Prisoners’ Families’ Research: Developments, Debates and Directions

After many years of relative obscurity, research on prisoners’ families has gained significant momentum. It has expanded from case-oriented descriptive analyses of family experiences to longitudinal studies of child and family development and even macro analyses of the effects on communities in societies of mass incarceration. Now the field engages multi-disciplinary and international interest although it arguably still remains on the periphery of mainstream criminological, psychological and sociological research agendas. This chapter discusses developments in prisoners’ families’ research and its positioning in academia and practice. It does not aim to provide an all-encompassing review of the literature rather it will offer some reflections on how and why the field has developed as it has and on its future directions. The chapter is divided into three parts. The first discusses reasons for the historically small body of research on prisoners’ families and for the growth in research interest over the past two decades. The second analyses patterns and shifts in the focus of research studies and considers how the field has been shaped by intersecting disciplinary interests of psychology, sociology, criminology and socio-legal studies. The final part reflects on substantive and ethical issues that are likely to shape the direction of prisoners’ families’ research in the future

Calibration of the CMS Drift Tube Chambers and Measurement of the Drift Velocity with Cosmic Rays

Peer reviewe

Measurement of the charge ratio of atmospheric muons with the CMS detector

This is the pre-print version of this Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 ElsevierWe present a measurement of the ratio of positive to negative muon fluxes from cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere, using data collected by the CMS detector both at ground level and in the underground experimental cavern at the CERN LHC. Muons were detected in the momentum range from 5 GeV/c to 1 TeV/c. The surface flux ratio is measured to be 1.2766 \pm 0.0032(stat.) \pm 0.0032 (syst.), independent of the muon momentum, below 100 GeV/c. This is the most precise measurement to date. At higher momenta the data are consistent with an increase of the charge ratio, in agreement with cosmic ray shower models and compatible with previous measurements by deep-underground experiments

Observation of a new Xi(b) baryon

The first observation of a new b baryon via its strong decay into Xi(b)^- pi^+ (plus charge conjugates) is reported. The measurement uses a data sample of pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.3 inverse femtobarns. The known Xi(b)^- baryon is reconstructed via the decay chain Xi(b)^- to J/psi Xi^- to mu^+ mu^- Lambda^0 pi^-, with Lambda^0 to p pi^-. A peak is observed in the distribution of the difference between the mass of the Xi(b)^- pi^+ system and the sum of the masses of the Xi(b)^- and pi^+, with a significance exceeding five standard deviations. The mass difference of the peak is 14.84 +/- 0.74 (stat.) +/- 0.28 (syst.) MeV. The new state most likely corresponds to the J^P=3/2^+ companion of the Xi(b).Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Measurements of inclusive W and Z cross sections in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

This is the pre-print version of the Published Article, which can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 Springer VerlagMeasurements of inclusive W and Z boson production cross sections in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV are presented, based on 2.9 inverse picobarns of data recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC. The measurements, performed in the electron and muon decay channels, are combined to give sigma(pp to WX) times B(W to muon or electron + neutrino) = 9.95 \pm 0.07(stat.) \pm 0.28(syst.) \pm 1.09(lumi.) nb and sigma(pp to ZX) times B(Z to oppositely charged muon or electron pairs) = 0.931 \pm 0.026(stat.) \pm 0.023(syst.) \pm 0.102(lumi.) nb. Theoretical predictions, calculated at the next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD using recent parton distribution functions, are in agreement with the measured cross sections. Ratios of cross sections, which incur an experimental systematic uncertainty of less than 4%, are also reported

New Developments in Cholinergic Imaging in Alzheimer and Lewy Body Disorders

© 2020, This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply. Purpose of Review: This paper aims to review novel trends in cholinergic neuroimaging in Alzheimer and Lewy body parkinsonian disorders. Recent Findings: The spectrum of cholinergic imaging is expanding with the availability of spatially more precise radioligands that allow assessment of previously less recognized subcortical and cortical structures with more dense cholinergic innervation. In addition, advances in MRI techniques now allow quantitative structural or functional assessment of both the cholinergic forebrain and the pedunculopontine nucleus, which may serve as non-invasive prognostic predictors. Multimodal imaging approaches, such as PET-MRI or multiligand PET, offer new insights into the dynamic and interactive roles of the cholinergic system at both local and larger-scale neural network levels. Summary: Our understanding of the heterogeneous roles of the cholinergic system in age-related diseases is evolving. Multimodal imaging approaches that provide complimentary views of the cholinergic system will be necessary to shed light on the impact of cholinergic degeneration on regional and large-scale neural networks that underpin clinical symptom manifestation in neurodegeneration

Search for B → μ μ And B0 → μ+ μ- Decays

A search for the rare decays B → μ μ and B → μ μ is performed in pp collisions at ps = 7TeV, with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 fb collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. In both decays, the number of events observed after all selection requirements is consistent with the expectation from background plus standard model signal predictions. The resulting upper limits on the branching fractions are B(B → μ μ-) < 7:7 × 10 and B(B → μ μ ) < 1:8 × 10 at 95% confidence level

Measurement of dijet angular distributions and search for quark compositeness in pp collisions at √s=7TeV

Dijet angular distributions are measured over a wide range of dijet invariant masses in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV, at the CERN LHC. The event sample, recorded with the CMS detector, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb(-1). The data are found to be in good agreement with the predictions of perturbative QCD, and yield no evidence of quark compositeness. With a modified frequentist approach, a lower limit on the contact interaction scale for left-handed quarks of Lambda(+) = 5.6 TeV (Lambda(-) = 6.7 TeV) for destructive (constructive) interference is obtained at the 95% confidence level

Families and Imprisonment Research Study, 2018-2019

The Families and Imprisonment Research Study (FAIR) comprises the third wave of data collection from a prospective longitudinal mixed methods study of families who experienced paternal imprisonment 6-8 years previously (at the first wave of data collection). Interviews, including standardised measures, were held with 32 fathers, 36 mothers and 42 children from 41 families, to capture post-release experiences and outcomes. Topics covered included accommodation; employment/education/training; social relationships; family life; child adjustment; health; leisure; community involvement; criminal activity; coping; support; effects of imprisonment and goals/hopes for the future. Data are included for 16 fathers and 27 mothers who consented to data sharing. Interview data from children are not included, however parental reports on 71 children are available in the parents' data files. Consent: For the parents and children aged over 18, consent was sought verbally and confirmed by signing a written consent form. Consent could be given for any or all of the following: taking part in the study; being audio recorded and sharing data via UKDS. For the children aged under 18, parental consent was sought initially from the primary caregiver and confirmed via their own consent form. The children themselves were then asked for consent to take part (and/or be audio recorded) and signed or stamped their own consent form. Age-appropriate language and documentation were used for different age groups (4-7; 8-11 and 12-17). Data Entry: Data were entered into SPSS by four members of the research team. Quantitative data consist of participant responses from a pre-defined list of questions. Qualitative data consist of notes made by the interviewer from participant responses to open-ended questions. Following initial data entry, the data were cleaned by two members of the research team who resolved coding inconsistencies, identified and amended gaps/errors and cross-checked each other's work. Anonymisation: Each participant has a unique ID number that was used in replacement of their name in all documentation and data files except the database used to manage participant details and the consent forms, which contained both unique ID numbers and names/signatures. In the qualitative responses within the SPSS files, if participants referred to another research participant (e.g. a mother referring to her child), this was substituted with the respective participant’s own unique ID number. This helped to keep track of family relationships. If participants referred to an individual not in the study, the individual’s name was substituted for their relationship to the participant (e.g. [brother], [friend]). Due to the sensitivity of the research topic, locations were also anonymised. Current places of imprisonment or residence were substituted with [current prison] and [current location] respectively. Previous places of imprisonment/residence were substituted in chronological order (e.g. [previouslocation1], [previous location2]. Data were not originally entered in an anonymised form for analytical reasons. Anonymisation of the data files was first undertaken by a research assistant and then cross-checked by senior members of the research team.The proposed research investigated processes of resilience in families who experienced the imprisonment of the father. Building on a unique data set from an earlier longitudinal study which gathered information from prisoners, their (ex)partners and children during and after imprisonment, this study examined individual and family-wide coping processes and experiences of social (re)integration approximately six years after the father's release from prison. In contrast to much existing research, the study put particular emphasis on protective functions of family relationships and support networks in the face of multiple risks to well-being (e.g. criminal behaviour, health problems, alcohol and drug misuse, school or employment problems, and social disintegration). The data have been used in part to further develop a family-oriented process model of resilience that can inform social policy and practice.</p