The road to Mandarin at ANU: Capitalising on what students bring with them on the journey

This study draws on the results of a study of students at the Australian National University (ANU) who were learning Mandarin Chinese at second year level and above in 2012. Through analysis of 85 questionnaires and 11 follow-up interviews, we look at the year level at which students enter the ANU program, their language and cultural backgrounds and the diversity of proficiency levels and language skills within Mandarin classes. Our study then explores what students say about their language learning experiences and the range of proficiency levels in Mandarin they have encountered in their classes. Finally, we consider the value of this type of data and how it can be used in program planning to engage students, maximise learning outcomes and improve retention rates

BAT, INSECT PREY, AND VEGETATION RESPONSE TO PRESCRIBED FIRE AND OVERSTORY THINNING IN HARDWOOD FORESTS OF TENNESSEE

This master’s thesis investigates the effects of prescribed fire and overstory thinning on bats and their insect prey in hardwood forest stands of Tennessee. Chapter 1 is a review of literature that emphasizes the importance of this research and outlines the objectives and study area for this project. Chapter 2 examines the effect of prescribed fire and overstory thinning on the abundance and biomass of nocturnal flying insects important in the diet of bats. Overall, I found prescribed fire and overstory thinning had little effect on nocturnal flying insect abundance and biomass, despite changes in vegetation community composition and structure. Chapter 3 examines the effect of prescribed fire and overstory thinning on bat activity. I found activity of certain bats was greater in hardwood forest stands subject to dormant or growing season fire in combination with high levels of overstory thinning. This greater activity was tied to reductions in live overstory basal area. My results suggest basal area reductions reduce clutter (physical obstructions to flight and foraging including foliage, branches, and stems), leading to improved foraging and commuting conditions for bats, particularly larger bodied species with lower call frequencies that are adapted to more easily and successfully fly and forage in open conditions

Extremal statistics of curved growing interfaces in 1+1 dimensions

We study the joint probability distribution function (pdf) of the maximum M of the height and its position X_M of a curved growing interface belonging to the universality class described by the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation in 1+1 dimensions. We obtain exact results for the closely related problem of p non-intersecting Brownian bridges where we compute the joint pdf P_p(M,\tau_M) where \tau_M is there the time at which the maximal height M is reached. Our analytical results, in the limit p \to \infty, become exact for the interface problem in the growth regime. We show that our results, for moderate values of p \sim 10 describe accurately our numerical data of a prototype of these systems, the polynuclear growth model in droplet geometry. We also discuss applications of our results to the ground state configuration of the directed polymer in a random potential with one fixed endpoint.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Published version, to appear in Europhysics Letters. New results added for non-intersecting excursion

La fosforescenza delle cose

This paper examines the relationship between subject and conscience in the works and thought of Gilles Deleuze. Starting from a comparison between Deleuze’s statements with those of phenomenology (Sartre, Husserl, Merleau-Ponty) and psychoanalysis (Lacan), the author shows how the French philosopher’s thought on the notion of subject is marked by a deep connection to pure immanence and transcendental field beyond the subject- object opposition. In Deleuzian ontology, the notion of subject, which shares a common ground with Lacanian subjectivation, is transformed and re-positioned as a «superject». As a unity of being and thought, brain and world, it is an individuation process which radically reshapes the very notion of subject as a part of cosmic speed that allows to grasp the being from within itself.This paper examines the relationship between subject and conscience in the works and thought of Gilles Deleuze. Starting from a comparison between Deleuze’s statements with those of phenomenology (Sartre, Husserl, Merleau-Ponty) and psychoanalysis (Lacan), the author shows how the French philosopher’s thought on the notion of subject is marked by a deep connection to pure immanence and transcendental field beyond the subject- object opposition. In Deleuzian ontology, the notion of subject, which shares a common ground with Lacanian subjectivation, is transformed and re-positioned as a «superject». As a unity of being and thought, brain and world, it is an individuation process which radically reshapes the very notion of subject as a part of cosmic speed that allows to grasp the being from within itself. Traduzione italiana a cura di Andrea Palumbo e Francesco della Noce. Revisione di Giulio Piatt

High cadmium concentrations in Jurassic limestone as the cause for elevated cadmium levels in deriving soils: a case study in Lower Burgundy, France

Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic element and its presence in the environment needs to be closely monitored. Recent systematic surveys in French soils have revealed the existence of areas in eastern and central France, which show systematically high cadmium concentrations. It has been suggested that at least part of these anomalous levels are of natural origin. For the Lower Burgundy area in particular, a direct heritage from the Jurassic limestone bedrock is highly suspected. This potential relationship has been studied in several localities around Avallon and this study reports new evidence for a direct link between anomalously elevated cadmium contents of Bajocian and Oxfordian limestone and high cadmium concentrations in deriving soils. Soils in this area show cadmium concentrations generally above the average national population values, with contents frequently higher than the ‘upper whisker' value of 0.8μgg−1 determined by statistical evaluation. In parallel, limestone rocks studied in the same area exhibit cadmium concentrations frequently exceeding the mean value of 0.030-0.065μgg−1 previously given for similar rocks by one order of magnitude, with a maximum of 2.6μgg−1. Mean ratios between the cadmium concentrations of limestone bedrock and deriving soils (Cdsoil/Cdrock), calculated for different areas, range from 4.6 to 5.7. Calculations based on the analyses of both soils from a restricted area and fragments of bedrock sampled in the immediate vicinity of high-concentration soils are around 5.5-5.7. Cdsoil/Cdrock is useful in determining the potential of soils in Lower Burgundy to reflect and exacerbate the high concentrations of cadmium present in parent bedrock

Origin of high Zn contents in Jurassic limestone of the Jura mountain range and the Burgundy: evidence from Zn speciation and distribution

In order to better understand the origin and enrichment mechanisms leading to elevated Zn concentrations in Jurassic limestone of the Jura mountain range (JMR) and the Burgundy (B), we investigated four locations of Bajocian age (JMR: Lausen-Schleifenberg, Gurnigel; B: Vergisson-Davayé, Lucy-le-Bois) and two locations of Oxfordian age (JMR: Dornach, Pichoux) for their Zn distribution and speciation. Measurements of the acid-extractable and bulk Zn contents showed that Zn is stratigraphically and spatially heterogeneously distributed, in association with permeable carbonate levels. Up to 3,580 and 207mg/kg Zn was detected in Bajocian and Oxfordian limestone, respectively, with numerous limestone samples having Zn contents above 50mg/kg. Using X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy and micro-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, the speciation and micro-scale distribution of Zn was investigated for selected limestone samples. In Bajocian limestone sphalerite and/or Zn-substituted goethite and a minor fraction of Zn-bearing carbonates were identified. In contrast, Zn-bearing carbonates (Zn-substituted calcite and hydrozincite) were accounting for most of the total Zn in Oxfordian limestone. The micro-scale distribution of Zn for Bajocian and Oxfordian limestone was however similar with localized Zn-rich zones in the limestone cement and at the rim of oolites. The stratigraphic sporadicity and microscale heterogeneity of the Zn distribution together with the Zn speciation results point to a hydrothermal origin of Zn. Occurence of Zn-goethite is probably linked to the oxidative transformation of framboidal pyrite and hydrothermal sphalerite in contact with meteoritic waters. Difference in speciation between Bajocian limestone and Oxfordian limestone may be related to differences in rock permeability and/or to various hydrothermal events. Isotopic dating of the different mineralizations will be needed to decipher differences in Zn speciation and the precise chronology of hydrothermal episode

Maximum relative height of one-dimensional interfaces : from Rayleigh to Airy distribution

We introduce an alternative definition of the relative height h^\kappa(x) of a one-dimensional fluctuating interface indexed by a continuously varying real paramater 0 \leq \kappa \leq 1. It interpolates between the height relative to the initial value (i.e. in x=0) when \kappa = 0 and the height relative to the spatially averaged height for \kappa = 1. We compute exactly the distribution P^\kappa(h_m,L) of the maximum h_m of these relative heights for systems of finite size L and periodic boundary conditions. One finds that it takes the scaling form P^\kappa(h_m,L) = L^{-1/2} f^\kappa (h_m L^{-1/2}) where the scaling function f^\kappa(x) interpolates between the Rayleigh distribution for \kappa=0 and the Airy distribution for \kappa=1, the latter being the probability distribution of the area under a Brownian excursion over the unit interval. For arbitrary \kappa, one finds that it is related to, albeit different from, the distribution of the area restricted to the interval [0, \kappa] under a Brownian excursion over the unit interval.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure

Distribution of the time at which N vicious walkers reach their maximal height

We study the extreme statistics of N non-intersecting Brownian motions (vicious walkers) over a unit time interval in one dimension. Using path-integral techniques we compute exactly the joint distribution of the maximum M and of the time \tau_M at which this maximum is reached. We focus in particular on non-intersecting Brownian bridges ("watermelons without wall") and non-intersecting Brownian excursions ("watermelons with a wall"). We discuss in detail the relationships between such vicious walkers models in watermelons configurations and stochastic growth models in curved geometry on the one hand and the directed polymer in a disordered medium (DPRM) with one free end-point on the other hand. We also check our results using numerical simulations of Dyson's Brownian motion and confront them with numerical simulations of the Polynuclear Growth Model (PNG) and of a model of DPRM on a discrete lattice. Some of the results presented here were announced in a recent letter [J. Rambeau and G. Schehr, Europhys. Lett. 91, 60006 (2010)].Comment: 30 pages, 12 figure