Photoinduced volume changes related to photoinduced anisotropy in chalcogenide glasses

We report metastable photoinduced volume expansion (hyperexpansion) of up to 10 µm in height and several millimetres in diameter for the chalcogenide glass As 2 S 3 . This is an order of magnitude larger than reported to date in any material, including chalcogenide glasses. We suggest a model for the effect and propose that its origin is similar to the origin of photoinduced anisotropy in glassy chalcogenides proposed earlier. The model is based on the anisotropic chemical bonding found in most chalcogenide glasses; the anisotropy arises from the fact that chalcogen atoms exhibit both strong covalent bonding and weak van der Waals bonding. The origin of the photoinduced volume changes (expansion and contraction) is in a thermally induced diffusion, or athermal tunnelling, of photoexcited chalcogen atoms, with possible subsequent sublimation from the sample surface. The primary role of hyperpolarizable van der Waals bonds is supported by the absence of photoinduced volume changes in the chalcogenide glass Ga 1.4 La 0.6 S 3, in which chalcogen atoms do not bond via van der Waals bonds.     

Prediction of termination migration of a rod-type particle in Ti–6Al–4Fe alloy

The kinetics for the termination migration of a rod-type alpha particle in a two-phase Ti alloy was predicted on the basis of the edge recession theory. The developed model quantified the effect of geometrical dimensions and diffusional factors on the spheroidization rate. Comparison with the experimental results of Ti–6Al–4Fe showed that the model can provide a reasonable prediction of the time to complete the static spheroidization of rod-type particles.     

Forgiveness intervention for female South Korean adolescent aggressive victims

We investigated an intervention designed to help female aggressive victims improve their levels of psychological and school adjustment. Adolescent aggressive victims are youth who demonstrate heightened levels of aggressive behavior and are frequently victimized by others. A program focused on the psychology of forgiveness was implemented and tested against both an alternative skillstreaming program and a no-treatment control group. Forty-eight female adolescent aggressive victims in South Korea (age 12 to 21 years) were recruited from a middle school and a juvenile correctional facility. Participants were randomly assigned to groups. Both forgiveness and skillstreaming interventions were implemented in a small-group format for 12 weeks. Participants in the forgiveness group reported significant decreases in anger, hostile attribution, aggression, and delinquency at post-test and follow-up; they also reported significant increases in empathy at post-test and follow-up and grades at post-test. We discuss implications for the psychological development of adolescent aggressive victims.     

Enhancing visual working memory encoding: The role of target novelty

Perceptual salience improves the encoding of information into visual working memory (WM). However, the factors that contribute to this facilitation effect are not well understood. This study tested the influence of target familiarity on WM encoding. In each trial, participants were presented with either one or three targets and asked to encode their locations into WM. In Experiment 1, target familiarity was manipulated by presenting either an upright (familiar target) or upside-down (unfamiliar/novel target) A. Increasing the novelty of the targets led to improved performance in the spatial WM task. Experiment 2 showed that participants were faster in responding to novel versus familiar targets in a spatial detection task. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the beneficial effect of target novelty on WM encoding was not driven by differences in low-level features. Our results suggest that target novelty enhances the processes required for WM encoding, just as it facilitates perceptual processing.     

The collectors: Serial sexual offenders who preserve evidence of their crimes

In our prior research, we have encountered a distinct category of serial, sexual offenders who invest themselves in developing unique collections of artifacts that link them to their victims. This behavior is counter-intuitive as it represents irrefutable proof of their responsibility for multiple serious crimes. Nonetheless, the process of collecting these artifacts and the experience of maintaining them together, and in proximity to the offender, appear to represent a psychological experience that is central to the motivation for perpetrating the crimes. In this paper, we explore five modalities of recording used singularly or in combination by some of the most prolific and egregious sexual offenders prosecuted in the past 40 years. We use these case studies as a platform for exploring the psychological dynamics underlying this behavior, and to further alert law enforcement and forensic evaluators to the existence and significance of these unique forms of crime evidence.     

Bio-Inspired Design of Soft Robotic Assistive Devices: The Interface of Physics,Biology, and Behavior

Wearable assistive robotic devices are characterized by an interface, a meeting place of living tissue and mechanical forces, at which potential and kinetic energy are converted to one or the other form. Ecological scientists may make important contributions to the design of device interfaces because of a functional perspective on energy and information exchange. For ecological scientists, (a) behavioral forms are an assembly of whole functional systems from available parts, emerging in energy flows, and (b) nature explores for informationally based adaptive solutions to assemble behavioral forms by generating spontaneous patterns containing fluctuations. We present data from ongoing studies with infants that demonstrate how infants may explore for adaptive kicking solutions. Inspired by the ecological perspective and data from developing humans, ecological scientists may design interfaces to assist individuals with medical conditions that result in physical and/or mental impairment. We present one such device, what is called the “second skin,” to illustrate how a soft, prestressed material, worn on the skin surface, may be used synergistically with synthetic and biological muscles for assisting action. Our work on the second skin, thus far, suggests a set of ecologically inspired principles for design of wearable assistive robotic devices.     

Reduced-Frequency Concurrent and Terminal Feedback: A Test of the Guidance Hypothesis

In 2 experiments, the authors manipulated the frequency of concurrent feedback to discern the effects on learning. In each experiment, participants (N = 48, Experiment 1; N = 36, Experiment 2) attempted to reproduce a criterion force-production waveform (5 s in duration) presented on the computer monitor. Consistent with the guidance hypothesis, the results of Experiment 1 indicated very strong guiding effects of concurrent feedback and strong dependence on the feedback, as indicated by participants' extremely poor performance upon feedback withdrawal in retention. As predicted by the guidance hypothesis, dependence on the feedback was reduced as a result of reducing the frequency of the concurrent feedback. The results of Experiment 2 indicated that one can enhance learning by providing concurrent and terminal feedback on 1 trial, with no feedback on the subsequent trial. In that way, the strong guiding effects of concurrent feedback could be realized and the beneficial effects of terminal feedback could also be achieved.     

Heart failure patients’ desires for spiritual care,perceived constraints,and unmet spiritual needs: relations with well-being and health-related quality of life

Little information is available about HF patients’ desires regarding having their healthcare providers address their spiritual concerns, feeling constrained in doing so, and the extent to which their spiritual needs go unmet. Nearly half of our sample reported high levels of unmet spiritual needs and reported moderately strong desires to have their doctor or other healthcare professional attend to their spiritual needs, and moderately strong feelings of constraint in doing so. Spiritual constraint and unmet spiritual needs were associated with poorer spiritual, psychological and physical well-being, but these effects varied, depending on patients’ desire to discuss spiritual needs. These findings have important implications for clinical management of HF patients.     

Cognitive,Affective, and Behavioral Responses to Ingroup’s Devalued Social Status: a Field Study at a Public University

In this study based on an actual event, we examined how group members cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally respond to devaluation of ingroup’s social status. Integrating predictions from Social Identity Theory (SIT; Tajfel and Turner 1986) and Intergroup Emotions Theory (IET; Smith et al. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(3), 431–446 (2007)), we explored how appraisals about ingroup’s perceived decrease in status (i.e., stability and legitimacy of status change and permeability of group boundaries) are associated with discrete group-level emotions (e.g., anger, shame), and how those emotions in turn predict different coping strategies Blanz et al. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28(5), 697–729 (1998). Analyses of the results showed that: First, preference for each coping strategy varied according to appraisals of ingroup status, and the patterns were largely consistent with what SIT predicts. Second, different group-level emotions were reported according to appraisals of ingroup status. Third, inclusion of group-level emotions as mediators of associations between ingroup status appraisals and coping strategies significantly increased the explanatory power of the path models. In sum, this study demonstrated how the two theories on intergroup relations can be used together to offer a more detailed account of group identity management. For future direction, experimental or longitudinal designs as well as cross-cultural comparisons were suggested.