Nothing Lasts Forever: Environmental Discourses on the Collapse of Past Societies

The study of the collapse of past societies raises many questions for the theory and practice of archaeology. Interest in collapse extends as well into the natural sciences and environmental and sustainability policy. Despite a range of approaches to collapse, the predominant paradigm is environmental collapse, which I argue obscures recognition of the dynamic role of social processes that lie at the heart of human communities. These environmental discourses, together with confusion over terminology and the concepts of collapse, have created widespread aporia about collapse and resulted in the creation of mixed messages about complex historical and social processes

The ZEUS calorimeter first level trigger

The design of the ZEUS Calorimeter First Level Trigger (CFLT) is presented. The CFLT utilizes a pipelined architecture to provide trigger data for a Global First Level Trigger decision 5 μs after each beam crossing, occurring every 96 ns. The charges from 13 K phototubes are summed into 1792 trigger tower pulseheights which are digitized by flash ADCs. The digital values are linearized, stored and used for sums and pattern tests. Summary data is forwarded to the Global First Level Trigger for each crossing 2 μs after the crossing occurred. The CFLT determines the total energy, the total transverse energy, the missing energy, and the energy and number of isolated electrons and muons. It also provides information on the electromagnetic and hadronic energy deposited in various regions of the calorimeter. The CFLT has kept the experimental trigger rate below ≈ 200 Hz at the highest luminosity experienced at HERA. Performance studies suggest that the CFLT will keep the trigger rate below 1 kHz against a rate of proton-beam gas interactions on the order of the 100 kHz expected at design luminosity

\u27Well, Have I Got Cancer or Haven\u27t I?\u27The Psycho‐Social Issues For Women Diagnosed With Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

Objectives  To explore women\u27s experience of being diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in relation to the following: response to the diagnosis; understanding about the diagnosis; satisfaction with information; satisfaction with the level of involvement in treatment decision-making and satisfaction with support services. Design  An explorative descriptive qualitative design was used to facilitate an in-depth exploration of women\u27s experiences. Setting and participants  Five focus group interviews were conducted in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, involving 26 women diagnosed with DCIS. Results  DCIS is a non-invasive breast disease, that in most cases will not recur if treated, and cannot of itself metastasize to other parts of the body. However, this study found that women were confused about whether or not they had cancer that could result in death. Women\u27s confusion was compounded by the use of the term ‘carcinoma’ and by the recommendation of treatments such as mastectomy. Women\u27s confusion was not alleviated by appropriate information, with most women reporting dissatisfaction with the information they received specifically about DCIS. Conclusions  This study identifies that a diagnosis of DCIS has a significant psychological impact on women. The communication challenges highlighted in this study are not only relevant to DCIS but to any other disease in which the natural history is uncertain and the evidence about treatment effectiveness is still emerging. Further research is needed in areas such as DCIS to explore the difficulties experienced in doctor–patient communication and their impact on patient outcomes, and how to optimize doctor–patient communication