The value of political consulting: A segmentation of services and evaluation tools

Political consulting has been exposed to critical debates about its necessity and usefulness over the past ten years. The question of how much value has been added? has not yet been addressed in this field, while in management consulting evaluation of projects has a long tradition. On the one hand, this could be due to the fragmented market for political consulting, with heterogeneous projects, not allowing for methods, and results of these projects being compared to each other. On the other hand, there has not yet been an attempt to segment the market according to which evaluation tools can be applied. This paper will develop a segmentation of the market for political consulting and will shed some first light on the transferability of evaluation tools from management consulting to the segments. It is to be understood as a starting point in the research on evaluating political consulting assignments to open up the field for further empirical investigations.Politikberatung ist seit über zehn Jahren anhaltenden kritischen Debatten über ihre Notwendigkeit und ihren Nutzen ausgesetzt. Bisher wurde nicht nach der sogenannten value-added und damit nach der Bewertung der Ergebnisse von Politikberatungsprojekten gefragt, während dies in der Managementberatung eine lange Tradition besitzt. Dies könnte zum einen am stark fragmentierten Markt für Politikberatung liegen, in dem Projekte so heterogen sind, dass sich Methoden und Ergebnisse nur schwer mit denselben Tools evaluieren lassen. Zum anderen wurde bisher nicht versucht, den Markt nach entsprechender Anwendbarkeit von Evaluierungsmethoden zu segmentieren. In diesem Beitrag soll zunächst eine solche Segmentierung des Marktes für Politikberatung stattfinden. Von dieser ausgehend wird die Übertragbarkeit von Evaluierungstools aus der Managementberatung analysiert. Es wird somit ein Ausgangspunkt geschaffen, von dem aus weitere empirische Untersuchungen zur Evaluation von Politikberatungsprojekten ansetzen können

Single-electron Double Quantum Dot Dipole-coupled to a Single Photonic Mode

We have realized a hybrid solid-state quantum device in which a single-electron semiconductor double quantum dot is dipole coupled to a superconducting microwave frequency transmission line resonator. The dipolar interaction between the two entities manifests itself via dispersive and dissipative effects observed as frequency shifts and linewidth broadenings of the photonic mode respectively. A Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian master equation calculation is used to model the combined system response and allows for determining both the coherence properties of the double quantum dot and its interdot tunnel coupling with high accuracy. The value and uncertainty of the tunnel coupling extracted from the microwave read-out technique are compared to a standard quantum point contact charge detection analysis. The two techniques are found to be consistent with a superior precision for the microwave experiment when tunneling rates approach the resonator eigenfrequency. Decoherence properties of the double dot are further investigated as a function of the number of electrons inside the dots. They are found to be similar in the single-electron and many-electron regimes suggesting that the density of the confinement energy spectrum plays a minor role in the decoherence rate of the system under investigation.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Strong Coupling Cavity QED with Gate-Defined Double Quantum Dots Enabled by a High Impedance Resonator

The strong coupling limit of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) implies the capability of a matter-like quantum system to coherently transform an individual excitation into a single photon within a resonant structure. This not only enables essential processes required for quantum information processing but also allows for fundamental studies of matter-light interaction. In this work we demonstrate strong coupling between the charge degree of freedom in a gate-detuned GaAs double quantum dot (DQD) and a frequency-tunable high impedance resonator realized using an array of superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). In the resonant regime, we resolve the vacuum Rabi mode splitting of size $2g/2\pi = 238$ MHz at a resonator linewidth $\kappa/2\pi = 12$ MHz and a DQD charge qubit dephasing rate of $\gamma_2/2\pi = 80$ MHz extracted independently from microwave spectroscopy in the dispersive regime. Our measurements indicate a viable path towards using circuit based cavity QED for quantum information processing in semiconductor nano-structures

Comment on `Vacuum Rabi Splitting in a Semiconductor Circuit QED System' by Toida et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 066802 - Published 6 February 2013

Toida et al. claim in their recent article [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 066802 (2013)] that they `report a direct observation of vacuum Rabi splitting in a GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum dot (DQD) based charge qubit coupled with a superconducting coplanar waveguide (CPW) resonator'. In this comment, we challenge the main claims made in their paper and show that their results: a) do not provide any evidence of vacuum Rabi oscillations and b) do not provide any direct evidence of vacuum Rabi splitting.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figure

Mesenteric Resistance Arteries in Type 2 Diabetic db/db Mice Undergo Outward Remodeling

Resistance vessel remodeling is controlled by myriad of hemodynamic and neurohormonal factors. This study characterized structural and molecular remodeling in mesenteric resistance arteries (MRAs) in diabetic (db/db) and control (Db/db) mice.Structural properties were assessed in isolated MRAs from 12 and 16 wk-old db/db and Db/db mice by pressure myography. Matrix regulatory proteins were measured by Western blot analysis. Mean arterial pressure and superior mesenteric blood flow were measured in 12 wk-old mice by telemetry and a Doppler flow nanoprobe, respectively.Blood pressure was similar between groups. Lumen diameter and medial cross-sectional area were significantly increased in 16 wk-old db/db MRA compared to control, indicating outward hypertrophic remodeling. Moreover, wall stress and cross-sectional compliance were significantly larger in diabetic arteries. These remodeling indices were associated with increased expression of matrix regulatory proteins matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, MMP-12, tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, TIMP-2, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in db/db arteries. Finally, superior mesenteric artery blood flow was increased by 46% in 12 wk-old db/db mice, a finding that preceded mesenteric resistance artery remodeling.These data suggest that flow-induced hemodynamic changes may supersede the local neurohormonal and metabolic milieu to culminate in hypertrophic outward remodeling of type 2 DM mesenteric resistance arteries

Electroluminescence Caused by the Transport of Interacting Electrons through Parallel Quantum Dots in a Photon Cavity

This work was financially supported by the Research Fund of the University of Iceland, the Icelandic Research Fund, grant no. 163082-051, and the Icelandic Instruments Fund. HSG acknowledges support from Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan, under grant no. 103-2112-M-002-003-MY3.We show that a Rabi-splitting of the states of strongly interacting electrons in parallel quantum dots embedded in a short quantum wire placed in a photon cavity can be produced by either the para- or the dia-magnetic electron-photon interactions when the geometry of the system is properly accounted for and the photon field is tuned close to a resonance with the electron system. We use these two resonances to explore the electroluminescence caused by the transport of electrons through the one- and two-electron ground states of the system and their corresponding conventional and vacuum electroluminescense as the central system is opened up by coupling it to external leads acting as electron reservoirs. Our analysis indicates that high-order electron-photon processes are necessary to adequately construct the cavity-photon dressed electron states needed to describe both types of electroluminescence