I struggle and emerge: Critical moments of experienced coaches.

A recent study of critical moments of relatively inexperienced coaches in their first year of formal coaching activities yielded new perspectives on the doubts and dilemmas faced by coaches during their coaching conversations (De Haan, 2008). This led me to question whether these same doubts and dilemmas would remain as coaches gained experience or whether new issues would emerge. Experienced coaches were defined as coaches who have at least 8 years coaching practice behind them after completing their formal training or accreditation. The sample size was 110 and 47 coaches responded (43%) communicating a total of 78 critical moments. Analysis of the moments revealed explicit evidence of both unpredictability and a deeper emotional meeting, either positive or negative. This appears to support Carlberg's (1997) conclusions that "unpredictability" and "deeper emotional meeting" always go hand-in-hand. It would seem that the quality of an experienced coach's work is determined primarily by their ability to tolerate tension and deliberately inquire into tensions within coaching relationships; else they are in danger of simply becoming good conversation partners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Weak,anisotropic symmetric formulations of Biot's equations for vibro‐acoustic modelling of porous elastic materials

In this paper a fully anisotropic symmetric weak formulation of Biot's equations for vibro‐acoustic modelling of porous elastic materials in the frequency domain is proposed. Starting from Biot's equations in their anisotropic form, a mixed displacement–pressure formulation is discussed in terms of Cartesian tensors. The anisotropic equation parameters appearing in the differential equations are derived from material parameters which are possible to determine through experimental testing or micro‐structural simulations of the fluid and the porous skeleton. Solutions are obtained by applying the finite element method to the proposed weak form and the results are verified against a weak displacement‐based formulation for a foam and plate combination. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The privatization of EEB: From cash drain to major contributor

In this paper we describe the successful part-privatization of Empresa de Energia de Bogotá (EEB), the city-owned electricity company in Bogotá, Colombia. We describe the reason, the preparation and the actual sale process as well as the outcome following the part-privatization. EEB went from being a company on the edge of bankruptcy to one of the most financially secure electricity companies in South America. We also place the case in relation to the standard views on direct foreign investment and their social benefit. Finally, we aim to generalize the experience to see what other organizations in a similar position can learn.     

“Teacher effects” in early literacy development: Evidence from a study of twins.

It is often assumed that differences in teacher characteristics are a major source of variability in children's educational achievements. We examine this assumption for early literacy achievement by calculating the correlations between pairs of twin children who either shared or did not share a teacher in kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2. Teacher effects—or, more strictly, classroom effects—would show up as higher correlations for same-class than for different-class twin pairs. Same-class correlations were generally higher than different-class correlations, though not significantly so on most occasions. On the basis of the results, we estimate that the maximum variance accounted for by being assigned to the same or different classrooms is 8%. This is an upper-bound figure for a teacher effect because factors other than teachers may contribute to variation attributable to classroom assignment. We discuss the limitations of the study and draw out some of its educational implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantification of banding on printed corrugated board using spatial frequency analysis

The human visual system has an exceptional ability to detect systematic print mottle. One type of systematic print mottle is banding on printed corrugated board, resulting in a disturbing print defect. A new method that quantifies banding on printed corrugated board is proposed. The method is based on spatial frequency analysis, and the degree of banding is determined using a band‐pass filter range adapted to fit the flute wavelength and orientation of the acquired image of the printed board. The results for B‐flute corrugated board gave a correlation coefficient of 0.98 between the technical measurements and the subjective ratings. Methods of quantifying the banding on the different types of corrugated board available on the market are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous adsorption of toluene and water vapor on a high surface area carbon

Small angle neutron scattering is used to study the simultaneous adsorption of toluene and water vapor by a commercial high surface area carbon, oxidized to enhance its affinity for polar molecules. Owing to the smaller size of the molecule, water on its own penetrates the smallest defects in the carbon matrix more efficiently than does toluene, as revealed by the density of the carbon determined by contrast variation. Pore filling by water, however, is less complete. When water and toluene vapor are simultaneously present, they coexist in the pores, toluene being the dominant component and water accounting for about 12% of the total adsorbate. Phase separation is not observed. The carbon acts as a compatibilizer for the two different molecules.     

Drying of resorcinol-formaldehyde gels with CO2 medium

The effect of using real supercritical conditions in the CO₂ drying process on the structure and texture of resorcinol-formaldehyde networks is investigated by low temperature nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscopy and by small and wide angle X-ray scattering. If supercritical conditions are maintained throughout the whole extraction process the resulting networks exhibit much more developed porosity. The surface area of the supercritically dried gel, in excess of 500 m²/g, is more than twice that of the sample dried with liquid CO₂. Pore volumes are also significantly higher in all pore classes. In the supercritical region the applied pressure strongly affects the porosity, while the effect of temperature is limited. Drying time also influences the total pore volume of the samples, but not the mesopore and micropore volumes. The volume filling character of the molecular adsorption process in this system is illustrated by the difference in surface areas measured by small angle X-ray scattering and that by nitrogen adsorption.     

Influence of countersurface materials on dry sliding performance of CuO/Y-TZP composite at 600 °C

Dry sliding wear tests on 5 wt.% copper oxide doped yttria stabilized zirconia polycrystals (CuO–TZP) composite have been performed against alumina, zirconia and silicon nitride countersurfaces at 600 °C. The influences of load and countersurface materials on the tribological performance of this composite have been studied. The friction and wear test results indicate a low coefficient of friction and specific wear rate for alumina and zirconia countersurfaces at F = 1 N load (maximum Hertzian pressure ～0.5 GPa). Examination of the worn surfaces using scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive spectroscopy confirmed the presence of copper rich layer at the edge of wear scar on the alumina and zirconia countersurfaces. However, Si₃N₄ countersurface sliding against CuO–TZP shows a relatively higher coefficient of friction and higher wear at 1 N load condition. These results suggest that the countersurface material significantly affect the behavior of the third body and self-lubricating ability of the composite.