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Observation of two-dimensional localised Jones-Roberts solitons in Bose Einstein condensates
No full textJones-Roberts solitons are the only known class of stable dark solitonic solutions of the non-linear Schr\"odinger equation in two and three dimensions. They feature a distinctive elongated elliptical shape that allows them to travel without change of form. By imprinting a triangular phase pattern, we experimentally generate two-dimensional Jones-Roberts solitons in a three-dimensional atomic Bose-Einstein condensate. We monitor their dynamics observing that this kind of solitons is indeed not affected by dynamic (snaking) or thermodynamic instabilities, that instead make other classes of dark solitons unstable in dimensions higher than one. We additionally find signatures of a possible dipole-like interaction between them. Our results confirm the prediction that Jones-Roberts solitons are stable solutions of the non-linear Schr\"odinger equation and promote them for applications beyond matter wave physics, like energy and information transport in noisy and inhomogeneous environments
Dataset of the livability performance of the City of Birmingham, UK, as measured by its citizen wellbeing, resource security, resource efficiency and carbon emissions
No full textThis is the UK City LIFE1 data set for the city of Birmingham, UK. UK City LIFE1 is a new, comprehensive and holistic method for measuring the livable sustainability performance of UK cities. The Birmingham data set comprises 346 indicators structured simultaneously (1) within a four-tier, outcome-based framework in order to aid in their interpretation (e.g., promote healthy living and healthy long lives, minimize energy use, uncouple economic vitality from CO2 emissions) and (2) thematically in order to complement government and disciplinary siloes (e.g., health, energy, economy, climate change). Birmingham data for the indicators are presented within an Excel spreadsheet with their type, units, geographic area, year, source, link to secondary data files, data collection method, data availability and any relevant calculations and notes
Using Crunchbase to explore innovative ecosystems in the US and UK
Get PDFInnovative, high-technology activities are seen as motors of development, with knock-on effects throughout their local economies. Such activities tend to organise networks that span beyond atomized firms, creating ‘ecosystems’ of mutual dependence as well as competition. However, such ecosystems remain poorly understood, which in turn constrains the effectiveness of any policy response. This first-steps paper uses the unique, user-generated Crunchbase dataset to fill some of these gaps. With rich information on founders, workers, products and early stage investment activity, Crunchbase has great potential for ecosystem understanding. Like many ‘big data’ resources, however, Crunchbase requires cleaning and validation to make it suitable for robust analysis. We develop a novel approach to gapfill location data in Crunchbase, exploiting DNS/IP address information, and run a series of tests on a raw sample of 225,000 company-level observations covering the US, UK and Canada. We provide initial descriptive results, and set out steps for further research
Energy governance in EU-Russia energy relations: paving the way towards an energy union
No full textEU-Russia relations are in desperate need of legislative and institutional reform given the fragmented legal infrastructure regulating energy trade between these two powers. The paper will argue that the energy partnership is a highly strategic relationship that has profound implications for the international arena as far as energy security and stability are concerned, for which a solid over-arching legal framework is required. Other simmering issues include the absence of reciprocity in energy market access and the lack of coherence in external EU energy relations which has resulted in bilateralism emerging as the default approach of engagement. These issues are interrelated and closely affiliated to the need for a revised bilateral and international legal framework, as diverse positions and a lack of cooperation amongst Member States undermine collective EU actions and legislative initiatives. In this respect the paper advocates that the Energy Union may be a comprehensive solution to these challenges, by implementing a cohesive and fully functioning energy policy that will strengthen EU solidarity and coherence in the Union’s external relations, thereby bolstering EU energy security
Time-resolved simulations accentuate shear strain rates in sutured microvascular anastomoses
No full textRealistic arterial waveform available for simulation of microarterial flows of diameter 2.5mm
Labour Standards and Mega-Regionals: Innovative Rule-Making or Sticking to the Boilerplate?
No full textThe requirement to adopt minimum labour standards is now standard practice in free trade agreements negotiated by major trading powers such as the EU and US. However, such practice has historically been contested by developing countries, who contend that the requirement to increase labour and social protection standards is designed to remove one of the few competitive advantages that developing countries have over developed countries in attracting foreign investment. More recently, the EU and the US have also sought to use so-called ‘mega-regionals’ to promote labour standards. This was a significant development in that their proponents were keen to stress that these agreements would set the benchmark for labour protection provisions in FTAs, readily admitting that one of the central aims pursued by such agreements was to redefine the rules of the global trading system. The paper aims to assess the labour standards provisions included in EU and US FTAs, determine the rationale behind the inclusion of such provisions, and examine the extent to which mega-regionals such as the TTIP and the TPP marked a significant departure from past practice
European Union Law and Public Procurement
Get PDFThis paper discusses the law of the European Union (EU) on public procurement by providing an overview of both the primary law principles and foundations emanating from the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the detailed rules of a set of secondary procurement Directives. The latter have to be transposed into the national laws of the 28 Member States and are then applied by their contracting authorities and entities. The analysis also includes the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and a short evaluation of the principles applying to contracts falling outside the field of application of the procurement Directives
Singing Security: Representations of State and Non-State Protection in Jamaican Popular Music
No full textThis working paper explores representations of security and policing in popular Jamaican music, offering an initial survey of themes and a preliminary analysis of this music as a creative negotiation of insecurity emerging from some of the Caribbean’s most precarious urban spaces. In the
context of consistently high levels of violent crime, Jamaica has seen a pluralization of security professionals, with private security companies, neighborhood watches and informal “dons” complementing or supplanting state security forces. Drawing on an analysis of reggae and dancehall songs, this paper examines how these different policing agents are represented in reggae and dancehall lyrics, and specifically how their relationship to the urban poor is narrated. I build on previous analyses of urban violence and real or metaphorical gunplay in Jamaican popular music (e.g. Hope 2006; Cooper 2007) by emphasizing representations of security provision and protection rather than of aggression or “badmanism” per se, although these emphases are of course not mutually exclusive
Sunrise on Research
No full textSunrise above the clouds at Mount Wilson Observatory in California marks First Light on a new automated solar telescope. The image shows a new robotic mount installed at the top of the observatory 60-foot tower, where two telescopes capture light from the Sun. The telescope on the right houses a camera using intelligent machine vision to guide the mount following the movement of the Sun. The telescope on the left transmits sunlight along an optical fibre into a solar spectrometer in the observing room below. The system measures solar oscillations – sound waves that pass through the very core of the Sun and reveal the secrets of its deep interior that would otherwise be hidden behind the bright solar surface
Case Studies of Young People’s Health-Related Uses of Social Media - "Peer Endorsement"
No full textThese case studies demonstrate the varying ways young people use social media and the impacts of this behaviour on their health and wellbeing. The case studies are based on evidence generated with 1296 young people who worked with us to communicate their experiences of social media. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust [201601/Z/16/Z]
The case studies are relevant to adults who have a responsibility for young people’s health and wellbeing. If you would like to use these videos in your professional organisation or would like more information about the project please contact Dr Victoria Goodyear ([email protected]).
Peer Endoresement
This case study shows how likes are positioned as a form of endorsement, and how likes have a strong influence on young people’s engagement with health-related material and their health-related understandings and behaviours
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