Real-life Impact Research Articles

Misspecification of extreme rainfall population statistics and frequency inference due to measurement bias and variability

Statistical analysis of rainfall extremes is mostly based on the assumption of error-free data, despite common knowledge about the widespread incidence of precipitation measurement bias and variability. The objective of this study is primarily to investigate the impact of measurement bias and variability in statistical classification and quantile estimates of rainfall extremes. A theoretical framework is presented for the analysis of moment coefficients and probability distributions for rainfall extremes corrupted by measurement bias and variability. Furthermore, methods are outlined for practical statistical analysis of error-corrupted rainfall extremes, based on maximum likelihood. Frequency inference and testing for the presence of measurement variability are the main topics. Modelling of data series is undertaken in order to exemplify the statistical assessment and the real-life impact of measurement error. It is shown that: (a) unaccounted measurement error may potentially cause a considerable degree of misspecification about the conventional moment and L-moment coefficients of variation, and the conventional moments of skewness and kurtosis; (b) the presence of measurement variability alone can cause significant and nonlinear quantile bias which further strongly increases with the additional presence of measurement bias; and (c) maximum likelihood estimation provides a general and efficient tool for assessing measurement error in extreme rainfall frequency analysis.

Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Outpatient Commitment Law: Kendra's Law as Case Study

This paper considers the implications of assisted outpatient commitment laws (OPC), with specific focus on New York's through the lens of therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ). Kendra's Law's day-to-day operationalization, the on-going constitutional challenges, the law's potential impact on the delivery of other mental health services in the state, and - most important - the inevitability of a mistake (a case in which denial of a Kendra's Law commitment is followed by the commission of a notorious criminal act, or a case in which entry of a Kendra's Law commitment is followed by a patient developing neuroleptic malignant syndrome or some other potentially-fatal antipsychotic drug side effect because of a misdiagnosis or an error in prescription or medication dispensation) all make it inevitable that it will become the centerpiece of the next mental health law debate. It is thus especially important that a discussion of Kendra's Law also provide a national perspective as well as background on OPC - and how, for decades, OPC has been the paradigm trompe l'oeil illusion of mental disability law. In this paper. I first offer some perspectives on the relationship between involuntary civil commitment and outpatient commitment, with a few brief words about how all of this relates to the concept of the least restrictive alternative (LRA). Then, I consider some of the empirical research that's been done on outpatient commitment laws in other jurisdictions - most notably, North Carolina - and focus on both the issues that seemed to matter to whether OPC worked and on the impact OPC may have had on revolving door commitments. After that, I look at the most controversial aspect of outpatient commitment: its relationship to forced drugging. Here, I consider briefly the civil libertarian critique of OPC/forced drugging laws, look at some important recent developments, and consider the state-of-the-art research done by the MacArthur Research Network on Mental Health. Finally, I will look closely at Kendra's Law, providing a brief overview of the law itself, and identifying some pressure points and pivotal issues in the law. I believe that there are ambiguities in some of the pressure points that cry out for resolution, and that the appellate disposition of some of the pivotal issues will provide some clues as to the ultimate real life impact of Kendra's Law. Finally, I will consider the TJ implications of Kendra's Law, in part, in an effort to determine how it fits into the public's take on all of mental disability law.

The operation of an integrated manufacturing system with customer access via electronic data interchange

Abstract Abstract. This paper reports a model of a real-time manufacturing system. Within this system the ongoing operations of the shop floor are monitored and up-to-the-minute information is maintained. Such a manufacturing system incorporates information as soon as it becomes available and it assembles and processes items only if the required parts from the preceding stages are available. In addition, the manufacturing system is interfaced with the customer by means of electronic data interchange. This allows instant communication between the manufacturing enterprise and the customer. The model reported here incorporates these features. Thus the real-life impact of uncertainties as they relate to an integrated shop-floor control environment is captured by the model. Several hypotheses relating to various variables and their interactions are formed and tested. The differences between the deterministic and the real-time environment are highlighted.

A new system for rating impact sound insulation

The rating of impact sound insulation on the basis of tapping machine measurements with the ISO reference values has proved to be unsatisfactory in practice. This is mainly due to the differences in spectrum shape of tapping machine noise and real life impact noises, such as walking. The problem can be solved by changing the reference values in accordance with these differences in spectrum shape. The difference between tapping and walking noise spectra has been established by measurements on 49 different floors. In the most important frequency range (125–500 Hz) it was discovered to be sufficiently constant for all the floor constructions considered. Thus a new set of reference values has been derived, based on the assumption that the NR-curves provide a correct subjective rating system for walking noise. In addition, due account has been taken of the different frequency content at higher frequencies of impact noises other than those made by walking males, such as those made by walking females, jumping children, the moving of furniture, etc.