The declension of Somali nouns.

In the literature on Somali grammar the exponents of gender and number have been given much attention, while the declensional system has passed almost entirely unnoticed. There are two main reasons for this gap: the use of the inadequate traditional techniques of description and the failure to examine the whole range of accentual patterns in Somali nouns. The aim of this thesis, which is a result of over twelve years of research into the language, is to fill the gap in the present knowledge of Somali by providing formulations concerning the nature of Somali declensions, and by describing their exponents and distribution. Moreover, the use of a special descriptive framework is demonstrated in the handling of the data. Although this framework has been developed ad hoc to suit the descriptive needs of the language and has been used here for the first time, the methodological approach is not entirely new and has been used by Kenneth L, Pike, Charles C, Pries and the three authors of the Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary. The exponents of Somali declensions consist of inflectional characteristics and/or accentual patterns which are composed of sequences of various types of tone and stress. The distribution of the exponents is determined by the position of a particular noun form in the sentence, with respect both to its place in the word order and to its grammatical interdependence with other words. The relevant positions of noun forms are first classified (in Part II), and then (in Parts III and IV) a detailed description of the declensional exponents in each position is given, together with examples taken from spontaneous speech. In the conclusion, comparison is made between the grammatical characteristics of noun forms and nominal clusters (extended nouns) and it is shown that nominal clusters have features parallel to the declensional features of nouns. As yet Somali has no official orthography. Brief notes- on the method of transcription used in the thesis are given in an Appendix

Users’ processing of online marketplace listings for high and low involvement goods

Purpose: To understand how users of online marketplaces process market signals in their decision making and whether this depends on if the good is of high or low involvement. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a mixed methods approach. Study 1 draws on an analysis of interviews with online marketplace users using hypothetical eBay purchases as stimuli, understanding how users conceptualize specific market signals and whether their importance varies depending on the type of purchase (high versus low involvement good). Study 2 tests hypotheses derived from signaling theory, using an eye tracking experiment. Findings: Price and photographs act as “fast and frugal” signals for inclusion in consideration sets for low involvement purchases, but consumers deem them insufficient for high involvement purchases where high-cost signals that help establish seller credibility are far more salient. Users pay relatively greater attention to costly market signals, which are beyond sellers’ direct control, for high involvement goods. Practical implications: The paper offers insights for sellers regarding the presentation of quality cues and strategies online marketplaces can employ to reduce information asymmetry. Originality/value: Drawing on and extending signaling theory, the paper introduces and confirms hypotheses for understanding users’ attention to market signals when making purchase decisions on online marketplaces. It identifies how the degree of involvement of a product affects the processing of market signals

Carrier delocalization in InAs/InGaAlAs/InP quantum‐dash‐based tunnel injection system for 1.55 μm emission

The work has been supported by the grant No. 2013/10/M/ST3/00636 of the National Science Centre in Poland and the QuCoS Project of Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft No. RE1110/16‐1.We have investigated optical properties of hybrid two‐dimensional‐zero‐dimensional (2D‐0D) tunnel structures containing strongly elongated InAs/InP(001) quantum dots (called quantum dashes), emitting at 1.55 μm. These quantum dashes (QDashes) are separated by a 2.3 nm‐width barrier from an InGaAs quantum well (QW), lattice matched to InP. We have tailored quantum‐mechanical coupling between the states confined in QDashes and a QW by changing the QW thickness. By combining modulation spectroscopy and photoluminescence excitation, we have determined the energies of all relevant optical transitions in the system and proven the carrier transfer from the QW to the QDashes, which is the fundamental requirement for the tunnel injection scheme. A transformation between 0D and mixed‐type 2D‐0D character of an electron and a hole confinement in the ground state of the hybrid system have been probed by time‐resolved photoluminescence that revealed considerable changes in PL decay time with the QW width changes. The experimental discoveries have been explained by band structure calculations in the framework of the eight‐band k⋅p model showing that they are driven by delocalization of the lowest energy hole state. The hole delocalization process from the 0D QDash confinement is unfavorable for optical devices based on such tunnel injection structures.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Quantum noise and mixedness of a pumped dissipative non-linear oscillator

Evolutions of quantum noise, characterized by quadrature squeezing parameter and Fano factor, and of mixedness, quantified by quantum von Neumann and linear entropies, of a pumped dissipative non-linear oscillator are studied. The model can describe a signal mode interacting with a thermal reservoir in a parametrically pumped cavity with a Kerr non-linearity. It is discussed that the initial pure states, including coherent states, Fock states, and finite superpositions of coherent states evolve into the same steady mixed state as verified by the quantum relative entropy and the Bures metric. It is shown analytically and verified numerically that the steady state can be well approximated by a nonclassical Gaussian state exhibiting quadrature squeezing and sub-Poissonian statistics for the cold thermal reservoir. A rapid increase is found in the mixedness, especially for the initial Fock states and superpositions of coherent states, during a very short time interval, and then for longer evolution times a decrease in the mixedness to the same, for all the initial states, and relatively low value of the nonclassical Gaussian state.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure

The effects of diet and feeding techniques on growth factors and meat quality of common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

The study was conducted for 134 days. Common carp fry (60g ± 0.3g) were fed using two different diets containing only plant protein sources, without any animal protein inclusions. Diets were administered by two different methods: an automatic band feeder (diet 28/7 F and 28/15 F) for 12 hours a day (9.00 a.m. – 9.00 p.m.) and by hand (diet 28/7 H and 28/15 H) once a day (at 9 am). Weight, Specific Growth Rate (SGR), Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER), Fat Retention Index (FR) and Protein Retention Index (PR) were statistically higher in fish fed with the automatic feeder. On the contrary, the value of FCR was statistically higher in fish fed by hand. Diet composition did not have significant influence on growth performance. Survival rate was not statistically different among groups (85-96%). There was no significant effect of feeding method or diet on meat quality, such as color and fat content

Evidence of Josephson-coupled superconducting regions at the interfaces of Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite

Transport properties of a few hundreds of nanometers thick (in the graphene plane direction) lamellae of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) have been investigated. Current-Voltage characteristics as well as the temperature dependence of the voltage at different fixed input currents provide evidence for Josephson-coupled superconducting regions embedded in the internal two-dimensional interfaces, reaching zero resistance at low enough temperatures. The overall behavior indicates the existence of superconducting regions with critical temperatures above 100 K at the internal interfaces of oriented pyrolytic graphite.Comment: 6 Figures, 5 page

Gauge symmetry and W-algebra in higher derivative systems

The problem of gauge symmetry in higher derivative Lagrangian systems is discussed from a Hamiltonian point of view. The number of independent gauge parameters is shown to be in general {\it{less}} than the number of independent primary first class constraints, thereby distinguishing it from conventional first order systems. Different models have been considered as illustrative examples. In particular we show a direct connection between the gauge symmetry and the W-algebra for the rigid relativistic particle.Comment: 1+22 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX, v2; title changed, considerably expanded version with new results, to appear in JHE

Measurement of the (90,91,92,93,94,96)Zr(n,gamma) and (139)La(n,gamma) cross sections at n_TOF

Open AccessNeutron capture cross sections of Zr and La isotopes have important implications in the field of nuclear astrophysics as well as in the nuclear technology. In particular the Zr isotopes play a key role for the determination of the neutron density in the He burning zone of the Red Giant star, while the (139)La is important to monitor the s-process abundances from Ba up to Ph. Zr is also largely used as structural materials of traditional and advanced nuclear reactors. The nuclear resonance parameters and the cross section of (90,91,92,93,94,96)Zr and (139)La have been measured at the n_TOF facility at CERN. Based on these data the capture resonance strength and the Maxwellian-averaged cross section were calculated