350 research outputs found
Writing and the rights of reality: usurpation and potentiality in Derrida, Plato, Nietzsche, and Beckett
No full textThe thesis critically evaluates Jacques Derrida's conferral of the rights of reality on writing, focussing on his theory of an arche-text in light of the speculative nature of this theory. The theory is initially considered in the context of Derrida's elucidation of the usurpatory status of writing within the Platonic and Nietzschean texts. This consideration reveals an admission of writing's usurpatory status by both writers while at the same time demonstrating their awareness of the intrinsically speculative nature of this view, the significance of writing lying in its ability to exteriorise the radically indeterminate status of consciousness m relation to reality rather than its ability to displace consciousness or reality The analyses, therefore, not only bring the Derridean hypothesis of a repressive or phonocentric metaphysical episteme into question but also exhibit the historical and philosophical role of potentiality in relation to writing, writing's ultimate significance lying in its capacity to exteriorise our existence as a mode of potentiality. Accordingly, in the second half of the thesis the Derridean theory of writing is countered with a specifically Aristotelian theory of the text as it is exhibited in the prose of Samuel Beckett, an author whose significance lies in his close alignment with Derridean theory within contemporary criticism. It is demonstrated that this identification has obviated an awareness of the significance of potentiality within the Beckettian text, his work consequently being appraised in the previously neglected context of Aristotelian metaphysics
Samuel Beckett and the Writers of Port-Royal
No full textIt has been observed that ‘the literary influences on Beckett have been far more important than has been acknowledged, and more important indeed, than the philosophical influences’ (Smith 2002: 3). The truth of this statement is evidenced by the description that scholars have given of Samuel Beckett’s relationship to seventeenth century French classicism. To date, critical interest has been limited for the most part to the figure of the philosopher René Descartes on the (fragile) grounds that Beckett was exclusively concerned with the Cartesian imperative of clarity and order, the fundamental dualism between body and mind, and Nominalism.
Together with the assumption that Beckett’s vision was essentially Cartesian, his literary filiation with Pascal was suggested by critics, but only in terms of Beckett’s formal approach to the theatre. In his short article on En attendant Godot in 1953, the playwright Jean Anouilh was among the first reviewers to suggest that Beckett’s drama synthesizes the encounter between ‘classicism’ and a ‘modern’ form of art. It is well known that Beckett retained a lifelong admiration for Pascal – indeed, Pascal was one of his ‘old chestnuts’ (Knowlson 1997: 653). Little attention has been paid, however, to the originality of Pascal’s thought, the specific nature of his prose, and the impact these might have had upon Beckett’s mature work, especially the trilogy and the subsequent short prose. Yet, in the literary and philosophical context of post-war France, Beckett’s filiation with Pascal, their corresponding preoccupations, were evident to his contemporaries, who identified Pascal as an underlying presence in his works
"The Translingual Sensibility: A Conversation Between Steven G. Kellman and Ilan Stavans"
No full textDialogue might be the most appropriate medium for reflections on translingualism. In a dialogue conducted by email over the course of ten days, Steven G. Kellman and Ilan Stavans consider the validity and implications of linguistic determinism. Their conversation examines whether some words that seem to embody the unique Weltanschaaung of a particular culture – such as Schadenfreude, duende, or mångata – can be appropriated, if not translated, into another culture. Pondering whether there are any inherent qualities that distinguish texts by monolingual writers such as Jane Austen and William Faulkner from work by authors who switch languages, such as Samuel Beckett and Vladimir Nabokov, they agree on the usefulness of thinking in terms of a translingual sensibility. Apart from the biographical circumstances of the author, a text possesses a translingual sensibility if it embodies an awareness of both the power and the limitations of its own verbal medium
Metabolic recovery and compensatory shell growth of juvenile Pacific geoduck Panopea generosa following short-term exposure to acidified seawater
No full textMETABOLIC RECOVERY AND COMPENSATORY SHELL GROWTH OF JUVENILE PACIFIC GEODUCK PANOPEA GENEROSA FOLLOWING SHORT-TERM EXPOSURE TO ACIDIFIED SEAWATER
Samuel J. Gurr1*, Brent Vadopalas2, Steven B. Roberts3, Hollie M. Putnam1
1 University of Rhode Island, College of the Environment and Life Sciences, 120 Flagg Rd, Kingston, RI 02881 USA
2 University of Washington, Washington Sea Grant, 3716 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
3 University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, 1122 NE Boat St, Seattle, WA 98105 USA
*Corresponding author: Fax: Phone:1-401-874-9510 Email: [email protected]
Abstract
While acute stressors can be detrimental, environmental stress conditioning can improve performance. To test the hypothesis that physiological status is altered by stress conditioning, we subjected juvenile Pacific geoduck, Panopea generosa, to repeated exposures of elevated pCO2 in a commercial hatchery setting followed by a period in ambient common garden. Respiration rate and shell length were measured for juvenile geoduck periodically throughout short-term repeated reciprocal exposure periods in ambient (~550 µatm) or elevated (~2400 µatm) pCO2 treatments and in common, ambient conditions, five months after exposure. Short-term exposure periods comprised an initial 10-day exposure followed by 14 days in ambient before a secondary 6-day reciprocal exposure. The initial exposure to elevated pCO2 significantly reduced respiration rate by 25% relative to ambient conditions, but no effect on shell growth was detected. Following 14 days in common garden, ambient conditions, reciprocal exposure to elevated or ambient pCO2 did not alter juvenile respiration rates, indicating ability for metabolic recovery under subsequent conditions. Shell growth was negatively affected during the reciprocal treatment in both exposure histories, however clams exposed to the initial elevated pCO2 showed compensatory growth with 5.8% greater shell length (on average between the two secondary exposures) after five months in ambient conditions. Additionally, clams exposed to the secondary elevated pCO2 showed 52.4% increase in respiration rate after five months in ambient conditions. Early exposure to low pH appears to trigger carry-over effects suggesting bioenergetic re-allocation facilitates growth compensation. Life stage-specific exposures to stress can determine when it may be especially detrimental, or advantageous, to apply stress conditioning for commercial production of this long-lived burrowing clam.
</p
The effect of demographic changes on saving for life cycle motives in developing countries
No full textIf developing countries follow the same paths that industrialized countries have followed, saving for retirement will initially become more important as the population growth rate declines. To calculate the potential importance of life-cycle savings (saving for retirement), the paper presents a simulation model that translates demographic projections into savings-rate projections. It simulated aggregate rates for life-cycle savings for Brazil, China, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. The savings rates increase 5 or 6 percentage points when the last baby boomers enter the work force and begin to save after their children leave home. The effect on life-cycle savings is dramatic; the effect on total savings rates which are often three or four times as high, is not. Simulated life-cycle savings rates peak at an absolute 10 percent or less in all cases. The patterns of these projections seem robust with regard to assumptions about productivity growth, interest rates, and age-specific participation in the labor force.Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Inequality
Michal, contradicting values : understanding the moral dilemma faced by Saul's daughter
No full textValue conflicts due to cultural differences are an increasingly pressing issue in many societies. Because Old Testament texts hail from a very different milieu to our own they may provide new perspectives upon contemporary conflicts and, in this context, the present dissertation investigates one particular value clash in 1 Samuel.
Studies of Old Testament ethics have attended to narrative only relatively recently. Although social-scientific interpretation has a longer pedigree, there are important debates about how to employ the fruits of anthropology in biblical studies. The first part of this thesis, therefore, attends to methodological issues, advancing four main propositions. First, attention should be paid to the moral goods that feature in the text. Second, the family, a central feature of Old Testament morality, should be understood as a set of practices rather than an institution. Third, 'models' of social action that purport to comprehend the social world of the Bible should be used only cautiously. Finally, a modified version of Bakhtin's theory of heteroglossic voices can help readers appreciate how authors present a moral vision by approving some characters' actions whilst undermining others.
The second part of the thesis employs this methodology to examine 1 Samuel 19.10-18a. The discussion of the moral dilemma facing Michal adduces anthropological theories and ethnographic data concerning violence, lying, and the relationship between fathers and daughters. Given that the conflicts of moral goods are 'resolved' by characters choosing to act in a certain way, the dissertation enquires after the author's assessment of each character's moral choices, and hence their theological import. The dissertation argues that Michal's loyalty to David and deception of Saul was counter-cultural, and by approving of her choice the author affirms the importance of loyalty to the Davidic dynasty
Molten Regolith Electrolysis reactor modeling and optimization of in-situ resource utilization systems
No full textThesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-170).In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), the practice of leveraging space resources to support space exploration, has long been considered as a possible avenue for reducing the mass and cost of exploration architectures. In particular, producing oxygen from lunar regolith holds great promise for maintaining life support systems and enabling orbital refueling of chemical propulsion systems to reduce launch vehicle mass. Unfortunately, significant uncertainty as to the mass, power, and performance of such ISRU systems has prohibited a rigorous quantitative analysis. To this end, parametric sizing models of several ISRU systems are developed to better understand their mass, power, and performance. Special focus is given to an oxygen production technique, called Molten Regolith Electrolysis (MRE), in which molten lunar regolith is directly electrolyzed to produce oxygen gas and metals, such as iron and silicon. The MRE reactor model has a foundation of regolith material property models validated by data from Apollo samples and regolith simulants. A coupled electrochemical and thermodynamic simulation is used to provide high-fidelity analysis of MRE reactor designs. A novel design methodology is developed that uses data from the simulation to parametrically generate mass, volume, power, and performance estimates for an MRE reactor that meets a set of performance criteria. An integrated ISRU system model, including an MRE reactor, power system, excavator, liquid oxygen storage system, and other systems, is leveraged in a hybrid optimization scheme to study the optimal system design and performance characteristics. The optimized models predict that a 400 kg, 14 kW MRE-based ISRU system can produce 1,000 kg oxygen per year from lunar Highlands regolith. A 1593 kg, 56.5 kW system can produce 10,000 kg oxygen per year. It is found that the optimal design of an MRE-based ISRU system does not vary significantly with regolith type, demonstrating the technique's robustness to variations in regolith composition. The mass and power of the optimized ISRU system exhibit an economy of scale, indicating that larger quantities of oxygen can be produced more efficiently. In fact, the production efficiency estimates of a lunar ISRU system provide initial evidence that lunar ISRU may prove beneficial in supporting a Mars Exploration campaign.by Samuel Steven Schreiner.S.M
The 'true use of reading' : Sarah Fielding and mid eighteenth-century literary strategies.
No full textPhDThe aim of this thesis is to explore, by examining her life and
works, how Sarah Fielding (1710-68) established her identity as an author.
The definition of her role involves her notions of the functions of
writing and reading.
Sarah Fielding attempts to invite readers to form a sense of ties
by tacit understanding of her messages. As she believes that a work
of literature is produced through collaboration between the writer and
the reader, it is an important task in her view to show her attentiveness
toward reading practice. In her consideration of reading, she has two
distinct, even opposite views of her audience: on the one hand a familiar
and limited circle of readers with shared moral and cultural values and
on the other potential readers among the unknown mass of people. The
dual targets direct her to devise various strategies. She tries to
appeal to those who can endorse and appreciate her moral values as well
as her learning. Her writings and letters testify that she is sensitive
to the demands of the literary market, trying to lead the taste of readers
by inventing new forms.
The thesis opens with an overview of Sarah Fielding's career,
followed by a consideration of her critical attention to the roles of
reading. I go on to examine the narrative structures and strategies
she deploys, with a particular emphasis on her use of the epistolary
method. The following chapter deals with her attention to the reading
of the moral message tangibly embodied in her educational writing. It
is followed by an analysis of the activity which earned her a reputation
as a learned woman. Various as the forms of her works are, they invariably
reflect her attempt to balance herself between the two demands of
inventiveness and familiarity
Integrated circuit control of resonant and hard switched dc/dc converters for industrial and educational applications
No full textThesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2009.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-128).This thesis presents an integrated secondary side synchronous rectification controller, designed on a modern industrial silicon IC process, for use in the LLC resonant converter topology. The controller is intended to function in systems with output power levels up to 500 W and switching frequencies up to 1 MHz. Simulation data for this controller indicates high degrees of performance over a input voltage range of 12-48 V and an operating temperature range of -50° C to 150° C. Significant improvement over existing synchronous rectication controllers is observed. In addition, a simulation and written exercise framework, intended to couple with circuits in a pre-existing discrete hardware kit, has been developed for a proposed class on power IC design. SPICE schematics of important circuit modules as well as relevant coursework is presented and explained. The course itself is motivated by the challenges of the industrial design process, and goals include teaching students about practical power IC design techniques and developing their intuition for high level circuit function. The end result is student construction of a working controller for a traditional hard-switched dc/dc converter.by Victor Samuel Sinow.M.Eng
The Power...to Alter and Amend : Textual Production and Editorial Actions in Samuel Richardson\u27s Clarissa .
No full textThis dissertation is a study of texts, focusing on how texts are constructed (through both words as well as physical attributes) and how they are edited after their initial composition. The scope of this dissertation is limited to Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) and his rare 1750 third edition of Clarissa and to the characters in Clarissa and their familiar letters. I argue that the altering of a text is a negotiation of power between the editor and the author, and that editors advance their personal agendas by undermining the intentions of the author. In Chapter 1, I explain the relevancy of textual studies to literary criticism. In Chapter 2, I examine how Richardson, master printer as well as author, constructs Clarissa as a material text, meaning that he builds plot, characterization, and his didactic message through the text\u27s linguistic as well as physical features. In Chapter 3, I address the familiar letters constructed by characters within Clarissa. Although the material details of these fictional letters--including handwriting and seals--cannot be seen by readers of the novel, they can still be conceptualized in the mind and interpreted for their visual meaning. In Chapter 4, as a transition to the editing of texts, I summarize the eighteenth- and twentieth-century editorial theories most relevant to Clarissa. In Chapter 5, I evaluate Richardson\u27s role as editor of Clarissa, focusing on the textual apparatus he constructs around his novel. Richardson exploits the editorial role in a manner not seen in other eighteenth-century novels, using the apparatus to control readers\u27 interpretations. In Chapter 6, I discuss the characters in Clarissa as editors, showing how they frequently alter and even forge/rewrite letters after their initial composition. These editorial actions, which I refer to as fictional editing, expand the narrative beyond the initial act of writing and complicate the issues of characterization, gender, and subjectivity inherent in the familiar letter. In Chapter 7, I conclude by suggesting additional concerns for textual/literary critics, including the implications of lost physical details in electronic texts
- …
