173 research outputs found
âCollaborative Productionâ and the Irish Boom - Work Organisation, Partnership and Direct Involvement in Irish Workplaces
A significant strand of recent social-scientific writing on Ireland has assigned great importance to various forms of âcollaborative productionâ: new forms of work organisation, partnership and direct employee involvement â even suggesting that their growing diffusion might have played a major role in Irelandâs exceptional economic performance during the 1990s. This paper draws on the University College Dublin national workplace survey of employee relations to present an assessment of the degree to which new modes of collaborative production have gained ground in Ireland during the 1990s. While collaborative production is undoubtedly significant in many Irish workplaces, âexclusionaryâ forms of decision-making are shown to dominate the postures of establishments towards the handling of change. Arguments pointing to the âtransformationâ, actual or imminent, of work practices and employment relations in Ireland are rejected. Change in Ireland is shown to have much in common with developments in other economies, particularly those characterised by âAnglo-Americanâ institutional systems, which are not readily permeable to collaborative production in its various modes.
Age and development of active cryoplanation terraces in the alpine permafrost zone at Svartkampan, Jotunheimen, southern Norway
Schmidt-hammer exposure-age dating (SHD) of boulders on cryoplanation terrace treads and associated bedrock cliff faces revealed Holocene ages ranging from 0 ± 825 to 8890 ± 1185 yr. The cliffs were significantly younger than the inner treads, which tended to be younger than the outer treads. Radiocarbon dates from the regolith of 3854 to 4821 cal yr BP (2Ï range) indicated maximum rates of cliff recession of ~0.1 mm/year, which suggests the onset of terrace formation prior to the last glacial maximum. Age, angularity and size of clasts, together with planation across bedrock structures and the seepage of groundwater from the cliff foot, all support a process-based conceptual model of cryoplanation terrace development in which frost weathering leads to parallel cliff recession and hence terrace extension. The availability of groundwater during autumn freeze-back is viewed as critical for frost wedging and/or the growth of segregation ice during prolonged winter frost penetration. Permafrost promotes cryoplanation by providing an impermeable frost table beneath the active layer, focusing groundwater flow, and supplying water for sediment transport by solifluction across the tread. Snowbeds are considered an effect rather than a cause of cryoplanation terraces and cryoplanation is seen as distinct from nivation
A Merger Scenario for the Dynamics of Abell 665
We present new redshift measurements for 55 galaxies in the vicinity of the
rich galaxy cluster Abell 665. When combined with results from the literature,
we have good velocity measurements for a sample of 77 confirmed cluster members
from which we derive the cluster's redshift z=0.1829 +/- 0.0005 and
line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 1390 +/- 120 km/s. Our analysis of the
kinematical and spatial data for the subset of galaxies located within the
central 750 kpc reveals only subtle evidence for substructure and
non-Gaussianity in the velocity distribution. We find that the brightest
cluster member is not moving significantly relative to the other galaxies near
the center of the cluster. On the other hand, our deep ROSAT high resolution
image of A665 shows strong evidence for isophotal twisting and centroid
variation, thereby confirming previous suggestions of significant substructure
in the hot X-ray--emitting intracluster gas. In light of this evident
substructure, we have compared the optical velocity data with N-body
simulations of head-on cluster mergers. We find that a merger of two similar
mass subclusters (mass ratios of 1:1 or 1:2) seen close to the time of
core-crossing produces velocity distributions that are consistent with that
observed.Comment: 30 pages and 7 figures. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal Full
resoultion figures 1 and 3 available in postscript at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~percy/A665paper.htm
Discovery of the Transiting Planet Kepler-5B
We present 44 days of high duty cycle, ultra precise photometry of the 13th magnitude star Kepler-5 (KIC 8191672, T(eff) = 6300 K, log g = 4.1), which exhibits periodic transits with a depth of 0.7%. Detailed modeling of the transit is consistent with a planetary companion with an orbital period of 3.548460 +/- 0.000032 days and a radius of 1.431(-0.052)(+0.041) R(J). Follow-up radial velocity measurements with the Keck HIRES spectrograph on nine separate nights demonstrate that the planet is more than twice as massive as Jupiter with a mass of 2.114(-0.059)(+0.056) M(J) and a mean density of 0.894 +/- 0.079 g cm(-3).NASA's Science Mission DirectorateAstronom
Hectospec, the MMT's 300 Optical Fiber-Fed Spectrograph
The Hectospec is a 300 optical fiber fed spectrograph commissioned at the MMT
in the spring of 2004. A pair of high-speed six-axis robots move the 300 fiber
buttons between observing configurations within ~300 s and to an accuracy ~25
microns. The optical fibers run for 26 m between the MMT's focal surface and
the bench spectrograph operating at R~1000-2000. Another high dispersion bench
spectrograph offering R~5,000, Hectochelle, is also available. The system
throughput, including all losses in the telescope optics, fibers, and
spectrograph peaks at ~10% at the grating blaze in 1" FWHM seeing. Correcting
for aperture losses at the 1.5" diameter fiber entrance aperture, the system
throughput peaks at 17%. Hectospec has proven to be a workhorse
instrument at the MMT. Hectospec and Hectochelle together were scheduled for
1/3 of the available nights since its commissioning. Hectospec has returned
\~60,000 reduced spectra for 16 scientific programs during its first year of
operation.Comment: 68 pages, 28 figures, to appear in December 2005 PAS
Recommended from our members
Kepler-4B: A Hot Neptune-Like Planet of A G0 Star Near Main-Sequence Turnoff
Early time-series photometry from NASA's Kepler spacecraft has revealed a planet transiting the star we term Kepler-4, at R.A. = 19(h)02(m)27.(s)68, delta = +50 degrees 08'08 '' 7. The planet has an orbital period of 3.213 days and shows transits with a relative depth of 0.87 x 10(-3) and a duration of about 3.95 hr. Radial velocity (RV) measurements from the Keck High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer show a reflex Doppler signal of 9.3(-1.9)(+1.1) m s(-1), consistent with a low-eccentricity orbit with the phase expected from the transits. Various tests show no evidence for any companion star near enough to affect the light curve or the RVs for this system. From a transit-based estimate of the host star's mean density, combined with analysis of high-resolution spectra, we infer that the host star is near turnoff from the main sequence, with estimated mass and radius of 1.223(-0.091)(+0.053) M(circle dot) and 1.487(-0.084)(+0.071) R(circle dot).We estimate the planet mass and radius to be {M(P), R(P)} = {24.5 +/- 3.8 M(circle plus), 3.99 +/- 0.21 R(circle plus)}. The planet's density is near 1.9 g cm(-3); it is thus slightly denser and more massive than Neptune, but about the same size.W. M. Keck FoundationNASA's Science Mission DirectorateAstronom
Architecture of Kepler's Multi-transiting Systems: II. New investigations with twice as many candidates
We report on the orbital architectures of Kepler systems having multiple
planet candidates identified in the analysis of data from the first six
quarters of Kepler data and reported by Batalha et al. (2013). These data show
899 transiting planet candidates in 365 multiple-planet systems and provide a
powerful means to study the statistical properties of planetary systems. Using
a generic mass-radius relationship, we find that only two pairs of planets in
these candidate systems (out of 761 pairs total) appear to be on Hill-unstable
orbits, indicating ~96% of the candidate planetary systems are correctly
interpreted as true systems. We find that planet pairs show little statistical
preference to be near mean-motion resonances. We identify an asymmetry in the
distribution of period ratios near first-order resonances (e.g., 2:1, 3:2),
with an excess of planet pairs lying wide of resonance and relatively few lying
narrow of resonance. Finally, based upon the transit duration ratios of
adjacent planets in each system, we find that the interior planet tends to have
a smaller transit impact parameter than the exterior planet does. This finding
suggests that the mode of the mutual inclinations of planetary orbital planes
is in the range 1.0-2.2 degrees, for the packed systems of small planets probed
by these observations.Comment: Accepted to Ap
Kepler-7b: A Transiting Planet with Unusually Low Density
We report the discovery and confirmation of Kepler-7b, a transiting planet
with unusually low density. The mass is less than half that of Jupiter, Mp =
0.43 Mj, but the radius is fifty percent larger, Rp = 1.48 Rj. The resulting
density, 0.17 g/cc, is the second lowest reported so far for an extrasolar
planet. The orbital period is fairly long, P = 4.886 days, and the host star is
not much hotter than the Sun, Teff = 6000 K. However, it is more massive and
considerably larger than the sun, Mstar = 1.35 Msun and Rstar = 1.84 Rsun, and
must be near the end of its life on the Main Sequence.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure
KELT-1b: A Strongly Irradiated, Highly Inflated, Short Period, 27 Jupiter-mass Companion Transiting a mid-F Star
We present the discovery of KELT-1b, the first transiting low-mass companion
from the wide-field Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope-North (KELT-North)
survey. The V=10.7 primary is a mildly evolved, solar-metallicity, mid-F star.
The companion is a low-mass brown dwarf or super-massive planet with mass of
27.23+/-0.50 MJ and radius of 1.110+0.037-0.024 RJ, on a very short period
(P=1.21750007) circular orbit. KELT-1b receives a large amount of stellar
insolation, with an equilibrium temperature assuming zero albedo and perfect
redistribution of 2422 K. Upper limits on the secondary eclipse depth indicate
that either the companion must have a non-zero albedo, or it must experience
some energy redistribution. Comparison with standard evolutionary models for
brown dwarfs suggests that the radius of KELT-1b is significantly inflated.
Adaptive optics imaging reveals a candidate stellar companion to KELT-1, which
is consistent with an M dwarf if bound. The projected spin-orbit alignment
angle is consistent with zero stellar obliquity, and the vsini of the primary
is consistent with tidal synchronization. Given the extreme parameters of the
KELT-1 system, we expect it to provide an important testbed for theories of the
emplacement and evolution of short-period companions, and theories of tidal
dissipation and irradiated brown dwarf atmospheres.Comment: 30 pages, 19 figures. Submitted to Ap
KELT-2Ab: A Hot Jupiter Transiting the Bright (V=8.77) Primary Star of a Binary System
We report the discovery of KELT-2Ab, a hot Jupiter transiting the bright
(V=8.77) primary star of the HD 42176 binary system. The host is a slightly
evolved late F-star likely in the very short-lived "blue-hook" stage of
evolution, with \teff=6148\pm48{\rm K}, and
\feh=0.034\pm0.78. The inferred stellar mass is
\msun\ and the star has a relatively large radius
of \rsun. The planet is a typical hot Jupiter with
period days and a mass of \mj\ and
radius of \rj. This is mildly inflated as compared
to models of irradiated giant planets at the 4 Gyr age of the system.
KELT-2A is the third brightest star with a transiting planet identified by
ground-based transit surveys, and the ninth brightest star overall with a
transiting planet. KELT-2Ab's mass and radius are unique among the subset of
planets with host stars, and therefore increases the diversity of bright
benchmark systems. We also measure the relative motion of KELT-2A and -2B over
a baseline of 38 years, robustly demonstrating for the first time that the
stars are bound. This allows us to infer that KELT-2B is an early K-dwarf. We
hypothesize that through the eccentric Kozai mechanism KELT-2B may have
emplaced KELT-2Ab in its current orbit. This scenario is potentially testable
with Rossiter-McLaughlin measurements, which should have an amplitude of
44 m s.Comment: 9 pages, 2 tables, 4 figures. A short video describing this paper is
available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVS8lnkXXlE. Revised to reflect
the ApJL version. Note that figure 4 is not in the ApJL versio
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