In search of liberal Tsarism: the historiography of autocratic decline

The idea that the autocracy might have successfully modernized itself has, in recent years, spread widely beyond academic circles. However, a look at traditional and recent historiography shows that very few historians support this line. Even those who argue that Russia itself was developing rapidly have seen little prospect of the autocracy surviving the process. Equally, those who argue that radical socialist revolution might have been avoided tend to suggest, often by implication rather than in an explicit fashion, that a democratic, capitalist, bourgeois, and constitutional revolution was the alternative path. Thus it was not so much a question of tsarism or revolution but rather what kind of revolution was Russia facing

Causation: Philosophy of Science

In The Critique of Pure Reason (first published in 1781), the German philosopher Immanuel Kant maintained that causation was one of the fundamental concepts that rendered the empirical world comprehensible to humans. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, psychology was beginning to show just how pervasive human reasoning concerning cause and effect is. Even young children seem to naturally organize their knowledge of the world according to relations of cause and effect. It is hardly surprising, then, that causation has been a topic of great interest in philosophy, and that many philosophers have attempted to analyze the relationship between cause and effect. Among the more prominent proposals are the following: Causation consists in the instantiation of exceptionless regularities (Hume 1975, 1999; Mill1856; Hempel1965; Mackie 1974); causation is to be understood in terms of relations of probabilistic dependence (Reichenbach 1956, Suppes 1970, Cartwright 1983, Eells 1991); causation is the relation that holds between means and ends (Gasking 1955, von Wright 1975, Woodward 2003); causes are events but for which their effects would not have happened (Lewis 1986); causes and effects are connected by physical processes that are capable of transmitting certain types of properties (Salmon 1984, Dowe 2000). It often happens, however, that advances in science force people to abandon aspects of their common sense picture of the world. For example, Einstein's theories of relativity have forced people to rethink their conceptions of time, space, matter, and energy. What lessons does science teach about the concept of causation

Entanglement creation and distribution on a graph of exchange-coupled qutrits

We propose a protocol that allows both the creation and distribution of entanglement, resulting in two distant parties (Alice and Bob) conclusively sharing a bipartite Bell State. The system considered is a graph of three-level objects ("qutrits") coupled by SU(3) exchange operators. The protocol begins with a third party (Charlie) encoding two lattice sites in unentangled states, and allowing unitary evolution under time. Alice and Bob perform a projective measurement on their respective qutrits at a given time, and obtain a maximally-entangled Bell state with a certain probablility. We also consider two further protocols, one based on simple repetition and the other based on successive measurements and conditional resetting, and show that the cumulative probability of creating a Bell state between Alice and Bob tends to unity.Comment: Added seven references, clarified argument for eqn (16

Photoionization of Galactic Halo Gas by Old Supernova Remnants

We present new calculations on the contribution from cooling hot gas to the photoionization of warm ionized gas in the Galaxy. We show that hot gas in cooling supernova remnants (SNRs) is an important source of photoionization, particularly for gas in the halo. We find that in many regions at high latitude this source is adequate to account for the observed ionization so there is no need to find ways to transport stellar photons from the disk. The flux from cooling SNRs sets a floor on the ionization along any line of sight. Our model flux is also shown to be consistent with the diffuse soft X-ray background and with soft X-ray observations of external galaxies. We consider the ionization of the clouds observed towards the halo star HD 93521, for which there are no O stars close to the line of sight. We show that the observed ionization can be explained successfully by our model EUV/soft X-ray flux from cooling hot gas. In particular, we can match the H alpha intensity, the S++/S+ ratio, and the C+* column. From observations of the ratios of columns of C+* and either S+ or H0, we are able to estimate the thermal pressure in the clouds. The slow clouds require high (~10^4 cm^-3 K) thermal pressures to match the N(C+*)/N(S+) ratio. Additional heating sources are required for the slow clouds to maintain their ~7000 K temperatures at these pressures, as found by Reynolds, Hausen & Tufte (1999).Comment: AASTeX 5.01; 34 pages, 2 figures; submitted to Astrophysical Journa

The Absorption Signatures of Dwarf Galaxies: The z=1.04 Multicloud Weak MgII Absorber toward PG 1634+706

We analyze high resolution spectra of a multi--cloud weak [defined as W_r(MgII) < 0.3 A] absorbing system along the line of sight to PG 1634+706. This system gives rise to a partial Lyman limit break and absorption in MgII, SiII, CII, SiIII, SiIV, CIV, and OVI. The lower ionization transitions arise in two kinematic subsystems with a separation of ~150 km/s. Each subsystem is resolved into several narrow components, having Doppler widths of 3-10 kms. For both subsystems, the OVI absorption arises in a separate higher ionization phase, in regions dominated by bulk motions in the range of 30-40 km/s. The two OVI absorption profiles are kinematically offset by ~50 km/s with respect to each of the two lower ionization subsystem. In the stronger subsystem, the SiIII absorption is strong with a distinctive, smooth profile shape and may partially arise in shock heated gas. Moreover, the kinematic substructure of SiIV traces that of the lower ionization MgII, but may be offset by ~3 km/s. Based upon photoionization models, constrained by the partial Lyman limit break, we infer a low metallicity of ~0.03 solar for the low ionization gas in both subsystems. The broader OVI phases have a somewhat higher metallicity, and they are consistent with photoionization; the profiles are not broad enough to imply production of OVI through collisional ionization. Various models, including outer disks, dwarf galaxies, and superwinds, are discussed to account for the phase structure, metallicity, and kinematics of this absorption system. We favor an interpretation in which the two subsystems are produced by condensed clouds far out in the opposite extremes of a multi-layer dwarf galaxy superwind

Weak antilocalization in quasi-two-dimensional electronic states of epitaxial LuSb thin films

Observation of large non-saturating magnetoresistance in rare-earth monopnictides has raised enormous interest in understanding the role of its electronic structure. Here, by a combination of molecular-beam epitaxy, low-temperature transport, angle-resolved photoemssion spectroscopy, and hybrid density functional theory we have unveiled the bandstructure of LuSb, where electron-hole compensation is identified as a mechanism responsible for large magnetoresistance in this topologically trivial compound. In contrast to bulk single crystal analogues, quasi-two-dimensional behavior is observed in our thin films for both electron and holelike carriers, indicative of dimensional confinement of the electronic states. Introduction of defects through growth parameter tuning results in the appearance of quantum interference effects at low temperatures, which has allowed us to identify the dominant inelastic scattering processes and elucidate the role of spin-orbit coupling. Our findings open up new possibilities of band structure engineering and control of transport properties in rare-earth monopnictides via epitaxial synthesis.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures; includes supplementary informatio

Monuments in a Landscape: An Analysis of the Placement of Monuments in the Landscape of the Lower Barrow River Valley 4500 BC to AD 1500

This thesis endeavours to reconstruct and interpret the cultural landscape of the Lower Barrow River Valley in southeastern Ireland, focusing primarily upon the creation of sacred landscapes. Through an examination of the placement of monuments in the valley over a period of 6,000 years (4500 Be to AD 1500), two multi-period complexes of primarily sacred prehistoric sites have been identified. This identification was achieved through the construction of highly detailed distribution maps. These maps facilitated both the statistical analysis of relationships between monuments and aspects of the natural landscape and a more subjective interpretation of the spatial relationships between different monument types over the time period in question. Whereas numerous correlations between monument types and particular aspects of the natural landscape have been identified, the spatial associations between different monuments and larger geographical features such as the Barrow River, Brandon Hill and the Pass of Gowran proved to be crucial in the creation of sacred landscapes.Master of Arts (MA

Professional Development of in-Service Teachers Utilizing Mobile Technology in Classrooms: A Qualitative Case Study

If an in-service teacher does not receive professional development either formally or informally, it can be baneful to the use and adaption of mobile technology in the classroom. While Professional Development (PD) has shown positive results in schools and classrooms, it could be beneficial in helping in-service teachers adapt and utilize mobile technology into their Student-Centered Teaching. In this qualitative case study, five in-service K-12 teachers were given PD for their classroom mobile technology and six in-service K-12 teachers were not. Over their schools’ fall semester (18 weeks), these eleven in-service teachers used mobile technology with their classroom lessons and school curriculum for their Student Learning Objectives (SLO). All were studied through three sets of interviews during the first five weeks of the spring semester to understand the relevance of PD with the use of their classroom mobile technology and semester learning goals. Each teacher was independently studied and cross-analyzed to find themes that helped or hampered their use of mobile technology in their classrooms. The use of school PD, collaboration, and student use played into this study as major factors in these teachers’ successes or failures. Professional Development is a value that provides more context and support for mobile technology for not only in-service teachers, but for students and school curricula as well

Responses to Dissatisfaction in Psychotheraphy: The Influence of Prior Satisfaction, Perceptions of Problem Severity and Attachment Style

This study examined the influence of prior satisfaction, perceptions of problem severity, and attachment style in determining Rusbult\u27s Exit, Voice, Loyalty, and Neglect responses to dissatisfying events depicted in a psychotherapy simulation. Constructive responses to therapy dissatisfaction (i.e., Voice and Loyalty) were positively related to prior satisfaction with the therapist and negatively related to perceptions of problem severity. Destructive responses (i.e., Exit and Neglect) were negatively related to prior satisfaction and positively related to problem severity. Attachment style was associated with individual differences in approaches to resolving conflict, but it was not consistently related to Exit, Voice, Loyalty, and Neglect responses to dissatisfying therapy events. There was evidence indicating that style of conflict resolution might mediate the relationship between attachment style and Rusbult\u27s Responses to Dissatisfaction

Incident HIV infection has fallen rapidly in men who have sex with men in Melbourne, Australia (2013-2017) but not in the newly-arrived Asian-born.

BACKGROUND: We examined differences in incident HIV infection between newly-arrived Asian-born and other men who have sex with men (MSM) after the introduction of universal HIV treatment guidelines in 2015 and pre-exposure prophylaxis in 2016. METHODS: Clinical, demographic, laboratory and behavioural data on MSM presenting for HIV testing at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre from July 2013 to June 2017 were extracted. We compared the proportion of newly-arrived (four years or less in Australia), Asian-born and other MSM tested each year who were diagnosed with incident HIV infection (negative test within one year or diagnosis with indeterminate or negative Western Blot). RESULTS: We analysed 35,743 testing episodes in 12,180 MSM, including 2781 testing episodes in 1047 newly-arrived Asian-born MSM. The proportion of other MSM tested each year who were diagnosed with incident HIV infection fell from 0.83% in 2014 to 0.38% in 2017 (p = .001), but did not fall in newly-arrived Asian-born MSM (from 1.18% in 2014 to 1.56% in 2017, p = .76). In the multivariate logistic regression, in 2016/2017 but not in 2014/2015, being newly-arrived Asian-born was associated with an increased odds of diagnosis of incident HIV infection (aOR 3.29, 95%CI 1.82-5.94, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiology of HIV in Melbourne Australia has changed dramatically. While there has been an overall reduction amongst MSM, the incidence of HIV in newly-arrived Asian-born MSM remains high. Failing to address these new inequalities leaves individuals at risk and may offset the population benefit of biomedical HIV prevention