1,695 research outputs found
George MacLeod’s open-air preaching: performance and counter-performance
No full textStuart Blythe uses the methodology of performance to analyse George MacLeod’s open-air preaching. He points out that MacLeod’s preaching was derived from a theology of the incarnation, and an understanding of the paradoxes and dichotomies of common human life. This preaching, Blythe suggests, was also a counter-performance in the context of outlooks and ideologies inimical to the gospel. The paper raises interesting issues related to preaching as performance, and the further question as to whether or not the life and work of the Church as a whole might now be better understood as a counter-performance.Publisher PD
Redemption in the work of Francis Stuart
No full textThe idea of redemption is central to an understanding of the work
of Francis Stuart. Through an examination of its development and
expression, it is possible to demonstrate the integrity of his work and
its distinctive qualities. Such a demonstration is necessary because
Stuart's writing has been subjected to comparatively little scholarly
inquiry, although reviews of his work, especially that produced since
1949, suggest that it is impressive and important.
First, a general background to Stuart's work, a discussion of the
special problems associated with reading it, and a summary of his corpus
is provided. This indicates that the idea of redemption is important to
his earliest writing. The state of redemption is shown to be a
necessary apotheosis for Stuart's outcast heroes; it involves spiritual
suffering through which may be found a sense of reintegration and a
higher reality. This is expressed through interrelated themes such as
those of gambler, artist and ordinary man; mystic and criminal; sacred
and profane love; and spirituality and the mundane. The nature of the
redemptive experience is further elaborated by distinctive, complex
motifs, especially the hare, the ark and the woman-Christ. Their
recurrence provides an important element in the unity of Stuart's work.
Because Stuart's idea of the outcast raises important biographical
questions, an examination of the relationship between Stuart's life and
his work is made. Finally, the way in which the idea of redemption
exists in the language structures of Stuart's novels is examined, with
especial reference to his most recent work, The High Consistory. The
thesis shows that the development of the these of redemption
demonstrates the integrity of Stuart's work
John Stuart Mill’s projected science of society: 1827-1848
No full textThe purpose of the thesis is to examine John Stuart Mill’s political thought from
about 1827 to 1848 as an exercise in intellectual history. It focuses, first, on Mill’s view,
formulated by the late 1830s, that contemporary society was ‘civilized’, and second, on
his project of a science of society, which he aspired to develop in the late 1830s and
early 1840s.
By the late 1830s, Mill came to the view that his contemporary society was a
‘commercial society or civilization’, dominated by the middle, commercial class. The
first part of my thesis, constituted by Chapters 2-4, discusses the way in which Mill
formed his notion of civilization, and what he meant by the term ‘civilization’. Mill paid
attention to the implications of the rise of the middle class, and regarded such
phenomena of contemporary society as the corruption of the commercial spirit and
excessive social conformity as an inevitable consequence of the rise of the middle class.
The second part of the thesis, constituted by Chapters 5-9, examines Mill’s
projected science of society. In the late 1830s and early 1840s, Mill attempted to
develop a new science of society whose subject-matter was the nature and prospects of
commercial, civilized society. This aspiration culminated in A System of Logic,
published in 1843. In examining Mill’s projected science, I pay particular attention to
the fact that he conceived new sciences of history and of the formation of character,
both of which were indispensable in his project, although he failed to give a complete
account of these sciences. My thesis shows that the implications of his interest both in
history and in the formation of character are more significant than Mill scholars have
assumed
Phase-amplitude coupled persistent theta and gamma oscillations in rat primary motor cortex in vitro
No full textIn vivo, theta (4-7 Hz) and gamma (30-80 Hz) neuronal network oscillations are known to coexist and display phase-amplitude coupling (PAC). However, in vitro, these oscillations have for many years been studied in isolation. Using an improved brain slice preparation technique we have, using co-application of carbachol (10 μM) and kainic acid (150 nM), elicited simultaneous theta (6.6 ± 0.1 Hz) and gamma (36.6 ± 0.4 Hz) oscillations in rodent primary motor cortex (M1). Each oscillation showed greatest power in layer V. Using a variety of time series analyses we detected significant cross-frequency coupling 74% of slice preparations. Differences were observed in the pharmacological profile of each oscillation. Thus, gamma oscillations were reduced by the GABAA receptor antagonists, gabazine (250 nM and 2 μM), and picrotoxin (50 μM) and augmented by AMPA receptor antagonism with SYM2206 (20 μM). In contrast, theta oscillatory power was increased by gabazine, picrotoxin and SYM2206. GABAB receptor blockade with CGP55845 (5 μM) increased both theta and gamma power, and similar effects were seen with diazepam, zolpidem, MK801 and a series of metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonists. Oscillatory activity at both frequencies was reduced by the gap junction blocker carbenoxolone (200 μM) and by atropine (5 μM). These data show theta and gamma oscillations in layer V of rat M1 in vitro are cross-frequency coupled, and are mechanistically distinct. The development of an in vitro model of phase-amplitude coupled oscillations will facilitate further mechanistic investigation of the generation and modulation of coupled activity in mammalian cortex
An Analytical Criterion for Centrifugal Instability in Non-Axisymmetric Vortices
No full textNon-axisymmetric vortices are ubiquitous in nature; examples include polar vortices in planets, the giant red spot in Jupiter, tornadoes and cyclones on Earth, mesoscale eddies in the ocean. Turbulent flows are furthermore known to be dominated by small- and large-scale vortex structures. Owing to the wide range of applications, knowledge of conditions under which a given vortex becomes unstable is beneficial. Here, the centrifugal instability of two-dimensional, non-axisymmetric vortices in the presence of an axial flow and a background rotation is studied using the local stability approach. The local stability approach, based on geometric optics and similar in formulation to the rapid distortion theory \cite{bib:godeferd2001}, considers the evolution of shortwavelength perturbations along streamlines in the base flow. This approach, developed by Lifschitz Hameiri \cite{bib:lifschitz1991}, is particularly useful for base flows for which a global stability analysis is computationally expensive. A sufficient criterion for centrifugal instability in an axisymmetric vortex with and is first derived by analytically solving the local stability equations for wave vectors that are periodic upon evolution around a closed streamline. This criterion is then heuristically extended to non-axisymmetric vortices and written in terms of integral quantities on a streamline. The criterion is then shown to be accurate in describing centrifugal instability over a reasonably large range of parameters that specify Stuart vortices and Taylor-Green vortices
A colorimetric PCR method for the detection of M. leprae in skin biopsies from leprosy patients
No full textA one-tube nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the diagnosis of paucibacillary leprosy was developed using the repetitive RLEP sequence as a target. Detection of the PCR products was simplified by the adaptation of a colorimetric method. The test was specific for Mycobacterium leprae, and the sensitivity of the assay was 1 fg of purified genomic M. leprae DNA (less than one genome). Complete concordance was seen between the development of color and resolution on agarose gels. The results of frozen skin sections from untreated patients showed that the assay could detect 100% of multibacillary samples [bacterial index (BI) of 2 or more] and 69% and 70% of the samples with Bis of 1 and 0, respectively. The use of one-tube nested PCR in assessing the effectiveness of multidrug therapy (MDT) in leprosy also was determined. The simplified colorimetric assay was found to be sensitive, rapid and specific, and is suitable for use in routing diagnostic laboratories.Peer reviewedfinal article publishe
Optical read-out techniques for the control of test-masses in gravitational wave observatories
No full textThis thesis discusses the development of optical read-out techniques, including a simple shadow sensor and a more elaborate compact homodyne interferometer, known as EUCLID. Both of these sensors could be utilised as part of a seismic isolation and suspension system of a ground-based gravitational wave observatory, such as Advanced LIGO. As part of the University of Birmingham’s commitment to the upgrade of the Advanced LIGO, it was responsible for providing a large quantity of sensor and actuator units. This required the development and qualification of the shadow sensor, through to production and testing. While characterising production units, an excess noise issue was uncovered and eventually mitigated; demonstrating that even for a ‘simple’ shadow sensor, ensuring a large quantity of units meet the target sensitivity requirement of 300 pm/rt-Hz at 1 Hz, is not a trivial exercise. Over the duration of this research, I played a key role in the design and fabrication of a novel compact interferometer. The objective of this work was to demonstrate that the interferometric technique offers a significant improvement over the existing shadow sensors and could easily be deployed in current, or future, generations of gravitational wave observatories. Encouraging sensitivities of approximately 50 pm/rt-Hz at 1 Hz, over operating ranges of approximately 6 mm have been achieved, whilst maintaining around 1 degree of mirror tilt immunity. In addition, this design overcomes many of the drawbacks traditionally associated with interferometers
Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, M-48.1 : John Stuart Mill, <i>Note on Freedom of Speech</i>, signed autograph
No full textFollowing enlightenment philosophers, liberal thinkers - which include Mill - considered freedom of speech a fundamental human right. In this small autograph, with embossed monogram "JSM", consisting of three folios intended for dispatch, the philosopher copies a passage of his famous "On Liberty" from 1869, taken from chapter II: "Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion." Mill emphasizes that humankind no more has the right to silence a single opinion than it has the right to silence all of humankind, if it had the power to do so. Before it became the property of Martin Bodmer, this letter had been purchased by the author Stefan Zweig in 1923.Online Since: 2017-06-2
High pressure phase transformations in polycrystalline yttrium oxide
No full textNumerous studies have been performed on high-pressure/high temperature phase transitions in rare-earth sesquioxides. Most of these studies were performed using diamond-anvil presses, which limits the size of samples that can be processed. Hence, studies of microstructural and properties changes accompanying phase transitions have been largely neglected. The purpose of this study has been to fill this gap, working with polycrystalline cubic-Y2O3 because of its importance in IR window and dome applications. We selected Diamond Materials Inc. as partner in this investigation, since this company has the expertise to make test pieces under well-controlled HPHT-processing conditions, thus ensuring that the results obtained for one batch of samples to the next are reproducible. This turned out to be crucial, since variations in applied pressure (1.0 to 8.0 GPa range), and holding times (seconds to hours), resulted in significant changes in observed micro/nano-structures. The temperature was fixed at 1000°C in order to limit HPHT-processing variables to pressure and holding time. In view of the results reported here, it now seems clear that extending the investigation to higher temperatures and lower pressures would be productive. The principal accomplishments of this research are as follows: (1) optimization of a reversible-phase transformation process to convert polycrystalline cubic-Y2O3 into the nanocrystalline state, involving a forward-phase transformation from cubic-to-monoclinic (c-to-m) Y2O3 at a high pressure (8.0 GPa) followed by a reverse-phase transformation from monoclinic-to-cubic (m-to-c) Y2O3 at a lower pressure (1.0 GPa); (2) discovery of a transformation-induced crystallization process to convert polycrystalline c-Y2O3 into columnar-grained m-Y2O3, and possibly into single-crystal m-Y2O3 - the driving force is attributed to a pressure-induced phase transformation that occurs at the tips of the growing columnar-grains; (3) formation of a mixed-phase (c-Y2O3/m-Y2O3) nanocomposite due to incomplete reverse transformation from m-to-c Y2O3 - a near 50:50 nanocomposite displays the highest hardness; and (4) insight into infiltration of carbon-containing gases (e.g. CO, CO2), formed via reactions between carbon heater and entrapped gases (e.g. O2, H2O) in the pressure cell, into cracked grain boundaries to form carbon particles/films via a vapor-deposition mechanism, and into uncracked grain boundaries to form carbon-rich species via a boundary-diffusion mechanism.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Stuart Deutsc
Defoe's Foes:The Author as Character
No full textThe most famous fictional Defoe features in J. M. Coetzee’s Foe (1986), in which he conjures Robinson Crusoe out of a memoir by a “true” castaway. Harrumphing across the country alongside the modern-day narrator of Stuart Campbell’s Daniel Defoe’s Railway Journey (2017), a surreal iteration quite literally leaps out of the pages of a Penguin Classics edition of his real-life counterpart’s travel writing. Setting aside a long tradition of neo-Georgian novels in which Defoe cameos as a seventeenth-century spy, a Defoe-as-character only for all intents and purposes, this chapter attends to two complex cases in the genre of author fictions: Coetzee’s Foe and Campbell’s Defoe
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