Mental time travel in dysphoria: Differences in the content and subjective experience of past and future episodes

Previous research has shown that depressed individuals demonstrate a number of biases in their ability to retrieve past events and simulate future events. The current study investigated the content and phenomenological experience of past and future events in dysphoric and non-dysphoric individuals. Results indicated that dysphoric, compared with non-dysphoric, individuals reported fewer positive events across both temporal directions. Furthermore, phenomenological characteristics ratings suggested that dysphoric individuals saw future, but not past, events as less vivid, coherent, sensorially detailed, bodily experienced, emotionally intense and important with respect to their life story and identity. These findings are discussed with reference to theories regarding the functions of ‘mental time travel’, in particular how the muted subjective experience of future episodes in depression may impair future planning, problem-solving and self regulation

On measuring the impact of hyperlinks on reading

We increasingly spend a vast amount of time on the Web and much of that time is spent reading. One of the main differences between reading non-Web based text and reading on the Web is the presence of hyperlinks within the text, linking various related Web content and Web pages together. Some researchers and commentators have claimed that hyperlinks hinder reading because they are a distraction that may have a negative effect on the reader’s ability to process the text. However, very few controlled experiments have been conducted to verify these claims.In the experiments documented here we utilise eye tracking as a new methodology for examining how we read hyperlinked text. An eye tracker was used to observe participant’s behaviour while reading. The results showed that hyperlinked text did not generally have a negative impact upon reading behaviour. However, participants did show a tendency to re-read sentences that contained hyperlinked uncommon (low frequency) words. This suggests that hyperlinks highlight important information to the reader and the hyperlinks add additional content which for more difficult concepts, invites rereading of the preceding text

Irreducible forms of Matrix Product States: Theory and Applications

The canonical form of Matrix Product States (MPS) and the associated fundamental theorem, which relates different MPS representations of a state, are the theoretical framework underlying many of the analytical results derived through MPS, such as the classification of symmetry-protected phases in one dimension. Yet, the canonical form is only defined for MPS without non-trivial periods, and thus cannot fully capture paradigmatic states such as the antiferromagnet. Here, we introduce a new standard form for MPS, the irreducible form, which is defined for arbitrary MPS, including periodic states, and show that any tensor can be transformed into a tensor in irreducible form describing the same MPS. We then prove a fundamental theorem for MPS in irreducible form: If two tensors in irreducible form give rise to the same MPS, then they must be related by a similarity transform, together with a matrix of phases. We provide two applications of this result: an equivalence between the refinement properties of a state and the divisibility properties of its transfer matrix, and a more general characterisation of tensors that give rise to matrix product states with symmetries.Comment: 12 page

Continuum limits of Matrix Product States

We determine which translationally invariant matrix product states have a continuum limit, that is, which can be considered as discretized versions of states defined in the continuum. To do this, we analyse a fine-graining renormalization procedure in real space, characterise the set of limiting states of its flow, and find that it strictly contains the set of continuous matrix product states. We also analyse which states have a continuum limit after a finite number of a coarse-graining renormalization steps. We give several examples of states with and without the different kinds of continuum limits.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. New version: somewhat expanded, some explanations added. Close to published versio

The importance of the communal theatre as a civic institution and means by which it can be strengthened and improved

The purpose of writing this thesis is twofold. The writer will first establish the importance of the communal theatre as a civic institution, and then he will regard the original research material as it indicates the means by which the communal theatre may be strengthened and improved. It is hoped that this research will prove interesting and valuable to dram enthusiasts, educators, and the people of any community

#KenyaDecides 2013 – Part 2 – Running a village campaign: funerals, motorbikes, goldmines and Obama.

It is less than a week to the Kenyan national elections but in contrast to the usual media coverage of “big men” and “eminent personalities”, LSHTM’s Gemma Jones, anthropologist, and J.Omondi, a Kenyan candidate for county ward representative describe village electoral campaigns in one small corner of Kenya

#KenyaDecides2013 – Part 3 – Aborted primaries muddy the local elections in rural Kenya

The polls have closed, votes are being counted, but the full picture is still obscure. As the world waits for the presidential results of the 2013 Kenya elections, Gemma Jones, anthropologist and J.Omondi, candidate for ward representative in rural Luoland, Nyanza Province, look back at events over the last few weeks and its effect on the regional elections