Foreign accent can be everything from hardly detectable to rendering the second language speech unintelligible. It is assumed that certain aspects of a specific target language contribute more to making the foreign accented speech intelligible and listener friendly, than others. The present thesis examines a teaching strategy for Swedish pronunciation in second language education. The teaching strategy “Basic prosody” or BP, gives priority to temporal aspects of Swedish prosody, which means the temporal phonological contrasts word stress and quantity, as well as the durational realizations of these contrasts. BP does not prescribe any specific tonal realizations. This standpoint is based on the great regional variety in realization and distribution of Swedish word accents. The teaching strategy consists virtually of three directives: · Stress the proper word in the sentence. · Stress proper syllables in stressed words and make them longer. · Lengthen the proper segment – vowel or subsequent consonant – in the stressed syllable. These directives reflect the view that all phonological length is stress-induced, and that vowel length and consonant length are equally important as learning goals. BP is examined in the light of existing findings in the field of second language pronunciation and with respect to the phonetic correlates of Swedish stress and quantity. Five studies examine the relation between segment durations and the categorization made by native Swedish listeners. The results indicate that the postvocalic consonant duration contributes to quantity categorization as well as giving the proper duration to stressed syllables. Furthermore, native Swedish speakers are shown to apply the complementary /V: C/ - /VC:/ pattern also when speaking English and German, by lengthening postvocalic consonants. The correctness of the priority is not directly addressed but important aspects of BP are supported by earlier findings as well as the results from the present studies. / <p>För att köpa boken skicka en beställning till exp@ling.su.se/ To order the book send an e-mail to exp@ling.su.se</p>

This 14-year longitudinal study extends previous research on money in marriage by using multiple measures of money to predict seven dimensions of marital quality. Data collection began when the couples were newlyweds and extended through the first decade and a half of marriage, thus making it possible to examine the effects of money on marital quality across time. Overall, the findings indicate that money affects marital quality. Specifically, low income was associated behavioral negativity over the entire course of the fourteen year study. Low-income couples who were content with their financial situations were more satisfied than low-income couples that were unhappy about their financial situation. The effects of money on marriage increased over time such that by the time couples were nearly a decade a half into marriage couple’s income was associated with both positive marital behaviors and marital satisfaction. Similarly, the link between financial satisfaction and marital satisfaction emerged over time. The implications of these findings as well as directions for future research are discussed. / text

Στην παρούσα διατριβή πραγματοποιούμε εμπειρικές αναλύσεις στο αντικείμενο της Χρηματοοικονομικής Μόλυνσης στον χρηματοπιστωτικό τομέα και στις αγορές μετοχών και ομολόγων, με την χρήση υποδειγμάτων απαραριθμητών δεδομένων και δεδομένων διάρκειας. / In the current thesis we focus on Financial Contagion modeling in the domain of bank failures, stock and bond markets, with the use of Count and Duration data models.

This dissertation applies economic theories and econometric methods to analyze the interactions between government policies and economic agents in two important and current topics: the protection of the environment and illegal migration.Following the introduction, the second chapter studies the empirical strength of bi-directional linkages between environmental standards and performance, on the one hand, and environmental innovation, on the other. Our empirical results reveal that environmental R&amp;D both spurs the tightening of government environmental standards and is spurred by the anticipation of such tightening, suggesting that U.S. environmental policy (at least in the context of the manufacturing industries that we study) has been responsive to innovation and effective in inducing innovation.The third chapter studies whether a voluntary reduction pollution programs can prompt firms to develop new environmental technologies that yield future emission reduction benefits. Conversely, a VRP may induce a participating firm to divert resources from environmental research to environmental monitoring and compliance activities that yield short-term benefits in reduced emissions. We find evidence that higher rates of program participation are associated with significant reductions in the number of successful environmental patent applications four to six years after the program ended.The fourth chapter examines the migration duration of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. using data from the Mexican Migration Project (MMP). In the past, temporary migrations were frequent, and often the rule rather than the exception in the case of Mexican immigrants. This pattern may be changing due to the tightening of the border between Mexico and the Unites States. Moreover, this paper examines whether migration experience, demographic characteristics, economic conditions or social networks drive the time Mexican immigrants to reside illegally in the United States. The empirical analysis shows that the migration duration increases as the U.S. expected real wage increases. Tighter U.S. migration policies have an ambiguous effect on the migration duration while longer distances decrease the hazard of return to their state of origin.In the final chapter of this dissertation, the general findings are concluded and some future avenues of research are discussed.

Objective: The purposes of this thesis included: i) To explore the annual incidence and time-loss duration of traumatic, work-related injuries of four nature-of-injury (fractures, nerve lacerations, tendon lacerations/disruptions and amputations) and two part-of-body categories (hand and wrist); and ii) To identify the incidence and time-loss duration, and examine explanatory variables that were associated with time-loss duration for subjects with hand fractures. Methodology: Data on incidence, time-loss duration and explanatory variables were reviewed on claims accepted between January – December 2006 at WorkSafe-New Brunswick. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were used to explore incidence and time-loss duration. Using a biopsychosocial framework, explanatory variables associated with time-loss duration were analyzed using Cox Proportional Hazards regression. Results: The incidence for hand and wrist trauma involving fractures, tendon lacerations/disruptions and amputations was low (3%). Incidence was significantly higher for fractures and for injuries to the hand, while time-loss duration was significantly higher for the wrist (p< .05). The incidence rate of hand fractures was low (1.5%) and average time-loss duration was high (92 days). Increased time-loss duration was associated with greater medical aid costs (used as a proxy for injury severity) older age and increased receipt of therapy (Physiotherapy/Occupational Therapy). Conclusions: The annual incidence of specific injuries involving the hand and wrist is challenging to compare to the literature since incidence is presented in many ways. Time-loss duration following hand and wrist injuries is highly variable. Time-loss duration for hand fractures exceeded reports in the literature and predicted values reported in disability duration guidelines. Consideration of the impairment, personal and environmental factors is warranted to provide a framework to the return-to-work process for all stakeholders involved in the care of the hand- and wrist-injured worker.

The development of a simple efficient Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) modulator has been a goal for many research workers. In general three techniques have been used, namely; the analogue triangular wave technique; the use of look-up tables, and the use of Analogue to Digital converters together with analogue circuitry. The modulator described in this thesis is based on an iterative numerical algorithm, and is thus fundamentally different from all previous techniques. The algorithm is limited only by the speed and precision of the associated digital circuitry and can achieve higher modulating frequencies with greater accuracy than can be realised using any of the methods that have previously been investigated. The use of high switching frequencies simplifies the design of filters to reduce both unwanted harmonics and acoustic noise. In this thesis, an equation of a multiphase digital oscillator is derived which is simple to implement and will operate over a wide range of frequencies. The conditions for stable oscillation are derived, and two classes of oscillator are developed. It is shown how the frequency and amplitude of oscillations can be independently and continuously varied. The errors in computing the amplitude and frequency are analysed, and are shown to be cyclic. Upper bounds for the amplitude errors are derived. Single and three phase PWM modulators are described and the implementation procedures for their practical realisation are developed. Two specific implementations of the algorithm are investigated and experimental results confirm theoretical analyses. The algorithm can be incorporated in the Space Vector Modulation (SVM) method of PWM, to improve the resolution at low speeds and to enable the SVM technique to be applied at high gear ratios. A 3-phase 16-bit PWM modulator was built and operated satisfactorily with a pulse switching frequency of 20 kHz and an output frequency range of 1000:1. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1989.

Duration models are often concerned with time intervals between trades, longer durations indicating a lack of trading activities. In this thesis, we study parameter estimation for the Autoregressive Conditional Duration (ACD) and Stochastic Conditional Duration (SCD) models. Maximum likelihood methods can usually be used in the case of ACD models. However, the SCD models are based on the assumption that durations are generated by a dynamic stochastic latent variable which is often perturbed by Exponential, Weibull, Gamma or Log-Normal distributed innovations. This makes the use of maximum likelihood methods difficult. One alternative method of parameter estimation, in this case, consists in using quasi-maximum likelihood after transforming the original nonlinear model into a state-space model and using the Kalman filter, a similar filtering scheme or the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). We use the nonlinear filter and GMM method to analyze the Quadratic Stochastic Conditional duration model as well.

Field experiments were conducted in Kentucky and Louisiana in 2008 and 2009 (split-plot in a randomized complete block design with four replications) to investigate it is possible to simulate with manual defoliation the effect of soybean rust (SBR) (Phakopsora pachyrhizi Syd. and P. Syd) injury on a healthy soybean [Glycine max, (L.) Merr.] canopy, understand how defoliation affects the growth dynamics and canopy light interception, and if defoliation affectsleaf senescence and nitrogen remobilization during the seed-filling period. Two manual defoliation treatments based on changes in effective leaf area index (ELAI) (calculated as the reduction in leaf area equivalent to SBR-induced premature leaf abscission, loss in green leaf area, and reduction in photosynthetic capacity of diseased leaves) in infected canopies in Brazil were used to simulate SBR infection at growth stage R2 (full flowering) and R5 (beginning of seed-fill). Both defoliation treatments reduced yield in all experiments and the reduction was larger for the treatments at growth stage R2. The yield losses were equivalent to that observed in infected soybean canopies in Brazil. This suggests that a system of manual defoliation to simulate changes in effective leaf area duration shows promise as a tool to simulate the impact of SBR on soybean yield. The radiation use efficiency and crop growth rate from growth stage R2 to R5 were not influenced by defoliation. Defoliation started at growth stage R2 reduced seed number per unit area, while defoliation started at growth stage R5 reduced seed size due to shortening the seed-fill duration and a lower seed growth rate. There is no evidence that manual defoliation affected leaf senescence or nitrogen redistribution to the seed. This study found that the reduction of light interception by SBR was the main reason for the reductions in soybean growth and yield.

Individuals with cardiomyopathy are at higher risk to die from sudden cardiac arrest than those with non-failing (NF) hearts. This study examined the differences in electrical properties of failing and NF human hearts in terms of cardiac memory through explicit control of diastolic intervals in a sinusoidal fashion, restitution of action potential duration (APD) through standard and dynamic pacing protocols, maximum rate of depolarization and APD alternans. Recordings of transmembrane potentials were made in tissues extracted from patients with heart failure and one donor NF heart. Computational simulations were performed using the O’Hara Rudy model for generating surrogates of control data. Significant differences were seen between left ventricular (LV) tissue and NF LV tissue in tilt, and measures of memory in terms of area and thickness during the sinusoidal 400ms protocol. Minimum delay was also significantly higher in the failing LV during the sinusoidal 150ms protocol. Failing tissues showed a higher restitution slope and prolonged AP which is consistent with previous studies and is hypothesized to contribute to the increased susceptibility to unstable alternans. This study further explored how disease alters the electrical functioning of the heart and why these patients are at a higher risk of ventricular arrhythmia.

Bakgrund: Hälsofördelarna med amning är välkända, och sedan 1992 försöker svenska sjukhus arbeta efter internationella amningsrekommendationer. Trots detta framkommer brister i vården och amningsstatistiken i Sverige sjunker. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka amningsdurationen hos förstföderskor, om den kunde associeras med vården de fått i samband med barnets födelse och första levnadsdygn, samt med mammornas skattning av amningsstöd vid amningsstart. Metod: Designen var en longitudinell kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie och urvalet var icke slumpmässigt konsekutivt. I samband med utskrivning från BB, tillfrågades 63 mammor om att delta i en enkätstudie med frågor gällande vården de fått i relation till amning och 52 mammor besvarade enkäten. Efter nio till tolv månader blev de uppringda för en kortare uppföljning och 50 mammor valde att delta. Resultat: Medianen för durationen av exklusiv amning var tre månader och tre veckor och medianen för durationen av partiell amning var åtta månader. Amningsstödet på BB skattades högre vid det första mättillfället, men det påvisades inte ha något samband med amningsdurationen. Faktorer i vården såsom; hudnära vård, amning inom två timmar eller handgriplig amningshjälp, bidrog inte till någon skillnad i amningsduration. Däremot påverkades amningsdurationen negativt hos de barn som fått tillmatning på BB, med en kortare exklusiv amningsduration som följd, och de som fötts med kejsarsnitt, med kortare amningsduration såväl exklusivt som partiellt. Slutsats: Medianen för durationen av exklusiv amning var tre månader och tre veckor och medianen för durationen av partiell amning var åtta månader.  Faktorer i vården som inverkade negativt på amningsdurationen var tillmatning på BB samt att barnet fötts med kejsarsnitt. Däremot fanns ingen association mellan amningsduration och amningsstöd, hudnära vård, amning inom två timmar eller handgriplig hjälp. / Background: The health benefits of breastfeeding are well known and since 1992, Swedish hospitals aim to provide care according to international guidelines of breastfeeding support. Despite this, there are inadequacies in the care provided, and the frequency of breastfeeding in Sweden is statistically decreasing. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the duration of breastfeeding among primiparas, if the duration was associated with the provided care and with how the mothers valued the help and support they received at the initiation of breastfeeding. Method: A quantitative longitudinal with consecutive sample was conducted. At discharge from hospital, 63 mothers were asked if they wanted to participate in a survey about breastfeeding and the related care, and 52 mothers filled in the questionnaire. After nine to twelve months the participants were contacted by phone for a short follow-up, and 50 mothers chose to participate. Results: The median duration of exclusive breastfeeding was three months and three weeks and the median duration of partial breastfeeding was eight months. The evaluation of the breastfeeding support was higher at the first data collection but did not appear to correlate with the duration of breastfeeding. Of the investigated factors; skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, breastfeeding within two hours after birth and hands-on support, none of them led to differences in breastfeeding duration. Breastfeeding duration was adversely affected if the infant was given formula at the maternity ward and if the infant was born by Caesarean section. Feeding by infant formula led to a shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding and birth by Caesarean section led to a shorter duration of both exclusive and partial breastfeeding. Conclusion: The median duration of exclusive breastfeeding was three months and three weeks and the median duration of partial breastfeeding was eight months. The infant being given formula at the maternity ward, and being born by Caesarean section were factors that adversely affected the duration of breastfeeding. However, there was no association between breastfeeding duration and; perceived breastfeeding support, skin-to-skin-care, breastfeeding within two hours or hands-on support.