137,854 research outputs found
Complexified Path Integrals and the Phases of Quantum Field Theory
The path integral by which quantum field theories are defined is a particular
solution of a set of functional differential equations arising from the
Schwinger action principle. In fact these equations have a multitude of
additional solutions which are described by integrals over a complexified path.
We discuss properties of the additional solutions which, although generally
disregarded, may be physical with known examples including spontaneous symmetry
breaking and theta vacua. We show that a consideration of the full set of
solutions yields a description of phase transitions in quantum field theories
which complements the usual description in terms of the accumulation of
Lee-Yang zeroes. In particular we argue that non-analyticity due to the
accumulation of Lee-Yang zeros is related to Stokes phenomena and the collapse
of the solution set in various limits including but not restricted to, the
thermodynamic limit. A precise demonstration of this relation is given in terms
of a zero dimensional model. Finally, for zero dimensional polynomial actions,
we prove that Borel resummation of perturbative expansions, with several
choices of singularity avoiding contours in the complex Borel plane, yield
inequivalent solutions of the action principle equations.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures (newer version has better images
Innovative public governance through cloud computing: Information privacy, business models and performance measurement challenges
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze challenges and to discuss proposed solutions for innovative public governance through cloud computing. Innovative technologies, such as federation of services and cloud computing, can greatly contribute to the provision of e-government services, through scaleable and flexible systems. Furthermore, they can facilitate in reducing costs and overcoming public information segmentation. Nonetheless, when public agencies use these technologies, they encounter several associated organizational and technical changes, as well as significant challenges. Design/methodology/approach: We followed a multidisciplinary perspective (social, behavioral, business and technical) and conducted a conceptual analysis for analyzing the associated challenges. We conducted focus group interviews in two countries for evaluating the performance models that resulted from the conceptual analysis. Findings: This study identifies and analyzes several challenges that may emerge while adopting innovative technologies for public governance and e-government services. Furthermore, it presents suggested solutions deriving from the experience of designing a related platform for public governance, including issues of privacy requirements, proposed business models and key performance indicators for public services on cloud computing. Research limitations/implications: The challenges and solutions discussed are based on the experience gained by designing one platform. However, we rely on issues and challenges collected from four countries. Practical implications: The identification of challenges for innovative design of e-government services through a central portal in Europe and using service federation is expected to inform practitioners in different roles about significant changes across multiple levels that are implied and may accelerate the challenges' resolution. Originality/value: This is the first study that discusses from multiple perspectives and through empirical investigation the challenges to realize public governance through innovative technologies. The results emerge from an actual portal that will function at a European level. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Sparse logistic principal components analysis for binary data
We develop a new principal components analysis (PCA) type dimension reduction
method for binary data. Different from the standard PCA which is defined on the
observed data, the proposed PCA is defined on the logit transform of the
success probabilities of the binary observations. Sparsity is introduced to the
principal component (PC) loading vectors for enhanced interpretability and more
stable extraction of the principal components. Our sparse PCA is formulated as
solving an optimization problem with a criterion function motivated from a
penalized Bernoulli likelihood. A Majorization--Minimization algorithm is
developed to efficiently solve the optimization problem. The effectiveness of
the proposed sparse logistic PCA method is illustrated by application to a
single nucleotide polymorphism data set and a simulation study.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOAS327 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Nuclear Incompressibility at Finite Temperature and Entropy
Features of the nuclear isothermal incompressibility and adiabatic
incompressibility are investigated. The calculations are done at
zero and finite temperatures and non zero entropy and for several equations of
state. It is shown that decreases with increasing entropy while the
isothermal increases with increasing . A duality is found between
the adiabatic and the T=0 isothermal . Our isothermal
results are compared with a recent lattice Monte Carlo calculation done at
finite . The necessity of including correlations is shown if is to
have a peak with increasing as seen in the Monte Carlo calculations. A peak
in is linked to attractive scattering correlations in two nucleons
channel in the virial expansion in our approach which are Pauli blocked at low
.Comment: 5 page
A User Satisfaction Study of the London Congestion Charging e-Service
This research seeks to measure citizen satisfaction with the electronic London Congestion Charging (LCC)
payment system offered by Transport For London (TFL) in the United Kingdom (UK). The paper reports
on the findings of a survey of 500 users of the TFL LCC online payment system. Satisfaction is measured
using the four dimensions from the COBRA framework 0that comprise the cost, opportunity, benefits and
risk assessment constructs. The results show that most citizens using the LCC electronic service are
satisfied with the service and that the service meets their essential needs. The paper also presents the
results of qualitative feedback obtained from the participants that can be used to determine the areas that
need further improvement in the current electronic LCC electronic-service (e-service) system and
potential influences on user satisfaction
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