A REMPI method for the ultrasensitive detection of NO and NO2 using atmospheric pressure laser ionization mass spectrometry

We report on the development of a quasi-simultaneous highly selective method for NO and NO2 detection at the ultratrace level. Atmospheric pressure laser ionization (APLI), recently introduced by our group, is used to detect both compounds at low parts per trillion by volume (pptv) mixing ratios. APLI is based on resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization mass spectrometry. Two-color pump-probe experiments employing a single excimer pumped dye laser combination allow for the ultrasensitive measurement of NO and NO2 within a narrow range of maximum pumping efficiency of the laser dye Coumarin 120. NO is detected via excitation of the long-lived A 2sigma+ (nu' = 1) level at 215.36 nm and subsequently ionized with 308-nm radiation provided by the excimer pump laser. NO2 is ionized after double resonant excitation of the A2B1 and 3psigma manifolds in a (1 + 1' + 1(')) process using 431.65 + 308 nm. The selectivity of the NO measurement exceeds 2,000 with respect to NO2 and N2O5. For NO2, a selectivity of >3,000 with respect to N2O5 and organic nitrates is observed. The current APLI detection limit of NO and NO2 is 0.5 and 5 pptv, respectively, with a 20-s integration time.     

Proceedings of the American Psychological Association, Incorporated, for the year 1971: Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council of Representatives.

Presents the minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association for the year 1971. These minutes constitute the official record of actions of the Association taken during the year. Reference is made to various reports, some of which will be published elsewhere. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stanford C. Ericksen (1911–2000).

Memorializes Stanford C. Ericksen, professor emeritus of psychology and founding director of the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) of the University of Michigan. Ericksen maintained a productive research career on learning, thinking, and training methods, and was active in regional and national psychology organizations. He chaired the Philosophy/Psychology Department at Vanderbilt University before serving as director of the CRLT at Michigan, the first such center in the US. Ericksen firmly believed that improvements in teaching must be grounded on research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research on college teaching: The historical background.

Experimental research on college teaching began with single variable studies of class size and lecture vs discussion. During the 1930s, research on student ratings of teachers began, and following World War II, studies of college teaching and learning became more common. In the decades from then to the 1980s, research moved to concern with a broader range of variables, to analyses of interactions between student and classroom variables, and to attention to processes as well as products resulting from teaching. Research on college teaching clearly meets J. B. Conant's (1947) criteria for a scientific field: progress in theory, methods, and established knowledge. Moreover, we now have demonstrated that educational research can contribute to educational practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and education.

Discusses the role of psychology in educational practice. It is suggested that psychological research and theory can help (1) policy makers and administrators improve schools as organizations, (2) teachers develop more effective strategies for motivating and stimulating learning, and (3) learners construct meaning and develop new skills throughout their lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student ratings: The validity of use.

In this article, the author discusses the other articles in this Current Issues section (see records 85-00210, 00217, 00208, 00211) and concludes that all of the authors agree that student ratings are valid but that contextual variables such as grading leniency can affect the level of ratings. The authors disagree about the wisdom of applying statistical corrections for such contextual influences. This article argues that the problem lies neither in the ratings nor in the correction but rather in the lack of sophistication of personnel committees who use the ratings. Thus, more attention should be directed toward methods of ensuring more valid use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proceedings of the American Psychological Association, Incorporated, for the Year 1973: Minutes of the Annual Meeting and Special Meeting of the Council of Representatives.

These minutes constitute the official record of actions of the Association taken during the year, both by the Council of Representatives and by the Board of Directors. The Special Meeting of Council was called in accordance with Article III, Section 2, of the APA Bylaws. The stated objects in the notice for the meeting were as follows: "to consider the phaseout and termination of federal support of training, research, and service; steps to meet this crisis; and the general nonresponsiveness of the APA toward urgent matters of this kind." Items included by vote of Council on the agenda of this meeting are reported as part of these annual proceedings. The roll of Representatives was called at each meeting, and more than a quorum answered to their names. Reference is made to various reports, some of which will be published elsewhere. Copies of these reports were distributed to Council members and are on file in the Central Office. As long as the supply lasts, extra copies of many of the reports are available from the Central Office. The Board of Directors met seven times during this Association year. All substantive actions of the Board were reported to Council and are included in these minutes. Further details of the Board's actions are to be found in the minutes of each meeting. As in previous years, these minutes are organized in topical rather than chronological order. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Report of the Recording Secretary.

Reports on actions of the Council, including a petition of the Black Students Psychological Association that lists five goals. The item with the most potentially far-reaching implications for the future of APA is one that involves only rather minor immediate decisions. This is the question of the role of nondoctoral psychologists in APA and the proper function of APA in serving individuals who apply psychology. At the moment the recommendations ask only for study of the manpower needed for providing effective psychological services and of the way in which APA might serve the needs of the individual psychologists with less than doctoral training. This report discusses implications for an increase in dues income, membership standards, the size of APA, its journal program, and the effect of this issue on professional education, training, and standards. Public affairs issues continue to be a major concern of the Board of Directors and of Council. At the October meeting, Council will consider several resolutions related to nondiscriminatory practices; the legitimacy of the work of the membership of the Division of Military Psychology; a possible endorsement of a moratorium of university teaching, study, and research in protest of American involvement in Vietnam; and a possible withdrawal of the accreditation of any doctoral training program that discriminates against women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

McKeachie Replies.

Mea culpa. My only excuse is that when I read Epstein I was not preparing a presidential address; when I read Brim (in a prepublication version minus footnotes), it fitted with what I wanted to say and is, I think, a unique and valuable contribution in itself. And while apologizing to Epstein, let me add apologies to George Kelly, Julian Rotter, Magda Arnold, Albert Ellis, and all other cognitive theorists, dead or alive, whom I failed to cite. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inferring students' cognitive structures and their development using the "ordered tree technique."

Presents a new method of inferring students' cognitive structures and their development in a college course. The method, a modification of J. S. Reitman and H. H. Rueter's (see record 1980-31828-001) ordered tree technique, generates a unique structure that displays important relationships assumed to be in a student's memory about concepts taken from a specific field of study. The usefulness of this method was assessed in 2 studies that used subject matter from a university course in which 253 students were enrolled. Results show that the technique differentiated between Ss with different levels of achievement. In addition, the 4 measures produced by the method—grouping, hierarchical structure, directionality of the structure, and similarity to the instructor—showed development throughout the course and were related to academic performance. The characteristics of the method are discussed in light of other ways of inferring cognitive structure. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)