[Review of] Philip S. Foner and Daniel Rosenberg , eds. Racism, Dissent, and Asian Americans from 1850 to the Present: A Documentary History

Numerous historical studies discuss racism against Asian Americans as well as their resistance to racist policies, practices, and thought. While this scholarship correctly stresses the predominance of racism, it contains passing references to non-Asian individuals and organizations who supported better treatment and the rights of Asians. Foner and Rosenberg argue that these small numbers of supporters were dissenters from prevailing anti-Asian racism and that they deserve greater attention because they represent the existence of more than one perspective of Asian Americans

Testing Relativity with Orbiting Oscillators

Clock-comparison experiments using a satellite platform can give Planck-scale sensitivity to many parameters for Lorentz and CPT violation that are difficult to measure on Earth. A discussion of the theoretical framework for such tests is given, with emphasis on comparisons of output frequencies of atomic clocks and of electromagnetic cavity oscillators.Comment: 11 pages, invited talk at HYPER symposium "Fundamental Physics and Applications of Cold Atoms in Space," Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Paris, France, 4-6 November 200

Consumption Patterns of the New Elite in Zimbabwe

Since Zimbabwean independence in 1980, a small percentage of the black population has become wealthy. This paper and a companion video explore the consumption patterns of members of this new black elite in post-colonial Zimbabwe. Given the violent war of independence and the avowedly socialist objectives of the new government, one expectation might be that the new black elite would seek to distinguish their lifestyles from those of the former colonialists. On the other hand, it could be argued that taking over the privileges of the former colonialists would be regarded as an authenticating mark of status for these black elites. And another possibility, in our increasingly global world, is that consumption referents may not come from Zimbabwe at all, but rather from media images of consumption in other parts of the world. This qualitative study finds that the consumption patterns of these nouveaux riches largely, but not entirely, emulate those of the former colonialists. In addition, informats clearly look to the West, particularly the U.S. and the U.K., for social comparisons. One negative effect of the enhanced economic status of the new elite in Zimbabwe is a tendency to eschew extended family support which is the traditional form of social security in much of Africa. Besides their increased wealth, for some, fundamentalist religion provides another rationale for neglecting extended family. Rising individualism and retreat to the nuclear family promote tension within the extended family and envy among others. Implications for understanding class structure and it implications in developing nations are addressed.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39672/3/wp288.pd

Extended Void Merging Tree Algorithm for Self-Similar Models

In hierarchical evolution, voids exhibit two different behaviors related with their surroundings and environments, they can merge or collapse. These two different types of void processes can be described by the two-barrier excursion set formalism based on Brownian random walks. In this study, the analytical approximate description of the growing void merging algorithm is extended by taking into account the contributions of voids that are embedded into overdense region(s) which are destined to vanish due to gravitational collapse. Following this, to construct a realistic void merging model that consists of both collapse and merging processes, the two-barrier excursion set formalism of the void population is used. Assuming spherical voids in the Einstein de Sitter Universe, the void merging algorithm which allows us to consider the two main processes of void hierarchy in one formalism is constructed. In addition to this, the merger rates, void survival probabilities, void size distributions in terms of the collapse barrier and finally, the void merging tree algorithm in the self-similar models are defined and derived.Comment: 26 pages, 19 figures, accepted in MNRA

Maestro of Science: Omond McKillop Solandt and Government Science in War and Hostile Peace, 1939-1956 (Book Review) by Jason Sean Ridler

Review of Maestro of Science: Omond McKillop Solandt and Government Science in War and Hostile Peace, 1939-1956 Jason Sean Ridle