The emergence of prosody in linguistic theory

Prosody is a unique character in the production of sounds. Human speech is particularly marked by prosody for various functions in the different aspects of linguistics (e.g. phonology, morphology, sociolinguistics). The importance of prosody in human language had been known since very early periods of modern civilisation. Both Western and Eastern traditions had put a lot of emphasis on the proper practice of prosodic rhymes and rhythms in the use of language whether it was for analysing grammar or for praying to God or any other superior spirit. Subsequent developments in linguistics have revealed the central role played by prosody in determining the innate grammar of human language. This paper attempts to discuss in brief the evolution of the thought on prosody and its current standing in the field of linguistics.peer-reviewe

Managing Microfinance Risks: Some Observations and Suggestions

Risk is an integral part of financial intermediation. Hence, risk management must be at the heart of finance. However, it is disturbing to note that systematic risk management is still not as widespread as it should be in the microfinance industry. Except for a few flagship microfinance institutions (MFIs), which constitute the core of the industry, most MFIs do not pay adequate attention to systematic risk management. The microfinance industry has grown rapidly during the last decade in breadth, depth, and scope of outreach. The rapid growth seems to continue, given the massive unserved and underserved market. The growth of the industry has changed the risk profile of MFIs. Yet many MFIs seem to continue to seek growth without much attention to attendant risks. Surprisingly, many MFIs appear to neglect even the basic credit risk management which helped MFIs achieve high growth rates historically. The growing interest of many MFIs in agricultural microfinance must be seen in the broader context of risk management in the industry. Financing agriculture is more risky than financing trade or industry; it is also more risky than financing nonagricultural microenterprises. However, MFIs interested in agricultural microfinance should be more concerned about their internal structures and capabilities rather than the widely discussed, and often cited, pervasive risks in agriculture and their ramifications for the MFIs’ pursuit of growth in agricultural microfinance. MFIs should recognize the inherent risks in agriculture. However, if they build their institutional capacity to effectively deal with risks generally associated with financial services for poor and low-income households, their prospects for success in agricultural microfinance would certainly be much brighter. In addition, no amount of sophisticated and modern technical tools and analysis can help achieve effective risk management in respect of nonagricultural or agricultural microfinance if risk management is not embedded into the institutional culture and its value is not shared by all employees. Achieving this goal remains one of the most challenging tasks in risk management which MFIs need to address. To help in this effort, we need to bring into the discussion—now dominated largely by issues related to introducing sophisticated systems and technical tools of risk management—the institutional cultural issues and issues related to cognitive biases in executive decision-making behavior.microfinance,risk management,liquidity crisis,delinquency crisis

Investigation of hybridized polyurethane, glass fibre reinforced cement and steel laminate in structural floor plate systems

Sandwich components have emerged as light weight, efficient, economical, recyclable and reusable building systems which provide an alternative to both stiffened steel and reinforced concrete. These components are made of composite materials in which two metal face plates or Glassfibre Reinforced Cement (GRC) layers are bonded and form a sandwich with light weight compact polyurethane (PU) elastomer core. Existing examples of product applications are light weight sandwich panels for walls and roofs, Sandwich Plate System (SPS) for stadia, arena terraces, naval construction and bridges and Domeshell structures for dome type structures. Limited research has been conducted to investigate performance characteristics and applicability of sandwich or hybrid materials as structural flooring systems. Performance characteristics of Hybrid Floor Plate Systems comprising GRC, PU and Steel have not been adequately investigated and quantified. Therefore there is very little knowledge and design guidance for their application in commercial and residential buildings. This research investigates performance characteristics steel, PU and GRC in Hybrid Floor Plate Systems (HFPS) and develops a new floor system with appropriate design guide lines

Geotechnical Challenges in Numerical Modelling of Sarawak Fibrous Peat

In Sarawak, about 13% of the total land area is covered with recent peat deposits. A complex mechanism of plant growth and peat accumulation with time has led to formation of flat topped peat domes. Dome centre consists of highly fibrous ombrogeneous peat. Topogeneous peat found in the fringes of peat domes and in interior floodplains, consists of a mixture of decomposed plant matter and fine clastic sediments. Mechanical behaviour of fibrous peat is influenced by the arrangement of fibre. The present study shows that fibrous peat as well as temperate peat conforms to a unique dry density - moisture content relationship. A preliminary study has been carried out in developing a cellular model of fibrous peat. The finite element analysis of time dependent stress strain behaviour performed using this model shows interesting results and promise of application in understanding the behaviour of fibrous peat

Towards a dialogic management of cognitive competence

In this paper we examine the nature of the competences needed for promoting innovation and change. Taking our experiences as the starting point, we examined the literature and interviewed managers and those responsible for innovation in enterprises and discovered that our research findings contradict the simplistic view of innovation facilitation and management material in the work place. Our research suggests that for innovation to take place two contradictory notions, the order principle and the disorder principle, have to be engaged at the same time. As a philosophy, the Positivistic epistemology is unable to handle these contradictions. Therefore we suggest the use of Morin's “dialogy” as a way of managing these contradictions essential for innovation."Innovation and change";"order and disorder";"management";"contradictions";"dialogy"

Extract Of Gelidiella Acerosa (S-Act-1) As A Capacitation Agent For In Vitro Fertilisation In Goat

A study was conducted to determine if goat ovaries obtained from a slaughterhouse could be used for in vitro fertilisation (lVF). Three experiments were conducted to ascertain if a substance named S-ACT-l, extracted from a marine algae, (Gelidiella acerosa), with a chemical structure similar to heparin could be used for sperm capacitation. The acrosome reaction was tested by a dual staining technique (Experiment 1 ) and the zona free hamster penetration test (Experiment 2). In vitro maturation o f goat oocytes and fertilisation were assessed by the number of zygotes cleaving beyond the 2-cell stage (Experiment 3). Freshly ejaculated semen from two fertile bucks were used for sperm capacitation using two defined media (DM-H and DM-Ca). Heparin and S-ACT-l were tested at concentrations of 10, 20, 50 and 100 ug/ml. After incubating for 15 min. at 39° C with 5 % CO2 in air under maximum humidity, samples were stained with trypan blue and Giemsa stain (dual stain). The results indicated that the sperm treated with heparin and S-ACT - 1 showed similar staining characteristics