Intimate Mixing - Bridging the Gap? Catholic-Protestant Relationships in Northern Ireland

For many years Northern Ireland has been a divided society where members of the two main religious groups, Catholics and Protestants, have limited opportunities to interact due to segregation in their social lives. Attempts have been made to encourage religious mixing through integration in schools, housing and workplaces predicated on the theory that bringing people together can improve community relations and remove prejudices – known as the ‘contact hypothesis’. However, little is known about those who enter into mixed-religion partnerships often against the wishes of their families and communities. This paper examines the characteristics and attitudes of mixed-religion couples and suggests that they differ in their socio-demographic characteristics and in their attitudes from those who marry within their own religion. These findings add to the weight of evidence from other countries in conflict suggesting that intermarriage has a role to play in contributing to less sectarian views and improved community relations.

Large acoustic solitons and double layers in plasmas with two positive ion species

Large nonlinear acoustic waves are discussed in a plasma made up of cold supersonic and adiabatic subsonic positive ions, in the presence of hot isothermal electrons, with the help of Sagdeev pseudopotential theory. In this model, no solitons are found at the acoustic speed, and no compositional parameter ranges exist where solutions of opposite polarities can coexist. All nonlinear modes are thus super-acoustic, but polarity changes are possible. The upper limits on admissible structure velocities come from different physical arguments, in a strict order when the fractional cool ion density is increased: infinite cold ion compression, warm ion sonic point, positive double layers, negative double layers, and finally, positive double layers again. However, not all ranges exist for all mass and temperature ratios. Whereas the cold and warm ion sonic point limitations are always present over a wide range of mass and temperature ratios, and thus positive polarity solutions can easily be obtained, double layers have a more restricted existence range, specially if polarity changes are sought. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3579397]

Temperature-dependent gap edge in strong-coupling superconductors determined using the Eliashberg-Nambu formalism

Using the theory of Eliashberg and Nambu for strong-coupling superconductors, we have calculated the gap function for a model superconductor and a selection of real superconductors includong the elements Al, Sn, Tl, Nb, In, Pb and Hg and one alloy, Bi2Tl. We have determined thetemperature-dependent gap edge in each and found that in materials with weak electron-phonon ($\lambda 1.20$), not only is the gap edge double valued but it also departs significantly from the BCS form and develops a shoulderlike structure which may, in some cases, denote a gap edge exceeding the $T = 0$ value. These computational results support the insights obtained by Leavens in an analytic consideration of the general problem. Both the shoulder and double value arise from a common origin seated in the form of the gap function in strong coupled materials at finite temperatures. From the calculated gap function, we can determine the densities of states in the materials and the form of the tunneling current-voltage characteristics for junctions with these materials as electroddes. By way of illustration, results are shown for the contrasting cases of Sn ($\lambda=0.74$) and Hg ($\lambad=1.63$). The reported results are distinct in several ways from BCS predictions and provide an incentive determinative experimental studies with techniques such as tunneling and far infrared absorption.

Bridging the Gap between CO Adsorption Studies on Gold Model Surfaces and Supported Nanoparticles

A happy medium: Volumetric adsorption of carbon monoxide at 308 K and UHR-HAADF-STEM, HREM, and computer modeling techniques were compared. Experimental CO/Au ratios at saturation coverage for two supported gold catalysts were shown to fit very well the predictions of a nanostructural model that considers CO adsorption on gold sites with coordination numbers of less than eight.

Estimating the Density of Honeybee Colonies across Their Natural Range to Fill the Gap in Pollinator Decline Censuses

Although pollinator declines are a global biodiversity threat, the demography of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera) has not been considered by conservationists because it is biased by the activity of beekeepers. To fill this gap in pollinator decline censuses and to provide a broad picture of the current status of honeybees across their natural range, we used microsatellite genetic markers to estimate colony densities and genetic diversity at different locations in Europe, Africa, and central Asia that had different patterns of land use. Genetic diversity and colony densities were highest in South Africa and lowest in Northern Europe and were correlated with mean annual temperature. Confounding factors not related to climate, however, are also likely to influence genetic diversity and colony densities in honeybee populations. Land use showed a significantly negative influence over genetic diversity and the density of honeybee colonies over all sampling locations. In Europe honeybees sampled in nature reserves had genetic diversity and colony densities similar to those sampled in agricultural landscapes, which suggests that the former are not wild but may have come from managed hives. Other results also support this idea: putative wild bees were rare in our European samples, and the mean estimated density of honeybee colonies on the continent closely resembled the reported mean number of managed hives. Current densities of European honeybee populations are in the same range as those found in the adverse climatic conditions of the Kalahari and Saharan deserts, which suggests that beekeeping activities do not compensate for the loss of wild colonies. Our findings highlight the importance of reconsidering the conservation status of honeybees in Europe and of regarding beekeeping not only as a profitable business for producing honey, but also as an essential component of biodiversity conservation.

Towards Charity Accountability: Narrowing the gap between provision and needs?

Although charities currently play a rich and varied role in modern society, their continued success is dependent upon the public's trust. With respect to charity accountability, two key questions emerge: to whom is a charity accountable; and what form should that account take? Despite the widespread acceptance that charities should discharge accountability, there is limited knowledge of the relative importance of different stakeholder groups and whether the information currently being disclosed meets their needs. Using extensive document analysis and a survey of stakeholders, this research explores these issues in the context of the top 100 UK fundraising charities. Furthermore, it compares the results with much earlier research to identify changes over time.

Parent Issues: How Life on Mars Negotiates a Television Generation Gap

In defining what he termed 'Television's Second Golden Age', Robert J.Thompson refers to characteristics such as being 'not regular TV', internal continuity, mixed genres but an aspiration towards 'realism', complex writing, self-consciousness and intertextuality. Such characteristics are displayed by the BBC series Life on Mars (2006-2007) which intermingles the Seventies tough cop show with psychological fantasy. This chapter examines the way that the series can be understood as a dramatisation of the negotiation that the creators undertook with their Seventies source material to update it for the values and qualities of contemporary television drama. It will emphasise the importance of television in the generation of the imagined 1973 and its characters, but also as an ongoing connection between the real and the imagined within the programme, including forming a breach of the boundaries between the two. Sam's actions within his Seventies world to remake it to include his own ideas of justice and due process while retaining the passion and freedom of action that the milieu provides will also be be examined in relation to the series' creators' needs to remake the Seventies tough-cop show in the light of modern social and media mores. The paper will also consider how Sam has to come to terms with his father's crimes, as the series' creators had to come to terms with the 'crimes' of taste, morality and approach of their 'parent' programmes from the Seventies' Golden Age.