A Precise Formulation of the Third Law of Thermodynamics

The third law of thermodynamics is formulated precisely: all points of the state space of zero temperature I""(0) are physically adiabatically inaccessible from the state space of a simple system. In addition to implying the unattainability of absolute zero in finite time (or ""by a finite number of operations""), it admits as corollary, under a continuity assumption, that all points of I""(0) are adiabatically equivalent. We argue that the third law is universally valid for all macroscopic systems which obey the laws of quantum mechanics and/or quantum field theory. We also briefly discuss why a precise formulation of the third law for black holes remains an open problem.

Biolinguistics or Physicolinguistics? Is The Third Factor Helpful Or Harmful In Explaining Language?

Noam Chomsky (2005) proposed that a ‘third factor’, consisting of general principles and natural laws, may explain core properties of language in a principled manner, minimizing the need for either genetic endowment or experience. But the focus on third-factor patterns in much recent bio-linguistic work is misguided for several reasons: First, ‘the’ third factor is a vague and disparate collection of unrelated components, useless as an analytical tool. Second, the vagueness of the third factor, together with the desire for principled explanations, too often leads to sweeping claims, such as syntax “coming for free, directly from physics”, that are unwarranted without a case-by-case causal analysis. Third, attention is diverted away from a proper causal analysis of language as a biological feature. The point with biolinguistics is to acknowledge the language faculty as a biological feature. The best way forward towards an understanding of language is to take the biology connection seriously, instead of dabbling with physics.

The position of Australian community sporting organisations in the third sector: membership profiles, characteristics and attitudes

Australian community sporting organisations have been relatively underresearched within the wider study of voluntary associations, yet their membership base is large and constitutes a sizable proportion of the population. This paper analyses data from the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) 2003 (Gibson et al. 2004), initially to describe characteristics ofmembers ofcommunity sporting organisations in Australia (n=948). It goes on to compare attitudinal dimensions between members of sporting and other major third-sector organisations. On the basis of these comparisons three groupings of associations are suggested: social change, individual/social progress and individual/social maintenance. Sporting organisations form part of the latter category, and the paper briefly discusses the likely nature of social capital production associated with each.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, diabetes, and ethnicity in the third national health and nutrition examination survey

OBJECTIVE— To determine the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and diabetes risk and whether it varies by ethnicity.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— We performed an analysis of data from participants who attended the morning examination of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988–1994), a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population. Serum levels of 25OHD, which reflect vitamin D status, were available from 6,228 people (2,766 non-Hispanic whites, 1,736 non-Hispanic blacks, and 1,726 Mexican Americans) aged ≥20 years with fasting and/or 2-h plasma glucose and serum insulin measurements.
RESULTS— Adjusting for sex, age, BMI, leisure activity, and quarter of year, ethnicityspecific odds ratios (ORs) for diabetes (fasting glucose ≥7.0 mmol/l) varied inversely across quartiles of 25OHD in a dose-dependent pattern (OR 0.25 [95% CI 0.11– 0.60] for non-Hispanic whites and 0.17 [0.08–0.37] for Mexican Americans) in the highest vitamin D quartile (25OHD ≥81.0 nmol/l) compared with the lowest 25OHD (≥43.9 nmol/l). This inverse association
was not observed in non-Hispanic blacks. Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (loge) was inversely associated with serum 25OHD in Mexican Americans (P ≥ 0.0024) and non-Hispanic whites (P≥0.058) but not non-Hispanic blacks (P≥0.93), adjusting for confounders.
CONCLUSIONS— These results show an inverse association between vitamin D status and diabetes, possibly involving insulin resistance, in non-Hispanic whites and Mexican Americans. The lack of an inverse association in non-Hispanic blacks may reflect decreased sensitivity to vitamin D and/or related hormones such as the parathyroid hormone.

Muslim - Christian relations and the third crusade : medievalist imaginings

This article takes as its starting-point the responsiveness of children's literature to socio-political events, considering how contemporary anxieties about relationships between Muslim and Christian individuals and cultures inform three historical novels set in the period of the Third Crusade (1189-92): Karleen Bradford's Lionheart's Scribe (1999), K. M. Grant's Blood Red Horse (2004), and Elizabeth Laird's Crusade (2008). In these novels, encounters between young Christian and Muslim protagonists are represented through language and representational modes which owe a good deal to the habits of thought and expression which typify orientalist discourses in Western fiction. In effect, the novels produce two versions of medievalism: a Muslim medieval world which is irretrievably pre-modern, locked into rigid pracices and beliefs against which individuals are powerless; and a Christian medieval world which offers individuals the possibility of progressing to an enhanced state of personal fulfilment. The article argues that the narratives of all three novels incorporate particularly telling moments when Christian protagonists return to England, regretfully leaving Muslim friends. The impossibility of  enduring friendships between Muslims and Christians is based on the novels' assumptions about the incommensurability of cultures and religions; specifically, that there exists
an unbridgeable gulf between Islam and Christianity.

Public relations in the third sector

This chapter explore the growth of the third sector (NGOs, not for profits and community action groups) and their use of communication techniques from a socio-cultural perspective.