Webs and quantum skew Howe duality

We give a diagrammatic presentation in terms of generators mod relations of the representation category of $U_q(\mathfrak{sl}_n)$. More precisely, we produce all the relations among $\rm{SL}_n$-webs, thus describing the full subcategory tensor-generated by fundamental representations $\bigwedge^k \mathbb{C}^n$ (this subcategory can be idempotent completed to recover the entire representation category). Our result answers a question posed by Kuperberg [arXiv:q-alg/9712003] and affirms conjectures of Kim [arXiv:math.QA/0310143] and Morrison [arXiv:0704.1503]. Our main tool is an application of quantum skew Howe duality.Comment: 32 pages, added a missing relation which had been implicitly used; this version has the same content as the published versio

Corporate governance and banks: What have we learned from the financial crisis? : Hamid Mehran; Alan Morrison; Joel Shapiro

Recent academic work and policy analysis give insight into the governance problems exposed by the financial crisis and suggest possible solutions. We begin this paper by explaining why governance of banks differs from governance of nonfinancial firms. We then look at four areas of governance: executive compensation, boards, risk management, and market discipline. We discuss promising solutions and areas where further research is needed

Micro Moral Worlds of Contentious Politics: A Reconceptualization of Radical Groups and Their Intersections with One Another and the Mainstream

The emergence, or resurgence, of radical political groups invariably provokes a struggle between activists, academics, commentators and policymakers over the particular configuration of nouns and adjectives that best correspond to the group in question. While such debates are an integral part of political practice, scrutiny of the claims made within these debates reveals significant limitations in standard strategies of description – most notably their inability to satisfactorily render either the essential cultural messiness and dynamism of contentious politics or the intersections between the so-called extreme and mainstream. We propose an alternative, albeit not mutually exclusive, strategy of description. This entails decentering the group per se and focusing instead on mapping the micro moral worlds of contentious politics – the patchwork of intersubjective contexts of belief and behavior through which activism takes place. We illustrate this with two empirical cases: The English Defence League in Britain, and Republican Sinn Fein in Ireland

Daylighting Using Tubular Light Guide Systems

The reduction of fossil fuel consumption and the associated decrease in greenhouse gas emissions are vital to combat global warming and this can be accomplished, in part, by the use of natural light to provide illumination in buildings. Demand for artificial lighting and the availability of daylight often correspond, so savings can be significant. To assess the performance of several innovative daylighting devices and to develop improved models for more established technology, quantitative measurement of output was necessary. This was achieved by the development of simply constructed photometric integrators which were calibrated by the innovative use of daylight as a source of illuminance. These devices were found to be consistent and accurate in measuring the luminous flux from a number of devices and in a number of locations. The novel light rod was assessed as a core daylighting technology and found to transmit light with high efficiency at aspect ratios of up to 40. It was found to have higher transmittance than the light pipe and with a considerably smaller diameter, could be used in space-restricted applications. Light rods were bent by infra-red heating and found to lose minimal transmittance. The light rod emitter was modified to give a variety of types of light distribution, including side emission and the results were visually and quantitatively assessed. Energy saving capacity was assessed and a model of performance developed for the first time. The long-term measurement of light pipe performance and measurement of length and diameter effects led to several improved models of performance for European latitudes. Several means of improving yield were investigated, including novel cone concentrators, laser cut panels and innovative high-efficiency reflective films. The concentrators and films were found to give significantly higher output than a standard light pipe, increasing energy savings and associated benefits for the user

Gas Storage Technology Consortium Quarterly Report

Gas storage is a critical element in the natural gas industry. Producers, transmission and distribution companies, marketers, and end users all benefit directly from the load balancing function of storage. The unbundling process has fundamentally changed the way storage is used and valued. As an unbundled service, the value of storage is being recovered at rates that reflect its value. Moreover, the marketplace has differentiated between various types of storage services, and has increasingly rewarded flexibility, safety, and reliability. The size of the natural gas market has increased and is projected to continue to increase towards 30 trillion cubic feet (TCF) over the next 10 to 15 years. Much of this increase is projected to come from electric generation, particularly peaking units. Gas storage, particularly the flexible services that are most suited to electric loads, is critical in meeting the needs of these new markets. In order to address the gas storage needs of the natural gas industry, an industry-driven consortium was created--the Gas Storage Technology Consortium (GSTC). The objective of the GSTC is to provide a means to accomplish industry-driven research and development designed to enhance operational flexibility and deliverability of the Nation's gas storage system, and provide a cost effective, safe, and reliable supply of natural gas to meet domestic demand. This report addresses the activities for the quarterly period of July 1, 2005 through September 30, 2005. During this time period efforts were directed toward (1) receiving proposals in response to the RFP, and (2) organizing and hosting the proposal selection meeting on August 30-31, 2005

Establishment of an Industry-Driven Consortium Focused on Improving the Production Performance of Domestic Stripper Wells

The Pennsylvania State University, under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory will establish, promote, and manage a national industry-driven Stripper Well Consortium (SWC) that will be focused on improving the production performance of domestic petroleum and/or natural gas stripper wells. The consortium creates a partnership with the U.S. petroleum and natural gas industries and trade associations, state funding agencies, academia, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory. This report serves as the nineteenth quarterly technical progress report for the SWC. Key activities for this reporting period include: (1) deliver a keynote luncheon address to the 16th Annual Oil Recovery Conference in Wichita, Kansas, (2) participated in the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission's (IOGCC) Midyear Issues Summit in Anchorage, Alaska, (3) completed and distributed the SWC technical bulletin ''Keeping the Home Wells Flowing: Helping Small Independent Oil and Gas Producers Develop New Technology Solutions'', and (4) completed the primary filming of the Public Broadcast of ''Independent Oil: Rediscovering America's Forgotten Wells''

Daylighting Using Tubular Light Guide Systems

The reduction of fossil fuel consumption and the associated decrease in greenhouse gas emissions are vital to combat global warming and this can be accomplished, in part, by the use of natural light to provide illumination in buildings. Demand for artificial lighting and the availability of daylight often correspond, so savings can be significant. To assess the performance of several innovative daylighting devices and to develop improved models for more established technology, quantitative measurement of output was necessary. This was achieved by the development of simply constructed photometric integrators which were calibrated by the innovative use of daylight as a source of illuminance. These devices were found to be consistent and accurate in measuring the luminous flux from a number of devices and in a number of locations. The novel light rod was assessed as a core daylighting technology and found to transmit light with high efficiency at aspect ratios of up to 40. It was found to have higher transmittance than the light pipe and with a considerably smaller diameter, could be used in space-restricted applications. Light rods were bent by infra-red heating and found to lose minimal transmittance. The light rod emitter was modified to give a variety of types of light distribution, including side emission and the results were visually and quantitatively assessed. Energy saving capacity was assessed and a model of performance developed for the first time. The long-term measurement of light pipe performance and measurement of length and diameter effects led to several improved models of performance for European latitudes. Several means of improving yield were investigated, including novel cone concentrators, laser cut panels and innovative high-efficiency reflective films. The concentrators and films were found to give significantly higher output than a standard light pipe, increasing energy savings and associated benefits for the user

Evaluation of variables for the communication of uncertainties using peripheral awareness displays

The communication of system uncertainties may be key for overcoming challenges related to overtrust in automated driving. Existing approaches are limited to conveying uncertainties using visual displays in the instrument cluster. This requires operators to regularly monitor the display in order to perceive changes which impedes the execution of nondriving related tasks and thereby degrades the user experience. This study evaluates variables for the communication of uncertainties using peripheral awareness displays, considering changes in brightness, hue, position, size, pulse frequency, and movement speed. All variables were assessed in terms of how well participants can distinguish different instances, how logical they are, and how interrupting to a secondary task. With the exception of changes in position, all variables were ranked highly in terms of logic while changes in pulse frequency were perceived as most interrupting. The results inform the development of unobtrusive interfaces for uncertainty communication

Gas Storage Technology Consortium

Gas storage is a critical element in the natural gas industry. Producers, transmission and distribution companies, marketers, and end users all benefit directly from the load balancing function of storage. The unbundling process has fundamentally changed the way storage is used and valued. As an unbundled service, the value of storage is being recovered at rates that reflect its value. Moreover, the marketplace has differentiated between various types of storage services and has increasingly rewarded flexibility, safety, and reliability. The size of the natural gas market has increased and is projected to continue to increase towards 30 trillion cubic feet (TCF) over the next 10 to 15 years. Much of this increase is projected to come from electric generation, particularly peaking units. Gas storage, particularly the flexible services that are most suited to electric loads, is crucial in meeting the needs of these new markets. To address the gas storage needs of the natural gas industry, an industry-driven consortium was created - the Gas Storage Technology Consortium (GSTC). The objective of the GSTC is to provide a means to accomplish industry-driven research and development designed to enhance the operational flexibility and deliverability of the nation's gas storage system, and provide a cost-effective, safe, and reliable supply of natural gas to meet domestic demand. This report addresses the activities for the quarterly period of January1, 2007 through March 31, 2007. Key activities during this time period included: {lg_bullet} Drafting and distributing the 2007 RFP; {lg_bullet} Identifying and securing a meeting site for the GSTC 2007 Spring Proposal Meeting; {lg_bullet} Scheduling and participating in two (2) project mentoring conference calls; {lg_bullet} Conducting elections for four Executive Council seats; {lg_bullet} Collecting and compiling the 2005 GSTC Final Project Reports; and {lg_bullet} Outreach and communications