Negotiating and Navigating the Rough Terrain of Transnational Feminist Research

This article examines aspects of feminist methodology pertinent to carrying out transnational research within an era of globalization. I explore the use of self-reflexivity, engagement with conceptualizations of insider/outsider, and the employment of feminist critiques of notions of objectivity within the research process as feminist methodological tools relevant to transnational feminist research. I argue that in an age of globalization, such methodological frameworks and tools are necessary in research committed to feminist contestations of globalization in that the nature of transnational research sustains an ever dynamic and shifting landscape of personal, political, and geographical relationships. This article draws upon my experiences carrying out transnational research in Ireland and the United States for my PhD dissertation between 2003 and 200

Organisational capital and competence building.

The value of an organisation’s capital, widely considered to comprise its knowledge and intangible assets, is increasingly recognised in relation to its realised and potential contribution to competitive advantage. At the same time, our understanding of how to develop and manage these assets over time remains limited to-date. The aim of this chapter is to assess this challenge from both an intellectual capital and a capabilities perspective respectively. Both perspectives highlight the imperative for an integrative approach to competence development given that competence building is itself reliant upon the complex interaction of supporting resources and capabilities as well as the integration of individual and organisation level knowledge that underpins them

Information systems innovation research and the case of RFID

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a complex ICT application. Adoption by organizations has been relatively slow. This paper assesses the contribution that research into information systems adoption and diffusion can make to understanding and predicting the diffusion of RFID. The paper concludes that traditional research methods are inappropriate for such applications. Information systems stage research and diffusion research offer morepromising models

Equilibria between MoO₂ and liquid molybdenum oxide

The oxygen pressure over solid molybdenum dioxide in equilibrium with liquid molybdenum oxide was determined by transpiration and solid electrolytic galvanic cell methods at 950ºC and 900º, 950º and 1000ºC respectively. The results were compared to those expected from thermodynamic data on the Mo-O system. Possible reactions between MoO₂ and SiO₂ were studied at different oxygen pressures up to 1550ºC. No compound formation or solid solution between MoO₂ and SiO₂ was detected by x-ray diffraction techniques. The phase boundary between MoO₂ and liquid molybdenum oxide was checked by microscopic examination of quenched samples. Equilibration runs were carried out in silica and platinum capsules --Abstract, page ii

Low-voltage nanodomain writing in He-implanted lithium niobate crystals

A scanning force microscope tip is used to write ferroelectric domains in He-implanted single-crystal lithium niobate and subsequently probe them by piezoresponse force microscopy. Investigation of cross-sections of the samples showed that the buried implanted layer, $\sim 1$\,\textmu m below the surface, is non-ferroelectric and can thus act as a barrier to domain growth. This barrier enabled stable surface domains of $< 1$\,\textmu m size to be written in 500\,\textmu m-thick crystal substrates with voltage pulses of only 10\,V applied to the tip

Reproductive Health and Human Rights: Lessons from Ireland

The years between 2008-2013 were a period of economic austerity and ideological turmoil in Ireland. Alongside the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, a woman who died in 2012 due to complications resulting from her refused request for an abortion in an Irish hospital, economic, political and ideological forces converged to promote a tipping point in the demand for full sexual and reproductive rights for women in Ireland. Within this temporal moment, a “convergence of various economic, political and ideological forces that make possible the emergence of specific kinds of practices” (Barndt, 2008, p. 36), the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) responded with a call to action based on human rights discourse. Theirs was a unique and compelling approach for social change. While most governmental advisors at the time were calling for reductions in social services, the IFPA spoke out for the necessity of increased government support for women’s health. Specifically, they shed light on the restrictive and discriminatory treatment of women and their sexual and reproductive rights by pointing to the discrepancies in Irish law, service provision and international human rights covenants to which Ireland was a signatory. This paper examines the ways in which the Irish Family Planning Association responded to the tumultuous times and advanced women’s reproductive freedom based on the principles of the universality of human rights. Using the IFPA as a case study, my work employs a content analysis of over 400 pages of documents including IFPA generated annual reports, submissions and publications between 2008-2013 (inclusive) to investigate how, in this particular “moment,” advocacy based on notions of human rights can advance women’s sexual and reproductive health. In this paper, I will discuss two major findings that emerged from my examination of IFPA documents. They are: a) the ways in which the IFPA framed the current state of sexual and reproductive health for women in Ireland in relation to international human rights conventions and treatises to which Ireland is a signatory as a response to the ambiguous and discriminatory nature of Irish law and practice regarding sexual and reproductive health; and b) the ways in which the IFPA called on the Irish state to take responsibility for the provision of health care services and protection of women’s bodily integrity in light of the intense burden which economically disadvantaged women in Ireland suffered as a part of the implementation of post-2008 recession austerity measures

Novel method for non‐traumatic creation of a colostomy

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93530/1/ans6160.pd

Novel method for non‐traumatic creation of a colostomy

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93530/1/ans6160.pd

Cooling of high-power-density computer components

This report summarizes work carried out during the first two years of a research program sponsored by IBM Corporation. This study has elucidated a number of the heat-transfer characteristics of several fluorochemicals which have potential application as coolants for high power density computer components. Single-phase heat-transfer coefficients have been determined for Freon-113 and FC-78 flowing in a rectangular channel with one of the wide sides heated. Heat-transfer coefficients for the short channels are significantly higher than those predicted by conventional correlations due to entrance effects and superimposed free convection. Uncertainties as to the actual values of certain thermophysical properties introduce corresponding uncertainty in correlation. Subcooled flow boiling data were taken with the rectangular channel for a wide variety of fluid-surface combinations, and over a wide range of flow conditions. These data should facilitate a close estimate of surface temperatures in actual systems. Data taken with an annular test section delineated hysteresis effects which were tentatively identified in the rectangular channel tests. Pool boiling tests indicated large temperature overshoots in the boiling curve with Freon-113. It was found that conventional correlations do not adequately describe critical heat flux data for horizontal circular heaters. The critical heat flux increases as diameter decreases, and increases as the wall thickness increases. The observed hysteresis effects in pool and flow boiling were examined in detail. It is suggested that the phenomenon of temperature overshoot hysteresis is due to two causes: a) the existence of metastable bubbles which are triggered only at sufficiently high disturbance level, and b) the deactivation of larger nucleation sites by displacing the vapor by liquid during subcooling.(cont.) Under conditions of low velocity or pool boiling, a) is probably most important, but at high velocity b) should be controlling. Increased heat-transfer coefficients observed prior to nucleation appear to be due to thermocapillary circulation induced by the metastable bubbles. It is demonstrated that a random array of Teflon pits on the surface is effective in augmenting heat transfer for pool boiling or low velocity flow boiling of water; however, there is no improvement in heat transfer with boiling of Freon-113 or FC-78. The mechanism of augmentation is examined from the standpoint of incipient boiling, and a plausible explanation for this behavior is suggested. An investigation of the factors controlling the void fraction for subcooled boiling was carried out with a horizontal visual section using Freon-113 and Freon TA. The observed point of net vapor generation was much farther upstream than that indicated by a recent prediction, due primarily to the dominance of the buoyant force. An examination of the void collapse in the unheated downstream portion of the tube revealed that bubble collapse theory cannot be used to predict the void fraction. The large void fractions produced by boiling fluorochemicals can be minimized by using twisted-tape inserts.Heat Transfer Development Laboratory, Systems Development Division, International Business Machines Corporation Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Division of Sponsored Researc

Competitive advantage in new markets: the case of on-line business

Understanding how firms gain competitive advantage is perhaps the central question faced by strategy researchers (Rouse and Daellenbach, 1999; Powell, 2001). An examination of competitive advantage within the context of new markets presents an important and interesting dimension of this problem. It offers the opportunity to examine the potential for different types of entrant to establish competitive advantage. While competitive advantage in new markets has been addressed from a number of different theoretical perspectives, the suggestion here is that a resource-based conceptual lens can better explain the nature of the competitive challenge facing firms. A theoretical model of competitive advantage in new markets is developed, which highlights the importance of a firm's resource and capability endowments at the time of market entry, although it is argued that the main challenge faced by firms is the ability to adapt, where this refers to a firm's ability to develop the capabilities that are critical for success in new markets. Empirical research is carried out in respect of two UK-based on-line sectors, the Internet Service Provider sector and the online broking sector. The results of the survey research provide further evidence and support for the role of initial endowments of resources and capabilities at the time of new market entry, while the main findings of the case study research develop theory in respect of capability development in both new and established firms, suggesting that the process of capability development is itself an evolutionary one