265 research outputs found
Labour Market and Social Policy in Italy: Challenges and Changes. Bertelsmann Policy Brief #2016/02
vEight years after the outbreak of the financial crisis, Italy has still to cope with and
overcome a plethora of economic and social challenges. On top of this, it faces an
unfavourable demographic structure and severe disparities between its northern and
southern regions. Some promising reforms have recently been enacted, specifically
targeting poverty and social exclusion. However, much more remains to be done on
the way towards greater economic stability and widely shared prosperity
RTLola Cleared for Take-Off: Monitoring Autonomous Aircraft
The autonomous control of unmanned aircraft is a highly safety-critical
domain with great economic potential in a wide range of application areas,
including logistics, agriculture, civil engineering, and disaster recovery. We
report on the development of a dynamic monitoring framework for the DLR ARTIS
(Autonomous Rotorcraft Testbed for Intelligent Systems) family of unmanned
aircraft based on the formal specification language RTLola. RTLola is a
stream-based specification language for real-time properties. An RTLola
specification of hazardous situations and system failures is statically
analyzed in terms of consistency and resource usage and then automatically
translated into an FPGA-based monitor. Our approach leads to highly efficient,
parallelized monitors with formal guarantees on the noninterference of the
monitor with the normal operation of the autonomous system
Measuring the impact of student success retention initiatives for engineering students at a private research university
IntroductionStudent success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is a national concern. To increase engineering retention and graduation rates at a small private institution, a university council developed a binary classifier to identify high-risk students and proposed interventions that included decoupling first-year Physics and Calculus courses, support in introductory Calculus, and Spatial Visualization (SV) training. This paper aims to validate the binary classifier used to identify the under-prepared students entering their first year and assess the impact of the interventions. We provide a comparative analysis of student success metrics for high-risk engineering students across a decade of cohorts, including 5 years before (2006–2010) and 5 years after (2011–2015) implementation of intentional strategies.MethodsWe validated the binary classifier using an accuracy measure and Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC). We used the 2-population proportion test to compare STEM retention and 4- and 6-year graduation rates of High-Risk engineering students before and after interventions and compare student performance in early foundation STEM courses across the same time frame.ResultsThe binary classification model identified High-Risk students with an accuracy of 63–70% and an MCC of +0.28 to +0.30. In addition, we found statistically significant improvement (p < 0.001) in the STEM retention rates, 6-year graduation rates, and first part of Physics, Calculus, and Chemistry sequences after the interventions.DiscussionThe methodology and strategies presented may provide effective guidance for institutions seeking to improve the overall performance of undergraduate students who otherwise might struggle in their first-year engineering curriculum
Measurement of the branching ratio of the decay
From the 2002 data taking with a neutral kaon beam extracted from the
CERN-SPS, the NA48/1 experiment observed 97 candidates with a background contamination of events.
From this sample, the BR() is measured to be
Helicity Analysis of Semileptonic Hyperon Decays Including Lepton Mass Effects
Using the helicity method we derive complete formulas for the joint angular
decay distributions occurring in semileptonic hyperon decays including lepton
mass and polarization effects. Compared to the traditional covariant
calculation the helicity method allows one to organize the calculation of the
angular decay distributions in a very compact and efficient way. In the
helicity method the angular analysis is of cascade type, i.e. each decay in the
decay chain is analyzed in the respective rest system of that particle. Such an
approach is ideally suited as input for a Monte Carlo event generation program.
As a specific example we take the decay () followed by the nonleptonic decay for which we show a few examples of decay distributions which are
generated from a Monte Carlo program based on the formulas presented in this
paper. All the results of this paper are also applicable to the semileptonic
and nonleptonic decays of ground state charm and bottom baryons, and to the
decays of the top quark.Comment: Published version. 40 pages, 11 figures included in the text. Typos
corrected, comments added, references added and update
Observation of the rare decay K_S -> pi^0mu^+mu^-
A search for the decay K_S -> pi^0mu^+mu^- has been made by the NA48/1
Collaboration at the CERN SPS accelerator. The data were collected during 2002
with a high-intensity K_S beam. Six events were found with a background
expectation of 0.22^+0.18_-0.11 event. Using a vector matrix element and unit
form factor, the measured branching ratio is B(K_S ->
pi^0mu^+mu^-)=[2.9^+1.5_-1.2(stat)+/-0.2(syst)]x10^{-9}.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. To be published in Physics Letters
First observation and branching fraction and decay parameter measurements of the weak radiative decay Xi0 --> Lambda e+e-
The weak radiative decay Xi0 --> Lambda e+e- has been detected for the first
time. We find 412 candidates in the signal region, with an estimated background
of 15 +/- 5 events. We determine the branching fraction B(Xi0 --> Lambda e+e-)
= [7.6 +/- 0.4(stat) +/- 0.4(syst) +/- 0.2(norm)] x 10^{-6}, consistent with an
internal bremsstrahlung process, and the decay asymmetry parameter
alpha_{XiLambdaee} = -0.8 +/- 0.2, consistent with that of Xi0 --> Lambda
gamma. The charge conjugate reaction Xi0_bar --> Lambda_bar e+e- has also been
observed.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables; revised: 19 pages, 4 figures, 4
tables, after reviewers' comments: 1 figure removed, 1 figure corrected,
minor editorial changes; to be published in Phys. Lett.
ChPT tests at the NA48 and NA62 experiments at CERN
The NA48/2 Collaboration at CERN has accumulated unprecedented statistics of
rare kaon decays in the Ke4 modes: Ke4(+-) ()
and Ke4(00) () with nearly one percent
background contamination. The detailed study of form factors and branching
rates, based on these data, has been completed recently. The results brings new
inputs to low energy strong interactions description and tests of Chiral
Perturbation Theory (ChPT) and lattice QCD calculations. In particular, new
data support the ChPT prediction for a cusp in the invariant mass
spectrum at the two charged pions threshold for Ke4(00) decay. New final
results from an analysis of about 400 rare
decay candidates collected by the NA48/2 and NA62 experiments at CERN during
low intensity runs with minimum bias trigger configurations are presented. The
results include a model-independent decay rate measurement and fits to ChPT
description.Comment: XIIth International Conference on Heavy Quarks and Leptons 2014,
Mainz, German
Recent NA48/2 and NA62 results
The NA48/2 Collaboration at CERN has accumulated and analysed unprecedented
statistics of rare kaon decays in the modes: () and ()
with nearly one percent background contamination. It leads to the improved
measurement of branching fractions and detailed form factor studies. New final
results from the analysis of 381 rare decay
candidates collected by the NA48/2 and NA62 experiments at CERN are presented.
The results include a decay rate measurement and fits to Chiral Perturbation
Theory (ChPT) description.Comment: Prepared for the Proceedings of "Moriond QCD and High Energy
Interactions. March 22-29 2014." conferenc
First Observation and Measurement of the Decay K+- -> pi+- e+ e- gamma
Using the full data set of the NA48/2 experiment, the decay K+- -> pi+- e+ e-
gamma is observed for the first time, selecting 120 candidates with 7.3 +- 1.7
estimated background events. With K+- -> pi+- pi0D as normalisation channel,
the branching ratio is determined in a model-independent way to be Br(K+- ->
pi+- e+ e- gamma, m_eegamma > 260 MeV/c^2) = (1.19 +- 0.12_stat +- 0.04_syst) x
10^-8. This measured value and the spectrum of the e+ e- gamma invariant mass
allow a comparison with predictions of Chiral Perturbation Theory.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys.Lett.
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