363 research outputs found
Structure formation simulations with momentum exchange: alleviating tensions between high-redshift and low-redshift cosmological probes
No full textPersisting tensions between the cosmological constraints derived from
low-redshift probes and the ones obtained from temperature and polarisation
anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background -- although not yet providing
compelling evidence against the CDM model -- seem to consistently
indicate a slower growth of density perturbations as compared to the
predictions of the standard cosmological scenario. Such behavior is not easily
accommodated by the simplest extensions of General Relativity, such as f(R)
models, which generically predict an enhanced growth rate. In the present work
we present the outcomes of a suite of large N-body simulations carried out in
the context of a cosmological model featuring a non-vanishing scattering cross
section between the dark matter and the dark energy fields, for two different
parameterisations of the dark energy equation of state. Our results indicate
that these Dark Scattering models have very mild effects on many observables
related to large-scale structures formation and evolution, while providing a
significant suppression of the amplitude of linear density perturbations and
the abundance of massive clusters. Our simulations therefore confirm that these
models offer a promising route to alleviate existing tensions between
low-redshift measurements and those of the CMB
Climate change and equity
No full textThe Gavin Mooney Memorial Essay Competition honours the work and memory of the late Professor Gavin Mooney, a health economist who was a tireless advocate for social justice in local, national and international arenas.
Launched in 2013, the competition seeks to draw public attention to social justice and health equity concerns, and to recognise the public-interest value of writing and writers.
The inaugural competition called for essays on the theme of climate change and equity, in recognition of the work of Professor Mooney’s late partner Dr Delys Weston. Each year the competition will call for entries related to a theme around equity and social justice.
Sydney GP Dr Tim Senior took out the inaugural 2013 prize with his essay “Climate Change and Equity: Whose Language Is It Anyway?”. The judges said the winning entry challenges the language of climate change activism, and also incorporates the voices of those who are most likely to be affected by climate change.
The four runner-up entries are by Steve Campbell and Lucie Rychetnik, Oscar McLaren, Peter Boyer and Dora Marinova, and Fergus Green
Environmental destruction and resistance : a closer look at the violent reoccupation of the DRC\u2019s Kahuzi-Biega National Park
No full textAbstract: The decision of the indigenous Batwa to reoccupy parts of eastern DRC\u2019s Kahuzi-Biega National Park by force shocked many outside observers. They were further shocked when the Batwa started to ally with rebel groups, traders, and illegal timber cutters in order to exploit part of the ancestral forest they had been forced to leave decades prior. In a recently-published article in the Journal of Peasant Studies, Fergus Simpson and Sara Geenen show why the Batwa\u2019s decision to return to the park should in fact come as anything but a surprise
Environmental destruction and resistance: a closer look at the violent reoccupation of the DRC’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park
No full textThe decision of the indigenous Batwa to reoccupy parts of eastern DRC’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park by force shocked many outside observers. They were further shocked when the Batwa started to ally with rebel groups, traders, and illegal timber cutters in order to exploit part of the ancestral forest they had been forced to leave decades prior. In a recently-published article in the Journal of Peasant Studies, Fergus Simpson and Sara Geenen show why the Batwa’s decision to return to the park should in fact come as anything but a surprise
Environmental destruction and resistance: a closer look at the violent reoccupation of the DRC’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park
No full textThe decision of the indigenous Batwa to reoccupy parts of eastern DRC’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park by force shocked many outside observers. They were further shocked when the Batwa started to ally with rebel groups, traders, and illegal timber cutters in order to exploit part of the ancestral forest they had been forced to leave decades prior. In a recently-published article in the Journal of Peasant Studies, Fergus Simpson and Sara Geenen show why the Batwa’s decision to return to the park should in fact come as anything but a surprise
Destruction de l\u2019environnement et r\ue9sistance : comment comprendre la r\ue9occupation violente du parc national de Kahuzi-Biega en RDC
No full textAbstract: En octobre 2018, de centaines d\u2019individus Batwa \u2013 un peuple indig\ue8ne qui avait \ue9t\ue9 expuls\ue9 du parc de Kahuzi-Biega \u2013 r\ue9occupaient le parc par la force. A l\u2019\ue9poque, leurs actions avaient surprises nombreux observateurs, d\u2019autant plus que certains Batwa commen\ue7aient \ue0 s\u2019allier avec des groupes rebelles, des coupeurs de bois ill\ue9gaux et des commer\ue7ants de minerais. Jusqu\u2019\ue0 pr\ue9sent, ces actions ont cr\ue9\ue9 une destruction massive des ressources foresti\ue8res, et entra\ueen\ue9 plusieurs bless\ue9s et des morts. Dans un article r\ue9cent pour le Journal of Peasant Studies, Fergus Simpson et Sara Geenen expliquent pourquoi les actions violentes des Batwa ne devaient pas du tout surprendre les observateurs
Indigenous Batwa are neither guardians nor destroyers of the forest
No full textAbstract: In the Kahuzi-Biega National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo, some actors portray the Batwa as \u2018forest destroyers\u2019, while others laud them as \u2018forest guardians\u2019. However, both framings divert attention from the underlying causes of environmental destruction, writes Fergus Simpson, Kristof Titeca, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Thomas Muller and Mwamibantu Muliri Dubois
An overlapping spheres model of cell-cell interactions
No full textCode for a Part B BSP student project in the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford supervised by Fergus Cooper.
The main author is not yet attributed to maintain anonymity until after the project has been graded
The lordship of Galloway c. 1000 to c. 1250
No full textThe recorded history of the lordship under the House of Fergus
lasted from only e. 1130 to 1231, but its origins lie in the fusion of
the various peoples settled there by c. 1000. A blend of Celtic and
Germanic groups created a hybrid culture that had more in common with
Man and the Isles than mainland Scotland. Galwegian attitudes to and
relationship with Scotland before c. 1130 are unclear, but ties with
York and Man had greater value than Scottish claims to overlordship.
The emergence of a powerful line of rulers kept the ambitions of the
Crown in check, but any divisions in their ranks were exploited by the
Scots. Close family links with the Plantagenet kings provided a
counterbalance to Scottish interference, but brought English
overlordship instead. This had the side-effect of securing the
separation of the see of Whithorn from the Scottish Church.
Marriage and kinship ties brought the lords political power in
Scotland, England and Man, and control of estates outwith the
lordship. This in turn led to the closer integration of Galloway into
Scotland as its rulers gained high office in the kingdom. Thus the
lords developed a dual character as Anglo-Scottish baron and Celtic
chieftain. Introduction of Normanised colonists and the development
of 'feudal' military tenures fostered this transition and eroded
regional particularism. Integration was accelerated by elimination of
the male line and partition between heiresses married into
Anglo-Norman families. Division broke the power of Galloway, weakened
the influence of its new rulers over the Galwegians and gave the Crown
the control for which it had long striven
Copernican Reasoning About Intelligent Extraterrestrials: A Reply to Simpson
No full textCopernican reasoning involves considering ourselves, in the absence of other information, to be randomly selected members of a reference class. Consider the reference class intelligent observers. If there are extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs), taking ourselves to be randomly selected intelligent observers leads to the conclusion that it is likely the Earth has a larger population size than the typical planet inhabited by intelligent life, for the same reason that a randomly selected human is likely to come from a more populous country. The astrophysicist Fergus Simpson contends that this reasoning supports the claims that the typical planet inhabited by ETIs is smaller than Earth (radius about 5,000km; cf. Earth's radius = 6,371km) and that the typical ETI is significantly larger than us about 314kg, the size of an adult male grizzly bear). Simpson's applications of Copernican reasoning are novel and exciting. They should be of interest to philosophers concerned with Richard Gott's delta t argument, the N=1 problem in astrobiology, limited principles of indifference, and probabilistic epistemology in general. While we agree with Simpson about the qualitative direction of his conclusions, we take issue with his presentation of precise quantitative results because his methods (1) display bias, (2) ignore other variables contributing to population size, (3) commit an equivocation, and (4) conceal their dependence on arbitrary assumptions
- …
