What Is Grounded Theory Good For?

Grounded theory (GT) made its appearance in the social sciences in 1967 with publication of Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss’s The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Glaser and Strauss advocated for systematically discovering and interpreting empirical data to generate theory, in contrast to testing or verifying theory derived from a priori assumptions. In the intervening 50 years, GT has spread into a wide range of fields including journalism and mass communication. Variations of the method have been developed, and debate has ensued about its relation to positivism and constructivism as well as pragmatism and postmodernism and about its value for critical race theory, feminist theory, and indigenous and other critical methods and theories. When and how is it best used? Is it misunderstood or misused by some? Is it more than a method? We asked senior scholars with expertise in GT to reflect on these issues, beginning with Vivian Martin, coeditor with Astrid Gynnild of Grounded Theory: The Philosophy, Method, and Work of Barney Glaserpublished by BrownWalker Press (2012). Martin, professor and chair of the Department of Journalism at Central Connecticut State University, argues the method has been misunderstood even by those who use it, often conflated with qualitative studies, with only two GT studies published in journalism and mass communication. It is practical and subversive, she observes, with the ability to develop new concepts and link ideas across disciplines. She advocates a closer adherence to Glaser’s original intentions for the method. Responding to Martin is Clifton Scott, associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Scott is the author of “Grounded Theory” in Encyclopedia of Communication Theory, edited by Steven Littlejohn and Sonja Foss published by SAGE (2009). While agreeing with Martin that the name often is misapplied, Scott argues for less preoccupation with policing the purity of the method in favor of developing multiple approaches appropriate to it as a methodology. Reacting to both Martin and Scott, Bonnie Brennen critiques the original GT approach as neglecting “methodological self-consciousness,” which would uncover researchers “theoretical assumptions, power relations, class positions and personal experiences.” Brennen, the Nieman Professor of Journalism in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University, is the author of Qualitative Research Methods for Media Studies, second edition, published by Routledge in 2017. Finally, Meenakshi Gigi Durham, responding to all three, expresses optimism about GT’s potential to spur new inquiry through exploration of social life, while she proposes that, like all theory, it be seen as necessarily dynamic and evolutionary. Durham is a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is the editor with Douglas M. Kellner of Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, second edition, published by Blackwell (2011). Lana Rakow, Associate Editor Louisa Ha, Edito

Total versus superficial parotidectomy for stage III melanoma

BackgroundThe primary purpose of this study was to describe the parotid recurrence rates after superficial and total parotidectomy.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was performed on patients with cutaneous melanoma metastatic to the parotid gland who underwent parotidectomy from 1998 through 2014. Primary outcome was parotid bed recurrence. Secondary outcomes were facial nerve function postoperatively and at last follow‐up.ResultsOne hundred twenty‐nine patients were included in the study. Thirty‐four patients (26%) underwent a total parotidectomy and 95 patients underwent superficial parotidectomy. Twelve patients (13%) developed parotid bed recurrence after superficial parotidectomy alone versus zero after total parotidectomy (P = .035). Facial nerve function, clinically detected disease, stage, and adjuvant treatment were not statistically different between the groups (P = .32, .32, .13, and 0.99, respectively).ConclusionParotid bed melanoma recurrence was more common after superficial parotidectomy compared to total parotidectomy, and recurrence resulted in significant facial nerve functional deficit. Our results support total parotidectomy when metastatic melanoma involves the parotid nodal basin.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137735/1/hed24810_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137735/2/hed24810.pd

Experimental characterization of photoemission from plasmonic nanogroove arrays

Metal photocathodes are an important source of high-brightness electron beams, ubiquitous in the operation of both large-scale accelerators and table-top microscopes. When the surface of a metal is nano-engineered with patterns on the order of the optical wavelength, it can lead to the excitation and confinement of surface plasmon polariton waves which drive nonlinear photoemission. In this work, we aim to evaluate gold plasmonic nanogrooves as a concept for producing bright electron beams for accelerators via nonlinear photoemission. We do this by first comparing their optical properties to numerical calculations from first principles to confirm our ability to fabricate these nanoscale structures. Their nonlinear photoemission yield is found by measuring emitted photocurrent as the intensity of their driving laser is varied. Finally, the mean transverse energy of this electron source is found using the solenoid scan technique. Our data demonstrate the ability of these cathodes to provide a tenfold enhancement in the efficiency of photoemission over flat metals driven with a linear process. We find that these cathodes are robust and capable of reaching sustained average currents over 100 nA at optical intensities larger than 2 GW/cm$^2$ with no degradation of performance. The emittance of the generated beam is found to be highly asymmetric, a fact we can explain with calculations involving the also asymmetric roughness of the patterned surface. These results demonstrate the use of nano-engineered surfaces as enhanced photocathodes, providing a robust, air-stable source of high average current electron beams with great potential for industrial and scientific applications.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure

Cranial nerve outcomes in regionally recurrent head & neck melanoma after sentinel lymph node biopsy

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156007/1/lary28243.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156007/2/lary28243_am.pd

The natural history of thin melanoma and the utility of sentinel lymph node biopsy

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141184/1/jso24765_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141184/2/jso24765.pd

Induction of IgG3 to LPS via Toll-Like Receptor 4 Co-Stimulation

B-cells integrate antigen-specific signals transduced via the B-cell receptor (BCR) and antigen non-specific co-stimulatory signals provided by cytokines and CD40 ligation in order to produce IgG antibodies. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) also provide co-stimulation, but the requirement for TLRs to generate T-cell independent and T-cell dependent antigen specific antibody responses is debated. Little is known about the role of B-cell expressed TLRs in inducing antigen-specific antibodies to antigens that also activate TLR signaling. We found that mice lacking functional TLR4 or its adaptor molecule MyD88 harbored significantly less IgG3 natural antibodies to LPS, and required higher amounts of LPS to induce anti-LPS IgG3. In vitro, BCR and TLR4 signaling synergized, lowering the threshold for production of T-cell independent IgG3 and IL-10. Moreover, BCR and TLR4 directly associate through the transmembrane domain of TLR4. Thus, in vivo, BCR/TLR synergism could facilitate the induction of IgG3 antibodies against microbial antigens that engage both innate and adaptive B-cell receptors. Vaccines might exploit BCR/TLR synergism to rapidly induce antigen-specific antibodies before significant T-cell responses arise

local buzz, global pipelines and the process of knowledge creation

The version of record [Bathelt, H., Malmberg, A., & Maskell, P. (2004). Clusters and knowledge: Local buzz, global pipelines and the process of knowledge creation. Progress in Human Geography, 28(1), 31-56.] is available online at: http://phg.sagepub.com/content/28/1/31 [doi: 10.1191/0309132504ph469oa]The paper is concerned with spatial clustering of economic activity and its relation to the spatiality of knowledge creation in interactive learning processes. It questions the view that tacit knowledge transfer is confined to local milieus whereas codified knowledge may roam the globe almost frictionlessly. The paper highlights the conditions under which both tacit and codified knowledge can be exchanged locally and globally. A distinction is made between, on the one hand, the learning processes taking place among actors embedded in a community by just being there dubbed buzz and, on the other, the knowledge attained by investing in building channels of communication called pipelines to selected providers located outside the local milieu. It is argued that the co-existence of high levels of buzz and many pipelines may provide firms located in outward-looking and lively clusters with a string of particular advantages not available to outsiders. Finally, some policy implications, stemming from this argument, are identified