Recent B Physics Results from the Tevatron

We review recent B physics results from the CDF and Dzero experiments in p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV. Using a data sample of 1.4-6.0 fb-1 collected by the CDF II detector we present searches for New Physics in Bs sector and some competitive results with B-factories in the B/charm sector. In the first category we report the BR in Bs -> J/psi f0(980) decays and the time-integrated mixing probability chi-bar of B mesons. In the second category BR and Acp in doubly Cabibbo-suppressed B+- -> D0 h+- decays and time-integrated CP violation in D0 -> h+ h- are presented.Comment: To appear in the proceeding of Rencontres de Moriond, QCD and High Energy Interactions, La Thuile, March 20-27, 2011. 6 page

Some properties of the line of striction of a ruled surface

1. It is known that (i) the line of striction of a ruled surface is the locus of points at which the geodesic curvatures of the orthogonal trajectories of the generators vanish, (ii) if at each point of a curve C on a surface, a tangent to the surface is drawn, and these tangents generate a ruled surface of which C is the line of striction, then, if each tangent is turned through a constant angle α about its point of contact in the tangent plane, the new set of tangents also form a ruled surface with C as a line of striction

The reconciliation of work and care : a comparative analysis of South African Labour Laws aimed at providing working parents with time off to care.

Doctor of Philosophy in Law. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Pietermaritzburg, 2017The purpose of this thesis is to examine the adequacy of South African labour laws which regulate the rights of employees to take time off from work to attend to care-giving responsibilities. It engages in a comparative analysis between South African labour laws, international and regional labour standards, and the laws of the United Kingdom which govern the reconciliation of work and care. Work–care reconciliation can be achieved through the reorganisation of work to account for family interests and responsibilities. Labour laws must be used to restructure working times through the incorporation of family-friendly policies, with particular emphasis on statutory leave provisions. As such, the reconciliation of work and care requires the statutory recognition of time off from work for employees to attend to their family responsibilities. This thesis relies on labour standards set out by international and regional organisations as indications of minimum standards which should exist within a comprehensive legislative package aimed at the reconciliation of work and care. These minimum standards have been identified as maternity leave, adoption leave, paternity leave, parental leave, emergency care leave, and flexible working arrangements. Maternity leave should be comprised of a period of leave over the pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care of the child; benefits in the form of cash for the period of maternity leave; health protection at work during pregnancy and the period of breastfeeding; employment protection which provides security of employment and the right to return to work after maternity leave, as well as protection against discrimination based on maternity; and periods of breastfeeding breaks available to employees at the workplace. South African labour laws provide employees with rights to maternity leave and family responsibility leave. Section 25 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 provides pregnant employees with four consecutive months of maternity leave. Section 27 provides employees with family responsibility leave, available for the duration of three days to both men and women for the general purpose of caring for a family member. By examining the scope, duration, qualifications, and affordability of maternity leave and family responsibility leave, this thesis will seek to ascertain whether these leave entitlements have limitations in their capacities to accommodate employees with care-giving responsibilities. The laws of the United Kingdom are relied on as a comparative foreign legal system which has made numerous policy initiatives and legal reforms within the area of the reconciliation of work and care. Fuelled by a political agenda, the commitment of the government of the United Kingdom towards family-friendly legislative rights has led to the adoption of an inclusive and comprehensive statutory package aimed at the reconciliation of work and care. These statutory provisions are set out and examined with the objective of providing insight to the measures which are necessary to ensure the adequacy of South African labour legislation aimed at the reconciliation of work and care. The comparative analyses of international and regional labour standards, together with the laws of the United Kingdom, lead to a series of recommendations in the form of amendments to current labour legislation and the introduction of new legislative provisions. This thesis concludes with proposals aimed at ensuring that employees with care-giving responsibilities are provided with options of leave entitlements which accommodate their individual needs according to affordability and family structure. As such, it calls for legislative reform in the labour laws of South Africa to provide employees with a comprehensive legislative package aimed at the reconciliation of work and care

On the exploitation of the prawn seed Penaeus monodon along Midnapur district of West Bengal

Exploitation of prawn seed ,Penaeus monodon is common along the northern Andhra Pradesh coast. However, due to the increasing demand prawn seed collection has been introduced to the Midnapur district of Bengal. Extensive collections were reported from most of the fish landing centres of the district during June-August 1995 period

IT service management: process capability, process performance, and business performance

As technology is at the core of almost every leading industry, organizations are increasingly scrutinizing their Information Technology (IT) group’s performance so that it is more in line with overall business performance and contributes to the business’ bottom line. Many IT departments are not equipped to meet these increasing IT service demands. They continue to operate as passive-reactive service providers, utilizing antiquated methods that do not adequately provide the quality, real-time solutions that organizations need to be competitive. Organizations need efficient Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) processes in order to cut costs, but ironically, in order to implement highly capable processes, there are significant costs involved, both in terms of time and resources. A potential way to achieve better performing and higher capable processes is to employ methods to compare an organization’s processes against best-practice standards to identify gaps and receive guidance to improve the processes. Many of the existing methods require large investments. Holding back progress towards best practice for financial benefit in the IT industry is the reluctance of many IT organizations to embrace the business side (specifically Service Portfolio Management and IT Financial Management) aspects of ITSM. Service Portfolio Management (SPM) is used to manage investments in Service Management across an organization, in terms of financial values. SPM enables managers to assess the quality requirements and associated costs. IT Financial Management aims to provide information on the IT assets and resources used to deliver IT services. Providing a Service Portfolio and practicing IT Financial Management requires a high level of maturity for an organization. It seems reasonable and logical that the organization’s Chief Information Officer should be able to articulate and justify the IT services provided, report the costs (by service) incurred in delivering these services, and can communicate the demand for those services, that is, how they are being consumed and projections on how they will be consumed in the future. However, a major investment in terms of time and resources may be needed to catalogue such information and report on it. The research problem that this paper addresses is the lack of a pragmatic model and method that associates ITSM process maturity (process capability and performance) with financial performance for organizations that lack mature ITSM processes. Previous studies have reported on cost savings, but there is currently no measurement model to associate ITSM maturity with financial profitability; which in turn prompts the research question: How can the association of ITSM process capability and process performance with financial performance of an organization be determined? This research iteratively develops and applies a measurement model that presents a pragmatic and cost-effective method to link ITSM process capability and process performance with business performance by operationalizing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to support Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and associating CSFs with business risks to determine business performance. This study employs a scholar-practitioner approach to changing/improving processes using action research and an adaptation of the Keys to IT Service Management Excellence Technique (KISMET) model to guide the process improvement initiative. This technique leads to the second research question: How can the ITSM measurement framework be demonstrated for CSI? The research was based on a single case study of a global financial services firm Company X that had implemented the ITIL® framework to improve the quality of its IT services. The study found that the measurement framework developed can be used as a starting point for self-improvement for businesses, identifying gaps in processes, benchmarking within an organization as well as guiding an organization’s process improvement efforts. The measurement model can be used to conduct What-If analyses to model the impacts of future business decisions on KPIs and CSFs. The measurement model presented in this study can be quickly implemented, adapted and evolved to meet the organization’s needs. The research offers an example from which other organizations can learn to measure their financial return on investment in ITSM improvement