Particle production processes in high energy physics

Imperial Users onl

Sent to Coventry: the role played by social networks in the settlement of dispersed Congolese asylum seekers

The interplay between the UK’s asylum policies and the response by asylum seekers in cultivating friendship ties and social networks is the focus of this thesis. The importance of this research lies in how it demonstrates the way friendship ties develop among dispersed asylum seekers and how they are integral in bridging the void between asylum legislation and the refugee experience. As a result of asylum policies and their implementation, a liminal space emerges which asylum seekers are forced to inhabit while awaiting a decision on their asylum claim. This research is based on a framework that identifies how UK asylum policy shapes this liminal space and its relationship to the refugee experience. Building on existing academic research focused on contrasting bridges which offer asylum seekers a means of mediating passage, this thesis presents friendship ties and social networks as highly adaptable mechanisms. Such mechanisms function alongside both state-supported structures and RCOs but, more importantly, compensate for the shortcomings of both in terms of service provision. Based in Coventry, a dispersal city, the research provides an original angle, focusing on Congolese asylum seekers who have never previously formed the basis of study in the UK. It shows how asylum seekers’ daily lives are affected by the asylum regime and how they develop friendship ties and social networks as a means of mitigating the difficulties of living in the UK. By providing rich and nuanced accounts of asylum seekers friendship development---the dynamics and longevity of these friendships---the research puts the experiences of asylum seekers within the context of the refugee experience and presents how the imposition of dispersal forces asylum seekers to develop alternate strategies to survive. These strategies are led by key individuals who support others in forming, developing and mobilising social networks and social capital

Modelling airlift photobioreactors for algal bioenergy, using Scenedesmus sp. as the model species

Includes bibliographical referencesRising global energy demands and global warming concerns from fossil derived fuels are two major problems affecting future generations. Bioenergy from algae offers a part solution that is both attractive and sustainable, by supplementing energy demands from a renewable energy source (the sun) and consuming carbon dioxide in the process. Bioenergy from algae is a proven concept (e.g algal biodiesel), yet the low productivities and high costs of existing processes limit their ability to make a significant contribution. Algae production occurs in specially designed photobioreactors, which are typically light limited. Hence, optimization of light supply to algae is key. A mathematical model of a photobioreactor is useful to aid in the design and optimization process. A model enables the prediction of productivities as a function of changing model inputs and hence allows optima to be predicted. While these are typically validated experimentally, this greatly reduces the number of experiments required, thereby saving cost and time. For this work, the production of algal biodiesel using airlift photobioreactors was used as the case study for the model development. Scenedesmus sp. was chosen as the model species owing to its comparatively high lipid productivity, a desirable trait for the production of biofuels. Although many parameters affect algal growth and lipid productivity, this project focused on one critical parameter, that of light provision

The Search for Competence: Implications for Academe

Professor Francis Allen states succinctly the problem which faces academic lawyers in these times of rapid and dramatic change: ... law schools in Canada and the United States are undergoing an identity crisis as they attempt to provide broad interdisciplinary and humanistic education and, at the same time, meet the demands for training in legal skills.\u27 The problem is not new. The statement simply reflects the harsh reality of Canadian legal education: the natural tensions which result from the interdependence of university programs in law and the later processes of admission and continuing education under the jurisdiction of governing bodies. But in describing the situation as a crisis Professor Allen emphasizes the fact that a point has been reached where action is required

A Tale of the Unknown Unknowns

The site of Warren Field in Scotland revealed two unusual and enigmatic features; an alignment of pits and a large, rectangular feature interpreted as a timber building. Excavations confirmed that the timber structure was an early Neolithic building and that the pits had been in use from the Mesolithic. This report details the excavations and reveals that the hall was associated with the storage and or consumption of cereals, including bread wheat, and pollen evidence suggests that the hall may have been part of a larger area of activity involving cereal cultivation and processing. The pits are fully documented and environmental evidence sheds light on the surrounding landscape

The size, density, and formation of the Orcus-Vanth system in the Kuiper belt

The Kuiper belt object Orcus and its satellite Vanth form an unusual system in the Kuiper belt. Orcus is amongst the largest objects known in the Kuiper belt, but the relative size of Vanth is much larger than that of the tiny satellites of the other large objects. From Hubble Space Telescope observations we find that Orcus and Vanth have different visible colors and that Vanth does not share the water ice absorption feature seen in the infrared spectrum of Orcus. We also find that Vanth has a nearly face-on circular orbit with a period of 9.5393 +-0.0001 days and semimajor axis of 8980+-20 km, implying a system mass of 6.32+- 0.01 X 10^20 kg or 3.8% the mass of dwarf planet Eris. From Spitzer Space Telescope observations we find that the thermal emission is consistent with a single body with diameter 940+-70 km and a geometric albedo of 0.28+-0.04. Assuming equal densities and albedos, this measurements implies sizes of Orcus and Vanth of 900 and 280 km, respectively, and a mass ratio of 33. Assuming a factor of 2 lower albedo for the non-icy Vanth, however, implies sizes of 820 and 640 km and a mass ratio of 2. The measured density depends on the assumed albedo ratio of the two objects but is approximately 1.5+-0.3 g cm^-3$, midway between typical densities measured for larger and for smaller objects. The orbit and mass ratio is consistent with formation from a giant impact and subsequent outward tidal evolution and even consistent with the system having now achieved a double synchronous state. The system can equally well be explained, however, by initial eccentric capture, Kozai cycling which increases the eccentricity and decreases the pericenter of the orbit of Vanth, and subsequent tidal evolution inward.Comment: Submitted to A

A Tale of the Unknown Unknowns

The site of Warren Field in Scotland revealed two unusual and enigmatic features; an alignment of pits and a large, rectangular feature interpreted as a timber building. Excavations confirmed that the timber structure was an early Neolithic building and that the pits had been in use from the Mesolithic. This report details the excavations and reveals that the hall was associated with the storage and or consumption of cereals, including bread wheat, and pollen evidence suggests that the hall may have been part of a larger area of activity involving cereal cultivation and processing. The pits are fully documented and environmental evidence sheds light on the surrounding landscape

Human detection and tracking through temporal feature recognition

The ability to accurately track objects of interest – particularly humans – is of great importance in the fields of security and surveillance. In such scenarios, t he application of accurate, automated human tracking offers benefits over manual supervision. In this paper, recent efforts made to investigate the improvement of automated human detection and tracking techniques through the recognition of person-specific time-varying signatures in thermal video are detailed. A robust human detection algorithm is developed to aid the initialisation stage of a state-of-the art existing tracking algorithm. In addition, coupled with the spatial tracking methods present in this algorithm, the inclusion of temporal signature recognition in the tracking process is shown to improve human tracking results