Institutions and Rules.

This short statement has three aims. First, it suggests that rules and institutionsare a convenient and productive entrypoint for analysing capitalism and mainstream proposals for its reform. But it also suggests that analyses cannot stop there if adequate critiques and alternative strategies are to be developed. Above all we need to move beyond rules and institutions to examine the microfoundations of institutions in particular subjectivities, cognitive frames, modes of calculation, norms of conduct, and forms of embodiment; and to study the macro-contexts that emerge from interaction among institutions and shape this interaction in a complex dialectic of path-shaping and path-dependency. It also suggests how to move beyond rules and institutions. Second, this statement proposes a distinctive theoretical approach based on a combination of trans- and post-disciplinary modes of inquiry. It argues that these can inform both our collective intellectual endeavours and also provide the basis for a critical popular pedagogy. And, third, it identifies some key issues for a research agenda on the political and ethical dimensions of contemporary economic activities. In the spirit of the PEKEA project, our statement is not concerned to provide yet another critique of orthodox economics (for which, see Hodgson 1989; North 1990; Rutherford 1994). Instead we emphasize the socially embedded, socially regularized nature of market economies and address changing economic norms and modes of calculation. This leads us to approach capitalism very broadly in terms of the overall ensemble of socially embedded, socially regularized and strategically selective institutions, organizations, social forces and actions that are involved in sustaining the wage-relation, a labour process and more general system of production organized in terms of profitand- loss, and a complex balance between competition and cooperation among different capitals. Seen in these terms capitalist relations of production are not just economic but is also (always, necessarily) extra-economic. In pursuing these ideas should help to provide a clearer account of the inherently political aspects of contemporary capitalism

Growin’ good corn: Rocket science or common sense?

For 70 years, beginning in 1866, national corn grain yields in the U.S. were essentially flat (Fig. 1) and averaged only 26 bpa (bushels per acre) during that entire 70-year time period. The absence of noticeable yield improvement throughout all those years is remarkable given that farmers of the day were essentially also plant breeders practicing a recognized form of plant breeding (mass selection) as they saved the best ears from each year’s crop for planting the next

Three qubit entanglement within graphical Z/X-calculus

The compositional techniques of categorical quantum mechanics are applied to analyse 3-qubit quantum entanglement. In particular the graphical calculus of complementary observables and corresponding phases due to Duncan and one of the authors is used to construct representative members of the two genuinely tripartite SLOCC classes of 3-qubit entangled states, GHZ and W. This nicely illustrates the respectively pairwise and global tripartite entanglement found in the W- and GHZ-class states. A new concept of supplementarity allows us to characterise inhabitants of the W class within the abstract diagrammatic calculus; these method extends to more general multipartite qubit states.Comment: In Proceedings HPC 2010, arXiv:1103.226

Quantum Picturalism

The quantum mechanical formalism doesn't support our intuition, nor does it elucidate the key concepts that govern the behaviour of the entities that are subject to the laws of quantum physics. The arrays of complex numbers are kin to the arrays of 0s and 1s of the early days of computer programming practice. In this review we present steps towards a diagrammatic `high-level' alternative for the Hilbert space formalism, one which appeals to our intuition. It allows for intuitive reasoning about interacting quantum systems, and trivialises many otherwise involved and tedious computations. It clearly exposes limitations such as the no-cloning theorem, and phenomena such as quantum teleportation. As a logic, it supports `automation'. It allows for a wider variety of underlying theories, and can be easily modified, having the potential to provide the required step-stone towards a deeper conceptual understanding of quantum theory, as well as its unification with other physical theories. Specific applications discussed here are purely diagrammatic proofs of several quantum computational schemes, as well as an analysis of the structural origin of quantum non-locality. The underlying mathematical foundation of this high-level diagrammatic formalism relies on so-called monoidal categories, a product of a fairly recent development in mathematics. These monoidal categories do not only provide a natural foundation for physical theories, but also for proof theory, logic, programming languages, biology, cooking, ... The challenge is to discover the necessary additional pieces of structure that allow us to predict genuine quantum phenomena.Comment: Commissioned paper for Contemporary Physics, 31 pages, 84 pictures, some colo

Critical analysis of self-doping and water-soluble n-type organic semiconductors: structures and mechanisms

Self-doping organic semiconductors provide a promising route to avoid instabilities and morphological issues associated with molecular n-type dopants. Structural characterization of a naphthalenetetracarboxylic diimide (NDI) semiconductor covalently bound to an ammonium hydroxide group is presented. The dopant precursor was found to be the product of an unexpected base catalyzed hydrolysis, which was reversible. The reversible hydrolysis had profound consequences on the chemical composition, morphology, and electronic performance of the doped films. In addition, we investigated the degradation mechanism of the quaternary ammonium group and the subsequent doping of NDI. These findings reveal that the products of more than one chemical reaction during processing of films must be considered when utilizing this promising class of water-soluble semiconductors

Singlet Exciton Lifetimes in Conjugated Polymer Films for Organic Solar Cells.

The lifetime of singlet excitons in conjugated polymer films is a key factor taken into account during organic solar cell device optimization. It determines the singlet exciton diffusion lengths in polymer films and has a direct impact on the photocurrent generation by organic solar cell devices. However, very little is known about the material properties controlling the lifetimes of singlet excitons, with most of our knowledge originating from studies of small organic molecules. Herein, we provide a brief summary of the nature of the excited states in conjugated polymer films and then present an analysis of the singlet exciton lifetimes of 16 semiconducting polymers. The exciton lifetimes of seven of the studied polymers were measured using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy and compared to the lifetimes of seven of the most common photoactive polymers found in the literature. A plot of the logarithm of the rate of exciton decay vs. the polymer optical bandgap reveals a medium correlation between lifetime and bandgap, thus suggesting that the Energy Gap Law may be valid for these systems. This therefore suggests that small bandgap polymers can suffer from short exciton lifetimes, which may limit their performance in organic solar cell devices. In addition, the impact of film crystallinity on the exciton lifetime was assessed for a small bandgap diketopyrrolopyrrole co-polymer. It is observed that the increase of polymer film crystallinity leads to reduction in exciton lifetime and optical bandgap again in agreement with the Energy Gap Law.We thank the EPSRC (EP/H040218 and EP/I019278) for financial support