The role of avatars in e-government interfaces

This paper investigates the use of avatars to communicate live message in e-government interfaces. A comparative study is presented that evaluates the contribution of multimodal metaphors (including avatars) to the usability of interfaces for e-government and user trust. The communication metaphors evaluated included text, earcons, recorded speech and avatars. The experimental platform used for the experiment involved two interface versions with a sample of 30 users. The results demonstrated that the use of multimodal metaphors in an e-government interface can significantly contribute to enhancing the usability and increase trust of users to the e-government interface. A set of design guidelines, for the use of multimodal metaphors in e-government interfaces, was also produced

Conflict and complementarity between religious and occupational identities in the workplace

Despite its recognition as an organizational diversity issue impacting personal well-being, little research to date addresses religious identity in the workplace. We conduct a systematic review of relevant literature and develop a conceptual framework to address a critical question: How do religious and occupational identities relate to each other in the workplace and with what antecedents and consequences?’ We specify key definitions and explicate the importance of the connection between religious and organizational identity to contemporary debates regarding workplace diversity. The systematic review uses a search strategy informed by an advisory panel of experts. Through a well-specified search process we conduct comprehensively screen the literature and ultimately identify 32 relevant peer-reviewed articles that form the basis of our synthesis and analysis. Findings point to three forms of religious and occupational identity relationships: compatible, incompatible and non-overlapping. Each has distinct implications for identity tension and employee well-being. Evidence suggests the benefits of expressing religious identity at work and helping employees negotiate their religious and occupational identities. Finally, we develop a theoretical framework that specifies the antecedents of the activation of religious and occupational identity in the workplace, the nature of the identity negotiation that activation triggers and its outcomes for individuals and the organization

Finite temperature phase diagram of spin-1/2 bosons in two-dimensional optical lattice

We study a two-species bosonic Hubbard model on a two-dimensional square lattice by means of quantum Monte Carlo simulations and focus on finite temperature effects. We show in two different cases, ferro- and antiferromagnetic spin-spin interactions, that the phase diagram is composed of solid Mott phases, liquid phases and superfluid phases. In the antiferromagnetic case, the superfluid (SF) is polarized while the Mott insulator (MI) and normal Bose liquid (NBL) phases are not. On the other hand, in the ferromagnetic case, none of the phases is polarized. The superfluid-liquid transition is of the Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless type whereas the solid-liquid passage is a crossover.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figure

Ab initio calculation of the KRb dipole moments

The relativistic configuration interaction valence bond method has been used to calculate permanent and transition electric dipole moments of the KRb heteronuclear molecule as a function of internuclear separation. The permanent dipole moment of the ground state $X^1\Sigma^+$ potential is found to be 0.30(2) $ea_0$ at the equilibrium internuclear separation with excess negative charge on the potassium atom. For the $a^3\Sigma^+$ potential the dipole moment is an order of magnitude smaller (1 $ea_0=8.47835 10^{-30}$ Cm) In addition, we calculate transition dipole moments between the two ground-state and excited-state potentials that dissociate to the K(4s)+Rb(5p) limits. Using this data we propose a way to produce singlet $X^1\Sigma^+$ KRb molecules by a two-photon Raman process starting from an ultracold mixture of doubly spin-polarized ground state K and Rb atoms. This Raman process is only allowed due to relativistic spin-orbit couplings and the absence of gerade/ungerade selection rules in heteronuclear dimers.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Ground state phase diagram of spin-1/2 bosons in a two-dimensional optical lattice

We study a two-species bosonic Hubbard model on a two-dimensional square lattice by means of quantum Monte Carlo simulations. In addition to the usual contact repulsive interactions between the particles, the Hamiltonian has an interconversion term which allows the transformation of two particles from one species to the other. The phases are characterized by their solid or superfluid properties and by their polarization, i.e. the difference in the populations. When inter-species interactions are smaller than the intra-species ones, the system is unpolarized, whereas in the opposite case the system is unpolarized in even Mott insulator lobes and polarized in odd Mott lobes and also in the superfluid phase. We show that in the latter case the transition between the Mott insulator of total density two and the superfluid can be either of second or first order depending on the relative values of the interactions, whereas the transitions are continuous in all other cases.Comment: 10 pages, 17 figure

Making things happen : a model of proactive motivation

Being proactive is about making things happen, anticipating and preventing problems, and seizing opportunities. It involves self-initiated efforts to bring about change in the work environment and/or oneself to achieve a different future. The authors develop existing perspectives on this topic by identifying proactivity as a goal-driven process involving both the setting of a proactive goal (proactive goal generation) and striving to achieve that proactive goal (proactive goal striving). The authors identify a range of proactive goals that individuals can pursue in organizations. These vary on two dimensions: the future they aim to bring about (achieving a better personal fit within one’s work environment, improving the organization’s internal functioning, or enhancing the organization’s strategic fit with its environment) and whether the self or situation is being changed. The authors then identify “can do,” “reason to,” and “energized to” motivational states that prompt proactive goal generation and sustain goal striving. Can do motivation arises from perceptions of self-efficacy, control, and (low) cost. Reason to motivation relates to why someone is proactive, including reasons flowing from intrinsic, integrated, and identified motivation. Energized to motivation refers to activated positive affective states that prompt proactive goal processes. The authors suggest more distal antecedents, including individual differences (e.g., personality, values, knowledge and ability) as well as contextual variations in leadership, work design, and interpersonal climate, that influence the proactive motivational states and thereby boost or inhibit proactive goal processes. Finally, the authors summarize priorities for future researc

Search for the glueball candidates f0(1500) and fJ(1710) in gamma gamma collisions

Data taken with the ALEPH detector at LEP1 have been used to search for gamma gamma production of the glueball candidates f0(1500) and fJ(1710) via their decay to pi+pi-. No signal is observed and upper limits to the product of gamma gamma width and pi+pi- branching ratio of the f0(1500) and the fJ(1710) have been measured to be Gamma_(gamma gamma -> f0(1500)). BR(f0(1500)->pi+pi-) < 0.31 keV and Gamma_(gamma gamma -> fJ(1710)). BR(fJ(1710)->pi+pi-) < 0.55 keV at 95% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Search for supersymmetry with a dominant R-parity violating LQDbar couplings in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 130GeV to 172 GeV

A search for pair-production of supersymmetric particles under the assumption that R-parity is violated via a dominant LQDbar coupling has been performed using the data collected by ALEPH at centre-of-mass energies of 130-172 GeV. The observed candidate events in the data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. This result is translated into lower limits on the masses of charginos, neutralinos, sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks. For instance, for m_0=500 GeV/c^2 and tan(beta)=sqrt(2) charginos with masses smaller than 81 GeV/c^2 and neutralinos with masses smaller than 29 GeV/c^2 are excluded at the 95% confidence level for any generation structure of the LQDbar coupling.Comment: 32 pages, 30 figure

Observation of a new chi_b state in radiative transitions to Upsilon(1S) and Upsilon(2S) at ATLAS

The chi_b(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb^-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Upsilon(1S,2S) with Upsilon->mu+mu-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes chi_b(1P,2P)->Upsilon(1S)gamma, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530+/-0.005 (stat.)+/-0.009 (syst.) GeV is also observed, in both the Upsilon(1S)gamma and Upsilon(2S)gamma decay modes. This is interpreted as the chi_b(3P) system.Comment: 5 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 1 table, corrected author list, matches final version in Physical Review Letter

Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a significant distance from their production point into a final state containing charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version to appear in Physics Letters