Navigating the gap between action and a serving information system

Creating, or adapting, information systems to support people undertaking purposeful action in organizational settings involves moving from: exploring the problem situation and thinking about what action to take, to thinking about how to support that action. In business settings this support will inevitably entail technology-based information systems. Most information system design approaches neglect the importance of the initial exploration and sense making phase and move directly to specifying the business process to be operationalised through the application of some software. The ideas described here have been developed with the intention of supporting a group of people navigating an inquiry through the shift in focus from: thinking about action, to thinking about support in a manner that promotes Client-led information system design. The ideas have been applied in practice through an Action Research field study in a UK banking organization and here we describe our navigational approach to IS design

Limits on the Mass, Velocity and Orbit of PSR J1933−-6211

We present a high-precision timing analysis of PSR J1933$-$6211, a millisecond pulsar (MSP) with a 3.5-ms spin period and a white dwarf (WD) companion, using data from the Parkes radio telescope. Since we have accurately measured the polarization properties of this pulsar we have applied the matrix template matching approach in which the times of arrival are measured using full polarimetric information. We achieved a weighted root-mean-square timing residuals (rms) of the timing residuals of 1.23 $\rm \mu s$, 15.5$\%$ improvement compared to the total intensity timing analysis. After studying the scintillation properties of this pulsar we put constraints on the inclination angle of the system. Based on these measurements and on $\chi^2$ mapping we put a 2-$\sigma$ upper limit on the companion mass (0.44 M$_\odot$). Since this mass limit cannot reveal the nature of the companion we further investigate the possibility of the companion to be a He WD. Applying the orbital period-mass relation for such WDs, we conclude that the mass of a He WD companion would be about 0.26$\pm$0.01 M$_\odot$ which, combined with the measured mass function and orbital inclination limits, would lead to a light pulsar mass $\leqslant$ 1.0 M$_\odot$. This result seems unlikely based on current neutron star formation models and we therefore conclude that PSR J1933$-$6211 most likely has a CO WD companion, which allows for a solution with a more massive pulsar

XY checkerboard antiferromagnet in external field

Ordering by thermal fluctuations is studied for the classical XY antiferromagnet on a checkerboard lattice in zero and finite magnetic fields by means of analytical and Monte Carlo methods. The model exhibits a variety of novel broken symmetries including states with nematic ordering in zero field and with triatic order parameter at high fields.Comment: 6 page

The Microscopic Approach to Nuclear Matter and Neutron Star Matter

We review a variety of theoretical and experimental investigations aimed at improving our knowledge of the nuclear matter equation of state. Of particular interest are nuclear matter extreme states in terms of density and/or isospin asymmetry. The equation of state of matter with unequal concentrations of protons and neutrons has numerous applications. These include heavy-ion collisions, the physics of rare, short-lived nuclei and, on a dramatically different scale, the physics of neutron stars. The "common denominator" among these (seemingly) very different systems is the symmetry energy, which plays a crucial role in both the formation of the neutron skin in neutron-rich nuclei and the radius of a neutron star (a system 18 orders of magnitude larger and 55 orders of magnitude heavier). The details of the density dependence of the symmetry energy are not yet sufficiently constrained. Throughout this article, our emphasis will be on the importance of adopting a microscopic approach to the many-body problem, which we believe to be the one with true predictive power.Comment: 56 pages, review article to appear in the International Journal of Modern Physics

Identidades en resistencia de jóvenes indocumentados queer en EU: insurrección de (por) la existencia

Estudio cualitativo sobre las subjetividades de jóvenes indocumentados queer cuya lucha y activismo han desafiado las formas tradicionales de hacer política en los Estados Unidos, y han roto con las barreras de exclusión que se replican inclusive dentro de algunos movimientos, como es el caso del movimiento Dreamer. El proyecto se elaboró desde un enfoque sociocultural con la intención de dar cuenta de la agencia de los sujetos sobre su proceso de empoderamiento, y la metodología empleada consiste de entrevistas a profundidad con enfoque biográfico, etnografía virtual y observación participante. A lo largo de la investigación, se analizan las distintas maneras en que la reivindicación sexual de miles de jóvenes que participan en corrientes como Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, han servido como plataformas no sólo para que los jóvenes migrantes canalicen sus frustraciones, sino también para que a través de su activismo, configuren frentes de resistencia que, a su vez, incluyan a la mayoría de los jóvenes cuyas trayectorias y experiencias de vida han sido marcadas por la diáspora y el tránsito. The research that follows is a qualitative study on undocumented queer youth whose struggles and activism have challenged the traditional ways of doing politics in the United States, breaking the barriers of exclusion that are also replicated within some movements, such as the Dream Act. The project was elaborated with a sociocultural approach intended to account for the agency of subjects and their resistance and empowerment processes. The methodology employed consists of in-depth interviews with a biographical approach, virtual ethnography and participant observation. Throughout the research, the author analyzes the ways in which the demands for sexual rights and liberation of thousands of young people involved in movements such as Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project have served both as a platform for young immigrants to channel their frustrations as well as to configure fronts of resistance that include the majority of young people whose life experiences have been marked by diaspora and transit