An ultrasonic flowmeter for measuring dynamic liquid flow

A novel oscillating pipe system was developed to provide dynamic calibration wherein small sinusoidal signals with amplitudes of 0.5 to 10% of the steady-state flow were added to the steady-state flow by oscillating the flowmeter relative to the fixed pipes in the flow system. Excellent agreement was obtained between the dynamic velocities derived from an accelerometer mounted on the oscillating pipe system and those sensed by the flowmeter at frequencies of 7, 19, and 30 Hz. Also described were the signal processing techniques used to retrieve the small sinusoidal signals which were obscured by the fluid turbulence

An anemometer for measuring velocities on the .25 to 4.25 M/sec range

A vane type anemometer was developed as a secondary standard for the on site calibration of wind velocity sensors. The instrument outputs an electrical pulse for each interruption of a light source by an eight vane fan. The pulse rate is proportional to the fan's angular speed and linearly related to wind velocity over the range 0.25 to 4.27 m/sec

The quality of political information

The article conceptualizes the quality of political information and shows how the concept can be used for empirical research. I distinguish three aspects of quality (intelligibility, relevance, validity) and use them to judge the constituent foundations of political information, that is component claims (statements of alleged facts) and connection claims (argumentative statements created by causally linking two component claims). The resulting conceptual map thus entails six manifestations of information quality (component claimintelligibility, connection claim intelligibility, component claimrelevance, connection claim relevance, component claim validity, and connection claim validity). I explain how the conceptual map can be used to make sense of the eclectic variety of existing research, and how it can advance new empirical research, as a guide for determining variation in information quality, as a conceptual template for the analysis of different types of political messages and their common quality deficiencies, and as a generator of new research questions and theoretical expectations

Auntie knows best? public broadcasters and current affairs knowledge

Public service broadcasters (PSBs) are a central part of national news media landscapes. In many countries, PSBs are the first choice of citizens when it comes to news providers. And in perhaps more countries still, PSBs are thought of as specialists in provision of hard news. We test this proposition here using survey data from a large crossnational survey involving indicators of current affairs knowledge and media consumption. Specifically, we examine whether exposure to public versus commercial news influences the knowledge citizens possess about current affairs, both domestically and internationally. We also test, using propensity score analysis, whether there is variation across PSBs in this regard. Results indicate that compared to commercial news, watching PSB has a net positive influence on knowledge of hard news, though not all PSBs are equally effective in contributing to knowledge acquisition. This knowledge gap between PSB and commercial news media consumption appears to be mitigated by factors such as de jure independence,proportion of public financing, and audience share

Internet use and the political knowledge gap in Spain

Media availability and fragmentation and the resulting possibilities of content selection have risen dramatically with the expansion of new digital media. Previous research has found that this may increase knowledge gaps among citizens with different resources and motivations. This article analyses how Internet use affects political knowledge gaps due to education and to political interest in Spain. As expected, frequent Internet users are more knowledgeable about politics than non-users. Furthermore, Internet use increases knowledge more for the highly educated than for citizens with lower levels of education. Thus, the political knowledge gap related to education seems to be growing with the introduction of new media. However, the knowledge gap between citizens with high and low levels of political interest is smaller for frequent Internet users than for non-users. These findings provide a complex picture and partially contradict the pessimistic theory about the impact of increasing media choice on political knowledge.La disponibilidad y fragmentación de medios de comunicación y las posibilidades de elegir contenidos han aumentado en gran medida a raíz de la expansión de los medios digitales. Éstos pueden, según investigaciones anteriores, incrementar las diferencias en los niveles de conocimiento entre ciudadanos con distintas características. En este artículo se analiza cómo el uso de Internet afecta a las diferencias en el conocimiento político según el nivel educativo y el interés por la política en España. Los usuarios frecuentes de Internet saben más sobre política que los no usuarios, como era de esperar. Además, el uso de Internet incrementa el conocimiento político de manera más intensa para los usuarios con niveles educativos más elevados. Por tanto, parece que las diferencias en los niveles de conocimiento pueden estar creciendo con la expansión de los medios digitales. Sin embargo, las diferencias en el nivel de conocimiento de los más y menos interesados en política son menos pronunciadas entre los que usan Internet frecuentemente. Los resultados ofrecen una imagen compleja y matizan las teorías pesimistas sobre el impacto de la creciente posibilidad de elección de contenidos en los medios sobre el conocimiento político

Voters, Candidates, and Campaigns in the New Information Age

New information technologies are slowly changing the conduct of campaigns and elections in the United States. This article provides an overview and synthesis of extant research on the use of this technology by candidates, journalists, and voters and discusses the implications for elections and democratic governance in the United States

Review of Michael Schudson, \u3cem\u3eThe Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life\u3c/em\u3e

In his important and provocative book, The Good Citizen, Michael Schudson argues that there have been four distinct eras of American civic life, each characterized by a different model of citizenship. In the first era, roughly corresponding to the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, citizens deferred to the leadership of political elites, and civic responsibility consisted mainly of affirming the legitimacy of this ruling caste. In the second era, in place throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century, citizens played a more central role, though one orchestrated by strong local party organizations that mobilized the masses through patronage, entertainment, and other individual, material rewards rather than through detailed appeals to ideology or issues

The Tasks in Creating a New Journalism

Journalism is not going to disappear. As author Michael Schudson observed, if there were not journalists, we’d have to invent them. The real issue is what journalism will look like and if it — and the larger media environment of which it is a part — will ably serve our democracy

An Overview of the State of Citizens\u27 Knowledge About Politics

In a letter to W. T. Barry, James Madison wrote that a popular government, without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. Much like Madison\u27s words to Barry, the title of this book Communicating Politics: Engaging the Public in Democratic Life-is based on two principal assumptions: that an informed public is crucial to democracy; and that the key to assuring such a public is the availability of engaging yet informative and accessible campaign communication. While many of the studies and essays contained in this volume are devoted to assessing, and making recommendations for improving, the current state of campaign communication, this chapter provides an overview of what Americans know about politics and why it matters. The information presented here draws heavily from my previous work in this area (Delli Carpini & Keeter, 1996). The literature on political knowledge provides fairly compelling evidence for five characterizations regarding what Americans know: (1) the average American is poorly informed but not uninformed; (2) aggregate levels of political knowledge have remained relatively stable over the past 50 years; (3) Americans appear to be slightly less informed about politics than are citizens of other comparable nations; (4) average levels of knowledge mask important differences across groups; and (5) knowledge is tied to many attributes of good citizenship