Crime, knowledge and the photographic object in la isla mínima

This article explores the role of photography in the recent Spanish crime thriller La isla mínima (2014). It argues that the indexicality of the photographic object is the key to the allegorical message of the film, in which the criminal investigation also serves an historical investigation into the compromises that were made in the name of Spain’s transition to democracy. The photographic object in turn both reveals and conceals the extent to which violence was integral to the ‘pacto del olvido’ of the transition, and presents itself as an uncomfortable truth that Spain has not yet reconciled itself with. The article also discusses the influence of photography on the cinematography of the film, as well as the important role that El Caso and photojournalism played during these years

A qualitative study of parents' experiences using family support services: applying the concept of surface and depth

UK policy and practice endorses family support for child well-being. Achieving such support requires multi-agency approaches, that consider all aspects of parents’ and children’s lives and which offer practical, social and emotional help. The potential for services to make a positive impact on parents and their families will depend in part on the level and nature of engagement. In this paper a case is made for the application of the two-part ‘surface and depth’ concept for understanding how practitioners engage with families and how they might improve the chances of supporting sustainable differences for parents and families. To illustrate, qualitative data from a review of family centre support provided by a north of England local authority, are presented. The review was commissioned to explore why families often need to re-engage with intensive support services. Data are drawn from interviews with parents (n=18, recruited following a survey of all those registered with the service during April – May 2009) and discussions with family centre support workers (n=4) and following thematic analysis three dominant themes emerged: ‘resources available’, ‘staff approach’ and ‘real life’, were appraised in light of the ‘surface and depth’ concept. Much of the work with parents effectively dealt with pressing needs. This felt gratifying for both parent and worker and supported immediate service engagement. However, each noted that the more complex issues in parents’ lives went unchallenged and thus the sustainability of progress in terms of parenting practice was questionable. A ‘strengths focused’ approach by staff, that understood needs in the context of parents’ ‘real life’ circumstances was important to parent engagement. Thus, longer term benefits from family support requires practitioners to work with parents to problem solve immediate issues whilst also digging deeper to acknowledge and seek to resolve the more complex challenges parents face in their real lives

The Passagassawakeag Rail Trail, Belfast, Maine

Maine Geological Survey, Geologic Facts and Localities, Circular GFL-224https://digitalmaine.com/mgs_publications/1515/thumbnail.jp

Estimating the weak-lensing rotation signal in radio cosmic shear surveys

Weak lensing has become an increasingly important tool in cosmology and the use of galaxy shapes to measure cosmic shear has become routine. The weak-lensing distortion tensor contains two other effects in addition to the two components of shear: the convergence and rotation. The rotation mode is not measurable using the standard cosmic shear estimators based on galaxy shapes, as there is no information on the original shapes of the images before they were lensed. Due to this, no estimator has been proposed for the rotation mode in cosmological weak-lensing surveys, and the rotation mode has never been constrained. Here, we derive an estimator for this quantity, which is based on the use of radio polarisation measurements of the intrinsic position angles of galaxies. The rotation mode can be sourced by physics beyond $\Lambda$CDM, and also offers the chance to perform consistency checks of $\Lambda$CDM and of weak-lensing surveys themselves. We present simulations of this estimator and show that, for the pedagogical example of cosmic string spectra, this estimator could detect a signal that is consistent with the constraints from Planck. We examine the connection between the rotation mode and the shear $B$-modes and thus how this estimator could help control systematics in future radio weak-lensing surveys

High-Resolution Speleothem-Based Palaeoclimate Records From New Zealand Reveal Robust Teleconnection To North Atlantic During MIS 1-4

Growth rates, δ18O and δ13C of five stalagmites from the west coasts of North and South Islands, New Zealand, provide records of millennial-scale climate variability over the last ~75 kyr. Thirty-five uranium-series ages were used to provide the chronology. δ18O of stalagmite calcite was influenced by changes in moisture source region, temperature and both δ18O and δ13C primarily display a negative relationship with rainfall. To assist interpretation of climatic signals δ18O profiles were adjusted for the ice-volume effect. Changes in these proxies reflect changes in the strength of the circumpolar westerly circulation and the frequency of southwesterly flow across New Zealand. MIS 4 was a period of wet and cool climate lasting from 67.7 to 61.3 kyr B.P., expressed in the stalagmites by an interval of strongly negative isotope ratios and increased growth rate. This contrasts with less negative δ18O and δ13C, and slow growth, interpreted as dry and cold climate, during much of MIS 2. This difference between MIS 2 and MIS 4 provides an explanation for why glacial moraines in the Southern Alps of MIS 4 age lie beyond those deposited during the last glacial maximum (MIS 2). Heinrich events, with the exception of H0 (the Younger Dryas), are interpreted from high-resolution South Island stalagmite HW05-3, from Hollywood Cave, West Coast, as times of wetter and cooler climate. Minima in δ18O and δ13C (wet periods) occurred at 67.7-61.0, 56-55, 50.5-47.5, 40-39, 30.5-29, 25.5-24.3 and 16.1-15. kyr B.P. matching Heinrich events H6-H1 (including H5a) respectively. This demonstrates a robust teleconnection between events in the North Atlantic and New Zealand climate. Minima in δ18O also occurred at similar times in less well-dated North Island stalagmite RK05-3 from Ruakuri Cave, Waitomo. Speleothems from low-latitudes have revealed that Heinrich events forced southerly displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. This caused steepening of the temperature gradient across mid-southern latitudes, increased westerly circulation and resulted in wet conditions on the west coast of both islands. Immediately following H1 in the HW05-3 stable isotope profiles is another excursion to more negative isotopic values, suggesting wet and cold climate, lasting from 14.6 to 13.0 kyr B.P. Such a climate on the West Coast at this time has been previously suggested from glacier advance (e.g. Waiho Loop moraine) and decreased abundance of tall trees on the landscape. This event occurred too early to be a response to H0, but is synchronous with a return to cool climate in Antarctica. Thus West Coast climate appears to have been sensitive to changes in Antarctica as well as the North Atlantic. Isotopic minima (wet and cool climate) in South Island stalagmite GT05-5, which formed during the Holocene, first occurred 4.6 kyr B.P. This began a series of four oscillations in isotope ratios, the last terminating when the stalagmite was collected (2006). Onset of these oscillations is associated with initiation of ice advance in the Southern Alps, and beginning of the Neoglacial. The last oscillation displays enriched isotope ratios lasting from 1.2 to 0.8 kyr B.P. succeeded by depleted ratios lasting until 0.15 kyr B.P., mirroring the Medieval Climate Optimum and Little Ice Age, respectively, of European palaeoclimate records

Effect of base-state curvature on self-excited high-frequency oscillations in flow through an elastic-walled channel

We investigate the development of flow-induced small-amplitude high-frequency oscillations occurring in a rigid fluid-conveying channel with a section of the upper wall replaced by a taut elastic sheet. We consider an axially nonuniform base state, caused by a negative transmural pressure (internal minus external), which results in the sheet bending inward, and then examine the evolution of oscillatory perturbations about this state. Due to the curvature of the base state, any normal displacement of the sheet will lead to a change in the axial stretching of the sheet, which is an order of magnitude higher than would be the case for perturbations to a uniform sheet. This stretching provides an additional restoring force that can be dominant. We derive a modified tube law to describe the wall mechanics with this additional effect and combine it with an existing fluid model to obtain a complete description of the system. At leading order, we obtain a one-dimensional eigenvalue problem for the frequencies and mode shapes of the oscillatory perturbations. The nonlinear interaction between the perturbations and the base-state curvature manifests itself as an additional integral term in the eigenvalue problem, corresponding to the total axial stretching in the wall. The normal modes are neutrally stable at leading order, and their slow growth or decay is determined by considering the global energy budget of the system. The stability of the system can be expressed in terms of a critical Reynolds number of the mean flow through the channel. We explain the behavior of the system as two key dimensionless parameters F and K are varied. These quantify the dimensionless axial tension and base-state curvature effects, respectively. Numerical simulations are used to identify distinct flow regimes in parameter space, which we explore further in detail using asymptotic analysis. This reveals that at large K, i.e., strong base-state curvature effects, the leading-order axial profiles of the modes are forced to adjust in order to eliminate the need for significant stretching in the wall. This has the effect of stabilizing both the fundamental and, to a lesser extent, the first harmonic modes, which results in the first harmonic becoming the most unstable mode

Stylus For Fine-Motor Development

The objective of this project was to improve the writing ability of children, between the ages of 4-6 by encouraging proper grip techniques and practice through the medium of touch screen technology. The methods we used were, field testing children, interviewing and academic research of the professional literature on the occupational development of grips, emerging usages of touch screen devices in homes and school, and declining writing ability for children. The conclusions reached by the team are: fine motor development in children has been decreasing, children are using touch screen technologies at an increasing rate, and the styluses developed by the team will improve children handwriting writing development