The use of Laue microdiffraction to study small-scale plasticity

Micromechanics is a booming research area experiencing the development of new advanced testing methods at small dimensions. A relatively young but very popular technique involves uniaxial compressing micrometer and sub-micrometer sized objects, usually in the shape of pillars. Research in this field has focused mainly on exploring size effects in single crystal metals. This article demonstrates that Laue microdiffraction allows exploring in-situ the evolving microstructure in the transition regime from elasticity to plasticity, a feature that is not accessible with other techniques but which is essential for the understanding of small-scale plasticit

Characterization of defects in a martensitic CuAlNi shape-memory alloy

A water-quenched martensitic CuAlNi shape-memory alloy was investigated by a combination of coincidence Doppler broadening and positron-lifetime spectroscopy, supported by positron-lifetime calculations. We find a high defect concentration in the as-quenched samples. The positron-lifetime calculations suggest that the defects are not only single vacancies but also vacancies associated with dislocations and stacking faults. Annealing in the martensitic phase has no significant influence on the vacancy concentration but results in a different chemical environment around the vacancies. After aging in the austenitic phase the vacancy concentration decreases significantl

Promoting Stakeholder Participation in a Learning-Based Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

This research analysed monitoring and evaluation activities based on the Outcome Mapping methodology within the Zimbabwe Secondary Teacher Training Environmental Education Project (St2eep), an education for sustainability initiative in Zimbabwe. The majority of donorfunded environmental education programmes use conventional monitoring and evaluation approaches based on the logical frameworks (logframe) that guide the programme designs and management. Although research indicates significant problems with the implementation of these approaches, there are only a few documented examples of experiences with alternative monitoring and evaluation frameworks. The case of St2eep allowed us to compare three years of experiences with monitoring and evaluation based on the logframe, with two years of monitoring and evaluation based on Outcome Mapping. We evaluate how the project team and the donor organisation, VVOB (the Flemish Office for Development, Cooperation and Technical Assistance), have perceived the performance of Outcome Mapping with regards to the two main aims of monitoring and evaluation activities: accountability and learning. This is complemented with an analysis of monitoring documentation. The project team refers to the collaborative nature of monitoring and evaluation in St2eep, the principles of self-assessment and peer-assessment, combined with public recognition for project successes, as the key factors supporting learning and accountability through monitoring and evaluation in St2eep. The Outcome Mapping-based monitoring and evaluation system is shown to enhance ownership and participation of local stakeholders in the project’s monitoring and evaluation system

Parents' Degree and Style of Restrictive Mediation of Young Children's Digital Gaming: Associations with Parental Attitudes and Perceived Child Adjustment

Objectives As young children increasingly grow up in a digital environment, parents are confronted with the question whether and how to regulate young children's digital gaming effectively. The goal of this study was to examine correlates of parents' degree of restrictive mediation and their (autonomy-supportive or controlling) style of doing so. Specifically, we tested associations of parents' degree and style of restrictive mediation with parents' attitudes about digital gaming, parental perceptions of children's defiance and problematic gaming, and their interest in social play. Methods A sample of 762 parents of children between 3 and 9 years filled out questionnaires on their degree and style of restrictive mediation, their attitudes about gaming, and their perceptions of children's oppositional defiance, problematic gaming, and interest in social play. Results We found that parents who hold more negative attitudes about digital gaming were more likely to use a controlling style when mediating their child's gaming. Further, a higher degree of restrictive mediation generally related to more adaptive child outcomes (i.e., lower levels of perceived defiance and problematic gaming, higher levels of perceived interest in social play), whereas the opposite pattern was found for parents' controlling style of mediation. Finally, these associations were not moderated by children's age or gender, nor by parents' gender or educational level. Conclusions Also in the context of children's digital gaming, it seems important for parents to set clear rules. Yet, when doing so, it is equally important to refrain from using controlling strategies, as they seem to be counterproductive

« Où étais-tu et avec qui ? » Les informations communiquées aux parents par les adolescents : un état de la littérature

La connaissance parentale des activités de temps libre des adolescents est largement reconnue comme un facteur protecteur pour l’ajustement psychosocial des adolescents. Les parents savent (ou ignorent) ce que leurs adolescents effectuent hors de la supervision parentale parce que leurs enfants partagent (ou dissimulent) des informations sur leurs activités ou leurs amitiés. Ainsi, durant cette période développementale marquée par un besoin accru d’indépendance, les adolescents utilisent plusieurs stratégies (p. ex., libre divulgation, secrets, mensonges) pour gérer les informations détenues par leurs parents. L’objectif de cet article est de passer en revue ces différents moyens, de présenter leur fonction développementale et de discuter de leurs conséquences sur l’adaptation psychosociale des adolescents et sur la relation avec leurs parents. Cet article propose également de s’interroger sur les raisons pour lesquelles les adolescents choisissent de divulguer ou de cacher des informations, notamment en abordant successivement leurs motifs personnels et les caractéristiques de la relation avec leurs parents

Adolescents’ responses to parental regulation: The role of communication style and self-determination

This study examined whether adolescents’ perceptions and reactions to parental regulation were predicted by parents’ communication style and by adolescents’ self-determination. Adolescents (N = 294; Mage = 14.3) reported their self determination, and then read a hypothetical scenario of parental regulation of their academic behavior, whereby parents’ communication style was either autonomy-supportive or psychologically controlling. Following the scenario, adolescents reported their perceptions of the situation (i.e., autonomy satisfaction, autonomy frustration, legitimacy) and their anticipated responses (i.e., oppositional defiance, negotiation). In response to psychological control, adolescents reported less autonomy satisfaction, more autonomy frustration, less legitimacy, and more defiance. Further, adolescents higher in self-determination reported less autonomy frustration, more legitimacy, less defiance, and more negotiation. Finally, self-determination moderated two effects of communication style: adolescents low on self-determination reported less legitimacy and more defiance in response to the psychologically controlling (vs. autonomy-supportive) situation. For adolescents high on self determination, these between-vignette differences were not significant

When Do Adolescents Accept or Defy to Maternal Prohibitions? The Role of Social Domain and Communication Style.

Drawing upon both Social-Cognitive Domain Theory and Self-Determination Theory, the goal of the present multi-informant study was to test whether the correlates of maternal prohibitions depend on what is prohibited (i.e., the content of the social domain involved), thereby contrasting moral with friendship prohibitions, as well on how the prohibition is communicated, thereby contrasting an autonomy-supportive with a controlling communication style. In a sample of adolescents (N = 196; mean age = 13.9 years; 63 % female) and their mothers (N = 185; mean age = 44 years), we first examined mean-level differences between the two domains in terms of mothers' degree and style of prohibition, as well as on a number of developmental outcomes (i.e., adolescents' legitimacy perceptions, internalization, and oppositional defiance). Both adolescents and mothers reported more maternal involvement in the moral domain (e.g., higher scores for degree of prohibition and controlling communication style). In addition, adolescents reported greater perceived legitimacy and less oppositional defiance in the moral domain (as compared to the friendships domain). Second, we tested whether associations between degree and style of prohibition and the developmental outcomes were moderated by social domain. Whereas associations between degree of prohibition and developmental outcomes either were non-significant or moderated by domain, the associations with communication style were more domain-invariant, with an autonomy-supportive style generally yielding an adaptive pattern of correlates and with a controlling style relating to maladaptive outcomes. The discussion focuses on similarities and differences in the characteristics and correlates of both types of prohibitions