On Sequenial Tests of the Bincknial Distribution

In this paper, we consider the detailed characteristics of the standard sequential test of a simple hypothesis versus a single alternative for the case of the binomial distribution. A method is developed which permits evaluation of the associated probabilities of acceptance and/or rejection of the null hypothesis at each stage. From this information, the quantitative features of the test (Operating Characteristic and test termination probability) are completely determined. Curves are presented to facilitate assessment of the sequential procedure in practical cases. A sequential test is compared with a fixed sample size test having approximately the same Operating Characteristic. Wald's approximation for the average sample number is compared with exact values.     

The Effect of Ketone Defects on the Charge Transport and Charge Recombination in Polyfluorenes

The effect of on‐chain ketone defects on the charge transport of the polyfluorene derivative poly(9,9‐dioctylfluorene) (PFO) is investigated. Using MoO₃ as ohmic hole contact, the hole transport in a pristine PFO diode is observed to be limited by space‐charge, whereas fluorenone contaminated PFO (PFO‐F) is shown to be trap limited by the occurrence of an exponential trap distribution with a trap depth of 0.18 eV. The electron transport in PFO is also observed to be trap limited, but in order to describe the electron transport of PFO‐F, an additional trap level with a depth of 0.46 eV must be introduced. The obtained energy levels of the fluorenone trapping sites are in close agreement with cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements reported in literature. As a result, the fluorenone defects are shown to simultaneously act as hole‐ and electron trap. Moreover, through ideality factor measurements, the green emission associated with these defects is observed to originate from trap‐assisted recombination.     

Assessment of children's self-efficacy for social interactions with peers.

Constructed the Children's Self-Efficacy for Peer Interaction Scale (CSPI) and administered it to 245 3rd–5th graders along with the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale and the Teacher Rating Scale of Social Efficacy. Analyses of reliability and construct validity indicated that the CSPI has psychometric properties that warrant its use. Ss' self-efficacy varied by grade and situation. The usefulness of the CSPI for research on children's social development is discussed. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Earthquake resistance of sandy soils

The need to have reliable foundations for potentially vulnerable installations like nuclear power stations has renewed interest in a particularly hazardous phenomenon of some earthquakes. This is when a saturated level sandy soil can behave almost like a liquid as a result of the severe ground motion. A new approach to determining this liquefaction potential, using cyclic strain-controlled tests, is presented in this article from the USA.     

Radiation damage in vanadium

Transmission electron microscopy has been used to study the microstructure of neutron irradiated single crystal vanadium. These observations revealed the presence of small defect clusters which, upon annealing, grew into resolvable dislocation loops, analyzed as interstitial in nature. The radiation-induced clusters and loops were stabilized during annealing by interaction with impurity precipitates. Damage shells, ascribed to transmutation reactions, were found surrounding certain particles believed to contain boron.     

Children's perceptions of the outcomes of social strategies: Do the ends justify being mean?

Two studies were conducted to examine the strategy outcome perceptions of popular, average, neglected, and rejected 3rd- and 5th-graders. In Study 1, children (n?=?127) described the likely outcomes of 6 types of strategies (e.g., physical aggression, commands, compromise) in open-ended, hypothetical situation interviews. In Study 2 (n?=?339), a questionnaire was used to assess children's outcome expectations and their evaluations of selected strategies. Findings indicate that children's outcome expectations and strategy evaluations vary as a function of peer status, age, and gender. Results from both studies are discussed in terms of an hypothesized relation between children's strategy outcome perceptions and their behavior in the peer group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identifying victims of peer aggression from early to middle childhood: Analysis of cross-informant data for concordance, estimation of relational adjustment, prevalence of victimization, and characteristics of identified victims.

Two studies were conducted to investigate cross-informant measures of children's peer victimization. In Study 1, self- and peer reports of victimization were compared for 197 children from Kindergarten (M age = 5.73) to Grade 4. Before Grade 2, peer reports were less reliable than self-reports and were poor estimators of relational adjustment. In Study 2, single- versus multiple-informant (self, peer, teacher, parent) victimization measures were compared for 392 children across grades 2 (M age = 8.73) to 4. Results indicated that (a) data from the four informants were reliable and increasingly concordant over time, (b) no single-informant measure proved to be the best predictor of relational adjustment, and (c) a multi-informant composite measure yielded better estimates of relational adjustment than any single informant measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Urban aesthetics and the discovery of the urban fabric in turn‐of‐the‐century Germany

Approaches to planning that developed in the later nineteenth century in Germany (and in Europe generally) were challenged on aesthetic grounds at the end of the century by Camillo Sitte and others. By the turn of the century, practitioners of planning had embraced Sitte's views on a number of matters. Among the changes that occurred were an end to the disencumbering of monumental buildings and a greatly expanded interest in historic preservation. This was not simply a matter of aesthetics gaining more influence over planning practice, however. Sitte's desire to develop systematically the aesthetic dimension of planning was shared by earlier theorists, notably Hermann Maertens, who endorsed many of the practices Sitte rejected. Ultimately, the compatibility of the new aesthetics with more practical needs was crucial to its acceptance. The new interest in historical models reflected an understanding of urban form that enabled planners to reconcile their aesthetic goals with other needs.