John Bowlby (1907–1990): Obituary.

Marks the death of John Bowlby, whose Attachment Theory (AT) has had greater impact on American psychology than any theory of personality development since Freud's. Bowlby believed in the importance of real-life experiences in the etiology of mental disorders, rather than in the fantasies that then-current psychoanalytic theory emphasized. He was convinced of the importance to a child's personality development of interaction with its parents. In 1948, he established a research unit at the Tavistock Clinic to continue his work on the effects of early separation and identified 3 phases of response: protest, despair, and detachment. Inspired by the work of Konrad Lorenz, Bowlby seized on ethology and Darwinian evolutionary theory as the foundation of AT. First applied to social development in infancy, AT is now leading to research in later childhood and adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Co-evolution as a computational and cognitive model of design

Co-evolutionary design has been developed as a computational model that assumes two parallel search spaces: the problem space and the solution space. The design process iteratively searches each space using the other space as the basis for a fitness function when evaluating the alternatives. Co-evolutionary design can also be developed as a cognitive model of design by characterizing the way in which designers iteratively search for a design solution, making revisions to the problem specification. This paper presents the computational model of co-evolutionary design and then describes a protocol study of human designers looking for evidence of co-evolution of problem specifications and design solutions. The study shows that co-evolutionary design is a good cognitive model of design and highlights the similarities and differences between the computational model and the cognitive model. The results show that the two kinds of co-evolutionary design complement each other, having strengths in different aspects of the design process. Electronic Publication     

Correlation of vibrational intensity with fluorescence lifetimes in π conjugated polymers

A series of novel pi (π) conjugated polymers, originating from the archetypical Polyphenylene vinylene, in which the phenyl units are successively replaced by the larger naphthyl and anthryl acene units, were previously found to have a well-defined relationship between their relative fluorescence yields and their vibrational characteristics, as determined by Raman spectroscopy. In this study the Strickler-Berg equation is used to probe the influence of continual substitution of higher order acene units into the conjugated backbone in terms of the variation of the radiative and non-radiative rates. The deconvolution of the radiative and non-radiative rates enables the correlation of the reduction of the Raman intensity and concomitant increase in the fluorescence yield with the reduction of the non-radiative rate. This confirms that the reduction of the non-radiative rate is the dominant process introduced by the vibrational confinement originating from systematic substitution of higher order acene units into the polymer backbone.     

Linking of serially ordered lists by macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta): List position influences.

Five monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were trained on 2 sets of 3 5-item serially ordered lists. Then, each set was either linked or not in a counterbalanced, within-subject design. Linking entailed training on the 2 pairs that ordered the 3 5-item fists into a single overall 15-item series. Choices on novel pairings after linking conditions attempted to define the unique contributions of knowledge of within-list ordinal position and between-lists link training. With linkage, the series was immediately treated as a 15-item ordered list. Without linkage, choices reflected list positions from initial learning, but continued testing with directional reward yielded gradual ordering into a 15-itern list. Apparently, monkeys remembered and used initial list-position information, but linkage allowed inference of an integrated serial relationship among items. Results supported primate list memory as an organizational process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Convoys of social support in childhood and early adolescence: Structure and function.

Little is known about social networks in childhood, and even less is known about the networks of ethnically diverse children. Interviews were conducted with 333 African-American, Anglo/European-American, and Hispanic-American public school children in Grades 1–2, 4–5, and 8–9. The research was based on the social convoy model (R. L. Kahn and T. C. Antonucci, 1980), in which social networks are viewed as dynamic hierarchic structures affording the provision of support across the life span. An adapted convoy mapping procedure evidenced good test–retest reliability at all ages, and convoy support measures were associated with self-concept and teacher-rated sociability and mood. For all ethnic groups, the results reflect the significance of close family relations across age, an increase in involvement with extended family in middle-childhood, and the emergent role of peers as support providers in adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Laser Induced Liquid Phase Reaction Synthesis Assisted Joining of Metal Matrix Composites

A Laser Induced Liquid Phase Reaction Synthesis Assisted Joining technique is employed for SiC-particulate/Al-alloy composite to produce joints. Joints in SiC/Al-alloy composite are produced by synthesis of suitable material product as a result of interaction between composite and Ti (or Ti-alloy) reactive filler material induced by laser energy in the joint region. Such reaction product minimizes or eliminates the formation of deleterious aluminum carbide phase in the joint region depending upon the type and nature of die interfacial reactive filler material and also the laser processing parameters. A laser beam is utilized to both synthesize the interfacial reactant mixture and to heat the base material adjacent to the joint region to minimize the thermal stresses. The technique along with suitable filler material, further can be extended to a variety of metal matrix composite systems including combinations of Gr/Al, B/Al, B₄C/Mg, Steel/Al, W/Al, Al₂ O₃ and Gr/Cu which are excellent for use in various automotive, aerospace and electronic applications. Preliminary observations describing the proof of concept of laser induced reaction joining of metal matrix composites are reported     

多层气敏薄膜表面吸附及界面扩散的研究

制备了ＳｎＯ３／ＺｎＯ及ＺｎＯ／ＳｎＯ３多层结构的气敏薄膜，用能谱结合氩离子刻蚀的方法及Ｘ射线衍射法，对薄膜的表面吸附。膜间的相互与组成等进行了研究，结果表明：薄膜表面存在少量的吸附多层膜中锌的扩散远比锡一个模型，对吸附现象作了初步的解释，讨论了造成锌锡扩散的原因。     

GaAs FET辐射退化研究

低噪声ＧａＡｓ ＦＥＴ和功率ＧａＡｓ ＦＥＴ经中子辐射都未发生致命性的通或断失效，直流偏置伏态下，其失效模式仅仅表现为源漏饱和电流ＩＤＳＳ的退化降低，据此提出了ＩＤＳＳ退化失效与快中子注量φｎ之间的解析关键式ｌｎｙ＝ａ＋ｂｌｎφ。     

统筹城乡发展全面推进城乡一体化

两年前,义乌市委、市政府认真贯彻党的十六大精神,顺应广大群众的呼声,按照统筹城乡发展的思路,编制了《义乌市城乡一体化行动纲要》,在全市全面部署开展城乡一体化行动,已取得初步成效,赢得了社会各界的赞誉。