Ground State Laser Cooling Beyond the Lamb-Dicke Limit

We propose a laser cooling scheme that allows to cool a single atom confined in a harmonic potential to the trap ground state $|0>$. The scheme assumes strong confinement, where the oscillation frequency in the trap is larger than the effective spontaneous decay width, but is not restricted to the Lamb-Dicke limit, i.e. the size of the trap ground state can be larger than the optical wavelength. This cooling scheme may be useful in the context of quantum computations with ions and Bose-Einstein condensation.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Europhysics Letter

USMC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SNCO DEGREE COMPLETION PROGRAM ACCOUNTING DEGREE

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is required by the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 to provide annual financial reports to stakeholders. For fiscal year 2021 and prior, independent auditors of these reports have produced a disclaimer of opinion with numerous material weaknesses and departures from standards in financial reporting and internal controls. Our thesis analyzed one course of action to improve Marine Corps auditability. Would better participation and utilization of the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Degree Program (SNCODP), specifically the baccalaureate degree in accounting, improve the Marine Corps capability to achieve an unmodified audit opinion? Our methodology consisted of a task comparison, a capabilities comparison, and a cost benefit analysis (CBA). The task comparison reviewed the Marine Corps' requirements to be completed by technically competent personnel. The capabilities comparison reviewed attributes of each specialized personnel. The CBA analyzed which personnel type was the most cost effective. Our data was primarily sourced from GAO, Navy, and Marine Corps publications, as well as publicly accessible costing information. Results of our thesis show that the SNCODCP produces the most versatile individual for the job, but hiring a General Standard employee was a more cost-effective option to improve.Captain, United States Marine CorpsCaptain, United States Marine CorpsApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

The Awareness and Applicability of McDonaldization in an Academic Library in the Philippines

Academic libraries continue to innovate its resources and services to exceed the expectations of its millennial users by reconsidering new trends in management. This is because millennials have varied attitudinal behavior, changing needs and technological skills. Library managers then need to rethink management strategies to address such and eventually to improve library services. One management concept could be the use of McDonaldization in the library. Ritzer (1996) introduced the concept of McDonaldization in his book entitled “The McDonaldization of Society” wherein he argued that the principles of the success of American hamburger chain has a great impact not only in economic patterns but also other facets of the society in general. According to Crossman (2017), McDonaldization is the rationalization of production, work, and consumption. It is characterized by four dimensions namely: efficiency, calculability, predictability and control which have favorable and irreversible changes. On the other hand, Larney (1996) stressed the negative effects which include the ecological impact, dehumanizing effect and quantity over quality in products and services. These effects are not only limited to the fast food industry but also in educational institutions particularly on the information sectors like academic libraries. The increasing pressure for colleges and universities to control costs and maximized efficiency contributed to lessening the independence of faculty, including library staff (Quinn, 2000). However, McDonaldization concept is not a popular management concept among librarians in the Philippines. Thus, the main thrust of this study is to answer the following questions: 1) What is the level of awareness of academic librarians on McDonaldization in academic library; and 2) What is the level of applicability of McDonaldization as a management strategy in the academic library. It made use of quantitative method of research using a researcher-made survey questionnaire and was conducted in the second semester of schoolyear 2017-2018. Data were gathered from 10 professional registered librarians from Saint Mary’s University Learning Resource Center, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. Descriptive statistics like median was used to describe the data gathered. Interview was also used to further deepen the analysis and interpretation of data. The study found that librarians are highly aware of the concept on McDonaldization and they revealed that it is highly applicable as a management strategy in academic libraries. Interview also revealed that unknowingly McDonaldization had been introduced or practiced in the different aspects of library work using the four dimensions namely efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. The “McDonaldized Library” is heavily attributed to the proliferation and advancement of Communication and Information Technologies. This concept has its own advantages as well as disadvantages such as dehumanizing effect among librarians and quality of library services thus it is recommended that a complete and thorough study on the use of McDonaldization as a management style in academic libraries be explored

Supervillanos muy reales: el uso político del villano en la trilogía de "El Caballero Oscuro" de Christopher Nolan

It is almost a tradition that celluloid (or digital) villains are represented with some characteristics that remind us the real political enemies of the producer country of the film, or even enemies within the country according to the particular ideology that sustains the film. The case of Christopher Nolan The Dark Knight trilogy, analyzed here, is representative of this trend for two reasons. First, because it gets marked by political radicalization conducted by the US government after the attack of September 11, 2001. Secondly, because it offers a profuse gallery of villains who are outside the circle of friends as the new doctrine “either with us or against us” opened by George Bush for the XXI century. This gallery includes from the very terrorists who justify the War on Terror (Ra's al Ghul, the Joker), to the “radical left” (Bane, Talia al Ghul) including liberal politicians (Harvey Dent), and corrupt that take advantage of the softness of the law to commit crimes with impunity (Dr. Crane, the Scarecrow).Es ya casi una tradición que los villanos de celuloide (o digitales) posean una o varias características que nos recuerden a los enemigos políticos reales del país productor de la película, o incluso a los enemigos dentro del propio país según la ideología concreta que sustenta la película. El caso de la trilogía de El caballero oscuro de Christopher Nolan, que aquí analizamos, es representativo de esta tendencia por dos razones. En primer lugar porque llega marcada por la radicalización política llevada a cabo por el gobierno de Estados Unidos tras el atentado del 11 de septiembre de 2001. En segundo lugar porque ofrece una profusa galería de villanos que quedan fuera del círculo de amigos según la nueva doctrina del “o con nosotros o contra nosotros” inaugurada por George Bush para el siglo XXI. Esta galería incluye desde a los propios terroristas que justifican la llamada Guerra contra el Terror (Ra's al Ghul, el Joker), hasta los “radicales de izquierda” (Bane, Talia al Ghul), pasando por los políticos liberales (Harvey Dent), y los corruptos que se aprovechan de la blandura de las leyes para delinquir impunemente (Dr. Crane, el Espantapájaros)

A Brief Update on the Treatment of Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C virus was discovered nearly 30 years ago, and for the first two decades, treatment was limited to agents with low response rates and substantial side effects. Since the introduction of direct-acting antivirals, there have been rapid advances made toward even higher sustained virologic responses (SVRs) and fewer side effects. This chapter provides a review of the newer agents for treatment of hepatitis C and highlights special populations, including those coinfected with HIV or hepatitis B, previously treated patients, and post-liver transplant patients

Laboratory simulations of fluid-induced seismicity, hydraulic fracture, and fluid flow

Fluid-induced seismicity has been observed and recorded for decades. Seismic energy necessarily requires a source, which is frequently related to rock fracture either in compression or tension. In both cases, such fracture may be promoted by crustal fluids. In this paper, we review some of the advances in the field of fluid-induced seismicity, with a particular focus on the use and application of new and innovative laboratory methods to better understand the complex, coupled, processes in shallow sub-surface energy extraction applications. We discuss the current state-of-the-art with specific reference to Thermal-Hydraulic-Coupling in volcanotectonic environments, which has a long history of fluid-driven seismic events linked to deep fluid movement. This ranges from local earthquakes to fluid-driven resonance, known as volcanic tremor. More recently so-called non-volcanic tremor has been identified in a range of scenarios where motion at an interface is primarily driven by fluids rather than significant stress release. Finally, we review rock fracture in the tensile regime which occurs naturally and in the engineered environment for developing fractures for the purpose of resource extraction, such as hydraulic fracturing in unconventional hydrocarbon industry or developing Hot-Dry-Rock geothermal reservoirs

¿Esthetic sem ideologia? Crítica da posição de Jacques Aumont e Michel Marie no livro L'analyse des films (1988)

As proposições da análise de filmes são muitas e variadas, mas entre a diversidade podemos destacar duas tendências principais: um estética e outra ideológica. Embora ambas as perspectivas tendem a nutrir-se mutuamente, existem posições que separam estética da ideologia de forma taxativa. Esta é a posição de Aumont e Marie en L'analyse des films (1988), que criticamos neste artigo.Palavras-chave: Análise de filmes; Ideologia; Jacques Aumont e Michel Marie.¿Estética sin ideología? Crítica de la postura de Jacques Aumont y Michel Marie en L'analyse des films (1988)Resumen: Las propuestas de análisis fílmico son muy variadas, aunque entre la diversidad tal vez podamos resaltar dos tendencias principales: una formal-estética y otra ideológica. Si bien ambas perspectivas suelen nutrirse mutuamente, existen posturas que separan taxativamente la estética de la ideología, como la asumida por Aumont y Marie en L'analyse des films (1988) que se crítica en este artículo.Palabras clave: Análisis fílmico; Ideología; Jacques Aumont y Michel Marie.¿Aesthetics without ideology? A critique of the position adopted by Jacques Aumont & Michel Marie in L'analyse des films (1988)Abstract: There are many forms to analyse a film, but among the diversity we may point out two main trends: the formal-aesthetic approach and the ideological one. The two perspectives tend to nurture and be nurtured mutually, but we also can find claims for a solely aesthetic approach in film analysis. This is the stand adopted by Aumont and Marie in their book L'analyse des films (1988), which I criticise in this paper.Keywords: Film Analysis; Ideology; Jacques Aumont and Michel Marie

World War Z: Darwinismo Social y renacer de la concepción nacionalsocialista del mundo

O objetivo deste artigo é realizar um exercício de análise crítica dos discursos ideológico e propagandístico contidos no filme World War Z (2013). Minha conclusão é que o filme foi concebido como um expoente ideológico da nova extrema direita estadunidense e global e que faz parte do esforço desta direita construir uma história com vocação hegemônica sobre a necessidade de liquidar a moral de solidariedade e retornar à sociedade de clãs e de racismo ideológico e econômico. Esta narração da nova direita é baseada em três antigos pilares contidos e retratados no filme: o darwinismo social, a superpopulação, e o perigo que as fronteiras abertas representam para o primeiro mundo. Estas três ideias coincidem, com ligeiras variações, com alguns dos pilares sobre os quais se baseava o nacional-socialismo de Adolf Hitler, como será mostrado no texto.El objetivo del presente artículo es llevar a cabo un ejercicio de análisis crítico de los discursos ideológico y propagandístico contenidos en la película World War Z (2013). Mi conclusión es que la película ha sido diseñada como exponente ideológico de la nueva – extrema – derecha estadounidense y global, y que se enmarca en la pretensión de esta de construir un relato con vocación hegemónica sobre la necesidad de liquidar la moral de la solidaridad y volver a la sociedad de clanes y al racismo ideológico y económico. Este relato se basa en tres viejos pilares contenidos y representados en la película: el darwinismo social, la sobrepoblación del planeta, y el peligro que para el primer mundo suponen las fronteras abiertas. Mostraré que estas ideas coinciden, con ligeras variaciones, con los pilares en los que se basó el nacionalsocialismo de Adolf Hitler

Laboratory simulations of fluid-induced seismicity, hydraulic fracture, and fluid flow

Fluid-induced seismicity has been observed and recorded for decades. Seismic energy necessarily requires a source, which is frequently related to rock fracture either in compression or tension. In both cases, such fracture may be promoted by crustal fluids. In this paper, we review some of the advances in the field of fluid-induced seismicity, with a particular focus on the use and application of new and innovative laboratory methods to better understand the complex, coupled, processes in shallow sub-surface energy extraction applications. We discuss the current state-of-the-art with specific reference to Thermal-Hydraulic-Coupling in volcanotectonic environments, which has a long history of fluid-driven seismic events linked to deep fluid movement. This ranges from local earthquakes to fluid-driven resonance, known as volcanic tremor. More recently so-called non-volcanic tremor has been identified in a range of scenarios where motion at an interface is primarily driven by fluids rather than significant stress release. Finally, we review rock fracture in the tensile regime which occurs naturally and in the engineered environment for developing fractures for the purpose of resource extraction, such as hydraulic fracturing in unconventional hydrocarbon industry or developing Hot-Dry-Rock geothermal reservoirs

Falling through the social safety net? Analysing non‐take‐up of minimum income benefit and monetary social assistance in Austria

Non‐take‐up of means tested benefits is a widespread phenomenon in European welfare states. The paper assesses whether the reform that replaced the monetary social assistance benefit by the minimum income benefit in Austria in 2010/11 has succeeded in increasing take up rates. We use EU‐SILC register data together with the tax‐benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD/SORESI. The results show that the reform led to a significant decrease of non‐take‐up from 53 to 30% in terms of the number of households and from 51 to 30% in terms of expenditure. Following the three‐t's (threshold, trigger, and trade‐off) introduced by Van Oorschot, estimates of a two‐stage Heckman selection model as well as expert interviews indicate that the taken measures include both threshold and trade‐off characteristics. Elements such as the higher degree of anonymity within the claiming process, the provision of health insurance, binding minimum standards, the limitation of the maintenance obligations, new regulations related to the liquidation of wealth, as well as the general coverage of the benefit reform in the media and in public discussions led to an improved access to the benefit