Reflective processes of practitioners in head and neck cancer rehabilitation: a grounded theory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Caty, Marie-Ève; Kinsella, Elizabeth Anne; Doyle, Philip C

2016-12-01

This study systematically examined how experienced Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) use the processes of reflection to develop knowledge relevant for practice in the context of head and neck cancer (HNC) rehabilitation. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 SLPs working in HNC rehabilitation in North America. Grounded theory methodology was adopted for data collection and analysis. The findings inform a preliminary reflective practice model that depicts the processes of reflection used by practitioners interviewed. Nine categories of reflective processes were identified by participant SLPs in terms of the processes of reflection: ongoing questioning, experimenting through trial and error, integrating knowledge from past cases, embracing surprise, thinking out of the box, being in the moment, consulting with colleagues, putting oneself in the patients' shoes, and discerning ethical issues. These findings provide empirical evidence that supports Schön's theory of reflective practice and contribute to knowledge about the ways in which SLPs use processes of reflection in the context of HNC rehabilitation. The findings of this study have implications for how SLPs perceive and consider their role as knowledge-users and knowledge producers in their day-to-day clinical work, as well as for building capacity for reflective practice.

A situated approach to student’s reflection processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wegener, Charlotte

2011-01-01

This paper connects with the conference themes “Vocational Education, Labour Markets and Learning”. In Denmark the social and health care education is part of the Vocational Education System, which combines school attendance and trainee service in the social and health care sector. Throughout...... the education, the students are required to reflect upon their own learning processes, and how to combine theoretical knowledge and practical skills. The students are required to document their reflection processes in two formats: 1) log writing and 2) self-evaluation according to a list of endpoint work skills....... The log and the list of work skills play a central role as entry point in the teachers’ and supervisors’ formal learning dialogues with the students. Based upon an ethnographic field study at a social and health care college, and at the workplaces where students work as trainees, I have observed that some...

How Can a Process of Reflection Enhance Teacher-Trainees’ Practicum Experience?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Zulimay Camacho Rico

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The present study was an attempt to understand how a process of reflection helped five foreign language student teachers throughout their first teaching experience. This study was conducted in the classrooms of five public schools in Colombia where English was taught to high school students. Data were collected through classroom observations, students’ reflective journals, lesson plans and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that reflection is a way to help foreign language student teachers to improve their first teaching practice. The analysis was based on the light of two theories, reflection in action and reflection on action from Schön (1987 and Van Manen’s (1977 three levels of reflection.

PROCESS OF DEVELOPING NIHILISM AND REFLECTION TO RUSSIAN LITERATURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nazan COSKUN KARATAS

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Nihilism that its origions based on ancient Greek, philosophically and politically has emerged in the 19th century with modernity.Nihilism which occurred by the collapse of the system of Christian values have effect also Russia as well as Europe. In this study origion of nihilism and its historicall process have been referred and mainly emergence of nihilism in Russia and developing process and its reflection to Russian Literature have been examined. Reflection of nihilism to Russia Literature are deal with in the frameworks of İ.S.Turgenyev ‘’Father sand Sons’’, İ.Gonçarov ‘’Slope’’ F.M.Dostoyevski ‘’Demons’’. Subsequently differences of nihilism understanding in these Works have been evaluated.

Authentication of Nursing 2: Reflective Processes in Nursing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Kristian; Cox, Helen

This material has been reproduced and communicated on behalf of Deakin University pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968. It is studymaterials produced for HNN706, Authentication of Nursing 2: Reflective Processes in Nursing, which is one of the units offered by the School of Nursing...

The Potential of Self-reflection in the Learning Process of Collaborative negotiation Skills

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Canal, Margarita

In her doctoral thesis, Margarita Canal explores the value of self-reflection to facilitate the learning process of collaborative negotiation skills as well as how self-reflection as a mental capacity functions. She draws on theories of self-reflection from the higher and management education...... that reflection makes learning evident to both teachers and students. Moreover, the research sheds light on the understanding of reflection as a mental capacity, based on the conceptualization of the six psychic characteristics connected to it, namely: 1) making contact with oneself, 2) connecting to others, 3......) reality perspective, 4) understanding and expressing emotions, 5) balanced narcissism, and 6) change process. This knowledge constitutes a contribution that allows management teachers who use journaling, self-reflection, or learning portfolios to take into account students’ psychic characteristics...

Using Self-Reflection To Increase Science Process Skills in the General Chemistry Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Veal, William R.; Taylor, Dawne; Rogers, Amy L.

2009-03-01

Self-reflection is a tool of instruction that has been used in the science classroom. Research has shown great promise in using video as a learning tool in the classroom. However, the integration of self-reflective practice using video in the general chemistry laboratory to help students develop process skills has not been done. Immediate video feedback and direct instruction were employed in a general chemistry laboratory course to improve students' mastery and understanding of basic and advanced process skills. Qualitative results and statistical analysis of quantitative data proved that self-reflection significantly helped students develop basic and advanced process skills, yet did not seem to influence the general understanding of the science content.

Reflective processes and competencies involved in teaching practice at university: a case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caetano da Costa

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Founded on practical rationality, this qualitative case study aimed to explore the teaching practice at university, focusing on teacher's reflections and competencies. To this end, teaching practices were described, analyzed, and interpreted. These interactions with students on a course in the pharmacy program, brought about situations involving dilemmas and learning opportunities for problem-solving and decision-making skills. Throughout the study, students were encouraged to use knowledge-in-action, reflection-in-action, and reflection-on-action, and these processes were also experienced by the teacher. Analysis of the records from classroom observation and the interviews with students and the teacher showed the fundamental role of such reflective processes, which led to attainment of the intended objectives. In this sense, the teacher's reflective practice was essential for supporting the application of each curricular component of the course.

Broadband Reflective Coating Process for Large FUVOIR Mirrors, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ZeCoat Corporation will develop and demonstrate a set of revolutionary coating processes for making broadband reflective coatings suitable for very large mirrors (4+...

Impulsive and reflective processes related to alcohol use in young adolescents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieters, S.; Burk, W.J.; Vorst, H.V.D.; Engels, R.C.; Wiers, R.W.

2014-01-01

Background: Dual process models suggest that the development of addictive behaviors is the result of interplay between impulsive and reflective processes, modulated by boundary conditions such as individual or situational factors. Empirical support for this model has been repeatedly demonstrated in

Perceptual weights for loudness reflect central spectral processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Joshi, Suyash Narendra; Jesteadt, Walt

2011-01-01

Weighting patterns for loudness obtained using the reverse correlation method are thought to reveal the relative contributions of different frequency regions to total loudness, the equivalent of specific loudness. Current models of loudness assume that specific loudness is determined by peripheral...... processes such as compression and masking. Here we test this hypothesis using 20-tone harmonic complexes (200Hz f0, 200 to 4000Hz, 250 ms, 65 dB/Component) added in opposite phase relationships (Schroeder positive and negative). Due to the varying degree of envelope modulations, these time-reversed harmonic...... processes and reflect a central frequency weighting template....

Listeners' processing of a given reduced word pronunciation variant directly reflects their exposure to this variant: Evidence from native listeners and learners of French.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Sophie; Ernestus, Mirjam

2018-05-01

In casual conversations, words often lack segments. This study investigates whether listeners rely on their experience with reduced word pronunciation variants during the processing of single segment reduction. We tested three groups of listeners in a lexical decision experiment with French words produced either with or without word-medial schwa (e.g., /ʀvy/ and /ʀvy/ for revue). Participants also rated the relative frequencies of the two pronunciation variants of the words. If the recognition accuracy and reaction times (RTs) for a given listener group correlate best with the frequencies of occurrence holding for that given listener group, recognition is influenced by listeners' exposure to these variants. Native listeners' relative frequency ratings correlated well with their accuracy scores and RTs. Dutch advanced learners' accuracy scores and RTs were best predicted by their own ratings. In contrast, the accuracy and RTs from Dutch beginner learners of French could not be predicted by any relative frequency rating; the rating task was probably too difficult for them. The participant groups showed behaviour reflecting their difference in experience with the pronunciation variants. Our results strongly suggest that listeners store the frequencies of occurrence of pronunciation variants, and consequently the variants themselves.

Calculating the reduced scattering coefficient of turbid media from a single optical reflectance signal

Science.gov (United States)

Johns, Maureen; Liu, Hanli

2003-07-01

When light interacts with tissue, it can be absorbed, scattered or reflected. Such quantitative information can be used to characterize the optical properties of tissue, differentiate tissue types in vivo, and identify normal versus diseased tissue. The purpose of this research is to develop an algorithm that determines the reduced scattering coefficient (μs") of tissues from a single optical reflectance spectrum with a small source-detector separation. The basic relationship between μs" and optical reflectance was developed using Monte Carlo simulations. This produced an analytical equation containing μs" as a function of reflectance. To experimentally validate this relationship, a 1.3-mm diameter fiber optic probe containing two 400-micron diameter fibers was used to deliver light to and collect light from Intralipid solutions of various concentrations. Simultaneous measurements from optical reflectance and an ISS oximeter were performed to validate the calculated μs" values determined by the reflectance measurement against the 'gold standard" ISS readings. The calculated μs" values deviate from the expected values by approximately -/+ 5% with Intralipid concentrations between 0.5 - 2.5%. The scattering properties within this concentration range are similar to those of in vivo tissues. Additional calculations are performed to determine the scattering properties of rat brain tissues and to discuss accuracy of the algorithm for measured samples with a broad range of the absorption coefficient (μa).

The legacy of Tom Andersen: The ethics of reflecting processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gehart, Diane R

2018-03-08

Tom Andersen and his pioneering work with reflecting conservations has had a lasting influence on the field of family therapy and mental health more broadly. Most family therapists are familiar with his contributions related to reflecting teams; however, fewer are familiar with his conceptualization of reflecting processes, which offer practical ways to approach therapeutic conversations to address challenging problems. This article provides a brief history of Andersen's career and reviews four key elements of his approach, including: (a) his way of being in relationship, (b) appropriately unusual comments, (c) inner and outer dialogs, and (d) ethics of dialogical relating. Finally, this article introduces readers to the context of the video that will be analyzed in the articles that follow in this special section. © 2018 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Process for reducing the pertechnetate anion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruddock, C.F.

1980-01-01

Process for reducing the 'pertechnetate' ion TcO 4 - , whereby an aqueous solution of 'pertechnetate' is mixed with tin metal or a tin alloy as 'pertechnetate' reducing agent, and a soluble salt of a metal below tin in the electro-chemical tension scale, as activator for the reducing tin. This reduced 'pertechnetate' is used for forming usable complexes in medical diagnosis exploration [fr

The OHS consultant as a 'political reflective navigator' in technological change processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broberg, Ole

2004-01-01

between different roles and mobilize different types of knowledge depending on the context; the consultant is a navigator in the sense of knowing how to navigate in the complex organization surrounding the technological change process. The competencies of a political reflective navigator are outlined...... of OHS consultants is placed on the line between an expert and a process consultant. Based on evidence from the cases and on the concepts of actor-network theory on technological development, we suggest a supplementary third role, that of the 'political reflective navigator', where the OHS consultant...... is an 'actor' who pursues a work environment agenda in a complex network in which other actors pursue other agendas such as productivity, economics, quality, etc. The consultant is political in the sense of pursuing a work environment agenda; the consultant is reflective in the sense of being able to switch...

Improving design processes through structured reflection : a prototype software tool

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reymen, I.M.M.J.; Melby, E.

2001-01-01

A prototype software tool facilitating the use of a design method supporting structured reflection on design processes is presented. The prototype, called Echo, has been developed to explore the benefits of using a software system to facilitate the use of the design method. Both the prototype

[The ethical reflection approach in decision-making processes in health institutes].

Science.gov (United States)

Gruat, Renaud

2015-12-01

Except in the specific case of end-of-life care, the law says nothing about the way in which health professionals must carry out ethical reflection regarding the treatment of their patients. A problem-solving methodology called the "ethical reflection approach" performed over several stages can be used. The decision-making process involves the whole team and draws on the ability of each caregiver to put forward a reasoned argument, in the interest of the patient. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

How Do Pre-Service Teachers' Reflective Processes Differ in Relation to Different Contexts?

Science.gov (United States)

Kaasila, Raimo; Lauriala, Anneli

2012-01-01

Reflective practice represents a central theme in teacher education. The focus of this study is to look at pre-service teachers' reflection processes and their breadth and depth in four different contexts. Our research data consist of 53 pre-service teachers' mathematics portfolios, from which three were selected for closer scrutiny. The chosen…

Using a critical reflection process to create an effective learning community in the workplace.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Rachel; Cooke, Marie; Henderson, Amanda; Creedy, Debra K

2013-05-01

Learning circles are an enabling process to critically examine and reflect on practices with the purpose of promoting individual and organizational growth and change. The authors adapted and developed a learning circle strategy to facilitate open discourse between registered nurses, clinical leaders, clinical facilitators and students, to critically reflect on practice experiences to promote a positive learning environment. This paper reports on an analysis of field notes taken during a critical reflection process used to create an effective learning community in the workplace. A total of 19 learning circles were conducted during in-service periods (that is, the time allocated for professional education between morning and afternoon shifts) over a 3 month period with 56 nurses, 33 students and 1 university-employed clinical supervisor. Participation rates ranged from 3 to 12 individuals per discussion. Ten themes emerged from content analysis of the clinical learning issues identified through the four-step model of critical reflection used in learning circle discussions. The four-step model of critical reflection allowed participants to reflect on clinical learning issues, and raise them in a safe environment that enabled topics to be challenged and explored in a shared and cooperative manner. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global quantitative indices reflecting provider process-of-care: data-base derivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, John L; Solomon, Patricia J

2010-04-19

Controversy has attended the relationship between risk-adjusted mortality and process-of-care. There would be advantage in the establishment, at the data-base level, of global quantitative indices subsuming the diversity of process-of-care. A retrospective, cohort study of patients identified in the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database, 1993-2003, at the level of geographic and ICU-level descriptors (n = 35), for both hospital survivors and non-survivors. Process-of-care indices were established by analysis of: (i) the smoothed time-hazard curve of individual patient discharge and determined by pharmaco-kinetic methods as area under the hazard-curve (AUC), reflecting the integrated experience of the discharge process, and time-to-peak-hazard (TMAX, in days), reflecting the time to maximum rate of hospital discharge; and (ii) individual patient ability to optimize output (as length-of-stay) for recorded data-base physiological inputs; estimated as a technical production-efficiency (TE, scaled [0,(maximum)1]), via the econometric technique of stochastic frontier analysis. For each descriptor, multivariate correlation-relationships between indices and summed mortality probability were determined. The data-set consisted of 223129 patients from 99 ICUs with mean (SD) age and APACHE III score of 59.2(18.9) years and 52.7(30.6) respectively; 41.7% were female and 45.7% were mechanically ventilated within the first 24 hours post-admission. For survivors, AUC was maximal in rural and for-profit ICUs, whereas TMAX (>or= 7.8 days) and TE (>or= 0.74) were maximal in tertiary-ICUs. For non-survivors, AUC was maximal in tertiary-ICUs, but TMAX (>or= 4.2 days) and TE (>or= 0.69) were maximal in for-profit ICUs. Across descriptors, significant differences in indices were demonstrated (analysis-of-variance, P variance, for survivors (0.89) and non-survivors (0.89), was maximized by combinations of indices demonstrating a low correlation with

How to reduce scientific irreproducibility: the 5-year reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiala, Clare; Diamandis, Eleftherios P

2017-10-26

We discuss in depth six causes of scientific irreproducibility and their ramifications for the clinical sciences: fraud, unfounded papers published by prominent authorities, bias, technical deficiencies, fragmented science and problems with big data. Some proposed methods to combat this problem are briefly described, including an effort to replicate results from some high impact papers and a proposal that authors include detailed preclinical data in papers with supposedly high translational value. We here advocate for a 5-year reflection on papers with seemingly high clinical/translational potential, published alongside the original paper where authors reflect on the quality, reproducibility and impact of their findings. These reflections can be used as a benchmark for credibility, and begin a virtuous cycle of improving the quality of published findings in the literature.

Global quantitative indices reflecting provider process-of-care: data-base derivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solomon Patricia J

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Controversy has attended the relationship between risk-adjusted mortality and process-of-care. There would be advantage in the establishment, at the data-base level, of global quantitative indices subsuming the diversity of process-of-care. Methods A retrospective, cohort study of patients identified in the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database, 1993-2003, at the level of geographic and ICU-level descriptors (n = 35, for both hospital survivors and non-survivors. Process-of-care indices were established by analysis of: (i the smoothed time-hazard curve of individual patient discharge and determined by pharmaco-kinetic methods as area under the hazard-curve (AUC, reflecting the integrated experience of the discharge process, and time-to-peak-hazard (TMAX, in days, reflecting the time to maximum rate of hospital discharge; and (ii individual patient ability to optimize output (as length-of-stay for recorded data-base physiological inputs; estimated as a technical production-efficiency (TE, scaled [0,(maximum1], via the econometric technique of stochastic frontier analysis. For each descriptor, multivariate correlation-relationships between indices and summed mortality probability were determined. Results The data-set consisted of 223129 patients from 99 ICUs with mean (SD age and APACHE III score of 59.2(18.9 years and 52.7(30.6 respectively; 41.7% were female and 45.7% were mechanically ventilated within the first 24 hours post-admission. For survivors, AUC was maximal in rural and for-profit ICUs, whereas TMAX (≥ 7.8 days and TE (≥ 0.74 were maximal in tertiary-ICUs. For non-survivors, AUC was maximal in tertiary-ICUs, but TMAX (≥ 4.2 days and TE (≥ 0.69 were maximal in for-profit ICUs. Across descriptors, significant differences in indices were demonstrated (analysis-of-variance, P ≤ 0.0001. Total explained variance, for survivors (0.89 and non-survivors (0.89, was maximized by

Methods for reducing singly reflected rays on the Wolter-I focusing mirrors of the FOXSI rocket experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Buitrago-Casas, Juan Camilo; Elsner, Ronald; Glesener, Lindsay; Christe, Steven; Ramsey, Brian; Courtade, Sasha; Ishikawa, Shin-nosuke; Narukage, Noriyuki; Turin, Paul; Vievering, Juliana; Athiray, P. S.; Musset, Sophie; Krucker, Säm.

2017-08-01

In high energy solar astrophysics, imaging hard X-rays by direct focusing offers higher dynamic range and greater sensitivity compared to past techniques that used indirect imaging. The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) is a sounding rocket payload that uses seven sets of nested Wolter-I figured mirrors together with seven high-sensitivity semiconductor detectors to observe the Sun in hard X-rays through direct focusing. The FOXSI rocket has successfully flown twice and is funded to fly a third time in summer 2018. The Wolter-I geometry consists of two consecutive mirrors, one paraboloid and one hyperboloid, that reflect photons at grazing angles. Correctly focused X-rays reflect once per mirror segment. For extended sources, like the Sun, off-axis photons at certain incident angles can reflect on only one mirror and still reach the focal plane, generating a background pattern of singly reflected rays (i.e., ghost rays) that can limit the sensitivity of the observation to faint, focused sources. Understanding and mitigating the impact of the singly reflected rays on the FOXSI optical modules will maximize the instruments' sensitivity to background-limited sources. We present an analysis of the FOXSI singly reflected rays based on ray-tracing simulations and laboratory measurements, as well as the effectiveness of different physical strategies to reduce them.

Being a reflective teacher——reflection on group management

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Pan; Lehui

2015-01-01

<正>Introduction According to Pollard and Triggs(1997),reflective teaching is a process through which the capacity to make such professional judgments can be developed and maintained.Then what is a reflective teacher?Reflective teacher is someone who reflects systematically on her practice in a constant attempt to improve

The N400 and Late Positive Complex (LPC Effects Reflect Controlled Rather than Automatic Mechanisms of Sentence Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boris Kotchoubey

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This study compared automatic and controlled cognitive processes that underlie event-related potentials (ERPs effects during speech perception. Sentences were presented to French native speakers, and the final word could be congruent or incongruent, and presented at one of four levels of degradation (using a modulation with pink noise: no degradation, mild degradation (2 levels, or strong degradation. We assumed that degradation impairs controlled more than automatic processes. The N400 and Late Positive Complex (LPC effects were defined as the differences between the corresponding wave amplitudes to incongruent words minus congruent words. Under mild degradation, where controlled sentence-level processing could still occur (as indicated by behavioral data, both N400 and LPC effects were delayed and the latter effect was reduced. Under strong degradation, where sentence processing was rather automatic (as indicated by behavioral data, no ERP effect remained. These results suggest that ERP effects elicited in complex contexts, such as sentences, reflect controlled rather than automatic mechanisms of speech processing. These results differ from the results of experiments that used word-pair or word-list paradigms.

Reflective Polyethylene Mulch Reduces Mexican Bean Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Densities and Damage in Snap Beans.

Science.gov (United States)

Nottingham, L B; Kuhar, T P

2016-08-01

Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant, is a serious pest of snap beans, Phaseolus vulgaris L., in the eastern United States. These beetles are intolerant to direct sunlight, explaining why individuals are typically found on the undersides of leaves and in the lower portion of the plant canopy. We hypothesized that snap beans grown on reflective, agricultural polyethylene (plastic mulch) would have fewer Mexican bean beetles and less injury than those grown on black plastic or bare soil. In 2014 and 2015, beans were seeded into beds of metallized, white, and black plastic, and bare soil, in field plots near Blacksburg, VA. Mexican bean beetle density, feeding injury, predatory arthropods, and snap bean yield were sampled. Reflected light intensity, temperature, and humidity were monitored using data loggers. Pyranometer readings showed that reflected light intensity was highest over metallized plastic and second highest over white plastic; black plastic and bare soil were similarly low. Temperature and humidity were unaffected by treatments. Significant reductions in Mexican bean beetle densities and feeding injury were observed in both metallized and white plastic plots compared to black plastic and bare soil, with metallized plastic having the fewest Mexican bean beetle life stages and injury. Predatory arthropod densities were not reduced by reflective plastic. Metallized plots produced the highest yields, followed by white. The results of this study suggest that growing snap beans on reflective plastic mulch can suppress the incidence and damage of Mexican bean beetle, and increase yield in snap beans. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Hippocampal Theta-Gamma Coupling Reflects State-Dependent Information Processing in Decision Making.

Science.gov (United States)

Amemiya, Seiichiro; Redish, A David

2018-03-20

During decision making, hippocampal activity encodes information sometimes about present and sometimes about potential future plans. The mechanisms underlying this transition remain unknown. Building on the evidence that gamma oscillations at different frequencies (low gamma [LG], 30-55 Hz; high gamma [HG], 60-90 Hz; and epsilon, 100-140 Hz) reflect inputs from different circuits, we identified how changes in those frequencies reflect different information-processing states. Using a unique noradrenergic manipulation by clonidine, which shifted both neural representations and gamma states, we found that future representations depended on gamma components. These changes were identifiable on each cycle of theta as asymmetries in the theta cycle, which arose from changes within the ratio of LG and HG power and the underlying phases of those gamma rhythms within the theta cycle. These changes in asymmetry of the theta cycle reflected changes in representations of present and future on each theta cycle. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual Short-Term Memory Activity in Parietal Lobe Reflects Cognitive Processes beyond Attentional Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheremata, Summer L; Somers, David C; Shomstein, Sarah

2018-02-07

Visual short-term memory (VSTM) and attention are distinct yet interrelated processes. While both require selection of information across the visual field, memory additionally requires the maintenance of information across time and distraction. VSTM recruits areas within human (male and female) dorsal and ventral parietal cortex that are also implicated in spatial selection; therefore, it is important to determine whether overlapping activation might reflect shared attentional demands. Here, identical stimuli and controlled sustained attention across both tasks were used to ask whether fMRI signal amplitude, functional connectivity, and contralateral visual field bias reflect memory-specific task demands. While attention and VSTM activated similar cortical areas, BOLD amplitude and functional connectivity in parietal cortex differentiated the two tasks. Relative to attention, VSTM increased BOLD amplitude in dorsal parietal cortex and decreased BOLD amplitude in the angular gyrus. Additionally, the tasks differentially modulated parietal functional connectivity. Contrasting VSTM and attention, intraparietal sulcus (IPS) 1-2 were more strongly connected with anterior frontoparietal areas and more weakly connected with posterior regions. This divergence between tasks demonstrates that parietal activation reflects memory-specific functions and consequently modulates functional connectivity across the cortex. In contrast, both tasks demonstrated hemispheric asymmetries for spatial processing, exhibiting a stronger contralateral visual field bias in the left versus the right hemisphere across tasks, suggesting that asymmetries are characteristic of a shared selection process in IPS. These results demonstrate that parietal activity and patterns of functional connectivity distinguish VSTM from more general attention processes, establishing a central role of the parietal cortex in maintaining visual information. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Visual short-term memory (VSTM) and

Sensitivity study of reduced models of the activated sludge process ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2009-08-07

Aug 7, 2009 ... Sensitivity study of reduced models of the activated sludge process, for the purposes of parameter estimation and process optimisation: Benchmark process with ASM1 and UCT reduced biological models. S du Plessis and R Tzoneva*. Department of Electrical Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of ...

Brief Report: Intuitive and Reflective Reasoning in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Brosnan, Mark; Ashwin, Chris; Lewton, Marcus

2017-01-01

Dual Process Theory has recently been applied to Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to suggest that reasoning by people with ASD and people with higher levels of ASD-like traits can be characterised by reduced intuitive and greater reflective processing. 26 adolescents and adults with ASD and 22 adolescent and adult controls completed an assessment of…

Reducing Design Cycle Time and Cost Through Process Resequencing

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, James L.

2004-01-01

In today's competitive environment, companies are under enormous pressure to reduce the time and cost of their design cycle. One method for reducing both time and cost is to develop an understanding of the flow of the design processes and the effects of the iterative subcycles that are found in complex design projects. Once these aspects are understood, the design manager can make decisions that take advantage of decomposition, concurrent engineering, and parallel processing techniques to reduce the total time and the total cost of the design cycle. One software tool that can aid in this decision-making process is the Design Manager's Aid for Intelligent Decomposition (DeMAID). The DeMAID software minimizes the feedback couplings that create iterative subcycles, groups processes into iterative subcycles, and decomposes the subcycles into a hierarchical structure. The real benefits of producing the best design in the least time and at a minimum cost are obtained from sequencing the processes in the subcycles.

Comparing different policy scenarios to reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods in UK: impact on cardiovascular disease mortality using a modelling approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreira, Patricia V L; Baraldi, Larissa Galastri; Moubarac, Jean-Claude; Monteiro, Carlos Augusto; Newton, Alex; Capewell, Simon; O'Flaherty, Martin

2015-01-01

The global burden of non-communicable diseases partly reflects growing exposure to ultra-processed food products (UPPs). These heavily marketed UPPs are cheap and convenient for consumers and profitable for manufacturers, but contain high levels of salt, fat and sugars. This study aimed to explore the potential mortality reduction associated with future policies for substantially reducing ultra-processed food intake in the UK. We obtained data from the UK Living Cost and Food Survey and from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. By the NOVA food typology, all food items were categorized into three groups according to the extent of food processing: Group 1 describes unprocessed/minimally processed foods. Group 2 comprises processed culinary ingredients. Group 3 includes all processed or ultra-processed products. Using UK nutrient conversion tables, we estimated the energy and nutrient profile of each food group. We then used the IMPACT Food Policy model to estimate reductions in cardiovascular mortality from improved nutrient intakes reflecting shifts from processed or ultra-processed to unprocessed/minimally processed foods. We then conducted probabilistic sensitivity analyses using Monte Carlo simulation. Approximately 175,000 cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths might be expected in 2030 if current mortality patterns persist. However, halving the intake of Group 3 (processed) foods could result in approximately 22,055 fewer CVD related deaths in 2030 (minimum estimate 10,705, maximum estimate 34,625). An ideal scenario in which salt and fat intakes are reduced to the low levels observed in Group 1 and 2 could lead to approximately 14,235 (minimum estimate 6,680, maximum estimate 22,525) fewer coronary deaths and approximately 7,820 (minimum estimate 4,025, maximum estimate 12,100) fewer stroke deaths, comprising almost 13% mortality reduction. This study shows a substantial potential for reducing the cardiovascular disease burden through a healthier food system

Mechanical grooving of oxidized porous silicon to reduce the reflectivity of monocrystalline silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zarroug, A.; Dimassi, W.; Ouertani, R.; Ezzaouia, H. [Laboratoire de Photovoltaique, Centre des Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie, BP. 95, Hammam-Lif 2050 (Tunisia)

2012-10-15

In this work, we are interested to use oxidized porous silicon (ox-PS) as a mask. So, we display the creating of a rough surface which enhances the absorption of incident light by solar cells and reduces the reflectivity of monocrystalline silicon (c-Si). It clearly can be seen that the mechanical grooving enables us to elaborate the texturing of monocrystalline silicon wafer. Results demonstrated that the application of a PS layer followed by a thermal treatment under O2 ambient easily gives us an oxide layer of uniform size which can vary from a nanometer to about ten microns. In addition, the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy investigations of the PS layer illustrates the possibility to realize oxide layer as a mask for porous silicon. We found also that this simple and low cost method decreases the total reflectivity (copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Being In-Between: Reflecting on Time, Space and Career during the Tenure Application Process

Science.gov (United States)

Eichler, Mathew

2015-01-01

Part of the process of becoming a tenured faculty member is applying for tenure. This reflective essay reports on the period after the submission of tenure materials for review but before the review process for tenure is completed. This is an "in-between" space, where the race of the tenure track is no longer present, but the role of…

Treatment with liraglutide may improve markers of CVD reflected by reduced levels of apoB

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engelbrechtsen, Line; Lundgren, J; Wewer Albrechtsen, Nicolai Jacob

2017-01-01

Background: Dislipidaemia and increased levels of apolipoprotein B (apoB) in individuals with obesity are risk factors for development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of weight loss and weight maintenance with and without liraglutide treatment ......B, despite similar body weight maintenance. Treatment with liraglutide may therefore reduce apoB levels and thus reflect lower CVD risk. Including apoB measurements in clinical practice when monitoring patients with dislipidemia or CVD might prove to be useful....

Meaning, Internalization, and Externalization: Toward a Fuller Understanding of the Process of Reflection and Its Role in the Construction of the Self

Science.gov (United States)

Le Cornu, Alison

2009-01-01

The study of the process of reflection has a dignified history. However, few have linked reflection to the development of the self in such a way that the form of reflection is understood to influence the resultant type of self. This article explores the process of reflection using a framework of meaning making, internalization, and externalization…

A decade of business process management conferences: Personal reflections on a developing discipline

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aalst, van der W.M.P.; Barros, A.; Gal, A.; Kindler, E.

2012-01-01

The Business Process Management (BPM) conference series celebrates its tenth anniversary. This is a nice opportunity to reflect on a decade of BPM research. This paper describes the history of the conference series, enumerates twenty typical BPM use cases, and identifies six key BPM concerns:

Exploring Students' Reflective Thinking Practice, Deep Processing Strategies, Effort, and Achievement Goal Orientations

Science.gov (United States)

Phan, Huy Phuong

2009-01-01

Recent research indicates that study processing strategies, effort, reflective thinking practice, and achievement goals are important factors contributing to the prediction of students' academic success. Very few studies have combined these theoretical orientations within one conceptual model. This study tested a conceptual model that included, in…

Signal processing issues in reflection tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Cadalli, Nail

2001-12-01

This dissertation focuses on signal modeling and processing issues of the following problems in reflection tomography: synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging of a runway and surroundings from an aircraft approaching for landing, acoustic imaging of objects buried in soil, and lidar imaging of underwater objects. The highly squinted geometry of runway imaging necessitates the incorporation of wavefront curvature into the signal model. We investigate the feasibility of using the wavenumber-domain (ω - k) SAR inversion algorithm, which models the actual curvature of the wavefront, for runway imaging. We demonstrate the aberrations that the algorithm can produce when the squint angle is close to 90° and show that high-quality reconstruction is still possible provided that the interpolation is performed accurately enough, which can be achieved by increasing the temporal sampling rate. We compare the performance with that of a more general inversion method (GIM) that solves the measurement equation directly. The performances of both methods are comparable in the noise- free case. Being inherently robust to noise, GIM produces superior results in the noisy case. We also present a solution to the left-right ambiguity of runway imaging using interferometric processing. In imaging of objects buried in soil, we pursue an acoustic approach primarily for detection and imaging of cultural artifacts. We have developed a mathematical model and associated computer software in order to simulate the signals acquired by the actual experimental system, and a bistatic SAR-type algorithm for reconstruction. In the reconstructions from simulated data, objects were detectable, but near-field objects suffered from shifts and smears. To account for wavefront curvature, we formulated processing of the simulated data using the 3-D version of the monostatic ω - k algorithm. In lidar imaging of underwater objects, we formulate the problem as a 3-D tomographic reconstruction problem. We have

[Social programs and reducing obesity in Peru: reflections from the research].

Science.gov (United States)

Diez-Canseco, Francisco; Saavedra-Garcia, Lorena

2017-01-01

In recent decades, overweight or obesity have increased dramatically in middle- and low-income countries; a situation which consolidates chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD) as one of the leading causes of mortality and disability worldwide. Currently, half the people in Peru over the age of 15 years are overweight, and one fifth suffer from obesity. The situation is worsening and increasingly affects people in poverty, who frequently benefit from food supplement programs designed to combat food insecurity and malnutrition. There is an urgent worldwide need to find policies and programs that help fight the problem of obesity at the population level, a task that is still pending. In this article, we review the current epidemic of overweight and obesity in Peru and the world and its most significant consequences and causes, with an emphasis on access to and availability of foods. We describe the largest food supplement programs and synthesize the research on interventions in order to reflect on how their findings might help social programs work as a platform to reduce obesity and prevent NCD in Peru.

Low-reflection beam refractions by ultrathin Huygens metasurface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia, Sheng Li; Wan, Xiang; Fu, Xiao Jian; Zhao, Yong Jiu; Cui, Tie Jun

2015-01-01

We propose a Huygens source unit cell to develop an ultrathin low-reflection metasurface, which could provide extreme controls of phases of the transmitted waves. Both electric and magnetic currents are supported by the proposed unit cell, thus leading to highly efficient and full controls of phases. The coupling between electric and magnetic responses is negligible, which will significantly reduce the difficulty of design. Since the unit cell of metasurface is printed on two bonded boards, the fabrication process is simplified and the thickness of metasurface is reduced. Based on the proposed unit cell, a beam-refracting metasurface with low-reflection is designed and manufactured. Both near-field and far-field characteristics of the beam-refracting metasurface are investigated by simulations and measurements, which indicate that the proposed Huygens metasurface performs well in controlling electromagnetic waves

Treatment with liraglutide may improve markers of CVD reflected by reduced levels of apoB.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelbrechtsen, L; Lundgren, J; Wewer Albrechtsen, N J; Mahendran, Y; Iepsen, E W; Finocchietto, P; Jonsson, A E; Madsbad, S; Holst, J J; Vestergaard, H; Hansen, T; Torekov, S S

2017-12-01

Dislipidaemia and increased levels of apolipoprotein B (apoB) in individuals with obesity are risk factors for development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of weight loss and weight maintenance with and without liraglutide treatment on plasma lipid profiles and apoB. Fifty-eight individuals with obesity (body mass index 34.5 ± 3.0 kg/m 2 [mean ± SD]) were included in this study. After 8 weeks on a very low-calorie diet (800 kcal/day), participants were randomized to weight maintenance with meal replacements with or without liraglutide (1.2 mg daily) for 1 year. Plasma samples from before and after weight loss and after 1 year of weight maintenance were subjected to nuclear magnetic resonance-based lipidomics analysis. After an 8-week low-calorie diet, study participants lost 12.0 ± 2.9 kg (mean ± SD) of their body weight, which was reflected in their lipid profiles (80 out of 124 lipids changed significantly), including reduced levels of apoB, total cholesterol, free cholesterol, remnant cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein and very low-density lipoprotein subclasses. After 1 year of maintained weight loss, the majority of the lipids had returned to pre-weight loss levels even though weight loss was successfully maintained in both groups. Interestingly, apoB levels remained low in the liraglutide treated group (apoB change: 0.03 ± 0.02 mmol/L, p = 0.4) in contrast to an increase in the control group (apoB change: 0.06 ± 0.07 mmol/L, p = 0.02). An 8-week low-calorie diet, in individuals with obesity, reduced plasma levels of lipids and the atherogenic marker apoB. After 1 year of weight maintenance, only study participants treated with liraglutide maintained reduced levels of apoB, despite similar body weight maintenance. Treatment with liraglutide may therefore reduce apoB levels and thus reflect lower CVD risk. Including apoB measurements in clinical practice when

Autofluorescence Imaging With Near-Infrared Excitation:Normalization by Reflectance to Reduce Signal From Choroidal Fluorophores

Science.gov (United States)

Cideciyan, Artur V.; Swider, Malgorzata; Jacobson, Samuel G.

2015-01-01

Purpose. We previously developed reduced-illuminance autofluorescence imaging (RAFI) methods involving near-infrared (NIR) excitation to image melanin-based fluorophores and short-wavelength (SW) excitation to image lipofuscin-based flurophores. Here, we propose to normalize NIR-RAFI in order to increase the relative contribution of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) fluorophores. Methods. Retinal imaging was performed with a standard protocol holding system parameters invariant in healthy subjects and in patients. Normalized NIR-RAFI was derived by dividing NIR-RAFI signal by NIR reflectance point-by-point after image registration. Results. Regions of RPE atrophy in Stargardt disease, AMD, retinitis pigmentosa, choroideremia, and Leber congenital amaurosis as defined by low signal on SW-RAFI could correspond to a wide range of signal on NIR-RAFI depending on the contribution from the choroidal component. Retinal pigment epithelium atrophy tended to always correspond to high signal on NIR reflectance. Normalizing NIR-RAFI reduced the choroidal component of the signal in regions of atrophy. Quantitative evaluation of RPE atrophy area showed no significant differences between SW-RAFI and normalized NIR-RAFI. Conclusions. Imaging of RPE atrophy using lipofuscin-based AF imaging has become the gold standard. However, this technique involves bright SW lights that are uncomfortable and may accelerate the rate of disease progression in vulnerable retinas. The NIR-RAFI method developed here is a melanin-based alternative that is not absorbed by opsins and bisretinoid moieties, and is comfortable to view. Further development of this method may result in a nonmydriatic and comfortable imaging method to quantify RPE atrophy extent and its expansion rate. PMID:26024124

Business change process, creativity and the brain: a practitioner's reflective account with suggestions for future research.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeats, Rowena M; Yeats, Martyn F

2007-11-01

Resolution of a critical organizational problem requires the use of carefully selected techniques. This is the work of a management consultant: facilitating a business change process in an organizational setting. Here, an account is provided of a practitioner's reflections on one such case study that demonstrates a structure for a business change process. The reflective account highlights certain affective states and social behaviors that were extracted from participants during the business change process. These affective states and social behaviors are mediated by specific neural networks in the brain that are activated during organizational intervention. By breaking down the process into the affective states and social behaviors highlighted, cognitive neuroscience can be a useful tool for investigating the neural substrates of such intervention. By applying a cognitive neuroscience approach to examine organizational change, it is possible to converge on a greater understanding of the neural substrates of everyday social behavior.

Media for Reflection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Morten

2016-01-01

This article develops the concept media for reflection in the interest of conceptualizing the interpretative frames that enable and limit reflection in management and leadership education. The concept ‘media for reflection’ allows us to conceptualize the social and cultural mediation of reflection...... without reducing reflection to an effect of the social structures and cultural norms in which it is embedded. Based on the developed theoretical framework, this article analyses how a renaissance ‘mirror for princes’ and contemporary research-based management education mediate reflection. The content...... of the mediations is analysed as well as the societal and organizational background. Furthermore, the means by which the two media enable and limit reflection in different ways is compared. Finally, the article discusses possible implications of the analysis in terms of management and leadership education....

A spectral image processing algorithm for evaluating the influence of the illuminants on the reconstructed reflectance

Science.gov (United States)

Toadere, Florin

2017-12-01

A spectral image processing algorithm that allows the illumination of the scene with different illuminants together with the reconstruction of the scene's reflectance is presented. Color checker spectral image and CIE A (warm light 2700 K), D65 (cold light 6500 K) and Cree TW Series LED T8 (4000 K) are employed for scene illumination. Illuminants used in the simulations have different spectra and, as a result of their illumination, the colors of the scene change. The influence of the illuminants on the reconstruction of the scene's reflectance is estimated. Demonstrative images and reflectance showing the operation of the algorithm are illustrated.

Temporal processes involved in simultaneous reflection masking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buchholz, Jörg

2006-01-01

reflection delays and enhances the test reflection for large delays. Employing a 200-ms-long broadband noise burst as input signal, the critical delay separating these two binaural phenomena was found to be 7–10 ms. It was suggested that the critical delay refers to a temporal window that is employed......, resulting in a critical delay of about 2–3 ms for 20-ms-long stimuli. Hence, for very short stimuli the temporal window or critical delay exhibits values similar to the auditory temporal resolution as, for instance, observed in gap-detection tasks. It is suggested that the larger critical delay observed...

Fabrication of high-resolution reflective scale grating for an optical encoder using a patterned self-assembly process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Shanjin; Jiang, Weitao; Li, Xuan; Yu, Haoyu; Lei, Biao; Shi, Yongsheng; Yin, Lei; Chen, Bangdao; Liu, Hongzhong

2016-01-01

Steel tape scale grating of a reflective incremental linear encoder has a key impact on the measurement accuracy of the optical encoder. However, it is difficult for conventional manufacturing processes to fabricate scale grating with high-resolution grating strips, due to process and material problems. In this paper, self-assembly technology was employed to fabricate high-resolution steel tape scale grating for a reflective incremental linear encoder. Graphene oxide nanoparticles were adopted to form anti-reflective grating strips of steel tape scale grating. They were deposited in the tape, which had a hydrophobic and hydrophilic grating pattern when the dispersion of the nanoparticles evaporated. A standard lift-off process was employed to fabricate the hydrophobic grating strips on the steel tape. Simultaneously, the steel tape itself presents a hydrophilic property. The hydrophobic and hydrophilic grating pattern was thus obtained. In this study, octafluorocyclobutane was used to prepare the hydrophobic grating strips, due to its hydrophobic property. High-resolution graphene oxide steel tape scale grating with a pitch of 20 μ m was obtained through the self-assembly process. The photoelectric signals of the optical encoder containing the graphene oxide scale grating and conventional scale grating were tested under the same conditions. Comparison test results showed that the graphene oxide scale grating has a better performance in its amplitude and harmonic components than that of the conventional steel tape scale. A comparison experiment of position errors was also conducted, demonstrating an improvement in the positioning error of the graphene oxide scale grating. The comparison results demonstrated the applicability of the proposed self-assembly process to fabricate high-resolution graphene oxide scale grating for a reflective incremental linear encoder. (paper)

Evidence of Reduced Global Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Booth, Rhonda D. L.; Happé, Francesca G. E.

2018-01-01

Frith's original notion of 'weak central coherence' suggested that increased local processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) resulted from reduced global processing. More recent accounts have emphasised superior local perception and suggested intact global integration. However, tasks often place local and global processing in direct trade-off,…

ADHD performance reflects inefficient but not impulsive information processing: a diffusion model analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Metin, Baris; Roeyers, Herbert; Wiersema, Jan R; van der Meere, Jaap J; Thompson, Margaret; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund

2013-03-01

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with performance deficits across a broad range of tasks. Although individual tasks are designed to tap specific cognitive functions (e.g., memory, inhibition, planning, etc.), these deficits could also reflect general effects related to either inefficient or impulsive information processing or both. These two components cannot be isolated from each other on the basis of classical analysis in which mean reaction time (RT) and mean accuracy are handled separately. Seventy children with a diagnosis of combined type ADHD and 50 healthy controls (between 6 and 17 years) performed two tasks: a simple two-choice RT (2-CRT) task and a conflict control task (CCT) that required higher levels of executive control. RT and errors were analyzed using the Ratcliff diffusion model, which divides decisional time into separate estimates of information processing efficiency (called "drift rate") and speed-accuracy tradeoff (SATO, called "boundary"). The model also provides an estimate of general nondecisional time. Results were the same for both tasks independent of executive load. ADHD was associated with lower drift rate and less nondecisional time. The groups did not differ in terms of boundary parameter estimates. RT and accuracy performance in ADHD appears to reflect inefficient rather than impulsive information processing, an effect independent of executive function load. The results are consistent with models in which basic information processing deficits make an important contribution to the ADHD cognitive phenotype. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Reducing capital and operating costs in gas processing, liquefaction, and storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krusen, III, L C [Phillips Petroleum Co., Bartlesville, OK (United States). Research Div.

1997-06-01

The LNG industry is unanimous that capital costs must be reduced throughout the chain, and especially at the liquefaction facility including associated gas processing and LNG storage. The Ken ai LNG plant provides an example of how both reduced capital and operating costs were attained. This paper will cover cost production strategies that can be applied to liquefaction processes in general, and will than focus on their realization in the Phillips Optimized Cascade LNG process. The paper concludes that reduced LNG plant costs are attainable. (Author).

Reducing capital and operating costs in gas processing, liquefaction, and storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krusen, L.C. III

1997-01-01

The LNG industry is unanimous that capital costs must be reduced throughout the chain, and especially at the liquefaction facility including associated gas processing and LNG storage. The Ken ai LNG plant provides an example of how both reduced capital and operating costs were attained. This paper will cover cost production strategies that can be applied to liquefaction processes in general, and will than focus on their realization in the Phillips Optimized Cascade LNG process. The paper concludes that reduced LNG plant costs are attainable. (Author)

CVD molybdenum films of high infrared reflectance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carver, G. E.

1979-01-01

Molybdenum thin films of high infrared reflectance have been deposited by pyrolytic decomposition of molybdenum carbonyl (Mo(CO)/sub 6/), and by hydrogen reduction of molybdenum pentachloride (MoCl/sub 5/). Reflectance values within 0.7% of the reflectance of supersmooth bulk molybdenum have been attained by annealing films of lower reflectance in both reducing and non-reducing atmospheres. All depositions and anneals proceed at atmospheric pressure, facilitating a continuous, flow-through fabrication. These reflectors combine the high temperature stability of molybdenum thin films with the infrared reflectance of a material such as aluminum. Deposition from Mo(CO)/sub 6/ under oxidizing conditions, and subsequent anneal in a reducing atmosphere, results in films that combine high solar absorptance with low thermal emittance. If anti-reflected, black molybdenum films can serve as highly selective single layer photothermal converters. Structural, compositional, and crystallographic properties have been measured after both deposition and anneal.

Training Reflective Processes in Military Aircrews through Holistic Debriefing: The Importance of Facilitator Skills and Development of Trust

Science.gov (United States)

Moldjord, Christian; Hybertsen, Ingunn Dahler

2015-01-01

This paper explores how Holistic Debrief, a new concept in the field of debriefing and reflective processes, can contribute to restitution, reflection and learning in professional teams following stressful events and routine tasks. Interviews were conducted with Norwegian military aircrew mission commanders following deployment to Afghanistan in…

Data-Intensive Text Processing with MapReduce

CERN Document Server

Lin, Jimmy

2010-01-01

Our world is being revolutionized by data-driven methods: access to large amounts of data has generated new insights and opened exciting new opportunities in commerce, science, and computing applications. Processing the enormous quantities of data necessary for these advances requires large clusters, making distributed computing paradigms more crucial than ever. MapReduce is a programming model for expressing distributed computations on massive datasets and an execution framework for large-scale data processing on clusters of commodity servers. The programming model provides an easy-to-underst

Validation of a spectral correction procedure for sun and sky reflections in above-water reflectance measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Groetsch, Philipp M M; Gege, Peter; Simis, Stefan G H; Eleveld, Marieke A; Peters, Steef W M

2017-08-07

A three-component reflectance model (3C) is applied to above-water radiometric measurements to derive remote-sensing reflectance Rrs (λ). 3C provides a spectrally resolved offset Δ(λ) to correct for residual sun and sky radiance (Rayleigh- and aerosol-scattered) reflections on the water surface that were not represented by sky radiance measurements. 3C is validated with a data set of matching above- and below-water radiometric measurements collected in the Baltic Sea, and compared against a scalar offset correction Δ. Correction with Δ(λ) instead of Δ consistently reduced the (mean normalized root-mean-square) deviation between Rrs (λ) and reference reflectances to comparable levels for clear (Δ: 14.3 ± 2.5 %, Δ(λ): 8.2 ± 1.7 %), partly clouded (Δ: 15.4 ± 2.1 %, Δ(λ): 6.5 ± 1.4 %), and completely overcast (Δ: 10.8 ± 1.7 %, Δ(λ): 6.3 ± 1.8 %) sky conditions. The improvement was most pronounced under inhomogeneous sky conditions when measurements of sky radiance tend to be less representative of surface-reflected radiance. Accounting for both sun glint and sky reflections also relaxes constraints on measurement geometry, which was demonstrated based on a semi-continuous daytime data set recorded in a eutrophic freshwater lake in the Netherlands. Rrs (λ) that were derived throughout the day varied spectrally by less than 2 % relative standard deviation. Implications on measurement protocols are discussed. An open source software library for processing reflectance measurements was developed and is made publicly available.

Reduced face aftereffects in autism are not due to poor attention.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louise Ewing

Full Text Available This study aimed to determine why face identity aftereffects are diminished in children with autism, relative to typical children. To address the possibility that reduced face aftereffects might reflect reduced attention to adapting stimuli, we investigated the consequence of controlling attention to adapting faces during a face identity aftereffect task in children with autism and typical children. We also included a size-change between adaptation and test stimuli to determine whether the reduced aftereffects reflect atypical adaptation to low- or higher-level stimulus properties. Results indicated that when attention was controlled and directed towards adapting stimuli, face identity aftereffects in children with autism were significantly reduced relative to typical children. This finding challenges the notion that atypicalities in the quality and/or quantity of children's attention during adaptation might account for group differences previously observed in this paradigm. Additionally, evidence of diminished face identity aftereffects despite a stimulus size change supports an adaptive processing atypicality in autism that extends beyond low-level, retinotopically coded stimulus properties. These findings support the notion that diminished face aftereffects in autism reflect atypicalities in adaptive norm-based coding, which could also contribute to face processing difficulties in this group.

Delineating psychomotor slowing from reduced processing speed in schizophrenia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Morrens, M.; Hulstijn, W.; Matton, C.; Madani, Y.; Bouwel, L. van; Peuskens, J.; Sabbe, B.G.C.

2008-01-01

Introduction. Psychomotor slowing is an intrinsic feature of schizophrenia that is poorly delineated from generally reduced processing speed. Although the Symbol Digit Substitution Test (SDST) is widely used to assess psychomotor speed, the task also taps several higher-order cognitive processes.

Reflection on the Teaching-Learning Process in the Initial Training of Teachers. Characterization of the Issues on Which Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers Reflect

Science.gov (United States)

Chamoso, J. M.; Caceres, M. J.; Azcarate, P.

2012-01-01

Our aim was to highlight the issues of the reflections of pre-service mathematics teachers in their learning portfolio about the teaching-learning process taking place in a university teacher-training classroom. Category systems were designed which, together with the analysis system used, could provide a method helpful to teacher educators,…

Developing a new theory of knowledge sharing : Documenting and reflecting on a messy process

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Martinsons, M.G.; Davison, R.M.; Ou, Carol

2015-01-01

Much has been written about theories and how they can be tested. Unfortunately, much less has been written about how to develop them. This paper sheds light on the process of new theory development. We document and reflect on how we developed a context-sensitive indigenous theory of knowledge

Application of fluorides as reagents in exothermal reducing processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solov'ev, A.I.; Maksimov, Yu.M.; Dedov, N.V.; Malyutina, V.M.; Avramchik, A.N.

2002-01-01

Thermodynamic calculations were made and the process of calcium-thermic reduction of titanium and zirconium tetrafluorides and their mixtures was experimentally studied. Compound TiF 4 and its mixture with ZrF 4 in amount no more than 34.3 % are reduced producing a well-formed ingot. When ZrF 4 content is exceeded in the mixture to be reduced as well as during reduction of pure ZrF 4 and the mixture of unseparated rare earth metal fluorides, metal and alloys are produced as embedded particles in solidified slag. Additional heat should be brought to produce qualitative ingot during the reducing process. Qualitative ingots of metal in weight up to 10 kg were produced during calcium-thermic reduction of zirconium and rare earth fluorides with application of high-frequency induction heating [ru

Conceptualizing playfulness for reflection processes in responsible research and innovation contexts: a narrative literature review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Meij, Marjoleine G.; Broerse, Jacqueline E. W.; Kupper, Frank

2017-01-01

Playfulness supports people in learning. This study synthesizes a framework for playfulness for one particular type of learning: responsible research and innovation (RRI) reflection processes. Playfulness design elements were extracted from literature about playfulness in various learning and

A transmission and reflection coupled ultrasonic process tomography based on cylindrical miniaturized transducers using PVDF films

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, J.; Yang, H.; Fan, F.; Su, M.

2017-12-01

A transmission and reflection coupled ultrasonic process tomography has been developed, which is characterized by a proposed dual-mode (DM) reconstruction algorithm, as well as an adaptive search approach to determine an optimal image threshold during the image binarization. In respect of hardware, to improve the accuracy of time-of-flight (TOF) and extend the lowest detection limit of particle size, a cylindrical miniaturized transducer using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) films is designed. Besides, the development of range-gating technique for the identification of transmission and reflection waves in scanning is discussed. A particle system with four iron particles is then investigated numerically and experimentally to evaluate these proposed methods. The sound pressure distribution in imaging area is predicted numerically, followed by the analysis of the relationship between the emitting surface width of transducer and particle size. After the processing of experimental data for effective waveform extraction and fusion, the comparison between reconstructed results from transmission-mode (TM), reflection-mode (RM), and dual-mode reconstructions is carried out and the latter manifests obvious improvements from the blurring reduction to the enhancement of particle boundary.

Treatment with liraglutide may improve markers of CVD reflected by reduced levels of apoB

Science.gov (United States)

Engelbrechtsen, L.; Lundgren, J.; Wewer Albrechtsen, N. J.; Mahendran, Y.; Iepsen, E. W.; Finocchietto, P.; Jonsson, A. E.; Madsbad, S.; Holst, J. J.; Vestergaard, H.; Hansen, T.

2017-01-01

Summary Background Dislipidaemia and increased levels of apolipoprotein B (apoB) in individuals with obesity are risk factors for development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of weight loss and weight maintenance with and without liraglutide treatment on plasma lipid profiles and apoB. Methods Fifty‐eight individuals with obesity (body mass index 34.5 ± 3.0 kg/m2 [mean ± SD]) were included in this study. After 8 weeks on a very low‐calorie diet (800 kcal/day), participants were randomized to weight maintenance with meal replacements with or without liraglutide (1.2 mg daily) for 1 year. Plasma samples from before and after weight loss and after 1 year of weight maintenance were subjected to nuclear magnetic resonance‐based lipidomics analysis. Results After an 8‐week low‐calorie diet, study participants lost 12.0 ± 2.9 kg (mean ± SD) of their body weight, which was reflected in their lipid profiles (80 out of 124 lipids changed significantly), including reduced levels of apoB, total cholesterol, free cholesterol, remnant cholesterol, triglycerides, low‐density lipoprotein and very low‐density lipoprotein subclasses. After 1 year of maintained weight loss, the majority of the lipids had returned to pre‐weight loss levels even though weight loss was successfully maintained in both groups. Interestingly, apoB levels remained low in the liraglutide treated group (apoB change: 0.03 ± 0.02 mmol/L, p = 0.4) in contrast to an increase in the control group (apoB change: 0.06 ± 0.07 mmol/L, p = 0.02). Conclusion An 8‐week low‐calorie diet, in individuals with obesity, reduced plasma levels of lipids and the atherogenic marker apoB. After 1 year of weight maintenance, only study participants treated with liraglutide maintained reduced levels of apoB, despite similar body weight maintenance. Treatment with liraglutide may therefore reduce apoB levels and thus reflect lower

Automated Pre-processing for NMR Assignments with Reduced Tedium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2004-05-11

An important rate-limiting step in the reasonance asignment process is accurate identification of resonance peaks in MNR spectra. NMR spectra are noisy. Hence, automatic peak-picking programs must navigate between the Scylla of reliable but incomplete picking, and the Charybdis of noisy but complete picking. Each of these extremes complicates the assignment process: incomplete peak-picking results in the loss of essential connectivities, while noisy picking conceals the true connectivities under a combinatiorial explosion of false positives. Intermediate processing can simplify the assignment process by preferentially removing false peaks from noisy peak lists. This is accomplished by requiring consensus between multiple NMR experiments, exploiting a priori information about NMR spectra, and drawing on empirical statistical distributions of chemical shift extracted from the BioMagResBank. Experienced NMR practitioners currently apply many of these techniques "by hand", which is tedious, and may appear arbitrary to the novice. To increase efficiency, we have created a systematic and automated approach to this process, known as APART. Automated pre-processing has three main advantages: reduced tedium, standardization, and pedagogy. In the hands of experienced spectroscopists, the main advantage is reduced tedium (a rapid increase in the ratio of true peaks to false peaks with minimal effort). When a project is passed from hand to hand, the main advantage is standardization. APART automatically documents the peak filtering process by archiving its original recommendations, the accompanying justifications, and whether a user accepted or overrode a given filtering recommendation. In the hands of a novice, this tool can reduce the stumbling block of learning to differentiate between real peaks and noise, by providing real-time examples of how such decisions are made.

Effects of reducing processed culinary ingredients and ultra-processed foods in the Brazilian diet: a cardiovascular modelling study.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreira, Patrícia Vl; Hyseni, Lirije; Moubarac, Jean-Claude; Martins, Ana Paula B; Baraldi, Larissa G; Capewell, Simon; O'Flaherty, Martin; Guzman-Castillo, Maria

2018-01-01

To estimate the impact of reducing saturated fat, trans-fat, salt and added sugar from processed culinary ingredients and ultra-processed foods in the Brazilian diet on preventing cardiovascular deaths by 2030. A modelling study. Data were obtained from the Brazilian Household Budget Survey 2008/2009. All food items purchased were categorized into food groups according to the NOVA classification. We estimated the energy and nutrient profile of foods then used the IMPACT Food Policy model to estimate the reduction in deaths from CVD up to 2030 in three scenarios. In Scenario A, we assumed that the intakes of saturated fat, trans-fat, salt and added sugar from ultra-processed foods and processed culinary ingredients were reduced by a quarter. In Scenario B, we assumed a reduction of 50 % of the same nutrients in ultra-processed foods and processed culinary ingredients. In Scenario C, we reduced the same nutrients in ultra-processed foods by 75 % and in processed culinary ingredients by 50 %. Approximately 390 400 CVD deaths might be expected in 2030 if current mortality patterns persist. Under Scenarios A, B and C, CVD mortality can be reduced by 5·5, 11·0 and 29·0 %, respectively. The main impact is on stroke with a reduction of approximately 6·0, 12·6 and 32·0 %, respectively. Substantial potential exists for reducing the CVD burden through overall improvements of the Brazilian diet. This might require reducing the penetration of ultra-processed foods by means of regulatory policies, as well as improving the access to and promotion of fresh and minimally processed foods.

A situated approach to VET students' reflection processes across boundaries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wegener, Charlotte

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the intersection between institutional requirements for reflection and students’ actual reflection initiatives in the social and health care education programmes. A situated perspective makes it possible to illuminate individuals’ commitment, curiosity a...... be enhanced. The paper adds to previous research on boundary crossing in vocational education and highlights the notion of visible reflection....

Light-material interactions in laser material processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiang, S.; Albright, C.E.

1989-01-01

The authors discusses how light interactions with materials in laser material processing operations occur by a variety of mechanisms depending on the material being processed, the wavelength of the laser light, the gaseous environment, and the physical state of the material surface. The high reflectivity of metals limits the fraction of the beam power absorbed by the solid metal surface. For metals in the solid state, reflectivity increases as the wavelength of the laser light and the electrical conductivity of the metal increase. The reflectivity of metals is reduced upon heating to the melting point, and further reduced upon melting. At high power densities the liquid metal surface is heated so quickly that very rapid vaporization occurs. The recoil force produced by the evaporation causes a depression in the liquid/vapor interface. The keyhole resulting from this depression allows for multiple reflections and thus increases beam absorption in the liquid

Real-time particle size analysis using focused beam reflectance measurement as a process analytical technology tool for a continuous granulation-drying-milling process.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Vijay; Taylor, Michael K; Mehrotra, Amit; Stagner, William C

2013-06-01

Focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) was used as a process analytical technology tool to perform inline real-time particle size analysis of a proprietary granulation manufactured using a continuous twin-screw granulation-drying-milling process. A significant relationship between D20, D50, and D80 length-weighted chord length and sieve particle size was observed with a p value of 0.05).

Development of technology for production of reduced fat processed cheese

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Torres Silva e Alves

2015-09-01

Full Text Available An increasing share of foods with reduced fat has been observed in the diet of the Brazilian population, a trend also seen in many other countries. In this context, our-aim was to study the manufacturing parameters and to develop a process to produce a spreadable processed cheese (requeijão cremoso with reduced fat content. In the first stage of this study, modifications were performed in the traditional manufacturing process of requeijão cremoso with regular fat content to produce a reduced fat product. During the second stage of this study, two reduced fat cheeses, with and withoutthe addition of whey protein concentrate (WPC were developed, both using JOHA S9 and JOHA PZ as emulsifying salts, resulting in four different formulations. The amounts of cream and water used in both products were calculated in order to obtain a final product with 10% fat and 33% total solids. The product which presented the best results was produced with curd obtained by direct acidification of skimmed milk heated at 68-70 ºC, using 1,3% emulsifying salt JOHA S9 in the melting process and 2% WPC 34% as a partial fat substitute, both calculated as a percentage of the amountof curd used as raw material. It was also important to add WPC 34% to the product at the first cooking step of the process (70 ºC, in order to obtain a final product withthe typical spreadable texture of the traditional requeijão cremoso.

Improving Image Matching by Reducing Surface Reflections Using Polarising Filter Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Conen, N.; Hastedt, H.; Kahmen, O.; Luhmann, T.

2018-05-01

In dense stereo matching applications surface reflections may lead to incorrect measurements and blunders in the resulting point cloud. To overcome the problem of disturbing reflexions polarising filters can be mounted on the camera lens and light source. Reflections in the images can be suppressed by crossing the polarising direction of the filters leading to homogeneous illuminated images and better matching results. However, the filter may influence the camera's orientation parameters as well as the measuring accuracy. To quantify these effects, a calibration and an accuracy analysis is conducted within a spatial test arrangement according to the German guideline VDI/VDE 2634.1 (2002) using a DSLR with and without polarising filter. In a second test, the interior orientation is analysed in more detail. The results do not show significant changes of the measuring accuracy in object space and only very small changes of the interior orientation (Δc ≤ 4 μm) with the polarising filter in use. Since in medical applications many tiny reflections are present and impede robust surface measurements, a prototypic trinocular endoscope is equipped with polarising technique. The interior and relative orientation is determined and analysed. The advantage of the polarising technique for medical image matching is shown in an experiment with a moistened pig kidney. The accuracy and completeness of the resulting point cloud can be improved clearly when using polarising filters. Furthermore, an accuracy analysis using a laser triangulation system is performed and the special reflection properties of metallic surfaces are presented.

IMPROVING IMAGE MATCHING BY REDUCING SURFACE REFLECTIONS USING POLARISING FILTER TECHNIQUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Conen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In dense stereo matching applications surface reflections may lead to incorrect measurements and blunders in the resulting point cloud. To overcome the problem of disturbing reflexions polarising filters can be mounted on the camera lens and light source. Reflections in the images can be suppressed by crossing the polarising direction of the filters leading to homogeneous illuminated images and better matching results. However, the filter may influence the camera’s orientation parameters as well as the measuring accuracy. To quantify these effects, a calibration and an accuracy analysis is conducted within a spatial test arrangement according to the German guideline VDI/VDE 2634.1 (2002 using a DSLR with and without polarising filter. In a second test, the interior orientation is analysed in more detail. The results do not show significant changes of the measuring accuracy in object space and only very small changes of the interior orientation (Δc ≤ 4 μm with the polarising filter in use. Since in medical applications many tiny reflections are present and impede robust surface measurements, a prototypic trinocular endoscope is equipped with polarising technique. The interior and relative orientation is determined and analysed. The advantage of the polarising technique for medical image matching is shown in an experiment with a moistened pig kidney. The accuracy and completeness of the resulting point cloud can be improved clearly when using polarising filters. Furthermore, an accuracy analysis using a laser triangulation system is performed and the special reflection properties of metallic surfaces are presented.

On image pre-processing for PIV of sinlge- and two-phase flows over reflecting objects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deen, N.G.; Willems, P.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.; Lammertink, Rob G.H.; Kemperman, Antonius J.B.; Wessling, Matthias; van der Meer, Walterus Gijsbertus Joseph

2010-01-01

A novel image pre-processing scheme for PIV of single- and two-phase flows over reflecting objects which does not require the use of additional hardware is discussed. The approach for single-phase flow consists of image normalization and intensity stretching followed by background subtraction. For

Reflections on Practical Approaches to Involving Children and Young People in the Data Analysis Process

Science.gov (United States)

Coad, Jane; Evans, Ruth

2008-01-01

This article reflects on key methodological issues emerging from children and young people's involvement in data analysis processes. We outline a pragmatic framework illustrating different approaches to engaging children, using two case studies of children's experiences of participating in data analysis. The article highlights methods of…

024 PP: MEANINGFUL AND ENGAGING, OR TOKENISTIC? REFLECTIONS ON COLLABORATIVE ENGAGEMENT IN THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING SEXUAL HEALTH INTERVENTIONS

Science.gov (United States)

Boydell, N; McDaid, L

2017-01-01

Working with non-academic partners and including participants, and other stakeholders, in the design and delivery of research is emerging as a critical element in the field of health research. As researchers based in an interdisciplinary team with a focus on the development of sexual health interventions, we have long recognised that engagement with individuals and communities is a critical part of the research process, and actively sought out opportunities to collaborate with non-academic partners with a view to ensuring that our work is relevant in the ‘real-world’. While the increasing call for ‘collaboration’, ‘patient and public involvement’ and ‘co-production’ is welcome, we recognise the possibility that without critical reflection on the part of the research team, such engagement can lack meaning for those being asked to participate, potentially reducing its value and risking it being perceived as tokenistic. In this paper we reflect on our experiences as qualitative researchers for whom a key role in interdisciplinary research teams has been undertaking a number of ‘patient public involvement’ projects with both young people and gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) to inform the development of sexual health interventions. We critically reflect on some of the challenges and opportunities involved in this form of ‘consultation’, and explore the ethical implications of engaging stakeholders in identifying issues they consider important as part of the design and delivery of future interventions, but which may not be considered either a priority or feasible.

The Learning Process of Supervisees Who Engage in the Reflecting Team Model within Group Supervision: A Grounded Theory Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Pender, Rebecca Lynn

2012-01-01

In recent years, counselor educators have begun to incorporate the use of the reflecting team process with the training of counselors. Specifically, the reflecting team has been used in didactic courses (Cox, 2003; Landis & Young, 1994; Harrawood, Wilde & Parmanand, 2011) and in supervision (Cox, 1997; Prest, Darden, & Keller, 1990;…

NONLINEAR REFLECTION PROCESS OF LINEARLY POLARIZED, BROADBAND ALFVÉN WAVES IN THE FAST SOLAR WIND

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shoda, M.; Yokoyama, T., E-mail: shoda@eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Department of Earth and Planetary Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)

2016-04-01

Using one-dimensional numerical simulations, we study the elementary process of Alfvén wave reflection in a uniform medium, including nonlinear effects. In the linear regime, Alfvén wave reflection is triggered only by the inhomogeneity of the medium, whereas in the nonlinear regime, it can occur via nonlinear wave–wave interactions. Such nonlinear reflection (backscattering) is typified by decay instability. In most studies of decay instabilities, the initial condition has been a circularly polarized Alfvén wave. In this study we consider a linearly polarized Alfvén wave, which drives density fluctuations by its magnetic pressure force. For generality, we also assume a broadband wave with a red-noise spectrum. In the data analysis, we decompose the fluctuations into characteristic variables using local eigenvectors, thus revealing the behaviors of the individual modes. Different from the circular-polarization case, we find that the wave steepening produces a new energy channel from the parent Alfvén wave to the backscattered one. Such nonlinear reflection explains the observed increasing energy ratio of the sunward to the anti-sunward Alfvénic fluctuations in the solar wind with distance against the dynamical alignment effect.

Process for reducing radioactive contamination in phosphogypsum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palmer, J.W.; Gaynor, J.C.

1983-01-01

In a process for reducing radioactive contamination of phosphogypsum, anhydrite crystals are obtained through dehydration of the phosphogypsum in strong sulfuric acid: a portion of the anhydrite crystals is converted to subtantially radiation free gypsum by crystallizing out on radiation free gypsum seed crystals. These coarse radiation free gypsum crystals are then separated from the small anhydrite crystal relics containing substantially all of the radioactive contamination

The neural evidence of the reflected appraisal process as a main path for learning about one's self-knowledge of personality.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xiaofan; Chen, Yu; Zhao, Yufang; Yang, Juan

2015-09-01

Self-knowledge has been defined as the accurate self-perceptions about how one typically thinks, feels, and behaves, and awareness of how those patterns are interpreted by others. Previous research has noted that the introspection and the reflected appraisal processes are two main avenues for learning about the self and that self-knowledge might be fully realized through the use of reflected appraisal from close others. However, due to the methodological difficulty in linking people's ratings on a trait to their behaviors, accuracy research using a behavioral criterion is quite limited. The current work examined the main source of learning about one's self-knowledge by investigating the time course of attention deployment both in the process of introspection and that of reflected appraisal. Twenty-five college students were first asked to rate their impressions of their classmates as well as a familiar other using personality-trait adjectives. Their electrophysiological data were then collected using the event-related potential (ERP) technology while they judged to which extent (1) an adjective can describe the self, (2) an adjective can describe a familiar other, (3) they agree with an adjective that their classmates believe can describe the self, and (4) they agree with an adjective that their classmates believe can describe a familiar other. Our electrophysiological data showed that classmates' positive evaluation of one's own trait elicited larger P2 than the positive self-evaluation of one's own trait. Further, classmates' negative evaluation of one's own trait elicited larger late positive component (LPC) than the negative self-evaluation of one's own trait. Results suggest that people allocate more attention to the process of reflected appraisal compared to the process of introspection, which further suggests that the reflected appraisal process might be the main source in learning about one's self-knowledge of personality. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B

Reflecting Team as an Evaluation/learning Instrument for Self-reflection of Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michling Malgorzata D.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Reflecting Team (RT is a method derived from systemic therapy in the 1980s by the social psychiatrist Tom Andersen. It is increasingly being used in training and evaluation contexts. The aim of the method is to create a space for the development of diverse perspectives and appropriate ideas and solutions in which the integrity of the students/customers/clients is preserved and the acceptance of proposals is facilitated. To this end, the systems involved (advice seekers, consultants, and observers enter a common process of alternately directed and non-directed communication. The RT is not only suitable to address communication problems in group work and other educational situations, but it can also help to consider the traditional teaching and learning processes in a reflective way. Reflecting teams can also significantly improve the feedback and quality of teaching and learning. The article deals with the use of RT in the context of the collective exchange of teaching staff with their students. It uses a problem as an evaluation form and learning instrument to reflect on their pedagogical approach and, at the same time, their relationship with students during the lessons. This is to present the RT method for collegial exchange (Process Flow: Advice-seeker, teacher, Interviewer, RT and their need for teacher reflection as well as the experience of self-efficacy (empowerment and self-sufficiency.

Reflective Processes: A Qualitative Study Exploring Early Learning Student Teacher Mentoring Experiences in Student Teaching Practicums

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Michelle M.

2013-01-01

This doctoral thesis explored mentoring in early learning teacher preparation programs. This study explored the reflective processes embedded in the work between student teachers and their mentors during early learning student teacher experiences at Washington State community and technical colleges. Schon's (1987a) concepts of…

IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROCESS OF PRODUCTION IN THE HEALTH OF WORKERS: SOME REFLECTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saulo Vasconcelos Rocha

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The work represents a conscious activity of human beings, fruit of the effort to transform the nature of products or services. The industrial revolution and how the relationship of work organization are modified resulting consequences on the health of the worker. The purpose of this paper is to present some reflections on the implications of the production process on the health of workers, addressing the discussion of management models of work. Based in analyzes of studies it was found that the methods of analysis of the work contributed to better understanding of the implications of the production process on the health of workers. All types of studies proposed found that working conditions can lead to wear biopsychic employees, becoming the main component illness.

Implications of the process of production in the health of workers: some reflections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saulo Vasconcelos Rocha

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The work represents a conscious activity of human beings, fruit of the effort to transform the nature of products or services. The industrial revolution and how the relationship of work organization are modified resulting consequences on the health of the worker. The purpose of this paper is to present some reflections on the implications of the production process on the health of workers, addressing the discussion of management models of work. Based in analyzes of studies it was found that the methods of analysis of the work contributed to better understanding of the implications of the production process on the health of workers. All types of studies proposed found that working conditions can lead to wear biopsychic employees, becoming the main component illness.

Born reflection kernel analysis and wave-equation reflection traveltime inversion in elastic media

KAUST Repository

Wang, Tengfei

2017-08-17

Elastic reflection waveform inversion (ERWI) utilize the reflections to update the low and intermediate wavenumbers in the deeper part of model. However, ERWI suffers from the cycle-skipping problem due to the objective function of waveform residual. Since traveltime information relates to the background model more linearly, we use the traveltime residuals as objective function to update background velocity model using wave equation reflected traveltime inversion (WERTI). The reflection kernel analysis shows that mode decomposition can suppress the artifacts in gradient calculation. We design a two-step inversion strategy, in which PP reflections are firstly used to invert P wave velocity (Vp), followed by S wave velocity (Vs) inversion with PS reflections. P/S separation of multi-component seismograms and spatial wave mode decomposition can reduce the nonlinearity of inversion effectively by selecting suitable P or S wave subsets for hierarchical inversion. Numerical example of Sigsbee2A model validates the effectiveness of the algorithms and strategies for elastic WERTI (E-WERTI).

REDUCING PROCESS VARIABILITY BY USING DMAIC MODEL: A CASE STUDY IN BANGLADESH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ripon Kumar Chakrabortty

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Now-a-day's many leading manufacturing industry have started to practice Six Sigma and Lean manufacturing concepts to boost up their productivity as well as quality of products. In this paper, the Six Sigma approach has been used to reduce process variability of a food processing industry in Bangladesh. DMAIC (Define,Measure, Analyze, Improve, & Control model has been used to implement the Six Sigma Philosophy. Five phases of the model have been structured step by step respectively. Different tools of Total Quality Management, Statistical Quality Control and Lean Manufacturing concepts likely Quality function deployment, P Control chart, Fish-bone diagram, Analytical Hierarchy Process, Pareto analysis have been used in different phases of the DMAIC model. The process variability have been tried to reduce by identify the root cause of defects and reducing it. The ultimate goal of this study is to make the process lean and increase the level of sigma.

General Self-Esteem of Adolescents from Ethnic Minorities in the Netherlands and the Reflected Appraisal Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Verkuyten, Maykel

1988-01-01

Examined lack of differences in general self-esteem between adolescents of ethnic minorities and Dutch adolescents, focusing on reflected appraisal process. Found significant relationship between general self-esteem and perceived evaluation of family members (and no such relationship with nonfamily members) for ethnic minority adolescents;…

Access is mainly a second-order process: SDT models whether phenomenally (first-order) conscious states are accessed by reflectively (second-order) conscious processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Snodgrass, Michael; Kalaida, Natasha; Winer, E Samuel

2009-06-01

Access can either be first-order or second-order. First order access concerns whether contents achieve representation in phenomenal consciousness at all; second-order access concerns whether phenomenally conscious contents are selected for metacognitive, higher order processing by reflective consciousness. When the optional and flexible nature of second-order access is kept in mind, there remain strong reasons to believe that exclusion failure can indeed isolate phenomenally conscious stimuli that are not so accessed. Irvine's [Irvine, E. (2009). Signal detection theory, the exclusion failure paradigm and weak consciousness-Evidence for the access/phenomenal distinction? Consciousness and Cognition.] partial access argument fails because exclusion failure is indeed due to lack of second-order access, not insufficient phenomenally conscious information. Further, the enable account conforms with both qualitative differences and subjective report, and is simpler than the endow account. Finally, although first-order access may be a distinct and important process, second-order access arguably reflects the core meaning of access generally.

Evaluating the outcomes and processes of a research-action partnership: The need for continuous reflective evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chantal Taylor

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background: The KwaZulu-Natal Sandstone Sourveld (KZNSS Research Programme is part of a collaborative, transdisciplinary research partnership between the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the eThekwini Municipality (EM, aimed at bridging the science-policy-practice gap. The research programme focuses on generating knowledge and capacity to support local land-use planning, management and policy development related to biodiversity and climate change issues. Objectives: The objectives were (1 to describe how a continuous reflective evaluation approach helped to better understand the research programme and its outcomes; and (2 to assess research outputs and outcomes, relevance of outcomes to the requirements of EM, and participants’ perceptions of the programme (both the outcomes and the process. Methods: The evaluation took a mixed methods approach, combining various quantitative and qualitative methods such as anonymous individual questionnaires, reflective exercises and group reflections. Results: The KZNSS programme was successful in capacity building and establishing a long-term partnership, but had lower scientific publication output and practice uptake than expected. Participants’ perceptions changed over time, with a decrease in the perceived success of addressing tangible research outcomes, and an increase in the perceived success of collaborative relationships in the partnership. Conclusion: Transdisciplinary partnerships can be a means of integrating research into policy and practice through knowledge exchange. An important lesson in the early stages of this partnership was to pay attention to the process and not only the outputs. The study highlights the importance of continuous participatory reflection and evaluation in such partnerships.

Feedback providing improvement strategies and reflection on feedback use: Effects on students' writing motivation, process, and performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duijnhouwer, H.; Prins, F.J.; Stokking, K.M.

2012-01-01

This study investigated the effects of feedback providing improvement strategies and a reflection assignment on students’ writing motivation, process, and performance. Students in the experimental feedback condition (n = 41) received feedback including improvement strategies, whereas students in the

Supporting Reflective Practices in Social Change Processes with the Dynamic Learning Agenda: An Example of Learning about the Process towards Disability Inclusive Development

Science.gov (United States)

van Veen, Saskia C.; de Wildt-Liesveld, Renée; Bunders, Joske F. G.; Regeer, Barbara J.

2014-01-01

Change processes are increasingly seen as the solution to entrenched (social) problems. However, change is difficult to realise while dealing with multiple actors, values, and approaches. (Inter)organisational learning is seen as a way to facilitate reflective practices in social change that support emergent changes, vicarious learning, and…

Process for reducing radioactive contamination in waste product gypsum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lange, P.H. Jr.

1979-01-01

A process is described for reducing the radioactive contamination in waste product gypsum in which waste product gypsum is reacted with a dilute sulfuric acid containing barium sulfate to form an acid slurry at an elevated temperature, the slurry is preferably cooled, the acid component is separated from the solid, and the resulting solid is separated into a fine fraction and a coarse fraction. The fine fraction predominates in barium sulfate and radioactive contamination. The coarse fraction predominates in a purified gypsum product of reduced radioactive contamination

Topology Optimization for Reducing Additive Manufacturing Processing Distortions

Science.gov (United States)

2017-12-01

distribution is unlimited. 1. Introduction Additive manufacturing (AM) is a production method that involves gradual, layer- by-layer building of material... design space—allowing the production of pre- viously unmanufacturable topologically optimized structures—constraints remain. One constraint, for...ARL-TR-8242•DEC 2017 US Army Research Laboratory Topology Optimization for ReducingAdditive Manufacturing ProcessingDistortions by Raymond A Wildman

Effect of black silicon disordered structures distribution on its wideband reduced reflectance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saab, D Abi; Mostarshedi, S; Basset, P; Protat, S; Angelescu, D; Richalot, E

2014-01-01

We present a simple and accurate model for the reflectance simulation of black silicon (BSi) based on the finite element method (FEM). Normalized-root-mean-square error (NRMSE) with experimental measurements below 0.25% has been obtained for wavelength range between 450 and 950 nm. The model is made of a four basic shape cell whose dimensions are extracted from an accurate topography of the BSi obtained by FIB-SEM tomography. Additional BSi modelling techniques were studied, which take into account the BSi irregular topography, demonstrating an important influence of the local structure height variation in the BSi surface spectral reflectance. (paper)

Neutral particle transport modeling with a reflective source in the plasma edge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valenti, M.E.

1992-01-01

A reflective source term is incorporated into the Boltzmann neutral particle transport equation to account for boundary reflection. This reflective neutral model is integrated over a uniform axis and subsequently discretized. The discrete two-dimensional equations are solved iteratively with a computer code. The results of the reflective neutral model computer code are benchmarked with the neutral particle transport code ONEDANT. The benchmark process demonstrates the validity of the reflective neutral model. The reflective neutral model is coupled to the Braams plasma particle and energy transport code. The coupled system generates self-consistent plasma edge transport solutions. These solutions, which utilize the transport equation are similar to solutions which utilize simple plasma edge neutral models when high recycle divertors are modeled. In the high recycle mode, the high electron density at the divertor plate reduces the mean free path of plate neutrals. Hence, the similarity in results. It is concluded that simple neutral models are sufficient for the analysis of high recycle power reactor edge plasmas. Low recycle edge plasmas were not examined

Reduced auditory processing capacity during vocalization in children with Selective Mutism.

Science.gov (United States)

Arie, Miri; Henkin, Yael; Lamy, Dominique; Tetin-Schneider, Simona; Apter, Alan; Sadeh, Avi; Bar-Haim, Yair

2007-02-01

Because abnormal Auditory Efferent Activity (AEA) is associated with auditory distortions during vocalization, we tested whether auditory processing is impaired during vocalization in children with Selective Mutism (SM). Participants were children with SM and abnormal AEA, children with SM and normal AEA, and normally speaking controls, who had to detect aurally presented target words embedded within word lists under two conditions: silence (single task), and while vocalizing (dual task). To ascertain specificity of auditory-vocal deficit, effects of concurrent vocalizing were also examined during a visual task. Children with SM and abnormal AEA showed impaired auditory processing during vocalization relative to children with SM and normal AEA, and relative to control children. This impairment is specific to the auditory modality and does not reflect difficulties in dual task per se. The data extends previous findings suggesting that deficient auditory processing is involved in speech selectivity in SM.

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for monitoring diabetic foot ulcer - A pilot study

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Suresh; Sujatha, N.; Narayanamurthy, V. B.; Seshadri, V.; Poddar, Richa

2014-02-01

Foot ulceration due to diabetes mellitus is a major problem affecting 12-25% of diabetic subjects in their lifetime. An untreated ulcer further gets infected which causes necrosis leading to amputation of lower extremities. Early identification of risk factors and treatment for these chronic wounds would reduce health care costs and improve the quality of life for people with diabetes. Recent clinical investigations have shown that a series of factors including reduced oxygen delivery and disturbed metabolism have been observed on patients with foot ulceration due to diabetes. Also, these factors can impair the wound healing process. Optical techniques based on diffuse reflectance spectroscopy provide characteristic spectral finger prints shed light on tissue oxygenation levels and morphological composition of a tissue. This study deals with the application of diffuse reflectance intensity ratios based on oxyhemoglobin bands (R542/R580), ratios of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin bands (R580/R555), total hemoglobin concentration and hemoglobin oxygen saturation between normal and diabetic foot ulcer sites. Preliminary results obtained are found to be promising indicating the application of reflectance spectroscopy in the assessment of foot ulcer healing.

Practical research on junior high school mathematics about students' learning processes : using 'reflective sheet' (the Math Journal) et al.

OpenAIRE

吉岡, 睦美; 重松, 敬一

2015-01-01

In this paper, we discuss the case study of mathematics education for Junior High School students' learning processes focusing students' metacognition and knowledge using 'Reflective Sheet' (the Math Journal) et al.. The metacognition is rather than direct action on the environment and the perception that target cognitive function and cognitive recognition of that, and say what happens in the mind. Especially, we use Reflective Sheet which is formed to check students' cognitive and metacognit...

Students’ Learning through Reflective Journaling

OpenAIRE

Alvyda Liuolienė; Regina Metiūnienė

2011-01-01

The aim of the article is to get acquainted with the types of journals used in education to help students to learn. The paper presents some ways of fostering student’s learning through reflective journaling. It also describes the key aspects of a new method ARRIVE cycle in connection with teachers preparation to use reflective journals in a classroom. The article also presents self-assessment in reflective journaling and students’ need to self-evaluate their learning process. Reflective journ...

Fast and low-temperature sintering of silver complex using oximes as a potential reducing agent for solution-processible, highly conductive electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Ji Hoon; Park, Su Bin; Kim, Ji Man; Han, Dae Sang; Chae, Jangwoo; Kwak, Jeonghun

2014-01-01

Highly conductive, solution-processed silver thin-films were obtained at a low sintering temperature of 100 °C in a short sintering time of 10 min by introducing oximes as a potential reductant for silver complex. The thermal properties and reducibility of three kinds of oximes, acetone oxime, 2-butanone oxime, and one dimethylglyoxime, were investigated as a reducing agent, and we found that the thermal decomposition product of oximes (ketones) accelerated the conversion of silver complex into highly conductive silver at low sintering temperature in a short time. Using the acetone oxime, the silver thin-film exhibited the lowest surface resistance (0.91 Ω sq −1 ) compared to those sing other oximes. The silver thin-film also showed a high reflectance of 97.8%, which is comparable to evaporated silver films. We also demonstrated inkjet printed silver patterns with the oxime-added silver complex inks. (paper)

Feedback Providing Improvement Strategies and Reflection on Feedback Use: Effects on Students' Writing Motivation, Process, and Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Duijnhouwer, Hendrien; Prins, Frans J.; Stokking, Karel M.

2012-01-01

This study investigated the effects of feedback providing improvement strategies and a reflection assignment on students' writing motivation, process, and performance. Students in the experimental feedback condition (n = 41) received feedback including improvement strategies, whereas students in the control feedback condition (n = 41) received…

Energy conservation by reducing process variability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wising, Ulrika; Lafourcade, Sebastien [Pepite S.A., Liege (Belgium); Mack, Philippe [Pepite Technologies Inc., Montreal (Canada)

2011-12-21

Energy conservation is becoming an increasingly important instrument to stay competitive in today is increasingly global market. Important investments have been made in infrastructure and personnel in order to improve the management of energy such as increased metering, energy dashboards, energy managers, etc. Despite these investments, the results have not materialized and there is still a significant potential to further reduce energy consumption. In this paper a new methodology will be presented that helps industry better operate existing assets in order to reduce energy consumption, without having to make capital investments. The methodology uses a combination of advanced data analysis tools and a specific implementation scheme that has lead to significant savings in industry. The advanced data analysis tools are used to analyze the variability of the process in order to assess when the plant has been operated well or not so well in the past. By finding the root causes of these variations and the key variables that can explain them, improved operating guidelines and models can be developed and implemented. The specific implementation scheme is an important part of the methodology as it involves the people operating the plant. Several user cases will be presented showing an energy conservation of between 10%-20% without capital investments necessary. (author)

Accelerated numerical processing of electronically recorded holograms with reduced speckle noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Trujillo, Carlos; Garcia-Sucerquia, Jorge

2013-09-01

The numerical reconstruction of digitally recorded holograms suffers from speckle noise. An accelerated method that uses general-purpose computing in graphics processing units to reduce that noise is shown. The proposed methodology utilizes parallelized algorithms to record, reconstruct, and superimpose multiple uncorrelated holograms of a static scene. For the best tradeoff between reduction of the speckle noise and processing time, the method records, reconstructs, and superimposes six holograms of 1024 × 1024 pixels in 68 ms; for this case, the methodology reduces the speckle noise by 58% compared with that exhibited by a single hologram. The fully parallelized method running on a commodity graphics processing unit is one order of magnitude faster than the same technique implemented on a regular CPU using its multithreading capabilities. Experimental results are shown to validate the proposal.

Concepts of increasing productivity and reducing the processing cost of machine parts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

О. С. Кленов

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The basic conditions to reduce the cost of processing technology and improve productivity through the use of modern cutting tools produced by leading foreign firms producing tools have been appraised from theory in the work. Theoretically, it has been found that an increase in the cost of processing varies according to extremum dependence, passing the minimum point. It is possible to reduce the minimum processing cost due to the increase of productivity using cutting edge tools, characterized by a high capacity for work in high cutting temperatures. The criterion showing the technological price cost minimum is the ratio of the expenditures on workers’ wages to the expenditures on the cutting tools, it being quite specific for various processing conditions. To analyze the possibilities of practical use of the proposed criterion, a complex of experimental researches of the technological prime cost and productivity of the processing with hard alloy cutting tools with wear-resistant coatings produced by the company «Iscar» has been carried out. It has been established that their use makes it possible by more than one half to reduce the labour consumption and overall costs as compared to the hard alloy cutting tools traditionally used in home industry. It has been shown that this effect is achieved by increasing the cutting speed and feed due to increased wear resistance and heat resistance of the «Iscar» company tools. It was established that it is much more possible to achieve low processing cost at milling than at turning. It was stated with regard to all major expenditures including the workers' wages, the cost of the cutting tools, equipment and other costs, allowing more correctly estimate the cost-effectiveness of mechanical processing. Experiments confirmed that the main condition for reducing the processing cost to its minimum value is to increase the processing performance through the use of a heat-resistant and wear-resistant cutting

Trait and state anxiety reduce the mere exposure effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra L Ladd

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The mere exposure effect refers to an affective preference elicited by exposure to previously unfamiliar items. Although it is a well-established finding, its mechanism remains uncertain, with some positing that it reflects affective processes and others positing that it reflects perceptual or motor fluency with repeated items. Here we examined whether individual differences in trait and state anxiety, which have been associated with the experience of emotion, influence the mere exposure effect. Participants’ trait (Study 1 and state (Study 2 anxiety were characterized with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Greater trait and state anxiety correlated with greater negative affect and lesser positive affect. In both experiments, greater anxiety was associated with a reduced mere exposure effect. Measures of fluency (response times at study and test were unrelated to the mere exposure effect. These findings support the role of affective processes in the mere exposure effect, and offer a new insight into the nature of anxiety such that anxiety is associated with a reduced experience of positive affect typically associated with familiarity.

Trait and state anxiety reduce the mere exposure effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Ladd, Sandra L; Gabrieli, John D E

2015-01-01

The mere exposure effect refers to an affective preference elicited by exposure to previously unfamiliar items. Although it is a well-established finding, its mechanism remains uncertain, with some positing that it reflects affective processes and others positing that it reflects perceptual or motor fluency with repeated items. Here we examined whether individual differences in trait and state anxiety, which have been associated with the experience of emotion, influence the mere exposure effect. Participants' trait (Study 1) and state (Study 2) anxiety were characterized with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Greater trait and state anxiety correlated with greater negative affect and lesser positive affect. In both experiments, greater anxiety was associated with a reduced mere exposure effect. Measures of fluency (response times at study and test) were unrelated to the mere exposure effect. These findings support the role of affective processes in the mere exposure effect, and offer a new insight into the nature of anxiety such that anxiety is associated with a reduced experience of positive affect typically associated with familiarity.

Reflection in Medical Diagnosis: A Literature Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Mamede

2017-06-01

Discussion: Reflective reasoning can be a powerful tool to reduce diagnostic errors and increase diagnostic performance. For this to happen, reflection should be triggered for diagnosis verification and needs to interfere with initial diagnostic reasoning, which requires confrontation with evidence from the case.

Influence of surface roughness on the reflective properties of snow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuravleva, Tatiana B.; Kokhanovsky, Alexander A.

2011-01-01

In this paper the influence of 3D effect on snow reflection function (SRF) and albedo is studied in the framework of the stochastic radiative transfer theory. In particular, the corresponding equations for the averaged intensity of reflected light are solved for the ensemble of realizations of the stochastic field κ(r), describing the distribution of 3D elements on the flat semi-infinite snow layer (SISL). The reflection from the underlying SISL is modeled using the solution of the 1D radiative transfer equation. The corresponding look-up tables were compiled beforehand and used in the simulation process. In accordance with the previous studies, it was found that the albedo of snow layer is reduced (in particular, in the infrared region), if 3D effects are taken into account. There is no such a reduction, if light absorption in snow is absent. The 3D effects may increase or decrease SRF depending on the sastrugi fraction and illumination/observation conditions.

MaMR: High-performance MapReduce programming model for material cloud applications

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Weipeng; Tong, Danyu; Wang, Yangang; Wang, Jingyuan; Liu, Yaqiu; Zhao, Peng

2017-02-01

With the increasing data size in materials science, existing programming models no longer satisfy the application requirements. MapReduce is a programming model that enables the easy development of scalable parallel applications to process big data on cloud computing systems. However, this model does not directly support the processing of multiple related data, and the processing performance does not reflect the advantages of cloud computing. To enhance the capability of workflow applications in material data processing, we defined a programming model for material cloud applications that supports multiple different Map and Reduce functions running concurrently based on hybrid share-memory BSP called MaMR. An optimized data sharing strategy to supply the shared data to the different Map and Reduce stages was also designed. We added a new merge phase to MapReduce that can efficiently merge data from the map and reduce modules. Experiments showed that the model and framework present effective performance improvements compared to previous work.

Infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy study of radiation-heterogeneous processes in the system of aluminum-hexane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gadzhieva, N.N.; Rimikhanova, A.N.; Garibov, A.A.

2004-01-01

Full text: Infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) was applied to study the regularities of radiation conversion of hexane on the surface of aluminum. The research object was the thin polished aluminum plate by mark of AD-00 with reflection coefficient R=0.8†0.85 in infrared range λ=2.2†15 μ . As adsorbate unsaturated vapors of spectroscopy clear hexane were used. The absorption of hexane (C 2 H 14 ) was being studied manometric at pressures P=(0.1†1.0)·10 2 Pa , what corresponded to monolayer value of 1-10. The samples were irradiated with γ-quanta of 60 Co with D=1.03 Gy·s -1 doze rate. Infrared reflection spectrum when linear-polarized radiation fall on the sample under angle ψ=10 o was measured by spectrophotometer 'Specord 71 JR' in diapason of 4000-650cm -1 at the temperature by mean of special reflecting arrangements. Formation of molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) and other gaseous products of decomposition were controlled by chromotographical and infrared spectroscopical methods. The analysis of hexane infrared absorption spectra after radiation-stimulated adsorption on the surface of aluminum, points out the formation of H-bonded hydrocarbon complex ( ν∼2680cm -1 ) with much loosening of C-H bond (the molecular form of absorption) and the possibility of proceeding dissociative absorption with formation of metal-alkyls (ν∼2880, 2920, 2970 cm -1 ). Probability of the last mentioned process, which proceeds in the most defective centers, increases with increasing of γ-radiation doze. It was established that the radiation processes in hetero system Al-ads.C 6 H 14 accelerate the radiolysis of hexane. At all these the radiation decomposition of hexane in hetero system Al-ads.C 6 H 14 is accompanied by formation the surface hydrides (ν∼1700-2000 cm -1 ), acetylene (ν∼3200-3300 cm -1 ), ethylene (ν∼980 cm -1 ), and also gaseous products of molecular hydrogen decomposition (H 2 ) and hydrocarbons C 1 -C 5 (bands with maxima 770, 790

Developmental prosopagnosia and super-recognition: no special role for surface reflectance processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Richard; Chatterjee, Garga; Nakayama, Ken

2012-01-01

Face recognition by normal subjects depends in roughly equal proportions on shape and surface reflectance cues, while object recognition depends predominantly on shape cues. It is possible that developmental prosopagnosics are deficient not in their ability to recognize faces per se, but rather in their ability to use reflectance cues. Similarly, super-recognizers' exceptional ability with face recognition may be a result of superior surface reflectance perception and memory. We tested this possibility by administering tests of face perception and face recognition in which only shape or reflectance cues are available to developmental prosopagnosics, super-recognizers, and control subjects. Face recognition ability and the relative use of shape and pigmentation were unrelated in all the tests. Subjects who were better at using shape or reflectance cues were also better at using the other type of cue. These results do not support the proposal that variation in surface reflectance perception ability is the underlying cause of variation in face recognition ability. Instead, these findings support the idea that face recognition ability is related to neural circuits using representations that integrate shape and pigmentation information. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Re-thinking reflection in supervision

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lystbæk, Christian Tang

The paper presents a socio-cultural perspective on supervision in professional education, which challenges the current reflective paradigm and move the debate on reflection in supervision in professional education and learning towards a recognition of context, power dynamics and ideological...... of reflective practice has been formalized by regulatory bodies as a way to develop the professionalism of both individual professional practitioners as students through continuing professional developmental processes. Consequently, reflection is often used as a `tool´ for personal and professional development...... al., 2010). This conceptual paper presents a critical, socio-cultural perspective on the current paradigm or dogma of reflective practice within supervision in professional education and learning. The purpose I to challenge the dogma and critically to analyze and move the debate on reflection...

Process solutions for reducing PR residue over non-planar wafer

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, C. H.; Huang, C. H.; Yang, Elvis; Yang, T. H.; Chen, K. C.; Lu, Chih-Yuan

2011-03-01

SAS (Self-Aligned Source) process has been widely adopted on manufacturing NOR Flash devices. To form the SAS structure, the compromise between small space patterning and sufficiently removing photo resist residue in topographical substrate has been a critical challenge as the device scaling down. In this study, photo simulation, layout optimization, resist processing and tri-layer materials were evaluated to form defect-free and highly extendible SAS structure for NOR Flash devices. Photo simulation suggested more coherent light source allowed the incident light to reach the trench bottom that facilitates the removal of photo resist. Mask bias also benefited the process latitude extension for residue-free SAS printing. In the photo resist processing, both lowering the SB (Soft Bake) and raising PEB (Post-Exposure Bake) temperature of photo resist were helpful to broaden the process window but the final pattern profile was not good enough. Thermal flow for pos-exposure pattern shrinkage achieved small CD (Critical Dimension) patterning with residue-free, however the materials loading effect is another issue to be addressed at memory array boundary. Tri-layer scheme demonstrated good results in terms of free from residue, better substrate reflectivity control, enabling smaller space printing to loosen overlay specification and minimizing the poly gate clipping defect. It was finally proposed to combine with etch effort to from the SAS structure. Besides it is also promising to extend to even smaller technology nodes.

Analysis of some methods for reduced rank Gaussian process regression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quinonero-Candela, J.; Rasmussen, Carl Edward

2005-01-01

While there is strong motivation for using Gaussian Processes (GPs) due to their excellent performance in regression and classification problems, their computational complexity makes them impractical when the size of the training set exceeds a few thousand cases. This has motivated the recent...... proliferation of a number of cost-effective approximations to GPs, both for classification and for regression. In this paper we analyze one popular approximation to GPs for regression: the reduced rank approximation. While generally GPs are equivalent to infinite linear models, we show that Reduced Rank...... Gaussian Processes (RRGPs) are equivalent to finite sparse linear models. We also introduce the concept of degenerate GPs and show that they correspond to inappropriate priors. We show how to modify the RRGP to prevent it from being degenerate at test time. Training RRGPs consists both in learning...

Reflection measurements of microwave absorbers

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Dirk E.; van der Neut, Cornelis A.

1988-12-01

A swept-frequency interferometer is described for making rapid, real-time assessments of localized inhomogeneities in planar microwave absorber panels. An aperture-matched exponential horn is used to reduce residual reflections in the system to about -37 dB. This residual reflection is adequate for making comparative measurements on planar absorber panels whose reflectivities usually fall in the -15 to -25 dB range. Reflectivity measurements on a variety of planar absorber panels show that multilayer Jaumann absorbers have the greatest inhomogeneity, while honeycomb absorbers generally have excellent homogeneity within a sheet and from sheet to sheet. The test setup is also used to measure the center frequencies of resonant absorbers. With directional couplers and aperture-matched exponential horns, the technique can be easily applied in the standard 2 to 40 GHz waveguide bands.

Dry etching technologies for reflective multilayer

Science.gov (United States)

Iino, Yoshinori; Karyu, Makoto; Ita, Hirotsugu; Kase, Yoshihisa; Yoshimori, Tomoaki; Muto, Makoto; Nonaka, Mikio; Iwami, Munenori

2012-11-01

We have developed a highly integrated methodology for patterning Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) mask, which has been highlighted for the lithography technique at the 14nm half-pitch generation and beyond. The EUV mask is characterized as a reflective-type mask which is completely different compared with conventional transparent-type of photo mask. And it requires not only patterning of absorber layer without damaging the underlying multi reflective layers (40 Si/Mo layers) but also etching multi reflective layers. In this case, the dry etch process has generally faced technical challenges such as the difficulties in CD control, etch damage to quartz substrate and low selectivity to the mask resist. Shibaura Mechatronics ARESTM mask etch system and its optimized etch process has already achieved the maximal etch performance at patterning two-layered absorber. And in this study, our process technologies of multi reflective layers will be evaluated by means of optimal combination of process gases and our optimized plasma produced by certain source power and bias power. When our ARES™ is used for multilayer etching, the user can choose to etch the absorber layer at the same time or etch only the multilayer.

MERIS Level-2 Reduced Resolution - OBPG Processing

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — MERIS is a programmable, medium-spectral resolution, imaging spectrometer operating in the solar reflective spectral range. Fifteen spectral bands can be selected by...

a Comparative Case Study of Reflection Seismic Imaging Method

Science.gov (United States)

Alamooti, M.; Aydin, A.

2017-12-01

Seismic imaging is the most common means of gathering information about subsurface structural features. The accuracy of seismic images may be highly variable depending on the complexity of the subsurface and on how seismic data is processed. One of the crucial steps in this process, especially in layered sequences with complicated structure, is the time and/or depth migration of seismic data.The primary purpose of the migration is to increase the spatial resolution of seismic images by repositioning the recorded seismic signal back to its original point of reflection in time/space, which enhances information about complex structure. In this study, our objective is to process a seismic data set (courtesy of the University of South Carolina) to generate an image on which the Magruder fault near Allendale SC can be clearly distinguished and its attitude can be accurately depicted. The data was gathered by common mid-point method with 60 geophones equally spaced along an about 550 m long traverse over a nearly flat ground. The results obtained from the application of different migration algorithms (including finite-difference and Kirchhoff) are compared in time and depth domains to investigate the efficiency of each algorithm in reducing the processing time and improving the accuracy of seismic images in reflecting the correct position of the Magruder fault.

Thinking and writing at Masters level: a reflective passage.

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, John

This article identifies key characteristics of Masters level writing and the underpinning relationship of these characteristics to reflective thought. Classical models of reflective writing are reviewed and their focus on reflection as a progressive process is debated. A linear model of reflection is proposed and its application to reflective writing for Masters level assessments is examined. The classical authors tend to present reflection as a process in which the outcomes of reflection becomes deeper at advanced levels. While this is an appropriate application of the concept of reflection for the traditional academic essay, it might not always be so appropriate for other more applied aspects of thinking and writing particularly in the development of advanced nursing practice. A linear model of reflective writing which offers a more pragmatic perspective on reflection is developed.

Reflect and learn together - when two supervisors interact in the learning support process of nurse education.

Science.gov (United States)

Berglund, Mia; Sjögren, Reet; Ekebergh, Margaretha

2012-03-01

To describe the importance of supervisors working together in supporting the learning process of nurse students through reflective caring science supervision. A supervision model has been developed in order to meet the need for interweaving theory and practice. The model is characterized by learning reflection in caring science. A unique aspect of the present project was that the student groups were led by a teacher and a nurse. Data were collected through interviews with the supervisors. The analysis was performed with a phenomenological approach. The results showed that theory and practice can be made more tangible and interwoven by using two supervisors in a dual supervision. The essential structure is built on the constituents 'Reflection as Learning Support', 'Interweaving Caring Science with the Patient's Narrative', 'The Student as a Learning Subject' and 'The Learning Environment of Supervision'. The study concludes that supervision in pairs provides unique possibilities for interweaving and developing theory and practice. The supervision model offers unique opportunities for cooperation, for the development of theory and practice and for the development of the professional roll of nurses and teachers. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Process monitoring using optical ultrasonic wave detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Telschow, K.L.; Walter, J.B.; Garcia, G.V.; Kunerth, D.C.

1989-01-01

Optical ultrasonic wave detection techniques are being developed for process monitoring. An important limitation on optical techniques is that the material surface, in materials processing applications, is usually not a specular reflector and in many cases is totally diffusely reflecting. This severely degrades the light collected by the detection optics, greatly reducing the intensity and randomly scattering the phase of the reflected light. A confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer, which is sensitive to the Doppler frequency shift resulting from the surface motion and not to the phase of the collected light, is well suited to detecting ultrasonic waves in diffusely reflecting materials. This paper describes the application of this detector to the real-time monitoring of the sintering of ceramic materials. 8 refs., 5 figs

Students’ Learning through Reflective Journaling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alvyda Liuolienė

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to get acquainted with the types of journals used in education to help students to learn. The paper presents some ways of fostering student’s learning through reflective journaling. It also describes the key aspects of a new method ARRIVE cycle in connection with teachers preparation to use reflective journals in a classroom. The article also presents self-assessment in reflective journaling and students’ need to self-evaluate their learning process. Reflective journaling as central to students’ self-evaluation is described as a means of fostering metacognition.

Neural activity associated with self-reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Herwig, Uwe; Kaffenberger, Tina; Schell, Caroline; Jäncke, Lutz; Brühl, Annette B

2012-05-24

Self-referential cognitions are important for self-monitoring and self-regulation. Previous studies have addressed the neural correlates of self-referential processes in response to or related to external stimuli. We here investigated brain activity associated with a short, exclusively mental process of self-reflection in the absence of external stimuli or behavioural requirements. Healthy subjects reflected either on themselves, a personally known or an unknown person during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The reflection period was initialized by a cue and followed by photographs of the respective persons (perception of pictures of oneself or the other person). Self-reflection, compared with reflecting on the other persons and to a major part also compared with perceiving photographs of one-self, was associated with more prominent dorsomedial and lateral prefrontal, insular, anterior and posterior cingulate activations. Whereas some of these areas showed activity in the "other"-conditions as well, self-selective characteristics were revealed in right dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortex for self-reflection; in anterior cingulate cortex for self-perception and in the left inferior parietal lobe for self-reflection and -perception. Altogether, cingulate, medial and lateral prefrontal, insular and inferior parietal regions show relevance for self-related cognitions, with in part self-specificity in terms of comparison with the known-, unknown- and perception-conditions. Notably, the results are obtained here without behavioural response supporting the reliability of this methodological approach of applying a solely mental intervention. We suggest considering the reported structures when investigating psychopathologically affected self-related processing.

Metabolomics reveals the mechanisms for the cardiotoxicity of Pinelliae Rhizoma and the toxicity-reducing effect of processing

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Tao; Tan, Yong; Tsui, Man-Shan; Yi, Hua; Fu, Xiu-Qiong; Li, Ting; Chan, Chi Leung; Guo, Hui; Li, Ya-Xi; Zhu, Pei-Li; Tse, Anfernee Kai Wing; Cao, Hui; Lu, Ai-Ping; Yu, Zhi-Ling

2016-10-01

Pinelliae Rhizoma (PR) is a commonly used Chinese medicinal herb, but it has been frequently reported about its toxicity. According to the traditional Chinese medicine theory, processing can reduce the toxicity of the herbs. Here, we aim to determine if processing reduces the toxicity of raw PR, and to explore the underlying mechanisms of raw PR-induced toxicities and the toxicity-reducing effect of processing. Biochemical and histopathological approaches were used to evaluate the toxicities of raw and processed PR. Rat serum metabolites were analyzed by LC-TOF-MS. Ingenuity pathway analysis of the metabolomics data highlighted the biological pathways and network functions involved in raw PR-induced toxicities and the toxicity-reducing effect of processing, which were verified by molecular approaches. Results showed that raw PR caused cardiotoxicity, and processing reduced the toxicity. Inhibition of mTOR signaling and activation of the TGF-β pathway contributed to raw PR-induced cardiotoxicity, and free radical scavenging might be responsible for the toxicity-reducing effect of processing. Our data shed new light on the mechanisms of raw PR-induced cardiotoxicity and the toxicity-reducing effect of processing. This study provides scientific justifications for the traditional processing theory of PR, and should help in optimizing the processing protocol and clinical combinational application of PR.

Reflection: A Socratic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Seggelen-Damen, Inge C M; Van Hezewijk, René; Helsdingen, Anne S; Wopereis, Iwan G J H

2017-12-01

Reflection is a fuzzy concept. In this article we reveal the paradoxes involved in studying the nature of reflection. Whereas some scholars emphasize its discursive nature, we go further and underline its resemblance to the self-biased dialogue Socrates had with the slave in Plato's Meno . The individual and internal nature of the reflection process creates difficulty for studying it validly and reliably. We focus on methodological issues and use Hans Linschoten's view of coupled systems to identify, analyze, and interpret empirical research on reflection. We argue that researchers and research participants can take on roles in several possible system couplings. Depending on who controls the manipulation of the stimulus, who controls the measuring instrument, who interprets the measurement and the response, different types of research questions can be answered. We conclude that reflection may be validly studied by combining different couplings of experimenter, manipulation, stimulus, participant, measurement, and response.

Lean manufacturing analysis to reduce waste on production process of fan products

Science.gov (United States)

Siregar, I.; Nasution, A. A.; Andayani, U.; Sari, R. M.; Syahputri, K.; Anizar

2018-02-01

This research is based on case study that being on electrical company. One of the products that will be researched is the fan, which when running the production process there is a time that is not value-added, among others, the removal of material which is not efficient in the raw materials and component molding fan. This study aims to reduce waste or non-value added activities and shorten the total lead time by using the tools Value Stream Mapping. Lean manufacturing methods used to analyze and reduce the non-value added activities, namely the value stream mapping analysis tools, process mapping activity with 5W1H, and tools 5 whys. Based on the research note that no value-added activities in the production process of a fan of 647.94 minutes of total lead time of 725.68 minutes. Process cycle efficiency in the production process indicates that the fan is still very low at 11%. While estimates of the repair showed a decrease in total lead time became 340.9 minutes and the process cycle efficiency is greater by 24%, which indicates that the production process has been better.

Effectiveness of a commonly-used technique for experimentally reducing plumage UV reflectance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korsten, P.; Limbourg, T.; Lessells, C.M.; Komdeur, J.

2007-01-01

Ultraviolet (UV) plumage is thought to be sexually selected through intra-sexual competition, female choice and differential allocation. Experimental manipulations of plumage UV reflectance are essential to demonstrate that mate choice or intra-sexual competition are causally related to UV

Effectiveness of a commonly-used technique for experimentally reducing plumage UV reflectance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korsten, Peter; Limbourg, Tobias; Lessells, Catherine M.; Komdeur, Jan

Ultraviolet (UV) plumage is thought to be sexually selected through intra-sexual competition, female choice and differential allocation. Experimental manipulations of plumage UV reflectance are essential to demonstrate that mate choice or intra-sexual competition are causally related to UV

Reduce of adherence problems in galvanised processes through data mining techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez de Pison, F. J.; Ordieres, J.; Pernia, A.; Alba, F.; Torre, V.

2007-01-01

This paper presents an example of the application of data mining techniques to obtain hidden knowledge from the historical data of a hot dip galvanizing process and to establish rules to improve quality in the final product and to reduce errors in the process. For this purpose, the tuning records of a hot dip galvanizing line where coils with adherence problems in the zinc coating had been identified were used as starting point. From the database of the process, the classical data mining approach was applied to obtain and analyze a number of decision trees hat classified two types of coils, i.e. those with the right adherence and those with irregular adherence. The variables and values that might have influenced the quality of the coating were extracted from these tress. Several rules that may be applied to reduce the number of faulty coils with adherence problems were also established. (Author) 24 refs

The Effects of Coaching Using a Reflective Framework on Early Childhood Science Teachers' Depth of Reflection and Change in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Bloomquist, Debra L.

This embedded-mixed methods study examined if the use of a reflective framework with guiding prompts could support early childhood science teachers in improving their reflective practice and subsequently changing their pedagogy. It further investigated whether type of cognitive coaching group, individual or collaborative, impacted teacher depth of reflection and change in practice. Data included teacher reflections that were rated using the Level of Reflection-On-Action Assessment, reflective codes and inductive themes, as well as videos of participants lessons coded using the SCIIENCE instrument. Findings demonstrated that through guided reflection, teachers developed reflective thinking skills, and through this reflection became more critical and began to improve their pedagogical practice. Further findings supported that collaborative cognitive coaching may not be the most effective professional development for all teachers; as some teachers in the study were found to have difficulty improving their reflectivity and thus their teaching practice. Based on these findings it is recommended that coaches and designers of professional development continue to use reflective frameworks with guiding prompts to support teachers in the reflective process, but take into consideration that coaching may need to be differentiated for the various reflective levels demonstrated by teachers. Future studies will be needed to establish why some teachers have difficulty with the reflective process and how coaches or designers of professional development can further assist these teachers in becoming more critical reflectors.

Acting in Good Time – Conceptual Reflections on the Sequencing of Political Reform Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jürgen Beyer

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Thus far, the sequencing of political reform processes has been discussed on a separate basis in the context of different scientific debates. Existing analysis in macroeconomics and democracy theory focuses on shock-therapeutic versus gradual reform policies, the succession of specific reform steps or the right timing of reforms. An analytical approach to sequences has been elaborated. Theoretical concepts of social change, which refer to path dependence or the punctuated development of historical sequences, have evolved in the context of institutionalist research. The present article summarises the state of research and extends it with conceptual reflections on the motivation of sequential political action, which can then serve as a starting point for differentiation between sequencing processes in further research.

Modeling and validation of multiple joint reflections for ultra- narrow gap laser welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milewski, J.; Keel, G. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); Sklar, E. [Opticad Corp., Santa Fe, New Mexico (United States)

1995-12-01

The effects of multiple internal reflections within a laser weld joint as a function of joint geometry and processing conditions have been characterized. A computer model utilizing optical ray tracing is used to predict the reflective propagation of laser beam energy focused into the narrow gap of a metal joint for the purpose of predicting the location of melting and coalescence which form the weld. The model allows quantitative analysis of the effects of changes to joint geometry, laser design, materials and processing variables. This analysis method is proposed as a way to enhance process efficiency and design laser welds which display deep penetration and high depth to width aspect ratios, reduced occurrence of defects and enhanced melting. Of particular interest to laser welding is the enhancement of energy coupling to highly reflective materials. The weld joint is designed to act as an optical element which propagates and concentrates the laser energy deep within the joint to be welded. Experimentation has shown that it is possible to produce welds using multiple passes to achieve deep penetration and high depth to width aspect ratios without the use of filler material. The enhanced laser melting and welding of aluminum has been demonstrated. Optimization through modeling and experimental validation has resulted in the development of a laser welding process variant we refer to as Ultra-Narrow Gap Laser Welding.

Reflective writing: the student nurse's perspective on reflective writing and poetry writing.

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, Dawn; Willis, Diane S

2015-07-01

Reflective writing is a mandatory part of nurse education but how students develop their skills and use reflection as part of their experiential learning remains relatively unknown. Understanding reflective writing in all forms from the perspective of a student nurse is therefore important. To explore the use of reflective writing and the use of poetry in pre-registered nursing students. A qualitative design was employed to explore reflective writing in pre-registered nursing students. A small university in Scotland. BSc (Hons) Adult and Mental Health Pre-registration Student Nurses. Two focus groups were conducted with 10 student nurses during March 2012. Data was analysed thematically using the framework of McCarthy (1999). Students found the process of reflective writing daunting but valued it over time. Current educational methods, such as assessing reflective accounts, often lead to the 'narrative' being watered down and the student feeling judged. Despite this, reflection made students feel responsible for their own learning and research on the topic. Some students felt the use of models of reflection constricting, whilst poetry freed up their expression allowing them to demonstrate the compassion for their patient under their care. Poetry writing gives students the opportunity for freedom of expression, personal satisfaction and a closer connection with their patients, which the more formal approach to reflective writing did not offer. There is a need for students to have a safe and supportive forum in which to express and have their experiences acknowledged without the fear of being judged. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Process Effectiveness to Reduce Risk

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, Christena C.

2017-01-01

It is well documented that government agencies do not have the same incentive as the private sector to focus on process effectiveness and continual improvement of those processes. It is also well documented whenever government agencies fail to deliver efficient, effective, consistent, and fair services to the citizens. In spite of the various "reinventing government" and "effectiveness initiatives" of the past decades, and in spite of the efforts on the part of many agencies to improve, government in general still lags behind industry in creating a culture of effective processes and systems. While the tragic events that unfolded recently in Flint, Michigan, teach us that running government "like a business" does not always take the needs of the citizenry into account, there are many lessons and techniques from the private sector that government agencies can use to improve. The incentive to improve, while mandated by various administrations1, needs to come from within the workforce, in order to effectively take root. The best, most effective incentive is to reduce, control or eliminate risk. Government agencies face some of the same risks as the private sector, while some are unique. While ISO 310002 has been around since 2009, risk has taken on increased visibility within the private sector with the advent of the emphasis on risk-based thinking in ISO 9001:20153. The relationship between risk-based thinking and effective processes is simple and direct. Those processes that are well thought out and standardized (i.e. Plan-Do-Check-Act), will have taken into account the applicable policy, statutory, regulatory, safety, quality and technical parameters, which may not occur to someone performing the process with minimal experience or training; and thus protect the employees, the public and the agency from statutory and regulatory violations; delay in providing services; non-delivery of services; harm to public or employee safety and health; cost overruns; breaches in

Reflecting reflection in supervision

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lystbæk, Christian Tang

associated with reflection and an exploration of alternative conceptions that view reflection within the context of settings which have a more group- and team-based orientation. Drawing on an action research project on health care supervision, the paper questions whether we should reject earlier views...... of reflection, rehabilitate them in order to capture broader connotations or move to new ways of regarding reflection that are more in keeping with not only reflective but also emotive, normative and formative views on supervision. The paper presents a critical perspective on supervision that challenge...... the current reflective paradigm I supervision and relate this to emotive, normative and formative views supervision. The paper is relevant for Nordic educational research into the supervision and guidance...

Reflection-Based Learning for Professional Ethical Formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Branch, William T; George, Maura

2017-04-01

One way practitioners learn ethics is by reflecting on experience. They may reflect in the moment (reflection-in-action) or afterwards (reflection-on-action). We illustrate how a teaching clinician may transform relationships with patients and teach person-centered care through reflective learning. We discuss reflective learning pedagogies and present two case examples of our preferred method, guided group reflection using narratives. This method fosters moral development alongside professional identity formation in students and advanced learners. Our method for reflective learning addresses and enables processing of the most pressing ethical issues that learners encounter in practice. © 2017 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

Denial of illness in schizophrenia as a disturbance of self-reflection, self-perception and insight.

Science.gov (United States)

Bedford, Nicholas J; David, Anthony S

2014-01-01

A substantial proportion of schizophrenia patients deny aspects of their illness to others, which may indicate a deeper disturbance of 'insight' and a self-reflection deficit. The present study used a 'levels-of-processing' mnemonic paradigm to examine whether such patients engage in particularly brief and shallow self-reflection during mental illness-related self-evaluation. 26 schizophrenia patients with either an overall acceptance or denial of their illness and 25 healthy controls made timed decisions about the self-descriptiveness, other-person-descriptiveness and phonological properties of mental illness traits, negative traits and positive traits, before completing surprise tests of retrieval for these traits. The acceptance patients and denial patients were particularly slow in their mental illness-related self-evaluation, indicating that they both found this exercise particularly difficult. Both patient groups displayed intact recognition but particularly reduced recall for self-evaluated traits in general, possibly indicating poor organisational processing during self-reflection. Lower recall for self-evaluated mental illness traits significantly correlated with higher denial of illness and higher illness-severity. Whilst explicit and implicit measures of self-perception corresponded in the healthy controls (who displayed an intact positive>negative 'self-positivity bias') and acceptance patients (who displayed a reduced self-positivity bias), the denial patients' self-positivity bias was explicitly intact but implicitly reduced. Schizophrenia patients, regardless of their illness-attitudes, have a particular deficit in recalling new self-related information that worsens with increasing denial of illness. This deficit may contribute towards rigid self-perception and disturbed self-awareness and insight in patients with denial of illness. © 2013.

Reduction of cross-polarized reflection to enhance dual-band absorption

Science.gov (United States)

Kundu, Debidas; Mohan, Akhilesh; Chakrabarty, Ajay

2016-11-01

In this paper, cross-polarized reflection from a periodic array of metal-dielectric-metal resonator units is reduced to improve its absorbing performance. Through this simple and typical example, it is shown that some reported absorbers are actually poor absorbers but efficient polarization converters, when the cross-polarized reflection is considered. Using a frequency selective surface, sandwiched between the top layer and the ground plane, the cross-polarized reflection is reduced by 7.2 dB at 5.672 GHz and 8.5 dB at 9.56 GHz, while negligibly affecting the co-polarized reflection reduction performance. The polarization conversion ratio is reduced from 90. 74% to 34.12% and 98.51% to 27.2% and total absorption is improved up to 80% from 26% and 21% around the two resonant frequencies. The reflection characteristics of the proposed absorber are quantitatively analyzed using interference theory, where the near field coupling of the resonant geometries and ground is taken into account. Measurement results show good agreement with both the numerically simulated and theoretical results.

The role of emotion in design reflection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hammer, D.K.; Reymen, I.M.M.J.; Mcdonagh, Deana; Hekkert, Paul; Van Erp, Jeroen; Gyi, Diane

2003-01-01

Reflection on design processes performed by designers is called design reflection. In our view, this kind of reflection aims at answering essential questions like “Is my design answering the stakeholder concerns?”, “Am I solving the essential problems or am I wasting time on irrelevant aspects?”,

Enabling Critical Reflection on Research Supervisory Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, Margot; Kayrooz, Carole

2004-01-01

This paper describes the development of an instrument--The Reflective Supervisor Questionnaire (RSQ). The RSQ maps the domain of research supervisory practice as a facilitative process involving educational tasks and activities. It is designed to assist research supervisors explore, by means of self-reflection and reflection on feedback from…

See, reflect, learn more: qualitative analysis of breaking bad news reflective narratives.

Science.gov (United States)

Karnieli-Miller, Orit; Palombo, Michal; Meitar, Dafna

2018-05-01

Breaking bad news (BBN) is a challenge that requires multiple professional competencies. BBN teaching often includes didactic and group role-playing sessions. Both are useful and important, but exclude another critical component of students' learning: day-to-day role-model observation in the clinics. Given the importance of observation and the potential benefit of reflective writing in teaching, we have incorporated reflective writing into our BBN course. The aim of this study was to enhance our understanding of the learning potential in reflective writing about BBN encounters and the ability to identify components that inhibit this learning. This was a systematic qualitative immersion/crystallization analysis of 166 randomly selected BBN narratives written by 83 senior medical students. We analysed the narratives in an iterative consensus-building process to identify the issues discussed, the lessons learned and the enhanced understanding of BBN. Having previously been unaware of, not invited to or having avoided BBN encounters, the mandatory assignment led students to search for or ask their mentors to join them in BBN encounters. Observation and reflective writing enhanced students' awareness that 'bad news' is relative and subjective, while shedding light on patients', families', physicians' and their own experiences and needs, revealing the importance of the different components of the BBN protocol. We identified diversity among the narratives and the extent of students' learning. Narrative writing provided students with an opportunity for a deliberative learning process. This led to deeper understanding of BBN encounters, of how to apply the newly taught protocol, or of the need for it. This process connected the formal and informal or hidden curricula. To maximise learning through reflective writing, students should be encouraged to write in detail about a recent observed encounter, analyse it according to the protocol, address different participants

Guided wave imaging of oblique reflecting interfaces in pipes using common-source synthetic focusing

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Zeqing; Sun, Anyu; Ju, Bing-Feng

2018-04-01

Cross-mode-family mode conversion and secondary reflection of guided waves in pipes complicate the processing of guided waves signals, and can cause false detection. In this paper, filters operating in the spectral domain of wavenumber, circumferential order and frequency are designed to suppress the signal components of unwanted mode-family and unwanted traveling direction. Common-source synthetic focusing is used to reconstruct defect images from the guided wave signals. Simulations of the reflections from linear oblique defects and a semicircle defect are separately implemented. Defect images, which are reconstructed from the simulation results under different excitation conditions, are comparatively studied in terms of axial resolution, reflection amplitude, detectable oblique angle and so on. Further, the proposed method is experimentally validated by detecting linear cracks with various oblique angles (10-40°). The proposed method relies on the guided wave signals that are captured during 2-D scanning of a cylindrical area on the pipe. The redundancy of the signals is analyzed to reduce the time-consumption of the scanning process and to enhance the practicability of the proposed method.

Apathy and Reduced Speed of Processing Underlie Decline in Verbal Fluency following DBS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer A. Foley

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Reduced verbal fluency is a strikingly uniform finding following deep brain stimulation (DBS for Parkinson’s disease (PD. The precise cognitive mechanism underlying this reduction remains unclear, but theories have suggested reduced motivation, linguistic skill, and/or executive function. It is of note, however, that previous reports have failed to consider the potential role of any changes in speed of processing. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine verbal fluency changes with a particular focus on the role of cognitive speed. Method. In this study, 28 patients with PD completed measures of verbal fluency, motivation, language, executive functioning, and speed of processing, before and after DBS. Results. As expected, there was a marked decline in verbal fluency but also in a timed test of executive functions and two measures of speed of processing. Verbal fluency decline was associated with markers of linguistic and executive functioning, but not after speed of processing was statistically controlled for. In contrast, greater decline in verbal fluency was associated with higher levels of apathy at baseline, which was not associated with changes in cognitive speed. Discussion. Reduced generativity and processing speed may account for the marked reduction in verbal fluency commonly observed following DBS.

Apathy and Reduced Speed of Processing Underlie Decline in Verbal Fluency following DBS

Science.gov (United States)

Foltynie, Tom; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Hyam, Jonathan A.; Limousin, Patricia

2017-01-01

Objective. Reduced verbal fluency is a strikingly uniform finding following deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD). The precise cognitive mechanism underlying this reduction remains unclear, but theories have suggested reduced motivation, linguistic skill, and/or executive function. It is of note, however, that previous reports have failed to consider the potential role of any changes in speed of processing. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine verbal fluency changes with a particular focus on the role of cognitive speed. Method. In this study, 28 patients with PD completed measures of verbal fluency, motivation, language, executive functioning, and speed of processing, before and after DBS. Results. As expected, there was a marked decline in verbal fluency but also in a timed test of executive functions and two measures of speed of processing. Verbal fluency decline was associated with markers of linguistic and executive functioning, but not after speed of processing was statistically controlled for. In contrast, greater decline in verbal fluency was associated with higher levels of apathy at baseline, which was not associated with changes in cognitive speed. Discussion. Reduced generativity and processing speed may account for the marked reduction in verbal fluency commonly observed following DBS. PMID:28408788

Apathy and Reduced Speed of Processing Underlie Decline in Verbal Fluency following DBS.

Science.gov (United States)

Foley, Jennifer A; Foltynie, Tom; Zrinzo, Ludvic; Hyam, Jonathan A; Limousin, Patricia; Cipolotti, Lisa

2017-01-01

Objective . Reduced verbal fluency is a strikingly uniform finding following deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease (PD). The precise cognitive mechanism underlying this reduction remains unclear, but theories have suggested reduced motivation, linguistic skill, and/or executive function. It is of note, however, that previous reports have failed to consider the potential role of any changes in speed of processing. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine verbal fluency changes with a particular focus on the role of cognitive speed. Method . In this study, 28 patients with PD completed measures of verbal fluency, motivation, language, executive functioning, and speed of processing, before and after DBS. Results . As expected, there was a marked decline in verbal fluency but also in a timed test of executive functions and two measures of speed of processing. Verbal fluency decline was associated with markers of linguistic and executive functioning, but not after speed of processing was statistically controlled for. In contrast, greater decline in verbal fluency was associated with higher levels of apathy at baseline, which was not associated with changes in cognitive speed. Discussion . Reduced generativity and processing speed may account for the marked reduction in verbal fluency commonly observed following DBS.

A MapReduce Framework for DNA Sequencing Data Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samy Ghoneimy

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Genomics and Next Generation Sequencers (NGS like Illumina Hiseq produce data in the order of ‎‎200 billion base pairs in a single one-week run for a 60x human genome coverage, which ‎requires modern high-throughput experimental technologies that can ‎only be tackled with high performance computing (HPC and specialized software algorithms called ‎‎“short read aligners”. This paper focuses on the implementation of the DNA sequencing as a set of MapReduce programs that will accept a DNA data set as a FASTQ file and finally generate a VCF (variant call format file, which has variants for a given DNA data set. In this paper MapReduce/Hadoop along with Burrows-Wheeler Aligner (BWA, Sequence Alignment/Map (SAM ‎tools, are fully utilized to provide various utilities for manipulating alignments, including sorting, merging, indexing, ‎and generating alignments. The Map-Sort-Reduce process is designed to be suited for a Hadoop framework in ‎which each cluster is a traditional N-node Hadoop cluster to utilize all of the Hadoop features like HDFS, program ‎management and fault tolerance. The Map step performs multiple instances of the short read alignment algorithm ‎‎(BoWTie that run in parallel in Hadoop. The ordered list of the sequence reads are used as input tuples and the ‎output tuples are the alignments of the short reads. In the Reduce step many parallel instances of the Short ‎Oligonucleotide Analysis Package for SNP (SOAPsnp algorithm run in the cluster. Input tuples are sorted ‎alignments for a partition and the output tuples are SNP calls. Results are stored via HDFS, and then archived in ‎SOAPsnp format. ‎ The proposed framework enables extremely fast discovering somatic mutations, inferring population genetical ‎parameters, and performing association tests directly based on sequencing data without explicit genotyping or ‎linkage-based imputation. It also demonstrate that this method achieves comparable

Workplace diaries promoting reflective practice in radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, Naomi; Dempsey, Shane E.; Warren-Forward, Helen M.

2009-01-01

Competency standards usually describe that radiation therapists are expected to display characteristics of reflective practice. Many radiation therapists may be unequipped to undertake reflective practice or produce evidence of reflective practice due to limited understanding of the process. There are many models to guide practitioners in their reflective journeys, however, the literature describing reflective practice can appear confusing. This paper will discuss the role of reflective practice, provide a definition for reflective practice and define concepts central to reflective journaling or workplace diaries. The paper will offer practical advice to increase radiation therapists knowledge and skills in the use of reflective workplace diaries.

Workplace diaries promoting reflective practice in radiation therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chapman, Naomi [Medical Radiation Science, Faculty of Health Science, Box 16 Hunter Building, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308 (Australia)], E-mail: naomi.chapman@newcastle.edu.au; Dempsey, Shane E. [Medical Radiation Science, Faculty of Health Science, Box 16 Hunter Building, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308 (Australia)], E-mail: shane.e.dempsey@newcastle.edu.au; Warren-Forward, Helen M. [Medical Radiation Science, Faculty of Health Science, Box 16 Hunter Building, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308 (Australia)], E-mail: helen.warren-forward@newcastle.edu.au

2009-05-15

Competency standards usually describe that radiation therapists are expected to display characteristics of reflective practice. Many radiation therapists may be unequipped to undertake reflective practice or produce evidence of reflective practice due to limited understanding of the process. There are many models to guide practitioners in their reflective journeys, however, the literature describing reflective practice can appear confusing. This paper will discuss the role of reflective practice, provide a definition for reflective practice and define concepts central to reflective journaling or workplace diaries. The paper will offer practical advice to increase radiation therapists knowledge and skills in the use of reflective workplace diaries.

Individual differences in cognitive processing of interdependency information. The influence of social values on the cognitive processing of information in interdependency situations and the reflection on the temporal aspects of decision-making.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dehue, Francine Marie Jean

1993-01-01

The present thesis describes research on the influence of social values on the cognitive processing of information underlying decisions in interdependency situations. The research is based on the assumption that the cognitive processes are reflected in decision times. ... Zie: Summary

Reduction of short wavelength reflectance of multi-wall carbon nanotubes through ultraviolet laser irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Michelle S.; Simonds, Brian J.; Yung, Christopher S.; Conklin, Davis; Livigni, David J.; Oliva, Alberto Remesal; Lehman, John H.

2018-05-01

Multi-wall carbon nanotube coatings are used as broadband, low-reflectance absorbers for bolometric applications and for stray light control. They are also used as high emittance blackbody radiators. Irradiation of single wall carbon nanotubes with ultraviolet (UV) laser light has been shown to remove amorphous carbon debris, but there have been few investigations of the interaction of UV light with the more complex physics of multi-wall carbon nanotubes. We present measurements of reflectance and surface morphology before and after exposure of multi-wall carbon nanotube coatings to 248 nm UV laser light. We show that UV exposure reduces the reflectivity at wavelengths below 600 nm and present modeling of the thermal cycling the UV exposure causes at the surface of the carbon nanotubes. This effect can be used to flatten the spectral shape of the reflectivity curve of carbon nanotube absorber coatings used for broadband applications. Finally, we find that the effect of UV exposure depends on the nanotube growth process.

Learning psychology as a challenging process towards development as well as "studies as usual": a thematic analysis of medical students' reflective writing.

Science.gov (United States)

Semb, Olof; Kaiser, Niclas; Andersson, Sven-Olof; Sundbom, Elisabet

2014-01-01

Reflective writing in medical training has been shown to be most effective when combined with some form of personal meeting or dialog. During a course in medical psychology for medical students, reflective texts were followed up by an individual personal talk with a teacher from the course. Thematic analysis of the texts revealed four separate sub-themes: 1) the course has enabled me and the class to develop, which is good albeit arduous; 2) understanding myself is a resource in understanding people as well as knowing psychology; 3) the course provided me with new, purely intellectual skills as well as eye-openers; and 4) the receiving teacher is an integral part of my reflective writing. The main theme, capturing the students' writing process, concluded that students perceive the course as "Learning psychology as a challenging process towards development" as well as "studies as usual". Ethical, psychological, and pedagogical aspects are discussed in the paper.

Reflective Healthcare Systems : Micro-Cycle of Self-Reflection to empower users

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jimenez Garcia, J.C.; Romero Herrera, N.A.; Keyson, D.V.; Havinga, P.

2014-01-01

Data collection and reflection are considered an integrated process in Personal Informatics to help users take action towards changing behaviour. Facilitating the collection and visualization of large data sets has been a major technical challenge to guarantee meaningful and effortless information

Reflections on the Writing Process: Perspectives from Recent Hindi Novels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veronica Ghirardi

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Patricia Waugh defined metafiction as ‘fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artefact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality’ . Metafictional works, she suggested, are those which ‘explore a theory of writing fiction through the practice of writing fiction’. They are characterised by a tendency to self-reflexivity or, in other words, by a tendency to call attention to the writing process itself. In actual fact, even in dedicated critical works, it is not easy to find a clear and all-encompassing definition of metafiction. Generally, various types of texts are mentioned under this term: texts recounting their origin and birth, dealing with the history of narrative, recounting stories of writers. Metafiction is generally considered an important feature of postmodern literature. In the postmodern era pure realistic writing is perceived as a limitation and an unsuitable device to render the complexity of the contemporary world. As Baudrillard said, we no longer live in a world made of unequivocal meanings, we live in a world of signs. In this context authors, by reflecting on the writing process, foreground the fictional nature of their narratives. Because of this, the role of metafiction (which obviously cannot be considered as an innovation introduced by postmodernism has become predominant in the postmodern era. Metafiction can follow different paths to reach its aims: its experimental component can be evident and radical or can be limited to a few pages or lines, without unduly affecting the perception of the story. In some cases, the reader will find no reflections on the structure or on the textual functions of the novel, but on its artistic and intellectual meaning. Within the history of Hindi literature (referring here to Khari Boli Hindi only probably the most famous example of metafictional novel is Suraj ka Satvan Ghoda (The Sun�

Reflective Practice as a Fuel for Organizational Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kati Tikkamäki

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Learning theories and their interpretations in management research recognize the role of reflection as a central element in the learning process. There also exists a broad consensus that organizational learning (OL happens at three intertwined levels of the individual, the group and the organization. This tri-level analysis has been most influentially presented by Crossan, Lane and White (1999, as a premise for their 4I framework of OL. Though the 4I framework builds strongly on existing literature on OL, it does not address the role of reflection as a factor operating between the inputs and outcomes in 4I sub-processes. Though a large body of research exists regarding the notion of reflection and its importance in terms of OL, this has not been discussed in the specific context of the 4I framework. This article contributes to the development of the 4I model by discussing how reflective practice—on three levels and within 4I sub-processes—fuels the OL process. The argumentation is based on an extensive literature review in three dimensions of learning, illustrated with an empirical inquiry into three business organizations and their reflective practice. In addition, the aim is to increase the understanding of reflection as not only an individual or group process, but as an organized practice, enabled by the tools of management control.

Characterization of sulfate-reducing granular sludge in the SANI(®) process.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Tianwei; Wei, Li; Lu, Hui; Chui, Hokwong; Mackey, Hamish R; van Loosdrecht, Mark C M; Chen, Guanghao

2013-12-01

Hong Kong practices seawater toilet flushing covering 80% of the population. A sulfur cycle-based biological nitrogen removal process, the Sulfate reduction, Autotrophic denitrification and Nitrification Integrated (SANI(®)) process, had been developed to close the loop between the hybrid water supply and saline sewage treatment. To enhance this novel process, granulation of a Sulfate-Reducing Up-flow Sludge Bed (SRUSB) reactor has recently been conducted for organic removal and provision of electron donors (sulfide) for subsequent autotrophic denitrification, with a view to minimizing footprint and maximizing operation resilience. This further study was focused on the biological and physicochemical characteristics of the granular sulfate-reducing sludge. A lab-scale SRUSB reactor seeded with anaerobic digester sludge was operated with synthetic saline sewage for 368 days. At 1 h nominal hydraulic retention time (HRT) and 6.4 kg COD/m(3)-d organic loading rate, the SRUSB reactor achieved 90% COD and 75% sulfate removal efficiencies. Granular sludge was observed within 30 days, and became stable after 4 months of operation with diameters of 400-500 μm, SVI5 of 30 ml/g, and extracellular polymeric substances of 23 mg carbohydrate/g VSS. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis revealed that the granules were enriched with abundant sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) as compared with the seeding sludge. Pyrosequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA gene in the sulfate-reducing granules on day 90 indicated that the microbial community consisted of a diverse SRB genera, namely Desulfobulbus (18.1%), Desulfobacter (13.6%), Desulfomicrobium (5.6%), Desulfosarcina (0.73%) and Desulfovibrio (0.6%), accounting for 38.6% of total operational taxonomic units at genera level, with no methanogens detected. The microbial population and physicochemical properties of the granules well explained the excellent performance of the granular SRUSB reactor. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier

Reducing lumber thickness variation using real-time statistical process control

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas M. Young; Brian H. Bond; Jan Wiedenbeck

2002-01-01

A technology feasibility study for reducing lumber thickness variation was conducted from April 2001 until March 2002 at two sawmills located in the southern U.S. A real-time statistical process control (SPC) system was developed that featured Wonderware human machine interface technology (HMI) with distributed real-time control charts for all sawing centers and...

Reflections on Researcher Identity and Power: The Impact of Positionality on Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Processes and Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Muhammad, Michael; Wallerstein, Nina; Sussman, Andrew L; Avila, Magdalena; Belone, Lorenda; Duran, Bonnie

2015-11-01

The practice of community based participatory research (CBPR) has evolved over the past 20 years with the recognition that health equity is best achieved when academic researchers form collaborative partnerships with communities. This article theorizes the possibility that core principles of CBPR cannot be realistically applied unless unequal power relations are identified and addressed. It provides theoretical and empirical perspectives for understanding power, privilege, researcher identity and academic research team composition, and their effects on partnering processes and health disparity outcomes. The team's processes of conducting seven case studies of diverse partnerships in a national cross-site CBPR study are analyzed; the multi-disciplinary research team's self-reflections on identity and positionality are analyzed, privileging its combined racial, ethnic, and gendered life experiences, and integrating feminist and post-colonial theory into these reflections. Findings from the inquiry are shared, and incorporating academic researcher team identity is recommended as a core component of equalizing power distribution within CBPR.

Method of volume-reducing processing for radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Koei; Yamauchi, Noriyuki; Hirayama, Toshihiko.

1985-01-01

Purpose: To process the processing products of radioactive liquid wastes and burnable solid wastes produced from nuclear facilities into stable solidification products by heat melting. Method: At first, glass fiber wastes of contaminated air filters are charged in a melting furnace. Then, waste products obtained through drying, sintering, incineration, etc. are mixed with a proper amount of glass fibers and charged into the melting furnace. Both of the charged components are heated to a temperature at which the glass fibers are melted. The burnable materials are burnt out to provide a highly volume-reduced products. When the products are further heated to a temperature at which metals or metal oxides of a higher melting point than the glass fiber, the glass fibers and the metals or metal oxides are fused to each other to be combined in a molecular structure into more stabilized products. The products are excellent in strength, stability, durability and leaching resistance at ambient temperature. (Kamimura, M.)

Cortical reactions to verbal abuse: event-related brain potentials reflecting the processing of socially threatening words.

Science.gov (United States)

Wabnitz, Pascal; Martens, Ulla; Neuner, Frank

2012-09-12

Human information processing is sensitive to aversive stimuli, in particular to negative cues that indicate a threat to physical integrity. We investigated the extent to which these findings can be transferred to stimuli that are associated with a social rather than a physical threat. Event-related potentials were recorded during silent reading of neutral, positive, physically threatening, and socially threatening words, whereby socially threatening words were represented by swear words. We found facilitated processing of positive and physically threatening words in contrast to both neutral and socially threatening words at a first potential that emerged at about 120 ms after stimulus onset. At a semantic processing stage reflected by the N400, processing of all classes of affective words, including socially threatening words, differed from neutral words. We conclude that socially threatening words as well as neutral words capture more attentional resources than positive and physically threatening words at early stages. However, social threatening words are processed in a manner similar to other emotional words and different from neutral words at higher levels.

Suppression of Specular Reflections by Metasurface with Engineered Nonuniform Distribution of Reflection Phase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Mi Yang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We make preliminary investigations on a new approach to reducing radar cross section (RCS of conducting objects. This approach employs novel planar metasurfaces characterizing nonuniform distribution of reflection phase. The operation principle of this approach and the design rule of the associated metasurfaces are explained using a simplified theoretical model. We then present a design example of such metasurfaces, in which three-layer stacked square patches with variable sizes are utilized as the reflecting elements. The proposed RCS-reduction approach is verified by both numerical simulations and measurements on the example, under the assumption of normal plane wave incidence. It is observed that, in a fairly wide frequency band (from 3.6 to 5.5 GHz, the presented example is capable of suppressing the specular reflections of conducting plates significantly (by more than 7 dB for two orthogonal incident polarizations.

CMP reflection imaging via interferometry of distributed subsurface sources

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, D.; Brown, L. D.; Quiros, D. A.

2015-12-01

The theoretical foundations of recovering body wave energy via seismic interferometry are well established. However in practice, such recovery remains problematic. Here, synthetic seismograms computed for subsurface sources are used to evaluate the geometrical combinations of realistic ambient source and receiver distributions that result in useful recovery of virtual body waves. This study illustrates how surface receiver arrays that span a limited distribution suite of sources, can be processed to reproduce virtual shot gathers that result in CMP gathers which can be effectively stacked with traditional normal moveout corrections. To verify the feasibility of the approach in practice, seismic recordings of 50 aftershocks following the magnitude of 5.8 Virginia earthquake occurred in August, 2011 have been processed using seismic interferometry to produce seismic reflection images of the crustal structure above and beneath the aftershock cluster. Although monotonic noise proved to be problematic by significantly reducing the number of usable recordings, the edited dataset resulted in stacked seismic sections characterized by coherent reflections that resemble those seen on a nearby conventional reflection survey. In particular, "virtual" reflections at travel times of 3 to 4 seconds suggest reflector sat approximately 7 to 12 km depth that would seem to correspond to imbricate thrust structures formed during the Appalachian orogeny. The approach described here represents a promising new means of body wave imaging of 3D structure that can be applied to a wide array of geologic and energy problems. Unlike other imaging techniques using natural sources, this technique does not require precise source locations or times. It can thus exploit aftershocks too small for conventional analyses. This method can be applied to any type of microseismic cloud, whether tectonic, volcanic or man-made.

Soil nitrate reducing processes - drivers, mechanisms for spatial variation, and significance for nitrous oxide production.

Science.gov (United States)

Giles, Madeline; Morley, Nicholas; Baggs, Elizabeth M; Daniell, Tim J

2012-01-01

The microbial processes of denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) are two important nitrate reducing mechanisms in soil, which are responsible for the loss of nitrate ([Formula: see text]) and production of the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N(2)O). A number of factors are known to control these processes, including O(2) concentrations and moisture content, N, C, pH, and the size and community structure of nitrate reducing organisms responsible for the processes. There is an increasing understanding associated with many of these controls on flux through the nitrogen cycle in soil systems. However, there remains uncertainty about how the nitrate reducing communities are linked to environmental variables and the flux of products from these processes. The high spatial variability of environmental controls and microbial communities across small sub centimeter areas of soil may prove to be critical in determining why an understanding of the links between biotic and abiotic controls has proved elusive. This spatial effect is often overlooked as a driver of nitrate reducing processes. An increased knowledge of the effects of spatial heterogeneity in soil on nitrate reduction processes will be fundamental in understanding the drivers, location, and potential for N(2)O production from soils.

Studying properties of carbonaceous reducers and process of forming primary titanium slags

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. K. Balgabekov

2014-10-01

Full Text Available When smelting a rich titanium slag the most suitable are low-ash reducers, and the studies revealed the suitability for this purpose of special coke and coal. An important property of a reducer is its specific resistance. Therefore there were carried out studies for measuring electric resistance of briquettes consisting of ilmenite concentrate and different carbonaceous reducers. It is recommended to jointly smelt the briquetted and powdered burden (the amount of the powdered burden varies form 20 tо 50 %, this leads to the increase of technical-economic indicators of the process.

Diagnosis of an alternative ammonia process technology to reduce exergy losses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghannadzadeh, Ali; Sadeqzadeh, Majid

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Pinpointed non-efficient units by visualized exergetic ammonia process flowsheets. • Recommended ways towards sustainable ammonia productions based on exergy-loss sources. • Demonstrated applicability of the exergetic solutions panel on an ammonia process. - Abstract: Ammonia production through more efficient technologies can be achieved using exergy analysis. Ammonia production is one of the most important but also one of most energy consuming processes in the chemical industry. Based on a panel of solutions previously developed, this study helps to identify potential areas of improvement using an exergy analysis that covers all aspects of conventional ammonia synthesis and separation. The total internal and external exergy losses are calculated as 3,152 and 6,364 kJ/kg, respectively. The process is then divided into five main functional blocks based on their exergy losses. The reforming block contains the largest exergy loss (3,098 kJ/kg) and thus the largest potential for improvement including preheating cold feed through an economizer, developing technology towards isobaric mixing, and pressure drop reduction in the secondary reformer as the main contributors to the irreversibility (1,302 kJ/kg) in this block. The second largest exergy loss resides in the ammonia synthesis block (3,075 kJ/kg) where solutions such as reduced temperature rise across the compressor, proper compressor isolation, reducing undesired components such as argon in the reactor feed, and using lower temperatures for reactor outlet streams, are proposed to decrease the exergy losses. Throttling process in the syngas separator is the key contributing mechanism for the irreversibility (1,635 kJ/kg exergy losses) in the gas upgrading block. The exergy losses in the residual ammonia removal block (833 kJ/kg exergy losses) are mainly due to the stripper and the absorber column where a modified column design might be helpful. The highest exergy loss in the preheating block

Roll-to-roll fabrication of a low-reflectance transparent conducting oxide film with subwavelength structures

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, Ta-Hsin; Cheng, Kuei-Yuan; Hsieh, Chih-Wei; Takaya, Yasuhiro

2012-04-01

The transparent conducting oxide (TCO) film is a significant component in flat panel display, e-paper and touch panel. The tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) material is one of the most popular TCOs. However, ITO has high refractive index, so the phenomenon of high-reflectance limits the wide use of ITO. In this study, the structure and mass production process of new low-reflectance TCO film is verified. Laser interference lithography and the roll-to-roll UV embossing process are used to fabricate subwavelength structures on PET film; then ITO was deposited on structures by roll-to-roll sputtering. When the dimension of structures reaches 300 nm pitch, the optical reflectance and electrical performance of film are reduced to 8.1% at wavelength 550 nm and its transmittance rate is 84.3% at the same wavelength, and the sheet resistance of this film is 50.44 Ω/□. This result indicates that the new TCO proposed in this study is suitable for touch panel and other display applications.

Reducing RN Vacancy Rate: A Nursing Recruitment Office Process Improvement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Hisgen, Stephanie A; Page, Nancy E; Thornlow, Deirdre K; Merwin, Elizabeth I

2018-06-01

The aim of this study was to reduce the RN vacancy rate at an academic medical center by improving the hiring process in the Nursing Recruitment Office. Inability to fill RN positions can lead to higher vacancy rates and negatively impact staff and patient satisfaction, quality outcomes, and the organization's bottom line. The Model for Improvement was used to design and implement a process improvement project to improve the hiring process from time of interview through the position being filled. Number of days to interview and check references decreased significantly, but no change in overall time to hire and time to fill positions was noted. RN vacancy rate also decreased significantly. Nurse manager satisfaction with the hiring process increased significantly. Redesigning the recruitment process supported operational efficiencies of the organization related to RN recruitment.

Matter reflects Antimatter

CERN Document Server

Bianconi, A.; Cristiano, A.; Leali, M.; Lodi Rizzini, E.; Venturelli, L.; Zurlo, N.

2008-01-01

It is common belief that the interaction between antimatter and ordinary solid matter is dominated by annihilation. However, non-destructive processes may play a relevant role too. One century ago E. Rutherford wrote about the "diffuse reflection" of alpha and beta particles by thin layers of different metals: "The observations ... of Geiger and Marsden on the scattering of alpha rays indicate that some of the alpha particles must suffer a deflexion of more than a right angle at a single encounter.... It will be shown that the main deductions from the theory are independent of whether the central charge is supposed to be positive or negative". Although the theory of electromagnetic scattering is in first approximation independent of the relative sign of the colliding particles, in the case where projectile antiprotons are shot against a wall of solid matter the Rutherford diffuse reflection mechanism competes with the annihilation process. So it is not obvious at all that a relevant part of an antiproton beam...

Facilitating ethical reflection among scientists using the ethical matrix.

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Karsten Klint; Forsberg, Ellen-Marie; Gamborg, Christian; Millar, Kate; Sandøe, Peter

2011-09-01

Several studies have indicated that scientists are likely to have an outlook on both facts and values that are different to that of lay people in important ways. This is one significant reason it is currently believed that in order for scientists to exercise a reliable ethical reflection about their research it is necessary for them to engage in dialogue with other stakeholders. This paper reports on an exercise to encourage a group of scientists to reflect on ethical issues without the presence of external stakeholders. It reports on the use of a reflection process with scientists working in the area of animal disease genomics (mainly drawn from the EADGENE EC Network of Excellence). This reflection process was facilitated by using an ethical engagement framework, a modified version of the Ethical Matrix. As judged by two criteria, a qualitative assessment of the outcomes and the participants' own assessment of the process, this independent reflective exercise was deemed to be successful. The discussions demonstrated a high level of complexity and depth, with participants demonstrating a clear perception of uncertainties and the context in which their research operates. Reflection on stakeholder views and values appeared to be embedded within the discussions. The finding from this exercise seems to indicate that even without the involvement of the wider stakeholder community, valuable reflection and worthwhile discourse can be generated from ethical reflection processes involving only scienitific project partners. Hence, the previous assumption that direct stakeholder engagement is necessary for ethical reflection does not appear to hold true in all cases; however, other reasons for involving a broad group of stakeholders relating to governance and social accountability of science remain.

Insight in schizophrenia: involvement of self-reflection networks?

Science.gov (United States)

van der Meer, Lisette; de Vos, Annerieke E; Stiekema, Annemarie P M; Pijnenborg, Gerdina H M; van Tol, Marie-José; Nolen, Willem A; David, Anthony S; Aleman, André

2013-11-01

Impaired insight is a common feature in psychosis and an important predictor of variables such as functional outcome, prognosis, and treatment adherence. A cognitive process that may underlie insight in psychosis is self-reflection, or the conscious evaluation of one's traits and characteristics. The current study aims to investigate the neural correlates of self-reflective processing and its relationship with insight in schizophrenia. Forty-seven schizophrenia patients and 21 healthy controls performed a self-reflection task in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. The tasks comprised a self-reflection, close other-reflection, and a semantic (baseline) condition. Insight scores were obtained with the Schedule of Assessment of Insight Expanded. In addition, cognitive insight scores were obtained (Beck Cognitive Insight Scale [BCIS]). Schizophrenia patients demonstrated less activation in the posterior cingulate cortex in the self- and other-reflection conditions and less activation in the precuneus in the other-reflection condition compared with healthy controls. Better insight was associated with greater response in the inferior frontal gyrus, anterior insula, and inferior parietal lobule during self-reflection. In addition, better cognitive insight was associated with higher activation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex during self-reflection. In the current study, evidence for a relationship between self-reflection and insight in patients with schizophrenia was found in brain areas related to self-reflection, self/other distinction and source attribution. The findings support the rationale for a treatment that is currently under evaluation, which attempts to increase insight by enhancing self-reflection.

Faculty Processes Used to Evaluate Self-Reflective Journals in an Online RN-BSN Program

Science.gov (United States)

Polley-Payne, Kathleen E.

2017-01-01

Evaluation of student learning activities is part of the fabric of higher education. Expected by accrediting agencies within the health professions disciplines in curricula aimed at the development of reflective practitioners. Student self-reflecting journaling is a strategy frequently employed as a tool to develop reflective practitioners and…

Reduced waste generation technical work plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-05-01

The United States Department of Energy has established policies for avoiding plutonium losses to the waste streams and minimizing the generation of wastes produced at its nuclear facilities. This policy is evidenced in DOE Order 5820.2, which states ''Technical and administrative controls shall be directed towards reducing the gross volume of TRU waste generated and the amount of radioactivity in such waste.'' To comply with the DOE directive, the Defense Transuranic Waste Program (DTWP) supports and provides funding for specific research and development tasks at the various DOE sites to reduce the generation of waste. This document has been prepared to give an overview of current and past Reduced Waste Generation task activities which are to be based on technical and cost/benefit factors. The document is updated annually, or as needed, to reflect the status of program direction. Reduced Waste Generation (RWG) tasks encompass a wide range of goals which are basically oriented toward (1) avoiding the generation of waste, (2) changing processes or operations to reduce waste, (3) converting TRU waste into LLW by sorting or decontamination, and (4) reducing volumes through operations such as incineration or compaction

Seismic reflection response from cross-correlations of ambient vibrations on non-conventional hidrocarbon reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Huerta, F. V.; Granados, I.; Aguirre, J.; Carrera, R. Á.

2017-12-01

Nowadays, in hydrocarbon industry, there is a need to optimize and reduce exploration costs in the different types of reservoirs, motivating the community specialized in the search and development of alternative exploration geophysical methods. This study show the reflection response obtained from a shale gas / oil deposit through the method of seismic interferometry of ambient vibrations in combination with Wavelet analysis and conventional seismic reflection techniques (CMP & NMO). The method is to generate seismic responses from virtual sources through the process of cross-correlation of records of Ambient Seismic Vibrations (ASV), collected in different receivers. The seismic response obtained is interpreted as the response that would be measured in one of the receivers considering a virtual source in the other. The acquisition of ASV records was performed in northern of Mexico through semi-rectangular arrays of multi-component geophones with instrumental response of 10 Hz. The in-line distance between geophones was 40 m while in cross-line was 280 m, the sampling used during the data collection was 2 ms and the total duration of the records was 6 hours. The results show the reflection response of two lines in the in-line direction and two in the cross-line direction for which the continuity of coherent events have been identified and interpreted as reflectors. There is certainty that the events identified correspond to reflections because the time-frequency analysis performed with the Wavelet Transform has allowed to identify the frequency band in which there are body waves. On the other hand, the CMP and NMO techniques have allowed to emphasize and correct the reflection response obtained during the correlation processes in the frequency band of interest. The results of the processing and analysis of ASV records through the seismic interferometry method have allowed us to see interesting results in light of the cross-correlation process in combination with

Apparatus and process for removing a predetermined portion of reflective material from mirror

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Stephen J.; Steinmetz, Lloyd L.

1994-01-01

An apparatus and process are disclosed for removal of a stripe of soft reflective material of uniform width from the surface of a mirror by using a blade having a large included angle to inhibit curling of the blade during the cutting operation which could result in damage to the glass substrate of the mirror. The cutting blade is maintained at a low blade angle with respect to the mirror surface to produce minimal chipping along the cut edge and to minimize the force exerted on the coating normal to the glass surface which could deform the flat mirror. The mirror is mounted in a cutting mechanism containing a movable carriage on which the blade is mounted to provide very accurate straightness of the travel of the blade along the mirror.

Reflective teaching of medical communication skills with DiViDU: assessing the level of student reflection on recorded consultations with simulated patients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hulsman, R. L.; Harmsen, A. B.; Fabriek, M.

2009-01-01

Acquisition of effective, goal-oriented communication skills requires both practicing skills and reflective thinking. Reflection is a cyclic process of perceiving and analysing communication behaviour in terms of goals and effects and designing improved actions. Based on Korthagen's ALACT reflection

Ocean color remote sensing using polarization properties of reflected sunlight

Science.gov (United States)

Frouin, R.; Pouliquen, E.; Breon, F.-M.

1994-01-01

The effects of the atmosphere and surface on sunlight backscattered to space by the ocean may be substantially reduced by using the unpolarized component of reflectance instead of total reflectance. At 450 nm, a wavelength of interest in ocean color remote sensing, and for typical conditions, 45% of the unpolarized reflectance may originate from the water body instead of 20% of the total reflectance, which represents a gain of a factor 2.2 in useful signal for water composition retrieval. The best viewing geometries are adjacent to the glitter region; they correspond to scattering angles around 100 deg, but they may change slightly depending on the polarization characteristics of the aerosols. As aerosol optical thickness increases, the atmosphere becomes less efficient at polarizing sunlight, and the enhancement of the water body contribution to unpolarized reflectance is reduced. Since the perturbing effects are smaller on unpolarized reflectance, at least for some viewing geometries, they may be more easily corrected, leading to a more accurate water-leaving signal and, therefore, more accurate estimates of phytoplankton pigment concentration.

Direct Reflectance Measurements from Drones: Sensor Absolute Radiometric Calibration and System Tests for Forest Reflectance Characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Hakala, Teemu; Scott, Barry; Theocharous, Theo; Näsi, Roope; Suomalainen, Juha; Greenwell, Claire; Fox, Nigel

2018-01-01

Drone-based remote sensing has evolved rapidly in recent years. Miniaturized hyperspectral imaging sensors are becoming more common as they provide more abundant information of the object compared to traditional cameras. Reflectance is a physically defined object property and therefore often preferred output of the remote sensing data capture to be used in the further processes. Absolute calibration of the sensor provides a possibility for physical modelling of the imaging process and enables efficient procedures for reflectance correction. Our objective is to develop a method for direct reflectance measurements for drone-based remote sensing. It is based on an imaging spectrometer and irradiance spectrometer. This approach is highly attractive for many practical applications as it does not require in situ reflectance panels for converting the sensor radiance to ground reflectance factors. We performed SI-traceable spectral and radiance calibration of a tuneable Fabry-Pérot Interferometer -based (FPI) hyperspectral camera at the National Physical Laboratory NPL (Teddington, UK). The camera represents novel technology by collecting 2D format hyperspectral image cubes using time sequential spectral scanning principle. The radiance accuracy of different channels varied between ±4% when evaluated using independent test data, and linearity of the camera response was on average 0.9994. The spectral response calibration showed side peaks on several channels that were due to the multiple orders of interference of the FPI. The drone-based direct reflectance measurement system showed promising results with imagery collected over Wytham Forest (Oxford, UK). PMID:29751560

Direct Reflectance Measurements from Drones: Sensor Absolute Radiometric Calibration and System Tests for Forest Reflectance Characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Hakala, Teemu; Markelin, Lauri; Honkavaara, Eija; Scott, Barry; Theocharous, Theo; Nevalainen, Olli; Näsi, Roope; Suomalainen, Juha; Viljanen, Niko; Greenwell, Claire; Fox, Nigel

2018-05-03

Drone-based remote sensing has evolved rapidly in recent years. Miniaturized hyperspectral imaging sensors are becoming more common as they provide more abundant information of the object compared to traditional cameras. Reflectance is a physically defined object property and therefore often preferred output of the remote sensing data capture to be used in the further processes. Absolute calibration of the sensor provides a possibility for physical modelling of the imaging process and enables efficient procedures for reflectance correction. Our objective is to develop a method for direct reflectance measurements for drone-based remote sensing. It is based on an imaging spectrometer and irradiance spectrometer. This approach is highly attractive for many practical applications as it does not require in situ reflectance panels for converting the sensor radiance to ground reflectance factors. We performed SI-traceable spectral and radiance calibration of a tuneable Fabry-Pérot Interferometer -based (FPI) hyperspectral camera at the National Physical Laboratory NPL (Teddington, UK). The camera represents novel technology by collecting 2D format hyperspectral image cubes using time sequential spectral scanning principle. The radiance accuracy of different channels varied between ±4% when evaluated using independent test data, and linearity of the camera response was on average 0.9994. The spectral response calibration showed side peaks on several channels that were due to the multiple orders of interference of the FPI. The drone-based direct reflectance measurement system showed promising results with imagery collected over Wytham Forest (Oxford, UK).

Reflection of 32--2000 eV deuterium from carbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, M.; Thomas, E.W.

1982-01-01

Reflection of deuterium from carbon is measured by a technique based on the rise of partial pressure caused by the reflected particles. Data are presented for 32--2000 eV per deuteron incident energies and as a function of angle of incidence. The data are consistent with previous determinations at energies above 1000 eV. A systematic difference in energy dependence is found when the measurements for reflection of deuterium are compared on a reduced energy scale with MARLOWE computer simulations of hydrogen reflection

Repairing process models to reflect reality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fahland, D.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.; Barros, A.; Gal, A.; Kindler, E.

2012-01-01

Process mining techniques relate observed behavior (i.e., event logs) to modeled behavior (e.g., a BPMN model or a Petri net). Processes models can be discovered from event logs and conformance checking techniques can be used to detect and diagnose differences between observed and modeled behavior.

Reflecting on life, not on the mind – The concept of self-reflection without stability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Lasse Meinert

This paper presents a critique of the concept of “reflection” and a theoretical alternative. I’ll argue that current notions of reflections to a large extend deals only with “meta-reflection” or “self-reflection”, and that the main problem with such conceptualizations is their preoccupation...... with “stability”. When self-reflection is conceptualized as a second-order process charged with creating diachronic continuity in the person’s life, as it often is in both philosophy (Frankfurt, 1971), cognitive theory (Carver, Scheier & Fulton, 2008), and narrative theories of personality (McAdams, 2008......), “Stability” and how it is brought about, becomes the main concern. But presupposing “stability” as the main aim of self-reflection isolates reflection to a mental realm. Human beings are certainly self-conscious, but – following Dreier (1999), when he points out that reflection is not a distancing from...

Thoughts on Reflection (Editorial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise Koufogiannakis

2010-06-01

Full Text Available There has been some acknowledgement in the published literature that reflection is a crucial element of the evidence based library and information practice (EBLIP model we have adopted (Booth 2004, 2006; Grant 2007; Helliwell 2007. As we work through a problem and try to incorporate the best available evidence into our decision making, reflection is required at several stages, including the very identification of the problem through to our assessment of the process itself and what we have learned in order to inform future practice. However, reflection and reflective writing have not fully been integrated into the process we espouse, and very little has been done to look more closely at this element of the model and how it can be integrated into professional learning.In a recently published research article, Sen (2010 confirms the relationship between reflection and several aspects of professional practice. These include critical review and decision making, two aspects that are tied closely to the evidence based process. Sen notes: Students were more likely to show evidence of learning, self‐development, the ability to review issues crucially, awareness of their own mental functions, ability to make decision [sic] and being empowered when they had mastered the art of reflective practice and the more deeply analytical reflective writing. (p.84 EBLIP (the journal tries to incorporate elements of reflection within the articles we publish. While we clearly believe in the need for our profession to do quality research and publish that research so that it can be accessible to practitioners, we also know that research cannot be looked at in isolation. Our evidence summaries are one way of reflecting critically on previously published research, and in the same vein, our classics bring older research studies back to the foreground. This work needs to continue to be discussed and looked at for its impact on our profession.More directly, the Using

Learning psychology as a challenging process towards development as well as “studies as usual”: a thematic analysis of medical students’ reflective writing

Science.gov (United States)

Semb, Olof; Kaiser, Niclas; Andersson, Sven-Olof; Sundbom, Elisabet

2014-01-01

Reflective writing in medical training has been shown to be most effective when combined with some form of personal meeting or dialog. During a course in medical psychology for medical students, reflective texts were followed up by an individual personal talk with a teacher from the course. Thematic analysis of the texts revealed four separate sub-themes: 1) the course has enabled me and the class to develop, which is good albeit arduous; 2) understanding myself is a resource in understanding people as well as knowing psychology; 3) the course provided me with new, purely intellectual skills as well as eye-openers; and 4) the receiving teacher is an integral part of my reflective writing. The main theme, capturing the students’ writing process, concluded that students perceive the course as “Learning psychology as a challenging process towards development” as well as “studies as usual”. Ethical, psychological, and pedagogical aspects are discussed in the paper. PMID:25540601

Altered functional connectivity during self- and close other-reflection in patients with bipolar disorder with past psychosis and patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Liwen; Vander Meer, Lisette; Opmeer, Esther M; Marsman, Jan-Bernard C; Ruhé, Henricus G; Aleman, André

2016-12-01

Disturbances in implicit self-processing have been reported both in psychotic patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia. It remains unclear whether these two psychotic disorders show disturbed functional connectivity during explicit self-reflection, which is associated with social functioning and illness symptoms. Therefore, we investigated functional connectivity during explicit self-reflection in BD with past psychosis and schizophrenia. Twenty-three BD-patients, 17 schizophrenia-patients and 21 health controls (HC) performed a self-reflection task, including the conditions self-reflection, close other-reflection and semantic control. Functional connectivity was investigated with generalized psycho-physiological interaction (gPPI). During self-reflection compared to semantic, BD-patients had decreased connectivity between several cortical-midline structures (CMS) nodes (i.e., anterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex), the insula and the head of the caudate while HC showed increased connectivities. Schizophrenia-patients, during close other-reflection compared to semantic, demonstrated reduced ventral-anterior insula-precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) functional connectivity, whereas this was increased in HC. There were no differences between BD and schizophrenia during self- and close other-reflection. We propose that decreased functional connectivity between the CMS nodes/insula and head of the caudate in BD-patients may imply a reduced involvement of the motivational system during self-reflection; and the reduced functional connectivity between the ventral-anterior insula and precuneus/PCC during close other-reflection in schizophrenia-patients may subserve difficulties in information integration of autobiographical memory and emotional awareness in relation to close others. These distinctive impaired patterns of functional connectivity in BD and schizophrenia (compared to HC) deserve further investigation to determine their

Using reflective journaling to improve the orientation of graduate nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Lepianka, Julie Elizabeth

2014-08-01

Reflective journaling is valuable in improving critical thinking and problem solving in nursing students. Incorporating reflective journaling into the orientation process with new nursing graduates may decrease anxiety during this challenging transition while continuing to improve critical thinking. Engaging graduate nurses in reflective journaling during the orientation process may result in more satisfied, competent nurses overall. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

Process analytical technology (PAT) in insect and mammalian cell culture processes: dielectric spectroscopy and focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM).

Science.gov (United States)

Druzinec, Damir; Weiss, Katja; Elseberg, Christiane; Salzig, Denise; Kraume, Matthias; Pörtner, Ralf; Czermak, Peter

2014-01-01

Modern bioprocesses demand for a careful definition of the critical process parameters (CPPs) already during the early stages of process development in order to ensure high-quality products and satisfactory yields. In this context, online monitoring tools can be applied to recognize unfavorable changes of CPPs during the production processes and to allow for early interventions in order to prevent losses of production batches due to quality issues. Process analytical technologies such as the dielectric spectroscopy or focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) are possible online monitoring tools, which can be applied to monitor cell growth as well as morphological changes. Since the dielectric spectroscopy only captures cells with intact cell membranes, even information about dead cells with ruptured or leaking cell membranes can be derived. The following chapter describes the application of dielectric spectroscopy on various virus-infected and non-infected cell lines with respect to adherent as well as suspension cultures in common stirred tank reactors. The adherent mammalian cell lines Vero (African green monkey kidney cells) and hMSC-TERT (telomerase-immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells) are thereby cultured on microcarrier, which provide the required growth surface and allow the cultivation of these cells even in dynamic culture systems. In turn, the insect-derived cell lines S2 and Sf21 are used as examples for cells typically cultured in suspension. Moreover, the FBRM technology as a further monitoring tool for cell culture applications has been included in this chapter using the example of Drosophila S2 insect cells.

Velocity Building by Reflection Waveform Inversion without Cycle-skipping

KAUST Repository

Guo, Qiang

2017-05-26

Reflection waveform inversion (RWI) provides estimation of low wavenumber model components using reflections generated from a migration/demigration process. The resulting model tends to be a good initial model for FWI. In fact, the optimization images to combine the migration velocity analysis (MVA) objectives (given here by RWI) and the FWI ones. However, RWI may still encounter cycle-skipping at far offsets if the velocity model is highly inaccurate. Similar to MVA, RWI is devoted to focusing reflection data to its true image positions, yet because of the cycle skipping potential we tend to initially use only near offsets. To make the inversion procedure more robust, we introduce the extended image into our RWI. Extending the model perturbations (or image) allows us to better fit the data at larger offsets even with an inaccurate velocity. Thus, we implement a nested approach to optimize the velocity and extended image simultaneously using the objective function of RWI. We slowly reduce the extension, as the image becomes focused, to allow wavepath updates from far offsets to near as a natural progression from long wavelength updates to shorter ones. Applications on synthetic data demonstrate the effectiveness of our method without much additional cost to RWI.

Direct observation of ballistic Andreev reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Klapwijk, T. M.; Ryabchun, S. A.

2014-12-01

An overview is presented of experiments on ballistic electrical transport in inhomogeneous superconducting systems which are controlled by the process of Andreev reflection. The initial experiments based on the coexistence of a normal phase and a superconducting phase in the intermediate state led to the concept itself. It was followed by a focus on geometrically inhomogeneous systems like point contacts, which provided a very clear manifestation of the energy and direction dependence of the Andreev reflection process. The point contacts have recently evolved towards the atomic scale owing to the use of mechanical break-junctions, revealing a very detailed dependence of Andreev reflection on the macroscopic phase of the superconducting state. In present-day research, the superconducting in homogeneity is constructed by clean room technology and combines superconducting materials, for example, with low-dimensional materials and topological insulators. Alternatively, the superconductor is combined with nano-objects, such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, or semiconducting nanowires. Each of these "inhomogeneous systems" provides a very interesting range of properties, all rooted in some manifestation of Andreev reflection.

Electronic spreadsheet to acquire the reflectance from the TM and ETM+ Landsat images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio R. Formaggio

2005-08-01

Full Text Available The reflectance of agricultural cultures and other terrestrial surface "targets" is an intrinsic parameter of these targets, so in many situations, it must be used instead of the values of "gray levels" that is found in the satellite images. In order to get reflectance values, it is necessary to eliminate the atmospheric interference and to make a set of calculations that uses sensor parameters and information regarding the original image. The automation of this procedure has the advantage to speed up the process and to reduce the possibility of errors during calculations. The objective of this paper is to present an electronic spreadsheet that simplifies and automatizes the transformation of the digital numbers of the TM/Landsat-5 and ETM+/Landsat-7 images into reflectance. The method employed for atmospheric correction was the dark object subtraction (DOS. The electronic spreadsheet described here is freely available to users and can be downloaded at the following website: http://www.dsr.inpe.br/Calculo_Reflectancia.xls.

Spectral implementation of full waveform inversion based on reflections

KAUST Repository

Wu, Zedong; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

2014-01-01

Using the reflection imaging process as a source to model reflections for full waveform inversion (FWI), referred to as reflection FWI (RFWI), allows us to update the background component of the model, and avoid using the relatively costly migration

Insight in Schizophrenia: Involvement of Self-Reflection Networks?

Science.gov (United States)

de Vos, Annerieke E.

2013-01-01

Background: Impaired insight is a common feature in psychosis and an important predictor of variables such as functional outcome, prognosis, and treatment adherence. A cognitive process that may underlie insight in psychosis is self-reflection, or the conscious evaluation of one’s traits and characteristics. The current study aims to investigate the neural correlates of self-reflective processing and its relationship with insight in schizophrenia. Methods: Forty-seven schizophrenia patients and 21 healthy controls performed a self-reflection task in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. The tasks comprised a self-reflection, close other-reflection, and a semantic (baseline) condition. Insight scores were obtained with the Schedule of Assessment of Insight Expanded. In addition, cognitive insight scores were obtained (Beck Cognitive Insight Scale [BCIS]). Results: Schizophrenia patients demonstrated less activation in the posterior cingulate cortex in the self- and other-reflection conditions and less activation in the precuneus in the other-reflection condition compared with healthy controls. Better insight was associated with greater response in the inferior frontal gyrus, anterior insula, and inferior parietal lobule during self-reflection. In addition, better cognitive insight was associated with higher activation in ventromedial prefrontal cortex during self-reflection. Conclusion: In the current study, evidence for a relationship between self-reflection and insight in patients with schizophrenia was found in brain areas related to self-reflection, self/other distinction and source attribution. The findings support the rationale for a treatment that is currently under evaluation, which attempts to increase insight by enhancing self-reflection. PMID:23104865

Improvements in anatomy knowledge when utilizing a novel cyclical "Observe-Reflect-Draw-Edit-Repeat" learning process.

Science.gov (United States)

Backhouse, Mark; Fitzpatrick, Michael; Hutchinson, Joseph; Thandi, Charankumal S; Keenan, Iain D

2017-01-01

Innovative educational strategies can provide variety and enhance student learning while addressing complex logistical and financial issues facing modern anatomy education. Observe-Reflect-Draw-Edit-Repeat (ORDER), a novel cyclical artistic process, has been designed based on cognitivist and constructivist learning theories, and on processes of critical observation, reflection and drawing in anatomy learning. ORDER was initially investigated in the context of a compulsory first year surface anatomy practical (ORDER-SAP) at a United Kingdom medical school in which a cross-over trial with pre-post anatomy knowledge testing was utilized and student perceptions were identified. Despite positive perceptions of ORDER-SAP, medical student (n = 154) pre-post knowledge test scores were significantly greater (P learning methods (3.26, SD = ±2.25) than with ORDER-SAP (2.17, ±2.30). Based on these findings, ORDER was modified and evaluated in the context of an optional self-directed gross anatomy online interactive tutorial (ORDER-IT) for participating first year medical students (n = 55). Student performance was significantly greater (P  0.05) to those students without these characteristics. These findings will be of value to anatomy instructors seeking to engage students from diverse learning backgrounds in a research-led, innovative, time and cost-effective learning method, in the context of contrasting learning environments. Anat Sci Educ 10: 7-22. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

Main means for reducing the production costs in process of leaching uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Lang

2000-01-01

The production costs in process of leaching uranium have been reduced by controlling mixture ratio of crudes, milling particle size, liquid/solid mass ratio of leaching pulp, potential and residue acidity, and improving power equipment

Implementing reflection: insights from pre-registration mental health students.

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Donovan, Moira O

2007-08-01

Reflection and reflective practice continues to be contentious issues in nursing. The focus of this article is the use of reflection by pre-registration mental health students. The broad aim of this preliminary study was to discover student mental health nurses' perceptions of reflection as a learning strategy during clinical placement. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology [Charmaz, K., 2000. Grounded theory: Objectivist and Constructivist Methods. In: Denzin, N., Lincoln, Y. (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, second ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California], five students were interviewed individually in their clinical placements. Data analysis revealed three major categories: understanding the process of reflection, using reflection in clinical practice, and needing support and guidance. Findings indicated that students were primarily using reflection-on-action, but to varying extents. Overall, students felt that reflection facilitated their learning. Factors were discovered that both helped and hindered students' use of reflection. These included level of preparation to reflect, a limited culture of reflection and the level of support from preceptors, clinical staff, clinical placement co-ordinators, and lecturers. In conclusion, it appears that a collaborative approach between students, Health Service Providers and institutes of nursing is vital for the successful development and implementation of reflective learning strategies in clinical placement. Suggestions are made as to how a collaborative approach may be developed to enhance this process.

Reward reduces conflict by enhancing attentional control and biasing visual cortical processing.

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Padmala, Srikanth; Pessoa, Luiz

2011-11-01

How does motivation interact with cognitive control during challenging behavioral conditions? Here, we investigated the interactions between motivation and cognition during a response conflict task and tested a specific model of the effect of reward on cognitive processing. Behaviorally, participants exhibited reduced conflict during the reward versus no-reward condition. Brain imaging results revealed that a group of subcortical and fronto-parietal regions was robustly influenced by reward at cue processing and, importantly, that cue-related responses in fronto-parietal attentional regions were predictive of reduced conflict-related signals in the medial pFC (MPFC)/ACC during the upcoming target phase. Path analysis revealed that the relationship between cue responses in the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and interference-related responses in the MPFC during the subsequent target phase was mediated via signals in the left fusiform gyrus, which we linked to distractor-related processing. Finally, reward increased functional connectivity between the right IPS and both bilateral putamen and bilateral nucleus accumbens during the cue phase, a relationship that covaried with across-individual sensitivity to reward in the case of the right nucleus accumbens. Taken together, our findings are consistent with a model in which motivationally salient cues are employed to upregulate top-down control processes that bias the selection of visual information, thereby leading to more efficient stimulus processing during conflict conditions.

Liquid Atomization Induced by Pulse Laser Reflection underneath Liquid Surface

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Utsunomiya, Yuji; Kajiwara, Takashi; Nishiyama, Takashi; Nagayama, Kunihito; Kubota, Shiro; Nakahara, Motonao

2009-05-01

We observed a novel effect of pulse laser reflection at the interface between transparent materials with different refractive indices. The electric field intensity doubles when a laser beam is completely reflected from a material with a higher refractive index to a material with a lower index. This effect appreciably reduces pulse laser ablation threshold of transparent materials. We performed experiments to observe the entire ablation process for laser incidence on the water-air interface using pulse laser shadowgraphy with high-resolution film; the minimum laser fluence for laser ablation at the water-air interface was approximately 12-16 J/cm2. We confirmed that this laser ablation occurs only when the laser beam is incident on the water-air interface from water. Many slender liquid ligaments extend like a milk crown and seem to be atomized at the tip. Their detailed structures can be resolved only by pulse laser photography using high-resolution film.

EFFECTS OF FATLIQURING PROCESS ON LEATHERS COLOURED WITH IR REFLECTIVE DYES AND PIGMENTS

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MUTLU Mehmet Mete

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Black coloured materials and consumer goods are known to be heating up more, because they absorb sun radiation more than light colours. This heating is a problem for the users for black automotive or motorcycle leathers and also for dark shoes and boots which are exposed to sun heat. Human vision system can distinguish visible colours between the wavelengths of 390-700 nm. So reflecting the sun radiation in the infrared area of radiation spectrum higher than 700nm, is a solution for heating problem without affecting the visible colour. For this reason IR reflective dyes and pigments are designed. A leading Leather Chemical Company has developed an IR reflecting dyeing system for leather keeping the dark coloured leathers cooler under sun radiation. Additionally in theory, fat and water content of leather affects its heating properties. In this study, effect of natural, synthetic and waterproof fatliquoring systems on heating properties of leathers coloured with IR reflective dyes and pigments are investigated.

Reduced Syntactic Processing Efficiency in Older Adults During Sentence Comprehension

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Zude Zhu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Researchers have frequently reported an age-related decline in semantic processing during sentence comprehension. However, it remains unclear whether syntactic processing also declines or whether it remains constant as people age. In the present study, 26 younger adults and 20 older adults were recruited and matched in terms of working memory, general intelligence, verbal intelligence and fluency. They were then asked to make semantic acceptability judgments while completing a Chinese sentence reading task. The behavioral results revealed that the older adults had significantly lower accuracy on measures of semantic and syntactic processing compared to younger adults. Event-related potential (ERP results showed that during semantic processing, older adults had a significantly reduced amplitude and delayed peak latency of the N400 compared to the younger adults. During syntactic processing, older adults also showed delayed peak latency of the P600 relative to younger adults. Moreover, while P600 amplitude was comparable between the two age groups, larger P600 amplitude was associated with worse performance only in the older adults. Together, the behavioral and ERP data suggest that there is an age-related decline in both semantic and syntactic processing, with a trend toward lower efficiency in syntactic ability.

Personal Professional Reflection as Interdisciplinary Problem

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Rezvan Oksana

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Consideration of professional reflection as interdisciplinary problem is the necessary condition of quality analysis for personal professional becoming. Personal becoming in a profession is related to forming the necessary professional skills of a person, behaviour stereotypes which is the area of pedagogics. Reflection processes are inalienable part of self-knowledge of a person which result must lead to his self-perfection (including professional one and studying within the psychology increasingly. Thus the aim of the article is to ground the determination of professional reflection as an interdisciplinary problem in pedagogics and psychology.

Ethical conflicts and the process of reflection in undergraduate nursing students in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Flávia Regina Souza; Brehmer, Laura Cavalcanti de Farias; Vargas, Mara Ambrosina; Trombetta, Ana Paula; Silveira, Luciana Ramos; Drago, Laila

2015-06-01

Nursing students on clinical placements as part of their professional training are routinely faced with situations involving ethical conflicts. The initial act of perceiving a situation as causing an ethical dilemma is the result of both the students' personal values, drawn from their culture and families, and of the professional knowledge and values that they have acquired through training and experience. Nursing students' experiences on clinical placements in primary care settings were investigated in order to identify situations that they perceived as involving ethical conflict and describe the elements they took into consideration during their decision-making processes in these situations. The research design was qualitative descriptive case study. Around 50 students from three different intakes to a nursing degree answered a questionnaire and discussed it in focus groups. The study was designed in accordance with the principles guiding research with human beings and was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee. Synthesised into two principal axes: (a) ethical conflicts in primary care, linked with the domains of working processes, professional nursing ethics and human and social rights and (b) students' decision-making processes - realisation, reflection and intervention. The student nurses saw themselves both as actors and spectators in situations involving ethical problems and demanding moral deliberation, demonstrating the ability to base their arguments soundly. They tended to emphasise the possibilities offered by dialogue and that different ethical values must be respected to find fair solutions to ethical problems. © The Author(s) 2014.

High carbon ferro-chromium by self-reducing process: Fundamentals

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Adolfo Pillihuaman Zambrano

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Fe-Cr-C production is a very high electrical energy consuming process. When self-reducing agglomerates are used,it is expected to reduce up to 10% of this electrical energy. This paper presents the fundamental aspects of the reactions involved for reduction of chromites from self-reducing agglomerates. Brazilian chromite containing 41.2%Cr2O3 was mixed with petroleum coke and agglomerated with cement as the binder. The concept of “initial slag” was introduced and it was assumed that this “initial slag” is formed by fluxing agents, coke ash, silica, binder and only dissolution of 5% of the gangue from the chromite. This concept is important since the gangue of chromite is composed mainly of refractory oxides (MgO+Al2O3, which are difficult to dissolve into slag. The effects of “initial slag” composition, one with low liquidus temperature(~1700K and other with high liquidus temperature (~1750K were investigated. The mixture was pelletized, dried and submitted to a temperature of 1773K until completion of the reaction. The reaction fraction as a function of time was determined. The results show that pellets containing components with liquid slag phase formed at higher temperature presented significant better reduction behavior than pellet with the liquid slag phase formed at lower temperature. The scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that a liquid phase was formed but the pellet did not collapse and indicated that thecoalescence of the metallic phase depends on the dissolution of the pre-reduced particles of the chromite into slag.

Soil nitrate reducing processes – drivers, mechanisms for spatial variation, and significance for nitrous oxide production

Science.gov (United States)

Giles, Madeline; Morley, Nicholas; Baggs, Elizabeth M.; Daniell, Tim J.

2012-01-01

The microbial processes of denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) are two important nitrate reducing mechanisms in soil, which are responsible for the loss of nitrate (NO3−) and production of the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O). A number of factors are known to control these processes, including O2 concentrations and moisture content, N, C, pH, and the size and community structure of nitrate reducing organisms responsible for the processes. There is an increasing understanding associated with many of these controls on flux through the nitrogen cycle in soil systems. However, there remains uncertainty about how the nitrate reducing communities are linked to environmental variables and the flux of products from these processes. The high spatial variability of environmental controls and microbial communities across small sub centimeter areas of soil may prove to be critical in determining why an understanding of the links between biotic and abiotic controls has proved elusive. This spatial effect is often overlooked as a driver of nitrate reducing processes. An increased knowledge of the effects of spatial heterogeneity in soil on nitrate reduction processes will be fundamental in understanding the drivers, location, and potential for N2O production from soils. PMID:23264770

Soil nitrate reducing processes – drivers, mechanisms for spatial variation and significance for nitrous oxide production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madeline Eleanore Giles

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The microbial processes of denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA are two important nitrate reducing mechanisms in soil, which are responsible for the loss of nitrate (NO3-¬ and production of the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O. A number of factors are known to control these processes, including O2 concentrations and moisture content, N, C, pH and the size and community structure of nitrate reducing organisms responsible for the processes. There is an increasing understanding associated with many of these controls on flux through the nitrogen cycle in soil systems. However, there remains uncertainty about how the nitrate reducing communities are linked to environmental variables and the flux of products from these processes. The high spatial variability of environmental controls and microbial communities across small sub cm areas of soil may prove to be critical in determining why an understanding of the links between biotic and abiotic controls has proved elusive. This spatial effect is often overlooked as a driver of nitrate reducing processes. An increased knowledge of the effects of spatial heterogeneity in soil on nitrate reduction processes will be fundamental in understanding the drivers, location and potential for N2O production from soils.

ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESSING TO REDUCE SALT IN MEAT PRODUCTS

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E. K. Tunieva

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The world trends in table salt reduction in meat products contemplate the use of different methods for preservation of taste and consistency in finished products as well as shelf life prolongation. There are several approaches to a sodium chloride reduction in meat products. The paper presents a review of the foreign studies that give evidence of the possibility to maintain quality of traditional meat products produced with the reduced salt content. The studies in the field of salty taste perception established that a decrease in a salt crystal size to 20 µm enabled reducing an amount of added table salt due to an increase in the salty taste intensity in food products. Investigation of the compatibility of different taste directions is also interesting as one of the approaches to a sodium chloride reduction in food products. The use of water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w double emulsions allows controlling a release of encapsulated ingredients (salt, which enables enhancement of salty taste. The other alternative method of technological processing of meat raw material for reducing salt in meat products is the use of high pressure processing. This method has several advantages and allows not only an increase in the salty taste intensity, but also formation of a stable emulsion, an increase in water binding capacity of minced meat and extension of shelf-life.

The Reflective Learning Continuum: Reflecting on Reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Peltier, James W.; Hay, Amanda; Drago, William

2005-01-01

The importance of reflection to marketing educators is increasingly recognized. However, there is a lack of empirical research that considers reflection within the context of both the marketing and general business education literature. This article describes the use of an instrument that can be used to measure four identified levels of a…

Reflective Drawing as a Tool for Reflection in Design Research

Science.gov (United States)

Calvo, Mirian

2017-01-01

This article explores the role of drawing as a tool for reflection. It reports on a PhD research project that aims to identify and analyse the value that co-design processes can bring to participants and their communities. The research is associated with Leapfrog, a three-year project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).…

Compton Reflection in AGN with Simbol-X

Science.gov (United States)

Beckmann, V.; Courvoisier, T. J.-L.; Gehrels, N.; Lubiński, P.; Malzac, J.; Petrucci, P. O.; Shrader, C. R.; Soldi, S.

2009-05-01

AGN exhibit complex hard X-ray spectra. Our current understanding is that the emission is dominated by inverse Compton processes which take place in the corona above the accretion disk, and that absorption and reflection in a distant absorber play a major role. These processes can be directly observed through the shape of the continuum, the Compton reflection hump around 30 keV, and the iron fluorescence line at 6.4 keV. We demonstrate the capabilities of Simbol-X to constrain complex models for cases like MCG-05-23-016, NGC 4151, NGC 2110, and NGC 4051 in short (10 ksec) observations. We compare the simulations with recent observations on these sources by INTEGRAL, Swift and Suzaku. Constraining reflection models for AGN with Simbol-X will help us to get a clear view of the processes and geometry near to the central engine in AGN, and will give insight to which sources are responsible for the Cosmic X-ray background at energies >20 keV.

Looking Inward: Philosophical and Methodological Perspectives on Phenomenological Self-Reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Pool, Natalie M

2018-07-01

Engaging in early and ongoing self-reflection during interpretive phenomenological research is critical for ensuring trustworthiness or rigor. However, the lack of guidelines and clarity about the role of self-reflection in this methodology creates both theoretical and procedural confusion. The purpose of this article is to describe key philosophical underpinnings, characteristics, and hallmarks of the process of self-reflection in interpretive phenomenological investigation and to provide a list of guidelines that facilitate this process. Excerpts from an interpretive phenomenological study are used to illustrate characteristics of quality self-reflection. The guidelines are intended to be particularly beneficial for novice researchers who may find self-reflective writing to be daunting and unclear. Facilitating use of self-reflection may strengthen both the interpretive phenomenological body of work as well as that of all qualitative research.

Reflective Journaling for Critical Thinking Development in Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Raterink, Ginger

2016-02-01

Critical thinking, clinical decision making, and critical reflection have been identified as skills required of nurses in every clinical situation. The Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation report suggested that critical reflection is a key to improving the educational process. Reflective journaling is a tool that helps develop such skills. This article presents the tool of reflective journaling and the use of this process by educators working with students. It describes the use of reflective journaling in graduate nursing education, as well as a scoring process to evaluate the reflection and provide feedback. Students and faculty found the journaling to be helpful for reflection of a clinical situation focused on critical thinking skill development. The rubric scoring tool provided faculty with a method for feedback. Reflective journaling is a tool that faculty and students can use to develop critical thinking skills for the role of the advanced practice RN. A rubric scoring system offers a consistent format for feedback. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Manipulating acoustic wave reflection by a nonlinear elastic metasurface

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xinxin; Gusev, Vitalyi E.; Bertoldi, Katia; Tournat, Vincent

2018-03-01

The acoustic wave reflection properties of a nonlinear elastic metasurface, derived from resonant nonlinear elastic elements, are theoretically and numerically studied. The metasurface is composed of a two degree-of-freedom mass-spring system with quadratic elastic nonlinearity. The possibility of converting, during the reflection process, most of the fundamental incoming wave energy into the second harmonic wave is shown, both theoretically and numerically, by means of a proper design of the nonlinear metasurface. The theoretical results from the harmonic balance method for a monochromatic source are compared with time domain simulations for a wave packet source. This protocol allows analyzing the dynamics of the nonlinear reflection process in the metasurface as well as exploring the limits of the operating frequency bandwidth. The reported methodology can be applied to a wide variety of nonlinear metasurfaces, thus possibly extending the family of exotic nonlinear reflection processes.

Reflect: a practical approach to web semantics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

O'Donoghue, S.I.; Horn, Heiko; Pafilisa, E.

2010-01-01

To date, adding semantic capabilities to web content usually requires considerable server-side re-engineering, thus only a tiny fraction of all web content currently has semantic annotations. Recently, we announced Reflect (http://reflect.ws), a free service that takes a more practical approach......: Reflect uses augmented browsing to allow end-users to add systematic semantic annotations to any web-page in real-time, typically within seconds. In this paper we describe the tagging process in detail and show how further entity types can be added to Reflect; we also describe how publishers and content...... web technologies....

INTO THE DEEP REFLECTION ON LEARNING TEACHING PRACTICE

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Cecilia Ortega-Díaz

2015-07-01

Full Text Available One of the key priorities in the course of initial training for mainstream schools is the reflection of teaching practice, which is why it is necessary to learn how to analyze this process, for it is part of the deep learning approach; recognizing that reflection is central for innovation processes in professional practice. The research presented part of a qualitative study on the phenomenology depth interviews with students of fifth semester of the degree in early childhood education in a regular school in the State of Mexico apply. The results show that learning from reflection of teaching practice leans shallow focus.

Reflectance of Biological Turbid Tissues under Wide Area Illumination: Single Backward Scattering Approach

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Guennadi Saiko

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Various scenarios of light propagation paths in turbid media (single backward scattering, multiple backward scattering, banana shape are discussed and their contributions to reflectance spectra are estimated. It has been found that a single backward or multiple forward scattering quasi-1D paths can be the major contributors to reflected spectra in wide area illumination scenario. Such a single backward scattering (SBS approximation allows developing of an analytical approach which can take into account refractive index mismatched boundary conditions and multilayer geometry and can be used for real-time spectral processing. The SBS approach can be potentially applied for the distances between the transport and reduced scattering domains. Its validation versus the Kubelka-Munk model, path integrals, and diffusion approximation of the radiation transport theory is discussed.

The interactive biotic and abiotic processes of DDT transformation under dissimilatory iron-reducing conditions.

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Jin, Xin; Wang, Fang; Gu, Chenggang; Yang, Xinglun; Kengara, Fredrick O; Bian, Yongrong; Song, Yang; Jiang, Xin

2015-11-01

The objective of the study was to elucidate the biotic and abiotic processes under dissimilatory iron reducing conditions involved in reductive dechlorination and iron reduction. DDT transformation was investigated in cultures of Shewanella putrefaciens 200 with/without α-FeOOH. A modified first-order kinetics model was developed and described DDT transformation well. Both the α-FeOOH reduction rate and the dechlorination rate of DDT were positively correlated to the biomass. Addition of α-FeOOH enhanced reductive dechlorination of DDT by favoring the cell survival and generating Fe(II) which was absorbed on the surface of bacteria and iron oxide. 92% of the absorbed Fe(II) was Na-acetate (1M) extractable. However, α-FeOOH also played a negative role of competing for electrons as reflected by the dechlorination rate of DDT was inhibited when increasing the α-FeOOH from 1 g L(-1) to 5 g L(-1). DDT was measured to be toxic to S. putrefaciens 200. The metabolites DDD, DDE and DDMU were recalcitrant to S. putrefaciens 200. The results suggested that iron oxide was not the key factor to promote the dissipation of DDX (DDT and the metabolites), whereas the one-electron reduction potential (E1) of certain organochlorines is the main factor and that the E1 higher than the threshold of the reductive driving forces of DIRB probably ensures the occur of reductive dechlorination. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Food-safe modification of stainless steel food processing surfaces to reduce bacterial biofilms.

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Awad, Tarek Samir; Asker, Dalal; Hatton, Benjamin D

2018-06-11

Biofilm formation on stainless steel (SS) surfaces of food processing plants, leading to foodborne illness outbreaks, is enabled by the attachment and confinement within microscale cavities of surface roughness (grooves, scratches). We report Foodsafe Oil-based Slippery Coatings (FOSCs) for food processing surfaces that suppress bacterial adherence and biofilm formation by trapping residual oil lubricant within these surface cavities to block microbial growth. SS surfaces were chemically functionalized with alkylphosphonic acid to preferentially wet a layer of food grade oil. FOSCs reduced the effective surface roughness, the adhesion of organic food residue, and bacteria. FOSCs significantly reduced Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation on standard roughness SS-316 by 5 log CFU cm-2, and by 3 log CFU cm-2 for mirror-finished SS. FOSCs also enhanced surface cleanability, which we measured by bacterial counts after conventional detergent cleaning. Importantly, both SS grades maintained their anti-biofilm activity after erosion of the oil layer by surface wear with glass beads, which suggests there is a residual volume of oil that remains to block surface cavity defects. These results indicate the potential of such low-cost, scalable approaches to enhance the cleanability of SS food processing surfaces and improve food safety by reducing biofilm growth.

Targets and timelines for reducing salt in processed food in the Americas.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Norm; Legowski, Barbara; Legetic, Branka; Ferrante, Daniel; Nilson, Eduardo; Campbell, Christine; L'Abbé, Mary

2014-09-01

Reducing dietary salt is one of the most effective interventions to lessen the burden of premature death and disability. In high-income countries and those in nutrition transition, processed foods are a significant if not the main source of dietary salt. Reformulating these products to reduce their salt content is recommended as a best buy to prevent chronic diseases across populations. In the Americas, there are targets and timelines for reduced salt content of processed foods in 8 countries--Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and the National Salt Reduction Initiative in the United States and Paraguay. While there are common elements across the countries, there are notable differences in their approaches: 4 countries have exclusively voluntary targets, 2 countries have combined voluntary and regulated components, and 1 country has only regulations. The countries have set different types of targets and in some cases combined them: averages, sales-weighted averages, upper limits, and percentage reductions. The foods to which the targets apply vary from single categories to comprehensive categories accounting for all processed products. The most accessible and transparent targets are upper limits per food category. Most likely to have a substantive and sustained impact on salt intake across whole populations is the combination of sales-weighted averages and upper limits. To assist all countries with policies to improve the overall nutritional value of processed foods, the authors call for food companies to supply food composition data and product sales volume data to transparent and open-access platforms and for global companies to supply the products that meet the strictest targets to all markets. Countries participating in common markets at the subregional level can consider harmonizing targets, nutrition labels, and warning labels. ©2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Investigating novice doctors' reflections in debriefings after simulation scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kihlgren, Per; Spanager, Lene; Dieckmann, Peter

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Debriefing is pivotal to the simulation learning process, and the reflection that it aims to foster is fundamental in experiential learning. Despite its importance, essential aspects of debriefing remain unclear. STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate reflection in debriefings by assessing...... be appropriated to the given context. The rating of reflection levels is a promising approach to analyze reflection in conversation in experience-based learning situations....

The influence of masker type on early reflection processing and speech intelligibility (L)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arweiler, Iris; Buchholz, Jörg M.; Dau, Torsten

2013-01-01

Arweiler and Buchholz [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 130, 996-1005 (2011)] showed that, while the energy of early reflections (ERs) in a room improves speech intelligibility, the benefit is smaller than that provided by the energy of the direct sound (DS). In terms of integration of ERs and DS, binaural...... listening did not provide a benefit from ERs apart from a binaural energy summation, such that monaural auditory processing could account for the data. However, a diffuse speech shaped noise (SSN) was used in the speech intelligibility experiments, which does not provide distinct binaural cues...... to the auditory system. In the present study, the monaural and binaural benefit from ERs for speech intelligibility was investigated using three directional maskers presented from 90° azimuth: a SSN, a multi-talker babble, and a reversed two-talker masker. For normal-hearing as well as hearing-impaired listeners...

Transmission versus reflectance spectroscopy for quantitation

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Craig M.

2018-01-01

The objective of this work was to compare the accuracy of analyte concentration estimation when using transmission versus diffuse reflectance spectroscopy of a scattering medium. Monte Carlo ray tracing of light through the medium was used in conjunction with pure component absorption spectra and Beer-Lambert absorption along each ray's pathlength to generate matched sets of pseudoabsorbance spectra, containing water and six analytes present in skin. PLS regression models revealed an improvement in accuracy when using transmission compared to reflectance for a range of medium thicknesses and instrument noise levels. An analytical expression revealed the source of the accuracy degradation with reflectance was due both to the reduced collection efficiency for a fixed instrument etendue and to the broad pathlength distribution that detected light travels in the medium before exiting from the incident side.

Modern day addictions: The role of temptations in a reflective-impulsive-interoceptive awareness model of information system use

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Ofir eTurel

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This study examines a behavioral tripartite model developed in the field of addiction, and applied here to understanding general and impulsive information technology use. It suggests that technology use is driven by two information-processing brain systems: reflective and impulsive, and that their effects on use are modulated by interoceptive awareness processes. The resultant reflective-impulsive-interoceptive awareness model is tested in two behavioral studies. Both studies employ SEM techniques to time-lagged self-report data from n1=300 and n2=369 social networking site users. Study 1 demonstrated that temptations augment the effect of habit on technology use, and reduce the effect of satisfaction on use. Study 2 showed that temptations strengthen the effect of habit on impulsive technology use, and weaken the effect of behavioral expectations on impulsive technology use. Hence, the results consistently support the notion that information technology users’ behaviors are influenced by reflective and impulsive information processing systems; and that the equilibrium of these systems is determined, at least in part, by one’s temptations. These results can serve as a basis for understanding the etiology of modern day addictions.

Colorimetric determination of reducing normality in the Purex process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumann, E.W.

1983-07-01

Adjustment of the valence state of plutonium from extractable Pu(IV) to nonextractable Pu(III) in the Purex process is accomplished by addition of reductants such as Fe(II), hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN), or U(IV). To implement on-line monitoring of this reduction step for improved process control at the Savannah River Plant, a simple colorimetric method for determining excess reductant (reducing normality) was developed. The method is based on formation of a colored complex of Fe(II) with FerroZine (Hach Chemical Company). The concentration of Fe(II) is determined directly. The concentration of HAN or U(IV), in addition to Fe(II), is determined indirectly as Fe(II), produced through reduction of Fe(III). Experimental conditions for a HAN-Fe(III) reaction of known stoichiometry were established. The effect of hydrazine, which stabilizes U(IV), was also determined. Real-time measurements of color development were made that simulated on-line performance. A laboratory analytical procedure is included. 5 references, 8 figures

Fostering students' reflection about bias in healthcare: cognitive dissonance and the role of personal and normative standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, Rachael A; Haidet, Paul; Gill, Anne C; Teal, Cayla R

2013-04-01

To reduce cognitive dissonance about one's beliefs or behavior, individuals may compare their behavior to personal and/or normative standards. The details of this reflection process are unclear. We examined how medical students compare their behavior or beliefs to standards in discussions about implicit bias, and explored if and how different reflective pathways (preserving vs. reconciling) are associated with each standard. Third-year students engaged in a small-group discussion about bias. Some students and group facilitators also participated in a debriefing about the experience. Using qualitative methods, the transcripts from these 11 sessions were analyzed for evidence of student comparison to a standard and of reflection pathways. Of 557 text units, 75.8% could be coded with a standard and/or a path of reflection. Students referenced personal and normative standards about equally, and preserved or reconciled existing beliefs about equally. Uses of normative standards were associated with preservation-type reflection, and uses of personal standards with reconciliation-type reflection. Normative expectations of physicians are sometimes used to provoke students' consideration of implicit biases about patients. To encourage critical reflection and reconciliation of biased beliefs or behavior, educators should frame reflective activities as a personal exercise rather than as a requirement.

Learning psychology as a challenging process towards development as well as “studies as usual”: a thematic analysis of medical students’ reflective writing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Semb O

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Olof Semb,1 Niclas Kaiser,2 Sven-Olof Andersson,1 Elisabet Sundbom3 1Department of Clinical Sciences, Division for Professional Development, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; 2Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; 3Department of Clinical Sciences, Division for Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden Abstract: Reflective writing in medical training has been shown to be most effective when combined with some form of personal meeting or dialog. During a course in medical psychology for medical students, reflective texts were followed up by an individual personal talk with a teacher from the course. Thematic analysis of the texts revealed four separate sub-themes: 1 the course has enabled me and the class to develop, which is good albeit arduous; 2 understanding myself is a resource in understanding people as well as knowing psychology; 3 the course provided me with new, purely intellectual skills as well as eye-openers; and 4 the receiving teacher is an integral part of my reflective writing. The main theme, capturing the students’ writing process, concluded that students perceive the course as “Learning psychology as a challenging process towards development” as well as “studies as usual”. Ethical, psychological, and pedagogical aspects are discussed in the paper. Keywords: reflective writing, self-knowledge, individual personal talks, thematic analysis, medical education

Global Cooling: Policies to Cool the World and Offset Global Warming from CO2 Using Reflective Roofs and Pavements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akbari, Hashem; Levinson, Ronnen; Rosenfeld, Arthur; Elliot, Matthew

2009-08-28

Increasing the solar reflectance of the urban surface reduce its solar heat gain, lowers its temperatures, and decreases its outflow of thermal infrared radiation into the atmosphere. This process of 'negative radiative forcing' can help counter the effects of global warming. In addition, cool roofs reduce cooling-energy use in air conditioned buildings and increase comfort in unconditioned buildings; and cool roofs and cool pavements mitigate summer urban heat islands, improving outdoor air quality and comfort. Installing cool roofs and cool pavements in cities worldwide is a compelling win-win-win activity that can be undertaken immediately, outside of international negotiations to cap CO{sub 2} emissions. We propose an international campaign to use solar reflective materials when roofs and pavements are built or resurfaced in temperate and tropical regions.

Wave-equation reflection traveltime inversion

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Sanzong

2011-01-01

The main difficulty with iterative waveform inversion using a gradient optimization method is that it tends to get stuck in local minima associated within the waveform misfit function. This is because the waveform misfit function is highly nonlinear with respect to changes in the velocity model. To reduce this nonlinearity, we present a reflection traveltime tomography method based on the wave equation which enjoys a more quasi-linear relationship between the model and the data. A local crosscorrelation of the windowed downgoing direct wave and the upgoing reflection wave at the image point yields the lag time that maximizes the correlation. This lag time represents the reflection traveltime residual that is back-projected into the earth model to update the velocity in the same way as wave-equation transmission traveltime inversion. No travel-time picking is needed and no high-frequency approximation is assumed. The mathematical derivation and the numerical examples are presented to partly demonstrate its efficiency and robustness. © 2011 Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

Some experience in applying the REDUCE algebraic system to the calculation of scattering processes in QED and QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohring, H.J.; Schiller, A.

1980-01-01

The problems arising in the use of the REDUCE algebraic system for calculating traces of the Dirac matrix products describing scattering processes in quantum electrodynamics (QED) and quantum chromodynamics (QCD) are considered. Application of the REDUCE system for describing two-photon processes in e + e - reactions is discussed. An example of using the REDUCE system for calculating matrix elements of elementary processes of hard scattering is described. The calculations were performed by means of the REDUCE2 version on an EC1040 computer. The computations take almost 10 minutes of machine time and computer storage capacity of abo t 800 kiuobites

Solution-processable MoOx nanocrystals enable highly efficient reflective and semitransparent polymer solar cells

KAUST Repository

Jagadamma, Lethy Krishnan

2016-09-09

Solution-manufacturing of organic solar cells with best-in-class power conversion efficiency (PCE) will require all layers to be solution-coated without compromising solar cell performance. To date, the hole transporting layer (HTL) deposited on top of the organic bulk heterojunction layer in the inverted architecture is most commonly an ultrathin (<10 nm) metal oxide layer prepared by vacuum-deposition. Here, we show that an alcohol-based nanocrystalline MoOx suspension with carefully controlled nanocrystal (NC) size can yield state of the art reflective and semitransparent solar cells. Using NCs smaller than the target HTL thickness (∼10 nm) can yield compact, pinhole-free films which result in highly efficient polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells with PCE=9.5%. The solution processed HTL is shown to achieve performance parity with vacuum-evaporated HTLs for several polymer:fullerene combinations and is even shown to work as hole injection layer in polymer light emitting diodes (PLED). We also demonstrate that larger MoOx NCs (30–50 nm) successfully composite MoOx with Ag nanowires (NW) to form a highly conducting, transparent top anode with exceptional contact properties. This yields state-of-the-art semitransparent polymer: fullerene solar cells with PCE of 6.5% and overall transmission >30%. The remarkable performance of reflective and semitransparent OPVs is due to the uncommonly high fill factors achieved using a carefully designed strategy for implementation of MoOx nanocrystals as HTL materials. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Brain reflections: A circuit-based framework for understanding information processing and cognitive control.

Science.gov (United States)

Gratton, Gabriele

2018-03-01

Here, I propose a view of the architecture of the human information processing system, and of how it can be adapted to changing task demands (which is the hallmark of cognitive control). This view is informed by an interpretation of brain activity as reflecting the excitability level of neural representations, encoding not only stimuli and temporal contexts, but also action plans and task goals. The proposed cognitive architecture includes three types of circuits: open circuits, involved in feed-forward processing such as that connecting stimuli with responses and characterized by brief, transient brain activity; and two types of closed circuits, positive feedback circuits (characterized by sustained, high-frequency oscillatory activity), which help select and maintain representations, and negative feedback circuits (characterized by brief, low-frequency oscillatory bursts), which are instead associated with changes in representations. Feed-forward activity is primarily responsible for the spread of activation along the information processing system. Oscillatory activity, instead, controls this spread. Sustained oscillatory activity due to both local cortical circuits (gamma) and longer corticothalamic circuits (alpha and beta) allows for the selection of individuated representations. Through the interaction of these circuits, it also allows for the preservation of representations across different temporal spans (sensory and working memory) and their spread across the brain. In contrast, brief bursts of oscillatory activity, generated by novel and/or conflicting information, lead to the interruption of sustained oscillatory activity and promote the generation of new representations. I discuss how this framework can account for a number of psychological and behavioral phenomena. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Self-reflection and positive schizotypy in the adolescent brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Debbané, Martin; Vrtička, Pascal; Lazouret, Marine; Badoud, Deborah; Sander, David; Eliez, Stephan

2014-01-01

Clinical and phenomenological accounts of schizophrenia suggest that impairments in self-reflective processes significantly contribute to psychopathological expression. Recent imaging studies observe atypical cerebral activation patterns during self-reflection, especially around the cortical midline structures, both in psychosis-prone adults and individuals with schizophrenia. Given that self-reflection processes consolidate during adolescence, and that early transient expression of psychosis (positive schizotypy) also arises during this period, the present study sought to examine whether atypical cerebral activation during self-reflection task could be associated with early schizotypic expression during adolescence. Forty-two neurotypical adolescent participants (19 females) aged from 12 to 19 (15.92±1.9) underwent a self-reflection task using functional neuroimaging (fMRI), where they had to evaluate trait adjectives (1 to 4 ratings) about themselves or their same sex best friend. The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) was employed to assess positive schizotypic expression. Results showed that positive schizotypy in adolescents significantly correlated with cortical midline activation patterns in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), as well as the dorsolateral PFC and the lingual gyrus. The results are consistent with previous imaging literature on self-reflection and schizophrenia. They further highlight that the relationship between self-reflection processes and positive schizotypy operates at the trait level of expression and can be observed as early as adolescence. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The reflectivity, wettability and scratch durability of microsurface features molded in the injection molding process using a dynamic tool tempering system

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, Sascha; Burr, August; Kübler, Michael; Deckert, Matthias; Bleesen, Christoph

2011-02-01

In this paper the replication qualities of periodically and randomly arranged micro-features molded in the injection molding process and their effects on surface properties are studied. The features are molded in PC, PMMA and PP at different mold wall temperatures in order to point out the necessity and profitability of a variotherm mold wall temperature control system. A one-dimensional heat conduction model is proposed to predict the cycle times of the variotherm injection molding processes. With regard to these processes, the molding results are compared to the molded surface feature heights using an atomic force microscope. In addition, the effects of the molded surface features on macroscopic surfaces are characterized in terms of light reflection using a spectrometer and in terms of water wettability by measuring the static contact angle. Furthermore, due to the sensitivity of the surface features on the molded parts, their durability is compared in a scratch test with a diamond tip. This leads to successful implementation in applications in which the optical appearance, in terms of gloss and reflection, and the water repellence, in terms of drag flow and adhesion, are of importance.

The reflectivity, wettability and scratch durability of microsurface features molded in the injection molding process using a dynamic tool tempering system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuhn, Sascha; Burr, August; Kübler, Michael; Deckert, Matthias; Bleesen, Christoph

2011-01-01

In this paper the replication qualities of periodically and randomly arranged micro-features molded in the injection molding process and their effects on surface properties are studied. The features are molded in PC, PMMA and PP at different mold wall temperatures in order to point out the necessity and profitability of a variotherm mold wall temperature control system. A one-dimensional heat conduction model is proposed to predict the cycle times of the variotherm injection molding processes. With regard to these processes, the molding results are compared to the molded surface feature heights using an atomic force microscope. In addition, the effects of the molded surface features on macroscopic surfaces are characterized in terms of light reflection using a spectrometer and in terms of water wettability by measuring the static contact angle. Furthermore, due to the sensitivity of the surface features on the molded parts, their durability is compared in a scratch test with a diamond tip. This leads to successful implementation in applications in which the optical appearance, in terms of gloss and reflection, and the water repellence, in terms of drag flow and adhesion, are of importance.

Visual Fatigue Evaluation: Improvement of Reflected Glare on Touch Screen for Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Kang Hung; Yang, Chih Wei; Hwang, Sheue Ling; Liou, Jin Liang

2014-01-01

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the visual fatigue of operators caused by glare problems in the main control room of nuclear power plant. Within the limitation in the main control room, reflectors were set under the light source which generates reflected glare on touch screens. Through avoiding the light directly shines on touch screens, reflected glare were eliminated. This research matched up the setting process of reflectors, evaluated the visual fatigue of operators, and collected user's opinions before reflector setting, after the first setting, and after the second setting. The design of reflectors could refer the result of evaluations and the collection of opinions. Nevertheless, the improvement of reflected glare on touch screens could be verified by this evaluations. The result showed that setting reflectors under the light source could eliminate reflected glare effectively, and the visual fatigue was reduced both on subject and object evaluations. However, the setting direction of reflectors has potential effect on operators' visual fatigue, so the real setting of reflectors still need to be evaluated completely. The near point accommodation could reflect the effect of visual fatigue caused by changes of lighting environment. Thus, the verification of new lighting environment according to the near point accommodation is suggested

Greatly reduced emission of greenhouse gases from the wood-processing industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The strong support for biomass energy in the Norwegian wood-processing industry during the last 10-15 years has contributed greatly to a considerable reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases. The potential for further reductions is primarily linked with the use of oil and involves only a few works. Oil can be replaced by other fuels, and process-technical improvements can reduce the emissions. According to prognoses, emissions will go on decreasing until 2007, when the total emission of greenhouse gases from the wood-processing industry will be about 13 per cent less than in 1998. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) amounts to 90 per cent of the total emission, the remaining parts being methane (CH 4 ) from landfills and dumps, and small amounts of N 2 O

Optoelectronic properties of Black-Silicon generated through inductively coupled plasma (ICP) processing for crystalline silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirsch, Jens, E-mail: J.Hirsch@emw.hs-anhalt.de [Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Faculty EMW, Bernburger Str. 55, DE-06366 Köthen (Germany); Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP, Otto-Eißfeldt-Str. 12, DE-06120 Halle (Saale) (Germany); Gaudig, Maria; Bernhard, Norbert [Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Faculty EMW, Bernburger Str. 55, DE-06366 Köthen (Germany); Lausch, Dominik [Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP, Otto-Eißfeldt-Str. 12, DE-06120 Halle (Saale) (Germany)

2016-06-30

Highlights: • Fabrication of black silicon through inductively coupled plasma (ICP) processing. • Suppressed formation a self-bias and therefore a reduced ion bombardment of the silicon sample. • Reduction of the average hemispherical reflection between 300 and 1120 nm up to 8% within 5 min ICP process time. • Reflection is almost independent of the angle of incidence up to 60°. • 2.5 ms effective lifetime at 10{sup 15} cm{sup −3} MCD after ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} surface passivation. - Abstract: The optoelectronic properties of maskless inductively coupled plasma (ICP) generated black silicon through SF{sub 6} and O{sub 2} are analyzed by using reflection measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and quasi steady state photoconductivity (QSSPC). The results are discussed and compared to capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) and industrial standard wet chemical textures. The ICP process forms parabolic like surface structures in a scale of 500 nm. This surface structure reduces the average hemispherical reflection between 300 and 1120 nm up to 8%. Additionally, the ICP texture shows a weak increase of the hemispherical reflection under tilted angles of incidence up to 60°. Furthermore, we report that the ICP process is independent of the crystal orientation and the surface roughness. This allows the texturing of monocrystalline, multicrystalline and kerf-less wafers using the same parameter set. The ICP generation of black silicon does not apply a self-bias on the silicon sample. Therefore, the silicon sample is exposed to a reduced ion bombardment, which reduces the plasma induced surface damage. This leads to an enhancement of the effective charge carrier lifetime up to 2.5 ms at 10{sup 15} cm{sup −3} minority carrier density (MCD) after an atomic layer deposition (ALD) with Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. Since excellent etch results were obtained already after 4 min process time, we conclude that the ICP generation of black silicon is a promising technique

Self-Reflective Journaling: A Tool for Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Giguere, Miriam

2012-01-01

This article outlines suggestions for the use of self-reflective journaling as an assessment method in dance technique classes. The use of self-reflection makes assessment a part of the learning process, not an imposed evaluation of a student's final product, particularly when it is related to personal goal setting. The article provides practical…

Soil nitrate reducing processes drivers, mechanisms for spatial variation, and significance for nitrous oxide production

OpenAIRE

Giles, M.; Morley, N.; Baggs, E.M.; Daniell, T.J.

2012-01-01

The microbial processes of denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium\\ud (DNRA) are two important nitrate reducing mechanisms in soil, which are responsible for\\ud the loss of nitrate (NO−\\ud 3 ) and production of the potent greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O).\\ud A number of factors are known to control these processes, including O2 concentrations and\\ud moisture content, N, C, pH, and the size and community structure of nitrate reducing organisms\\ud responsible for the ...

Spectral implementation of full waveform inversion based on reflections

KAUST Repository

Wu, Zedong

2014-01-01

Using the reflection imaging process as a source to model reflections for full waveform inversion (FWI), referred to as reflection FWI (RFWI), allows us to update the background component of the model, and avoid using the relatively costly migration velocity analysis (MVA), which usually relies on extended images. However, RFWI requires a good image to represent the current reflectivity, as well as, some effort to obtain good smooth gradients. We develop a spectral implementation of RFWI where the wavefield extrapolations and gradient evaluation are performed in the wavenumber domain, obtaining clean dispersion free and fast extrapolations. The gradient, in this case, yields three terms, two of which provide us with each side of the rabbit ear kernel, and the third, often ignored, provides a normalization of the reflectivity within the kernel, which can be used to obtain a reflectivity free background update. Since the image is imperfect (it is an adjoint, not an inverse), an optimization process for the third term scaling is implemented to achieve the smoothest gradient update. A rare application of RFWI on the reflectivity infested Marmousi model shows some of the potential of the approach.

High gain durable anti-reflective coating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maghsoodi, Sina; Brophy, Brenor L.; Colson, Thomas E.; Gonsalves, Peter R.; Abrams, Ze' ev R.

2017-06-27

Disclosed herein are polysilsesquioxane-based anti-reflective coating (ARC) compositions, methods of preparation, and methods of deposition on a substrate. In one embodiment, the polysilsesquioxane of this disclosure is prepared in a two-step process of acid catalyzed hydrolysis of organoalkoxysilane followed by addition of tetralkoxysilane that generates silicone polymers with >40 mol % silanol based on Si-NMR. These high silanol siloxane polymers are stable and have a long shelf-life in polar organic solvents at room temperature. Also disclosed are low refractive index ARC made from these compositions with and without additives such as porogens, templates, thermal radical initiator, photo radical initiators, crosslinkers, Si--OH condensation catalyst and nano-fillers. Also disclosed are methods and apparatus for applying coatings to flat substrates including substrate pre-treatment processes, coating processes and coating curing processes including skin-curing using hot-air knives. Also disclosed are coating compositions and formulations for highly tunable, durable, highly abrasion-resistant functionalized anti-reflective coatings.

Challenging Narcissus, or Reflecting on Reflecting.

Science.gov (United States)

Achilles, C. M.

The concept of reflective practice and teaching people to be reflective practitioners is examined. The document begins with a look at professional knowledge according to three prominent professionals in the educational administration field: Schon, Schein, and Achilles. "Reflective" strategies that could be incorporated into courses and…

Event-Related Potentials and Emotion Processing in Child Psychopathology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgia eChronaki

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In recent years there has been increasing interest in the neural mechanisms underlying altered emotional processes in children and adolescents with psychopathology. This review provides a brief overview of the most up-to-date findings in the field of Event-Related Potentials (ERPs to facial and vocal emotional expressions in the most common child psychopathological conditions. In regards to externalising behaviour (i.e. ADHD, CD, ERP studies show enhanced early components to anger, reflecting enhanced sensory processing, followed by reductions in later components to anger, reflecting reduced cognitive-evaluative processing. In regards to internalising behaviour, research supports models of increased processing of threat stimuli especially at later more elaborate and effortful stages. Finally, in autism spectrum disorders abnormalities have been observed at early visual-perceptual stages of processing. An affective neuroscience framework for understanding child psychopathology can be valuable in elucidating underlying mechanisms and inform preventive intervention.

Do not resuscitate: reflections on an ethical dilemma.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Jeannie

This is a reflective account of an ethical dilemma encountered while on placement on a cardiology ward. Reflection is a process which allows practitioners to reveal and expose thoughts, behaviours and feelings that are present at a particular time. All reflective models are based on the principle that purposeful reflection results in a better understanding and awareness, thus enhancing clinical practice (Driscoll and Teh 2001). The Gibbs' Reflective Cycle has been selected for its simplicity and ease of use to aid personal development. The dilemma was identified and analysed from a professional, ethical and legal perspective. Pseudonyms are used to maintain confidentiality and protect the identities of all parties involved.

Modelling binaural processes involved in simultaneous reflection masking: limitations of current models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buchholz, Jörg

2007-01-01

Masked thresholds were measured for a single test reflection, masked by the direct sound, as a function of the reflection delay. This was done for diotic as well as for dichotic stimulus presentations and all stimuli were presented via headphones. The input signal was a 200-ms long broadband noise......, such as normalized cross-correlation models (e.g., Bernstein et al., 1999, JASA, pp. 870-876), the power-addition model (Zurek, 1979, JASA, pp. 1750-1757), or Equalization-Cancellation-based models (e.g., Breebaart et al., 2001, JASA, pp. 1074-1088), cannot account for the psychoacoustical data. The present talk...

The value of reflective journaling in undergraduate nursing education: a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Epp, Sheila

2008-09-01

The purpose of this literature review was to ascertain the evidence for the use of reflective journaling as a tool to promote the pedagogical strategy of reflection for the purpose of learning from practice for practice in undergraduate nursing education. Concept-centric. The literature review involved structured searches of all OVID gateway databases, EBSCO host databases, and Blackwell Synergy. Qualitative and Quantitative Studies from 1992 to 2006 were included if they focused on reflective journaling in undergraduate clinical education. Due to the vast plethora of literature on reflection, keywords were utilized to focus the search. Approximately 150 abstracts were reviewed for primary sources of research. A total of nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The review subsequently divided the literature into four content themes allowing for appraisal and analysis of the findings, followed by summary and key recommendations for nursing education and research. There was evidence that educators struggle to incorporate reflective processes into education; however, the research provided rationale and support for engaging undergraduate students in the reflective process. Researchers found reasonable levels of reflection in undergraduate students' journaling and educators reported students' learning as a result of reflective journaling. Further to this, there was evidence that writing reflectively improved over time; a learned skill also dependent on a good facilitator and trust. Unfortunately, there was a paucity of research that explored the undergraduate nurses' experiences with the process of having to create written communication, with a critical reflective focus on practice. Nursing educators are correct in pursuing the teaching and learning of the reflective process in undergraduate nursing education. Nurse educators need to utilize various tools and strategies for facilitating the growth of undergraduate students into reflective practitioners. Indeed there was

Andreev reflection in monolayer MoS2

Science.gov (United States)

Majidi, Leyla; Rostami, Habib; Asgari, Reza

2014-01-01

Andreev reflection in a monolayer molybdenum disulfide superconducting-normal (S/N) hybrid junction is investigated. We find, by using a modified Dirac Hamiltonian and the scattering formalism, that the perfect Andreev reflection happens at normal incidence with p-doped S and N regions. The probability of the Andreev reflection and the resulting Andreev conductance, in this system, are demonstrated to be large in comparison with the corresponding gapped graphene structure. We further investigate the effect of a topological term (β ) in the Hamiltonian and show that it results in an enhancement of the Andreev conductance with p-doped S and N regions, while in the corresponding structure with an n-doped S region it is strongly reducible in comparison. This effect can be explained in terms of the dependence of the Andreev reflection probability on the sign of β and the chemical potential in the superconducting region.

Effects of temporal distribution of specular and diffuse reflections on perceived music quality

Science.gov (United States)

Smitthakorn, Pattra

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the temporal distribution of diffuse and specular reflections on the perceived acoustic qualities of music performance. Sets of impulse responses were designed with different temporal distributions of early acoustic energy (specular and diffuse reflections). Then, three types of anechoic sound sources---orchestral music, trumpet, and piano---were convolved with the designed impulse responses. The results from the listening tests revealed that different room environments were needed to acoustically support different source characteristics. The results show the following: (1) specular reflections arriving within 40 msec of the direct sound improved perceived "clarity" and "intimacy"; (2) specular reflections arriving between 40-80 msec after the direct sound improved perceived "clarity" for orchestral music; (3) specular reflections arriving later than 80 msec after the direct sound are not desirable; (4) large numbers of diffuse reflections arriving within 40 and 80 msec of the direct sound improved perceived "intimacy", "texture", and "overall impression" for all sound sources, heightened perceived "clarity" for trumpet and piano, and reduced perceived "glare" for trumpet; and (5) diffuse reflections arriving between 80-160 msec of the direct sound preserved perceived "reverberance" and reduced perceived "echoes" as opposed to specular reflections arriving in the same time period. The results of this study indicate that music performance halls should be designed to include diffuse reflections from surfaces within the 80 msec time period to achieve preferred texture, intimacy, clarity and overall impression and in the 160 msec time period to reduce echoes; specular reflections arriving within the 40 msec time period should be provided to enhance perceived clarity.

Diffuse reflectance relations based on diffusion dipole theory for large absorption and reduced scattering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bremmer, Rolf H.; van Gemert, Martin J. C.; Faber, Dirk J.; van Leeuwen, Ton G.; Aalders, Maurice C. G.

2013-01-01

Diffuse reflectance spectra are used to determine the optical properties of biological samples. In medicine and forensic science, the turbid objects under study often possess large absorption and/or scattering properties. However, data analysis is frequently based on the diffusion approximation to

One-Step Real-Image Reflection Holograms

Science.gov (United States)

Buah-Bassuah, Paul K.; Vannoni, Maurizio; Molesini, Giuseppe

2007-01-01

A holographic process is presented where the object is made of the real image produced by a two-mirror system. Single-step reflection hologram recording is achieved. Details of the process are given, optics concepts are outlined and demonstrative results are presented. (Contains 6 figures and 2 footnotes.)

Improved opto-electronic properties of silicon heterojunction solar cells with SiO x /Tungsten-doped indium oxide double anti-reflective coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jian; Zhou, Jie; Bian, Jiantao; Zhang, Liping; Liu, Yucheng; Shi, Jianhua; Meng, Fanying; Liu, Jinning; Liu, Zhengxin

2017-08-01

Amorphous SiO x was prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) to form SiO x /tungsten-doped indium oxide (IWO) double anti-reflective coatings for silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cell. The sheet resistance of SiO x /IWO stacks decreases due to plasma treatment during deposition process, which means thinner IWO film would be deposited for better optical response. However, the comparisons of three anti-reflective coating (ARC) structures reveal that SiO x film limits carier transport and the path of IWO-SiO x -Ag structure is non-conductive. The decrease of sheet resistance is defined as pseudo conductivity. IWO film capping with SiO x allows observably reduced reflectance and better response in 300-400 and 600-1200 nm wavelength ranges. Compared with IWO single ARC, the average reflection is reduced by 1.65% with 70 nm SiO x /80 nm IWO double anti-reflective coatings (DARCs) in 500-1200 nm wavelength range, leading to growing external quantum efficiency response, short circuit current density (J sc), and efficiency. After well optimization of SiO x /IWO stacks, an impressive efficiency of 23.08% is obtained with high J sc and without compromising open circuit voltage (V oc) and fill factor. SiO x /IWO DARCs provide better anti-reflective properties over a broad range of wavelength, showing promising application for SHJ solar cells.

Development of a process to reduce the uranium concentration of liquid radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuentealba Toro, Edgardo David

2015-01-01

The purpose of radioactive waste management is to prevent the discharge of waste into the biosphere, a function carried out in Chile by the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN), which stores around 500 [L] of these organic and inorganic waste in cans coming from research of Universities and CCHEN' laboratories. Within the inorganic liquid waste are concentrations of Uranyl salts with sulfates, chlorides and phosphates. The purpose of this work is to develop at laboratory level a process to concentrate and precipitate uranium salts (Sulfate and Uranyl Chloride) present in radioactive liquid effluents, because in the case of these very long period wastes in liquid state, the most widely used processes are aimed at concentrating or extracting radioactive compounds through separation processes, for their conditioning and final storage under conditions whose radiological risk is minimized. The selected process is liquid-liquid extraction, being evaluated solvents such as benzene and kerosene with the following extractants: tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO), di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid (DEHPA) and Cyanex© 923. To determine the extraction conditions, which allow to reduce the concentration of uranium to values lower than 10 ppm, the extractant concentration was modified from 0.05 to 0.41 [M] with solvent volume / residue (VO/VA) ratios of 0.2 to 0.5, at an initial concentration of 8,446 [gU/L] and subsequent precipitation of uranium extracted by a reaction with ammonium carbonate. From these experimental tests the maximum extraction conditions were determined. To the generated effluents, a second stage of extraction was necessary in order to reduce its concentration below 10 [mg / L]. The experimental tests allowed to reduce the concentration under 2.5 [mgU/L], equivalent to 99.97% extraction efficiency. The tests with Cyanex© 923 in replacement of the TOPO, allowed to obtain similar results and even better in some cases, due to the fact that final

Developing Skills in Counselling and Psychotherapy: A Scoping Review of Interpersonal Process Recall and Reflecting Team Methods in Initial Therapist Training

Science.gov (United States)

Meekums, Bonnie; Macaskie, Jane; Kapur, Tricia

2016-01-01

The authors conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature associated with Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) and Reflecting Team (RT) methods in order to find evidence for their use within skills development in therapist trainings. Inclusion criteria were: empirical research, reviews of empirical research, and responses to these; RT…

Far infrared reflectivity study of ceramic superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Memon, A.; Khan, M.N.; Al-Dallal, S.; Tanner, D.B.; Porter, C.D.

1992-01-01

In this paper, the authors report on a study of the far-infrared reflectivity of mixed rare earths and lanthnides ceramic superconductors RBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 in the normal state. The authors' results show that the strength of the phonon modes is reduced when yttrium is partially replaced by gadolinium and europium. Also the critical temperature of these mixed materials is reduced as indicated by the four probe technique

Activation of anterior insula during self-reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Modinos, Gemma; Ormel, Johan; Aleman, André

2009-01-01

Functional neuroimaging studies have suggested activation of midline frontoparietal brain regions to be at the core of self-related processes. However, although some studies reported involvement of the insula, little attention has been paid to this region as forming part of the "self"-network. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we aimed at replicating and extending previous studies by scanning subjects whilst reflecting upon their own personal qualities as compared to those of an acquaintance. A third condition with statements about general knowledge was used to control for attention, semantic processing and decision making processes. The results showed a significant effect of task in brain activity, consistent with previous findings, by which both person conditions recruited a common set of medial prefrontal and posterior regions, yet significant differences between self and other were found in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Notably, significant neural activation in the left anterior insula was observed as uniquely associated with self-reflection. The results provide further evidence for the specific recruitment of anterior MPFC and ACC regions for self-related processing, and highlight a role for the insula in self-reflection. As the insula is closely connected with ascending internal body signals, this may indicate that the accumulation of changes in affective states that might be implied in self-processing may contribute to our sense of self.

Velocity Building by Reflection Waveform Inversion without Cycle-skipping

KAUST Repository

Guo, Qiang; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali; Wu, Zedong

2017-01-01

Reflection waveform inversion (RWI) provides estimation of low wavenumber model components using reflections generated from a migration/demigration process. The resulting model tends to be a good initial model for FWI. In fact, the optimization

Glue Film Thickness Measurements by Spectral Reflectance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshall, B.R.

2010-01-01

Spectral reflectance was used to determine the thickness of thin glue layers in a study of the effect of the glue on radiance and reflectance measurements of shocked-tin substrates attached to lithium fluoride windows. Measurements based on profilometry of the components were found to be inaccurate due to flatness variations and deformation of the tin substrate under pressure during the gluing process. The accuracy of the spectral reflectance measurements were estimated to be ±0.5 (micro)m, which was sufficient to demonstrate a convincing correlation between glue thickness and shock-generated light.

Glue Film Thickness Measurements by Spectral Reflectance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

B. R. Marshall

2010-09-20

Spectral reflectance was used to determine the thickness of thin glue layers in a study of the effect of the glue on radiance and reflectance measurements of shocked-tin substrates attached to lithium fluoride windows. Measurements based on profilometry of the components were found to be inaccurate due to flatness variations and deformation of the tin substrate under pressure during the gluing process. The accuracy of the spectral reflectance measurements were estimated to be ±0.5 μm, which was sufficient to demonstrate a convincing correlation between glue thickness and shock-generated light.

The conceptual analysis of the instructional process: Research findings on students’ teacher reflections in art education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucie Hajdušková

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The paper focuses on the linking pedagogical theory to teaching practicewith the aim to improve quality of education through its analytic reflection by teachersor student teachers. The text deals with the original method of didactic reflection– concept analysis. Concept analysis is characterized as a methodical instrument forreflection and evaluation of the instruction. It is based on investigation of didacticcontent transformation in educational processes and it is oriented to creative approachand experiential learning in the instruction. The explanation uses the results of research(2009–2010 on the state of didactic skills and pedagogical content knowledge of arteducation teachers during their didactic training.

Reducing resin use in floor drain processing system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flint, W.; Hobart, S.A.; Miller, A.D.

1995-01-01

The Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant utilizes two mixed bed demineralizers for processing floor drain wastes. These demineralizers were originally designed for stream generator blowdown treatment, but were not needed for that purpose. Effluent from the resin beds is monitored for radioactivity and released for discharge. Plant radwaste inleakage volumes and resin disposal volumes were low in comparison with industry averages, but decontamination factors through the treatment system were less than desirable. Release criteria for discharges always had been met, but plant personnel wished to decrease their already low discharges of radioactive species, reduce their resin disposal costs, and provide a margin of safety in the unlikely event that fuel damage would be experienced during an operating cycle. This paper describes the study initiated to address those issues, the findings of the study, and results of implementing some of the study recommendations

Frustrated Total Internal Reflection: A Simple Application and Demonstration.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanella, F. P.; Magalhaes, D. V.; Oliveira, M. M.; Bianchi, R. F.; Misoguti, L.; Mendonca, C. R.

2003-01-01

Describes the total internal reflection process that occurs when the internal angle of incidence is equal to or greater than the critical angle. Presents a demonstration of the effect of frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR). (YDS)

Salinity and spectral reflectance of soils

Science.gov (United States)

Szilagyi, A.; Baumgardner, M. F.

1991-01-01

The basic spectral response related to the salt content of soils in the visible and reflective IR wavelengths is analyzed in order to explore remote sensing applications for monitoring processes of the earth system. The bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) was determined at 10 nm of increments over the 520-2320-nm spectral range. The effect of salts on reflectance was analyzed on the basis of 162 spectral measurements. MSS and TM bands were simulated within the measured spectral region. A strong relationship was found in variations of reflectance and soil characteristics pertaining to salinization and desalinization. Although the individual MSS bands had high R-squared values and 75-79 percent of soil/treatment combinations were separable, there was a large number of soil/treatment combinations not distinguished by any of the four highly correlated MSS bands under consideration.

Study of a Vegetation Index Based on HJ CCD Data's top-of-atmosphere reflectance and FPAR Inversion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, Taifeng; Wu, Bingfang; Meng, Jihua

2014-01-01

The Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR)absorbed by plant canopies is a key parameter for monitoring crop condition and estimating crop yield. In general, it is necessary to obtain Top of Canopy (TOC) reflectance from optical remote sensing data in digital number through atmospheric correction procedures before retrieving FPAR. However, there are a few of uncertainties that existe in the process of atmosphere correction and reduced the quality of TOC. This paper presents a vegetation index based on Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance derived from HJ-1 CCD satellite for estimating direct crop FPAR. The vegetation index (HJVI) was designed based on the simulated results of a canopy-atmosphere radiative transfer model, including TOA reflectance and corresponded FPAR. The HJVI had taken the advantages of information in the green, the red and the near-infrared spectral domainswith with a aim of reducing the atmospheric effect and enhancing the sensitive to green vegetation. The HJVI was used to estimate soybean FPAR directly and validated using field measurements. The result indicated that the inversion algorithm produced a good relationship between the prediction and measurement (R 2 = 0.546, RMSE = 0.083) and the HJVI showed high potential for estimating FPAR based on the HJ-1 TOA reflectance directly

Normalization of time-series satellite reflectance data to a standard sun-target-sensor geometry using a semi-empirical model

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yongguang; Li, Chuanrong; Ma, Lingling; Tang, Lingli; Wang, Ning; Zhou, Chuncheng; Qian, Yonggang

2017-10-01

Time series of satellite reflectance data have been widely used to characterize environmental phenomena, describe trends in vegetation dynamics and study climate change. However, several sensors with wide spatial coverage and high observation frequency are usually designed to have large field of view (FOV), which cause variations in the sun-targetsensor geometry in time-series reflectance data. In this study, on the basis of semiempirical kernel-driven BRDF model, a new semi-empirical model was proposed to normalize the sun-target-sensor geometry of remote sensing image. To evaluate the proposed model, bidirectional reflectance under different canopy growth conditions simulated by Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer (DART) model were used. The semi-empirical model was first fitted by using all simulated bidirectional reflectance. Experimental result showed a good fit between the bidirectional reflectance estimated by the proposed model and the simulated value. Then, MODIS time-series reflectance data was normalized to a common sun-target-sensor geometry by the proposed model. The experimental results showed the proposed model yielded good fits between the observed and estimated values. The noise-like fluctuations in time-series reflectance data was also reduced after the sun-target-sensor normalization process.

A Method of Retrieving BRDF from Surface-Reflected Radiance Using Decoupling of Atmospheric Radiative Transfer and Surface Reflection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Radkevich

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Bi-directional reflection distribution function (BRDF defines anisotropy of the surface reflection. It is required to specify the boundary condition for radiative transfer (RT modeling used in aerosol retrievals, cloud retrievals, atmospheric modeling, and other applications. Ground based measurements of reflected radiance draw increasing attention as a source of information about anisotropy of surface reflection. Derivation of BRDF from surface radiance requires atmospheric correction. This study develops a new method of retrieving BRDF on its whole domain, making it immediately suitable for further atmospheric RT modeling applications. The method is based on the integral equation relating surface-reflected radiance, BRDF, and solutions of two auxiliary atmosphere-only RT problems. The method requires kernel-based BRDF. The weights of the kernels are obtained with a quickly converging iterative procedure. RT modeling has to be done only one time before the start of iterative process.

The wise translator: reflecting on judgement in translator education ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The question of how one goes about teaching students to be translators is a central area of concern for translation teachers. As a reflective practitioner, I have a hunch about how to solve my problem. This paper is therefore in itself part of a reflective practicum, part of my reflection-in-action. I am in the process of restructuring ...

Reflective Subjects in Kant and Architectural Design Education

Science.gov (United States)

Rawes, Peg

2007-01-01

In architectural design education, students develop drawing, conceptual, and critical skills which are informed by their ability to reflect upon the production of ideas in design processes and in the urban, environmental, social, historical, and cultural context that define architecture and the built environment. Reflective actions and thinking…

Evaluating Multispectral Snowpack Reflectivity With Changing Snow Correlation Lengths

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Do Hyuk; Barros, Ana P.; Kim, Edward J.

2016-01-01

This study investigates the sensitivity of multispectral reflectivity to changing snow correlation lengths. Matzler's ice-lamellae radiative transfer model was implemented and tested to evaluate the reflectivity of snow correlation lengths at multiple frequencies from the ultraviolet (UV) to the microwave bands. The model reveals that, in the UV to infrared (IR) frequency range, the reflectivity and correlation length are inversely related, whereas reflectivity increases with snow correlation length in the microwave frequency range. The model further shows that the reflectivity behavior can be mainly attributed to scattering rather than absorption for shallow snowpacks. The largest scattering coefficients and reflectivity occur at very small correlation lengths (approximately 10(exp -5 m) for frequencies higher than the IR band. In the microwave range, the largest scattering coefficients are found at millimeter wavelengths. For validation purposes, the ice-lamella model is coupled with a multilayer snow physics model to characterize the reflectivity response of realistic snow hydrological processes. The evolution of the coupled model simulated reflectivities in both the visible and the microwave bands is consistent with satellite-based reflectivity observations in the same frequencies. The model results are also compared with colocated in situ snow correlation length measurements (Cold Land Processes Field Experiment 2002-2003). The analysis and evaluation of model results indicate that the coupled multifrequency radiative transfer and snow hydrology modeling system can be used as a forward operator in a data-assimilation framework to predict the status of snow physical properties, including snow correlation length.

A Structured Transfer of Care Process Reduces Perioperative Complications in Cardiac Surgery Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Michael; Robertson, Jamie; Merkel, Matthias; Aziz, Michael; Hutchens, Michael

2017-08-01

Serious complications are common during the intensive care of postoperative cardiac surgery patients. Some of these complications may be influenced by communication during the process of handover of care from the operating room to the intensive care unit (ICU) team. A structured transfer of care process may reduce the rate of communication errors and perioperative complications. We hypothesized that a collaborative, comprehensive, structured handover of care from the intraoperative team to the ICU team would reduce a specific set of postoperative complications. We tested this hypothesis by developing and introducing a comprehensive multidisciplinary transfer of care process. We measured patient outcomes before and after the intervention using a linkage between 2 care databases: an Anesthesia Information Management System and a critical care complication registry database. There were 1127 total postoperative cardiac surgery admissions during the study period, 550 before and 577 after the intervention. There was no statistical difference between overall complications before and after the intervention (P = .154). However, there was a statistically significant reduction in preventable complications after the intervention (P = .023). The main finding of this investigation is that the introduction of a collaborative, comprehensive transfer of care process from the operating room to the ICU was associated with patients suffering fewer preventable complications.

Reduced Order Fractional Fourier Transform A New Variant to Fractional Signal Processing Definition and Properties

OpenAIRE

Kumar, Sanjay

2018-01-01

In this paper, a new variant to fractional signal processing is proposed known as the Reduced Order Fractional Fourier Transform. Various properties satisfied by its transformation kernel is derived. The properties associated with the proposed Reduced Order Fractional Fourier Transform like shift, modulation, time-frequency shift property are also derived and it is shown mathematically that when the rotation angle of Reduced Order Fractional Fourier Transform approaches 90 degrees, the propos...

Reflective Healthcare Systems: micro-Cycle of Self-Reflection to empower users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Jimenez Garcia

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Data collection and reflection are considered an integrated process in Personal Informatics to help users take action towards changing behaviour. Facilitating the collection and visualization of large data sets has been a major technical challenge to guarantee meaningful and effortless information to users. However this focus results in a passive involvement of users in these stages, creating distance between the user and their data, thus hindering proper understanding of people’s current behaviours. Designing for active participation may aid users in forming a closer bond to data. Going beyond the support of visualization of performance data, this paper introduces ESTHER 1.3 as an approach to facilitate active mini cycles of self-reflection (mCR by means of in-situ self-reporting mechanisms. ESTHER 1.3 is presented as an implementation of this mini cycles in the context of physical activity and knowledge workers. A field study evaluation of 23 days with 5 users shows the opportunities of the mini cycles to engage people in deeper reflection and to support them to perform better-informed actions, as well as the challenges in the implementation of mCR elements for a specific context.

Distinguishing iron-reducing from sulfate-reducing conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Chapelle, F.H.; Bradley, P.M.; Thomas, M.A.; McMahon, P.B.

2009-01-01

Ground water systems dominated by iron- or sulfate-reducing conditions may be distinguished by observing concentrations of dissolved iron (Fe2+) and sulfide (sum of H2S, HS-, and S= species and denoted here as "H2S"). This approach is based on the observation that concentrations of Fe2+ and H2S in ground water systems tend to be inversely related according to a hyperbolic function. That is, when Fe2+ concentrations are high, H2S concentrations tend to be low and vice versa. This relation partly reflects the rapid reaction kinetics of Fe2+ with H2S to produce relatively insoluble ferrous sulfides (FeS). This relation also reflects competition for organic substrates between the iron- and the sulfate-reducing microorganisms that catalyze the production of Fe2+ and H 2S. These solubility and microbial constraints operate in tandem, resulting in the observed hyperbolic relation between Fe2+ and H 2S concentrations. Concentrations of redox indicators, including dissolved hydrogen (H2) measured in a shallow aquifer in Hanahan, South Carolina, suggest that if the Fe2+/H2S mass ratio (units of mg/L) exceeded 10, the screened interval being tapped was consistently iron reducing (H2 ???0.2 to 0.8 nM). Conversely, if the Fe 2+/H2S ratio was less than 0.30, consistent sulfate-reducing (H2 ???1 to 5 nM) conditions were observed over time. Concomitantly high Fe2+ and H2S concentrations were associated with H2 concentrations that varied between 0.2 and 5.0 nM over time, suggesting mixing of water from adjacent iron- and sulfate-reducing zones or concomitant iron and sulfate reduction under nonelectron donor-limited conditions. These observations suggest that Fe2+/H2S mass ratios may provide useful information concerning the occurrence and distribution of iron and sulfate reduction in ground water systems. ?? 2009 National Ground Water Association.

Spontaneous Self-Distancing and Adaptive Self-Reflection Across Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Rachel E; Kross, Ethan; Duckworth, Angela L

2015-07-01

Experiments performed primarily with adults show that self-distancing facilitates adaptive self-reflection. However, no research has investigated whether adolescents spontaneously engage in this process or whether doing so is linked to adaptive outcomes. In this study, 226 African American adolescents, aged 11-20, reflected on an anger-related interpersonal experience. As expected, spontaneous self-distancing during reflection predicted lower levels of emotional reactivity by leading adolescents to reconstrue (rather than recount) their experience and blame their partner less. Moreover, the inverse relation between self-distancing and emotional reactivity strengthened with age. These findings highlight the role that self-distancing plays in fostering adaptive self-reflection in adolescence, and begin to elucidate the role that development plays in enhancing the benefits of engaging in this process. © 2015 The Authors. Child Development © 2015 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Can reflecting on personal values online increase positive beliefs about counseling?

Science.gov (United States)

Lannin, Daniel G; Vogel, David L; Heath, Patrick J

2017-04-01

This research developed and tested an online values-affirmation exercise to attenuate threat and enhance positive beliefs about counseling among individuals struggling with mental health concerns. There is evidence that reflecting on personal values (values-affirmation) is an effective approach to eliciting self-affirmation-a psychological process that temporarily bolsters self-worth in order to forestall maladaptive, self-protective responses to counseling information. The present study utilized a randomized 2-group between-subjects design to test the effectiveness of a values-affirmation exercise with an online sample (N = 186) of adults who reported struggling with a mental health concern. It was predicted that values-affirmation would reduce threat related to reading mental health information and increase positive beliefs about counseling. Results indicated that those in the values-affirmation condition reported fewer negative emotions such as feeling upset, irritable, hostile, and scared after reading mental health information, indicating that the information was perceived as less threatening. There was also evidence that engaging in values-affirmation was associated with greater anticipated growth in counseling and greater intent to seek counseling, reflecting greater positive beliefs about counseling. Overall, the results suggest that reflecting on personal values may have the potential to enhance the positive effects of online psychoeducation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

A climatology of visible surface reflectance spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zoogman, Peter; Liu, Xiong; Chance, Kelly; Sun, Qingsong; Schaaf, Crystal; Mahr, Tobias; Wagner, Thomas

2016-01-01

We present a high spectral resolution climatology of visible surface reflectance as a function of wavelength for use in satellite measurements of ozone and other atmospheric species. The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument is planned to measure backscattered solar radiation in the 290–740 nm range, including the ultraviolet and visible Chappuis ozone bands. Observation in the weak Chappuis band takes advantage of the relative transparency of the atmosphere in the visible to achieve sensitivity to near-surface ozone. However, due to the weakness of the ozone absorption features this measurement is more sensitive to errors in visible surface reflectance, which is highly variable. We utilize reflectance measurements of individual plant, man-made, and other surface types to calculate the primary modes of variability of visible surface reflectance at a high spectral resolution, comparable to that of TEMPO (0.6 nm). Using the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Bidirection Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)/albedo product and our derived primary modes we construct a high spatial resolution climatology of wavelength-dependent surface reflectance over all viewing scenes and geometries. The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment–2 (GOME-2) Lambertian Equivalent Reflectance (LER) product provides complementary information over water and snow scenes. Preliminary results using this approach in multispectral ultraviolet+visible ozone retrievals from the GOME-2 instrument show significant improvement to the fitting residuals over vegetated scenes. - Highlights: • Our goals was visible surface reflectance for satellite trace gas measurements. • Captured the range of surface reflectance spectra through EOF analysis. • Used satellite surface reflectance products for each given scene to anchor EOFs. • Generated a climatology of time/geometry dependent surface reflectance spectra. • Demonstrated potential to

Reducing the framing effect in older and younger adults by encouraging analytic processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Ayanna K; Millar, Peter R

2012-03-01

The present study explored whether the framing effect could be reduced in older and younger adults using techniques that influenced the accessibility of information relevant to the decision-making processing. Accessibility was manipulated indirectly in Experiment 1 by having participants engage in concurrent tasks, and directly in Experiment 2, through an instructions manipulation that required participants to maintain a goal of analytic processing throughout the experimental trial. We tested 120 older and 120 younger adults in Experiment 1. Participants completed 28 decision trials while concurrently either performing a probability calculation task or a memory task. In Experiment 2, we tested 136 older and 136 younger adults. Participants completed 48 decision trials after either having been instructed to "think like a scientist" or base decisions on "gut reactions." Results demonstrated that the framing effect was reduced in older and younger adults in the probability calculation task in Experiment 1 and under the "think like a scientist" instructions manipulation in Experiment 2. These results suggest that when information relevant to unbiased decision making was made more accessible, both older and younger adults were able to reduce susceptibility to the framing effect.

Seismic-reflection surveys of the Blake Ridge, R/V Cape Hatteras, 1992 and 1995; data acquisition, navigation and processing

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Michael H.; Dillon, William P.; Anton, Christopher H.; Danforth, William W.

1999-01-01

As part of an ongoing study, seismic-reflection profiles were collected over the Blake Ridge in 1992 and 1995, in order to map the volume and distribution of methane hydrate. Faulting and seafloor instabilities appear to be related to methane hydrate processes at the Blake Ridge. Seismic profiles display a prominent collapse structure at the crest, which is inferred to have resulted from the mobilization of sediment that was associated with methane hydrate dissociation.

Erythropoietin reduces neural and cognitive processing of fear in human models of antidepressant drug action

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miskowiak, Kamilla; O'Sullivan, Ursula; Harmer, Catherine J

2007-01-01

with reduced attention to fear. Erythropoietin additionally reduced recognition of fearful facial expressions without affecting recognition of other emotional expressions. These actions occurred in the absence of changes in hematological parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that Epo directly......) versus saline on the neural processing of happy and fearful faces in 23 healthy volunteers. Facial expression recognition was assessed outside the scanner. RESULTS: One week after administration, Epo reduced neural response to fearful versus neutral faces in the occipito-parietal cortex consistent...... study aimed to explore the effects of Epo on neural and behavioral measures of emotional processing relevant for depression and the effects of conventional antidepressant medication. METHODS: In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the effects of Epo (40,000 IU...

Enhancing Light-Trapping Properties of Amorphous Si Thin-Film Solar Cells Containing High-Reflective Silver Conductors Fabricated Using a Nonvacuum Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun-Chin Liu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We proposed a low-cost and highly reflective liquid organic sheet silver conductor using back contact reflectors in amorphous silicon (a-Si single junction superstrate configuration thin-film solar cells produced using a nonvacuum screen printing process. A comparison of silver conductor samples with vacuum-system-sputtered silver samples indicated that the short-circuit current density (Jsc of sheet silver conductor cells was higher than 1.25 mA/cm2. Using external quantum efficiency measurements, the sheet silver conductor using back contact reflectors in cells was observed to effectively enhance the light-trapping ability in a long wavelength region (between 600 nm and 800 nm. Consequently, we achieved an optimal initial active area efficiency and module conversion efficiency of 9.02% and 6.55%, respectively, for the a-Si solar cells. The results indicated that the highly reflective sheet silver conductor back contact reflector layer prepared using a nonvacuum process is a suitable candidate for high-performance a-Si thin-film solar cells.

Reflections about the mathematics teachers' formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria José de Freitas Mendes

2010-06-01

Full Text Available This paper brings some reflections about the formation of the math teacher that made part of my marsters paper and that aimed to investigate the process of formation of the math teacher. The focus of this study incided at the contributions of teaching practice in the teacher's formation above the new paradigms of formation, as a professional development and as a reflexive teacher. These reflections, from the learning and teaching process and from the meaning of form a teacher analyse the crisis and the restructuration of the teacher's formation and conclude being necessary that in the graduation courses there's a character more practice to the pedagogical formation, making possible for the future teacher to develop attitudes of autonomy, reflexion and investigation

Partial reflection data collection and processing using a small computer

Science.gov (United States)

Birley, M. H.; Sechrist, C. F., Jr.

1971-01-01

Online data collection of the amplitudes of circularly polarized radio waves, partially reflected from the D region of the earth's ionosphere, has enabled the calculation of an electron-density profile in the height region 60-90 km. A PDP 15/30 digital computer with an analog to digital converter and magnetic tape as an intermediary storage device are used. The computer configuration, the software developed, and the preliminary results are described.

Separation of irradiance and reflectance from observed color images by logarithmical nonlinear diffusion process

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Takahiro; Takahashi, Hiromi; Komatsu, Takashi

2006-02-01

The Retinex theory was first proposed by Land, and deals with separation of irradiance from reflectance in an observed image. The separation problem is an ill-posed problem. Land and others proposed various Retinex separation algorithms. Recently, Kimmel and others proposed a variational framework that unifies the previous Retinex algorithms such as the Poisson-equation-type Retinex algorithms developed by Horn and others, and presented a Retinex separation algorithm with the time-evolution of a linear diffusion process. However, the Kimmel's separation algorithm cannot achieve physically rational separation, if true irradiance varies among color channels. To cope with this problem, we introduce a nonlinear diffusion process into the time-evolution. Moreover, as to its extension to color images, we present two approaches to treat color channels: the independent approach to treat each color channel separately and the collective approach to treat all color channels collectively. The latter approach outperforms the former. Furthermore, we apply our separation algorithm to a high quality chroma key in which before combining a foreground frame and a background frame into an output image a color of each pixel in the foreground frame are spatially adaptively corrected through transformation of the separated irradiance. Experiments demonstrate superiority of our separation algorithm over the Kimmel's separation algorithm.

Surface energy loss processes in XPS studied by absolute reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagatomi, T.; Goto, K.

2010-01-01

The results of the investigation of the inelastic interaction of 300-3000 eV electrons with the Ni and Au surfaces by the analysis of absolute reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS) spectra were described. The present analysis enables the inelastic mean free path (IMFP), surface excitation parameter (SEP) and differential SEP (DSEP) to be obtained simultaneously from an absolute REELS spectrum. The obtained IMFPs for Ni and Au showed a good agreement with those calculated using the TPP-2M predictive equation. The present SEPs determined for Ni and Au were fitted to the Chen's formula describing the dependence of the SEP on the electron energy, and material parameters for Ni and Au in Chen's formula were proposed. The present DESPs were compared with the theoretical results, and a reasonable agreement between the experimentally determined DSEPs and theoretical results was confirmed. The MC modeling of calculating the REELS spectrum, in which energy loss processes due to surface excitations are taken into account, was also described. The IMFP, SEP and DSEP determined by the present absolute REELS analysis were employed to describe energy loss processes by inelastic scattering in the proposed MC simulation. The simulated REELS spectra were found to be in a good agreement with the experimental spectra for both Ni and Au.

A Triadic Reflective-Impulsive-Interoceptive Awareness Model of General and Impulsive Information System Use: Behavioral Tests of Neuro-Cognitive Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Turel, Ofir; Bechara, Antoine

2016-01-01

This study examines a behavioral tripartite model developed in the field of addiction, and applies it here to understanding general and impulsive information technology use. It suggests that technology use is driven by two information-processing brain systems: reflective and impulsive, and that their effects on use are modulated by interoceptive awareness processes. The resultant reflective-impulsive-interoceptive awareness model is tested in two behavioral studies. Both studies employ SEM techniques to time-lagged self-report data from n 1 = 300 and n 2 = 369 social networking site users. Study 1 demonstrated that temptations augment the effect of habit on technology use, and reduce the effect of satisfaction on use. Study 2 showed that temptations strengthen the effect of habit on impulsive technology use, and weaken the effect of behavioral expectations on impulsive technology use. Hence, the results consistently support the notion that information technology users' behaviors are influenced by reflective and impulsive information processing systems; and that the equilibrium of these systems is determined, at least in part, by one's temptations. These results can serve as a basis for understanding the etiology of modern day addictions.

Real-time defect detection on highly reflective curved surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Rosati, G.; Boschetti, G.; Biondi, A.; Rossi, A.

2009-03-01

This paper presents an automated defect detection system for coated plastic components for the automotive industry. This research activity came up as an evolution of a previous study which employed a non-flat mirror to illuminate and inspect high reflective curved surfaces. According to this method, the rays emitted from a light source are conveyed on the surface under investigation by means of a suitably curved mirror. After the reflection on the surface, the light rays are collected by a CCD camera, in which the coating defects appear as shadows of various shapes and dimensions. In this paper we present an evolution of the above-mentioned method, introducing a simplified mirror set-up in order to reduce the costs and the complexity of the defect detection system. In fact, a set of plane mirrors is employed instead of the curved one. Moreover, the inspection of multiple bend radius parts is investigated. A prototype of the machine vision system has been developed in order to test this simplified method. This device is made up of a light projector, a set of plane mirrors for light rays reflection, a conveyor belt for handling components, a CCD camera and a desktop PC which performs image acquisition and processing. Like in the previous system, the defects are identified as shadows inside a high brightness image. At the end of the paper, first experimental results are presented.

Inverse scattering and refraction corrected reflection for breast cancer imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Wiskin, J.; Borup, D.; Johnson, S.; Berggren, M.; Robinson, D.; Smith, J.; Chen, J.; Parisky, Y.; Klock, John

2010-03-01

Reflection ultrasound (US) has been utilized as an adjunct imaging modality for over 30 years. TechniScan, Inc. has developed unique, transmission and concomitant reflection algorithms which are used to reconstruct images from data gathered during a tomographic breast scanning process called Warm Bath Ultrasound (WBU™). The transmission algorithm yields high resolution, 3D, attenuation and speed of sound (SOS) images. The reflection algorithm is based on canonical ray tracing utilizing refraction correction via the SOS and attenuation reconstructions. The refraction correction reflection algorithm allows 360 degree compounding resulting in the reflection image. The requisite data are collected when scanning the entire breast in a 33° C water bath, on average in 8 minutes. This presentation explains how the data are collected and processed by the 3D transmission and reflection imaging mode algorithms. The processing is carried out using two NVIDIA® Tesla™ GPU processors, accessing data on a 4-TeraByte RAID. The WBU™ images are displayed in a DICOM viewer that allows registration of all three modalities. Several representative cases are presented to demonstrate potential diagnostic capability including: a cyst, fibroadenoma, and a carcinoma. WBU™ images (SOS, attenuation, and reflection modalities) are shown along with their respective mammograms and standard ultrasound images. In addition, anatomical studies are shown comparing WBU™ images and MRI images of a cadaver breast. This innovative technology is designed to provide additional tools in the armamentarium for diagnosis of breast disease.

Reflecting variable opening insulating panel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nungesser, W.T.

1976-01-01

A description is given of a reflecting variable opening insulating panel assembly, comprising a static panel assembly of reflecting insulation sheets forming a cavity along one side of the panel and a movable panel opening out by sliding from the cavity of the static panel, and a locking device for holding the movable panel in a position extending from the cavity of the static panel. This can apply to a nuclear reactor of which the base might require maintenance and periodical checking and for which it is desirable to have available certain processes for the partial dismantling of the insulation [fr

Guide on reflectivity data analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jeong Soo; Ku, Ja Seung; Seong, Baek Seok; Lee, Chang Hee; Hong, Kwang Pyo; Choi, Byung Hoon

2004-09-01

This report contains reduction and fitting process of neutron reflectivity data by REFLRED and REFLFIT in NIST. Because the detail of data reduction like BKG, footprint and data normalization was described, it will be useful to the user who has no experience in this field. Also, reflectivity and BKG of d-PS thin film were measured by HANARO neutron reflectometer. From these, the structure of d-PS thin film was analyzed with REFLRED and REFLFIT. Because the structure of thin film such as thickness, roughness and SLD was attained in the work, the possibility of data analysis with REFLRED and REFLFIT was certified

Seismic reflection imaging, accounting for primary and multiple reflections

Science.gov (United States)

Wapenaar, Kees; van der Neut, Joost; Thorbecke, Jan; Broggini, Filippo; Slob, Evert; Snieder, Roel

2015-04-01

Imaging of seismic reflection data is usually based on the assumption that the seismic response consists of primary reflections only. Multiple reflections, i.e. waves that have reflected more than once, are treated as primaries and are imaged at wrong positions. There are two classes of multiple reflections, which we will call surface-related multiples and internal multiples. Surface-related multiples are those multiples that contain at least one reflection at the earth's surface, whereas internal multiples consist of waves that have reflected only at subsurface interfaces. Surface-related multiples are the strongest, but also relatively easy to deal with because the reflecting boundary (the earth's surface) is known. Internal multiples constitute a much more difficult problem for seismic imaging, because the positions and properties of the reflecting interfaces are not known. We are developing reflection imaging methodology which deals with internal multiples. Starting with the Marchenko equation for 1D inverse scattering problems, we derived 3D Marchenko-type equations, which relate reflection data at the surface to Green's functions between virtual sources anywhere in the subsurface and receivers at the surface. Based on these equations, we derived an iterative scheme by which these Green's functions can be retrieved from the reflection data at the surface. This iterative scheme requires an estimate of the direct wave of the Green's functions in a background medium. Note that this is precisely the same information that is also required by standard reflection imaging schemes. However, unlike in standard imaging, our iterative Marchenko scheme retrieves the multiple reflections of the Green's functions from the reflection data at the surface. For this, no knowledge of the positions and properties of the reflecting interfaces is required. Once the full Green's functions are retrieved, reflection imaging can be carried out by which the primaries and multiples are

Activation of anterior insula during self-reflection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gemma Modinos

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Functional neuroimaging studies have suggested activation of midline frontoparietal brain regions to be at the core of self-related processes. However, although some studies reported involvement of the insula, little attention has been paid to this region as forming part of the "self"-network. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, we aimed at replicating and extending previous studies by scanning subjects whilst reflecting upon their own personal qualities as compared to those of an acquaintance. A third condition with statements about general knowledge was used to control for attention, semantic processing and decision making processes. The results showed a significant effect of task in brain activity, consistent with previous findings, by which both person conditions recruited a common set of medial prefrontal and posterior regions, yet significant differences between self and other were found in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC. Notably, significant neural activation in the left anterior insula was observed as uniquely associated with self-reflection. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results provide further evidence for the specific recruitment of anterior MPFC and ACC regions for self-related processing, and highlight a role for the insula in self-reflection. As the insula is closely connected with ascending internal body signals, this may indicate that the accumulation of changes in affective states that might be implied in self-processing may contribute to our sense of self.

Power-generating process of obtaining gas-energy carrier and reducer from coal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tleugabulov, S.; Duncheva, E.; Zubkevich, M.

1999-01-01

The manufacture of power-generating gas has the important economic value for Kazakhstan having large territory, raw and fuel resources especially power coal and clean coal wastes. The technology of reception of gas-energy carrier and reducer from power coal is developed. The basic product of technological process is heated reducing gas. Reducing potential of the gas is characterized by a volumetric share of components (CO+H 2 )-RC in relation to volume of whole mix of gases received with gasification of coal. The value of parameter RC is regulated by a degree of enrichment of air by oxygen r 0 , and the temperature - by the charge of a parity of endothermic reaction in the chamber of gas regeneration. The dependence of the gas structure and temperature on the degree of enrichment of air by oxygen is shown and the circuit of the gas generator is given. (author)

Lean Manufacturing - A Powerfull Tool for Reducing Waste During the Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihai Apreutesei

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Lean manufacturing provides a new management approach for many small and medium size manufacturers, especially older firms organized and managed under traditional push systems. Improvement results can be dramatic in terms of quality, cycle times, and customer responsiveness. Lean manufacturing is more than a set of tools and techniques and has been widely adopted by many production companies. Lean manufacturing is a culture in which all employees continuously look for ways to improve processes. In the present article are presented the Lean Manufacturing tools, like kaizen, Kanban, poka-yoke witch a company can use to reduce the waste(muda during a production process. The paper contains also, the most common seven types of waste from production and some examples from our daily activity.

Digital Storytelling as Poetic Reflection in Occupational Therapy Education: An Empirical Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisebet S. Skarpaas

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Stories are powerful aids to reflection. Thus, the use of stories may be a pathway to enhanced reflective practice and clinical reasoning skills. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether and how digital storytelling can contribute to occupational therapy (OT students’ learning through reflections on experiences from placement education. A cohort of OT students (n = 57 participated in a 2-day workshop to create digital stories. Data were generated through a questionnaire with a response rate of 100% of students who completed the workshop (n = 34. Quantitative analysis methods were used to reveal a level of agreement in the questionnaire statements, and qualitative content analysis was performed for the open-ended questions. The results show that the students learned through reflection on placement experiences in the digital storytelling process as they emphasized reflection as a main outcome. They highlighted the importance of sharing thoughts and reflections with peers. The students confirmed that this happens through the creative process and the use of multimodality in poetic reflection, but they were less convinced by the use of the narrative approach as a dramatic structure. The students experienced reflection and sharing as important elements in the digital storytelling process. However, investigations are needed into the use of a narrative approach to enhance reflection with larger cohorts as well as more thematic analyses.

Virtual logistics as a support for decomposition process of supply chain (conceptual reflections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Traditionally the concept of the "supply chain" is connected with various forms of the technical, organizational and economic integration. The integration deals mainly with multilateral relations among firms, thus constituting subsequent links of products flows in supply chains and creating complex networks of business connections. Due to social and economic factors, and mainly outsourcing and resulting accent on logistics services, traditional supply chains become decomposed. Therefore, there is a need to reconsider some concepts connected with this process. Methods: The description and analysis of present and decomposing supply chains were presented and discussed. The analysis of reasons and possibilities to give up the processes of the absolute integration of supply chains in the direction of decomposed structures and the indication of possibilities to use the concept of a virtual logistics as a concept, which allows essentially such actions, was conducted. Results: The disintegration of traditional value chains is one of these kinds' concepts, which are reflected also in classic supply chains. Probably the commonly used methods of the research and analysis of these supply chains do not conduce to make decisions under conditions of the lack of the continuity of business processes. Old methods and techniques of the management do not fit fully to modern business requirements, which are probably not even fully highlighted and properly understood. Conclusions: The saturation of modern supply chains with services caused significant modifications of the logic and many mechanisms of their functioning, which in turn can lead to changes of a paradigm of the management of these more and more complex business structures. The aspirations of companies to achieve the competitive advantage on modern markets help to change the structure and the nature of supply chains, which operate on these markets, in the direction of their virtualization.

Key Inflammatory Processes in Human NASH Are Reflected in Ldlr-/-.Leiden Mice: A Translational Gene Profiling Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Martine C; Kleemann, Robert; van Koppen, Arianne; Hanemaaijer, Roeland; Verschuren, Lars

2018-01-01

Introduction: It is generally accepted that metabolic inflammation in the liver is an important driver of disease progression in NASH and associated matrix remodeling/fibrosis. However, the exact molecular inflammatory mechanisms are poorly defined in human studies. Investigation of key pathogenic mechanisms requires the use of pre-clinical models, for instance for time-resolved studies. Such models must reflect molecular disease processes of importance in patients. Herein we characterized inflammation in NASH patients on the molecular level by transcriptomics and investigated whether key human disease pathways can be recapitulated experimentally in Ldlr -/- .Leiden mice, an established pre-clinical model of NASH. Methods: Human molecular inflammatory processes were defined using a publicly available NASH gene expression profiling dataset (GSE48452) allowing the comparison of biopsy-confirmed NASH patients with normal controls. Gene profiling data from high-fat diet (HFD)-fed Ldlr -/- .Leiden mice (GSE109345) were used for assessment of the translational value of these mice. Results: In human NASH livers, we observed regulation of 65 canonical pathways of which the majority was involved in inflammation (32%), lipid metabolism (16%), and extracellular matrix/remodeling (12%). A similar distribution of pathways across these categories, inflammation (36%), lipid metabolism (24%) and extracellular matrix/remodeling (8%) was observed in HFD-fed Ldlr -/- .Leiden mice. Detailed evaluation of these pathways revealed that a substantial proportion (11 out of 13) of human NASH inflammatory pathways was recapitulated in Ldlr -/- .Leiden mice. Furthermore, the activation state of identified master regulators of inflammation (i.e., specific transcription factors, cytokines, and growth factors) in human NASH was largely reflected in Ldlr -/- .Leiden mice, further substantiating its translational value. Conclusion: Human NASH is characterized by upregulation of specific

Facilitating ethical reflection among scientists using the ethical matrix

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Karsten Klint; Forsberg, Ellen-Marie; Gamborg, Christian

2011-01-01

Several studies have indicated that scientists are likely to have an outlook on both facts and values that are different to that of lay people in important ways. This is one significant reason it is currently believed that in order for scientists to exercise a reliable ethical reflection about...... their research it is necessary for them to engage in dialogue with other stakeholders. This paper reports on an exercise to encourage a group of scientists to reflect on ethical issues without the presence of external stakeholders. It reports on the use of a reflection process with scientists working in the area...... of animal disease genomics (mainly drawn from the EADGENE EC Network of Excellence). This reflection process was facilitated by using an ethical engagement framework, a modified version of the Ethical Matrix. As judged by two criteria, a qualitative assessment of the outcomes and the participants' own...

META-COMMUNICATION FOR REFLECTIVE ONLINE CONVERSATIONS: Models for Distance Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasin OZARSLAN

2012-01-01

Full Text Available “Meta Communication” is the process between message designers when they are talking about the learning process, as distinguished from their articulation of the “substantive” learning, itself. Therefore, it is important to understand how to design reflective online conversations and how to implement a diverse milieu for prospective online learners so that they are able to transfer their information, knowledge, and learning from theoretical forms to real life experiences. This book discusses meta-communication for reflective online conversations to provide digital people with models for distance education. This book brings together meta-communication, distance education, and models as well as reflective online conversations at the same time.The book is consisted of 321 pages covering 17 chapters. Topics covered in this book are divided into four sections: Meta-communicative knowledge building and online communications, dynamic models of meta-communication and reflective conversations, designing online messages for reflections, and meta-communicative assessments and reflective communication skills. The book's broader audience is anyone who is involved in e-learning.

Reducing the heterogeneity of xylan through processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wei; Johnson, Amanda M; Barone, Justin R; Renneckar, Scott

2016-10-05

Glycerol thermal processing (GTP) of hardwood biomass at temperatures between 200 and 240°C facilitated stepwise biopolymer fractionation, while limiting significant degradation of the major hemicellulose, glucuronoxylan, into water-extractable oligosaccharides. After GTP pretreatment and sequential water and organic solvent extraction, up to 80% of the initial xylan remained in the pretreated biomass. The majority of the xylan from GTP pretreated and water/solvent extracted biomass was removed using a mild alkali extraction and the composition was compared to xylan directly isolated from untreated hardwood. The precipitated xylan from the neutralized alkaline filtrate was isolated as a water insoluble xylan portion (WIX). The residual xylan dissolved in the neutralized filtrate was precipitated in cold methanol and recovered as the water soluble xylan portion (WSX). Results showed that xylan in WIX was in a polymeric form with a number average degree of polymerization (DP) over 100, whereas the WSX had a much lower average DP of 27 (ca) and contained more substitution. As the processing severity increased during GTP pretreatment, the proportion of WIX increased and the purity of the xylan within the WIX sample reached 84% based on compositional analysis. FT-IR analysis of WIX revealed that xylan isolated after GTP contained peaks related to a reduced carbonyl signal compared to the control. Furthermore, crude WSX contained less xylan with more lignin contamination at severe GTP conditions. The recovery of the xylan in two portions facilitated a preferential purification strategy resulting in WIX with an extremely narrow polydispersity index between 1.1 and 1.25, dependent upon the GTP severity. This study provided insight into fractionating higher molecular weight xylan that may serve value-added applications such as healthcare materials and advanced packaging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MMS Observation of Shock-Reflected He++ at Earth's Quasi-Perpendicular Bow Shock

Science.gov (United States)

Broll, Jeffrey Michael; Fuselier, S. A.; Trattner, K. J.; Schwartz, S. J.; Burch, J. L.; Giles, B. L.; Anderson, B. J.

2018-01-01

Specular reflection of protons at Earth's supercritical quasi-perpendicular bow shock has long been known to lead to the thermalization of solar wind particles by velocity-space dispersion. The same process has been proposed for He++ but could not be confirmed previously due to insufficient time resolution for velocity distribution measurements. We present observations and simulations of a bow shock crossing by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission on 20 November 2015 indicating that a very similar reflection process for He++ is possible, and further that the part of the incoming distribution with the highest probability of reflecting is the same for H+ and He++. However, the reflection process for He++ is accomplished by deeper penetration into the downstream magnetic fields.

Focused beam reflectance method as an innovative (PAT) tool to monitor in-line granulation process in fluidized bed.

Science.gov (United States)

Alshihabi, Firas; Vandamme, Thierry; Betz, Gabriele

2013-02-01

Fluidized bed granulation is a commonly used unit operation in the pharmaceutical industry. But still to obtain and control the desired granule size is challenging due to many process variables affecting the final product. Focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM, Mettler-Toledo, Switzerland) is an increasingly popular particle growth analysis technique. FBRM tool was installed in two different locations inside a fluidized bed granulator (GPCG2, Glatt, Binzen) in order to monitor the granulation growth kinetics. An experimental design was created to study the effect of process variables using FBRM probe and comparing the results with the one's measured by sieve analysis. The probe location is of major importance to get smooth and robust curves. The excess feeding of binder solution might lead to agglomeration and thus to process collapse, however this phenomenon was clearly detected with FBRM method. On the other hand, the process variables at certain levels might affect the FBRM efficiency by blocking the probe window with sticky particles. A good correlation was obtained (R(2) = 0.95) between FBRM and sieve analysis mean particle size. The proposed in-line monitoring tool enables the operator to select appropriate process parameters and control the wet granulation process more efficiently.

Reflection of illumination laser from gas metal arc weld pool surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Xiaoji; Zhang, YuMing

2009-01-01

The weld pool is the core of the welding process where complex welding phenomena originate. Skilled welders acquire their process feedback primarily from the weld pool. Observation and measurement of the three-dimensional weld pool surface thus play a fundamental role in understanding and future control of complex welding processes. To this end, a laser line is projected onto the weld pool surface in pulsed gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and an imaging plane is used to intercept its reflection from the weld pool surface. Resultant images of the reflected laser are analyzed and it is found that the weld pool surface in GMAW does specularly reflect the projected laser as in gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). Hence, the weld pool surface in GMAW is also specular and it is in principle possible that it may be observed and measured by projecting a laser pattern and then intercepting and imaging the reflection from it. Due to high frequencies of surface fluctuations, GMAW requires a relatively short time to image the reflected laser

Technologically Reflective Individuals as Enablers of Social Innovation*

Science.gov (United States)

Rau, Christiane; Gassmann, Oliver; van den Hende, Ellis

2015-01-01

This paper identifies technologically reflective individuals and demonstrates their ability to develop innovations that benefit society. Technological reflectiveness (TR) is the tendency to think about the societal impact of an innovation, and those who display this capability in public are individuals who participate in online idea competitions focused on technical solutions for social problems (such as General Electric's eco‐challenge, the James Dyson Award, and the BOSCH Technology Horizon Award). However, technologically reflective individuals also reflect in private settings (e.g., when reading news updates), thus requiring a scale to identify them. This paper describes the systematic development of an easy‐to‐administer multi‐item scale to measure an individual's level of TR. Applying the TR scale in an empirical study on a health monitoring system confirmed that individuals' degree of TR relates positively to their ability to generate (1) more new product features and uses, (2) features with higher levels of societal impact, and (3) features that are more elaborated. This scale allows firms seeking to implement co‐creation in their new product development (NPD) process and sustainable solutions to identify such individuals. Thus, this paper indicates that companies wishing to introduce new technological products with a positive societal impact may profit from involving technologically reflective individuals in the NPD process. PMID:27134342

Technologically Reflective Individuals as Enablers of Social Innovation.

Science.gov (United States)

Schweitzer, Fiona; Rau, Christiane; Gassmann, Oliver; van den Hende, Ellis

2015-11-01

This paper identifies technologically reflective individuals and demonstrates their ability to develop innovations that benefit society. Technological reflectiveness (TR) is the tendency to think about the societal impact of an innovation, and those who display this capability in public are individuals who participate in online idea competitions focused on technical solutions for social problems (such as General Electric's eco-challenge, the James Dyson Award, and the BOSCH Technology Horizon Award). However, technologically reflective individuals also reflect in private settings (e.g., when reading news updates), thus requiring a scale to identify them. This paper describes the systematic development of an easy-to-administer multi-item scale to measure an individual's level of TR. Applying the TR scale in an empirical study on a health monitoring system confirmed that individuals' degree of TR relates positively to their ability to generate (1) more new product features and uses, (2) features with higher levels of societal impact, and (3) features that are more elaborated. This scale allows firms seeking to implement co-creation in their new product development (NPD) process and sustainable solutions to identify such individuals. Thus, this paper indicates that companies wishing to introduce new technological products with a positive societal impact may profit from involving technologically reflective individuals in the NPD process.

The REFLECT approach to literacy and social change: a gender perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Cottingham, S; Metcalf, K; Phnuyal, B

1998-07-01

The introduction to this article on the participatory learning approach to literacy and social change known as REFLECT locates the origins of the approach in the philosophy of Paulo Freire and notes that REFLECT was developed by ACTIONAID in pilot projects in Uganda, Bangladesh, and El Salvador and is now used in 25 countries by 90 groups. REFLECT considers gender equity integral to social change, analyzes the causes of inequalities, creates a process for examining social stratification, addresses conflict as a reality, is an evolving process that embraces innovation, recognizes the importance of individual transformation, and seeks an equitable practice of power at all levels in the process. The article describes how REFLECT sessions are conducted and how they result in women's increased mobility, increased participation in family and community, and changes in the gender division of labor. Examples show how REFLECT sensitizes men as well as women to gender issues, especially if the implementing agency is gender-aware. The article then contrasts the "primer method" of literacy training promoted by the "Women in Development" model to REFLECT's "Gender and Development" (GAD) approach that links literacy to empowerment, raises community consciousness of women's subordination, and creates local-global links. The article concludes by discussing ways to strengthen the GAD/feminist approach in REFLECT, given the fact that it is possible to avoid gender issues in most discussions.

Successful pilot of thermosyphon process heater reduces GHG emissions and operating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnold, W.A.; Neulander, J.I.

1999-01-01

A joint pilot study was conducted by Hudson Products Corporation and PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. to test the feasibility of using a thermosyphon as a part of a thermal recovery process for cold heavy oil reservoir exploitation in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. A thermosyphon process heater can transfer heat from an external combustion chamber to a liquid inside a tank. This paper described the pilot project in which such a heater was successfully tested in a heavy oil field production tank. The field trial was conducted at the Marwayne Field in northeastern Alberta. The results of the pilot study demonstrated that the thermosyphon not only improved process efficiency, but also reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lowered operating costs and improved safety. 5 refs., 3 tabs., 1 fig., 3 appendices

Development of a Hybrid Deep Drawing Process to Reduce Springback of AHSS

Science.gov (United States)

Boskovic, Vladimir; Sommitsch, Christoph; Kicin, Mustafa

2017-09-01

In future, the steel manufacturers will strive for the implementation of Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) in the automotive industry to reduce mass and improve structural performance. A key challenge is the definition of optimal and cost effective processes as well as solutions to introduce complex steel products in cold forming. However, the application of these AHSS often leads to formability problems such as springback. One promising approach in order to minimize springback is the relaxation of stress through the targeted heating of materials in the radius area after the deep drawing process. In this study, experiments are conducted on a Dual Phase (DP) and TWining Induced Plasticity (TWIP) steel for the process feasibility study. This work analyses the influence of various heat treatment temperatures on the springback reduction of deep drawn AHSS.

Reflection and Non-Reflection of Particle Wavepackets

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Timothy; Lekner, John

2008-01-01

Exact closed-form solutions of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation are obtained, describing the propagation of wavepackets in the neighbourhood of a potential. Examples given include zero reflection, total reflection and partial reflection of the wavepacket, for the sech[superscript 2]x/a, 1/x[superscript 2] and delta(x) potentials,…

The reflective teacher education: teaching as an object of research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Altair Alberto Fávero

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The continuing education of teachers has become a compulsory subject in our time. There is a consensus among teachers and school leaders regarding the need to “educate the educators”, because the rational knowledge learned in the process of formation of teachers is not sufficient to face the complexity and the diversity of the problems that the teachers’ work demands. It is necessary and urgent, in any area from education, to reflect about the new forms of exercising the skills needed for the professional practice. In regards to teaching, reflecting in and about the practice enables the educator to reconsider their own performance. The focus of this essay is to analyze the continuing education of teachers from the paradigm of the reflective teacher.KEYWORDS: Reflective teacher, Formative process, Educational policies.

Supporting Fieldwork Learning by Visual Documentation and Reflection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saltofte, Margit

2017-01-01

Photos can be used as a supplements to written fieldnotes and as a sources for mediating reflection during fieldwork and analysis. As part of a field diary, photos can support the recall of experiences and a reflective distance to the events. Photography, as visual representation, can also lead...... to reflection on learning and knowledge production in the process of learning how to conduct fieldwork. Pictures can open the way for abstractions and hidden knowledge, which might otherwise be difficult to formulate in words. However, writing and written field notes cannot be fully replaced by photos...... the role played by photos in their learning process. For students, photography is an everyday documentation form that can support their memory of field experience and serve as a vehicle for the analysis of data. The article discusses how photos and visual representations support fieldwork learning...

Counterfactual and Factual Reflection: The Influence of Past Misdeeds on Future Immoral Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspar, Joseph P; Seabright, Mark A; Reynolds, Scott J; Yam, Kai Chi

2015-01-01

Though the decision to behave immorally is situated within the context of prior immoral behavior, research has provided contradictory insights into this process. In a series of experiments, we demonstrate that the effects of prior immoral behavior depend on how individuals think about, or reflect on, their immoral behavior. In Experiment 1, participants who reflected counterfactually on their prior moral lapses morally disengaged (i.e., rationalized) less than participants who reflected factually. In Experiment 2, participants who reflected counterfactually on their prior moral lapses experienced more guilt than those who reflected factually. Finally, in Experiments 3 and 4, participants who reflected counterfactually lied less on unrelated tasks with real monetary stakes than those who reflected factually. Our studies provide important insights into moral rationalization and moral compensation processes and demonstrate the profound influence of reflection in everyday moral life.

Effect of reflective practice education on self-reflection, insight, and reflective thinking among experienced nurses: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Asselin, Marilyn E; Fain, James A

2013-01-01

A mixed-method study was conducted to determine whether nurses' participation in a reflective practice continuing education program using a structured reflection model makes a difference in nurses' self-reflection, insight, and reflective thinking about clinical practice situations. Findings suggested that use of structured reflection using question cues, written narratives, and peer-facilitated reflection increased nurses' engagement in self-reflection and enhanced reflective thinking in practice. Including reflective practice education in novice orientation and preceptor training may be beneficial.

Affective Evaluations of Exercising: The Role of Automatic-Reflective Evaluation Discrepancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Ralf; Antoniewicz, Franziska

2016-12-01

Sometimes our automatic evaluations do not correspond well with those we can reflect on and articulate. We present a novel approach to the assessment of automatic and reflective affective evaluations of exercising. Based on the assumptions of the associative-propositional processes in evaluation model, we measured participants' automatic evaluations of exercise and then shared this information with them, asked them to reflect on it and rate eventual discrepancy between their reflective evaluation and the assessment of their automatic evaluation. We found that mismatch between self-reported ideal exercise frequency and actual exercise frequency over the previous 14 weeks could be regressed on the discrepancy between a relatively negative automatic and a more positive reflective evaluation. This study illustrates the potential of a dual-process approach to the measurement of evaluative responses and suggests that mistrusting one's negative spontaneous reaction to exercise and asserting a very positive reflective evaluation instead leads to the adoption of inflated exercise goals.

Reduced Connectivity in the Self-Processing Network of Schizophrenia Patients with Poor Insight

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liemburg, Edith J.; van der Meer, Lisette; Swart, Marte; Curcic-Blake, Branislava; Bruggeman, Richard; Knegtering, Henderikus; Aleman, Andre

2012-01-01

Lack of insight (unawareness of illness) is a common and clinically relevant feature of schizophrenia. Reduced levels of self-referential processing have been proposed as a mechanism underlying poor insight. The default mode network (DMN) has been implicated as a key node in the circuit for

Image Processing Based Signature Verification Technique to Reduce Fraud in Financial Institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hussein Walid

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Handwritten signature is broadly utilized as personal verification in financial institutions ensures the necessity for a robust automatic signature verification tool. This tool aims to reduce fraud in all related financial transactions’ sectors. This paper proposes an online, robust, and automatic signature verification technique using the recent advances in image processing and machine learning. Once the image of a handwritten signature for a customer is captured, several pre-processing steps are performed on it including filtration and detection of the signature edges. Afterwards, a feature extraction process is applied on the image to extract Speeded up Robust Features (SURF and Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT features. Finally, a verification process is developed and applied to compare the extracted image features with those stored in the database for the specified customer. Results indicate high accuracy, simplicity, and rapidity of the developed technique, which are the main criteria to judge a signature verification tool in banking and other financial institutions.

An integrated condition-monitoring method for a milling process using reduced decomposition features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Jie; Wu, Bo; Hu, Youmin; Wang, Yan

2017-01-01

Complex and non-stationary cutting chatter affects productivity and quality in the milling process. Developing an effective condition-monitoring approach is critical to accurately identify cutting chatter. In this paper, an integrated condition-monitoring method is proposed, where reduced features are used to efficiently recognize and classify machine states in the milling process. In the proposed method, vibration signals are decomposed into multiple modes with variational mode decomposition, and Shannon power spectral entropy is calculated to extract features from the decomposed signals. Principal component analysis is adopted to reduce feature size and computational cost. With the extracted feature information, the probabilistic neural network model is used to recognize and classify the machine states, including stable, transition, and chatter states. Experimental studies are conducted, and results show that the proposed method can effectively detect cutting chatter during different milling operation conditions. This monitoring method is also efficient enough to satisfy fast machine state recognition and classification. (paper)

Enhancing Reflective Practice in Multicultural Counseling through Cultural Auditing

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Sandra; Arthur, Nancy; Wong-Wylie, Gina

2010-01-01

Counselors work in an increasingly complex cultural milieu where every encounter with a client must be considered multicultural in nature. Reflective practice is a central component of professional competence and necessarily involves attention to culture. The cultural auditing model provides an effective and flexible reflective process for…

Looping up Professional Reflection in Honours Programmes

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dijk, Trijntje

2012-01-01

Within the Saxion Universities in the Netherlands, a profile of the "Reflective Professional" comprises a number of competencies that the honours programmes are designed to develop and support. This article describes the process of developing these competencies. The process involves three loops of learning, characterized by three sets of…

Hemispherical reflectance model for passive images in an outdoor environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Charles C; Thai, Bea; Yamaoka, Neil; Aboutalib, Omar

2015-05-01

We present a hemispherical reflectance model for simulating passive images in an outdoor environment where illumination is provided by natural sources such as the sun and the clouds. While the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) accurately produces radiance from any objects after the illumination, using the BRDF in calculating radiance requires double integration. Replacing the BRDF by hemispherical reflectance under the natural sources transforms the double integration into a multiplication. This reduces both storage space and computation time. We present the formalism for the radiance of the scene using hemispherical reflectance instead of BRDF. This enables us to generate passive images in an outdoor environment taking advantage of the computational and storage efficiencies. We show some examples for illustration.

The Clinical Learning Spiral: A Model to Develop Reflective Practitioners.

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Stockhausen, Lynette

1994-01-01

The Clinical Learning Spiral incorporates reflective processes into undergraduate nursing education. It entails successive cycles of four phases: preparative (briefing, planning), constructive (practice development), reflective (debriefing), and reconstructive (planning for change and commitment to action). (SK)

Reflection, radiation, and interference near the black hole horizon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuchiev, M.Yu.

2004-01-01

The event horizon of black holes is capable of reflection: there is a finite probability for any particle that approaches the horizon to bounce back. The albedo of the horizon depends on the black hole temperature and the energy of the incoming particle. The reflection shares its physical origins with the Hawking process of radiation; both of them arise as consequences of the mixing of the incoming and outgoing waves that takes place due to quantum processes on the event horizon

Positive Stress and Reflective Practice Among Entrepreneurs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kati Tikkamäki

2016-01-01

Full Text Available While heavy stress loads seem an unavoidable aspect of entrepreneurship, the positive side of stress (often referred to as ‘eustress’ remains a neglected area of research. This paper contributes to entrepreneurship research by linking the research streams of eustress and reflective practice. As a tool for analysing and developing thoughts and actions, reflective practice plays an important role in the interpretative work essential to positive stress experiences. Following an overview of approaches to stress at work, eustress and reflective practice, the paper explores how entrepreneurs experience the role of positive stress and reflective practice in their work and describes the reflective tools utilized by entrepreneurs in promoting eustress. The research process was designed to support reflective dialogue among the 21 Finnish entrepreneurs from different fields who participated in the study, with results based mainly on qualitative interviews. Nine of the interviewed entrepreneurs also kept a positive stress diary, including a three-day physiological measurement analysing their heartbeat variability. The findings suggest that positive stress and reflective practice are intertwined in the experiences of entrepreneurs and illustrate the role of reflective practice as a crucial toolset for promoting positive stress, comprising six reflective tools: studying oneself, changing one’s point of view, putting things into perspective, harnessing a feeling of trust, regulating resources and engaging in dialogue. Individual reflective capabilities vary, and a theory-driven division of reflective practice into individual, social and contextual dimensions is considered useful in understanding those differences. The research offers a starting point for exploring how eustress and reflective practice affect the well-being of entrepreneurs

Assessment of biases in MODIS surface reflectance due to Lambertian approximation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cook, Robert B [ORNL; SanthanaVannan, Suresh K [ORNL

2010-08-01

Using MODIS data and the AERONET-based Surface Reflectance Validation Network (ASRVN), this work studies errors of MODIS atmospheric correction caused by the Lambertian approximation. On one hand, this approximation greatly simplifies the radiative transfer model, reduces the size of the look-up tables, and makes operational algorithm faster. On the other hand, uncompensated atmospheric scattering caused by Lambertian model systematically biases the results. For example, for a typical bowl-shaped bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), the derived reflectance is underestimated at high solar or view zenith angles, where BRDF is high, and is overestimated at low zenith angles where BRDF is low. The magnitude of biases grows with the amount of scattering in the atmosphere, i.e., at shorter wavelengths and at higher aerosol concentration. The slope of regression of Lambertian surface reflectance vs. ASRVN bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) is about 0.85 in the red and 0.6 in the green bands. This error propagates into the MODIS BRDF/albedo algorithm, slightly reducing the magnitude of overall reflectance and anisotropy of BRDF. This results in a small negative bias of spectral surface albedo. An assessment for the GSFC (Greenbelt, USA) validation site shows the albedo reduction by 0.004 in the near infrared, 0.005 in the red, and 0.008 in the green MODIS bands.

Computation of Mach reflection from rigid and yielding surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buckingham, A.C.; Wilson, S.S.

1976-01-01

The present discussion centers on a theoretical description of one aspect of the irregular or Mach reflection from solid surfaces. The discussion is restricted to analytical considerations and some preliminary results using model approximations to the surface interaction phenomena. Currently, full numerical simulations of the irregular reflection surface interaction dynamics have not been obtained since the method is still under development. Discussion of the numerical method is, therefore, restricted to some special procedures for the gas-solid surface boundary dynamics. The discussion is divided into an introductory section briefly describing a particular Mach reflection process. Subsequently, some of the considerations on boundary conditions are submitted for numerical treatment of the gas-solid interface. Analysis and discussion of a yielding solid surface subjected to impulsive loading from an intense gas shock wave follows. This is used as a guide for the development of the numerical procedure. Mach reflection processes are then briefly reviewed with special attention for similitude and singular perturbation features

[Group process: reflections of a nursing team].

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Adriana Serdotte Freitas; Dall'Agnol, Clarice Maria

2011-12-01

The objective of this qualitative, exploratory-descriptive study was to analyze the group process of a nursing team at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), under the light of Pichon-Rivière's Operative Group Theory. Data collection took place in 2008, using a semi-structured questionnaire and focal group. The group work concept is one of the four categories that resulted from the study, and is the object of approach in the present article. It was found that the knowledge about the group process must be shared, disseminated and discussed since the undergraduate studies and developed across the professional career. As the team learns and is able to identify the main indicators of the group process, it becomes possible to improve operatively, considering not only the outcomes but mainly the course covered until achieving the goal, aiming at group learning.

Acoustic analog computing based on a reflective metasurface with decoupled modulation of phase and amplitude

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, Shu-Yu; Tian, Ye; Wei, Qi; Cheng, Ying; Liu, Xiao-Jun

2018-03-01

The use of metasurfaces has allowed the provision of a variety of functionalities by ultrathin structures, paving the way toward novel highly compact analog computing devices. Here, we conceptually realize analog computing using an acoustic reflective computational metasurface (RCM) that can independently manipulate the reflection phase and amplitude of an incident acoustic signal. This RCM is composed of coating unit cells and perforated panels, where the first can tune the transmission phase within the full range of 2π and the second can adjust the reflection amplitude in the range of 0-1. We show that this RCM can achieve arbitrary reflection phase and amplitude and can be used to realize a unique linear spatially invariant transfer function. Using the spatial Fourier transform (FT), an acoustic analog computing (AAC) system is proposed based on the RCM together with a focusing lens. Based on numerical simulations, we demonstrate that this AAC system can perform mathematical operations such as spatial differentiation, integration, and convolution on an incident acoustic signal. The proposed system has low complexity and reduced size because the RCM is able to individually adjust the reflection phase and amplitude and because only one block is involved in performing the spatial FT. Our work may offer a practical, efficient, and flexible approach to the design of compact devices for acoustic computing applications, signal processing, equation solving, and acoustic wave manipulations.

Approaching Reflexivity through Reflection: Issues for Critical Management Education

Science.gov (United States)

Hibbert, Paul

2013-01-01

This conceptual article seeks to develop insights for teaching reflexivity in undergraduate management classes through developing processes of critical reflection. Theoretical inferences to support this aim are developed and organized in relation to four principles. They are as follows: first, preparing and making space for reflection in the…

Stigma, Reflected Appraisals, and Recovery Outcomes in Mental Illness

Science.gov (United States)

Markowitz, Fred E.; Angell, Beth; Greenberg, Jan S.

2011-01-01

Drawing on modified labeling theory and the reflected appraisals process and using longitudinal data from 129 mothers and their adult children with schizophrenia, we estimate models of the effects of mothers' stigmatized identity appraisals of their mentally ill children on reflected and self-appraisals, and how appraisals affect outcomes…

Identifying opportunities to reduce the consumption of energy across mining and processing plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sterling, David; Johnson, Greg

2010-09-15

In addition to meeting Government Policy on Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEOs), mining and mineral processing companies are increasing energy efficiency to reduce costs in the current financial conditions. One of the major issues with EEOs is the lack of data available on energy use, and more importantly the energy use linked to production data, that identify energy reduction opportunities. This paper looks at expanding the use of a Manufacturing Execution Systems by integrating with Energy Solutions. This will provide automatic, timely information, at a granularity that makes it easier to identify EEOs, reduce energy costs, and better predict energy use.

Memory: Enduring Traces of Perceptual and Reflective Attention

Science.gov (United States)

Chun, Marvin M.; Johnson, Marcia K.

2011-01-01

Attention and memory are typically studied as separate topics, but they are highly intertwined. Here we discuss the relation between memory and two fundamental types of attention: perceptual and reflective. Memory is the persisting consequence of cognitive activities initiated by and/or focused on external information from the environment (perceptual attention) and initiated by and/or focused on internal mental representations (reflective attention). We consider three key questions for advancing a cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory: To what extent do perception and reflection share representational areas? To what extent are the control processes that select, maintain, and manipulate perceptual and reflective information subserved by common areas and networks? During perception and reflection, to what extent are common areas responsible for binding features together to create complex, episodic memories and for reviving them later? Considering similarities and differences in perceptual and reflective attention helps integrate a broad range of findings and raises important unresolved issues. PMID:22099456

Memory: enduring traces of perceptual and reflective attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Chun, Marvin M; Johnson, Marcia K

2011-11-17

Attention and memory are typically studied as separate topics, but they are highly intertwined. Here we discuss the relation between memory and two fundamental types of attention: perceptual and reflective. Memory is the persisting consequence of cognitive activities initiated by and/or focused on external information from the environment (perceptual attention) and initiated by and/or focused on internal mental representations (reflective attention). We consider three key questions for advancing a cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory: to what extent do perception and reflection share representational areas? To what extent are the control processes that select, maintain, and manipulate perceptual and reflective information subserved by common areas and networks? During perception and reflection, to what extent are common areas responsible for binding features together to create complex, episodic memories and for reviving them later? Considering similarities and differences in perceptual and reflective attention helps integrate a broad range of findings and raises important unresolved issues. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Markov processes

CERN Document Server

Kirkwood, James R

2015-01-01

Review of ProbabilityShort HistoryReview of Basic Probability DefinitionsSome Common Probability DistributionsProperties of a Probability DistributionProperties of the Expected ValueExpected Value of a Random Variable with Common DistributionsGenerating FunctionsMoment Generating FunctionsExercisesDiscrete-Time, Finite-State Markov ChainsIntroductionNotationTransition MatricesDirected Graphs: Examples of Markov ChainsRandom Walk with Reflecting BoundariesGambler’s RuinEhrenfest ModelCentral Problem of Markov ChainsCondition to Ensure a Unique Equilibrium StateFinding the Equilibrium StateTransient and Recurrent StatesIndicator FunctionsPerron-Frobenius TheoremAbsorbing Markov ChainsMean First Passage TimeMean Recurrence Time and the Equilibrium StateFundamental Matrix for Regular Markov ChainsDividing a Markov Chain into Equivalence ClassesPeriodic Markov ChainsReducible Markov ChainsSummaryExercisesDiscrete-Time, Infinite-State Markov ChainsRenewal ProcessesDelayed Renewal ProcessesEquilibrium State f...

Mix ratio measurements of pozzolanic blends by Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rebagay, T.V.; Dodd, D.A.

1992-07-01

The disposal of low-level radioactive liquid wastes at the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington, involves mixing the wastes with pozzolanic grout-forming solid blends. Checking the quality of each blend component and its mix ratio will ensure processibility of the blend and the long-term performance of the resulting waste grout. In earlier work at Hanford laboratories, Fourier transform infrared-transmission method (FTIR-TR) using KBr pellet was applied successfully in the analysis of blends consisting of cement, fly ash, and clays. This method involves time-consuming sample preparation resulting in slow turnaround for repetitive sampling. Because reflection methods do not require elaborate sample preparation, they have the potential to reduce turnaround analysis time. Neat samples may be examined making these methods attractive for quality control. This study investigates the capability of Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance method (FTIR-ATR) to analyze pozzolanic blends

Nanoscale silver-assisted wet etching of crystalline silicon for anti-reflection surface textures.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Rui; Wang, Shuling; Chuwongin, Santhad; Zhou, Weidong

2013-01-01

We report here an electro-less metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) process as light management surface-texturing technique for single crystalline Si photovoltaics. Random Silver nanostructures were formed on top of the Si surface based on the thin film evaporation and annealing process. Significant reflection reduction was obtained from the fabricated Si sample, with approximately 2% reflection over a wide spectra range (300 to 1050 nm). The work demonstrates the potential of MacEtch process for anti-reflection surface texture fabrication of large area, high efficiency, and low cost thin film solar cell.

Modification of UV absorption profile of polymer film reflectors to increase solar-weighted reflectance

Science.gov (United States)

Jorgensen, Gary; Gee, Randall C.; White, David

2017-05-02

Provided are reflective thin film constructions including a reduced number of layers, which provides for increased solar-weighted hemispherical reflectance and durability. Reflective films include those comprising an ultraviolet absorbing abrasion resistant coating over a metal layer. Also provided are ultraviolet absorbing abrasion resistant coatings and methods for optimizing the ultraviolet absorption of an abrasion resistant coating. Reflective films disclosed herein are useful for solar reflecting, solar collecting, and solar concentrating applications, such as for the generation of electrical power.

Reflection on the Development of a Research Agenda in Rural Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisa Bourke

2015-09-01

Full Text Available There is a dearth of literature on how research agendas have been developed. In this article, the authors reflect on the process of developing a research agenda through a case study of a rural health university centre. The aim is to contribute to understanding how a team can effectively plan research. Two leaders of the process, as well as academics external to the process, reflected on the experience and the outcome of the agenda development process. Reflections focused on three areas: (a engagement levels, (b power and influence, and (c interpretation of the research agenda. First, while there was passionate discussion at meetings and afterward, engagement levels varied. Second, the process was imbued with power and influence at multiple levels. Finally, the availability of a conceptual framework to contextualise rural and remote health research helped in interpreting the significance of the resulting research agenda. The article concludes with contrasting thoughts on the place of research agendas within contemporary neoliberal regimes of research management.

Professionalizing the Self-Reflection of Student Teachers by Using a Wiki

Science.gov (United States)

Wegner, Claas; Remmert, Kathrin; Strehlke, Friederike

2014-01-01

Critics encourage the process of "reflection" as a prerequisite for professionalizing how teachers behave in the classroom. Reflection helps in recognizing areas in need of improvement. Self-reflection is hence one of the teacher's most important skills in order to work constantly on one's teaching and how to improve it. However, the…

Reflectivity reduction of retro-reflector installed in LHD due to plasma surface interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, N.; Ohtawa, Y.; Ebihara, A.; Akiyama, T.; Tokitani, M.; Ashikawa, N.; Kawahata, K.

2008-10-01

Optical reflectivity of the retro-reflector installed in LHD as the first mirror was reduced seriously by plasma wall interaction. In order to understand the mechanism of the reflectivity reduction, optical and material properties of the mirror surfaces have been examined extensively. It was found that the deposited impurity layers caused the serious reduction of the reflectivity. Formation of iron oxide, bulges structure and He bubbles are the major factors for the reflectivity reduction in the wide wave length range. (author)

Instructional Support for Novice Law Students: Reducing Search Processes and Explaining Concepts in Cases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nievelstein, Fleurie; Van Gog, Tamara; Van Dijck, Gijs; Boshuizen, Els

2010-01-01

Nievelstein, F., Van Gog, T., Van Dijck, C., & Boshuizen, H. P. A. (2011). Instructional support for novice law students: Reducing search processes and explaining concepts in cases. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(3), 408-413. doi:10.1002/acp.1707

Highly reflective polymeric substrates functionalized utilizing atomic layer deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Zuzuarregui, Ana; Coto, Borja; Rodríguez, Jorge; Gregorczyk, Keith E.; Ruiz de Gopegui, Unai; Barriga, Javier; Knez, Mato

2015-08-01

Reflective surfaces are one of the key elements of solar plants to concentrate energy in the receivers of solar thermal electricity plants. Polymeric substrates are being considered as an alternative to the widely used glass mirrors due to their intrinsic and processing advantages, but optimizing both the reflectance and the physical stability of polymeric mirrors still poses technological difficulties. In this work, polymeric surfaces have been functionalized with ceramic thin-films by atomic layer deposition. The characterization and optimization of the parameters involved in the process resulted in surfaces with a reflection index of 97%, turning polymers into a real alternative to glass substrates. The solution we present here can be easily applied in further technological areas where seemingly incompatible combinations of polymeric substrates and ceramic coatings occur.

Highly reflective polymeric substrates functionalized utilizing atomic layer deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zuzuarregui, Ana, E-mail: a.zuzuarregui@nanogune.eu; Gregorczyk, Keith E. [CIC Nanogune Consolider, de Tolosa Hiribidea 76, 20018 San Sebastián (Spain); Coto, Borja; Ruiz de Gopegui, Unai; Barriga, Javier [IK4-Tekniker, Iñaki Goenaga 5, 20600 Eibar (Spain); Rodríguez, Jorge [Torresol Energy (SENER Group), Avda. de Zugazarte 61, 48930 Las Arenas (Spain); Knez, Mato [CIC Nanogune Consolider, de Tolosa Hiribidea 76, 20018 San Sebastián (Spain); IKERBASQUE Basque Foundation for Science, Maria Diaz de Haro 3, 48013 Bilbao (Spain)

2015-08-10

Reflective surfaces are one of the key elements of solar plants to concentrate energy in the receivers of solar thermal electricity plants. Polymeric substrates are being considered as an alternative to the widely used glass mirrors due to their intrinsic and processing advantages, but optimizing both the reflectance and the physical stability of polymeric mirrors still poses technological difficulties. In this work, polymeric surfaces have been functionalized with ceramic thin-films by atomic layer deposition. The characterization and optimization of the parameters involved in the process resulted in surfaces with a reflection index of 97%, turning polymers into a real alternative to glass substrates. The solution we present here can be easily applied in further technological areas where seemingly incompatible combinations of polymeric substrates and ceramic coatings occur.

Highly reflective polymeric substrates functionalized utilizing atomic layer deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuzuarregui, Ana; Gregorczyk, Keith E.; Coto, Borja; Ruiz de Gopegui, Unai; Barriga, Javier; Rodríguez, Jorge; Knez, Mato

2015-01-01

Reflective surfaces are one of the key elements of solar plants to concentrate energy in the receivers of solar thermal electricity plants. Polymeric substrates are being considered as an alternative to the widely used glass mirrors due to their intrinsic and processing advantages, but optimizing both the reflectance and the physical stability of polymeric mirrors still poses technological difficulties. In this work, polymeric surfaces have been functionalized with ceramic thin-films by atomic layer deposition. The characterization and optimization of the parameters involved in the process resulted in surfaces with a reflection index of 97%, turning polymers into a real alternative to glass substrates. The solution we present here can be easily applied in further technological areas where seemingly incompatible combinations of polymeric substrates and ceramic coatings occur

Anti-reflection coatings applied by acid leaching process

Science.gov (United States)

Pastirik, E.

1980-01-01

The Magicote C process developed by S.M. Thompsen was evaluated for use in applying an antireflective coating to the cover plates of solar panels. The process uses a fluosilicic acid solution supersaturated with silica at elevated temperature to selectively attack the surface of soda-lime glass cover plates and alter the physical and chemical composition of a thin layer of glass. The altered glass layer constitutes an antireflective coating. The process produces coatings of excellent optical quality which possess outstanding resistance to soiling and staining. The coatings produced are not resistant to mechanical abrasion and are attacked to some extent by glass cleansers. Control of the filming process was found to be difficult.

Streaming Video to Enhance Students' Reflection in Dance Education

Science.gov (United States)

Leijen, Ali; Lam, Ineke; Wildschut, Liesbeth; Simons, P. Robert-Jan; Admiraal, Wilfried

2009-01-01

This paper presents an evaluation case study that describes the experiences of 15 students and 2 teachers using a video-based learning environment, DiViDU, to facilitate students' daily reflection activities in a composition course and a ballet course. To support dance students' reflection processes streaming video was applied as follows: video…

Effect of nuclear track on reflectivity for insulating material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Cunxiong; Ni Bangfa; Tian Weizhi; Hu Lian; Xiao Caijin; Wang Pingsheng; Zhang Guiying; Huang Donghui; Lu Peng; Yang Weitao

2009-01-01

Polyester and CR-39 samples were irradiated with sulphur ion from HI-13 tandem accelerator. Ultraviolet light with wavelength 360 nm was used to sensitize the polymer before chemical etching by NaOH solution with different temperatures and time duration. The latent track was then developed into nanometer to micrometer pore with certain depth. Samples were coated with thin layer of silver and magnesium fluoride using the vacuum evaporator. The reflectivity and transmission index were measured for all polymer samples, untreated and treated with above-mentioned procedure, within the wavelength of visible light. Solid state nuclear track and coating can reduce reflectivity of tested polymer materials greatly, and the reflectivity can be 1% or lower. (authors)

Syntactic processing in music and language: Effects of interrupting auditory streams with alternating timbres.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiveash, Anna; Thompson, William Forde; Badcock, Nicholas A; McArthur, Genevieve

2018-07-01

Music and language both rely on the processing of spectral (pitch, timbre) and temporal (rhythm) information to create structure and meaning from incoming auditory streams. Behavioral results have shown that interrupting a melodic stream with unexpected changes in timbre leads to reduced syntactic processing. Such findings suggest that syntactic processing is conditional on successful streaming of incoming sequential information. The current study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate whether (1) the effect of alternating timbres on syntactic processing is reflected in a reduced brain response to syntactic violations, and (2) the phenomenon is similar for music and language. Participants listened to melodies and sentences with either one timbre (piano or one voice) or three timbres (piano, guitar, and vibraphone, or three different voices). Half the stimuli contained syntactic violations: an out-of-key note in the melodies, and a phrase-structure violation in the sentences. We found smaller ERPs to syntactic violations in music in the three-timbre compared to the one-timbre condition, reflected in a reduced early right anterior negativity (ERAN). A similar but non-significant pattern was observed for language stimuli in both the early left anterior negativity (ELAN) and the left anterior negativity (LAN) ERPs. The results suggest that disruptions to auditory streaming may interfere with syntactic processing, especially for melodic sequences. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reflective Roleplaying in the Development of Dialogic Skill

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lone Hersted

2017-01-01

Whether an organization prospers depends importantly on the relationships among its participants, and central to the success of relationships is the process of dialogue. This article describes an action-based educational practice for enhancing dialogical and relational skills among members of an ...... to the outcomes of reflective role-playing for acquiring bodily awareness, changing and expanding perspectives, developing critical self-reflection, and enhancing relational consciousness....

Reflections from challenges of working with HIV/Aids affected and infected orphans in Malawi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zainab Lognwe

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Karen Healy uses the term reflection in action to refer to processes of refining knowledge in action so as to promote new ways of responding to the problems we encounter in practice. Thus, social work entails working with different people with different non routine challenges that needs reflective action to be dealt with effectively. The importance of reflection in social work cannot be overtly emphasised. After experiencing an emotional circumstance or situation, in reflecting, and through these experiences we can ably find valuable options for professional development. This process is very much in line with critical incident method. This method is described as both an emotional and cognitive process, proceeding from lower to higher levels of reflection, from analysing the experiences to conceptualizing new knowledge.

A framework to teach self-reflection for the remedial resident.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Fok-Han; Ratnapalan, Savithri

2011-01-01

Regardless of the area of deficiency, be it in knowledge, skills or attitudes, residents requiring remediation are rarely self-identified. This illustrates a diminished ability for self-reflection. Self-reflection is a cornerstone of adult education. During the remediation process, the remediation curriculum needs to emphasize self-reflection. How can one structure self-reflection in a remediation curriculum? This article describes how to adapt and apply environmental scanning for remedial residents. Environmental scanning is a rigorous and well-developed business approach that can be adapted for personal continuous quality improvement to foster self-reflection in medical trainees. There are often already existing tools which can form the foundation for regular reflection in medical education using an environmental scanning structure. Environmental scanning can be thought of as a structured approach to internal and external reflections.

Multiple attenuation to reflection seismic data using Radon filter and Wave Equation Multiple Rejection (WEMR) method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erlangga, Mokhammad Puput [Geophysical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Ganesha Street no.10 Basic Science B Buliding fl.2-3 Bandung, 40132, West Java Indonesia puput.erlangga@gmail.com (Indonesia)

2015-04-16

Separation between signal and noise, incoherent or coherent, is important in seismic data processing. Although we have processed the seismic data, the coherent noise is still mixing with the primary signal. Multiple reflections are a kind of coherent noise. In this research, we processed seismic data to attenuate multiple reflections in the both synthetic and real seismic data of Mentawai. There are several methods to attenuate multiple reflection, one of them is Radon filter method that discriminates between primary reflection and multiple reflection in the τ-p domain based on move out difference between primary reflection and multiple reflection. However, in case where the move out difference is too small, the Radon filter method is not enough to attenuate the multiple reflections. The Radon filter also produces the artifacts on the gathers data. Except the Radon filter method, we also use the Wave Equation Multiple Elimination (WEMR) method to attenuate the long period multiple reflection. The WEMR method can attenuate the long period multiple reflection based on wave equation inversion. Refer to the inversion of wave equation and the magnitude of the seismic wave amplitude that observed on the free surface, we get the water bottom reflectivity which is used to eliminate the multiple reflections. The WEMR method does not depend on the move out difference to attenuate the long period multiple reflection. Therefore, the WEMR method can be applied to the seismic data which has small move out difference as the Mentawai seismic data. The small move out difference on the Mentawai seismic data is caused by the restrictiveness of far offset, which is only 705 meter. We compared the real free multiple stacking data after processing with Radon filter and WEMR process. The conclusion is the WEMR method can more attenuate the long period multiple reflection than the Radon filter method on the real (Mentawai) seismic data.

REDUCING AND OPTIMIZING THE CYCLE TIME OF PATIENTS DISCHARGE PROCESS IN A HOSPITAL USING SIX SIGMA DMAIC APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Arun Vijay

2014-06-01

Full Text Available A lengthy and in-efficient process of discharging in-patients from the Hospital is an essential component that needs to be addressed in order to improve the quality of Health care facility. Even though, several quality methodologies are adopted to improve such services in Hospitals, the implementation of Six Sigma DMAIC methodology to improve the Hospital discharge process is much limited in the Literature. Thus, the objective of this research is to reduce the cycle time of the Patients discharge process using Six Sigma DMAIC Model in a multidisciplinary hospital setting in India. This study had been conducted through the five phases of the Six Sigma DMAIC Model using different Quality tools and techniques. This study suggested various improvement strategies to reduce the cycle time of Patients discharge process and after its implementation; there is a 61% reduction in the cycle time of the Patients discharge process. Also, a control pl an check sheet has been developed to sustain the Improvements obtained. This Study would be an eye opener for the Health Care Managers to reduce and optimize the cycle time of Patients discharge process in Hospitals using Six Sigma DMAIC Model.

Using reflectance spectroscopy to predict beef tenderness.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowling, M B; Vote, D J; Belk, K E; Scanga, J A; Tatum, J D; Smith, G C

2009-05-01

A study was conducted to determine if reflectance measurements made in the near-infrared region of the spectrum were additive to reflectance measurements made in the visible region of the spectrum for predicting Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) values. Eighty seven strip loins were collected following fabrication over 3d at a commercial beef processing facility from heifer carcasses with Slight or Traces marbling scores. Spectroscopic measurements were made at approximately 50h postmortem using a Hunter-Lab UltraScan. Subsequently, all strip loins were aged for 14d, cooked to an internal temperature of 70°C, and sheared to obtain WBSF values. Reflectance measurements obtained in the near-infrared region of the spectrum were correlated with WBSF values, however, these measurements were not additive to the predictive ability of reflectance measurements (R(2) values did not differ) made in the visible portion of the spectrum when the use of broad-band wavelength filters were simulated. It was therefore determined, that both the visible and near-infrared spectra measure reflectance and that both methods are acceptable methods of tenderness prediction.

The combined effects of self-referent information processing and ruminative responses on adolescent depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Stephanie Winkeljohn; Pössel, Patrick

2013-08-01

Adolescents who develop depression have worse interpersonal and affective experiences and are more likely to develop substance problems and/or suicidal ideation compared to adolescents who do not develop depression. This study examined the combined effects of negative self-referent information processing and rumination (i.e., brooding and reflection) on adolescent depressive symptoms. It was hypothesized that the interaction of negative self-referent information processing and brooding would significantly predict depressive symptoms, while the interaction of negative self-referent information processing and reflection would not predict depressive symptoms. Adolescents (n = 92; 13-15 years; 34.7% female) participated in a 6-month longitudinal study. Self-report instruments measured depressive symptoms and rumination; a cognitive task measured information processing. Path modelling in Amos 19.0 analyzed the data. The interaction of negative information processing and brooding significantly predicted an increase in depressive symptoms 6 months later. The interaction of negative information processing and reflection did not significantly predict depression, however, the model not meet a priori standards to accept the null hypothesis. Results suggest clinicians working with adolescents at-risk for depression should consider focusing on the reduction of brooding and negative information processing to reduce long-term depressive symptoms.

Key Inflammatory Processes in Human NASH Are Reflected in Ldlr−/−.Leiden Mice: A Translational Gene Profiling Study

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Martine C.; Kleemann, Robert; van Koppen, Arianne; Hanemaaijer, Roeland; Verschuren, Lars

2018-01-01

Introduction: It is generally accepted that metabolic inflammation in the liver is an important driver of disease progression in NASH and associated matrix remodeling/fibrosis. However, the exact molecular inflammatory mechanisms are poorly defined in human studies. Investigation of key pathogenic mechanisms requires the use of pre-clinical models, for instance for time-resolved studies. Such models must reflect molecular disease processes of importance in patients. Herein we characterized inflammation in NASH patients on the molecular level by transcriptomics and investigated whether key human disease pathways can be recapitulated experimentally in Ldlr−/−.Leiden mice, an established pre-clinical model of NASH. Methods: Human molecular inflammatory processes were defined using a publicly available NASH gene expression profiling dataset (GSE48452) allowing the comparison of biopsy-confirmed NASH patients with normal controls. Gene profiling data from high-fat diet (HFD)-fed Ldlr−/−.Leiden mice (GSE109345) were used for assessment of the translational value of these mice. Results: In human NASH livers, we observed regulation of 65 canonical pathways of which the majority was involved in inflammation (32%), lipid metabolism (16%), and extracellular matrix/remodeling (12%). A similar distribution of pathways across these categories, inflammation (36%), lipid metabolism (24%) and extracellular matrix/remodeling (8%) was observed in HFD-fed Ldlr−/−.Leiden mice. Detailed evaluation of these pathways revealed that a substantial proportion (11 out of 13) of human NASH inflammatory pathways was recapitulated in Ldlr−/−.Leiden mice. Furthermore, the activation state of identified master regulators of inflammation (i.e., specific transcription factors, cytokines, and growth factors) in human NASH was largely reflected in Ldlr−/−.Leiden mice, further substantiating its translational value. Conclusion: Human NASH is characterized by upregulation of specific

Reduced mismatch negativity in mild cognitive impairment: associations with neuropsychological performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Mowszowski, Loren; Hermens, Daniel F; Diamond, Keri; Norrie, Louisa; Hickie, Ian B; Lewis, Simon J G; Naismith, Sharon L

2012-01-01

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) refers to a transitory state between healthy aging and dementia. Biomarkers are needed to facilitate early identification of MCI and predict progression to dementia. One potential neurophysiological biomarker, mismatch negativity (MMN), is an event-related potential reflecting fundamental, pre-attentive cognitive processes. MMN is reduced in normal aging and dementia and in neuropsychiatric samples and is associated with verbal memory deficits and poor executive functioning. This study aimed to investigate auditory MMN and its relationship to neuropsychological performance in MCI. Twenty-eight MCI participants and fourteen controls, aged ≥50 years, underwent neurophysiological and neuropsychological assessment, and completed questionnaires pertaining to disability. Relative to controls, the MCI group demonstrated reduced temporal MMN amplitude (p patients with MCI exhibit altered pre-attentive information processing, which in turn is associated with memory and psychosocial deficits. These findings overall suggest that MMN may be a viable neurophysiological biomarker of underlying disease in this 'at risk' group.

Reduced connectivity in the self-processing network of schizophrenia patients with poor insight.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edith J Liemburg

Full Text Available Lack of insight (unawareness of illness is a common and clinically relevant feature of schizophrenia. Reduced levels of self-referential processing have been proposed as a mechanism underlying poor insight. The default mode network (DMN has been implicated as a key node in the circuit for self-referential processing. We hypothesized that during resting state the DMN network would show decreased connectivity in schizophrenia patients with poor insight compared to patients with good insight. Patients with schizophrenia were recruited from mental health care centers in the north of the Netherlands and categorized in groups having good insight (n= 25 or poor insight (n = 19. All subjects underwent a resting state fMRI scan. A healthy control group (n = 30 was used as a reference. Functional connectivity of the anterior and posterior part of the DMN, identified using Independent Component Analysis, was compared between groups. Patients with poor insight showed lower connectivity of the ACC within the anterior DMN component and precuneus within the posterior DMN component compared to patients with good insight. Connectivity between the anterior and posterior part of the DMN was lower in patients than controls, and qualitatively different between the good and poor insight patient groups. As predicted, subjects with poor insight in psychosis showed decreased connectivity in DMN regions implicated in self-referential processing, although this concerned only part of the network. This finding is compatible with theories implying a role of reduced self-referential processing as a mechanism contributing to poor insight.

Reflection seismic methods applied to locating fracture zones in crystalline rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juhlin, C.

1998-01-01

The reflection seismic method is a potentially powerful tool for identifying and localising fracture zones in crystalline rock if used properly. Borehole sonic logs across fracture zones show that they have reduced P-wave velocities compared to the surrounding intact rock. Diagnostically important S-wave velocity log information across the fracture zones is generally lacking. Generation of synthetic reflection seismic data and subsequent processing of these data show that structures dipping up towards 70 degrees from horizontal can be reliably imaged using surface seismic methods. Two real case studies where seismic reflection methods have been used to image fracture zones in crystalline rock are presented. Two examples using reflection seismic are presented. The first is from the 5354 m deep SG-4 borehole in the Middle Urals, Russia where strong seismic reflectors dipping from 25 to 50 degrees are observed on surface seismic reflection data crossing over the borehole. On vertical seismic profile data acquired in the borehole, the observed P-wave reflectivity is weak from these zones, however, strong converted P to S waves are observed. This can be explained by the source of the reflectors being fracture zones with a high P wave to S wave velocity ratio compared to the surrounding rock resulting in a high dependence on the angle of incidence for the reflection coefficient. A high P wave to S wave velocity ratio (high Poisson's ratio) is to be expected in fluid filled fractured rock. The second case is from Aevroe, SE Sweden, where two 1 km long crossing high resolution seismic reflection lines were acquired in October 1996. An E-W line was shot with 5 m geophone and shotpoint spacing and a N-S one with 10 m geophone and shotpoint spacing. An explosive source with a charge size of 100 grams was used along both lines. The data clearly image three major dipping reflectors in the upper 200 ms (600 m). The dipping ones intersect or project to the surface at/or close to

Factors Affecting Christian Parents' School Choice Decision Processes: A Grounded Theory Study

Science.gov (United States)

Prichard, Tami G.; Swezey, James A.

2016-01-01

This study identifies factors affecting the decision processes for school choice by Christian parents. Grounded theory design incorporated interview transcripts, field notes, and a reflective journal to analyze themes. Comparative analysis, including open, axial, and selective coding, was used to reduce the coded statements to five code families:…

Reflective photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lentine, Anthony L.; Nielson, Gregory N.; Cruz-Campa, Jose Luis; Okandan, Murat; Goeke, Ronald S.

2018-03-06

A photovoltaic module includes colorized reflective photovoltaic cells that act as pixels. The colorized reflective photovoltaic cells are arranged so that reflections from the photovoltaic cells or pixels visually combine into an image on the photovoltaic module. The colorized photovoltaic cell or pixel is composed of a set of 100 to 256 base color sub-pixel reflective segments or sub-pixels. The color of each pixel is determined by the combination of base color sub-pixels forming the pixel. As a result, each pixel can have a wide variety of colors using a set of base colors, which are created, from sub-pixel reflective segments having standard film thicknesses.

The implications of force reflection for teleoperation in space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Draper, J.V.; Herndon, J.N.; Moore, W.E.

1987-01-01

This paper reviews previous research on teleoperator force feedback and reports results of a testing program which assessed the impact of force reflection on teleoperator task performance. Force reflection is a type of force feedback in which the forces acting on the remote portion of the teleoperator are displayed to the operator by back-driving the master controller. The testing program compared three force reflection levels: 4 to 1 (four units of force on the slave produce one unit of force at the master controller), 1 to 1, and infinity to 1 (no force reflection). Time required to complete tasks, rate of occurrence of errors, the maximum force applied to tasks components, and variability in forces applied to components during completion of representative remote handling tasks were used as dependent variables. Operators exhibited lower error rates, lower peak forces, and more consistent application of forces using force reflection than they did without it. These data support the hypothesis that force reflection provides useful information for teleoperator users. The earlier literature and the results of the experiment are discussed in terms of their implications for space-based teleoperator systems. The discussion describes the impact of force reflection on task completion performance and task strategies, as suggested by the literature. It is important to understand the trade-offs involved in using telerobotic systems with and without force reflection. Force-reflecting systems are typically more expensive (in mass, volume, and price per unit), but they reduce mean time to repair and may be safer to use, compared to systems without force reflection

A Design-Based Research Project on Information Literacy Focusing on Process, Reflections and Self-Feedback

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Majbritt Ursula Johansen

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Many curriculums assume that the new generation of students are digital natives and information literate. However, studies show that this is not often the case. From these studies and our own experiences working with multidisciplinary students in the Health Sciences we found that students were not as information literate as required in the curriculum. Using Design Based Research as a method (following the four phases below, we developed a new information search process and a web-based tool with feedback opportunities from teachers and librarians in order to qualify the students competencies. Problem identification: Despite earlier initiatives from library and department, the students didn’t achieve higher levels of information literacy. Prototyping: Requirements and educational material were merged and tested while gathering feedback. Iterations: The prototype and feedback were evaluated and developed into a new information search process, which was tested and evaluated. Reflection and generalization: Initiative was taken to develope a web-based application visualizing the steps with the learning points: self-feedback, peer-feedback and counselor feedback. The result of the project is a new information search process model and a web-based learning environment called B!NKO 2.0. The evaluations have shown positive feedback on both the process and the web tool. The project has opened up new possibilities that go beyond the Health multidisciplinary students. A new project concerning the Humanities and Social Sciences is incipient. In this project new functionalities are also expected. B!NKO 2.0 has to a great extent shown its worth to help Health multidisciplinary students to get a deeper understanding of information literacy, and how to develop and change searches to get better results. B!NKO 2.0 has also given a positive "side effect” on the librarians work. Time spend on the "Book a Librarian” service have decreased for the librarians using

Documentation of pain care processes does not accurately reflect pain management delivered in primary care.

Science.gov (United States)

Krebs, Erin E; Bair, Matthew J; Carey, Timothy S; Weinberger, Morris

2010-03-01

Researchers and quality improvement advocates sometimes use review of chart-documented pain care processes to assess the quality of pain management. Studies have found that primary care providers frequently fail to document pain assessment and management. To assess documentation of pain care processes in an academic primary care clinic and evaluate the validity of this documentation as a measure of pain care delivered. Prospective observational study. 237 adult patients at a university-affiliated internal medicine clinic who reported any pain in the last week. Immediately after a visit, we asked patients to report the pain treatment they received. Patients completed the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) to assess pain severity at baseline and 1 month later. We extracted documentation of pain care processes from the medical record and used kappa statistics to assess agreement between documentation and patient report of pain treatment. Using multivariable linear regression, we modeled whether documented or patient-reported pain care predicted change in pain at 1 month. Participants' mean age was 53.7 years, 66% were female, and 74% had chronic pain. Physicians documented pain assessment for 83% of visits. Patients reported receiving pain treatment more often (67%) than was documented by physicians (54%). Agreement between documentation and patient report was moderate for receiving a new pain medication (k = 0.50) and slight for receiving pain management advice (k = 0.13). In multivariable models, documentation of new pain treatment was not associated with change in pain (p = 0.134). In contrast, patient-reported receipt of new pain treatment predicted pain improvement (p = 0.005). Chart documentation underestimated pain care delivered, compared with patient report. Documented pain care processes had no relationship with pain outcomes at 1 month, but patient report of receiving care predicted clinically significant improvement. Chart review measures may not accurately

Utilization of reward-prospect enhances preparatory attention and reduces stimulus conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

van den Berg, Berry; Krebs, Ruth M; Lorist, Monicque M; Woldorff, Marty G

2014-06-01

The prospect of gaining money is an incentive widely at play in the real world. Such monetary motivation might have particularly strong influence when the cognitive system is challenged, such as when needing to process conflicting stimulus inputs. Here, we employed manipulations of reward-prospect and attentional-preparation levels in a cued-Stroop stimulus conflict task, along with the high temporal resolution of electrical brain recordings, to provide insight into the mechanisms by which reward-prospect and attention interact and modulate cognitive task performance. In this task, the cue indicated whether or not the participant needed to prepare for an upcoming Stroop stimulus and, if so, whether there was the potential for monetary reward (dependent on performance on that trial). Both cued attention and cued reward-prospect enhanced preparatory neural activity, as reflected by increases in the hallmark attention-related negative-polarity ERP slow wave (contingent negative variation [CNV]) and reductions in oscillatory Alpha activity, which was followed by enhanced processing of the subsequent Stroop stimulus. In addition, similar modulations of preparatory neural activity (larger CNVs and reduced Alpha) predicted shorter versus longer response times (RTs) to the subsequent target stimulus, consistent with such modulations reflecting trial-to-trial variations in attention. Particularly striking were the individual differences in the utilization of reward-prospect information. In particular, the size of the reward effects on the preparatory neural activity correlated across participants with the degree to which reward-prospect both facilitated overall task performance (shorter RTs) and reduced conflict-related behavioral interference. Thus, the prospect of reward appears to recruit attentional preparation circuits to enhance processing of task-relevant target information.

The application of reduced-processing decision support systems to facilitate the acquisition of decision-making skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Nathan C; Wiggins, Mark W; Childs, Merilyn; Fogarty, Gerard

2013-06-01

The study was designed to examine whether the availability of reduced-processing decision support system interfaces could improve the decision making of inexperienced personnel in the context of Although research into reduced-processing decision support systems has demonstrated benefits in minimizing cognitive load, these benefits have not typically translated into direct improvements in decision accuracy because of the tendency for inexperienced personnel to focus on less-critical information. The authors investigated whether reduced-processing interfaces that direct users' attention toward the most critical cues for decision making can produce improvements in decision-making performance. Novice participants made incident command-related decisions in experimental conditions that differed according to the amount of information that was available within the interface, the level of control that they could exert over the presentation of information, and whether they had received decision training. The results revealed that despite receiving training, participants improved in decision accuracy only when they were provided with an interface that restricted information access to the most critical cues. It was concluded that an interface that restricts information access to only the most critical cues in the scenario can facilitate improvements in decision performance. Decision support system interfaces that encourage the processing of the most critical cues have the potential to improve the accuracy and timeliness of decisions made by inexperienced personnel.

Investigating the impact of alliance-focused training on interpersonal process and therapists' capacity for experiential reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Safran, Jeremy; Muran, J Christopher; Demaria, Anthony; Boutwell, Catherine; Eubanks-Carter, Catherine; Winston, Arnold

2014-01-01

In this article we present preliminary findings from a research program designed to investigate the value of alliance-focused training (AFT), a supervision approach designed to enhance therapists' ability to work constructively with negative therapeutic process. In the context of a multiple baseline design, all therapists began treating their patients using cognitive therapy and then joined AFT supervision groups at either session 8 or 16 of a 30 session protocol. Study I investigated the impact of AFT on patient and therapist interpersonal process as assessed through the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB). Study 2 investigated the impact of AFT on therapists' tendency to reflect on their relationships with their patients in an experientially grounded fashion, as assessed via the Experiencing Scale (EXP). Since one of the goals of AFT is to train therapists to use their own emerging feelings as important clues regarding what may be taking place in the therapeutic relationship, we hypothesized that they would show increased levels of EXP after undergoing AFT. The results of both studies 1 and 2 were for the most part consistent with hypotheses. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Bridging the gap : reflections on theorizing with managers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leeflang, Pieter

2017-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to reflect on Nenonen et al.'s paper on theorizing with managers. This paper discusses differences between marketing science and marketing practice and gives suggestions to reduce the theory-praxis gap. It gives examples of quantitative studies that have been

Reduced short-term memory capacity in Alzheimer's disease: the role of phonological, lexical, and semantic processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Caza, Nicole; Belleville, Sylvie

2008-05-01

Individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are often reported to have reduced verbal short-term memory capacity, typically attributed to their attention/executive deficits. However, these individuals also tend to show progressive impairment of semantic, lexical, and phonological processing which may underlie their low short-term memory capacity. The goals of this study were to assess the contribution of each level of representation (phonological, lexical, and semantic) to immediate serial recall performance in 18 individuals with AD, and to examine how these linguistic effects on short-term memory were modulated by their reduced capacity to manipulate information in short-term memory associated with executive dysfunction. Results showed that individuals with AD had difficulty recalling items that relied on phonological representations, which led to increased lexicality effects relative to the control group. This finding suggests that patients have a greater reliance on lexical/semantic information than controls, possibly to make up for deficits in retention and processing of phonological material. This lexical/semantic effect was not found to be significantly correlated with patients' capacity to manipulate verbal material in short-term memory, indicating that language processing and executive deficits may independently contribute to reducing verbal short-term memory capacity in AD.

High efficiency processing for reduced amplitude zones detection in the HRECG signal

Science.gov (United States)

Dugarte, N.; Álvarez, A.; Balacco, J.; Mercado, G.; Gonzalez, A.; Dugarte, E.; Olivares, A.

2016-04-01

Summary - This article presents part of a more detailed research proposed in the medium to long term, with the intention of establishing a new philosophy of electrocardiogram surface analysis. This research aims to find indicators of cardiovascular disease in its early stage that may go unnoticed with conventional electrocardiography. This paper reports the development of a software processing which collect some existing techniques and incorporates novel methods for detection of reduced amplitude zones (RAZ) in high resolution electrocardiographic signal (HRECG).The algorithm consists of three stages, an efficient processing for QRS detection, averaging filter using correlation techniques and a step for RAZ detecting. Preliminary results show the efficiency of system and point to incorporation of techniques new using signal analysis with involving 12 leads.

Reflectance dependence of polytetrafluoroethylene on thickness for xenon scintillation light

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haefner, J.; Neff, A.; Arthurs, M.; Batista, E.; Morton, D.; Okunawo, M.; Pushkin, K.; Sander, A. [Randall Laboratory of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1040 (United States); Stephenson, S. [Randall Laboratory of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1040 (United States); University of California Davis, Department of Physics, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Wang, Y. [Randall Laboratory of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1040 (United States); Lorenzon, W., E-mail: lorenzon@umich.edu [Randall Laboratory of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1040 (United States)

2017-06-01

Many rare event searches including dark matter direct detection and neutrinoless double beta decay experiments take advantage of the high VUV reflective surfaces made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) reflector materials to achieve high light collection efficiency in their detectors. As the detectors have grown in size over the past decade, there has also been an increased need for ever thinner detector walls without significant loss in reflectance to reduce dead volumes around active noble liquids, outgassing, and potential backgrounds. We report on the experimental results to measure the dependence of the reflectance on thickness of two PTFE samples at wavelengths near 178 nm. No change in reflectance was observed as the wall thickness of a cylindrically shaped PTFE vessel immersed in liquid xenon was varied between 1 mm to 9.5 mm.

The Meaning of Reflective Teaching to National Board Certified Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, Sharlotte F.

2017-01-01

This qualitative study examined how National Board certified teachers (NBCTs) perceive the meaning of reflective teaching and how their perceptions compare to the literature on reflective thinking and teaching. The study included five participants who had completed the National Board certification process. Data collection included three…

Taking a Risk to Develop Reflective Skills in Business Practitioners

Science.gov (United States)

Mackay, Margaret; Tymon, Alex

2016-01-01

Critical reflection can support alternative decision-making in business practice. This paper examines the effectiveness of a risk-based pedagogy to engage practitioners in reflective thinking. Educators adopting a radical pedagogy in professionally accredited programmes face multiple challenges: learners often resist the process of self-reflection…

Service Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education: Strategies to Facilitate Meaningful Reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Nola A; Brown, Janet M

2016-01-01

Service learning is recognized as a valuable pedagogy involving experiential learning, reflection, and reciprocal learning. Students develop critical thinking and social awareness by using the crucial activity of reflecting upon their experiential learning with community partners. The purpose of this paper is to demystify the process of reflection by identifying best practices to enhance reflection and offering suggestions for grading. By understanding "the what" and "the how" of reflection, educators can implement service learning experiences designed to include the essential component of reflection. Strategies for facilitating meaningful reflection are described including descriptions of what students should reflect upon and how to initiate reflection through writing, reading, doing, and telling. Grading rubrics are suggested to facilitate evaluation of student reflection. When properly implemented, service learning encourages students to be good citizens of the world. By using best practices associated with reflection, students can be challenged to think critically about the world and how their service can achieve community goals. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Di-hydroxyurea-a Promising Reducing Reagent for the U/Pu split in the PUREX process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taihong, Yan; Weifang, Zheng; Guoan, Ye; Yu, Zhang; Liang, Xian; Ying, Di; Xiaoyan, Bian [Department of Radiochemistry, China Institute of Atomic Energy - CIAE, Beijing 102413 (China)

2009-06-15

In the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel by the Purex process, the separation of U and Pu is a major stage. This is commonly achieved by a redox process, in which a reducing agent (e.g. U(IV) or (FeII)) and a stabiliser (e.g. N{sub 2}H{sub 4} or NH{sub 2}SO{sub 3}H) are added to reduce extractable Pu{sup 4+} to un-extractable Pu{sup 3+}. The stabiliser prevents the nitrous acid catalysed re-oxidation of Pu(III) back to Pu(IV). One of the key objectives is to reduce both the number of solvent extraction cycles and the waste stream volumes [1]. One option for Advanced Purex flowsheets is to adopt a new salt-free reductant in the U/Pu split. Di-hydroxyurea(DHU)-a new Reducing reagent was synthesized with tri-associated solid phosgene (Bis(trichloromethyl)Carbonate) solved in dioxane and hydroxylamine hydrochloride solved in potassium acetate solution. The Reduction of Pu(IV) by DHU was investigated using UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The reduction back-extraction behavior of Pu(IV) in 30%TBP /OK was firstly investigated under conditions of different temperature, different concentration of DHU and HNO{sub 3} and various phase contract time respectively.The results showed that Pu(IV) in organic phase can be stripped rapidly to aqueous phase by DHU. Simulating the 1B contactor of the Purex process by DHU with nitric acid solution as the stripping agent,the separation factors of uranium/plutonium can reach 2.1 10{sup 4}. This indicates that DHU is a promising salt free agent for uranium/plutonium separation. (authors)

Automatic specular reflections removal for endoscopic images

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Ke; Wang, Bin; Gao, Yuan

2017-07-01

Endoscopy imaging is utilized to provide a realistic view about the surfaces of organs inside the human body. Owing to the damp internal environment, these surfaces usually have a glossy appearance showing specular reflections. For many computer vision algorithms, the highlights created by specular reflections may become a significant source of error. In this paper, we present a novel method for restoration of the specular reflection regions from a single image. Specular restoration process starts with generating a substitute specular-free image with RPCA method. Then the specular removed image was obtained by taking the binary weighting template of highlight regions as the weighting for merging the original specular image and the substitute image. The modified template was furthermore discussed for the concealment of artificial effects in the edge of specular regions. Experimental results on the removal of the endoscopic image with specular reflections demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method comparing to the existing methods.

Reflective teaching of medical communication skills with DiViDU: assessing the level of student reflection on recorded consultations with simulated patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulsman, R L; Harmsen, A B; Fabriek, M

2009-02-01

Acquisition of effective, goal-oriented communication skills requires both practicing skills and reflective thinking. Reflection is a cyclic process of perceiving and analysing communication behaviour in terms of goals and effects and designing improved actions. Based on Korthagen's ALACT reflection model, communication training on history taking was designed. Objectives were to develop rating criteria for assessment of the students' level of reflection and to collect student evaluations of the reflective cycle components in the communication training. All second year medical students recorded a consultation with a simulated patient. In DiViDU, a web-based ICT program, students reviewed the video, identified and marked three key events, attached written reflections and provided peer-feedback. Students' written reflections were rated on four reflection categories. A reflection-level score was based on a frequency count of the number of categories used over three reflections. Students filled out an evaluation questionnaire on components of the communication training. Data were analyzed of 304 (90.6%) students. The four reflection categories Observations, Motives, Effects and Goals of behaviour were used in 7-38%. Most students phrased undirected questions for improvement (93%). The average reflection score was 2.1 (S.D. 2.0). All training components were considered instructive. Acting was preferred most. Reviewing video was considered instructive. Self-reflection was considered more difficult than providing written feedback to the reflections of peers. Reflection on communication behaviour can be systematically implemented and measured in a structured way. Reflection levels were low, probably indicating a limited notion of goal-oriented attributes of communication skills. Early introduction of critical self-reflection facilitates acceptance of an important ability for physicians for continued life-long learning and becoming mindful practitioners.

Using anonymized reflection to teach ethics: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kyle, Gaye

2008-01-01

Anonymized reflection was employed as an innovative way of teaching ethics in order to enhance students' ability in ethical decision making during a Care of the Dying Patient and Family' module. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from the first two student cohorts who experienced anonymized reflection ( n = 24). The themes identified were the richness and relevance of scenarios, small-group work and a team approach to teaching. Students indicated that they preferred this style of teaching. This finding was verified by a postal questionnaire conducted four months later. The conclusions drawn from this study suggest that using anonymized reflection is an effective method for teaching ethics to nurses and indicates that learning about ethical issues in this way reduces uncertainties.

Making clinical case-based learning in veterinary medicine visible: analysis of collaborative concept-mapping processes and reflections.

Science.gov (United States)

Khosa, Deep K; Volet, Simone E; Bolton, John R

2014-01-01

The value of collaborative concept mapping in assisting students to develop an understanding of complex concepts across a broad range of basic and applied science subjects is well documented. Less is known about students' learning processes that occur during the construction of a concept map, especially in the context of clinical cases in veterinary medicine. This study investigated the unfolding collaborative learning processes that took place in real-time concept mapping of a clinical case by veterinary medical students and explored students' and their teacher's reflections on the value of this activity. This study had two parts. The first part investigated the cognitive and metacognitive learning processes of two groups of students who displayed divergent learning outcomes in a concept mapping task. Meaningful group differences were found in their level of learning engagement in terms of the extent to which they spent time understanding and co-constructing knowledge along with completing the task at hand. The second part explored students' and their teacher's views on the value of concept mapping as a learning and teaching tool. The students' and their teacher's perceptions revealed congruent and contrasting notions about the usefulness of concept mapping. The relevance of concept mapping to clinical case-based learning in veterinary medicine is discussed, along with directions for future research.

Advanced Oxidation Process sanitization of hatching eggs reduces Salmonella in broiler chicks.

Science.gov (United States)

Rehkopf, A C; Byrd, J A; Coufal, C D; Duong, T

2017-10-01

The microbial quality of eggs entering the hatchery is an important critical control point for biosecurity, pathogen reduction, and food safety programs in poultry production. Developing interventions to reduce Salmonella contamination of eggs is important to improving the microbial food safety of poultry and poultry products. The hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ultraviolet light (UV) Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) has been previously demonstrated to be effective in reducing Salmonella on the surface of experimentally contaminated eggs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of treating eggs with an egg-sanitizing apparatus using the H2O2/UV AOP on Salmonella contamination during incubation, hatching, and in broiler chicks during grow-out. Experimentally contaminated eggs were treated using the automated H2O2/UV AOP egg sanitizer and incubated for 21 d. AOP sanitization reduced Salmonella up to 7 log10 cfu egg-1 (P Salmonella positive eggs by up to 75% (P Salmonella-positive eggs during incubation. Additionally, Salmonella was recovered from more chicks hatched from untreated eggs than from eggs treated using the H2O2/UV AOP egg sanitizer (P Salmonella contamination on the surface of eggs using the H2O2/UV AOP egg sanitizer prior to incubation may reduce the gastrointestinal colonization of chicks by Salmonella. © 2017 Poultry Science Association Inc.

The impact of culture on adaptive versus maladaptive self-reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Grossmann, Igor; Kross, Ethan

2010-08-01

Although recent findings indicate that people can reflect either adaptively or maladaptively over negative experiences, extant research has not examined how culture influences this process. We compared the self-reflective practices of Russians (members of an interdependent culture characterized by a tendency to brood) and Americans (members of an independent culture in which self-reflection has been studied extensively). We predicted that self-reflection would be associated with less-detrimental outcomes among Russians because they self-distance more when analyzing their feelings than Americans do. Findings from two studies supported these predictions. In Study 1, self-reflection was associated with fewer depressive symptoms among Russians than among Americans. In Study 2, Russians displayed less distress and a more adaptive pattern of construals than Americans after reflecting over a recent negative event. In addition, they self-distanced more than Americans while analyzing their feelings, and self-distancing mediated the cultural differences in self-reflection. These findings demonstrate how culture shapes the way people reflect over negative experiences.

Noninvasive particle sizing using camera-based diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abildgaard, Otto Højager Attermann; Frisvad, Jeppe Revall; Falster, Viggo

2016-01-01

Diffuse reflectance measurements are useful for noninvasive inspection of optical properties such as reduced scattering and absorption coefficients. Spectroscopic analysis of these optical properties can be used for particle sizing. Systems based on optical fiber probes are commonly employed...

Reflection measurement of waveguide-injected high-power microwave antennas.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Chengwei; Peng, Shengren; Shu, Ting; Zhang, Qiang; Zhao, Xuelong

2015-12-01

A method for reflection measurements of High-power Microwave (HPM) antennas excited with overmoded waveguides is proposed and studied systemically. In theory, principle of the method is proposed and the data processing formulas are developed. In simulations, a horn antenna excited by a TE11 mode exciter is examined and its reflection is calculated by CST Microwave Studio and by the method proposed in this article, respectively. In experiments, reflection measurements of two HPM antennas are conducted, and the measured results are well consistent with the theoretical expectations.

Enhancing Decision-Making in STSE Education by Inducing Reflection and Self-Regulated Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Gresch, Helge; Hasselhorn, Marcus; Bögeholz, Susanne

2017-02-01

Thoughtful decision-making to resolve socioscientific issues is central to science, technology, society, and environment (STSE) education. One approach for attaining this goal involves fostering students' decision-making processes. Thus, the present study explores whether the application of decision-making strategies, combined with reflections on the decision-making processes of others, enhances decision-making competence. In addition, this study examines whether this process is supported by elements of self-regulated learning, i.e., self-reflection regarding one's own performance and the setting of goals for subsequent tasks. A computer-based training program which involves the resolution of socioscientific issues related to sustainable development was developed in two versions: with and without elements of self-regulated learning. Its effects on decision-making competence were analyzed using a pre test-post test follow-up control-group design ( N = 242 high school students). Decision-making competence was assessed using an open-ended questionnaire that focused on three facets: consideration of advantages and disadvantages, metadecision aspects, and reflection on the decision-making processes of others. The findings suggest that students in both training groups incorporated aspects of metadecision into their statements more often than students in the control group. Furthermore, both training groups were more successful in reflecting on the decision-making processes of others. The students who received additional training in self-regulated learning showed greater benefits in terms of metadecision aspects and reflection, and these effects remained significant two months later. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the application of decision-making strategies, combined with reflections on the decision-making process and elements of self-regulated learning, is a fruitful approach in STSE education.

The playful and reflective game designer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Majgaard, Gunver

2014-01-01

Abstract: A group of first-semester engineering students participated in a game design course. The aim of the course was to learn how to design computer games and programming skills by creating their own games, thereby applying their game-playing experiences to gain knowledge about game design....... The aim was for students to develop a more critically reflective perspective on video games and game design. In applying their game experiences, they developed their own digital prototypes and participated in reflective discussions on the concept of games: what makes them interesting and how...... they are constructed. The students used the GameMaker programming tool, which can be used without any prior programming knowledge. The tool allows for the easy development of 2D game prototypes.The didactic approach was based on play as a lever for the design process, and on constructionistic and reflective learning...

Investigating the build-up of precedence effect using reflection masking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hartcher-O'Brien, Jessica; Buchholz, Jörg

2006-01-01

signal processing, such an approach represents a bottom-up approach to the buildup of precedence. Three conditioner configurations measuring a possible buildup of reflection suppression were compared to the baseline RMT for four reflection delays ranging from 2.5–15 ms. No buildup of reflection...... suppression was observed for any of the conditioner configurations. Buildup of template (decrease in RMT for two of the conditioners), on the other hand, was found to be delay dependent. For five of six listeners, with reflection delay=2.5 and 15 ms, RMT decreased relative to the baseline. For 5- and 10-ms...

OPPORTUNITY TO REDUCE RESISTANCE TO CHANGE IN A PROCESS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prediscan Mariana

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to present the research results conducted on several models of organizational change regarding the identification of the appropriate moment in which the managers interest should turn towards the reduction of the employees resistance to change. More specifically, we intend to identify when is the best moment to reduce the resistance to change, depending on the change we want to achieve. After more research of organizational change models, we have reached the following conclusions: -not all models of organizational change present reducing resistance to change as a necessary stage; -the place of this phase in the models of organizational change is not considered to be the same; -some models of organizational change recommend indirectly reducing employee resistance to change by indicating the use of some methods, techniques, processes that would lead to this result. Here we include mainly: communication, training, positive motivation of employees; -we recommended that the place of this stage should vary depending on the desired change to achieve; -in strategic changes, which are extremely important for an organization and which affect a large number of employees, we recommend that the reduction of the employee resistance to change be achieved before passing to the implementation of the plan developed to implement the change; -in imposed changes, in conditions of crisis when we have no time available to plan the change, immediately after it had been implemented it is necessary to conduct effective actions meant to ensure, even if the change has been made, the reduction of the resistance to change of the affected employees -to achieve time savings in the process of organizational change, we recommend that after having obtained a certain attachment of some employees to change, the implementation of the methods, of the techniques that would increase their commitment to continue to be developed in parallel with the implementation of the

Fostering appropriate reflective learning in an undergraduate radiography course

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamilton, John; Druva, Ruth

2010-01-01

Reflective learning is an important feature of many radiography courses. Writing tasks are used both to promote and monitor student reflective learning. However, students may not always fully understand the rationale behind this form of learning, nor have clear expectations about the writing required. This paper reports on an intervention to address issues identified in student reflective writing tasks based on clinical experiences. Lecturers noted a lack of depth in student observations and tendency to express criticism in a judgemental and self-righteous tone. In response to this, a workshop was developed to prepare students for reflective learning and to develop their awareness and skills in the reflective writing process. Potential areas of difficulty in reflective learning are considered in this article, as well as how to promote a critical perspective while also encouraging students to maintain a positive regard for the patients, practitioners and institutions that enable them to learn on clinical placement.

Fostering appropriate reflective learning in an undergraduate radiography course

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamilton, John, E-mail: john.hamilton@med.monash.edu.a [Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne (Australia); Druva, Ruth [Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne (Australia)

2010-11-15

Reflective learning is an important feature of many radiography courses. Writing tasks are used both to promote and monitor student reflective learning. However, students may not always fully understand the rationale behind this form of learning, nor have clear expectations about the writing required. This paper reports on an intervention to address issues identified in student reflective writing tasks based on clinical experiences. Lecturers noted a lack of depth in student observations and tendency to express criticism in a judgemental and self-righteous tone. In response to this, a workshop was developed to prepare students for reflective learning and to develop their awareness and skills in the reflective writing process. Potential areas of difficulty in reflective learning are considered in this article, as well as how to promote a critical perspective while also encouraging students to maintain a positive regard for the patients, practitioners and institutions that enable them to learn on clinical placement.

Data sets for hydrogen reflection and their use in neutral transport calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eckstein, W.; Heifetz, D.B.

1986-08-01

A realistic characterization of the interaction of ions and neutral particles with device walls is important for any edge plasma calculation. Present reflection models vary in detail and computational efficiency. This paper presents a data set for the distribution of the reflection coefficient, R N , over reflected energy, polar, and azimuthal angles, as functions of incident polar angle and energy. These results have been computed using a vectorized version of the TRIM Monte Carlo code. The data are stored using an algorithm for reducing the data into three one-dimensional distributions, resulting in a realistic reflection model which can be used very efficiently in plasma edge calculations. (orig.)

Volume reflection and channeling of ultrarelativistic protons in germanium bent single crystals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Bellucci

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The paper is devoted to the investigation of volume reflection and channeling processes of ultrarelativistic positive charged particles moving in germanium single crystals. We demonstrate that the choice of atomic potential on the basis of the Hartree-Fock method and the correct choice of the Debye temperature allow us to describe the above mentioned processes in a good agreement with the recent experiments. Moreover, the universal form of equations for volume reflection presented in the paper gives a true description of the process at a wide range of particle energies. Standing on this study we make predictions for the mean angle reflection (as a function of the bending radius of positive and negative particles for germanium (110 and (111 crystallographic planes.

Copper-assisted, anti-reflection etching of silicon surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Toor, Fatima; Branz, Howard

2014-08-26

A method (300) for etching a silicon surface (116) to reduce reflectivity. The method (300) includes electroless deposition of copper nanoparticles about 20 nanometers in size on the silicon surface (116), with a particle-to-particle spacing of 3 to 8 nanometers. The method (300) includes positioning (310) the substrate (112) with a silicon surface (116) into a vessel (122). The vessel (122) is filled (340) with a volume of an etching solution (124) so as to cover the silicon surface (116). The etching solution (124) includes an oxidant-etchant solution (146), e.g., an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The silicon surface (116) is etched (350) by agitating the etching solution (124) with, for example, ultrasonic agitation, and the etching may include heating (360) the etching solution (124) and directing light (365) onto the silicon surface (116). During the etching, copper nanoparticles enhance or drive the etching process.

Carbon footprint of a reflective foil and comparison with other solutions for thermal insulation in building envelope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proietti, Stefania; Desideri, Umberto; Sdringola, Paolo; Zepparelli, Francesco

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Environmental and energy assessment of thermal insulating materials in building envelope. ► Carbon footprint of a reflective foil, conceived and produced by an Italian company. ► Study conducted according to principles of LCA – Life Cycle Assessment. ► Identification of main impacting processes and measures for reducing emissions. ► Comparison with traditional insulating materials (EPS and rockwool). - Abstract: The present study aims at assessing environmental and energy compatibility of different solutions of thermal insulation in building envelope. In fact a good insulation results in a reduction of heating/cooling energy consumptions; on the other hand construction materials undergo production, transformation and transport processes, whose energy and resources consumptions may lead to a significant decrease of the environmental benefits. The paper presents a detailed carbon footprint of a product (CFP, defined as the sum of greenhouse gas emissions and removals of a product system, expressed in CO 2 equivalents), which is a reflective foil conceived and produced by an Italian company. CFP can be seen as a Life Cycle Assessment with climate change as the single impact category; it does not assess other potential social, economic and environmental impacts arising from the provision of products. The analysis considers all stages of the life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to the product’s disposal, i.e. “from cradle to grave”; it was carried out according to UNI EN ISO 14040 and 14044, and LCA modelling was performed using SimaPro software tool. On the basis of obtained results, different measures have been proposed in order to reduce emissions in the life cycle and neutralize residual carbon footprint. The results allowed to make an important comparison concerning the environmental performance of the reflective foil in comparison with other types of insulating materials

Development of a student rating scale to evaluate teachers' competencies for facilitating reflective learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schaub-de Jong, Mirabelle A.; Schonrock-Adema, Johanna; Dekker, Hanke; Verkerk, Marian; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke

Context Teaching students in reflection calls for specific teacher competencies. We developed and validated a rating scale focusing on Student perceptions of their Teachers' competencies to Encourage Reflective Learning in small Groups (STERLinG). Methods We applied an iterative procedure to reduce

Reflective Insulation for Energy Conservation in South East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

San Teh, Khar; Yarbrough, David W.; Haw Lim, Chin; Salleh, Elias

2017-05-01

Thermal resistances have been measured for attic spaces insulated with reflective insulations. Three test units located in Malaysia were instrumented to provide heat flux and temperatures for the calculation of time-average RSI-values (RSI is representing R-value in SI units). The RSI for attics with enclosed reflective air spaces were in the range 2-3 m2·K/W while the uninsulated attics averaged about 0.4 m2·K/W. The RSI-values determined in this project were for heat-flow down, the predominant heat-flow direction for attic spaces in Equatorial regions. The observed thermal resistances due to the installation of the reflective insulation results in an 80-90% annual decrease in the heat transfer across the ceiling. This reduces utility usage for air conditioned units and improved comfort for occupants. The research demonstrates the use of transient data for the determination of thermal insulation performance and usefulness of enclosed reflective air spaces for thermal resistance.

Assessing reflective thinking and approaches to learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, Louise; Musolino, Gina M

2011-01-01

Facilitation of reflective practice is critical for the ongoing demands of health care practitioners. Reflective thinking concepts, grounded in the work of Dewey and Schön, emphasize critical reflection to promote transformation in beliefs and learning necessary for reflective practice. The Reflective Thinking Questionnaire (QRT) and Revised Study Process Questionnaire (RSPQ-2F) assess skill aspects of professional reasoning, with promise for measuring changes over time. The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and responsiveness and the model validity of reflective thinking and approaches to learning measures for U.S. health professions students enrolled in entry-level occupational (MOT) and physical therapy (DPT) programs. This measurement study addressed reliability and responsiveness of two measures, the QRT and RSPQ-2F, for graduate health professionals. A convenience sample of 125 MOT and DPT students participated in the two-measure, test-retest investigation, with electronic data collection. Outcomes support the stability of the four-scale QRT (ICC 0.63 to 0.82) and the two-scale RSPQ-2F (ICC 0.91 and 0.87). Descriptive data supporting responsiveness are presented. With noted limitations, the results support the use of the QRT and RSPQ-2F measures to assess changes in reflective thinking and approaches to learning. Measurement of these learning outcomes furthers our understanding and knowledge about instructional strategies, development of professional reasoning, and fostering of self-directed learning within MOT and DPT programs.

Are Psychotic Experiences Related to Poorer Reflective Reasoning?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin J. Mækelæ

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Cognitive biases play an important role in the formation and maintenance of delusions. These biases are indicators of a weak reflective mind, or reduced engaging in reflective and deliberate reasoning. In three experiments, we tested whether a bias to accept non-sense statements as profound, treat metaphorical statements as literal, and suppress intuitive responses is related to psychotic-like experiences.Methods: We tested deliberate reasoning and psychotic-like experiences in the general population and in patients with a former psychotic episode. Deliberate reasoning was assessed with the bullshit receptivity scale, the ontological confabulation scale and the cognitive reflection test (CRT. We also measured algorithmic performance with the Berlin numeracy test and the wordsum test. Psychotic-like experiences were measured with the Community Assessment of Psychic Experience (CAPE-42 scale.Results: Psychotic-like experiences were positively correlated with a larger receptivity toward bullshit, more ontological confabulations, and also a lower score on the CRT but not with algorithmic task performance. In the patient group higher psychotic-like experiences significantly correlated with higher bullshit receptivity.Conclusion: Reduced deliberate reasoning may contribute to the formation of delusions, and be a general thinking bias largely independent of a person's general intelligence. Acceptance of bullshit may be facilitated the more positive symptoms a patient has, contributing to the maintenance of the delusions.

[Around biological evolution. Reflections of a physicist].

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez-Palencia, Evariste

2016-01-01

This text is the written version of a talk at the Société de Biologie on February 17, 2016. It contains reflections of a non-biologist scientist on general problems of biological evolution, including the kind of causality involved, the ideas emerging from it, in particular the constructive and structuring character of phenomena such as predation, the role of stability and attractors. This leads to a larger reflection on dialectics, the general framework of evolving processes, which overpasses formal logic and instantaneousness. © Société de Biologie, 2016.

Supporting Faculty During Pedagogical Change Through Reflective Teaching Practice: An Innovative Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Deborah K; Asselin, Marilyn E

Given the recent calls for transformation of nursing education, it is critical that faculty be reflective educators. Reflective teaching practice is a process of self-examination and self-evaluation to gain insight into teaching to improve the teaching-learning experience. Limited attention has been given to this notion in the nursing education literature. An innovative reflective teaching practice approach for nursing education is proposed, consisting of question cues, journaling, and a process of facilitated meetings. The authors describe their perceptions of using this approach with faculty during the implementation of a new pedagogy and suggest areas for further research.

"I'll stop procrastinating now!" Fostering specific processes of self-regulated learning to reduce academic procrastination.

Science.gov (United States)

Grunschel, Carola; Patrzek, Justine; Klingsieck, Katrin B; Fries, Stefan

2018-01-01

Academic procrastination is considered to be a result of self-regulation failure having detrimental effects on students' well-being and academic performance. In the present study, we developed and evaluated a group training that aimed to reduce academic procrastination. We based the training on a cyclical process model of self-regulated learning, thus, focusing on improving deficient processes of self-regulated learning among academic procrastinators (e.g., time management, dealing with distractions). The training comprised five sessions and took place once a week for 90 min in groups of no more than 10 students. Overall, 106 students completed the training. We evaluated the training using a comprehensive control group design with repeated measures (three points of measurement); the control group was trained after the intervention group's training. The results showed that our training was successful. The trained intervention group significantly reduced academic procrastination and improved specific processes of self-regulated learning (e.g., time management, concentration), whereas the untrained control group showed no change regarding these variables. After the control group had also been trained, the control group also showed the expected favorable changes. The students rated the training overall as good and found it recommendable for procrastinating friends. Hence, fostering self-regulatory processes in our intervention was a successful attempt to support students in reducing academic procrastination. The evaluation of the training encourages us to adapt the training for different groups of procrastinators.

Quantifying Reflection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alcock, Gordon Lindsay

2013-01-01

´ These are all based on Blooms taxonomy and levels of competence and form a major part of individual student and group learning portfolios. Key Words :Project-Based learning, Reflective Portfolios, Self assessment, Defining learning gains, Developing learning strategies , Reflections on and for learning....... It contrasts the students’ self-assessment in a range of ‘product’ skills such as Revit, Structural Design, Mathematics of construction, Technical Installations; as well as ‘process’ competencies such as ‘Working in a team’, Sharing knowledge, Maintaining a portfolio and Reflecting ON learning and FOR learning......This paper documents 1st semester student reflections on “learning to learn” in a team-based PBL environment with quantitative and qualitative student reflective feedback on the learning gains of 60 Architectural Technology and Construction Management students at VIA University College, Denmark...

Temperature-reflection I

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McGady, David A.

2017-01-01

-temperature path integrals for quantum field theories (QFTs) should be T-reflection invariant. Because multi-particle partition functions are equal to Euclidean path integrals for QFTs, we expect them to be T-reflection invariant. Single-particle partition functions though are often not invariant under T......In this paper, we revisit the claim that many partition functions are invariant under reflecting temperatures to negative values (T-reflection). The goal of this paper is to demarcate which partition functions should be invariant under T-reflection, and why. Our main claim is that finite...... that T-reflection is unrelated to time-reversal. Finally, we study the interplay between T-reflection and perturbation theory in the anharmonic harmonic oscillator in quantum mechanics and in Yang-Mills in four-dimensions. This is the first in a series of papers on temperature-reflections....

Which characteristics of written feedback are perceived as stimulating students' reflective competence : an exploratory study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dekker, Hanke; Schonrock-Adema, Johanna; Snoek, Jos W.; van der Molen, Thys; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke

2013-01-01

Background: Teacher feedback on student reflective writing is recommended to improve learners' reflective competence. To be able to improve teacher feedback on reflective writing, it is essential to gain insight into which characteristics of written feedback stimulate students' reflection processes.

Systems 1 and 2 thinking processes and cognitive reflection testing in medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Tay, Shu Wen; Ryan, Paul; Ryan, C Anthony

2016-10-01

Diagnostic decision-making is made through a combination of Systems 1 (intuition or pattern-recognition) and Systems 2 (analytic) thinking. The purpose of this study was to use the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) to evaluate and compare the level of Systems 1 and 2 thinking among medical students in pre-clinical and clinical programs. The CRT is a three-question test designed to measure the ability of respondents to activate metacognitive processes and switch to System 2 (analytic) thinking where System 1 (intuitive) thinking would lead them astray. Each CRT question has a correct analytical (System 2) answer and an incorrect intuitive (System 1) answer. A group of medical students in Years 2 & 3 (pre-clinical) and Years 4 (in clinical practice) of a 5-year medical degree were studied. Ten percent (13/128) of students had the intuitive answers to the three questions (suggesting they generally relied on System 1 thinking) while almost half (44%) answered all three correctly (indicating full analytical, System 2 thinking). Only 3-13% had incorrect answers (i.e. that were neither the analytical nor the intuitive responses). Non-native English speaking students (n = 11) had a lower mean number of correct answers compared to native English speakers (n = 117: 1.0 s 2.12 respectfully: p System 2 answers increased and the percentage of intuitive answers decreased in both the pre-clinical and clinical students. Up to half of the medical students demonstrated full or partial reliance on System 1 (intuitive) thinking in response to these analytical questions. While their CRT performance has no claims to make as to their future expertise as clinicians, the test may be used in helping students to understand the importance of awareness and regulation of their thinking processes in clinical practice.

Preservation of Reduced Carbon on Mars: Implications for Understanding Habitability

Science.gov (United States)

Conrad, Pamela; Fogel, Marilyn; Steele, Andrew; Summons, Roger E.

2007-01-01

Upcoming Mars missions (e.g., Mars Science Laboratory, ExoMars, Astrobiology Field Laboratory, and Mars Sample Return) will search for evidence of extant and fossil microbial habitats and the potential for future habitation. Understanding the distribution and composition of reduced carbon (or organic carbon) is critical for unraveling the Martian carbon cycle, potential for life, and possible biosignature record. Reduced carbon may be produced from biological, geochemical, or interstellar processes; however, evidence for reduced carbon on Mars is lacking with the exception of parts per billion of atmospheric methane. In contrast, abundant atmospheric carbon dioxide may reflect surface oxidation of reduced carbon and accumulation over geological timescales. This suggests that there is an undetected or lost pool of reduced carbon - a pool that may host molecular biosignatures, a characteristic of extant or extinct habitability. In this presentation, we will evaluate factors influencing the preservation potential for organic molecules in rocks on Earth and Martian. We,draw examples from organic molecules in sulfates, basalts, and ancient shales from Mars-analog settings to show how the distribution of organics and their structural patterns will aid Mars habitability studies.

Selective reflection of resonance radiation from excited media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veklenko, B.A.; Gusarov, R.B.; Sherkunov, Yu.B.

1998-01-01

According to quantum electrodynamics, the cross section for resonant scattering of radiation on an aggregate of excited atoms can be written as a sum of positive definite terms. This type of structure is not consistent with the Fresnel formulas for the reflection coefficient of radiation from thermally excited media. The difference shows up on a macroscopic level and indicates that semiclassical radiation theory cannot be used. A study of the correlation between elastic scattering and stimulated emission processes clarifies the reason for the discrepancies. The resulting singularities require summing of Feynman diagrams which appear beginning in the sixth order of perturbation theory. A lower bound estimate for the reflection coefficient from a plane layer is given, including processes which violate the statistics of radiation. The contribution of stimulated emission processes caused by the initially scattered photon are examined specifically. An experiment is proposed which would settle the choice of theories

Analysis of Specular Reflections Off Geostationary Satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Jolley, A.

2016-09-01

Many photometric studies of artificial satellites have attempted to define procedures that minimise the size of datasets required to infer information about satellites. However, it is unclear whether deliberately limiting the size of datasets significantly reduces the potential for information to be derived from them. In 2013 an experiment was conducted using a 14 inch Celestron CG-14 telescope to gain multiple night-long, high temporal resolution datasets of six geostationary satellites [1]. This experiment produced evidence of complex variations in the spectral energy distribution (SED) of reflections off satellite surface materials, particularly during specular reflections. Importantly, specific features relating to the SED variations could only be detected with high temporal resolution data. An update is provided regarding the nature of SED and colour variations during specular reflections, including how some of the variables involved contribute to these variations. Results show that care must be taken when comparing observed spectra to a spectral library for the purpose of material identification; a spectral library that uses wavelength as the only variable will be unable to capture changes that occur to a material's reflected spectra with changing illumination and observation geometry. Conversely, colour variations with changing illumination and observation geometry might provide an alternative means of determining material types.

Reflective metallic coatings for first mirrors on ITER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eren, Baran; Marot, Laurent; Litnovsky, Andrey; Matveeva, Maria; Steiner, Roland; Emberger, Valentin; Wisse, Marco; Mathys, Daniel; Covarel, Gregory; Meyer, Ernst

2011-01-01

Metallic mirrors are foreseen to play a crucial role for all optical diagnostics in ITER. Therefore, the development of reliable techniques for the production of mirrors which are able to maintain their optical properties in the harsh ITER environment is highly important. By applying magnetron sputtering and evaporation techniques, rhodium and molybdenum films have been prepared for tokamak tests. The films were characterised in terms of chemical composition, surface roughness, crystallite structure, reflectivity and adhesion. No impurities were detected on the surface after deposition. The effects of deposition parameters and substrate temperature on the resulting crystallite structure, surface roughness and hence on the reflectivity, were investigated. The films are found to exhibit nanometric crystallites with a dense columnar structure. Open boundaries between the crystallite columns, which are sometimes present after evaporation, are found to reduce the reflectivity as compared to rhodium or molybdenum references.

Reflective metallic coatings for first mirrors on ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eren, Baran, E-mail: baran.eren@unibas.ch [Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland); Marot, Laurent [Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland); Litnovsky, Andrey; Matveeva, Maria [Institut fuer Energieforschung (Plasmaphysik), Forschungszentrum Juelich, Association EURATOM-FZJ, D 52425 Juelich (Germany); Steiner, Roland; Emberger, Valentin; Wisse, Marco [Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland); Mathys, Daniel [Centre of Microscopy, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50/70, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland); Covarel, Gregory [Laboratoire de Physique et Mecanique Textile EA CNRS 7189, Universite de Haute Alsace, 61 rue Albert Camus, 68093 Mulhouse Cedex (France); Meyer, Ernst [Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland)

2011-10-15

Metallic mirrors are foreseen to play a crucial role for all optical diagnostics in ITER. Therefore, the development of reliable techniques for the production of mirrors which are able to maintain their optical properties in the harsh ITER environment is highly important. By applying magnetron sputtering and evaporation techniques, rhodium and molybdenum films have been prepared for tokamak tests. The films were characterised in terms of chemical composition, surface roughness, crystallite structure, reflectivity and adhesion. No impurities were detected on the surface after deposition. The effects of deposition parameters and substrate temperature on the resulting crystallite structure, surface roughness and hence on the reflectivity, were investigated. The films are found to exhibit nanometric crystallites with a dense columnar structure. Open boundaries between the crystallite columns, which are sometimes present after evaporation, are found to reduce the reflectivity as compared to rhodium or molybdenum references.

Reflections of Preservice Information Technology Teachers Regarding Cyberbullying

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yavuz Akbulut

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The current phenomenological study addressed the reflections of preservice information technology (IT teachers regarding their cyberbullying or victimization experiences. Fifty five preservice IT teachers at a Turkish teacher training institution were offered a lecture with the purpose of awareness-raising on cyberbullying, which was followed by the assignment of take-home reflection papers. Document analysis on reflection papers led researchers to find out underlying themes regarding participants’ cyberbullying or victimization experiences. Findings revealed that females were more likely to be victims than males. Instant messaging programs, e-mail, cell phones and online social networks were used as means to cyberbully. Varying psychological consequences of victimization incidents were reported. Noted reactions to incidents were discontinuing interaction with bullies, and seeking family, peer and legal support. Findings further implied that awareness raising activities regarding cyberbullying were likely to reduce cyberbullying instances and increase preservice teachers’ action competence

Reflections of Preservice Information Technology Teachers Regarding Cyberbullying

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yavuz Akbulut

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The current phenomenological study addressed the reflections of preservice information technology (IT teachers regarding their cyberbullying or victimization experiences. Fifty five preservice IT teachers at a Turkish teacher training institution were offered a lecture with the purpose of awareness-raising on cyberbullying, which was followed by the assignment of take-home reflection papers. Document analysis on reflection papers led researchers to find out underlying themes regarding participants’ cyberbullying or victimization experiences. Findings revealed that females were more likely to be victims than males. Instant messaging programs, e-mail, cell phones and online social networks were used as means to cyberbully. Varying psychological consequences of victimization incidents were reported. Noted reactions to incidents were discontinuing interaction with bullies, and seeking family, peer and legal support. Findings further implied that awareness raising activities regarding cyberbullying were likely to reduce cyberbullying instances and increase preservice teachers’ action competence.

Reflections on the process for stakeholder engagement in radioactive waste management planning in Spain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webler, Th.

2007-01-01

First, I would bike to thank ENRESA and the Municipality for the work in organizing this workshop. The visit to the Vandellos power station and the economic development zone, combined with the speeches, lectures, and discussions we have had here at L'Hospitalet have offered a well-rounded perspective on the inclusion of stakeholders in decision making. Even more important was that the atmosphere of the meetings was conducive to an honest and open exchange of ideas. The structure of the workshop offered ample opportunities for people to talk and listen to each other. On the whole, I believe the workshop established a learning atmosphere. In response to my charge as a rapporteur, I have endeavored to he inquisitive and to explore explanations and interpretations that may be different - although not necessarily contradictory - to those offered outright. I have been asked to participate and observe during the course of this workshop and also to comment from the perspective of a scholar who does research in the area of stakeholder involvement. I have arranged my comments as follows. First, I present some recent findings from the literature on public participation in environmental policy and decision-making. I have elected to focus on 'criteria for success'. Second, I examine the strengths of the AMA-led COWAM-2 process emerging in Spain now in the context of these criteria for success. Finally, I reflect on some of the possible shortcomings that may loom on the horizon in order to alert process planners to anticipate the unexpected. (author)

Big-data reflection high energy electron diffraction analysis for understanding epitaxial film growth processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Vasudevan, Rama K; Tselev, Alexander; Baddorf, Arthur P; Kalinin, Sergei V

2014-10-28

Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) has by now become a standard tool for in situ monitoring of film growth by pulsed laser deposition and molecular beam epitaxy. Yet despite the widespread adoption and wealth of information in RHEED images, most applications are limited to observing intensity oscillations of the specular spot, and much additional information on growth is discarded. With ease of data acquisition and increased computation speeds, statistical methods to rapidly mine the data set are now feasible. Here, we develop such an approach to the analysis of the fundamental growth processes through multivariate statistical analysis of a RHEED image sequence. This approach is illustrated for growth of La(x)Ca(1-x)MnO(3) films grown on etched (001) SrTiO(3) substrates, but is universal. The multivariate methods including principal component analysis and k-means clustering provide insight into the relevant behaviors, the timing and nature of a disordered to ordered growth change, and highlight statistically significant patterns. Fourier analysis yields the harmonic components of the signal and allows separation of the relevant components and baselines, isolating the asymmetric nature of the step density function and the transmission spots from the imperfect layer-by-layer (LBL) growth. These studies show the promise of big data approaches to obtaining more insight into film properties during and after epitaxial film growth. Furthermore, these studies open the pathway to use forward prediction methods to potentially allow significantly more control over growth process and hence final film quality.

Adapting a regularized canopy reflectance model (REGFLEC) for the retrieval challenges of dryland agricultural systems

KAUST Repository

Houborg, Rasmus

2016-08-20

A regularized canopy reflectance model (REGFLEC) is applied over a dryland irrigated agricultural system in Saudi Arabia for the purpose of retrieving leaf area index (LAI) and leaf chlorophyll content (Chll). To improve the robustness of the retrieved properties, REGFLEC was modified to 1) correct for aerosol and adjacency effects, 2) consider foliar dust effects on modeled canopy reflectances, 3) include spectral information in the red-edge wavelength region, and 4) exploit empirical LAI estimates in the model inversion. Using multi-spectral RapidEye imagery allowed Chll to be retrieved with a Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) of 7.9 μg cm− 2 (16%), based upon in-situ measurements conducted in fields of alfalfa, Rhodes grass and maize over the course of a growing season. LAI and Chll compensation effects on canopy reflectance were largely avoided by informing the inversion process with ancillary LAI inputs established empirically on the basis of a statistical machine learning technique. As a result, LAI was reproduced with good accuracy, with an overall MAD of 0.42 m2 m− 2 (12.5%). Results highlighted the considerable challenges associated with the translation of at-sensor radiance observations to surface bidirectional reflectances in dryland environments, where issues such as high aerosol loadings and large spatial gradients in surface reflectance from bright desert soils to dark vegetated fields are often present. Indeed, surface reflectances in the visible bands were reduced by up to 60% after correction for such adjacency effects. In addition, dust deposition on leaves required explicit modification of the reflectance sub-model to account for its influence. By implementing these model refinements, REGFLEC demonstrated its utility for within-field characterization of vegetation conditions over the challenging landscapes typical of dryland agricultural regions, offering a means through which improvements can be made in the management of these globally

N-Dimensional LLL Reduction Algorithm with Pivoted Reflection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhongliang Deng

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Lenstra-Lenstra-Lovász (LLL lattice reduction algorithm and many of its variants have been widely used by cryptography, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO communication systems and carrier phase positioning in global navigation satellite system (GNSS to solve the integer least squares (ILS problem. In this paper, we propose an n-dimensional LLL reduction algorithm (n-LLL, expanding the Lovász condition in LLL algorithm to n-dimensional space in order to obtain a further reduced basis. We also introduce pivoted Householder reflection into the algorithm to optimize the reduction time. For an m-order positive definite matrix, analysis shows that the n-LLL reduction algorithm will converge within finite steps and always produce better results than the original LLL reduction algorithm with n > 2. The simulations clearly prove that n-LLL is better than the original LLL in reducing the condition number of an ill-conditioned input matrix with 39% improvement on average for typical cases, which can significantly reduce the searching space for solving ILS problem. The simulation results also show that the pivoted reflection has significantly declined the number of swaps in the algorithm by 57%, making n-LLL a more practical reduction algorithm.

A Self-reflection in Developing Teaching Performance at the Classroom for English Foreign Language (Efl) Teachers

OpenAIRE

Karlinawati, Esih

2014-01-01

This paper deals with a topic self-reflection in developing teaching performance. Self-reflection is a vital skill to reflect and evaluate teachers' teaching performance in the classroom. However, there are many teachers running monotonous classes because they do not make a self-reflection. This consideration explores teachers' strengths and weaknesses in learning process. This research will help the teachers to maintain or eliminate critical incident on learning and teaching process. This re...

Novel Approach to Increase the Energy-related Process Efficiency and Performance of Laser Brazing

Science.gov (United States)

Mittelstädt, C.; Seefeld, T.; Radel, T.; Vollertsen, F.

Although laser brazing is well established, the energy-related efficiency of this joining method is quite low. That is because of low absorptivity of solid-state laser radiation, especially when copper base braze metals are used. Conventionally the laser beam is set close to the vertical axis and the filler wire is delivered under a flat angle. Therefore, the most of the utilized laser power is reflected and thus left unexploited. To address this situation an alternative processing concept for laser brazing, where the laser beam is leading the filler wire, has been investigated intending to make use of reflected shares of the laser radiation. Process monitoring shows, that the reflection of the laser beam can be used purposefully to preheat the substrate which is supporting the wetting and furthermore increasing the efficiency of the process. Experiments address a standard application from the automotive industry joining zinc coated steels using CuSi3Mn1 filler wire. Feasibility of the alternative processing concept is demonstrated, showing that higher processing speeds can be attained, reducing the required energy per unit length while maintaining joint properties.

Thick domain wall spacetimes with and without reflection symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melfo, Alejandra; Pantoja, Nelson; Skirzewski, Aureliano

2003-01-01

We show that different thick domain wall spacetimes, for which the scalar field configuration and the potential are the same, can be found as solutions to the coupled Einstein-scalar field equations, depending on whether or not reflection symmetry on the wall is imposed. Spacetimes with reflection symmetry may be dynamic or static, while the asymmetric ones are static. Asymmetric walls are asymptotically flat on one side and reduce to the Taub spacetime on the other. Examples of asymmetric thick walls in D-dimensional spacetimes are given, and previous analysis on the distributional thin-wall limit of the dynamic symmetric thick walls are extended to the asymmetric case. A new family of reflection symmetric, static thick domain wall spacetimes, including previously known Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield walls, is presented

Sculpting Reflection and Being in the Presence of Mystery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knox, Jeanette Bresson Ladegaard

2015-01-01

The method of Socratic dialogue has been known for its regressive abstraction sinceNelson and Heckmann. This method raises awareness on the implicit assumptions and ideas behindthe interpretation of human experiences. My recent Socratic Dialogue Groups (SDG) with peoplerecovering from cancer...... my SDGs and secondly to accent the ontological dimension ofreflection. My analysis of the process of reflection will draw on Marcel's philosophical reflection andnotion of being....

Impulsivity, impulsive and reflective processes and the development of alcohol use and misuse in adolescents and young adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reinout Wiers

2010-09-01

Full Text Available This paper contrasts dual-process and personality approaches in the prediction of addictive behaviors and related risk behaviors. In dual-process models, behavior is described as the joint outcome of qualitatively different “impulsive” (or associative and “reflective” processes. There are important individual differences regarding both types of processes, and the relative strength of both in a specific situation is influenced by prior behavior and state variables (e.g., fatigue, alcohol use. From this perspective, a specific behavior (e.g., alcohol misuse can be predicted by the combined indices of the behavior-related impulsive processes (e.g., associations with alcohol, and reflective processes, including the ability to refrain from a motivationally salient action. Personality approaches have reported that general traits such as impulsivity predict addictive behaviors. Here we contrast these two approaches, with supplementary analyses on four datasets. We hypothesized that trait impulsivity can predict specific risky behaviors, but that its predictive power disappears once specific behavior-related associations, indicators of executive functioning, and their interaction are entered into the equation. In all four studies the observed interaction between specific associations and Executive Control (EC was robust: trait impulsivity did not diminish the prediction of alcohol use by the interaction. Trait impulsivity was not always related to alcohol use, and when it was, the predictive power disappeared after entering the interaction between behavior-specific associations and EC in one study, but not in the other. These findings are interpreted in relation to the validity of the measurements used, which leads to a more refined hypothesis.

Theory of reflection reflection and transmission of electromagnetic, particle and acoustic waves

CERN Document Server

Lekner, John

2016-01-01

This book deals with the reflection of electromagnetic and particle waves by interfaces. The interfaces can be sharp or diffuse. The topics of the book contain absorption, inverse problems, anisotropy, pulses and finite beams, rough surfaces, matrix methods, numerical methods,  reflection of particle waves and neutron reflection. Exact general results are presented, followed by long wave reflection, variational theory, reflection amplitude equations of the Riccati type, and reflection of short waves. The Second Edition of the Theory of Reflection is an updated and much enlarged revision of the 1987 monograph. There are new chapters on periodically stratified media, ellipsometry, chiral media, neutron reflection and reflection of acoustic waves. The chapter on anisotropy is much extended, with a complete treatment of the reflection and transmission properties of arbitrarily oriented uniaxial crystals. The book gives a systematic and unified treatment reflection and transmission of electromagnetic and particle...

Reduced prefrontal and temporal processing and recall of high "sensation value" ads.

Science.gov (United States)

Langleben, Daniel D; Loughead, James W; Ruparel, Kosha; Hakun, Jonathan G; Busch-Winokur, Samantha; Holloway, Matthew B; Strasser, Andrew A; Cappella, Joseph N; Lerman, Caryn

2009-05-15

Public service announcements (PSAs) are non-commercial broadcast ads that are an important part of televised public health campaigns. "Message sensation value" (MSV), a measure of sensory intensity of audio, visual, and content features of an ad, is an important factor in PSA impact. Some communication theories propose that higher message sensation value brings increased attention and cognitive processing, leading to higher ad impact. Others argue that the attention-intensive format could compete with ad's message for cognitive resources and result in reduced processing of PSA content and reduced overall effectiveness. Brain imaging during PSA viewing provides a quantitative surrogate measure of PSA impact and addresses questions of PSA evaluation and design not accessible with traditional subjective and epidemiological methods. We used Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and recognition memory measures to compare high and low MSV anti-tobacco PSAs and neutral videos. In a short-delay, forced-choice memory test, frames extracted from PSAs were recognized more accurately than frames extracted from the NV. Frames from the low MSV PSAs were better recognized than frames from the high MSV PSAs. The accuracy of recognition of PSA frames was positively correlated with the prefrontal and temporal, and negatively correlated with the occipital cortex activation. The low MSV PSAs were associated with greater prefrontal and temporal activation, than the high MSV PSAs. The high MSV PSAs produced greater activation primarily in the occipital cortex. These findings support the "dual processing" and "limited capacity" theories of communication that postulate a competition between ad's content and format for the viewers' cognitive resources and suggest that the "attention-grabbing" high MSV format could impede the learning and retention of an ad. These findings demonstrate the potential of using neuroimaging in the design and

The Reflective Methodologists

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Bjørg

2013-01-01

In recent years, a focus on inclusion and vulnerable children has reignited discussions about the quality of pedagogical work. It has also initiated processes of change that have challenged the Danish kindergarten tradition and the identity of the pedagogue in a number of different ways. In this ......In recent years, a focus on inclusion and vulnerable children has reignited discussions about the quality of pedagogical work. It has also initiated processes of change that have challenged the Danish kindergarten tradition and the identity of the pedagogue in a number of different ways...... in which the practical sense and tacit knowledge are related to questions of power and social actors’ strategies for positioning themselves within a social space. This demands a particular focus on the historical effect of the concept of ‘the reflective practitioner’ as a symbolic marker of identity...

Cultivating Reflective Practitioners in Technology Preparation: Constructing TPACK through Reflection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liangyue Lu

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Teaching is a complex profession, which is further complicated by the integration of technology into classrooms. Reflection can help teachers unpack the complexity in their practice. Reflection can be an effective instructional strategy in helping preservice teachers develop technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK, the complex and dynamic knowledge necessary for effective technology integration into instruction. In this study, reflective activities were integrated into a Learning By Design (LBD environment, which was created to help preservice teachers develop TPACK. This paper investigated the participants’ TPACK development and examined how reflection helped them construct TPACK. Through content analysis of the participants’ reflective journals, the researcher found that the preservice teachers developed initial TPACK awareness. However, their reflection in technology knowledge and the content aspects of TPACK were limited and superficial. Interviews with the participants showed reflection helped the preservice teachers remember what they learned by describing and elaborating on their in-class experiences, pushed them to think about how to apply what they learned in their future classrooms, and helped them become more reflective and open-minded about using technology in classrooms. Finally, the researcher discussed this study’s implications for teacher educators and researchers.

Controllable reflection of X-rays on crystals of saccharose

CERN Document Server

Navasardyan, M A; Hayrapetyan, K T; Gabrielyan, R T

2003-01-01

Multiple (ten times and more) increase in intensities of separate reflections and of lauegram reflections from organic single crystals of saccharose (C sub 1 2H sub 2 2O sub 1 1) was observed under influence of certain temperature gradient. On the base of the present experiment and the data of our previous woks we show that the controllable reflection process has a common nature and the intensity of the diffracted beam under external influences does not depend on the total number of electrons per unit volume of the unit cell of the single crystal.

Inversion of reflection for the one-dimensional Dirac equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clerk, G.L.; Davies, A.J.

1991-01-01

It is a general result of one-dimensional non-relativistic quantum mechanics that the coefficient of reflection (reflected flux) is the same irrespective of the direction of traversing a potential barrier, a result that is independent of the barrier shape. In this note, the authors consider the transmission coefficient instead, and derive a strong result, namely that the transmission amplitude is independent of the direction of barrier traversal. That is, the transmission amplitude has the same complex phase as well as being unchanged in magnitude by changing the barrier around. This process was called inversion of reflection. 2 refs

Low-reflective wire-grid polarizers with absorptive interference overlayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suzuki, Motofumi [Department of Micro Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan); Takada, Akio; Yamada, Takatoshi; Hayasaka, Takashi; Sasaki, Kouji; Takahashi, Eiji; Kumagai, Seiji, E-mail: m-snki@me.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Devices Technology Department, Devices Division, Sony Chemical and Information Device Corporation, 3-4-1 Sakuragi, Tagajyo, Miyagi 985-0842 (Japan)

2010-04-30