Developing skin analogues for a robotic octopus

In order to fabricate a biomimetic skin for an octopus inspired robot, a new process was developed based on mechanical properties measured from real octopus skin. Various knitted nylon textiles were tested and the one of 10-denier nylon was chosen as reinforcement. A combination of Ecoflex 0030 and 0010 silicone rubbers was used as matrix of the composite to obtain the right stiffness for the skin-analogue system. The open mould fabrication process developed allows air bubble to escape easily and the artificial skin produced was thin and waterproof. Material properties of the biomimetic skin were characterised using static tensile and instrumented scissors cutting tests. The Young’s moduli of the artificial skin are 0.08 MPa and 0.13 MPa in the longitudinal and transverse directions, which are much lower than those of the octopus skin. The strength and fracture toughness of the artificial skin, on the other hand are higher than those of real octopus skins. Conically-shaped skin prototypes to be used to cover the robotic arm unit were manufactured and tested. The biomimetic skin prototype was stiff enough to maintain it conical shape when filled with water. The driving force for elongation was reduced significantly compared with previous prototypes.

Cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis: current evidence and future directions

The past decade has seen considerable growth in the evidence base of cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis. Consistent reports of moderate effect sizes have led to such interventions being recommended as part of routine clinical practice. Most of this evidence is based on a generic form of CBT for psychosis applied to a heterogeneous group. An increase in the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural interventions may require new protocols. Such therapeutic developments should be based on the theoretical understanding of the psychological processes associated with specific forms of psychotic presentation. The current evidence base of CBT for psychosis is reviewed, and barriers that have held back the development of this research are discussed.

Future directions for doll play narrative research: a commentary

Past research into doll play narratives has been productive in elucidating children's inner experiences, their determinants, and their role in child behaviour problems. The current volume takes this work forward in several directions: first, it indicates the value of designing story stems and coding schemes to address more specific questions about the developmental process of specific syndromes. Second, contributions demonstrate the "added value" provided by children's narratives, over and above information derived from other sources. Third, this recent research enhances our understanding of the role of parental representations and states of mind in influencing children's narratives; how these may come to influence child functioning via co-constructed parent-child dialogues is an important area for future research. Finally, possibilities of extending the clinical utility of doll play narratives are explored.

Cognitive therapy for anxiety disorders: current status and future directions.

This paper reviews recent theoretical, conceptual and practice developments in cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders. The empirical status of CBT for anxiety disorders is reviewed and recent advances in the field are outlined. Challenges for the future development of CBT for the anxiety disorders are examined in relation to the efficacy, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the approach. It is concluded that the major challenge currently facing CBT for anxiety disorders in the UK is how to meet the increased demand for provision whilst maintaining high levels of efficacy and effectiveness. It is suggested that the creation of an evidence base for the dissemination of CBT needs to become a priority for empirical investigation in order effectively to expand the provision of CBT for anxiety disorders.

Future directions for child anxiety theory and treatment

The aim of this introductory paper, and of this special issue of Cognition and Emotion, is to stimulate debate about theoretical issues that will inform child anxiety research in the coming years. Papers included in this special issue have arisen from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC, UK) funded seminar series, which we called Child Anxiety Theory and Treatment (CATTS). We begin with an overview of the CATTS project before discussing (1) the application of adult models of anxiety to children, and (2) the role of parents in child anxiety. We explore the utility of adult models of anxiety for child populations before discussing the problems that are associated with employing them uncritically in this context. The study of anxiety in children provides the opportunity to observe the trajectory of anxiety and to identify variables that causally influence its development. Parental influences are of particular interest and new and imaginative strategies are required to isolate the complex network of causal relationships therein. We conclude by suggesting that research into the causes and developmental course of anxiety in children should be developed further. We also propose that, although much is known about the role of parents in the development of anxiety, it would be useful for research in this area to move towards an examination of the specific processes involved. We hope that these views represent a constructive agenda for people in the field to consider when planning future research.

Family treatment of child anxiety: outcomes, limitations and future directions

Anxiety of childhood is a common and serious condition. The past decade has seen an increase in treatment-focussed research, with recent trials tending to give greater attention to parents in the treatment process. This review examines the efficacy of family-based cognitive behaviour therapy and attempts to delineate some of the factors that might have an impact on its efficacy. The choice and timing of outcome measure, age and gender of the child, level of parental anxiety, severity and type of child anxiety and treatment format and content are scrutinised. The main conclusions are necessarily tentative, but it seems likely that Family Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (FCBT) is superior to no treatment, and, for some outcome measures, also superior to Child Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CCBT). Where FCBT is successful, the results are consistently maintained at follow-up. It appears that where a parent is anxious, and this is not addressed, outcomes are less good. However, for children of anxious parents, FCBT is probably more effective than CCBT. What is most clear is that large, well-designed studies, examining these factors alone and in combination, are now needed.

Assessment of the RE(OH)3 Ising magnetic materials as possible candidates for the study of transverse-field-induced quantum phase transitions

The LiHoxY1−xF4 Ising magnetic material subject to a magnetic field perpendicular to the Ho3+ Ising direction has shown over the past 20 years to be a host of very interesting thermodynamic and magnetic phenomena. Unfortunately, the availability of other magnetic materials other than LiHoxY1−xF4 that may be described by a transverse-field Ising model remains very much limited. It is in this context that we use here a mean-field theory to investigate the suitability of the Ho(OH)3, Dy(OH)3, and Tb(OH)3 insulating hexagonal dipolar Ising-type ferromagnets for the study of the quantum phase transition induced by a magnetic field, Bx, applied perpendicular to the Ising spin direction. Experimentally, the zero-field critical (Curie) temperatures are known to be Tc≈2.54, 3.48, and 3.72 K, for Ho(OH)3, Dy(OH)3, and Tb(OH)3, respectively. From our calculations we estimate the critical transverse field, Bxc, to destroy ferromagnetic order at zero temperature to be Bxc=4.35, 5.03, and 54.81 T for Ho(OH)3, Dy(OH)3, and Tb(OH)3, respectively. We find that Ho(OH)3, similarly to LiHoF4, can be quantitatively described by an effective S=1/2 transverse-field Ising model. This is not the case for Dy(OH)3 due to the strong admixing between the ground doublet and first excited doublet induced by the dipolar interactions. Furthermore, we find that the paramagnetic (PM) to ferromagnetic (FM) transition in Dy(OH)3 becomes first order for strong Bx and low temperatures. Hence, the PM to FM zero-temperature transition in Dy(OH)3 may be first order and not quantum critical. We investigate the effect of competing antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor exchange and applied magnetic field, Bz, along the Ising spin direction ẑ on the first-order transition in Dy(OH)3. We conclude from these preliminary calculations that Ho(OH)3 and Dy(OH)3 and their Y3+ diamagnetically diluted variants, HoxY1−x(OH)3 and DyxY1−x(OH)3, are potentially interesting systems to study transverse-field-induced quantum fluctuations effects in hard axis (Ising-type) magnetic materials.

Induced random fields in the LiHoxY1-xF4 quantum ising magnet in a transverse magnetic field

The LiHoxY1-xF4 magnetic material in a transverse magnetic field Bxx̂ perpendicular to the Ising spin direction has long been used to study tunable quantum phase transitions in a random disordered system. We show that the Bx-induced magnetization along the x̂ direction, combined with the local random dilution-induced destruction of crystalline symmetries, generates, via the predominant dipolar interactions between Ho3+ ions, random fields along the Ising ẑ direction. This identifies LiHoxY1-xF4 in Bx as a new random field Ising system. The random fields explain the rapid decrease of the critical temperature in the diluted ferromagnetic regime and the smearing of the nonlinear susceptibility at the spin-glass transition with increasing Bx and render the Bx-induced quantum criticality in LiHoxY1-xF4 likely inaccessible.

Motivations for innovation in the built environment: new directions for research

Innovation in the built environment involves multiple actors with diverse motivations. Policy-makers find it difficult to promote changes that require cooperation from these numerous and dispersed actors and to align their sometimes divergent interests. Established research traditions on the economics and management of innovation pay only limited attention to stakeholder choices, engagement and motivation. This paper reviews the insights that emerge as research in these traditions comes into contact with work on innovation from sociological and political perspectives. It contributes by highlighting growing areas of research on user involvement in complex innovation, collective action, distributed innovation and transition management. To differing extents, these provide approaches to incorporate the motivations of different actors into theoretical understanding. These indicate new directions for research that promise to enrich understanding of innovation.