4,804 research outputs found
Technology Adoption Factors in the Digitization of Popular Culture: Analyzing the Online Gambling Market
This study explores the psychological factors that influence market diffusion of popular culture digital services. Digital service websites have been diffusing through global markets with relative ease, but the factors influencing this are not well understood. The transition from the brick and mortar services to a digital outlet represents a form of market disruption but the way that this impacts the consumer experience and the way firms engage in innovation are not fully understood, nor are the various cognitive factors driving the adoption rates. There is a need to understand cognitions that influence intent to engage, as well as the perceptions of the social environment in which the service offering occurs. Therefore, we offer an examination of different social contexts (US and UK) to explore the impact of certain attitudes and norms toward online gambling consumption. The results of study demonstrate how variations between online and offline environments impact consumer adoption and market diffusion. Additionally, the results further support the need for more studies to focus on the soft factors that influence their innovation capabilities
Scalable design of tailored soft pulses for coherent control
We present a scalable scheme to design optimized soft pulses and pulse
sequences for coherent control of interacting quantum many-body systems. The
scheme is based on the cluster expansion and the time dependent perturbation
theory implemented numerically. This approach offers a dramatic advantage in
numerical efficiency, and it is also more convenient than the commonly used
Magnus expansion, especially when dealing with higher order terms. We
illustrate the scheme by designing 2nd-order pi-pulses and a 6th-order 8-pulse
refocusing sequence for a chain of qubits with nearest-neighbor couplings. We
also discuss the performance of soft-pulse refocusing sequences in suppressing
decoherence due to low-frequency environment.Comment: 4 pages, 2 tables. (modified first table, references added, minor
text changes
The role of mutation rate variation and genetic diversity in the architecture of human disease
Background
We have investigated the role that the mutation rate and the structure of genetic variation at a locus play in determining whether a gene is involved in disease. We predict that the mutation rate and its genetic diversity should be higher in genes associated with disease, unless all genes that could cause disease have already been identified.
Results
Consistent with our predictions we find that genes associated with Mendelian and complex disease are substantially longer than non-disease genes. However, we find that both Mendelian and complex disease genes are found in regions of the genome with relatively low mutation rates, as inferred from intron divergence between humans and chimpanzees, and they are predicted to have similar rates of non-synonymous mutation as other genes. Finally, we find that disease genes are in regions of significantly elevated genetic diversity, even when variation in the rate of mutation is controlled for. The effect is small nevertheless.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that gene length contributes to whether a gene is associated with disease. However, the mutation rate and the genetic architecture of the locus appear to play only a minor role in determining whether a gene is associated with disease
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Locating customer value in contracting-out decisions in English local authorities
Tan(beta) enhanced Yukawa couplings for supersymmetric Higgs singlets at one loop
Extensions of the MSSM generically feature gauge singlet Higgs bosons. These
singlet Higgs bosons have tan(beta)-enhanced Yukawa couplings to down-type
quarks and leptons at the one-loop level. We present an effective Lagrangian
incorporating these Yukawa couplings and use it to study their effect on
singlet Higgs boson phenomenology within both the mnSSM and NMSSM. It is found
that the loop-induced couplings represent an appreciable effect for the singlet
pseudoscalar in particular, and may dominate its decay modes in some regions of
parameter space.Comment: Submitted for the SUSY07 proceedings, 4 pages, 5 figure
Blending of nanoscale and microscale in uniform large-area sculptured thin-film architectures
The combination of large thickness ( m), large--area uniformity (75
mm diameter), high growth rate (up to 0.4 m/min) in assemblies of
complex--shaped nanowires on lithographically defined patterns has been
achieved for the first time. The nanoscale and the microscale have thus been
blended together in sculptured thin films with transverse architectures.
SiO () nanowires were grown by electron--beam evaporation onto
silicon substrates both with and without photoresist lines (1--D arrays) and
checkerboard (2--D arrays) patterns. Atomic self--shadowing due to
oblique--angle deposition enables the nanowires to grow continuously, to change
direction abruptly, and to maintain constant cross--sectional diameter. The
selective growth of nanowire assemblies on the top surfaces of both 1--D and
2--D arrays can be understood and predicted using simple geometrical shadowing
equations.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure
Polarization Effects in Reflecting Coronagraphs for White Light Applications in Astronomy
The properties of metal thin films have been largely overlooked in
discussions of the technical limitations and problems that arise in the field
of direct detection of exoplanets. Here, polarization properties and anisotropy
properties of highly reflecting thin metal films are examined within the
context of the requirements for the ultra-low scattered-light system
performance of coronagraphs applied to space and ground-based high-contrast,
white-light astronomy. Wavelength-dependent optical constants for highly
reflecting thin metal films, taken from the literature are used to calculate
the polarization-dependent transmissivity of a typical coronagraph. The effects
of degraded performance on the astronomical science are examined. Suggestions
are made for future work.Comment: 14 Pages, 7 Figures, Accepted to Astrophysical Journa
Learning to manage public service organizations better: a scenario for teaching public administration
In the context of public value, it is argued that there is a need to adopt the learning organization philosophy to manage public service organizations better. For collaborative work with public sector managers or in management education, a fictitious scenario is presented to develop the concept of the learning organization as paradox. Faced with multiple and conflicting demands, public managers find it difficult to change organizational behavior in response to new knowledge. The scenario demonstrates how learning organization philosophy can be used to translate new knowledge into new behaviors. Key skills required for public managers to exploit the knowledge of all organizational members and confront the challenges of a contested concept, such as public value, are developed and comprise: summarizing evidence; making judgements, sharing thought processes on a contentious issue, and arriving at a consensus together. Contributions to public administration theory and practice are discussed
The Mersey Estuary : sediment geochemistry
This report describes a study of the geochemistry of
the Mersey estuary carried out between April 2000 and
December 2002. The study was the first in a new programme
of surveys of the geochemistry of major British estuaries
aimed at enhancing our knowledge and understanding of the
distribution of contaminants in estuarine sediments.
The report first summarises the physical setting, historical
development, geology, hydrography and bathymetry of the
Mersey estuary and its catchment. Details of the sampling
and analytical programmes are then given followed by a
discussion of the sedimentology and geochemistry. The
chemistry of the water column and suspended particulate
matter have not been studied, the chief concern being with
the geochemistry of the surface and near-surface sediments
of the Mersey estuary and an examination of their likely
sources and present state of contamination
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