How Interactive can a Lecture Become?

The uses of technology have been well documented and many people have tried to use the available technology. In an age of increasingly idevices dependent generation where on average students check their portable devices at least every 15 minutes for 15 seconds, the way students engage with the lecture and the lecturer has changed. The dynamic environment of the lecture is one which can be very enjoyable, demanding and noisy. It requires the attention of the student, note taking skills, teaching techniques, audio visual aids and timing of the lecture to work seamlessly. However, not only the student attitudes have changed but also their approach to learning and demands for more summarized information. They want less to read, eBook style information but mostly in the form of PowerPoint rather than books. They want access to the Google search engine and the algorithm to generate the correct answers in the very first search results. Unfortunately the standard social media interfaces are not particularly designed for lectures and there is always the temptation to read and answer the threads on your Facebook. A pilot study has been implemented in order to facilitate the use of social media, portable devices, forums and the good old chalk and talk technique to bring the big lectures back to life. Improve the student experience and the learning by engaging everyone. The dynamic environment of the lectures would be enhanced by allowing interaction on all levels from delivery of the unit to questions and answers to setting and sitting examinations and assignments. Even the feedback mechanism would need to change. The research would require a huge shift in the way everything is done and the cultural consequences of the change may be more of effect towards the academics, especially ones with longer teaching experience

Systems with Single Degree of Freedom and the Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

Physical systems can store information and their informational properties are governed by the laws of information. In particular, the amount of information that a physical system can convey is limited by the number of its degrees of freedom and their distinguishable states. Here we explore the properties of the physical systems with absolutely one degree of freedom. The central point in these systems is the tight limitation on their information capacity. Discussing the implications of this limitation we demonstrate that such systems exhibit a number of features, such as randomness, no-cloning, and non-commutativity, which are peculiarities attributed to quantum mechanics (QM). After demonstrating many astonishing parallels to quantum behavior, we postulate an interpretation of quantum physics as the physics of systems with a single degree of freedom. We then show how a number of other quantum conundrum can be understood by considering the informational properties of the systems and also resolve the EPR paradox. In the present work, we assume that the formalism of the QM is correct and well-supported by experimental verification and concentrate on the interpretational aspects of the theory

Winding Angle Distributions for Random Walks and Flux Lines

We study analytically and numerically the winding of a flux line around a columnar defect. Reflecting and absorbing boundary conditions apply to marginal or repulsive defects, respectively. In both cases, the winding angle distribution decays exponentially for large angles, with a decay constant depending only on the boundary condition, but not on microscopic features. New {\it non-universal} distributions are encountered for {\it chiral} defects which preferentially twist the flux line in one direction. The resulting asymmetric distributions have decay constants that depend on the degree of chirality. In particular, strong chirality encourages entanglements and leads to broad distributions. We also examine the windings of flux lines in the presence of point impurities (random bonds). Our results suggest that pinning to impurities reduces entanglements, leading to a narrow (Gaussian) distribution.Comment: 12 pages Revtex and 9 postscript figure

Introduction: Special issue: corporate governance: what do we know and what is different about banks?

This special volume of the Economic Policy Review is designed to foster a better understanding of corporate governance - particularly as it applies to banking firms - among regulators, investors, researchers, and the interested public. The contributors to the volume, specialists in governance, analyze the topic from many perspectives, including law, financial accounting, and financial economics. As they summarize and synthesize a vast literature on vital governance issues, the authors present a framework for understanding corporate governance and identify key areas of future research.Corporate governance ; Bank management