The role of intermediate layers in the c-axis conductivity of layered superconductors

A simplified model of c axis transport in the high T_c superconductors is presented. Expressions are found for the c axis optical conductivity, the d.c. resistivity, and the c axis penetration depth. Within the framework of this model, the pseudogap in the optical conductivity arises naturally as a result of the layered band structure of the high T_c materials. We discuss the occurence of the pseudogap in terms of three parameters: a band gap Delta_{ps}, a temperature dependent scattering rate Gamma(T), and the strength of the interlayer coupling t_{perp}. We are also able to find analytic expressions for the d.c. conductivity and the low temperature penetration depth in terms of these three parameters. This work is an attempt to present a simple, unified picture of c axis properties in the high T_c cuprates.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of Spectroscopies of Novel Superconductors '97, To be published in J. Phys. Chem. Solid

What can research deliver for organic farming?

The research needs of any applied subject are always influenced by three major groups of criteria. These are the economic/political, the societal/ethical and the technical/scientific. This is especially the case for Organic Farming which explicitly sets out to present a positively value based approach to agriculture, an activity, which has commonly become dominated by the commercial economics of an industrial society. To maintain this ethical stance Organic Farming must challenge some of the tenets of conventional economics and politics and must work within the particular societal context. Its scientific needs are then driven either by the need to increase its role in terms of market share or the need to achieve its aims more effectively in respect of product quality and/or delivery of environmental goods. In this paper I examine the current opportunities for Organic Farming in relation to the present state of farming economics and the current expectations of society, considering both food production and the delivery of environmental services which are paid from the public purse, e.g. via the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). I use these criteria to analyse what are the current primary research needs in relation to the science and ethical base of Organic Agriculture

Making, Emotion and the drive to re-shore UK garment manufacturing

Research suggests that the act of making with one’s hands may be linked to emotional wellbeing. Yet fashion businesses seeking to return production to the UK are struggling to recruit the necessary skilled manufacturing workers. Given the estimated cost of depression to the UK economy and the sustainability benefits of returning local production it seems that there is potential for massive social benefit could such a workforce be mobilized. This position paper proposes novel design challenges and research questions for further exploration. Application of design methods and critical or speculative design to these challenges could help to raise social awareness of garment manufacture and increase the emotional wellbeing of manufacturing workers, while maintaining rates of production which would make re-shoring (returning to on-shore manufacturing in the UK) economically viable

The Anthropology of Security: Perspectives from the Frontline of Policing, Counter-terrorism and Border Control, by Mark Maguire, Catarina Frois and Nils Zurawski

No abstract available

Evaluation of European Social Fund Priority 1 and Priority 4: extending employment opportunities to adults and young people

This evaluation report forms part of a suite of research gathering evidence on the delivery of the European Social Fund (ESF). It aims to improve understanding of the processes, range and delivery of ESF Priority 1 and Priority 4 provision within the 2007-2013 England and Gibraltar ESF Operational Programme (OP). Priority 1 and Priority 4 seek to increase employment and tackle worklessness through a mix of employment and skills provision, intended to support people to enter jobs and in some instances progress within work. The research is based on ten in-depth case studies of the delivery of Priority 1 and 4 provision, involving a total of 182 interviews with stakeholders in ESF Co-Financing Organisations, Jobcentre Plus, and ESF delivery contractors. Fieldwork for the evaluation was undertaken between January and March 2011. The evaluation was part-funded by ESF technical assistance under the 2007-2013 England and Gibraltar ESF programme evaluation strategy

Losing energy in classical, relativistic and quantum mechanics.

A Zenonian supertask involving an infinite number of colliding balls is considered, under the restriction that the total mass of all the balls is finite. Classical mechanics leads to the conclusion that momentum, but not necessarily energy, must be conserved. Relativistic mechanics, on the other hand, implies that energy and momentum conservation are always violated. Quantum mechanics, however, seems to rule out the Zeno configuration as an inconsistent system

The (In)Difference engine: explaining the disappearance of diversity in the design of the personal computer

At the time of writing there is a clear perception of all office computers as being more or less identical. Discussion with users entails repetitive rhetoric as they describe a landscape of boring beige boxes. The office PC is indeed a ‘clone’ - an identical, characterless copy of a bland original. Through the exploration of an archive of computer manufacturer’s catalogues, this article shows how previous, innovative forms of the computer informed by cultural references as diverse as science fiction, accepted gender roles and the discourse of status as displayed through objects, have been systematically replaced by the adoption of a ‘universal’ design informed only by the nondescript, self-referential world of office equipment. The acceptance of this lack of innovation in the design of such a truly global, mass-produced, multi-purpose technological artefact has had an enormous effect on the conception, perception and consumption of the computer, and possibly of information technology itself. The very anonymity of the PC has created an attitude of indifference at odds with its potential.</p