Universe Generation from Black Hole Interiors

We point out that scenarios in which the universe is born from the interior of a black hole may not posses many of the problems of the Standard Big-Bang (SBB) model. In particular we demonstrate that the horizon problem, flatness, and the structure formation problem might be solved naturally, not necessarily requiring a long period of cosmological inflation. The black hole information loss problem is also discussed. Our conclusions are completely independent of the details of general models.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Nonsingular Dilaton Cosmology in the String Frame

We consider the theory obtained by adding to the usual string frame dilaton gravity action specially constructed higher derivative terms motivated by the limited curvature construction of [MukhanovET1992a] and determine the spatially homogeneous and isotropic solutions to the resulting equations of motion. All solutions of the resulting theory of gravity with these symmetries are nonsingular and all curvature invariants are bounded. For initial conditions inspired by the pre-big-bang scenario solutions exist which correspond to a spatially flat Universe starting in a dilaton-dominated superinflationary phase with ${\dot H} > 0$ and having a smooth transition to an expanding Friedmann Universe with ${\dot H} < 0$. Hence, the graceful exit problem of pre-big-bang cosmology is solved in a natural way.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, LaTex; minor changes; published in JHEP 9909:003, 199

The Human Right to Water and Unconventional Energy

Access to water, in sufficient quantities and of sufficient quality is vital for human health. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in General Comment 15, drafted 2002) argued that access to water was a condition for the enjoyment of the right to an adequate standard of living, inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and thus a human right. On 28 July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly declared safe and clean drinking water and sanitation a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. This paper charts the international legal development of the right to water and its relevance to discussions surrounding the growth of unconventional energy and its heavy reliance on water. We consider key data from the country with arguably the most mature and extensive industry, the USA, and highlight the implications for water usage and water rights. We conclude that, given the weight of testimony of local people from our research, along with data from scientific literature, non-governmental organization (NGO) and other policy reports, that the right to water for residents living near fracking sites is likely to be severely curtailed. Even so, from the data presented here, we argue that the major issue regarding water use is the shifting of the resource from society to industry and the demonstrable lack of supply-side price signal that would demand that the industry reduce or stabilize its water demand per unit of energy produced. Thus, in the US context alone, there is considerable evidence that the human right to water will be seriously undermined by the growth of the unconventional oil and gas industry, and given its spread around the globe this could soon become a global human rights issue

The Social and Cultural Politics of Heroic Masculinity in Twentieth Century Ireland: Imaging Michael Collins

This thesis examines the socially and culturally defined character of masculinities through a case study of the heroic legacy of Michael Collins. Utilising a mu ltidisciplinary methodology the study investigates; both biographical and prominent written historical material, Neil Jordan’s movie, Collins’ contribution to the Treaty debates o f 1921-22, his private correspondence with Kitty Kiernan and a selection of remembrance rhetoric pertaining to him over the course of the twentieth century. This treatise interprets Michael Collins from a different perspective than previous analyses. The methodology is fashioned by a desire to develop a more substantial and comprehensive body of material that addresses the histories of masculinities in Ireland. Priority is given to determining the influence of socially and culturally defined expectations of masculinities on conceptualisations and perceptions of the heroic image and conversely for the influence and relevance this image has for the historical identity of Michael Collins. The dissertation addresses the complex and socially determined political nature of that composition, where politics is understood firstly as the social and cultural intricacies that influence gender configuration, and secondly as the ideology of political power. In six chapters, an outline, contextualisation and examination of the selected sources are undertaken incorporating the use of contemporary theories of masculinities and comparative histories o f masculinities studies. The application of prominent interdisciplinary theoretical and comparative material that informs the composite nature of masculinities is also employed. These are discussed and set in context in the specific methodologies of the relevant chapters. Careful consideration is directed towards discovering definable male characteristics that appear so obvious as to render their gendered significance invisible to conventional historical analysis

Computing isogenies between Abelian Varieties

47 pagesInternational audienceWe describe an efficient algorithm for the computation of isogenies between abelian varieties represented in the coordinate system provided by algebraic theta functions. We explain how to compute all the isogenies from an abelian variety whose kernel is isomorphic to a given abstract group. We also describe an analog of Vélu's formulas to compute an isogenis with prescribed kernels. All our algorithms rely in an essential manner on a generalization of the Riemann formulas. In order to improve the efficiency of our algorithms, we introduce a point compression algorithm that represents a point of level $4\ell$ of a $g$ dimensional abelian variety using only $g(g+1)/2\cdot 4^g$ coordinates. We also give formulas to compute the Weil and commutator pairing given input points in theta coordinates. All the algorithms presented in this paper work in general for any abelian variety defined over a field of odd characteristic

United States - Section 211 Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1998 (WT/DS176/AB/R) A Comment

As usual the authors have divided their labor, based on expertise. In particular, the economic analysis in section 4 was the responsibility of Damien Neven; Robert Howse's own understanding of the costs and benefits of international trade law rules with respect to intellectual property protection in general depends on a rather different framework for analysing the problem. However, in so far as the legal and economic analysis of the Havana Club case itself is concerned, which deals only with trademarks as a form of IP protection, the authors are in agreemen

Canada - Export Credits and Loan Guarantees for Regional Aircraft (WT/DS222/R) A Comment

This panel report represents another installment in the long-standing litigation between Canada and Brazil over subsidization of sales of commuter jets by both countries. The report addresses a set of claims by Brazil closely related to prior claims concerning the practices of the Export Development Corporation as well as industrial policy entities in the Canadian province of Quebec. Brazil specifically challenged certain recent transactions where these federal and provincial entities provided certain kinds of financing assistance in connection with the sale of Bombardier aircraft (namely to Air Wisconsin, Atlantic Coast Airlines, Comair, Kendell, and Air Nostrum). For the most part the panel applied existing jurisprudence on export subsidies to the factual record. In particular, the panel applied a "private investor principle”, verifying in all instances whether the conditions that were granted by the export development and industrial policy agencies were more favorable than the conditions that were available from alternative private source