A researcher's dilemma- philosphical and methodological pluralism

In many research textbooks the distinction between qualitative and quantitative research is inadvertently linked with philosophical perspectives. This in essence creates a mutually exclusive relationship between method and philosophy. Initially researchers are led to believe, from these textbooks, that research is neatly divided into mutually exclusive categories, these being quantitative and qualitative research and ‘never the twain shall meet’. This divide is further strengthened with the inference that the relationship extends further; associating deduction with quantitative methods and similarly induction with qualitative methods. What happens in most texts is that qualitative research methods and quantitative research methods are set against each other as polar opposites (Crotty 1998, p19). This paper argues that methodological pluralism is acceptable but what is not acceptable is philosophical pluralism. By naively linking methods and approaches to specific philosophy researchers and students may miss out on potentially innovative or creative data collection methods. Alternatively and more importantly by feeling tied or constrained by their philosophical stance to particular methods and approaches, associated with them by textbooks, they may in fact reduce the credibility, validity, and or significance of the research. There maybe an elective affinity between certain philosophies and methods but this should not necessarily constrain the methods chosen

Quantitative sensitivity analysis of surface attached optical fiber strain sensor

Optical fiber strain sensors, in particular, the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) type, are widely applied in different applications. The most common installation method is surface-attached. In principle, the optical fiber strain sensor with adequate sampling and signal processing techniques is usually more accurate than electrical resistive strain gauge. However, the strain of the surface of structure may not transfer to the sensing element perfectly. The ratio between the measured and actual strain can be correlated by a strain transfer factor (STF). However, it depends on the material and geometrical properties of the optical fiber and adhesive. It is noneconomical and impractical to measure the STF for every installed sensor. It is desirable to identify the most of the sensitive parameters on the variation of the STF so that the quality control and assurance procedure can be performed more efficiently. In this paper, a quantitative global sensitivity analysis, called extended Fourier amplitude sensitivity test will be performed to compute the first-order and total sensitivity indexes based on a well-established semi-analytical/empirical mechanical model of three material and five geometrical parameters of both integral and optical FBG type optical fiber strain sensor with two different kinds of polymeric coating under three types of strain field in 16 different configurations. From the detail analysis, the most of the sensitive parameters on the STF are bond length, the thickness of adhesive beneath the optical fiber and the deviation of grating position, which are related to workmanship instead of the material properties of the optical fiber and adhesive

Dynamic Programming for General Linear Quadratic Optimal Stochastic Control with Random Coefficients

We are concerned with the linear-quadratic optimal stochastic control problem with random coefficients. Under suitable conditions, we prove that the value field $V(t,x,\omega), (t,x,\omega)\in [0,T]\times R^n\times \Omega$, is quadratic in $x$, and has the following form: $V(t,x)=\langle K_tx, x\rangle$ where $K$ is an essentially bounded nonnegative symmetric matrix-valued adapted processes. Using the dynamic programming principle (DPP), we prove that $K$ is a continuous semi-martingale of the form $$K_t=K_0+\int_0^t \, dk_s+\sum_{i=1}^d\int_0^tL_s^i\, dW_s^i, \quad t\in [0,T]$$ with $k$ being a continuous process of bounded variation and $$E\left[\left(\int_0^T|L_s|^2\, ds\right)^p\right] <\infty, \quad \forall p\ge 2;$$ and that $(K, L)$ with $L:=(L^1, \cdots, L^d)$ is a solution to the associated backward stochastic Riccati equation (BSRE), whose generator is highly nonlinear in the unknown pair of processes. The uniqueness is also proved via a localized completion of squares in a self-contained manner for a general BSRE. The existence and uniqueness of adapted solution to a general BSRE was initially proposed by the French mathematician J. M. Bismut (1976, 1978). It had been solved by the author (2003) via the stochastic maximum principle with a viewpoint of stochastic flow for the associated stochastic Hamiltonian system. The present paper is its companion, and gives the {\it second but more comprehensive} adapted solution to a general BSRE via the DDP. Further extensions to the jump-diffusion control system and to the general nonlinear control system are possible.Comment: 16 page

Research into financial exclusion in Rochdale - final technical report

This report presents the findings and recommendations of research conducted on the extent and nature of financial exclusion in Rochdale

Delivering insurance to low-income households

Lack of insurance is recognised as a key indicator of financial exclusion in the UK, and the government is encouraging thinking on how it can be tackled. Community development finance institutions (CDFIs) have a UK-wide presence, and have experience of offering financial products to financially excluded, low-income consumers. This paper explores whether they could become effective suppliers of home contents insurance and life insurance to their current, and prospective, clients

Localization of an endogenous lectin in chicken liver, intestine, and pancreas.

Extracts of adult chicken liver, pancreas, and intestine contain high levels of a lectin which appears to be identical to one previously purified from embryonic chick muscle. This lectin is virtually absent from adult muscle, but is highly concentrated in cells lining liver sinusoids, intestinal goblet cells, and the extracellular spaces surrounding pancreatic acini. These findings suggest that the lectin may play different roles in different tissues and at different times in the life of a chicken

The various and conflicting notions of information

There are identified within the discourse a number of notions regarding the term information. This paper sets out to explore these sometimes-conflicting notions of information. The reason why conflicting notions occur is the result of different perspectives and understanding of the term information. Within the discourse two camps are identified, firstly, those who identify information as a resource and those who identify information as a processual approach enacted by individuals. The former is not uncommon within the business environment given the relationship seen between information and technology; this view simplifies information as merely structured data. The latter approach requires the involvement of individuals or more succinctly human understanding and interpretation. By viewing information as a processual process enacted by humans one is identifying an alternative view of how information is created, managed, used and developed. The aim is to discuss both views to gain clarity and understanding in terms of why the various and conflicting notions of information impact on its use within organisations. What is highlighted within this paper is that information is a complex and ambiguous term. There is no easy ‘off-the shelf’ solution to managing information. One potentially successful approach is to view information from an epistemological perspective. This requires those having to deal with this complex and ambiguous term a starting point from which to build and gain both an individual and an organisational understanding in terms of the use of information. This allows individuals to set direction, decide where to focus their effort and ultimately how to gain some control over this vital and important issue of ‘information’

Short-term H{\alpha} line variations in Classical Be stars: 59 Cyg and OT Gem

We present the optical spectroscopic study of two Classical Be stars, 59 Cyg and OT Gem obtained over a period of few months in 2009. We detected a rare triple-peak H$\alpha$ emission phase in 59 Cyg and a rapid decrease in the emission strength of H$\alpha$ in OT Gem, which are used to understand their circumstellar disks. We find that 59 Cyg is likely to be rapid rotator, rotating at a fractional critical rotation of $\sim$ 0.80. The radius of the H$\alpha$ emission region for 59 Cyg is estimated to be $R_d/R_*$ $\sim$ 10.0, assuming a Keplerian disk, suggesting that it has a large disk. We classify stars which have shown triple-peaks into two groups and find that the triple-peak emission in 59 Cyg is similar to $\zeta$ Tau. OT Gem is found to have a fractional critical rotation of $\sim$ 0.30, suggesting that it is either a slow rotator or viewed in low inclination. In OT Gem, we observed a large reduction in the radius of the H$\alpha$ emission region from $\sim$ 6.9 to $\sim$ 1.7 in a period of three months, along with the reduction in the emission strength. Our observations suggest that the disk is lost from outside to inside during this disk loss phase in OT Gem.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1602.0293