Top Quark Physics

A review is presented of the current experimental status of the top quark sector of the standard model. The measurements summarized include searches for electroweak single top production, the latest results on the ttbar production cross section, and searches for new physics in top quark production and decay. In addition, the recent measurement of the top quark mass to a precision of 0.7% is highlightedComment: 10 pages, 10 figures. Proceedings for 34th International Conference on High Energy Physic

Giving the customer a voice: A study of market research methods and their perceived effectiveness in NPD

There is a widely held view that a lack of, “…customer understanding,” is one of the main reasons for product failure (Eliashberg et al., 1997, p. 219). This is despite the fact that new product development (NPD) is a crucial business process for many companies. The importance of integrating the voice of the customer (VoC) through market research is well documented (Davis, 1993; Mullins and Sutherland, 1998; Cooper et al., 2002; Flint, 2002; Davilla et al., 2006; Cooper and Edgett, 2008; Cooper and Dreher, 2010; Goffin and Mitchell, 2010). However, not all research methods are well received, for example there are studies that have strongly criticized focus groups, interviews and surveys (e.g. Ulwick, 2002; Goffin et al, 2010; Sandberg, 2002). In particular, a point is made that, “…traditional market research and development approaches proved to be particularly ill-suited to breakthrough products” (Deszca et al, 2010, p613). Therefore, in situations where traditional techniques—interviews and focus groups—are ineffective, the question is which market research techniques are appropriate, particularly for developing breakthrough products? To investigate this, an attempt was made to access the knowledge of market research practitioners from agencies with a reputation for their work on breakthrough NPD. We were surprised to find that this research had not been conducted previously. In order to make it possible for the sample of 24 market research experts identified for this study to share their knowledge, repertory grid technique was used. This psychology based method particularly seeks out tacit knowledge by using indepth interviews. In this case the interviews were conducted with professionals from leading market research agencies in two countries. The resulting data provided two unique insights: they highlighted the attributes of market research methods which made them effective at identifying customers’ needs and they showed how different methods were perceived against these attributes. This article starts with a review of the literature on different methods for conducting market research to identify customer needs. The conclusions from the literature are then used to define the research question. We explain our choice of methodology, including the data collection and analysis approach. Next the key results are presented. Finally, the discussion section identifies the key insights, clarifies the limitations of the research, suggests areas for future research, and draws implications for managers. We conclude that existing research is not aligned with regard to which methods (or combination of methods) are best suited to the various stages of the NPD process. We have set out the challenges and our own intended work in this regard in our section on ‘further research’. Also, the existing literature does not explicitly seek the perceptions of practitioner experts based in market research agencies. This we have started to address, and we acknowledge that further work is required. Although our research in ongoing, it has already yielded the first view of a model of the perceptions of 24 expert market researchers in the UK and Denmark. Based on the explanation of these experts, the model situates a derived set of categories in a manner that reflects the way in which they are inter-linked. We believe that our model begins to deal with the gaps and anomalies in the existing research into VoC methods

A computational toy model for shallow landslides: Molecular Dynamics approach

The aim of this paper is to propose a 2D computational algorithm for modeling of the trigger and the propagation of shallow landslides caused by rainfall. We used a Molecular Dynamics (MD) inspired model, similar to discrete element method (DEM), that is suitable to model granular material and to observe the trajectory of single particle, so to identify its dynamical properties. We consider that the triggering of shallow landslides is caused by the decrease of the static friction along the sliding surface due to water infiltration by rainfall. Thence the triggering is caused by two following conditions: (a) a threshold speed of the particles and (b) a condition on the static friction, between particles and slope surface, based on the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. The latter static condition is used in the geotechnical model to estimate the possibility of landslide triggering. Finally the interaction force between particles is defined trough a potential that, in the absence of experimental data, we have modeled as the Lennard-Jones 2-1 potential. In the model the viscosity is also introduced and for a large range of values of the model's parameters, we observe a characteristic velocity pattern, with acceleration increments, typical of real landslides. The results of simulations are quite promising: the energy and the time triggering distributions of local avalanches shows a power law distribution, analogous to the observed Gutenberg-Richter and Omori power law distributions for earthquakes. Finally it is possible to apply the method of the inverse surface displacement velocity [Fukuzono 1985] for predicting the failure time

A Sociotechnical Approach to the Study of Semiautonomous Work group Communication in Technical Organizations

The sociotechnical aspects of group communication in semiautonomous technical work teams were investigated to understand how team members define effective group communication and what impact technical tools have on the group communication process. A team of workers with various technical backgrounds was selected for study. The study involved videotaped group sessions, a group training educational briefing and individual group member questionnaires. The results indicate that group members believed sharing information among group members was critical to successful communication and that certain technical tools could be effective during group meetings. The findings are congruent with the general theory that group communication is multi-dimensional with social characteristics that must be considered as well as technical aspects

Assessing fish community dynamics in a Norwegian no-take marine reserve compared to a harvested area

An ecosystem's ability to respond and maintain key functions during environmental change are largely determined by its biodiversity. As human activities continue to alter the composition of biological communities at all scales there is a need for up-to-date status of biodiversity, including how marine fisheries may affect diversity in coastal systems. In this study, I assessed the effect of protection from fishing on a coastal fish community in the Tvedestrand fjord on the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. I compared fish species richness, diversity, composition, catch per unit effort (CPUE), and fish size (body length) between a marine protected area (MPA) and a nearby fished area (i.e., the control). Sampling was conducted by beach seine at eight fixed stations, three in the MPA area and five in the control area, every year from 2011-2021. The MPA was established in 2012 and our sampling therefore included data from before protection (i.e., a before-after-control-impact (BACI) design). In total, more than 26 thousand fish representing 31 species was collected and measured for length. No effect of protection was detected on either species richness, diversity or evenness. Significant differences in species composition were, however, detected between the two areas after protection. In particular, goldsinny wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris) accounted for this variation (2012-2015: 27 %, 2016-2021: 14 %). All species combined, CPUE was significantly higher after protection, but this increase was seen in both the control area and the protected area, and therefore cannot be linked to protection. Species combined, mean fish length inside the MPA was significantly higher than in the control area, but this difference was also seen in the data collected before protection. The samples of cod (Gadus morhua), as well as three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatur), black goby (Gobius niger) and goldsinny wrasse were analysed in further detail. There was a tendency for an increase in CPUE of black goby, cod and goldsinny wrasse after protection, but this increase could not be linked to protection as it was also seen in the control area. Body length of cod was significantly higher in the MPA area compared to the control area, but the analyses did not detect any change in this relationship in response to protection. For goldsinny wrasse, black goby and three-spined stickleback there was a greater tendency for a decline in mean body size towards the late period in the MPA area compared to the control area. The latter points toward a response to full protection, potentially involving biological control mechanisms and trophic interactions. Taken together, however, the major findings in this study suggest that MPAs may not necessarily have clear and predictable effects on diversity in the short- to mid-term. Even longer-term monitoring involving more refined data collection and diversity measures could be necessary to reveal community-level consequences of protection

Determination of the top quark mass circa 2013: methods, subtleties, perspectives

We present an up-to-date overview of the problem of top quark mass determination. We assess the need for precision in the top mass extraction in the LHC era together with the main theoretical and experimental issues arising in precision top mass determination. We collect and document existing results on top mass determination at hadron colliders and map the prospects for future precision top mass determination at e+e- colliders. We present a collection of estimates for the ultimate precision of various methods for top quark mass extraction at the LHC.Comment: 26 pages. Snowmass White Pape