bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Paul's Appropriation of Philo's Theory of ‘Two Men’ in 1 Corinthians 15.45–49
Authors: Nordgaard Stefan
Published: June 2011

The present essay focuses on Paul's interactions with Philo's theory of two men in 1 Cor 15.45–49. It argues that instead of rejecting that theory, Paul transforms and reinterprets it in such a way as to substantiate his own doctrine of the resurrection as developed in 1 Cor 15.35–58 (i.e., his doctrine of eschatological bodily change). The essay provides a careful analysis of Philo's theory of two men as well as an exegesis of 1 Cor 15.35–58.
Management of acute intestinal failure
Authors: Gardiner Keith R.
Published: June 2011

Intestinal failure (IF) occurs when intestinal absorptive function is inadequate to maintain hydration and nutrition without enteral or parenteral supplements. It has been classified into three types depending on duration of nutrition support and reversibility. Type 1 IF is commonly seen in the peri-operative period as ileus and usually spontaneously resolves within 14 d. Type 2 IF is uncommon and is often associated with an intra-abdominal catastrophe, intestinal resection, sepsis, metabolic disturbances and undernutrition. Type 3 IF is a chronic condition in a metabolically stable patient, which usually requires long-term parenteral nutrition. This paper focuses on Types 1 and 2 IF (or acute IF) that are usually found in surgical wards. The objectives of this paper are to review the incidence, aetiology, prevention, management principles and outcome of acute IF. The paper discusses the resources necessary to manage acute IF, the indications for inter-hospital transfer and the practicalities of how to transfer and receive a patient with acute IF.
Nicolas Coldstream (1927–2008)
Authors: Cadogan Gerald
Published: June 2011

Nicolas Coldstream, archaeologist of Greece and the Mediterranean in the 9th and 8th centuries bc, was born in India, educated in England, and carried out the research for his first masterpiece Greek Geometric Pottery (1968) while Macmillan Student at the British School at Athens (1957–60). In 1960 he began a long career at the University of London, culminating with the Yates Chair of Classical Archaeology at University College. Renowned as a teacher, he drew many graduate students, especially from Greece and Cyprus. As a prolific scholar, he also wrote Geometric Greece (1977), many articles, several reports on excavations including The Sanctuary of Demeter at Knossos (1973), the Knossos North Cemetery (1996) with Hector Catling, and Kythera (1972) with George Huxley, as well as the revised editions of his two fundamental monographs.

O Nicolas Coldstream, αρχανολόγος της Ελλάδας και της Μεσογείου του 9ου και 8ου αιώνα π.Χ., γεννήθηκε στην Ινδία, σπούδασε στην Αγγλία και πραγματοποίησε έρευνα για την πρώτη του εξαιρετική μονογραφία Greek Geometric Pottery (1968) ως Macmillan Student της Βρετανικής Σχολής Αθηνών (1957–1960). Το 1960 ξεκίνησε την πολύχρονη σταδιοδρομία του στο Πανεπιστήμιο του Λονδίνου, αποκορύφωμα της οποίας υπήρξε η εκλογή του στην έδρα Yates της Κλασικής Αρχαιολογίας στο University College. Διάσημος πανεπιστημιακός δάσκαλος, προσέλκυσε πολλούς μεταπτυχνακούς φοιτητές, ιδιαίτερα από την Ελλάδα και την Κύπρο. Επιστήμονας με μεγάλο ερευνητικό και συγγραφικό έργο, δημοσίευσε επίσης τη μονογραφία Geometrie Greece (1977), πλήθος άρθρων και αρκετές ανασκαφικές εκθέσεις μεταξύ των οποίων The Sanctuary of Demeter στην Κνωσό (1973), Knossos North Cemetery (1996) με τον Hector Catling, Kythera (1972) με τον George Huxley, καθώς επίσης και τις ανατεωρημένες εκδόσεις των δύο βασικών μονογραφιών του.
X-Radiography of Knossian Bronze Age Vessels: Assessing our Knowledge of Primary Forming Techniques
Authors: Berg Ina
Published: June 2011

This article investigates the potential of X-radiography for identifying primary forming techniques of Cretan Bronze Age vessels. X-radiography of 95 EM III through to LM II vessels from Knossos has now demonstrated its suitability for fine, semicoarse and coarse Cretan fabrics. In several cases, it has been possible to rectify erroneous attributions based on visual inspection alone and to provide more specific details of the diversity and development of past forming techniques.

Στο άρθρο αυτό εξετάζονται οι δυνατότητες της ραδιογραφίας ακτίνων-Χ στην αναγνώριση βασικών τεχνικών κατασκευής των κρητικών αγγείων της Εποχής του Χαλκού. Η ακτινογράφηση ενενήντα πέντε IIM III έως και YM II αγγείων από την Κνωσό, χρονολογούμενων από την IIM III έως την YM II, απέδειξε την καταλληλότητά της τεχνικής αυτής για την εξέταση της κρητικής λεπτής, ημιχονδροειδούς και χονδροειδούς κεραμικής. Σε αρκετές περιπτώσεις, κατέστη δυνατόν να διορθωθούν εσφαλμένα συμπεράσματα, που είχαν βασιστεί αποκλειστικά σε οπτική παρατήρηση, και να διευκρινιστούν καλύτερα συγκρεκριμενες περισσότερο οι ακριβείς λεπτομέρειες ως προς την ποικιλία και την εξέλιξη των παλαιών τεχνικών κατασκευής.
Sentence production in Parkinson disease: Effects of conceptual and task complexity
Authors: TROCHE MICHELLE S. , ALTMANN LORI J. P.
Published: June 2011

Experimental studies of sentence production in Parkinson disease (PD) are rare. This study examined the relationship between cognitive abilities and performance on two sentence production tasks, sentence repetition, and sentence generation, in which complexity was manipulated. Thirty-eight older adults aged 60 to 85, half with PD, completed the two language tasks plus a cognitive battery. Participants with PD performed more poorly in the repetition task overall, especially in fluency, but differences were no longer significant once cognitive ability was controlled. In contrast, on the sentence generation task the PD group was significantly impaired on all language dimensions and overall performance. Although cognitive ability accounted for significant variance in all measures of sentence generation, the PD group remained significantly impaired when these factors were controlled. These findings suggest that, although language production is influenced by cognitive abilities, it can be significantly impaired in PD over and above the effects of differences in cognitive abilities.
A developmental perspective on productive lexical knowledge in L2 oral interlanguage
Authors: DAVID ANNABELLE
Published: June 2011

This article reports on productive vocabulary development by instructed British learners of French over a five-year period (from age 13 to 18). Lexical diversity development was investigated through a semi-guided oral picture-based task. Results show that the students' lexical diversity (as measured by D) did significantly improve throughout the five years showing little sign of slower periods. Overall more noun types were observed than verb types in the composition of the lexicon throughout the study but with a consistent decrease in its proportion after Year 10. Further results using the Limiting Relative Diversity measure indicate that learners vary their use of nouns to a much larger extent than verbs. The discussion focuses on the noun-bias hypothesis and the use of different elicitation tasks.
Quality of life of patients with congenital heart diseases
Authors: Silva Ana M. , Vaz Cláudia , Areias Maria E. G. , Vieira Daniela , Proença Cidália , Viana Victor , Moura Cláudia , Areias José C.
Published: June 2011

Objectives

To assess the perception of the quality of life of adolescents and young adults with congenital heart disease and to examine the variables that have a negative impact on it and that add a resilience effect.

Methods

A total of 22 male and 18 female patients, aged 12–26 years, of whom 27 were admitted to surgery and 13 were not, participated in this study. All patients had complete medical records and were interviewed once; demographic and clinical data were collected, and patients filled a questionnaire on quality of life, the WHOQOL-BREF, and underwent an interview on social support, educational style, self-image, functional limitations, and emotional adjustment.

Results/Conclusions

Our patients showed a better perception of quality of life than did the general population, on the basis of psychological, social relationship and environment scales. Older patients hold a better perception of quality of life on the psychological scale. Cyanosis did not show any significant impact over perception of quality of life decay; however, the number of surgical procedures and the persistence of moderate-to-severe residual injuries had considerable detrimental effect. Social support had an impact on increasing resilience, promoting adjustment to illness. Several factors may play a role in adjustment to congenital heart disease, either improving the perception of quality of life or worsening it. We may conclude that some buffer variables on congenital heart disease may play roles in increasing the perception of quality of life of patients during their lifetime, social support probably explaining why the perception of quality of life is better than in the normal population. The number of surgeries and the moderate-to-severe residual injuries, however, reverted that effect.
The Closed Fund Alternative
Authors: Hairs C.J. , Arnold M. , Gustar A.J. , Hare D.J.P. , Needleman P.D. , Tuley P.J. , Webber J.M.
Published: June 2011

Closure of the fund to new business is a strategic option that is not usually considered as a part of the day-to-day running of a life assurance company. The paper explores certain circumstances in which it can be appropriate to consider it, though in the Working Party's view consideration of the closed fund alternative normally arises as a matter of course only in the context of demutualisations, and then as an indicator of the potential value of membership rights.

The topic is discussed in terms of legal, regulatory and professional aspects, and the profession is invited to consider providing more specific guidance for Appointed Actuaries whose companies are faced with demutualisation proposals. A number of practical aspects of operating a closed fund are outlined. The high-level financial considerations are illustrated by reference to a hypothetical case, and the perspectives of directors, independent and Appointed Actuaries and others are considered.

Several recent examples of demutualisations where the closed fund alternative was considered are summarised in appendices, and some examples of closed or virtually closed funds are cited.
A Review of Panjer's Recursion Formula and its Applications
Authors: Dickson D.C.M.
Published: June 2011

This paper reviews Panjer's recursion formula for evaluation of compound distributions and illustrates how it can be applied to life and general insurance problems.
Loss Reserves in the London Market
Authors: Maher G.P.M.
Published: June 2011

This paper addresses the process of estimating loss reserves for a company or syndicate writing in the London Market. Particular emphasis is placed on insurers maximising the value of the process, and ensuring that the process is not simply a series of mathematical calculations. The use of sophisticated mathematical techniques should not distract from the importance of understanding the business and ensuring that data are correct. Sophisticated mathematical techniques can give rise to misleading impressions of confidence and accuracy to estimates, which are often subject to considerable uncertainty. The principles (rather than the detailed techniques) are illustrated by a case study based on a hypothetical London Market writer. Many of these principles are relevant to other markets.
Quantifying Operational Risk in Life Insurance Companies. Developed by the Life Operational Risk Working Party
Authors: Dexter N. C. , Ford C. L. , Jakhria P. C. , Kelliher P. O. J. , McCall D. , Mills C. K. , Probyn A. C. , Raddall P. A. , Ryan J.
Published: June 2011

This paper overviews a practical approach to the assessment of operational risk in life insurance companies. It considers how actuaries, working in conjunction with risk management professionals and senior management, can develop a framework to assess the capital requirements relating to operational risk, taking into account the capital requirements of other risks and their interaction.

This paper recognises that we do not live in an ideal world, and that a lot of the data which one might want for operational risk assessment are not, and in some cases never will be, available. Consequently, the approach outlined in this paper takes into account the fact that management and assessment of operational risk is at an early stage of development in the life industry. In addition, it outlines some of the areas where development is necessary or desirable in the coming years.

There is a section on the operational risks against which it is appropriate to hold capital. As this is a new area for insurance companies, and given the governance requirements for Individual Capital Assessments, it is important to explain the results effectively to senior management. Therefore, a brief review of techniques for reporting the results of the assessment is provided.

The paper concludes with some thoughts on how operational risk management can be embedded more in the business, and then considers what future work will help develop the framework. To echo the thoughts of the authors of the general insurance paper on this topic (Tripp et al., 2004), we hope that the paper will sow seeds for the development of best practice in dealing with operational risk, and will raise the awareness and increase the interest of actuaries in this emerging topic.

This paper represents the views of the individuals in the working party, and not necessarily the views of their employers or the Actuarial Profession.
Modelling and Managing Risk
Authors: Sweeting P. J.
Published: June 2011

The text of this paper, together with the abstract of the discussion held by the Institute of Actuaries on 30 April 2007, in Manchester, are printed in British Actuarial Journal, 13, III, 579-636.
Variable Annuities
Authors: Ledlie M. C. , Corry D. P. , Finkelstein G. S. , Ritchie A. J. , Su K. , Wilson D. C. E.
Published: June 2011

This paper provides a detailed overview of variable annuities. Consideration is given first to the definition of the term variable annuity. Common terminology used in the variable annuity market is introduced. The current state of the United Kingdom and other international markets is described. Then, by reference to a simplified product, an analysis of customer outcomes, pricing, reserving, risk management and hedging is carried out. The paper ends with a description of current U.K. pensions legislation and how it potentially constrains product development.
Pension Fund Valuations and Market Values
Authors: Head S.J. , Adkins D.R. , Cairns A.J.G. , Corvesor A.J. , Cule D.O. , Exley C.J. , Johnson I.S. , Spain J.G. , Wise A.J.
Published: June 2011

The text of this paper, together with the abstract of the discussion held by the Institute of Actuaries on 25 October 1999, are printed in British Actuarial Journal, 6, I, 55-141.

However, when this paper was discussed by the Faculty of Actuaries, the following ‘Survey of Practice’ had been carried out, and was also presented.
Estimation in the Constant Elasticity of Variance Model
Authors: Yuen K.C. , Yang H. , Chu K.L.
Published: June 2011

The constant elasticity of variance (CEV) diffusion process can be used to model heteroscedasticity in returns of common stocks. In this diffusion process, the volatility is a function of the stock price and involves two parameters. Similar to the Black-Scholes analysis, the equilibrium price of a call option can be obtained for the CEV model. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new estimation procedure for the CEV model. A merit of our method is that no constraints are imposed on the elasticity parameter of the model. In addition, frequent adjustments of the parameter estimates are not required. Simulation studies indicate that the proposed method is suitable for practical use. As an illustration, real examples on the Hong Kong stock option market are carried out. Various aspects of the method are also discussed.
The Role of the Government Actuary's Department in Social Security in the United Kingdom
Authors: Daykin C.D.
Published: June 2011

The Government Actuary's Department (GAD) came into being in 1919, originally arising from the perceived importance of applying actuarial skills to the financing of the United Kingdom social security system. Whilst the GAD has changed considerably over the years, and now operates as a publicly owned consulting firm, social security and related policy and regulatory advice remain at the core of the Government Actuary's role. This paper explores the nature of the role of the GAD in the social security area, and provides examples of the scope of GAD reports on the long-term finances of the National Insurance Fund. A brief description is given of some of the other areas of GAD's work.
Pension Schemes and Fixed Income Investment
Authors: Sweeting P. J.
Published: June 2011

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role that fixed income securities should play in pension scheme investment. In this paper I look at the investment characteristics of the various bond asset classes, including the nature of the income streams produced. I also look at the relationships between the various asset classes and their stability over time. I then look at the usefulness of the asset classes in the context of a pensioner portfolio, considering both capital values and income streams. I look at skew and excess kurtosis in the distributions of asset returns and consider the effect of their existence on the decision making process. Given that most asset models are calibrated using historical data, I do not carry out any modelling and instead analyse past data. Finally, I discuss practical issues that need to be considered, particularly in a United Kingdom context.
Guaranteed Annuity Options: Five Issues for Resolution
Authors: O'Brien C.D.
Published: June 2011

This paper considers five issues arising from guaranteed annuity options in pension policies issued by United Kingdom life assurance companies. These are the investment strategies for such options, the implications for bonuses on with-profits policies, the measurement of the solvency position and preparation of accounts of the companies concerned, and the policy debate on compulsory annuitisation. In particular, the paper highlights the impact of improving mortality on the value of options, comments on the House of Lords judgment in the Equitable Life case, and suggests additional disclosures in the accounts of life assurance companies.
Corporate Diversity and the Provision of Financial Services
Authors: Guijarro P. , Hare D. J. P.
Published: June 2011

The corporate landscape of United Kingdom financial services has changed considerably in the last fifteen years with virtually all the main players now shareholder-owned. The dominance of shareholder ownership may not last for ever and the pendulum could swing back to alternate structures. Should the actuarial profession look ahead and consider what, if anything, could be done to encourage diversity? This paper considers some of the issues involved and raises some questions for the profession to discuss.
How to Model Operational Risk, If You Must. Lecture to The Faculty of Actuaries
Authors: Embrechts P.
Published: June 2011

INTRODUCTION

The second Lecturer to the Faculty of Actuaries is Professor Paul Embrechts, Professor of Mathematics at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich), specialising in actuarial mathematics and mathematical finance. His previous academic positions include ones at the Universities of Leuven, Limburg and London (Imperial College), and he has held visiting appointments at various other universities. He is an elected Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, a Corresponding Member of the Italian Institute of Actuaries, Editor of the ASTIN Bulletin, on the Advisory Board of Finance and Stochastics and Associate Editor of numerous scientific journals. He is a member of the Board of the Swiss Association of Actuaries and belongs to various national and international research and academic advisory committees. His areas of specialisation include insurance risk theory, integrated risk management, the interplay between insurance and finance and the modelling of rare events.
Living with Mortality: Longevity Bonds and Other Mortality-Linked Securities
Authors: Blake D. , Cairns A. J. G. , Dowd K.
Published: June 2011

This paper addresses the problem of longevity risk — the risk of uncertain aggregate mortality — and discusses the ways in which life assurers, annuity providers and pension plans can manage their exposure to this risk. In particular, it focuses on how they can use mortality-linked securities and over-the-counter contracts — some existing and others still hypothetical — to manage their longevity risk exposures. It provides a detailed analysis of two such securities — the Swiss Re mortality bond issued in December 2003 and the EIB/BNP longevity bond announced in November 2004. It then looks at the universe of hypothetical mortality-linked securities — other forms of longevity bonds, swaps, futures and options — and investigates their potential uses. It also addresses implementation issues, and draws lessons from the experiences of other derivative contracts. Particular attention is paid to the issues involved with the construction and use of mortality indices, the management of the associated credit risks, and possible barriers to the development of markets for these securities. It suggests that these implementation difficulties are essentially teething problems that will be resolved over time, and so leave the way open to the development of flourishing markets in a brand new class of securities.
The Investment Return from a Portfolio with a Dynamic Rebalancing Policy
Authors: Wise A.J.
Published: June 2011

An analysis is made of the effect on portfolio performance if assets are continually rebalanced to constant market value proportions, relative to the passive ‘buy and hold’ strategy. The probability that one strategy outperforms the other is evaluated on the basis of a geometric diffusion model of market prices and by reference to historical data.
Actuaries and Derivatives
Authors: Kemp M.H.D.
Published: June 2011

This paper draws analogies between techniques used to reserve for, control and manage derivatives and techniques used by actuaries in other fields. It concentrates on equity derivatives. It also includes a review of the factors which significantly influence the appropriate size of reserves to hold for a derivatives portfolio. These include the likelihood of market jumps, uncertainty in future market volatility and the size of transaction costs, as well as on more obvious factors like position risk.
Grammatical change in the noun phrase: the influence of written language use
Authors: BIBER DOUGLAS , GRAY BETHANY
Published: June 2011

Many discussions of grammatical change have focused on grammatical innovation in the discourse contexts of conversational interaction. We argue here that it is also possible for grammatical innovation to emerge out of the communicative demands of written discourse. In particular, the distinctive communicative characteristics of academic writing (informational prose) have led to the development of a discourse style that relies heavily on nominal structures, with extensive phrasal modification and a relative absence of verbs. By tracking the historical development of this discourse style, we can also observe the development of particular grammatical functions that are emerging in writing. We focus here on two grammatical features – nouns as nominal premodifiers and prepositional phrases as nominal postmodifiers – analyzing their historical development over the last four centuries in a corpus of academic research writing (compared to other registers such as fiction, newspaper reportage and conversation). Our analysis shows that these grammatical features were quite restricted in function and variability in earlier historical periods of English. However, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, they became much more frequent and productive, accompanied by major extensions in their functions, variants, and range of lexical associations. These extensions were restricted primarily to informational written discourse, illustrating ways in which new grammatical functions emerge in writing rather than speech.
Noun ellipsis in English: adjectival modifiers and the role of context
Authors: GÜNTHER CHRISTINE
Published: June 2011

This article analyses adjectival modification in elliptical NPs based on a corpus analysis. It illustrates the fact that descriptive adjectives can be used without nominal heads in English. Whereas in spoken language adjectives denoting more inherent properties feature prominently when the referents are present in the text-external world, no particular types of adjectives appear in written language. In terms of the latter, two major types of linguistic contexts are identified which do not require the use of a nominal head. It is argued that a conception of ‘contrast’ as a ‘non-identity’ condition cannot account for the variation betweenone-replacement and noun ellipsis since it holds for both phenomena. Similarly, partitivity is argued not to be a relevant requirement for the use of adjectives without nouns.
English proforms: an alternative account
Authors: KEIZER EVELIEN
Published: June 2011

In most theoretical and descriptive treatments of English proforms it seems to be accepted that proforms replace constituents in underlying structure (i.e. phrases or clauses). The aim of the present article is to challenge this assumption. It will be demonstrated that a great many fully acceptable uses of proforms turn out to be quite problematic for the view of proforms as corresponding either to constituents or to semantic and/or syntactic units in underlying representation; nor, it turns out, do proforms necessarily refer to or denote a single (identifiable, retrievable or inferrable) entity. After a brief summary of the relevant literature, the article presents a detailed examination of the actual function and use of English proforms, focusing on a number of frequently used proforms: (i) the indefinite pronounone, (ii) the predicative proformdo so, (iii) the demonstrative pronounsthatandthoseand (iv) certain uses of the personal pronounswe/usandyou.On the basis of attested examples, it is argued that these proforms do not necessarily express a unit at any level of underlying representation. Instead an alternative account of the use of proforms is suggested, using the theory of Functional Discourse Grammar, which, with its four different levels of analysis (representing pragmatic, semantic, morphosyntactic and phonological information), possesses the kind of flexibility needed to deal with English proforms in a consistent and unified manner. Finally, an attempt is made to explain some of the constraints on the flexible system proposed.
Left-peripheral expansion of the English NP
Authors: VAN DE VELDE FREEK
Published: June 2011

This article is concerned with peripheral modifiers in the English noun phrase. It is argued that this kind of modification is an Early Modern English innovation. Later, in the nineteenth century, the slot underwent a rapid extension on both the type and the token levels, as is shown by historical corpus inquiry. To account for the diachronic processes involved, a constructional, usage-based approach is used, with an onomasiological rather than a semasiological perspective on grammaticalisation.
Family Legal Aid – Does it have a Future?
Authors: Ling Vicky
Published: June 2011

Vicky Ling outlines the Government's proposals to reform the legal aid scheme for family law. They would remove legal aid funding from many potential clients and threaten access to justice.
OSCOLA, a UK Standard for Legal Citation
Authors: Meredith Sandra
Published: June 2011

OSCOLA, the Oxford Standard for the Citation Of Legal Authorities, was first devised in 2000. The fourth edition, published in November 2010, includes for the first time guidelines for citing Scottish, Irish and Welsh cases and legislation, historical legal sources and new media such as blogs. It also provides more extensive general advice about using quotations, managing and cross-referencing footnotes and organising bibliographies and tables of cases and legislation. OSCOLA can be used in conjunction with bibliographic software such as Endnote and is becoming the UK national standard for legal citation.
Investing in Support for Academic Research
Authors: Sputore Alissa
Published: June 2011

Alissa Sputore from the Melbourne Law School describes the ground-breaking Law Research Service which the Law Library runs for its staff and students as part of an effort to improve the quality of research and publication in the Law School.
Legal Information Centre at the National Library of Russia – Ten Years of Successful Work
Authors: Shishmolina Elena
Published: June 2011

Elena Shishmolina writes about the foundation and growth of the work of the Legal Information Centre in the National Library of Russia, Saint Petersburg, including information about its website and electronic guides.
Spatio-temporal constraints on the zoo hypothesis, and the breakdown of total hegemony
Authors: Forgan Duncan H.
Published: June 2011

The Zoo Hypothesis posits that we have not detected extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) because they deliberately prevent us from detecting them. While a valid solution to Fermi's Paradox, it is not particularly amenable to rigorous scientific analysis, as it implicitly assumes a great deal about the sociological structure of a plurality of civilizations. Any attempt to assess its worth must begin with its most basic assumption – that ETIs share a uniformity of motive in shielding Earth from extraterrestrial contact. This motive is often presumed to be generated by the influence of the first civilization to arrive in the Galaxy. I show that recent work on inter-arrival time analysis, while necessary, is insufficient to assess the validity of the Zoo Hypothesis (and its related variants). The finite speed of light prevents an early civilization from exerting immediate cultural influence over a later civilization if they are sufficiently distant. I show that if civilization arrival times and spatial locations are completely uncorrelated, this strictly prevents the establishment of total hegemony throughout the Galaxy. I finish by presenting similar results derived from more realistic Monte Carlo Realization (MCR) simulations (where arrival time and spatial locations are partially correlated). These also show that total hegemony is typically broken, even when the total population of civilizations remains low. The Zoo Hypothesis is therefore only justifiable on weak anthropic grounds, as it demands total hegemony established by a long-lived early civilization, which is a low probability event. In the terminology of previous studies of solutions to Fermi's Paradox, this confirms the Zoo Hypothesis as a ‘soft’ solution. However, an important question to be resolved by future work is the extent to which many separate hegemonies are established, and to what extent this affects the Zoo Hypothesis.
Meeting the ‘multi-’ requirements in organic agriculture research: Successes, challenges and recommendations for multifunctional, multidisciplinary, participatory projects
Authors: Barbercheck Mary , Kiernan Nancy Ellen , Hulting Andrew G. , Duiker Sjoerd , Hyde Jeffrey , Karsten Heather , Sanchez Elsa
Published: June 2011

Organic farming is one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors worldwide, and funds to support research and extension activities that address the needs of organic producers are becoming more widely available in the USA. Solutions to problems in ecologically complex systems, such as organic farming systems often exceed the expertise of individual investigators or single disciplines. Further, the complex nature of ecological and social interactions within systems-based agricultural research requires not only more emphasis on information exchange but also synthesis between multidisciplinary teams of academic researchers and organic farmers. Accordingly, federal grant agencies that support organic agriculture research increasingly require that projects encompass multiple academic disciplines, multiple functions (research, outreach, education), and the participation of stakeholders for the ultimate purpose of the integration of knowledge. Many researchers, educators and administrators at land grant universities (LGUs) remain inexperienced in multidisciplinary, multifunctional and participatory research. Using post-completion project interviews of the project investigators on an organic transition project, we identified eight factors that affected the integration of knowledge from a farmer advisory board and the conduct of our multidisciplinary, participatory organic transition project. The first five factors include shared values, balance in technical competence, institutional capacity for research, team capacity for problem solving and institutional resistance. The research team also identified three other factors that evoked confusion and divergence during the project, and include the ambiguity of power and control of knowledge, the proposed experimental plan and terms of team engagement. We considered participatory elements of the project according to Biggs’ linear typology of participation, but found more appropriate Neef and Neubert's position that a linear scale of participatory approach is an inadequate framework for helping agricultural scientists to decide on whether and in which phases they want to, can and should incorporate participatory elements into their research projects. From these findings, we conclude with critical issues for academic research and extension teams to consider during the development and before conduct of these types of projects. We also offer recommendations for LGUs and other research institutions, and funding organizations, to facilitate multidisciplinary, multifunctional, participatory research.
Study of magnetic reconnection in collisional and collionless plasmas in Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX)
Authors: Yamada Masaaki , Ji Hantao
Published: June 2011

Magnetic reconnection (Parker, 1957; Sweet, 1958; Petschek, 1964; Yamada et al., 2010; Biskamp, 2000; Tsuneta, 1996; Kivelson and Russell, 1995; Yamada, 2007; Birn et al., 2001; Drake et al., 2003) is considered important to many astrophysical phenomena including stellar flares, magnetospheric disruptions of magnetars, and dynamics of galactic lobes. Research on magnetic reconnection started with observations in solar coronae and in the Earths magnetosphere, and a classical theory was developed based on MHD. Recent progress has been made by understanding the two-fluid physics of reconnection, through space and astrophysical observations (Tsuneta, 1996; Kivelson and Russell, 1995), laboratory experiments (Yamada, 2007), and theory and numerical simulations (Birn et al., 2001; Daughton et al., 2006; Uzdensky and Kulsrud, 2006). Laboratory experiments dedicated to the study of the fundamental reconnection physics have tested the physics mechanisms and their required conditions, and have provided a much needed bridge between observations and theory. For example, the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX) experiment (http://mrx.pppl.gov) has rigorously cross-checked the leading theories though quantitative comparisons of the numerical simulations and space astrophysical observations (Mozer et al., 2002). Extensive data have been accumulated in a wide plasma parameter regime with Lundquist numbers of S = 100 − 3000, where S is a ratio of the magnetic diffusion time to the Alfven transit time.
Current status and future prospects for laboratory study of angular momentum transport relevant to astrophysical disks
Authors: Ji Hantao
Published: June 2011

A concise review of the past and ongoing laboratory experiments on rotating flows and the associated angular momentum transport relevant to astrophysical disks is given in three categories: hydrodynamic, magnetohydrodynamic, gas and plasma experiments. Future prospects for these experiments, especially for those directly relevant to the magnetorotational instability (MRI), are discussed with an emphasis on a newly proposed swirling gas and plasma experiment.
Calculation of fusion rates at extremely low energies in laser plasmas
Authors: Mascali D. , Gambino N. , Tudisco S. , Anzalone A. , Bonanno A. , Gammino S. , Musumeci F.
Published: June 2011

At temperatures and densities that are typical of plasmas produced by lasers pulses interacting with solid targets, at power intensities I > 1012W/cm2, the classical Debye screening factor in nuclear reactions becomes comparable with the one of the solar core. Preliminary calculations about the total number of fusion reactions have been performed following an hydrodynamical approach for the description of the plasma dynamics. This approach is propaedeutic for future measurements of D-D fusion reaction rates.
Particle acceleration in fast magnetic reconnection
Authors: Lazarian A. , Kowal G. , de Gouveia Dal Pino E. , Vishniac E.
Published: June 2011

Our numerical simulations show that the reconnection of magnetic field becomes fast in the presence of weak turbulence in the way consistent with the Lazarian & Vishniac (1999) model of fast reconnection. This process in not only important for understanding of the origin and evolution of the large-scale magnetic field, but is seen as a possibly efficient particle accelerator producing cosmic rays through the first order Fermi process. In this work we study the properties of particle acceleration in the reconnection zones in our numerical simulations and show that the particles can be efficiently accelerated via the first order Fermi acceleration.
Plasma astrophysics implication in discovery and interpretation of X-ray radiation from comets
Authors: Ibadov S.
Published: June 2011

Discovery of soft X-ray radiation from comet Hyakutake C/1996 B2 by space telescope ROSAT in March 1996 as well as establishing the regularity of the phenomenon for comets in general opened a new area of research for the plasma astrophysics. The first soft X-ray observations have been motivated by the results of a theoretical investigation on the efficiency of production of energetic photons, in the energy range 0.1-1 keV, by hot plasma clumps generated in dusty comets via high velocity collision with interplanetary dust at small heliocentric distances. Moreover, the soft X-ray luminosities measured significantly exceeded the value predicted. A short review of proposed theoretical models and mechanisms for explaining X-ray emission from comets as well as some prospects for the future X ray observations of comets are presented.
Large eddy simulations in plasma astrophysics. Weakly compressible turbulence in local interstellar medium
Authors: Chernyshov A. A. , Karelsky K. V. , Petrosyan A. S.
Published: June 2011

We apply large eddy simulation technique to carry out three-dimensional numerical simulation of compressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in conditions relevant local interstellar medium. According to large eddy simulation method, the large-scale part of the flow is computed directly and only small-scale structures of turbulence are modeled. The small-scale motion is eliminated from the initial system of equations of motion by filtering procedures and their effect is taken into account by special closures referred to as the subgrid-scale models. Establishment of weakly compressible limit with Kolmogorov-like density fluctuations spectrum is shown in present work. We use our computations results to study dynamics of the turbulent plasma beta and anisotropic properties of the magnetoplasma fluctuations in the local interstellar medium.
Realistic MHD simulations of magnetic self-organization in solar plasma
Authors: Kitiashvili I. N. , Kosovichev A. G. , Wray A. A. , Mansour N. N.
Published: June 2011

Filamentary structure is a fundamental property of the magnetized solar plasma. Recent high-resolution observations and numerical simulations have revealed close links between the filamentary structures and plasma dynamics in large-scale solar phenomena, such as sunspots and magnetic network. A new emerging paradigm is that the mechanisms of the filamentary structuring and large-scale organization are natural consequences of turbulent magnetoconvection on the Sun. We present results of 3D radiative MHD large-eddy simulations (LES) of magnetic structures in the turbulent convective boundary layer of the Sun. The results show how the initial relatively weak and uniformly distributed magnetic field forms the filamentary structures, which under certain conditions gets organized on larger scales, creating stable long-living magnetic structures. We discuss the physics of magnetic self-organization in the turbulent solar plasma, and compare the simulation results with observations.
Cross helicity in stellar magnetoconvection
Authors: Küker Manfred , Rüdiger Günther
Published: June 2011

Magnetic diffusion is a key ingredient in mean-field dynamo models but neither observations nor theory are able to produce reliable values. Numerical simulations provide an alternative way to determine the turbulent electromotive force. Cross helicity allows us to determine the turbulent magnetic diffusion coefficient in simulations of stellar magnetoconvection.
Spatio-temporal variability of the photospheric magnetic field
Authors: Vecchio A. , Laurenza M. , Meduri D. , Carbone V. , Storini M.
Published: June 2011

The spatio-temporal dynamics of the solar magnetic field has been investigated by using NSO/Kitt Peak synoptic magnetic maps covering ~28 yr. For each heliographic latitude the field has been analyzed through the Empirical Mode Decomposition, in order to investigate the time evolution of the various characteristic oscillating frequencies. Preliminary results are discussed.
Special relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulation of two-component outflow powered by magnetic explosion on compact stars
Authors: Matsumoto Jin , Masada Youhei , Asano Eiji , Shibata Kazunari
Published: June 2011

The nonlinear dynamics of the outflow driven by magnetic explosion on the surface of compact object is investigated through special relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We adopt, as an initial equilibrium state, a spherical stellar object embedded in the hydrostatic plasma which has a density ρ(r) ∝ r−α and is threaded by a dipole magnetic field. The injection of magnetic energy at the surface of compact star breaks the dynamical equilibrium and triggers two-component outflow. At the early evolutionary stage, the magnetic pressure increases rapidly in time around the stellar surface, initiating a magnetically driven outflow. Then it excites a strong forward shock, shock driven outflow. The expansion velocity of the magnetically driven outflow is characterized by the Alfvén velocity on the stellar surface, and follows a simple scaling relation υmag ∝ υA1/2. When the initial density profile declines steeply with radius, the strong shock is accelerated self-similarly to relativistic velocity ahead of the magnetically driven component. We find that the evolution of the strong forward shock can be described by a self-similar relation Γsh ∝ rsh, where Γsh is the Lorentz factor of the plasma measured at the shock surface rsh. It should be stressed that the pure hydrodynamic process is responsible for the acceleration of the shock driven outflow. Our two-component outflow model, which is the natural outcome of the magnetic explosion, would deepen the understanding of the magnetic active phenomena on various magnetized stellar objects.
Electromagnetic emission by subsequent processes L→L'+S and L+L'→T
Authors: Karlický Marian , Bárta Miroslav
Published: June 2011

Using a 2.5-D electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) model, very early stages of a generation of the electromagnetic emission produced by a monochromatic Langmuir wave are studied. It is found that the electromagnetic emission, which is dominant on the harmonic of the plasma frequency, starts to be generated in a very small region of k-vectors. Later on the k-vectors of this emission are scattered around a ‘circle’ (in our 2-D case), given by the relations for the L+L'→T process. Analytical analysis of two subsequent processes L→L'+S a L+L'→T confirms these results.
New interactive solar flare modeling and advanced radio diagnostics tools
Authors: Fleishman Gregory D. , Nita Gelu M. , Gary Dale E.
Published: June 2011

The coming years will see routine use of solar data of unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution, time cadence, and completeness in the wavelength domain. To capitalize on the soon to be available radio facilities such as the expanded OVSA, SSRT and FASR, and the challenges they present in the visualization and synthesis of the multi-frequency datasets, we propose that realistic, sophisticated 3D active region and flare modeling is timely now and will be a forefront of coronal studies over the coming years. Here we summarize our 3D modeling efforts, aimed at forward fitting of imaging spectroscopy data, and describe currently available 3D modeling tools. We also discuss plans for future generalization of our modeling tools.
Solar wind turbulence: Advances in observations and theory
Authors: Podesta J. J.
Published: June 2011

Observations of plasma and magnetic field fluctuations in the solar wind provide a valuable source of information for the study of turbulence in collisionless astrophysical plasmas. Scientific data collected by various spacecraft over the last few decades has fueled steady progress in this field. Theoretical models, numerical simulations, and comparisons between theory and experiment have also contributed greatly to these advances. This review highlights some recent advances on the observational side including measurements of the anisotropy of inertial range fluctuations as revealed by the different scaling laws parallel and perpendicular to the mean magnetic field, measurements of the normalized cross-helicity spanning the entire inertial range which demonstrate that this quantity is scale invariant, and improved measurements of the spectrum of magnetic field fluctuations in the dissipation range that show a spectral break near the lengthscale of the electron gyro-radius. The theoretical implications of these results and comparisons between theory and observations are briefly summarized.