This paper considers whether the phonology of the lexical pitch accent of Kyungsang Korean is being maintained by younger innovative speakers. We examine the pitch-accent patterns of nouns with various suffixes by comparing the speech of innovative Kyungsang speakers to that of older conservative speakers. It will be shown that while innovative speakers maintain the underlying distinction in the lexical pitch accent found with conservative speakers, the acoustic difference across the contrastive accent classes is substantially weaker in the speech of innovative speakers, for both noun stems and suffixes. Observation of individual differences in the phonetic realisation of the pitch accent and comparison with tonal patterns of Seoul Korean provide an insight into this sound change, offering evidence for how and why the acoustic distinction has weakened. This study thus documents a process of diachronic change in the prosody of Kyungsang Korean.

The myth of Korean-ness is reconstructed via the figures of minorities in a documentary/performance, An Eternal Parting, performed by the South Korean performance group Movement Dang-Dang in 2011 and 2013. It showcases the phenomena of Korean diaspora, starting with the deportations of Korean exiles from Siberia under Stalin during the 1930s, and hinges on the presence of the descendants of exiled Korean ethnic populations in contemporary South Korea, including how they are both accepted and excluded by their countrymen. However, although An Eternal Parting tries to redefine the myth of Korean-ness from a marginal viewpoint, its fundamental ambivalence does not escape hegemonic Korean ideologies of nationalism, bloodline, family and home.

Although the segmental properties of Kyungsang Korean have been known to be distinct from those of standard Seoul Korean, the increased influence of Seoul Korean on the regional variety casts doubt on the homogeneity of the dialect. The current study investigated whether the acoustic properties of the vowels and fricatives in Kyungsang Korean are retained by both younger and older generations through a comparison with Seoul Korean. Results of acoustic analyses with 38 female Korean speakers differing in dialect (Kyungsang, Seoul) and age (older, younger) showed that the younger Kyungsang speakers did not maintain the vowel and fricative features unique to their regional dialect, but rather approximate those of standard Seoul Korean. In the acoustic study of vowels, measures of formant frequencies showed that the younger Kyungsang and Seoul speakers share seven vowels, which result from the split of /ʌ/–/ɨ/ in Kyungsang and the merger of /e/–/ε/ in Seoul Korean. In the acoustic study of fricatives, measures of fricative duration and center of gravity showed that while the two-way fricative contrast is less distinct for older Kyungsang speakers, younger speakers clearly distinguish the two fricatives similar to Seoul speakers. As a consequence of these generational changes in Kyungsang Korean, the six vowels and lack of a fricative contrast exhibited by older generations have given way to seven vowels and a clear distinction between fortis and non-fortis fricatives for younger generations. Based on the similarities in segmental properties between younger Kyungsang and Seoul speakers, it appears that the diachronic sound change is underway in South Kyungsang Korean under the influence of Seoul Korean.

The three-way laryngeal distinction among voiceless Korean stops has been well documented for the Seoul dialect. The present study compares the acoustic and aerodynamic properties of this stop series between two dialects, non-tonal Seoul and tonal South Kyungsang Korean. Sixteen male Korean speakers (eight from Seoul and eight from Kyungsang) participated. Measures collected included VOT, f0 at vowel onset, H1-H2, and air pressure and airflow. The presence versus absence of lexical pitch accent affects both the acoustic and aerodynamic properties. First, Seoul speakers use a combination of f0 and VOT to distinguish the three-way contrast of Korean stops, while Kyungsang speakers mainly use VOT. Second, the presence of lexical pitch for Kyungsang speakers makes f0 an unreliable acoustic cue for the three Korean stops. Third, dialectal differences in VOT to mark the three-way distinction support the notion of a diachronic transition whereby VOT differences between the lenis and aspirated stops in Seoul Korean have been decreasing over the past 50 years. Finally, the aerodynamic results make it possible to postulate the articulatory state of the glottis, indicating a positive correlation with acoustic parameters. Based on the acoustic and aerodynamic results, phonological representations of Korean stops for the tonal and non-tonal dialects are suggested.

Ho-Jin Yoon's production The Last Empress (1995) was the first Korean-brand, Broadway-style musical to travel to Western venues. This article explores how the play was influenced by its producer's commitment to South Korea's cultural development in light of the country's intensive globalization during the mid-1990s. My analysis concludes that the production's development and the musical itself comprise a set of interactions between the global and the national; in turn, these interactions indicate a mode of alienation in which the concept of ‘global’ becomes meaningless, a fetish, or an empty signifier used in the service of national glory. My analysis also shows how elements of The Last Empress magnify the national and how its esoteric, exclusivist idea of Korean-ness is visualized via gendered nationalism.

The relationship between crystal structure and piezo-response was investigated in epitaxially grown PbZr1−xTixO3 (PZT) thin films on Pt(001)/MgO(001) with a thin PbTiO3 interlayer. Insertion of the interlayer resulted in significant relaxation ofthe strain that could be developed in the course of deposition of the PZT films, consequently leading us to single out only the effect of composition. Composition of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), at which tetragonal and rhombohedral phases are mixed with the same volume fraction, was found to be ∼0.55 in Ti/(Zr + Ti) ratio in our films, which is close to the value for bulk polycrystalline PZT (∼0.50). The piezoelectric response peaks were two times higher in the MPB regime than in the single phase regime due to structural instability caused by the coexistence of two phases. The results indicate that epitaxial PZT films having the MPB composition are advantageous over those of other compositions for nano-storage devices based on scanning force microscopy.

The dynamics of surface fluctuations in thin supported polystyrene films have been investigated using x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) in reflection geometry. The results from the films thicker than four times of the radius of gyration (Rg) of polystyrene show the behavior of the capillary waves expected in viscous liquid. However, thinner films show a deviation indicating the need to account for viscoelasticity. Theoretical considerations with viscoelastic liquid model has been performed by introducing frequency dependent viscosity and compared with Fredrickson’s brush model (Macromolecules, 25, 2882 (1992)). The theory has been extended to the surface and interfacial modes in a bilayer film system. The results will be discussed in terms of surface tension, viscosity, and shear modulus.

The effect of Mg in Ag(Mg)/SiO2/Si multilayers on the adhesion, passivation, and resistivity following vacuum annealing at 200–500 °C has been investigated. The annealing of Ag(Mg)/SiO2/Si multilayers produced surface and interfacial MgO layers, resulting in a MgO/Ag/MgO/SiO2/Si structure. The formation of a surface MgO/Ag bilayer structure provided excellent passivation against air and CF4 plasma chemistry. In addition, the adhesion of Ag to SiO2 was improved due to the formation of an interfacial MgO layer resulting from the reaction of segregated Mg with SiO2. However, the negligible solubility of Si in Ag prevented the dissolution of free silicon into the Ag(Mg) film produced from the reaction Mg + SiO2 = MgO + free Si, which in turn limited the reaction between Mg and SiO2, which led to a decrease in the adhesion of Ag to SiO2 at the higher temperature. The use of an O2 plasma prior to Ag(Mg) alloy deposition on SiO2 produced an oxygen-rich surface on the SiO2, which allowed for the enhanced reaction of the segregated Mg and SiO2 at the surface, thus resulting in markedly increased adhesion properties.

X-ray specular and off-specular reflectivity studies have been carried out to study the density modulations in liquids confined between two smooth silicon mirrors. The special technique as well as the advantages of using high energy and high brilliance synchrotron x-ray beams for carrying out such experiments will be discussed. Results will be presented on the ordering of octamethyl-cyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS) as a function of the confining pressure, where we find evidence of layering as the gap is decreased from macroscopic down to a few nanometers.

In situ patterning of crystalline iron oxide thin layers has been achieved via microcontact printing (μCP) and selective deposition. μCP was used to pattern two different surface moieties of selfassembled organic monolayers (SAMs) on Au/Cr/Si substrates. An elastomeric stamp (poly(dimethylsiloxane); PDMS) having a submicron-size patterned relief structure was used to transfer either hexadecanethiol (HDT) SAMs, which are to sustain deposition of iron oxide precipitates, or hydrophilic SAMs (e.g. dithiothreitol (DTT)). Selective deposition is realized through precipitation of iron oxide phases from aqueous solutions at ambient temperature (<100°C). Aqueous solutions of 0.05 M of iron nitrate (Fe(NO3)2•9H20) containing urea under nitric acid (pH < 2) were prepared for selective depositions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) results showed that iron oxide precipitates were deposited onto hydrophilic SAMs, but not onto HDT surfaces. As-deposited films onto DTT-SAM surfaces at 80°C were crystalline α-Fe2O3 (hematite). Fe3O4 and γ-Fe2O3 films were synthesized via annealing of as-deposited α-Fe2O3. Scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffractometry, vibrating sample magnetometry, and optical microscopy were used to characterize the films' microstructures and properties.