Boundary-Work in the Health Research Field: Biomedical and Clinician Scientists’ Perceptions of Social Science Research

Funding agencies in Canada are attempting to break down the organizational boundaries between disciplines to promote interdisciplinary research and foster the integration of the social sciences into the health research field. This paper explores the extent to which biomedical and clinician scientists’ perceptions of social science research operate as a cultural boundary to the inclusion of social scientists into this field. Results indicated that cultural boundaries may impede social scientists’ entry into the health research field through three modalities: (1) biomedical and clinician scientists’ unfavourable and ambivalent posture towards social science research; (2) their opposition to a resource increase for the social sciences; and (3) clinician scientists procedural assessment criteria for social science. The paper also discusses the merits and limitations of Tom Gieryn’s concept of boundary-work for studying social dynamics within the field of science.

Unbraced cables

For long span cables, either with or without concentrated load, the usual methods of design are found to be inaccurate because they omit the elastic stretch of the cable and they assume an inaccurate shape of the resulting curve. Equations are derived to cover all possible cases, loaded and unloaded cable, based upon assumptions of elastic flexible cables with fixed supports. Equations are also derived showing the variation in several quantities with changes in temperature and movement of supports. Conditions of possible loads and elastic properties of cables are discussed. A bibliography covering major references to the subject is included.     

Force transducer system for measurement of ice hockey skating force

The purpose of this study was to develop a portable force measurement system for ice hockey skating. The system consisted of three strain gauge pairs affixed to an ice hockey skate’s blade holder with wire leads connected to a microprocessor controlled data acquisition device carried in a backpack worn by the skater. The configuration of the strain gauges simultaneously determined the vertical and medial–lateral force components experienced by the blade holder with a resolution accuracy of 1.9 N and a coefficient of variation of 9.2%. On-ice testing of this system with subjects performing forward start, acceleration, and constant velocity skating permitted unencumbered, natural movement and demonstrated clear, unambiguous signal responses, high trial-to-trial repeatability, and easy data retrieval. The practicality and accuracy of this testing approach have many applications, such as a quantitative tool for skating force assessment to aid athletes and coaches, as well as providing the means to examine other skill-specific dynamics.