John Butcher originally took up Numerical Analysis as a hobby after hearing a talk by Merson in 1957 while he was completing a Ph.D in Physics on Cosmic Rays. Whether this was a great loss to Physics it is of course impossible to determine but it was certainly of enormous beneet to Numerical Analysis and the eld of the numerical solution of ordinary diierential equations in particular. Since th...

Lord Amulree was unique amongst UK geriatricians in having a 'wide angled' view of the care of elderly people. This resulted from his work at the Ministry of Health, his clinical commitments and his position in the House of Lords, which enabled him to bring the problems of old age, elderly people and infirmity before a much wider audience. It can be argued that his joint Parliamentary Presentat...

The retirement of Dr Nigel Allan from the Wellcome Library after twenty-six years as Curator of the Oriental Collections marks the end of an era. In 2004, a very successful exhibition of Asian treasures from the Wellcome Library’s collections, entitled ‘Asia: Body, Mind, Spirit’, was curated by Nigel Allan and a small team of assistants from other major London institutions including Asia House ...

We examine the effect of house price appreciation on bank loan portfolios during the 1996—2006 period. While most previous research in this area has concentrated on loan demand effects, we evaluate how house prices affect a bank’s credit supply. Controlling for possible simultaneity between house prices and bank loan portfolio growth, we find that banks affected by greater house price appreciat...

It is with admiration and fondness that we dedicate this special issue of ZooKeys to Professor Kumar Krishna, dean of Isoptera research. This collection of papers is a humble testament of appreciation by the various biologists who are dedicated to studying termites, insects that are popularly maligned but actually of profound behavioral and ecological importance. Kumar’s influence extends beyon...

When I was 6-years-old I wrote a letter to Roy Rogers, the cowboy star of movies and television, asserting that I was his biggest fan. That was the first and only fan letter I ever wrote. When I was invited to speak at a Festschrift for John Bartlett, I quickly replied, “I am much honored to be asked to be part of your proposed celebration of John. I can’t think of anyone in our discipline who ...