178,654 research outputs found
Man and society : the notion of responsibility in the novels of Alejo Carpentier
No full textThe aim of this thesis is to investigate the highly moral ethic of social duty and responsibility which animates the work of Alejo Carpentier. In order to examine this theme, I have studied, in particular, the following six novels: ‘El reino de este mundo’, Los pasos perdidos’, ‘El acoso’, El siglo de las luces’, ‘El recurso del método’, and ‘La consagración de la primavera’. In the Introduction, I have investigated the various philosophical questions raised by the concept of responsibility : the debate about freewill and determinism has been examined, and the Existentialist philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre has been chosen as the most helpful in an investigation of Carpentier’s theory of responsibility, due to a great coincidence of thought between the two writers.
The protagonists of the novels in question have been grouped according to various distinguishing tendencies or characteristics, and have been analysed in the light of the Sartrian concepts of good and bad faith. These groupings are as follows: “the deluded intellectual”, “two tyrants”, “the lesson of experience”, and “the committed individual”. The success, or failure, of these characters, in matching up to the goals of self-transcendence and responsible commitment posed by Carpentier has been charted throughout Chapters One to Four, and deductions have been made about the various forms of bad faith in which the characters indulge.
The conclusions that I have drawn from this detailed investigation of characters in good and bad faith are, firstly, that Carpentier sees man’s goal in life as the attainment of self-knowledge and the honest acceptance of responsibility for the self : once this state of good faith has been achieved, man is able to commit himself to the never-ending struggle for the improvement of the social situation. Acceptance of responsibility for the self is vital, in Carpentier’s canon, for without such acceptance, positive commitment is impossible. Secondly, I have concluded that, according to Carpentier, commitment is an inevitable part of life, and that Carpentier’s goal, then, is that we should actively commit ourselves to a positive cause through recognition of our responsibility for ourselves and our society, rather than tacitly accept the status quo through a passive or deterministic attitude
The Akhmediev breather is unstable
No full textIn this note, we give a rigorous proof that the NLS periodic Akhmediev breather is unstable. The proof follows the ideas in Muñoz (Proyecciones (Antofagasta) 36(4):653–683, 2017), in the sense that a suitable modification of the Stokes wave is the global attractor of the local Akhmediev dynamics for sufficiently large time, and therefore the latter cannot be stable in any suitable finite energy periodic Sobolev space
Review on the Stability of the Peregrine and Related Breathers
No full textIn this note, we review stability properties in energy spaces of three important nonlinear Schrödinger breathers: Peregrine, Kuznetsov-Ma, and Akhmediev. More precisely, we show that these breathers are unstable according to a standard definition of stability. Suitable Lyapunov functionals are described, as well as their underlying spectral properties. As an immediate consequence of the first variation of these functionals, we also present the corresponding nonlinear ODEs fulfilled by these nonlinear Schrödinger breathers. The notion of global stability for each breather mentioned above is finally discussed. Some open questions are also briefly mentioned
Simulation of thermal plant optimization and hydraulic aspects of thermal distribution loops for large campuses
No full textFollowing an introduction, the author describes Texas A&M University and its utilities system. After that, the author presents how to construct simulation models for chilled water and heating hot water distribution systems. The simulation model was used in a $2.3 million Ross Street chilled water pipe replacement project at Texas A&M University. A second project conducted at the University of Texas at San Antonio was used as an example to demonstrate how to identify and design an optimal distribution system by using a simulation model. The author found that the minor losses of these closed loop thermal distribution systems are significantly higher than potable water distribution systems. In the second part of the report, the author presents the latest development of software called the Plant Optimization Program, which can simulate cogeneration plant operation, estimate its operation cost and provide optimized operation suggestions. The author also developed detailed simulation models for a gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator and identified significant potential savings. Finally, the author also used a steam turbine as an example to present a multi-regression method on constructing simulation models by using basic statistics and optimization algorithms. This report presents a survey of the author??s working experience at the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) at Texas A&M University during the period of January 2002 through March 2004. The purpose of the above work was to allow the author to become familiar with the practice of engineering. The result is that the author knows how to complete a project from start to finish and understands how both technical and nontechnical aspects of a project need to be considered in order to ensure a quality deliverable and bring a project to successful completion. This report concludes that the objectives of the internship were successfully accomplished and that the requirements for the degree of Degree of Engineering have been satisfied
Improving capabilities for dealing with key complexities of water availability modeling
No full textWater availability has been of great concern in the State of Texas and many other places worldwide. During 1997-2003, pursuant to the 1997 Senate Bill 1, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), its partner agencies, and contractors
developed a Water Availability Modeling (WAM) System based on the Water Rights
Analysis Package (WRAP) model, developed at Texas A&M University. WAM has been
widely applied in the State of Texas and because of its convenience, applications, and
capabilities, it is planned to be implemented in other States and Countries.
This thesis addresses different aspects of WAM, including conditional reliability
modeling, firm yield analysis following classic and recently developed methodologies,
evaluating the impact of different considerations on reliability analyses, simplification of
complex WAM datasets and the display of WRAP results into ArcMap.
Conditional reliability modeling evaluates short term diversion/storage
reliabilities based on an initial storage level. WRAP-CON has been evaluated and
improved, in addition a new modeling methodology has been developed, in which
probabilities of occurrence for each hydrologic sequence is based on the relationship
between storage and future flows.
Recently developed WRAP capabilities have been evaluated, providing users
new tools and increased flexibility. Some of these improvements are firm yield analysis,
cycling and dual simulation.
In addition to improved software, guidelines have also been developed,
including a set to simplify extremely large WAM datasets, while maintaining the effect of
all the other water rights in a basin
Intern experience at CH���M Hill, Inc.: an internship report
No full textIncludes author's vita"Submitted to the College of Engineering of Texas A&M University in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Engineering."Includes bibliographical referencesA review of the author's internship experience with CH���M HILL, Inc.
during the period September 1975 through May 1976 is presented. During this nine month
internship the author worked as an Engineer II in the Industrial Processes discipline of this
large consulting engineering firm... The author's prime responsibility was as one of three
lead design engineers on the design of a large wastewater treatment facility for a pulp mill
in Hoquiam, Washington owned by ITT Rayonier Inc. The work generally consisted of the design
of individual treatment units and associated piping and pumping. The purpose of the project
was to provide wastewater treatment capabilities that would satisfy the effluent limitations
(standards) imposed upon the mill by the State of Washington Department of Ecology and the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The author's assignment also entailed necessary
interaction with the project manager and other CH���M HILL design engineers and support staff
members, the client's representatives, and representatives of two other consulting engineering
firms working on the project. Thus, the internship position at CH���M HILL provided considerable
experience coordinating the author's work with the work of other engineers, guiding the design
and administrative efforts of a support staff, and interacting regularly with the client and
other consulting firms. This broad exposure to a variety of engineering and organizational
problems provided a valuable educational experience
Intern experience at the Texas Transportation Institute: an internship report
No full text"Submitted to the College of Engineering of Texas A&M University in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Engineering."Includes vita (leaf 91)Includes bibliographical references (leaf 57)This report discusses the author's engineering experience at the Texas
Transportation Institute (TTI), Texas A&M University from March 1974 through July 1977. A
report of this experience plus twelve additional hours of academic course work were
substituted for an internship according to requirements established by the College of
Engineering. Although the author could not retroactively establish objectives of the type
associated with a typical internship, the work experience gained could be related to the two
general objectives of an intership: 1. To demonstrate an identifiable contribution to the
organization in which the intern served, and 2. To enable the intern to become aware of the
non-technical aspects of working as an engineer in a non-academic environment. While a member
of the Texas Transportation Institute staff, the author worked on a number of projects in the
areas of highway traffic engineering research and the preparation of continuing education
courses for transportation engineering officials. These assignments were contained within the
Urban Transportation Systems Division of TTI. This report delineates the author's contribution
to four particular projects and discusses the technical as well as non-technical experience
gained from each. Having been exposed to more engineering situations than many of the other
Doctor of Engineering students, the author has already formulated some rather specific
milestones for the future. The Doctor of Engineering program is discussed in conjunction with
its potential for helping the author attain these career goals and objectives. Also, some
thoughts are presented regarding the Doctor of Engineering as a viable alternative to the
Ph.D. in preparing for a career in engineering higher education
The Function of Physical Space in the Cuban Novel of the 1950s
No full textA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyLong overshadowed by the subsequent 1960s ‘Boom’, Cuban novels of the 1950s have been confined to the backwater of literary analysis, often grouped together and dismissed as mere social realism like their Spanish counterparts, or described as inferior. The spatial has been similarly overlooked in literary analysis in favour of a focus on stylistic experimentation, narrative structure, characterisation and the temporal. More recently, however, theorists such as Mitchell (1980) and (1989), and Wegner (2002), have argued that literature has become increasingly spatial, and that a greater focus on spatial analysis is needed. Furthermore, conceptions of space in literature have moved from the static notion of ‘setting’ and identification within a specific location and time, to embrace the function of actual physical spaces, whether exterior or interior, public or private, embedded or liminal, juxtaposed, dynamic, static or fluid. One Cuban novel of the 1950s has already been discussed from a spatial perspective - El acoso (1956) by Alejo Carpentier. Using the two previous studies on spatiality in this novel as a starting point (Stanton [1993] and Vásquez [1996]), this analysis expands on the conclusions made by these studies, stressing the importance of water imagery, and demonstrating that spaces in El acoso are essentially dynamic and female-gendered, arguing that the crisis experienced by the acosado is actually one of masculine identity. Building on the expanded analysis of space in El acoso, three lesser-known Cuban novels of the 1950s are then considered from the perspective of space: Los Valedontes (1953) by Alcides Iznaga, Romelia Vargas (1952) by Surama Ferrer, and La trampa (1956) by Enrique Serpa. The socio-economic, political and cultural backcloth for the novels is set out, before an investigation into theories of space, both literary and non-literary, is conducted. Spaces in Los Valedontes reveal that in the rural domain, sexual identities are stable with conventional masculine hegemony virtually uncontested. Spaces in Romelia Vargas demonstrate that in the urban domain, female sexual identity, albeit historically suppressed, triumphs over the traditionally dominant male norm, whilst a study of spaces in La trampa demonstrates that not only are gangsters, policemen and homosexuals shown to occupy particularly challenged positions, but also that constructions of mainstream Cuban masculinity are under threat. The conclusion compares the function of spaces across all four novels, adding new insights into existing theories of literary space where appropriate. This thesis, therefore, tests the hypothesis that the manipulation of space in these novels constitutes material worthy of study, showing that spaces are dynamic and challenging when female-gendered, and constituting a threat to the hegemony exerted by traditional models of masculinity. Spaces in these novels demonstrate how the early part of the 1950s was a period in which an unpredictable array of contested positions was exposed through cultural, racial, gender and sexual stereotypes, leaving conventional norms of identity open to question
Magical realism and the marvelous real: a literary and cutural analysis
No full textDefinitions of the term “magical realism” generally relate to global works of art and literature. Various Latin American authors and artists have employed this magical realism to depict and denote the particular realities of the Americas, as opposed to First World or European ones. In his prologue to El reino de este mundo, Cuban author Alejo Carpentier explains the unique and marvelous nature of Latin America with the original term “lo real maravilloso,” or the marvelous real, which, according to Carpentier, exists specifically in these lands of African, indigenous, and European mestizaje. Whereas magical realism might divorce itself from a particular geopolitical space, the marvelous real cannot. The following study will explore the differences and commonalities between these two terms, as well as their application to several literary works, in an effort to demonstrate the unique and marvelous characteristics of Latin American literature
Undimensional and multidimensional measures of locus of control and their relationship to selected personality variables
No full textIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 54-59)The purpose of this study was to assess the divergent and convergent validity of Levenson's multidimensional and Rotter's unidimensional approaches to the measure of Locus of Control (LOC) within the context of personality variables. The Levenson's Internal (I) , Powerful Others (P), and Chance (C) LOC scales, the Rotter's Internal-External (I-E) LOC scale, the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and the Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16PF) were administered to 150 college students enrolled in an introductory course in psychology. The IPC and the I-E scales were found to be significantly correlated (P less than .05) to the same 14 (of 18) CPI personality variables. In terms of predictive efficiency, the IPC was superior to the I-E scale in relation to the following variables: Capacity for Status, Sociability, Responsibility, Socialization, Communality, Achievement via Conformance, and Intellectual Efficiency. The I-E scale, on the other hand, proved to be more efficient than the combination of the IPC scales in the prediction of variables Self-Control, Good Impression, and Achievement via Independence. No significant differences in predictive efficiency were found for Dominance and Psychological Mindedness. An interesting result was that both Levenson's and Rotter's instruments, each made unique contributions only to the prediction of variables Tolerance and Sense of Well-Being. The Levenson and Rotter instruments differed in their relationship to the 16PF in that the former was found related to factor I (selfreliance vs. overprotectedness) and the latter to factor M (Conventionalism). The IPC and the I-E scales were found related to the same six 16PF personality factors
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