Lolita, by Waldo Cros

Track List:1. Have It All2. Just Friendz3. Come Back4. Tomorrow5. Family Affair6. Just Friends (Demo)7. Maybe I\u27m AmazedThis solo debut of songwriter/producer Charlie Klarsfeld was recorded at his home studio in upstate new york from September 2010 to April 2011. The moniker Waldo Cros is derived from the French version of Where is Waldo, entitled Où est Charlie, and Lolita Cros, who most of the songs for the record were written about/based on.creditsreleased 28 April 2011 All instruments and vocals by Charlie Klarsfeld, except for: Josh Hahn: Pedal Steel on Have It All Odetta Hartman: Violin on Tomorrow and Family Affair Matt Kelly: Trumpet on Come Back and Tomorrow Lola Kirke: Vocals on Maybe I\u27m Amazed Sheppard Pepper: Hand Claps on Come Back Lolita Cros: Hand Claps/Snaps on Tomorrow All songs by Charlie Klarsfeld except: Family Affair written by Sly Stone, Sylvester Stewart Maybe I\u27m Amazed written by Paul McCartney Artwork by Audrey Clementine Turner Thanks! To my mom for her incredible love and support for everything i do as a musician and human. Family Affair is dedicated to you and Nicky. To my dear Lolita, the inspiration for all the original songs on this record, i love you. To Shelby, Shep, and Christian for putting up with the endless noise creeping up from the basement. To Audrey for her beautiful artwork, and dealing with all the dusty traffic and noise coming through her apartment. To Josh, Odetta, and Matt for your crazy skills. To Lola for the mushrooms and friendship. Finally to Jeff Peretz for showing me the rope

Self-energy values for P states in hydrogen and low-Z hydrogenlike ions

We describe a nonperturbative (in Zalpha) numerical evaluation of the one-photon electron self energy for 3P_{1/2}, 3P_{3/2}, 4P_{1/2} and 4P_{3/2} states in hydrogenlike atomic systems with charge numbers Z=1 to 5. The numerical results are found to be in agreement with known terms in the expansion of the self energy in powers of Zalpha and lead to improved theoretical predictions for the self-energy shift of these states.Comment: 3 pages, RevTe

Finite Mass Effect on Two Photon Processes in Hydrogenic Systems: Effective Scalar Photon Interaction

We consider a hydrogenic system with a nucleus of finite mass. The coupling of the radiation field to the center of mass motion gives rise to an effective scalar type coupling. This induced scalar photon interaction emerges as a correction in competition with the usual multipole interactions. This effect is particularly important in positronium where the electric quadrupole interaction is totally suppressed. We illustrate this effect with the two-photon decay of metastable hydrogenic systems.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, no figure. Version to appear in Phys. Lett.

La rémunération basée sur les compétences : Déterminants et incidences

Cette étude s’intéresse aux déterminants et aux incidences de la rémunération basée sur les compétences. Les données ont été colligées par questionnaire auprès de 189 responsables de la gestion des ressources humaines à l’emploi d’entreprises du secteur privé comptant plus de 200 employés. Les résultats confirment que l’adoption de la rémunération basée sur les compétences est positivement reliée à la culture de gestion participative. Après avoir contrôlé pour la taille de l’entreprise et la présence syndicale, les résultats montrent que, comparés aux autres, les répondants qui sont à l’emploi des organisations où l’on adopte la rémunération des compétences sont statistiquement plus portés à estimer (a) que leur organisation est plus performante tant sur le plan de la finance que des ressources humaines et (b) que leur processus de gestion du rendement est plus efficace tant pour réaliser la stratégie d’affaires que pour traiter équitablement le personnel.This study investigates skill-based pay systems. Under such systems, pay levels are determined according to the nature, variety or specialized knowledge or skills that employees acquire, demonstrate or apply in the workplace. The aim of this study is to answer the following questions: (1) Which organizational characteristics are associated with the adoption of skill-based pay? and (2) Which outcomes of interest are associated with the adoption of skill-based pay in terms of perceived organizational performance and performance management system effectiveness?Drawing from the contingency perspective, several authors suggest that leaders and organizations that pursue certain specific business strategies (e.g., quality emphasis, prospector, cost reduction, people-based strategies) are more likely to adopt skill-based pay schemes (e.g., American Compensation Association 1996; Donnadieu and Denimal 1993; Gomez-Mejia and Balkin 1992; Heneman and Dixon 2001; Heneman and Gresham 1998; Lawler 1990; Snell and Dean 1994; Thompson et al. 1997; Von Glinow 1985; Zarifian 1988, 1999). The resource-based view of the firm leads us to believe that skill-based pay is more likely to constitute a competitive (Barney 1991; Collins and Clark 2003; Snell, Youndt and Wright 1996; Wright, Dunford and Snell 2001) and a strategic compensation option (Gomez-Mejia and Balkin 1992) within firms in knowledge-based industries. Risher (2000) provides evidence that firms with research and engineering centers often compensate their research and development personnel as a function of their competencies.In recent years, few studies have investigated the possible impacts of skill-based pay on objective measures of organizational performance (e.g., Long 1993; Murray and Gerhart 1998; Parent and Weber 1994). Although such studies are of great value, skill-based pay may also lead to improved performance management since it requires that more attention be given to how results are achieved. Therefore, the emphasis is more on behaviours than on results (Heneman and Gresham 1998; Smither 1998). As such, skill-based pay requires that leaders identify key competencies that are consistent with their business strategy and are considered a source of competitive advantage (Lawler 1996; Zingheim, Ledford and Schuster 1996).Thus, this study investigates both the determinants and consequences of skill-based pay. The first three hypotheses flow from the need to better understand the organizational settings that are most likely to adopt skill-based pay.Hypothesis 1. Compared to other organizations, those that adopt skill-based pay are more likely to (a) favour a differentiation strategy based upon innovation, (b) favour a differentiation strategy based upon quality, (c) favour a differentiation strategy based upon the development of people, (d) avoid a differentiation strategy based upon cost reduction.Hypothesis 2. Compared to other organizations, those that adopt skill-based pay are more likely to share a business culture that values participative management.Hypothesis 3. Compared to other organizations, those that adopt skill-based pay are more likely to be in knowledge-based industry sectors.The last two hypotheses flow from the need to better understand the consequences of skill-based pay in terms of perceived organizational performance and performance management effectiveness.Hypothesis 4. Compared to other organizations, those that adopt skill-based pay are more likely to consider that their organization is relatively effective in the areas of (a) marketing, (b) human resource management, and (c) financial performance.Hypothesis 5. Compared to other organizations, those that adopt skill-based pay are more likely to consider that their performance management system is more effective in the areas of achieving (a) employee engagement, (b) business strategy implementation, (c) supporting organizational culture, and (d) equitable treatment of employees.A questionnaire survey was mailed to a sample of human resource managers from firms with over 200 employees. Data analysis was performed on the 189 completed surveys. The adoption of skill-based pay was determined with two questions. First, respondents indicated whether their organization uses a formal competency-evaluation system for at least one category of personnel. Second, if a positive answer was provided on the first question, respondents then indicated whether there is in their organization a direct link between the assessment of competencies and employee compensation. Positive answers to both these questions determined that skill-based pay was used.The findings from this study suggest that the adoption of skill-based pay is not a function of often-mentioned contingency factors such as organizational size or union presence, two control variables that are included in the analyses. Overall, the explained variance in the adoption of skill-based pay that could be accounted for by the independent variables included in the model – business strategies, business culture that values participative management, and being in a knowledge-based industry sector – was relatively low. The results do indicate, however, that the adoption of skill-based pay is positively associated with a business culture that values participative management. As such, the results of this study provide little basis for the theoretical perspective that views the adoption of skill-based pay as rationally determined by the business strategy. The business strategies investigated in this study provide little explanatory power. With regards to the consequences of the adoption of skill-based pay, the results suggest that – after controlling for size and union presence – respondents perceive relatively higher financial and human resource management performance. In addition, the results suggest that the adoption of skill-based pay is associated with more effective performance management in the areas of achieving business strategy implementation and equitable treatment of employees.Este estudio se interesa a los factores determinantes y a las incidencias de la remuneración según competencias. Los datos han sido obtenidos mediante cuestionario administrado a 189 responsables de la dirección de recursos humanos que trabajan por las empresas del sector privado con más de 200 empleados. Los resultados confirman que la adopción de la remuneración según competencias está vinculada a la cultura de gestión participativa. Los resultados, después del control según la talla de la empresa y la presencia sindical, muestran que los encuestados que trabajan por las organizaciones donde se ha adoptado la remuneración según competencias, comparativamente a los otros encuestados, son estadísticamente mas proclives a considerar (a) que su organización obtiene mejores resultados tanto en el plano de la finanza como de los recursos humanos y (b) que sus procesos de gestión del rendimiento es más eficaz tanto para realizar la estrategia de negocios como para tratar el personal de manera equitativa

Aux aurores de la chronobiologie

Le présent article de Mairan, qui date de bientôt trois siècles, est, fait peu courant, encore mentionné dans des articles scientifiques. La plupart des spécialistes voient même ce feuillet d’observations botaniques (sur les ouvertures et fermetures de feuilles) comme la toute première véritable publication, sinon la publication fondatrice, de leur domaine, qui s'est pourtant constitué bien plus tard : la chronobiologie. Ces rythmes circadiens (d’environ 24h) d’ouverture et de fermeture ne sont pas conditionnés par la lumière solaire, mais par un rythme interne à l’organisme vivant, son horloge biologique (ou biochimique), qui s’adapte à l’environnement. Elle peut par exemple s’adapter à des variations jour-nuit fort différentes : on peut obtenir avec une lumière artificielle n’importe quelle période, exactement comme pour le forçage d’un oscillateur en physique. On a pu montrer que la plupart des organismes vivants suivent non seulement les passages jour-nuit, mais celui des saisons en se fiant à la longueur relative du jour, ou de la nuit, au cours des cycles journaliers de 24h : ce qui permet aux agriculteurs et éleveurs d'obtenir la floraison ou la reproduction d'une espèce presque en toute saison, simplement par exposition à des cycles jour-nuit artificiels qui imitent la saison favorable. Notre température interne suit elle-même un rythme circadien, avec un minimum en milieu de nuit, et donc des valeurs un peu plus élevées le soir qu'au réveil, de quelques dixièmes de degrés Celsius. Ces petites variations sont capables de synchroniser d'autres rythmes circadiens au sein de l'organisme ! Important sur le fond, l’article de Mairan a aussi un intérêt épistémologique. Posant une très bonne question d'un point de vue expérimental, il rapporte une observation correcte, qui semble répondre à la question posée. Mais ceci restera une simple observation, tant que manquera le cadre conceptuel qui lui donne sa véritable signification – en d'autres termes, tant que ce ne sera pas vraiment la bonne question ou, si l'on préfère, qu'elle ne sera pas posée pour les bonnes raisons. En tout état de cause, la chronobiologie est aujourd'hui un domaine de recherche fondamentalement pluridisciplinaire, réunissant généticiens et biochimistes, botanistes et zoologistes, neurobiologistes, agronomes, physiciens, mathématiciens, psychologues, médecins...This text by Mairan is that rare thing: a paper dating back almost three centuries which is still mentioned in scientific articles. Most specialists consider this sheet of botanical observations (on the opening and closing of leaves) as the first genuine publication, if not the founding publication, in their field – chronobiology – which emerged only at a much later date. These circadian rhythms (approximately 24 hours long) of opening and closing are not affected by sunlight but by the internal rhythm of the living organism, by its biological (or biochemical) clock, which adapts to the environment. This clock can adapt to very sharp differences – between day and night, for example. Artificial light can be used to create any given period, in the same way as a forced oscillator in physics. It has been shown that most living organisms sense not only the passage of day and night, but also the passing of the seasons by relying on the relative length of the day or night during 24-hour daily cycles. This enables arable and livestock farmers to bring a crop into flower or reproduce a species in almost any season, simply by exposing them to artificial dark/night cycles that imitate those of the desired season. Our internal body temperature itself follows a circadian rhythm, reaching its lowest point in the middle of the night and therefore rising in the evening to values a few tenths of a degree Celsius higher than when one wakes up. It even turns out that these slight variations are able to synchronise other circadian rhythms within the organism! In addition to its scientific importance, Mairan’s article is also interesting in epistemological terms. After posing a very pertinent question from an experimental point of view, it adduces a correct observation, and one that seems to respond to the question being considered. But, in the absence of a conceptual framework capable of elucidating its true significance, it remained just that: an observation. In other words, it remained mere observation just as long as the question was not quite right – or not asked for the right reasons. Today, chronobiology is a fundamentally pluridisciplinary research area, bringing together geneticists, biochemists, botanists, zoologists, neurobiologists, agronomists, physicists, mathematicians, psychologists, doctors, etc

Correlation Between the Deuteron Characteristics and the Low-energy Triplet np Scattering Parameters

The correlation relationship between the deuteron asymptotic normalization constant, $A_{S}$, and the triplet np scattering length, $a_{t}$, is investigated. It is found that 99.7% of the asymptotic constant $A_{S}$ is determined by the scattering length $a_{t}$. It is shown that the linear correlation relationship between the quantities $A_{S}^{-2}$ and $1/a_{t}$ provides a good test of correctness of various models of nucleon-nucleon interaction. It is revealed that, for the normalization constant $A_{S}$ and for the root-mean-square deuteron radius $r_{d}$, the results obtained with the experimental value recommended at present for the triplet scattering length $a_{t}$ are exaggerated with respect to their experimental counterparts. By using the latest experimental phase shifts of Arndt et al., we obtain, for the low-energy scattering parameters ($a_{t}$, $r_{t}$, $P_{t}$) and for the deuteron characteristics ($A_{S}$, $r_{d}$), results that comply well with experimental data.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure, To be published in Physics of Atomic Nucle

On the rms-radius of the proton

We study the world data on elastic electron-proton scattering in order to determine the proton charge rms-radius. After accounting for the Coulomb distortion and using a parameterization that allows to deal properly with the higher moments we find a radius of 0.895+-0.018 fm, which is significantly larger than the radii used in the past.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys.Lett.

Light Activates Output from Evening Neurons and Inhibits Output from Morning Neurons in the Drosophila Circadian Clock

Animal circadian clocks are based on multiple oscillators whose interactions allow the daily control of complex behaviors. The Drosophila brain contains a circadian clock that controls rest–activity rhythms and relies upon different groups of PERIOD (PER)–expressing neurons. Two distinct oscillators have been functionally characterized under light-dark cycles. Lateral neurons (LNs) that express the pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) drive morning activity, whereas PDF-negative LNs are required for the evening activity. In constant darkness, several lines of evidence indicate that the LN morning oscillator (LN-MO) drives the activity rhythms, whereas the LN evening oscillator (LN-EO) does not. Since mutants devoid of functional CRYPTOCHROME (CRY), as opposed to wild-type flies, are rhythmic in constant light, we analyzed transgenic flies expressing PER or CRY in the LN-MO or LN-EO. We show that, under constant light conditions and reduced CRY function, the LN evening oscillator drives robust activity rhythms, whereas the LN morning oscillator does not. Remarkably, light acts by inhibiting the LN-MO behavioral output and activating the LN-EO behavioral output. Finally, we show that PDF signaling is not required for robust activity rhythms in constant light as opposed to its requirement in constant darkness, further supporting the minor contribution of the morning cells to the behavior in the presence of light. We therefore propose that day–night cycles alternatively activate behavioral outputs of the Drosophila evening and morning lateral neurons

The Magnus expansion and some of its applications

Approximate resolution of linear systems of differential equations with varying coefficients is a recurrent problem shared by a number of scientific and engineering areas, ranging from Quantum Mechanics to Control Theory. When formulated in operator or matrix form, the Magnus expansion furnishes an elegant setting to built up approximate exponential representations of the solution of the system. It provides a power series expansion for the corresponding exponent and is sometimes referred to as Time-Dependent Exponential Perturbation Theory. Every Magnus approximant corresponds in Perturbation Theory to a partial re-summation of infinite terms with the important additional property of preserving at any order certain symmetries of the exact solution. The goal of this review is threefold. First, to collect a number of developments scattered through half a century of scientific literature on Magnus expansion. They concern the methods for the generation of terms in the expansion, estimates of the radius of convergence of the series, generalizations and related non-perturbative expansions. Second, to provide a bridge with its implementation as generator of especial purpose numerical integration methods, a field of intense activity during the last decade. Third, to illustrate with examples the kind of results one can expect from Magnus expansion in comparison with those from both perturbative schemes and standard numerical integrators. We buttress this issue with a revision of the wide range of physical applications found by Magnus expansion in the literature.Comment: Report on the Magnus expansion for differential equations and its applications to several physical problem

Two-Loop Bethe Logarithms for Higher Excited S Levels

Processes mediated by two virtual low-energy photons contribute quite significantly to the energy of hydrogenic S states. The corresponding level shift is of the order of (alpha/pi)^2 (Zalpha)^6 m_e c^2 and may be ascribed to a two-loop generalization of the Bethe logarithm. For 1S and 2S states, the correction has recently been evaluated by Pachucki and Jentschura [Phys. Rev. Lett. vol. 91, 113005 (2003)]. Here, we generalize the approach to higher excited S states, which in contrast to the 1S and 2S states can decay to P states via the electric-dipole (E1) channel. The more complex structure of the excited-state wave functions and the necessity to subtract P-state poles lead to additional calculational problems. In addition to the calculation of the excited-state two-loop energy shift, we investigate the ambiguity in the energy level definition due to squared decay rates.Comment: 14 pages, RevTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev.