Collective narratives and politics in the contemporary study of work : the new management practices debate

In this article we explore the question of how as sociologists of work we might research those who constitute the substance of our labour process. We approach this question through an examination of the New Management Practices debate, principally in the labour movement where a distinctive and critical view of NMP developed in the late 1980s. Second, we argue that there is a link between this debate and the wider politics of labour process discussion both within and beyond the labour movement which has witnessed a shift away from an earlier engagement with worker interventions. In response we suggest the need to re-evaluate the nature of academic engagement with labour thus reanimating a closer engagement with labour-in-work and collective worker narratives

Shop-floor bargaining and the struggle for job control in the British automobile and aerospace industries 1950-1982

In the UK automobile and aerospace industries, the struggle over job control and rewards for labour expended in the production process was particularly intense in the period of steady economic growth, high and stable employment, and low inflation, following the Second World War. This struggle reached its zenith during a phase of increasing output in the 1950s and early 1960s. By the late 1960s, however, as wages and unemployment began to rise and the rate of growth slowed there was a discernible shift in management industrial relations strategy and efforts by government to curb the authority and influence of shop-stewards. Despite disparities both between and within these respective industries, particularly the higher skill levels required by the aerospace sector, common experiences of the transformation of labour conditions of work are noticeable. In mapping some key historical struggles of automobile and aerospace workers against management forms of authority and control, it should be possible to distinguish the critical dynamics prevalent in both industries. Knowledge of the trajectory of labour relations and the pattern and character of conflict is critical to understanding and accounting for continuity and change in the social relations of production

Universal generalization and universal inter-item confusability

We argue that confusability between items should be distinguished from generalization between items. Shepard's data concern confusability, but the theories proposed by Shepard and by Tenenbaum & Griffiths concern generalization, indicating a gap between theory and data. We consider the empirical and theoretical work involved in bridging this gap

High Angular Resolution Stellar Imaging with Occultations from the Cassini Spacecraft II: Kronocyclic Tomography

We present an advance in the use of Cassini observations of stellar occultations by the rings of Saturn for stellar studies. Stewart et al. (2013) demonstrated the potential use of such observations for measuring stellar angular diameters. Here, we use these same observations, and tomographic imaging reconstruction techniques, to produce two dimensional images of complex stellar systems. We detail the determination of the basic observational reference frame. A technique for recovering model-independent brightness profiles for data from each occulting edge is discussed, along with the tomographic combination of these profiles to build an image of the source star. Finally we demonstrate the technique with recovered images of the {\alpha} Centauri binary system and the circumstellar environment of the evolved late-type giant star, Mira.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, Accepted by MNRA

High Angular Resolution Stellar Imaging with Occultations from the Cassini Spacecraft I: Observational Technique

We present novel observations utilising the Cassini spacecraft to conduct an observing campaign for stellar astronomy from a vantage point in the outer solar system. By exploiting occultation events in which Mira passed behind the Saturnian ring plane as viewed by Cassini, parametric imaging data were recovered spanning the near-infrared. From this, spatial information at extremely high angular resolution was recovered enabling a study of the stellar atmospheric extension across a spectral bandpass spanning the 1 - 5 {\mu}m spectral region in the near-infrared. The resulting measurements of the angular diameter of Mira were found to be consistent with existing observations of its variation in size with wavelength. The present study illustrates the validity of the technique; more detailed exploration of the stellar physics obtained by this novel experiment will be the subject of forthcoming papers.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Field induced magnetic order in the frustrated magnet Gadolinium Gallium Garnet

Gd3Ga5O12, (GGG), has an extraordinary magnetic phase diagram, where no long range order is found down to 25 mK despite \Theta_CW \approx 2 K. However, long range order is induced by an applied field of around 1 T. Motivated by recent theoretical developments and the experimental results for a closely related hyperkagome system, we have performed neutron diffraction measurements on a single crystal sample of GGG in an applied magnetic field. The measurements reveal that the H-T phase diagram of GGG is much more complicated than previously assumed. The application of an external field at low T results in an intensity change for most of the magnetic peaks which can be divided into three distinct sets: ferromagnetic, commensurate antiferromagnetic, and incommensurate antiferromagnetic. The ferromagnetic peaks (e.g. (112), (440) and (220)) have intensities that increase with the field and saturate at high field. The antiferromagnetic reflections have intensities that grow in low fields, reach a maximum at an intermediate field (apart from the (002) peak which shows two local maxima) and then decrease and disappear above 2 T. These AFM peaks appear, disappear and reach maxima in different fields. We conclude that the competition between magnetic interactions and alternative ground states prevents GGG from ordering in zero field. It is, however, on the verge of ordering and an applied magnetic field can be used to crystallise ordered components. The range of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic propagation vectors found reflects the complex frustration in GGG.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, HFM 2008 conference pape

Residual stress of as-deposited and rolled Wire + Arc Additive Manufacturing Ti–6Al–4V components

Wire + arc additive manufacturing components contain significant residual stresses, which manifest in distortion. High-pressure rolling was applied to each layer of a linear Ti–6Al–4V wire + arc additive manufacturing component in between deposition passes. In rolled specimens, out-of-plane distortion was more than halved; a change in the deposits' geometry due to plastic deformation was observed and process repeatability was increased. The Contour method of residual stresses measurements showed that although the specimens still exhibited tensile stresses (up to 500 MPa), their magnitude was reduced by 60%, particularly at the interface between deposit and substrate. The results were validated with neutron diffraction measurements, which were in good agreement away from the baseplate

Impact of sublethal levels of environmental pollutants found in sewage sludge on a novel Caenorhabditis elegans model biosensor

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Carbon turnover in the water-soluble protein of the adult human lens.

PurposeHuman eye lenses contain cells that persist from embryonic development. These unique, highly specialized fiber cells located at the core (nucleus) of the lens undergo pseudo-apoptosis to become devoid of cell nuclei and most organelles. Ostensibly lacking in protein transcriptional capabilities, it is currently believed that these nuclear fiber cells owe their extreme longevity to the perseverance of highly stable and densely packed crystallin proteins. Maintaining the structural and functional integrity of lenticular proteins is necessary to sustain cellular transparency and proper vision, yet the means by which the lens actually copes with a lifetime of oxidative stress, seemingly without any capacity for protein turnover and repair, is not completely understood. Although many years of research have been predicated upon the assumption that there is no protein turnover or renewal in nuclear fiber cells, we investigated whether or not different protein fractions possess protein of different ages by using the (14)C bomb pulse.MethodsAdult human lenses were concentrically dissected by gently removing the cell layers in water or shaving to the nucleus with a curved micrometer-controlled blade. The cells were lysed, and the proteins were separated into water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions. The small molecules were removed using 3 kDa spin filters. The (14)C/C was measured in paired protein fractions by accelerator mass spectrometry, and an average age for the material within the sample was assigned using the (14)C bomb pulse.ResultsThe water-insoluble fractions possessed (14)C/C ratios consistent with the age of the cells. In all cases, the water-soluble fractions contained carbon that was younger than the paired water-insoluble fraction.ConclusionsAs the first direct evidence of carbon turnover in protein from adult human nuclear fiber cells, this discovery supports the emerging view of the lens nucleus as a dynamic system capable of maintaining homeostasis in part due to intricate protein transport mechanisms and possibly protein repair. This finding implies that the lens plays an active role in the aversion of age-related nuclear (ARN) cataract