Performative Work: Bridging Performativity and Institutional Theory in the Responsible Investment Field

Callon’s performativity thesis has illuminated how economic theories and calculative devices shape markets, but has been challenged for its neglect of the organizational, institutional and political context. Our seven-year qualitative study of a large financial data company found that the company’s initial attempt to change the responsible investment field through a performative approach failed because of the constraints posed by field practices and organizational norms on the design of the calculative device. However, the company was subsequently able to put in place another form of performativity by attending to the normative and regulative associations of the device. We theorize this route to performativity by proposing the concept of performative work, which designates the necessary institutional work to enable translation and the subsequent adoption of the device. We conclude by considering the implications of performative work for the performativity and the institutional work literatures

Plastic localization phenomena in a Mn-alloyed austenitic steel

A 0.5 wt pct C, 22 wt pct Mn austenitic steel, recently proposed for fabricating automotive body structures by cold sheet forming, exhibits plastic localizations (PLs) during uniaxial tensile tests, yet showing a favorable overall strength and ductility. No localization happens during biaxial Erichsen cupping tests. Full-thickness tensile and Erichsen specimens, cut from as-produced steel sheets, were polished and tested at different strain rates. During the tensile tests, the PL phenomena consist first of macroscopic deformation bands traveling along the tensile axis, and then of a series of successive stationary deformation bands, each adjacent to the preceding ones; both types of bands involve the full specimen width and yield a macroscopically observable surface relief. No comparable surface relief was observed during the standard Erichsen tests. Because the stress state is known to influence PL phenomena, reduced-width Erichsen tests were performed on polished sheet specimens, in order to explore the transition from biaxial to uniaxial loading; surface relief lines were observed on a 20-mm-wide specimen, but not on wider ones

Egyptian historical parks, authenticity vs. change in Cairo's cultural landscapes

As a historically intense country, Egypt's built environment has always been the focus of plentiful urban research. However, the natural component in the urban fabric of Egyptian cities has been undermined and understudied in between all the numerous ideas and data. In a historical city like Cairo, layers of history are illustrated in its parks and gardens. Left unearthed and neglected, these vital spaces are subject to negative change and decay under the pressure of land use demands, among various other challenges. Many of Cairo's parks and gardens date back to the 19th and 20th century, containing endless gestures from the cultural essence of this time era in their design. This paper discusses ten public parks and gardens in Cairo founded in the 19th and 20th centuries, and survive to our present day (whether completely or partially). Viewing the initial design and development of these parks in comparison with their current state is rather intriguing to investigate. These historical parks and gardens are worthy of identification for preservation. With resourceful and directed management, these spaces can dramatically change the view of Cairo as a suffocating dense urban tissue, to a more perforated and engaging urban experience for its community