Working with the spoken word: A candid conference conversation and some original ideas

This paper introduces the collection of nine short articles that make up the inaugural special section of the journal on ‘thinking with methods’. It begins by outlining why a fuller conversation about different ways of handling talk in human geography might be worthwhile. Then it describes a series of conference sessions in which a small group of researchers in this field came together to consider some of the most intriguing excerpts of talk generated by their studies. It ends with an overview of how the following articles that came out of these sessions might productively shake up some of our current working conventions

Social infrastructure: why it matters and how urban geographers might study it

Social infrastructure is an emerging research frontier in urban geography and urban studies. This editorial introduction provides a concise introduction to the term. It briefly sets out the intellectual provenance of the concept of social infrastructure, examining the different ways social infrastructure is being used across urban geography

期外収縮後一過性収縮性増強の減衰過程を指数関数でカーブフィッティングすると心筋細胞内のカルシウム再循環率を過小評価する可能性がある：理論的・数学的解析

Marine cloud brightening (MCB) is one of several proposed solar radiation management (SRM) geoengineering schemes designed to ameliorate some of the undesirable effects of climate change, for example polar ice loss and associated increased sea levels. Satellite measurements over the last 40 years show a general reduction in polar sea ice area and thickness which is attributed to climate change. In our studies, HadGEM1, a fully coupled climate model, is used to predict changes in surface temperatures and ice cover as a result of implementing MCB in a double carbon dioxide concentration atmosphere. The meridional heat flux (MHF) is the mechanism within the earth system for the transport of energy from tropical to polar regions. This poleward transport of heat in a double carbon dioxide atmosphere amplifies the effects in polar regions, where it has a significant impact on both temperatures and ice cover. The results from this work show that MCB is capable of roughly restoring control temperatures and ice cover (where control is defined as 440 ppm carbon dioxide, a predicted 2020 level) in a double carbon dioxide atmosphere scenario. This work presents the first results on the impact of MCB on the MHF and the ability of the MCB scheme to restore the MHF to a control level

Transits and Occultations of an Earth-Sized Planet in an 8.5-Hour Orbit

We report the discovery of an Earth-sized planet ($1.16\pm 0.19 R_\oplus$) in an 8.5-hour orbit around a late G-type star (KIC 8435766, Kepler-78). The object was identified in a search for short-period planets in the {\it Kepler} database and confirmed to be a transiting planet (as opposed to an eclipsing stellar system) through the absence of ellipsoidal light variations or substantial radial-velocity variations. The unusually short orbital period and the relative brightness of the host star ($m_{\rm Kep}$ = 11.5) enable robust detections of the changing illumination of the visible hemisphere of the planet, as well as the occultations of the planet by the star. We interpret these signals as representing a combination of reflected and reprocessed light, with the highest planet dayside temperature in the range of 2300 K to 3100 K. Follow-up spectroscopy combined with finer sampling photometric observations will further pin down the system parameters and may even yield the mass of the planet.Comment: Accepted for publication, ApJ, 10 pages and 6 figure

RUN! RUN! RUN! International Festival of Running 2014

This was the inaugural edition of a festival that I founded, led/directed, curated and produced. Also known as the #r3fest, this was a hybrid programme examining running as an arts and humanities discourse, not just within sport science or as a fitness practice. This fills an existing gap within and beyond the academy. Thus far, RUN! RUN! RUN! has presented the drawings, installations, performances, papers, academic posters and films of 65 researchers, artists and runners from 40 institutions, across venues including Cardiff National Indoor Stadium and Paris School of Culture and Art. Through RUN! RUN! RUN!, which the Guardian urges other academics to 'take a leaf from' (2014), I am recognised as being 'absolutely central' in the field of 'Running Studies' (Whelan 2015). For #r3fest 2014, I approached Alan Latham, a geographer from University College London, to be Co-Director, and artist/Slade Director Jo Volley as co-host. Funded by University College London and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the one-day event took place at the Slade Research Centre, and was attended by 50 artists, academics and community leaders from 30 institutions and including the Universities of Harvard and Oxford, Goodgym and the Sri Chimnoy Centre. Disciplines were jumbled up to generate lively, productive antagonisms (Latham and Tan 2016), practice was mixed with research, and cultural and academic hierarchies and boundaries irritated. e usual presentations aside, there were quick- re, 8-min speaking slots that we timed with a stopwatch. Object-based learning activities were also programmed in, as paleo-anthropologists brought samples illustrating anatomical parts of the human runner for participants to explore. Academic posters, such as one on the biomechanics of running, were juxtaposed with commissioned artworks, such as Volley's drawing of a map of her run at Hampstead Heath (Figure 3). A meditation session was deliberately scheduled to take place at the same time as a lecture on running injury by a medic, 'forcing' the festival goers to choose between spiritualism and science. Senior academics intermingled with unknowns (we took a chance with two female performers, including a 23-year-old undergraduate)

A Keck/HIRES Doppler Search for Planets Orbiting Metal-Poor Dwarfs. I. Testing Giant Planet Formation and Migration Scenarios

We describe a high-precision Doppler search for giant planets orbiting a well-defined sample of metal-poor dwarfs in the field. This experiment constitutes a fundamental test of theoretical predictions which will help discriminate between proposed giant planet formation and migration models. We present here details on the survey as well as an overall assessment of the quality of our measurements, making use of the results for the stars that show no significant velocity variation.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

A Keck HIRES Doppler Search for Planets Orbiting Metal-Poor Dwarfs. II. On the Frequency of Giant Planets in the Metal-Poor Regime

We present an analysis of three years of precision radial velocity measurements of 160 metal-poor stars observed with HIRES on the Keck 1 telescope. We report on variability and long-term velocity trends for each star in our sample. We identify several long-term, low-amplitude radial-velocity variables worthy of follow-up with direct imaging techniques. We place lower limits on the detectable companion mass as a function of orbital period. Our survey would have detected, with a 99.5% confidence level, over 95% of all companions on low-eccentricity orbits with velocity semi-amplitude K > 100 m/s, or M_p*sin(i) > 3.0 M_JUP*(P/yr)^(1/3), for orbital periods P< 3 yr. None of the stars in our sample exhibits radial-velocity variations compatible with the presence of Jovian planets with periods shorter than the survey duration. The resulting average frequency of gas giants orbiting metal-poor dwarfs with -2.0 < [Fe/H] < -0.6 is f_p<0.67% (at the 1-sigma confidence level). We examine the implications of this null result in the context of the observed correlation between the rate of occurrence of giant planets and the metallicity of their main-sequence solar-type stellar hosts. By combining our dataset with the Fischer & Valenti (2005) uniform sample, we confirm that the likelihood of a star to harbor a planet more massive than Jupiter within 2 AU is a steeply rising function of the host's metallicity. However, the data for stars with -1.0 < [Fe/H] < 0.0 are compatible, in a statistical sense, with a constant occurrence rate f_p~1%. Our results can usefully inform theoretical studies of the process of giant planet formation across two orders of magnitude in metallicity.Comment: 59 pages, 7 tables, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

FCPSOn Phase One Evaluation: Year Three

The purpose of the present study was to gather formative and summative data related to the FCPSOn initiative during its third year of implementation in the 2018-19 school year within Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). The present study documents program implementation in 15 Phase One schools and stakeholder feedback for future FCPSOn schools. Key components of FCPSOn include the distribution of personal laptops to all students in Phase One schools, professional development (PD), and the resulting impact on intermediary outcomes relating to the goals of improving students’ content area knowledge and Portrait of a Graduate skills. The present findings from schools now in their third year (2018-19) of implementing FCPSOn indicate that stakeholders are strongly invested in the initiative’s success and are more comfortable overall with the 1:1 learning environment. Important differences in implementation are observed between the two groups that comprise Phase One that appear to be the result of a more cohesive and intentional approach to implementation in the Chantilly Pyramid than in eLearning Backpack schools. Nonetheless, SBTSs and principals in both types of schools commended their teachers for being more effective users of technology tools and, as a result, more flexible and effective teachers. Findings also suggest that students are more engaged and accountable learners. Students have gained important skills and have embraced an emerging emphasis on self-guided learning. Guaranteed access to a personal computer has succeeded in “leveling the playing field” among students of varying socio-economic backgrounds, learning interests, and needs.Fairfax County Public School

Creation and confidence: BME students as academic partners…but where were the staff?

This Case Study documents the REACT project 'Creation and Confidence' based at Sheffield Hallam University, which has a larger-than-expected Black Minority and Ethnic (BME) attainment gap; hence, this student group has been constructed as 'hard to reach'. The project team consisted of a range of academic and professional services staff alongside three dedicated student researchers. The project set out to achieve: gaining evidence-based insights into the use of co-design and peer-learning as conduits of confidence-building for and belonging of BME students; developing a scalable approach to building confidence for and fostering belonging of all students; raising awareness of the need to think differently about explanations for BME underachievement. In reality, the team found that staff engagement constituted the biggest barrier, as - no matter how much incontrovertible evidence was presented - other facets of institutional provision were always identified as having priority, which resulted in inertia. This study documents the emotional labour of trying to effect change within a resistant culture. Whilst some of the aims remain unachieved – and, arguably, were always going to be unachievable - there have been some very positive developments and enlightening lessons