Mark Wilson and I would like to alert everyone to the 2019 International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO) Joint Symposium to be held 2-5 July in St. Petersburg, Russia. The deadline for extended abstract submissions is 15 November (https://imeko19-spb.org/submission-of-papers/).
Of special interest at this Joint Symposium is the addition of IMEKO’s Technical Committee (TC) 18 on Measurement of Human Functions. The inclusion of TC18 provides a broader forum for psychological and social measurement theory and practice than was previously afforded by the areas covered by TC1 on Education and Training in Measurement and Instrumentation, TC7 on Measurement Science, and TC13 on Measurements in Biology and Medicine. TC18 will be an important setting for sharing ideas and methods as national metrology institutes around the world commence new investigations into the viability, feasibility, and desirability of metrological standards for measurements in education, health care, human resources, social services, economics, and many other areas.
The IMEKO World Congress in Belfast, Ireland, last month included a special session highlighting measurement theory and practice in psychology and the social sciences. The session was organized and chaired by Mark Wilson and myself, with presented papers authored by David Andrich, Stefan Cano, Robert Cavanagh, Thomas Salzberger, Andrew Maul, and others. Additional talks featuring Rasch models were co-authored by Emily Oon, Jan Morrison, and Maureen Powers.
In a sign of IMEKO’s strong support for measurement innovations across the sciences, Powers’ poster on a multi-unidimensional psychophysical Rasch model of functional binocular vision was recognized with a special award at the gala dinner in the Titanic museum in Belfast.
With over ten years of Rasch-related presentations at IMEKO meetings, and steadily increasing visibility and participation, a new dialogue between the natural and social sciences is plainly gaining momentum. Looking forward to seeing you all in St. Petersburg!
William P. Fisher, Jr., Ph.D.Research AssociateBEAR CenterGraduate School of EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley
We are what we measure.
It’s time we measured what we want to be.