Mercury deposition in southern New Hampshire, 2006–2009

The atmospheric deposition of mercury (Hg) occurs via several mechanisms including wet, dry, and occult processes. In an effort to understand the atmospheric cycling and seasonal depositional characteristics of Hg, event-based wet deposition samples and reactive gaseous Hg (RGM) measurements were collected for approximately 3 years at Thompson Farm (TF), a near-coastal rural site in Durham, NH, part of the University of New Hampshire AIRMAP Observing Network. Total aqueous mercury exhibited seasonal patterns in Hg wet deposition at TF. The lowest Hg wet deposition was measured in the winter with an average total seasonal deposition of 1.56 μg m−2compared to the summer average of 4.71 μg m−2. Inter-annual differences in total wet deposition are generally linked with precipitation volume, with the greatest deposition occurring in the wettest year. Relationships between surface level RGM and Hg wet deposition were also investigated based on continuous RGM measurements at TF from November 2006 to September 2009. No correlations were observed between RGM mixing ratios and Hg wet deposition, however the ineffective scavenging of RGM during winter precipitation events was evidenced by the less frequent depletion of RGM below the detection level. Seasonal dry deposition of reactive gaseous Hg (RGM) was estimated using an order-of-magnitude approach. RGM mixing ratios and dry deposition estimates were greatest during the winter and spring. The seasonal ratios of Hg wet deposition to RGM dry deposition vary by up to a factor of 80

The influence of human investment on the performance of SMEs in the manufacturing sector, Harare, Zimbabwe

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of human investment on the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector of Harare, Zimbabwe. The target population for this study was 609 SMEs of which a sample of 241 SME owners or managers participated in the study. Data analysis was done using the Chi-square test to test for association. The results indicated that human resources and managerial skills do affect the performance of SMEs in the manufacturing sector of Harare, Zimbabwe. Based on the results it can be concluded that staff motivation and staff development are the most important human resources management skills for the growth of SMEs in the manufacturing sector of Harare, Zimbabwe

Social media usage amongst generation y in South Africa – does gender matter?

Abstract: Social media has become one of the most popular tools for social interaction, and has transformed how individuals socialise, seek and share information with each other. Despite the widespread usage of social media in South Africa, there is a lack of empirical research studies that crystallise the differences in usage of social media by men and women, and of the relationship between social media usage and behaviour. The purpose of the study was to establish the differences between how men and women use social media and if there are any differences in their behaviour on social platforms. The sample consisted of 1 176 individuals who have used a social media account within the last six months, and interviews were conducted via a self-administered questionnaire. The results indicate that most of the respondents had been on their preferred social media platform for five years or more, are of Generation Y, have a university degree, and were single and living alone. The results demonstrate that there are no statistically significant differences in the usage and behaviour of social media networking sites of men and women. Marketers therefore need to invest in developing and maintaining a presence on social media if they want to develop a loyal following amongst Generation Y. Social media can therefore be leveraged by marketers to disseminate information about new products or products that existing customers had not considered buying at the time of social media interaction

Events, processes, and the time of a killing

The paper proposes a novel solution to the problem of the time of a killing (ToK), which persistently besets theories of act-individuation. The solution proposed claims to expose a crucial wrong-headed assumption in the debate, according to which ToK is essentially a problem of locating some event that corresponds to the killing. The alternative proposal put forward here turns on recognizing a separate category of dynamic occurents, viz. processes. The paper does not aim to mount a comprehensive defense of process ontology, relying instead on extant defenses. The primary aim is rather to put process ontology to work in diagnosing the current state of play over ToK, and indeed in solving it

The size of two-body weakly bound objects : short versus long range potentials

The variation of the size of two-body objects is investigated, as the separation energy approaches zero, with both long range potentials and short range potentials having a repulsive core. It is shown that long range potentials can also give rise to very extended systems. The asymptotic laws derived for states with angular momentum l=1,2 differ from the ones obtained with short range potentials. The sensitivity of the asymptotic laws on the shape and length of short range potentials defined by two and three parameters is studied. These ideas as well as the transition from the short to the long range regime for the l=0 case are illustrated using the Kratzer potential.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Piecewise constant potentials and discrete ambiguities

This work is devoted to the study of discrete ambiguities. For parametrized potentials, they arise when the parameters are fitted to a finite number of phase-shifts. It generates phase equivalent potentials. Such equivalence was suggested to be due to the modulo $\pi$ uncertainty inherent to phase determinations. We show that a different class of phase-equivalent potentials exists. To this aim, use is made of piecewise constant potentials, the intervals of which are defined by the zeros of their regular solutions of the Schr\"odinger equation. We give a classification of the ambiguities in terms of indices which include the difference between exact phase modulo $\pi$ and the numbering of the wave function zeros.Comment: 26 pages Subject: Mathematical Physics math-p

Quantum cavitation in liquid helium

Using a functional-integral approach, we have determined the temperature below which cavitation in liquid helium is driven by thermally assisted quantum tunneling. For both helium isotopes, we have obtained the crossover temperature in the whole range of allowed negative p essures. Our results are compatible with recent experimental results on 4He.Comment: Typeset using Revtex, 10 pages and 2 figures, Phys. Rev B (1996

Ion cyclotron wall conditioning experiments on Tore Supra in presence of the toroidal magnetic field

Wall conditioning techniques applicable in the presence of the high toroidal magnetic field will be required for the operation of ITER for tritium removal, isotopic ratio control and recovery to normal operation after disruptions. Recently ion cyclotron wall conditioning (ICWC) experiments have been carried out on Tore Supra in order to assess the efficiency of this technique in ITER relevant conditions. The ICRF discharges were operated in He/H-2 Mixtures at the Tore Supra nominal field (3.8 T) and a RF frequency of 48 MHz, i.e. within the ITER operational space. RF pulses of 60 s (max.) were applied using a standard Tore Supra two-strap resonant double loop antenna in ICWC mode, operated either in pi or 0-phasing with a noticeable improvement of the RF coupling in the latter case. In order to assess the efficiency of the technique for the control of isotopic ratio the wall was first preloaded using a D-2 glow discharge. After 15 minutes of ICWC in He/H-2 gas mixtures the isotopic ratio was altered from 4% to 50% at the price of an important H implantation into the walls. An overall analysis comparing plasma production and the conditioning efficiency as a function of discharge parameters is given