Dense spectrum of resonances and particle capture in a near-black-hole metric

We show that a quantum scalar particle in the gravitational field of a massive body of radius R which slightly exceeds the Schwarzschild radius rs, possesses a dense spectrum of narrow resonances. Their lifetimes and density tend to infinity in the limit R?rs. We determine the cross section of the particle capture into these resonances and show that it is equal to the absorption cross section for a Schwarzschild black hole. Thus, a nonsingular static metric acquires black-hole properties before the actual formation of a black hole.

Foraging trip time-activity budgets and reproductive success in the black-legged kittiwake

Seabirds are central place foragers during the breeding season and, as marine food resources are often patchily distributed, flexibility in foraging behaviour may be important in maintaining prey delivery rates to chicks. We developed a methodological approach using a combination of GPS data loggers and temperature-depth recorders that allowed us to describe the behaviour of surface-feeding seabirds. Specifically, we tested whether differences in foraging behaviour of black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla could be linked with reproductive success by comparing 2 consecutive years at 2 sites. At Rathlin Island (Northern Ireland) during 2010, foraging differed markedly from that during 2009 and from that at Lambay Island (Republic of Ireland) during both years. Birds exhibited foraging trips of greater duration, travelled a greater total distance, spent more time in transit and spent longer recuperating on the surface of the water. This notable shift was associated with a decline in breeding success, with greater loss of eggs to predation and lower prey delivery rates, resulting in the starvation of 15 % of chicks. We suggest that food resources were reduced or geographically less accessible during 2010, with suitable foraging areas located further from the colony. Birds did not invest greater amounts of time attempting to catch prey. Thus, our results indicate that kittiwakes at Rathlin modulated their foraging behaviour not by increasing foraging effort through feeding more intensively within prey patches but by extending their range to increase the probability of encountering more profitable prey patches. © Inter-Research 2012.

Class, Factionalism, and the Radical Retreat: Black Laborers and the Republican Party in South Carolina, 1865-1900

a chapter-length piece in a collection which I've co-edited and written the introduction for, which examines class and other tensions in the ranks of the Republican party during and after Reconstruction in South Carolina, with a focus on the confrontation between insurgent former slaves and Party moderates over the social content of the RP programme.

‘Some Good Clean Fun’: Humour, Control and Subversion in an Advertising Agency

This article explores the relation between humour and control, drawing on participant observation in an organization in which humour was central to daily life. Keys is a leading advertising agency whose staff spent an unusually large amount of time sending humorous e-mails. Examining these e-mails in some depth, we unpack the role of humour in subverting various forms of control, including gender norms and managerial authority. We find the relation between humour, control and subversion to be ambiguous. Building upon current debates in organization studies, we develop the concept of humour based on our observations at Keys. Specifically, we argue that humour is always in excess of both control and subversion, a 'nicely impossible' object that cannot be captured. This article thus contributes to theoretical approaches on organizational humour, conceptualizing the concept of 'newness' through Judith Butler's re-reading of Derridean différance and the Lacanian Real. In addition, we contribute a novel empirical account of the study of e-mail list humour in a contemporary advertising firm. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.