Stories tell us? Political narrative, demes, and the transmission of knowledge through culture

This paper compares two institutions of storytelling, mainstream national narratives and self-represented digital storytelling. It considers the centenary of World War 1, especially the Gallipoli campaign (1915) and its role in forming Australian ‘national character’. Using the new approach of cultural science, it investigates storytelling as a means by which cultures make and bind groups or ‘demes’. It finds that that demic (group-made) knowledge trumps individual experience, and that self-representation (digital storytelling) tends to copy the national narrative, even when the latter is known not to be true. The paper discusses the importance of culture in the creation of knowledge, arguing that if the radical potential of digital storytelling is to be understood – and realised – then a systems (as opposed to behavioural) approach to communication is necessary. Without a new model of knowledge, it seems we are stuck with repetition of the same old story

Entropy as a function of Geometric Phase

We give a closed-form solution of von Neumann entropy as a function of geometric phase modulated by visibility and average distinguishability in Hilbert spaces of two and three dimensions. We show that the same type of dependence also exists in higher dimensions. We also outline a method for measuring both the entropy and the phase experimentally using a simple Mach-Zehnder type interferometer which explains physically why the two concepts are related.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

The effects of changes in the order of verbal labels and numerical values on children's scores on attitude and rating scales

Research with adults has shown that variations in verbal labels and numerical scale values on rating scales can affect the responses given. However, few studies have been conducted with children. The study aimed to examine potential differences in children’s responses to Likert-type rating scales according to their anchor points and scale direction, and to see whether or not such differences were stable over time. 130 British children, aged 9 to 11, completed six sets of Likert-type rating scales, presented in four different ways varying the position of positive labels and numerical values. The results showed, both initially and 8-12 weeks later, that presenting a positive label or a high score on the left of a scale led to significantly higher mean scores than did the other variations. These findings indicate that different arrangements of rating scales can produce different results which has clear implications for the administration of scales with children

The structure and evolution of a forming galaxy cluster at z = 1.62

We present a comprehensive picture of the Cl 0218.3−0510 protocluster at z = 1.623 across 10 comoving Mpc. Using filters that tightly bracket the Balmer and 4000 Å breaks of the protocluster galaxies we obtain precise photometric redshifts resulting in a protocluster galaxy sample that is 89 ± 5 per cent complete and has a contamination of only 12 ± 5 per cent. Both star-forming and quiescent protocluster galaxies are located, which allows us to map the structure of the forming cluster for the first time. The protocluster contains six galaxy groups, the largest of which is the nascent cluster. Only a small minority of the protocluster galaxies are in the nascent cluster (11 per cent) or in the other galaxy groups (22 per cent), as most protocluster galaxies reside between the groups. Unobscured star-forming galaxies predominantly reside between the protocluster’s groups, whereas red galaxies make up a large fraction of the groups’ galactic content, so observing the protocluster through only one of these types of galaxies results in a biased view of the protocluster’s structure. The structure of the protocluster reveals how much mass is available for the future growth of the cluster and we use the Millennium Simulation, scaled to a Planck cosmology, to predict that Cl 0218.3−0510 will evolve into a 2.7+3.9 −1.7 × 1014M cluster by the present day

The impact of protocluster environments at z = 1.6

We investigate the effects of dense environments on galaxy evolution by examining how the properties of galaxies in the z = 1.6 protocluster Cl 0218.3−0510 depend on their location. We determine galaxy properties using spectral energy distribution fitting to 14-band photometry, including data at three wavelengths that tightly bracket the Balmer and 4000 Å breaks of the protocluster galaxies. We find that two-thirds of the protocluster galaxies, which lie between several compact groups, are indistinguishable from field galaxies. The other third, which reside within the groups, differ significantly from the intergroup galaxies in both colour and specific star formation rate. We find that the fraction of red galaxies within the massive protocluster groups is twice that of the intergroup region. These excess red galaxies are due to enhanced fractions of both passive galaxies (1.7 times that of the intergroup region) and dusty star-forming galaxies (3 times that of the intergroup region). We infer that some protocluster galaxies are processed in the groups before the cluster collapses. These processes act to suppress star formation and change the mode of star formation from unobscured to obscured

High jaguar densities and large population sizes in the core habitat of the southwestern Amazon

a b s t r a c t Over 80% of the currently occupied range of the jaguar (Panthera onca) lies in the Amazon. However, few density estimates exist for this habitat. Between 2005 and 2010 we carried out six camera trap surveys at three different sites in the department of Madre de Dios in the Peruvian Amazon. We analyzed our data using a Bayesian spatially explicit capture recapture model (SECR) with sex covariates to account for differences in home range size and detection probabilities of male and female jaguars. As several of our camera grids where too small for reliable density estimates, we used estimates for the r parameter from the largest camera grid to correct for the bias. Density estimates for our surveys were similar with an average density of 4.4 ± 0.7 jaguar 100 km À2 . Both home range size and encounter rates varied significantly between sexes with males having a larger home range and higher encounter rate than females. Our estimated sex ratio was 1:1.5 compared to an observed ratio of 1.9:1. Not accounting for sex would have resulted in an underestimation of the true density. The densities found in this study are among the highest documented and show that the Amazon is indeed a core habitat for the jaguar. We estimate that three jaguar conservation units in our study region (areas defined by experts as having a high conservation priority) could harbor as many as 6000 jaguars (CI: 4278-8142)

Three manifestations of the pulsed harmonic potential

We consider, in turn, three systems being acted upon by a regularly pulsed harmonic potential (PHP). These are i) a classical particle, ii) a quantum particle, and iii) a directed line. We contrast the mechanics of the first two systems by parameterizing their bands of stability and periodicity. Interesting differences due to quantum fluctuations are examined in detail. The fluctuations of the directed line are calculated in the two cases of a binding PHP, and an unbinding PHP. In the latter case there is a finite maximum line length for a given potential strength.Comment: 34 Revtex pages, with 5 attached figure