Resolving the Issue of How Reliability is Related to Statistical Power: Adhering to Mathematical Definitions

Reliability in classical test theory is a population-dependent concept, defined as a ratio of true-score variance and observed-score variance, where observed-score variance is a sum of true and error components. On the other hand, the power of a statistical significance test is a function of the total variance, irrespective of its decomposition into true and error components. For that reason, the reliability of a dependent variable is a function of the ratio of true-score variance and observed-score variance, whereas statistical power is a function of the sum of the same two variances. Controversies about how reliability is related to statistical power often can be explained by authors’ use of the term “reliability” in a general way to mean “consistency,” “precision,” or “dependability,” which does not always correspond to its mathematical definition as a variance ratio. The present note shows how adherence to the mathematical definition can help resolve the issue and presents some derivations and illustrative examples that have further implications for significance testing and practical research

Investigation of Bubble Size Distributions in Oscillatory Flow at Various Flow Rates

The demand for eco-friendly technologies for industrial processes is increasing. Various factors such as labour costs, exploitation and waste management influence the production costs and hence the profit generated. The water treatment industry is one example of a well-developed sector which is facing these concerns. Microbubble techniques exhibit many benefits which make them applicable to heterogeneous processes, such as longer contact time and greater surface area giving higher mass transfer rates. The Fluidic Oscillator (FO) is a relatively new device which enhances the efficacy of microbubble generation. The FO produces smaller bubbles by applying oscillatory flow through a diffuser to generate microbubbles. This paper aims to study the influence of steady and oscillatory flow to bubble size distribution. The experimentation was carried out with a ceramic diffuser to produce microbubbles in water. A High Speed Camera was used for bubble imaging. Data on bubble distributions at various flow rates was obtained by image post-processing. It was observed that the application of the FO at selected operational conditions gave narrower bubble size distributions in a range of flow rates compared to continuous flow. The range of applications of this technology is continuously populating

Mini-Brayton heat source assembly development

The work accomplished on the Mini-Brayton Heat Source Assembly program is summarized. Required technologies to design, fabricate and assemble components for a high temperature Heat Source Assembly (HSA) which would generate and transfer the thermal energy for a spaceborne Brayton Isotope Power System (BIPS) were developed

X-ray Observations of the Compact Source in CTA 1

The point source RX J0007.0+7302, at the center of supernova remnant CTA 1, was studied using the X-Ray Multi-mirror Mission. The X-ray spectrum of the source is consistent with a neutron star interpretation, and is well described by a power law with the addition of a soft thermal component that may correspond to emission from hot polar cap regions or to cooling emission from a light element atmosphere over the entire star. There is evidence of extended emission on small spatial scales which may correspond to structure in the underlying synchrotron nebula. No pulsations are observed. Extrapolation of the nonthermal spectrum of RX J0007.0+7302 to gamma-ray energies yields a flux consistent with that of EGRET source 3EG J0010+7309, supporting the proposition that there is a gamma-ray emitting pulsar at the center of CTA 1. Observations of the outer regions of CTA 1 with the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics confirm earlier detections of thermal emission from the remnant and show that the synchrotron nebula extends to the outermost reaches of the SNR.Comment: 5 pages, including 4 postscript figs.LaTex. Accepted for publication by Ap

Feasibility study for a Scanning Celestial Attitude Determination System /SCADS/ for three axis attitude determination at a Command and Data Acquisition /CDA/ station Final report

Scanning Celestial Attitude Determination System /SCADS/ for three axis attitude determination at Command and Data Acquisition /CDA/ statio