The other's perception of a streamflow sample: From a bottle of water to a data point

In scientific communication, ambiguities in term usage can go unnoticed due not only to the distance between reader and writer but also to the existence of highly specialized scientific subcommunities. This commentary therefore aims at raising awareness about the use of terms that have different meanings within different hydrological subcommunities such as field hydrology, hydrological modelling, or statistical hydrology. To do so, we discuss the use of the following commonly used hydrological terms: sample, runoff, discharge, and streamflow. We performed three types of analyses to provide evidence of term usage and understanding, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches: a drawing exercise, a survey, and a literature corpus analysis. These analyses allow for a comparison of spontaneous definitions and the actual use of these terms in scientific publications. Our various information sources revealed that the dialogue between hydrologists within and across subdisciplines is substantially influenced by personal conceptualizations of terms that are not always shared across conversational partners. The terms discussed and illustrated in this commentary have to be seen as a small sample used to demonstrate the need for a thoughtful use of hydrological terms when communicating research, not only to a general audience but even across subdisciplines within hydrology.     

THE ORAL HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHY∗

Book Reviewed in this article:

Latin America: Case Studies. Richard G. Boehm and Sent Visser

Locality and Rurality: Economy and Society in Rural Regions. Tony Bradley And Philip Lowe

The City and the Grassroots. Manuel Castells

Geopolitics and Conflict in South America. Quarrels among Neighbors. Jack Child

Post-Industrial America: A Geographical Perspective. David Clark

Coastal Research: UK Perspectives. Malcolm W. Clark

A Rural Policy for the EEC? Hugh Clout

Peasant Agriculture in Assam: A Structural Analysis. M. M. Das.

Environmental Change and Tropical Geomorphology. I. Douglas and T. Spencer

Advances in Abandoned Settlement Analysis: Application to Prehistoric Anthrosols in Colombia, South America. Robert C. Eidt

Measuring Culture. Jonathan L. Gross and Steve Rayner

North America: A Human Geography. Paul Guinness and Michael Bradshaw

A Geographical Bibliography for American Libraries. Chauncy D. Harris et al.

Geography and the Urban Environment: Progress in Research and Applications, Vol. VI. D. T. Herbert and R. J. Johnston

Changes in Global Climate: A Study of the Effect of Radiation and Other Factors During the Present Century. K. Ya. Kondrat'ev.

Rural Development and the State: Contradictions and Dilemmas in Developing Countries. David A. M. Lea and D. P. Chaudhri

The Martial Metropolis: U.S. Cities in War and Peace. Roger W. Lotchin

The Climate of the Earth. Paul E. Lydolph.

Weather and Climate. Paul E. Lydolph.

Spatial Divisions of Labor: Social Structures and the Geography of Production. Doreen Massey.

Panorama of the Soviet Union. N. Mikhailov.

Soviet Armenia. K. S. Demirchian.

USSR: Geography of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan Period. K. Spidchenko.

Planung und Verwirklichung der Wiener Ringstrassenzone (Planning and Materialization of the Ringstrasse-Zone of Vienna). Kurt Mollik, Hermann Reining, Rudolf Wurzer.

The American West Transformed: The Impact of the Second World War Gerald D. Nash.

An Overview of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Dawn Nelson, David McMillen, and Daniel Kasprzyk.

Phenomenology, Science and Geography: Spatiality and the Human Sciences. John Pickles.

Biological Diversification in the Tropics. Ghillean T. Prance

Die Wanderviehwirtschaft im gebirgigen Westen der U.S.A. und ihre Auswirkungen im Naturraum. Gisbert Rinschede.

Social and Economic Aspects of Radioactive Waste Disposal: Considerations for Institutional Management

World-Wide Weather. K. Takahashi

Coastal Geomorphology in Australia. B. G. Thom

Settlement System in Rural India: A Case Study of the Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab. Ram Chandra Tiwari.

Computer Programming for Geographers. David J. Unwin and John A. Dawson.

Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union. A. A. Velichko, ed. H. E. Wright, Jr. and C. W. Barnosky

Ethics in Planning. Martin Wachs     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Latin America: Case Studies . Richard G. Boehm and Sent Visser Locality and Rurality: Economy and Society in Rural Regions . Tony Bradley And Philip Lowe The City and the Grassroots . Manuel Castells Geopolitics and Conflict in South America. Quarrels among Neighbors . Jack Child Post-Industrial America: A Geographical Perspective . David Clark Coastal Research: UK Perspectives . Malcolm W. Clark A Rural Policy for the EEC? Hugh Clout Peasant Agriculture in Assam: A Structural Analysis . M. M. Das . Environmental Change and Tropical Geomorphology . I. Douglas and T. Spencer Advances in Abandoned Settlement Analysis: Application to Prehistoric Anthrosols in Colombia, South America . Robert C. Eidt Measuring Culture . Jonathan L. Gross and Steve Rayner North America: A Human Geography . Paul Guinness and Michael Bradshaw A Geographical Bibliography for American Libraries . Chauncy D. Harris et al. Geography and the Urban Environment: Progress in Research and Applications, Vol. VI . D. T. Herbert and R. J. Johnston Changes in Global Climate: A Study of the Effect of Radiation and Other Factors During the Present Century . K. Ya . Kondrat'ev . Rural Development and the State: Contradictions and Dilemmas in Developing Countries . David A. M. Lea and D. P. Chaudhri The Martial Metropolis: U.S. Cities in War and Peace . Roger W. Lotchin The Climate of the Earth . Paul E. Lydolph . Weather and Climate . Paul E. Lydolph . Spatial Divisions of Labor: Social Structures and the Geography of Production . Doreen Massey . Panorama of the Soviet Union . N. Mikhailov . Soviet Armenia . K. S. Demirchian . USSR: Geography of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan Period . K. Spidchenko . Planung und Verwirklichung der Wiener Ringstrassenzone (Planning and Materialization of the Ringstrasse-Zone of Vienna). Kurt Mollik , Hermann Reining , Rudolf Wurzer . The American West Transformed: The Impact of the Second World War Gerald D. Nash . An Overview of the Survey of Income and Program Participation . Dawn Nelson , David Mc Millen, and Daniel Kasprzyk . Phenomenology, Science and Geography: Spatiality and the Human Sciences . John Pickles . Biological Diversification in the Tropics . Ghillean T. Prance Die Wanderviehwirtschaft im gebirgigen Westen der U.S.A. und ihre Auswirkungen im Naturraum . Gisbert Rinschede . Social and Economic Aspects of Radioactive Waste Disposal: Considerations for Institutional Management . World-Wide Weather . K. Takahashi Coastal Geomorphology in Australia . B. G. Thom Settlement System in Rural India: A Case Study of the Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab . Ram Chandra Tiwari . Computer Programming for Geographers . David J. Unwin and John A. Dawson . Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union . A. A. Velichko, ed . H. E. Wright , Jr. and C. W. Barnosky Ethics in Planning . Martin Wachs