7,949 research outputs found
Teens who intervene: identifying factors related to adolescent cyber-bystander intervention in cyberbullying
Introduction: Cyberbullying experiences have been linked to mental health difficulties, highlighting the need to refine anti-cyberbullying interventions, particularly for at-risk groups, and understand what encourages bystanders to intervene. The current study compared adolescents’ prosocial cyber-bystander intentions in an intragroup (‘UK-born’ victim status) and intergroup (‘immigrant’ victim status) cyberbullying context. State empathy and state self-efficacy were examined as potential mediators, accounting for baseline trait levels of these two factors and gender.
Methods: British adolescents (N=129; 13.5-15 years old; 59.7% female; predominately White) from two comprehensive schools in the UK took part in a two (gender: female/male) by two (victim status: British/immigrant) between-subjects quasi-experimental study. Participants were randomly assigned to read a gender-matched hypothetical cyberbullying vignette with an adolescent cyber-victim who was either ‘U.K.-born’ or an ‘immigrant’. Self-report questionnaires captured participants’ prosocial bystander intentions, state and trait self-efficacy and empathy, alongside demographic information.
Results: Findings showed that victim status did not relate to self-efficacy or prosocial cyber-bystander intentions. Higher empathy was reported by females and, unexpectedly, within the ‘immigrant victim’ condition. An indirect relationship was found between victim status and prosocial cyber-bystander intentions, with state empathy as a statistical mediator. Trait empathy did not moderate the path between victim status and state empathy.
Conclusions: The present study supports promoting bystander state empathy in anti-cyberbullying programmes, but the importance of intergroup processes is unclear. To reduce cyberbullying impact, future research should explore cyber-bystander behaviour towards at-risk groups inter-sectionally, controlling for additional intergroup variables which potentially caused a suppressor effect in the results
On the algebra A_{\hbar,\eta}(osp(2|2)^{(2)}) and free boson representations
A two-parameter quantum deformation of the affine Lie super algebra
is introduced and studied in some detail. This algebra is the
first example associated with nonsimply-laced and twisted root systems of a
quantum current algebra with the structure of a so-called infinite Hopf family
of (super)algebras. A representation of this algebra at is realized in
the product Fock space of two commuting sets of Heisenberg algebras.Comment: 14 pages, LaTe
Conformal dimension and random groups
We give a lower and an upper bound for the conformal dimension of the
boundaries of certain small cancellation groups. We apply these bounds to the
few relator and density models for random groups. This gives generic bounds of
the following form, where is the relator length, going to infinity.
(a) 1 + 1/C < \Cdim(\bdry G) < C l / \log(l), for the few relator model,
and
(b) 1 + l / (C\log(l)) < \Cdim(\bdry G) < C l, for the density model, at
densities .
In particular, for the density model at densities , as the relator
length goes to infinity, the random groups will pass through infinitely
many different quasi-isometry classes.Comment: 32 pages, 4 figures. v2: Final version. Main result improved to
density < 1/16. Many minor improvements. To appear in GAF
Planck priors for dark energy surveys
Although cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy data alone cannot
constrain simultaneously the spatial curvature and the equation of state of
dark energy, CMB data provide a valuable addition to other experimental
results. However computing a full CMB power spectrum with a Boltzmann code is
quite slow; for instance if we want to work with many dark energy and/or
modified gravity models, or would like to optimize experiments where many
different configurations need to be tested, it is possible to adopt a quicker
and more efficient approach.
In this paper we consider the compression of the projected Planck CMB data
into four parameters, R (scaled distance to last scattering surface), l_a
(angular scale of sound horizon at last scattering), Omega_b h^2 (baryon
density fraction) and n_s (powerlaw index of primordial matter power spectrum),
all of which can be computed quickly. We show that, although this compression
loses information compared to the full likelihood, such information loss
becomes negligible when more data is added. We also demonstrate that the method
can be used for scalar field dark energy independently of the parametrisation
of the equation of state, and discuss how this method should be used for other
kinds of dark energy models.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 4 table
The Statistical Physics of Regular Low-Density Parity-Check Error-Correcting Codes
A variation of Gallager error-correcting codes is investigated using
statistical mechanics. In codes of this type, a given message is encoded into a
codeword which comprises Boolean sums of message bits selected by two randomly
constructed sparse matrices. The similarity of these codes to Ising spin
systems with random interaction makes it possible to assess their typical
performance by analytical methods developed in the study of disordered systems.
The typical case solutions obtained via the replica method are consistent with
those obtained in simulations using belief propagation (BP) decoding. We
discuss the practical implications of the results obtained and suggest a
computationally efficient construction for one of the more practical
configurations.Comment: 35 pages, 4 figure
Critical Noise Levels for LDPC decoding
We determine the critical noise level for decoding low density parity check
error correcting codes based on the magnetization enumerator (\cM), rather
than on the weight enumerator (\cW) employed in the information theory
literature. The interpretation of our method is appealingly simple, and the
relation between the different decoding schemes such as typical pairs decoding,
MAP, and finite temperature decoding (MPM) becomes clear. In addition, our
analysis provides an explanation for the difference in performance between MN
and Gallager codes. Our results are more optimistic than those derived via the
methods of information theory and are in excellent agreement with recent
results from another statistical physics approach.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Statistical mechanics of typical set decoding
The performance of ``typical set (pairs) decoding'' for ensembles of
Gallager's linear code is investigated using statistical physics. In this
decoding, error happens when the information transmission is corrupted by an
untypical noise or two or more typical sequences satisfy the parity check
equation provided by the received codeword for which a typical noise is added.
We show that the average error rate for the latter case over a given code
ensemble can be tightly evaluated using the replica method, including the
sensitivity to the message length. Our approach generally improves the existing
analysis known in information theory community, which was reintroduced by
MacKay (1999) and believed as most accurate to date.Comment: 7 page
Inference and Optimization of Real Edges on Sparse Graphs - A Statistical Physics Perspective
Inference and optimization of real-value edge variables in sparse graphs are
studied using the Bethe approximation and replica method of statistical
physics. Equilibrium states of general energy functions involving a large set
of real edge-variables that interact at the network nodes are obtained in
various cases. When applied to the representative problem of network resource
allocation, efficient distributed algorithms are also devised. Scaling
properties with respect to the network connectivity and the resource
availability are found, and links to probabilistic Bayesian approximation
methods are established. Different cost measures are considered and algorithmic
solutions in the various cases are devised and examined numerically. Simulation
results are in full agreement with the theory.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, major changes: Sections IV to VII updated,
Figs. 1 to 3 replace
Magnetization enumerator of real-valued symmetric channels in Gallager error-correcting codes
Using the magnetization enumerator method, we evaluate the practical and
theoretical limitations of symmetric channels with real outputs. Results are
presented for several regular Gallager code constructions.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, to appear as Brief Report in Physical Review
Analysis of common attacks in LDPCC-based public-key cryptosystems
We analyze the security and reliability of a recently proposed class of
public-key cryptosystems against attacks by unauthorized parties who have
acquired partial knowledge of one or more of the private key components and/or
of the plaintext. Phase diagrams are presented, showing critical partial
knowledge levels required for unauthorized decryptionComment: 14 pages, 6 figure
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