Toward a critical social history of developmental psychology: A propaedeutic discussion.

Contends that in this postpositivist era, developmental psychology, no less than other areas of psychology and the other social sciences, shows signs of becoming aware of its social, cultural, and historical contexts—signs of seeking to understand its particular place in social space and historical time. The authors attempt to stimulate scholarly debate that will deepen such understanding and enhance the analytical, self-critical quality of such historical awareness. Among the issues explored are the necessity and function of critical social history, the problematic notion of progressive development with regard to both ontogenesis and scientific knowledge itself, the fragmentation of the field of developmental psychology, and the relations between scientific theory and research and sociopolitical circumstances. (69 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Case Study: Sediment Control at Water Intake for Large Thermal-Power Station on a Small River

A large thermal-power station drawing water from a small alluvial river had a chronic problem with alluvial-bed sediment buildup at the station’s river-water intake structure. The problem required expensive corrective dredging and adversely affected the station’s fuel-consumption efficiency. This case-study paper describes how the sediment problem was successfully controlled by means of modifications to the area in front of the intake and the upstream riverbank. The modifications comprised erosion-promoting vanes and a skimming wall, together with realignment of the riverbank upstream of the intake. A hydraulic model was used to aid the design of the modifications. Installation of the modifications required construction techniques that enabled the intake and power station to continue operating while the modifications were being installed.     

Understanding marriage and marital distress: Do milliseconds matter?

This article addresses concerns raised about F. D. Fincham, P. C. Garnier, S. Gano-Phillips, and L. N. Osborne's (1995) study by placing it in the context of current marital research. Studies of marriage-related cognitions have centered on the content of cognitions and have ignored the cognitive processes that give rise to them. Therefore, little is known about spousal cognitions that are unavailable for self-report or about the role of cognitive processes in initiating, maintaining, or alleviating marital distress. Reaction time has the potential to be one of several variables that can be used to investigate such processes. The challenge faced by marital researchers is to incorporate the information-processing paradigm into their work, thereby integrating it with broader literatures in cognitive psychology and social cognition. Failure to do so will leave marital researchers with an incomplete picture of marriage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrity tests: Overlooked facts, resolved issues, and remaining questions.

Comments on W. J. Camara and D. L. Schneider's (see record 1994-23870-001) summary of reports on integrity tests (ITs). It is argued that in reviewing empirical findings about the validity of ITs, they overlooked critical findings regarding how well they work and what they measure. Also, their concerns regarding research on ITs conducted by test publishers are unfounded. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting the oxidation nature of magnesium alloys

Factors affecting the oxidation nature of magnesium alloys are analyzed by thermogravimetry and microscopy in this study. The growth mechanisms of protective and non-protective oxide morphologies are proposed. For more information, contact Frank Czerwinski, Development Engineering, Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., 560 Queen Street South, Bolton, Ontario, Canada, L7E 5S5; (905) 951-5000, ext. 3263; fax (905) 951-5365; e-mail fczerwinski@husky.ca.     

Statistical analysis of functional MRI data in the wavelet domain

The use of the wavelet transform is explored for the detection of differences between brain functional magnetic resonance images (fMRIs) acquired under two different experimental conditions. The method benefits from the fact that a smooth and spatially localized signal can be represented by a small set of localized wavelet coefficients, while the power of white noise is uniformly spread throughout the wavelet space. Hence, a statistical procedure is developed that uses the imposed decomposition orthogonality to locate wavelet-space partitions with large signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and subsequently restricts the testing for significant wavelet coefficients to these partitions. This results in a higher SNR and a smaller number of statistical tests, yielding a lower detection threshold compared to spatial-domain testing and, thus, a higher detection sensitivity without increasing type I errors. The multiresolution approach of the wavelet method is particularly suited to applications where the signal bandwidth and/or the characteristics of an imaging modality cannot be well specified. The proposed method was applied to compare two different fMRI acquisition modalities, Differences of the respective useful signal bandwidths could be clearly demonstrated; the estimated signal, due to the smoothness of the wavelet representation, yielded more compact regions of neuroactivity than standard spatial-domain testing     

Attributions and behavior in marital interaction.

To examine whether spouses' attributions for events in their marriage are related to their behavior in interaction, spouses were asked to report their marital quality, to make attributions for marital difficulties, and to engage in problem-solving discussions. Study 1 demonstrated that spouses' maladaptive attributions were related to less effective problem-solving behaviors, particularly among wives. Study 2 showed that spouses' maladaptive attributions were related to higher rates of negative behavior and, for wives, to increased tendencies to reciprocate negative partner behavior. In both studies attributions and behavior tended to be more strongly related for distressed than nondistressed wives. These results support social-psychological models that posit that attributions are related to behavior and models of marriage and close relationships that assume that maladaptive attributions contribute to conflict behavior and relationship dysfunction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effective Thermal Conductivity of a Packed Bed of Hollow Zirconia Microspheres, under Vacuum and under 100 kPa of Argon

Measurements have been made of the effective thermal conductivity of a packed bed of hollow, yttria-stabilized zirconia microspheres, under vacuum and under 100 kPa of argon gas. Above 1400 K the spheres begin to sinter together. Before this occurs, the conductivity is given under vacuum by A ₁ T ³+ A ₂ with A ₁= 2 × 10⁻¹¹ W · m⁻¹· K⁻⁴ and A ₂= 0.01 W · m⁻¹· K⁻¹. The thermal conductivity increases strongly with both the gas pressure and the degree of sintering of the spheres. The measured values can be fitted reasonably well by a model developed by Takegoshi et al. These results may have some applicability to the development of high-temperature thermal insulation.