Search

The importance of knowledge to the effective development of economic growth in the twenty-first century has led to a number of initiatives such as lifelong learning, skills development and knowledge transfer. Of these, knowledge transfer has predominantly been concerned with the commercial exploitation of research knowledge. This article suggests that such a narrow focus on research-led development is really only practical for larger organisations and misses many opportunities for knowledge transfer related to improving organisational knowledge and business effectiveness through supported workplace learning appropriate to small to medium-sized organisations. Two models of supported workplace learning, one involving a programme of study developed to reflect the strategic objectives of the organisation, and one developed to reflect business-led development, are described through case studies. Both illustrate the effectiveness of knowledge transfer that, although not research-led, had a significant impact on the competitive advantage of the respective organisations. In one case the students gained postgraduate awards, while in the other the students gained considerable business experience, again illustrating the flexibility that supported workplace learning can offer for individual development. Finally, the article concludes that effective knowledge transfer into the workplace may legitimately be structured around objectives that do not depend on research. In this mode, supported workplace learning offers an approach that is effective for the organisation and flexible in supporting individual development. It is also noted that one aspect of the process that became evident in both case studies was the need to manage the change process that injection of new knowledge created. (Contains 4 tables.)

We used a regeneratively amplified Ti: sapphire femtosecond laser to create optical birefringence in an isotropic glass medium. Between two crossed polarizers, regions modified by the femtosecond laser show bright transmission with respect to the dark background of the isotropic glass. This observation immediately suggests that these regions possess optical birefringence. The angular dependence of transmission through the laser-modified region is consistent with that of an optically birefringent material. Experimental results indicate that the optical axes of laser-induced birefringence can be controlled by the polarization direction of the femtosecond laser. The amount of laser-induced birefringence depends on the pulse energy level and number of accumulated pulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ferroelectric–to–ferroelectic phase transformation between the high temperature (FE[sub RH]) and the low temperature (FE[sub RL]) rhomobohedral phases in lead based perovskite under the dc bias conditions was investigated. Dielectric measurements show that an external electric field stabilizes the FE[sub RL] phase and moves the phase transformation to a higher temperature. The observation has been further verified by an in situ microfocused x-ray study where an external field can effectively induce the oxygen octahedral tilting in the crystalline lattice and extends the thermal stability region of the FE[sub RL] phase to a higher temperature. An analysis based on the combination of the Clausius–Clapeyron relationship with lattice dynamic principles suggests that the transformation from FE[sub RH] to FE[sub RL] is driven by a short-range interaction in the crystalline lattice. The origin of this short-range interaction is proposed, based on the structural evolution during the phase transformation. Experimental evidence suggests that such interaction driving the structural instability can be exploited by an external electric field near the phase transformation temperature and leads to an unusual, transient field-enhanced deformation near the FE[sub RH]/FE[sub RL] phase transformation. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An unusual field-enhanced piezoelectric deformation near the FE[sub RH]/FE[sub RL] structural phase transformation was observed in a tin modified lead zirconate titanate solid solution. In addition to the typical field-induced domain reorientation and the piezoelectric strain, this additional field-enhanced deformation only observed near the phase transformation increases linearly with external electric field strength. A 78% increase in field-enhanced strain was observed at a field strength of 32 kV/cm. Comparison of the dielectric susceptibility at low and high field conditions suggests that the observed unusual behavior is created by a field-induced lattice softening during the structural phase transformation. Experimental observations on the field-induced softening phenomena are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]