In conventional general relativity, the expansion rate H of a Robertson-Walker universe is related to the energy density by the Friedmann equation. Aside from the present day, the only epoch at which we can constrain the expansion history in a model-independent way is during Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). We consider a simple two-parameter characterization of the behavior of H during BBN and d...

Population III stars are now believed to contribute to the observed Near Infrared Background (NIRB) and heavy element pollution of the intergalactic medium. Here we show that a Pop III contribution to the primordial He abundance consistent with NIRB constraints, might mask a lower value for the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) He abundance.

Since Porter’s work on competitive strategies in the 1980s, the concept of competitive intelligence has become part of the management mainstream. Currently, two big shifts are challenging the state of the art. On the one hand there is the rise of the ubiquitous servicification in all industries which makes the existing methods for productoriented industries outdated. On the other hand there is ...

We propose a cosmological braneworld scenario in which two branes collide and emerge as reborn branes whose tensions have signs opposite to the original tensions of the respective branes. In this scenario, gravity on each of the branes is described by a scalar-tensor-type theory in which the radion plays the role of the gravitational scalar, and the branes are assumed to be inflating. However, ...

Introduction Obtaining an accurate picture of the extent of homelessness in Britain is challenging due to the transient and hidden nature of this population, the lack of an accepted definition of the term ‘homeless’, and because official statistics only include individuals formally acknowledged as homeless by their local authority (Widdowfield, 1999). Unofficial homelessness counts are also con...

This paper reports on the effects of going electronic in the publishing value system that starts with the author and ends with the reader. In between we find several contribuants to the final product, the publication. The organization and economics of publishing are analysed and described as it transforms from a hardcopy business via CD-I and CD-ROM as an in-between stage into fullfledged onlin...

Classical and quantum gravitational instabilities, can, respectively, inflate and warm up a primordial Universe satisfying a superstring-motivated principle of " Asymptotic Past Triviality ". A physically viable big bang is thus generated without invoking either large fine-tunings or a long period of post-big bang inflation. Properties of the pre-bangian Universe can be probed through its obser...

This paper reports a study which provides a series of implications that may be particularly helpful to companies already leveraging ‘big data’ for their businesses or planning to do so. The Data Driven Business Model (DDBM) framework represents a basis for the analysis and clustering of business models. For practitioners the dimensions and various features may provide guidance on possibilities ...

This paper brings historical perspectives to bear on the ambivalent and contradictory position of adoption in Australian public policy. It examines the divergent histories of Australian domestic and intercountry adoption (ICA) since the mid-1970s and the impact of these histories on adoption policy in Australia. It identifies tendencies in contemporary ICA to repeat elements of pre-reform era d...

The cosmology of the Randall-Sundrum scenario for a positive tension brane in a 5-D Universe with localized gravity has been studied previously. In the radiation-dominated Universe, it was suggested that there are two solutions for the cosmic scale factor a(t) : the standard solution a ∼ t1/2, and a solution a ∼ t1/4, which is incompatible with standard big bang nucleosynthesis. In this note, w...