1,084 research outputs found
Semiclassical Dynamics of the Jaynes-Cummings Model
The semiclassical approximation of coherent state path integrals is employed
to study the dynamics of the Jaynes-Cummings model. Decomposing the Hilbert
space into subspaces of given excitation quanta above the ground state, the
semiclassical propagator is shown to describe the exact quantum dynamics of the
model. We also present a semiclassical approximation that does not exploit the
special properties of the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian and can be extended to
more general situations. In this approach the contribution of the dominant
semiclassical paths and the relevant fluctuations about them are evaluated.
This theory leads to an accurate description of spontaneous emission going
beyond the usual classical field approximation.Comment: 18 page
Improvements and Future Challenges for the Research: Infrastructure in the Field of Civil Society
Despite the obvious existence of civil society organizations (CSOs) and forms of civic engagement, the data available for this sector remains inadequate. This expert report provides a comprehensive view of the current data situation, reveals existing gaps, and offers suggestions on how these gaps might be closed. The empirical material currently provided by existing data sources - the Federal Statistical Office, statistics from the CSOs themselves, as well as special data and surveys - only register this area separately and to a limited extent, and even then not in a consistent manner. With respect to both civil society organizations and forms of individual engagement there is an inadequate data situation. Questions that have arisen around whether CSOs will remain oriented toward civil society in a context of increased economic pressure on organizations cannot be answered. Similarly, it is nearly impossible to analyze whether civic engagement belies an increased tendency towards monetarization. Since civil society will undoubtedly continue to gain in political and social importance, the long-term task will be to set up a meaningful and a predominantly self-contained system of data collection and provision. This goal can be reached by following up on the existing surveys and databases described in this paper.civil society; civil society organizations; civic engagement; Volunteers Survey; Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project; Handbook on Nonprofit Institutions in the System of National Accounts
Assisted Peritoneal Dialysis
The number of patients depending on dialysis therapies increases worldwide. The home-based dialysis modalities offer some advantages especially for elderly patients. In the case of peritoneal dialysis (PD), the life quality is superior compared to in-center hemodialysis (HD), and other advantages are existent. Due to the effect that a lot of elderly PD patients are frail, a concept covering the different modalities of PD must include the assistance at home or the living environment (assisted PD) for the bag exchanges that often cannot be performed reliably by elderly and frail patients by themselves. Nowadays, we have enough data to safely offer assisted peritoneal dialysis (aPD) in a cost-saving manner. Putting all these aspects together, aPD is a safe and in some countries widely used modality. The issue of reimbursement and education of home nurse staff must be solved. However, for elderly and frail patients, aPD offers a change to use the advantages of PD for these population, and on a local level, the provider should seek ways to establish aPD programs
Classical and quantum dynamics of a spin-1/2
We reply to a comment on `Semiclassical dynamics of a spin-1/2 in an
arbitrary magnetic field'.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to Journal of Physics
Improvements and future challenges for the research: infrastructure in the field of civil society
"Despite the obvious existence of civil society organizations (CSOs) and forms of civic engagement, the data available for this sector remains inadequate. This expert report provides a comprehensive view of the current data situation, reveals existing gaps, and offers suggestions on how these gaps might be closed. The empirical material currently provided by existing data sources - the Federal Statistical Office, statistics from the CSOs themselves, as well as special data and surveys - only register this area separately and to a limited extent, and even then not in a consistent manner. With respect to both civil society organizations and forms of individual engagement there is an inadequate data situation. Questions that have arisen around whether CSOs will remain oriented toward civil society in a context of increased economic pressure on organizations cannot be answered. Similarly, it is nearly impossible to analyze whether civic engagement belies an increased tendency towards monetarization. Since civil society will undoubtedly continue to gain in political and social importance, the long-term task will be to set up a meaningful and a predominantly self-contained system of data collection and provision. This goal can be reached by following up on the existing surveys and databases described in this paper." [author's abstract
The Practice of Medicine in the Age of Information Technology
Regarding the practice of medicine, we have to face the chances and challenges of all aspects of e-Health; however, the term “digitalization” is broader and spanning all aspects. However, the digitalization of medicine offers solutions for pressing problem. We know the factors that lead to excellence in medicine. Without the right amount of experiences based on a solid ground of knowledge, no excellence is achievable. The problem, nowadays, is that due to restriction of working hours, to the goals of life (“life-work-balance”) and the restrictions of Generation Y, almost no education in medicine is spanning the needed 10,000 h experiences in practical medicine for excellence. Therefore, we will see the fading of medical excellence, if we could not establish other systems. A solution can be searched in decision-support systems. However, a requirement before is the need of a digitalization of all health data. We surely do not have enough evidences for all aspects of the practice of medicine, the intuition is fading away and therefore, we have to look around for other solutions. Big data generated by the digitalization of all health data could be the problem solver. In combination, IT will help to improve the quality of care
Adoption of Digital Vaccination Services: It Is the Click Flow, Not the Value : An Empirical Analysis of the Vaccination Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany
This research paper examines the adoption of digital services for the vaccination during
the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Based on a survey in Germany’s federal state with the highest
vaccination rate, which used digital vaccination services, its platform configuration and adoption
barriers are analyzed to understand existing and future levers for optimizing vaccination success.
Though technological adoption and resistance models have been originally developed for consumergoods markets, this study gives empirical evidence especially for the applicability of an adjusted
model explaining platform adoption for vaccination services and for digital health services in general.
In this model, the configuration areas of personalization, communication, and data management have
a remarkable effect to lower adoption barriers, but only functional and psychological factors affect
the adoption intention. Above all, the usability barrier stands out with the strongest effect, while the
often-cited value barrier is not significant at all. Personalization is found to be the most important
factor for managing the usability barrier and thus for addressing the needs, preferences, situation,
and, ultimately, the adoption of the citizens as users. Implications are given for policy makers and
managers in such a pandemic crisis to focus on the click flow and server-to-human interaction rather
than emphasizing value messages or touching traditional factors
Civic education, teaching quality and students’ willingness to participate in political and civic life: political interest and knowledge as mediators
Civic education is generally assumed to play a key role in youth’s political sophistication. It aims to equip young people with the necessary competencies and skills to effectively participate in political and civic life. However, few studies have examined the relative importance of different facets of teaching quality within civic education as well as mediating factors for fostering active citizens. The present study seeks to fill this gap by investigating how different facets of teaching quality are associated with adolescents’ willingness to participate in political and civic life and how this relationship is mediated by political knowledge and interest. The study uses original data from N = 250 students (n = 152 7th graders: Mage = 12.54, SD = 0.91, range = 11–14, 45% female; n = 98 10th graders: Mage = 16.12, SD = 0.97, range = 15–18, 35% female). The findings show that not all teaching quality facets are equally important. While perceived cognitive activation and open classroom climate were positively associated with students’ willingness to participate, a statistically significant association with discussions of current political events in the classroom was not found. In addition, the relationship between perceived cognitive activation and willingness to participate is fully mediated by students’ political knowledge and interest. This study illustrates the relative importance of different teaching quality facets in civic education and calls for continued efforts to better understand teaching quality in civic education
What makes domain knowledge difficult? Word usage frequency from SUBTLEX and dlexDB explains knowledge item difficulty
The quality of tests in psychological and educational assessment is of great scholarly and public interest. Item difficulty models are vital to generating test result interpretations based on evidence. A major determining factor of item difficulty in knowledge tests is the opportunity to learn about the facts and concepts in question. Knowledge is mainly conveyed through language. Exposure to language associated with facts and concepts might be an indicator of the opportunity to learn. Thus, we hypothesize that item difficulty in knowledge tests should be related to the probability of exposure to the item content in everyday life and/or academic settings and therefore also to word frequency. Results from a study with 99 political knowledge test items administered to N = 250 German seventh (age: 11–14 years) and tenth (age: 15–18 years) graders showed that word frequencies in everyday settings (SUBTLEX-DE) explain variance in item difficulty, while word frequencies in academic settings (dlexDB) alone do not. However, both types of word frequency combined explain a considerable amount of the variance in item difficulty. Items with words that are more frequent in both settings and, in particular, relatively frequent in everyday settings are easier. High word frequencies and relatively higher word frequency in everyday settings could be associated with higher probability of exposure, conceptual complexity, and better readability of item content. Examining word frequency from different language settings can help researchers investigate test score interpretations and is a useful tool for predicting item difficulty and refining knowledge test items
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