The ABC of Qualimetry. The Toolkit for Measuring Immeasurable. Garry G. Azgaldov

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СКАЧАТЬ by the Russian philosopher and theologian P. A. Florensky, dedicated to one of the problems of quantitative estimation of quality [5]).

      An almost similar situation in the field of quantitative estimation of quality evolved elsewhere.

      Then came a time when someone had to recognise the need for analysing, rationalising and generalizing the wealth of accumulated empirical material within a separate scientific discipline. Recognition could come somewhat earlier or somewhat later but it was bound to happen at around that time, in the 1960s or “70s.

      Applied Qualimetry

      This discipline seeks to develop applied techniques for evaluating the quality of new, here therefore unevaluated types of objects (things, phenomena and processes). The essence of this type of qualimetric research is described by the term applied qualimetry, which is one of the two branches of qualimetry as an independent scientific discipline. In this respect there appeared different sub disciplines, such as geographical qualimetry, automatic-machine qualimetry, construction engineering qualimetry, educational qualimetry, geodesic qualimetry, fabric qualimetry, etc.

      Qualimetry Institutionalised

      It happened that the first to arrive at this idea was a group of Soviet scientists (economists, civil engineers, car makers, architects), who were dealing with the problem of quantitative evaluation of quality. Gathering at an informal workshop in Moscow in November 1967, they came to the following conclusions:

      1. The group members (Azgaldov, Glichev, Krapivensky, Kurachenko, Panov, Fedorov and Shpektorov) as well as some other researchers working on similar tasks were doing the same thing in terms of methodology, namely, trying to quantify quality, albeit in relation to quite different objects.

      2. In their pursuits they faced almost identical scientific problem, and they used tools based on some common and similar concepts.

      3. To achieve success in solving these problems and to improve the tools used it was advisable to bring together researchers engaged in quality evaluation in both the U. S. S. R. and abroad.

      4. Such a pooling of efforts could best be achieved in the framework of a joint research activity that met all the conditions qualifying it as an independent scientific discipline.

      5. The most suitable name for that discipline was qualimetry. Indeed, the Greek root metreo has become commonly accepted in the international lexicon of science. As for the Latin root qualis, its derivative words in the majority of the languages accounting for the bulk of scientific and technical literature means “quality” (cualidad in Spanish, qualità in Italian, kwaliteit in Dutch, Qualität in German).

      Therefore, the term qualimetry is quite handy: it is concise and it accurately renders the scope of the “quality measurement” concept; its main components are intelligible to people speaking different languages; its structure makes it easy to form any derivative words like qualimetrologist (a qualimetry scientist), qualimetric approach (quality measurement approach) etc.

      Furthermore, this term is part of a logically consistent system of concepts and terms; e.g., the science of quality (qualilogy) and the related science of quality measurement (qualimetry);one can draw an analogy with some other sciences: economics – econometrics, biology – biometry, psychology – psychometrics.

      A paper by the workshop participants, which substantiated the above five propositions, was published in the journal Standarty i kachestvo [3]. It provided content for an international discussion in the journal during 1968, in which an overwhelming majority of the contributors supported the idea of a new scientific discipline. Thus qualimetry was born.

      1.1.3.3. Qualimetry in Russia Today

      What we briefly considered above is the past history of qualimetry. What about its present?

      Formally, if our analysis of the progress of qualimetry over a period of 43 years since its inception should rely on absolute numbers alone it may show a fairly optimistic picture. However, it would be more appropriate to evaluate qualimetry by the same qualimetric approach, i.e., to consider not only absolute but also relative figures versus some benchmark or performance potential. We will apply this approach and try to show both the progress in and failures associated with the development of qualimetry. (Naturally, this analysis will take into account qualimetry-related facts and figures from the Soviet era as well as from the period of independent development of the Russian Federation).

      As regards the scientific aspect, it may be noted that in the 1980s an Applied Qualimetry Laboratory operated at the National Research Institute for Standardisation and an educational qualimetry laboratory at the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences. These facts are gratifying by themselves. The word qualimetry was after a while removed from its title, and the laboratory changed its subject altogether. Something similar happened to the educational qualimetry laboratory.

      Regarding another source of new scientific data in qualimetry, dissertation-oriented research, five doctoral and more than 45 master’s theses on qualimetric subjects have been defended to date. Not bad for a fledgling discipline. Unfortunately, the vast majority of this research deals with applied rather than theoretical qualimetry; in other words, qualimetry research is mostly growing, so to speak, in breadth not in depth.

      In the Soviet era, two national scientific conferences dealt with qualimetry topics, one held in Tallinn (1972), the other in Saratov (1988); also, standing inter-republican scientific workshops were conducted in Moscow and Leningrad in the late 1980s. Due to a tight economic situation in which Russian science found itself in the 1990sthese workshops ceased functioning. (nor is there any news call) Perhaps the only positive development in this regard is an annual workshop (held since 1991) open to CIS participants, which deals with educational and health care applications of qualimetry.

      It should be noted that qualimetry issues are discussed at special sections (or panels) of international conferences held by the European Organisation for Quality Control and the Asian Institute of Quality Management (Moscow – 1971., Oslo – 1974, Varna -1977; Yerevan – 1982, Madrid – 1983, Moscow – 1988, Delhi – 1989).

      In addition, reports on the application of qualimetry to scientific and practical problems in other areas have been presented at more than national-scale 90 conferences, symposia and seminars held in Voronezh, Zvenigorod, Yerevan, Kiev, Kishinev, Krasnodar, Lviv, Leningrad, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Odessa, Pushchino, Riga, Saratov, Suzdal, Tambov, Tartu, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Uzhgorod, Ivano-Frankovsk and Kharkiv.

      Qualimetry as an independent scientific discipline is taught in dozens of technical universities in Russia (the name of the academic subject is “Quality Control”).

      Yet, given the multisectorial and interdisciplinary nature of qualimetry, these kinds of academic convention should be much more frequent, for experience shows that out of every 10 researchers (from junior research fellowsto members of the Russian Academy of Sciences) hardly one has ever heard anything about qualimetry and its potential.

      Administrative staff shows no greater familiarity with the essence and potential of qualimetry. Indicative in this respect is the practice of top government statistical agencies, both in the Soviet Union and afterwards in Russia. In their published annual, semi-annual and quarterly statistical reports almost every one of the 800—1200 figures contained therein refer to either quantitative or purely economic (cost) performance indexes of the national economy. As for quality, at best they list sometimes СКАЧАТЬ