A Call to Action: Examining the Experiences of American Red Cross Disaster Services Volunteers

Disasters come in many forms from natural to technological, and can occur without warning. A disaster causes loss of property, loss of life, and disrupts daily life. In the aftermath of a disaster, there are many organizations that step in to assist those affected. One such organization is the American Red Cross, which trains disaster responders to assist in relief efforts. Disaster services volunteers with Red Cross are trained in a variety of functions, some of which deal more directly with victims of disaster than others. In an effort to understand the unique experiences of volunteers in disaster relief, a series of qualitative interviews were conducted with ten American Red Cross volunteer disaster responders. This study explores how they became interested in volunteering, what they have accomplished since the first time they volunteered for disaster work, what skills they believe they have gained from their work, their perceptions of the persons that they help, and their overall satisfaction with the volunteer experience

Simulation of a flux emergence event and comparison with observations by Hinode

We study the observational signature of flux emergence in the photosphere using synthetic data from a 3D MHD simulation of the emergence of a twisted flux tube. Several stages in the emergence process are considered. At every stage we compute synthetic Stokes spectra of the two iron lines Fe I 6301.5 {\AA} and Fe I 6302.5 {\AA} and degrade the data to the spatial and spectral resolution of Hinode's SOT/SP. Then, following observational practice, we apply Milne-Eddington-type inversions to the synthetic spectra in order to retrieve various atmospheric parameters and compare the results with recent Hinode observations. During the emergence sequence, the spectral lines sample different parts of the rising flux tube, revealing its twisted structure. The horizontal component of the magnetic field retrieved from the simulations is close to the observed values. The flattening of the flux tube in the photosphere is caused by radiative cooling, which slows down the ascent of the tube to the upper solar atmosphere. Consistent with the observations, the rising magnetized plasma produces a blue shift of the spectral lines during a large part of the emergence sequence.Comment: A&A Letter, 3 figure

Effect of water volume and water quality on the efficacy of glyphosate on some important weed species in Turkey

The effect of spray water volume and water quality on the performance of three Roundup formulations were investigated in pot experiments to observe whether these factors influence the efficacy of herbicide on three important weed species occurring in Turkey. Sorghum halepense, Cyperus rotundus and Portulaca oleracea were used in the experiments. All Roundup formulations were applied at three different doses with two water volume rates (200 and 600 l/ha) and three different water qualities (clean water, clean water + CaCl2 to simulate hard water and water of Büyük Menderes River). Experiments were carried out at the research station of Adnan Menderes University in the Aydin province of Turkey and replicated twice. Results of the studies showed that the performance of Roundup on weeds was not influenced by herbicide formulation, but significantly affected by water volume as well as water quality. However, the effect of these factors was variable depending on the weed species and the applied herbicide dose. Significant differences were observed mostly at reduced doses more apparently in the case of more sensitive weed species such as P. oleracea and S. halepense. C. rotundus was more tolerant against herbicide so that an influence of investigated factors on the efficacy was observed even with the recommended dose. In general, low volume treatments (200 l/ha) provided significantly higher weed control. Similarly, clean water improved the effectiveness of the herbicide on weeds. These results suggest that using clean spray water and low volume treatments improve the efficacy of glyphosate at the recommended and reduced rates depending on the sensitivities of weed species. Keywords: Cyperus rotundus, formulation, Portulaca oleracea, Sorghum halepenseEinfluss von Wassermenge und -qualität auf die Wirksamkeit von Glyphosat bei wichtigen Unkrautarten in der TürkeiMit Gefäßversuchen wurde der Einfluss von Wassermenge bzw. -qualität auf die Wirksamkeit von drei verschiedenen Roundup-Formulierungen bei wichtigen Unkrautarten in der Türkei untersucht. Sorghum halepense, Cyperus rotundus und Portulaca oleracea wurden bei den Experimenten verwendet. Alle Formulierungen wurden mit drei Aufwandmengen aufgebracht, jede mit 2 verschiedenen Wassermengen (200 und 600 l/ha) und bei drei verschiedenen Wasserqualitäten (reines Wasser, reines Wasser + CaCl2, um die Wasserhärte zu steigern, und Wasser aus dem Büyük Menderes Fluss). Die Versuche wurden am Forschungszentrum der Adnan Menderes Universität in Aydin, Türkei, durchgeführt und zweimal wiederholt. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die Wirksamkeit von Roundup auf die Unkräuter nicht von der Formulierung beeinflusst wurde, aber der Einfluss von Wassermenge bzw. -qualität war signifikant. Jedoch waren die Einflüsse dieser Faktoren von der Unkrautart bzw. von den Aufwandmengen abhängig. Erhebliche Unterschiede wurden bei den reduzierten Aufwandmengen und bei den sensitiveren Arten beobachtet, wie z. B. P. oleracea und S. halepense. C. rotundus war gegenüber dem Herbizid unempfindlicher, so dass die untersuchten Faktoren sogar bei den empfohlenen Aufwandmengen keine Unterschiede der Wirkung verursachten. Im Allgemeinen lieferten Behandlungen mit niedriger Wassermenge signifikant höhere Bekämpfungsgrade. Reines Wasser erhöhte ebenfalls die Wirkung des Herbizids auf die Unkräuter. Aus diesen Ergebnissen geht hervor, dass die Wirksamkeit von Glyphosat bei Anwendung mit reinem Spritzwasser und verringertem Wasseraufwand bei den empfohlenen bzw. reduzierten Aufwandmengen in Abhängigkeit von der Empfindlichkeit der Unkrautarten verbessert wird.Stichwörter: Cyperus rotundus, Formulierung, Portulaca oleracea, Sorghum halepens

Multilingual Word Sense Induction to Improve Web Search Result Clustering

In [12] a novel approach to Web search result clustering based on Word Sense Induction, i.e. the automatic discovery of word senses from raw text was presented; key to the proposed approach is the idea of, first, automatically in- ducing senses for the target query and, second, clustering the search results based on their semantic similarity to the word senses induced. In [1] we proposed an innovative Word Sense Induction method based on multilingual data; key to our approach was the idea that a multilingual context representation, where the context of the words is expanded by considering its translations in different languages, may im- prove the WSI results; the experiments showed a clear per- formance gain. In this paper we give some preliminary ideas to exploit our multilingual Word Sense Induction method to Web search result clustering

The Horizontal Component of Photospheric Plasma Flows During the Emergence of Active Regions on the Sun

The dynamics of horizontal plasma flows during the first hours of the emergence of active region magnetic flux in the solar photosphere have been analyzed using SOHO/MDI data. Four active regions emerging near the solar limb have been considered. It has been found that extended regions of Doppler velocities with different signs are formed in the first hours of the magnetic flux emergence in the horizontal velocity field. The flows observed are directly connected with the emerging magnetic flux; they form at the beginning of the emergence of active regions and are present for a few hours. The Doppler velocities of flows observed increase gradually and reach their peak values 4-12 hours after the start of the magnetic flux emergence. The peak values of the mean (inside the +/-500 m/s isolines) and maximum Doppler velocities are 800-970 m/s and 1410-1700 m/s, respectively. The Doppler velocities observed substantially exceed the separation velocities of the photospheric magnetic flux outer boundaries. The asymmetry was detected between velocity structures of leading and following polarities. Doppler velocity structures located in a region of leading magnetic polarity are more powerful and exist longer than those in regions of following polarity. The Doppler velocity asymmetry between the velocity structures of opposite sign reaches its peak values soon after the emergence begins and then gradually drops within 7-12 hours. The peak values of asymmetry for the mean and maximal Doppler velocities reach 240-460 m/s and 710-940 m/s, respectively. An interpretation of the observable flow of photospheric plasma is given.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. The results of article were presented at the ESPM-13 (12-16 September 2011, Rhodes, Greece, Abstract Book p. 102, P.4.12, http://astro.academyofathens.gr/espm13/documents/ESPM13_abstract_programme_book.pdf

The Relationship Between Plasma Flow Doppler Velocities and Magnetic Field Parameters During the Emergence of Active Regions at the Solar Photospheric Level

A statistical study has been carried out of the relationship between plasma flow Doppler velocities and magnetic field parameters during the emergence of active regions at the solar photospheric level with data acquired by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). We have investigated 224 emerging active regions with different spatial scales and positions on the solar disc. The following relationships for the first hours of the emergence of active regions have been analysed: i) of peak negative Doppler velocities with the position of the emerging active regions on the solar disc; ii) of peak plasma upflow and downflow Doppler velocities with the magnetic flux growth rate and magnetic field strength for the active regions emerging near the solar disc centre (the vertical component of plasma flows); iii) of peak positive and negative Doppler velocities with the magnetic flux growth rate and magnetic field strength for the active regions emerging near the limb (the horizontal component of plasma flows); iv) of the magnetic flux growth rate with the density of emerging magnetic flux; v) of the Doppler velocities and magnetic field parameters for the first hours of the appearance of active regions with the total unsigned magnetic flux at the maximum of their development.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. The results of article were presented at the ESPM-13 (12-16 September 2011, Rhodes, Greece, Abstract Book p. 102-103, P.4.13, http://astro.academyofathens.gr/espm13/documents/ESPM13_abstract_programme_book.pdf

Magnetic flux emergence in granular convection: Radiative MHD simulations and observational signatures

We study the emergence of magnetic flux from the near-surface layers of the solar convection zone into the photosphere. To model magnetic flux emergence, we carried out a set of numerical radiative magnetohydrodynamics simulations. Our simulations take into account the effects of compressibility, energy exchange via radiative transfer, and partial ionization in the equation of state. All these physical ingredients are essential for a proper treatment of the problem. Furthermore, the inclusion of radiative transfer allows us to directly compare the simulation results with actual observations of emerging flux. We find that the interaction between the magnetic flux tube and the external flow field has an important influence on the emergent morphology of the magnetic field. Depending on the initial properties of the flux tube (e.g. field strength, twist, entropy etc.), the emergence process can also modify the local granulation pattern. The emergence of magnetic flux tubes with a flux of $10^{19}$ Mx disturbs the granulation and leads to the transient appearance of a dark lane, which is coincident with upflowing material. These results are consistent with observed properties of emerging magnetic flux.Comment: To appear in A&

Structural Invariance of Sunspot Umbrae Over the Solar Cycle: 1993-2004

Measurements of maximum magnetic flux, minimum intensity, and size are presented for 12 967 sunspot umbrae detected on the NASA/NSO spectromagnetograms between 1993 and 2004 to study umbral structure and strength during the solar cycle. The umbrae are selected using an automated thresholding technique. Measured umbral intensities are first corrected for a confirming observation of umbral limb-darkening. Log-normal fits to the observed size distribution confirm that the size spectrum shape does not vary with time. The intensity-magnetic flux relationship is found to be steady over the solar cycle. The dependence of umbral size on the magnetic flux and minimum intensity are also independent of cycle phase and give linear and quadratic relations, respectively. While the large sample size does show a low amplitude oscillation in the mean minimum intensity and maximum magnetic flux correlated with the solar cycle, this can be explained in terms of variations in the mean umbral size. These size variations, however, are small and do not substantiate a meaningful change in the size spectrum of the umbrae generated by the Sun. Thus, in contrast to previous reports, the observations suggest the equilibrium structure, as testified by the invariant size-magnetic field relationship, as well as the mean size (i.e. strength) of sunspot umbrae do not significantly depend on solar cycle phase.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures. Published in Solar Physic

Positive words carry less information than negative words

We show that the frequency of word use is not only determined by the word length \cite{Zipf1935} and the average information content \cite{Piantadosi2011}, but also by its emotional content. We have analyzed three established lexica of affective word usage in English, German, and Spanish, to verify that these lexica have a neutral, unbiased, emotional content. Taking into account the frequency of word usage, we find that words with a positive emotional content are more frequently used. This lends support to Pollyanna hypothesis \cite{Boucher1969} that there should be a positive bias in human expression. We also find that negative words contain more information than positive words, as the informativeness of a word increases uniformly with its valence decrease. Our findings support earlier conjectures about (i) the relation between word frequency and information content, and (ii) the impact of positive emotions on communication and social links.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 3 table