Since the Nineteenth Century, choral singing has played a prominent part in Welsh culture and society. In the latter part of the Twentieth Century, there were increasing demands to consider the influences of quality of life and well-being on health. As a result, there is a growing field of research that considers the role of the community arts, and choral singing in particular, as social capital, and the way in which they can influence personal and social health and well-being. Due to this growing recognition, this article will consider research that examines the relationship between amateur choir-singing in Wales – as both a musical and social event – and general health and well-being.

This article explores the cultural implications of female celebrity acquired through involvement in the colonial missionary activity of the Welsh Presbyterian Church. Women were directed to perform particular functions in the process of constructing Christian communities in British colonies, among which were the conversion of other women and the provision of descriptions and explanations of the mission to a home audience. Along with lectures and sermons by missionaries on furlough, and missionary exhibitions, the main transmission route for this communication was the denominational missionary press. This article examines the ways in which the female missionaries presented themselves and their work to the audience at home in the missionary press between 1887 and 1930, and suggests that the images they presented, and the undertones that can be found in their writing, were the main inspiration for Welsh Presbyterian women to support the missionary cause, and form themselves into a remarkable movement that became a vital channel for the sponsorship of missionary work.

The first part of this article is an informal introduction to the representation theory of the symmetric group, which is intended for the working mathematician who knows no representation theory. In the second part we explain, more generally, how representation theory can be used to study symplectic quotient singularities. Namely, one can use representation theory to decide when these singular spaces admit crepant resolutions.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of quality and quantity of linguistic input (i.e. to what extent are individuals exposed to a language from different sources during their lives) on Welsh-English bilingual adults’ acquisition of the Welsh plural system. Previous research found differences between bilingual children from different language backgrounds. While it is possible to reduce the difference with an increase in exposure to the language, however, when the structures are complex how quickly (if at all) can any difference be reduced, especially when the system is used inconsistently across adults. However, to what extent these differences reduce is unclear, as no research has been conducted on individuals over age 11. The aim of the study was to assess Welsh-English bilingual adults’ abilities to create plural words in Welsh, in order to trace the extent the differences seen between children have reduced over time.

The state of the environment and the passage of time are reflected in the changing colours of the plants around us. Chlorophyll, the green pigment of leaves, captures the energy of sunlight that drives photosynthesis and powers the biosphere. The disappearance of chlorophyll from autumn leaves reveals the yellows and oranges of another family of plant pigments, the carotenoids. Carotenoids protect plants from stresses and are also responsible for the colours of many flowers and fruits. In autumn, the leaves of species such as maples make red and purple anthocyanins, which are members of a diverse family of pigments and defence chemicals. Plants use pigments to send signals to pollinators, dispersers and predators, among which are humans, who have a special physiological and psychological responsiveness to the plant chemistry that colours our world.

This paper discusses an ambitious study of adult learners of Welsh in north Wales. Over 1,000 people have taken part in the project, which is studying the experiences of learners throughout the region over a period of three years. This is the most comprehensive study of its kind in the field. The work is led by the North Wales Welsh for Adults Centre and the ESRC Centre for Bilingualism Research at Bangor University. Between September 2008 and August 2010, two questionnaires were distributed to beginners on all north Wales providers’ courses. The results of those questionnaires are discussed below, including aspects such as the learners’ background, their reasons for learning Welsh, their experiences during their course and their satisfaction with the provision. The history of Welsh for Adults is outlined and the research is set in the context of language revitalization and planning in Wales and beyond.

In an area of Wales where 50% of the population is bilingual one community physical rehabilitation service had no Welsh-speaking therapists. An internationally standardised outcome measure was used to assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation in this area. This revealed that Welsh speaking patients had significantly poorer results from rehabilitation than non-Welsh speakers (p<0.05), while there was no significant difference where the therapists were bilingual. The results suggest that therapists’ ability to speak patients’ first language impacts on therapy effectiveness. The percentage of individuals who could speak Welsh referred (by health or social care professionals) was compared with the percentage of Welsh speakers which would have been anticipated given the percentage in the general population. Significantly fewer Welsh speakers were referred to the rehabilitation service than the anticipated percentage (p<0.001). Whilst this suggests professionals’ inability to speak Welsh may impact negatively on access to services for Welsh speakers, there may be other multifactorial psycho-social reasons to consider.

Policies introduced to revive the prospects of minority languages have often been the source of substantial disquiet. At times, objections to these policies are expressed in moral terms, with certain measures being accused of transgressing normative principles such as individual freedom and equal opportunity. Given their nature, these moral objections pose interesting questions for liberals. Therefore, how should liberals respond? This article will explore this question by focusing on one controversial aspect of language policy in Wales: the steps taken to set Welsh-language requirements for some jobs in the public sector. This is a practice which has generated substantial debate, with opponents claiming that it undermines the liberal commitment to equality of opportunity in the field of employment and, in particular, transgresses the principle of appointing on the basis of merit. Do such arguments stand up to scrutiny? Do minority language requirements in the field of employment go beyond what liberals would consider acceptable, or can a coherent defence that is clearly rooted within a liberal framework be developed?

The knowledge we have about the sun’s corona is based on observations made from afar. It is impossible, therefore, to speculate about the three-dimensional structure of the corona directly. This article outlines the history of the study of the structure of the corona, and describes new techniques which for the first time enable us to know the structure of the corona in detail. A description is given of the change in the structure over the life cycle of the sun, together with new information about the connection between the magnetic field and coronal density and new results concerning the rotation rates of the corona. The results show that knowledge about the corona can be greatly increased by applying new tomography techniques, enabling and stimulating further studies of the corona in years to come.

The Sun’s complex magnetic field permeates through the photosphere (the Sun’s surface) and into the corona (the Sun’s atmosphere). New magnetic fluxes arise from the photosphere in the form of closed loops which expand into the corona. This is a typical process of coronal active regions which creates and replenishes the coronal field. Magnetic field and plasma (energetic ionised gas) are transported through the corona and flow with the solar wind into the heliosphere (the region of space influenced by the Sun including the solar system). Transportation of this kind is seen during explosive events from the Sun. According to current thinking, the only transport of material from the closed field of active regions is through eruptive events, so in the absence of eruptions the active region plasma is isolated from the solar wind. This article presents evidence to the contrary. The observations show the first evidence of the direct, quiescent expansion of active region closed field into the extended corona without an eruption, thus forming an important part of the solar wind. The evidence is gained through the application of new image processing techniques to coronagraph observations. The observations are presented, and their implications are discussed in the context of the current model of Sun-heliospheric connections.

This paper presents a review of the fluvial geomorphology research undertaken on Wales’ rivers. As well as discussing trends seen in these studies, by firstly focussing on the work of geologists of the late nineteenth century, and by progressing through the development of geomorphology as a research field to the present interdisciplinary period, the fields that have received particular attention on Welsh rivers are discussed. These include the evolution of the mega-geomorphology of Wales, innovative process studies, the evolution of alluvial fluvial systems to short- and long-term climatic changes, and the response of Welsh rivers to anthropogenic activity. This range of studies is a result of the nature of Welsh fluvial systems. Firstly, they display an evolutionary history including glacial periods and rejuvenation. Secondly, contemporary processes have created a wide range of channel types, including bedrock channels, gravel bed rivers, meandering, braided, stable and unstable channels. Thirdly, academic interest and pragmatic concerns regarding river management have led to a large body of work that has, in some cases, led to many reaches on Welsh rivers being classed as international archetypes. Gaps in our knowledge are also discussed. These include the need to increase our understanding of contemporary process and to continue the work done on alluvial response and evolution through using the latest techniques to constrain the chronology of fluvial system development. There is a need to extend the spatial scope of our studies to areas which have not received as much attention in the past such as the bedrock and mixed bedrock-alluvial channels of the north-west and the south Wales valleys.

In this paper we challenge the idea that nationalism in general, and sporting displays of nationalism in particular, are morally problematic. Whilst sporting displays of nationalism are often accompanied by ethnocentric and jingoistic tendencies, it does not follow that such competition is inherently problematic. By drawing on liberal nationalist philosophy, we argue that accepting and celebrating particular cultural and national ties represent a fundamental step towards encouraging an international and cosmopolitan mindset. Moreover, we argue that international sport has significant potential in stimulating meaningful cultural conversations, both within and between national communities.