Learning about spin-one-half fields

It is hard to understand spin-one-half fields without reading Weinberg. This paper is a pedagogical footnote to his formalism with an emphasis on the boost matrix, spinors, and Majorana fields.Comment: Fixed typo in this 19-page pedagogical paper on spinors and Majorana and Dirac field

New considerations on scale extrapolation of wing pressure distributions affected by transonic shock-induced separations

Use of this analytical parameter, it is shown, highlights the distinction between cases which are dominated by trailing-edge separation, and those for which separation at the shock foot is dominant. Use of the analytical parameter and the distinction noted above greatly improves the correlation of separation data and the extrapolation of wind tunnel data to flight conditions

Synthetic Quantum Systems

So far proposed quantum computers use fragile and environmentally sensitive natural quantum systems. Here we explore the new notion that synthetic quantum systems suitable for quantum computation may be fabricated from smart nanostructures using topological excitations of a stochastic neural-type network that can mimic natural quantum systems. These developments are a technological application of process physics which is an information theory of reality in which space and quantum phenomena are emergent, and so indicates the deep origins of quantum phenomena. Analogous complex stochastic dynamical systems have recently been proposed within neurobiology to deal with the emergent complexity of biosystems, particularly the biodynamics of higher brain function. The reasons for analogous discoveries in fundamental physics and neurobiology are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, 1 eps figure fil

Saving phase: Injectivity and stability for phase retrieval

Recent advances in convex optimization have led to new strides in the phase retrieval problem over finite-dimensional vector spaces. However, certain fundamental questions remain: What sorts of measurement vectors uniquely determine every signal up to a global phase factor, and how many are needed to do so? Furthermore, which measurement ensembles lend stability? This paper presents several results that address each of these questions. We begin by characterizing injectivity, and we identify that the complement property is indeed a necessary condition in the complex case. We then pose a conjecture that 4M-4 generic measurement vectors are both necessary and sufficient for injectivity in M dimensions, and we prove this conjecture in the special cases where M=2,3. Next, we shift our attention to stability, both in the worst and average cases. Here, we characterize worst-case stability in the real case by introducing a numerical version of the complement property. This new property bears some resemblance to the restricted isometry property of compressed sensing and can be used to derive a sharp lower Lipschitz bound on the intensity measurement mapping. Localized frames are shown to lack this property (suggesting instability), whereas Gaussian random measurements are shown to satisfy this property with high probability. We conclude by presenting results that use a stochastic noise model in both the real and complex cases, and we leverage Cramer-Rao lower bounds to identify stability with stronger versions of the injectivity characterizations.Comment: 22 page

Understanding The Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Preservice Learning And Behavioral Specialists During Their Practicum, Field-Based, And Student Teaching Semesters

The study of self-efficacy has become a dominant topic in psychological and educational research over the last 50 years. However, little information is known about preservice teachers and even less about preservice special education teachers’ beliefs. This study was designed to survey preservice special educators’ self-efficacy beliefs placed outside of the college classroom in the education field. The participants (n = 74) were special education preservice teachers in the state of Illinois in their practicum, field-based, or student teaching semesters. The participants completed a 24-question online survey designed by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001) on their self-efficacy beliefs in the areas of classroom management, instructional strategies, and student engagement when working with children with special needs. Descriptive statistics, ANOVAs and a non-parametric test were used to determine preservice special education teachers’ beliefs and perceptions. The results of this study showed that when comparing the three factors of classroom management, instructional strategies, and student engagement, overall preservice special education teachers’ reported higher self-efficacy in the area of classroom management but only when looking at participant’s number of cumulative hours of clinical experiences. Discussions included looking at specific semester experiences in the field to see if there were changes in each group for each factor, targeting a group of preservice special education teachers to see if their self-efficacy beliefs changed from semester to semester, and looking at groups who followed a typical calendar schedule (spring semester graduates) versus those who did not to see if time of the year (and the activities in the schools for each) made a difference in the reported self-perceptions

A study of the measurable benefits of content web sites for companies in the sports collectibles industry

Many public relations professionals have used the internet to feature information on content web sites. These sites, which companies were spending thousands of dollars per year to create and maintain, were not used for commerce, but for marketing and public relations use. This study examined the measurable benefits of content web sites of companies in one industry, the sports collectibles industry. All companies in this industry were included in this study. This study used the sports collectibles industry as a microcosm of all companies which were using content web sites. Through a mail survey, data were collected to reveal the measurable benefits of content web sites for companies in the sports collectible industry. This study concluded that the majority of these companies did not feel that the measurable benefits justified the expense of creating and maintaining their content web sites, and that it was not necessary to have a content web site to compete in the sports collectible industry

What kind of shoes does a social worker wear? A content analysis of four occupational prototypes

Evidence suggests that occupational prototypes have an impact on career decisions, through the mechanism of self-to-prototype matching, yet the literature provides scant information about the nature of these occupational prototypes. This study examines the prototypes of four common occupational choices of psychology students in the UK (social worker, primary school teacher, occupational psychologist and clinical psychologist). Data were gathered through four focus groups (N=24) and were analysed with a quantitative content analysis to produce descriptions of the four occupational prototypes. It was found that the occupational prototypes were detailed and multi-dimensional, incorporating a wide range of features not directly related to the job itself including information about clothing, leisure activities and home décor. Implications for career development theory and career practice are discussed

SOCIO-SPATIAL DIMENSIONS OF MIGRANT WOMEN’S LIVES IN TBILISI, GEORGIA

This thesis provides an exploration into the experiences and perspectives of Georgian rural women who have migrated to Tbilisi, Georgia. The aim of this paper is to understand the affects of this mobility and migration on Georgian women’s socio-spatial dimensions and what this means for the economic and cultural survival of women in post- Soviet Georgia. Specifically, the research focuses on the spatial availability of family and rural contacts and the use of social safety nets as a coping strategy to aid women in the transition to urban life in Tbilisi. In addition, this paper addresses the role of women in Georgia throughout history and how this has played into the migrants’ decisions to migrate today. Drawing on in-depth interviews of migrant women, migration statistics, feminist migration research, and social capital research, this study builds an understanding of women’s experiences in their migration to the city of Tbilisi and how women manage their linked rural-urban socio-spatial networks

An account of a new land map op the world

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