Search

The purpose of this study was to design a community-based, needs-sensitive, and culturally appropriate parenting education program that is effective for rural Malawian caregivers. With the use of the five-stage model, qualitative methods and procedures were used for developing the program. The presented program emphasized securing sustainability and community empowerment by listening to the voices of Malawian mothers, community leaders, and Malawian facilitators who are also parents. In order to ensure the cultural appropriateness and feasibility of the program, contents were provided in both English and Chichewa, and utilized Malawian folklore, well-known Malawian songs, and children's play during the home visit sessions. In the process of developing and implementing the parenting education program, Malawian caregivers' prior knowledge, cultural assets, needs and wants were honored and actively reflected, in order to make the program locally relevant and meaningful.

Molecular orientation of conjugated polymers plays a key role in exciton generation/separation and charge transport, and thus significantly influence photovoltaic devices. Herein, we fabricated fiber-based organic solar cells and investigated the photovoltaic parameters with different diameters of fibers and PCBM diffusion. The open-circuit voltage that varies with molecular orientation whether it is face-on or edge-on was observed to differ. The investigation of the open-circuit voltage dependence reveals that thick fibers have core/shell like structures with different orientations. Thick fibers have face-on in the core and edge-on orientations in the shell. The face-on orientations are not preferentially formed in thin fibers, but the PCBM diffusion can induce face-on orientations that exist within the intermixed phase. Our results may shed a light on better understanding on fiber-based solar cells and suggest a way toward improving photovoltaic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystallographic orientation has a significant impact on the optoelectronic properties of films of quasi‐2D perovskite quantum wells. Here, oxygen‐bearing Lewis bases are employed as additives to explore their ability to modulate spatial uniformity of crystallization and orientation of crystal phases. Different Lewis bases added into the precursor solutions incorporating the large organic ammonium cation, phenethylammonium (PEA+), lead to different crystallization kinetics, which are attributed to the varying stability of intermediate complexes. The microscopic photoluminescence heterogeneity and 2D X‐ray diffraction patterns of the thin films reveal that inclusion of Lewis bases can lead to spatially more uniform crystallization and random orientation, resulting in an enhancement in light‐emitting diode performance. In contrast, quasi‐2D phases formed without Lewis bases show poorer uniformity and preferentially vertical orientation. Comparing the Lewis base properties such as Mayer order unsaturation and polarizability suggests that the ability to weakly coordinate with lead and strongly interact with the large organic ammonium is a key factor in controlling the phase composition favorably toward highly luminescent light‐emitting diodes. This work may be of help to provide insight of what kinds of Lewis bases can be helpful to realize the desired phase composition for high performance of optoelectronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]