189 research outputs found
On the quantum and classical scattering times due to charged dislocations in an impure electron gas
We derive the ratio of transport and single particle relaxation times in
three and two - dimensional electron gases due to scattering from charged
dislocations in semiconductors. The results are compared to the respective
relaxation times due to randomly placed charged impurities. We find that the
ratio is larger than the case of ionized impurity scattering in both three and
two-dimensional electron transport.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
REFERQUAL: A pilot study of a new service quality assessment instrument in the GP Exercise Referral scheme setting
Background
The development of an instrument accurately assessing service quality in the GP Exercise Referral Scheme (ERS) industry could potentially inform scheme organisers of the factors that affect adherence rates leading to the implementation of strategic interventions aimed at reducing client drop-out.
Methods
A modified version of the SERVQUAL instrument was designed for use in the ERS setting and subsequently piloted amongst 27 ERS clients.
Results
Test re-test correlations were calculated via Pearson's 'r' or Spearman's 'rho', depending on whether the variables were Normally Distributed, to show a significant (mean r = 0.957, SD = 0.02, p < 0.05; mean rho = 0.934, SD = 0.03, p < 0.05) relationship between all items within the questionnaire. In addition, satisfactory internal consistency was demonstrated via Cronbach's 'α'. Furthermore, clients responded favourably towards the usability, wording and applicability of the instrument's items.
Conclusion
REFERQUAL is considered to represent promise as a suitable tool for future evaluation of service quality within the ERS community. Future research should further assess the validity and reliability of this instrument through the use of a confirmatory factor analysis to scrutinise the proposed dimensional structure
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Regulating for Responsibility: Reputation and Social Media
The framework brought forward by the United Kingdom's Defamation Act 2013 underlines a traditional hierarchy of expression in which news media are viewed as high-level speech. Although of a different form, social media are a dominant means of expression. The current study explores the rationale for a more robust and forceful discussion of responsibility in speech on social media platforms. The underlying premise here is that speech should be viewed as a qualified good and that a more appropriate paradigm is one found in the phrase âfreedom to participateâ
Normal modes and discovery of high-order cross-frequencies in the DBV white dwarf GD 358
We present a detailed mode identification performed on the 1994 Whole Earth Telescope (WET) run on GD 358. The results are compared with that obtained for the same star from the 1990 WET data. The two temporal spectra show very few qualitative differences, although amplitude changes are seen in most modes, including the disappearance of the mode identified as k=14 in the 1990 data. The excellent coverage and signal-to-noise ratio obtained during the 1994 run lead to the secure identification of combination frequencies up to fourth order, i.e. peaks that are sums or differences of up to four parent frequencies, including a virtually complete set of second-order frequencies, as expected from harmonic distortion. We show how the third-order frequencies are expected to affect the triplet structure of the normal modes by back-interacting with them. Finally, a search for â=2 modes was unsuccessful, not verifying the suspicion that such modes had been uncovered in the 1990 data set
Whole Earth Telescope observations of the hot helium atmosphere pulsating white dwarf EC 20058-5234
We present the analysis of a total of 177h of high-quality optical
time-series photometry of the helium atmosphere pulsating white dwarf (DBV) EC
20058-5234. The bulk of the observations (135h) were obtained during a WET
campaign (XCOV15) in July 1997 that featured coordinated observing from 4
southern observatory sites over an 8-day period. The remaining data (42h) were
obtained in June 2004 at Mt John Observatory in NZ over a one-week observing
period. This work significantly extends the discovery observations of this
low-amplitude (few percent) pulsator by increasing the number of detected
frequencies from 8 to 18, and employs a simulation procedure to confirm the
reality of these frequencies to a high level of significance (1 in 1000). The
nature of the observed pulsation spectrum precludes identification of unique
pulsation mode properties using any clearly discernable trends. However, we
have used a global modelling procedure employing genetic algorithm techniques
to identify the n, l values of 8 pulsation modes, and thereby obtain
asteroseismic measurements of several model parameters, including the stellar
mass (0.55 M_sun) and T_eff (~28200 K). These values are consistent with those
derived from published spectral fitting: T_eff ~ 28400 K and log g ~ 7.86. We
also present persuasive evidence from apparent rotational mode splitting for
two of the modes that indicates this compact object is a relatively rapid
rotator with a period of 2h. In direct analogy with the corresponding
properties of the hydrogen (DAV) atmosphere pulsators, the stable low-amplitude
pulsation behaviour of EC 20058 is entirely consistent with its inferred
effective temperature, which indicates it is close to the blue edge of the DBV
instability strip. (abridged)Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables, MNRAS accepte
Control of electronic conduction at an oxide heterointerface using surface polar adsorbates
The transfer of electrons between a solid surface and adsorbed atomic or
molecular species is fundamental in natural and synthetic processes, being at
the heart of most catalytic reactions and many sensors. In special cases,
metallic conduction can be induced at the surface of, for example,
Si-terminated SiC1, or mixed-terminated ZnO2, in the presence of a hydrogen
adlayer. Generally, only the surface atoms are significantly affected by
adsorbates. However, remotely changing electronic states far from the adsorbed
layer is possible if these states are electrostatically coupled to the surface.
Here we show that the surface adsorption of common solvents such as acetone,
ethanol, and water can induce a large change (factor of three) in the
conductivity at the buried interface between SrTiO3 substrates and LaAlO3 thin
films3-8. This phenomenon is observed only for polar solvents. Our result
provides experimental evidence that adsorbates at the LaAlO3 surface induce
accumulation of electrons at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface, suggesting a general
polarization-facilitated electronic transfer mechanism, which can be used for
sensor applications.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
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