Rediscovering Standard Model physics with the ATLAS detector

With its 14 TeV proton-proton center of mass energy, the LHC is a factory of standard model (SM) particles produced at previously inaccessible energy scales. The ATLAS experiment needs to perform a thorough analysis of these particles before exploring more exotic possibilities that the LHC may open doors to. $W$ and $Z$ bosons will initially be used as calibration samples to improve the understanding of the detector. Top quarks will also be copiously produced and will for the first time be calibration particles, whilst also yielding an important background to beyond the SM searches. Top quarks may also be produced with high transverse momenta, requiring novel methods to perform efficient top quark identification in the ATLAS detector. I will give an overview of the current status of the heavy gauge boson and top quark physics at ATLAS, in terms of both detector and expected precision measurements performance

Demographic Predictors of Math Anxiety in Elementary School Children

Due to the increasing interest of math anxiety in elementary level children, the present study explored math anxiety contextual factors through Bandura’s (1999) Social Cognitive perspective. Using the Children’s Anxiety in Math Scale, researchers gathered data from 40 primary-level children to explore four demographic predictors--grade-level, special needs identification, gender identity, and socioeconomic status-- of mathematics anxiety through a hierarchical regression model. Findings indicated demographic variables accounted for over one-third of the variance in math anxiety scores at 38.2% (grade level: 12.3%, SNI: 8.4%, gender identity: 13.2%, SES: 4.1%). With the exception of socioeconomic status, all predictors were significant. These findings provide implications and recommendations for educators, parents, and future researchers

Zircon U-Pb dating of Mesozoic volcanic and tectonic events in northwest Palmer Land and southwest Graham Land, Antarctica

New whole rock Rb-Sr and zircon U-Pb geochronological data and Sm-Nd isotopic data are presented from the central magmatic arc domain of the Antarctic Peninsula in the area of northwest Palmer Land and southwest Graham Land, Rb-Sr isochrons indicate an age of 169±6 Ma for basement orthogneisses and 132±9 to 71±9 Ma for plutons. A U-Pb age of 183 ± 2.1 Ma, with no detectable inheritance, on zircons from an orthogneiss from Cape Berteaux provides the first reliable age for the orthogneisses, which are interpreted as metamorphosed silicic volcanic rocks, and Sm-Nd data indicate derivation in a mature volcanic arc. The age indicates they may be correlatives of the Jurassic ‘Chon Aike’ volcanism of the eastern Antarctic Peninsula. A U-Pb zircon age of 107 ± 1.7 Ma on a terrestrial volcanic sequence overlying an uncomformity strongly suggests a mid-Cretaceous age for the extensive volcanic cover of northwest Palmer Land that was previously thought to be Jurassic. The unconformity is interpreted to have been a result of compressional uplift related to the Palmer Land event. This is the first date for the event in the western part of the central magmatic arc terrane of the Antarctic Peninsula

Do drinking motives mediate the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and alcohol use among adolescents?

Funding: Funding for the Scottish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children was provided by NHS Scotland. This work was also supported by the 600th Anniversary Ph.D. Scholarship which was awarded to Gina Martin by the University of St Andrews.Adolescents not only vary in their alcohol use behavior but also in their motivations for drinking. Young people living in different neighborhoods may drink for different reasons. The aims of this study were to determine if neighborhood characteristics were associated with adolescent drinking motives, and whether drinking motives mediate the relationship between neighborhood context and regular alcohol use. Data from the Scottish Health Behaviours in School-aged Children 2010 survey of students in their 4th year of secondary school were used. The study included 1119 participants who had data on neighborhood characteristics and had used alcohol in the past year. Students were asked questions about the local area where they lived, their alcohol use, and their motives for drinking alcohol, based on the Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised Short Form (DMQR-SF). Multilevel multivariable models and structural equation models were used in this study. Coping motives showed significant variation across neighborhoods. Structural equation models showed coping motives mediated the relationships between neighborhood deprivation, living in an accessible small-town, and neighborhood-level disorder with regular alcohol use. Public health policies that improve neighborhood conditions and develop adaptive strategies, aimed at improving alcohol-free methods for young people to cope better with life’s stresses, may be particularly effective in reducing inequalities in adolescent alcohol use if targeted at small towns and areas of increased deprivation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Encouraging the commercial sector to help employees to change their travel behaviour

Travel Plans have been a key element in the UK Government's strategy for reducing car use. However, although they have been adopted by the Government's own departments and other parts of the state sector, any policy mechanisms to encourage the "widespread voluntary take-up" of Travel Plans in the private sector have so far been relatively low key. This paper examines how commercial sector organisations are currently encouraged to help change their employees’ travel behaviour in the UK. It then draws on experience from across the world to identify four mechanisms through which Government and local authorities might make travel plans more widespread than currently, namely information and exhortation, regulation, subsidy and fiscal reform

Evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula lithosphere: evidence from Mesozoic mafic rocks

New geochronology from a thick (> 800m) basaltic succession along the eastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula confirm a Middle Jurassic age (178 ± 1 Ma). This marginally postdates the adjacent Ferrar large igneous province of the Transantarctic Mountains and predates the extensive silicic volcanism of the Mapple Formation (~ 170 Ma) of the Antarctic Peninsula. The geochemistry of other rare, but broadly contemporaneous, basaltic successions of the Antarctic Peninsula, along with Cretaceous-age mafic dykes, are used to interpret the influences of lithospheric and asthenospheric mantle sources during the Mesozoic. Two significant high magmatic addition rate events occurred along the Antarctic Peninsula continental margin at 170 and 110 Ma and can be correlated to events along the South American Cordillera. These ‘flare-up’ events are characterised by extensive silicic (mostly ignimbrite) volcanism of the Chon Aike Province (V2 event: 170 Ma) and significant granitoid batholith emplacement of the Lassiter Coast intrusive suite (110 Ma). The 170 Ma event is exposed across large parts of the northern Antarctic Peninsula, whilst the 110 Ma event is more widespread across the southern Antarctic Peninsula. The basaltic volcanism described here precedes the ‘flare-up’ event at 170 Ma and has geochemical characteristics that indicate a thickened lithosphere prevailed. A major dyke swarm that followed the 170 Ma event indicates that extensive lithospheric thinning had occurred, which allowed the ascent of depleted mafic melts. The thinning was the direct result of widespread lower crustal/upper lithospheric melting associated with the silicic volcanism. In the southern Antarctic Peninsula, the lithosphere remained over thickened until the emplacement of the major batholiths of the Lassiter Coast intrusive suite at 110 Ma and was then immediately followed by the emplacement of more asthenosphere-like melts indicating extensive lithospheric thinnin

Mechanisms of Bone Loss in Space

The unique conditions of microgravity and radiation exposure in space have a substantial impact on human tissue function, resulting in extreme bone loss. The goal of this project is to synthesize the current knowledge on bone loss in space for use in future research. There is clear evidence, based on past research, that microgravity, cosmic radiation, fluid flow, and mechanotransduction influence bone function during space travel and result in significant loss. However, there is a need for future research on how these factors relate to each other and their collective influence on mechanisms of bone regeneration and repair. In addition, there is a need for more research on potential solutions to prevent the bone loss seen during space travel

Nouns and Academic Interactions: A Neglected Feature of Metadiscourse

Metadiscourse has received considerable attention in recent years as a way of understanding the rhetorical negotiations involved in academic writing. But while a useful tool in revealing something of the dynamic interactions which underlie persuasive claim making, it has little to say about the role of nouns in this process. We address this gap by exploring the rhetorical functions of what we call metadiscursive nouns (such as fact, analysis, belief) and by mapping them onto a model of metadiscourse. The study examines ‘metadiscursive noun + post-nominal clause’ patterns, one of the most frequent structures containing such nouns, in a corpus of 120 research articles across six disciplines. Developing a rhetorically based classification and exploring the interactive and interactional use of metadiscursive nouns, we show that they are another key element of metadiscourse, offering writers a way of organizing discourse into a cohesive flow of information and of constructing a stance towards it. These interactions are further shown to realize the epistemological assumptions and rhetorical practices of particular disciplines

Methods for the identification and optimal exploitation of profitable betting scenarios

This thesis tackles the issue of how gamblers can profit from betting on the outcome of sporting events. In particular, it addresses issues which have arisen in recent years concerning both the inception of betting exchanges, and the technique of building complex statistical models to accurately predict the sporting outcomes. This thesis shows that bias in predictive models can be quantified from a collection of model outputs. It is shown that a Bayesian method can be constructed to derive accurate bias estimates, even when the model outputs are merely a collection of independent Bernoulli trials. In addition, the method is expanded, to allow the quantification of a time-varying bias, as long as it changes in a known, deterministic setting. The utility of this method is demonstrated via the correction of a simple football prediction model. The movements seen in betting markets before the event in question occurs are investigated. It is conjectured that the rate of increase of the amount of capital invested in the betting market is central to understanding other market movements. With this in mind, two approaches are derived, which both use a collection of historic market movements for past events for their predictions. It is shown that in many cases, some mix of the two approaches achieves the most accurate forecasts. A new gambling strategy, dubbed consolidated wagering is introduced. It is demonstrated that consolidated wagering outperforms all other candidate methods when considering string bets (multiple bets on the same event, at different odds). The application of these methods to investing in restricted markets in betting exchanges is demonstrated. Finally, the problem of string wagers under uncertainty is explored