Millimeter-wave center of curvature test for a fast paraboloid

We describe a technique for measuring the surface profile of a radio telescope with a fast paraboloidal primary. The technique uses a sensor, at the center of curvature of the primary, consisting of a millimeter-wave source and an array of receivers to measure the field in the caustic. The sensor is mounted on the telescope enclosure and it moves with the telescope, so the measurements can be used for continuous, slow, closed-loop control of the surface. Sensor decenter and despace errors, due to wind buffeting and thermal deformation of the sensor support, do not compromise the surface measurements because they result in profile errors that are mainly translation, which has no effect on astronomical observations, or tilt and defocus, which can be measured using astronomical sources. If the position of the sensor is known to 20 μm rms, the surface can be measured to ∼1  μm rms at λ=3  mm

Neutral Pion Asymmetries at Intermediate Pseudorapidity in Transversely Polarized p + p Collisions at √ s = 200 GeV

Among the unanswered questions pertaining to nucleon spin physics is the origin of large azimuthal asymmetries (AN ) found in π forward pseudorapidity, η, from high-energy transversely polarized p + p collisions. One possible explanation is offered by twist-3 parton distribution and fragmentation functions. In order to test these and other mechanisms, it is important to study how the asymmetry changes over a range of pion kinematics. The STAR Endcap Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EEMC) is the only RHIC detector with the ability to study AN for π available at intermediate pseudorapidity, 0.8 ≤ η ≤ 2.0. STAR recently published the first measurement of AN for π using data collected in 2006 with collision energy √ STAR collected a high-statistics dataset with transverse beam polarization at √ s = 200 GeV. This offers over a five-fold increase in integrated luminosity relative to the 2006 dataset and a chance to enhance the precision of the previous results. The primary objective of this study is to determine the quality of the data from 2012 and to estimate the final statistical uncertainty.Preliminary results from this study indicate a significant improvement over the 2006 results

Market Regulation and Firm Performance: The Case of Smoking Bans in the UK

This paper analyzes the effects of a ban on smoking in public places upon firms and consumers. Analysis of survey data from public houses finds that the Scottish smoking ban (introduced in March 2006) reduced pub sales and harmed medium run profitability. An event study analysis of the stock market performance of pub-holding companies corroborates the negative effects of the smoking ban on firm performance. We develop a model of public good provision by firms to offer an interpretation of these findings. In the context of smoking, the public good aspect and consumer heterogeneity in preferences regarding smoking appear to be central to the problem. The model allows us to examine the appropriate form of optimal regulation and to study the welfare effect of a smoking ban. The optimal policy response ensures that some pubs be permitted to allow smoking while others are not.regulation; smoking ban; market provision of quality; sales; prices; profitability; stock market performance

Dislocating Applied Theatre: Crossing the Borders between Practice and Context.

Amongst ongoing state programmes of austerity, heightened nationalisms, and a bitter public debate around migration, this research project is positioned within the field of applied theatre. This thesis investigates the ways in which recent examples of applied theatre practice in Yorkshire, that developed in response to the refugee crisis in mainland Europe, were situated in, shaped by, counteracted, contributed to, reproduced and/or resisted contexts of austerity and migration. Through this, the thesis and the research it represents examines the relationship between applied theatre practice and its contexts. First, it develops a critical concept of ‘context within’ for applied theatre, reimagining context as flat, dislocal, and woven through practice. It then seeks to trace the shifting threads that weave between practice and context, and unravel the knotty double binds and points of contradiction on those threads. Alongside this, it draws from critical and cultural theory, with a detailed focus on Gayatri Spivak’s theories of representation, ethical practice, and participation. This research adds to the field of applied theatre by offering a routes and strategies for practitioners and researchers to analyse the relationship that any example of applied theatre practice might have to a chosen context, through original theories of intention, representation, effect and affect, which develop through the analysis of the case study material. It also develops critical thought around what it means to work in an imagined local context, invoking some thinkers largely neglected by applied theatre discourse, to analyse the relationship between the self of the applied theatre practitioner, and the other of the marginalised participant. This research engaged with three arts projects, working on themes of forced migration, in Yorkshire over the course of a year, through an ethnographic process. The first analysis of this case study material focuses on a piece of street theatre that used puppets to share a narrative of a sinking boat of migrants seeking rescue and refuge. The second focuses on the participatory workshops of the second project, which led to the creation of a piece of shadow theatre. The final piece marked the 70th anniversary of the partition and independences of India and Pakistan. Through the case study analysis, I search for the border crossings between context and practice on the four threads of connectivity. The thesis makes claims for the relationship of applied theatre practice to people and place, as enmeshed in unique and dislocal constellations that connect to broader, global networks, and facilitate points of refusal and political effectivity, even amongst a renewed focus on affect in the field. It offers new theories of intention, representation, effect and affect, as intersecting threads on the networks between dislocal constellations of people, place and practice, and contexts. Offering a novel concept of ‘context within’, it also ignites strategies for the field, of ‘working in the local’ and searching for a ‘theatre of little contexts’

An exploration of the diary as a medium: during the 17th and 18th centuries

Looking through the 17th and 18th centuries and specifically the diaries of Samuel Pepys and William Byrd, I aim to explore the medium specificity in the diary as well as its particular moment in manuscript culture. Being written by hand preserves the author, it is the shortest distance of mediation from the brain to the pen. A diary is a book that happened. It transcends time and space. When the diarist dies, he takes on a new life on the shelf in the form of his diary. The best allegory for the diary is a mind palace, a place for sincere self-analysis and the preservation of movement over a lifetime. Think of the diary as a balance scale. Harmony can be achieved through oneness or through exact balance–a private yin to a public yang

Synesthetic Sensor Fusion via a Cross-Wired Artificial Neural Network.

The purpose of this interdisciplinary study was to examine the behavior of two artificial neural networks cross-wired based on the synesthesia cross-wiring hypothesis. Motivation for the study was derived from the study of psychology, robotics, and artificial neural networks, with perceivable application in the domain of mobile autonomous robotics where sensor fusion is a current research topic. This model of synesthetic sensor fusion does not exhibit synesthetic responses. However, it was observed that cross-wiring two independent networks does not change the functionality of the individual networks, but allows the inputs to one network to partially determine the outputs of the other network in some cases. Specifically, there are measurable influences of network A on network B, and yet network B retains its ability to respond independently