69,795 research outputs found
The structure of degradable quantum channels
Degradable quantum channels are among the only channels whose quantum and
private classical capacities are known. As such, determining the structure of
these channels is a pressing open question in quantum information theory. We
give a comprehensive review of what is currently known about the structure of
degradable quantum channels, including a number of new results as well as
alternate proofs of some known results. In the case of qubits, we provide a
complete characterization of all degradable channels with two dimensional
output, give a new proof that a qubit channel with two Kraus operators is
either degradable or anti-degradable and present a complete description of
anti-degradable unital qubit channels with a new proof.
For higher output dimensions we explore the relationship between the output
and environment dimensions ( and respectively) of degradable
channels. For several broad classes of channels we show that they can be
modeled with a environment that is "small" in the sense . Perhaps
surprisingly, we also present examples of degradable channels with ``large''
environments, in the sense that the minimal dimension . Indeed, one
can have .
In the case of channels with diagonal Kraus operators, we describe the
subclass which are complements of entanglement breaking channels. We also
obtain a number of results for channels in the convex hull of conjugations with
generalized Pauli matrices. However, a number of open questions remain about
these channels and the more general case of random unitary channels.Comment: 42 pages, 3 figures, Web and paper abstract differ; (v2 contains only
minor typo corrections
Having a Conversation About Health Care Wishes and Goals in Vermont
Research has shown that people think talking with family and friends about end-of-life care is important, but they do not actually have this conversation. The majority of adults do not have any form of advance care planning in place. In the state of Vermont if you are 18 years of age or older there is no default person to make decisions for you (such as a spouse or next of kin) in the event that you would be unable to do so, which can result in a complicated ethical dilemma. The goal of this project is to improve conversation rates between patients and their friends and families about their health care wishes and goals.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1347/thumbnail.jp
Presumptuous aim attribution, conformity, and the ethics of artificial social cognition
Imagine you are casually browsing an online bookstore, looking for an interesting novel. Suppose the store predicts you will want to buy a particular novel: the one most chosen by people of your same age, gender, location, and occupational status. The store recommends the book, it appeals to you, and so you choose it. Central to this scenario is an automated prediction of what you desire. This article raises moral concerns about such predictions. More generally, this article examines the ethics of artificial social cognitionâthe ethical dimensions of attribution of mental states to humans by artificial systems. The focus is presumptuous aim attributions, which are defined here as aim attributions based crucially on the premise that the person in question will have aims like superficially similar people. Several everyday examples demonstrate that this sort of presumptuousness is already a familiar moral concern. The scope of this moral concern is extended by new technologies. In particular, recommender systems based on collaborative filtering are now commonly used to automatically recommend products and information to humans. Examination of these systems demonstrates that they naturally attribute aims presumptuously. This article presents two reservations about the widespread adoption of such systems. First, the severity of our antecedent moral concern about presumptuousness increases when aim attribution processes are automated and accelerated. Second, a foreseeable consequence of reliance on these systems is an unwarranted inducement of interpersonal conformity
Unethical consumers: Deshopping behaviour using the qualitative analysis of theory of planned behaviour and accompanied (de)shopping
Purpose
Previous research indicates that deshopping is a prevalent and growing consumer behaviour.
This paper examines deshopping from a consumer perspective, and applies the Theory of
Planned Behaviour (TPB) to demonstrate how this behaviour can be managed and prevented.
An accompanied (de)shop is also conducted. This paper also places deshopping within a legal
and ethical context, in relation to the established literature in this field.
Methodology approach
This paper tests the TPB variables in a qualitative way by conducting in-depth interviews with
deshoppers, who had completed a quantitative questionnaire. The results further support and
enhance the quantitative TPB results collected previously with 535 consumers. An
accompanied (de)shop is also reviewed, as this qualitative research technique, enables an
enhanced understanding and evidence of the deshopping process, which has not been
demonstrated previously. The findings demonstrate support for these qualitative research tool,
which enable a deeper understanding of the deshopping process and its management.
Findings
The findings demonstrate important use of the TPB as a qualitative research technique. The
model is also expanded and redesigned by adding additional variables as a result of this
research. The accompanied (de)shop findings demonstrate support for this qualitative research
tool, which also enables a deeper understanding of the deshopping process and its
management.
Practical implications
The research concludes with the implications of deshopping for the industry and makes
recommendations as how to reduce deshopping, as well as recommending the qualitative
research techniques utilised to future researchers.
Originality
This paper has identified the key variables that influence deshopping, and demonstrates that
procedures can be designed to reduce this behaviour by manipulating the TPB variables. This
paper has also added additional variables to the TPB model, which have proved to be
influential in deshopping behaviour, thereby developing theoretical knowledge of TPB. The
use of the TPB has also provided a theoretical underpinning to utilising a consumer education
program to prevent problem behaviours. This research demonstrates that this could alter
deshoppersâ attitudes and subjective norms.
This is also the first paper to place deshopping in a legal framework which highlights
the legal loopholes in a retailerâs returns policy and the implications of new directives which
will influence retailerâs abilities to refuse a return. This paper is also the first to explore
deshopping within an ethical framework that has created new knowledge on the unethical
consumer in relation to deshopping behaviour.
This study also incorporates an accompanied (de)shop methodology; this form of
research has never been undertaken in relation to deshopping activity and has generated
completely new knowledge of what is happening when the actual behaviour is taking place
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Interviews of deshopping behaviour: An analysis of theory of planned behaviour
Research reveals alarming results on the prevalence of the dishonest consumer
behaviour known as deshopping. Deshopping is the
âdeliberate return of goods for reasons other than actual faults in the product,
in its pure form premeditated prior to and during the consumption
experience.â
(Schmidt et al., 1999 p.2)
In effect this means buying something with no intention of keeping it (Schmidt et al.,
1999). The authors consider the implications of deshopping and retailersâ prevention
of deshopping, exploring the research undertaken to date and the methodology for
further research
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