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Analysis Methodology (analysis + methodology)
Selected AbstractsCURRENT-STATUS SURVIVAL ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY APPLIED TO ESTIMATING SENSORY SHELF LIFE OF READY-TO-EAT LETTUCE (LACTUCA SATIVA)JOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 2 2008MABEL ARANEDA ABSTRACT The objective of the present work was to develop a method for predicting sensory shelf life for situations in which each consumer evaluates only one sample corresponding to one storage time. This type of data is known as current-status data in survival analysis statistics. The methodology was applied to estimate the sensory shelf life of ready-to-eat lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitata cv."Alpha"). For each of six storage times, 50,52 consumers answered yes or no to whether they would normally consume the presented sample. The results were satisfactory, showing that the methodology can be applied when necessary. The Weibull model was found adequate to model the data. Estimated shelf lives ± 95% confidence intervals were 11.3 ± 1.2 days and 15.5 ± 0.9 days for a 25% and a 50% consumer rejection probability, respectively. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS When considering shelf-life evaluations by consumers, the first idea is to have each consumer evaluate six or seven samples with different storage times in a single session. To do this, a reverse storage design is necessary, and in the case of a product such as lettuce, it would lead to different batches being confused with storage times. The methodology proposed in this article avoids this problem by having each consumer evaluate a single sample. Another issue with consumers tasting several samples in a single session is how representative this situation is of real consumption. The present methodology allows for a consumer to take home, e.g., a bottle of beer with an established storage time, and later collecting the information as to whether they found the beer acceptable or not. This is a situation much closer to real consumption. [source] The utilization of the Purdue cognitive job analysis methodologyHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 1 2003June Wei The objective of this article is to illustrate the utilization of the Purdue Cognitive Job and Task Analysis methodology, the Human Centered Cognitive Performance model based Purdue Cognitive Task Analysis Questionnaire, which not only analyzes jobs and tasks, but also provides a mechanism for improving cognitive job and task performance. Specifically, the utilization of this methodology can assist job evaluation, job design and job rotation, and personnel selection and training. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 13: 59,84, 2003. [source] Developing competency models to promote integrated human resource practicesHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002Donna Rodriguez Today, competencies are used in many facets of human resource management, ranging from individual selection, development, and performance management to organizational strategic planning. By incorporating competencies into job analysis methodologies, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has developed robust competency models that can form the foundation for each of these initiatives. OPM has placed these models into automated systems to ensure access for employees, human resources professionals, and managers. Shared access to the data creates a shared frame of reference and a common language of competencies that have provided the basis for competency applications in public sector agencies. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Nanocrystalline domain size distributions from powder diffraction dataJOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2004Matteo Leoni The need for an a priori domain size distribution is one of the main limitations of existing line profile analysis methodologies. A numerical modification of the whole-powder-pattern modelling algorithm is proposed, to allow the refinement of a general domain size distribution from powder diffraction data. The shape of domains has to be inferred for the specimen under study. The algorithm is robust enough to unveil fine details in the refined distribution, as witnessed by the results of tests performed both on simulated and on real patterns of nanocrystalline ceria. [source] The Gendered Machine: Concept Car Development at Volvo Car CorporationGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 6 2005Alexander Styhre This article examines the treatment in the media of the first concept car development project managed by female engineers and designers. The study is based on a critical discourse analysis methodology in which the production of social institutions and beliefs are conceived of as being based on written and spoken statements and utterances. The discursive production of statements not only has intangible effects but also implies material, consequences., The, study, shows, that, although, the, project, aimed at highlighting and using competencies among the female co-workers and to position Volvo as a progressive company, the media coverage in many cases draws on gendered stereotypes and commonsense beliefs. As a consequence, it demonstrates that stepping outside gendered forms of expression is a complicated matter and therefore a more elaborated vocabulary remains to be developed in both the media and industry. [source] The utilization of the Purdue cognitive job analysis methodologyHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 1 2003June Wei The objective of this article is to illustrate the utilization of the Purdue Cognitive Job and Task Analysis methodology, the Human Centered Cognitive Performance model based Purdue Cognitive Task Analysis Questionnaire, which not only analyzes jobs and tasks, but also provides a mechanism for improving cognitive job and task performance. Specifically, the utilization of this methodology can assist job evaluation, job design and job rotation, and personnel selection and training. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 13: 59,84, 2003. [source] Decision tree for choosing an uncertainty analysis methodology: a wiki experiment http://www.floodrisknet.org.uk/methodshttp://www.floodrisk.netHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 17 2006Florian Pappenberger First page of article [source] Atmospheric moisture budget over Antarctica and the Southern Ocean based on the ERA-40 reanalysisINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 15 2008Hanna Tietäväinen Abstract The atmospheric moisture budget over Antarctica and the Southern Ocean was analysed for the period 1979,2001 on the basis of the ERA-40 reanalysis of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Meridional transport by transient eddies makes the largest contribution to the southward water vapour transport. The mean meridional circulation contributes to the northward transport in the Antarctic coastal areas, but this effect is compensated by the southward transport by stationary eddies. The convergence of meridional water vapour transport is at its largest at 64,68°S, while the convergence of zonal transport is regionally important in areas of high cyclolysis. Inter-annual variations in water vapour transport are related to the southern annular mode (SAM). The eastward transport has a significant (95% confidence level) positive correlation with the SAM index, while the northward transport has a significant negative correlation with SAM near 60°S. Hydrological balance is well-achieved in the ERA-40 reanalysis: the difference between the water vapour flux convergence (based on analysis) and the net precipitation (precipitation minus evaporation, based on 24-h forecasts) is only 13 mm yr,1 (3%) over the Southern Ocean and , 8 mm yr,1 (5%) over the continental ice sheet. Over the open ocean, the analysis methodology favours the accuracy of the flux convergence. For the whole study region, the annual mean flux convergence exceeded net precipitation by 11 mm yr,1 (3%). The ERA-40 result for the mean precipitation over the Antarctic continental ice sheet in 1979,2001 is 177 ± 8 mm yr,1, while previous estimates range from 173 to 215 mm yr,1. For the period 1979,2001, the ERA-40 data do not show any statistically significant trend in precipitation over the Antarctic grounded ice sheet and ice shelves. From the ERA-40 data, the annual average net evaporation (evaporation minus condensation) is positive over the whole continent. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Fourier analysis methodology of trabecular orientation measurement in the human tibial epiphysisJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 2 2001M. HERRERA Methods to quantify trabecular orientation are crucial in order to assess the exact trajectory of trabeculae in anatomical and histological sections. Specific methods for evaluating trabecular orientation include the ,point counting' technique (Whitehouse, 1974), manual tracing of trabecular outlines on a digitising board (Whitehouse, 1980), textural analysis (Veenland et al. 1998), graphic representation of vectors (Shimizu et al. 1993; Kamibayashi et al. 1995) and both mathematical (Geraets, 1998) and fractal analysis (Millard et al. 1998). Optical and computer-assisted methods to detect trabecular orientation of bone using the Fourier transform were introduced by Oxnard (1982) later refined by Kuo & Carter (1991) (see also Oxnard, 1993, for a review), in the analysis of planar sections of vertebral bodies as well as in planar radiographs of cancellous bone in the distal radius (Wigderowitz et al. 1997). At present no studies have applied this technique to 2-D images or to the study of dried bones. We report a universal computer-automated technique for assessing the preferential orientation of the tibial subarticular trabeculae based on Fourier analysis, emphasis being placed on the search for improvements in accuracy over previous methods and applied to large stereoscopic (2-D) fields of anatomical sections of dried human tibiae. Previous studies on the trajectorial architecture of the tibial epiphysis (Takechi, 1977; Maquet, 1984) and research data about trabecular orientation (Kamibayashi et al. 1995) have not employed Fourier analysis. [source] Sensitivity analysis in oxidation ditch modelling: the effect of variations in stoichiometric, kinetic and operating parameters on the performance indicesJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2001A Abusam Abstract This paper demonstrates the application of the factorial sensitivity analysis methodology in studying the influence of variations in stoichiometric, kinetic and operating parameters on the performance indices of an oxidation ditch simulation model (benchmark). Factorial sensitivity analysis investigates the sensitivities in a region rather than in a point. Hence, it has the advantage of giving more information about parameter interactions (non-linearity). Short-term results obtained have shown the following. The index AE is not significantly affected by variations in the value of parameters of the activated sludge model (ASM) No 1. The index TSP is greatly influence by heterotrophic yield (YH), heterotrophic decay (bH) and specific hydrolysis (kh) and the index EQ is dominated by YH, Monod coefficient (KS), bH, kh, anoxic condition correction factors (,g, ,h), hydrolysis half-saturation coefficient (KX), autotrophs maximum specific growth rate (µA) and ammonia half-saturation coefficient (KNH). Furthermore, the index EQ has been shown to be very sensitive to parameter interactions, at certain regions. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Community-based individual knowledge construction in the classroom: a process-oriented accountJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 3 2010C.-K. Looi Abstract This paper explores the process of knowledge convergence and knowledge sharing in the context of classroom collaboration in which students do a group learning activity mediated by a generic representation tool. In analysing the transcript of the interactions of a group, we adapt the group cognition method of Stahl and the uptake analysis methodology of Suthers to understand how the members of the group did meaning making in their interactions, and how individual members did uptakes of their interactions and applied their new shared knowledge or understanding in new situations. The transcript is taken from our school-based research using the Group Scribbles software technology which provides representation spaces for individual, group or class work to support collaborative practices. Our work contributes toward a methodology for explaining a process-oriented account of a small group interaction through face-to-face communication over external shared representations. [source] A Product-Level Approach to Historical Material Flow AnalysisJOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5-6 2008Tungsten as a Case Study Summary Studies of material cycles, which have a solid history in biogeochemistry, include characterization of technological materials cycles that quantify the way in which materials move through the economy and environment of a region. One of the most important aspects of historical technological materials cycles is determining how much material goes into various uses over time and modeling its lifetime in each use. A material flow analysis methodology is presented by which a historical (i.e., 1975 to 2000) study of tungsten use in the United States was constructed. The approach utilized in this study is twofold: the traditional approach by which material going into end-use sectors is approximated (the "end-use sector model"), and a second approach by which end-use products are specifically addressed (the "finished product model"). By virtue of the latter method, a detailed historical account of a material's end uses was developed. This study shows that (1) both models present a detailed treatment of trade of finished products over time for a variety of highly disaggregated products, (2) the end-use sector model provides a method to combine quantitative and qualitative data about products in various sectors to estimate domestic production for a metal about which little is known in terms of its end uses, and (3) the finished product model produces detailed estimates of domestic production for a large number of highly disaggregated products. [source] TEXTUAL REPRESENTATION OF DIVERSITY IN COAMFTE ACCREDITED DOCTORAL PROGRAMSJOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 1 2006John J. Lawless The use of the Internet is growing at a staggering pace. One significant use of the Internet is for potential students and the parents of potential students to explore educational possibilities. Along these lines potential marriage and family therapy students may have many questions that include a program's commitment to cultural diversity. This study utilized qualitative content analysis methodology in combination with critical race theory to examine how Commission On Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) accredited doctoral programs represented cultural text on their World Wide Web pages. Findings indicate that many COAMFTE-accredited doctoral programs re-present programmatic information about diversity that appear to be incongruent with cultural sensitivity. These apparent incongruities are highlighted by the codification, inconsistent, and isolated use of cultural text. In addition, cultural text related to social justice was absent. Implications and suggestions are discussed. [source] A clinical teaching guide for psychiatric mental health nursing: a qualitative outcome analysis projectJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 4 2002S. Melrose phdrn Limited curriculum enhancement resources are available to psychiatric nurse educators. This article provides a clinical teaching guide for novice instructors teaching an introductory psychiatric nursing course. The investigation is grounded in a constructivist theoretical framework and extends a previous case study project that explored how students learn during a mental health practicum (Melrose 1998, Melrose & Shapiro 1999). The guide was tested and modified by applying a qualitative outcome analysis methodology. Insight into interpreting student behaviour and providing appropriate and stage-specific teaching tools is revealed. Theoretical components, assessment questions for teachers, student behavioural signs and teaching strategies are identified and discussed to describe significant features in creating personally meaningful learning experiences. [source] CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF SANDINESS IN DULCE DE LECHEJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 2 2008ANA GIMÉNEZ ABSTRACT Sandiness, one of the most common defects of dulce de leche, is caused by lactose crystallization. In order to study consumer reaction to the presence of different levels of this defect, survival analysis statistics was applied to the consumer acceptance/rejection data of the samples. Limits for this defect were estimated by working with 10% and 25% consumer rejection probabilities. The consumers were also asked to score the sample sandiness according to their perception, using a 9-point scale. Cluster analysis and correspondence analysis performed showed the heterogeneity of the consumer responses toward sandiness in dulce de leche. Significant correlations were established between consumer sandiness and the number of crystals and sandiness as measured by a panel of trained assessors, the latter being the best indicator of sandiness as perceived by the consumers. It could be established that the consumers' and assessors' sandiness perception is clearly influenced by the presence of agglomerates, their size distribution and number. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Sandiness is an important defect for a segment of consumers who rejected samples with high levels of sandiness, suggesting the importance of avoiding the occurrence of this defect. Survival analysis methodology was used to estimate the maximum level of sandiness in dulce de leche before consumers reject it. As sandiness is a sensory defect that often limits the shelf life of dulce de leche, the calculated sensory limits could be used in future studies to estimate the sensory shelf life of dulce de leche. [source] ESTIMATION OF HEDONIC RESPONSES FROM DESCRIPTIVE SKIN SENSORY DATA BY CHI-SQUARE MINIMIZATIONJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 1 2006I.F. ALMEIDA ABSTRACT Six topical formulations were evaluated by a trained panel according to a descriptive analysis methodology and by a group of consumers who rated the products on a hedonic scale. We present a new approach that describes the categorical appreciation of appearance, texture and skinfeel of the formulations by the consumers as a function of related sensory attributes assessed by the trained panel. For each hedonic attribute, a latent random variable depending on the sensory attributes is constructed and made discrete (in a nonlinear fashion) according to the distribution of consumer-hedonic scores in such a way as to minimize a corresponding chi-square criterion. Standard partial least squares (PLS) regression, bootstrapping and cross-validation techniques describing the overall liking of the hedonic attributes as a function of associated sensory attributes were also applied. Results from both methods were compared, and it was concluded that chi-square minimization can work as a complementary method to the PLS regression. [source] SENSORY SHELF-LIFE ESTIMATION OF ALFAJOR BY SURVIVAL ANALYSISJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 6 2004ADRIANA GÁMBARO ABSTRACT Survival analysis methodology was used to estimate the shelf life of alfajor (a chocolate-coated individually wrapped cake) at 20 and 35C by using results obtained from consumers when asked if they would accept or reject samples with different storage times. Sensory acceptability (measured by consumers), off-flavor (measured by a trained panel) and moisture content were linearly related to time. These correlations were used to estimate values at the shelf-life times calculated for 25 and 50% rejection probability. Survival analysis provided the following shelf-life estimation: 74 days at 20C and 33 days at 35C for a 25% of rejection, 87 days at 20C and 39 days at 35C for a 50% of rejection. An alfajor stored at 20C having an acceptability value below 4.9 (1,9 hedonic scale) and off-flavor intensity above 5.3 (0,10 scale) would be rejected by 25% of the consumers. Chemical data were not good shelf-life predictors. [source] The Aging Experience of Well Elderly Women: Initial ResultsNURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 3 2002Wendy Duggleby In aging research, the concentration of the majority of studies on the effects of disease and other problems has resulted in a view of aging that focuses on losses (Agen, 1998). However, little is actually understood about the aging experience in well elderly women and how they adapt to changes in aging. The purpose of this study was to explore the aging experience among well community-living older women participating in activities at a seniors' center. The specific aims were: (i) describe the experience of aging; and (ii) describe how participants deal with aging. A descriptive qualitative focus group design was used. Fourteen women who attend a seniors' center in a large urban multi-purpose recreation center in north central Texas participated in focus groups based on their age: young,old (65,74); old,old (75,84) and oldest old (85 years of age and older). The focus group interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed using content analysis methodology. One member from each focus group confirmed the results. All three age groups described changes in interests, loss of friends, loss of spouse, and retirement. The ,old,old' and ,oldest old' groups described physical changes that interfered with ,doing what they did before'. All three groups said the best part about growing older was a sense of freedom and the most difficult was loss of spouse. They all dealt with the changes by maintaining relationships with family and friends, faith, staying physically and mentally active and staying involved. The participants identified seniors' programs as helping them with changes. However, transportation was an issue. They also described how they needed others to be patient with them as they dealt with their changes. [source] Librarians's reflective practice in electronic reserves: An exploration of sources of copyright knowledge and professional developmentPROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2007Jomkwan Polparsi he research question of this study was what formal and informal sources librarians use in dealing with electronic reserves and in developing their copyright knowledge. The exploration of the sources of copyright knowledge was expected to drive issues and challenges in library practice to emerge, and to influence the design of further in-depth study. The study employs a qualitative, naturalistic data collection methodology and an inductive data analysis methodology. The study applies Schon's reflection theory as a sensitizing theoretical framework to help understand the processes of librarians' decision about electronic reserves. To date, three librarians have been interviewed. In interviews, librarians thought aloud critical incidents of electronic reserves requests and the sources of copyright knowledge they use. Qualitative analysis was carried out through in-depth analysis of interview transcripts and follow-up interviews for clarification and confirmations of the findings. The analysis aimed at formal and informal sources that librarians use and on evidence of reflection-on-action. The findings point to both formal and informal sources, and suggest that the sources represent social and institutional cues that undermine practice and decision making. Issues emerged are that librarians and stakeholders debate over copyright fair use guidelines and standards in electronic reserves, and over different meanings of fair use. To better understand library practice, it is important to explore social and institutional cues embedded in the real world. [source] The Behaviour of Socially Responsible Investments as Financial AssetsAUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING REVIEW, Issue 34 2004Paul Gerrans This paper examines the behaviour of socially responsible investments (SRIs) as financial assets using a returns-based style analysis methodology. Conflicting views exist on the risks of SRIs in terms of their exposure to asset classes and industry sectors. This paper provides empirical evidence from a sample of Australian SRI managed funds. The sample SRI funds do not have strong consistent patterns in terms of style. They do not appear to represent a homogenous category of investments, and do not belong in an investment class of their own. [source] Measuring and decomposing agricultural productivity and profitability change,AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL & RESOURCE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2010Christopher J. O'Donnell Profitability change can be decomposed into the product of a total factor productivity (TFP) index and an index measuring changes in relative prices. Many TFP indexes can be further decomposed into measures of technical change, technical efficiency change, scale efficiency change and mix efficiency change. The class of indexes that can be decomposed in this way includes the Fisher, Törnqvist and Hicks,Moorsteen TFP indexes but not the Malmquist TFP index of Caves, Christensen and Diewert (1982). This paper develops data envelopment analysis methodology for computing and decomposing the Hicks,Moorsteen index. The empirical feasibility of the methodology is demonstrated using country-level agricultural data covering the period 1970,2001. The paper explains why relatively small countries tend to be the most productive, and why favourable movements in relative prices tend to simultaneously increase net returns and decrease productivity. Australia appears to have experienced this relative price effect since at least 1970. Thus, if Australia is a price-taker in output and input markets, Australian agricultural policy-makers should not be overly concerned about the estimated 15 per cent decline in agricultural productivity that has taken place over the last three decades. [source] Exploring the utility of functional analysis methodology to assess and treat problematic verbal behavior in persons with acquired brain injuryBEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS, Issue 2 2004Mark R. Dixon Functional analyses were conducted on four adults with acquired brain injuries who regularly displayed instances of inappropriate verbal behavior including depressive, aggressive, suicidal, profane, and sexually inappropriate utterances. After the functional analysis yielded a maintaining variable for each participant, a function-based intervention consisting of differential reinforcement of alternative verbal behavior was implemented. Results of the behavioral interventions show that instances of vocal behavior can be assessed and subsequently treated using the functional analysis methodology often reserved for nonverbal forms of behavior. The utility of functional analysis for assessing complex human behavior is discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] On Estimation of the Survivor Average Causal Effect in Observational Studies When Important Confounders Are Missing Due to DeathBIOMETRICS, Issue 2 2009Brian L. Egleston Summary We focus on estimation of the causal effect of treatment on the functional status of individuals at a fixed point in time t* after they have experienced a catastrophic event, from observational data with the following features: (i) treatment is imposed shortly after the event and is nonrandomized, (ii) individuals who survive to t* are scheduled to be interviewed, (iii) there is interview nonresponse, (iv) individuals who die prior to t* are missing information on preevent confounders, and (v) medical records are abstracted on all individuals to obtain information on postevent, pretreatment confounding factors. To address the issue of survivor bias, we seek to estimate the survivor average causal effect (SACE), the effect of treatment on functional status among the cohort of individuals who would survive to t* regardless of whether or not assigned to treatment. To estimate this effect from observational data, we need to impose untestable assumptions, which depend on the collection of all confounding factors. Because preevent information is missing on those who die prior to t*, it is unlikely that these data are missing at random. We introduce a sensitivity analysis methodology to evaluate the robustness of SACE inferences to deviations from the missing at random assumption. We apply our methodology to the evaluation of the effect of trauma center care on vitality outcomes using data from the National Study on Costs and Outcomes of Trauma Care. [source] Rational Analyses of Information Foraging on the WebCOGNITIVE SCIENCE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, Issue 3 2005Peter Pirolli Abstract This article describes rational analyses and cognitive models of Web users developed within information foraging theory. This is done by following the rational analysis methodology of (a) characterizing the problems posed by the environment, (b) developing rational analyses of behavioral solutions to those problems, and (c) developing cognitive models that approach the realization of those solutions. Navigation choice is modeled as a random utility model that uses spreading activation mechanisms that link proximal cues (information scent) that occur in Web browsers to internal user goals. Web-site leaving is modeled as an ongoing assessment by the Web user of the expected benefits of continuing at a Web site as opposed to going elsewhere. These cost,benefit assessments are also based on spreading activation models of information scent. Evaluations include a computational model of Web user behavior called Scent-Based Navigation and Information Foraging in the ACT Architecture, and the Law of Surfing, which characterizes the empirical distribution of the length of paths of visitors at a Web site. 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