Chiral freedom and electroweak symmetry breaking

Antisymmetric tensor fields with chiral couplings to quarks and leptons may induce spontaneous electroweak symmetry breaking in a model without a ``fundamental'' Higgs scalar. No microscopic local mass term for the chiral tensors or ``chirons'' is allowed by the symmetries and our model exhibits only dimensionless couplings. However, the chiral couplings are asymptotically free and therefore generate a mass scale where they grow large. We argue that at this scale mass terms for the chiral tensor fields are generated non-perturbatively - the chirons appear as new massive spin one particles. Furthermore a scalar top-antitop condensate forms, giving mass to the weak gauge bosons and fermions. In this scenario the longstanding gauge hierarchy problem finds a solution similar to the mass generation in QCD. We compute the general form of the effective action for the chiral tensors and sketch several possibilities of their detection at LHC or through precision tests of the electroweak standard model.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figure

PIXEL 2010 - a Resume

The Pixel 2010 conference focused on semiconductor pixel detectors for particle tracking/vertexing as well as for imaging, in particular for synchrotron light sources and XFELs. The big LHC hybrid pixel detectors have impressively started showing their capabilities. X-ray imaging detectors, also using the hybrid pixel technology, have greatly advanced the experimental possibilities for diiffraction experiments. Monolithic or semi-monolithic devices like CMOS active pixels and DEPFET pixels have now reached a state such that complete vertex detectors for RHIC and superKEKB are being built with these technologies. Finally, new advances towards fully monolithic active pixel detectors, featuring full CMOS electronics merged with efficient signal charge collection, exploiting standard CMOS technologies, SOI and/or 3D integration, show the path for the future. This r\'esum\'e attempts to extract the main statements of the results and developments presented at this conference.Comment: 8 pages, 19 figures, conference summar

A lean way of design and production for healthcare construction projects

As a consequence of the lack of solid conceptual foundation, the project management concepts and techniques usually applied within the construction sector are fragmented and have proved to be incapable of solving the complex problems of design management. As a result, healthcare providers have become frustrated with the outcomes such as cost and schedule overruns, accidents, less than expected quality and inadequate functionality. However, an investigation of successful healthcare projects reveals that new approaches have been developed to tackle such problems. This study uses recent data based on six construction projects. The idea is demonstrate how successful projects are dealing with the integration between design, production, and operations, through an appropriate approach to the management of production systems. The paper aims to assist the different parties of the AEC industry to better understand how practices applied into design phase could support the efficiency in the management of production systems

Friedenssicherung durch Minderheitenschutz : Instrumente und Mechanismen der Vereinten Nationen

Ziel des vorliegenden Papers ist die Bewertung der Instrumente und Mechanismen der Vereinten Nationen zum Minderheitenschutz. Das friedliche Zusammenleben von Mehrheiten und Minderheiten innerhalb der Bevölkerung kann, so wird gezeigt, nur durch eine substanzielle Zusammenarbeit der internationalen Staatengemeinschaft erreicht werden. Auf Basis einer Analyse historischer Entwicklungen und mittels exemplarischer Untersuchungen dreier zentraler Minderheitenschutzinstrumente aus dem System der VN wird die Wirksamkeit der Menschenrechtsinstrumente bzw. Mechanismen auf theoretischer sowie legaler Ebene bewertet. Durch eine kritische Bewertung ihrer praktischen Umsetzung werden außerdem Alternativen zum existierenden internationalen Minderheitenschutzsystem aufgezeigt

A lean way of design and production for healthcare construction projects

As a consequence of the lack of solid conceptual foundation, the project management concepts and techniques usually applied within the construction sector are fragmented and have proved to be incapable of solving the complex problems of design management. As a result, healthcare providers have become frustrated with the outcomes such as cost and schedule overruns, accidents, less than expected quality and inadequate functionality. However, an investigation of successful healthcare projects reveals that new approaches have been developed to tackle such problems. This study uses recent data based on six construction projects. The idea is demonstrate how successful projects are dealing with the integration between design, production, and operations, through an appropriate approach to the management of production systems. The paper aims to assist the different parties of the AEC industry to better understand how practices applied into design phase could support the efficiency in the management of production systems

Suggestions to Improve Lean Construction Planning

The Last Planner System® has been one of the most popular lean construction tools that offers a solution to tackle the problems of production management on construction sites. Since its inception almost 20 years ago, construction companies across the world have implemented Last Planner with reported success. However, even as Last Planner was originally designed to address some shortcomings of the CPM method, a particular shortcoming – namely task continuity was not addressed directly. Also, excepting PPC and Reasons for Non Completion charts, there are no explicit visual tools offered by the Last Planner system. On the other hand, Line of Balance based approaches intrinsically support the consideration of task continuity, and offer a basic visual management approach in schedule representation. With some exceptions, Line of Balance is seen as a special technique applicable only in linear or repetitive work based schedules. The authors suggest that i) there is a need for a robust theory of planning and scheduling and ii) there is a need for a more suitable approach that addresses critical aspects of planning and scheduling function for example by integrating Line of Balance and Last Planner to provide a more robust support for construction scheduling

Information management professionals and programs in U.S. architecture firms.

This research study identifies an active population of librarians and information management (IM) professionals and describes library and IM programs in architectural design firm offices in the United States. The levels of education, job titles, and duties of the professionals managing and assisting with the libraries and IM programs are clarified. Designated spaces, budgets, resources, systems, services, evaluation, and communication methods for the libraries and IM programs, are determined. The information needs of management and employees in the architecture firms are specified. The support materials the librarians and IM professionals utilize to administer their library and IM program\u27s resources and services are ascertained. Librarians and IM professionals discuss whether they feel the existing professional literature, training materials, and other sources support their architectural IM work