Gelfand-Tsetlin modules in the Coulomb context

This paper gives a new perspective on the theory of principal Galois orders as developed by Futorny, Ovsienko, Hartwig and others. Every principal Galois order can be written as $eFe$ for any idempotent $e$ in an algebra $F$, which we call a flag Galois order; and in most important cases we can assume that these algebras are Morita equivalent. These algebras have the property that the completed algebra controlling the fiber over a maximal ideal has the same form as a subalgebra in a skew group ring, which gives a new perspective to a number of result about these algebras. We also discuss how this approach relates to the study of Coulomb branches in the sense of Braverman-Finkelberg-Nakajima, which are particularly beautiful examples of principal Galois orders. These include most of the interesting examples of principal Galois orders, such as $U(\mathfrak{gl}_n)$. In this case, all the objects discussed have a geometric interpretation which endows the category of Gelfand-Tsetlin modules with a graded lift and allows us to interpret the classes of simple Gelfand-Tsetlin modules in terms of dual canonical bases for the Grothendieck group. In particular, we classify Gelfand-Tsetlin modules over $U(\mathfrak{gl}_n)$ and relate their characters to a generalization of Leclerc's shuffle expansion for dual canonical basis vectors. Finally, as an application, we confirm a conjecture of Mazorchuk, showing that the weights of the Gelfand-Tsetlin integrable system which appear in finite-dimensional modules never appear in an infinite-dimensional simple module.Comment: 37 pages; v3: minor improvements before submissio

Master\u27s Project: Assessing Unpaved Road Runoff in the Mad River Watershed of Central Vermont

Over half of the local town roads in Vermont are unpaved (VBB, 2009). In the Mad River Watershed of central Vermont, 58% of the roads are unpaved. These compacted surfaces, despite their lack of tar, provide hundreds of miles of impermeable surfaces that extend the stream network, and transport runoff and pollutants to our water bodies. In this project, 12 sites within the Mad River watershed were monitored with the goal of evaluating the amount of runoff that is generated on the road surface itself as compared to flow that enters roadside ditches via groundwater seeps and overland flow from adjacent land. Each site was monitored for stage using an ISCO 6712 Automated Water Sampling Unit with an attached pressure transducer, and rating curves were developed from manual volume measurements in order to connect stage values with runoff volumes. Each site was mapped to determine the contributing road surface drainage area, and these values were compared to the slope of linear regressions developed for storm precipitation and runoff totals. Modeled road surface hydrographs were developed for 11 of the 12 sites, using the rational method, and were compared to hydrographs developed using measured runoff. One-quarter of the sites appear to have regular runoff contributions that originate outside of the bounds of the mapped drainage area. Five of the eleven sites also displayed seasonal variations where runoff originated outside of the mapped road surface area during times of greater land saturation. These results indicate that roads can sometimes contribute far more than just the runoff that is generated on their surface alone, and that the quantity and occurrence of these external contributions may increase with an increase in the drainage source area that can be seen in seasons when the ground is saturated

Studies of the Habits and Development of Neocerata rhodophaga Coquillett

About the year 1897, in the vicinity of Chicago, Illinois, certain varieties of roses grown under glass, notably the Meteor, were attacked by great numbers of minute cecidomyian larvae which destroyed the terminal leaf and blossom buds. In the greenhouses of one extensive rose-grower, the injury was so severe as to render the production of the Meteor unprofitable, and he stopped growing it for a time, until the pest seemed to have disappeared. Strangely enough, another grower, whose houses were separated from those of the first only by a narrow alley, did not at that time suffer at all from the ravages of the insect, but continued to grow the Meteor in his rose-houses without difficulty until sometime after, when he, too, began to experience severe losses on account of its depredations. The species was not definitely determined at that time, and it is impossible in the light of later investigations to say with certainty whether or not more than one was engaged in these attacks. Since then, however, a number of extensive rose-growers about Chicago have been obliged to abandon the growing of this particular variety of rose on account of its extreme liability to attack from these larvae.Ope

'JSA Sanctions and Disallowances', Evidence submitted to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee Inquiry into the Role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system, Second Report of Session 2013-14, Vol. II, pp. Ev w90-w101

This submission presents key findings to date from a critical examination of unemployment benefit sanctions and disallowances based primarily on statistical analysis. It shows that the severity of the regime has increased drastically under the Coalition and is increasing further. One fifth of JSA claimants have been sanctioned/disallowed, 4.2% per month of all claimants and 8% per month of those aged 18-24. Disallowances for ‘voluntary leaving’ and ‘losing a job through misconduct’ were previously a major component but have almost disappeared in the recession, with disallowances for (not) ‘actively seeking work’ showing a very big increase, and big increases also for non-participation in training (including the Work Programme) and non-compliance with a Jobseeker’s Direction. Severity is greater at times when it is least productive. A gap has been emerging in the treatment of white and minority ethnic groups, and disabled people are over-represented among repeat sanctions/disallowances. The reasons for these differences should be investigated. Although sanctions increase job search and exit from benefits, they cannot be justified when all their effects are considered. These include worse matches of people to jobs, lower productivity, wastefully large numbers of job applications, damage to health, families and relationships, homelessness, destitution as reflected in the rise of Food Banks, increased crime, diversion of Jobcentre resources from their proper role, and creation of a climate of fear and hostility which undermines the whole system. Sanctions, which are financial penalties intended to affect behaviour, should be abolished. Entitlement conditions have to be retained, but should be accompanied by a proper safety net for those disallowed, and an approach to influencing claimants, where justified, which is properly based on behavioural psychology, as pioneered by the Prime Minister’s ‘nudge unit’

Health technology assessment: a sociological commentary on reflexive innovation

This study provides a sociological commentary on the current debates within health technology assessment (HTA), specifically in response to the approaches taken in France, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It argues that HTA is part of a wider reflexive innovation system that seeks to order current and prospective technologies. The study discusses the socio-political process of HTA priority setting, the rhetorical role of HTA, the localised and contingent use of HTA, and the policy gap between guidelines and practice. It argues for the development of new types of methodologies for assessment and for a stronger social embedding of HTA practice

The DWP’s Updated Statistics on JSA Sanctions: What do they show?, Further supplementary evidence submitted to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee Inquiry into the Role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system, Second Report of Session 2013-14, HC 479, Vol. II, pp. Ev w111-w121

The delayed JSA sanctions statistics for the period 22 October 2012 to 30 June 2013, published by DWP on 6 November 2013, have remarkable implications which ought to be known to the Committee before finalising its report. The number of sanctions in the year to 30 June 2013 was 860,000, the highest for any 12-month period since statistics began to be published in their present form. Sanctions for not actively seeking work and for non-participation in training and employment schemes have risen further, while those for missing an interview and for refusing a job have fallen, the latter very sharply indeed. The latter suggests a dwindling focus within DWP on finding people jobs. Up to 30 June 2013, the number of job outcomes achieved by the Work Programme has been greatly exceeded by the number of sanctions imposed for non-participation. Contrary to what was claimed by Lord Freud prior to their introduction, 3-year sanctions have built up very quickly, with the 700 to date understating the rate now reached. In the two years since June 2011 there has been a massive rise in the number of ‘reserved’ or ‘cancelled’ JSA sanction decisions, suggesting that people are being driven off JSA by the sanctions regime. This in turn could explain why there has been a sharp increase in the gap between the number of unemployed people identified by the official Annual Population Survey, and the number in the claimant count. This has very serious implications and the DWP should be asked to provide a full explanation for the rapid increase in reserved and cancelled decisions. The total of reconsiderations under the Coalition has increased by 15,000 per month to a new high of 20,000 per month, representing a substantial redirection of DWP resources away from other tasks. Claimants’ success rate at reconsideration has reverted to its long-term level of about 50 per cent. However, Tribunals, which are not under the control of the Secretary of State, have raised the proportion of appeals decided in claimants’ favour from a long-term level of 17.0 per cent, up to 42.2 per cent in November 2012 to June 2013. This remarkable increase is strong evidence that large numbers of claimants are being wrongly sanctioned even in terms of current legislation. The fact that only 1.7 per cent of claimants appeal to a Tribunal – the only independent element in the system – indicates the need for urgent reform. Finally, the format used by DWP for its new statistics is wholly inadequate and involves a serious loss of information and accountability