4,009 research outputs found
Study of pollution in the El Jadida-Safi Atlantic coastal zone (Morocco) by using PIXE and SSNTD methods
In this work PIXE experiments were performed for measuring heavy and light
elements (ranging from aluminium to lead) concentrations inside various
polluted and unpolluted soils as well as liquid samples collected from
different phosphate factory sewers in the El Jadida-Safi Atlantic coastal
region (Morocco). In addition, uranium (238U) and thorium (232Th) contents were
evaluated in the same samples studied by using CR-39 and LR-115 type II solid
state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs). The influence of the phosphate industry
wastes on the concentrations of both radioactive and non-radioactive elements
of the samples studied was investigated
Charged particle jet measurements with the ALICE experiment in proton-proton collisions at the LHC
We present preliminary results of measurements of charged particle jet
properties in proton-proton collisions at = 7 TeV using the ALICE
detector. Jets are reconstructed using and SISCone jet
finding algorithms with resolution parameter in the range of transverse
momentum from 20 to 100 GeV/ in the midrapidity region
(\mid\eta\mid\textless 0.5). The uncorrected charged jet spectra obtained
using the three different jet finders show good agreement. The data are
compared to predictions from PYTHIA-Perugia0, PYTHIA-Perugia2011, and PHOJET.
The mean charged particle multiplicity in leading jets increases with
increasing jet and is consistent with model predictions. The radial
distributions of transverse momentum about the jet direction and the
distributions of the average radius containing 80% of the total jet
found in the jet cone ( in this analysis), indicate that high jets are more collimated than low jets.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, Conference Proceedings submitted for the 28th
Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, Puerto Rico, April 7-14, 201
Resolved photon and multi-component model for p and scattering at high energies
We generalize our previous model for scattering to scattering. In the latter case the number of components naturally
grows. When using the model parameters from our previous analysis
the model cross section for scattering is larger than the
corresponding LEP2 experimental data by more than a factor of two. However,
performing a new simultaneous fit to and total
cross section we can find an optimal set of parameters to describe both
processes. We propose new measures of factorization breaking for collisions and present results for our new model.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure
Phenomenology of Mirror Fermions in the Littlest Higgs Model with T-Parity
Little Higgs models are an interesting alternative to explain electroweak
symmetry breaking without fine-tuning. Supplemented with a discrete symmetry
(T-parity) constraints from electroweak precision data are naturally evaded and
also a viable dark matter candidate is obtained. T-parity implies the existence
of new (mirror) fermions in addition to the heavy gauge bosons of the little
Higgs models. In this paper we consider the effects of the mirror fermions on
the phenomenology of the littlest Higgs model with T-parity at the LHC. We
study the most promising production channels and decay chains for the new
particles. We find that the mirror fermions have a large impact on the
magnitude of signal rates and on the new physics signatures. Realistic
background estimates are given.Comment: 13 p
The limits of social class in explaining ethnic gaps in educational attainment
This paper reports an analysis of the educational attainment and progress between age 11 and age 14 of over 14,500 students from the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE). The mean attainment gap in national tests at age 14 between White British and several ethnic minority groups were large, more than three times the size of the gender gap, but at the same time only about one-third of the size of the social class gap. Socio-economic variables could account for the attainment gaps for Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students, but not for Black Caribbean students. Further controls for parental and student attitudes, expectations and behaviours indicated minority ethnic groups were on average more advantaged on these measures than White British students, but this was not reflected proportionately in their levels of attainment. Black Caribbean students were distinctive as the only group making less progress than White British students between age 11 and 14 and this could not be accounted for by any of the measured contextual variables. Possible explanations for the White British-Black Caribbean gap are considered
From social rights to the market: neo-liberalism and the knowledge economy
Public higher education has a long history, with its growth associated with mass higher education and the extension of a social right to education from secondary schooling to university education. Following the rise in student numbers since the 1970s, the aspiration to higher education has been universalized, although opportunities remain structured by social background. This paper looks at changing policies for higher education in the UK and the emergence of a neoliberal knowledge regime. This subordinates higher education to the market and shifts the burden of paying for degree courses onto students. It seeks to stratify institutions and extend the role of for-profit providers. From a role in the amelioration of social inequality, universities are now asked to participate actively in the widening inequalities associated with a neoliberal global market order
Theory and practice in Finnish teacher education : a rhetorical analysis of changing values from the 1960s to the present day
Our aim in this article is to examine the relationship between theory and practice in Finnish teacher education from the 1960s to the present. We identify four different periods to represent this relationship based on our analysis of national committee and evaluation reports. Theory and practice gradually converged, culminating in a research-based agenda that reflects the current situation. This relationship between theory and practice also reflects the ideal teacher of different times and what a teacher's working orientation should be. We use rhetorical analysis and the concept of a 'philosophical pair' introduced by Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca to interpret this development.Peer reviewe
Key worker services for disabled children: what characteristics of services lead to better outcomes for children and families?
Background: Research has shown that families of disabled children who have a key worker benefit from this service and recent policy initiatives emphasize the importance of such services. However, research is lacking on which characteristics of key worker schemes for disabled children are related to better outcomes for families. Methods: A postal questionnaire was completed by 189 parents with disabled children who were receiving a service in seven key worker schemes in England and Wales. Path analysis was used to investigate associations between characteristics of the services and outcomes for families (satisfaction with the service, impact of key worker on quality of life, parent unmet need, child unmet need). Results: The four path models showed that key workers carrying out more aspects of the key worker role, appropriate amounts of contact with key workers, regular training, supervision and peer support for key workers, and having a dedicated service manager and a clear job description for key workers were associated with better outcomes for families. Characteristics of services had only a small impact on child unmet need, suggesting that other aspects of services were affecting child unmet need. Conclusions: Implications for policy and practice are discussed, including the need for regular training, supervision and peer support for key workers and negotiated time and resources for them to carry out the role. These influence the extent to which key workers carry out all aspects of the key worker's role and their amount of contact with families, which in turn impact on outcomes
The contribution of financial entities to the sustainable development through the reporting of corporate social responsibility information
This paper aims at examining the relationship between board composition and corporate
social responsibility (CSR) of a sample of listed financial entities, discussing the driving
reasons of these entities to disclose CSR information. We hypothesize that there is a positive
association between outside (institutional and independent directors) and female directors and
CSR disclosure and a negative relationship between inside directors and CSR reporting. Our
findings provide evidence that the proportions of independent directors and female directors
on boards encourage CSR disclosure. Moreover, the results also show that the proportions of
inside directors and institutional directors on boards do not have influence on CSR reporting.
Thus, our evidence suggests that board attributes such as independent and female directors
encourage financial entities to report CSR matters, showing the effectiveness of these two
corporate governance mechanisms. The paper shed light on the influence of board structure of
financial entities on CSR disclosure. Therefore, this study contributes to past research by
providing an index to measure CSR disclosure of financial entities and the importance of the
distinction between outside and inside directors
Teachers as leaders in a knowledge society: encouraging signs of a new professionalism
[Abstract]: Challenges confronting schools worldwide are greater than ever,and, likewise, many teachers possess capabilities, talents, and formal credentials more sophisticated than ever. However, the responsibility and authority accorded
to teachers have not grown significantly, nor has the image of teaching as a profession advanced significantly. The question becomes, what are the implications for the image and status of the teaching profession as the concept of knowledge society takes a firm hold in the industrialized world? This article addresses the philosophical underpinnings of teacher leadership manifested in case studies where schools sought to achieve the generation of new knowledge as part of a process of whole-school revitalization. Specifically, this article reports on Australian research that has illuminated the work of teacher leaders engaged in the IDEAS project, a joint school revitalization initiative of the University
of Southern Queensland and the Queensland Department of Education and the Arts
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