1,107 research outputs found
Comment on Gergen's "Social Psychology as History"
A recent article by Gergen suggests that social psychology cannot reasonably aspire to the general time-independent laws that are characteristic of the physical sciences. Consideration of this thesis suggests that the underlying rationale may place undue reliance on the effects of psychological enlightenment, and on the individual's needs to demonstrate his behavioral freedom and uniqueness. A tentative generali zation suggests that the processes underlying social behavior may be relatively stable, but that they operate on an endless variety of social contents (conditions) to yield the diverse social behaviors and relation ships that we observe.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68537/2/10.1177_014616727500100207.pd
Objective classification of fabric pilling based on the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform
A number of methods for automated objective ratings of fabric pilling based on image analysis are described in the literature. The periodic structure of fabrics makes them suitable candidates for frequency domain analysis. We propose a new method of frequency domain analysis based on the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform to objectively measure pilling intensity in sample images. We present a preliminary evaluation of the proposed method based on analysis of two series of standard pilling evaluation test images. The initial results suggest that the proposed method is feasible, and that the ability of the method to discriminate between levels of pilling intensity depends on the wavelet analysis scale being closely matched to the fabric interyarn pitch. We also present a heuristic method for optimal selection of an analysis wavelet and associated analysis scale. <br /
General Relativity as an Attractor in Scalar-Tensor Stochastic Inflation
Quantum fluctuations of scalar fields during inflation could determine the
very large-scale structure of the universe. In the case of general
scalar-tensor gravity theories these fluctuations lead to the diffusion of
fundamental constants like the Planck mass and the effective Brans--Dicke
parameter, . In the particular case of Brans--Dicke gravity, where
is constant, this leads to runaway solutions with infinitely large
values of the Planck mass. However, in a theory with variable we find
stationary probability distributions with a finite value of the Planck mass
peaked at exponentially large values of after inflation. We conclude
that general relativity is an attractor during the quantum diffusion of the
fields.Comment: LaTeX (with RevTex) 11 pages, 2 uuencoded figures appended, also
available on WWW via http://star.maps.susx.ac.uk/index.htm
Preserving the palaeoenvironmental record in Drylands: Bioturbation and its significance for luminescence-derived chronologies
Luminescence (OSL) dating has revolutionised the understanding of Late Pleistocene dryland activity. However,
one of the key assumptions for this sort of palaeoenvironmental work is that sedimentary sequences have been
preserved intact, enabling their use as proxy indicators of past changes. This relies on stabilisation or burial
soon after deposition and a mechanism to prevent any subsequent re-mobilisation. As well as a dating
technique OSL, especially at the single grain level, can be used to gain an insight into post-depositional
processes that may distort or invalidate the palaeoenvironmental record of geological sediment sequences.
This paper explores the possible impact of bioturbation (the movement of sediment by flora and fauna) on
luminescence derived chronologies from Quaternary sedimentary deposits in Texas and Florida (USA) which
have both independent radiocarbon chronologies and archaeological evidence. These sites clearly illustrate the
ability of bioturbation to rejuvenate ancient weathered sandy bedrock and/or to alter depositional stratigraphies
through the processes of exhumation and sub-surface mixing of sediment. The use of multiple OSL replicate
measurements is advocated as a strategy for checking for bioturbated sediment. Where significant OSL
heterogeneity is found, caution should be taken with the derived OSL ages and further measurements at the
single grain level are recommended. Observations from the linear dunes of the Kalahari show them to have no
bedding structure and to have OSL heterogeneity similar to that shown from the bioturbated Texan and Florida
sites. The Kalahari linear dunes could have therefore undergone hitherto undetected post-depositional sediment
disturbance which would have implications for the established OSL chronology for the region
Citizen Desires, Policy Outcomes, and Community Control
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68810/2/10.1177_107808747200800107.pd
STATIONARY SOLUTIONS IN BRANS-DICKE STOCHASTIC INFLATIONARY COSMOLOGY
In Brans-Dicke theory the Universe becomes divided after inflation into many
exponentially large domains with different values of the effective
gravitational constant. Such a process can be described by diffusion equations
for the probability of finding a certain value of the inflaton and dilaton
fields in a physical volume of the Universe. For a typical chaotic inflation
potential, the solutions for the probability distribution never become
stationary but grow forever towards larger values of the fields. We show here
that a non-minimal conformal coupling of the inflaton to the curvature scalar,
as well as radiative corrections to the effective potential, may provide a
dynamical cutoff and generate stationary solutions. We also analyze the
possibility of large nonperturbative jumps of the fluctuating inflaton scalar
field, which was recently revealed in the context of the Einstein theory. We
find that in the Brans--Dicke theory the amplitude of such jumps is strongly
suppressed.Comment: 19 pages, LaTe
Charge asymmetry ratio as a probe of quark flavour couplings of resonant particles at the LHC
We show how a precise knowledge of parton distribution functions, in
particular those of the u and d quarks, can be used to constrain a certain
class of New Physics models in which new heavy charged resonances couple to
quarks and leptons. We illustrate the method by considering a left-right
symmetric model with a W' from a SU(2)_R gauge sector produced in
quark-antiquark annihilation and decaying into a charged lepton and a heavy
Majorana neutrino. We discuss a number of quark and lepton mixing scenarios,
and simulate both signals and backgrounds in order to determine the size of the
expected charge asymmetry. We show that various quark-W' mixing scenarios can
indeed be constrained by charge asymmetry measurements at the LHC, particularly
at 14 TeV centre of mass energy.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Multiple Praziquantel Treatments of Schistosoma mansoni Egg-Negative, CCA-Positive Schoolchildren in a Very Low Endemic Setting in Egypt Do Not Consistently Alter CCA Results
Forty-four Schistosoma mansoni egg-negative/circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) low-positive (trace or 1+) children in three districts of very low prevalence in Egypt were given three sequential praziquantel (PZQ) treatments. Stool and urine specimens were collected 3 months following the initial treatment, and 3 weeks following the second and following the third PZQ treatments, which were conducted 5 weeks apart. Stool specimens were examined by Kato–Katz (four slides/stool sample) and all S. mansoni egg-negative stools were further tested by the “miracidia hatching test” (MHT). Urine samples were examined by the point-of-care CCA assay (POC-CCA). Over the study period, all stool samples from study subjects remained S. mansoni egg negative and MHT negative. Of the POC-CCA test results, in the first day of the study 3 months following the initial treatment, 29.5% were negative, 61.4% CCA trace positives, and 9.1% CCA 1+ positives. Following each PZQ treatment, the test results fluctuated between 1+, trace, and negative, but did not consistently decrease. The proportions of POC-CCA–positive results obtained in the first day (70.5%) as compared with the last day of the study (72.7%) in all of the three districts were very similar. We conclude that CCA trace and 1+ readings, in Kato–Katz S. mansoni egg-negative children in this area with very low levels of intestinal schistosomiasis, are not consistently altered or rendered consistently negative following repeated PZQ treatments and are therefore likely to represent false-positive readings. This finding is of critical importance for countries such as Egypt as they approach elimination.Host-parasite interactio
A nonlinear hydrodynamical approach to granular materials
We propose a nonlinear hydrodynamical model of granular materials. We show
how this model describes the formation of a sand pile from a homogeneous
distribution of material under gravity, and then discuss a simulation of a
rotating sandpile which shows, in qualitative agreement with experiment, a
static and dynamic angle of repose.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, RevTeX4; minor changes to wording and some
additional discussion. Accepted by Phys. Rev.
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