Photometry of cometary nuclei: Rotation rates, colours and a comparison with Kuiper Belt Objects

We present time-series data on Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) 17P/Holmes, 47P/Ashbrook-Jackson and 137P/Shoemaker-Levy 2. In addition we also present results from `snap-shot' observations of comets 43P/Wolf-Harrington, 44P/Reinmuth 2, 103P/Hartley 2 and 104P/Kowal 2 taken during the same run. The comets were at heliocentric distances of between 3 and 7 au at this time. We present measurements of size and activity levels for the snap-shot targets. The time-series data allow us to constrain rotation periods and shapes, and thus bulk densities. We also measure colour indices (V - R) and (R - I) and reliable radii for these comets. We compare all of our findings to date with similar results for other comets and Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs). We find that the rotational properties of nuclei and KBOs are very similar, that there is evidence for a cut-off in bulk densities at ~0.6 g cm-3 in both populations, and the colours of the two populations show similar correlations. For JFCs, there is no observational evidence for the optical colours being dependent on either position in the orbit or orbital parameters.

A UKST survey of blue objects towards the Galactic centre - seven additional fields

We are searching for early-type stars towards the Galactic centre which are potentially young objects situated within the inner few kiloparsecs of the disk. Photographic photometry from the UK Schmidt Telescope has been used to identify the bluest candidates in nineteen Schmidt fields (centred close to the Galactic centre). We have previously obtained FLAIR low dispersion spectroscopy for three of these fields to estimate spectral types and here we present spectroscopy for an additional seven fields. Combining the results for all ten fields, 56 stars were initially classified as early-B type. Estimates of the equivalent widths of their Balmer and He I lines have been used to estimate atmospheric parameters and 32 targets have effective temperatures greater than or equal to 17 000 K (corresponding to a spectral type of B3 or earlier). The spectra of seven of these targets also have absorption lines due to O II and Si III and can be reliably classified as early- B type. Additionally 78 stars have estimated effective temperatures between 11 000 and 16 000 K with a further a further 50 objects identified as late-B (or early-A) type. All but two of the early B-type candidates have magnitudes in the range 12.0 less than or equal to V less than or equal to 16.0, and our best estimates of their distance suggest that they could be close to (i.e. R-g <3 kpc), or even beyond the Galactic centre.

On the road from consultation cynicism to energising e-consultation

A major concern in recent political discourse is that government has become both isolated from and unresponsive to its citizens. Democracy, by definition, demands a two-way flow of communication between government and civil society and it is now commonly argued that ICTs have the potential to facilitate such improved flows of communication--hence, e-democracy and e-consultation. The preliminary research findings presented here are part of a larger ongoing research project on e-consultation on the island of Ireland (see http://e-consultation.org). The paper initially draws on focus group discussions on the theme of (e)consultation conducted amongst activist citizens. High levels of frustration, scepticism and cynicism were expressed on the form, nature and process of extant consultation processes. The main focus addressed in this paper, however, is on how these citizens envisage ICT being used in future e-consultations. In general, most focus group participants were open to the use of ICT in future e-consultation processes but the consensus was that community groups did not currently have access to an appropriate level or range of infrastructure, technologies or skills. As a follow up to the focus group findings the research group ran a number of demonstrations on e-consultation technologies with invited activist citizens. Technologies introduced included chat room, video-conferencing, WikiPedia, WebIQ, Zing and others. The main preliminary findings and feedback from one such demonstration, and our own observations, are then presented which suggest that the potential does exist for using e-consultation technologies in local democracy and in local government to drive positive change in the government-citizen relationship. We present no na�¯ve solutions here; we merely point to some possibilities and we acknowledge that ICT alone is very unlikely to be a panacea for the declining levels of citizen participation in most democratic societies.

Accessing the Institutions: The Road to the Socialist-Green Alliance in Spain

This article traces the strategic re-orientation of the Spanish Greens (Los Verdes) from a position of hostility toward the Socialists (PSOE) to one of collaboration that allowed them to gain parliamentary representation in the 2004 national and European elections. Drawing upon insights from the party politics literature, it schematizes a model and then proceeds to use it to provide a diachronic account of factionalist conflict within the ranks of the Greens and their close competitors, the structure of political opportunities, exogenous factors and their interrelationship, up to the point of the electoral agreement between the two parties. In concludes by highlighting the role played by the Madrid bombings in bringing the PSOE back into power and offers some projections about the future institutional access of the Greens.

A Long and Winding Road to Employment?: Disabled young people in Northern Ireland making the transition to adulthood

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research project that explores the experiences and aspirations of disabled young people in Northern Ireland as they make and deal with the transition to adulthood. The study involved young people with disabilities (n=76) in four areas of Northern Ireland, ensuring a geographical spread, an urban/rural mix and representation of both communities. Young people with learning disabilities were included as well as those with physical and/or sensory impairments. This paper focuses on those who were completing job training or work placements and examines the role of such schemes in assisting young people’s transition to adulthood. The research found that many young people had positive experiences of work placement and job training and that social interaction was important to them. Few young people, however, had made the actual transition from work placement or training to ‘real’ employment.