Locality and Translations in Braided Ribbon Networks

An overview of microlocality in braided ribbon networks is presented. Following this, a series of definitions are presented to explore the concept of microlocality and the topology of ribbon networks. Isolated substructure of ribbon networks are introduced, and a theorem is proven that allows them to be relocated. This is followed by a demonstration of microlocal translations. Additionally, an investigation into macrolocality and the implications of invariants in braided ribbon networks are presented.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

Empowering Academic Reading: Strategies for Student Engagement in the Digital Age

Academic staff express concerns that many students do not engage with academic reading, do not have adequate note-taking skills and lack enthusiasm for academic texts (Hoeft, 2012; Miller & Merdian, 2020). Effective academic reading is a process of ‘enculturation’ in a given discipline and a key factor in student success (Cohn, 2021). To engage with digital reading requires different types of knowledge both declarative (the concepts and facts) and procedural (how to go about it) (Arnold et al, 2023). The Academic Engagement Team developed a session for academic staff using Cohn’s (2021) 5 Cs framework on digital reading. This session aims to give staff both the theory behind digital reading and pedagogical strategies to implement in their teaching; in doing so, we strengthen student engagement and help students effectively transition their reading skills to higher education and the digital environment. Staff are encouraged to reflect on their experiences using academic literature in their teaching and share examples of good practice. To date, 45 staff have attended the session. Of those who completed feedback forms 80% report they are highly likely to try one of the five strategies in their practice. In this presentation, we will discuss Cohn’s framework and hope to share real world stories from staff of their experiences of using these activities with students and the impact it has had on their engagement.Non peer reviewe

Infinite Degeneracy of States in Quantum Gravity

The setting of Braided Ribbon Networks is used to present a general result in spin-networks embedded in manifolds: the existence of an infinite number of species of conserved quantities. Restricted to three-valent networks the number of such conserved quantities in a given network is shown to be invariant barring a single case. The implication of these conserved quantities is discussed in the context of Loop Quantum Gravity.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figures, v2: some clarifications, no substantial change

Particle Topology, Braids, and Braided Belts

Recent work suggests that topological features of certain quantum gravity theories can be interpreted as particles, matching the known fermions and bosons of the first generation in the Standard Model. This is achieved by identifying topological structures with elements of the framed Artin braid group on three strands, and demonstrating a correspondence between the invariants used to characterise these braids (a braid is a set of non-intersecting curves, that connect one set of $N$ points with another set of $N$ points), and quantities like electric charge, colour charge, and so on. In this paper we show how to manipulate a modified form of framed braids to yield an invariant standard form for sets of isomorphic braids, characterised by a vector of real numbers. This will serve as a basis for more complete discussions of quantum numbers in future work.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figure

Establishing Social Work Practices in England: The Early Evidence

Social Work Practices (SWPs) were established in England in 2009 to deliver social work services to looked after children and care leavers. The introduction of independent social work-led organisations generated controversy focused on issues such as the privatisation of children's services and social workers' conditions of employment. This paper reports early findings from the evaluation of four of these pilots, drawing on interviews with children and young people, staff, and local authority and national stakeholders. The SWPs assumed a variety of organisational forms. The procurement process was demanding, with protracted negotiations over matters such as budgetary control and providing a round-the-clock service. Start-up was facilitated by an established relationship between the SWP provider and the local authority. Once operational, SWPs continued to rely on local authorities for various functions; in most cases, local authorities retained control of placement budgets. Levels of consultation and choice offered to children and young people regarding the move to an SWP varied considerably. Children's understanding about SWPs was generally low except in the pilot where most children retained their original social worker. These early findings show some dilution of the original SWP model, while the pilots' diversity allows the benefits of particular models to emerge

Modernising operational risk management in financial institutions via data-driven causal factors analysis: A pre-registered study

In an effort to contribute a quantitative, objective and real-time tool to proactively and precisely manage the factors underlying and exacerbating operational risks, this pre-registered study executes the empirical methodology approved in the associated pre-registered report (Cornwell et al., 2023). The application of the Bayesian network-based approach to an Australian insurance company shows that integrating a financial institution's loss and operational data in this way can effectively model the probability of an operational loss event within its interconnected operational risk environment. Further insights and efficiencies are gained by modelling multiple operational loss events together, rather than in isolation. A novel two-module framework derived specifically for causal factors analysis from the resulting operational risk model helps to highlight the relative importance of causal factors, their collective effects and critical thresholds requiring proactivity. These insights derived from the framework are expected to be strategically valuable in helping an organisation design intentional and targeted controls for and monitoring of operational risks. Given existing knowledge of the improvements quantitative risk management tools make to risk management effectiveness and subsequently firm value, the enhanced risk management and the operational efficiencies this tool seeks to afford should ultimately contribute to driving financial performance and firm value

FLIC Fermions and Hadron Phenomenology

A pedagogical overview of the formulation of the Fat Link Irrelevant Clover (FLIC) fermion action and its associated phenomenology is described. The scaling analysis indicates FLIC fermions provide a new form of nonperturbative O(a) improvement where near-continuum results are obtained at finite lattice spacing. Spin-1/2 and spin-3/2, even and odd parity baryon resonances are investigated in quenched QCD, where the nature of the Roper resonance and Lambda(1405) are of particular interest. FLIC fermions allow efficient access to the light quark-mass regime, where evidence of chiral nonanalytic behavior in the Delta-baryon mass is observed.Comment: Invited plenary session talk at QNP 2002, International Conference on Quark-Nuclear Physics, 9-14 June 2002, Forschungszentrum Julich, German