Automating the factory: theory versus practice

Considerable attention has been given to the problems associated with acquiring and implementing many of the advanced manufacturing technologies currently available to firms. Much of the information being published, however, is based on individual experiences under conditions that are frequently not reported, as is common in the trade journals and public media. Fifteen such generally-accepted ‘postulates’ for managing factory automation are identified here and analysed in terms of five in-depth case studies involving advanced manufacturing systems. In a few cases, the postulates are rejected. In some cases they are qualified, and in many cases they are reinforced with substantially more detail.     

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY AND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS: AN APPROACH TO AN OLD PROBLEM.

THE PROBLEMS OF SELF-DEFINITION, ROLE AND FUNCTION, AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY ARE DISCUSSED. RECENT TRENDS IN PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY ARE PRESENTED AND COMPARISONS ARE MADE AMONG THE ACTIVITIES AND GOALS OF CLINICAL, COUNSELING, EDUCATIONAL, INDUSTRIAL, AND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT NO CLEAR SPECIALTY OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY EXISTS, ALTHOUGH AN INCREASINGLY LARGE NUMBER OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS ARE BEING TRAINED. AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO DEFINE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY AND TO INDICATE HOW IT MIGHT DEVELOP AS A DISTINCT PSYCHOLOGICAL SPECIALTY. 2 MODELS FOR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES ARE PRESENTED, BASED ON THE EXTENT TO WHICH SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY IS SEEN AS PRIMARILY PSYCHOLOGICAL OR PRIMARILY EDUCATIONAL. (25 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of Temperature on the Decomposition of Pacific Coast Shrimp (Pandalus jordani)

Shrimp (Pandalus jordani) were allowed to decompose at five temperatures (0, 5.6, 11.1, 16.7 and 22.2°C). Mean aerobic plate counts on the shrimp as received at the laboratory were 1.6 × 10⁶/g. The most rapid growth was obtained at the higher temperatures but the highest maximum population was obtained at 0°C. A total of 638 bacteria were isolated and tested for identification. The heterogenous population at day 0 was composed of 38% Gram positives. The population changed becoming predominantly Gram negative by day 13. At the higher temperatures the indole producing Proteus emerged by day 7 and became an important component of the flora. Volatile base (N) and indole increased both with increasing time and temperature during storage.     

An Experimental Design for Determination of D-values Describing Inactivation Kinetics of Bacterial Spores; Design Parameters Selected Using Computer Simulation

An improved experimental design is proposed for studies of bacterial extinction. The new design may be used for either inoculated pack or model system studies. The design uses variable spore loads, and judiciously spaced time points (or doses) with a variable number of replicates over a selected range. A computer simulation of the process simplifies parameter selection in an economic way. The improved design results in more useable data points over an increased range leading to more accurate estimates of the D-value with the same level of experimental effort used in current experiments.     

Changes in Roasted Peanut Flavor and Other Quality Factors with Seed Size and Storage Time

Peanut seed size and time in storage have been investigated as to their influence on roasted flavor, peanut butter color. Blanchability of roasted peanuts, oxidative stability and iodine value of raw peanuts. Seed size had a significant effect on roasted flavor and peanut butter color with constant roasting time and with roasting to a uniform peanut butter color. Blanchability of the seed after roasting was also significantly affected by seed size as well as storage time. Oxidative stability of the raw peanuts showed a general tendency to decrease with seed size and storage time. Iodine values were significantly higher in the smallest seed size but storage time did not affect iodine values. The data suggest that inferior quality is being introduced into marketing channels through use of a 5.95 mm screen size as a minimum for grading U.S. No. 1 Virginia-type peanuts.     

Low Temperature Growth of Salmonella

SUMMARY—Salmonellae, normally grown at 3.5–37°C, can grow at much lower temperatures. Experimentally, minimum growth temperatbres were obtained when salmonellae were grown on the surface of agar in a temperature-gradient incubator over a temperature range of 1.1 to 12.3°C. These minimum temperatures, as determined by visible growth for 7 serotypes, ranged from 5.5 to 6.8°C.
The pattern of survival or growth of S. derby, S. heidelberg , and S. typhimurium was followed by inoculating the organisms into tubes of broth and incubating the tubes in a polythermostat over a temperature range of 1.1 to 12.3°C. Minimum growth temperature obtained for S. heidelberg after 19 days' incubation was 5.3°C. The minimum growth temperature for the same length of time for S. typhimurium and S. derby were 6.2 and 6.9°C respectively.
The results indicate a growth temperature shift during extended incubation of Salmonella at low temperatures. This phenomenon and the low temperature. growth capability of Salmonella could be significant in foods stored for long periods of time at temperatures above 5°C.     

SOCIAL DESIRABILITY, PREDICTION EQUATION, REGRESSION EQUATIONS, AND INTRINSIC RESPONSE BIAS.

IT IS SHOWN ON THE BASIS OF 7 SAMPLES, INCLUDING 2 SAMPLES OF BOGUS DATA, THAT EDWARDS' SOCIAL-DESIRABILITY-BASED PREDICTION EQUATION DOES NOT PREDICT ACTUAL SCORES ON OTHER TRUE-FALSE SCALES BUT, AT BEST, MERELY PREDICTS THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE SOCIAL DESIRABILITY SCALE AND THE OTHER SCALES. IT IS FURTHER SHOWN BY ANALYSIS OF EDWARDS' EQUATION THAT THIS RELATIONSHIP IS MATHEMATICALLY NECESSARY, AND THAT THE VERY STRUCTURE OF EDWARDS' EQUATION MAKES MORE ADEQUATE PREDICTIONS IMPOSSIBLE. CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ACTUAL AND PREDICTED SCORES ARE DEMONSTRATED TO DEPEND ON THE INTERACTION BETWEEN ITEM CONTENT, STRUCTURAL LIMITATIONS IMPOSED BY THE PREDICTION EQUATION, AND INTRINSIC RESPONSE BIAS. IN GENERAL, CORRELATIONS BETWEEN SOCIAL DESIRABILITY SCALE AND OTHER SCALES ARE AN INACCURATE REFLECTION OF A POTENTIAL UNDERLYING RELATIONSHIP AND TEND TO BE SPURIOUSLY LOW. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)