1,409 research outputs found
Interview With P.C. Hodgell
No full textP.C. Hodgell, author of God Stalk and Dark of the Moon, was one of the many authors who attended Mythcon XIX in Berkeley last summer. She was good enough to meet with the Mythic Circle writers\u27 roundtable and share some of her experiences with us. The following is transcribed from a low-quality tape; when it was possible to recognize a speaker’s voice I have identified them - others are noted as ct. Hope you enjoy it
Nonequilibrium and classical dissipation scalings in DNS of homogeneous isotropic decaying turbulence
No full textWe present data from direct numerical simulations of homogeneous isotropic decaying turbulence showing both the non-equilibrium and the classical dissipation scalings reported in wind-tunnel experiments of both regular and fractal grid-generated turbulence, i.e. Cε ∼ (Re0/Reλ)n with n of order unity and Cε ∼ constant, respectively (Re0 and Reλ are global and local Reynolds numbers). These two dissipation behaviours lead to different power-law decay exponents in both regimes also in accord with the experiments. Finally, we show that in both regimes the maximum non-linear energy cascade flux, Π, reasonably satisfies the classical expectation that Π ∼ K3/2/l
Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy using rotating optical flats
No full textIn two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES), precise control of the arrival time of ultrashort laser pulses is critical to correlating the molecular states that are accessed in the experiment. In this work, we demonstrate a 2D electronic spectrometer design with an interferometric phase stability of ∼λ/250 at 600 nm. First, we present a new method for controlling pulse delay times based on transmission through pairs of optical flats rotated perpendicular to the beam propagation direction. Second, the calibration methods required to achieve adequate timing precision are also reported. Compared to existing designs using translating wedges, the rotating optical flats can achieve equivalent optical delay with a shorter path length in glass, reducing errors due to spectral dispersion of the broadband laser pulses used in 2DES. Our approach presents a simple, low-cost technique for multidimensional optical spectroscopy that is capable of resolving complex light-induced dynamics.Patrick C. Tapping, Yin Song, Yoichi Kobayashi, Gregory D. Scholes, and Tak W. Ke
The frankincense tree of Ethiopia : ecology, productivity and population dynamics
No full text Keywords: Boswellian papyrifera, Frankincense tree, matrix model, population dynamics, population bottleneck, tapping. Combretum – Terminalia woodlands and Acacia – Commiphora woodlands are the two dominant vegetation types that cover large parts of the dry land areas in Ethiopia. Several of their tree and shrub species yield economically valuable products such as gum Arabic, frankincense and myrrh. Boswellia papyrifera provides the widely traded frankincense that accounts for >80% of the export revenues that the country is earning from gum and resin resources. Unfortunately, the Ethiopian dry woodlands and the B. papyrifera populations are disappearing rapidly due to the combined effects of over-harvesting gums and resins, overgrazing by livestock, recurrent fires, and excessive wood harvesting. The current lack of small saplings in the remaining populations of Boswellia suggests that the populations may not be sustained for the future. The main objectives of this thesis were to determine diversity and production patterns in B. papyrifera dominated dry woodlands, to show the regeneration status in various B. papyrifera populations, and to evaluate the effects of environment, frankincense harvesting, and grazing on the population dynamics of B. papyrifera. The main research questions were: (1) how do environmental conditions affect the tree/shrub species richness and production of Ethiopian dry woodlands? (2) what factors determine the frankincense production by B. papyrifera trees? (3) how do the vital rates and population dynamics of B. papyrifera vary across habitats that differ in soil conditions and biotic factors? (4) What are the major bottlenecks in the life cycle of the trees that hinder the sustainability of the remaining populations? To address these questions, tree populations were studied in the highlands of Abergelle and the lowlands of Metema. Metema also has a longer wet season length, higher annual rainfall and better soil fertility status than Abergelle. In total 36 and 22 tree and shrub species representing 20 and 9 families were recorded in Metema and Abergelle woodlands, respectively. The most dominant plant families were Burseraceae, Fabaceae, Combretaceae and Anacardiaceae. The vegetation at both sites was dominated by B. papyrifera. The two sites differed in species richness, diversity and production. Metema, the site with the longer wet season, had a higher species richness, diversity and production than Abergelle. The productivity of woodlands also increased with a higher clay content and greater soil depth. Populations structures indeed lacked the saplings, except for one very isolated population on a steep mountain slope. The studied frankincense trees produced 41 to 840 gram of frankincense during a year with seven collection rounds, and 185 to 1826 gram of frankincense during a year with 14 collection rounds. The variation in frankincense production was large across individuals. Frankincense production increased with tree size, tapping intensity, and tapping frequency. The increase in production, however, levelled-off beyond a stem diameter of 20 cm, a tapping intensity of 9 spots, and a tapping intensity of 10 rounds. Growth rate, survival rate and fruiting probability varied across populations, but were not related to soil conditions or biotic factors. The growth rates of the 12 Metema populations varied between 0.86 to 0.98, suggesting that they were all decreasing. Matrix model analyses indicated that the mortality of adult trees was the major bottleneck for sustainable population growth, and that the lack of sapling recruitment was a second major bottleneck. These bottlenecks appear both in tapped and non-tapped stands. Remarkably, tapped stand showed higher growth rates than nontapped stands, probably because productive stands were selected for harvesting resin. All results suggest that the remaining populations of B. papyrifera will disappear in the near future if the current situation continues. Frankincense production is expected to halve in 15- 20 years. Unexpectedly, tapping had no negative effect on vital rates, nor on population growth rates indicating that other factors are responsible for the decline of the populations. Adult mortality by insect infestation and windfall, and the negative impact of grazing and fire on the establishment of saplings need extra attention. Management should be directed towards releasing two major population bottlenecks (improve sapling regeneration, reduce adult mortability) to maintain the Boswellia populations and frankincense production in the future. </p
Singlet fission preserves polarisation correlation of excitons
No full textData source: Supplementary files, https://www.rsc.org/suppdata/d2/cp/d2cp01943d/d2cp01943d1.pdfTime-resolved polarisation anisotropy and Monte Carlo simulations show that singlet fission preserves polarisation correlation between photons absorbed and emitted by a material through removing excitons decorrelated by migration.Jessica M. de la Perrelle, Patrick C. Tapping, Elisabeth Schrefl, Alexandra N. Stuart, David M. Huang and Tak W. Ke
Reinforcing glass with glass: Application of transport reinforcement in structural glass beams
No full textDue to the increasing demand of transparency in buildings, it is no longer unusual to apply transparent elements into the bearing structure. Glass is a strong but very brittle material, which means safety is rather problematic should it break. Safety is an issue that has to be improved before glass can be considered suitable for structural elements. Earlier studies have shown that reinforcing glass beams will provide reasonable residual load-bearing capacity, which could provide this safety. Glass fibre is suitable as reinforcement material when the transparency is regarded as important. In February 2009 at the Faculty of Architecture at Delft University of Technology, P.C. Louter designed and tested a laminated glass beam with embedded glass fibre rods. The bonding interlayer consisted of SentryGlas foil, developed by DuPont and often applied for lamination in hurricane-resistant windows. The results were promising and the concept showed high potential for further research. The study of this thesis project is focussed on improving the concept of embedding reinforcement in laminated glass beams.Design and ConstructionCivil Engineering and Geoscience
Foreign Direct Investment. The key determinants of foreign direct investment in Poland. Case company: ArgusPack P.C.
No full textThe aim of this thesis was to provide a better understanding of the determinants of foreign direct invest-ment (referred to hereafter as “FDI”). The company ArgusPack P.C. is a flexible packaging manufacturer located in Greece which decided to engage using FDI in Poland. Thus, the factors that favors FDI into the selected region had to be determined.
This thesis was a qualitative research, an empirical non-numerical data research. For primary data a series of interviews was conducted by the author and for secondary data peer-reviewed articles and literatures that fully-describe the determinants of FDI were utilized. There are numerous theories that define the FDI, such as Vernon’s product life cycle (Vernon, 1966), Buckley and Casson’s internalization theory (P. Buckley, 1976) and Dunning’s eclectic paradigm (Dunning J. , 2001). In this project, the Dunning’s eclectic paradigm theory was selected and applied, aiming to provide a better understanding of the factors that motivates a company or an organization to become involved using FDI. Through a research study the primary data were collected and through excessive academic research the secondary data were collected as well. In conclu-sion, an analysis of the primary data in combination with the secondary data was done mainly focusing on the participants’ point of view and the way it aligns with the theoretical aspect given by this thesis. In the end a conclusion and recommendation were formed based on all data mentioned and the personal belief of the author.
Finally, since the key determinants have been identified and examined. Foreign direct investment seems to be an adequate business strategy for ArgusPack P.C. in Polan
The Quest for Citations: Drivers of Article Impact
No full textWhy do some articles become building blocks for future scholars, while many others remain unnoticed? We aim to answer this question by contrasting, synthesizing and simultaneously testing three scientometric perspectives – universalism, social constructivism and presentation – on the influence of article and author characteristics on article citations. To do so, we study all articles published in a sample of five major journals in marketing from 1990 to 2002 that are central to the discipline. We count the number of citations each of these articles has received and regress this count on an extensive set of characteristics of the article (i.e. article quality, article domain, title length, the use of attention grabbers and expositional clarity), and the author (i.e. author visibility and author personal promotion). We find that the number of citations an article in the marketing discipline receives, depends upon “what one says†(quality and domain), on “who says it†(author visibility and personal promotion) and not so much on “how one says it†(title length, the use of attention grabbers, and expositional clarity). Our insights contribute to the marketing literature and are relevant to scientific stakeholders, such as the management of scientific journals and individual academic scholars, as they strive to maximize citations. They are also relevant to marketing practitioners. They inform practitioners on characteristics of the academic journals in marketing and their relevance to decisions they face. On the other hand, they also raise challenges towards making our journals accessible and relevant to marketing practitioners: (1) authors visible to academics are not necessarily visible to practitioners; (2) the readability of an article may hurt academic credibility and impact, while it may be instrumental in influencing practitioners; (3) it remains questionable whether articles that academics assess to be of high quality are also managerially relevant.Impact;Citation Analysis;Referencing;Scientometrics;Cite
The grammar of English/Afrikaans code switching
No full textContains fulltext :
30199_gramofenc.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)This dissertation focuses on structural aspects of code switching between South African English and Afrikaans. Specifically, the main aim is to investigate the merit of an account of intrasentential code switching in terms of feature checking theory, a theory associated with minimalist syntax. The hypothesis is that feature checking theory and its related principles and operations provides an adequate framework within which to characterise and explain structural aspects of English-Afrikaans intrasentential code switching. A number of word order differences between English and Afrikaans, specifically involving verb position, are analysed within the framework of feature checking theory, where the movement of lexical items is proposed to be driven by the need to check strong uninterpretable features associated with functional heads. The constructions include constructions with adverbs, focalisation and topicalisation constructions, embedded that and wh clauses, and yes-no questions. On the basis of the feature checking analyses, predictions are made regarding the well-formedness of constructions of these types in which code switching between English and Afrikaans occurs. The predictions are tested on the basis of data elicited from 30 fluent English-Afrikaans bilingual participants by means of (i) judgments of the relative well-formedness of visually-presented sentence pairs, (ii) judgments of the relative well-formedness of auditorily-presented utterance pairs, (iii) sentence construction, (iv) video clip description, and (v) magnitude estimation of the relative well-formedness of visually-presented sentence sets. The results indicate support for some of the predictions, but uniform support for the hypothesis is not evident. Further linguistic factors playing a role in participants' performance are discussed. This dissertation is of interest to scholars in the field of bilingualism, particularly those interested in the application of syntactic theory to bilingual phenomena, and in experimental techniques tapping bilingual processing.Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, 12 september 2007Promotores : Muysken, P.C., Hout, R.W.N.M. vanVIII, 271 p
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