Discourse or reality: “work-life balance” flexibility and gendered organisations.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) and particularly reduced hours working arrangements on a Dual Agenda of gender equity and workplace effectiveness, in a case study organization employing a relatively high proportion of women scientists. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth interviews based on the initial stages of collaborative interactive action research (CIAR) are used within a case-study approach. The interviews explored working practices, the assumptions underpinning them and their un/intended consequences. Findings – The main form of FWA used in the organization, four days a week, is double edged and complex in its effects. It supports mothers, but at a cost because of gendered assumptions. Despite a commitment to flexibility and “work-life balance”, the gendered construction of the ideal worker and ideas of competence conflated with hegemonic masculinity, remain powerful. This, together with a prevalent “good mother” ideology, undermines both gender equity and workplace effectiveness. Practical implications – This paper is of value to both researchers and policy makers. It shows that highly developed work-life balance or flexible working polices are not sufficient to enhance gender equity and points to the importance of surfacing and challenging gender assumptions in science, engineering and technology. It emphasizes the need to move forward from policy to practice. Originality/value – This paper contributes to a growing body of work using initial stages of the CIAR methodology and showcases the theoretical insights gained by such an approach

Physically modeling and mathematically simulating pressure transients in transfer lines

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2008.Characterizing transient flow is not a trivial venture. It provides an excellent challenge for a senior mechanical engineering lab class. This project aimed at developing a new physical system for such a class based on the benefits and short comings of the previously used physical system. A physical system was developed to vary key parameters, such as run length and pipe diameter. Pipe diameter was previously not a variable parameter. The physical system was designed to help the operator's intuition in developing a mathematical model for said system. The design incorporated solenoid valves and clear pipe. In contrast to the previous system that used ball valves and copper pipe. These features were chosen so that those using the system could neglect human error and visually inspect the flow. The system was designed to increase variation between runs so that a more robust model could be developed. The flexibility of the physical system allows for the examination of more complex flows than the previous system. The mathematical model that was developed characterized the flow reasonably well. The unsteady Bernoulli equation was implemented with major and minor losses. The model revealed several aspects of the physical system that were not immediately obvious from the data. The unpredicted aspects of the physical system were the fluctuation in tank pressure over the test duration and the correlation between tank pressure and the loss coefficient of the main solenoid valve. The higher the pressure the lower the loss coefficient across the valve. The mathematical model did not account for losses that increase as the water air interface moves through different fittings. This was a major shortcoming of the mathematical model that was developed.by Matthew S. Humbert.S.B

Comparison of modern icing cloud instruments

Intercomparison tests with Particle Measuring Systems (PMS) were conducted. Cloud liquid water content (LWC) measurements were also taken with a Johnson and Williams (JW) hot-wire device and an icing rate device (Leigh IDS). Tests include varying cloud LWC (0.5 to 5 au gm), cloud median volume diameter (MVD) (15 to 26 microns), temperature (-29 to 20 C), and air speeds (50 to 285 mph). Comparisons were based upon evaluating probe estimates of cloud LWC and median volume diameter for given tunnel settings. Variations of plus or minus 10% and plus or minus 5% in LWC and MVD, respectively, were determined of spray clouds between test made at given tunnel settings (fixed LWC, MVD, and air speed) indicating cloud conditions were highly reproducible. Although LWC measurements from JW and Leigh devices were consistent with tunnel values, individual probe measurements either consistently over or underestimated tunnel values by factors ranging from about 0.2 to 2. Range amounted to a factor of 6 differences between LWC estimates of probes for given cloud conditions. For given cloud conditions, estimates of cloud MVD between probes were within plus or minus 3 microns and 93% of the test cases. Measurements overestimated tunnel values in the range between 10 to 20 microns. The need for improving currently used calibration procedures was indicated. Establishment of test facility (or facilities) such as an icing tunnel where instruments can be calibrated against known cloud standards would be a logical choice

Ultracold heteronuclear molecules in a 3D optical lattice

We report on the creation of ultracold heteronuclear molecules assembled from fermionic 40K and bosonic 87Rb atoms in a 3D optical lattice. Molecules are produced at a heteronuclear Feshbach resonance both on the attractive and the repulsive side of the resonance. We precisely determine the binding energy of the heteronuclear molecules from rf spectroscopy across the Feshbach resonance. We characterize the lifetime of the molecular sample as a function of magnetic field and measure between 20 and 120ms. The efficiency of molecule creation via rf association is measured and is found to decrease as expected for more deeply bound molecules.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Observation of resonant interactions among surface gravity waves

We experimentally study resonant interactions of oblique surface gravity waves in a large basin. Our results strongly extend previous experimental results performed mainly for perpendicular or collinear wave trains. We generate two oblique waves crossing at an acute angle, while we control their frequency ratio, steepnesses and directions. These mother waves mutually interact and give birth to a resonant wave whose properties (growth rate, resonant response curve and phase locking) are fully characterized. All our experimental results are found in good quantitative agreement with four-wave interaction theory with no fitting parameter. Off-resonance experiments are also reported and the relevant theoretical analysis is conducted and validated.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Was denken deutsche Ökonomen? Eine empirische Auswertung einer Internetbefragung unter den Mitgliedern des Vereins für Socialpolitik im Sommer 2006

This article presents the results of a survey among the members of the "Verein f¨ur Socialpolitik", the association of German speaking economists, containing questions on schools of thought, economic role models and policy issues. A probit analysis is used to identify to what extent ideological preferences or personal facts determine the respondent's opinion. Some of the questions were already asked a quarter of a century ago so that it is possible to track the changes in view among economists. One of the most important findings is that neoclassical economics has become more strongly accepte