FCC: Building on the shoulders of giants

The plethora of open questions in particle physics, the new chapter opened by the Higgs boson, and the lack of clear theoretical guidance as to where new theory could lie call for a broad and diverse experimental programme boosting the intensity and energy-frontier. The proposed FCC-integrated programme consisting of a luminosity-frontier highest-energy lepton collider followed by an energy-frontier hadron collider promises the most far-reaching particle physics programme that foreseeable technology can deliver. In this essay, particular emphasis is given to the lessons from the predecessor of the LHC, LEP, which was commissioned in 1989 and finished operation in November 2000.

Transforming from Refugees to Entrepreneurs in Britain

Recognizing the importance of refugees as potential entrepreneurs was the main reason that impelled the launch of small business start-up programmes. In Britain, The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN) was the principal institution concerned with refugees as potential entrepreneurs, whereas in Australia, the programme was run by the Ignite Small Business Start-Ups. The research question was based on investigating to what extent the British initiative programmes are immersed in supporting refugees’ transformation into entrepreneurs, and to answer this question the researcher investigated how these programmes provide funds, training, and technical assistance. To place this in context, we compared the case of Britain with what has been achieved in Australia where the first worldwide experimental programme was applied. The aim of this comparison was to draw any lessons learned that could profitability be considered by the British programmes. Data was abstracted from the annual reports, and in addition, interviews conducted with the principals to ask about the size of loans granted, dates of loans, type of projects and the number of loans. It was noticeable that Ignite and TERN took a great interest in training, consulting, and advising their applicants. Both programmes were similar, even in number of beneficiaries. However, in Britain there was more interest in offering loans to potential entrepreneurs, especially the finance offered by the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA). Moreover, some businesses have been distinguished in their achievements, including such well-run successes as Dama Cheese and Fagee Fashion. On the other hand, the Start Up Loan Company offered financing compatible with the principles of Islamic Sharia which encourages more refugees to ask for finance.

Learning from Experiment: Unio Freshwater Mussel Shells in Fifth-millennium bc Romania

Raw materials from aquatic environments were systematically used for domestic activities even before the appearance of modern humans. Here, the authors analyse the possible use of freshwater mussel valves of the Unio species, whose surfaces preserve marks resulting from their use. They consider the ways in which wear develops on these valves, starting from the comparison between archaeological exemplars and experimental pieces. An experimental programme was developed to record variables such as the procurement of the raw material, the processing of various materials, and the time needed for each operation. Experimental pieces were assessed to document how use-wear develops. The archaeological assemblage from the site of Cheia in Romania (Hamangia culture, fifth millennium cal bc) served as a case study to illustrate the relevance of the results.

China’s Robotic Spy Birds Take Surveilance to New Heights

China takes surveillance to new heights with flock of robotic Doves, but do they come in peace? Hi-tech drones that look and move like real birds have already flown over restive Xinjiang region. Beijing Institute of Technology recruits 31 ‘patriotic’ youngsters for new AI weapons development programe. Expert in international science policy describes course as ‘extremely powerful and troubling.’ Also group of some of China’s smartest students have been recruited straight from high school to begin training as the world’s youngest AI weapons scientists. The 27 boys and four girls, all aged 18 and under, were selected for the four-year “experimental programme for intelligent weapons systems” at the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) from more than 5,000 candidates, the school said on its website. The BIT is one of the country’s top weapons research institutes, and the launch of the new programme is evidence of the weight it places on the development of AI technology for military use.

Boyle’s View of Chemical Properties as Dispositional, Relational, and Emergent Properties

This chapter presents original arguments for the view that Boyle regarded chemical properties as being dispositional, relational, and emergent properties. The chapter begins by discussing the hierarchy of properties in Boyle’s chemical ontology and Boyle’s notion of sensible properties as being dispositional and relational. Both of these sections are informed by Peter Anstey’s discussion of these topics. The chapter then moves beyond Anstey’s discussion by arguing for the view that Boyle regarded chemical properties as dispositional, relational, emergent, and supervenient properties. The chapter cites many examples from Boyle’s writings to demonstrate that he considered chemical properties to display the various features that are required for emergence, that is, supervenience, non-summative difference, and underdetermination. After this extensive discussion, the chapter concludes by establishing that Boyle also considered cosmical qualities as dispositional and relational, thus demonstrating the considerable philosophical sophistication of Boyle’s natural philosophy and of his entire experimental programme.

'A 'good death': the life and times of an experimental Neolithic house and its reception in the village of Nebelivka, Co. Kirovograd, Ukraine

Thousands of archaeological fieldwork projects must have stories about the interactions between their host village and the Project, although such accounts rarely make it to publication. The Anglo-Ukrainian Trypillia Megasites Project differs from many others in that we developed a closer relationship than usual with the villagers of Nebelivka, Ukraine, largely because of an experimental house-building and -burning operation that involved a number of villagers, from young reed- and hazel withy-collectors to the village Mayor. In this article, we weave together the different threads of actions, decisions, agendas and attitudes of the different stakeholders (team, villagers, politicians, journalists, other villagers, conference delegates etc.) in respect of the Project's experimental programme, focussing on the day of the house-burning, with its spectacular multi-sensory results. In conclusion, we reflect upon the application of the question 'what is a good death?' to a prehistoric house, taking into consideration the varied views of the participants on this question.