Fluctuations in the presence of fields -Phenomenological Gaussian approximation and a new class of thermodynamic inequalities-

The work approaches the study of the fluctuations for the thermodynamic systems in the presence of the fields. The approach is of phenomenological nature and developed in a Gaussian approximation. The study is exemplified on the cases of a magnetizable continuum in a magnetoquasistatic field, as well as for the so called discrete systems. In the last case one finds that the fluctuations estimators depends both on the intrinsic properties of the system and on the characteristics of the environment. Following some earlier ideas of one of the authors we present a new class of thermodynamic inequalities for the systems investigated in this paper. In the case of two variables the mentioned inequalities are nothing but non-quantum analogues of the well known quantum Heisenberg (''uncertainty'') relations. Also the obtained fluctuations estimators support the idea that the Boltzmann's constant k has the signification of a generic indicator of stochasticity for thermodynamic systems. Pacs number(s): 05.20.-y, 05.40.-a, 05.70.-a, 41.20.GzComment: preprint, 24 page

Explosive Collisions at RHIC?

Motivated by experimental results from RHIC, we suggest how a condensate for the Polyakov loop might produce explosive behavior at the QCD phase transition. This is due to a rapid rollover of the condensate field below the transition temperature

Maple+GrTensorII libraries for cosmology

The article mainly presents some results in using MAPLE platform for computer algebra and GrTensorII package in doing calculations for theoretical and numerical cosmologyComment: LaTeX LLNCS style, 8 pages, accepted for SYNASC 2004 - 6th International Symposium on Symbolic and Numeric Algorithms for Scientific Computing, Timisoara, Romania, September 26-30 200

Pleading for the management controller profession in the trade area

Generalizing a reflection on strategy and controlling within the Romanian companies is rather recent. The environment changes and especially the changes in the nature and the dimensions of the markets due to the globalization and regulation put real questions for companies, generate a strategic thinking and make compulsory the appearance of an efficient management control. Generally, the scientific papers concerning the concept of management control deal with the production companies more than with the trade ones. This is why we chose to present the importance of the controller within a trade company. The management control has to assure the coherence between the adopted strategy (where the company in the trade domain wants to go) and the practical means of achieving it (what it has to do and what it is used for). The management controller is the person that contributes to obtain this coherence. There is plenty of information available, but for the decision making purposes only a restricted number of facts are correlated, namely the relevant ones. The trade management controller takes part in creating the information system useful for the decision making. Such a system has to offer reliable information in due time to the decision making persons concerning the profitability of certain markets, distribution areas, products, clients, the analysis of margins, distribution costs, advertising expenses etc. The trade management controller plays the role of a manager's copilot, he assists him in the management of the activity, alerts him when problems are encountered, helps him to make the necessary decisions to correct the trajectory. These are a few reasons that allow us to sustain the important role played by the management controller in the activity of the companies in the trade area.management controller, trade, customers, management, strategy, analysis, decision

Influencing the physiology and decisions of groups: Physiological linkage during group decision-making

Many of the most important decisions in our society are made within groups, yet we know little about how the physiological responses of group members predict the decisions that groups make. In the current work, we examine whether physiological linkage from “senders” to “receivers”—which occurs when a sender’s physiological response predicts a receiver’s physiological response—is associated with senders’ success at persuading the group to make a decision in their favor. We also examine whether experimentally manipulated status—an important predictor of social behavior—is associated with physiological linkage. In groups of 5, we randomly assigned 1 person to be high status, 1 low status, and 3 middle status. Groups completed a collaborative decision-making task that required them to come to a consensus on a decision to hire 1 of 5 firms. Unbeknownst to the 3 middle-status members, high- and low-status members surreptitiously were told to each argue for different firms. We measured cardiac interbeat intervals of all group members throughout the decision-making process to assess physiological linkage. We found that the more receivers were physiologically linked to senders, the more likely groups were to make a decision in favor of the senders. We did not find that people were physiologically linked to their group members as a function of their fellow group members’ status. This work identifies physiological linkage as a novel correlate of persuasion and highlights the need to understand the relationship between group members’ physiological responses during group decision-making