144 research outputs found
The Paulsen Problem Made Simple
The Paulsen problem is a basic problem in operator theory that was resolved in a recent tour-de-force work of Kwok, Lau, Lee and Ramachandran. In particular, they showed that every epsilon-nearly equal norm Parseval frame in d dimensions is within squared distance O(epsilon d^{13/2}) of an equal norm Parseval frame. We give a dramatically simpler proof based on the notion of radial isotropic position, and along the way show an improved bound of O(epsilon d^2)
Effects of pendent phenol functional groups on secondary coordination spheres of heme like Fe-salen complexes
Since the beginning of industrial revolution, burning of fossil fuels has mainly led to increase in atmospheric concentration of CO2 , a Green House Gas (GHG), from 250 ppm to 400 ppm between 1800 and 2012. One way to reduce the burning of fossil fuels and CO2 emission rate is to explore alternative carbon free fuels to meet the energy demand.This project aims at the synthesis and study of metal complexes inspired by biological models that will help better design catalysts to perform water oxidation more effectively.This poster won the Dean, Faculty of Science award (2020). Advisor: Dr. Linus Chiang, Departmen of Chemistry
Information theoretic properties of Markov Random Fields, and their algorithmic applications
Markov random fields are a popular model for high-dimensional probability distributions. Over the years, many mathematical, statistical and algorithmic problems on them have been studied. Until recently, the only known algorithms for provably learning them relied on exhaustive search, correlation decay or various incoherence assumptions. Bresler [1] gave an algorithm for learning general Ising models on bounded degree graphs. His approach was based on a structural result about mutual information in Ising models. Here we take a more conceptual approach to proving lower bounds on the mutual information. Our proof generalizes well beyond Ising models, to arbitrary Markov random fields with higher order interactions. As an application, we obtain algorithms for learning Markov random fields on bounded degree graphs on n nodes with r-order interactions in n r time and log n sample complexity. Our algorithms also extend to various partial observation models
21st-century scholarship and Wikipedia
Wikipedia, the world’s fifth most-used Web site, is a good illustration of the growing credibility of online resources. In his article in Ariadne earlier this year, “Wikipedia: Reflections on Use and Academic Acceptance”, Brian Whalley described the debates around accuracy and review, in the context of geology. He concluded that ‘If Wikipedia is the first port of call, as it already seems to be, for information requirement traffic, then there is a commitment to build on Open Educational Resources (OERs) of various kinds and improve their quality.’ In a similar approach to the Geological Society event that Whalley describes, Sarah Fahmy of JISC worked with Wikimedia and the British Library on a World War One (WWI) Editathon. There is a rich discourse about the way that academics relate to Wikipedia
Who witnesses The Witness? Finding witnesses in The Witness is hard and sometimes impossible
We analyze the computational complexity of the many types of pencil-and-paper-style puzzles featured in the 2016 puzzle video game The Witness. In all puzzles, the goal is to draw a path in a rectangular grid graph from a start vertex to a destination vertex. The different puzzle types place different constraints on the path: preventing some edges from being visited (broken edges); forcing some edges or vertices to be visited (hexagons); forcing some cells to have certain numbers of incident path edges (triangles); or forcing the regions formed by the path to be partially monochromatic (squares), have exactly two special cells (stars), or be singly covered by given shapes (polyominoes) and/or negatively counting shapes (antipolyominoes). We show that any one of these clue types (except the first) is enough to make path finding NP-complete ("witnesses exist but are hard to find"), even for rectangular boards. Furthermore, we show that a final clue type (antibody), which necessarily "cancels" the effect of another clue in the same region, makes path finding Sigma_2-complete ("witnesses do not exist"), even with a single antibody (combined with many anti/polyominoes), and the problem gets no harder with many antibodies
How Many Answers Are Enough? Optimal Number of Answers for Q&A Sites
With the proliferation of the social web, questions about information quality and optimization attract the attention of IS scholars. Question-answering (QA) sites, such as Yahoo!Answers, have the potential to produce good answers, but at the same time not all answers are good and not all QA sites are alike. When organizations design and plan for the integration of question answering services on their sites, identification of good answers and process optimization become critical. Arguing that ‘given enough answers all questions are answered successfully,’ this paper identifies the optimal number of posts that generate high quality answers. Based on content analysis of Yahoo! Answers’ informational questions (n=174) and their answers (n=1,023), the study found that seven answers per question are ‘enough’ to provide a good answer
Power Relations and Social Classes in Pengakuan Pariyem by Linus Suryadi AG: Reflection of Masculine Ideology
The study aims to explore power relations and social classes as the reflections of the masculine ideology of the author in the novel Pengakuan Pariyem by Linus Suryadi AG. The theories implemented in the study are van Dijk’s power relations and social classes theory and Connell’s masculinity theory. The study is qualitative descriptive and applies the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) method, used to dismantle the ideology that is produced and reproduced through the language within the novel. The research data are lingual units that indicate power relations and social classes which simultaneously reflect the notion of masculinity. The results of the study are as follows. First, Pariyem as the central character in the novel lives within a hierarchical and dualistic Javanese society. Her submission as the babu (housemaid) of a priyayi (noble) family does not only lead Pariyem to be dominated symbolically, but also legitimizes the priyayi (aristocrats) power over wong cilik (commoners). It is reinforced by the representations of the priyayis’ world views in terms of culture, aristocracy, bureaucracy, and education orientation. It shows that priyayis are culturally dominant. Secondly, since Pariyem is a character created by a male author, her behaviors and actions reflect the ideology of masculinity. Rather than voicing women, the power relations that Pariyem experiences through the events constructed in the novel show that she embodies the masculine ideology, or masculinity.
Linus Pauling.
Digital ImageAmerican chemist, biochemist, peace activist and author. For his scientific work, Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954; and for his peace activism, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962
March for Science: Sign with a quote from scientists Linus Pauling, E. Pine St. at Belmont Ave., Seattle, Washington, April 22, 2017
Text on signs read: "No science = No hops, no malt, no water, no beer [the letters in the word beer are made up of periodic element symbols]"; "Facts are the air of scientists. Without them you can never fly. - Linus Pauling. Science, not silence".
Linus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator.
PH Coll 1478. KinseyK116The Seattle March for Science occurred on April 22, 2017. This date was chosen because April 22 is also Earth Day. According to organizers, as many as 20,000 people attended the march, which began at 10 a.m. in Cal Anderson Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The march culminated at the International Fountain at the Seattle Center. The March for Science in Seattle was one of more than 500 similar marches taking place across the United States. Demonstrators marched in support of “robustly funded and publicly communicated science and evidence as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity” and also called “for science that upholds the common good, and for political leaders and policymakers to enact evidence-based policies in the public interest”, according to a statement put out by march organizers. Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray came out to show their support.Scienc
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