Where’s the Data? Using Data Convincingly in Transdisciplinary Doctoral Research

Aim/Purpose The aim of this paper is to identify some of the issues in writing a transdisciplinary doctoral thesis and to develop strategies for addressing them, particularly focusing on the presentation of data and data analysis. The paper, based on the authors’ own experience, offers guidance to, and invites further comment from, transdisciplinary doctoral candidates, their supervisors and their examiners, as well as the broader field of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary researchers. Background The paper uses the authors’ experience of writing four very different transdisciplinary doctoral theses to examine the diverse responses received from examiners and what this means for the thesis writing process. The theses and examiners’ reports span an array of disciplinary and transdisciplinary epistemologies, ontologies, and world views. Methodology A preliminary review of the examiners’ reports revealed a common concern with the definition of ‘data’ and with ‘data analysis’. The examiners’ reports were then more formally coded and thematized. These themes were then used to reflect critically on the four theses, within a broad interpretive framework based on the idea of writing ‘convincingly’, and in light of current literature on the meaning of ‘data’ and the idea and aims of transdisciplinarity. Contribution The paper offers specific strategies for doctoral candidates, their supervisors, and examiners in working with the burgeoning number of doctoral research projects that are now taking place in the transdisciplinary space. Findings Doctoral candidates engaged in transdisciplinary research need to define what they mean by data and make data visible in their research, be creative in their conceptions of data and in how they communicate this to examiners, specify the quality criteria against which they wish their work to be assessed and hold discussions with their supervisors about examiner appointments and briefing, and communicate to examiners the special value of transdisciplinary research and the journey on which it takes the researcher. Our conclusion connects these findings to the development of an emerging concept of transdisciplinary research writing. Recommendations for See below under ‘Recommendations for Researchers’ (For the purpose of Practitioners this paper, practitioners are the researchers). Recommendations The paper makes the following recommendations for transdisciplinary for Researchers doctoral researchers: • Make the data visible and argue for the unique or special way in which the data will be used • Make clear the quality criteria against which you expect the work to be judged • Be creative and explore the possibilities enabled by a broad interpretation of ‘data’ • Transdisciplinary research is transformative. Communicate this to your examiner. Impact on Society As more complex and ‘wicked’ problems in the world are increasingly addressed through transdisciplinary research, it is important that doctoral research in this area be encouraged, which continues to develop transdisciplinary theoretical frameworks, methodologies and applications. The strategies proposed in this paper will help to ensure the development of high quality transdisciplinary researchers and a greater understanding of the value of transdisciplinary research in the wider research community. It also draws attention to the potential benefits of similar strategies in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. Future Research Further exploration is needed of how researchers across disciplines can ‘talk’ to one another to resolve complex problems, and how the solitary transdisciplinary scholar, such as the doctoral student, can effectively communicate their research contribution to others. These issues could also be explored for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research teams

Hsc70-induced changes in clathrin-auxilin cage structure suggest a role for clathrin light chains in cage disassembly

The molecular chaperone, Hsc70, together with its co-factor, auxilin, facilitates the ATP-dependent removal of clathrin during clathrin-mediated endocytosis in cells. We have used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the 3D structure of a complex of clathrin, auxilin401-910 and Hsc70 at pH 6 in the presence of ATP, frozen within 20 seconds of adding Hsc70 in order to visualize events that follow the binding of Hsc70 to clathrin and auxilin before clathrin disassembly. In this map, we observe density beneath the vertex of the cage that we attribute to bound Hsc70. This density emerges asymmetrically from the clathrin vertex, suggesting preferential binding by Hsc70 for one of the three possible sites at the vertex. Statistical comparison with a map of whole auxilin and clathrin previously published by us reveals the location of statistically significant differences which implicate involvement of clathrin light chains in structural rearrangements which occur after Hsc70 is recruited. Clathrin disassembly assays using light scattering suggest that loss of clathrin light chains reduces the efficiency with which auxilin facilitates this reaction. These data support a regulatory role for clathrin light chains in clathrin disassembly in addition to their established role in regulating clathrin assembly

An online survey of chiropractors' opinions of continuing education

BACKGROUND: Continuing Education (CE) for chiropractors is mandatory for licensure in most North American jurisdictions. Numerous chiropractic colleges have begun collaborating with universities to offer master's degree programs. Distance education master's degree programs may be desirable to allow full-time practicing doctors to further their post-graduate education. The present survey sought to answer three questions. First, what is the level of satisfaction of chiropractors with their continuing education? Second, what is the level of interest of chiropractors in online master's degree programs? Lastly, what is the response rate of chiropractors to an online survey? METHODS: An online survey consisting of 22 multiple choice questions was e-mailed to 1000 chiropractors randomly selected from the mailing list of an online chiropractic newsletter. Upon completion of the questionnaire, participants' answers were saved on a secure site. Data analysis included evaluation of the demographic characteristics of the respondents, their opinions of and patterns of taking CE including online education, preferred learning formats, and their interest in proposed online master's degree programs. A survey response rate was determined. RESULTS: Nearly 86% of respondents felt their previously completed CE courses were either somewhat or extremely satisfactory. Over ninety percent of respondents who had completed online or distance CE coursesfound them to be somewhat or extremelysatisfactory. Almost half the respondents indicated that they most preferred online distance learning, while 34.08% most preferred face-to-face interaction. Fifty-three percent of respondents indicated an interest in starting a master's degree program; however 70.46% of respondents were interested in an online master's degree program that would offer CE credit. A response rate of 35.8% was obtained. CONCLUSION: Satisfaction among chiropractors with CE programs is high. The notion of completing a part-time online master's degree (or online combined with face-to-face interaction) appears to be popular among respondents, with a M.Sc. in Chiropractic Sciences being the most popular of those mentioned. Online surveys are a viable method of obtaining opinion in a cost and time efficient manner; there are some sources of bias involved in this type of research, and numerous steps need to be taken to obtain a suitable response rate

Global trends and patterns of commercial milk-based formula sales:is an unprecedented infant and young child feeding transition underway?

OBJECTIVE: The marketing of infant/child milk-based formulas (MF) contributes to suboptimal breast-feeding and adversely affects child and maternal health outcomes globally. However, little is known about recent changes in MF markets. The present study describes contemporary trends and patterns of MF sales at the global, regional and country levels. DESIGN: Descriptive statistics of trends and patterns in MF sales volume per infant/child for the years 2008-2013 and projections to 2018, using industry-sourced data. SETTING: Eighty countries categorized by country income bracket, for developing countries by region, and in countries with the largest infant/child populations. SUBJECTS: MF categories included total (for ages 0-36 months), infant (0-6 months), follow-up (7-12 months), toddler (13-36 months) and special (0-6 months). RESULTS: In 2008-2013 world total MF sales grew by 40·8 % from 5·5 to 7·8 kg per infant/child/year, a figure predicted to increase to 10·8 kg by 2018. Growth was most rapid in East Asia particularly in China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam and was led by the infant and follow-up formula categories. Sales volume per infant/child was positively associated with country income level although with wide variability between countries. CONCLUSIONS: A global infant and young child feeding (IYCF) transition towards diets higher in MF is underway and is expected to continue apace. The observed increase in MF sales raises serious concern for global child and maternal health, particularly in East Asia, and calls into question the efficacy of current regulatory regimes designed to protect and promote optimal IYCF. The observed changes have not been captured by existing IYCF monitoring systems

Severe postpartum disruption of the pelvic ring: report of two cases and review of the literature

Pelvic dislocations are rare during labor, and the treatment is controversial. We report two cases of young women who sustained postpartum disruption of the pelvic ring: one case is an 8.8 cm wide separation of the pubic symphysis with sacroiliac joint disruption underwent surgical stabilization and the second case with 4.0 cm disruption being treated non-operatively. These cases illustrated of importance of accurate diagnosis, careful physical exam, fully informed consent and specific treatment for this condition

Exile Vol. XXXIII No. 2

POETRY Seams by Jennie Dawes 7 The Milky Blue Water by Mark Livengood 8-9 Patchwork by Mark Livengood 10 Belle Epoque by Karen J. Hall 21 Ballad by Zachary Smith 22-23 My Grandmother\u27s House by Karen J. Hall 24 Ghost by Jennie Dawes 27 What\u27s for Dessert? by Jennifer H. Miller 28 Dreams by Kent Lambert 31 Postmarked Fort Hill by Jennifer H. Miller 32 FICTION A Fostoria Tale by Debra Benko 13-18 The Pile by Jeff Montgomery 35-40 ARTWORK untitled by Lauren Kronish (cover) Standing by Heidi Rubin 3 Home, Part I by Heidi Rubin 4 Untitled by Dan Kirk 19 Infra-red (untitled) by Woody Woodroof 26 Florence, Italy (untitled) by Eliza Brown 29 Mwanafunzi by David Bloch 33 Joshua Tree by Susan McLain 41 CONTRIBUTOR\u27S NOTES 43 Editors share equally all editorial decisions. -2 NOTE: the artwork Home, Part I by Heidi Rubin does not appear to have been published, although it is listed in the table of contents for this issue and so is included here

Novel Methods for Ranking District Metered Areas for Water Distribution Network Maintenance Scheduling

Computing and Control for the Water Industry conference 2011 (CCWI 2011), University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, 5 - 7 September 2011To prevent the accumulation of material in pipes which leads to the potential for discolouration events to occur, UK water companies often operate five year cleaning schedules. To organise the schedule District Metered Areas (DMAs), the case study water company assigns a score based on several key performance indicators and water quality levels, which are used to place each DMA into one of three categories: good, poor and urgent. This paper investigates alternative methods of ranking DMAs in order to generate better maintenance schedules. We demonstrate how DMAs can be both partially and totally ordered with methods from multi-objective optimisation, and show how it is possible to prioritise and progressively apply Discolouration Propensity Modelling (DPM) to help guide interventions in the most effective and efficient way. Results obtained from sample DMAs show a good correlation between the DPM scores and the rankings produced by the multiobjective methods. We apply both methods to water networks from a UK water company and demonstrate that used in combination the power index and DPM, have advantages over the current ranking method

Advanced Fuel Cycle Economic Sensitivity Analysis

A fuel cycle economic analysis was performed on four fuel cycles to provide a baseline for initial cost comparison using the Gen IV Economic Modeling Work Group G4 ECON spreadsheet model, Decision Programming Language software, the 2006 Advanced Fuel Cycle Cost Basis report, industry cost data, international papers, the nuclear power related cost study from MIT, Harvard, and the University of Chicago. The analysis developed and compared the fuel cycle cost component of the total cost of energy for a wide range of fuel cycles including: once through, thermal with fast recycle, continuous fast recycle, and thermal recycle