323 research outputs found
The particle zoo
No full textWhat is everything really made of? If we split matter down into smaller and infinitesimally smaller pieces, where do we arrive? At the Particle Zoo - the extraordinary subatomic world of antimatter, neutrinos, strange-flavoured quarks and yetis, gravitons, ghosts and glueballs, mindboggling eleven-dimensional strings and the elusive Higgs boson itself. Be guided around this strangest of zoos by Gavin Hesketh, experimental particle physicist at humanity's greatest experiment, the Large Hadron Collider. Concisely and with a rare clarity, he demystifies how we are uncovering the inner workings of the universe and heading towards the next scientific revolution. Why are atoms so small? How did the Higgs boson save the universe? And is there a theory of everything? The Particle Zoo answers these and many other profound questions, and explains the big ideas of Quantum Physics, String Theory, The Big Bang and Dark Matter...and, ultimately, what we know about the true, fundamental nature of reality
W/Z + jet Production at the LHC
No full textThis paper summarises the results on W and Z plus jet production at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, from both the ATLAS and CMS experiments. Based on the 2010 and 2011 datasets, measurements have been made of numerous cross sections provide excellent tests of the latest predictions from perturbative QCD calculations and event generators
Hidden Physics at the LHC
No full textThe first part of this book describes an example of how the experiments at the LHC search for new particles. I'll be focusing here on the two 'general purpose' experiments: ATLAS (of which I am a member) and CMS
A Measurement of the boson production cross-section multiplied by the muon branching fraction in collisions at 1.96-TeV
No full textJoining gangs: living on the edge?
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to disseminate street gang research by Hesketh (2018) that has identified a major aspect of young disenfranchised people’s attraction to street gangs as edgework risk-taking. The study which sought to identify differences between those who joined street gangs compared to those who abstained on Merseyside.
Design/methodology/approach: Two samples were taken from locations within the five boroughs of Merseyside, the first comprising of 22 participants (18–25) involved in street gangs as active and ex-members with a second sample consisting of 22 participants (18–25) who had completely abstained from street gang membership. Data were collected through adoption of biographic narrative interpretive method (BNIM) (Wengraf, 2001), with analysis taking the form of Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) version of grounded theory.
Findings: Of the many findings that surrounded what was identified as the core category/central phenomena of “coping with limited opportunity” it emerged that marginalisation and austerity were contributing to increasing inequality and institutional constraint on young people on Merseyside. As a result, many of the 18–25 year young men felt powerless, lacking identity and aspirational drive. Joining a gang thus became not only a way in which control was seized back from such constraint through criminal risk-taking behaviour, what Lyng (1990) has termed “edgework”, but also a means in which many of the young men interviewed gained an identity of being “bad” from which intrinsically pleasurable seductive and criminally erotic sensations were derived (Katz, 1988). Moreover, a relatively new version of edgework was also identified, even though by way of male testimony. Called “vicarious edgework”, the phenomena sees young women drawn to male gang members (“bad boys”) to derive the excitement of risk indirectly while remaining law abiding. In sum, the paper highlights a concerning socio-psychological and key motivating driver triggered by marginalisation.
Research limitations/implications: Study samples were all male. Thus, any observations on the vicarious edgework aspect of risk taking requires further research involving both young men and women.
Practical implications: The paper highlights the need for more understanding of the allure of risk-taking. The paper identifies a new form of female edgework. The paper draws attention to gang membership and non-membership on Merseyside, an area that has been greatly neglected by gangs’ studies in the UK. The paper describes a novel way of data collection using an adoption of BNIM.
Social implications: In sum, the paper highlights a concerning socio-psychological and key motivating driver triggered by marginalisation. This, the author contends has been largely neglected by risk factor focussed interventions that largely concentrate on the idea of rational choice theory and sociological positivism.
Originality/value: The paper attempts to disseminate original street gang research by Hesketh (2018) that has identified a major aspect of young disenfranchised people’s attraction to street gangs as edgework risk-taking
Measurement of the charge ratio of atmospheric muons with the CMS detector
No full textThis paper describes a new measurement of the flux ratio of positive and negative muons from cosmic-ray interactions in the atmosphere, using data collected by the CMS detector at ground level and in the underground experimental cavern. The excellent performance of the CMS detector allowed detection of muons in the momentum range from 3 GeV to 1 TeV. For muon momenta below 100 GeV the flux ratio is measured to be a constant , the most precise measurement to date. At higher momenta an increase in the charge asymmetry is observed, in agreement with models of muon production in cosmic-ray showers and compatible with previous measurements by deep-underground experiments
Measurements of W and Z boson production in association with jets in proton-proton collisions with the ATLAS detector
No full textAbstractThe latest measurements of the production of W or Z boson in association with jets by the ATLAS detector are reported. A data-set of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 4.6 fb-1 have been analysed, and new results of W boson + jet production, the ratio of W to Z boson + jet production, W boson + charm, and Z boson + b-jet production are described. Extensive comparisons from the latest theoretical calculations are also included
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Beyond the Street Corner ::Understanding Urban Street Gang Membership /
No full textThis book presents an in-depth investigation into street gang involvement, desistance, and non-involvement through the lens of the Risk Factor Prevention Paradigm (RFPP). This framework encompasses five domains of risk and prevention: family, neighbourhood, peers, individual, and school. It identifies the risk and protective factors that influence young people to either engage in, desist or abstain from involvement in deviant street groups. Based on a comprehensive five-and-a-half-year study, the author draws upon his lifelong experience living in Stockbridge Village, Merseyside, one of the most deprived areas in the UK marked by street gang activity and organised crime. The author's unique position allows him to establish a strong rapport with young, disenfranchised individuals involved in street gangs. This book offers a comprehensive exploration of critical observations related to street gang involvement by integrating insights that provide a nuanced understanding of the sociocultural factors that both drive individuals toward gang involvement and contribute to their desistance from it. The author highlights key topics including the practice of drug dealing as deviant entrepreneurship, the role of friendship networks in determining engagement in street gang-related activities, the allure of risk as a motivator for involvement and the participation of young women through relationships with young men associated with street gangs. Ultimately, the work offers fresh perspectives on both gang membership and non-membership, advocating for the development of homegrown interventions rooted in social capital through bridging and social mobility as viable strategies for addressing street gang involvement. Robert Hesketh is a chartered psychologist and lecturer in criminal Justice in the School of Justice Studies, Liverpool John Moores University, UK. He has written extensively on the topic of street gangs in the UK swell as having also taught at the University of Chester and Edge Hill University (Criminology and Forensic Psychology). He presently holds a BA (Combined Hons) in Psychology and Sociology, an MA in Sociology and Social Policy, an MSc in Applied Psychology, a postgraduate diploma in offender profiling with his PhD focused on a multi-disciplinary exploration of street gangs on Merseyside. He is also Fellow of the High Education Academy.
Its scouse soldier’s lad init! An examination of modern Urban street gangs on Merseyside
No full textPurpose: This paper aims to discuss the emergence of the contemporary Urban Street Gang (USG) on Merseyside. In terms of gang scholarship in the UK, Merseyside has been greatly neglected despite regular reports in national mainstream media that suggest Merseyside USGs represent some of the most criminally active and violent members in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: A specific methodology has been omitted because the author while providing a viewpoint from Hesketh (2018), also wishes to encapsulate observations from the remaining two pieces of research conducted on Merseyside (Smithson et al., 2009; Robinson, 2018). For this reason, a summary of the methods used in each of the three studies is provided. Findings: The paper will highlight observations drawn from all three research studies that were prevalent with USG members throughout the Merseyside county at the time of each study. They include aspects surrounding territoriality, belonging and identity through dress style as well as USG structures and motivation for joining. In particular, the paper will address also address the role of drugs which has transformed the structural make-up of many Merseyside USGs from relatively loosely knit-street corner groups involved in anti-social behaviour (ASB) to more structural-deviant entrepreneurial enterprises. Research limitations/implications: The paper calls for more research to be carried out on Merseyside. Limitations would include the omission of young women in each of the three studies. Practical implications: The practical implications are as follows: a need to focus on the impact of bridging within excluded communities; a need to focus on emphasising that drug dealing is a crime that carries serious consequences, and not a form of work (grafting); a need to focus on young women and criminal involvement; and a need to concentrate on developing strategies that counter the allure and attraction of risk-taking behaviour. Social implications: The paper addresses the impact of social exclusion and the need for equality to counter young people becoming involved in criminality and gangs as well as adult organised crime groups. Originality/value: The paper is based on what have been so far the only three in-depth studies carried out on Merseyside
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