Measurement and the Measurement of Change


Book Description

Suitable for graduate-level courses on measurement or research methods, this book offers a gentle introduction to and overview of complex measurement content. It provides information for health professionals who develop new instruments, adapt existing ones, select instruments for use in clinical trials or in clinical practice.




A Measure of Everything


Book Description

A comprehensive reference and history book on what is measured and why. Measurement is one of humankind's oldest and most vital activities. By measuring height, speed, size, temperature, strength and many other factors, humans can compare, improve and progress. In fact, measurement is an essential tool for survival. A Measure of Everything is a wide-ranging and comprehensive guide to what is measured and why. The book begins when the basic measurements were as simple as more, less and enough. As societies evolved, relative measurements were no longer sufficient. Advances in language allowed more precise measurements. Short distances were measured in relation to parts of the human body. For example, the ancient measurement cubit was the length of a pharaoh's arm plus the width of his hand. As society and culture progress and change, so do measurements. The rise of astronomy and the sciences demanded more exact measurements. These measurements are typically named after the discovering scientist, e.g., henry, curie, watt, rutherford, fahrenheit. This book features 28 categories organized into three sections: Earth and Life Sciences: astronomy, distance, time, meteorology, medicine, and five others. Physical Sciences: chemistry, mathematics, physics, speed, weight, temperature, and three others. Technology and Leisure: computers, engineering, finance, food, textiles, and four others. A Measure of Everything is an informative and entertaining book that will appeal to a wide range of readers.




Transforming Performance Measurement


Book Description

Performance improvement thought leader Dean Spitzer explains why performance measurement should be less about calculations and analysis and more about the crucial social factors that determine how well the measurements get used. Transforming Performance Measurement presents a breakthrough approach that will not only significantly reduce those dysfunctions, but also promote alignment with business strategy, maximize cross-enterprise integration, and help everyone to work collaboratively to drive value throughout your organization. Spitzer’s "socialization of measurement" process focuses on learning and improvement from measurement, and on the importance of asking such questions as: How well do our measures reflect our business model? How successfully are they driving our strategy? What should we be measuring and not measuring? Are the right people having the right measurement discussions? Performance measurement is a dynamic process that calls for an awareness of the balance necessary between seemingly disparate ideas: the technical and the social aspects of performance measurement. This book gives you assessment tools to gauge where you are now and a roadmap for moving, with little or no disruption, to a more "transformational" and mature measurement system. The book also provides 34 TMAPs, Transformational Measurement Action Plans, which suggest both well-accepted and "emergent" measures (in areas such as marketing, human resources, customer service, knowledge management, productivity, information technology, research and development, costing, and more) that you can use right away. Transforming Performance Measurement tells you not only what to measure, but how to do it -- and in what context -- to make a truly transformational difference in your enterprise.




The Measurement of Health and Health Status


Book Description

The Measurement of Health and Health Status: Concepts, Methods and Applications from a Multidisciplinary Perspective presents a unifying perspective on how to select the best measurement framework for any situation. Serving as a one-stop shop that unifies material currently available in various locations, this book illuminates the intuition behind each method, explaining how each method has special purposes, what developments are occurring, and how new combinations among methods might be relevant to specific situations. It especially emphasizes the measurement of health and health states (quality-of-life), giving significant attention to newly developed methods. The book introduces technically complex, new methods for both introductory and technically-proficient readers. - Assumes that the best measure depends entirely on the situation - Covers preference-based methods, classical test theory, and item response theory - Features illustrations and animations drawn from diverse fields and disciplines




The Aggregate Production Function and the Measurement of Technical Change


Book Description

This authoritative and stimulating book represents a fundamental critique of the aggregate production function, a concept widely used in macroeconomics.




The Uses and Misuses of Data and Models


Book Description

Undeniably, the amount of "information" in our culture has increased by leaps and bounds. At the same time, discussion of values, norms and purpose is often missing from the discourse of social research - especially by those who work within the positivist framework. The authors of this book develop principles to guide the use of data and models in the human sciences. Writing as scholars who are at home with empirical and mathematical social science, yet taking seriously the critiques of this heritage, they propose ways of developing norms without becoming subjective.




Emotion Measurement


Book Description

Emotion Measurement, Second Edition highlights key elements of emotions that should be considered in the measurement of emotions in both academic and commercial environments. This edition begins with an updated review of basic studies of emotion, including the theory, physiology, and psychology of emotions, as these are the foundational studies which food scientists as well as product developers and marketing professionals need to be aware of. The second section highlights methods for studying emotions, and reviews the different approaches to emotion measurement: questionnaire self-report, behavioral, and physiological. This section explores the merits of intrinsic versus extrinsic measures of emotion. Some new measurement approaches have emerged since the first edition of this book. The book then presents practical applications, with chapters on emotion research in food and beverage, as well as in a range of products and clinical settings. The experience in testing product emotions has increased since the first edition when product emotion research was newer. Finally, Emotion Measurement, Second Edition provides coverage of cross-cultural research on emotions. This is critical because much of the newer commercial research is aimed at markets around the world, requiring methods that work in many cultures. And the universality of emotions has been a topic of research for decades. Taking both an academic and applied approach, Emotion Measurement, Second Edition will be an invaluable reference for those conducting basic academic research on emotions and for sensory and consumer scientists, and the product developers and marketing professionals they work alongside. - Reviews both the academic and the applied strands of emotion measurement research - Focuses on cross-cultural studies of emotions, which is currently lacking from most of the literature in the field - Highlights methods for studying emotions in both basic and applied studies




Measurement in Medicine


Book Description

The success of the Apgar score demonstrates the astounding power of an appropriate clinical instrument. This down-to-earth book provides practical advice, underpinned by theoretical principles, on developing and evaluating measurement instruments in all fields of medicine. It equips you to choose the most appropriate instrument for specific purposes. The book covers measurement theories, methods and criteria for evaluating and selecting instruments. It provides methods to assess measurement properties, such as reliability, validity and responsiveness, and interpret the results. Worked examples and end-of-chapter assignments use real data and well-known instruments to build your skills at implementation and interpretation through hands-on analysis of real-life cases. All data and solutions are available online. This is a perfect course book for students and a perfect companion for professionals/researchers in the medical and health sciences who care about the quality and meaning of the measurements they perform.







The Measurement of Environmental and Resource Values


Book Description

Non-market valuation is becoming increasingly accepted as an evaluative tool of economics related to environmental and resource protection. Freeman (economics, Bowdoin College) presents an overview of the literature, introducing the principal methods and techniques of resource valuation. Chapters cover the measurement of welfare changes, revealed and stated preference models, nonuse models, aggregation of values across time, environmental quality as factor input, longevity and health valuation, property value models, hedonic wage models, and recreational uses of natural resource systems. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).