Repair Sequences in American Learners of German Interlanguage

This study in Conversation Analysis investigates the organization of other-initiated repair sequences in American learners of German, i.e., it examines how learners deal with troubles in hearing or understanding that they encounter in naturally-occurring talk-in-interaction. Data for the project were collected during informal interaction in three groups of American learners of German, two groups enrolled in German courses at an American university and one group participating in a study abroad program in Germany. The data from the 3 groups was analyzed in terms of (1) the types of troubles these learners encounter, (2) which repair initiation techniques they employ, and (3) how troubles are resolved. The results indicate that there is a systematic relationship between trouble sources, repair initiation strategies, and repair operation strategies that accounts for a large number of repair sequences in the data. Overall, the results indicate that these learners have access to a wide range of repair strategies; however, the organization of repair in these learners differs not only between groups, but also from that documented in native speakers in a number of ways

A history of the American wetland : an analysis of sociocultural values and cinematic depictions

1 online resource (iv, 44 pages)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 41-44).In the early to mid 1900s the American wetland was considered a forbidden wasteland with the purpose of being dominated by humans. This perception remained dominant throughout the first half of the century and lessened throughout the latter half. In pop culture, this, too, was showcased. The 1954 release of Creature from the Black Lagoon mirrored sociocultural values on the American wetland during and before this decade. When pop culture was popularized in the 1950s, it became clear it had an impactful influence on the general population. However, it is unclear if pop culture exists as a product of human thought, or if it acts as an influencer for sociocultural values. To suggest the latter further, Shrek (2001) reflected the newly-instated admiration for the American wetland that occurred shortly before and during the film’s theatrical release. Between this time, the sociocultural value of the American wetland and the cinematic depictions of wetlands demonstrated changes at similar intervals. Though it is unlikely that film caused a mass change in general perceptions, and federal and state policies, it is clear that cinematic depictions of the landscape had some influence over the sociocultural values on the American wetland

Characterization and In-situ Monitoring of Sub-stoichiometric Adjustable Tc Titanium Nitride Growth

The structural and electrical properties of Ti-N films deposited by reactive sputtering depend on their growth parameters, in particular the Ar:N2 gas ratio. We show that the nitrogen percentage changes the crystallographic phase of the film progressively from pure \alpha-Ti, through an \alpha-Ti phase with interstitial nitrogen, to stoichiometric Ti2N, and through a substoichiometric TiNX to stoichiometric TiN. These changes also affect the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, allowing, the superconducting properties to be tailored for specific applications. After decreasing from a Tc of 0.4 K for pure Ti down to below 50 mK at the Ti2N point, the Tc then increases rapidly up to nearly 5 K over a narrow range of nitrogen incorporation. This very sharp increase of Tc makes it difficult to control the properties of the film from wafer-to-wafer as well as across a given wafer to within acceptable margins for device fabrication. Here we show that the nitrogen composition and hence the superconductive properties are related to, and can be determined by, spectroscopic ellipsometry. Therefore, this technique may be used for process control and wafer screening prior to investing time in processing devices

Proximity-Coupled Ti/TiN Multilayers for use in Kinetic Inductance Detectors

We apply the superconducting proximity effect in TiN/Ti multi-layer films to tune the critical temperature, Tc, to within 10 mK with high uniformity (less than 15 mK spread) across a 75 mm wafer. Reproducible Tc's are obtained from 0.8 - 2.5 K. These films had high resistivities, > 100 uOhm-cm and internal quality factors for resonators in the GHz range on the order of 100k and higher. Both trilayers of TiN/Ti/TiN and thicker superlattice films were prepared, demonstrating a highly controlled process for films over a wide thickness range. Detectors were fabricated and showed single photon resolution at 1550 nm. The high uniformity and controllability coupled with the high quality factor, kinetic inductance, and inertness of TiN make these films ideal for use in frequency multiplexed kinetic inductance detectors and other potential applications such as nanowire detectors, transition edge sensors and associated quantum information applications

Etch Induced Microwave Losses in Titanium Nitride Superconducting Resonators

We have investigated the correlation between the microwave loss and patterning method for coplanar waveguide titanium nitride resonators fabricated on Si wafers. Three different methods were investigated: fluorine- and chlorine-based reactive ion etches and an argon-ion mill. At high microwave probe powers the reactive etched resonators showed low internal loss, whereas the ion-milled samples showed dramatically higher loss. At single-photon powers we found that the fluorine-etched resonators exhibited substantially lower loss than the chlorine-etched ones. We interpret the results by use of numerically calculated filling factors and find that the silicon surface exhibits a higher loss when chlorine-etched than when fluorine-etched. We also find from microscopy that re-deposition of silicon onto the photoresist and side walls is the probable cause for the high loss observed for the ion-milled resonator

Coherence in a transmon qubit with epitaxial tunnel junctions

We developed transmon qubits based on epitaxial tunnel junctions and interdigitated capacitors. This multileveled qubit, patterned by use of all-optical lithography, is a step towards scalable qubits with a high integration density. The relaxation time T1 is .72-.86mu sec and the ensemble dephasing time T2 is slightly larger than T1. The dephasing time T2 (1.36mu sec) is nearly energy-relaxation-limited. Qubit spectroscopy yields weaker level splitting than observed in qubits with amorphous barriers in equivalent-size junctions. The qubit's inferred microwave loss closely matches the weighted losses of the individual elements (junction, wiring dielectric, and interdigitated capacitor), determined by independent resonator measurements

Electronic structure and polymerization of a self-assembled monolayer with multiple arene rings

We find evidence of intermolecular interactions for a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formed from a large molecular adsorbate, [1,1′;4′,1′′-terphenyl]-4,4′′-dimethanethiol, from the dispersion of the molecular orbitals with changing wave vector k. With the formation self-assembled molecular (SAM) layer, the molecular orbitals hybridize to electronic bands, with indications of significant band dispersion of the unoccupied molecular orbitals. The electronic structure is also seen to be dependent upon temperature, and cross linking between the neighbor molecules, indicating that the electronic structure may be subtly altered by changes in molecular conformation and packing