The K+→π+ννˉK^+ \rightarrow \pi^+ \nu \bar{\nu} decay in the NA62 experiment at CERN

The main aim of the NA62 experiment at CERN is to study the rare $K^+ \rightarrow \pi^+ \nu \bar{\nu}$ decay and measure its Branching Ratio (BR) with $10$ precision. Due to its theoretical precision, this decay is an excellent probe to test the presence of New Physics (NP) at the highest scale complementary to LHC. At less than one month from the starting of the NA62 pilot run, the motivations, strategy and status of the experiment are described.Comment: Presented at "The 8th International Workshop on the CKM Unitarity Triangle" (CKM 2014), Vienna, Austria, September 8-12, 201

Teaching about deliberative politics: Case studies of classroom-community learning projects in four nations

Theories of deliberative politics position grass-roots community members as more than spectators of politics, and instead recognize their capacity for political engagement by discussing and evaluating options in order to make decisions about issues affecting community life. The processes and products of journalism can assist deliberative politics by providing community members with information resources that are vital for understanding the root causes of problems, weighing up competing claims, forming networks around shared concerns, reaching decisions and undertaking action. This article presents the findings of case studies of four community–classroom projects--one each from Australia, New Zealand, the United States and South Africa--that develop the capacity of journalism students to be effective contributors to deliberative politics. The research points to the importance of learning activities that prepare students to work in diverse communities, map significant community places and structures, identify leaders and stakeholders, engage in respectful dialogue about problems and perspectives, and appreciate community frames and values

H-Diplo Article Review 899 on “Between Business Interests and Ideological Marketing: The USSR and the Cold War in Fiat Corporate Strategy, 1957–1972.”

Valentina Fava. “Between Business Interests and Ideological Marketing: The USSR and the Cold War in Fiat Corporate Strategy, 1957–1972.” Journal of Cold War Studies 20:4 (Fall 2018): 26-64. DOI: https://doi.org10.1162/jcws_a_00822

Estimation/updating of origin-destination flows: recent trends and opportunities from trajectory data

Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of mobility demand is essential for many applications over the entire transport domain, from planning and policy assessment to operation, control, and management. Typically, mobility demand is represented by origin-destination (o-d) flows, each representing the number of trips from one traffic zone to another, for a certain trip purpose and mode of transport, in a given time interval (Cascetta, 2009, Ortuzar and Willumsen, 2011). O-d flows have been generally unobservable for decades, thus the problem of o-d matrix estimation is still one of the most challenging in transportation studies. In recent times, unprecedented tracing and tracking capabilities have become available. The pervasive penetration of sensing devices (smartphones, black boxes, smart cards, ...) adopting a variety of tracing technologies/methods (GPS, Bluetooth, ...) could make in many cases o-d flows now observable. The increasing availability of trajectory data sources has provided new opportunities to enhance observability of human mobility and travel patterns between origins and destinations, recently explored by researchers and practitioners, bringing innovation and new research directions on origin-destination (o-d) matrix estimation. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a deep understanding of the opportunities and the limitations of trajectory data to assess its potential for ameliorating the o-d flows estimation/updating problem and for conducting o-d related analysis. The proposed work involves both real trajectory data analysis and laboratory experiments based on synthetic data to investigate the implications of the trajectory data sample distinctive features (e.g. sample representativeness and bias) on demand flows accuracy. Final considerations and results might provide useful guidelines for researchers and practitioners dealing with various types of trajectory data sample and conducting o-d related applications

H-Diplo Article Review 512 on "Britain, European security and freer movement: the development of Britain's CSCE policy 1969–1972."

Felix Jack Grenfell Bozek. “Britain, European security and freer movement: the development of Britain's CSCE policy 1969–1972.” Cold War History 13:4 (November 2013): 439-461. DOI: 10.1080/14682745.2012.756870. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14682745.2012.756870

Forty years later, the signing of the Helsinki Final Act continues to have an impact on European security

The Ukraine crisis dramatically raised the profile of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with the OSCE playing a role in discussions between Russia, Europe and the United States. It also provided an opportunity for the organisation to demonstrate its continued relevance to European security, forty years after the signing of the so called ‘Helsinki Final Act’ in 1975, which served as the foundation for the establishment of the OSCE. Martin D. Brown and Angela Romano provide an overview of the significance of the Final Act, its original aims and how its contents shaped future security developments up to the present day

An Update to State Policy Initiatives to Reduce Teen and Adult Nonmarital Childbearing

Despite a sharp and continuing decline in the rate of teen childbearing and a leveling off in the rate of nonmarital childbearing, the U.S. teen childbearing rate remains high compared with other industrialized nations, while nonmarital childbearing rates are in the mid-range of industrialized countries (Doyle 2002). Both teen and nonmarital childbearing are associated with negative outcomes for mother and child (Maynard 1996; DHHS 1995; Seltzer 2000). These forms of childbearing also bring with them substantial costs to society; the cost of the welfare system is a source of particular concern (Maynard 1996; Moore and Wertheimer 1984). Childbearing by young and unmarried women continues to concern health practitioners, educators, the media, and the public. Indeed, the federal welfare law includes provisions to offer states incentives to discourage teen and nonmarital childbearing. While the period of decline in teen childbearing and the leveling off in nonmarital childbearing rates has coincided with the implementation of welfare waivers and a reformed welfare system, many other factors beside welfare rules may have played a role. They include the following:The vigorous economic expansion, which drew to a close in 2000;The expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit;An emerging consensus that mothers with nonmarital births should work to help support their child;Increased use of new methods of contraception, especially Depo-Provera and Norplant(R);Increased education about HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases;A focus on males as well as females for policies affecting reproductive behavior;Increased focus on child support enforcement; andA rise in conservative attitudes toward premarital sex.Child Trends conducted a survey in 2001 of all 50 states to learn how specific state policies and programs to discourage teen and nonmarital childbearing have changed since the 1999 and 1997 surveys. We summarize our findings after we review the trends in teen and nonmarital childbearing

From Controlled to Automatic Processes and Back Again: The Role of Contextual Features

In cognitive psychology, classical approaches categorize automatic and controlled processes from a dichotomous point of view. Automatic processes are believed to be rigid, whereas controlled processes are thought to be flexible. New theories have softened this dichotomous view. The aim of the present study is to examine the possibility of implementing flexibility in automatic processing through reliance on contextual features. One hundred and twenty subjects (mean age 22.4, SD = 4.2), 60 male and 60 female, participated in this study. An automatic sequence task (with and without contextual features) was used to test flexibility in automatic processing. Results showed that the use of contextual cues can increase flexibility in automatic processes. The results are discussed in light of new theories on softened automaticity