The lepton flavor violating decay τ ± → µ±µ±µ∓ at LHCb

The possibility of improving the limit on the branching fraction of the lepton flavor violating decay τ ± → µ±µ±µ∓ at LHCb is discussed. It is shown that a simple, cut-based analysis is sufficient to improve the upper limit on this branching fraction within the lifetime of LHC

The lepton flavor violating decay tau (+/-) -> A mu(+/-)A mu(+/-)A mu(a") at LHCb

The possibility of improving the limit on the branching fraction of the lepton flavor violating decay tau (+/-) -> A mu(+/-)A mu(+/-)A mu(a") at LHCb is discussed. It is shown that a simple, cut-based analysis is sufficient to improve the upper limit on this branching fraction within the lifetime of LHCb

"We need it loud!": Preschool making from mediated and materialist perspectives

In this chapter, we frame data analysis from multimodal (Scollon, 2001; Kress, 2003) and materialist (Lenz Taguchi, 2010) perspectives to expand our understanding of the complex interplay of purposes, properties, and possibilities in a moment of playful making at an impromptu art table in a preschool classroom. This auditory double take-that listens and listens again--problematizes educational assumptions in a prominent anthropocentric pedagogy that reads child/material productions primarily as evidence of a linear, lockstep developmental sequence. To unpack a moment of early childhood art production from two perspectives, we explore research methods that move away from privileging order and coherence, taming chaotic intra-actions among materials and humans, discounting material catalysts and perhaps child purposes. This chapter advances a notion of development as jumbled, recursive entanglement of action, artifacts, and making worlds. Art becomes coproduction through which things and humans communicate purposes and possibilities

Forensic investigation of microtraces on an item of Dutch eighteenth century clothing in the Rijksmuseum collection

Most garments in museum collections have belonged to people of high societal status. Clothing of the common people, however, has rarely been preserved. Because of this, the conservation of such rare items is of special importance. The current study focuses on such an object from the Rijksmuseum collection; a pair of eighteenth century breeches that were retrieved from an anonymous grave on Spitsbergen. As these breeches contain several unidentified materials, it is unclear how best to conduct the conservation of the object. The identification of trace material plays a key role within criminal law and therefore, it is hypothesized that a forensic approach could provide a suitable framework within this case of cultural heritage as well. After forensic examination, trace material was analyzed using a microscopy-based approach and was found to be mainly of biological origin. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy indicated the presence of human skin remains. It was concluded that a modern forensic approach can successfully be applied to a historical object within cultural heritage and can assist decision-making regarding possible future conservation of the object. The systematic application of the forensic methodology was found to be appropriate with little to no modification to classify and identify trace materials, but further improvements could be made. The current work should be seen as a starting point that allows for more questions regarding museum objects to be answered in a forensic manner, including aspects such as authenticity, the chain of custody, the context, original use and object conservation

Opportunities and Traps for Trade Unions in European Employment Policy Initiatives:The Case of Social Dialogue on Active Inclusion

After some promise in the 1990s, European unions have grown increasingly disillusioned with regard to the results of EU social policy and EU social dialogue. The paper analyses the extent and reasons of this disillusion by looking at the impact on social dialogue of the Active Inclusion Recommendation launched by the European Commission at the outset of the economic crisis in 2008. The Recommendation led to a tripartite framework agreement at the EU level in 2010 (the only such agreement in a decade), which was then to be implemented at national and regional levels. With a multilevel governance approach, the paper looks at the extent to which social dialogue on Active Inclusion at the EU level, in six EU countries (France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) and six regions (Rhône-Alpes, Lombardy, Lower Silesia, Catalonia, West Sweden and Greater Manchester) within those countries was somehow revitalised. The analysis, looking at both top-down and bottom-up processes and based on documentary analysis and interviews, shows that the initiative displays ambiguities similar to those of typical composite EU principles, such as famously the case of ‘flexicurity’. The multilevel governance of the EU, including the interaction between ‘soft’ employment policies and evolving ‘hard’ Eurogovernance tools, and with poor horizontal and vertical coordination, resulted in multiple distortions of the principle and, over time, to frustration. Unions’ engagement varies by level, country and region, reflecting both traditional national approaches and the local perception of ‘active inclusion’ as an opportunity. Although trade unions were more welcoming of ‘active inclusion’ than they had been for flexicurity, similar related threats and opportunities led to modest achievements and a gradual fading of the idea at the European and national levels, with some more opportunities however at the regional level. The paper concludes that, if trade unions want to engage with the idea of a European Social Model and with Eurogovernance, they could develop stronger networks among regional organisations

Exploring perceptions of healthcare technologies enabled by artificial intelligence: An online, scenario-based survey

BACKGROUND: Healthcare is expected to increasingly integrate technologies enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) into patient care. Understanding perceptions of these tools is essential to successful development and adoption. This exploratory study gauged participants\u27 level of openness, concern, and perceived benefit associated with AI-driven healthcare technologies. We also explored socio-demographic, health-related, and psychosocial correlates of these perceptions. METHODS: We developed a measure depicting six AI-driven technologies that either diagnose, predict, or suggest treatment. We administered the measure via an online survey to adults (N = 936) in the United States using MTurk, a crowdsourcing platform. Participants indicated their level of openness to using the AI technology in the healthcare scenario. Items reflecting potential concerns and benefits associated with each technology accompanied the scenarios. Participants rated the extent that the statements of concerns and benefits influenced their perception of favorability toward the technology. Participants completed measures of socio-demographics, health variables, and psychosocial variables such as trust in the healthcare system and trust in technology. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the concern and benefit items identified two factors representing overall level of concern and perceived benefit. Descriptive analyses examined levels of openness, concern, and perceived benefit. Correlational analyses explored associations of socio-demographic, health, and psychosocial variables with openness, concern, and benefit scores while multivariable regression models examined these relationships concurrently. RESULTS: Participants were moderately open to AI-driven healthcare technologies (M = 3.1/5.0 ± 0.9), but there was variation depending on the type of application, and the statements of concerns and benefits swayed views. Trust in the healthcare system and trust in technology were the strongest, most consistent correlates of openness, concern, and perceived benefit. Most other socio-demographic, health-related, and psychosocial variables were less strongly, or not, associated, but multivariable models indicated some personality characteristics (e.g., conscientiousness and agreeableness) and socio-demographics (e.g., full-time employment, age, sex, and race) were modestly related to perceptions. CONCLUSIONS: Participants\u27 openness appears tenuous, suggesting early promotion strategies and experiences with novel AI technologies may strongly influence views, especially if implementation of AI technologies increases or undermines trust. The exploratory nature of these findings warrants additional research