29 research outputs found
Creating a positive casual academic identity through change and loss
Neoliberalism has significantly impacted higher education institutes across the globe by increasing the number of casual and non-continuing academic positions. Insecure employments conditions have not only affected the well-being of contingent staff, but it has also weakened the democratic, intellectual and moral standing of academic institutions. This chapter provides one practitionerâs account of the challenges of casual work, but rather than dwelling on the negativities, it outlines the potential richness of an identity based on insecurity and uncertainty. This exploration draws on the literature of retired academics and identity theory to illustrate the potential generative spaces within an undefined and incoherent identity
Academic Arrhythmia: Disruption, Dissonance and Conflict in the Early-Career Rhythms of CMS Academics
Starting a career on the margins of the neoliberal business school is becoming increasingly challenging. We contribute to the understanding of the problems involved and to potential solutions by developing a theoretically-informed approach to the rhythms of academic life and drawing on interviews with 32 Critical Management Studies (CMS) early-career academics (ECAs) in 14 countries. Bringing together Lefebvreâs rhythmanalysis (and his concepts of polyrhythmia, eurhythmia and arrhythmia), Zerubavelâs sociology of time, and identity construction literature, we examine the rhythm-identity implications of the recent HE changes. We show how the dynamics between the broader pressures, institutional strategies, and our intervieweesâ attempts to reassert themselves are creating a vicious circle of arrhythmia â a debilitating condition characterized by rhythmic disruption, dissonance and conflict. Within the circle, identity insecurity and regulation, CMS ECAsâ identity work, and arrhythmia are mutually co-constructive, so that it is hard for individuals to break out. We consider the possibilities and limitations of individual coping strategies and, drawing out lessons for business schools, advocate for more collective and structural solutions. In so doing, we contribute to the reimagining of business schools as more eurhythmically polyrhythmic places where ECAs of all intellectual orientations have the time to learn and develop
A density functional theory investigation of the cobalt-mediated η5-pentadienyl/alkyne [5+2] cycloaddition reaction: mechanistic insight and substituent effects
Alkyl-substituted η(5)-pentadienyl half-sandwich complexes of cobalt have been reported to undergo [5+2] cycloaddition reactions with alkynes to provide η(2),η(3)-cycloheptadienyl complexes under kinetic control. DFT studies have been used to elucidate the mechanism of the cyclization reaction as well as that of the subsequent isomerization to the final η(5)-cycloheptadienyl product. The initial cyclization is a stepwise process of olefin decoordination/alkyne capture, C-C bond formation, olefin arm capture, and a second C-C bond formation; the initial decoordination/capture step is rate-limiting. Once the η(2),η(3)-cycloheptadienyl complex has been formed, isomerization to η(5)-cycloheptadienyl again involves several steps: olefin decoordination, ÎČ-hydride elimination, reinsertion, and olefin coordination; also here the initial decoordination step is rate limiting. Substituents strongly affect the ease of reaction. Pentadienyl substituents in the 1- and 5-positions assist pentadienyl opening and hence accelerate the reaction, while substituents at the 3-position have a strongly retarding effect on the same step. Substituents at the alkyne (2-butyne vs. ethyne) result in much faster isomerization due to easier olefin decoordination. Paths involving triplet states do not appear to be competitive
Evaluation of VOC measurements in the EXPOLIS study
Personal exposures and microenvironment concentrations of 30 target VOCs
were measured for 401 participants living in five European cities as a
part of the EXPOLIS (Air Pollution Exposure Distributions within Adult
Urban Populations in Europe) study. Measurements in Basel used an active
charcoal (Carbotech) adsorbent as opposed to the Tenax TA used in the
other study centres. In addition, within each centre, personal and
microenvironment VOC sampling required different sampling pumps and,
because of different sampling durations, different sampling flow rates.
Thus, careful testing of the sampling and analysis procedures was
required to ensure accuracy and comparability of collected data. Monitor
comparison tests using Tenax TA showed a mean VOC concentration ratio of
0.95 between the personal and microenvironment monitors. The LODs for
the target VOCs using Tenax TA ranged from 0.7 to 5.2 mug m(-3). The
LODs for the 14 target compounds quantifiable using Carbotech ranged
from 0.9 to 3.2 mug m(-3). Tenax TA field blanks showed no remarkable
contamination with the target VOCs, except benzaldehyde, a known
artefact with this adsorbent. Thus, the diffusion barrier system used
prevented contamination of Tenax TA samples by passive diffusion during
non-sampling periods. Duplicate and parallel evaluations of the Tenax TA
and Carbotech showed an average difference of <17% in VOC
concentrations within the sampling methods, but a systematic difference
between the methods (Tenax TA:Carbotech concentration ratio =
1.18-2.36). These field evaluations and quality assurance tests showed
that interpretation and comparison of the results in any VOC monitoring
exercise should be done on a compound by compound basis. It is also
apparent that carefully planned and realised QA and QC (QA/QC)
procedures are needed in multi-centre studies, where a common sampling
method and laboratory analysis technique are not used, to strengthen and
simplify the interpretation of observed VOC levels between participating
centres