Making an example of rioters

This article appeared on the OUP Blog Website on 25 August 2011. The final version can be accessed at the link below.In the wake of the recent riots, much attention has been given to the causes of the riots but an issue now at the forefront of press and public concern is the level of punishment being meted out to those convicted of riot-related offences. Reports of first offenders being convicted and imprisoned for thefts of items of small value have raised questions about the purposes of sentencing, the problems of giving exemplary sentences and of inconsistency, as well as the issue of political pressure on sentencers. The government has been emphasising the need for harsh punishment for riot-related offences and this has been reflected in some very severe sentences for offenders with no previous convictions, including young offenders, and where offenders have pleaded guilty

CurrentcChallenges in the process of constabularisation of the armed forces and militarization of the civilian police

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Climate Change and Damage from Extreme Weather Events

The risks of extreme weather events are typically being estimated, by federal agencies and others, with historical frequency data assumed to reflect future probabilities. These estimates may not yet have adequately factored in the effects of past and future climate change, despite strong evidence of a changing climate. They have relied on historical data stretching back as far as fifty or a hundred years that may be increasingly unrepresentative of future conditions. Government and private organizations that use these risk assessments in designing programs and projects with long expected lifetimes may therefore be investing too little to make existing and newly constructed infrastructure resistant to the effects of changing climate. New investments designed to these historical risk standards may suffer excess damages and poor returns. This paper illustrates the issue with an economic analysis of the risks of relatively intense hurricanes striking the New York City region.climate; global warming; natural disasters; risk; adaptation

Flexible format, computer accessed telemetry system

With this system, it is possible to sample and generate two or more simultaneous formats; one can be transmitted to ground station in real time, and other is stored for later transmission. Sensor output comparison data, plus information to control format, compression algorithm, and allowable degree of sensor activity, are stored in memory

Recasting results in equivariant geometry: affine cosets, observable subgroups and existence of good quotients

Using the language of stacks, we recast and generalize a selection of results in equivariant geometry