Autopoiesis and systems education: Implications for practice

In this paper, I will discuss the application of Maturana and Varela's theories of autopoiesis, cognition and language to the notions of worldview, worldview change and curriculum design. The context for this discussion is the education of systems concepts, thinking and practice. It has been argued that systemic thinking requires the adoption of particular assumptions into the worldview of the student, independent of the systems concepts under study. This raises the question of how best to structure a curriculum to meet this end. It will be argued that autopoietic theory, when applied to systems education has significant implications for curriculum design.     

On the relationship between the GLRT and UMPI tests for the detection of signals with unknown parameters

The generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) is widely used in signal processing applications such as image processing, wireless communications, medical imaging, classification, and signal detection. However, the GLRT does not have many known properties, other than that it is invariant, uniformly most powerful invariant (UMPI) for problems that fit the linear model, and asymptotically (N/spl rarr//spl infin/) UMPI in general. Since it is invariant, it belongs to the class of tests for which the UMPI test is optimal. In this paper, we consider a general class of detection problems in which unknown signal parameters imply a problem invariance that can be described analytically by orthogonal subgroups. This invariance is natural for problems with unknown signal parameters and, for example, include those of the matched subspace detectors of Scharf and Friedlander. We derive the GLRT and UMPI detectors for this general signal class for the case of Gaussian noise. An expression is found that relates the two test statistics showing the UMPI statistic to be the sum of two terms, one of which is the GLRT. Using this, we find that the GLRT and UMPI tests are asymptotically equivalent as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) approaches infinity (or as probability of false alarm approaches zero). These results are illustrated by extending an example given by Nicolls and de Jager to show the analytic relationship between the GLRT and UMPI tests. The results indicate that the performance between the tests becomes close at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) associated with operating points of the receiver operating curve that are typically of interest in signal detection applications.     

Experimental validation of the linear drive train for a total artificial heart system

In industrialized countries cardiovascular diseases are the major cause of death. Beside heart transplants, which are a limited option due to the limited number of available human donor hearts, Total Artificial Hearts (TAHs) are the only therapy available for some patients with terminal heart diseases. For various reasons a total implantable artificial heart is desirable, but also sets restrictions in terms of weight and dimensions due to the limited space in the human thorax. Therefore a precise requirement profile is needed for the drive design to provide sufficient force for the blood pump and to avoid oversizing of the drive and to prevent blood damage by overheating.     

Attitudes toward intimate partner violence in dating relationships.

Prevention of intimate partner violence on college campuses includes programs designed to change attitudes, and hence, a scale that assesses such attitudes is needed. Study 1 (N = 859) cross validates the factor structure of the Intimate Partner Violence Attitude Scale-Revised using exploratory factor analysis and presents initial validity data on the scale. In Study 2 (N = 687), the obtained three-factor structure (Abuse, Control, Violence) is tested using confirmatory factor analysis, and it is shown to be concurrently related to assault in romantic relationships and to predict psychological aggression 14 weeks later. The findings are discussed in the context of how understanding and modifying attitudes assessed by the Intimate Partner Violence Attitude Scale-Revised may improve interventions aimed at reducing intimate partner violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Service Life of Illinois Highway Noise Barriers Projected from Current Condition Survey

In a recently completed research project for the Illinois Department of Transportation, the potential service life of each noise barrier material or product currently in use by the Department was evaluated based on the current condition of the barriers in service. The assessment was made by field observation of a majority of the noise barriers in Illinois, and by surveying highway maintenance personnel regarding their observations and experiences with noise barriers in their jurisdictions. The accurate estimation of service life is a necessary component of life-cycle cost analysis of noise barriers, an additional outcome of the research.     

3G系统的中国TD—SCDMA标准和欧洲UTRA—FDD标准

一、ST公司在3G多模式的能力 ST公司在世界半导体市场排名第六,亚太地区排名第三,目前正在开发用于3GFDD/TDD,TDSCDMA和GSM/GPRS多模式移动系统的一系列平台。这些平台将会把应用开发和完全集成的基带,RF和协议堆栈子系统组合成一个整体。这会给移动手机开发商和制造商提供一种能适应长远发展目标的、能无缝地开发出最后可以用系统级芯片(SoC)来解决的、不同产品的能力。     

Differences in values between short-term and long-term therapists.

We empirically examined S. H. Budman and A. S. Gurman's (see record 1984-04498-001) theoretical proposals concerning major differences in the value systems of long- vs. short-term therapists. Ss were 222 randomly selected licensed psychologists who indicated their preferred approach (short-term or long-term). Values were assessed with a scale designed for the study. Overall, results indicate that therapists who prefer a short-term approach are more likely to endorse the proposed values of the short-term therapist than are therapists who prefer a long-term approach. This finding held even after the authors controlled for the significant contributions of theoretical orientation and therapeutic practice variables. Specifically, short-term (vs. long-term) therapists believed more that psychological change could occur outside of therapy and that setting time limits would intensify the therapeutic work. Implications for the practice of brief therapy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social cognitive theory of gender development and differentiation.

Human differentiation on the basis of gender is a fundamental phenomenon that affects virtually every aspect of people's daily lives. This article presents the social cognitive theory of gender role development and functioning. It specifies how gender conceptions are constructed from the complex mix of experiences and how they operate in concert with motivational and self-regulatory mechanisms to guide gender-linked conduct throughout the life course. The theory integrates psychological and sociostructural determinants within a unified conceptual structure. In this theoretical perspective, gender conceptions and roles are the product of a broad network of social influences operating interdependently in a variety of societal subsystems. Human evolution provides bodily structures and biological potentialities that permit a range of possibilities rather than dictate a fixed type of gender differentiation. People contribute to their self-development and bring about social changes that define and structure gender relationships through their agentic actions within the interrelated systems of influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A diminished role for hydrogen bonds in antifreeze protein binding to ice

The most abundant isoform (HPLC-6) of type I antifreeze protein (AFP1) in winter flounder is a 37-amino-acid-long, alanine-rich, alpha-helical peptide, containing four Thr spaced 11 amino acids apart. It is generally assumed that HPLC-6 binds ice through a hydrogen-bonding match between the Thr and neighboring Asx residues to oxygens atoms on the {2021} plane of the ice lattice. The result is a lowering of the nonequilibrium freezing point below the melting point (thermal hysteresis). HPLC-6, and two variants in which the central two Thr were replaced with either Ser or Val, were synthesized. The Ser variant was virtually inactive, while only a minor loss of activity was observed in the Val variant. CD, ultracentrifugation, and NMR studies indicated no significant structural changes or aggregation of the variants compared to HPLC-6. These results call into question the role of hydrogen bonds and suggest a much more significant role for entropic effects and van der Waals interactions in binding AFP to ice.     

Problems with the mass spectrometric determination of tritium from cold fusion

Among the attempts to measure particles produced in the cold fusion of deuterium in palladium metal is the mass spectrometric observation of tritium. An experiment which has been reported in the popular press involves attaching a hollow Pd electrode to a vacuum chamber and measuring the tritium produced during electrolysis using a mass spectrometer. We present data demonstrating that mass 5 and 6, which could be mistaken for the ions DT⁺ and T₂ ⁺, can arise from ion-molecule reactions in the ionizer of the mass spectrometer giving the ions HD₂ ⁺ and D₃ ⁺. With H₂ and D₂ present in the vacuum chamber, there are at least eight reactions which lead to these triatomic species, and these may contribute to a complex time and pressure dependence of the signals.