Networks, power and knowledge in the planning system: a case study of energy from waste

Understanding the nature of power relations has been integral to debates in planning theory and planning practice since the 1960s. Current theoretical approaches to planning and power have evolved to a state of pluralism which impacts upon how planning is conceived of and practiced. We seek to examine power relations and knowledge via a multidisciplinary case study of an energy-from-waste (EfW) development based in South Wales. Centred on a highly contested technology, incineration, this case study incorporates in-depth, longitudinal interview data with social network analysis to build up a picture of competing framings of environmental health risk. In local environmental debates, planners are expected to be able to help resolve competition between conflicting interests and yet, in reality, such conflicts often appear intractable and have long been dubbed wicked problems. This is especially the case for waste management. In our in-depth case study, significant pre-existing power relations existed between the local planning authority (LPA), which was also the lead co-developer in the EfW project, and the local community. In terms of methods, we have been keen to unearth data that allows us to explore the nature of institutional and networked power as it plays out within a community over time. It is our contention that too often the dynamics of power have been underplayed because it is studied as a snapshot rather than over time. Here we have utilised a variety of methods – from key person interviews to social network analysis – to examine the application for development, the operation of the EfW and the closure of the plant – over a ten year time frame. By drawing upon a rich database we can better understand the ways in which, in the case of particularly contentious developments, power relations greatly hampered efforts at public participation. Our nuanced methodological approach reveals empirical evidence for tensions in theoretical approaches to power relations in the planning arena and we can identify how debates can move forward based on a more geographically informed perspective

Trapped Imbalanced Quantum Droplets

A two-component quantum droplet is an attractive mixture of ultracold bosons stabilised against collapse by quantum fluctuations. Commonly, two-component quantum droplets are studied within a balanced mixture. However, the mixture can be imbalanced resulting in a lower energy but less stably bound droplet, or even a droplet submerged in a gas. This work focuses on the experimentally relevant question: how are imbalanced droplets modified by harmonic trap potentials? Droplet ground states and breathing modes are analysed across the two-dimensional parameter space of imbalance and trap strength. The robustness of the droplet imbalance is also studied by releasing the droplet from the trap, demonstrating that this can lead to the creation of free-space, imbalanced droplets.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Protesting against neoliberal and illiberal governmentalities: A comparative analysis of waste governance in the UK and China.

The central states of the United Kingdom and China are committed to finding effective ways to govern normative sustainability programmes. A more sustainable waste policy solution than landfill is energy-from-waste (EfW). The governmentality perspective suggests that, to achieve such policy ends, compliance is required from a range of actors who operate at a distance from central states. This paper is the first to draw together theoretical comparisons of Western neoliberal and Chinese governmentality in the context of waste governance. We find that long-standing liberal approaches to power and policymaking witnessed in the UK have parallels with a hybrid mix of socialist governance and Chinese governmentality. Beijing seeks to govern not via neoliberal tactics of ‘freedom and liberty’, but rather through a distinct planning and administrative rationality. Our comparative case study approach allows us to illustrate the dual facilitative and authoritarian dimensions to ‘top-down’ compliance given ‘bottom-up’ counter claims of expertise by citizen scientists and other activists in local communities. This analysis in turn reveals how power plays out between state actors, corporations and local communities in these two different political and planning systems. We suggest that the progressive development of lay expertise in environmental health risks is a dynamic marker of the limits to the top-down imposition of waste policy in both countries. Our approach to comparative analysis draws attention to the need to revisit approaches to neoliberal Western governmentality and to extend empirical investigations using illiberal Chinese governmentality

Setting standards for a circular economy: A challenge too far for neoliberal environmental governance?

National and regional governments around the world are steering actors in the waste and resources management industry towards a more circular economy (CE). Such a hoped-for transition is set against a backdrop of neoliberal environmental governance. The private sector increasingly delivers outcomes via public-private initiatives. Similarly, voluntary quality assurance standards covering flows of waste and resources around the globe are increasingly central to markets and trade. The role of standards in contemporary environmental governance is critically reassessed by examining how they are involved in the upscaling or down-scaling of markets. This analysis matters to understanding how the CE is conceptualised at a range of scales and how neoliberal environmental governance can help or hinder CE development. To overcome the paucity of data on how and why public and private sector actors set and use voluntary standards for material flows, twenty-eight key actor interviews with those involved in standard setting and the CE in Europe are drawn upon. Results suggest that proponents of standards and the CE see the raising of the quality of recycled material as central to building up confidence and trust in existing and emerging markets. However, others suggest markets will always privilege cost over quality and that standards are peripheral. For the CE transition to accelerate, this research suggests that policy instruments like standards need to challenge existing neoliberal market relations rather than simply follow them

Quantum Droplets in Imbalanced Atomic Mixtures

Quantum droplets are a quantum analogue to classical fluid droplets in that they are self-bound and display liquid-like properties -- such as incompressibility and surface tension -- though their stability is the result of quantum fluctuations. One of the major systems for observing quantum droplets is two-component Bose gases. Two-component droplets are typically considered to be balanced, having a fixed ratio between the densities of the two component. This work goes beyond the fixed density ratio by investigating spherical droplets in imbalanced mixtures. With increasing imbalance, the droplet is able to lower its energy up to a limit, at which point the droplet becomes saturated with the atoms of the majority component and any further atoms added to this component cannot bind to the droplet. Analysing the breathing mode dynamics of imbalanced droplets indicates that the droplet can emit particles, as in balanced mixtures, but the imbalance leads to an intricate superposition of multiple simultaneously decaying collective oscillations.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

SmallSat End-of-Life Operations: Opportunities and Challenges

Compact Total Irradiance Monitor (CTIM) is a 6U cubesat that deployed in July of 2022 to continue forty years of continuous total solar irradiance measurements across multiple missions. In November of 2023, CTIM’s orbit began showing signs of accelerated decay in the form of inconsistent pass start times and noisier S-band downlinks, despite intensive orbital decay analysis. This unexpected decay, along with CTIM’s lack of GPS, presented the Smallsat Operations (SMOPS) team at the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (CU-LASP) with a big challenge: rapidly revise CONOPs, all while remaining at or under a 1.5k weekly hiatus budget. This also presented big opportunities: it provided valuable experience the team could leverage for end-of-life operations for future missions, and a chance to give a successful mission a heartfelt farewell. Once CTIM’s decay was confirmed, the SMOPS team’s main goal was to perform end-of-life calibrations and downlink remaining scientific data onboard. The approaching deadline of re-entry allowed operators to prioritize short term science over any potential hardware degradation. Due to CTIM’s highly unpredictable orbital decay, Celestrak’s daily official TLE publications became ineffective within hours. This prompted ground station operations (GSOPS) engineers to generate in-house Two Line Element (TLE) sets in real-time based on the doppler shifted downlink signals, which were cross-verified with both the official Celestrak TLE source as well as the SatNOGS amateur radio community’s observations. This in turn necessitated a shift in the cadence of the ground station contact schedule creation process from from once a week to once every two days, demonstrating the highly flexible and reactive paradigm of the GSOPS team and automation software. As atmospheric drag continued to increase on CTIM, the team observed insurmountable momentum build-up on the spacecraft as the torque rods struggled to overcome the increased effects of drag, leading to attitude excursions, safe mode transitions, and even undervoltage events. Finally, to celebrate years of development and nearly 18 months of successful operations, the SMOPS team “sung” a farewell song to CTIM, which the satellite then “echoed” back to the rest of the world (via uplink and downlink commands). This “song”, transmitted over the amateur radio waves, was captured and decoded by the enthusiastic SatNOGS community, demonstrating the effectiveness of public outreach and collaboration on small satellites like CTIM. The final weeks of a mission are challenging, but they also provide numerous opportunities: to implement new processes that ensure mission success, to discover new ways of assessing rapid orbital decay, and for a dedicated team to give a tiny mission with a big legacy a proper sendoff

Interventions for mental health problems in children and adults with severe intellectual disabilities: a systematic review

Objective Mental health problems are more prevalent in people with than without intellectual disabilities, yet treatment options have received little attention. The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacological and psychological interventions in the treatment of mental health problems in children and adults with severe and profound intellectual disabilities, given their difficulties in accessing standard mental health interventions, particularly talking therapies, and difficulties reporting drug side effects. Design A systematic review using electronic searches of PsycINFO, PsycTESTS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, ASSIA, Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index and CENTRAL was conducted to identify eligible intervention studies. Study selection, data extraction and quality appraisal were performed by two independent reviewers. Participants Study samples included at least 70% children and/or adults with severe or profound intellectual disabilities or reported the outcomes of this subpopulation separate from participants with other levels of intellectual disabilities. Interventions Eligible intervention studies evaluated a psychological or pharmacological intervention using a control condition or pre-post design. Outcomes Symptom severity, frequency or other quantitative dimension (e.g., impact), as assessed with standardised measures of mental health problems. Results We retrieved 41 232 records, reviewed 573 full-text articles and identified five studies eligible for inclusion: three studies evaluating pharmacological interventions, and two studies evaluating psychological interventions. Study designs ranged from double-blind placebo controlled crossover trials to single-case experimental reversal designs. Quality appraisals of this very limited literature base revealed good experimental control, poor reporting standards and a lack of follow-up data. Conclusions Mental ill health requires vigorous treatment, yet the current evidence base is too limited to identify with precision effective treatments specifically for children or adults with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Clinicians therefore must work on the basis of general population evidence, while researchers work to generate more precise evidence for people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities