A Timed Verification of the IEEE 1394 Leader Election Protocol

The IEEE 1394 architecture standard defines a high performance serial multimedia bus that allows several components in a network to communicate with each other at high speed. In the physical layer of the architecture, a leader election protocol is used to find a spanning tree with a unique root in the network topology. If there is a cycle in the network, the protocol treats this as an error situation. This paper presents a formal model of the leader election protocol in the language IOA and a correctness proof. Hereby, it is shown that under certain timing restrictions the protocol behaves correctly. The timing parameters in the IEEE 1394 standard documentation obey the restrictions found in this proof.     

Automatic generation of instructional hypermedia with APHID

This research investigates the use of patterns in designing adaptable, flexible hypermedia applications. While patterns are particularly applicable to software design, they can also be used to assist designers of other types of applications. We have developed a method (APHID) that guides a hypermedia creator through the analysis and design process. The method ensures that good design principles are followed, both for the hypermedia application and for the interface that presents the hypermedia application. Our method uses a concept map, constraints, and patterns (instructional and presentation) to support partial automation for creating hypermedia applications. We also present a prototype software system that uses the APHID method to create instructional hypermedia applications semi-automatically. The applications created using APHID are tailored to specific types of learners. We conclude with a claim that this approach is applicable not just to instructional hypermedia, but to the larger problem of generating adaptable interfaces.     

Common and specific correlates of preadolescent internalizing and externalizing psychopathology.

The specificity of various child characteristics and environmental correlates of childhood internalizing and externalizing problems was examined using both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses (from ages 2–3 and 4–5 years) in a general population sample of 10–11-year-olds. Specificity was defined according to a between-subjects and a within-subjects method, using parent and teacher reports of psychopathology. Temperamental withdrawal, parental internalizing psychopathology, and early single parenthood (for girls) were identified as correlates that are specific for internalizing problems, whereas temperamental high general activity level was identified as externalizing-specific. Further, parenting stress, poor school results (only for boys), and stressful life events (only for girls) were found to be common correlates of psychopathology. Research implications regarding the findings and the use of a within-subjects method are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SO_4~(2-)/ZrO_2固体超强酸催化剂金属离子复合、改性及在乙酰丙酸制备中的研究

采用共沉淀法制备了SO42-/ZrO2-Fe2O3和SO42-/ZrO2-Al2O3双金属固体超强酸催化剂,其中SO42-/ZrO2-Fe2O3对葡萄糖水解生成5-羟甲基糠醛的反应有利,而SO42-/ZrO2-Al2O3对5-羟甲基糠醛脱羧生成乙酰丙酸的反应有利。采用沉淀-浸渍法制取两种金属离子改性的SO42-/ZrO2催化剂,该类催化剂对葡萄糖水解制5-羟甲基糠醛和5-羟甲基糠醛脱羧生成乙酰丙酸的反应均有利。     

Two-Dimensional Fast-Response Flood Modeling: Desktop Parallel Computing and Domain Tracking

Emergency flood management is enhanced by using models that can estimate the timing and location of flooding. Typically, flood routing and inundation prediction is accomplished by using one-dimensional (1D) models. These have been the models of choice because they are computationally simple and quick. However, these models do not adequately represent the complex physical processes present for shallow flows located in the floodplain or in urban areas. Two-dimensional (2D) models developed on the basis of the full hydrodynamic equations can be used to represent the complex flow phenomena that exist in the floodplain and are, therefore, recommended by the National Research Council for increased use in flood analysis studies. The major limitation of these models is the increased computational cost. Two-dimensional flood models are prime candidates for parallel computing, but traditional methods/equipment (e.g., message passing paradigm) are more complex in terms of code refactoring and hardware setup. In addition, these hardware systems may not be available or accessible to modelers conducting flood analyses. This paper presents a 2D flood model that implements multithreading for use on now-prevalent multicore computers. This desktop parallel computing architecture has been shown to decrease computation time by 14 times on a 16-processor computer and, when coupled with a wet cell tracking algorithm, has been shown to decrease computation by as much as 310 times. These accomplishments make high-fidelity flood modeling more feasible for flood inundation studies using readily available desktop computers.     

Children's and adults' reading of nonwords: Effects of regularity and consistency.

The procedures used by novice readers to assemble pronunciations for nonwords were investigated. Children in Grades 1–3 read aloud consonant-vowel-consonant and longer monosyllabic nonwords. By the end of Grade 1, children displayed a good grasp of grapheme–phoneme (G–P) correspondences (e.g., ai, ow). Grade 2 and 3 readers increasingly used larger orthographic correspndences termed rimes (e.g., -ook, -ild). However, G–P correspondences determined most responses. Adults likewise used G–P rules when reading aloud nonwords and were more accurate at applying the rules. The strong reliance of Grade 1 and 2 readers on G–P rules was also demonstrated by their superior oral reading of regular words along with a tendency to regularize exception words (e.g., reading bull to rhyme with dull). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validating the factor structure of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale in a community sample.

Currently, there is no standard self-report measure of psychopathy in community-dwelling samples that parallels the most commonly used measure of psychopathy in forensic and clinical samples, the Psychopathy Checklist. A promising instrument is the Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP), which was derived from the original version the Psychopathy Checklist. The most recent version of the SRP (SRP-III; D. L. Paulhus, C. S. Neumann, & R. D. Hare, in press) has shown good convergent and discriminate validity and a factor structure similar to the current version of the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991, 2003). The analyses in the current study further investigated the viability of the SRP-III as a PCL-R-analogous measure of psychopathy in nonforensic and nonclinical samples by extending the validation process to a community sample. Using confirmatory factor analyses and logistic regressions, the results revealed that a four-factor oblique model for the SRP-III was most tenable, congruent with the PCL-R factor structure of psychopathy and previous research in which the SRP-III was administered to a student sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Buber on (looking at) architecture

Martin Buber (1878-1965), the eminent Jewish theologian and social philosopher, would probably prefer to be described as the founder of philosophical anthropology. He is perhaps best remembered today as author of the highly influential I and Thou (first published in 1923). This paper sets out to introduce his ideas on architecture. Buber's interest in architecture has hitherto been overlooked, probably because his only published utterance specifically on this subject dating from the final period of his life was hitherto available exclusively in Hebrew. Considerable insights into Buber's thinking about architecture can be obtained from studying this short, published text of 1957, his Foreword to Within the Space of Architecture [ BeHalalah shel Ardichalut ], the Hebrew edition of Bruno Zevi's Saper Vedere l'Architettura [ Architecture as Space: How to look at Architecture ], first published a decade earlier in Italian. For the Hebrew edition not only was the title modified but also Zevi added a special introduction as well as Buber's Foreword. Despite its brevity this Foreword enables one to deduce Buber's fundamental ideas about architecture and about our perception of it. Furthermore, their foreword also casts new light on Zevi's ideas, as enunciated in this book.     

Meta-analysis of the sensitivity decrement in vigilance.

Observers' perceptual sensitivity to critical target events can deteriorate when they must remain alert for prolonged periods. The dominant characterization of this sensitivity decrement has been the R. Parasuraman and D. R. Davies (1977) taxonomy of vigilance, which attributes the decline in perceptual ability to the type of discrimination (successive-absolute vs simultaneous-comparative judgment) and the event rate (rate of stimulus presentation) required for task completion. According to the model, sensitivity decrements occur chiefly in tasks that couple successive discrimination with a high event rate. This meta-analysis of 42 vigilance studies attempted to refine the taxonomy by identifying other task characteristics related to the sensitivity decrement. The analysis confirmed that the magnitude of this sensitivity decrement is substantial and that it is a function of the type of discrimination and the event rate, but it also revealed that the current taxonomy should be revised to incorporate a new dimension: the sensory–cognitive distinction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parenting and toddler aggression in second-generation immigrant families: The moderating role of child temperament.

We investigated the influence of parenting practices in the prediction of child physical aggression in 94 second-generation Turkish immigrant families with 2-year-old toddlers, and the moderating role of child temperament. In a longitudinal study we tested both a dual-risk model and a differential susceptibility model. Observational data were obtained for mothers’ positive parenting and authoritarian discipline, and maternal reports for child temperament and physical aggression. All measures were repeated 1 year later. Child temperament at age 2 years was a significant predictor of child aggression 1 year later. We found no main effects of positive parenting or of authoritarian discipline for the prediction of child aggression. However, we found support for the dual-risk hypothesis: Toddlers with difficult temperaments were more adversely affected by a lack of positive parenting than other children, but they did not benefit more from high levels of positive parenting than toddlers with more easy temperaments. We found no interaction effects with child temperament for authoritarian discipline. These findings provide support for the generalizability of the dual-risk model of parenting and temperament to non-Western immigrant families with young children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)