Emotional labour/body work: The caring labours of migrants in the UK’s National Health Service

The provision of care is an increasingly pressing issue in the Global North. With an ageing population and policies encouraging women into the labour market, there is a growing need for workers to undertake paid caring. This poses important and urgent questions about the social organisation of labour markets. Care work typically is low paid and undertaken in precarious, informal, or temporary situations. Many posts are filled by economic migrants, raising concerns about a care deficit in sending countries. In this paper we examine the ‘caring work’ undertaken by migrant workers in a West London Hospital. We employ a twofold characterisation of caring work. Like other bottom-end service sector work, this work is characterised by the face-to-face ‘emotional labour’. However, it also requires ‘body work’: close and often intimate physical contact between carers and those they care for. We argue that both of these aspects are important in understanding how caring work is constructed as poorly regarded and low paid. We show how these features play out in particular ways for migrant workers employed in such caring work.     

The consolations of ‘neoliberalism’

Recent work on neoliberalism has sought to reconcile a Marxist understanding of hegemony with poststructuralist ideas of discourse and governmentality derived from Foucault. This paper argues that this convergence cannot resolve the limitations of Marxist theories of contemporary socio-economic change, and nor do they do justice to the degree to which Foucault’s work might be thought of as a supplement to liberal political thought. The turn to Foucault highlights the difficulty that theories of hegemony have in accounting for the suturing together of top-down programmes with the activities of everyday life. However, the prevalent interpretation of governmentality only compounds this problem, by supposing that the implied subject-effects of programmes of rule are either automatically realised, or more or less successfully ‘contested’ and ‘resisted’. Theories of hegemony and of governmentality both assume that subject-formation works through a circular process of recognition and subjection. Both approaches therefore treat ‘the social’ as a residual effect of hegemonic projects and/or governmental rationalities. This means that neither approach can acknowledge the proactive role that long-term rhythms of socio-cultural change can play in reshaping formal practices of politics, policy, and administration. The instrumental use of notions of governmentality to sustain theories of neoliberalism and neoliberalization supports a two-dimensional understanding of political power—which is understood in terms of relations of imposition and resistance—and of geographical space—which is understood in terms of the diffusion and contingent combination of hegemonic projects. Theories of neoliberalism provide a consoling image of how the world works, and in their simplistic reiteration of the idea that liberalism privileges the market and individual self-interest, they provide little assistance in thinking about how best to balance equally compelling imperatives to respect pluralistic difference and enable effective collective action.     

Aggregating dispersed workers: Union organizing in the “care” industries

This paper analyzes recent union efforts to organize low-wage workers in the home- and community-based segments of homecare, childcare, and services to people with developmental disabilities in the US. In these sectors, consumer demand has combined with privatization to create an army of “flexible”, part-time, poverty-wage workers, most of them women, people of color, and immigrants. This workforce is profoundly fragmented due to the preponderance of small nonprofit employers, widespread self-employment, and spatially atomized labor performed within myriad private homes. However, service sector unions have adapted creatively to these opportunities and constraints by implementing two interlinked scale-jumping strategies to overcome care workers’ spatial and organizational atomization. One is state-by-state policy advocacy to raise labor (and service) standards industry-wide and to aggregate employment through various organizational and legal interventions. The other is coalition building with consumers and advocates at the local, state, and national level to generate essential political support for these measures. We find that the success of this strategy has been shaped in large part by the political landscape of region and the political economy of distinct care industry segments. Finally, the resulting care industry unionism constitutes a distinct strand of an emergent public services unionism—in which consumers and workers struggle to define care labor as a socially necessary public good, and workers pushed into the nebulous zone between state and market struggle to define themselves as public workers.     

Data Assimilation (4D-VAR) for Shallow-Water Flow: The Case of the Chicoutimi River

This is a web presentation of the work presented at the 10th Annual Conference of the CFD Society of Canada, “CFD 2002”, at the University of Windsor on June 9-11, 2002. This discussion paper presents the four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4D-VAR) technique as a tool to forecast floods. This discussion will be limited to hydrological forecast. We assume that the weather, here a large rainstorm, had already been forecasted by the meteorological services. In the 4D-VAR technique, we need to minimize, in the sense of Lagrange, a cost function which measures the difference between the forecast and the observations. The physical equations acts as a set of constraints. Here, the model is the shallow-water equations modified to include sediment transport. The minimum was found by using the steepest descent algorithm. This is made possible because the gradient of the cost function can be calculated analytically by using the adjoint equations of the model. To illustrate the 4D-VAR technique, the bypass of a simple theoretical dam as well as the more complex overflowing of the Chicoutimi River at the Chute-Garneau dam (during the 1996 flood) are investigated.     

The ‘hidden’ geographies of energy poverty in post-socialism: Between institutions and households

One of the consequences of the post-socialist transformation of Eastern and Central Europe and the Former Soviet Union is the emergence of energy poverty, a condition where households are living in inadequately heated homes. This paper examines the institutional and demographic underpinnings of energy poverty in Macedonia and the Czech Republic, two post-socialist states with divergent development paths. It has been established that more than 50% of Macedonian households may be suffering from domestic energy deprivation, while the same figure is less than 10% in the Czech case. The notion of a ‘hidden’ geography of poverty encapsulates the character of domestic energy deprivation among these populations. The problem has been invisible to decision-makers to date, due to its private character and non-conformity to conventional poverty-amelioration methods.     

The ecological characteristics of the riparian vegetation affected by river overflowing disturbance in the lower Tarim River

Based on data obtained from field investigations, this paper aims to analyze the influence of the river overflow on the desert riparian vegetation and discuss the function of the river overflow on the vegetation restoration at the lower Tarim River. The results show that (1) there are only 17 species, 13 genera and 9 families in the study areas before river overflow, while there are 34 species, 26 genera and 12 families after the overflowing in which 18 species emerged newly; (2) judging by the biodiversity indices, the species diversity and species richness in the river overflowed area increase more significantly than those in the un-overflow area; (3) judging by the importance of different species after years of river overflowing, the annual herbs germinate quickly at first, while the perennial herbs with deep roots or root clones become dominant in the plant community; (4) after several times of river overflowing, some arbors and shrubs such as Populus euphratica and Tamarix ramosissima germinate easily and can dominate gradually in the plant community. The results indicate that the river overflowing restores the severely degraded ecosystem in the lower Tarim River and the function is connected with restoration of eco-hydrological processes in the study areas. The results suggest that experimental overflowing has initiated a process of restoring ecosystem function within the riparian forest.     

(Re)producing gender cultures: Theorizing gender in investment banking recruitment

Recent work within human geography and the social sciences more generally has attempted to explore and theorise the unfavourable gender relations within organizations which continue to produce a disadvantageous position for women. This paper argues that there is a need to implement a more spatially aware epistemology in the production of such theory. It develops a theoretical approach to organizational gender relations centred around the concept of ‘gender culture’, arguing that to understand gender in the workplace more effectively, it needs to be theorized through the daily social practices which occur in specific organizations. This argument is explored through a case study of the way in which investment banks in the City of London reproduce masculine ‘gender cultures’ through the recruitment process. Building on the recent work of McDowell (Capital culture: gender at work in the city. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997), the research presented considers the way in which the ‘pre-organizational gender culture’ of investment banking recruits contributes to the reproduction of masculine gender cultures in those organizations. It also explores how the recruitment process itself—in the shape of interviews, assessment techniques and selection criteria—is also imbued with masculine cultural attributes, and thus aids the reproduction of hegemonic masculinities within the investment banking workplace.     

Recombinant workfare, across the Americas: Transnationalizing “fast” social policy

The paper presents a genealogy of the Bloomberg administration’s Opportunity NYC program, launched in 2007 as part of New York City’s explicitly experimental anti-poverty strategy. Opportunity NYC was modeled on “conditional cash transfer” programs, currently operating in more than thirty countries across the Global South, drawing direct inspiration from Mexico’s widely touted Oportunidades program. This striking case of South-North policy emulation calls attention to some distinctive features of what is characterized here as a transnationalizing “fast-policy” regime, based on technocratic forms of program evaluation and development, dense expert networks, and orchestrated communities of practice, within which a range of policy intermediaries—particularly those connected with multilateral agencies—are assuming significant new roles. What appears to be a pragmatic form of policy learning in fact operates in the context of narrow ideological parameters, within which there is a concerted technocratic “push” toward favored solutions.     

Predictors of household exposure to monsoon rain hazards in informal settlements

Informal settlements are an important source of affordable housing and economic activity in developing cities. Research shows that informal settlements are at high risk from natural hazards and the effects of global climate change. Conditions within such settlements are diverse, however, and it is important that we understand the variation in risk across households. In this paper, we study the uneven terrain of risk to localized hazards in informal settlements in Kolkata, India. Our research question is, which factors predict household exposure to monsoon rain hazards? We surveyed 414 households living in low-lying informal settlements on the city’s periphery. Using a variety of predictors, we estimate binary logistic models for two outcome variables tied to monsoon rain: home flooding and home leaking. We find that household exposure varies significantly across our study population and follows predictable patterns based on socio-economic and infrastructure variables. The home flooding model results show that households with higher incomes are less likely to flood, but in situ births increase exposure. Households living in structures made of more permanent materials are less likely to flood, as are households living near infrastructure. The home leaking model shows that households with relative financial stability are less likely to leak, as are those that have been living in the settlement for longer periods of time and whose houses are made of better quality materials. These findings indicate that extensive risk in informal settlements is unevenly experienced and that policies intended to reduce disaster and climate risk should focus on the lowest-income households, the provision of infrastructure, and security of tenure.     

Social Network Approach to Understand the Ethnic Economy: A Theoretical Discourse<Superscript>1</Superscript>

In this paper we suggest how social network analysis, in contrast to looking at physical space, can be used to trace the social and economic location of ethnic enclaves. Taking skilled workers immigrating to Canada from China as an example, we analyze critically how split labor market theories describe materialist and structural factors that determine immigrants’ limited options. Cultural theories play up immigrants’ interest in using their cultural resources to pull themselves ahead. We propose that social network analysis as a single framework can bring together elements from materialist–structural and cultural theories. The position of people and firms in these networks gives us a view of the kinds of jobs immigrants get and the businesses they set up. To understand the ethnic economy, we discuss how networks of social and economic relations intersect each other. By seeing the ethnic economy embedded in social networks, we can provide a more general explanation of the social space of the ethnic economy in contrast to its physical location. We use three cases of ethnic entrepreneurs to illustrate how the social and economic relations locate their businesses in the enclave and how they are also linked to the mainstream economy. ¹This paper has benefitted from the critical clarifications of Chiu Luk and an anonymous reviewer, and the talented editing of Allen Sutterfield. Lynn Xu Liping helped on an earlier draft.     

P—T—t—deformation—fluid characteristics of lode gold deposits: evidence from alteration systematics

Structurally hosted lode gold-bearing quartz vein systems in metamorphic terranes possess many characteristics in common, spatially and through time; they constitute a single class of epigenetic precious metal deposit, formed during accretionary tectonics or delamination. The ore and alteration paragenesis encode numerous intensive and extensive variables that constrain the pressure—temperature—time—deformation—fluid (P—T—t—d—f) evolution of the host terrane and hence the origin of the deposits. The majority of lode gold deposits formed proximal to regional translithospheric terrane—boundary structures that acted as vertically extensive hydrothermal plumbing systems; the structures record variably thrust, and transpressional—transtensional displacements. Major mining camps are sited near deflections, strike slip or thrust duplexes, or dilational jogs on the major structures. In detail most deposits are sited in second or third order splays, or fault intersections, that define domains of low mean stress and correspondingly high fluid fluxes. Accordingly, the mineralization and associated alteration is most intense in these flanking domains. The largest lode gold mining camps are in terranes at greenschist facies; they possess greenschist facies hydrothermal alteration assemblages developed in cyclic ductile to brittle deformation that reflects interseismic—coseismic cycles. Interseismic episodes involve the development of ductile S—C shear zone fabrics that lead to strain softening. Pressure solution and dislocation glide microstructures signify low differential stress, slow strain rates of ≤ 10⁻¹³ s⁻¹, relatively high confining stress, and suprahydrostatic fluid pressures. Seismic episodes are induced by buildup of fluid pressures to supralithostatic levels that induce hydraulic fracturing with enhanced hydraulic conductivity, accompanied by massive fluid flow that in turn generates mineralized quartz veins. Hydrothermal cementing of ductile fabrics creates ‘hardening’, lowers hydraulic conductivity, and hence promotes fault valve behaviour. Repeated interseismic (fault valve closed), coseismic (valve open) cycles results in banded and/or progressively deformed veins. Alteration during both interseismic and coseismic episodes typically involves the hydrolysis of metamorphic feldspars and Fe, Mg, Ca-silicates to a muscovite/paragonite—chlorite ± albite/K-feldspars assemblage; carbonization of the metamorphic minerals to Ca, Fe, Mg-carbonates; and sulphidation of Fe-silicates and oxides to sulphides. Geochemically this is expressed as additions of K, Rb, Ba, Cs, and the volatiles H₂O, CO₂, CH₄, H₂S in envelopes of meter to kilometer scale. K/Rb and K/Ba ratios are close to average crustal values, potentially ruling out late stage magmatic fluids where K/Rb and K/Ba are respectively lower and higher than crustal values. Smaller deposits are present in subgreenschist, and amphibolite to granulite facies terranes. The former are characterized by subgreenschist facies alteration assemblages, vein stockworks, brittle fracturing and cataclastic microstructures, whereas the latter feature amphibolite to granulite facies alteration assemblages, ductile shear zones, ductilely deformed veins, and microstructures indicative of dislocation climb during interseismic episodes. Hence the lode gold deposits constitute a crustal continuum of deposits from subgreenschist to granulite facies, that all formed synkinematically in broad thermal and rheological equilibrium with their host terranes. These characteristics, combined with the low variance of alteration assemblages in the higher temperature deposits, rules out those being metamorphosed counterparts of greenschist facies deposits. Deposits at all grades have a comparable metal inventory with high concentrations of Au and Ag, where Au/Ag averages 5, with enrichments of a suite of rare metals and semi-metals (As, Sb, ± Se, Te, Bi, W, Mo and B), but low enrichments of the base (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd) and other transition (Cr, Ni, Co, V, PGE, Sc) metals relative to average crust. The hydrothermal ore-forming fluids were dilute, aqueous, carbonic fluids, with salinities generally ≤ 3 wt.% NaCl equivalent, and X_{(CO2 ± CH4)} 10–24 wt.%. They possess low Cl but relatively high S, possibly reflecting the fact that metamorphic fluids are generated in crust with ∼ 200 ppm Cl, but ∼ 1 wt.%S. Primary fluid inclusions are: (1) H₂OCO₂, (2) CO₂-rich with variable CH₄ and small amounts of H₂O, and (3) 2-phase H₂O (liquid-vapor) inclusions. Inclusion types 2 and 3 represent immiscibility of the type 1 original ore fluid. Immiscibility was triggered by fluid pressure drop during the coseismic events and possibly by shock nucleation, leading to highly variably homogenization temperatures in an isothermal system. A thermodynamic evaluation of alteration assemblages constrains the ore fluid pH to 5–6; redox controlled by the HSO₄/H₂S and CO₂/CH₄ buffers; and X_CO2 that varies. The higher temperature deposits formed under marginally more oxidizing conditions. Stable isotope systematics of the ore and gangue minerals yields temperatures of 200–420°C, consistent with the crustal spectrum of the deposits, very high fluid rock ratios, and disequilibrium of the externally derived ore fluids with wall rocks. The ore fluid δD and δ¹⁸O overlap the metamorphic and magmatic ranges, but the total dataset for all deposits is consistent only with dominantly metamorphic fluids. Carbon isotope compositions of carbonates span −11 to +2% and show provinciality: this is consistent with variable proportions of reduced C (low δ¹³C) and oxidized C (higher δ¹³C) in the source regions contributing CO₂ and CH₄ to the ore fluids. In some instances, C appears to have been derived dominantly from proximal to the deposits, as in the Meguma terrane (δ¹³C ∼ − 22%). Sulphur isotope compositions range from 0 to +9‰, and are consistent with magmatic S, dissolution or desulphidation of magmatic sulphides, or average crustal sulphides. ³⁴S-depleted sulphides occur in ore bodies such as Hemlo where fluid immiscibility led to loss of H₂S and consequent fluid oxidation. Gold is probably transported as an Au(HS)⁻₂ complex. Relatively high S but low Cl in the hydrothermal fluid may explain the high Au slow base metal characteristic of the deposits. Gold precipitated in ore bodies due to loss of S from the ore fluid by sulphidation of wall rock, or immiscibility of H₂S; and by oxidation or reduction of the fluid, or by chemisorption, or some combination of these processes. Most lode gold deposits have been brittly reactivated during uplift of host terranes, with secondary brines or meteoric water advecting through the structures. These secondary fluids may remobilize gold, generate retrograde stable isotope shifts, reset mineral geochronometers, and leave trails of secondary fluid inclusions. Data on disturbed minerals has led to invalid models for lode gold deposits. The sum of alteration data leads to a model for lode gold deposits involving a clockwise P—T—t evolution and synkinematic and synmetamorphic mineralization of the ‘deep later’ type. During terrane accretion oceanic crust and sediments are subcreted beneath the terrane boundary. Thermal equilibration generates metamorphic fluids that advect up the terrane structure, at lithostatic fluid pressure, into the seismogenic zone where the majority of deposits form. Thus many lode gold deposits are on intrinsic part of the development of subduction—accretion complexes of the high-T, low-P type.     

What is the relationship between food shopping and daily mobility? A relational approach to analysis of food access

Recent research on food access has increasingly focused on how individuals’ daily mobility, much of it based on activity spaces created from GPS data. In this paper, we expand this research through an analysis of a large transit survey (n = 21,298 households) from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. We do this using relational approach focused on the topological connections found in household travel patterns rather than measures of exposure based on geographic distance. Our exploratory data analysis analyzes both grocery shopping and eating out across the metropolitan area, focusing on the position of utilized food sources relative to home and work locations, utilized modes of transit, and other daily activities often combined with food shopping. Households often used food sources located outside their residential neighborhoods, usually moving toward the central city to do so. Eating out occurred farther from home than grocery shopping, though in many cases close to work. Automobile use was most common for grocery shopping trips, but less so in the lowest income households and in the central city. Our findings show that a relational approach can identify distinctive patterns in everyday food provisioning by emphasizing the connections between food shopping and other everyday household activities.     

Permeability evolution in fractured coal: The roles of fracture geometry and water-content

We report laboratory experiments that investigate the permeability evolution of an anthracite coal as a function of applied stress and pore pressure at room temperature as an analog to other coal types. Experiments are conducted on 2.5 cm diameter, 2.5-5 cm long cylindrical samples at confining stresses of 6 to 12 MPa. Permeability and sorption characteristics are measured by pulse transient methods, together with axial and volumetric strains for both inert (helium (He)) and strongly adsorbing (methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂)) gases. To explore the interaction of swelling and fracture geometry we measure the evolution of mechanical and transport characteristics for three separate geometries — sample A containing multiple small embedded fractures, sample B containing a single longitudinal through-going fracture and sample C containing a single radial through-going fracture. Experiments are conducted at constant total stress and with varied pore pressure — increases in pore pressure represent concomitant (but not necessarily equivalent) decreases in effective stress. For the samples with embedded fractures (A and C) the permeability first decreases with an increase in pressure (due to swelling and fracture constraint) and then increases near-linearly (due to the over-riding influence of effective stresses). Conversely, this turnaround in permeability from decreasing to increasing with increasing pore pressure is absent in the discretely fractured sample (B) — the influence of the constraint of the connecting fracture bridges in limiting fracture deformation is importantly absent as supported by theoretical considerations. Under water saturated conditions, the initial permeabilities to all gases are nearly two orders of magnitude lower than for dry coal and permeabilities increase with increasing pore pressure for all samples and at all gas pressures. We also find that the sorption capacities and swelling strains are significantly reduced for water saturated samples — maybe identifying the lack of swelling as the primary reason for the lack of permeability decrease. Finally, we report the weakening effects of gas sorption on the strength of coal samples by loading the cores to failure. Results surprisingly show that the strength of the intact coal (sample A) is smaller than that of the axially fractured coal (sample B) due to the extended duration of exposure to CH₄ and CO₂. Average post-failure particle size for the weakest intact sample (A) is found to be three times larger than that of the sample B, based on the sieve analyses from the samples after failure. We observe that fracture network geometry and saturation state exert important influences on the permeability evolution and strength of coal under in situ conditions.     

Multi-topographical landscape: comparative vulnerability of climate-induced disaster-prone rural area of Pakistan

Pakistan, being an agro-based economy, is considered most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The country is susceptible to many natural catastrophes and climate-induced events due to intra-geographical and intra-topographical disparities. This paper is an attempt to measure the relative vulnerability of diverse topographies in rural areas of Pakistan using vulnerability and capacity index tool. The results are based on the findings of primary survey data (350 households from 17 rural communities). Accordingly, and as expected, the key relative differences are attributed to topographical conditions besides the basic quandary of rural areas of Pakistan. The topographical attributes are largely linked to the nature of hazards and relative impacts. While the other aspects of vulnerability in all topographies stem out of inappropriate infrastructure, low education, and institutional factors. The absence of multi-sectoral and productive economic opportunities also poses an adverse impact on the resilience of households in rural areas. The women and households headed by females are found relatively more vulnerable than male-headed households.

     

Ties that bind: State policy and migrant female domestic helpers in Singapore

Global economic restructuring has not only intensified the shift in reproductive work from the household to the market, but it has been predicated on the international mobility of labour to countries where locals are no longer willing to work in low-paying menial jobs. This paper focuses on Singapore as a country which has drawn upon female migrant workers from neighbouring developing countries to work as domestic helpers in Singapore such that the gainful entry of its own women into the formal economy has been facilitated. Drawing upon a range of secondary sources as well as field data, the paper demonstrates how state policies on labour migration in Singapore have played a crucial role in influencing the uneven employer-employee relationships that migrant female domestic helpers in Singapore households find themselves in. More generally, it argues that the availability of foreign domestic helpers in Singapore and the state discourse on the issue has contributed to perpetuating the patriarchal ideology of housework as women's work and of housework as non-work.     

The relative importance of supraglacial versus subglacial meltwater escape in basaltic subglacial tuya eruptions: An important unresolved conundrum

The hydraulic behaviour of meltwater during subglacial basaltic eruptions in temperate ice is of paramount importance in understanding the eruptive processes, lithofacies and architecture of the edifices formed. Hydraulics also determines the timing, location and volume of meltwater discharge, which may be sudden and catastrophic and via subglacial and/or supraglacial routes. Increasing our knowledge of meltwater hydraulics is therefore important for understanding, predicting and mitigating the impact of meltwater release on vulnerable human communities. New observations about eruption-related meltwater hydraulics are presented for well-exposed glaciovolcanic lava-fed deltas on James Ross Island, Antarctica, and accounts of historical eruptions are also re-examined to identify the major meltwater discharge routes. The study provides the first conceptual model for how meltwater escapes supraglacially. In the absence of a crevassed layer (which will dominate any meltwater flow), overflowing may be initiated by enhanced rates of seepage, despite the intrinsically low hydraulic conductivities of snow and firn. Once overflowing is established, the rate of spillway incision is a likely overriding control on the evolution of the system and whether the discharge is unstable (fast) or stable (slower). The James Ross Island sequences demonstrate that meltwater discharge is highly dynamic and may have involved both subglacial and supraglacial escape. Subglacial discharge probably occurs throughout basaltic tuya eruptions but some periods may be dominated by concurrent overflowing. It is still unclear if overflowing systems are sufficiently stable to enable the growth of laterally extensive glaciovolcanic lava-fed deltas.     

Raw hides: Hegemony and cattle in Guatemala’s northern lowlands

As a microcosm of the global livestock-climate problem, this tale of two hegemonies explores how and why two critical constituencies—development planners and conservation professionals—have failed to see the “raw hides” of cattle’s impact on the Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala. Based on ethnographic research carried out between 1993 and 2007, this paper seeks to explain the idealization, persistence, and normalization of cattle as a land use in Petén from the colonial period to the present. Framed with a Gramscian analysis of the critical role of organic intellectuals in catalyzing social change, I explore the mental feedback loops reinforcing other social and environmental causes of land degradation in this region. After presenting data on the historical expansion of cattle into the Guatemalan lowlands through government colonization programs, I describe how multilateral lending agencies like the World Bank continue to corral development plans in the region. The next part of the paper explores the complex and ambiguous relations between conservation professionals and the ranching sector. I then conclude with a discussion of how global trade and infrastructure projects such as the Puebla to Panama Plan and the Central America Free Trade Agreement will further mask the hegemonic hides of cattle.     

John Dewey’s metaphysical ground-map and its implications for geographical inquiry

John Dewey was the most significant and influential thinker associated with the American philosophy commonly known as pragmatism. Drawing on Dewey’s writings as well as the work of Deweyan scholars, I endeavor to explain Dewey’s unique contribution to philosophical discourse and how his overlooked scholarship can inform geographical inquiry. After an introduction, I provide a background understanding of Dewey and his context as well as the use of his philosophy in geography and sociology. I then turn to an exposition of Dewey’s metaphysics which are the heart of his philosophy. My discussion breaks his metaphysics into four parts: nature and continuity, contingency and change, situated sociality, and transaction. The subsequent section argues for Dewey’s distinction and value by arguing a particular implication of Dewey’s work for geography—a reconceptualization of place—and more general propositions about what a Dewey-informed geography would, at minimum, entail. A brief conclusion summarizes the Deweyan vision in the context of geographical inquiry.     

Placing splintering urbanism: Introduction

This paper introduces a collection of case studies aimed at “Placing Splintering Urbanism”, in reference to the thesis developed by Graham and Marvin [Graham, S., Marvin, S., 2001. Splintering Urbanism. Networked Infractructures, Technoloical Moblilities and the Urban condition. Routledge, London]. Whilst acknowledging the value of the thesis as an analytical framework in opening the way to innovative understandings of contemporary urban dynamics, the paper argues that, taken together, the articles in this themed issue seriously challenge the “splintering urbanism” thesis theoretically, empirically and methodologically. They question in particular the postulated universality of the “modern infrastructural ideal” and of “unbundling” and “bypass” processes — all of which are key elements in Graham and Marvin’s argument — as well as the assertion that reforms in infrastructure sectors should generally result in more discriminatory, socially regressive patterns of provision of essential services and more splintered urban spaces. Based on these fundamental critiques, the paper concludes that one cannot speak of “splintering urbanism in general” — i.e., as a global trend — in any meaningful analytical way.     

Domesticating home anchored work: Negotiating flexibility when bringing ICT based work home in rural communities

Based on a study of people conducting ICT based work from home in Scotland and Norway, the article analyses how work is negotiated and integrated with non-paid activities in the household and local community. The article fills a gap in that it focuses on rural contexts rather than the urban work life often depicted in literature on flexibility and work. When work is brought home, a domestication process takes place whereby practices of work are negotiated and integrated into everyday life, sometimes changing common perceptions of where and when work is “in” or “out of place”. While working from home is common in rural areas, the study shows that ICT based knowledge related work is still seen as relatively “out of place”. Drawing on the domestication concept, the study shows how community norms about accessibility, interaction and where to be at certain times, had to be renegotiated when this type of work was conducted from home. Imbued in these negotiations were subtly often tacitly communicated moral conceptions on what constitutes good parenthood (in particular motherhood) as well as “real” work. Both men and women reported benefits in terms of combining family and work obligations when working from home, but the tendency was still for traditional gender patterns to be reproduced. Women tended to fit work around the needs of the children, whereas men saw themselves first and foremost workers. Following the concept “doing gender” some challenged these patterns, but did so carefully in relation to the work organisation as well as the community. The impact of communities in regulating home anchored work suggests there may be a need for communities to take on a more active domestication process as more people conduct ICT based work with the home as the base, opening up the moral and normative geographies for when work is “in” or “out of place”.