64 research outputs found
Taking up the cudgels against gay rights? Trends and trajectories in African Christian theologies on homosexuality
Against the background of the HIV epidemic and the intense public controversy on homosexuality in African societies, this article investigates the discourses of academic African Christian theologians on homosexuality. Distinguishing some major strands in African theology, that is, inculturation, liberation, women’s and reconstruction theology, the article examines how the central concepts of culture, liberation, justice, and human rights function in these discourses. On the basis of a qualitative analysis of a large number of publications, the article shows that stances of African theologians are varying from silence and rejection to acceptance. Although many African theologians have taken up the cudgels against gay rights, some “dissident voices” break the taboo and develop more inclusive concepts of African identity and African Christianity
The ArDM experiment
The aim of the ArDM project is the development and operation of a one ton
double-phase liquid argon detector for direct Dark Matter searches. The
detector measures both the scintillation light and the ionization charge from
ionizing radiation using two independent readout systems. This paper briefly
describes the detector concept and presents preliminary results from the ArDM
R&D program, including a 3 l prototype developed to test the charge readout
system.Comment: Proceedings of the Epiphany 2010 Conference, to be published in Acta
Physica Polonica
Finding Homogeneity in Heterogeneity—A New Approach to Quantifying Landscape Mosaics Developed for the Lao PDR
A key challenge for land change science in general and research on swidden agriculture in particular, is linking land cover information to human–environment interactions over larger spatial areas. In Lao PDR, a country facing rapid and multi-level land change processes, this hinders informed policy- and decision-making. Crucial information on land use types and people involved is still lacking. This article proposes an alternative approach for the description of landscape mosaics. Instead of analyzing local land use combinations, we studied land cover mosaics at a meso-level of spatial scale and interpreted these in terms of human–environmental interactions. These landscape mosaics were then overlaid with population census data. Results showed that swidden agricultural landscapes, involving 17% of the population, dominate 29% of the country, while permanent agricultural landscapes involve 74% of the population in 29% of the territory. Forests still form an important component of these landscape mosaics
First results on light readout from the 1-ton ArDM liquid argon detector for dark matter searches
ArDM-1t is the prototype for a next generation WIMP detector measuring both
the scintillation light and the ionization charge from nuclear recoils in a
1-ton liquid argon target. The goal is to reach a minimum recoil energy of
30\,keVr to detect recoiling nuclei. In this paper we describe the experimental
concept and present results on the light detection system, tested for the first
time in ArDM on the surface at CERN. With a preliminary and incomplete set of
PMTs, the light yield at zero electric field is found to be between 0.3-0.5
phe/keVee depending on the position within the detector volume, confirming our
expectations based on smaller detector setups.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, v2 accepted for publication in JINS
The LBNO long-baseline oscillation sensitivities with two conventional neutrino beams at different baselines
The proposed Long Baseline Neutrino Observatory (LBNO) initially consists of
kton liquid double phase TPC complemented by a magnetised iron
calorimeter, to be installed at the Pyh\"asalmi mine, at a distance of 2300 km
from CERN. The conventional neutrino beam is produced by 400 GeV protons
accelerated at the SPS accelerator delivering 700 kW of power. The long
baseline provides a unique opportunity to study neutrino flavour oscillations
over their 1st and 2nd oscillation maxima exploring the behaviour, and
distinguishing effects arising from and matter. In this paper we
show how this comprehensive physics case can be further enhanced and
complemented if a neutrino beam produced at the Protvino IHEP accelerator
complex, at a distance of 1160 km, and with modest power of 450 kW is aimed
towards the same far detectors. We show that the coupling of two independent
sub-MW conventional neutrino and antineutrino beams at different baselines from
CERN and Protvino will allow to measure CP violation in the leptonic sector at
a confidence level of at least for 50\% of the true values of
with a 20 kton detector. With a far detector of 70 kton, the
combination allows a sensitivity for 75\% of the true values of
after 10 years of running. Running two independent neutrino
beams, each at a power below 1 MW, is more within today's state of the art than
the long-term operation of a new single high-energy multi-MW facility, which
has several technical challenges and will likely require a learning curve.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figure
Summary of the second workshop on liquid argon time projection chamber research and development in the United States
The second workshop to discuss the development of liquid argon time projection
chambers (LArTPCs) in the United States was held at Fermilab on July 8-9, 2014. The workshop
was organized under the auspices of the Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors, a body that
was initiated by the American Physical Society Division of Particles and Fields. All presentations
at the workshop were made in six topical plenary sessions: i) Argon Purity and Cryogenics, ii)
TPC and High Voltage, iii) Electronics, Data Acquisition and Triggering, iv) Scintillation Light
Detection, v) Calibration and Test Beams, and vi) Software. This document summarizes the current
efforts in each of these areas. It primarily focuses on the work in the US, but also highlights work
done elsewhere in the world
DM: a ton-scale LAr detector for direct Dark Matter searches
The Argon Dark Matter (ArDM-1t) experiment is a ton-scale liquid argon (LAr) double-phase time projection chamber designed for direct Dark Matter searches. Such a device allows to explore the low energy frontier in LAr with a charge imaging detector. The ionization charge is extracted from the liquid into the gas phase and there amplified by the use of a Large Electron Multiplier in order to reduce the detection threshold. Direct detection of the ionization charge with fine spatial granularity, combined with a measurement of the amplitude and time evolution of the associated primary scintillation light, provide powerful tools for the identification of WIMP interactions against the background due to electrons, photons and possibly neutrons if scattering more than once. A one ton LAr detector is presently installed on surface at CERN to fully test all functionalities and it will be soon moved to an underground location. We will emphasize here the lessons learned from such a device for the design of a large LAr TPC for neutrino oscillation, proton decay and astrophysical neutrinos searches
SPC of multiple stream processes: a chart for enhanced detection of shifts in one stream
Interventions to reduce sexual prejudice : a study-space analysis and meta-analytic review
Sexual prejudice is an important threat to the physical and mental well-being of lesbians, gay men, and bisexual people. Therefore, we reviewed the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce such prejudice. A study-space analysis was performed on published and unpublished papers from all over the world to identify well-studied and underexplored issues. Most studies were conducted with North American undergraduates and were educational in nature. Dissertations were often innovative and well designed but were rarely published. We then performed meta-analyses on sets of comparable studies. Education, contact with gay people, and combining contact with education had a medium-size effect on several measures of sexual prejudice. The manipulation of social norms was effective in reducing antigay behavior. Other promising interventions, such as the use of entertainment media to promote tolerance, need further investigation. More research is also needed on populations other than American students, particularly groups who may have higher levels of sexual prejudice
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