Recent progress on intrinsic charm

Over the past $\sim\!\! 10$ years, the topic of the nucleon's nonperturbative or $\textit{intrinsic}$ charm (IC) content has enjoyed something of a renaissance, largely motivated by theoretical developments involving quark modelers and PDF fitters. In this talk I will briefly describe the importance of intrinsic charm to various issues in high-energy phenomenology, and survey recent progress in constraining its overall normalization and contribution to the momentum sum rule of the nucleon. I end with the conclusion that progress on the side of calculation has now placed the onus on experiment to unambiguously resolve the proton's intrinsic charm component.Comment: Invited talk at the Conference "XIIth Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum" (Thessaloniki, Greece; 29th August - 3rd September 2016). 9 pages, 4 figures; reference added in version

The Noetic Prism

Definitions of ‘knowledge’ and its relationships with ‘data’ and ‘information’ are varied, inconsistent and often contradictory. In particular the traditional hierarchy of data-information-knowledge and its various revisions do not stand up to close scrutiny. We suggest that the problem lies in a flawed analysis that sees data, information and knowledge as separable concepts that are transformed into one another through processing. We propose instead that we can describe collectively all of the materials of computation as ‘noetica’, and that the terms data, information and knowledge can be reconceptualised as late-binding, purpose-determined aspects of the same body of material. Changes in complexity of noetica occur due to value-adding through the imposition of three different principles: increase in aggregation (granularity), increase in set relatedness (shape), and increase in contextualisation through the formation of networks (scope). We present a new model in which granularity, shape and scope are seen as the three vertices of a triangular prism, and show that all value-adding through computation can be seen as movement within the prism space. We show how the conceptual framework of the noetic prism provides a new and comprehensive analysis of the foundations of computing and information systems, and how it can provide a fresh analysis of many of the common problems in the management of intellectual resources

The cat's cradle network

In this paper we will argue that the representation of context in knowledge management is appropriately served by the representation of the knowledge networks in an historicised form. Characterising context as essentially extra to any particular knowledge representation, we argue that another dimension to these be modelled, rather than simply elaborating a form in its own terms. We present the formalism of the cat's cradle network, and show how it can be represented by an extension of the Pathfinder associative network that includes this temporal dimension, and allows evolutions of understandings to be traced. Grounding its semantics in communities of practice ensures utility and cohesiveness, which is lost when mere externalities of a representation are communicated in fully fledged forms. The scheme is general and subsumes other formalisms for knowledge representation. The cat's cradle network enables us to model such community-based social constructs as pattern languages, shared memory and patterns of trust and reliance, by placing their establishment in a structure that shows their essential temporality

Just below the surface: developing knowledge management systems using the paradigm of the noetic prism

In this paper we examine how the principles embodied in the paradigm of the noetic prism can illuminate the construction of knowledge management systems. We draw on the formalism of the prism to examine three successful tools: frames, spreadsheets and databases, and show how their power and also their shortcomings arise from their domain representation, and how any organisational system based on integration of these tools and conversion between them is inevitably lossy. We suggest how a late-binding, hybrid knowledge based management system (KBMS) could be designed that draws on the lessons learnt from these tools, by maintaining noetica at an atomic level and storing the combinatory processes necessary to create higher level structure as the need arises. We outline the “just-below-the-surface” systems design, and describe its implementation in an enterprise-wide knowledge-based system that has all of the conventional office automation features

A knowledge development lifecycle for reflective practice

Reflective practice is valuable because of its potential for continuous improvement through feedback and learning. Conventional models of knowledge practice however do not explicitly include reflection as part of the practice, nor locate it in a developmental cycle. They focus on modelling in a knowledge plane which itself is contextualised by active knowing processes, and ignore the influence of power in their activity models. Further, many models focus on either an artefact or a process view, resulting from a conceptual disconnect between knowledge and knowing, and failure to relate passive to active views. Using the idea of higher order loops that govern knowledge development processes, in this paper we propose a conceptualisation of a reflective Knowledge Development Life Cycle (KDLC). This explicitly includes the investigator and the organisation itself as dynamic components of a systemic process and is suited to either a constructivist or realist epistemological stance. We describe the stages required in the KDLC and discuss their significance. Finally we show how incorporation of reflection into process enables dynamic interplay between the knowing and the knowledge in the organisation

Anal signs of child sexual abuse: a case–control study

Background: There is uncertainty about the nature and specificity of physical signs following anal child sexual abuse. The study investigates the extent to which physical findings discriminate between children with and without a history of anal abuse.<p></p> Methods: Retrospective case note review in a paediatric forensic unit.<p></p> Cases: all eligible cases from 1990 to 2007 alleging anal abuse.<p></p> Controls: all children examined anally from 1998 to 2007 with possible physical abuse or neglect with no identified concern regarding sexual abuse. Fisher’s exact test (two-tailed) was performed to ascertain the significance of differences for individual signs between cases and controls. To explore the potential role of confounding, logistic regression was used to produce odds ratios adjusted for age and gender.<p></p> Results: A total of 184 cases (105 boys, 79 girls), average age 98.5 months (range 26 to 179) were compared with 179 controls (94 boys, 85 girls) average age 83.7 months (range 35–193). Of the cases 136 (74%) had one or more signs described in anal abuse, compared to 29 (16%) controls. 79 (43%) cases and 2 (1.1%) controls had >1 sign. Reflex anal dilatation (RAD) and venous congestion were seen in 22% and 36% of cases but <1% of controls (likelihood ratios (LR) 40, 60 respectively), anal fissure in 14% cases and 1.1% controls (LR 13), anal laxity in 27% cases and 3% controls (LR 10).<p></p> Novel signs seen significantly more commonly in cases were anal fold changes, swelling and twitching. Erythema, swelling and fold changes were seen most commonly within 7 days of last reported contact; RAD, laxity, venous congestion, fissure and twitching were observed up to 6 months after the alleged assault.<p></p> Conclusions: Anal findings are more common in children alleging anal abuse than in those presenting with physical abuse or neglect with no concern about sexual abuse. Multiple signs are rare in controls and support disclosed anal abuse