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Notes: The death of self-construal research has been greatly exaggerated. Levine et al. (2003) highlight the alleged methodological limitations of the current body of the self-construal model of culture. Their allegations, whether true or not, require a fair investigation. Careful examination of Levine et al. reveals pervasive logical flaws, methodological errors, and interpretation biases, which stem from ethnic stereotyping and other erroneous assumptions at various junctures. These fundamental errors, in turn, render their conclusions untenable. In testing their 1st set of hypotheses, which they proclaim to be “central to the validity” of self-construal scales, Levine et al. bifurcate the participants into “Westerners” versus “Asians,” and then impose their a priori stereotype of how Westerners ought to be versus how Asians ought to be, which is scientifically unacceptable. This is an unscientific validation criterion (comparable to crude ethnic stereotypes such as “Asians are smarter”) and should not be used to judge the scales' validity. Next, in their discussion of priming, Levine et al. assert that the construct validity of the interdependent self-construal requires that it must be susceptible to priming. This is an elementary logical fallacy. It simply does not follow from the definition of the interdependent self-construal and therefore cannot be used as a criterion which reflects on construct validity. Their priming experiments are also deeply flawed by the unrepresentative sample of participants. Further, in their factor analyses, Levine et al. set up the “straw man” of a “universal a priori 2-factor solution” although no self-construal scholar or theory insists that there are precisely 2 universally applicable self-construals or that the current self-construal scales are perfect. The results of statistical analyses, such as those in Levine et al., crucially depend on the selection of presuppositions. Levine et al.'s presuppositions are untenable, yet they are passed off as self-evident criteria for validity testing. Their article tries to create an illusion of finality, but is pervasively and fundamentally flawed.

Notes: This study investigates how cultural groups may differ in their perceptions about preferred communication behavior. It focuses on the importance attached to “conversational constraints” in conversation. For the primary goal of requesting, the following five conversational constraints are identified: (a) concern for clarity, (b) concern for avoiding hurting the hearer's feelings, (c) concern for nonimposition, (d) concern for avoiding negative evaluation by the hearer, and (e) concern for effectiveness. Five hypotheses are formulated regarding the relationships between individualistic-collectivistic orientation (an important dimension of“culture”) and these five conversational constraints. Data were collected from 892 participants (undergraduates studying in Korea, Hawaii, and the mainland United States). After being presented at random with one of the six request situations, participants rated the perceived importance of each conversational constraint in that situation. The results indicate that the perceived importance of clarity was higher in the more individualistic cultures. On the other hand, the perceived importance of avoiding hurting the hearer's feelings and of minimizing imposition were higher in the more collectivistic cultures. The perceived importance of effectiveness and of avoiding negative evaluation by the hearer, on the other hand, did not significantly differ across the three cultural groups. Theoretical as well as practical implications are discussed.

Notes: In this paper, laser ablation atomic fluorescence (LAAF) spectroscopy has been applied for a nanometer-scale solid surface analysis of Na-doped polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). LAAF spectroscopy is a new sensitive element detection technique which involves atomizing of a sample by the laser ablation and detection of the ablated plume by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy. Using this technique in the detection of Na atoms with a sample of Na-doped PMMA, an ablation rate of 4.4 nm/shot is attained and a detection limit is estimated to be 36 fg for a single laser shot. Further, a two-layer PMMA sample is ablated and by observing the shot-by-shot LIF intensity from Na atoms, the depth distribution in the sample is measured with a very high spatial resolution. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: We report the growth of high-quality GaN on a Si(111) substrate using a five step-graded AlxGa1−xN (x=0.87–0.07) interlayer between GaN epilayer and AlN buffer layer by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition. The crack density and the surface roughness of the GaN layer grown on the graded AlxGa1−xN interlayer were substantially reduced, compared to those of GaN grown on an AlN buffer layer. Significant improvement in the structural and optical properties of the GaN layer was also achieved by the use of a graded interlayer. These results are attributed to the decrease of the lattice mismatch between GaN and AlN layer, and the reduction of the thermal stress by the graded interlayer. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: The lateral overgrowth of GaN was carried out by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. SiO2 mask was removed just before coalescence and a subsequent lateral overgrowth was carried out to complete the fabrication of a SiO2-removed lateral epitaxial overgrown (LEO) GaN layer. The crystallographic tilting of (0002) plane, that was apparent in our standard LEO GaN layers, was absent in SiO2-removed LEO layer and x-ray diffraction measurement indicated a superior crystallinity for the SiO2-removed LEO layer. These results are attributed to the elimination of the interface between oxide mask and laterally grown GaN layer. The reduced crystallographic tilting in SiO2-removed LEO GaN layer also enhanced the quality of the coalesced fronts, as determined from cathodoluminescence images. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: Low temperature GaN buffer layers were grown by remote plasma enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on various pretreated sapphire substrates. The effects of the initial nitridation of sapphire substrates by rf nitrogen plasma on the subsequent growth mode and the crystallinity of the GaN buffer layers were studied. GaN buffer layers on non-nitridated sapphire substrates showed a three-dimensional island growth mode with rough surfaces and misoriented islands. On the other hand, those grown on nitridated sapphire substrates showed an enhanced two-dimensional growth mode with near-equilibrium truncated hexagonal pyramids. The structural quality of the low temperature GaN buffer layer improved significantly with nitrogen plasma nitridation. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.