Cross-modal associations in synaesthesia: vowel colours in the ear of the beholder

Human speech conveys many forms of information, but for some exceptional individuals (synaesthetes), listening to speech sounds can automatically induce visual percepts such as colours. In this experiment, grapheme–colour synaesthetes and controls were asked to assign colours, or shades of grey, to different vowel sounds. We then investigated whether the acoustic content of these vowel sounds influenced participants’ colour and grey-shade choices. We found that both colour and grey-shade associations varied systematically with vowel changes. The colour effect was significant for both participant groups, but significantly stronger and more consistent for synaesthetes. Because not all vowel sounds that we used are “translatable” into graphemes, we conclude that acoustic–phonetic influences co-exist with established graphemic influences in the cross-modal correspondences of both synaesthetes and non-synaesthetes

An Empirical Study of a Software Maintenance Process

This paper describes how a process support tool is used to collect metrics about a major upgrade to our own electronic retail system. An incremental prototyping lifecycle is adopted in which each increment is categorised by an effort type and a project component. Effort types are Acquire, Build, Comprehend and Design and span all phases of development. Project components include data models and process models expressed in an OO modelling language and process algebra respectively as well as C++ classes and function templates and build components including source files and data files. This categorisation is independent of incremental prototyping and equally applicable to other software lifecycles. The process support tool (PWI) is responsible for ensuring the consistency between the models and the C++ source. It also supports the interaction between multiple developers and multiple metric-collectors. The first two releases of the retailing software are available for ftp from oracle.ecs.soton.ac.uk in directory pub/peter. Readers are invited to use the software and apply their own metrics as appropriate. We would be interested to correspond with anyone who does so

Squelched Galaxies and Dark Halos

There is accumulating evidence that the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function might be very different in different locations. The luminosity function might be rising in rich clusters and flat or declining in regions of low density. If galaxies form according to the model of hierarchical clustering then there should be many small halos compared to the number of big halos. If this theory is valid then there must be a mechanism that eliminates at least the visible component of galaxies in low density regions. A plausible mechanism is photoionization of the intergalactic medium at a time before the epoch that most dwarf galaxies form in low density regions but after the epoch of formation for similar systems that ultimately end up in rich clusters. The dynamical timescales are found to accommodate this hypothesis in a flat universe with Omega_m < 0.4. If small halos exist but simply cannot be located because they have never become the sites of significant star formation, they still might have dynamical manifestations. These manifestations are hard to identify in normal groups of galaxies because small halos do not make a significant contribution to the global mass budget. However, it could be entertained that there are clusters of halos where there are only small systems, clusters that are at the low mass end of the hierarchical tree. There may be places where only a few small galaxies managed to form, enough for us to identify and use as test probes of the potential. It turns out that such environments might be common. Four probable groups of dwarfs are identified within 5 Mpc and the assumption they are gravitationally bound suggests M/L_B ~ 300 - 1200 M_sun/L_sun, 6 +/- factor 2 times higher than typical values for groups with luminous galaxies.Comment: Accepted ApJ 569, (April 20), 2002, 12 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Using Information Processing To Build A Private Label Brand In Big Emerging Markets

One of the most visible retailing phenomena of the past two decades has been the increase in sales of private labels (PL), or retail brands.  Driven by retail consolidation, attractive margins, consumer sophistication, supply chain efficiencies, merchandising strategies, and pricing, PL offer a wider assortment of price and merchandise options for both retailer and consumer.  An important part of the overall merchandising mix in the U.S. and Europe for decades, PL have only recently begun to make inroads in other parts of the world.  Using the information processing theory, this paper outlines how retailers in three big emerging markets should use the theory in practice to enhance their PL branding strategy.

Using Information Processing To Build A Private Label Brand In Big Emerging Markets

One of the most visible retailing phenomena of the past two decades has been the increase in sales of private labels (PL), or retail brands. Driven by retail consolidation, attractive margins, consumer sophistication, supply chain efficiencies, merchandising strategies, and pricing, PL offer a wider assortment of price and merchandise options for both retailer and consumer. An important part of the overall merchandising mix in the U.S. and Europe for decades, PL have only recently begun to make inroads in other parts of the world. Using the information processing theory, this paper outlines how retailers in three big emerging markets should use the theory in practice to enhance their PL branding strategy

Review of the genus Chasmogenus Sharp, 1882 of northeastern South America with an emphasis on Venezuela, Suriname, and Guyana (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae, Acidocerinae)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.The water scavenger beetle genus Chasmogenus Sharp, 1882 is reviewed in northeastern South America using an integrative approach that combines adult morphology and molecular data from the gene cytochrome c oxidase I (COI). Eighteen new species are described: Chasmogenus acuminatus sp. nov. (Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname), C. amplius sp. nov. (Venezuela), C. berbicensis sp. nov. (Guyana), C. brownsbergensis sp. nov. (Suriname), C. castaneus sp. nov. (Venezuela), C. clavijoi sp. nov. (Venezuela), C. cuspifer sp. nov. (Venezuela), C. flavomarginatus sp. nov. (Venezuela), C. gato sp. nov. (Venezuela), C. guianensis sp. nov. (Suriname, Guyana), C. ignotus sp. nov. (Brazil), C. ligulatus sp. nov. (Suriname), C. lineatus sp. nov. (Venezuela), C. pandus sp. nov. (Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname), C. schmits sp. nov. (Suriname), C. sinnamarensis sp. nov. (French Guiana), C. tafelbergensis sp. nov. (Suriname), and C. undulatus sp. nov. (Guyana). We found genetic support for an additional new species in Guyana which is currently only known from females that we refer to as Chasmogenus sp. C. We examined the holotypes of the four species previously known from the region, and found that C. occidentalis García syn. nov. and C. yukparum García syn. nov. are conspecific with C. bariorum García, 2000 and are synonymized with that species, which is here redescribed. We redescribe C. australis García and expand the range of this species to include northern Brazil, Guyana, and French Guiana. All species are aquatic, with most being associated with forested streams and forest pools. Of the 21 species, more than half (11) are only known from a single locality indicating the genus may have many more micro-endemic species yet to be discovered in the region. Characters of the male genitalia are essential for confirming the identity of some species, consequently it is not always possible to make positive identifications of unassociated female specimens based on morphology alone. Habitus images are provided as well as a revised key to the genus for northeastern South America.US National Science Foundation grants DEB-0816904 and DEB-1453452DEB-1453452Conservation International and WWF-GuianasFulbright fellowshipNational Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration grant #9286-1

The Effects of Shoulder and Knee Angular Velocity on the Performance of a Volleyball Forearm Pass

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Exploring the felt sense of chronic ill-health:dialoguing between IPA, lifeworld theory and narrative inquiry to make sense of feelings and affect

We present a pluralist approach to analysing emotion and affect within subjective lived experience. We illustrate this by re-engaging with data about living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) to more fully understand the felt sense of chronic ill health. Following Pierce, we engage in abductive reasoning to achieve this. The original data were generated using semi-structured interviews and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. This inductive, idiographic analysis was our starting point. We then engaged in a dialogue between theory and data to further explicate the felt sense. Using the phenomenological theory of lifeworld revealed the presence and significance of emotion throughout and revealed the co-existence of well-being and suffering within the felt sense of PD. A narrative-oriented inquiry examined in detail the narrative structure within the retelling of the diagnosis and coming to terms with PD. Emotion was embedded in the account and revealed the prevailing mood within the experience

Palatability of teff grass by horses

Most forages commonly used to feed horses have potential detriments including blister beetles or excessive fiber concentrations. Teff grass (T), a warm-season annual forage, has the potential to be a good alternative for horses because of its lack of observed disorders. Our objective was to compare preference by horses for T harvested under different conditions with that of bermudagrass (B) harvested at two maturities. Six different forages were evaluated: T harvested at the late vegetative stage (TLV), at late bloom but that incurred 33 mm of rainfall between mowing and baling (TLBR), with caryopsis visible (TES), or at soft dough (TSD), and B harvested at late vegetative (BLV) and mid-bloom (BMB) growth stages. Five mature horses were used in a balanced incomplete block design where each horse received a different combination of 4 forages each day for 6 d. The 4 different forages were suspended in hay nets in each corner of each stall, and each hay was offered at 50% of the average daily hay consumption measured during a 12-d adaptation period. Forage preference as measured by individual forage dry matter (DM) consumption (kg and % of total DM consumed across the 4 forages) was greatest (P \u3c 0.05) from TLV followed by BLV. Preference (kg and % of total DM consumed) of BMB was greater (P \u3c 0.05) than that of TMBR, TES, and TSD, which did not differ from each other (P ≥ 0.63). Therefore, within a specific growth stage, horses apparently preferred teff grass, but effects of maturity and rainfall had a more dramatic effect on preference by horses than forage species