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In order to find the most appropriate fit between media to use and density of interaction in distance shopping, a thorough analysis of customer communication is needed. In this paper, the authors present two examples of such in-depth analysis (e-mail and telephone conversations). These analyses are based on a socio-pragmatic communication framework. The result uncovers deep complexities in the communication process between employees of distance selling companies and their customers. This complexity includes a number of different areas, such as the change of topicalisation of a conversation and context-dependence. The analysis of these customer conversations has also been translated into possible recommendations for customer communication.

The authors report on the effects of fluorine implants on the sheet resistivity of n-type InGaAsP layers grown lattice matched to InP by metal organic molecular beam epitaxy. Projected range matched fluorine ions are implanted at multiple energies and single MeV energy at room temperature (RT) and 77 K in both cases. Hall and resistivity measurements are carried out for the van der Pauw samples and the evolution of sheet resistivity (R-s) as a function of annealing temperature was studied in both cases. Fluorine multienergy implantation at 77 K produces higher as-implanted resistivity layers of similar to 10(7) Omega/square compared to RT implants. It is further observed that RT and 77 K implants recover to their preimplanted sheet resistivity values as soon as they are annealed at temperatures higher than 500 degrees C. Substrate temperature and collision cascade density due to multiple energy implants are found to play an important role to optimize the isolation process.

Regions of Restricted Exchange (RREs) are an important feature of the European coastline. They are historically preferred sites for human settlement and aquaculture and their ecosystems, and consequent human use, may be at risk from eutrophication. The OAERRE project (EVK3-CT1999-0002) concerns 'Oceanographic Applications to Eutrophication in Regions of Restricted Exchange'. It began in July 2000, and studies six sites. Four of these sites are fjords: Kongsfjorden (west coast of Spitzbergen); Gullmaren (Skagerrak coast of Sweden); Himmerfjarden (Baltic coast of Sweden); and the Firth of Clyde (west coast of Scotland). Two are bays sheltered by sand bars: Golfe de Fos (French Mediterranean); and Ria Formosa (Portuguese Algarve). Together they exemplify a range of hydrographic and enrichment conditions. The project aims to understand the physical, biogeochemical and biological processes, and their interactions, that determine the trophic status of these coastal marine RRE through the development of simple screening models to define, predict and assess eutrophication. This paper introduces the sites and describes the component parts of a basic screening model and its application to each site using historical data. The model forms the starting point for the OAERRE project and views an RRE as a well-mixed box, exchanging with the sea at a daily rate E determined by physical processes, and converting nutrient to phytoplankton chlorophyll at a fixed yield q. It thus uses nutrient levels to estimate maximum biomass; these preliminary results are discussed in relation to objective criteria used to assess trophic status. The influence of factors such as grazing and vertical mixing on key parameters in the screening model are further studied using simulations of a complex 'research' model for the Firth of Clyde. The future development of screening models in general and within OAERRE in particular is discussed. In addition, the paper looks ahead with a broad discussion of progr

This article focuses on patients’ accounts of chronic pain and the manner in which they communicate their experiences. The data have been generated through interviews with chronic pain patients undergoing treatment for their problems. The results show that patients develop a set of discursive markers by means of which they are able to make distinctions between different kinds of pain. These distinctions are made with respect to pain qualities and pain localizations in the body. Further, a majority of the patients report that one pain generally transforms into another. This subjectively perceived patterning we refer to as pain transformations and these, in turn, contain different pain phases. Most patients report pains as dynamic and tients report pains as dynamic and stable and consistent sensation. The results also show that some patients identify certain pain phases as precursors of more severe phases, and that they use this knowledge as a means for taking preventive actions. Since experiencing pain often involves a discursive element gaining linguistic control over one’s pain provides the person with an important resource for dealing with pain

This study focuses on how patients describe and manage their pain in their everyday life. The data consist of interviews with 37 patients undergoing treatment for chronic pain. The study focuses on how experiences of pain are mediated and interpreted with the help of the individual's discursive resources. It is argued that this kind of resource is important in constituting a structure of relations between a suffering person, pain and context. In the analysis of the material a four-step procedure was used, including both formal and content-related aspects. It was found that the patients describe chronic pain as a dynamic phenomenon. Patients learn about their pain by actively constituting relations among themselves, the pain and their activities. For the patients, chronic pain is a structured phenomenon. Patients often describe how pain is initiated, worsens and is alleviated. Patients thereby learn to distinguish different figures in their pain, which they are able to relate to in their management of pain. This suggests that a life in pain could be seen as an apprenticeship process. The heart of the matter in this process is learning to become sensitive to and flexible towards variations in the pain and potential pain triggers in the environment. This knowledge is important, as mastering pain is a balancing act between inner resources and environmental circumstances.