Sex differences in group task performance.

115 female and 118 male psychology students worked individually or in 3-person same-sex groups on a production task (requiring the generation of ideas) or on a discussion task (requiring group members to reach consensus concerning their evaluation of an issue). Because the content of the tasks was carefully selected not to favor the interests or expertise of one sex over the other, no sex differences were expected when Ss worked individually. Results show no gender differences in individual production performance. Only the creativity of the discussion problems was affected by gender; males working individually generated more creative solutions than did females. Consistent with prior research, males in groups generated more solutions to the production problems than did females; females in groups generated higher quality solutions to the discussion problem than did males. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fabrication and characterization of (U,Am)O2−x transmutation targets

A novel dust-free route for the preparation of (U, Am)O_2?x targets has been demonstrated using a combined sol–gel and single- or double Am-infiltration process at the Minor Actinide Laboratory (MALAB) of the Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU). Samples with 10 and 20 mol% of Am were prepared. For both Am concentrations, a single cubic phase material with a fluorite structure was observed by X-ray diffraction. X-ray absorption spectroscopy was carried out to characterize the chemical state of the metal atoms and their local crystallographic environment. The U(IV) and Am(III) valence states are predominant and the O/Am ratio is ～1.6 for both Am contents. For the 20 mol% Am, EXAFS reveals an expansion of the Am–O (2.43 Å) bond length beyond the metal–oxygen bond length in both AmO₂ (2.31 Å) and UO₂ (2.35 Å).