Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199261185
- eISBN:
- 9780191601507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261180.003.0020
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
The state is politically and administratively managed from the strategic core. Discussion is limited to the strategic plan that each organization is required to have, and the managerial strategy that ...
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The state is politically and administratively managed from the strategic core. Discussion is limited to the strategic plan that each organization is required to have, and the managerial strategy that each public management reform will choose. Although relevant as major management tools, does not discuss information technology, the Internet, and personnel. Among the management strategies developed in the private sector, quality control is the one that most management reforms in the OECD countries and in Brazil have been adopting. This is because, in the evaluation process, it is not limited to the profit objective but sets a number of other criteria, which, being qualitative, adapt well to public management. On the other hand, management contracts are another essential tool for public management reform.Less
The state is politically and administratively managed from the strategic core. Discussion is limited to the strategic plan that each organization is required to have, and the managerial strategy that each public management reform will choose. Although relevant as major management tools, does not discuss information technology, the Internet, and personnel. Among the management strategies developed in the private sector, quality control is the one that most management reforms in the OECD countries and in Brazil have been adopting. This is because, in the evaluation process, it is not limited to the profit objective but sets a number of other criteria, which, being qualitative, adapt well to public management. On the other hand, management contracts are another essential tool for public management reform.
Kazuhiro Ōmori
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198292746
- eISBN:
- 9780191603891
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198292740.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia
This chapter focuses on the role of trade and manufacturers’ associations in Japan’s industrialization. Focusing on two typical traditional industries, pottery and straw goods manufacturing, the ...
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This chapter focuses on the role of trade and manufacturers’ associations in Japan’s industrialization. Focusing on two typical traditional industries, pottery and straw goods manufacturing, the various activities of associations such as quality control, technological improvement, material purchasing, and product marketing are investigated. The associations made significant contributions to the development of traditional industries, especially the industries dominated by small manufacturing firms.Less
This chapter focuses on the role of trade and manufacturers’ associations in Japan’s industrialization. Focusing on two typical traditional industries, pottery and straw goods manufacturing, the various activities of associations such as quality control, technological improvement, material purchasing, and product marketing are investigated. The associations made significant contributions to the development of traditional industries, especially the industries dominated by small manufacturing firms.
Lazega Emmanuel
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199242726
- eISBN:
- 9780191697166
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242726.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, HRM / IR
Niche seeking and status competition represent two potentially advantageous micro-political activities for individuals. This chapter focuses on their usefulness in connecting the interests of an ...
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Niche seeking and status competition represent two potentially advantageous micro-political activities for individuals. This chapter focuses on their usefulness in connecting the interests of an individual and that of the firm as a whole — that is, micro- and macro-levels in the firm. This is done by showing how social niches and status competition have an effect on economic (or quantitative) and professional (or qualitative) forms of performance: by making tenured partners work and by ensuring a form of unobtrusive quality control among peers.Less
Niche seeking and status competition represent two potentially advantageous micro-political activities for individuals. This chapter focuses on their usefulness in connecting the interests of an individual and that of the firm as a whole — that is, micro- and macro-levels in the firm. This is done by showing how social niches and status competition have an effect on economic (or quantitative) and professional (or qualitative) forms of performance: by making tenured partners work and by ensuring a form of unobtrusive quality control among peers.
Kristin L. Vanderbilt and William K. Michener
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195168662
- eISBN:
- 9780199790128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195168662.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Sound information management is a critical component of any primary production measurement program to avoid loss of valuable information over time. This chapter provides recommended protocols for ...
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Sound information management is a critical component of any primary production measurement program to avoid loss of valuable information over time. This chapter provides recommended protocols for managing primary production data, including data acquisition and design, quality assurance and control, metadata, and data archiving systems. By adhering to a set of standards like the ones presented here, production ecologists will assure that wide use of their data in scientific synthesis will be possible.Less
Sound information management is a critical component of any primary production measurement program to avoid loss of valuable information over time. This chapter provides recommended protocols for managing primary production data, including data acquisition and design, quality assurance and control, metadata, and data archiving systems. By adhering to a set of standards like the ones presented here, production ecologists will assure that wide use of their data in scientific synthesis will be possible.
Rick Delbridge
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198292333
- eISBN:
- 9780191684906
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198292333.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, HRM / IR
This chapter describes the process of management control at the Valleyco plant. In contrast to the situation at Nippon CTV, the Valleyco plant management has various different practices for different ...
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This chapter describes the process of management control at the Valleyco plant. In contrast to the situation at Nippon CTV, the Valleyco plant management has various different practices for different areas of the shop-floor. The focal point for management at Valleyco is productivity, and quality control is haphazard. At Nippon CTV, productivity performance is relatively assured and management's attention is focused on quality control and improvement. When compared with the process management control at Nippon CTV, the situation at Valleyco is far more prone to informal decision making and the significance of inter-personal relations is also amplified. Another distinction between the two cases is the degree to which external influences, particularly that of customers, impact upon the internal situation at Valleyco.Less
This chapter describes the process of management control at the Valleyco plant. In contrast to the situation at Nippon CTV, the Valleyco plant management has various different practices for different areas of the shop-floor. The focal point for management at Valleyco is productivity, and quality control is haphazard. At Nippon CTV, productivity performance is relatively assured and management's attention is focused on quality control and improvement. When compared with the process management control at Nippon CTV, the situation at Valleyco is far more prone to informal decision making and the significance of inter-personal relations is also amplified. Another distinction between the two cases is the degree to which external influences, particularly that of customers, impact upon the internal situation at Valleyco.
Mari Sako
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198288152
- eISBN:
- 9780191684579
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198288152.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia
This chapter provides a helpful insight into Japanese multinational companies to understand their training, productivity, and quality control processes. This chapter is a report of research on eight ...
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This chapter provides a helpful insight into Japanese multinational companies to understand their training, productivity, and quality control processes. This chapter is a report of research on eight plants of Japanese multinational firms in Britain and six plants in Germany, making colour television sets, video cassette recorders, and semiconductor chips. The focus of the study is on the internal training of workers, shop-floor work organization, and the use of machinery. In each plant, there prevails the Japanese training philosophy that a reliance on on-the-job training, in-house training courses, and internal promotion is the only way to cultivate a worker's capacity for enhancing plant-wide performance. However, the actual practices at those plants were found to be constrained by, and fitted into, the respective national systems, particularly in terms of labour market institutions, regulations on apprenticeships and vocational qualifications, the accumulated competence of workers, and the quality of general education. The productivity and quality performances at those plants are compared with each other as well as with their headquarter-plants in Japan. This study also may be seen as illuminating the workings of the British and German vocational education and training institutions.Less
This chapter provides a helpful insight into Japanese multinational companies to understand their training, productivity, and quality control processes. This chapter is a report of research on eight plants of Japanese multinational firms in Britain and six plants in Germany, making colour television sets, video cassette recorders, and semiconductor chips. The focus of the study is on the internal training of workers, shop-floor work organization, and the use of machinery. In each plant, there prevails the Japanese training philosophy that a reliance on on-the-job training, in-house training courses, and internal promotion is the only way to cultivate a worker's capacity for enhancing plant-wide performance. However, the actual practices at those plants were found to be constrained by, and fitted into, the respective national systems, particularly in terms of labour market institutions, regulations on apprenticeships and vocational qualifications, the accumulated competence of workers, and the quality of general education. The productivity and quality performances at those plants are compared with each other as well as with their headquarter-plants in Japan. This study also may be seen as illuminating the workings of the British and German vocational education and training institutions.
Christopher Hodges
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199282555
- eISBN:
- 9780191700217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199282555.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, EU Law
The objectives of control of the manufacturing environment are to ensure the quality and consistency of products that are made and that they conform to the approved design. Failure of quality control ...
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The objectives of control of the manufacturing environment are to ensure the quality and consistency of products that are made and that they conform to the approved design. Failure of quality control procedures can occur with any product, and problems arise relatively frequently over standards of preparation of food, where there are so many locations involved. Particular packing materials have sometimes been recognized as giving rise to safety concerns. The result is that it is rare for manufacturing quality defects to arise in relation to medicinal products. The need to control manufacturing processes so as to ensure consistency is self-recommending for all utility products that are engineered or comprise chemical substances, so it may be questioned why this is not a requirement for all product sectors. The New Approach model shows that a variable approach can be achieved that may not overload small manufacturers.Less
The objectives of control of the manufacturing environment are to ensure the quality and consistency of products that are made and that they conform to the approved design. Failure of quality control procedures can occur with any product, and problems arise relatively frequently over standards of preparation of food, where there are so many locations involved. Particular packing materials have sometimes been recognized as giving rise to safety concerns. The result is that it is rare for manufacturing quality defects to arise in relation to medicinal products. The need to control manufacturing processes so as to ensure consistency is self-recommending for all utility products that are engineered or comprise chemical substances, so it may be questioned why this is not a requirement for all product sectors. The New Approach model shows that a variable approach can be achieved that may not overload small manufacturers.
Emily White, Bruce K. Armstrong, and Rodolfo Saracci
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198509851
- eISBN:
- 9780191723827
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198509851.003.0005
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
The primary goal when measuring exposures (risk factors) in an epidemiological study should be minimizing measurement error. Several approaches to the reduction of measurement error and its effects ...
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The primary goal when measuring exposures (risk factors) in an epidemiological study should be minimizing measurement error. Several approaches to the reduction of measurement error and its effects are discussed in this chapter. First, adjustment procedures are briefly covered; these are methods of ‘correcting’ study results for the effect of measurement error by using information from a validity or reliability study. Next is the use of multiple measures of exposure in an epidemiologic study, to create an average, score or index for each subject. Finally minimization of error by way of quality control procedures is discussed. These procedures include careful design of the data collection forms, complete documentation of study procedures, pre-testing of the data collection instrument(s), appropriate training and supervision of data collectors, and documentation of raw, corrected and computed data variables via codebooks.Less
The primary goal when measuring exposures (risk factors) in an epidemiological study should be minimizing measurement error. Several approaches to the reduction of measurement error and its effects are discussed in this chapter. First, adjustment procedures are briefly covered; these are methods of ‘correcting’ study results for the effect of measurement error by using information from a validity or reliability study. Next is the use of multiple measures of exposure in an epidemiologic study, to create an average, score or index for each subject. Finally minimization of error by way of quality control procedures is discussed. These procedures include careful design of the data collection forms, complete documentation of study procedures, pre-testing of the data collection instrument(s), appropriate training and supervision of data collectors, and documentation of raw, corrected and computed data variables via codebooks.
Price V. Fishback
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195067255
- eISBN:
- 9780199855025
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195067255.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This chapter explores the economic reasoning behind the different forms of wage payments, focusing on differences in the costs of measuring output, supervising workers, and ensuring quality. ...
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This chapter explores the economic reasoning behind the different forms of wage payments, focusing on differences in the costs of measuring output, supervising workers, and ensuring quality. Employers tried to ensure quality with screens and docking systems. Employers paid two types of wages: piece rates and time rates. The payment of piece rates was also complicated by differences in mining conditions, with both union and non-union areas adjusting piece rates to compensate. Two types of transactions costs help explain why the mine operators paid piece rates to tonnage men and time rates to daymen: the costs of measuring the worker's output and the costs of directly monitoring his work activity. The nature of wage payments, weighing the coal, and quality control were often sources of dispute between coal miners and coal operators. Miners at times complained that payment methods were designed to cheat them. There were limits to cheating, however, because the miners' hourly earnings had at least to match miners' alternative earnings in other industries.Less
This chapter explores the economic reasoning behind the different forms of wage payments, focusing on differences in the costs of measuring output, supervising workers, and ensuring quality. Employers tried to ensure quality with screens and docking systems. Employers paid two types of wages: piece rates and time rates. The payment of piece rates was also complicated by differences in mining conditions, with both union and non-union areas adjusting piece rates to compensate. Two types of transactions costs help explain why the mine operators paid piece rates to tonnage men and time rates to daymen: the costs of measuring the worker's output and the costs of directly monitoring his work activity. The nature of wage payments, weighing the coal, and quality control were often sources of dispute between coal miners and coal operators. Miners at times complained that payment methods were designed to cheat them. There were limits to cheating, however, because the miners' hourly earnings had at least to match miners' alternative earnings in other industries.
Heather Shearer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199558612
- eISBN:
- 9780191595011
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199558612.003.0021
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
This chapter discusses the improvement of healthcare quality and safety. Topics covered include a brief history of quality improvement, measuring improvement, the Six Sigma approach, the productive ...
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This chapter discusses the improvement of healthcare quality and safety. Topics covered include a brief history of quality improvement, measuring improvement, the Six Sigma approach, the productive series, and the Model for Improvement.Less
This chapter discusses the improvement of healthcare quality and safety. Topics covered include a brief history of quality improvement, measuring improvement, the Six Sigma approach, the productive series, and the Model for Improvement.
Emily White, Bruce K. Armstrong, and Rodolfo Saracci
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198509851
- eISBN:
- 9780191723827
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198509851.003.0009
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Measurements made directly on the human body or on samples of blood, urine, or other products are in principle ideal to measure exposures. They can be objective, individualized, quantitatively ...
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Measurements made directly on the human body or on samples of blood, urine, or other products are in principle ideal to measure exposures. They can be objective, individualized, quantitatively specific, and sensitive, although these favourable properties should not be taken for granted but evaluated for each measurement method. The sampling of the specimens must be made in the correct compartment of the body at the appropriate time, as xenobiotic compounds are successively absorbed, distributed in various body compartments, transformed, and excreted. On the other hand, endobiotic compounds like hormones are subject to substantial daily variations in their concentration in the body fluids. The materials used for sampling, the sampling procedures, and the storage and analysis of biological specimens require systematic quality control. This need is reinforced by the current trend towards the establishment of large depositories or ‘banks’ of biological specimens to be analyzed in the future on a case-control basis.Less
Measurements made directly on the human body or on samples of blood, urine, or other products are in principle ideal to measure exposures. They can be objective, individualized, quantitatively specific, and sensitive, although these favourable properties should not be taken for granted but evaluated for each measurement method. The sampling of the specimens must be made in the correct compartment of the body at the appropriate time, as xenobiotic compounds are successively absorbed, distributed in various body compartments, transformed, and excreted. On the other hand, endobiotic compounds like hormones are subject to substantial daily variations in their concentration in the body fluids. The materials used for sampling, the sampling procedures, and the storage and analysis of biological specimens require systematic quality control. This need is reinforced by the current trend towards the establishment of large depositories or ‘banks’ of biological specimens to be analyzed in the future on a case-control basis.
Curtis L. Meinert and Susan Tonascia
- Published in print:
- 1986
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195035681
- eISBN:
- 9780199864478
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195035681.003.0016
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Quality assurance, as applied to clinical trials, is any method or procedure for collecting, processing, or analyzing study data that is aimed at maintaining or enhancing their reliability or ...
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Quality assurance, as applied to clinical trials, is any method or procedure for collecting, processing, or analyzing study data that is aimed at maintaining or enhancing their reliability or validity. This chapter details the general procedures needed to ensure the quality of the data generated in a trial. Topics covered include ongoing data intake, data editing, replication as a quality control measure, monitoring for secular trends, and data integrity and assurance procedures.Less
Quality assurance, as applied to clinical trials, is any method or procedure for collecting, processing, or analyzing study data that is aimed at maintaining or enhancing their reliability or validity. This chapter details the general procedures needed to ensure the quality of the data generated in a trial. Topics covered include ongoing data intake, data editing, replication as a quality control measure, monitoring for secular trends, and data integrity and assurance procedures.
W. Harry Hannon, L. Omar Henderson, and Carol J. Bell
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195128307
- eISBN:
- 9780199864485
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195128307.003.0013
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter discusses quality assurance (QA) for newborn screening programs. It describes the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program (NSQAP) at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, which provides ...
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This chapter discusses quality assurance (QA) for newborn screening programs. It describes the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program (NSQAP) at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, which provides services for laboratories that use specimens of dried-blood spots (DBSs) to perform newborn screening tests. The mission of this program is to improve interlaboratory comparability and to work toward interlaboratory standardization.Less
This chapter discusses quality assurance (QA) for newborn screening programs. It describes the Newborn Screening Quality Assurance Program (NSQAP) at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, which provides services for laboratories that use specimens of dried-blood spots (DBSs) to perform newborn screening tests. The mission of this program is to improve interlaboratory comparability and to work toward interlaboratory standardization.
Bernhard Blumich
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198526766
- eISBN:
- 9780191709524
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198526766.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Condensed Matter Physics / Materials
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging of materials is a field of increasing importance. Applications range from fundamental science such as the characterisation of fluid transport in porous rocks, ...
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Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging of materials is a field of increasing importance. Applications range from fundamental science such as the characterisation of fluid transport in porous rocks, catalyst pellets, and hemodialysers to various fields of engineering for process optimisation and product and quality control, for example, of polymer materials, biomaterials, elastomers, and ceramics. While the results of NMR imaging are being appreciated in a growing community, the methods of imaging are far more diverse for materials applications than for medical imaging of humans. This book provides an introduction to NMR imaging of materials covering solid-state NMR spectroscopy, imaging methods for liquid and solid samples, and unusual NMR in terms of special approaches to spatial resolution like an NMR surface scanner. Special attention is paid to the large variety of ways to generate image contrast — the most prominent feature of NMR.Less
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging of materials is a field of increasing importance. Applications range from fundamental science such as the characterisation of fluid transport in porous rocks, catalyst pellets, and hemodialysers to various fields of engineering for process optimisation and product and quality control, for example, of polymer materials, biomaterials, elastomers, and ceramics. While the results of NMR imaging are being appreciated in a growing community, the methods of imaging are far more diverse for materials applications than for medical imaging of humans. This book provides an introduction to NMR imaging of materials covering solid-state NMR spectroscopy, imaging methods for liquid and solid samples, and unusual NMR in terms of special approaches to spatial resolution like an NMR surface scanner. Special attention is paid to the large variety of ways to generate image contrast — the most prominent feature of NMR.
Keith R. Thulborn and Antonio Gisbert
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780192630711
- eISBN:
- 9780191724770
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192630711.003.0018
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Techniques
A critical issue in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is to ensure that the subject is performing the required task. This can be important particularly in clinical studies. Clinical ...
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A critical issue in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is to ensure that the subject is performing the required task. This can be important particularly in clinical studies. Clinical applications of fMRI conducted thus far can be summarized in three general areas. This chapter deals with aspects of these applications along with special problems associated with patient studies, and presents strategies that serve to meet these challenges. Quality control of the imaging environment, patient preparation and selection, as well as appropriately calibrated paradigms, are also discussed. The chapter reviews quality assurance and considers several aspects of the fMRI examination to ensure this level of success, concluding that fMRI has now become an exciting window onto brain function in many patient populations currently thought to be inappropriate for imaging.Less
A critical issue in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is to ensure that the subject is performing the required task. This can be important particularly in clinical studies. Clinical applications of fMRI conducted thus far can be summarized in three general areas. This chapter deals with aspects of these applications along with special problems associated with patient studies, and presents strategies that serve to meet these challenges. Quality control of the imaging environment, patient preparation and selection, as well as appropriately calibrated paradigms, are also discussed. The chapter reviews quality assurance and considers several aspects of the fMRI examination to ensure this level of success, concluding that fMRI has now become an exciting window onto brain function in many patient populations currently thought to be inappropriate for imaging.
John-Dylan Haynes
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199596492
- eISBN:
- 9780191745669
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199596492.003.0003
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Techniques, Development
For a long time neuroscience has focused on basic research, but now studies have begun to demonstrate how brain science can be put to use to solve practical real-world problems. Specifically, ...
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For a long time neuroscience has focused on basic research, but now studies have begun to demonstrate how brain science can be put to use to solve practical real-world problems. Specifically, research in human neuroimaging has led to the development of techniques that allow to accurately read out a person's conscious experience based only on non-invasive EEG and fMRI measurements of their brain activity. Such ‘brain reading’ is possible because each thought is associated with a unique pattern of brain activity that can serve as a ‘fingerprint’ of this thought in the brain. By training a computer to recognize these fMRI patterns associated with each thought it is possible to read out what someone is currently thinking with high accuracy. Despite these promising findings, there are still many limitations that make it unlikely that a ‘universal thought reading machine’ will be developed in the near future. Nonetheless, the first simple applications have begun to emerge, including brain-computer-interfaces, more reliable lie detectors and approaches for predicting consumer decisions. These raise ethical concerns related to mental privacy, data security and quality control.Less
For a long time neuroscience has focused on basic research, but now studies have begun to demonstrate how brain science can be put to use to solve practical real-world problems. Specifically, research in human neuroimaging has led to the development of techniques that allow to accurately read out a person's conscious experience based only on non-invasive EEG and fMRI measurements of their brain activity. Such ‘brain reading’ is possible because each thought is associated with a unique pattern of brain activity that can serve as a ‘fingerprint’ of this thought in the brain. By training a computer to recognize these fMRI patterns associated with each thought it is possible to read out what someone is currently thinking with high accuracy. Despite these promising findings, there are still many limitations that make it unlikely that a ‘universal thought reading machine’ will be developed in the near future. Nonetheless, the first simple applications have begun to emerge, including brain-computer-interfaces, more reliable lie detectors and approaches for predicting consumer decisions. These raise ethical concerns related to mental privacy, data security and quality control.
Sheldon Kamieniecki and Amy Below
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262232715
- eISBN:
- 9780262286107
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262232715.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter explains the effects of storm water in water sanitation, flooding, and the depletion of groundwater aquifers. Several provisions have been passed by the federal state in order to address ...
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This chapter explains the effects of storm water in water sanitation, flooding, and the depletion of groundwater aquifers. Several provisions have been passed by the federal state in order to address these issues, such as the Clean Water Act and the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. The chapter takes a closer look at the costs and benefits of these and similar government actions, and at how far they are able to address water pollution. It explores the arguments of communities such as the Coalition for Practical Regulation on how some of these costly implementations are unnecessary due to the fact that most cities are already addressing the issues. Furthermore, regional, economic, racial, and ethnic distinctions are taken into account. How each state reacts differently to these pollution issues, how they are directly or indirectly affected, and how all are looking for a more ethical storm water policy, are examined.Less
This chapter explains the effects of storm water in water sanitation, flooding, and the depletion of groundwater aquifers. Several provisions have been passed by the federal state in order to address these issues, such as the Clean Water Act and the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act. The chapter takes a closer look at the costs and benefits of these and similar government actions, and at how far they are able to address water pollution. It explores the arguments of communities such as the Coalition for Practical Regulation on how some of these costly implementations are unnecessary due to the fact that most cities are already addressing the issues. Furthermore, regional, economic, racial, and ethnic distinctions are taken into account. How each state reacts differently to these pollution issues, how they are directly or indirectly affected, and how all are looking for a more ethical storm water policy, are examined.
Mara Mills
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- August 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197511121
- eISBN:
- 9780197511169
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197511121.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, Psychology of Music, History, Western
If to measure is to “assign numerals to events,” queried audiologist Ira Hirsh in 1952, “what are the observable events in hearing?” In the newly professionalized field of audiometry, the test ...
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If to measure is to “assign numerals to events,” queried audiologist Ira Hirsh in 1952, “what are the observable events in hearing?” In the newly professionalized field of audiometry, the test material for a typical audiogram—a set of individual tones—lent itself to precise electronic control, but it did not reflect everyday hearing situations and capacities. This chapter examines the use of speech to test hearing, from preliminary clinical applications of phonograph recordings in the late nineteenth century, to mass “screenings” with electrical recording and playback machines in the 1930s, to postwar diagnostic tests in which speech itself—from nonsense syllables to spondees to sentences—was forged into an objective measuring tool. The chapter argues that the quantification of “hearing loss for speech” derives from articulation testing in the field of telephone engineering. More specifically, the molding of speech sounds into yardsticks of “useful hearing” arose in the historical context of quality control, as did the notion that human hearing should be “screened” and inspected in industrial fashion.Less
If to measure is to “assign numerals to events,” queried audiologist Ira Hirsh in 1952, “what are the observable events in hearing?” In the newly professionalized field of audiometry, the test material for a typical audiogram—a set of individual tones—lent itself to precise electronic control, but it did not reflect everyday hearing situations and capacities. This chapter examines the use of speech to test hearing, from preliminary clinical applications of phonograph recordings in the late nineteenth century, to mass “screenings” with electrical recording and playback machines in the 1930s, to postwar diagnostic tests in which speech itself—from nonsense syllables to spondees to sentences—was forged into an objective measuring tool. The chapter argues that the quantification of “hearing loss for speech” derives from articulation testing in the field of telephone engineering. More specifically, the molding of speech sounds into yardsticks of “useful hearing” arose in the historical context of quality control, as did the notion that human hearing should be “screened” and inspected in industrial fashion.
Roberto J. Rona and Susan Chinn
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780192629197
- eISBN:
- 9780191723612
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192629197.003.0003
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Long-term studies aiming to assess changes over time require a careful description of measurement techniques, consistent questionnaire design, the training of personnel undertaking the measurements, ...
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Long-term studies aiming to assess changes over time require a careful description of measurement techniques, consistent questionnaire design, the training of personnel undertaking the measurements, and the quality control of all procedures. A further requirement is the maintenance of good communications within the team and with helpers in a study, which included the participation of many primary schools throughout England and Scotland. These objectives were achieved by a team of eight people which arranged annual activities preparing questionnaires, forms, explanatory manuals, and fieldwork activities, and the data collected was processed within the year. The study maintained a response rate of approximately 80% over its twenty-three years of existence and around of 75% for measurements which required explicit parental consent. The study was notable for the very low number of complaints received, which were solved locally or by the team co-ordinators.Less
Long-term studies aiming to assess changes over time require a careful description of measurement techniques, consistent questionnaire design, the training of personnel undertaking the measurements, and the quality control of all procedures. A further requirement is the maintenance of good communications within the team and with helpers in a study, which included the participation of many primary schools throughout England and Scotland. These objectives were achieved by a team of eight people which arranged annual activities preparing questionnaires, forms, explanatory manuals, and fieldwork activities, and the data collected was processed within the year. The study maintained a response rate of approximately 80% over its twenty-three years of existence and around of 75% for measurements which required explicit parental consent. The study was notable for the very low number of complaints received, which were solved locally or by the team co-ordinators.
Tirthankar Roy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198063780
- eISBN:
- 9780199080144
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198063780.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Economic History
In pre-colonial India, artisans engaged in large-scale operation typically worked in groups that provided only crude labour collectively rather than the regulatory services associated with guilds. ...
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In pre-colonial India, artisans engaged in large-scale operation typically worked in groups that provided only crude labour collectively rather than the regulatory services associated with guilds. Guilds were common among the skilled urban artisans. In the seventeenth century, the karkhanas sponsored by courtiers were the most well-developed business organization among the artisans of north Indian towns. On the other hand, the endogamous guild was the more common form in pre-colonial south India. In imperial cities, the court provided substantial protection, both direct and indirect, to collectives. In all regions, community and masterhood were primarily dedicated to training of labour and quality control. However, even this engagement was changing. The community gave rise to more or less formal caste associations that shifted the emphasis of collective effort from narrowly artisanal industrial training to general education in the twentieth century.Less
In pre-colonial India, artisans engaged in large-scale operation typically worked in groups that provided only crude labour collectively rather than the regulatory services associated with guilds. Guilds were common among the skilled urban artisans. In the seventeenth century, the karkhanas sponsored by courtiers were the most well-developed business organization among the artisans of north Indian towns. On the other hand, the endogamous guild was the more common form in pre-colonial south India. In imperial cities, the court provided substantial protection, both direct and indirect, to collectives. In all regions, community and masterhood were primarily dedicated to training of labour and quality control. However, even this engagement was changing. The community gave rise to more or less formal caste associations that shifted the emphasis of collective effort from narrowly artisanal industrial training to general education in the twentieth century.
