3,978 research outputs found
Nudges and other moral technologies in the context of power: Assigning and accepting responsibility
Strawson argues that we should understand moral responsibility in terms of our practices of holding responsible and taking responsibility. The former covers what is commonly referred to as backward-looking responsibility , while the latter covers what is commonly referred to as forward-looking responsibility . We consider new technologies and interventions that facilitate assignment of responsibility. Assigning responsibility is best understood as the second- or third-personal analogue of taking responsibility. It establishes forward-looking responsibility. But unlike taking responsibility, it establishes forward-looking responsibility in someone else. When such assignments are accepted, they function in such a way that those to whom responsibility has been assigned face the same obligations and are susceptible to the same reactive attitudes as someone who takes responsibility. One family of interventions interests us in particular: nudges. We contend that many instances of nudging tacitly assign responsibility to nudgees for actions, values, and relationships that they might not otherwise have taken responsibility for. To the extent that nudgees tacitly accept such assignments, they become responsible for upholding norms that would otherwise have fallen under the purview of other actors. While this may be empowering in some cases, it can also function in such a way that it burdens people with more responsibility that they can (reasonably be expected to) manage
Complete Equivalence Between Gluon Tree Amplitudes in Twistor String Theory and in Gauge Theory
The gluon tree amplitudes of open twistor string theory, defined as contour
integrals over the ACCK link variables, are shown to satisfy the BCFW
relations, thus confirming that they coincide with the corresponding amplitudes
in gauge field theory. In this approach, the integration contours are specified
as encircling the zeros of certain constraint functions that force the
appropriate relation between the link variables and the twistor string
world-sheet variables. To do this, methods for calculating the tree amplitudes
using link variables are developed further including diagrammatic methods for
organizing and performing the calculations.Comment: 38 page
Collinear and Soft Limits of Multi-Loop Integrands in N=4 Yang-Mills
It has been argued in arXiv:1112.6432 that the planar four-point integrand in
N=4 super Yang-Mills theory is uniquely determined by dual conformal invariance
together with the absence of a double pole in the integrand of the logarithm in
the limit as a loop integration variable becomes collinear with an external
momentum. In this paper we reformulate this condition in a simple way in terms
of the amplitude itself, rather than its logarithm, and verify that it holds
for two- and three-loop MHV integrands for n>4. We investigate the extent to
which this collinear constraint and a constraint on the soft behavior of
integrands can be used to determine integrands. We find an interesting
complementarity whereby the soft constraint becomes stronger while the
collinear constraint becomes weaker at larger n. For certain reasonable choices
of basis at two and three loops the two constraints in unison appear strong
enough to determine MHV integrands uniquely for all n.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures; v2: very minor change
Modular differential equations for characters of RCFT
We discuss methods, based on the theory of vector-valued modular forms, to
determine all modular differential equations satisfied by the conformal
characters of RCFT; these modular equations are related to the null vector
relations of the operator algebra. Besides describing effective algorithmic
procedures, we illustrate our methods on an explicit example.Comment: 13 page
Higgs decay with monophoton + MET signature from low scale supersymmetry breaking
We study the decay of a standard model-like Higgs boson into a gravitino and
a neutralino, which subsequently decays promptly into another gravitino and a
photon. Such a decay can be important in scenarios where the supersymmetry
breaking scale is of the order of a few TeV, and in the region of low
transverse momenta of the photon, it may provide the dominant contribution to
the final state with a photon and two gravitinos. We estimate the relevant
standard model backgrounds and the prospects for discovering this Higgs decay
through a photon and missing transverse energy signal at the LHC in terms of a
simplified model. We also give an explicit model with manifest, but
spontaneously broken, supersymmetry in which the usual MSSM soft terms are
promoted to supersymmetric operators involving a dynamical goldstino
supermultiplet. This model can give rise to a SM-like CP-even neutral Higgs
particle with a mass of 125 GeV, without requiring substantial radiative
corrections, and with couplings sufficiently large for a signal discovery
through the above mentioned Higgs decay channel with the upcoming data from the
LHC.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables; v2: updated to JHEP version,
references adde
Recruitment of ethnic minority patients to a cardiac rehabilitation trial: The Birmingham Rehabilitation Uptake Maximisation (BRUM) study [ISRCTN72884263]
Background: Concerns have been raised about low participation rates of people from minority ethnic groups
in clinical trials. However, the evidence is unclear as many studies do not report the ethnicity of participants and
there is insufficient information about the reasons for ineligibility by ethnic group. Where there are data, there
remains the key question as to whether ethnic minorities more likely to be ineligible (e.g. due to language) or
decline to participate. We have addressed these questions in relation to the Birmingham Rehabilitation Uptake
Maximisation (BRUM) study, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing a home-based with a hospital-based
cardiac rehabilitation programme in a multi-ethnic population in the UK.
Methods: Analysis of the ethnicity, age and sex of presenting and recruited subjects for a trial of cardiac
rehabilitation in the West-Midlands, UK.
Participants: 1997 patients presenting post-myocardial infarction, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
or coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Data collected: exclusion rates, reasons for exclusion and reasons for declining to participate in the trial by ethnic
group.
Results: Significantly more patients of South Asian ethnicity were excluded (52% of 'South Asian' v 36% 'White
European' and 36% 'Other', p < 0.001). This difference in eligibility was primarily due to exclusion on the basis of
language (i.e. the inability to speak English or Punjabi). Of those eligible, similar proportions were recruited from
the different ethnic groups (white, South Asian and other). There was a marked difference in eligibility between
people of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin
Increased expression of axogenesis-related genes and mossy fibre length in dentate granule cells from adult HuD overexpressor mice
The neuronal RNA-binding protein HuD plays a critical role in the post-transcriptional regulation of short-lived mRNAs during the initial establishment and remodelling of neural connections. We have generated transgenic mice overexpressing this protein (HuD-Tg) in adult DGCs (dentate granule cells) and shown that their mossy fibres contain high levels of GAP-43 (growth-associated protein 43) and exhibit distinct morphological and electrophysiological properties. To investigate the basis for these changes and identify other molecular targets of HuD, DGCs from HuD-Tg and control mice were collected by LCM (laser capture microscopy) and RNAs analysed using DNA microarrays. Results show that 216 known mRNAs transcripts and 63 ESTs (expressed sequence tags) are significantly up-regulated in DGCs from these transgenic mice. Analyses of the 3′-UTRs (3′-untranslated regions) of these transcripts revealed an increased number of HuD-binding sites and the presence of several known instability-conferring sequences. Among these, the mRNA for TTR (transthyretin) shows the highest level of up-regulation, as confirmed by qRT–PCR (quantitative reverse transcription–PCR) and ISH (in situ hybridization). GO (gene ontology) analyses of up-regulated transcripts revealed a large over-representation of genes associated with neural development and axogenesis. In correlation with these gene expression changes, we found an increased length of the infrapyramidal mossy fibre bundle in HuD-Tg mice. These results support the notion that HuD stabilizes a number of developmentally regulated mRNAs in DGCs, resulting in increased axonal elongation
Message-Passing Methods for Complex Contagions
Message-passing methods provide a powerful approach for calculating the
expected size of cascades either on random networks (e.g., drawn from a
configuration-model ensemble or its generalizations) asymptotically as the
number of nodes becomes infinite or on specific finite-size networks. We
review the message-passing approach and show how to derive it for
configuration-model networks using the methods of (Dhar et al., 1997) and
(Gleeson, 2008). Using this approach, we explain for such networks how to
determine an analytical expression for a "cascade condition", which determines
whether a global cascade will occur. We extend this approach to the
message-passing methods for specific finite-size networks (Shrestha and Moore,
2014; Lokhov et al., 2015), and we derive a generalized cascade condition.
Throughout this chapter, we illustrate these ideas using the Watts threshold
model.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Altered thymic differentiation and modulation of arthritis by invariant NKT cells expressing mutant ZAP70
Various subsets of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells with different cytokine productions develop in the mouse thymus, but the factors driving their differentiation remain unclear. Here we show that hypomorphic alleles of Zap70 or chemical inhibition of Zap70 catalysis leads to an increase of IFN-gamma-producing iNKT cells (NKT1 cells), suggesting that NKT1 cells may require a lower TCR signal threshold. Zap70 mutant mice develop IL-17-dependent arthritis. In a mouse experimental arthritis model, NKT17 cells are increased as the disease progresses, while NKT1 numbers negatively correlates with disease severity, with this protective effect of NKT1 linked to their IFN-gamma expression. NKT1 cells are also present in the synovial fluid of arthritis patients. Our data therefore suggest that TCR signal strength during thymic differentiation may influence not only IFN-gamma production, but also the protective function of iNKT cells in arthritis
Principles of Stakes Fairness in Sport
Fairness in sport is not just about assigning the top prizes to the worthiest competitors. It is also about the way the prize structure itself is organised. For many sporting competitions, although it may be acceptable for winners to receive more than losers, it can seem unfair for winners to take everything and for losers to get nothing. Yet this insight leaves unanswered some difficult questions about what stakes fairness requires and which principles of stakes fairness are appropriate for particular competitions. In this article I specify a range of different principles of stakes fairness (ten in total) that could regulate sporting competitions. I also put forward a theoretical method for pairing up appropriate principles of stakes fairness with given sporting competitions. Specifically, I argue that the underlying rationales for holding sporting competitions can provide useful guides for identifying appropriate principles of stakes fairness. I then seek to clarify and work through some of the implications of this method for a sample of real world controversies over sporting prize structures. I also attempt to refine the method in response to two possible objections from indeterminacy and relativism. Finally, I compare and contrast my conclusions with more general philosophical debates about justice
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