Don\u27t Run Under Ground

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. WITHIN 30 MINUTES , I was on top of the world. I could see actual life in the world. I could watch the leaves on the trees while they were growing. My eyes were wide open, so as not to miss a thing. I could feel and taste the colors I saw. Purple was fuzzy, red was spicy, and yellow was warm. It seemed like I would never be unhappy again. Time was moving slowly so I could watch everything that was going on

Replica-symmetry-breaking transitions and off-equilibrium dynamics

I consider branches of Replica-Symmetry-Breaking (RSB) solutions in Glassy systems that display a dynamical transition at a temperature $T_d$ characterized by a Mode-Coupling-Theory dynamical behavior. Below $T_d$ these branches of solutions are considered to be relevant to the complexity and to off-equilibrium dynamics. Under general assumptions I argue that near $T_d$ it is not possible to stabilize the one-step (1RSB) solution beyond the marginal point by making a full RSB (FRSB) ansatz. However, depending on the model, it may exist a temperature $T_*$ strictly lower than $T_d$ below which the 1RSB branch can be continued to a FRSB branch. Such a temperature certainly exists for models that display the so-called Gardner transition and in this case $T_G<T_*<T_d$. An analytical study in the context of the truncated model reveals that the FRSB branch of solutions below $T_*$ is characterized by a two plateau structure and it ends where the first plateau disappears. These general features are confirmed in the context of the Ising $p$-spin with $p=3$ by means of a numerical solution of the FRSB equations. The results are discussed in connection with off-equilibrium dynamics within Cugliandolo-Kurchan theory. In this context I assume that the RSB solution relevant for off-equilibrium dynamics is the 1RBS marginal solution in the whole range $(T_*,T_d)$ and it is the end-point of the FRSB branch for $T<T_*$. Remarkably under these assumptions it can be argued that $T_*$ marks a qualitative change in off-equilibrium dynamics in the sense that the decay of various dynamical quantities changes from power-law to logarithmic.Comment: 16 pages, final version published on PR

A Panel Data Study of the Determinants of Life Expectancy in Low Income Countries

This study attempts to determine the impact of several socioeconomic determinants of life expectancy for 34 low income countries using ordinary least squares linear regression. Most explanatory variables were statistically significant, implying that the socioeconomic variables of interest, including government health expenditures, access to basic sanitation facilities, HIV prevalence, urbanization, education, and sex, are important measures in influencing life expectancy. Foreign aid, corruption, and undernourishment, were determined insignificant when determining life expectancy. Based on the analysis results, it has been suggested that these developing countries implement appropriate policies and programs to increase HIV education and preventative measures, increase women’s rights and labor force participation, and specifically direct foreign aid inflows, in order to increase the life expectancy of people in the country

Translation and Bilingualism in Monica Ali’s and Jhumpa Lahiri’s Marginalized Identities

This investigation seeks to demonstrate how Ali and Lahiri represent two different migrant experiences, Muslim and Indian, each of which functioning within a multicultural Anglo-American context. Each text is transformed into the lieu where identities become both identities-intranslation and translated identities and each text itself may be looked at as the site of preservation of native identities but also of the assimilation (or adaptation) of identity. Second-generation immigrant women writers become the interpreters of the old and new cultures, the translators of their own local cultures in a space of transition

Dynamical Landau Theory of the Glass Crossover

I introduce a dynamical field theory to describe the glassy behavior in supercooled liquids. The mean-field approximation of the theory predicts a dynamical arrest transition, as in ideal Mode-Coupling-Theory and mean-field discontinuous Spin-Glass Models. Instead {\it beyond} the mean-field approximation the theory predicts that the transition is avoided and transformed into a crossover, as observed in experiments and simulations. To go beyond mean-field a standard perturbative loop expansion is performed at first. Approaching the ideal critical point this expansion is divergent at all orders and I show that the leading divergent term at any given order is the same of a dynamical stochastic equation, called Stochastic-Beta-Relaxation (SBR) in {\it EPL 106, 56003 (2014)}. At variance with the original theory SBR can be studied beyond mean-field directly, without the need to resort to a perturbative expansion. Thus it provides a qualitative and quantitative description of the dynamical crossover. For consistency reasons it is important to establish the connection between the dynamical field theory and SBR beyond perturbation theory. This can be done with the help of a stronger result: the dynamical field theory is {\it exactly} equivalent to a theory with quenched disorder. Qualitatively the non-perturbative mechanism leading to the crossover is therefore the same of SBR. Quantitatively SBR corresponds to make the mean-field approximation once the quenched disorder has been generated.Comment: 26 pages, contains the proof of the results of arXiv:1307.4303 and arXiv:1405.6557, plus additional material

Super-Cooled Liquids: Equivalence between Mode-Coupling Theory and Replica Approach

We show that the replica approach to glassy dynamics provides, in spite of its static nature, a characterization of critical dynamics in the $\beta$-regime of super-cooled liquids that is equivalent to the one of Mode-Coupling-Theory, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The nature and extent of this equivalence is discussed in connection to the main open problems of the current theory.Comment: extended version, accepted for publication on PR

Why do scientists create academic spin-offs? The influence of the context

The aim of this work is to examine the nature of academic spin-offs in a specific context: the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy). More specifically we investigate the individual reasons as to explain why scientists create academic spin-offs and how the creation process unfolds. Most economics and management literature on the topic considers the technological characteristics of such a choice, although recently the individual motivations behind the creation of such ventures have been investigated. However, less attention has been paid to the social and contextual dimensions of the matter. This study relates contextual characteristics to individual motivation. In particular it is argued that the funding constraints of the Italian academic environment, the low level of demand for doctorate holders within the Italian public and private sectors and the presence of favourable supporting policy tools in the region analysed, play a fundamental role in shaping the individual motivation of scientists in choosing this option. By way of a multiple case study research this work provides evidence that the academic spin-off in Emilia-Romagna is, for young scientists, a way to escape the bottlenecks of the Italian academic system allowing them to work in their field of expertise. This paper builds on the research regarding individual reasoning underlying personal decisions to create an academic spin-off and the need to analyse the phenomenon in relation to its context. Finally some policy implications are put forth