Light scattering spectra of supercooled molecular liquids

The light scattering spectra of molecular liquids are derived within a generalized hydrodynamics. The wave vector and scattering angle dependences are given in the most general case and the change of the spectral features from liquid to solidlike is discussed without phenomenological model assumptions for (general) dielectric systems without long-ranged order. Exact microscopic expressions are derived for the frequency-dependent transport kernels, generalized thermodynamic derivatives and the background spectra.Comment: 12 page

An examination of the self-referent executive processing model of test anxiety: control, emotional regulation, self-handicapping, and examination performance

According to the self-referent executive processing (S-REF) model, test anxiety develops from interactions between three systems: executive self-regulation processes, self-beliefs, and maladaptive situational interactions. Studies have tended to examine one system at a time, often in conjunction with how test anxiety relates to achievement outcomes. The aim of this study was to enable a more thorough test of the S-REF model by examining one key construct from each of these systems simultaneously. These were control (a self-belief construct), emotional regulation through suppression and reappraisal (an executive process), and self-handicapping (a maladaptive situational interaction). Relations were examined from control, emotional regulation, and self-handicapping to cognitive test anxiety (worry), and subsequent examination performance on a high-stakes test. Data were collected from 273 participants in their final year of secondary education. A structural equation model showed that higher control was indirectly related to better examination performance through lower worry, higher reappraisal was indirectly related to worse examination performance through higher worry, and higher self-handicapping was related to worse examination performance through lower control and higher worry. These findings suggest that increasing control and reducing self-handicapping would be key foci for test anxiety interventions to incorporate. © 2018 The Author(s

Using soft constraints to guide users in flexible business process management systems

Abstract: Current BPMS allow designers to specify processes in highly expressive languages supporting numerous control flow constructs, exceptions, compensation handling, complex predicates, policies, etc. The resulting specification can be anything from extremely flexible to extremely rigid, but there is an unfortunate trade-off: rigid specifications become a hindrance when unanticipated deviations occur, and too flexible specifications lack information about best practices and recommended order, because everything is possible. Both specifications are expressed exclusively in terms of hard constraints and even very clever specifications can only partially alleviate this. When the process designer writes the process as described by the business analyst, inevitably important intentional information is either abandoned or promoted to hard constraints. We argue that hard constraints are insufficient, and that they lead to either rigid (dictatorial) or support-less (anarchistic) process specifications. Soft constraints can make this trade-off less painful. If process designers can write soft constraints directly in the business process specification, the BPMS can accommodate unanticipated deviations while having enough information about best practices to guide the user through the process. As a consequenc