The small-x gluon from forward charm production: implications for a 100 TeV proton collider

We review the constraints on the small-x gluon PDF that can be derived by exploiting the forward D meson production data from the LHCb experiment at $\sqrt{s}=5,7$ and 13 TeV. We then discuss the phenomenological implications of the resulting improved small-x gluon for ultra-high energy astrophysics, in particular neutrino telescopes, as well as for the proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC) with $\sqrt{s}=100$ TeV. We illustrate how at the FCC even electroweak scale cross-sections can become sensitive to the small-x region of the quark and gluon PDFs, and then demonstrate how the addition of the LHCb heavy meson production measurements leads to a reduction of PDF uncertainties for various benchmark cross-sections.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the XXV International Workshop on Deep-Inelastic Scattering and Related Subjects, 3-7 April 2017, University of Birmingham, U

Mining of Single-Class by Active Learning for Semantic Segmentation

Several Active Learning (AL) policies require retraining a target model several times in order to identify the most informative samples and rarely offer the option to focus on the acquisition of samples from underrepresented classes. Here the Mining of Single-Class by Active Learning (MiSiCAL) paradigm is introduced where an AL policy is constructed through deep reinforcement learning and exploits quantity-accuracy correlations to build datasets on which high-performance models can be trained with regards to specific classes. MiSiCAL is especially helpful in the case of very large batch sizes since it does not require repeated model training sessions as is common in other AL methods. This is thanks to its ability to exploit fixed representations of the candidate data points. We find that MiSiCAL is able to outperform a random policy on 150 out of 171 COCO10k classes, while the strongest baseline only outperforms random on 101 classes.Comment: 29 pages, 14 figures, 2 table

Extending UTAUT2 To Explore Consumer Adoption Of Mobile Payments

There is a growing interest in studying the adoption of m-payments but literature on the subject is still in its infancy and no empirical research relating to this has been conducted in the context of the UK to date. The aim of this study is to unveil the current situation in m-payment adoption research and provide future research direction through the development of a research model for the examination of factors affecting m-payment adoption in the UK context. Following an extensive search of the literature, this study finds that 179 relationships between independent and dependent variables have been analysed by 30 existing empirical m-payment and m-banking adoption studies. From analysis of these relationships the most significant factors found to influence adoption are uncovered and an extension of UTAUT2 with the addition of perceived risk and trust is proposed to increase the applicability of UTAUT2 to the m-payment use context

Adoption of Two Indian E-Government Systems: Validation of Extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

The purpose of this study is to explore the adoption of two electronic government systems (i.e., e-District and Online PAN card registration system (OPCRS)) by non-adopters in the Indian context. The study validates extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) with some additional relevant factors including self-efficacy and anxiety. The proposed research model was validated using structural equation modelling (SEM) with sample sizes of 304 for e-District and 377 for OPCRS gathered from citizens in India. The empirical outcomes of the proposed research model indicated the significant relationships of all five hypotheses proposed between six constructs. The empirical justification, discussion, and managerial implications provided in this research can help the government to improve upon and fully utilise the potential of e-government systems in India

Time for a Different Perspective: A Preliminary Investigation of Barriers of Merchants’ Adoption of Mobile Payments

The mobile phone has become an essential tool for completing purchases both online and offline. Although mobile payments (m-payments) are still in a developmental and early adoption stage, their mobility and accessibility make them likely to be one of the future’s most successful mobile services. Existing research has focused on consumer adoption, ignoring calls for merchant-centric research. Therefore, this paper presents a preliminary study on the adoption of m-payments from the merchants’ perspective. The results of the research revealed that merchants’ have an overarching affinity for financial institutions providing m-payment services and that lack of knowledge and lack of critical mass are the dominant barriers of merchants’ adoption of m-payment systems. Based on the results several recommendations for practitioners are offered and a number of lines for further research are identified

The psychological impact of slaughterhouse employment: A systematic literature review

The role of a slaughterhouse worker (SHW) involves the authorized killing of living beings, yet there is limited understanding of the consequences this behavior has on their well-being. The purpose of this systematic review is to collate and evaluate the current literature on the psychological impact of slaughterhouse employment. Fourteen studies met the specific a priori inclusion criteria. The findings from this review were demarcated by the focus of studies: (1) the prevalence of mental health disorders, (2) the types of coping mechanisms used, and (3) the link between slaughterhouse employment and crime perpetration. It was found that SHWs have a higher prevalence rate of mental health issues, in particular depression and anxiety, in addition to violence-supportive attitudes. Furthermore, the workers employ a variety of both adaptive and maladaptive strategies to cope with the workplace environment and associated stressors. Finally, there is some evidence that slaughterhouse work is associated with increased crime levels. The research reviewed has shown a link between slaughterhouse work and antisocial behavior generally and sexual offending specifically. There was no support for such an association with violent crimes, however. Based on existing research, we suggest future directions for research (i.e., applying more methodological rigor) but highlight key findings for practitioners and policymakers that warrant attention