The politics of nuclear disarmament : obstacles to and opportunities for eliminating nuclear weapons in and between the nuclear weapon states

This thesis examines what political conditions must be established and what obstacles overcome, nationally and internationally, in order for the five 'official' nuclear weapon states (NWS) under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT)— China, France, Russia, the UK and the US—to abolish their nuclear weapons. In order to assess the explanatory power of existing mainstream and realist perspectives regarding the causes and consequences of NWS nuclear possession and disarmament, a substantial evidence base is utilised. Academic, advocacy and government documents, as well as interviews with a range of practitioners in this field, are drawn on to develop an institutional-historical analysis of nuclear politics in and between NWS. From this assessment of the existing literature, it is argued that whilst mainstream and realist works have some value, there are several gaps in and problems with their analysis that need to be addressed. For example, such works do not provide a full account of nuclear politics because they mainly focus on the international level, so that the role domestic politics plays in nuclear matters is not properly considered. In order to rectify this deficiency, I adopt a critical and normative approach and develop the domestic politics model of nuclear possession to better imagine the political causes and consequences of nuclear disarmament. The approach adopted, which I term institutional democratisation, proposes that if nuclear weapons are to be permanently eliminated then legitimate forms of power, including popular, democratic movements driven by principles of equality and justice, need to be developed in NWS that are capable of controlling and eliminating the bomb. This is necessary because the behaviour of nuclear weapon decision- making elites across NWS—and the institutions they inhabit and maintain—present the principal barrier to meaningful progress on eliminating nuclear weapons. Nuclear disarmament will thus both contribute to reformed domestic, regional and international political orders and benefit from wider, progressive change at each of these levels

The LCOGT Network

Motivated by the increasing need for observational resources for the study of time varying astronomy, the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope (LCOGT) is a private foundation, whose goal is to build a global network of robotic telescopes for scientific research and education. Once completed, the network will become a unique tool, capable of continuous monitoring from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The network currently includes 2 x 2.0 m telescopes, already making an impact in the field of exoplanet research. In the next few years they will be joined by at least 12 x 1.0 m and 20 x 0.4 m telescopes. The increasing amount of LCOGT observational resources in the coming years will be of great service to the astronomical community in general, and the exoplanet community in particular.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 276 "The Astrophysics of Planetary Systems: Formation, Structure, and Dynamical Evolution

Film architecture and the transnational imagination: set design in 1930s European cinema

Film Architecture and the Transnational Imagination presents for the first time a comparative study of European film set design in the late 1920s and 1930s; based on a wealth of designers' drawings, film stills and archival documents, the book offers a new insight into the development and significance of trans-national artistic collaboration during this period. European cinema from the late 1920s to the late 1930s is famous for its attention to detail in terms of set design and visual effect. Focusing on developments in Britain, France, and Germany, Film Architecture and the Transnational Imagination: Set Design in 1930s European Cinema provides a comprehensive analysis of the practices, styles, and function of cinematic production design during this period, and its influence on subsequent filmmaking patterns

Talking the Same Soil Language - a Simple Guide for Describing WA Soils

The Western Australian Government is working to conserve and manage the State\u27s natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations. In support of this, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) have prepared a simple instructional field guide for recording and describing Western Australian unique and challenging soils and landscapes

A new peat bog testate amoeba transfer function and quantitative palaeohydrological reconstructions from southern Patagonia

Testate amoebae have been extensively used as proxies for environmental change and palaeoclimate reconstructions in European and North American peatlands. The presence of these micro-organisms near the peat surface is generally significantly linked to the local water table depth (WTD) and therefore preservation of the amoeba shells downcore allows for water table reconstructions over millennia. In the last decades, attention for the palaeoecology of the southern Patagonian peat bogs has increased, partly because of the particular climatological setting under the influence of the southern westerlies. These atypical peat bogs are characterised by a wide range of water tables, from wet hollows to hummocks exceeding 100 cm above the water table, and a dominance of Sphagnum magellanicum on low lawns up to the highest hummocks. Here we present the first transfer function for this region that allows for reliable WTD reconstructions, along with 2k-year palaeorecords from local peat bogs.A modern dataset (155 samples) was sampled along transects from five bogs in 2012 and 2013. Measurements of WTD, pH and conductivity were taken for all samples. Transfer function model was based on the 2012 dataset while the 2013 samples served as an independent test set to validate the model. Besides the standard leave-one- out cross-validation we applied leave-one-site-out and leave-one transect-out cross-validation, which are effective means of verifying the degree of clustering in the dataset. To assure the environmental gradient had been evenly sampled we quantified the root-mean-squared error of prediction (RMSEP) individually for segments of this gradient.Ordinations showed a clear hydrological gradient in amoeba assemblages, with the dominant Assulina muscorum at the dry end and Amphitrema wrightianum and Difflugia globulosa at the wet end. Taxa as Nebela certesi and Nebela cockayni, possibly exclusive to the southern hemisphere, were identified and their optima and tolerances were determined. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that WTD was the most important environmental variable, accounting for 18% of the variance in amoeba assemblages. A weighted averaging-partial least squares model showed best performance in cross-validation and using the 2013 data as an independent test set. Any spatial autocorrelation was minimal although the model still appeared less effective in predicting WTD for sites not included in the training set. The segment-wise RMSEP showed that the WTD gradient was generally evenly sampled with RMSEP below 15 cm for most of the gradient, much lower than the standard deviation of the mean of all WTDs (26 cm).Preliminary results from peat cores sampled from the same peat bogs show surprisingly stable water tables over the last 2k years in Andorra bog but more variation in nearby Tierra Australis bog. Peat accumulation rates in Andorra bog are among the highest recorded in temperate bogs with around 4 m of peat accumulated during the last 2000 year

Systematic reviews of and integrated report on the quantitative, qualitative and economic evidence base for the management of obesity in men

<b>Background</b><p></p> Obesity increases the risk of many serious illnesses such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and osteoarthritis. More men than women are overweight or obese in the UK but men are less likely to perceive their weight as a problem and less likely to engage with weight-loss services.<p></p> <b>Objective</b><p></p> The aim of this study was to systematically review evidence-based management strategies for treating obesity in men and investigate how to engage men in obesity services by integrating the quantitative, qualitative and health economic evidence base.<p></p> <b>Data sources</b><p></p> Electronic databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects and the NHS Economic Evaluation Database were searched from inception to January 2012, with a limited update search in July 2012. Subject-specific websites, reference lists and professional health-care and commercial organisations were also consulted.<p></p> <b>Review methods</b><p></p> Six systematic reviews were conducted to consider the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and qualitative evidence on interventions for treating obesity in men, and men in contrast to women, and the effectiveness of interventions to engage men in their weight reduction. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with follow-up data of at least 1 year, or any study design and length of follow-up for UK studies, were included. Qualitative and mixed-method studies linked to RCTs and non-randomised intervention studies, and UK-based, men-only qualitative studies not linked to interventions were included. One reviewer extracted data from the included studies and a second reviewer checked data for omissions or inaccuracies. Two reviewers carried out quality assessment. We undertook meta-analysis of quantitative data and a realist approach to integrating the qualitative and quantitative evidence synthesis.<p></p> <b>Results</b><p></p> From a total of 12,764 titles reviewed, 33 RCTs with 12 linked reports, 24 non-randomised reports, five economic evaluations with two linked reports, and 22 qualitative studies were included. Men were more likely than women to benefit if physical activity was part of a weight-loss programme. Reducing diets tended to produce more favourable weight loss than physical activity alone (mean weight change after 1 year from a reducing diet compared with an exercise programme -3.2 kg, 95% CI -4.8 kg to -1.6 kg). The type of reducing diet did not affect long-term weight loss. A reducing diet plus physical activity and behaviour change gave the most effective results. Low-fat reducing diets, some with meal replacements, combined with physical activity and behaviour change training gave the most effective long-term weight change in men [-5.2 kg (standard error 0.2 kg) after 4 years]. Such trials may prevent type 2 diabetes in men and improve erectile dysfunction. Although fewer men joined weight-loss programmes, once recruited they were less likely to drop out than women (difference 11%, 95% CI 8% to 14%). The perception of having a health problem (e.g. being defined as obese by a health professional), the impact of weight loss on health problems and desire to improve personal appearance without looking too thin were motivators for weight loss amongst men. The key components differ from those found for women, with men preferring more factual information on how to lose weight and more emphasis on physical activity programmes. Interventions delivered in social settings were preferred to those delivered in health-care settings. Group-based programmes showed benefits by facilitating support for men with similar health problems, and some individual tailoring of advice assisted weight loss in some studies. Generally, men preferred interventions that were individualised, fact-based and flexible, which used business-like language and which included simple to understand information. Preferences for men-only versus mixed-sex weight-loss group programmes were divided. In terms of context, programmes which were cited in a sporting context where participants have a strong sense of affiliation showed low drop out rates and high satisfaction. Although some men preferred weight-loss programmes delivered in an NHS context, the evidence comparing NHS and commercial programmes for men was unclear. The effect of family and friends on participants in weight-loss programmes was inconsistent in the evidence reviewed - benefits were shown in some cases, but the social role of food in maintaining relationships may also act as a barrier to weight loss. Evidence on the economics of managing obesity in men was limited and heterogeneous.<p></p> <b>Limitations</b><p></p> The main limitations were the limited quantity and quality of the evidence base and narrow outcome reporting, particularly for men from disadvantaged and minority groups. Few of the studies were undertaken in the UK.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b><p></p> Weight reduction for men is best achieved and maintained with the combination of a reducing diet, physical activity advice or a physical activity programme, and behaviour change techniques. Tailoring interventions and settings for men may enhance effectiveness, though further research is needed to better understand the influence of context and content. Future studies should include cost-effectiveness analyses in the UK setting

Climate Variability in Europe and Africa: a PAGES-PEP III Time Stream II Synthesis

The PEP III Europe-Africa transect extends from the arctic fringes of NW Eurasia to South Africa. It encompasses the presently temperate sector of mid-latitude Europe, the Mediterranean region, the arid and semi-arid lands of the Sahara, Sahel and the Arabian Peninsula, and the inter-tropical belt of Africa. The palaeoenvironmental evidence available from these regions, which has been summarised in earlier chapters of this volume and which collectively spans the last 250,000 years, clearly bears the stamp of long-term global climate forcing induced by variations in solar insolation. External forcing is ultimately the reason why the Eurasian continental ice sheets waxed and waned repeatedly during the late Quaternary, and why the southerly limit of permafrost migrated southwards across mid-latitude Europe, periodically becoming degraded during warmer episodes. At the same time, pronounced fluctuations in atmospheric and soil moisture have affected the Mediterranean, desert and Sahel regions, while there is abundant evidence from every sector of the PEP III transect for marked migrations of the principal vegetation belts, as well as for other major environmental changes, that are also considered to reflect long-term climate forcing. It is only in the last decade or so, however, that the full complexity of the history of climate changes during the last interglacial-glacial cycle, and their environmental impacts in continental Europe and Africa, have begun to be recognised. The discovery of evidence for the abrupt Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) and Heinrich (H) climatic oscillations in Greenland ice-core (Johnsen et al. 1992) and North Atlantic (Bond et al. 1993) records, have prompted a re-examination of the continental record. This, together with a number of technical improvements in field and laboratory equipment, greater access to sites in remote and difficult terrain, diversification in the range of available palaeoecological and geochronological tools, and closer inter-disciplinary collaboration, have led to a more penetrating examination of the field evidence, which has progressed the science considerably. We can now see that the stratigraphical record is much more complex than appreciated hitherto, and more detailed and refined models of past climatic and environmental models are beginning to emerge. There is, for example, a growing body of evidence which suggests that D-O and H events had significant impacts on the environment of Europe and Africa, as well as on the Mediterranean Sea

The organisational and human resource challenges facing primary care trusts : protocol of a multiple case study

BACKGROUND: The study is designed to assess the organisational and human resource challenges faced by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). Its objectives are to: specify the organisational and human resources challenges faced by PCTs in fulfilling the roles envisaged in government and local policy; examine how PCTs are addressing these challenges, in particular, to describe the organisational forms they have adopted, and the OD/HR strategies and initiatives they have planned or in place; assess how effective these structures, strategies and initiatives have been in enabling the PCTs to meet the organisational and human resources challenges they face; identify the factors, both internal to the PCT and in the wider health community, which have contributed to the success or failure of different structures, strategies and initiatives. METHODS: The study will be undertaken in three stages. In Stage 1 the key literature on public sector and NHS organisational development and human resources management will be reviewed, and discussions will be held with key researchers and policy makers working in this area. Stage 2 will focus on detailed case studies in six PCTs designed to examine the organisational and human resources challenges they face. Data will be collected using semi-structured interviews, group discussion, site visits, observation of key meetings and examination of local documentation. The findings from the case study PCTs will be cross checked with a Reference Group of up to 20 other PCG/Ts, and key officers working in organisational development or primary care at local, regional and national level. In Stage 3 analysis of findings from the preparatory work, the case studies and the feedback from the Reference Group will be used to identify practical lessons for PCTs, key messages for policy makers, and contributions to further theoretical development