bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Origin of the Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources
Authors: Wiktorowicz Grzegorz , Sobolewska Małgorzata , Lasota Jean-Pierre , Belczynski Krzysztof
Published: August 2017

Recently, several ultraluminous X-ray (ULX) sources were shown to host a neutron star (NS) accretor. We perform a suite of evolutionary calculations, which show that, in fact, NSs are the dominant type of ULX accretor. Although black holes (BH) dominate early epochs after the star-formation burst, NSs outweigh them after a few 100 Myr and may appear as late as a few gigayears after the end of the star-formation episode. If star formation is a prolonged and continuous event (i.e., not a relatively short burst), NS accretors dominate the ULX population at any time in the solar metallicity environment, whereas BH accretors dominate when the metallicity is sub-solar. Our results show a very clear (and testable) relation between the companion/donor evolutionary stage and the age of the system. A typical NSULX consists of a

NS and

Red Giant. A typical BH ULX consists of a

BH and

main-sequence star. Additionally, we find that the very luminous ULXs (

erg s−1) are predominantly BH systems (

) with Hertzsprung-gap donors (

). Nevertheless, some NSULX systems may also reach extremely high X-ray luminosities (≳1041 erg s−1).
The Milky Way's Circular Velocity Curve and Its Constraint on the Galactic Mass with RR Lyrae Stars
Authors: Ablimit Iminhaji , Zhao Gang
Published: August 2017

We present a sample of 1148 ab-type RR Lyrae (RRLab) variables identified from Catalina Surveys Data Release 1, combined with SDSS DR8 and LAMOST DR4 spectral data. We first use a large sample of 860 Galactic halo RRLab stars and derive the circular velocity distributions for the stellar halo. With the precise distances and carefully determined radial velocities (the center-of-mass radial velocities) and by considering the pulsation of the RRLab stars in our sample, we can obtain a reliable and comparable stellar halo circular velocity curve. We follow two different prescriptions for the velocity anisotropy parameter β in the Jeans equation to study the circular velocity curve and mass profile. Additionally, we test two different solar peculiar motions in our calculation. The best result we obtained with the adopted solar peculiar motion 1 of (U, V, W) = (11.1, 12, 7.2) km s−1 is that the enclosed mass of the Milky Way within 50 kpc is (3.75 ± 1.33) × 1011
M
⊙ based on β = 0 and the circular velocity 180 ± 31.92 (km s−1) at 50 kpc. This result is consistent with dynamical model results, and it is also comparable to the results of previous similar works.
Fermi Observations of the LIGO Event GW170104
Authors: Goldstein A. , Veres P. , Burns E. , Blackburn L. , Briggs M. S. , Christensen N. , Cleveland W. H. , Connaughton V. , Canton T. Dal , Hamburg R. , Hui C. M. , Jenke P. A. , Kocevski D. , Preece R. D. , Siellez K. , Veitch J. , Wilson-Hodge C. A. , Bhat N. , Bissaldi E. , Gibby M. H. , Giles M. M. , von Kienlin A. , Mailyan B. , Meegan C. A. , Paciesas W. S. , Roberts O. J. , Stanbro M. ,   (Fermi-LAT Collaboration), Ackermann M. , Ajello M. , Atwood W. B. , Baldini L. , Barbiellini G. , Bastieri D. , Bellazzini R. , Blandford R. D. , Bloom E. D. , Bonino R. , Bottacini E. , Brandt T. J. , Bregeon J. , Bruel P. , Buehler R. , Burnett T. H. , Buson S. , Cameron R. A. , Caraveo P. A. , Cavazzuti E. , Cecchi C. , Charles E. , Chekhtman A. , Chiang J. , Chiaro G. , Ciprini S. , Cominsky L. R. , Costantin D. , Cutini S. , D’Ammando F. , Palma F. de , Desiante R. , Digel S. W. , Lalla N. Di , Mauro M. Di , Venere L. Di , Favuzzi C. , Ferrara E. C. , Franckowiak A. , Fukazawa Y. , Funk S. , Fusco P. , Gargano F. , Gasparrini D. , Giglietto N. , Giomi M. , Giordano F. , Giroletti M. , Glanzman T. , Green D. , Grenier I. A. , Grove J. E. , Guillemot L. , Guiriec S. , Harding A. K. , Hays E. , Horan D. , Jóhannesson G. , Kamae T. , Kensei S. , Kuss M. , Mura G. La , Larsson S. , Latronico L. , Li J. , Longo F. , Loparco F. , Lovellette M. N. , Lubrano P. , Magill J. D. , Maldera S. , Manfreda A. , Mazziotta M. N. , McEnery J. E. , Meyer M. , Michelson P. F. , Mizuno T. , Moiseev A. A. , Monzani M. E. , Moretti E. , Morselli A. , Moskalenko I. V. , Negro M. , Nuss E. , Ohsugi T. , Omodei N. , Orienti M. , Orlando E. , Ormes J. F. , Palatiello M. , Paliya V. S. , Paneque D. , Perkins J. S. , Persic M. , Pesce-Rollins M. , Petrosian V. , Piron F. , Porter T. A. , Principe G. , Racusin J. L. , Rainò S. , Rando R. , Razzano M. , Razzaque S. , Reimer A. , Reimer O. , Reposeur T. , Parkinson P. M. Saz , Sgrò C. , Siskind E. J. , Spada F. , Spandre G. , Spinelli P. , Suson D. J. , Thayer J. G. , Thayer J. B. , Torres D. F. , Troja E. , Vianello G. , Wood K. , Wood M.
Published: August 2017

We present the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and Large Area Telescope (LAT) observations of the LIGO binary black hole merger (BBH) event GW170104. No candidate electromagnetic counterpart was detected by either GBM or LAT. A detailed analysis of the GBM and LAT data over timescales from seconds to days covering the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) localization region is presented. The resulting flux upper bound from the GBM is (5.2–9.4) × 10−7 erg cm−2 s−1 in the 10–1000 keV range and from the LAT is (0.2–90) × 10−9 erg cm−2 s−1 in the 0.1–1 GeV range. We also describe the improvements to our automated pipelines and analysis techniques for searching for and characterizing the potential electromagnetic counterparts for future gravitational-wave events from Advanced LIGO/Virgo.
Battery Voltage Limit Analysis with Support Vector Machine and Fuzzy Logic
Authors: Szabolcsi R. , Menyhárt J.
Published: August 2017

The efficiency and the range of modern electric vehicles are crucial points in their design. Designers and engineers are highly motivated to find solutions to these problems, or, as a rule, to improve existing electrical systems. Considerable number of modern batteries is available for use in electric vehicles and robots. The authors will propose new technology and new methods to use batteries with better efficiency. The authors propose to use the Support Vector Machine and Fuzzy logic in a new approach, which is the battery technical status management. The results show that it is possible to use these two methods simultaneously and they can ensure better results at the operation site.
Probabilistic Gross Vehicle Weights and Associated Axle Loads for Military Vehicles in Bridge Evaluation and Code Calibration
Authors: MacDonald A. J. , Bartlett F. M. , Wight R.
Published: August 2017

Military vehicles frequently use civilian bridges. The loading effects of military vehicles, both wheeled and tracked, are specific and different than those of civilian vehicles in normal traffic. Calibration to determine appropriate load factors for military loading of civilian bridges has not been fully performed and the corresponding levels of safety have not been quantified. This is partially due to the lack of probabilistic information of the gross vehicle weights and corresponding axle loads of military vehicles while operating in real-world conditions. This paper quantifies probabilistically the gross vehicle weight and axle loads for three military vehicles in use by NATO, each of which is representative of: military transport vehicles; armoured personnel carriers; and main battle tanks. A general means are proposed to quantify the probabilistic gross vehicle weight of military vehicles on the basis of maximum nominal payload as a proportion of the total nominal vehicle weight. Based on observed probabilistic gross vehicle weight of military vehicles, it is recommended to differentiate between military transport and military fighting vehicles as different categories of vehicles in bridge evaluation.
Using Aviation Simulation Technologies for Pilot Modelling and Flight Training Assessment
Authors: Boril J. , Jirgl M. , Jalovecky R.
Published: August 2017

This paper summarises many years of the results of the development and modelling of human behaviour while flying an aircraft, from a flight automation point of view. The introduction presents the challenges of describing and modelling human behaviour. Based on that knowledge, options for acquiring parameters for a pilot behaviour model are described. Then, analysis of pilot response is presented, acquired from many tests on two simulators (stationary and motion-platform). These experimental tests are pilot responses to a visual stimulus and also partially to motion stimulus - step change in flight altitude where the task of the pilot is to return the flight, as quickly as possible to the original flight altitude. Due to the vast amount of test data files - missions from each test - the authors rewrote the identification algorithms for batch data processing and utilised a Salamon supercomputer located at Technical University of Ostrava. In the first phase of implementation of the identification algorithms, the calculations were 4 times faster, and after rewriting the algorithms for parallel calculations, the authors expect the speed to increase more than 10 times.
La formation professionnelle en France, en Allemagne et au Japon
Authors: Maurice Marc
Published: August 2017

Chaque pays a son propre système de formation professionnelle. Cette étude compare les systèmes français, allemands (ex-RFA) et japonais. Elle fait ressortir que l’histoire de chaque pays a façonné de manière distincte les relations entre l’entreprise et les organismes de formation, et met en évidence l’influence de chaque modèle sur la performance des entreprises sur les chemins d’entrée des jeunes dans la vie professionnelle, et sur le niveau de l’emploi.
Le verre en Europe au XX e siècle
Authors: Beffa Jean-Louis
Published: August 2017

Trois caractéristiques héritées du siècle dominent l’industrie du verre au début du XX e siècle : le verre plat est devenu un bien intermédiaire de consommation, les entreprises sont désormais fortement capitalistiques, et elles se sont spécialisées et regroupées. Les quatre grands secteurs - glace, verre à vitre, verre creux, fibre de verre - voient des changements techniques majeurs, qui donnent provisoirement l’avantage commercial à leurs inventeurs européens. Ces changements technologiques conduisent rapidement à des échanges de compétences techniques ainsi qu’à une politique d’alliances autour des grands producteurs, et ceci dans chaque secteur. La période 1950-1970 voit les entreprises européennes, qui ont gardé leurs positions d’avant-guerre sur le marché, mettre l’accent sur la croissance quantitative, aidées en cela par le fort développement des marchés. La mutation technologique (1960) du "float glass", américaine celle-ci, entraîne l’émergence de nouvelles firmes, mais aussi l’échec de l’implantation américaine de Saint-Gobain. Elle met ainsi fin à des équilibres territoriaux historiques. De nos jours, les producteurs - voyant l’effondrement des prix suite à cette mutation - misent sur les produits à forte valeur ajoutée, et s’efforcent de rapprocher de leurs clients les sites de production.
L’industrie européenne du ciment au XX e siècle
Authors: Collomb Bertrand
Published: August 2017

Trois facteurs sont à l’origine de la création de l’industrie cimentière : les progrès de la chimie au XIX e siècle qui ont permis la création du ciment, la maîtrise industrielle du dosage de quantités importantes de matière par broyage et l’apparition de grosses machines tournantes exploitées dans des conditions thermiques et mécaniques sévères. Jusqu’en 1960, l’industrie perfectionne constamment le procédé de production dans un marché qui est en pleine expansion grâce aux reconstructions d’après-guerre. Le secteur se sépare entre des entreprises essentiellement familiales à marché local et des sociétés prenant une envergure nationale en rachetant des cimentiers locaux ou en se portant acquéreurs de gisements riches et situés dans des endroits-clés. Les années 1960-1970 voient deux ruptures stratégiques : l’internationalisation de la profession qui conduit à une consolidation des synergies techniques et culturelles entre filiales du même groupe, et l’explosion du marché, grâce à l’apparition du béton prêt à l’emploi. Cette expansion du marché a entraîné une rationalisation (et automatisation) du procédé de production et la concentration de l’industrie. Ces deux ruptures stratégiques ont permis aux entreprises européennes de prendre le leadership mondial.
Mise en place d'une comptabilité carbone à l'échelle des produits : le cas d’une PME de la filière bois
Authors: Trébucq Stéphane
Published: August 2017

Cette recherche avait pour objectif d'étudier les possibilités de mise d'une comptabilité carbone au sein d'un logiciel de comptabilité analytique, dont l'unité de calcul principale est devenue les émissions de gaz à effet de serre, établies en kg équivalent CO2. La recherche-action a été réalisée au sein d’une PME, produisant des emballages pour le secteur des vins et spiritueux, et mobilisant principalement du bois comme matière première. Le calculateur carbone permet de mettre en évidence les gains logistiques et énergétiques significatifs en privilégiant une source locale d'approvisionnement, issue de la forêt des Landes. Ce nouvel outil de gestion contribue également à crédibiliser l'image d'innovation et d'engagement sociétal de l'entreprise.
Existing But Not Living: Experiences of Long-Term Caregivers of Individuals With Unipolar Depression
Authors: Camilleri Isaura , Ward Martin , Scerri Josianne
Published: August 2017

The shift in care from long-term hospitalization of individuals with mental illness to the community places a greater onus of responsibility on informal caregivers. The purpose of the current study was to explore the lived experiences of long-term caregivers of individuals with unipolar depression. A qualitative phenomenological methodology was used and two sets of semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine informal caregivers. Data were transcribed following Giorgi's phenomenological method. The following three themes were identified:
Flooded by Emotions
,
Personal Growth and Satisfaction
, and
Psychosocial Effects and Challenges
. Caregivers described adapting by adjusting their behavior to avoid conflict with care recipients. These adjustments had a detrimental effect on their well-being, where they described that they were “existing but not living.” These findings highlight the need for ongoing support, which should be tailored to the unique needs and concerns of individuals who are providing long-term care to individuals with depression. [
Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 55
(12), 16–21.]
Las webs corporativas de museos como herramientas para la transparencia
Authors: Cordón Benito David , Maestro Espínola Lidia
Published: August 2017

El entorno en el que operan las organizaciones se ha tambaleado en los últimos años. Los casos de corrupción, las prácticas poco éticas y la crisis económica han desembocado en una nueva complejidad en la que las instituciones deben recuperar la confianza perdida. El objetivo de este trabajo es demostrar cómo los museos apuestan por la transparencia para mostrarse como organizaciones de confianza que cumplen con su fin social.  Metodología. Se realiza un análisis de contenido a partir de los criterios de transparencia planteados por el informe de la Fundación Compromiso y Transparencia. Resultados y conclusiones. Al igual que otros tipos de organizaciones, los museos han apostado por utilizar sus webs como plataformas transparentes, donde se cumplen una serie de criterios que aumentan la confianza y se ofrece información de interés a la sociedad
‘I could feel it in my body’: War on a history war
Authors: Birch Tony
Published: August 2017

As a way of making a contribution to this discussion and to think about what we can both build, and build upon, in Australia I want to begin by talking about the production of history in Australia. In doing so I will call on people, intellectuals and writers, whom I feel affiliated with, personally, creatively and politically. I am keenly interested in processes of cooperation and collaboration.
Histories and Historians in Israel & Palestine
Authors: Pappe Ilan
Published: August 2017

One of the most obvious reasons why historians — both professional and academic — find it difficult to challenge hegemonic narratives is psychological. No one wants to be a pariah in their own society by running against the mainstream and finding themselves in an isolated position. But I think there’s a deeper level to why historians have found it so difficult (maybe unlike some of their colleagues in the social sciences) to provide narratives which challenge the one which dominates their society’s media, culture and academia. And that reason, I think, is that challenging historiographical mythology is not just about facts, it’s also about rethinking the role of the historian. It is about being able to update oneself on developments in historiography and even (which is perhaps more difficult I think for historians) in philosophy. This focuses the question on what is reality, what is fiction, what is myth, and what is a fact. I found that one of the most challenging tasks in dealing with the history of my own country, both for Jewish and Palestinian historians, was not just to provide a different narrative to the one that prevails, but also to be able to tie in the concrete discussion with a more epistemological understanding of what history is and how history is received by the public at large.
Turning Water into Wine, Beef and Vegetables: Material Transformations along the Brisbane River
Authors: Strang Veronica
Published: August 2017

The Brisbane River starts high in the Jimna Ranges in a network of small streams that are often no more than a thread of green in the dusty hills. By the time it reaches the Port of Brisbane, it has been captured, used and turned into many things: beef and vegetables, fruit and wine – things that can be bundled into containers and shipped to the trading partners on which Australia relies. This paper is concerned with the transformations through which ‘natural’ resources are acculturated and commodified, in the process becoming not only economic resources, but also material expressions of human agency and identity. As the most basic and most vital ingredient of all organic products, water can ‘become’ almost anything. It is therefore, like money, broadly perceived as an abstract symbol of wealth and power, defining the relationships between those who have access to and control of water, and the wider populations whose material needs they supply. In Queensland, as in other parts of Australia, there are growing political and economic tensions between rural communities and the enlarging urban populations who now compete for increasingly scarce water resources while also demanding that environmental health should not be sacrificed for economic gains. The implications of this shift have been severe: farmers who formerly enjoyed a primary social and economic position as ‘primary producers’ now feel beleaguered, undervalued, and resentful of the loss of control implied in newly competitive water allocation processes. A wider shift from farming into residential development or recreational use of land is also reframing Australia’s economic relationships with other countries, introducing new forms of ‘productivity’ and empowering different groups of people. This paper considers how these changing patterns of commodification are changing the social and cultural landscape along the Brisbane River.
Significant Spaces: The Role of Marine Ecosystems in Pacific Island Cultures
Authors: D'Arcy Paul
Published: August 2017

Recent scholarship on the collapse of Rapanui (Easter Island) society as a result of self-inflicted environmental degradation has inadvertently raised the international profile of Pacific islands as small, bounded and vulnerable ecosystems. The history of Rapanui is not typical however. Most of the inhabitants of Remote Oceania were not bound by the sea, but rather embraced it as both habitat and pathway to resources and opportunities beyond their home islands. Academic neglect of the sea as a factor in Pacific history ignores its central role in islander actions and narratives. Before the imposition of colonial rule, islanders spent much time in and on the ocean, drawing sustenance from it, mapping it, fighting over it, and deriving a sense of identity from it. Such a world created a wider sense of community and belonging.
The Mobilisation of Race and Gender on an Internet Mailing List V1.0
Authors: Marshall Jonathan Paul
Published: August 2017

This paper explores an incident in which race and gender categories were mobilised on the Internet Mailing List Cybermind during an incident of conflict. The people on this Mailing List would resist easy classification as ‘racist’, yet race proved an issue of fracture, while gender appeared to function as a way of universalising sameness and attempting integration. The process of cultural construction is shown to involve the rhetorical deployment of categories, and deployment of these categories often makes sites of ‘expertise’, which become justifiers and motivators of behaviour. This suggests that cultural barriers are not so much latent but created in response to crisis and debate. Competitions between multiple viewpoints, uneasy truce, or resolution by departure, are all hallmarks of Mailing List life.
Cybermind Discusses Gender V1.0
Authors: Marshall Jonathan Paul
Published: August 2017

The account of gender on the Cybermind Mailing List is furthered by presentation of data and discussion from the List which touches on gender. Areas considered include: attitudes to feminism; gender and technology; awareness of gender; gendered patterns of communication; clichés about the way the different genders address each other; flaming and aggression; harassment; single gender lists; gender ambiguity; intimacy; the shifting divisions between public and private spaces; and bodies and netsex.
Culture and Consumption: Classical Music in Contemporary India and the Diaspora
Authors: Subramaniam Lakshmi
Published: August 2017

forthcoming
The Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies Paradigm in the Indian Ocean
Authors: Muecke Stephen
Published: August 2017

Introduction to the special edition of this journal.
The Indian Ocean World: Africa in the First Global Economy
Authors: Campbell Gwyn
Published: August 2017

This paper outlines the debate surrounding the emergence of the first ‘global’ economy and discusses the role within it of Africa. First, it outlines the case for arguing that the Indian Ocean World (IOW) rather than Europe should be considered the arena in which the first global economy developed. It subsequently examines the historical role of Africa within the IOW with particular emphasis on Africa’s contribution to the IOW global economy and the possible repercussions such an analysis has for the historiography of Africa and the wider IOW.
Putting the Rafts out to Sea: Talking of Bera Bhashan in Bengal
Authors: Mukherjee Rila
Published: August 2017

Bera (raft) bhasan (sending out) is a ritual linking two societies and two landscapes: the maritime and the agrarian. After the monsoon, palm or plantain rafts are placed on the river to placate the gods. The bera bhasan that is practiced today is an amalgam of earlier practices of two communities-the Islamic and the Hindu. Arab merchants introduced this practice into Bengal when they prayed for safe passage at sea before venturing out. Similarly Hindu peasants would observe a variant of Bera Bhasan called sedo on the last day of pous or January, whereby they would placate the rain and river gods by setting out small rafts on water. On these flowers, sweets and lamps were placed to ensure a good harvest the following year. Therefore two worlds came together in this practice, the maritime and the rural, signifying two kinds of activity, mercantile and agrarian. In seventeenth-century Mughal Bengal it developed from a folk belief into a community practice. In eighteenth-century Nawabi Bengal it was co-opted by the state as pageantry and it is now a state-sponsored enterprise linking the Hindu and Muslim communities.
Review: Zwarte Hollanders
Authors: Leeuwen Theo Van
Published: August 2017

Book Review
“Courageous but insolent”: African soldiers in the Dutch East Indies as seen by Dutch officials and Indonesian neighbours
Authors: Van Kessel Ineke
Published: August 2017

Labour shortages were endemic in colonial societies. Plantation and mining labour was notoriously unattractive, but the army posed problems of its own. In their search to satisfy the voracious appetite for labour in commercial empires and colonial societies, rulers developed racial and ethnic stereotypes as to which “race” was most suitable to perform certain jobs. Africans were deemed most suitable for hard physical labour in tropical climates. They were also portrayed as “martial races”, fit to fill the manpower needs of both Islamic and European armies. This article will first give a brief overview of the use of African labour in the Dutch East Indies. Next, I discuss in more detail one peculiar aspect of inter colonial labour migration in the Dutch colonial empire: the recruitment of West African soldiers for the Dutch East Indies army in the 19th century.
Mangroves, garbage, fishing: Bringing everyday ecology to Sydney’s industrial Georges River
Authors: Goodall Heather , Cadzow Allison , Byrne Denis
Published: August 2017

Post war problems of rising urban, industrial pollution and intractable waste disposal are usually considered as technical and economic problems only, solutions to which were led by experts at State level, and filtered into Australia from the ferments occurring in the United States and Britain in the 1960s and 70s. This paper investigates the change which arose from the localities in which the impact of those effects of modern city development were occurring. In particular, this study looks at a working class, industrial area, the Georges River near Bankstown Municipality, which was severely affected by Sydney’s post-war expansion. Here, action to address urgent environmental problems was initiated first at the local level, and only later were professional engineers and public health officials involved in seeking remedies. It was even later that these local experts turned from engineering strategies to environmental science, embracing the newly developed ecological analyses to craft changing approaches to local problems. This paper centres on the perspective of one local public health surveyor, employed by a local municipal council to oversee waste disposal, to identify the motives for his decisions to intervene dramatically in river health and waste disposal programs. Rather than being prompted to act by influences from higher political levels or overseas, this officer drew his motivation from careful local data collection, from local political agitation and from his own recreational knowledge of the river. It was his involvement with the living environments of the area – the ways in which he knew the river - through personal and recreational experiences, which prompted him to seek out the new science and investigate emerging waste disposal technologies.
Waterborne: Vietnamese Australians and river environments in Vietnam and Sydney
Authors: Cadzow Allison , Byrne Denis , Goodall Heather
Published: August 2017

Vietnamese Australians who arrived in Australia as refugees since the 1970s and later as migrants, have developed complex relationships of remembering, knowing and belonging to environments in Vietnam and Sydney. Water was a frequent point of reference in our interviews with Vietnamese people in Sydney, and their relationships with water are used in this article to explore interviewees’ associations with places. The article focuses on cultural knowledge of environments, which people bring with them, such as their connections with rivers and oceans, central to both memories of place and the histories of Vietnam. These memories also change with return visits and experiences between these places. Vietnamese refugees’ experiences of escape and trauma coming across oceans from Vietnam also influence subsequent relationships with place. Finally, relationships with Sydney parks and urban waterways are explored by examining popular places for family and community get-togethers along Georges River, located near where many Sydney Vietnamese people live. These have become key places in making Sydney home for Vietnamese people. The article considers how Vietnamese Australian cultural knowledge of place could be shared and acknowledged by park managers and used in park interpretation.
Resilience and Engagement: some thoughts on the magnetic impact of small change
Authors: Edmonds Angelique
Published: August 2017

This paper considers the gap between knowing and mobilised action and investigates local urban examples where action is mobilised. The purpose of this is to consider what such examples can tell us about the conditions required to mobilise action and hence how to foster those conditions. Making cities sustainable is now a major aim and claim of most cities in the world. A myriad of definitions of sustainable development have been proposed but it has not been easy to find one that simultaneously satisfies economists, ecologists, sociologists, philosophers and policy makers. The problem in part relates to uncertainty about the object of sustainability, rather than the idea itself. What is it that ought to be sustained? It is increasingly internationally recognised that many effective solutions for environmental sustainability have their roots in local action and co-ordination. For that reason capacity within local government and the mobilisation of participation at the local level is a pivotal enabler for change. In the context of the discussion raised by the Cities, Nature Justice Conference and project, this paper focuses on discussion of urban local contexts and discusses the importance of local participation and engagement as critical enablers for mobilised action. Of particular interest in these local contexts, is the movement from a state of awareness of social and environmental issues of sustainability, to an active, constructive awareness that informs changes in behaviour and action that lead to sustainable practices of living.
Table of Contents
Authors: Cultures Transforming
Published: August 2017

Titles and authors for the research papers, interviews and reflections in this issue
The Global Predicament: the way out
Authors: Trainer Ted
Published: August 2017

Most "green" thought and action fails to grasp that this society involves levels of resource consumption and environmental impact that are far beyond those that can be sustained or spread to all people. Technical advance and reforms within consumer-capitalist society cannot solve the problems; this will be illustrated by reference to greenhouse and energy problems. Although present levels of consumption are grossly unsustainable, the supreme priority is economic growth, i.e. to raise them without limit. In addition a system based on free market principles cannot be just. Rich world affluence would not be possible if wealth was not being transferred from poor countries. The only way out of the alarming global situation is via transition to some kind of Simpler Way, which is unlikely to be taken. Implications for bringing about such a transition will be indicated.
Assessment of carbonaceous aerosols in Shanghai, China – Part 1: long-term evolution, seasonal variations, and meteorological effects
Authors: Chang Yunhua , Deng Congrui , Cao Fang , Cao Chang , Zou Zhong , Liu Shoudong , Lee Xuhui , Li Jun , Zhang Gan , Zhang Yanlin
Published: August 2017

Abstract. Carbonaceous aerosols are major chemical components of fine particulate matter (PM2. 5) with major impacts on air quality, climate change, and human health. Gateway to fast-rising China and home of over twenty million people, Shanghai throbs as the nation's largest mega city and the biggest industrial hub. From July 2010 to December 2014, hourly mass concentrations of ambient organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in the PM2. 5 fraction were quasi-continuously measured in Shanghai's urban center. The annual OC and EC concentrations (mean ±1σ) in 2013 (8.9 ± 6.2 and 2.6 ± 2.1 µg m−3, n =  5547) and 2014 (7.8 ± 4.6 and 2.1 ± 1.6 µg m−3, n =  6914) were higher than those of 2011 (6.3 ± 4.2 and 2.4 ± 1.8 µg m−3, n =  8039) and 2012 (5.7 ± 3.8 and 2.0 ± 1.6 µg m−3, n =  4459). We integrated the results from historical field measurements (1999–2012) and satellite observations (2003–2013), concluding that carbonaceous aerosol pollution in Shanghai has gradually reduced since 2006. In terms of monthly variations, average OC and EC concentrations ranged from 4.0 to 15.5 and from 1.4 to 4.7 µg m−3, accounting for 13.2–24.6 and 3.9–6.6 % of the seasonal PM2. 5 mass (38.8–94.1 µg m−3), respectively. The concentrations of EC (2.4, 2.0, 2.2, and 3.0 µg m−3 in spring, summer, fall, and winter, respectively) showed little seasonal variation (except in winter) and weekend–weekday dependence, indicating EC is a relatively stable constituent of PM2. 5 in the Shanghai urban atmosphere. In contrast to OC (7.3, 6.8, 6.7, and 8.1 µg m−3 in spring, summer, fall, and winter, respectively), EC showed marked diurnal cycles and correlated strongly with CO across all seasons, confirming vehicular emissions as the dominant source of EC at the targeted site. Our data also reveal that both OC and EC showed concentration gradients as a function of wind direction (WD) and wind speed (WS), generally with higher values associated with winds from the southwest, west, and northwest. This was consistent with their higher potential as source areas, as determined by the potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis. A common high-potential source area, located along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River instead of northern China, was pinpointed during all seasons. These results demonstrate that the measured carbonaceous aerosols were driven by the interplay of local emissions and regional transport.
Using paraxial approximation to describe the optical setup of a typical EARLINET lidar system
Authors: Kokkalis Panagiotis
Published: August 2017

Abstract. The mathematical formulation for the optical setup of a typical EARLINET lidar system is given here. The equations describing a lidar system from the emitted laser beam to the projection of the telescope aperture on the final receiving unit (i.e., photomultiplier or photodiode) are presented, based on paraxial approximation and geometric optics approach. The receiving optical setup includes a telescope, a collimating lens, an interference filter and the ensemble objective eyepiece. The set of the derived equations interconnects major parameters of the optical components (e.g., focal lengths, diameters, angles of incidence), revealing their association with the distance of full overlap of the system. These equations may used complementarily with an optical design software, for the preliminary design of a system or can be used as a quick check up tool of an existing lidar system. The evaluation of the formulation on a real system is performed with ray-tracing simulations, revealing an overall good performance with relative differences of the order of 5 % mainly attributed to the limitations of the thin lens approximation.
The Ballast Effect in the Indian Ocean
Authors: Rixen Tim , Gaye Birgit , Emeis Kay-Christian , Ramaswamy Venkitasubramani
Published: August 2017

Abstract. In this study, data obtained from a sediment trap experiments off South Java are analyzed and compared to satellite-derived information on primary production and data collected by deep-moored sediment traps in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The aim was to study the relative importance of primary production and the ballast effect on the organic carbon export and the CO2 uptake of the biological carbon pumps. Therefore, data obtained from sediment trap experiments carried out in other ocean basins were also integrated into the data analysis and a four-box model was developed. Our data showed that the organic carbon flux in the highly-productive upwelling system in the Arabian Sea was similar to those in the low productive system off South Java. Off South Java as in other river-influenced regions, lithogenic matter supplied from land mainly controls the organic carbon flux via its ballast effect in sinking particles, whereas carbonate produced by marine organisms appears to be the main ballast material in the high productive regions. Since the carbonate flux tends to increase with an increasing export production, it is difficult to quantify the relative importance of productivity and the ballast effect on the organic carbon flux into the deep sea. However, the export of organic matter into the deep sea represents a loss of nutrients for the pelagic ecosystems, which needs to be balanced by mode water nutrient supply into the seasonal thermocline to sustain the productivity of the pelagic system. The amount of preformed nutrients utilized during the formation of the exported organic matter strongly influences the impact of the ballast effect on the CO2 uptake of the organic carbon pump. Accordingly, this is stronger at higher latitudes where preformed nutrients are formed than at lower latitudes where the euphotic zone is nutrient depleted. Nevertheless, the ballast effect enhances the export of organic matter into the deep sea and favors the sedimentation of organic matter in river-influenced regions. Since globally > 80 % of organic carbon burial occurs in river-dominated systems, the lithogenic ballast is assumed to play an important role in the Earth’s climate system on geological time scales.
Scotland's Forgotten Carbon: A National Assessment of Mid-Latitude Fjord Sedimentary Carbon Stocks
Authors: Smeaton Craig , Austin William E. N. , Davies Althea L. , Baltzer Agnes , Howe John A. , Baxter John M.
Published: August 2017

Abstract. Fjords are recognised as hotspots for the burial and long-term storage of carbon (C) and potentially provide a significant climate regulation service over multiple timescales. Understanding the magnitude of marine sedimentary C stores and the processes which govern their development is fundamental to understanding the role of the coastal ocean in the global C cycle. In this study, we use the mid-latitude fjords of Scotland as a natural laboratory to further develop methods to quantify these marine sedimentary C stores at both the individual fjord and national scale. Targeted geophysical and geochemical analysis has allowed the quantification of sedimentary C stocks for a number of mid-latitude fjords and, coupled with upscaling techniques based on fjord classification, has generated the first full national sedimentary C inventory for a fjordic system. The sediments within these mid-latitude fjords hold 640.7 ± 46 Mt of C split between 295.6 ± 52 and 345.1 ± 39 Mt of organic and inorganic C respectively. When compared, these marine mid-latitude sedimentary C stores are of similar magnitude to their terrestrial equivalents, with the exception of the Scottish peatlands, which hold significantly more C. However, when area-normalised comparisons are made, these mid-latitude fjords are significantly more effective as C stores than their terrestrial counterparts, including Scottish peatlands. The C held within Scotland's coastal marine sediments has been largely overlooked as a significant component of the nation's natural capital; such coastal C stores are likely to be key to understanding and constraining improved global C budgets.
The wasp larva's last supper: 100 million years of evolutionary stasis in the larval development of rhopalosomatid wasps (Hymenoptera: Rhopalosomatidae)
Authors: Lohrmann Volker , Engel Michael S.
Published: August 2017

Abstract. Rhopalosomatidae are an unusual family of wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) comprising less than 100 species found in the tropics and subtropics of all continents except Europe and Antarctica. Whereas some species resemble nocturnal Ichneumonidae, others might be mistaken for spider wasps or different groups of brachypterous Hymenoptera. Despite their varied morphology, all members of the family supposedly develop as larval ectoparasitoids of crickets (Orthoptera: Grylloidea). Here, we report on the first record of a fossil rhopalosomatid larva which was discovered in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (Burma). The larva is attached to the lateral side of a cricket between the metafemur and the abdomen, impacting the natural position of the hind leg, exactly as documented for modern species. Additionally, the larval gestalt is strikingly similar to those of extant forms. These observations imply that this behavioral specialization, e.g., host association and positioning on host, likely evolved in the stem of the family at least 100 million years ago.
Stable water isotopes in the MITgcm
Authors: Völpel Rike , Paul André , Krandick Annegret , Mulitza Stefan , Schulz Michael
Published: August 2017

Abstract. We present the first results of the implementation of stable water isotopes in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm). The model is forced with the isotopic content of precipitation and water vapor from an atmospheric general circulation model (NCAR IsoCAM), while the fractionation during evaporation is treated explicitly in the MITgcm. Results of the equilibrium simulation under pre-industrial conditions are compared to observational data and measurements of plankton tow records (the oxygen isotopic composition of planktic foraminiferal calcite). The broad patterns and magnitude of the stable water isotopes in annual mean seawater are well captured in the model, both at the sea surface as well as in the deep ocean. However, the surface water in the Arctic Ocean is not depleted enough, due to the absence of highly depleted precipitation and snowfall. A model–data mismatch is also recognizable in the isotopic composition of the seawater–salinity relationship in midlatitudes that is mainly caused by the coarse grid resolution. Deep-ocean characteristics of the vertical water mass distribution in the Atlantic Ocean closely resemble observational data. The reconstructed δ18Oc at the sea surface shows a good agreement with measurements. However, the model–data fit is weaker when individual species are considered and deviations are most likely attributable to the habitat depth of the foraminifera. Overall, the newly developed stable water isotope package opens wide prospects for long-term simulations in a paleoclimatic context.
A discourse account of intervention phenomena: An investigation of interrogatives
Authors: Riches Nick G. , Garraffa Maria
Published: August 2017

Sentences where like-moves-over-like, e.g. this is the cat that the dog was chasing , have occupied language researchers over the past two decades. They are often described as “intervention” sentences as one element intervenes in the movement of another. Such structures are difficult to comprehend by children or adults, and this effect is exacerbated in language-impaired individuals. Dominant theories, e.g. Rizzi’s Relativised Minimality (RM), propose that the two NPs interfere with each other by virtue of having overlapping features. However, such sentences are also rarely encountered due to discourse constraints. For example, subject NPs (the dog) tend to be pronominal as they are typically aligned with topic-hood. This paper investigates whether discourse can account for intervention in questions. It employs a mixed methodology. Firstly, corpora were investigated to assess the degree to which discourse impacts on input frequency. Secondly, a behavioural study was conducted to unpack the relationship between frequency and processing in children. It was found that the input frequencies of intervention structures are predominantly influenced by discourse, and that intervention structures are vanishingly rare in the input. However, a link between frequency and processing was not observed, with the findings more supportive of RM. It is suggested that a consideration of discourse as an external phenomenon may yield new insights into intervention structures.
Reflexive verbs in Hebrew: Deep unaccusativity meets lexical semantics
Authors: Kastner Itamar
Published: August 2017

Reflexive verbs in Modern Hebrew show specific morphological marking: only one of the seven verbal templates in the language can be used for reflexives. Yet this morphological marking also appears on anticausative verbs, which have different syntactic and semantic properties. I provide an analysis of reflexivity in Hebrew which does not make reference to dedicated reflexive morphosyntax. By combining independently needed functional heads, the proposal explains what in the syntax underlies this morphology and how different kinds of verbs end up with identical morphophonological properties. To this end, I consider the lexical semantics of individual lexical roots as well as the syntactic configurations in which roots and arguments are embedded. The resulting theory is one in which lexical roots trigger specific interpretations of the syntax at the interfaces.
Normal Palmar Anatomy and Variations That Impact Median Nerve Decompression
Authors: Seiler John G. , Daruwalla Jimmy H. , Payne Samuel H. , Faucher Gregory K.
Published: August 2017

Annually, carpal tunnel release is one of the most commonly executed orthopaedic procedures. Despite the frequency of the procedure, complications may occur as a result of anatomic variations. Understanding both normal and variant anatomy, including anomalies in neural, vascular, tendinous, and muscular structures about the carpal tunnel, is fundamental to achieving both safe and efficacious surgery. Reviewing and aggregating this information reveals certain principles that may lead to the safest possible surgical approach. Although it is likely that no true internervous plane or so-called safe zone exists during the approach for carpal tunnel release, the long-ring web space axis does appear to pose the lowest risk to important structures.