar\'e inequality. We also show that such hypothesis hold for a class of Riemannian metrics g_\e collapsing to a sub-Riemannian metric \lim_{\e\to 0} g_\e=g_0 uniformly in the parameter \e\ge 0

Body, Space and Time in Networked Performance

This special issue of Liminalities has been compiled from the outcomes of the conference Remote Encounters: Connecting bodies, collapsing spaces and temporal ubiquity in networked performance held at the University of South Wales on the 11th and 12th of April 2013. By providing an overview of contributions to the issue this editorial aims to both introduce networked performance to a new readership and for those already practicing in the field assemble and present the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary practice that can be considered as networked performance. Contributor's research themes, practice issues and their creative solutions are identified revealing common threads of enquiry running throughout the issue. In addition notable papers and performances from the conference that have not been included in this issue are discussed briefly

Remote Encounters: Connecting bodies, collapsing spaces and temporal ubiquity in networked performance

Remote Encounters: Connecting bodies, collapsing spaces and temporal ubiquity in networked performance was a two-day international conference with performance evening organised and chaired by myself at the University of South Wales on the 11th and 12th of April 2013. Its purpose was to explore the use of networks as a means to enhance or create a wide variety of performance arts. How do networks as a site for performance provide opportunities for us as artists and performers? In particular how can we remotely collaborate, merge geographically separate places and times, reconfigure the space of performance and the relationship between artist and audience? The conference was initiated as part of my research and practice on networked art and with a view to revealing performative aspects within that practice. A mixture of delegates with differing research, practice, means and economic situations, attended representing a wide variety of performance arts. Artists performing at the conference in Wales performed with others (artists and audience) in England, France, Belgium, Italy, Singapore and the United States confirming that visual forms enabled a multitude of possibilities for artists to see, synchronise, collaborate and create at distance. Papers discussed issues concerning remoteness, artist’s performance methods and technological techniques were explored in depth and the network was considered in a number of ways as an enabling or limiting technology. The journal of performance studies, Liminalities issue 10.1, is a special issue guest edited by Garrett Lynch (University of South Wales) and Rea Dennis (Deakin University). The contributions to this issue have been compiled from the preceedings of the conference Remote Encounters: Connecting Bodies, Collapsing Spaces and Temporal Ubiquity in Networked Performance

A Subelliptic Analogue of Aronson-serrin\u27s Harnack Inequality

We study the Harnack inequality for weak solutions of a class of degenerate parabolic quasilinear PDE,(Formula presented.) in cylinders Ω × (0,T) where Ω ⊂ M is an open subset of a manifold M endowed with control metric d corresponding to a system of Lipschitz continuous vector fields X=(X_1,..., X_m) and a measure dσ. We show that the Harnack inequality follows from the basic hypothesis of doubling condition and a weak Poincaré inequality in the metric measure space (M,d,dσ). We also show that such hypothesis hold for a class of Riemannian metrics gε collapsing to a sub-Riemannian metric limε → 0 gε = g0 uniformly in the parameter ε ≥ 0

The student bullying of teachers in Irish second level schools: exploring the influence of historical low state intervention in education on the development of contemporary policy responses in Ireland

The student bullying of teachers (SBT) is a distinct and complex form of bullying with a multiplicity of diverse, changeable and intersecting causes which is experienced by and affects teachers in a variety of ways. SBT is both a national and an international phenomenon which is under-recognised in academic, societal and political spheres, resulting in limited conceptual understanding and awareness of the issue. This study explores teachers’ experiences of SBT behaviours in Irish second level schools as well as teachers’ perceptions regarding training, policies and supports in Ireland to address the issue. Specifically, the study seeks to explore the influence of historical low State intervention in education on contemporary policies and supports to deal with SBT in Ireland. A mixed methods approach involving a survey of 531 second level school teachers and 17 semi-structured interviews with teachers, Year Heads and representatives from teacher trade unions and school management bodies was employed to collect and analyse data. Findings indicate that SBT behaviours are prevalent in many forms in Irish second level schools. The hidden nature of the phenomenon has simultaneously contributed to and is reinforced by limited understanding of the issue as well as teachers’ reluctance to disclose their experiences. Findings reveal that teachers perceive the contemporary policies, training and support structures in Ireland to be inadequate in equipping them to effectively deal with SBT. State intervention in addressing SBT behaviours to date, has been limited, therefore many teachers are forced to respond to the issue based on their own initiatives and assumptions rather than from an informed critically reflective approach, supported by national guidelines and sufficient State investment. This has resulted in a piecemeal, un-coordinated and ad-hoc approach to SBT in Irish schools both in terms of teachers’ management of SBT behaviours and with respect to the supports extended to staff. The potential negative consequences of SBT behaviours on teachers’ wellbeing and professional performance and thus, on the education system itself, underlines the need for a strategic, evidence-based, resourced and integrated approach which includes, as a pivotal component, consultation with teachers, whose contribution to the process is crucial

The Mystique of Macro-Boycotting Behaviour: A Conceptual Framework

In spite of the aim of the World Trade Organization and other international organizations to foster international trade and development by lessening protectionism agendas worldwide, there has been a rise in consumer boycotting behaviour at a macro level involving campaigns directed against foreign products from countries embroiled in conflicts in international relations, rather than against products from individual companies perceived to have engaged in a domestic egregious act. While campaigning at this level is becoming a more effective tool for consumer protest, as it negatively affects both the boycotted countries’ macroeconomics and companies’ micro-competitiveness, consumer motivations to participate in macro-level boycotts has so far been overlooked in the boycotting literature. This paper examines consumers’ behavioural intentions to participate in macro-boycotting campaigns within the context of an Arab country, which has recently witnessed a number of campaigns of this nature. Using the theory of planned behaviour the findings of an exploratory qualitative study of Egyptian consumers offer insights into the motives and barriers to individual macro-boycott participation. Findings are discussed together with managerial implications

Investigating the disc-jet coupling in accreting compact objects using the black hole candidate Swift J1753.5-0127

In studies of accreting black holes in binary systems, empirical relations have been proposed to quantify the coupling between accretion processes and ejection mechanisms. These processes are probed respectively by means of X-ray and radio/optical-infrared observations. The relations predict, given certain accretion conditions, the expected energy output in the form of a jet. We investigated this coupling by studying the black hole candidate Swift J1753.5-0127, via multiwavelength coordinated observations over a period of ~4 years. We present the results of our campaign showing that, all along the outburst, the source features a jet that is fainter than expected from the empirical correlation between the radio and the X-ray luminosities in hard spectral state. Because the jet is so weak in this system the near-infrared emission is, unusually for this state and luminosity, dominated by thermal emission from the accretion disc. We briefly discuss the importance and the implications of a precise determination of both the slope and the normalisation of the correlations, listing some possible parameters that broadband jet models should take into account to explain the population of sources characterized by a dim jet. We also investigate whether our data can give any hint about the nature of the compact object in the system, since its mass has not been dynamically measured.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Seismic interpretation of pelagic sedimentation regimes in the 18–53 Ma eastern equatorial Pacific : basin-scale sedimentation and infilling of abyssal valleys

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 12 (2011): Q03004, doi:10.1029/2010GC003347.Understanding how pelagic sediment has been eroded, transported, and deposited is critical to evaluating pelagic sediment records for paleoceanography. We use digital seismic reflection data from an Integrated Ocean Drilling Program site survey (AMAT03) to investigate pelagic sedimentation across the eastern-central equatorial Pacific, which represents the first comprehensive record published covering the 18–53 Ma eastern equatorial Pacific. Our goals are to quantify (1) basin-hill-scale primary deposition regimes and (2) the extent to which seafloor topography has been subdued by abyssal valley-filling sediments. The eastern Pacific seafloor consists of a series of abyssal hills and basins, with minor late stage faulting in the basement. Ocean crust rarely outcrops at the seafloor away from the rise crest; both hills and basins are sediment covered. The carbonate compensation depth is identified at 4440 m by the appearance of acoustically transparent clay intervals in the seismic data. Overall, we recognized three different sedimentation regimes: depositional (high sedimentation rate), transitional, and minimal sedimentation (low sedimentation rate) regimes. In all areas, the sedimented seafloor mimics the underlying basement topography, although the degree to which topography becomes subdued varies. Depositional regimes result in symmetric sedimentation within basins and subdued topography, whereas minimal sedimentation regimes have more asymmetric distribution of sediments within topographic lows and higher seafloor relief. Regardless of sedimentation regime, enhanced sediment deposition occurs within basins. However, we observe that basin infill is rarely more than twice as thick as sediment cover over abyssal hills. If this variation is due to sediment focusing, the focusing factor in the basins, as measured by 230Th, is no more than a factor of ∼1.3 of the total vertical particulate rain.This research is supported by NSF grants OCE‐07253011 and OCE‐0851056 (M. Lyle and M. Tominaga) and NERC grant NE/C508985/2 (N. C. Mitchell)