Thinking beyond the hybrid:“actually-existing” cities “after neoliberalism” in Boyle <i>et al.</i>

In their article, ‘The spatialities of actually existing neoliberalism in Glasgow, 1977 to present’, Mark Boyle, Christopher McWilliams and Gareth Rice (2008) usefully problematise our current understanding of neoliberal urbanism. Our response is aimed at developing a sympathetic but critical approach to Boyle et al's understanding of neoliberal urbanism as illustrated by the Glasgow example. In particular, the counterposing by Boyle et al of a 'hybrid, mutant' model to a 'pure' model of neoliberalism for us misrepresents existing models of neoliberalism as a perfectly finished object rather than a roughly mottled process. That they do not identify any ‘pure’ model leads them to create a straw construct against which they can claim a more sophisticated, refined approach to the messiness of neoliberal urbanism. In contrast, we view neoliberalism as a contested and unstable response to accumulation crises at various scales of analysis

Obscuration of the Parsec Scale Jets in the Compact Symmetric Object 1946+708

We present results of VLA and VLBA observations of the 1.420 GHz neutral hydrogen absorption associated with the Compact Symmetric Object 1946+708 (z=0.101). We find significant structure in the gas on parsec scales. The peak column density in the HI (N_HI~2.2x10^23 cm^-2 (T_s/8000K)) occurs toward the center of activity of the source, as does the highest velocity dispersion (FWHM~350 \kms). In addition, we find that the continuum spectra of the various radio components associated with these jets strongly indicate free-free absorption. This effect is particularly pronounced toward the core and inner components of the receding jet, suggesting the presence of a screen local to the source, perhaps part of an obscuring torus.Comment: revised version, some text added, 1 figure changed; accepted to Astrophysical Journal, 22 page LaTeX document includes 8 postscript figure

On the Prospects for Laser Cooling of TlF

We measure the upper state lifetime and two ratios of vibrational branching fractions f_{v'v} on the B^{3}\Pi_{1}(v') - X^{1}\Sigma^{+}(v) transition of TlF. We find the B state lifetime to be 99(9) ns. We also determine that the off-diagonal vibrational decays are highly suppressed: f_{01}/f_{00} < 2x10^{-4} and f_{02}/f_{00} = 1.10(6)%, in excellent agreement with their predicted values of f_{01}/f_{00} < 8x10^{-4} and f_{02}/f_{00} = 1.0(2)% based on Franck-Condon factors calculated using Morse and RKR potentials. The implications of these results for the possible laser cooling of TlF and fundamental symmetries experiments are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Occupational (Im)mobility in the Global Care Economy: The Case of Foreign-Trained Nurses in the Canadian Context

The twenty-first century has witnessed a number of significant demographic and political shifts that have resulted in a care crisis. Addressing the deficit of care provision has led many nations to actively recruit migrant care labour, often under temporary forms of migration. The emergence of this phenomenon has resulted in a rich field of analysis using the lens of care, including the idea of the Global Care Chain. Revisions to this conceptualization have pushed for its extension beyond domestic workers in the home to include skilled workers in other institutional settings, particularly nurses in hospitals and long-term care settings. Reviewing relevant literature on migrant nurses, this article explores the labour market experiences of internationally educated nurses in Canada. The article reviews research on the barriers facing migrant nurses as they transfer their credentials to the Canadian context. Analysis of this literature suggests that internationally trained nurses experience a form of occupational (im)mobility, paradoxical, ambiguous and contingent processes that exploit global mobility, and results in the stratified incorporation of skilled migrant women into healthcare workplaces

Mixed farming diversification may be costly: southern Queensland case study

Many farmers in Australia and in other countries have a choice of crop or livestock production, and many choose a mixture of both, based on risk preference, personal interests, markets, land resources and local climate. Mixed farming can be a risk-spreading strategy, especially in highly variable climates, but the right scales of each enterprise within the mix may be critical to farm profitability.To investigate expected farm profits, the probability of breaking even, as well as the worst and best case scenarios, we used farm data and APSIM (Agricultural Production Systems Simulator) to simulate the production of a typical, semi-arid, mixed-farm in southern Queensland. Three farming system scenarios were investigated: I, livestock and more intensive cropping; II, current production system of livestock and minimal cropping; and III, livestock only. We found that the expected profits were in the order system I > system III > system II. The key reason for the lower profits of system II was the high overhead cost of capital to continue some cropping, with low annual cropping income. Under the worst case scenario, in years with low rainfall, system I had the greatest downside risk with far greater financial losses. Systems I and III had similar probabilities of breaking even, and higher than system II, which incurs cropping overheads and limited cropping returns. Therefore, system II was less desirable than either system I or III. This case study helps farmers and advisors of semi-arid mixed farming enterprises to be better informed when making decisions at the paddock and whole-farm level, in both the short and long term, with respect to profit and risk. The method used in this paper can be applied to other mixed farms, in Australia and elsewhere

Polarimetry of Compact Symmetric Objects

We present multi-frequency VLBA observations of two polarized Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs), J0000+4054 and J1826+1831, and a polarized CSO candidate, J1915+6548. Using the wavelength-squared dependence of Faraday rotation, we obtained rotation measures (RMs) of -180 \pm 10 rad m^-2 and 1540 \pm 7 rad m^-2 for the latter two sources. These are lower than what is expected of CSOs (several 1000 rad m^-2) and, depending on the path length of the Faraday screens, require magnetic fields from 0.03 to 6 \mu G. These CSOs may be more heavily affected by Doppler boosting than their unpolarized counterparts, suggesting that a jet-axis orientation more inclined towards the line of sight is necessary to detect any polarization. This allows for low RMs if the polarized components are oriented away from the depolarizing circumnuclear torus. These observations also add a fourth epoch to the proper motion studies of J0000+4054 and J1826+1831, constraining their kinematic age estimates to >610 yrs and 2600 \pm 490 yrs, respectively. The morphology, spectrum, and component motions of J1915+6548 are discussed in light of its new classification as a CSO candidate, and its angle to the line of sight (~50\deg) is determined from relativistic beaming arguments.Comment: 29 pages, including 9 figures; Accepted by Astrophysical Journal, 16 Feb 0

Extragalactic water masers in bright IRAS sources

We report the results of a search for 22 GHz water maser emission in IRAS-bright galaxies, using the 100-m Effelsberg telescope. In particular, we present the details of four new maser detections (IC342, NGC2146, NGC3556, and Arp299) and follow-up interferometric studies. A comparison between water maser detection rates derived in the present study and those in previous similar surveys is also presented.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in "The Neutral ISM in Starburst Galaxies", ASP Conference Series, Volume xxx, 2003, eds. S. Aalto, S. Huettemeister, A. Pedla

X-ray emission from massive stars in Cyg OB2

We report on the analysis of the Chandra-ACIS data of O, B and WR stars in the young association Cyg OB2. X-ray spectra of 49 O-stars, 54 B-stars and 3 WR-stars are analyzed and for the brighter sources, the epoch dependence of the X-ray fluxes is investigated. The O-stars in Cyg\,OB2 follow a well-defined scaling relation between their X-ray and bolometric luminosities: log(Lx/Lbol) = -7.2 +/- 0.2. This relation is in excellent agreement with the one previously derived for the Carina OB1 association. Except for the brightest O-star binaries, there is no general X-ray overluminosity due to colliding winds in O-star binaries. Roughly half of the known B-stars in the surveyed field are detected, but they fail to display a clear relationship between Lx and Lbol. Out of the three WR stars in Cyg OB2, probably only WR144 is itself responsible for the observed level of X-ray emission, at a very low log(Lx/Lbol) = -8.8 +/- 0.2. The X-ray emission of the other two WR-stars (WR145 and 146) is most probably due to their O-type companion along with a moderate contribution from a wind-wind interaction zone.Comment: Accepted for an ApJS Special Issue devoted to the Chandra Cygnus OB2 Legacy Surve