Strength Of Method Research Articles

Experimental heat flux identification from a braking system

This article presents the branch eigenmodes reduction method (BERM) applied to the identification of the heat flux dissipated during the friction between a disc rotating at variable speed and two brake pads. Temperature measurements used to identify fluxes in the disc and in the pad come from experimental data. One of the method's strength lies in its ability to greatly reduce the dimension of the numerical problem, while maintaining a satisfying precision on the whole computation domain. The reduction of the model enables us to perform the identification in a time compatible with real-time. The identified heat flux is coherent with the mechanical increase due to friction. Small discrepancies observed at the beginning of the friction sequence can be explained by wear.

The challenges of conducting focus-group research among Asian older adults

ABSTRACTThe paper demonstrates the particular value of focus groups as a data collection method in studies of older people with particular reference to those living in large cities in Asia. The strengths and limitations of focus groups as a modality of qualitative research are discussed and a case study is presented. Some of the method's strengths derive from the synergy of the interactions among elders with a shared history and lived experiences. Focus-group exchanges have the potential for inter-personal learning and reminiscence benefits. One difficulty with the method, however, is that many Asian people are inhibited about sharing personal problems in a group context. Drawing from a number of empirical studies based in Singapore, the challenges of conducting focus groups with older participants are detailed and appropriate ways of addressing them considered. The article elaborates on the author's use of software such as NVivo to expedite the analysis of large volumes of transcribed data, and on the retrieval of relevant quotes. Software is useful in extracting themes from codes, as well as allowing the researcher to appreciate the links between codes. Ethical issues such as confidentiality, cultural sensitivities such as language and respect for religion and tradition, and lessons learnt from conducting research using the group setting are discussed. Culturally relevant responses to these challenges are offered which could be useful for future researchers conducting focus groups in Asia.

A NEW STRATEGY FOR CHOOSING THE CHEBYSHEV‐GEGENBAUER PARAMETERS IN A RECONSTRUCTION BASED ON ASYMPTOTIC ANALYSIS

The Gegenbauer reconstruction method, first proposed by Gottlieb et. al. in 1992, has been considered a useful technique for re‐expanding finite series polynomial approximations while simultaneously avoiding Gibbs artifacts. Since its introduction many studies have analyzed the method's strengths and weaknesses as well as suggesting several applications. However, until recently no attempts were made to optimize the reconstruction parameters, whose careful selection can make the difference between spectral accuracies and divergent error bounds. In this paper we propose asymptotic analysis as a method for locating the optimal Gegenbauer reconstruction parameters. Such parameters are useful to applications of this reconstruction method that either seek to bound the number of Gegenbauer expansion coefficients or to control compression ratios. We then illustrate the effectiveness of our approach with the results from some numerical experiments.

The extended-domain–eigenfunction method for solving elliptic boundary value problems with annular domains

Standard analytical solutions to elliptic boundary value problems on asymmetric domains are rarely, if ever, obtainable. In this paper, we propose a solution technique wherein we embed the original domain into one with simple boundaries where the classical eigenfunction solution approach can be used. The solution in the larger domain, when restricted to the original domain, is then the solution of the original boundary value problem. We call this the extended-domain–eigenfunction method. To illustrate the method's strength and scope, we apply it to Laplace's equation on an annular-like domain.

Improving the Resolution of Climate Models to Address Regional Climate Change: Simulating the Spatial‐Temporal Patterns of Anthropogenic Climate Change: A Workshop in the Bridging Disciplines, Bridging Scale Series; Santa Fe, New Mexico, 20–22 July 2009

For decades, general circulation models (GCMs) have been one of the primary tools used to understand anthropogenic climate change. Now GCMs are faced with a substantially more complicated task: to provide information of sufficient spatial and temporal resolution to support policy initiatives that will address regional climate change. Different approaches are being developed and used to provide this information, including dynamic downscaling with limited area models (LAMs); high‐resolution GCMs with quasi‐uniform and variable‐resolution grids; and statistical downscaling of limited area and global simulations. At a workshop in New Mexico, participants discussed each method's strengths and limitations as well as associated uncertainty.

Vortex-antivortex pair in a Bose-Einstein condensate

Presented is a type-II quantum algorithm for superfluid dynamics, used to numerically predict solutions of the GP equation for a complex scalar field (spinless bosons) in φ4 theory. The GP equation is a long wavelength effective field theory of a microscopic quantum lattice gas with nonlinear state reduction. The quantum lattice gas algorithm for modeling the dynamics of the one-body BEC state in 3+1 dimensions is presented. To demonstrate the method's strength as a computational physics tool, a difficult situation of filamentary singularities is simulated, the dynamics of solitary vortex-antivortex pairs, which are a basic building block of morphologies of quantum turbulence.

Measuring Phonological Development: A Follow-up Study of Five Children Acquiring Finnish

This study applies the Phonological Mean Length of Utterance measurement (PMLU; Ingram & Ingram, 2001; Ingram, 2002) to the data of five children acquiring Finnish and evaluates their phonological development longitudinally at four different age points: 2;0, 2;6, 3;0, and 3;6. The children's results on PMLU and related measures are discussed together with remarks on individual differences regarding the acquisition of consonants, consonant clusters and word length. During the period analyzed the children's phonetic inventories increase and they gradually overcome the constraints against long words and consonant sequences. The PMLU method's ability to reflect the qualitative changes and individual differences between the children is found to be limited in some respects, although overall development can be noted in the values. The PMLU method's strengths and weaknesses are evaluated critically and improvements suggested.

Graphical interpretation of Boolean operators for protein NMR assignments

We have developed a graphics based algorithm for semi-automated protein NMR assignments. Using the basic sequential triple resonance assignment strategy, the method is inspired by the Boolean operators as it applies "AND"-, "OR"- and "NOT"-like operations on planes pulled out of the classical three-dimensional spectra to obtain its functionality. The method's strength lies in the continuous graphical presentation of the spectra, allowing both a semi-automatic peaklist construction and sequential assignment. We demonstrate here its general use for the case of a folded protein with a well-dispersed spectrum, but equally for a natively unfolded protein where spectral resolution is minimal.

The Complexity of Measuring the Quality of Program Implementation With Observations

In the growing literature on the evaluation of program implementation, less has been said about evaluating program quality than about evaluating other aspects of program implementation. Furthermore, most articles and reports in the program-implementation evaluation literature have presented only brief descriptions of how implementation instruments have been developed. In this article, the authors describe a method for evaluating the quality of implementation of middle school inquiry-based science using data from observations scaled with paired comparison judgments. The authors show the complexities of developing and applying the method, describe how they tried it out, present the results of validity and reliability analyses, and describe the method's strengths and weaknesses.

Come take a walk with me: The “Go-Along” interview as a novel method for studying the implications of place for health and well-being

This paper aims to serve as a four-part introductory primer on the “go-along” qualitative interview methodology for studying the health issues of neighborhood or local-area contexts. First, I describe the purpose and different types of implementation of go-alongs. Second, I discuss its advantages for studying how place may matter for health (particularly in terms of the participants) and how it may facilitate researchers’ understandings of local knowledge as well as the social and physical context. Third, I consider the method's strengths and limitations for population health research on neighborhoods and local areas. Fourth and finally, I discuss how go-alongs may be used in tandem with other qualitative and quantitative approaches for multi-method research. Informing this discussion are my own experiences with a particular type of go-along interview—“walk-along” interviews—during a study of social capital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin neighborhoods.

Toward Integrating Cognitive Neuroscience: One Method Deserves Another

Methods in Mind. Carl Senior, Tamara Russell, and Michael S. Gazzaniga (Eds.). 2006. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 394 pp., $55.00 (HB)In the preface of Methods in Mind, the editors express their intent to provide a text that integrates different cognitive neuroscience methods. The chapter authors were given the lofty charge of describing their method of choice, considering the method's strengths and limitations, and how other methods might be integrated. By-and-large, the editors have achieved their goal.

Multimodal image registration using floating regressors in the joint intensity scatter plot

This paper presents a new approach for multimodal medical image registration and compares it to normalized mutual information (NMI) and the correlation ratio (CR). Like NMI and CR, the new method's measure of registration quality is based on the distribution of points in the joint intensity scatter plot (JISP); compact clusters indicate good registration. This method iteratively fits the JISP clusters with regressors (in the form of points and line segments), and uses those regressors to efficiently compute the next motion increment. The result is a striking, dynamic process in which the regressors float around the JISP, tracking groups of points as they contract into tight clusters. One of the method's strengths is that it is intuitive and customizable, offering a multitude of ways to incorporate prior knowledge to guide the registration process. Moreover, the method is adaptive, and can adjust itself to fit data that does not quite match the prior model. Finally, the method is efficiently expandable to higher-dimensional scatter plots, avoiding the "curse of dimensionality" inherent in histogram-based registration methods such as MI and NMI. In two sets of experiments, a simple implementation of the new registration framework is shown to be comparable to (if not superior to) state-of-the-art implementations of NMI and CR in both accuracy and convergence robustness.

Predictors of change in music therapy with children and adolescents: The role of therapeutic techniques

Music therapy has been shown to be efficacious in experimental studies. However, there is little empirical research knowledge about what elements of music therapy influence its effectiveness in clinical practice. Children and adolescents with psychopathology (N=75) were assessed before and after participating in individual music therapy with 1 out of 15 music therapists in the Vienna region. Relationships between outcomes (as evaluated by parents) and therapy contents (as reported by therapists) were examined using general linear modelling. Results indicated that clients' symptoms and burdens on their social environment showed greater improvement when music therapy was limited to discipline-specific music therapy techniques and did not include other media such as play therapy elements. The findings indicate the importance of being aware of a therapy method's specific strengths and limitations. More research on the indicated specific ingredients of music therapy intervention is needed.

Futures studies as social science: An analytic scheme and a case study

Several authors in the futures studies field have in their efforts to improve quality argued that better methods must be developed, which makes sense. But the theoretical awareness in the substantive questions upon which the studies are based is probably more important. In that light, the primary objective of this article is to formulate a method of how fundamental social issues (views on society and humanity) are addressed in a future study, apply it to one empirical case (telecommunications company Ericsson) and thereafter analyze the method's strengths and weaknesses. The study shows that the method gained a satisfactory foothold in the material and it has an appropriate depth in relation to desired efficiency. This work has shown that the analytical method is relevant and adequate to understand and describe the orientation and contents of futures studies. Therewith, the study has generated greater awareness of fundamental assumptions in future studies that can contribute to enhancing their quality.

Cultivating a Thinking Surgeon: New Perspectives on Clinical Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

Annals of Surgery: July 2006 - Volume 244 - Issue 1 - p 158 doi: 10.1097/01.sla.0000226044.17303.e3

Scenario evaluation of municipal Web sites: Development and use of an expert-focused evaluation tool

Municipal Web sites are a prominent product of e-government initiatives worldwide. The Internet is becoming increasingly important in the communication between local governments and citizens, which makes the usability of municipal Web sites a critical factor in government–citizen communication. A current approach to ensure the quality of municipal Web sites is by means of expert evaluation. Various studies, however, have shown that communication professionals cannot adequately predict the problems Web users will experience. In this article, the possibilities are explored of a new expert-focused approach for evaluating municipal (and other government) Web sites, which helps experts to focus on users' needs. A scenario evaluation method was developed and used to evaluate fifteen municipal Web sites. The method involves presenting experts with realistic usage scenarios, combined with limited sets of user characteristics and evaluation criteria. The scenario evaluation method and its underlying principles are discussed, and preliminary findings about the method's strengths and weaknesses are presented.

ANATOMICAL GUIDED SEGMENTATION WITH NON-STATIONARY TISSUE CLASS DISTRIBUTIONS IN AN EXPECTATION-MAXIMIZATION FRAMEWORK.

High quality segmentation of brain MR images is a challenging task. To deal with this problem many automatic segmentation methods rely on atlas information of anatomical structures. We further investigate this line of research by introducing hierarchical representations of anatomical structures in an Expectation-Maximization framework. This new approach enables us to divide a complex segmentation scenario into less difficult sub-problems reducing the scenario's statistical complexity. We demonstrate the method's strength by segmenting a set of brain MR images into 31 different anatomical structures as well as comparing it to other methods.

Friendship as Method

In this article, the author discusses friendship as a method of qualitative inquiry. After defining friendship and positing it as a kind of fieldwork, the methodological foundations of friendship as method are established. Next, it is proposed that friendship as method involves researching with the practices, at the pace, in the natural contexts, and with an ethic of friendship. Finally, the author describes this method's strengths and considerations for both researcher and participants.

KidReporter: a user requirements gathering technique for designing with children

This paper describes a design method, novel to the domain of interaction design, for gathering user requirements from children called the KidReporter method. The KidReporter method was chosen and further refined based on assumptions about User-Centred Design. The method was considered to be suitable and appealing for children in terms of participating in design. Two school classes participated in making a newspaper about a zoo, to gather requirements for the design process of an interactive educational game. The educational game was developed to educate children about animals while walking through a zoo. The KidReporter method's main strengths are that it combines many techniques for eliciting information from children, such as interviews, drawing and making pictures. In this paper we describe how the KidReporter method was applied, in what manner it was successful and what we would do differently next time.

小径コアによる構造体コンクリート強度の推定方法に関する研究 : その1 小径コア供試体の圧縮強度試験結果

小径コアによる構造体コンクリート強度の推定方法に関する研究 : その1 小径コア供試体の圧縮強度試験結果