Social Science and Social Struggle: Understanding the Necessary Confluence of Scholarship and Political Commitment

Social scientists and historians are wary to acknowledge that political commitments play a part in their explanations of society. But we all know they do. Are we poor scientists? Not according to the Edinburgh School, which argues all successful scientific theories are but practical knowledge, shaped by the encounter of human purpose and empirical world. Practical knowledge always involves the uncertain, trial and error application of the intellectual resources drawn from exemplary solutions to new situations. Praxis is the only valid path to knowledge. But no matter how successful, practical knowledge is a theoretically and empirically limited ‘working knowledge' which cannot produce sure understanding of the generative processes producing what we see. What distinguishes studies of society from those of Nature is that the political purposes of conflicting scholarly traditions are so deeply and manifestly divergent.    Implications? Above all we should be skeptical about any strong claims to theoretical certainty, on our part or by others. Dogmatism and sectarianism are epistemologically untenable in the Edinburgh view. Scientific debate would be advanced if we were as open about our political orientations as we are enjoined to be about research design and methodology. And demanded the same of others. This may be possible across ‘camps' in the same tradition and even ideological barriers, where goodwill prevails.  In the public sphere the Edinburgh perspective suggests the shifting of the grounds of debate and the framing/reframing of issues requires a tacit recognition that social knowledge is shaped by its political purposes and cannot simply be ‘the facts m'am, just the facts.

Healing the Metabolic Rift between Farming and the Eco-System: Challenges Facing Organic Farmers in Canada and in Sweden

There is a growing list of scholarly and popular works which, when taken collectively, raise major concerns about industrialized farming and our present food system, particularly its impact on the natural environment. Over a century ago, Karl Marx used the concept “metabolic rift” to describe problems related to ecological and social sustainability resulting from capitalist industry and agriculture. in this paper, we examine the extent to which some members of today’s organic farming movement are addressing the metabolic rift and changing the social organization of food production

Localized precipitation and runoff on Mars

We use the Mars Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (MRAMS) to simulate lake storms on Mars, finding that intense localized precipitation will occur for lake size >=10^3 km^2. Mars has a low-density atmosphere, so deep convection can be triggered by small amounts of latent heat release. In our reference simulation, the buoyant plume lifts vapor above condensation level, forming a 20km-high optically-thick cloud. Ice grains grow to 200 microns radius and fall near (or in) the lake at mean rates up to 1.5 mm/hr water equivalent (maximum rates up to 6 mm/hr water equivalent). Because atmospheric temperatures outside the surface layer are always well below 273K, supersaturation and condensation begin at low altitudes above lakes on Mars. In contrast to Earth lake-effect storms, lake storms on Mars involve continuous precipitation, and their vertical velocities and plume heights exceed those of tropical thunderstorms on Earth. Convection does not reach above the planetary boundary layer for lakes O(10^2) mbar. Instead, vapor is advected downwind with little cloud formation. Precipitation occurs as snow, and the daytime radiative forcing at the land surface due to plume vapor and storm clouds is too small to melt snow directly (<+10 W/m^2). However, if orbital conditions are favorable, then the snow may be seasonally unstable to melting and produce runoff to form channels. We calculate the probability of melting by running thermal models over all possible orbital conditions and weighting their outcomes by probabilities given by Laskar et al., 2004. We determine that for an equatorial vapor source, sunlight 15% fainter than at present, and snowpack with albedo 0.28 (0.35), melting may occur with 4%(0.1%) probability. This rises to 56%(12%) if the ancient greenhouse effect was modestly (6K) greater than today.Comment: Submitted to JGR Planet

Identifying the needs of brain tumor patients and their caregivers

The purpose of this study is to identify the needs of brain tumor patients and their caregivers to provide improved health services to these populations. Two different questionnaires were designed for patients and caregivers. Both questionnaires contained questions pertaining to three realms: disease symptoms/treatment, health care provider, daily living/finances. The caregivers’ questionnaires contained an additional domain on emotional needs. Each question was evaluated for the degree of importance and satisfaction. Exploratory analyses determined whether baseline characteristics affect responder importance or satisfaction. Also, areas of high agreement/disagreement in satisfaction between the participating patient-caregiver pairs were identified. Questions for which >50% of the patients and caregivers thought were “very important” but >30% were dissatisfied include: understanding the cause of brain tumors, dealing with patients’ lower energy, identifying healthful foods and activities for patients, telephone access to health care providers, information on medical insurance coverage, and support from their employer. In the emotional realm, caregivers identified 9 out of 10 items as important but need further improvement. Areas of high disagreement in satisfaction between participating patient-caregiver pairs include: getting help with household chores (P value = 0.006) and finding time for personal needs (P value < 0.001). This study provides insights into areas to improve services for brain tumor patients and their caregivers. The caregivers’ highest amount of burden is placed on their emotional needs, emphasizing the importance of providing appropriate medical and psychosocial support for caregivers to cope with emotional difficulties they face during the patients’ treatment process

Seasonal melting and the formation of sedimentary rocks on Mars, with predictions for the Gale Crater mound

A model for the formation and distribution of sedimentary rocks on Mars is proposed. The rate-limiting step is supply of liquid water from seasonal melting of snow or ice. The model is run for a O(10^2) mbar pure CO2 atmosphere, dusty snow, and solar luminosity reduced by 23%. For these conditions snow only melts near the equator, and only when obliquity >40 degrees, eccentricity >0.12, and perihelion occurs near equinox. These requirements for melting are satisfied by 0.01-20% of the probability distribution of Mars' past spin-orbit parameters. Total melt production is sufficient to account for aqueous alteration of the sedimentary rocks. The pattern of seasonal snowmelt is integrated over all spin-orbit parameters and compared to the observed distribution of sedimentary rocks. The global distribution of snowmelt has maxima in Valles Marineris, Meridiani Planum and Gale Crater. These correspond to maxima in the sedimentary-rock distribution. Higher pressures and especially higher temperatures lead to melting over a broader range of spin-orbit parameters. The pattern of sedimentary rocks on Mars is most consistent with a Mars paleoclimate that only rarely produced enough meltwater to precipitate aqueous cements and indurate sediment. The results suggest intermittency of snowmelt and long globally-dry intervals, unfavorable for past life on Mars. This model makes testable predictions for the Mars Science Laboratory rover at Gale Crater. Gale Crater is predicted to be a hemispheric maximum for snowmelt on Mars.Comment: Submitted to Icarus. Minor changes from submitted versio

Day differences in the cortisol awakening response predict day differences in synaptic plasticity in the brain

The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is the most prominent, dynamic and variable part of the circadian pattern of cortisol secretion. Despite this its precise purpose is unknown. Aberrant patterns of the CAR are associated with impaired physical and mental health and reduced cognitive function, suggesting that it may have a pervasive role or roles. It has been suggested that the CAR primes the brain for the expected demands of the day but the mechanisms underlying this process are unknown. We examined temporal covariation of the CAR and rapid transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)-induced long term depression (LTD)-like responses in the motor cortex. Plasticity was evaluated across 180 measures from 5 time points on 4 sessions across 9 researcher participants, mean age 25 ± 2.5 years. Plasticity estimates were obtained in the afternoon after measurement of the CAR on 4 days, at least 3 days apart. As both CAR magnitude and rTMS-induced responses are variable across days we hypothesised that days with larger than individual average CARs would be associated with a greater than individual average plasticity response. This was confirmed by mixed regression modelling where variation in the CAR predicted variation in rTMS-induced responses (Df: 1, 148.24; F: 10.41; p=0.002). As the magnitude of the CAR is regulated by the ‘master’ circadian CLOCK, and synaptic plasticity is known to be modulated by peripheral ‘slave’ CLOCK genes, we suggest that the CAR may be a mediator between the master and peripheral circadian systems to entrain daily levels of synaptic plasticity

Comparative effectiveness of asthma interventions within a practice based research network

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects more than 23 million people in the United States, including 7 million children. Asthma is a difficult to manage chronic condition associated with disparities in health outcomes, poor medical compliance, and high healthcare costs. The research network coordinating this project includes hospitals, urgent care centers, and outpatient clinics within Carolinas Healthcare System that share a common electronic medical record and billing system allowing for rapid collection of clinical and demographic data. This study investigates the impact of three interventions on clinical outcomes for patients with asthma. Interventions are: an integrated approach to care that incorporates asthma management based on the chronic care model; a shared decision making intervention for asthma patients in underserved or disadvantaged populations; and a school based care approach that examines the efficacy of school-based programs to impact asthma outcomes including effectiveness of linkages between schools and the healthcare providers.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This study will include 95 Practices, 171 schools, and over 30,000 asthmatic patients. Five groups (A-E) will be evaluated to determine the effectiveness of three interventions. Group A is the usual care control group without electronic medical record (EMR). Group B practices are a second control group that has an EMR with decision support, asthma action plans, and population reports at baseline. A time delay design during year one converts practices in Group B to group C after receiving the integrated approach to care intervention. Four practices within Group C will receive the shared decision making intervention (and become group D). Group E will receive a school based care intervention through case management within the schools. A centralized database will be created with the goal of facilitating comparative effectiveness research on asthma outcomes specifically for this study. Patient and community level analysis will include results from patient surveys, focus groups, and asthma patient density mapping. Community variables such as income and housing density will be mapped for comparison. Outcomes to be measured are reduced hospitalizations and emergency department visits; improved adherence to medication; improved quality of life; reduced school absenteeism; improved self-efficacy and improved school performance.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Identifying new mechanisms that improve the delivery of asthma care is an important step towards advancing patient outcomes, avoiding preventable Emergency Department visits and hospitalizations, while simultaneously reducing overall healthcare costs.</p