The Map Defines the Territory: Remodelling NGO Partnerships for Knowledge Translation in Transition Contexts

The initial impetus for a theoretical exploration of organisational relationships is based on case study research on a Bulgarian NGO's implementation of values and goals into practices under a guiding relationship from a very experienced UK organisation in the same field. Findings diverged from conventional accounts of developing NGOs' dependence on more developed counterparts and that case study findings characterised the inter- dependency between the two organisations as more alike to a collaborative knowledge ...

Generalized Langevin equation: An efficient approach to nonequilibrium molecular dynamics of open systems

The generalized Langevin equation (GLE) has been recently suggested to simulate the time evolution of classical solid and molecular systems when considering general nonequilibrium processes. In this approach, a part of the whole system (an open system), which interacts and exchanges energy with its dissipative environment, is studied. Because the GLE is derived by projecting out exactly the harmonic environment, the coupling to it is realistic, while the equations of motion are non-Markovian. Although the GLE formalism has already found promising applications, e. g., in nanotribology and as a powerful thermostat for equilibration in classical molecular dynamics simulations, efficient algorithms to solve the GLE for realistic memory kernels are highly nontrivial, especially if the memory kernels decay nonexponentially. This is due to the fact that one has to generate a colored noise and take account of the memory effects in a consistent manner. In this paper, we present a simple, yet efficient, algorithm for solving the GLE for practical memory kernels and we demonstrate its capability for the exactly solvable case of a harmonic oscillator coupled to a Debye bath.

Manual mapping of drumlins in synthetic landscapes to assess operator effectiveness

Mapped topographic features are important for understanding processes that sculpt the Earth’s surface. This paper presents maps that are the primary product of an exercise that brought together 27 researchers with an interest in landform mapping wherein the efficacy and causes of variation in mapping were tested using novel synthetic DEMs containing drumlins. The variation between interpreters (e.g. mapping philosophy, experience) and across the study region (e.g. woodland prevalence) opens these factors up to assessment. A priori known answers in the synthetics increase the number and strength of conclusions that may be drawn with respect to a traditional comparative study. Initial results suggest that overall detection rates are relatively low (34–40%), but reliability of mapping is higher (72–86%). The maps form a reference dataset.

Operator Synthesis and Tensor Products

We show that Kraus' property $ S_{\sigma }$ is preserved under taking weak* closed sums with masa-bimodules of finite width and establish an intersection formula for weak* closed spans of tensor products, one of whose terms is a masa-bimodule of finite width. We initiate the study of the question of when operator synthesis is preserved under the formation of products and prove that the union of finitely many sets of the form $ \kappa \times \lambda $, where $ \kappa $ is a set of finite width while $ \lambda $ is operator synthetic, is, under a necessary restriction on the sets $ \lambda $, again operator synthetic. We show that property $ S_{\sigma }$ is preserved under spatial Morita subordinance.

Operator systems from discrete groups

We express various sets of quantum correlations studied in the theoretical physics literature in terms of different tensor products of operator systems of discrete groups. We thus recover earlier results of Tsirelson and formulate a new approach for the study of quantum correlations. To do this we formulate a general framework for the study of operator systems arising from discrete groups. We study in detail the operator system of the free group Fn on n generators, as well as the operator systems of the free products of finitely many copies of the two-element group Z2. We examine various tensor products of group operator systems, including the minimal, the maximal, and the commuting tensor products. We introduce a new tensor product in the category of operator systems and formulate necessary and sufficient conditions for its equality to the commuting tensor product in the case of group operator systems.

Local operator multipliers and positivity

We establish an unbounded version of Stinespring's Theorem and a lifting result for Stinespring representations of completely positive modular maps defined on the space of all compact operators. We apply these results to study positivity for Schur multipliers. We characterise positive local Schur multipliers, and provide a description of positive local Schur multipliers of Toeplitz type. We introduce local operator multipliers as a non-commutative analogue of local Schur multipliers, and characterise them extending both the characterisation of operator multipliers from [16] and that of local Schur multipliers from [27]. We provide a description of the positive local operator multipliers in terms of approximation by elements of canonical positive cones.

Successful translation of Academic Research into wider Economic Impact: University of Southampton, Distinguished Lecture

No abstract available

The influence of high air entry filter on the testing of unsaturated soils using the axis translation technique

Suction is an important stress variable that is required for reliable predictions of the likely performance of unsaturated soils. The axis translation technique is the best established method of measuring or controlling suction; however, the success of this application is heavily dependent on the rating of the high air entry filter (HAF) and how it is incorporated into the testing system. This paper reports some basic experiments in which samples of unsaturated kaolin were brought to saturation in stages using 5 bar and 15 bar HAFs. The results have shown that the water equilibrium in unsaturated soils is greatly affected by the rating of filters. The findings also suggest that the flow through unsaturated soils is not necessarily governed by the one-dimensional consolidation theory that was developed for saturated soils, and this may be attributed to the bimodal pore size distribution of unsaturated soils.

Laboratizing the border: The production, translation and anticipation of security technologies

This paper critically interrogates how borders are produced by scientists, engineers and security experts in advance of the actual deployment of technical devices they develop. This paper explores the prior stages of translation and decision-making as a socio-technical device is conceived and developed. Drawing on in-depth interviews, observations and ethnographic research of the EU-funded Handhold project (consisting of nine teams in five countries), it explores how assumptions about the way security technologies will and should perform at the border shape the way that scientists, engineers, and security experts develop a portable, integrated device to detect CBRNE threats at borders. In disaggregating the moments of sovereign decision making across multiple sites and times, this paper questions the supposed linearity of how science comes out of and feeds back into the world of border security. An interrogation of competing assumptions and understandings of security threats and needs, of competing logics of innovation and pragmatism, of the demands of differentiated temporalities in detection and interrogation, and of the presumed capacities, behaviours, and needs of phantasmic competitors and end-users reveals a complex, circulating and co-constitutive process of device development that laboratises the border itself. We trace how sovereign decisions are enacted as assemblages in the antecedent register of device development itself through the everyday decisions of researchers in the laboratory, and the material components of the Handhold device itself.

Generalized Selection Combining for Cognitive Relay Networks over Nakagami-m Fading

We consider transmit antenna selection with receive generalized selection combining (TAS/GSC) for cognitive decodeand-forward (DF) relaying in Nakagami-m fading channels. In an effort to assess the performance, the probability density function and the cumulative distribution function of the endto-end SNR are derived using the moment generating function, from which new exact closed-form expressions for the outage probability and the symbol error rate are derived. We then derive a new closed-form expression for the ergodic capacity. More importantly, by deriving the asymptotic expressions for the outage probability and the symbol error rate, as well as the high SNR approximations of the ergodic capacity, we establish new design insights under the two distinct constraint scenarios: 1) proportional interference power constraint, and 2) fixed interference power constraint. Several pivotal conclusions are reached. For the first scenario, the full diversity order of the
outage probability and the symbol error rate is achieved, and the high SNR slope of the ergodic capacity is 1/2. For the second scenario, the diversity order of the outage probability and the symbol error rate is zero with error floors, and the high SNR slope of the ergodic capacity is zero with capacity ceiling.

Applications of the generalized Langevin equation: Towards a realistic description of the baths

The generalized Langevin equation (GLE) method, as developed previously [L. Stella et al., Phys. Rev. B 89, 134303 (2014)], is used to calculate the dissipative dynamics of systems described at the atomic level. The GLE scheme goes beyond the commonly used bilinear coupling between the central system and the bath, and permits us to have a realistic description of both the dissipative central system and its surrounding bath. We show how to obtain the vibrational properties of a realistic bath and how to convey such properties into an extended Langevin dynamics by the use of the mapping of the bath vibrational properties onto a set of auxiliary variables. Our calculations for a model of a Lennard-Jones solid show that our GLE scheme provides a stable dynamics, with the dissipative/relaxation processes properly described. The total kinetic energy of the central system always thermalizes toward the expected bath temperature, with appropriate fluctuation around the mean value. More importantly, we obtain a velocity distribution for the individual atoms in the central system which follows the expected canonical distribution at the corresponding temperature. This confirms that both our GLE scheme and our mapping procedure onto an extended Langevin dynamics provide the correct thermostat. We also examined the velocity autocorrelation functions and compare our results with more conventional Langevin dynamics.

Generalized loopy 2U: A new algorithm for approximate inference in credal networks

Credal networks generalize Bayesian networks by relaxing the requirement of precision of probabilities. Credal networks are considerably more expressive than Bayesian networks, but this makes belief updating NP-hard even on polytrees. We develop a new efficient algorithm for approximate belief updating in credal networks. The algorithm is based on an important representation result we prove for general credal networks: that any credal network can be equivalently reformulated as a credal network with binary variables; moreover, the transformation, which is considerably more complex than in the Bayesian case, can be implemented in polynomial time. The equivalent binary credal network is then updated by L2U, a loopy approximate algorithm for binary credal networks. Overall, we generalize L2U to non-binary credal networks, obtaining a scalable algorithm for the general case, which is approximate only because of its loopy nature. The accuracy of the inferences with respect to other state-of-the-art algorithms is evaluated by extensive numerical tests.

Generalized Loopy 2U: A New Algorithm for Approximate Inference in Credal Networks

Credal nets generalize Bayesian nets by relaxing the requirement of precision of probabilities. Credal nets are considerably more expressive than Bayesian nets, but this makes belief updating NP-hard even on polytrees. We develop a new efficient algorithm for approximate belief updating in credal nets. The algorithm is based on an important representation result we prove for general credal nets: that any credal net can be equivalently reformulated as a credal net with binary variables; moreover, the transformation, which is considerably more complex than in the Bayesian case, can be implemented in polynomial time. The equivalent binary credal net is updated by L2U, a loopy approximate algorithm for binary credal nets. Thus, we generalize L2U to non-binary credal nets, obtaining an accurate and scalable algorithm for the general case, which is approximate only because of its loopy nature. The accuracy of the inferences is evaluated by empirical tests.

Knowledge translation in men’s health research: development and delivery of content for use online

Background: Men can be hard to reach with face-to-face health-related information, while increasingly, research shows that they are seeking health information from online sources. Recognizing this trend, there is merit in developing innovative online knowledge translation (KT) strategies capable of translating research on men’s health into engaging health promotion materials. While the concept of KT has become a new mantra for researchers wishing to bridge the gap between research evidence and improved health outcomes, little is written about the process, necessary skills, and best practices by which researchers can develop online knowledge translation.
Objective: Our aim was to illustrate some of the processes and challenges involved in, and potential value of, developing research knowledge online to promote men’s health.

Methods: We present experiences of KT across two case studies of men’s health. First, we describe a study that uses interactive Web apps to translate knowledge relating to Canadian men’s depression. Through a range of mechanisms, study findings were repackaged with the explicit aim of raising awareness and reducing the stigma associated with men’s depression and/or help-seeking. Second, we describe an educational resource for teenage men about unintended pregnancy, developed for delivery in the formal Relationship and Sexuality Education school curricula of Ireland, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom), and South Australia. The intervention is based around a Web-based interactive film drama entitled “If I Were Jack”.

Results: For each case study, we describe the KT process and strategies that aided development of credible and well-received online content focused on men’s health promotion. In both case studies, the original research generated the inspiration for the interactive online content and the core development strategy was working with a multidisciplinary team to develop this material through arts-based approaches. In both cases also, there is an acknowledgment of the need for gender and culturally sensitive information. Both aimed to engage men by disrupting stereotypes about men, while simultaneously addressing men through authentic voices and faces. Finally, in both case studies we draw attention to the need to think beyond placement of content online to delivery to target audiences from the outset.

Conclusions: The case studies highlight some of the new skills required by academics in the emerging paradigm of translational research and contribute to the nascent literature on KT. Our approach to online KT was to go beyond dissemination and diffusion to actively repackage research knowledge through arts-based approaches (videos and film scripts) as health promotion tools, with optimal appeal, to target male audiences. Our findings highlight the importance of developing a multidisciplinary team to inform the design of content, the importance of adaptation to context, both in terms of the national implementation context and consideration of gender-specific needs, and an integrated implementation and evaluation framework in all KT work.

Outperformance in exchange-traded fund pricing deviations: Generalized control of data snooping bias

An investigation into exchange-traded fund (ETF) outperforrnance during the period 2008-2012 is undertaken utilizing a data set of 288 U.S. traded securities. ETFs are tested for net asset value (NAV) premium, underlying index and market benchmark outperformance, with Sharpe, Treynor, and Sortino ratios employed as risk-adjusted performance measures. A key contribution is the application of an innovative generalized stepdown procedure in controlling for data snooping bias. We find that a large proportion of optimized replication and debt asset class ETFs display risk-adjusted premiums with energy and precious metals focused funds outperforming the S&P 500 market benchmark.