Review of Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research; Authors: Tracey M. Derwing and Murray J. Munro; Publisher: John Benjamins, 2015; ISBN: 9789027213273; Pages: 208

Book Revie

Quasi-Random Rumor Spreading: Reducing Randomness Can Be Costly

We give a time-randomness tradeoff for the quasi-random rumor spreading protocol proposed by Doerr, Friedrich and Sauerwald [SODA 2008] on complete graphs. In this protocol, the goal is to spread a piece of information originating from one vertex throughout the network. Each vertex is assumed to have a (cyclic) list of its neighbors. Once a vertex is informed by one of its neighbors, it chooses a position in its list uniformly at random and then informs its neighbors starting from that position and proceeding in order of the list. Angelopoulos, Doerr, Huber and Panagiotou [Electron.~J.~Combin.~2009] showed that after $(1+o(1))(\log_2 n + \ln n)$ rounds, the rumor will have been broadcasted to all nodes with probability $1 - o(1)$. We study the broadcast time when the amount of randomness available at each node is reduced in natural way. In particular, we prove that if each node can only make its initial random selection from every $\ell$-th node on its list, then there exists lists such that $(1-\varepsilon) (\log_2 n + \ln n - \log_2 \ell - \ln \ell)+\ell-1$ steps are needed to inform every vertex with probability at least $1-O\bigl(\exp\bigl(-\frac{n^\varepsilon}{2\ln n}\bigr)\bigr)$. This shows that a further reduction of the amount of randomness used in a simple quasi-random protocol comes at a loss of efficiency

Role of solar flare index in long term modulation of cosmic ray intensity

Recently, the importance of the occurrence of solar flares in the long-term modulation of cosmic ray intensity has been re-emphasized. For this purpose, the data of solar flares have been used from various publications, such as Solar Geophysical Data books, U.A.G. reports and Quarterly Bulletin Of Solar Activity. Research very clearly reveals that even the periodic changes in the solar flare observations, obtained from the four different data sources, for the same interval, differ significantly from one another; this is evidenced even on an average basis. Hence, in any study using solar flares, the importance of selecting a single compilation of the solar-flare data for the entire period of investigation is stressed

Sexuality and the Nation: Urban Popular Music and Queer Identities in Krámpack

Since popular music entered film music studies debates between the mid-1990s and early-2000s (Romney and Wootton, 1995; Smith, 1998; Kassabian, 2001; Wojcik and Knight, 2001; Inglis, 2003; Lanin and Caley, 2005), scholarly attention for Spanish film music has grown (Vernon and Eisen, 2006; Fraile Prieto, 2010; Viñuela Suárez and Fraile Prieto, 2010) and contributions about songs quickly started appearing (Evans, 2002; Vernon, 2005; Shaw and Stone, 2012). There are obvious signs of a growing field including a broad range of disciplines. While different backgrounds produce a diverse picture, different disciplines can bring a certain focus, which predictably imposes a few recurrent limitations. Film scholars often focus on auteurs, often leaving not-yet-established directors off the scholarly map, while musicologists are still drawn towards the great film music composers – two sides that often come together to produce studies about established director-composer pairs. In Spain, film music studies remains largely centred in the musicological circles where these debates began and the interdisciplinary perspective which characterises Anglophone scholarship about Spanish films and their soundtracks has not yet reached film studies in the Spanish context

LEARNING STYLE IN LEARNING PRONUNCIATION OF EFL LEARNER

The people usually ignore pronunciation when speaking, telling something, discussing, singing, etc. The focus of this research is to explore the learning style of an EFL learner named Kharis  Fikril Muhorobin in practicing pronunciation. The design of this research is a case study in the form of qualitative research design. The objective of this research is finding the learning style of an EFL learner. This research was conducted on campus and in the informant's boarding house. The data were collected by using triangulation involving observation, interview, and documentation. The analysis of the data was conducted using descriptive analysis. The result shows that  the informant focused on British pronunciation. Based on the result of data analysis, it is found that there are three strategies applied by an informant in practicing British pronunciation. Those strategies are listening and practicing English songs, watching, and listening to English movies,   and reading out loud English book

Formas de fósforo y su relación con la erosión en aguas superficiales bajo clima atlántico

Jornadas de Investigación en la Zona No Saturada de Suelo, ZNS 2005, A Coruña, 16-18 de noviembre 2005Los abonos orgánicos de origen ganadero y los fertilizantes inorgánicos aplicados al suelo en cantidades crecientes han motivado un aumento de las transferencias de nutrientes hacia las aguas superficiales y freáticas. El enriquecimiento de las aguas superficiales por fosfatos procedentes de las actividades agrícolas en condiciones de clima atlántico es debido, sobre todo, a la escorrentía superficial. En la mayor parte de los sistemas acuáticos el fósforo está considerado como el elemento limitante para que se inicie la eutrofización, de modo que se admite que, a partir de un umbral de 20 µg/l, existe un riesgo potencial de que se desencadene este proceso. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados del análisis de tres formas de fósforo; soluble, asociado a los sedimentos y total; en 743 muestras tomadas entre enero de 1999 y diciembre de 2004 en el río Valiñas (Coruña) a la altura de la localidad de Sésamo. Se pudo comprobar que más del 95% de las muestras analizadas presentaban contenidos de fosfato total mayores que 20 µg/l. En todos los años estudiados se observó un número limitado de eventos durante los cuales los contenidos en fósforo total superaban el umbral de 200 µg/l. Las distribuciones de frecuencia del fosfato total y asociado a los sedimentos presentan una fuerte asimetría positiva, mientras que la del fosfato soluble es más próxima a una distribución normal. Las concentraciones elevadas de fosfato pueden ocurrir en cualquier época del año, pero son más frecuentes en primavera y otoño, cuando el riesgo de erosión es mayor. Se encontró una correlación muy significativa entre fósforo total y fósforo asociado a los sedimentos. Por otra parte, también resultaron muy significativas las relaciones de dependencia lineal entre los sólidos en suspensión, el fosfato total y el fosfato asociado a sedimentos. Se puso de manifiesto que, a escala anual, la contribución al fósforo total de la fracción asociada a los sedimentos era superior a la del fósforo soluble; esta contribución es proporcionalmente mayor durante los períodos de flujo base / Livestock organic manure and inorganic fertilizers applied to soil in high quantities have caused an increase of the nutrient transfers towards surface and subsurface water. Surface water enrichment by phosphates from agricultural activities in atlantic climatic conditions is mainly associated with surface runoff. In most of the aquatic systems, phosphorus is considered to be the limitant element for starting eutrophication, so it is admitted that from a threshold of 20 µg/l exists a potential risk of triggering this process. In this paper, results from the analysis of three phosphorus forms; dissolved, sedimentary and total; in 743 samples taken between January 1999 and December 2004 in Valiñas River (Coruña) at a place called Sésamo, are shown. It is found that more than 95% of the analysed samples showed phosphate contents higher than 20 µg/l. In all of the years of study, it was observed limited number of events which total phosphorus contents were higher than the threshold of 200 µg/l. Sedimentary and total phosphorus frequency distributions show a high positive asymmetry while that of the dissolved phosphate is similar to the normal distribution. High positive concentrations can occur in every season of the year but they are more frequent in spring and autumn, when the erosion risk is higher. A very significant correlation between total and sedimentary phosphorus was found. On the other hand, lineal dependence relationships between suspended solids, total phosphate and sedimentary phosphate were very significant, as well. It was revealed that, at a yearly level, the contribution of the sedimentary phosphorus to the total phosphorus was higher than that of the dissolved phosphorus; this contribution is, proportionally, higher during the periods of basis fluxMinisterio de Ciencia y Tecnología; REN2000-0445-HDMinisterio de Ciencia y Tecnología; AGL2003-09284Galicia. Consellería de Innovación, Industria e Comercio; PGIDIT05PXI16201R

Évaluation des transferts entre barrage et aquifères par la méthode de bilan d'une retenue en zone semi-aride. Cas d'El Haouareb en Tunisie centrale

Le barrage d'El Haouareb est situé en Tunisie centrale, dans une zone caractérisée par un climat semi-aride. Il draine le bassin versant de l'oued Merguellil d'une superficie d'environ 1 200 km2. Le but de cette recherche est d'évaluer, à partir du bilan du barrage, l'impact de la mise en place de cet ouvrage sur les ressources en eau de surface et souterraine, en vue de mieux cerner le fonctionnement de l'ensemble de ce système et faciliter ainsi sa gestion.Le bilan en eau de surface fait appel à deux termes non mesurés : l'infiltration à travers la cuvette de la retenue et les apports des oueds incomplètement contrôlés. Par une méthodologie originale, nous avons modélisé et calculé l'infiltration. Les apports journaliers au barrage, déduits du bilan ont été ensuite validés par comparaison aux débits mesurés sur une station située, plus en amont, sur le tributaire principal.Cette recherche a mis en évidence que, malgré des pertes non négligeables par évaporation (25% des apports), l'infiltration constitue, de loin, le terme le plus important du bilan de la retenue d'El Haouareb (63% des apports).Cette dernière a ainsi injecté, directement ou par nappe interposée, dans l'aquifère aval de la plaine de Kairouan plus de 9 millions de m3 par an.The El Haouareb dam and the neighbouring dams (Nebhana and Sidi Saâd) were constructed with the objective of protecting the inhabitants of the Kairouan plain from floods. This area constitutes the natural downstream region of three principal wadis of central Tunisia (Merguellil, Nebhana and Zeroud) where there have been floods in the past. The second objective of this dam is to control the recharge of the Kairouan groundwater aquifer in the absence of natural wadi flows, by diverting flows from the dam and by infiltration through the foundation and basin of the dam. In a semi-arid region characterized by very strong evaporation and plant transpiration rates (about 1700 mm per year), it is obviously of great importance to recharge the underground water systems, which are less subject to these kinds of losses and which better preserve the water resources. The last objective of this dam is to supply water to the population, especially for agricultural needs. The dam was expected to supply water to an irrigated area of about 2500 hectares in this region. During the construction of the El Haouareb dam spillway, underground flows occurred in the limestone of the El Haouareb Hill. At the beginning of the exploitation of the dam these underground flows increased. This development has affected the management plans for the dam and accordingly a monitoring program has been put in place to follow of the evolution over time of the infiltration. The purpose of this research was to evaluate, by the water balance method, the impact of the construction of this dam on surface and ground water. This research will improve the understanding of the system, and thus, facilitate management. In addition, this project will evaluate recharge rates towards the groundwater reserves of the Kairouan plain, which constitutes the natural downstream region of this system.The dam is situated at an interface of several superficial and underground hydraulic systems. For surface water, the El Haouareb dam drains the Merguellil wadi catchment whose surface area is about 1200 km2. Besides the Merguellil wadi, two of its tributaries flow directly into the El Haouareb dam (Hammam and Ben Zitoune wadis) but without any measurement of their flows. Nevertheless, two hydrometric stations were established on the Merguellil wadi, upstream of El Haouareb dam: Haffouz in 1966 and Sidi Boujdaria in 1974. The first station is still functional whereas the second one stopped working in 1989. For underground systems, the Aïn Baïdha groundwater located upstream from the dam, and the downstream groundwater of the Kairouan plain constitute the principal aquifers in relation to this dam. A third aquifer of the El Haouareb hill, composed mainly of limestone, was also identified. It receives both Aïn Baïdha groundwater and infiltrations from the El Haouareb dam, and empties towards the groundwater of the Kairouan plain. A daily database of El Haouareb dam management, collected by the agricultural ministry, was available. The data-base contained the following elements: rainfall amounts for the site; water levels in the dam; evaporation rates measured by a Colorado tub; three states of the physical characteristics of dam measured before the beginning of exploitation (1989) and during two drying times of the dam (1994 and 1997); releases from the dam for irrigation; releases from the dam to fight against siltation of the dam and to recharge the Kairouan plain aquifer. There were also rain data measured from the surrounding rain gages and hydrometric data observed at the Haffouz and Sidi Boujdaria stations. The water balance equation of this dam presents two unknowns: the infiltration from the dam and the flows that arrive in the dam by wadis. To resolve these unknowns, we proceeded by minimizing one of the two unknowns with a goal to determine the other one.As infiltration rates were inaccessible, we worked on periods without flows, chosen according to four criteria. During these periods the rain on the dam and on the surrounding rain gages must be equal to 0 mm, the flows measured at the upstream station of Haffouz must be inferior or equal to 50 L/s, and the variation of the water level in the dam must always be decreasing. Finally, the fourth criterion is that the length of these periods that must be equal or greater than 15 d. Thus we were able to calculate the infiltration flows during the periods without flows. These values were corrected by adding the low water flows, which were assumed to arrive at the dam. These flows were calculated by a linear equation established between the low water flows at the Haffouz and Sidi Boujdaria stations. The representation of this calculated infiltration according to the water level in the dam gave a cluster of points from which three simple linear adjustments were done. Thus, we obtained a model composed of three linear equations that represented the changes in infiltration as a function of time. This model showed that the infiltration flow ratecorresponding to a particular level, decreased with time as sedimentation in the dam proceeded. For the daily average level (206 meters), the infiltration rate passed from 650 L/s in 1989 to 310 L/s in 1998.Despite the scarcity of "periods without flows" between 1989 and 1991, and some uncertainties due essentially to the measurement of water levels in the dam, this model is representative of reality because it takes into account the evolution of sedimentation in the dam. The model yielded infiltration flow rates that were higher than those calculated in preceding studies. The infiltration model obtained was then applied to the entire period of study, allowing resolution of the water balance equation for the dam (which now has only one unknown): the flows of the different wadis arriving in the dam.In conclusion, this research showed that despite considerable losses by evaporation (25% of flows), infiltration (accounting for 63% of flows) constituted the more important term in the water balance of the El Haouareb dam. This dam has thus injected, directly or via the interposed limestone aquifer, more than 9 million m3 per year into the downstream groundwater of the Kairouan plain