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States that psychological testing can be classified into several major categories and that the tremendous variance in psychological measurements makes evaluating the usefulness or value of these tools complex. Reviews and assesses the literature in this field to determine whether, if responsibily used, psychological tests are valuable tools for evaluation. Concludes that they are of use, but the user should have some knowledge of the limitations of the tools.

The experimental modal analysis requires good knowledge of various engineering fields, such as mechanical vibrations, transducers used in vibration measurement, transducers and system calibration methods, data acquisition systems, digital signal processing and system identification. Test facilities constitute a key factor for improving the quality of the estimated modal model. This paper aims to describe the experimental facilities at the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE) Modal Testing Laboratory in terms of associated instrumentation and data acquisition system, metrological aspects and computational resources. The discussion is completed with a practical application showing a ground vibration testing (GVT) of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

The experimental facilities were evaluated in a typical GVT, using three shakers in both vertical and horizontal excitations and 88 response measurement points. The global excitation method was used to excite all desired modes. The reliability of the experimental modal model was validated by an auto modal assurance criterion matrix for the measured modes of the structure.

The experimental facilities were successfully used for validating the dynamical characteristics of the UAV under testing.

The modal test facilities of the Modal Testing Laboratory at the IAE, the main research center of the Brazilian Air Force, are described in this paper.

We all indulge in assessing other people, whether they be our friends, colleagues, superiors or subordinates. Soon after meeting someone for the first time you will probably have made some ort of assessment of the sort of person he is, his competencies, weaknesses and potential.

Describes methods of accelerated corrosion testing currently being used in the world today and the cabinets available in which to perform the tests. Compares the tests and looks at the results obtained from them, looking at constant salt‐spray testing ASTM B117, cyclic wet/dry Prohesion and the multi‐function automotive cyclic corrosion test which incorporates salt‐spray cycles and high humidity cycles. Gives test results comparing constant salt‐spray to cyclic Prohesion to natural outdoor exposure.

The growing interest in food safety has led to food‐testing services becoming an issue of increasing importance. The demand for outsourced food‐testing services is growing. One of the results of these developments has been the internationalisation of such firms. This paper analyses the internationalisation of food‐testing services in the light of developments in the Nordic food‐testing market. The focus is on the external elements. These include development of the market to allow food‐testing firms to overcome problems and exploit opportunities arising from the fundamental changes in the nature of the market. The adopted internationalisation strategies of the Nordic food‐testing companies are studied. The key driver for internationalisation of firms is growth. Successful firms also need to maintain high levels of quality, speed of delivery, and competitive pricing.

The build-up of large-scale COVID-19 testing required an unprecedented effort of coordination within decentralized healthcare systems around the world. The aim of the study was to elucidate the challenges of vertical policy coordination between non-political actors at the national and regional levels regarding this policy issue, using Sweden as our case.

Interviews with key actors at the national and regional levels were analyzed using an adapted version of a conceptualization by Adam et al. (2019), depicting barriers to vertical policy coordination.

Our results show that the main issues in the Swedish context were related to parallel sovereignty and a vagueness regarding responsibilities and mandates as well as complex governmental structures and that this was exacerbated by the unfamiliarity and uncertainty of the policy issue. We conclude that understanding the interaction between the comprehensiveness and complexity of the policy issue and the institutional context is crucial to achieving effective vertical policy coordination.

Many studies have focused on countries’ overall pandemic responses, but in order to improve the outcome of future pandemics, it is also important to learn from more specific response measures.

This study aims to dissect the multifaceted impact of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, specifically within civil engineering testing and calibration laboratories. To achieve this, it intends to explore several key objectives: identifying the prominent benefits of accreditation to laboratory performance, understanding the advantages conferred through participation in proficiency testing schemes, assessing the role of accreditation in enhancing laboratory competitiveness, examining the primary challenges encountered during the accreditation process, investigating any discernible adverse effects of accreditation on laboratory performance and evaluating whether the financial cost of accreditation justifies the resultant profitability.

This study employs a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with 23 industry professionals—including technical managers, quality managers, external auditors and clients. Thematic analysis, guided by Braun and Clarke’s six-stage paradigm, was utilized to interpret the data, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the accreditation’s impact.

Findings reveal that accreditation significantly enhances operational processes, fosters quality awareness and facilitates continuous improvement, contributing to greater client satisfaction. In addition, standardized operations and rigorous quality controls further result in enhanced performance metrics, such as staff capability and measurement accuracy. However, the study also uncovers the challenges of accreditation, including high resource costs and bureaucratic hurdles that can inhibit innovation and slow routine operations. Importantly, the research underscores that the impact of accreditation on profitability is not universal, but contingent upon various factors like sector-specific regulations and market demand. The study also highlights sector-specific variations in the role of accreditation as a marketing tool and differing perceptions of its value among clients. It further emphasizes the psychological stress of high-stakes evaluations during audits.

This study represents the first in-depth investigation into the impact of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation on civil engineering testing and calibration laboratories, directly contributing to the enhancement of their quality and operational standards. Providing actionable insights for laboratories, it underscores the importance of weighing accreditation costs and benefits and the necessity for a tailored approach to the unique market and regulatory landscapes they operate in.

The purpose of this chapter is to review our findings related to the question “Do outcomes related to dynamic assessment on a cognitive measure predict reading growth?” Our discussion related to the predictive validity of such procedures focused on outcomes related to a battery of memory and reading measures administered over a three-year period to 78 children (11.6 years) with and without reading disabilities (RD). Working memory (WM) tasks were presented under initial, gain, and maintenance testing conditions. The preliminary results suggested that maintenance testing conditions were significant moderators of comprehension and vocabulary growth, whereas probe scores and gain testing conditions were significant moderators of nonword fluency growth. Overall, the results suggested that the dynamic assessment of WM added significant variance in predicting later reading performance.

The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) and Race to the Top (2009) led to the highest rate of standardized-state testing in the history of the United States of America. As a result, the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) aims to reevaluate standardized-state testing. Previous research has assessed its impact on schools, educators, and students; yet, youth’s voices are almost absent. Therefore, this qualitative analysis examines how youth of color perceive and experience standardized-state testing.

Seventy-three youth participated in a semistructured interview during the summer of 2015. The sample consists of 34 girls and 39 boys, 13–18 years of age, of African American, Latino/a, Jamaican American, multiracial/ethnic, and other descent. It includes 6–12th graders who attended 61 inter-district and intra-district schools during the 2014–2015 academic year in a Northeastern metropolitan area in the United States that is undergoing a racial/ethnic integration reform.

Youth experienced testing overload under conflicting adult authorities and within an academically stratified peer culture on an ever-shifting policy terrain. While the parent-adult authority remained in the periphery, the state-adult authority intrusively interrupted the teacher-student power dynamics and the disempowered teacher-adult authority held youth accountable through the “attentiveness” rhetoric. However, youth’s perspectives and lived experiences varied across grade levels, school modalities, and school-geographical locations.

In this adult-dominated society, the market approach to education reform ultimately placed the burden of teacher and school evaluation on youth. Most importantly, youth received variegated messages from their conflicting adult authorities that threatened their academic journeys.

Health care institutions in many Western countries have developed preoperative testing and assessment guidelines to improve surgical outcomes and reduce cost of surgical care. The aims of this chapter are to (1) summarize the literature on the effect of preoperative testing on clinical outcomes, efficiency, and cost; and (2) to compare preoperative testing guidelines developed in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

We reviewed the literature from 1975 to 2014 for studies and preoperative testing guidelines.

We identified 29 empirical studies and 8 country-specific guidelines for review. Most studies indicate that preoperative testing is overused and comes at a high cost. Guidelines are tied to payment only in one country studied. This is the most recent review of the literature on preoperative testing and assessment with a focus on quality of care, efficiency, and cost outcomes. In addition, this chapter provides an international comparison of preoperative guidelines.