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 practitioner’s 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 Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis (and his concepts of polyrhythmia, eurhythmia and arrhythmia), Zerubavel’s 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 interviewees’ attempts to reassert themselves are creating a vicious circle of arrhythmia – a debilitating condition characterized by rhythmic disruption, dissonance and conflict. Within the circle, identity insecurity and regulation, CMS ECAs’ 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

Crystal structure of bis(η2-ethylene)(η5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)cobalt

The title compound, [Co(C10H15)(C2H4)2], was prepared by Na/Hg reduction of [Co2(C10H15)2(μ-Cl)2] in THF under an ethylene atmosphere and crystallized from pentane at 193 K. The Co—C(olefin) bonds have an average length of 2.022 (2) Å, while the Co—C(pentadienyl) bonds average 2.103 (19) Å. The olefin C=C bonds are 1.410 (1) Å. The dihedral angle between the planes defined by the cyclopentadienyl ligand and the two olefin ligands is 0.25 (12)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked into chains by C—H...π interactions

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, β-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

[5 + 1 + 2 + 1] vs [5 + 1 + 1 + 2] Rhodium-Catalyzed Cycloaddition Reactions of Vinylcyclopropanes with Terminal Alkynes and Carbon Monoxide: Density Functional Theory Investigations of Convergent Mechanistic Pathways and Reaction Regioselectivity

The mechanism of the Rh-catalyzed [5 + 1 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition of VCPs, terminal alkynes, and CO to yield hydroxydihydroindanones has been investigated by ωB97XD/SDD-6-31G* DFT calculations. The study has revealed the existence of two convergent cycloaddition pathways, [5 + 1 + 2 + 1] and [5 + 1 + 1 + 2], differing by only 2 kcal/mol. Both metal-catalyzed and off-metal electrocyclization/aromatization mechanisms for the final bicyclization reaction were investigated, with the traditional acid-catalyzed pathway dominating. The catalytic cycle is limited by the rate of alkyne insertion, which is consistent with mechanistic studies of the related [5 + 2] cycloaddition reaction. Monosubstituted alkyne insertion regioselectivity is kinetically controlled, with insertion via the unsubstituted alkyne terminus predominating. The alkyne insertion process does not appear to be sensitive to steric effects, with both the propyne and phenylacetylene model alkynes showing similar selectivities (TS energy differences of ca. 5 kcal/mol in both cases for the two regioisomeric transition states). C–C bond activation of disubstituted vinylcyclopropanes was investigated, suggesting that activation of the least substituted C–C bond is preferred unless an electron-withdrawing group is present on the VCP, in which case the most substituted bond will be cleaved