Additively patterned ferroelectric thin films with vertical sidewalls

The functional properties of electroceramic thin films can be degraded by subtractive patterning techniques used for microelectromechanical (MEMS) applications. This work explores an alternative deposition technique, where lead zirconate titanate (PZT) liquid precursors are printed onto substrates in a desired geometry from stamp wells (rather than stamp protrusions). Printing from wells significantly increased sidewall angles (from ~1 to >35 degrees) relative to printing solutions from stamp protrusions. Arrays of PZT features were printed, characterized, and compared to continuous PZT thin films of similar thickness. Three‐hundred‐nanometer‐thick printed PZT features exhibit a permittivity of 730 and a loss tangent of 0.022. The features showed remanent polarizations of 26 μC/cm², and coercive fields of 95 kV/cm. The piezoelectric response of the features produced an e_31,f of ?5.2 C/m². This technique was also used to print directly atop prepatterned substrates. Optimization of printing parameters yielded patterned films with 90° sidewalls. Lateral feature sizes ranged from hundreds of micrometers down to one micrometer. In addition, several device designs were prepatterned onto silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers (Si/SiO₂/Si with thicknesses of 0.35/1/500 μm). The top patterned silicon was released from the underlying material, and PZT was directly printed and crystallized on the free‐standing structures.     

On the Implementation and Performance of Water Rights Buyback Schemes

Governments are increasingly reliant on the reacquisition of water rights as a mechanism for recovering overexploited basins. Yet, serious concerns have recently been raised about the efficacy and operational dimensions of existing programs. Water buyback is typically implemented as the purchase of a fixed quantity of water rights from the agricultural sector at the price set by the Water Authority. This paper seeks to analyze whether the use of water buyback in its current form represents a sensible means of recovering overexploited basins. The results??which are particularly relevant to contexts characterised by poor enforcement regimes and widespread illegal water use??highlight the need for greater scrutiny of current programs and call for additional work to improve the design of reacquisition policies in the context of water resource management.     

Teaching evidence-based interventions: Perceptions of influences on use in professional practice in school psychology.

This study examined perceptions of school psychologists regarding their use of evidence-based interventions in school settings after completing a graduate course in school-based psychosocial interventions. Ninety-four individuals who completed the course during the 10 years prior to the study were asked to complete a survey that focused on personal and organizational factors affecting the implementation of evidence-based interventions through assessment of (a) the extent of their use of interventions in professional school psychology practice, (b) perceptions of facilitators to implementation, and (c) perceptions of barriers to implementation. Fifty-four responded (a 57% response rate); analyses were conducted on the responses of 34 individuals who indicated that they were currently school psychologists working in schools. Results indicated that school psychologists’ personal beliefs about the interventions influenced their decisions to implement them. Several evidence-based interventions were less likely to be used in urban practice settings. Training in evidence-based interventions should address the personal and contextual issues that are related to implementation, as well as the procedures of the interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cross‐cultural colour‐naming study. Part III—A colour‐naming model

A colour‐naming model was developed to categorize volumes for each of the 11 basic names in CIELAB colour space. This was tested with three different sets of data for two languages (English and Mandarin), derived from extensive colour categorization experiments. The performance of the model in predicting colour names was satisfactory, with an average prediction error of 8.3%. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Col Res Appl, 26, 270–277, 2001     

Integrating a broader notion of food security and gender empowerment into the African Green Revolution

A Green Revolution for Africa is emerging after decades of neglect of Africa’s agricultural systems. To counter these years of neglect, the then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for “a uniquely African Green Revolution”. Since then, a number of initiatives have emerged or are emerging to realize this important vision. As more money and attention galvanizes much-needed action on the African Green Revolution, a vigorous debate is required to ensure that the mission of improving food security on the world’s poorest continent is achieved in the most effective, comprehensive and inclusive manner possible. The African Green Revolution cannot be limited to increasing yields of staple crops but must be designed as a driver of sustainable development, which includes gender empowerment and nutrition elements. This paper first reviews the Asian Green Revolution’s successes and shortcomings from a nutrition and gender perspective and then outlines what the global community can do to ensure that some of the limitations of the Asian Green Revolution, specifically with regard to nutrition and gender, are not repeated.     

Rating formats and rater training redux: A context-specific approach for enhancing the effectiveness of performance management.

In this paper, we critically examine previous research on rating formats and rater training in the context of performance appraisal. Historically, the goal of this body of research has been to search for ways of maximizing the psychometric quality of performance evaluation data. Our central thesis is that there are a number of avenues for broadening this research. Accordingly, we propose a conceptual model that hopefully serves as a conceptual framework for future work in these 2 traditional performance appraisal research streams. For example, both rating formats and rater training research may be useful for facilitating and improving the feedback and employee development process, as well as reducing the potential existence of rater biases. In addition, format and training research may focus upon ways of enhancing both rater and ratee reactions to the appraisal system. A key feature of our model is the integration of national culture as a moderator of the relations between specific formats, training programs, and various outcomes. We consider both the national culture of raters and ratees, and focus specifically on comparisons between Western and East Asian cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representational momentum is not (totally) impervious to error feedback.

The influence of feedback on representational momentum for the final location of a moving target was examined in 3 experiments. The presence of binary feedback (correct, error) during practise trials or during larger blocks of experimental trials did not reduce representational momentum, nor did the presence of more informative feedback specifying the direction of error (error—in front of, error—behind) during larger blocks of experimental trials reduce representational momentum. Effects on representational momentum of whether feedback was consistently provided were inconsistent. Even though feedback did not reduce representational momentum per se, feedback did influence the probability of a same response for different probe positions. Implications of the data for R. A. Finke and J. J. Freyd's (1985; J. J. Freyd, 1987) claim that representational momentum is impervious to error feedback, and possible roles of perceptual learning in representational momentum, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the eye of the beholder: Perceived, actual, and peer-rated similarity in personality, communication, and friendship intensity during the acquaintanceship process.

The authors examined associations of perceived similarity, actual similarity, and peer-rated similarity in personality with friendship intensity during the acquaintanceship process in a naturalistic setting. Self- and peer-rated personality data were gathered from undergraduates (mean age = 18.9) at 5 time points during the first year of university using a round-robin design. Whereas perceived similarity and peer-rated similarity in personality were concurrently associated with more friendship intensity for just-acquainted individuals, actual similarity in personality was not. Further, bidirectional cross-lagged associations between perceived similarity and friendship intensity were found. Peer-rated similarity was also associated with increases in friendship intensity, and this association was mediated by communication frequency. These results indicate that specific types of similarity in personality are differentially associated with friendship intensity during early phases of acquaintanceship in a real-life setting. Further, insight was provided in the direction of causality between similarity and attraction: Perceived and peer-rated similarity seem to breed friendship intensity, whereas friendship intensity seems to breed perceived similarity only. Finally, peers’ expectations seem to affect individuals’ communicative behaviors, which in turn affect friendship formation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)