Lynx (Italy)

ABSTRACT In analogy to their solid‐state counterparts, optical beams endowed with skyrmionic textures of the Stokes vector have recently garnered increasing attention due to their inherent topological protection and unique polarization structure. Despite significant advancements in research and applications, optical skyrmions still lack compact optical solutions for their versatile generation and control. This study presents the design, fabrication, and experimental validation of dual‐functional metaoptics for the customized generation and reconfigurability of skyrmionic patterns of light. By leveraging complex light manipulation at the nanoscale, dielectric metasurfaces composed of anisotropic meta‐atoms enable the simultaneous and asymmetric shaping of orthogonal polarization states using a single optical element, thereby achieving the generation of full Poincaré beams with skyrmionic topology of the Stokes vector. Furthermore, we demonstrate the dynamic tuning and reconfigurability of the skyrmionic state and order through precise wavefront engineering and polarization control. This research introduces a novel framework for flexible reconfiguration and manipulation of Stokes skyrmions, establishing the foundation for their practical integration across a diverse range of emerging information and communication technologies, potentially revolutionizing the exploitation of information resilience in photonics and optoelectronics.

(2007). Counting Processes and Survival Analysis. Technometrics: Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 362-362.

Respondents must co-operate with researchers. This truism is a fundamental proposition for almost all research into consumer and buyer behaviour where people are asked for information. Respondents or more correctly their response are the life-blood of social and marketing research whether that be conducted by the academic or the business community. However, it is a resource that appears to be showing some signs of depletion if not downright exhaustion. This paper conceptualises the activities of Interview Response Management (IRM) as a key role for project and field managers. The former trying to improve representativeness and the latter trying to manage the controllable interviewing factors that influence the level of response. Interest in the area arose from our investigation of trends in the levels of response and co-operation that the public were giving to market research surveys. It was immediately evident that reports of response rates in published survey data and even that collected directly from commercial market research organizations demonstrated a lack of consistency. There was no standard approach for defining response rate. Consequently we devised a new typology of response rate measures under the acronym CRRM – Comprehensive Response Rate Measure. This definition incorporated the key concept of respondent eligibility along with methods to estimate eligibility when the actual status of a particular survey contact was unknown. The approach focuses on the results of an initiated interview attempt and the variety of outcomes that may occur. In addition the CRRM was designed as an input to the process of IRM by providing performance indices that would be useful to fieldwork managers. It therefore examines 'surrogate refusal', call-back outcomes, nominal co-operation and survey participation rate. The derivation of this suite of measures is discussed in the paper along with the recommendation for its reporting in all published surveys. The authors contend that a standardised method of recording and calculating response rate will lead to a better understanding of the trends in survey co-operation as well as a more accurate comparison between initiatives for improving response.

This study involves a regional-scale geological characterization for a proposed underground high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Investigation of the site by the US Department of Energy, US Geological Survey and various contractors has been in progress for more than a decade, resulting in large volumes of information from a variety of investigative sources. Since this is the first time that geoscience modeling technology is to be applied to a regional characterization of this scale and level of detail, there is a requirement to evaluate the technology with respect to project requirements. Our study is performed solely for the purpose of demonstrating the suitability of the integrated computerized approach for this task. It covers only part of the repository site and is based on a limited selection of the available public-domain information and published documentation.