Using someone else’s data: problems, pragmatics and provisions

In the current climate of requirements for ethical research, qualitative research data is often archived at the end of each unique research project. Yet qualitative data is capable of being revisited from multiple perspectives, and used to answer different research questions to those envisaged by the original data collector. Using other people’s data saves time, avoids unnecessarily burdening your research participants, and adds confidence in interpreting your own data. This paper is a case of how data from one research project was acquired and then analysed to ground the analysis of a separate project using Distributed Cognition (Dcog) theory and its associated methodology, cognitive ethnography. Theoretical considerations were the benefits and difficulties of using multiple sources and types of data in creating a theoretical account of the observed situation. Methodological issues included how to use (and not misuse) other people’s data and coherently integrate data collected over time and for different purposes. Current ethics guidelines come from a paradigm of control suited to experimental, quantitative research approaches. A new paradigm that recognises researchers’ inherent lack of control over qualitative research contexts needs to be developed. This research demonstrates the benefits of designing an ethics application to provide for data reuse and giving participants choice over the level of protection they require

Is Hypothermia Therapy An Effective Treatment In Improving Survival Rates In Pediatrics Patients That Have Suspected Brain Injuries?

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not therapeutic hypothermia is an effective treatment in improving survival rates in pediatric patients that have suspected brain injuries. Study Design: Two randomized control trials and one cohort analysis published in 2015 to 2016 were selected based on their relevance to the clinical question. Data Sources: Studies were obtained by searching PubMed, OVID, Medline databases. All articles were published in English and peer viewed journals. Outcome Measured: The outcome measured was survival rates at 12-month post injury compared between the groups that received therapeutic hypothermia or normotherapy in pediatric patients. Results: All three studies reviewed did not find a statistically significant improvement in survival rates at 12 months with the use of therapeutic hypothermia in pediatric patients with brain injuries. There was a variation between studies on therapeutic hypothermia technique and duration utilized, injury to treatment times, as well as type of brain injury sustained. Conclusions: The results of the systematic review of the three studies showed that therapeutic hypothermia does not improve survival rates at the 12-month mark following an acute brain injury in pediatric patients at this time. However, it should be stated that further investigation in the subject matter should include similar hypothermia therapy techniques, faster injury to treatment times, and larger sample sizes

Interannual variability of the stratospheric wave driving during northern winter

The strength of the stratospheric wave driving during northern winter is often quantified by the January–February mean poleward eddy heat flux at 100 hPa, averaged over 40°–80° N (or a similar area and period). Despite the dynamical and chemical relevance of the wave driving, the causes for its variability are still not well understood. In this study, ERA-40 reanalysis data for the period 1979–2002 are used to examine several factors that significantly affect the interannual variability of the wave driving. The total poleward heat flux at 100 hPa is poorly correlated with that in the troposphere, suggesting a decoupling between 100 hPa and the troposphere. However, the individual zonal wave-1 and wave-2 contributions to the wave driving at 100 hPa do exhibit a significant coupling with the troposphere, predominantly their stationary components. The stationary wave-1 contribution to the total wave driving significantly depends on the latitude of the stationary wave-1 source in the troposphere. The results suggest that this dependence is associated with the varying ability of stationary wave-1 activity to enter the tropospheric waveguide at mid-latitudes. The wave driving anomalies are separated into three parts: one part due to anomalies in the zonal correlation coefficient between the eddy temperature and eddy meridional wind, another part due to anomalies in the zonal eddy temperature amplitude, and a third part due to anomalies in the zonal eddy meridional wind amplitude. It is found that year-to-year variability in the zonal correlation coefficient between the eddy temperature and the eddy meridional wind is the most dominant factor in explaining the year-to-year variability of the poleward eddy heat flux

Global ozone forecasting based on ERS-2 GOME observations

International audienceThe availability of near-real time ozone observations from satellite instruments has recently initiated the development of ozone data assimilation systems. In this paper we present the results of an ozone assimilation and forecasting system, in use since Autumn 2000. The forecasts are produced by an ozone transport and chemistry model, driven by the operational medium range forecasts of ECMWF. The forecasts are initialised with realistic ozone distributions, obtained by the assimilation of near-real time total column observations of the GOME spectrometer on ERS-2. The forecast error diagnostics demonstrate that the system produces meaningful total ozone forecasts for up to 6 days in the extratropics. In the tropics meaningful forecasts of the small anomalies are restricted to shorter periods of about two days with the present model setup. It is demonstrated that important events, such as the breakup of the South Pole ozone hole and mini-hole events above Europe can be successfully predicted 4--5 days in advance