Large violation of Bell inequalities with low entanglement

In this paper we obtain violations of general bipartite Bell inequalities of order $\frac{\sqrt{n}}{\log n}$ with $n$ inputs, $n$ outputs and $n$-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Moreover, we construct explicitly, up to a random choice of signs, all the elements involved in such violations: the coefficients of the Bell inequalities, POVMs measurements and quantum states. Analyzing this construction we find that, even though entanglement is necessary to obtain violation of Bell inequalities, the Entropy of entanglement of the underlying state is essentially irrelevant in obtaining large violation. We also indicate why the maximally entangled state is a rather poor candidate in producing large violations with arbitrary coefficients. However, we also show that for Bell inequalities with positive coefficients (in particular, games) the maximally entangled state achieves the largest violation up to a logarithmic factor.Comment: Reference [16] added. Some typos correcte

Influence of Employee Pro-activeness on Perceived Service Quality by Government Ministries in Kenya

In government ministries in Kenya, entrepreneurial behaviour can surface in the form of a government officer discharging their duties in a different and valuable way from the norm. It is against this background that this study sought to establish the influence of employees’ pro-activeness on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. The specific objective was to examine the influence of employees’ pro-activeness on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. This being a census study; all the executive officers of every ministry were selected to take part in the study as they are perceived to be knowledgeable on the issues under study and for which they are either responsible for their execution or they personally execute them. The questionnaire was pre-tested on pilot respondents who were not part of the study respondents but who were knowledgeable in the study aspects in order to ensure their validity and relevance.  The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to measure the reliability of the scale, which was used to assess the interval consistency among the research instrument items. The regression results showed that employees’ pro-activeness had significant and positive effect on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. The study recommends that government ministries in Kenya should, therefore, strive to improve on employees’ pro-activeness because it was found to have a significant and positive effect on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya

Relationship Between Employee Innovativeness and Perceived Service Quality by Government Ministries in Kenya

Entrepreneurial behaviour is the willingness to render a service to a Kenyan citizen in a pleasant, satisfying manner. It can also be as involving as rebelling against an existing political regime and starting a new nation. In government ministries in Kenya, entrepreneurial behaviour can surface in the form of a government officer discharging their duties in a different and valuable way from the norm. It is against this background that this study sought to establish the influence of employees’ innovativeness on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. The specific objective was to analyze the influence of employee innovativeness on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. This being a census study; all the executive officers of every ministry were selected to take part in the study as they are perceived to be knowledgeable on the issues under study and for which they are either responsible for their execution or they personally execute them. The questionnaire was pre-tested on pilot respondents who were not part of the study respondents but who were knowledgeable in the study aspects in order to ensure their validity and relevance.  The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to measure the reliability of the scale, which was used to assess the interval consistency among the research instrument items. The regression results showed that employee innovativeness had significant and positive effect on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya. The study recommends that government ministries in Kenya should, therefore, strive to improve on their employees’ innovativeness because it was found to have a significant and positive effect on perceived service quality by government ministries in Kenya

BMO spaces associated with semigroups of operators

We study BMO spaces associated with semigroup of operators and apply the results to boundedness of Fourier multipliers. We prove a universal interpolation theorem for BMO spaces and prove the boundedness of a class of Fourier multipliers on noncommutative Lp spaces for all 1 < p < \infty, with optimal constants in p.Comment: Math An

Generation and Handling of Hard Drive Duplicates as Piece of Evidence

An important area in digital forensics is images of hard disks. The correct production of the images as well as the integrity and authenticity of each hard disk image is essential for the probative force of the image to be used at court. Integrity and authenticity are under suspicion as digital evidence is stored and used by software based systems. Modifications to digital objects are hard or even impossible to track and can occur even accidentally. Even worse, vulnerabilities occur for all current computing systems. Therefore, it is difficult to guarantee a secure environment for forensic investigations. But intended deletions of dedicated data of disk images are often required because of legal issues in many countries. This article provides a technical framework on the protection of the probative force of hard disk images by ensuring the integrity and authenticity using state of the art technology. It combines hardware-based security, cryptographic hash functions and digital signatures to achieve a continuous protection of the image together with a reliable documentation of the status of the device that was used for image creation. The framework presented allows to detect modifications and to pinpoint the exact area of the modification to the digital evidence protecting the probative force of the evidence at a whole. In addition, it also supports the deletion of parts of images without invalidating the retained data blocks. Keywords: digital evidence, probative force hard disk image, verifiable deletion of image data, trusted imaging softwar

Motor Performance as Risk Factor for Lower Extremity Injuries in Children

Purpose: Physical activity related injuries in children constitute a costly public health matter. The influence of motor performance on injury risk is unclear. The purpose was to examine if motor performance was a risk factor of traumatic and overuse lower extremity injuries in a normal population of children. Methods: This study included 1244 participants from 8 to 14-years-old at baseline, all participating in "the Childhood Health, Activity and Motor Performance School Study Denmark". The follow-up period was up to 15 months. The motor performance tests were static balance, single leg hop for distance, core stability tests, vertical jump, shuttle run, and a cardiorespiratory fitness test. Lower extremity injuries were registered by clinicians by weekly questionnaires and classified according to the ICD-10 system. Results: Poor balance increased risk for traumatic injury in the foot region (IRR=1.09-1.15), and good performance in single leg hop for distance protected against traumatic knee injuries (IRR=0.66-0.68). Good performance in core stability tests and vertical jump increased the risk for traumatic injuries in the foot region (IRR=1.12-1.16). Poor balance increased the risk for overuse injuries in the foot region (IRR=1.65), as did good performance in core stability tests and shuttle run, especially for knee injuries (IRR=1.07-1.18). Conclusions: Poor balance (sway) performance was a consistent predictor of traumatic injuries, in particular for traumatic ankle injuries. Good motor performance (core stability, vertical jump, shuttle run) was positively associated with traumatic and overuse injuries, and negatively (single leg hop) associated with traumatic injuries, indicating different influence on injury risk. Previous injury was a confounder affecting the effect size and the significance. More studies are needed to consolidate the findings, to clarify the influence of different performance tests on different types of injuries and to examine the influence of behaviour in relation to injury ris

Long time, large scale limit of the Wigner transform for a system of linear oscillators in one dimension

We consider the long time, large scale behavior of the Wigner transform W_\eps(t,x,k) of the wave function corresponding to a discrete wave equation on a 1-d integer lattice, with a weak multiplicative noise. This model has been introduced in Basile, Bernardin, and Olla to describe a system of interacting linear oscillators with a weak noise that conserves locally the kinetic energy and the momentum. The kinetic limit for the Wigner transform has been shown in Basile, Olla, and Spohn. In the present paper we prove that in the unpinned case there exists $\gamma_0>0$ such that for any $\gamma\in(0,\gamma_0]$ the weak limit of W_\eps(t/\eps^{3/2\gamma},x/\eps^{\gamma},k), as \eps\ll1, satisfies a one dimensional fractional heat equation $\partial_t W(t,x)=-\hat c(-\partial_x^2)^{3/4}W(t,x)$ with $\hat c>0$. In the pinned case an analogous result can be claimed for W_\eps(t/\eps^{2\gamma},x/\eps^{\gamma},k) but the limit satisfies then the usual heat equation

For whom are internet-based occupational mental health interventions effective? Moderators of internet-based problem-solving training outcome

AbstractInternet-based problem-solving training (IPST) effectively reduces depressive symptoms in employees. Yet, it is unknown which employees benefit most from this particular treatment. The study aimed to identify predictors and moderators of treatment outcome in IPST offered to employees with depressive symptoms. Within a randomized controlled trial (N=150), designed to test the effectiveness of IPST, variables that predict and moderate the effects of IPST when compared with a waitlist control group (WLC) were explored. The outcome was change in depression severity, assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Both depression severity and other psychopathological symptoms and potential predictors/moderators were assessed as self-reports at baseline (t1) and in follow-up assessments after seven weeks (t2), three months (t3) and six months (t4). Higher depression severity at baseline predicted improvement in depressive symptomology in follow-up assessments after seven weeks, and three- and six months. Depression severity moderated the effectiveness of IPST assessed at six-month follow-up. Simple slope analyses revealed that the long-term effectiveness of the intervention was more pronounced among participants with high (CES-D range: 33–44, M=37.0, SD=3.2) and moderate (CES-D range: 14–32, M=23.1, SD=5.6) depression baseline scores, compared to participants displaying low depression baseline scores (CES-D range: 5–13, M=9.0, SD=2.2). No indication was found that participants presenting low depression severity at baseline significantly benefitted from IPST in the long-term. IPST might be appropriate for employees with a wide range of different characteristics. While there appears to be no reason to exclude employees with severe depression from Internet-based occupational mental health interventions, for employees low in depression severity, watchful waiting or potentially no intervention should be considered. These findings may not apply to other low-intensity interventions and/or target groups