Symmetry reduction, integrability and reconstruction in k-symplectic field theory

We investigate the reduction process of a k-symplectic field theory whose Lagrangian is invariant under a symmetry group. We give explicit coordinate expressions of the resulting reduced partial differential equations, the so-called Lagrange-Poincare field equations. We discuss two issues about reconstructing a solution from a given solution of the reduced equations. The first one is an interpretation of the integrability conditions, in terms of the curvatures of some connections. The second includes the introduction of the concept of a k-connection to provide a reconstruction method. We show that an invariant Lagrangian, under suitable regularity conditions, defines a `mechanical' k-connection.Comment: 37 page

Institutionalising Public Deliberation in Public Policy Agenda Setting: The Case of the Sustainable Communities Act (2007)

The thesis argues that responsive governance can be achieved through institutions that increase civic influence upon policy agendas. Participatory-deliberative processes (PDPs) are understood to offer mechanisms for democratic responsiveness. However, the ways in the outcomes of (PDPs) can be linked to policy making has received little attention, especially at higher governance tiers. The thesis analyses a PDP set up to influence central government policy agendas in the UK; the Sustainable Communities Act (SCA) (2007).The SCA was selected for its analytically relevant features. It differs from other PDPs for a combination of three reasons: (a) it was specifically designed to allow citizens to identify policy problems, develop policy proposals and influence agendas; (b) it operated across governance levels, connecting local participation to national policy development; and (c) it institutionalised a link to the policy process. The thesis aims to evaluate the processes through which proposals were developed and integrated within policy development, with a view to assessing impacts upon ambitions for more responsive governance. The analysis finds achievements such as the importance of reflexive agenda setting processes that allow participants to explore and (re)define problems, as well as the realisation of a form of responsiveness characterised by a deliberative, rather than a causal, relation between input and output. However, modest achievements are marred by important problems. First, proposal development processes were prone to ‘capture’ by the political priorities of local authorities and interest group representatives. In this respect, the analysis concludes that the SCA often resembled a ‘lobbying tool’ for local elites. Second, when it came to integrating proposals within policy development, SCA proposals were subsumed by the policy development, electoral and legislative cycles of representative institutions. Such constraints are real, but not absolute, and can be mitigated through institutional design. The thesis ends by making recommendations to this end

Book review: popular democracy: the paradox of participation by Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Ernesto Ganuza

In Popular Democracy: The Paradox of Participation, Gianpaolo Baiocchi and Ernesto Ganuza examine contemporary forms of participatory governance by tracing the origins and development of participatory budgeting (PB) from its roots in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to its adoption in two cases, Cordoba, Spain and Chicago, USA. While acknowledging that PB has been seen as being too easily co-opted by neoliberalism, the book's ..

Pemanfaatan Pustaka Digital dalam Meningkatkan Kemampuan Membaca ermulaan Siswa Sekolah Dasar

Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian tindakan kelas. Penelitian tindakan kelas digunakan untuk memperbaiki proses dan hasil dalam pembelajaran. Penelitian ini terdiri atas 3 langkah yaitu (1) perencanaan, (2) pelaksanaan dan observasi, serta (3) refleksi. Penelitian ini dilakukan berdasarkan masalah yang ditemukan bahwa kurangnya kemampuan membaca permulaan siswa dan kurangnya ketersediaan buku bacaan yang digunakan untuk membantu proses pembelajaran membaca. Oleh karena itu, peneliti ingin memberikan solusi dengan menggunakan pustaka digital sebagai salah satu alternatif untuk menyediakan sumber bacaan bagi siswa dengan pilihan yang beragam dan sesuai dengan perjenjangan. Penggunakan pustaka digital ini diharapkan dapat meningkatkan kemampuan membaca permulaan bagi siswa kelas awal di SDN 007 Taraka

Pengembangan Media Animasi Berbasis Pendidikan Karakter untuk Meningkatkan Keterampilan Membaca Permulaan Siswa Sekolah Dasar

Media animasi digunakan karena anak akan lebih tertarik untuk mengenal berbagai lambang huruf dan suku kata dalam pembelajaran membaca permulaan. Penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian Research and Development (RnD) dengan model pengembangan ASSURE. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan untuk mengembangkan media animasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan uji coba produk terhadap 2 pendidik dari SD 035 diperoleh hasil rata-rata presentase 83% dengan tingkat kemenarikan video animasi pembelajaran cukup menarik, pada SD 032 Tarakan uji coba produk terhadap 10 peserta didik di kelas A dan B siswa tidak mengalami kesulitan dalam memahami video animasi pembelajaran. Berdasarkan hasil dari uji coba produk siswa tidak mengalami kesulitan dalam memahami video animasi pembelajaran dan diperoleh hasil rata-rata 83% tingkat kemenarikan video animasi yang cukup menarik sehingga penggunaan media animasi berbasis pendidikan karakter dapat meningkatkan keterampilan membaca siswa sekolah dasar di daerah 2P. Berdasarkan validasi media, materi, bahasa menunjukkan media ini layak dijadikan media membaca permulaan. Kemudian, berdasarkan uji coba yang dilakukan membuktikan bahwa media ini efektif dalam meningkatkan keterampilan membaca siswa sekolah dasar. Hal ini membuktikan media membantu siswa dalam memahami materi pembelajaran yang diberikan melalui animasi

Pengaruh Kompetensi Agen terhadap Kepercayaan Konsumen pada Perusahaan Asuransi Gabungan Tabungan dan Resiko di Sulawesi Tenggara

The purpose of this research is to find out and analyze an effect of agentcompetence on customer trust. The sample includes customers of AJB Bumiputera1912 and PT. Asuransi Jiwasraya (Perseo) in Sulawesi Tenggara, located inKendari City, Bau-Bau City, Kolaka District, Konawe Selatan District and MunaDistrict. The sample is drawn using purposive random sampling method. Theanalytical technique used to test hypothesis is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)using AMOS 4.0 (Analysis Moment Of Structural). In addition the hipothesis aretested using statistical tests of alpha 0,05 and t Table 1,96 to determine significanteffect of latent variable.The results suggest that first hypothesis is assepted since the agent competencesignificantly and positively influences customer trust to agent. The secondhypothesis is reject because the agent competence does\u27t significantly effect thecustomer trust to company. Third hypothesis is accepted because the customertrust to agent is significantly and positively associaed with the customer trust tocompany. The most dominant direct relationship resulting from the second indirectrelationship are : Agen competence Customer trust to agent Customer trustto company. Contribution of the study is relastionship models developed in theresearch represent a synthess of the four theories and the results of previous studien.Keywords : Agent competence, customer trust of agent, and customer trust to company

Iucundus nominis error (Ov. Ars 3, 729). Procri rustica puella nell’Ars amatoria

Alla fine del terzo libro dell’Ars, Ovidio esorta le cultae lettrici a non dare spazio al sentimento della gelosia, estraneo all’adulterino mondo dell’elegia erotica, e introduce il mito dell’amore infelice di Cefalo e Procri (3, 683-746), exemplum ‘serio’ (non leve) delle nefaste conseguenze di un atteggiamento non moderato in amore. Il presente contributo focalizza l’attenzione sulla figura di Procri come anti-exemplum, modello oppositivo della elegiaca femina culta, e legge la ‘credulità’ della fanciulla, vittima dell’inganno prodotto dal nome della presunta rivale (aura), alla luce della rusticitas che delinea le similari figure di puellae abbandonate delle Heroides. Nella cornice didascalica ovidiana il mito funziona come modello culturale contrario all’estetica del decorum. La ricerca della moderazione e l’invito al rispetto del modus costituiscono il fulcro del messaggio dell’Ars. Connotato come ‘dramma dell’inganno dell’eros’, il mito di Procri si presta a divenire exemplum negativo di insania amorosa, modello perduto di simplicitas che viola i paradigmi dell’amore elegiaco e mal s’addice all’aetas ovidiana del cultus e della raffinatezza