Tumblr for week of 2008mar15

• [bird flu, public inv] KLTV8 wins national award for bird flu program
  KLTV8, the city of Lakewood’s cable station, and its partners have been honored with a 2008 Bronze Telly Award for the educational program Bird Flu: … http://denver.yourhub.com/Lakewood/Stories/Milestones/Awards/Story~442044.aspx We could use a multimedia campaign regionally. Risk communication…
• [math] 3.14 and the rest
  jc saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you should see it. ** Message ** For me, chocolat pi ** 3.14 and the rest ** It’s Pi Day, a celebration of the mathematical ratio man has been trying to unlock for millennia. But why are we driven?…
• [bird flu] Kia ora, godwits are getting ready
  Godwits have Alaska in sights. PhysOrg web site , which covers all manner of science subjects, has a story on the godwits of Miranda, New Zealand…. Researchers have outfitted nine of them with transmitters… The first of the birds are expected to leave sometime this month. …They will…
• [Envt, water] Clean-up for Fiji
  http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=83520 Clean-up for group FOR the residents of Tavua Village in the Mamanuca group of islands, keeping the foreshore and waters clean is an important part of their lives, says turaga ni koro (village headman) Viliame Tuivunilagi. … He said a week-long clean-up…
• [bird flu] Children’s development affected by bird flu
  04 Mar 2008 Physical and intellectual development of children could be affected due to less intake of protein as many families have stopped eating chicken and eggs because of bird flu fears. As eggs and chicken meat are an affordable source of protein, many middle and lower income group families…
• [climate] Federal statistics track snowfall in Alaska
  http://aprn.org/2008/03/11/federal-statistics-track-snowfall-in-alaska/ >Federal statistics track snowfall in Alaska It’s been a winter of extremes when it comes to snowfall across much of the state. In general, Southeast Alaska is well above average while the Interior is having an especially…
• [water] Unsafe water may have sickened troops in Iraq
  DHCC Deployment Health News >Unsafe water may have sickened troops in Iraq Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using “unmonitored and potentially unsafe” water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney’s former company, the Pentagon’s…
• [health, sanitation] RSV in Young Adults Undergoing Military Training
  Introduction Military recruits receiving training have, historically, been vulnerable to acute respiratory disease (ARD), their increased susceptibility being attributed to demanding physical training schedules and crowded habitation. Adenoviruses, influenza A and B viruses, Streptococcus…
• [preparedness] Gila River Tribe, state form emergency commission
  http://www.indianz.com/News/2008/007523.asp Gila River Tribe, state form emergency commission The Gila River Indian Community and the state of Arizona have created what is being billed as the first tribal-state emergency response commission in the nation. The tribe and the state will share…

Digest: Tumblr 2008mar09

These digests are described here, Briefs 5a, now Tumblrd

• [preparedness, accessibility] Horseradish smell fire-alarm for waking up deaf people
  • http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/09/horseradish-smell-fi.html Horseradish smell fire-alarm for waking up deaf people Nelson sez, “Japanese researchers have developed a fire alarm that sprays the aroma of horseradish instead of ringing an alarm. It was effective in waking 13 out of fourteen test…
• [heritage] ConsDistList Training for Audiovisual Preservation
  • Date: 6 Mar 2008 From: Yola de Lusenet Subject: New site—Digitization workflow for audio tape Training for Audiovisual Preservation in Europe (TAPE) http://www.tape-online.net has published web-based guidelines for digitisation. They describe the digitisation workflow for analogue open reel tapes…
• [sciencing] Health Literacy News
  • http://nnlm.gov/mcr/bhic/?p=2746 Health Literacy News “In Other Words…Helping Patients Separate True Health Information From False.” It’s common for people to recall false information as true. For people to remember information accurately, they need to recall both the “claim” ­ the core piece…
• [health] AK Epidemiology Bulletins – lead
  • The latest Section of Epidemiology Bulletin, Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance Non-Occupational Exposures in Adults and Children — Alaska, 1995-2006 March 7, 2008 is now available. The document is attached to this email. You will also find below a link to the document, which has been posted…
• [history, AI/AN, update] The Native Perspective on the Year 1848
  • Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 16:08:02 -0500 From: “Seneca, Dean (ATSDR/DHAC/EISAB)” zkg8 AT CDC DOT GOV Subject: [NRN] The Native Perspective on the Year 1848 Hello colleagues and friends, I hope your doing well this Friday afternoon. I am conducting a presentation at this years Annual American Public…
• [water] Abenaki Associates set to Unveil Safe Water Software at Symposium This Month
  • http://www.nationtalk.ca/modules/news/article.php?storyid=7148 Abenaki Associates set to Unveil Safe Water Software at Symposium This Month For Immediate Release: Eel Ground First Nation, NB March 04, 2008 – In response to growing concerns over safe water in Aboriginal communities, Abenaki…
• [ENVT, SCIENCE, POLICE, GARBAGE]
  • US diplomats ‘should pay more attention to science’ http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=4270&language=1 An advisory panel has recommended that the US State Department prioritises science and technology and improves its scientific literacy. SciDev.Net Weekly…
• [BIRD FLU] CITETRACK ALERT H5N1 ALASKA (IN J. CLIN. MICROBIOL.)
  • Your Science CiteTrack Alert has found 1 article matching your criteria in J. Clin. Microbiol.. Below are results 1 to 1. Alert Criteria Anywhere in Article: H5N1 bird Alaska flu Realtime RT-PCR Assay Unable to Detect H7 Subtype Avian Influenza Viruses Isolated from Wild Birds Zheng Xing, Carol…
• [rural development] Rural Alaska entrepreneurship success possible
  • http://aprn.org/2008/03/05/rural-alaska-entrepreneurship-success-possible-but-elusive/ >Rural Alaska entrepreneurship success possible, but elusive A new report maintains that while starting a business in bush Alaska is very difficult, it is possible to be successful. That is, provided certain…
• [envt change] AK climate change sub-cabinet meeting
  • March 13, 2008 Anchorage Public meeting will be held by the GOVERNORS SUB-CABINET ON CLIMATE from Noon until 5pm in Room 240, Atwood Building. Public comments will start at 2:15. To sign up in advance, contact Kolena Momberger at 907-269-7634 or email kolena.momberger AT alaska DOT gov. For the…
• [envt change] IPY Conference Announcement – Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science
  • To: “ArcticInfo” list.arcus.orgSubject: IPY Conference Announcement – Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in ScienceConference Announcement > International Polar Year: Global Change in Our Communities >Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science…
• [Bird flu] PALMER – THE BIRD FLU AND YOU
  • March 9, 2008 PALMER – THE BIRD FLU AND YOU will be presented from 2 to 3:30pm at Spring Creek Farm. What do Ducks, Geese, Indonesia, the Palmer Hay Flats and Chickens have in Common? Come learn about flu viruses and how they are affecting birds and people around the world, including Alaska. This…
• [Envt change] Climate, Language and Indigenous Perspectives
  • Workshop Announcement Climate, Language and Indigenous Perspectives 13-15 August 2008 Alaska Native Language Center University of Alaska Fairbanks Abstract Deadline: Saturday, 15 March 2008 For further information, please contact: Olga Lovick E-mail: Olga @ lithophile com Phone 907-474-5591
• [health, preparedness] Flu immunizations for children will pose big challenge
  • We have enough trouble get vaccines out here, even for elders. >CIDRAP News Headlines, Wednesday, March 5, 2008 > http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/general/news/mar0508fluvax.html Flu >immunizations for children will pose big challenge >Starting next fall, how will the…

Readings for analysis and interpretation, sciencing

I acquired the original set of readings through recommendations from my Oxford tutor. I added others from my own experience, especially browsing authentic bookstores and open stack libraries. I combined them into a set for teaching a university course in statistical methods– Readings for quantitative analysis and interpretation in biocultural science, human biology, anthropology

The course was an empirical introduction to analytical approaches to anthropological data. Basically, I wanted real-world approaches to learn critical thinking– sciencing. The course was designed for students without a strong numerical or an introductory statistics background. The daily newspaper was itself a source for analysis and discussion.

I also had a set of cartoons to illustrate statistical concepts, such as Sid Harris, Probability: if you have 5 dogs, 3 will be asleep

There may be more recent texts to base a course upon, however, almost nothing supersedes the classics. I think it’s Ingle (or Bevridge) that always has me laughing out loud.

Related previous posts are

• Sciencing resources
• Public involvement how-to readings
• On the Nature of Quantitative Analysis
• ** Getting Results from Your Experts complementary readings
• Science is a human activity

Proximate goals were:

• read the newspaper correctly.
• understand the basis of readings assigned in university anthropology courses and in research.
• ask anthropological questions of a statistician.
• communicate to others what you’ve learned, in words and pictures, using computer assistance.

We began with:

• What are facts and figures? and
• learn descriptive, inferential, and exploratory analysis of ‘data’.

In the process, we examined:

• why anthropologists would want to display, test, qualify, and quantify ideas and

• the ethics of generating, presenting, and using facts.

Aitchison, J. & JAC Brown 1966 (or 1963) The Lognormal Distribution. Cambridge UP.

Ahlgren, Andrew and Peter C. Jurs. 1986 Multivariate Analysis. (letters) Science Pattern recognition used to investigate multivariate data in analytical chemistry. Science 6 June 1986 232: 1219-1224 [DOI: 10.1126/science.3704647] (in Articles),

see also, Smith, AB, 3rd, AM Belcher, G Epple, PC Jurs, and B Lavine. Computerized pattern recognition: a new technique for the analysis of chemical communication. Science 12 April 1985 228: 175-177 [DOI: 10.1126/science.3975636] (in Articles)

Ayers, AJ 1965 Chance. Scientific American 213:44-54.

Beveridge, W.I.B. 1957 The Art of Scientific Investigation. Rev ed. NY: WW Norton. NY: Random House Trade Paperbacks. # ISBN-10: 0393062872, # ISBN-13: 978-0393062878

Book Description: In The Art of Scientific Investigation, originally published in 1950, W.I.B. Beveridge explores the development of the intuitive side in scientists. The author’s object is to show how the minds of humans can best be harnessed to the processes of scientific discovery. This book therefore centers on the “human factor”; the individual scientist. The book reveals the basic principles and mental techniques that are common to most types of investigation. Professor Beveridge discusses great discoveries and quotes the experiences of numerous scientists. “The virtue of Mr. Beveridge’s book is that it is not dogmatic. A free and universal mind looks at scientific investigation as a creative art. . . .” The New York Times

Burns, D.W., M.L. Parsons, L.L. Herbaugh, and R.T. Staten. 1985 The Migrating Weevil: A Challenge for ICP-AES and Chemometrics. Anal. Chem. 57:1048-1052.

Campbell, RC 1974 Statistics for Biologists. 2nd ed. Cambridge UP. ISBN 0-521-09836-x 2

Carroll, Lewis Alice’s Adventures, both volumes and the The Hunting of the Snark, an Agony in Eight Fits

Chakraborty, Ranajit, Kenneth M. Weiss, and William J. Schull. 1980 A Test for Randomness of the Occurrence of a Disease Trait in Familial or Other Similar Ordered Sequences of Epidemiological Data. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 77:2974-2978.

Chamberlin, T. C. (Thomas Crowder) 1890 The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses: With this method the dangers of parental affection for a favorite theory can be circumvented. Science (old series) v15 p92. Reprinted, Science 7 May 1965: 754-759. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/148/3671/754.pdf

http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/chamberlin.html
T. C. Chamberlin’s Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses: An encapsulation for modern students, by L. Bruce Railsback http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/railsback_chamberlin.html

Chamberlin, writing near the turn of the nineteenth century, advises naturalists to invent and/or test several testable hypotheses for each question that they investigate. This method helps avoid the usual “parental affection” theorists develop when testing only one idea at a time. Moreover, he suggests, a good interpretation of a complex phenomenon may result in the retention of more than one hypothesis. For example, the formation of the Great Lakes probably resulted from a combination of preglacial stream erosion, glacial ice erosion, and crustal deformation, not any one of these processes alone. The advantages of the multiple-working-hypothesis method include increased objectivity, flexibility in response, and improved ability to recognize one’s own errors and ignorance. Drawbacks of the method are difficulty in explanation (there’s so much more to explain) and an increased delay in settling on and reporting findings. It was reprinted in Science in 1965 (v. 148, p. 754-759) and this version includes a bibliographical note that clears up the publication dates and versions. The Related Website http://serc.carleton.edu/resources/1192.html links to an online version of the paper.

Cleveland, William S., Persi Diaconis, Robert McGill. 1982 Variables on Scatterplots Look More Highly Correlated when the Scales Are Increased. Science 216:1138-1141.

Conover, WJ 1980 Practical Nonparametric Statistics. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-02867-3

Croney, J.E. 1977 An Anthropometric Study of Young Women Fashion Students Including a Factor Analysis of Body Measurements. Man 12:484-496.

DeLuca, Stephan J., Kent J. Voorhees, and Emory W. Sarver. 1986 Pyrolysis– Mass Spectrometry Methodology Applied to Southeast Asian Environmental Samples for Differentiating Digested and Undigested Pollens. Analytical Chemistry 58:2439-2442.

Fields, Lawrence D. and Stephen J. Hawkes. 1986 Data Compression Technique for Tables of Measurements. Analytical Chemistry 58:1593-1595.

Hayslett, HT, Jr 1968 Statistics Made Simple. Doubleday.

Hodges, JL Jr., David Krech, Richard S. Crutchfield 1975 StatLab: An Empirical Introduction to Statistics. NY McGraw-Hill. ISBN0-07-029134-9 [text for class]

Hogben, Lancelot 1937 Mathematics, the Mirror of Civilization. Mathematics for the Million. NY: WW Norton & Co., Inc. In Shapley, Rapport, & Wright 1954:141-152.

Holman, HH 1969 Biological Research Method: Practical Statistics for Non-Mathematicians. 2nd ed. Hafner Pub Co (NY) (Oliver & Boyd in UK).

Huck, Schuyler W. & Howard M. Sandler. 1979 Rival Hypotheses. Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06042975-5

Huff, Darrell 1954 How to Lie with Statistics. WW Norton.

Huxley, TH 1863 We Are All Scientists. Darwiniana. D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc. In Harlow Shapley, Samuel Rapport, and Helen Wright, eds. 1954 A Treasury of Science. 3rd rev. ed. London: Angus & Robertson. pp. 14-19.

Ingle, Dwight J. 1958 Principles of Research in Biology and Medicine. JB Lippincott Co.

Landes, Kenneth K. 1951 Scrutiny of the Abstract. AAPG Bull., Vol. 35, No. 7 (July 1951), 1660 and then in Geophysics, Vol. 17, No. 3 (July 1952), 645.

http://sepwww.stanford.edu/sep/prof/abscrut.html

Levi, Primo 1984 The Periodic Table. NY: Schocken Books. ISBN 0-8052-3929-4

Lie, Rolf W. 1980 Minimum Number of Individuals from Osteological Samples. Norw. Arch. Rev. 13:24-30.

McCain, Garvin and Erwin M. Segal 1969 The Game of Science. Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole Pub Co.

Miller, M. Clinton, III ed. 1978 Mainland’s Elementary Medical Statistics. (1963 by Donald Mainland). Biometry Imprint Series, vol. 3. Biometry Imprint Series Press. Distributed by University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, MI. ISBN- 0-8357-0349-5

Moroney, M.J. 1956 Facts from Figures. Penguin Books. 3rd and rev ed.

Pelto, Pertti J. and Gretel H. Pelto 1978 Anthropological Research: the Structure of Inquiry. 2nd ed. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.

Pirsig, Robert M. 1974 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Bantam Books.

Platt, John R. 1964 Strong Inference: Certain systematic methods of scientific thinking may produce much more rapid progress than others. Science. 16 October 1964 Volume 146, Number 3642 (146): 347-353.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/146/3642/347.pdf

Shapley, Harlow, Samuel Rapport, and Helen Wright, eds. 1954 A Treasury of Science. 3rd rev. ed. London: Angus & Robertson.

Siegel, Sidney 1956 Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 07-057348-4

Snedecor, George W. & William G. Cochran 1967 Statistical Methods. 6th ed. Ames: Iowa State U Press. ISBN 0-8138-1560-6 [This is a statistics classic but based on agronomy experiments, which I didn't find as useful to me as the medical or human ecology examples.]

Sokal, Robert & F. James Rohlf 1981 Biometry. 2nd ed. WH Freeman & Co. San Francisco. ISBN 0-7167-1254-7

Stewart, Ian. 1986 Meaning from Numbers. Nature 324:519-520.

Tanur, Judith M & Mosteller, Kruskal, Link, Pieters, Rising, & Lehman. 1978 Statistics: A Guide to the Unknown. San Francisco Holden-Day, Inc. 2nd ed. ISBN 0-8162-8605-1. [Evidently, also guides to Biological & Sciences and to Political & Social Issues]

Thomas, David Hurst 1986 Refiguring Anthropology: First Principles of Probability & Statistics Boulder: Waveland Press, ISBN: 0881332232

Tufte, Edward R. 1970. The quantitative analysis of social problems. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. OCLC: 106681
Tufte, Edward R. 1983. The visual display of quantitative information. Cheshire, Conn. (Box 430, Cheshire 06410): Graphics Press.
Tufte, Edward R. 1990. Envisioning information. Cheshire, Conn: Graphics Press. ISBN: 0961392118 9780961392116,  OCLC: 82873701
Tufte, Edward R. 1997. Visual explanations: images and quantities, evidence and narrative. Cheshire, Conn: Graphics Press. ISBN: 0961392126 9780961392123, OCLC: 83346412 http://www.edwardtufte.com/

Add to Bookmarks:

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Site Search Tags: bibliography, biocultural, books, community based research, community involvement, critical thinking, grassroots science, scientific measures, planning, public involvement, readings, research, resources, risk, science, statistics, traditional knowledge, two cultures, meaning, information, data, graphic display, quantitative+analysis, qualitative+analysis, QA/QC

Sources of indigenous peoples info from Librarians’ Internet Index

LII is such a great resource, available through RSS feed.

Librarians’ Internet Index: New This Week New and newly-discovered Web sites for librarians and everyone else, updated every Thursday morning. See more resources on our site

• http://lii.org/

• CBC News In Depth: Aboriginal Canadians
• News and feature stories about Canada’s aboriginal population of Indians, Métis, and Inuit, which “is about 1.5 million people, spanning the nation and bordering three oceans.” Topics include aboriginal history, land claims, leaders, residential schools, aboriginal people and the Canadian military, and more. Includes a FAQ on aboriginal Canadians, photos, and statistics. From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/aboriginals/

• Australian Indigenous People Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Inhabitants of Australia Extensive collection of links to websites related to indigenous populations in Australia. Topics include biographies, art and artists, writers, community leaders, music, politicians, athletes, culture, history, language, reconciliation, land rights, sacred sites, and more. From the P.L. Duffy Resource Centre, Trinity College, Western Australia. http://www.trinity.wa.edu.au/plduffyrc/indig/

• Indigenous Australia
  “This site explores Indigenous Australia through storytelling, cultures and histories. … You can also use this site to find out about the Indigenous Australia exhibition at the Australian Museum.” Features timelines, audio and video clips of stories from the cultures of indigenous Australians, a virtual tour of the museum exhibit (may not work in all browsers), and essays about cultural heritage, spirituality, family, land, and social justice. From the Australian Museum. http://www.dreamtime.net.au/

Add to Bookmarks:

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Site Search Tags: aboriginal, Canada, Australia, First+Nations, librarian, LII.org

Bring health info to communities

The library at the University of Utah has a valuable service in a web log (blog) format. The format is especially good at providing links to information resources quickly with a minimum of Internet fuss (suitable for rural and remote dial-up) and available through feeds.

An easily accessible format won’t be too useful were it not for the knowledgeable person selecting the resources to provide, Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, Community Outreach Liaison.

She has a series of entries linking to resources for health literacy, which is a critical topic.

This blog focuses on health information issues related to the community, especially underserved communities.

• http://library.med.utah.edu/blogs/BHIC/

• Syndicate this site (XML) feeds
  http://library.med.utah.edu/blogs/BHIC/index.rdf

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Site Search Tags: BHIC, health+literacy, library

Public involvement how-to readings

I don’t use the term “stakeholders” because of my experience with the US Department of Energy. Too often when an institution or agency speaks about “stakeholders” they mean they hold the stake while the community gets stucked.

I am after community or public collaboration through public involvement (or community-involvement. [The latest term is CPBR Community-based Participatory Research or CBR].

I put this list together at the other site, | Getting Results from Your Experts |. It is a listing of references I recommend to communities and other professionals concerned with public involvement. This isn’t a comprehensive (nor especially up to date) listing of references but includes books and websites I have found to be especially useful for myself and others. Books are listed first, then websites. The Internet sites also have training available. The FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) course is very good.

Public involvement, as a public governance process, has evolved within the highway and risk (environmental health) contexts especially as a requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). However, much of the fundamental research developed within applied anthropology, usually within a health, appropriate technology, or nutrition context. “Expert systems” and now “accessibility” re: WWW sites, are other areas to look to for additional information.

I’ve put asterisks next to names in the risk communication field who will have other articles and books. The titles in BOLD are especially useful to communities.

Add to Bookmarks:

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Site Search Tags: community-based, community+involvement, applied+anthropology, environment, readings, NEPA, FHWA, expert, stakeholder, CPBR, risk, HazCom