definitions of quality with definitions which are humanistic in nature. The mechanistic definition tends to view quality "as an objective aspect of a feature or a thing or event (some thing that is present whether or not any one happens to notice)" (p. 33). The Humanistic definition sees quality as a subjective response of people to objects and therefore, as a highly relativistic occurrence that differs between judges. The third dimension distinguishes conceptual definitions of quality from those relatively more operational in nature. The conceptual tends to come from refined critical discussions and incorporates rules for the systematic use of language. The operational tends to allow repeatable observation via various instruments, i. e. making measurements.