The gluon propagator in lattice landau gauge with twisted boundary conditions

We investigate the infrared behaviour of the gluon propagator in Landau gauge on a lattice with twisted boundary conditions. Analytic calculations using Dyson-Schwinger equations, exact renormalization group and stochastic quantization show that the gluon propagator in Landau gauge approaches zero for small momentum. On the other hand lattice calculations and calculations on a four-torus seem to give rise to a non-zero limit. One possible reason for this difference is the existence of zero-momentum fluctuation modes which potentially give a massive contribution to the gluon propagator. Our simulations show that with twisted boundary conditions these zero-momentum modes are suppressed and the gluon propagator becomes smaller than in a periodic ensemble.Torsten Tok, Kurt Langfeld, Hugo Reinhardt, Lorenz von Smeka

The Scalar Mode of Gravity

We consider the scalar mode of gravity as expressed by a conformal factor of the metric and present a model motivated by the Jordan-Brans-Dicke action. We obtain a Lagrangian density in Minkowski space which exhibits a massive particle and an expanding space-time.Comment: 7 pages; typos correcte

Gentrification as a Blanket Concept: A Tale of Resisting and Contesting Neoliberal Urbanization Programmes

This study focuses on the hegemonic ascendancy of neoliberalism encountering contestations and social unrest in Istanbul (Turkey).Through the case of Sulukule (Istanbul), our aim is to illustrate how gentrification as a neoliberal instrument utilized by a conservative/Islamist local government intervene the urban space not only for economic purposes but also culturally. This study analyzes this process, which went through in Sulukule, a former low-income neighborhood, mainly inhabited by a Gypsy community, sustaining livelihoods through a historically created entertainment culture, which was not welcomed by the conservative political cadres. This study turns the attention to the dynamics generated at the interstices of economy, politics and society, and delivers a tale of resistance and contestation to the uneasy marriage between conservative Islamism and neoliberalism. The concept of gentrification/re-generation is very much employed and referred to the diffusion of neoliberal urban policies in the context of neighborhoods as it is also put forth in this study. The case of Sulukule is a representative case in the Turkish context, especially when the urban and metropolitan transformation of Istanbul is taken into account. The way neighborhoods transform and serve the interests of the market and the capital is similar to the historical functioning of capitalism. Thus, the globalization of gentrification arguments made in the literature should not surprise us given that it is a neoliberal strategy to extract value whenever and wherever possible, in the form of gentrification aiming to revalorize usually decayed spaces or slum areas. In general, what we gather from the literature on gentrification is seen as a quick solution, or in Slater's terms as a savior for cities, its content has been depoliticized, and proposed as a key strategy to approach complex urban problems. They are complex because they are creating both winners and losers, and the irony is that nobody is really keeping track of what is happening to communities who are dislocated because of disruptions through investment in their area. While gentrifiers are shown as the primary actor of this process, the “gentrified†(both the community and the physical space) constitute the other half.

Novice teachers’ classroom management self efficacy beliefs

This study aims to determine novice teachers’ classrom management self efficacy beliefs as well as the extent to which these beliefs change according to independent variables. This research which aims to determine novice teachers’ classroom management self efficacy beliefs is a survey type research. The participants of the study are 85 novice teachers on duty in their first year in Hatay Province in Turkey. Classroom Management Self-Efficacy Convictions Scale that is internally consistent and valid in measuring classroom management self-efficacy beliefs of prospective teachers devised by Çetin (2013) was used in the study. There is not any statistically significant difference in terms of school of graduation and classroom management efficacy belief and result expectation sub-dimension. There is not any statistically significant difference in classroom management efficacy belief and result expectation sub-dimension. In terms of gender, there is not any statistically significant difference in the result expectation sub-dimension but there is a statistically significant difference in classroom management efficacy belief. Male novice teachers have higher level of classroom management efficacy beliefs than female novice teachers

A toy model of (grand) unified monopoles

We explore the old idea that, in a theory containing several gauge groups, the topological defects of one gauge group coincide with those of another gauge group. This simple 'unification' constraint has deep consequences, the best known of which is a natural explanation of the fractional electric charge of quarks. Here we explore the consequences of this idea for the phase diagram, in a toy model U(1)x U(1).Comment: PoS(LAT2005)314, 6 pages, 3 figures, for the proceedings of 'Lattice 2005 (Topology and Confinement).