European emissions trading scheme set to start in 2005

Iron powder producers and processors will have to look to the skies for the next big piece of Euro legislation to effect them. And it's coming soon. For a Europe-wide emissions trading scheme (ETS), which is effectively a carbon trading scheme, is to begin in 2005 and will cover all present and future member states of the enlarged European Union. The deadline for implementation of the EC Directive — approved by the European Parliament only in July — is December 31. Member states have to have their National Allocation Plans (NAP) finalised by the end of March 2004.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

New tech centre

Metaldyne's Engine Group has opened a 14?000-sq foot European Technical Centre in Dieburg, Germany, to support advanced development of the Engine Group's products.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest metallurgy industry news     

New record high for EPMA membership

Membership of the European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) grew to record levels of more than 260 in 2002. Of these, 164 are corporate members, broken down into 50 per cent component manufacturers, 36 per cent suppliers and 14 per cent end users and other institutions. The organisation launched a new version of its Health and Safety Guidelines, a working document for industrialists, at the Valencia Conference and Exhibition last month and is to continue lobbying on the proposed introduction of the European New Chemicals Policy, which has potentially large implications for the industry.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

Spring show

Mechanical processes for powder and bulk solids technologies will be showcased at Powtech 2004 from 16 - 18 March at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre in Germany.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

Being the best bearer of bad tidings.

Giving bad news is an unpleasant task, and the medical literature provides numerous guidelines for giving bad news well. However, what people mean by "giving bad news well" is less clear. What should be the goal when communicating bad news? The authors suggest that the goal of news-givers should be to guide recipients toward a desired response and the authors propose a theoretical framework, the Bad News Response Model, for delivering bad news that draws from research in health and social psychology. The model is applicable to all forms of bad news and specifies that three characteristics of the news (controllability, likelihood, and severity) influence which response (Watchful Waiting, Active Change, or Acceptance) will most often lead to the best quality of life for the recipient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Plansee down

Austria's Plansee Group reported a decline in sales during the fiscal year 2002/2003, which closed at the end of February. After eight years with sales increasing by an average of 15 per cent, last year's sales dropped by 9 per cent to €528 million.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest metallurgy industry news     

Hoeganaes funds new Chair in PM at Philadelphia's Drexel

Hoeganaes Corporation has established a $250?000 endowment for a Chair in Powder Metallurgy in the department of Materials Engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

Patents and intellectual property to be discussed in Luxembourg

The importance of intellectual property and the latest developments in electronic tools and the Internet for patent information are to be discussed in Luxembourg at two conferences in a three-day session later this month.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

Job swap

Hans Soderhjelm has taken over as sales and marketing director at Höganäs North America, from Ralf Carlström who assumes the same role at the parent company, Höganäs AB in Sweden.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

A reply to Taplin: Good news, bad news.

Our reaction to J. R. Taplin's (see record 1981-26926-001) article "Implications of General Systems Theory For Assessment and Intervention" was mixed; a little good news... a little bad news. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the way clinicians think and act with respect to the problems that clients bring to their offices must incorporate the premises of general systems theory. The great majority of the excellent articles translating systems theory into clinical practice do not appear in those American Psychological Association publications that are generally familiar to traditionally trained psychotherapists. So the good news was the appearance of an article attempting to apply general systems theory premises to traditional psychological assessment in a journal widely read by clinicians. The bad news was that Taplin, by attempting to translate systems theory into conventional, linear-causal approaches to treatment, revealed at best a partial and somewhat confused understanding of general systems theory. A translation from a linear-causal to a systems model is theoretically and pragmatically impossible. The systemic, circular model is epistemologically distinct from the linear approach. These two very different ways of thinking and understanding have separate, clear, and divergent implications for the way we understand psychopathology and the approaches available to us for treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bad news transmission as a function of the definitiveness of consequences and the relationship between communicator and recipient.

There is ample evidence suggesting (e.g., A. Tesser & S. Rosen, 1975) that people are reluctant to transmit bad news. Research on rumors, on the other hand, suggests that people sometimes are less reluctant to transmit bad news. It is argued that differences between the 2 lines of research include the definitiveness of the consequences of the news and the relationship between communicator and recipient. The influence of these 2 factors on news transmission was investigated in 3 experiments. Results showed that bad news with indefinite consequences was transmitted more often than bad news with definite consequences and that both kinds of bad news were transmitted more often if the recipient was a friend rather than a stranger. Differences in feelings of moral responsibility to transmit the news largely accounted for both effects. The 2 factors did not affect the likelihood of good news transmission. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children and terrorism-related news: Training parents in coping and media literacy.

This study examined associations between televised news regarding risk for future terrorism and youth outcomes and investigated the effects of training mothers in an empirically based approach to addressing such news with children. This approach--Coping and Media Literacy (CML)--emphasized modeling, media literacy, and contingent reinforcement and was compared via randomized design to Discussion as Usual (DAU). Ninety community youth (aged 7-13 years) and their mothers viewed a televised news clip about the risk of future terrorism, and threat perceptions and state anxiety were assessed preclip, postclip, and postdiscussion. Children responded to the clip with elevated threat perceptions and anxiety. Children of CML-trained mothers exhibited lower threat perceptions than DAU youth at postclip and at postdiscussion. Additionally, CML-trained mothers exhibited lower threat perceptions and state anxiety at postclip and postdiscussion than did DAU mothers. Moreover, older youth responded to the clip with greater societal threat perception than did younger youth. Findings document associations between terrorism-related news, threat perceptions, and anxiety and support the utility of providing parents with strategies for addressing news with children. Implications and research suggestions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis on the hoof

Malvern Instruments have added a mobile analysis system to its range of on line particle analysers. The Insitec Voyager won the Most Innovative Product award at the Asia Pacific Coatings Show 2003 and can be attached to fixed sampling ports at a variety of points in a production line. It can also be used to sample different production lines within the same manufacturing plant.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

‘Cool’ fuel cell cuts heat and drives down cost

A New York nanomaterials company has announced a breakthrough in the development of intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). A new processing technique will allow an SOFC to produce electrical power at temperatures significantly below the operating temperatures normally associated with conventional solid oxide fuel cell systems.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest metallurgy industry news     

Sold out

The latest share offering by Umicore has been rapidly oversubscribed, with high levels of interest shown by North American investors.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

Service rewarded

Professor Michael Cox has been awarded the Lampitt Medal by the Society of Chemical Industry for outstanding service to the society. He is well known in the industry for his work on the development of technologies to remove metals from industrial effluents.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

Q2 Hawk up — but PM sales decline

US engineering group Hawk Corporation reported that second quarter income from operations increased by 16 per cent to $3.6 million, up from $3.1 million for the same period of 2002.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest metallurgy industry news     

Making better PM products

A two-day seminar dealing with machinability of PM parts is to be held in Dearborn, Michigan, in early December. The meeting at the Hyatt Regency on December 3-4 is designed to provide delegates with in-depth knowledge and understanding of both the fundamental and practical aspects of machinability in PM parts. Among the topics to be covered are improving operations to make higher quality parts, reducing costs, increasing productivity and greater profits.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

PM's part in defence

A two-day seminar on powder metallurgy in defence-related industries is to be staged by the Metal Powder Industries Federation in Baltimore later this month. The aim of the seminar is to set out the benefits for companies in gaining government contracts.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.     

New polish for Institute of Corrosion

The UK's Institute of Corrosion is (IC) launching a ”new look” in a bid to encourage new members. The IC will be seeking to promote sound corrosion management practice, the advancement of cost-effective corrosion control measures, and a sustained effort to raise awareness at all stages of design and manufacture. It estimates that corrosion costs the UK 4 per cent of GNP every year.This is a short news story only. Visit www.metal-powder.net for the latest powder metallurgy industry news.