Underlying Event Studies at CDF

We present recent studies about the `underlying event' which originates mostly from soft spectator interactions. First Run II data results are compared to published Run I results and to QCD Monte Carlo models.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, Presented at 11th International Workshop on Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS 2003), St. Petersburg, Russia, 23-27 Apr 200

H→ℓℓ′H\to \ell\ell' in the Simplest Little Higgs Model

Little Higgs Models are promising constructs to solve the hierarchy problem affecting the Higgs boson mass for generic new physics. However, their preservation of lepton universality forbids them to account for the $H\to\tau\mu$ CMS hint and at the same time respect (as they do) the severe limits on $H\to\mu e$ inherited from the non-observation of $\mu\to e\gamma$. We compute the predictions of the Simplest Little Higgs Model for the $H\to \ell\ell'$ decays and conclude that the measurement of any of these decays at LHC (even with a much smaller rate than currently hinted) would, under reasonable assumptions, disfavor this model. This result is consistent with our earlier observation of very suppressed lepton flavor violating semileptonic tau decays within this model.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. v2: Impact of low-energy restrictions revised with two figures added. Minor rewriting and references updated. v3: Three heavy neutrino scenario included. Version accepted by PR

TOTEM: The experiment to measure the total proton-proton cross section at LHC

The current large uncertainty on the extrapolation of the proton-proton total cross section at the LHC energy will be resolved by the precise measurement by the TOTEM experiment. Its accurate studies on the basic properties of proton-proton collisions at the maximum accelerator energy could provide a significant contribution to the understanding of cosmic ray physics.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, Proceedings XIV International Symposium on Very High Energy Cosmic Ray Interactions (ISVHECRI 2006), Weihai, China, August 15-22, 200

A new view into political business cycles: Household expenditures in Albania

Over the last decades, there has been plenty of research and articles on Political Business Cycles (PBC), aiming at analyzing and explaining the use of fiscal and monetary instruments to stimulate economic growth before elections, to impress the voters. Following other researches for PBC in Albania, in which there was found clear evidence of fiscal expansion before elections, but no significant changes in inflation and GDP, as theory predicts, we analyze the peoples' expectations related to elections outcomes, and the way these expectations influence their decisions to spend, and consequently the macroeconomic variables. --Political Business Cycle,Household Behaviour,Albanian

The CDF MiniPlug Calorimeters

Two MiniPlug calorimeters, designed to measure the energy and lateral position of particles in the (forward) pseudorapidity region of $3.6<|\eta|<5.2$ of the CDF detector, have been recently installed as part of the Run II CDF upgrade at the Tevatron $\bar pp$ collider. They consist of lead/liquid scintillator read out by wavelength shifting fibers arranged in a pixel-type towerless geometry suitable for `calorimetric tracking'. The design concept, the prototype performance and the final design of the MiniPlugs are here described. A recent cosmic ray test resulted in a light yield of approximately 100 pe/MIP, which exceeds our design requirements.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures; contribution to DPF200

A Scintillator Tile-Fiber Preshower Detector for the CDF Central Calorimeter

The front face of the CDF central calorimeter is being equipped with a new Preshower detector, based on scintillator tiles read out by WLS fibers, in order to cope with the luminosity increase provided by the Main Injector during the Tevatron's Run II data taking. A light yield of about 40 pe/MIP at the tile exit was obtained, exceeding the design requirements.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figures. Proceedings of `9th Topical Seminar on Innovative Particle and Radiation Detectors', 23-26 May 2004, Siena, Ital

Practical Guidelines and Major Issues in Information Security Management Systems Implementations

Information is a major asset for any organization, to public or private. Threatsto information and information handling resources are getting more sophisticatedcontinuously. Also, regulatory requirements for data and system protection areincreasing in number as well as complexity. There are number of frameworks todeal with these issues systematically and effectively. One of such framework is theISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS), which provides aframework for organizations to protect themselves against internal and externalthreats as well as natural disasters. The ISMS provides guidelines on how tomanage information processing, storage and transmission with appropriate controlsin order to avoid any security breaches. ISMS considers people, policies and ITtechnology as major categories of a security system. An organizations personal hasto be trained for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing,maintaining and continuous improving ISMS. Implementation of ISMS requiresrole-model attitude from the top management. Without a visionary and supportiveleadership, the ISMS cannot be used to properly identify and address the risks for anorganization. The practices show that an effective ISMS operation may requiremajor changes to some routine work practices. Clear direction from seniormanagers as well as coordination/support among team members is crucial for asuccessful ISMS project execution. In this work, some practical guidelines forsuccessful, cost effective and functional ISMS implementation will be provided.Also, observations gathered from years of auditing trails and lessons obtainedthrough practical applications will be presented. Major considerations for thesuccess/failure of security systems shall be discussed. It is concluded that security ispreparation of adequate policies/procedures/instructions and the support of wellinformed/diligent people, rather than utilization of sophisticated high-technologies.The importance of human factor for the success such management systems will beexemplified with real-life cases