3,208,318 research outputs found
A Straightforward Introduction to Continuous Quantum Measurement
We present a pedagogical treatment of the formalism of continuous quantum
measurement. Our aim is to show the reader how the equations describing such
measurements are derived and manipulated in a direct manner. We also give
elementary background material for those new to measurement theory, and
describe further various aspects of continuous measurements that should be
helpful to those wanting to use such measurements in applications.
Specifically, we use the simple and direct approach of generalized measurements
to derive the stochastic master equation describing the continuous measurements
of observables, give a tutorial on stochastic calculus, treat multiple
observers and inefficient detection, examine a general form of the measurement
master equation, and show how the master equation leads to information gain and
disturbance. To conclude, we give a detailed treatment of imaging the resonance
fluorescence from a single atom as a concrete example of how a continuous
position measurement arises in a physical system.Comment: 24 pages, 3 eps figues. To appear in Contemporary Physic
Inside the Black Box of Doctoral Education: What Program Characteristics Influence Doctoral Students' Attrition and Graduation Probabilities?
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Graduate Education Initiative (GEI) provided over $80 million to 51 treatment departments in the humanities and related social sciences during the 1990s to improve their PhD programs. Using survey data collected from students who entered the treatment and 50 control departments during a 15 year period that spanned the start of the GEI, we use factor analysis to group multiple aspects of PhD programs into a smaller number of characteristics and then estimate which aspects of PhD programs the GEI influenced and how these different aspects influenced attrition and graduation probabilities. From these analyses, we identify the routes via which the GEI influenced attrition and graduation rates and also indicate which aspects of PhD programs departments should concentrate on if they want to improve their programs' performance.
Multifunctional agriculture: The effect of non-public goods on socially optimal policies
We develop a general framework for multifunctional agriculture, which includes not only public goods but also rural viability as a non-public good item. We contribute to the literaure in two ways. First, we demonstrate how the broader definition of multifunctional agriculture differs from the agri-environmental multifunctionality, and how agri-environmental policy should be reformed to include these aspects. We show that rural viability entails adjusting fertilizer tax and buffer strip subsidy below their first-best Pigouvian levels to reflect the direct and indirect employment effects of agricultural production. Moreover, we show that when non-agricultural land use is present, an additional, non-agricultural instrument is needed to adjust the amount of land allocated to agriculture to its optimal level. In a parametric model calibrated to Finnish agricultural conditions and Finnish valuation of agri-environmental amenities and rural viability, we assess how the socially optimal provision of non-public good multifunctionality relates the socially optimal agri-environmental multifunctionality
The Good Samaritan and the Hygienic Cook: A Cautionary Tale About Linguistic Data
When developing formal theories of the meaning of language, it is appropriate to consider how apparent paradoxes and conundrums of language are best resolved. But if we base our analysis on a small sample of data then we may fail to take into account the influence of other aspects of meaning on our intuitions. Here we consider the so-called Good Samaritan Paradox (Prior, 1958), where we wish to avoid any implication that there is an obligation to rob someone from "You must help a robbed man". We argue that before settling on a formal analysis of such sentences, we should consider examples of the same form, but with intuitively ?different entailments ? such as "You must use a clean knife" ? and also actively seek other examples that exhibit similar contrasts in meaning, even if they do not exemplify the phenomena that is under investigation. This can refine our intuitions and help us to attribute aspects of interpretation to the various facets of meaning
Collective decision-making
Collective decision-making is the subfield of collective behaviour concerned with how groups reach decisions. Almost all aspects of behaviour can be considered in a decision-making context, but here we focus primarily on how groups should optimally reach consensus, what criteria decision-makers should optimise, and how individuals and groups should forage to optimise their nutrition. We argue for deep parallels between understanding decisions made by individuals and by groups, such as the decision-guiding principle of value-sensitivity. We also review relevant theory and empirical development for the study of collective decision making, including the use of robots
Collective decision-making
Collective decision-making is the subfield of collective behaviour concerned with how groups reach decisions. Almost all aspects of behaviour can be considered in a decision-making context, but here we focus primarily on how groups should optimally reach consensus, what criteria decision-makers should optimise, and how individuals and groups should forage to optimise their nutrition. We argue for deep parallels between understanding decisions made by individuals and by groups, such as the decision-guiding principle of value-sensitivity. We also review relevant theory and empirical development for the study of collective decision making, including the use of robots
An integrated approach to courseware
Software engineering is becoming increasingly important as an engineering discipline, and its teaching in universities and other higher education institutions should be of high quality. In this paper we describe a tool (BOSS — the Boss Online Submission System) which aids the education of software engineers. BOSS allows students to submit programming assignments online, and to run black-box tests on their programs prior to submission. Instructors can use BOSS to assist in marking such assignments by allowing submitted programs to be tested against multiple data sets. We describe how BOSS helps in the teaching of specific conceptual aspects of software engineering, and how it addresses some of the practical issues involved in teaching large student numbers in a pedagogically neutral manner
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