Electronic levels and charge distribution near the interface of nickel

The energy levels in clusters of nickel atoms were investigated by means of a series of cluster calculations using both the multiple scattering and computational techniques (designated SSO) which avoids the muffin-tin approximation. The point group symmetry of the cluster has significant effect on the energy of levels nominally not occupied. This influences the electron transfer process during chemisorption. The SSO technique permits the approaching atom or molecule plus a small number of nickel atoms to be treated as a cluster. Specifically, molecular levels become more negative in the O atom, as well as in a CO molecule, as the metal atoms are approached. Thus, electron transfer from the nickel and bond formation is facilitated. This result is of importance in understanding chemisorption and catalytic processes

A Voice is Worth a Thousand Words: The Implications of the Micro-Coding of Social Signals in Speech for Trust Research

While self-report measures are often highly reliable for field research on trust (Mayer and Davis, 1999), subjects often cannot complete surveys during real time interactions. In contrast, the social signals that are embedded in the non-linguistic elements of conversations can be captured in real time and extracted with the assistance of computer coding. This chapter seeks to understand how computer-coded social signals are related to interpersonal trust

Landscape scale deer management

© This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that use of any information derived there from must be in accordance with current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full attribution. 2 This thesis considers responses at landscape scale (450 km2) to management of a multi-species deer assemblage across a heterogeneous forest and open habitat mosaic in Eastern England. The aims were to explore performance, variation in deer densities, source-sink dynamics and deer impacts on biodiversity across and within different landscapes. The performance of roe deer Capreolus capreolus in four contiguous and contrasting landscapes was investigated spanning 1966-2009. Performance differed between landscapes, this is likely to affect deer population dynamics and potentially contribute to source sink dynamics. Fragmented landscape

Chemisorption and reactions on clusters of nickel atoms

The nucleation and growth of metallic clusters on a substantially amorphous substrate are discussed with emphasis on the geometrical and electronic structure of the clusters. Several clusters of different symmetry containing five to nine nickel atoms were studied. It was found that the energy range of primary d-like states is not significantly different from the width of the d-band states in nickel metal, as long as the interatomic distance is comparable to that in the bulk metal. The approach of one or more molecules to the cluster is examined using at the hydrogenation of acetylene and the dehydrogenation of ethylene as examples

Web Mediators for Accessible Browsing

We present a highly accurate method for classifying web pages based on link percentage, which is the percentage of text characters that are parts of links normalized by the number of all text characters on a web page. K-means clustering is used to create unique thresholds to differentiate index pages and article pages on individual web sites. Index pages contain mostly links to articles and other indices, while article pages contain mostly text. We also present a novel link grouping algorithm using agglomerative hierarchical clustering that groups links in the same spatial neighborhood together while preserving link structure. Grouping allows users with severe disabilities to use a scan-based mechanism to tab through a web page and select items. In experiments, we saw up to a 40-fold reduction in the number of commands needed to click on a link with a scan-based interface, which shows that we can vastly improve the rate of communication for users with disabilities. We used web page classification and link grouping to alter web page display on an accessible web browser that we developed to make a usable browsing interface for users with disabilities. Our classification method consistently outperformed a baseline classifier even when using minimal data to generate article and index clusters, and achieved classification accuracy of 94.0% on web sites with well-formed or slightly malformed HTML, compared with 80.1% accuracy for the baseline classifier.National Science Foundation (IIS-0308213, IIS-039009, IIS-0093367, P200A01031, EIA-0202067

Wohlbefinden, Emotionen und soziale Beziehungen im Lehrberuf. Untersuchungen zum Wohlbefinden von Lehrpersonen und zu Emotionen und Vertrauen im Kontext sozialer Interaktionen von angehenden Lehrpersonen im Teampraktikum

High-quality education systems require highly qualified, healthy, and satisfied teachers (McCallum et al., 2017; OECD, 2021). Teachers' well-being and emotions are related to the quality of their teaching (Frenzel et al., 2016) and to student achievement (Sutton & Wheatley, 2003). These factors are therefore of great importance, especially given the high rates of burnout and dropout in the teaching profession (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). The purpose of this dissertation is twofold. First, it examines the definition, occurrence, and correlates of teachers' well-being through a systematic review (N = 98) (Publication I). Results show that teachers' well-being is defined and measured differently and that social relationships play a crucial role in teachers' well-being. Second, emotions and social relationships are highlighted during internships. Early in their education, and especially during internships, future teachers have intense emotional experiences (Raffo & Hall, 2016). These intense emotions may originate due to social interactions with fellow teachers (Parkinson, 1996). Therefore, Publication II outlines why emotions are already highly relevant to teacher education. In addition, a questionnaire survey (N = 109) and an interview study (N = 27) are conducted with pre-service teachers following team practicums. Based on the interview study, Publication III analyses pre-service teachers’ emotions in social interactions with their mentor teacher and team partner. Results indicate that pre-service teachers experience different positive and negative emotions during social interactions related to the fulfilment of or threat to their basic psychological needs. Finally, Publication IV examines trust (as a quality characteristic of successful relationships) between pre-service teachers and their mentor teacher and team partner based on questionnaire and interview responses. Results indicate that both interpersonal and professional characteristics are relevant for trust. In the discussion, results of the individual publications are connected and compared, and implications for further theoretical work, research and practice are discussed.Qualitativ hochwertige Bildungssysteme brauchen hochqualifizierte, gesunde und zufriedene Lehrpersonen (McCallum et al., 2017; OECD, 2021). Wohlbefinden und Emotionen von Lehrpersonen stehen in einem Zusammenhang mit der Unterrichtsqualität (Frenzel et al., 2016) und der Leistung der Schülerinnen und Schüler (Sutton & Wheatley, 2003). Sie sind daher und insbesondere auch vor dem Hintergrund hoher Burn-out- und Ausscheidungsraten im Lehrberuf (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011) von grosser Bedeutung. Die vorliegende Dissertation verfolgt zwei Ziele. Zum einen werden das Wohlbefinden von Lehrpersonen, dessen Definition, Auftreten und Korrelate untersucht. Dazu wird ein systematisches Review (N = 98) durchgeführt (Publikation I). Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das Wohlbefinden von Lehrpersonen unterschiedlich definiert und gemessen wird und dass sozialen Beziehungen eine zentrale Rolle für das Wohlbefinden der Lehrpersonen zukommt. Zum anderen werden Emotionen und soziale Beziehungen im Praktikum beleuchtet. Bereits in der Ausbildung und insbesondere in Praktika machen angehende Lehrpersonen intensive emotionale Erfahrungen (Raffo & Hall, 2016). Ursprung intensiver Emotionen können soziale Interaktionen mit Mitmenschen sein (Parkinson, 1996). In der Publikation II wird daher dargelegt, warum Emotionen bereits für die Lehrpersonenbildung von grosser Relevanz sind. Zudem werden eine Fragebogenerhebung (N = 109) und eine Interviewstudie (N = 27) mit angehenden Lehrpersonen nach Teampraktika durchgeführt. Basierend auf der Interviewstudie werden in der Publikation III die Emotionen in sozialen Interaktionen mit der Praxislehrperson und dem Teampartner / der Teampartnerin analysiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Studierenden unterschiedliche positive und negative Emotionen in sozialen Interaktionen in Verbindung mit der Erfüllung oder Bedrohung ihrer Grundbedürfnisse in der Situation erleben. Die Publikation IV schliesslich untersucht anhand der Antworten aus dem Fragebogen und den Interviews das Vertrauen (als Qualitätsmerkmal gelingender Beziehungen) zwischen den Studierenden und ihren Praxislehrpersonen und ihrem Teampartner / ihrer Teampartnerin. Es zeigt sich, dass sowohl Merkmale auf der interpersonalen als auch auf der professionellen Ebene für das Vertrauen relevant sind. In der Diskussion werden die Ergebnisse der einzelnen Publikationen miteinander in Verbindung gebracht und Implikationen für die theoretische Weiterarbeit, die Forschung und die Praxis diskutiert

Use of Froehlich-Raimes and other electronic models for physical properties of metals and alloys

The effectiveness of the Froelich-Raimes model in treating force constants and alloy behavior is discussed. Typical predictions of trends include the deviation of Vegard's Law and the variation of the bulk modulus with pressure and with alloying elements. The simple model of Koskimaki and Waber using the linear combination of the density of states led to several useful predictions for titanium based alloys

Natural tracers in recent groundwaters from different Alpine aquifers

Groundwater with underground residence times between days and a few years have been investigated over more than 20 years from 487 remote sites located in different aquifer types in the Alpine belt. Analysis of the data reveals that groundwaters evolved in crystalline, evaporite, carbonate, molasse, and flysch aquifers can be clearly distinguished based on their major and trace element composition and degree of mineralisation. A further subdivision can be made even within one aquifer type based on the trace element compositions, which are characteristic for the lithologic environment. Major and trace element concentrations can be quantitatively described by interaction of the groundwater with the aquifer-specific mineralogy along the flow path. Because all investigated sites show minimal anthropogenic influences, the observed concentration ranges represent the natural background concentrations and can thus serve as a "geo-reference” for recent groundwaters from these five aquifer types. This "geo-reference” is particularly useful for the identification of groundwater contamination. It further shows that drinking water standards can be grossly exceeded for critical elements by purely natural processe