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Do we really need a Global Commission on Modern Slavery?
Get PDFTheresa May’s attempt at a legacy project won’t save anybody from ‘modern slavery’. But since it’s here, we have a few suggestions ..
The role of fintech startups and big banks in shaping trust expectations from blockchain use in mainstream financial markets
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The authors do not have permission to share data.Through two qualitative case studies we explore the role of a fintech and a big bank in shaping trust expectations of blockchain use in mainstream financial markets. Drawing on Zucker's theory of trust we explore adaptations to the original blockchain made by these actors, and show how such changes may impact trust expectations from blockchain use. Our analysis identifies a blockchain innovation trajectory involving the co-evolution between technological changes and trust expectations as it moves from supporting cryptocurrency exchanges to mainstream business settings. Furthermore, we show that fintech startups and established big banks align their strategies with the widespread generalization and acceptance of blockchain as a sector-wide information infrastructure and position themselves in co-dependent relationships within the emerging blockchain marketplace. Industry practitioners may gain insights on how to best navigate this innovation space
Search for an exotic decay of the Higgs boson into a Z boson and a pseudoscalar particle in proton-proton collisions at = 13 TeV
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Release and preservation of data used by the CMS Collaboration as the basis for publications is guided by the CMS policy as stated in “CMS data preservation, re-use and open access policy” (https://cms-docdb.cern.ch/cgi-bin/PublicDocDB/RetrieveFile?docid=6032&filename=CMSDataPolicyV1.2.pdf&version=2).A preprint version is available at arXiv:2311.00130v2 [hep-ex], https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.00130v2 . Comments: Replaced with the published version. Added the journal reference and the DOI. All the figures and tables, including additional supplementary figures, can be found at https://cms-results.web.cern.ch/cms-results/public-results/publications/HIG-22-003 (CMS Public Pages). Report number: CMS-HIG-22-003, CERN-EP-2023-223.A search for an exotic decay of the Higgs boson to a Z boson and a light pseudoscalar particle (a), decaying to a pair of leptons and a pair of photons, respectively, is presented. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138fb−1. The analysis probes pseudoscalar masses ma between 1 and 30 GeV, leading to two pairs of well-isolated leptons and photons. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the Higgs boson production cross section times its branching fraction to two leptons and two photons. The observed (expected) limits are in the range of 1.1–17.8 (1.7–17.9) fb within the probed ma interval. An excess of data above the expected standard model background with a local (global) significance of 2.6 (1.3) standard deviations is observed for a mass hypothesis of ma = 3 GeV. Limits on models involving axion-like particles, formulated as an effective field theory, are also reported.SCOAP3
Search for dark matter particles in W+W− events with transverse momentum imbalance in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV
Get PDFA preprint version of the article is available at arXiv:2310.12229v2 [hep-ex], https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.12229v2 . Comments: Replaced with the published version. Added the journal reference and the DOI. All the figures and tables can be found at https://cms-results.web.cern.ch/cms-results/public-results/publications/EXO-21-012 (CMS Public Pages).A search for dark matter particles is performed using events with a pair of W bosons and large missing transverse momentum. Candidate events are selected by requiring one or two leptons (ℓ = electrons or muons). The analysis is based on proton-proton collision data collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. No significant excess over the expected standard model background is observed in the ℓνqq and 2ℓ2ν final states of the W+W− boson pair. Limits are set on dark matter production in the context of a simplified dark Higgs model, with a dark Higgs boson mass above the W+W− mass threshold. The dark matter phase space is probed in the mass range 100–300 GeV, extending the scope of previous searches. Current exclusion limits are improved in the range of dark Higgs masses from 160 to 250 GeV, for a dark matter mass of 200 GeV.SCOAP3
Influence of bubble size on perfluorooctanesulfonic acid degradation in a pilot scale non-thermal plasma treatment reactor
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Data will be made available on request.Supplementary data are available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894724028365#s0125 .A 25L working volume non-thermal plasma-based treatment reactor was trialled to destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) utilising argon bubbles to transport PFAS to the surface to be destroyed with plasma interaction at the argon-liquid interface. The breakdown rate of PFAS and the system's overall energy efficiency could be improved while minimising gas usage by utilising small bubbles (0.6–0.7 mm d32) to maximise the transport of PFAS to the plasma discharge for destruction. Vertically scaling the treatment reactor dimensions increases the overall liquid height and dwell time for bubbles to contact and transport PFAS molecules to the surface. The removal rate of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) correlated with the total surface area of the gas. Significant concentration gradients of PFOS could be observed when sampling from different liquid heights within the 25 L reactor. A one-dimensional model of mass transfer to the surface of rising bubbles was developed and gave good predictions of the overall rates of PFOS breakdown with modelled time constants of 0.14–0.18 min−1 versus 0.16 ± 0.01 min−1 for the fine bubble diffuser, and 0.048–0.053 min−1 versus 0.06 min−1 for the medium bubble diffuser. The time constant compared favourably with similar experiments at the 2 L scale of 0.11 min−1.This work was funded by the Australian Research Council’s Special Research Initiative on PFAS (SR180200046). Additionally, we acknowledge the support by the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship and David Cook (Ventia, formerly ICD Asia Pacific) for providing the contaminated surface water samples, Dr. Trevor Walker (Ventia, formerly ICD Asia Pacific) for his technical support and Charles Grimison (Ventia) for his time and technical input reviewing this manuscript. This research was facilitated by access to Sydney Mass Spectrometry, a core research facility at the University of Sydney. A/Prof John Kavanagh’s visit to DTU was funded by the University of Sydney and Vojtěch Kunc assisted with some bubble size and OTR measurements
Configuring international entrepreneurial orientation and dynamic internationalization capability to predict international performance
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Data will be made available on request.In recent years, the dynamics of international business have changed. This has largely been attributed to uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and global trends towards individualistic behaviours. To remain competitive, international entrepreneurial firms (IEFs) renew their behaviours and reconfigure their capabilities. However, scholars have hitherto not uncovered the configurational interplay connecting behaviours and capabilities between the pre-and-post-COVID periods. Drawing on the configurational perspective of dynamic capability theory, we explored the configurational specificities of dynamic internationalisation capability and an international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) as the behavioural aspect of IEFs. Adopting a longitudinal approach, we applied fsQCA to data drawn from Malaysia. Results show that whereas, in the pre-COVID period, IEFs exhibited an IEO along with threshold and disruption capabilities, in the wake of the pandemic, they are gingerly manifesting an IEO with an overwhelming priority on value-adding and consolidation capabilities suited to weather crises and secure international performance
Investigation of the temporal behavior of desiccant disk for use in dehumidifiers and air conditioners
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Data will be made available on request.The majority of household energy is consumed in heating and air conditioning. Desiccant disks are a way to harvest renewable solar energy or waste heat for air conditioning. In the literature there is a gap in the investigation of start-up of desiccant dehumidifiers, which this paper attempts to covers. For this work, a desiccant disk was designed, manufactured, and tested. To reduce the cost, off-the-shelf components were used as structure materials. And as adsorption material, widely available materials were used. Input heat was simulated by an electrical heater and power to auxiliary motors was provided in the form of DC power. Temperature and humidity were recorded at various locations using DHT11 sensors. The system was turned off and tested at a start of operation mode. The performance of the desiccant disk was quantified by the coefficient of performance and the dehumidification efficiency. Results showed gradual increase of the desiccant disk efficiency with a maximum COP value of 0.4 reached within 10 min of the start of operation. Time delays were attributed to heating of the disk. Further work is required to fully understand the transient operation
Look who’s talking: Social work podcasts as continuing professional development in England
Get PDFThis thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonIn 2019 Social Work England introduced mandatory annual recording of continuing professional development (CPD) for social workers in England, placing sole responsibility for meeting this requirement on individual social workers. There is also growing evidence that social workers in England are struggling to engage effectively with their CPD, due in part to a lack of time and insufficient employer support. Alongside these developments, the number of social work podcasts has increased rapidly, with hundreds of podcasts, and thousands of podcast episodes, now available for any social worker with internet access to listen to.
This doctoral research examines the growing phenomenon of social work podcasts, with a particular focus on the potential for podcasts as social work CPD in the English context. Utilising a theoretical framework that draws primarily from the theory of the network society, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with twelve independent social work podcasters and six social workers who listened to social work podcasts.
Podcaster participants and listener participants both overwhelmingly described social work podcasts as having a strong potential to support the CPD of social workers, in particular highlighting the value of accessibility, flexibility, variety, reach, dialogue and currency. Despite the often-presumed intimate nature of podcast listening, participants also found value in podcasts for collective engagement and even activism. Challenges were noted, including around quality assurance, algorithmic curation, voice and representation and the potential for podcasts to reinforce the hegemonic domination of social workers. Recommendations for further research, policy, activism and practice are outlined in the conclusion
AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study
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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.Supplementary Information is available online at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-54655-z#Sec15 .Correction to: Scientific Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54655-z, published online 02 April 2024
The original version of this Article contained errors. The corrections are available online: The Atomwise AIMS Program. Author Correction: AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study. Sci Rep 14, 21579 (2024). DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-70321-w (they are also available on the Corrigendum PDF file, below). .High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery
Eye movement differences when recognising and learning moving and static faces
Get PDFData availability statement: The data and materials associated with the reported experiments are publicly available on the project’s page on the Open Science Framework https://osf.io/xz2hr/ .Seeing a face in motion can help subsequent face recognition. Several explanations have been proposed for this “motion advantage,” but other factors that might play a role have received less attention. For example, facial movement might enhance recognition by attracting attention to the internal facial features, thereby facilitating identification. However, there is no direct evidence that motion increases attention to regions of the face that facilitate identification (i.e., internal features) compared with static faces. We tested this hypothesis by recording participants’ eye movements while they completed the famous face recognition (Experiment 1, N = 32), and face-learning (Experiment 2, N = 60, Experiment 3, N = 68) tasks, with presentation style manipulated (moving or static). Across all three experiments, a motion advantage was found, and participants directed a higher proportion of fixations to the internal features (i.e., eyes, nose, and mouth) of moving faces versus static. Conversely, the proportion of fixations to the internal non-feature area (i.e., cheeks, forehead, chin) and external area (Experiment 3) was significantly reduced for moving compared with static faces (all ps < .05). Results suggest that during both familiar and unfamiliar face recognition, facial motion is associated with increased attention to internal facial features, but only during familiar face recognition is the magnitude of the motion advantage significantly related functionally to the proportion of fixations directed to the internal features.University Research Funding from Teesside University
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