The state of order in Fe–Al studied by precession electron diffraction

Precession electron diffraction (PED) has been carried out on a fully ordered Fe–40at.%Al solid solution in order to explore its suitability for determining the state of order. The integrated intensity ratio of a superlattice reflection with respect to a fundamental reflection was measured as a function of the sample thickness and the results are well fitted by dynamical simulations. It is proposed that, in addition to conventional X-ray diffraction, PED may provide access to the state of order at microscopic and nanoscopic scales.     

Islamic Doctrinal Orthodoxy and Religious Orientations: Scale Development and Validation

A measure of Islamic doctrinal orthodoxy was developed, and its relation to personal religious activities was examined. This study also applied the concept of extrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religiosity to Islamic faith as it investigated the structural validity and internal consistency of Islamic versions of the religious orientation scales. A sample of 381 students was taken from three universities in Indonesia. Notably, the scales were found to be psychometrically adequate and their doctrinal orthodoxy and intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity scores significantly related to personal practice of religious activities. A subsequent analysis also revealed that, for Muslims, doctrinal beliefs are largely independent of extrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religiosity and that the three forms of religiosity are three autonomous but continuous dimensions of personal religiosity.     

Evidence for a detrimental relationship between hypertension history, prospective memory, and prefrontal cortex white matter in cognitively normal older adults

Hypertension affects many older adults and is associated with impaired neural and cognitive functioning. We investigated whether a history of hypertension was associated with impairments to prospective memory, which refers to the ability to remember to perform delayed intentions, such as remembering to take medication. Thirty-two cognitively normal older adult participants with or without a history of hypertension (self-reported) performed two laboratory prospective memory tasks, one that relied more strongly on executive control (nonfocal prospective memory) and one that relied more strongly on spontaneous memory retrieval processes (focal prospective memory). We observed hypertension-related impairments for nonfocal, but not focal, prospective memory. To complement our behavioral approach, we conducted a retrospective analysis of available structural magnetic resonance imaging data. Lower white matter volume estimates in the anterior prefrontal cortex were associated with lower nonfocal prospective memory and with a history of hypertension. A history of hypertension may be associated with worsened executive control and lower prefrontal white matter volume. The translational implication is that individuals who must remember to take antihypertensive medications and to monitor their blood pressure at home may be impaired in the executive control process that helps to support these prospective memory behaviors.     

Attention to context: U.S. and Japanese children's emotional judgments

A growing number of studies suggest cultural differences in the attention and evaluation of information in adults (Masuda & Nisbett, 2001; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Hedden, Ketay, Aron, Markus, & Gabrieli, 2008). One cultural comparison, between Westerners, such as Americans, and Easterners, such as the Japanese, suggest that Westerners typically focus on a central single object in a scene while Easterners often integrate their judgment of the focal object with surrounding contextual cues. There are few studies of whether such cultural differences are evident in children. This study examined 48 monolingual Japanese-speaking children residing in Japan and 48 monolingual English-speaking children residing in the U.S.A. (40 to 60 month-olds) in a task asking children to complete a picture by adding the proper emotional expression to a face. The key variable was the context and shift in context from the preceding trial for the same pictured individual. Japanese children were much more likely to shift their judgments with changes in context whereas children from the United States treated facial expression in a more trait-like manner, maintaining the same expression for the individual across contexts.     

儒家政治及其矫正：从激进主义到渐进主义

儒家思想在中国当前的复兴恰逢其时,因为没有哪个国家能够在缺乏核心价值观的情况下单凭举国对于财富的不懈追求而得到治理。然而,这一复兴并未伴随着对儒家思想当做一种政治理论可能存在的缺陷的审慎意识,如果我们所说的政治指的是一门关于治理的科学与艺术或一种公共及社会伦理。     

DNA研究的历史带给我们的启示

自然科学发展日新月异。墨守成规的传统思维模式常常是羁绊研究工作停滞不前的主要障碍。通过纵观DNA双螺旋结构的研究历程,认识到实事求是的态度是确立正确研究方向的基础,而全方位、多视角、多学科交叉的开放性思维模式给科学研究带来了更宽阔的途径。     

苏轼人格气象的易学解读

东坡解易,本儒家“刚健有为、厚德载物”之精神,又博取道家“超然旷达”之思想,在北宋诸思想家中独树一帜。其核心主旨是:“学以致道”,“有心于学、无心于得”而得之;无心应物似水之元形而随物赋形,故苏轼崇尚水之外柔而内刚,从而旷达与执着成为苏东坡的人格追求;既注重德行又关注功业,崇德在于立业,通过德性修养从而有所作为于社会,实现由内圣向外王的转化。     

Contextualization in Perspective

In this article, we examine the hypothesis that problem comprehension and computational processes interact during the solving of an arithmetic word problem. Two experiments tested subjects on a series of addition and subtraction word problems, the content of which varied on the basis of problem type and on the magnitude of the numbers involved (problem size). Performance data are presented and analyzed in terms of solution reaction times and error patterns. Results confirmed the main effects of problem size and problem type as factors determining reaction times but failed to show any significant interaction between the two factors. These results suggest that the cognitive processes involved in understanding an arithmetic word problem and in performing the required computations are best explained by a serial processing model. The absence of an interaction between problem comprehension and computational processes questions the notion that automatized retrieval facilitates problem solving and assertions suggesting that increasing computational requirements can interfere with problem-solving performance.