Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to address the challenges which the concept of halal presentswhen attempting to understand how halal-conscious consumers behave and what it takes to maintain an emotive, credible and authentic brand proposition. Design/methodology/approach -Interpretive phenomenological analysis and syllogisms, as a basis for conceptual metaphor theory and critical discourse analysis, were employed. Evidence supported by discussions and participant observation method, whilst attending Oxford Global Islamic Branding and Marketing Forum, 26-27 July 2010, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford -in addition to the empirical data presented by keynote speakers. Findings -The author asserts that halal-conscious consumers are risk averse, which drives discerning and high-involvement behavioural traits. Furthermore, in the face of this, brand managers are still unclear how far they can push more emotionally led brand messages. Finally, the paper presents a halal decision-making paradigm -as a basis for constructing salient and engaging brands. The halal paradigm is a nub where the perceived importance of halal is brought into the Muslim consciousness. This is a dynamic and cyclical process, whose final verdict is finite and perishable -due to hyper-sensitivity and environmental factors influencing Muslim perceptions of what is halal.Research limitations/implications -The models presented synthesise conceptual thinking with primary and secondary data. Further, tests related to specific brands are suggested. Originality/value -Whilst the author concurs with the general Islamic principle of halal being the norm and haram as the exception, within the halal paradigm of consumption attached to consumerism, an argument is put forward asserting that this is increasingly being reversed. Furthermore, it is proposed that brand theory could view brands as Muslims.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to review current literature and practices concerning the usage and consumption of Halal, within marketing and branding. Following this, the paper is to both stimulate discussions and encourage further thinking within this field. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses inductive reasoning and syllogisms, as a basis for conceptual metaphor theory and critical discourse analysis. Evidence gathered from structured and systematic literature reviews -supported by existing empirical data, anecdotal evidence, personal observations and experience is also used. Findings -In business, the doctrine of what is Halal, has culminated in the creation of ingredient brands and in some cases forms of co-branding. However, the Halal's full potential has yet to be harnessed and there remain areas of dissonance and misunderstanding. Reasons offered by the authors are that current applications of brand theory unnecessarily restrict the term Halal and presuppose that there is one interpretation of its meaning. Also, instead of current trends which focus on rate determining steps within functional marketing approaches per se, Halal's competitive advantage is of more significance when delivered via the tacit elements of strategy and management. Research limitations/implications -As a conceptual paper, research is limited at times by a lack of empirical data and attempts necessitating the exploration of wide-ranging cross-disciplinary sources and stakeholder engagements. Originality/value -Growing market interest suggests its significance to both Muslims and non-Muslims. Furthermore, whilst research reveals studies looking at "meat and money" (Halal meat and Islamic finance) centred on functional attributes and monolithic consumption, few explore Halal's figurative and brand elements amongst diverse audiences.

Studies of the spin and parity quantum numbers of the Higgs boson are presented, based on proton–proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The Standard Model spin–parity JP=0+JP=0+ hypothesis is compared with alternative hypotheses using the Higgs boson decays H→γγH→γγ, H→ZZ⁎→4ℓH→ZZ⁎→4ℓ and H→WW⁎→ℓνℓνH→WW⁎→ℓνℓν, as well as the combination of these channels. The analysed dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.7 fb−1 collected at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=8TeV. For the H→ZZ⁎→4ℓH→ZZ⁎→4ℓ decay mode the dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb−1 collected at √s=7TeV is included. The data are compatible with the Standard Model JP=0+JP=0+ quantum numbers for the Higgs boson, whereas all alternative hypotheses studied in this Letter, namely some specific JP=0−,1+,1−,2+JP=0−,1+,1−,2+ models, are excluded at confidence levels above 97.8%. This exclusion holds independently of the assumptions on the coupling strengths to the Standard Model particles and in the case of the JP=2+JP=2+ model, of the relative fractions of gluon-fusion and quark–antiquark production of the spin-2 particle. The data thus provide evidence for the spin-0 nature of the Higgs boson, with positive parity being strongly preferre

Studies of the spin, parity and tensor couplings of the Higgs boson in the , and decay processes at the LHC are presented. The investigations are based on of pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at  TeV and  TeV. The Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson hypothesis, corresponding to the quantum numbers , is tested against several alternative spin scenarios, including non-SM spin-0 and spin-2 models with universal and non-universal couplings to fermions and vector bosons. All tested alternative models are excluded in favour of the SM Higgs boson hypothesis at more than 99.9 % confidence level. Using the and decays, the tensor structure of the interaction between the spin-0 boson and the SM vector bosons is also investigated. The observed distributions of variables sensitive to the non-SM tensor couplings are compatible with the SM predictions and constraints on the non-SM couplings are derived.

Search for high-mass dilepton resonances using139 fb −1 of p p collision data collected at √ s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detectorThe ATLAS Collaboration A search for high-mass dielectron and dimuon resonances in the mass range of 250 GeV to 6 TeV is presented. The data were recorded by the ATLAS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √ s = 13 TeV during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb −1 . A functional form is fitted to the dilepton invariant-mass distribution to model the contribution from background processes, and a generic signal shape is used to determine the significance of observed deviations from this background estimate. No significant deviation is observed and upper limits are placed at the 95% confidence level on the fiducial cross-section times branching ratio for various resonance width hypotheses. The derived limits are shown to be applicable to spin-0, spin-1 and spin-2 signal hypotheses. For a set of benchmark models, the limits are converted into lower limits on the resonance mass and reach 4.5 TeV for the E 6 -motivated Z ψ boson. Also presented are limits on Heavy Vector Triplet model couplings.ATLAS [14-16] is a multipurpose detector with a forward-backward symmetric cylindrical geometry with respect to the LHC beam axis.1 The innermost layers consist of tracking detectors in the pseudorapidity range |η| < 2.5. This inner detector (ID) is surrounded by a thin superconducting solenoid that provides a 1 ATLAS uses a right-handed coordinate system with its origin at the nominal interaction point (IP) in the centre of the detector and the z-axis along the beam pipe. The x-axis points from the IP to the centre of the LHC ring, and the y-axis points upwards. Cylindrical coordinates (r, φ) are used in the transverse plane, φ being the azimuthal angle around the z-axis. The pseudorapidity is defined in terms of the polar angle θ as η = − ln tan(θ/2). Angular distance is measured in units of ∆R ≡ (∆η) 2 + (∆φ) 2 .