37,321 research outputs found
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence – the Case for Followership as a key Element of Leadership Development
Published in Strategic Management Quarterly (2015) Vol 3 Issue 4Using the Kelley (1992) Followership Style instrument this study explores the role and perceptions of Followership within the UK Ministry of Defence. In particular, within the Armed Services and the Civil Service it was apparent from the literature that only the RAF formally recognised the role of Followership within their Leadership staff development programmes, hence the research aimed to see whether this was reflected in self-perceptions of Followership Style and the extent to which it is applied within the organisation. The analysis concluded that the analysed sample (298 responses) produced an atypical profile compared to other studies that have used the instrument. The RAF showed statistically significant higher scores than the other Armed Services or the Civil Servants and scores increased with Rank/Grade. The analysis also highlighted that the individuals seemed not to be recognised as good Followers by their leaders, they appeared not to recognise their reports as good Followers and in all cases the organisation seemed not to recognise their value. These aspects provide scope for further research to better understand the organisational culture, processes and practices that appear to act as a barrier to the extraction of the benefits of having good Followers even in an area where Star Followers dominate
Quantum communication without alignment using multiple-qubit single-photon states
We propose a scheme for encoding logical qubits in a subspace protected
against collective rotations around the propagation axis using the polarization
and transverse spatial degrees of freedom of single photons. This encoding
allows for quantum key distribution without the need of a shared reference
frame. We present methods to generate entangled states of two logical qubits
using present day down-conversion sources and linear optics, and show that the
application of these entangled logical states to quantum information schemes
allows for alignment-free tests of Bell's inequalities, quantum dense coding
and quantum teleportation
Quantifying nonorthogonality
An exploratory approach to the possibility of analyzing nonorthogonality as a
quantifiable property is presented. Three different measures for the
nonorthogonality of pure states are introduced, and one of these measures is
extended to single-particle density matrices using methods that are similar to
recently introduced techniques for quantifying entanglement. Several
interesting special cases are considered. It is pointed out that a measure of
nonorthogonality can meaningfully be associated with a single mixed quantum
state. It is then shown how nonorthogonality can be unlocked with classical
information; this analysis reveals interesting inequalities and points to a
number of connections between nonorthogonality and entanglement.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Cascading and Local-Field Effects in Non-Linear Optics Revisited; A Quantum-Field Picture Based on Exchange of Photons
The semi-classical theory of radiation-matter coupling misses local-field
effects that may alter the pulse time-ordering and cascading that leads to the
generation of new signals. These are then introduced macroscopically by solving
Maxwell's equations. This procedure is convenient and intuitive but ad hoc. We
show that both effects emerge naturally by including coupling to quantum modes
of the radiation field in the vacuum state to second order. This approach is
systematic and suggests a more general class of corrections that only arise in
a QED framework. In the semi-classical theory, which only includes classical
field modes, the susceptibility of a collection of non-interacting
molecules is additive and scales as . Second-order coupling to a vacuum mode
generates an effective retarded interaction that leads to cascading and local
field effects both of which scale as
Optomechanical quantum information processing with photons and phonons
We describe how strong resonant interactions in multimode optomechanical
systems can be used to induce controlled nonlinear couplings between single
photons and phonons. Combined with linear mapping schemes between photons and
phonons, these techniques provide a universal building block for various
classical and quantum information processing applications. Our approach is
especially suited for nano-optomechanical devices, where strong optomechanical
interactions on a single photon level are within experimental reach.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Semantic categories underlying the meaning of ‘place’
This paper analyses the semantics of natural language expressions that are associated with the intuitive notion of ‘place’. We note that the nature of such terms is highly contested, and suggest that this arises from two main considerations: 1) there are a number of logically
distinct categories of place expression, which are not always clearly distinguished in discourse about ‘place’; 2) the many non-substantive place count nouns (such as ‘place’, ‘region’, ‘area’, etc.) employed in natural
language are highly ambiguous. With respect to consideration 1), we propose that place-related expressions
should be classified into the following distinct logical types: a) ‘place-like’ count nouns (further subdivided into abstract, spatial and substantive varieties), b) proper names of ‘place-like’ objects, c) locative property phrases, and d) definite descriptions of ‘place-like’ objects. We outline possible formal representations for each of these. To address consideration 2), we examine meanings, connotations and ambiguities of the English vocabulary of abstract and generic place count nouns, and identify underlying elements of meaning, which explain both
similarities and differences in the sense and usage of the various terms
Estimating the risk of adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women undergoing non-obstetric surgery using routinely collected NHS data: an observational study
Background: Previous research suggests that non-obstetric surgery is carried out in 1 – 2% of all pregnancies. However, there is limited evidence quantifying the associated risks. Furthermore, of the evidence available, none relates directly to outcomes in the UK, and there are no current NHS guidelines regarding non-obstetric surgery in pregnant women. Objectives: To estimate the risk of adverse birth outcomes of pregnancies in which non-obstetric surgery was or was not carried out. To further analyse common procedure groups. Data Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) maternity data collected between 2002 – 3 and 2011 – 12. Main outcomes: Spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery, maternal death, caesarean delivery, long inpatient stay, stillbirth and low birthweight. Methods: We utilised HES, an administrative database that includes records of all patient admissions and day cases in all English NHS hospitals. We analysed HES maternity data collected between 2002 – 3 and 2011 – 12, and identified pregnancies in which non-obstetric surgery was carried out. We used logistic regression models to determine the adjusted relative risk and attributable risk of non-obstetric surgical procedures for adverse birth outcomes and the number needed to harm. Results: We identified 6,486,280 pregnancies, in 47,628 of which non-obstetric surgery was carried out. In comparison with pregnancies in which surgery was not carried out, we found that non-obstetric surgery was associated with a higher risk of adverse birth outcomes, although the attributable risk was generally low. We estimated that for every 287 pregnancies in which a surgical operation was carried out there was one additional stillbirth; for every 31 operations there was one additional preterm delivery; for every 25 operations there was one additional caesarean section; for every 50 operations there was one additional long inpatient stay; and for every 39 operations there was one additional low-birthweight baby. Limitations: We have no means of disentangling the effect of the surgery from the effect of the underlying condition itself. Many spontaneous abortions will not be associated with a hospital admission and, therefore, will not be included in our analysis. A spontaneous abortion may be more likely to be reported if it occurs during the same hospital admission as the procedure, and this could account for the associated increased risk with surgery during pregnancy. There are missing values of key data items to determine parity, gestational age, birthweight and stillbirth. Conclusions: This is the first study to report the risk of adverse birth outcomes following non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy across NHS hospitals in England. We have no means of disentangling the effect of the surgery from the effect of the underlying condition itself. Our observational study can never attribute a causal relationship between surgery and adverse birth outcomes, and we were unable to determine the risk of not undergoing surgery where surgery was clinically indicated. We have some reservations over associations of risk factors with spontaneous abortion because of potential ascertainment bias. However, we believe that our findings and, in particular, the numbers needed to harm improve on previous research, utilise a more recent and larger data set based on UK practices, and are useful reference points for any discussion of risk with prospective patients. The risk of adverse birth outcomes in pregnant women undergoing non-obstetric surgery is relatively low, confirming that surgical procedures during pregnancy are generally safe. Future work: Further evaluation of the association of non-obstetric surgery and spontaneous abortion. Evaluation of the impact of non-obstetric surgery on the newborn (e.g. neonatal intensive care unit admission, prolonged length of neonatal stay, neonatal death). Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme
Coherent control and feedback cooling in a remotely-coupled hybrid atom-optomechanical system
Cooling to the motional ground state is an important first step in the
preparation of nonclassical states of mesoscopic mechanical oscillators.
Light-mediated coupling to a remote atomic ensemble has been proposed as a
method to reach the ground state for low frequency oscillators. The ground
state can also be reached using optical measurement followed by feedback
control. Here we investigate the possibility of enhanced cooling by combining
these two approaches. The combination, in general, outperforms either
individual technique, though atomic ensemble-based cooling and feedback cooling
each individually dominate over large regions of parameter space.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. Updated to include exemplary
experimental parameters and expanded discussion of noise source
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