Don\u27t Argue with the Members

Mel Pollner regularly cautioned researchers not to argue with the members of settings under consideration. He warned against substituting the researcher’s meaning for the meanings of those being studied. This article discusses facets of the caution as they relate to the research process. Seemingly simple, the tenet is nuanced in application. The article adds to the nuance by distinguishing what is called the “replacement” of meaning with the “displacement” of meaning, providing a way of understanding what members could mean if the contexts and settings of their accounts were taken into consideration

Theoretical Validity and Empirical Utility of a Constructionist Analytics

Wing-Chung Ho offers an extensive critique of what he calls our “radical constructionist approach to family experience,” questioning the theoretical validity and empirical utility of the research program. This article responds to the charges in the broader context of the program\u27s constructionist analytics, discussing family\u27s experiential location, organizational embeddedness, and the importance of ethnographic sensibility. A brief extract of situated talk and interaction is presented to illustrate the discursive complexity and institutional bearings of family as a category of experience. The conclusion takes up the issue of whether the program is radical in conceptualization and empirical realization

Animating Interview Narratives

This chapter discusses the implications of viewing the interview as an actively constructed conversation through which narrative data are produced. It explores the ramifications of framing the interview and resulting data as by-products of interpretive practice - the whats and hows of an animated process involving active subjects behind interview participants. Matters of reliability, validity, bias, and rigor are considered

Application of Species Distribution Modeling for Avian Influenza surveillance in the United States considering the North America Migratory Flyways.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has recently (2014-2015) re-emerged in the United States (US) causing the largest outbreak in US history with 232 outbreaks and an estimated economic impact of $950 million. This study proposes to use suitability maps for Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) to identify areas at high risk for HPAI outbreaks. LPAI suitability maps were based on wild bird demographics, LPAI surveillance, and poultry density in combination with environmental, climatic, and socio-economic risk factors. Species distribution modeling was used to produce high-resolution (cell size: 500m x 500m) maps for Avian Influenza (AI) suitability in each of the four North American migratory flyways (NAMF). Results reveal that AI suitability is heterogeneously distributed throughout the US with higher suitability in specific zones of the Midwest and coastal areas. The resultant suitability maps adequately predicted most of the HPAI outbreak areas during the 2014-2015 epidemic in the US (i.e. 89% of HPAI outbreaks were located in areas identified as highly suitable for LPAI). Results are potentially useful for poultry producers and stakeholders in designing risk-based surveillance, outreach and intervention strategies to better prevent and control future HPAI outbreaks in the US

The census of complex organic molecules in the solar type protostar IRAS16293-2422

Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) are considered crucial molecules, since they are connected with organic chemistry, at the basis of the terrestrial life. More pragmatically, they are molecules in principle difficult to synthetize in the harsh interstellar environments and, therefore, a crucial test for astrochemical models. Current models assume that several COMs are synthesised on the lukewarm grain surfaces ($\gtrsim$30-40 K), and released in the gas phase at dust temperatures $\gtrsim$100 K. However, recent detections of COMs in $\lesssim$20 K gas demonstrate that we still need important pieces to complete the puzzle of the COMs formation. We present here a complete census of the oxygen and nitrogen bearing COMs, previously detected in different ISM regions, towards the solar type protostar IRAS16293-2422. The census was obtained from the millimeter-submillimeter unbiased spectral survey TIMASSS. Six COMs, out of the 29 searched for, were detected: methyl cyanide, ketene, acetaldehyde, formamide, dimethyl ether, and methyl formate. The multifrequency analysis of the last five COMs provides clear evidence that they are present in the cold ($\lesssim$30 K) envelope of IRAS16293-2422, with abundances 0.03-2 $\times 10^{-10}$. Our data do not allow to support the hypothesis that the COMs abundance increases with increasing dust temperature in the cold envelope, as expected if COMs were predominately formed on the lukewarm grain surfaces. Finally, when considering also other ISM sources, we find a strong correlation over five orders of magnitude, between the methyl formate and dimethyl ether and methyl formate and formamide abundances, which may point to a link between these two couples of species, in cold and warm gas

Economic Level Of Real Water Losses In Water Distribution System Using Minimum Night Flow Statistical Model

Minimum night flow (MNF) is a common method used to evaluate water loss in a water network. In 2011, the average percentage of non-revenue water (NRW) for the state of Perak in Malaysia was 30.4 %, a figure which resulted in major financial, supply, and pressure losses, as well as excessive energy consumption. In this study, the appropriate time band of MNF and the actual water loss or amount of NRW for the district of Kinta in Perak, Malaysia were investigated. Flow and pressure for 361 zones were monitored for 24 h by the Perak Water Board (Lembaga Air Perak, LAP) using PrimeWorks software (version: 1.5.57.0). Ninety study zones were randomly selected from 361 zones. The 90 study zones were divided into three groups, with each group having 30 zones. Data on the minimum value of flow in 2010 were screened within the time band of 1:00 am to 5:00 am. The frequency of MNF occurrences was analysed every 15 minutes. Results of the study revealed that the majority (85%) of MNF frequencies in the 90 study areas were found at the time band 2:30 am to 4:30 am, whereas 95% of the frequencies were at time band 1:45 am to 4:45 am; therefore, the mean MNF for each zone in 2010 was determined to be between 1:00 am and 5:00 am. Furthermore, a statistical analysis of the characteristic of water distribution network and a modelling of MNF were carried out to estimate water loss in Kinta District, Perak. Factors for physical, hydraulic, and operational variables were selected and correlated with MNF (L/s)