The Liberal Way of War? French representations of the Allies, 1944-2008

This chapter looks at the ways in which Anglo-American participants in the Liberation of France have been represented in French narratives in the decades since the Second World War, through the developing French historiography of Allied participation in the War, and through the various roles assigned to the Allies in key postwar memorialisation ceremonies in France.

Reduced-order dynamics of the Martian atmospheric dynamics

In this paper we explore the possibility of deriving low-dimensional models of the dynamics of the Martian atmosphere. The analysis consists of a Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) of the atmospheric streamfunction after first decomposing the vertical structure with a set of eigenmodes. The vertical modes were obtained from the quasi-geostrophic vertical structure equation. The empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) were optimized to represent the atmospheric total energy. The total energy was used as the criterion to retain those modes with large energy content and discard the rest. The principal components (PCs) were analysed by means of Fourier analysis, so that the dominant frequencies could be identified. It was possible to observe the strong influence of the diurnal cycle and to identify the motion and vacillation of baroclinic waves.

Deglacial changes of the southern margin of the southern westerly winds revealed by terrestrial records from SW Patagonia (52 degrees S)

Much of the ongoing discussion regarding synchrony or bipolar asynchrony of paleoclimate events has centered on the timing and structure of the last glacial termination in the southern mid- latitudes, in particular the southwestern Patagonian region (50�e55�S). Its location adjacent to the Drake Passage andnear the southern margin of the southern westerly winds (SWW) allows examining the postulated links between the Southern Oceane SWW coupled system and tmospheric CO2 variations through the last glacial termination. Results from two sites located in the Última Esperanza area (52�S) allow us to infer SWW-driven changes in hydrologic balance during this critical time interval. These findings indicate peatland development under temperate/wet conditions between 14,600 and 14,900 cal yr BP, followed by cooling and a lake transgressive phase that led to a shallow lake during the early part of the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR, 13,600-14,600 cal yr BP), followed in turn by a deeper lake and modest warming during Younger Dryas time (YD, 11,800-13,000 cal yr BP), superseded by terrestrialization and forest expansion at the beginning of the Holocene. We propose that the SWW (i) strengthened and shifted northward during ACR time causing a precipitation rise in northwestern and southwestern Patagonia coeval with mid- and high-latitude cooling and a halt in the deglacial atmospheric CO2 rise; (ii) shifted southward during YD time causing a precipitation decline/increase in NW/SW Patagonia, respectively, high-latitude warming, and invigorated CO2 release from the Southern Ocean; (iii) became weaker between 10,000 and 11,500 cal yr BP causing a precipitation decline throughout Patagonia, concurrent with peak mid- and high-latitude temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

Coupled versus uncoupled hindcast simulations of the Madden-Julian oscillation in the Year of Tropical Convection

This study investigates the impact of a full interactive ocean on daily initialised 15 day hindcasts of the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO), measured against a Met Office Unified Model (MetUM) atmosphere control simulation (AGCM) during a 3 month period of the Year of Tropical Convection (YOTC). Results indicated that the coupled configuration (CGCM) extends MJO predictability over that of the AGCM, by up to 3-5 days. Propagation is improved in the CGCM, which we partly attribute to a more realistic phase relationship between sea surface temperature (SST) and convection. In addition, the CGCM demonstrates skill in representing downwelling oceanic Kelvin and Rossby waves which warm SSTs along their trajectory, with the potential to feed back on the atmosphere. These results imply that an ocean model capable of simulating internal ocean waves may be required to capture the full effect of air-sea coupling for the MJO.

CAP reform, 2005-14, and the muted role of the dis-United Kingdom

In 2003 the CAP underwent a significant reform. Despite a seemingly endless turmoil of CAP reform, in 2005 the British government pressed for a new reform debate, and in the European Council meeting of December 2005 secured a commitment for the Commission “to undertake a full, wide ranging review covering all aspects of EU spending, including the CAP, ...” But but the initiative petered out, and the CAP ‘reform’ package proposed by the Commission, and then adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers in 2013, fell well short of the UK’s initial ambition. The chapter attempts to explore the reasons leading to the UK’s failed policy initiative.

Developing temporary manufacturing facilities for residential building: a case of the modern flying factory

The building industry is often berated for its short comings in meeting up with the demand for the provision of new housing. Addressing the need for new housing stock is a challenge that has led to debates among professional bodies, the construction sector, housing industry and government. The introduction of new manufacturing technologies is often offered as a solution, but the challenges of increasing the amount of off-site construction in residential building are well known and well-rehearsed. The modern flying factory (MFF) is a concept that involves the manufacture of specific components or modules in temporary off- or near- site locations using relatively simple and quick to set up and dismantle technologies and processes. The aim is to produce short batches and hence achieve some of the benefits of off-site manufacture on a much smaller scale than in dedicated factory environments. A case study of a modern flying factory being set up to produce pre-assembled utility cupboards for a large residential development in London is presented, involving participant observation and informal interviews with key actors on the design and operationalising of the process. The case reveals that although there are costs, efficiency and health and safety benefits to using MFF approaches, there are also challenges to overcome over the time required to set up and establish the process for relatively short runs, and in evaluating whether the MFF or traditional site based production is most effective for particular aspects of projects.

Everyday revolution: the making of the Soviet Urban commune

This chapter charts the rise the urban commune as a cultural construct in early Soviet Russia and, in so doing, explores the implication of assessing the spaces in-between the apparatus of state -- very much a new venture in Soviet history.