Introduction: Diminishing Returns? Feminist Engagements with the Return to "the Commons"

Recently, there has been a resurgence in political theory and political philosophy addressing the concept of “the commons”. Some of the most popularly cited references to the idea can be found in the work of Slavoj Žižek (2009) and Hardt and Negri (2009). The past century has also seen vast and varied critical feminist engagements with historically changing concepts of communism and “the commons”. Struggles for universal suffrage, critiques of universality, denouncements of the hollowing out of the welfare state as a result of neoliberalisation, and challenges to the concept of the human, are all examples of a rich and diverse feminist tradition of engagement with the concept of “the commons”. Given the popular return to the idea of the commons, what more does feminist analysis have to give to this conversation? The following papers arise from a workshop held in March 2011, hosted by the Kent Centre for Law, Gender, and Sexuality and Kent Law School, to explore this question

Conservation of Mechanisms Controlling Entry into Mitosis Budding Yeast Wee1 Delays Entry into Mitosis and Is Required for Cell Size Control

AbstractBackground: In fission yeast, the Wee1 kinase delays entry into mitosis until a critical cell size has been reached; however, a similar role for Wee1-related kinases has not been reported in other organisms. SWE1, the budding yeast homolog of wee1, is thought to function in a morphogenesis checkpoint that delays entry into mitosis in response to defects in bud morphogenesis.Results: In contrast to previous studies, we found that budding yeast swe1Δ cells undergo premature entry into mitosis, leading to birth of abnormally small cells. Additional experiments suggest that conditions that activate the morphogenesis checkpoint may actually be activating a G2/M cell size checkpoint. For example, actin depolymerization is thought to activate the morphogenesis checkpoint by inhibiting bud morphogenesis. However, actin depolymerization also inhibits bud growth, suggesting that it could activate a cell size checkpoint. Consistent with this possibility, we found that actin depolymerization fails to induce a G2/M delay once daughter buds pass a critical size. Other conditions that activate the morphogenesis checkpoint block bud formation, which could also activate a size checkpoint if cell size at G2/M is monitored in the daughter bud. Previous work reported that Swe1 is degraded during G2, which was proposed to account for failure of large-budded cells to arrest in response to actin depolymerization. However, we found that Swe1 is present throughout G2 and undergoes hyperphosphorylation as cells enter mitosis, as found in other organisms.Conclusions: Our results suggest that the mechanisms known to coordinate entry into mitosis in other organisms have been conserved in budding yeast

A Comparison of Patient Satisfaction with Emergency Department Opt-In and Opt-Out Rapid HIV Screening

Study objective. To compare patient satisfaction with emergency department (ED) opt-in and opt-out HIV screening. Methods. We conducted a survey in an urban ED that provided rapid HIV screening using opt-in (February 1, 2007–July 31, 2007) and opt-out (August 1, 2007–January 31, 2008) approaches. We surveyed a convenience sample of patients that completed screening in each phase. The primary outcome was patient satisfaction with HIV screening. Results. There were 207 and 188 completed surveys during the opt-in and opt-out phases, respectively. The majority of patients were satisfied with both opt-in screening (95%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 92–98) and opt-out screening (94%, 95% CI = 89–97). Satisfaction ratings were similar between opt-in and opt-out phases even after adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and test result (adjusted odds ratio 1.3, 95% CI = 0.5–3.1). Conclusions. Emergency department patient satisfaction with opt-in and opt-out HIV screening is similarly high

Employee-Based Versus Employer-Based Subsidies to Low-Wage Workers: A Public Finance Perspective

We revisit the relative merits of employee-based versus employer-based labor market subsidies. While conventional analyses stress the equivalence of these approaches, we find a modest preference for employee-based approaches. Because the population of low-wage workers overlaps, but is not identical to, the populations of low-skill or low-income workers, simple employer-based approaches are likely to be poorly targeted. Targeting may be improved by identification of eligible workers, but identification itself raises the possibility of detrimental stigma associated with the program. When combined with lower participation rates among firms than among households, the size of employer-based subsidies needed to match the outcome of an employee-based subsidy becomes quite large. We review the empirical performance of major subsidy programs. We find that employer-based programs have been characterized by low participation rates and relatively little success. In contrast, the Earned Income Tax Credit appears relatively successful in targeting the desired population, inducing additional labor market participation, and raising incomes

Role of the QBO in modulating the influence of the 11 year solar cycle on the atmosphere using constant forcings

We present a set of six 20 year experiments made with a state-of-the-art chemistry-climate model that incorporates the atmosphere from the surface to the lower thermosphere. The response of the middle atmosphere to the 11 year solar cycle, its impact on the troposphere, and especially the role of an externally prescribed stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is investigated with NCAR's Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM3). The model experiments use either fixed solar cycle inputs or fixed solar cycle together with prescribed QBO phase. The annual mean solar response in temperature and ozone in the upper stratosphere is in qualitative agreement with other modeling and observational studies and does not depend on the presence of the imposed QBO. However, the solar response in the middle to lower stratosphere differs significantly for the two QBO phases. During solar maxima a weaker Brewer-Dobson circulation with relative downwelling, warming, and enhanced ozone occurs in the tropical lower stratosphere during QBO east conditions, while a stronger circulation, cooling, and decreased ozone exists during QBO west conditions. The net ozone increase during QBO east is the combined result of production and advection, whereas during QBO west the effects cancel each other and result in little net ozone changes. Especially during Southern Hemisphere late winter to early spring, the solar response at polar latitudes switches sign between the two QBO phases and qualitatively confirms observations and other recent model studies. During a poleward downward modulation of the polar night jet and a corresponding modulation of the Brewer-Dobson circulation in time, solar signals are detected all the way down to the extratropical troposphere. Possible limitations of the model experiments with respect to the fixed solar cycle conditions or the prescribed QBO phases, as well as the constant sea surface temperatures, are discussed

Genome sequences of three hpAfrica2 strains of Helicobacter pylori

We present the genome sequences of three hpAfrica2 strains of Helicobacter pylori, which are postulated to have evolved in isolation for many millennia in people of San ethnicity. Although previously considered to be ancestral to Helicobacter acinonychis, the hpAfrica2 strains differ markedly from H. acinonychis in their gene arrangement. These data provide new insights into Helicobacter evolution

Exploring Relationships between Time, Law and Social Ordering: A Curated Conversation

This interdisciplinary and international 'curated conversation' focuses on the relationship between time, law and social ordering. Participants were drawn from law, sociology and anthropology in the UK, Canada and the Netherlands. Their research is inspired by, and engaged with, feminist theory, post- or anti-colonial perspectives and/or critical race theory. In an extended written conversation lasting several days (and later edited), participants reflected on how questions of time have emerged in their research, the ways in which they have struggled with conceptual or methodological dilemmas to do with analysing time in relation to law or social ordering. The conversation focused in particular on how constructions of race are co-imbricated with dominant temporal idioms and practices and the challenges this poses for researchers interesting in unpicking the knotted relationships between race, colonialism, and specific legal technicalities or approaches

Queer anti-racist activism and strategies of critique: a roundtable discussion

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Wide-field Imaging Interferometry Testbed II: Implementation, Performance, and Plans

The Wide-Field Imaging Interferometry Testbed (WIIT) will provide valuable information for the development of space-based interferometers. This laboratory instrument operates at optical wavelengths and provides the ability to test operational algorithms and techniques for data reduction of interferometric data. Here we present some details of the system design and implementation, discuss the overall performance of the system to date, and present our plans for future development of WIIT. In order to make best use of the interferometric data obtained with this system, it is critical to limit uncertainties within the system and to accurately understand possible sources of error. The WIIT design addresses these criteria through a number of ancillary systems. The use of redundant metrology systems is one of the most important features of WIIT, and provides knowledge of the delay line position to better than 10 nm. A light power detector is used to monitor the brightness of our light sources to ensure that small fluctuations in brightness do not affect overall performance. We have placed temperature sensors on critical components of the instrument, and on the optical table, in order to assess environmental effects on the system. The use of these systems provides us with estimates of the overall system uncertainty, and allows an overall characterization of the results to date. These estimates allow us to proceed forward with WIIT, adding rotation stages for 2-D interferometry. In addition, they suggest possible avenues for system improvement. Funding for WIIT is provided by NASA Headquarters through the ROSS/SARA Program and by the Goddard Space Flight Center through the IR&D Program.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure