University Research Programs Research Articles

Laser target fabrication activities in the United Kingdom

Two main laser fabrication facilities exist in the United Kingdom (UK), one at AWRE and the other at the Central Laser Facility, Rutherford–Appleton Laboratory, which operates in support of a University research program. An overview of target microfabrication, characterization, and materials technology at these Laboratories are presented. Emulsion technology processes have been used to manufacture hollow polymer microspheres in a range of sizes. Large diameter spheres are used for individual targets and the smallest sizes are bulk packed to form a low density foam material. Polymeric foam materials are also made using the phase inversion method, plasma polymerization technique, and by a surface catalyst on compacted powder which is subsequently leached. Metal and polymer layer coatings for targets are carried out by thermal evaporation, sputtering, electroplating, plasma polymerization, and vapor phase pyrolysis techniques. Improved adhesion in multilayer foil targets is achieved by dynamic recoil mixing during the coating process. Ion beam milling and UV laser etching methods have been used to micromachine and structure targets. A range of optical, radiographic, and charged particle techniques are used to characterize targets. The use of laser generated x-ray backlighting for target material inspection is described.

The role of universities in electronic packaging engineering

Characteristics of present and future problems and directions in Level 1 and Level 2 packaging are discussed. Research areas are delineated, and problems amenable to attack by universities are suggested. An example of an existing university research program is given. Methods for universities to develop and implement courses in electronic packaging are discussed. A three-course core presently in use is described; this core can be used to provide Electronic Packaging Engineering emphasis in the M.S. programs of a number of different departments. Guidelines are suggested for the development of educational programs in Electronic Packaging Engineering, including use of industrial interactions and video education.

Industry—university research programs

Cooperative research ventures between industrial sponsors and universities are attracting increasing attention, not only because they offer benefits for both parties, but also because they promise to improve technology transfer for the nation as a whole. Yet there are risks inherent in such arrangements, as much recent press coverage suggests. This press attention reflects a concern that the needs of industrial sponsors for proprietary secrecy and other competitive advantages may undermine academic traditions of open scientific exchange. I shall examine these issues in the light of our experience with joint programs at MIT. I am not presenting MIT as a paradigm for success in this area, but we have had, perhaps, more experience with these arrangements than any other campus (see table, page 27); also, these are the arrangements with which I am most familiar. Our experiences at MIT have led me to conclude that the incentives for both parties must, from the outset, be clarified and assessed, for they are key to the evolution of a strong and healthy partnership. I shall also discuss means we have found useful for resolving areas of innate conflict between the industrial and academic perspectives, and I shall identify the kinds of conditions we have found essential for the long-term success of these arrangements.

Preschool Model in an Institutional Setting

AbstractThis paper describes the development over a three year period of a pre-school in an institution for the intellectually handicapped. Most of the children attending are residents, but some are day pupils. We discuss the progress of both in relation to the overall objectives: to create a happy, secure environment where learning can best occur, to develop each personality academically and socially, and to work towards integration into normal society.Against the well-known disadvantages of an institutionalized setting, the length of time available (six hours, five days a week) has allowed considerable extension of the model offered by a university research programme in early intervention. Within this framework we discuss techniques for the establishment of appropriate learning behaviours, and the introduction and effects of Direct Instruction Programmes.The pre-school provides both group and individual programmes through carefully structured classroom management involving teacher, aides, volunteers and where possible, parents. The rate of progress has already allowed the introduction of part-time integration and full time integration of our first two pupils will be achieved in 1982.

Les sciences de la communication : un phénomène de dépendance culturelle ?

Communication sciences : a cultural dependency ? First the authors question the foundations, the logic and the conceptual tools of the so-called communication sciences. Then they point out the ambiguities and the contradictions of these sciences, which together with their all entrapping capacity, "enables" them to pontify and to claim all tilings to be in the realm of communicology. A recall of their main episte-mological breeding ground — interactionism, structuralism and cybernetics — is followed by an examination of the historical contect within which these sciences emigrated and settled in France. We witness the "French-ization" of these native American communication sciences. The authors then raise the question of the social issues which these sciences can effectively study and those which they simply obfuscate. In the beginning, these sciences were imported by practionners who dealt in communication expertise. During the present decade they spread over into the academic field and have begun to infiltrate university curricula and research programs where they now hold a position of some importance. Their rather rapid rise may be explained thus : — the inability of traditional social sciences to come up with conceptual models and techniques which are both simple to apply and readily adapt¬ able, — and by the felt need of new auxiliaray administrative services of monop¬ olistic corporations and of governments to control the production and the distribution within society of those symbols which support public relations campaigns by reinforcing and/or modifying the public image of private firms and public policies. In view of this, the contribution of the communication sciences is all the more valuable because contradictions within ideological apparatus are becoming increasingly acute.

Internal Research Programs in Colleges and Universities

The purpose of this study was to document the existence, size, purpose, and organization and administration of internally sponsored research programs in colleges and universities. Their existence has been documented and it is shown that the vast majority of these programs exist as a centralized function of the institution. Those institutions sampled have responded to a variety of purposes for internal research programs and have offered information regarding their organization and administration. Support for these programs ranges from less than $1,000 to more than $500,000.

Internal Research Programs in Colleges and Universities

Internal Research Programs in Colleges and Universities

The Relevance of University Research and Extension Activities in Agricultural Economics to Agribusiness Firms

Concern about the relevance of work carried on by agricultural economists probably began three-quarters of a century ago with the appointment of Henry C. Taylor as the first professor of agricultural economics in a land grant institution. The dialogue has continued with changing emphasis during periods of depression, war years, overproduction, and structural changes in the production sector resulting from the historic migration of farm workers to urban centers and out of agricultural employment. Castle in 1970 warned that flexibility in organizational structure of research and extension activities would be necessary if programs were to have great relevance to fast changing and nonstatic problems. Johnson's scholarly address to the American Agricultural Economics Association in 1971 argued that agricultural economics is not dead or dying just because problems of the 1970s are different from those of a decade ago. Grove, Crockett, and Narrie elicited spirited viewpoints in their comments and replies regarding irrelevance as viewed by professional agricultural economists. With regard to work relevant to the economic problems of commercial agriculture, Castle correctly stated that studies on the farm firm and nonfarm firm, performance of the industry, and commercial agricultural policy are areas of study experiencing the greatest decline as public concern and intellectual excitement are being generated elsewhere (p. 832). To explore further the opinion of Castle and to provide myself with an updated view of relevance of university research and extension activities in agricultural economics to agribusiness firms, I surveyed the chairman of each department of agricultural economics at land grant universities in our nation. In addition, either by letter or by telephone, I requested viewpoints and opinions from administrators of land grant institutions, as well as a large number of economists employed by agribusiness firms, trade associations that are agricultural in nature, and farm organizations. Responses received were most helpful in broadening my understanding and knowledge of present programs and activities. In some instances, the information was sketchy and far from complete. From others, great pains were made to give detailed facts on all research and extension activities as well as on the interrelationships of the teaching function with the other two. Interpretations and conclusions reached from study of this mass of information are totally my responsibility and an honest effort to bring into focus relevance to agribusiness firms as I see it. In performing this chore, I do so as one who at one time wore the research and teaching hat at a land grant university. Moreover, my longer tenure has been as director of economic research for a major regional farmer cooperative. This paper has five major purposes: to examine the direct and indirect benefits to agribusiness firms from better informed agricultural producers, to present views on types of university research and extension activities that should be emphasized, to discuss possible conflicts that exist between university activities and the programs of agribusiness firms, to explore the potentials and problems of joint university-firm research activities, and to bring into focus the viewpoint of agribusiness firms regarding the relevance of university research and extension programs.

Deflection of a plane wave by an oscillating wall and the one-dimensional sound field in a duct with one rigid and one oscillating termination

As a part of the Pennsylvania State University research program on the effect of a moving boundary on the sound field in reverberation chambers, a theoretical model consisting of a parallelopiped with one wall oscillating at large amplitude has been developed. In this paper, the first part of the study is presented. Equations for the reflection of the plane monochromatic wave (ω0) perpendicularly incidenting on an oscillating wall (Ω) using transformation of the coordinate system in the moving wall were derived. The reflected wave has a line spectrum represented by ∑ n=−∞∝ An exp{− i [(ω0 ± nΩ) − ky]}. The method of calculating An is presented. A further step consists of a study of the sound field in a finite-length duct, with one termination oscillating at large amplitudes and the other reflective.

Implications of educational innovations

One must always keep in mind that education is the reason for the existence of a university. Of course, it is generally accepted that a strong and vigorous research program is essential to a university's survival. The argument for such a university research programs is that only through research programs can qualified faculty be attracted to the university, and only through continued research can the faculty remain qualified in their respective disciplines. Even if one accepts these arguments, the fact still remains that research activities are only justified in a university on the basis of their contributions to the caliber of the education. Without students a university is reduced to a research laboratory.

Implications of educational innovations

One must always keep in mind that education is the reason for the existence of a university. Of course, it is generally accepted that a strong and vigorous research program is essential to a university's survival. The argument for such a university research programs is that only through research programs can qualified faculty be attracted to the university, and only through continued research can the faculty remain qualified in their respective disciplines. Even if one accepts these arguments, the fact still remains that research activities are only justified in a university on the basis of their contributions to the caliber of the education. Without students a university is reduced to a research laboratory.

University Research Programs for Inner City High School Students

University Research Programs for Inner City High School Students

Rural African Research and the U.S. Government

The mushrooming of academic courses and organized university research programs on Africa in Canada, the United States, and elsewhere over the past decade reflects the world's need for better understanding of Africans and their problems. Those of us within the U.S. government concerned with research on Africa have recognized this need for some time and have looked to the work of our research colleagues on the outside-in universities, research organizations, or those independently employed-for insight and knowledge. We are especially pleased to see the growth of scholarly interest in rural Africa. This research will help meet some of our needs, as illustrated below. Equally important is the aid we know these studies can provide Africans, many of whose leaders recognize the key role of local development if their countries are to achieve their goals. That the U.S. government's research interest in rural Africa is extensive should be clear from the following notes. They indicate in a general way the scope of social and behavorial research within the government and of research outside that which is supported by government agencies. Although research of both kinds has been going on for many years, references will be mainly to work completed or underway in fiscal years 1967 and 1968.

Research on the effects of detergents (Alkylbenzenesulfonates and phosphates) in sewage systems. A progress report

SummarySeveral university research programs on the effects of alkylbenzenesulfonate (ABS) and condensed phosphates on water‐treatment plants and sewage‐treatment plants are reviewed. Methods of analyzing for very small amounts of these materials have been developed. The concentration of condensed phosphates in surface waters was determined, and it was found that even at several times these levels the effect on normal water‐treatment procedures is slight. In sewage treatment plants the presence of ABS is only one of the factors in the frothing problem. Ammonia nitrogen, BOD, and temperature are also involved. Most of the ABS entering an activated sludge process is biologically degraded, and it has no toxic effect on sewage bacteria. At the levels found in surface waters ABS does not have a toxic effect on aquatic life.

International Association for Dental Research Program of Minnesota Section University of Minnesota, Dec. 4, 1952

International Association for Dental Research Program of Minnesota Section University of Minnesota, Dec. 4, 1952

Sociology, 1941-46

The present position of sociology as a science is best stated in relation to the other social sciences, particularly social anthropology and psychology. That interdisciplinary co-operation in social science research is increasing is shown by recent changes in the organization of university departments and research programs. A synthesis of theoretical equipment is also developing. The war service of sociologists was of a varied nature in government, the armed services, and the universities. A discussion of important published works and of trends in the professional journals is included.