Primordial Perturbations from Multifield Inflation with Nonminimal Couplings

Realistic models of particle physics include many scalar fields. These fields generically have nonminimal couplings to the Ricci curvature scalar, either as part of a generalized Einstein theory or as necessary counterterms for renormalization in curved background spacetimes. We develop a gauge-invariant formalism for calculating primordial perturbations in models with multiple nonminimally coupled fields. We work in the Jordan frame (in which the nonminimal couplings remain explicit) and identify two distinct sources of entropy perturbations for such models. One set of entropy perturbations arises from interactions among the multiple fields. The second set arises from the presence of nonminimal couplings. Neither of these varieties of entropy perturbations will necessarily be suppressed in the long-wavelength limit, and hence they can amplify the curvature perturbation, $\zeta$, even for modes that have crossed outside the Hubble radius. Models that overproduce long-wavelength entropy perturbations endanger the close fit between predicted inflationary spectra and empirical observations.Comment: 16 pages, no figures. References added to match published versio

Grover's search with faults on some marked elements

Grover's algorithm is a quantum query algorithm solving the unstructured search problem of size $N$ using $O(\sqrt{N})$ queries. It provides a significant speed-up over any classical algorithm \cite{Gro96}. The running time of the algorithm, however, is very sensitive to errors in queries. It is known that if query may fail (report all marked elements as unmarked) the algorithm needs $\Omega(N)$ queries to find a marked element \cite{RS08}. \cite{AB+13} have proved the same result for the model where each marked element has its own probability to be reported as unmarked. We study the behavior of Grover's algorithm in the model where the search space contains both faulty and non-faulty marked elements. We show that in this setting it is indeed possible to find one of non-faulty marked items in $O(\sqrt{N})$ queries. We also analyze the limiting behavior of the algorithm for a large number of steps and show the existence and the structure of limiting state $\rho_{lim}$.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure

Future practitioners of project management: are we disciples of Stanley Kubrick or Ridley Scott?

To peer into the future, we need to explore the tracks we have left behind as well as the prism through which we envisage what is yet to come. In this paper, the author examines the historical role of project management in society, and the challenges that lie beyond our immediate horizons. Cinematic visionaries provide us with images of aspirational projects, as well as a bleaker view of failed projects. The author examines the desirable attributes of competent project managers and the key players moulding future generations of project managers who may inherit the task of managing the very existence of the human race

Exhibiting Power: Proto-Museological Origins in the Empires of Antiquity

While scholars date the earliest museums to the 15th and16th centuries CE, there is evidence that institutions of collection, preservation, and the public display of artifacts existed beginning as far back as the 12th century BCE. From the war-spoils brought to Susa by the Elamite monarch Shutruk-Nahkunte I in 1158 BCE to the peristyle gardens of Imperial Roman villas, the origins of museum culture can be traced through the major empires of antiquity. This thesis examines specific Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman sites for evidence that could qualify them as early proto-museums, as well as overall cultures of collection and display within empires. This thesis also addresses proto-museological themes in antiquity by examining material and literary evidence in an attempt to refute the idea that the museum is a modern colonialist construction

The relationship between and the characteristics of computing competence and confidence in undergraduate students of nursing

The aim of this research was to understand the relationship between and the characteristics of computing competence and confidence in student nurses. The absence of a dominant paradigm for ICT, computers and computing influenced the choice of two sequential exploratory quantitative and explanatory qualitative studies. Data for the first study were collected through survey using a postal questionnaire, from a volunteer sample of student nurses. The results from a Principal Components Analysis influenced the second study. This was a recording of simultaneous concurrent think-aloud commentary and the behaviours of volunteer student nurses working in small groups on a computing activity. Protocol Analysis was used to examine a computing task outcomes and concurrent think-aloud comments. The results and findings showed a complex relationship between competence and confidence in this context. Students wanted a combination of teaching and social learning approaches. In both studies confidence had a high representation. This was evident where collaboration and social learning in small groups influenced confidence and competence. Research originality and its contribution to nursing lie first in the use of an innovative combination of methods. Secondly, the grouping and exploration of a range of subtle and seemingly unremarkable phenomena gave unique insight into how student nurses develop computing competence and confidence, not examined elsewhere. Both studies revealed differing levels of ability within and across the academic year groups. The findings show that attention to the social and psychological aspects of learning is crucial for skill and confidence development. Students would benefit from a bespoke range of approaches to suit their individual needs. This requires a balanced response between ongoing assessment of individual needs and proactive teaching and learning provision. Transferable to a wider setting, this research adds to the current understanding of ICT and computer related teaching and learning in nurse education

An examination of the views of key stakeholders on the development of learning spaces at a regional university

Purpose – This paper examines the degree of alignment between the views of key stakeholders on the development of learning spaces in a new teaching and learning building at a satellite campus of a regional university. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with six stakeholders including senior executives, technical staff, academic staff and students. The interviews were transcribed and the data analysed to identify common and differing themes on the part of the respective interviewees in relation to learning spaces in general and in relation to the new teaching and learning building in particular. Findings – A comprehensive framework should be articulated by the university for its theme of personalised learning so that decisions can be made at lower levels of the university to operationalise the theme across academic and administrative functions. A clear definition of the blended learning pedagogy that is proposed to be implemented as part of the personalised learning theme should be articulated. The implications of the blended learning pedagogy for the design of learning spaces should be identified and clear design guidelines for learning spaces should be articulated. Learning spaces in the new building should be reviewed to achieve alignment with the personalised learning framework and the guidelines for learning spaces. Originality/value – This paper provides valuable insights into how a university’s philosophy on learning spaces manifests itself through creation and implementation of high level policy and how that is interpreted and actioned by a range of stakeholders across campuses, including staff and students

A volumetric water budget of Devils Lake (USA): non-stationary precipitation–runoff relationships in an amplifier terminal lake

Devils Lake, a terminal lake in eastern North Dakota, rose more than 9 m between 1992 and 2013, producing a 286% increase in lake area, and causing more than US$1 billion in direct damages. An annual volumetric lake water budget is developed from monthly hydroclimatological variables for the period 1951–2010 to investigate the rapid lake expansion. The lake is an amplifier terminal lake in which long-term climatic changes are amplified by positive feedback mechanisms, causing the lake to transition from a precipitation-dominated to a runoff-dominated water budget. Factors specific to the Devils Lake Basin further amplify this positive feedback relationship. These include principles of fill–spill hydrology that operate between individual sub-basins within the closed basin, and between the innumerable wetland complexes within each sub-basin. These factors create a pronounced non-stationary precipitation–runoff relationship in the basin during both long-term wetting and drying phases

Mean hydroclimatic and hydrological conditions during two climatic modes in the Devils Lake Basin, North Dakota (USA)

Proxy variables from palaeolimnological studies of lakes in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America have been used to infer large oscillations during the late Holocene between longer periods of high-salinity–dry conditions and shorter periods of low-salinity–wet conditions producing a normative pattern marked by the absence of hydrological stability. Studies of the historical rise in lake level at Devils Lake have identified 1980 as a transition point between two such hydroclimatic modes. This study uses multiple datasets to characterize the mean hydroclimatological and hydrological conditions of these two climatic modes. Mode 1 is a cool and dry phase, and mode 2 is a warmer and wetter phase. Precipitation onto the lake increased by 24% from mode 1 to mode 2. This small, but sustained, increase produced significant changes in the mean hydroclimatic and hydrological states for the basin, including a 383% increase in surface run-off to the lake, and a 282% increase in the basin run-off ratio. Devils Lake Basin is located along a hydrotone (region of strong hydroclimatic gradients) where small changes in hydrological drivers are amplified into large changes in regional moisture. The effects of the fluctuating climatic modes and strong hydroclimatic gradients are probably further amplified by the unique fill–spill hydrology of the northern glaciated plains, which can result in nonlinear precipitation–run-off relationships. This natural pattern of extreme hydrological variations for Devils Lake produces enormous challenges for lake management