Measurement Procedure (measurement + procedure)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Plural Cities and Ethnic Enclaves: Introducing a Measurement Procedure for Comparative Study

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002
Michael Poulsen
World cities attract two major streams of migrants , those who occupy the upper levels of their occupational hierarchies (the ,globalized professionals') on the one hand and marginalized, low,skill workers on the other. These two groups are often of different ethnic status, and it is argued that multicultural world cities are thus fractured in both their labour and housing markets along ethnic as well as economic lines. There has been little formal testing of these ideas, however. In this introductory article we introduce a method that can be used for comparative studies of residential fragmentation , an index of residential concentration , and apply it to three cities which have experienced rapid, multiethnic immigration in recent decades (New York, Sydney and Auckland). The patterns displayed indicate much greater fragmentation in New York than in the other two cities, suggesting that the ,conventional wisdom' regarding ethnic residential patterns may over,emphasize ,American exceptionalism'. Les villes mondiales attirent deux grands flux de migrants: ceux qui occupent les niveaux supérieurs de leurs hiérarchies professionnelles (les ,experts mondialisés') d'une part, et les travailleurs peu qualifiés et marginalisés, de l'autre; ces deux groupes sont souvent de statut ethnique différent. De ce fait, ces grandes villes multiculturelles subissent, dit,on, une fracture de leurs marchés du travail et du logement selon des critères à la fois ethniques et économiques , affirmations qui ont rarement été mises à l'épreuve. Cet article introductif présente une méthode utilisable dans des études comparatives de fragmentation résidentielle , indice de concentration résidentielle , en l'appliquant à trois villes ayant connu une rapide immigration multiethnique au cours des dernières décennies (New York, Sydney et Auckland). Les modèles obtenus indiquent une fragmentation bien plus importante à New York que dans les deux autres villes, suggérant que la ,croyance populaire'à l'égard des schémas résidentiels ethniques surestime peut,être ,l'exception américaine'. [source]


Uncertainty analysis of heat release rate measurement from oxygen consumption calorimetry

FIRE AND MATERIALS, Issue 6 2005
Sylvain BrohezArticle first published online: 1 JUL 200
Abstract Oxygen consumption calorimetry remains the most widespread method for the measurement of the heat release rate from experimental fire tests. In a first step, this paper examines by theoretical analysis the uncertainty associated with this measurement, especially when CO and soot corrections are applied. Application of theoretical equations is presented for chlorobenzene which leads to high values of CO and soot yields. It appears that the uncertainty of CO and soot corrections are high when the fuel composition is unknown. In a second step, a theoretical analysis is provided when the simplest measurement procedure is used for oxygen consumption calorimetry. The overall uncertainty can be dominated either by the uncertainty associated with the oxygen concentration, the assumed heat of combustion, the fumes mass flow rate or the assumed combustion expansion factor depending on the oxygen depletion. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


XAS and XMCD under high magnetic field and low temperature on the energy-dispersive beamline of the ESRF

JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION, Issue 5 2007
O. Mathon
The present paper demonstrates the feasibility of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) under high magnetic fields up to 26,T and low temperatures down to 5,K on the ID24 energy-dispersive XAS beamline of the ESRF. The pulsed magnetic field set-up, entirely developed at the ESRF, is described as well as the beamline set-up, the synchronization and the measurement procedure. It allows field strengths up to 30,T. Finally, as an example, we report a recent XMCD study at the Re L2 and L3 absorption edges of the double perovskite Sr2CrReO6. [source]


Content validity and clinical applicability of the Irena Daily Activity assessment measuring occupational performance in adults with developmental disability

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2003
Irena Dychawy-Rosner MSc
Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the Irena Daily Activity (IDA) assessment which measures occupational performance in adults with developmental disabilities. The instrument's content validity was investigated by elucidating its general appropriateness, its clinical applicability and the feasibility of the measurement procedure. Data were collected from a multidisciplinary panel of clinical experts working in day activity centres. Each expert independently judged and reviewed the IDA instrument's content validity. The results show that the content validity index (CVI) values ranged from 0.8 to 1.0 for the instrument's general appropriateness and clinical applicability, and from 0.7 to 1.0 with respect to the significance of the IDA domains' clinical applicability. The applicability of the IDA items were judged as satisfactory (CVI , 80) with respect to their importance for planning treatment and intervention. The feasibility of the measurement procedure was estimated as satisfactory in relation to the items (CVI , 0.70) and satisfactory with respect to the time needed and material used, with CVI values ranging from 0.8 to 1.0. The results of this study support the use of the IDA as a feasible and time-efficient assessment that provides insights regarding the occupational performance of adults with developmental disabilities. A limitation of this study was that it could not illuminate all-important aspects of validity. In conclusion, the IDA has the potential to become a reliable and valid clinical assessment, but additional research on psychometric properties is still needed. Copyright © 2003 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]


DoE in engine development

QUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2008
Karsten Röpke
Abstract Stricter legal emission limits and increasing customer expectations lead to a growing number of controllable engine components and thus to a higher engine control complexity. For engine development, however, this means much greater time and effort is required to find the optimal combination of all selectable parameters. This trend can be observed in the field of Gasoline as well as for Diesel engines. At the same time, the development time from the first idea up to the introduction of a new production engine has become even shorter, and the costs have to be reduced. Since the number of measuring points required for complete operational-test measurements rises exponentially with the number of input variables, it is quite obvious that full factorial measurements are no longer possible. Therefore the method ,Design of Experiments' (DoE) is widely accepted as a suitable tool in the automotive sector and among its suppliers. In the meantime the term ,DoE'/,DoE-Process' covers often also the measurement procedure and the modeling. Likewise, this method is broadly applied in the IAV (author's note: IAV is a German provider of engineering services to the automotive industry) during the advanced development stage up to the production engine applications. Whereas DoE is used mainly in the area of steady-state applications recent research work shows a great potential also to optimize transient engine behavior. This paper will give an overview about the usage of statistical methods (mainly Design of Experiments) in the production engine calibration. ,Engine calibration' is the term for finding the optimal settings of the engine controller unit; optimal in terms of minimal emissions, minimal fuel consumption, good drivability and other brand specific goals. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Induced current measurements in whole body exposure condition to radio frequency electric fields

BIOELECTROMAGNETICS, Issue 8 2001
Jonna Wilén
Abstract The current induced in a human exposed to radio frequency electric fields has been studied by the use of a stripline, in which whole body exposure to vertical electric fields (3,27 MHz) can be produced. We have examined two different techniques to measure the induced current; parallel plate meters and current probes. When the subject has good connection to the ground, the choice of measurement technique is not crucial, since there are only minor differences in readings between the instruments. But when the subject is wearing shoes and/or standing on a wooden plate, the difference between the instruments increases considerably. The difference can mainly be explained by the capacitive coupling between the parallel plate meters and the ground; therefore, the current probes are preferred when the subject does not have perfect contact with the ground. Since the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines demand measurements of induced current in humans exposed to radio frequency fields in the range of 10,110 MHz, the importance of finding an appropriate measurement procedure becomes apparent. Bioelectromagnetics 22:560,567, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Drip loss in pork: influencing factors and relation to further meat quality traits

JOURNAL OF ANIMAL BREEDING AND GENETICS, Issue 2007
K. Fischer
Summary The paper deals with some general features of drip loss and the most important factors influencing it. Moreover, it shows some exemplary results of an own investigation. Up to now there is no generally valid definition of drip loss available. Therefore measurement procedures have to be strongly standardized, otherwise they provide no comparable results. Drip loss depends on the shortening of sarcomeres which is regulated by the interaction of muscle temperature and rigour development. Hence, the chilling conditions are highly important. However, the main point is the velocity and the extent of the pH fall after slaughter. All factors influencing the occurrence of quality deviations like PSE, DFD, Acid meat, RSE, PFN will inevitably affect the degree of drip loss too. Under the conditions of an own study, investigating material of a progeny testing station, untypically, one third of the loins with higher-than-average wateriness were red rather than pale, and one third of the loins with higher-than-average brightness were only slightly exudative, which is untypical too. Pork with higher-than-average brightness and low wateriness exhibited, apart from the colour deviation, no crucial disadvantages. It showed only a marginally higher loss during storage, thawing and heating. Pork with higher-than-average drip loss , regardless of dark or pale colour , was predominantly combined with a pH1 less than 6.2, an electrical conductivity 24 h p.m. higher than 5.0 and a loin area higher than 56 cm2. [source]


Luminescence dating: where it has been and where it is going

BOREAS, Issue 4 2008
ANN G. WINTLE
The luminescence properties of common minerals, such as quartz and potassium-rich feldspars, allow them to be used to measure depositional ages for late Quaternary sediments. The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals currently used are appropriate for mineral grains whose previous radiation history was erased by exposure to sunlight immediately prior to deposition. However, the concepts relating to grain size and long-term stability of the signals established when using the thermoluminescence signals should not be forgotten. Recent technological advances and the development of new laboratory measurement procedures for obtaining the equivalent dose have resulted in more widespread and more confident use of OSL for dating using smaller samples, even down to the single grain level. Ages can now be obtained for samples only a few hundred years old, and new luminescence signals are being investigated in order to extend the age range back by an order of magnitude from ,100 kyr to ,1 Myr. [source]