Mummies and masquerades: English and Caribbean connections

The composite mumming play script that the Ecclesfield-based Victorian children's author Juliana Horatia Ewing published in 1884 found its way to St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, where it was it was taken up enthusiastically by the black population as one of its Christmas Sports. The Mummies continue to act (and dance) to this day. Economic migrants took the Christmas Sports in turn to the Dominican Republic, in particular around the town of San Pedro de Macoris, where the performers recently gained a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award. This paper derives from a presentation based around two videos, presented here as story boards. Millington introduces Ewing's play, and footage of the St Kitts Mummies and the Bull Play filmed by Joan McMurray. James continues the story by introducing footage of the related tradition from the Dominican Republic called the Wild Indians in English and Los Guloyas (the Goliaths) in Spanish

Hydrogen in the Urban Setting - Understanding the role of hydrogen in the energy transition of Berlin through the lens of the Multi-Level-Perspective

Climate action can be seen in economic, political, cultural and social processes around the globe. Rarely are these processes more visible than in the context of sustainable urban transition. With a growing population, especially in urban areas, the question of how to sustain this growth in terms of energy production and resource use is becoming more apparent. It is clear that a sustainable transition is becoming a task for multiple actors involved in urban development. The Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) provides a transition-theoretical framework in which socio-technical processes are explored at three levels - the landscape, the regime, and the niche. The dynamics within and across these levels are described with drivers and barriers to understand a transition over time. In the context of a city-state like Berlin, the MLP faces limitations that are addressed through a multi-actor approach while also acknowledging the involvement of a multi-level governance structure through local and national policy-making processes. This thesis unpacks the role of hydrogen in Berlin's energy transition by operationalizing the MLP framework and analyzing the key conditions under which hydrogen has evolved in the past. Through expert interviews complemented by document analysis I describe the conditions necessary for its diffusion into a broader implementation of the energy system. Finally, the feasibility of the theoretical framework used, to understand past and future transition processes, is discussed. My empirical analysis shows that a successful hydrogen breakthrough in Berlin requires political legislation (landscape changes) to drive additional technical advances in production, storage, and infrastructure (regime adjustments). These findings confirm the dynamic nature of the MLP framework and demonstrate its practicality when applied in an urban context, allowing exploration of future opportunities for niche technologies.Climate action can be seen in economic, political, cultural and social processes around the globe. Rarely are these processes more visible than in the context of sustainable urban transition. With a growing population, especially in urban areas, the question of how to sustain this growth in terms of energy production and resource use is becoming more apparent. It is clear that a sustainable transition is becoming a task for multiple actors involved in urban development. The Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) provides a transition-theoretical framework in which socio-technical processes are explored at three levels - the landscape, the regime, and the niche. The dynamics within and across these levels are described with drivers and barriers to understand a transition over time. In the context of a city-state like Berlin, the MLP faces limitations that are addressed through a multi-actor approach while also acknowledging the involvement of a multi-level governance structure through local and national policy-making processes. This thesis unpacks the role of hydrogen in Berlin's energy transition by operationalizing the MLP framework and analyzing the key conditions under which hydrogen has evolved in the past. Through expert interviews complemented by document analysis I describe the conditions necessary for its diffusion into a broader implementation of the energy system. Finally, the feasibility of the theoretical framework used, to understand past and future transition processes, is discussed. My empirical analysis shows that a successful hydrogen breakthrough in Berlin requires political legislation (landscape changes) to drive additional technical advances in production, storage, and infrastructure (regime adjustments). These findings confirm the dynamic nature of the MLP framework and demonstrate its practicality when applied in an urban context, allowing exploration of future opportunities for niche technologies

Combining the best interest standard with shared decision-making in paediatrics—introducing the shared optimum approach based on a qualitative study

Paediatric decision-making is the art of respecting the interests of child and family with due regard for evidence, values and beliefs, reconciled using two important but potentially conflicting concepts: best interest standard (BIS) and shared decision-making (SD-M). We combine qualitative research, our own data and the normative framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) to revisit current theoretical debate on the interrelationship of BIS and SD-M. Three cohorts of child, parent and health care professional interviewees (Ntotal = 47) from Switzerland and the United States considered SD-M an essential part of the BIS. Their responses combined with the UNCRC text to generate a coherent framework which we term the shared optimum approach (SOA) combining BIS and SD-M. The SOA separates different tasks (limiting harm, showing respect, defining choices and implementing plans) into distinct dimensions and steps, based on the principles of participation, provision and protection. The results of our empirical study call into question reductive approaches to the BIS, as well as other stand-alone decision-making concepts such as the harm principle or zone of parental discretion. Conclusion: Our empirical study shows that the BIS includes a well-founded harm threshold combined with contextual information based on SD-M. We propose reconciling BIS and SD-M within the SOA as we believe this will improve paediatric decision-making

Dynamic Oligopoly Pricing: Evidence from the Airline Industry

We explore how pricing dynamics in the European airline industry vary with the competitive environment. Our results highlight substantial variations in pricing dynamics that are consistent with a theory of intertemporal price discrimination. First, the rate at which prices increase towards the scheduled travel date is decreasing in competition, supporting the idea that competition restrains the ability of airlines to price-discriminate. Second, the sensitivity to competition is substantially increasing in the heterogeneity of the customer base, reflecting further that restraints on price discrimination are only relevant if there is initial scope for price discrimination. These patterns are quantitatively important, explaining about 83 percent of the total within-flight price dispersion, and explaining 17 percent of the observed cross-market variation of pricing dynamics

Scientists' warning to humanity on insect extinctions

Here we build on the manifesto ‘World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity, issued by the Alliance of World Scientists. As a group of conservation biologists deeply concerned about the decline of insect populations, we here review what we know about the drivers of insect extinctions, their consequences, and how extinctions can negatively impact humanity. We are causing insect extinctions by driving habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, use of polluting and harmful substances, the spread of invasive species, global climate change, direct overexploitation, and co-extinction of species dependent on other species. With insect extinctions, we lose much more than species. We lose abundance and biomass of insects, diversity across space and time with consequent homogenization, large parts of the tree of life, unique ecological functions and traits, and fundamental parts of extensive networks of biotic interactions. Such losses lead to the decline of key ecosystem services on which humanity depends. From pollination and decomposition, to being resources for new medicines, habitat quality indication and many others, insects provide essential and irreplaceable services. We appeal for urgent action to close key knowledge gaps and curb insect extinctions. An investment in research programs that generate local, regional and global strategies that counter this trend is essential. Solutions are available and implementable, but urgent action is needed now to match our intentions.Peer reviewe

The compound machinery of government: The case of seconded officials in the European commission

This article explores the compound machinery of government. Attention is directed toward decision making within the core executive of the European Union - the European Commission. The article studies seconded national civil servants (SNEs) hired on short-term contracts. The analysis benefits from an original and rich body of surveys and interview data derived from current and former SNEs. The decision-making dynamics of SNEs are shown to contain a compound mix of departmental, epistemic, and supranational dynamics. This study clearly demonstrates that the socializing power of the Commission is conditional and only partly sustained when SNEs exit the Commission. Any long-lasting effect of socialization within European Union's executive machinery of government is largely absent. The compound decision-making dynamics of SNEs are explained by (1) the organizational affiliations of SNEs, (2) the formal organization of the Commission apparatus, and (3) only partly by processes of resocialization of SNEs within the Commission

Solutions for humanity on how to conserve insects

The fate of humans and insects intertwine, especially through the medium of plants. Global environmental change, including land transformation and contamination, is causing concerning insect diversity loss, articulated in the companion review Scientists' warning to humanity on insect extinctions. Yet, despite a sound philosophical foundation, recognized ethical values, and scientific evidence, globally we are performing poorly at instigating effective insect conservation. As insects are a major component of the tapestry of life, insect conservation would do well to integrate better with overall biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. This also involves popularizing insects, especially through use of iconic species, through more media coverage, and more inclusive education. Insect conservationists need to liaise better with decision makers, stakeholders, and land managers, especially at the conceptually familiar scale of the landscape. Enough evidence is now available, and synthesized here, which illustrates that multiple strategies work at local levels towards saving insects. We now need to expand these locally-crafted strategies globally. Tangible actions include ensuring maintenance of biotic complexity, especially through improving temporal and spatial heterogeneity, functional connectivity, and metapopulation dynamics, while maintaining unique habitats, across landscape mosaics, as well as instigating better communication. Key is to have more expansive sustainable agriculture and forestry, improved regulation and prevention of environmental risks, and greater recognition of protected areas alongside agro-ecology in novel landscapes. Future-proofing insect diversity is now critical, with the benefits far reaching, including continued provision of valuable ecosystem services and the conservation of a rich and impressive component of Earth's biodiversity.Peer reviewe

Experimental investigation into the impact of a liquid droplet onto a granular bed using three-dimensional, time-resolved, particle tracking

This article was published in the journal, Physical Review E [ © American Physical Society] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.032201An experimental investigation into the interaction that occurs between an impacting water droplet and a granular bed of loose graded sand has been carried out. High-speed imaging, three-dimensional time-resolved particle tracking, and photogrammetric surface profiling have been used to examine individual impact events. The focus of the study is the quantification and trajectory analysis of the particles ejected from the sand bed, along with measurement of the change in bed morphology. The results from the experiments have detailed two distinct mechanisms of particle ejection: the ejection of water-encapsulated particles from the edge of the wetted region and the ejection of dry sand from the periphery of the impact crater. That the process occurs by these two distinct mechanisms has hitherto been unobserved. Presented in the paper are distributions of the particle ejection velocities, angles, and transport distances for both mechanisms. The ejected water-encapsulated particles, which are few in number, are characterized by low ejection angles and high ejection velocities, leading to large transport distances; the ejected dry particles, which are much greater in number, are characterized by high ejection angles and low velocities, leading to lower transport distances. From the particle ejection data, the momentum of the individual ballistic sand particles has been calculated; it was found that only 2% of the water-droplet momentum at impact is transferred to the ballistic sand particles. In addition to the particle tracking, surface profiling of the granular bed postimpact has provided detailed information on its morphology; these data have demonstrated the consistent nature of the craters produced by the impact and suggest that particle agglomerations released from their edges make up about twice the number of particles involved in ballistic ejection. It is estimated that, overall, about 4% of the water-droplet momentum is taken up in particle movement