Series 1 freight containers. Rationale for design and structural test criteria

This review article describes aerospace thermal-structural testing technology. It begins with discussions of aerodynamic heating and space radiation heating. The review continues with a general discussion of thermal-structural test technology including heating and cooling, instrumentation, and thermal-structural boundary conditions. Then illustrative thermal structural tests are presented for high speed flight in the atmosphere and flight in space. Experiments conducted in the laboratory as well as flight tests are described. Several experiments are reviewed to demonstrate the diversity of thermal-structural phenomena. This article includes 120 references.

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The domain expert perspective: A qualitative study into the views expressed in a standard-setting exercise on a language for specific purposes (LSP) test for health professionals

Language Testing ◽

10.1177/02655322211010737 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026553222110107

Author(s):

Simon Davidson

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Data ◽

Proficiency Test ◽

Standard Setting ◽

Domain Expert ◽

Verbal Reports ◽

Domain Experts ◽

Language For Specific Purposes ◽

Setting Process ◽

Test Criteria ◽

Textual Features

This paper investigates what matters to medical domain experts when setting standards on a language for specific purposes (LSP) English proficiency test: the Occupational English Test’s (OET) writing sub-test. The study explores what standard-setting participants value when making performance judgements about test candidates’ writing responses, and the extent to which their decisions are language-based and align with the OET writing sub-test criteria. Qualitative data is a relatively under-utilized component of standard setting and this type of commentary was garnered to gain a better understanding of the basis for performance decisions. Eighteen doctors were recruited for standard-setting workshops. To gain further insight, verbal reports in the form of a think-aloud protocol (TAP) were employed with five of the 18 participants. The doctors’ comments were thematically coded and the analysis showed that participants’ standard-setting judgements often aligned with the OET writing sub-test criteria. An overarching theme, ‘Audience Recognition’, was also identified as valuable to participants. A minority of decisions were swayed by features outside the OET’s communicative construct (e.g., clinical competency). Yet, overall, findings indicated that domain experts were undeniably focused on textual features associated with what the test is designed to assess and their views were vitally important in the standard-setting process.

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