Critical Dialog: Response to Rachel M. Gillum’s Review of The Politics of the Headscarf in the United States

A Critical Dialog between the reviewer, Rachel M. Gillum, of The Politics of the Headscarf in the United States and the authors, Bozena C. Welborne, Aubrey L. Westfall, Özge Çelik Russell, and Sarah A. Tobin. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2018. 264p

Figurations of displacement in and beyond Jordan: empirical findings and reflections on protracted displacement and translocal connections of Syrian refugees

This working paper is based on the empirical research on translocal figurations of displacement of Syrians in Jordan. It contains methodological discussions, central findings and reflections on these findings. Drawing on the conceptual framework of the TRAFIG project, this paper explores the central research question of TRAFIG, namely "how are protractedness, dependency, and vulnerability related to the factors of local and translocal connectivity and mobility, and in turn, how can connectivity and mobility be utilized to enhance the self-reliance and strengthen the resilience of displaced people?" The paper presents findings from Jordan, where Syrian refugees have sought refuge in host communities. Syrian refugees' stay in Jordan has become increasingly protracted, with the durable solutions of return in safety and dignity, local integration and resettlement remaining out of reach for most. In this paper, we argue that Syrians are de facto integrated in Jordanian host communities due to shared language, religion and socio-cultural ties as a pragmatic strategy for dealing with uncertainty and protracted displacement. We found that family- and kin networks have proven vital in facilitating and protecting mobility out of Syria and within Jordan, even as these networks are strained due to physical and geographic distance, reliant upon aid and financial support and socio-economic stress in the local labour market. We see that Syrians experience uncertain futures in which their mobility aspirations are unrealised, economic prospects are reliant upon and highly competitive with others, and connectivity with the host community is strained and can be improved

Polymer-Supported Photosensitizers for Oxidative Organic Transformations in Flow and under Visible Light Irradiation

A 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BTZ)–based vinyl crosslinker was synthesized and copolymerized with large excesses of styrene using free radical polymerization to deliver heterogeneous triplet photosensitizers in three distinct physical formats: gels, beads and monoliths. These photosensitizers were employed for the production of singlet oxygen (1O2) and for the aerobic hydroxylation of aryl boronic acids via superoxide radical anion (O2˙-) whereby the materials demonstrated good chemical and photo stability. BTZ-containing beads and monoliths were exploited as photosensitizers in a commercial flow reactor, and 1O2 production was also demonstrated using direct sunlight irradiation, with a conversion rate comparable to the rates achieved when using a 420 nm LED module as the source of photons

A Triple Protostar System Formed via Fragmentation of a Gravitationally Unstable Disk

Binary and multiple star systems are a frequent outcome of the star formation process, and as a result, almost half of all sun-like stars have at least one companion star. Theoretical studies indicate that there are two main pathways that can operate concurrently to form binary/multiple star systems: large scale fragmentation of turbulent gas cores and filaments or smaller scale fragmentation of a massive protostellar disk due to gravitational instability. Observational evidence for turbulent fragmentation on scales of $>$1000~AU has recently emerged. Previous evidence for disk fragmentation was limited to inferences based on the separations of more-evolved pre-main sequence and protostellar multiple systems. The triple protostar system L1448 IRS3B is an ideal candidate to search for evidence of disk fragmentation. L1448 IRS3B is in an early phase of the star formation process, likely less than 150,000 years in age, and all protostars in the system are separated by $<$200~AU. Here we report observations of dust and molecular gas emission that reveal a disk with spiral structure surrounding the three protostars. Two protostars near the center of the disk are separated by 61 AU, and a tertiary protostar is coincident with a spiral arm in the outer disk at a 183 AU separation. The inferred mass of the central pair of protostellar objects is $\sim$1 M$_{sun}$, while the disk surrounding the three protostars has a total mass of $\sim$0.30 M_{\sun}. The tertiary protostar itself has a minimum mass of $\sim$0.085 M$_{sun}$. We demonstrate that the disk around L1448 IRS3B appears susceptible to disk fragmentation at radii between 150~AU and 320~AU, overlapping with the location of the tertiary protostar. This is consistent with models for a protostellar disk that has recently undergone gravitational instability, spawning one or two companion stars.Comment: Published in Nature on Oct. 27th. 24 pages, 8 figure