145 research outputs found
Dejonghe Étienne, Le Maner Yves, Le Nord-Pas-de-Calais dans la main allemande (1940-1944)
No full textKedward Roderick H. Dejonghe Étienne, Le Maner Yves, Le Nord-Pas-de-Calais dans la main allemande (1940-1944) . In: Vingtième Siècle, revue d'histoire, n°69, janvier-mars 2001. D'un siècle l'autre. pp. 212-213
Polyphony and the anxiety of influence in the fiction of Henry James
No full textJames's fiction, especially in the Middle Phase, centres
on the figure of the artist and is characterized by, the two
interrelated aspects which previous criticism has largely
overlooked: the Bakhtinian 'polyphonic' -creation of
'author-thinkers'; and the conflict between ephebes and
precursors, for which Harold-Bloom's concept of 'the-anxiety of
influence' is the most illuminating model. Polyphony is the
narrative mode, and influence is the intra-artistic, theme.
These, as the Introduction to the thesis makes clear, are
rehearsed in James's inaugural novel, Roderick Hudson. Rowland
Mallet is an author-thinker, and his failure is caused by
authorial limitations. His monologism -is impaired by his
mistaking empathy for the authorial sympathy. Likewise,
Hudson's failure does not arise from a mercurial temperament,
but from a polyphonic shortcoming: not possessing the power of
fiction to contain the fiction of power in, his mentor. And the
relationships among the three artists - Gloriani, Hudson and
Singleton - perfectly exemplify the Bloomian-theme. It is these
two concepts, polyphony and influence, which are the major
preoccupation in the Middle Phase; as, the works chosen
demonstrate. These are a novella, a novel, and a number of
short stories all of which have been unjustifiably neglected.
Chapter One, on The Aspern Papers, argues that Tina Bordereau,
far from being, the artless victim seen by many critics,
actually challenges and defeats the narrator by the very form
of her narrative. Her 'realist' discourse undermines his
language of 'romance', and shows up its internal unstability.
Chapter Two is an extensive study of the critical reception of
The Tragic Muse. The most common areas of critical attention
have been its contemporary topicality, its relation to previous
novels on similar themes, and the possible genealogy of Gabriel
Nash. Those have all missed the core of the work. - Chapter Three
demonstrates how polyphony and the anxiety of influence make
the novel what it really is. Influence arises from the
juxtaposition of, and the wrestling between, artistic ephebes
and their precursors (Nick and Nash,, Miriam and Madame Carre).
The dialogic quality defined by Bakhtin is crucial to the
proper, and even-handed, characterization of all, the conflicts
in the novel. And since most of James's tales in the eighties
and nineties -are about 'masters - and acolytes, the anxiety of
influence remains central. Chapter Four is a study of 'The
Author of Beltraffiol' and 'The Lesson of the Master'. Again the
characters' manipulations are a crucial focus in a way that
G6rard Genette's terminology helps to illuminate. The fact that
the ephebe is the author-thinker emphasizes the inextricability
of the Bakhtinian and the Bloomian in James. Just as
polyphony offers a different focus for explicating the poetics
of James's fiction; so the ephebal conflict provides the basis
for a fresh perception of James's own artistic struggle
On English Pygmies and Giants: the Physical Stature of English Youth in the late-18th and early-19th Centuries
No full textThe physical stature of lower- and upper-class English youth are compared to one another and to their European and North American counterparts. The height gap between the rich and poor was the greatest in England, reaching 22 cm at age 16. The poverty-stricken English children were shorter for their age than any other European or North American group so far discovered, while the English rich were the tallest in their time: only 2.5 cm shorter than today’s US standards. Height of the poor declined in the late-18th century, and again in the 1830s and 1840s conforming to the general European pattern, while the height of the wealthy tended rather to increase until the 1840s and then levelled off
On English Pygmies and Giants: the Physical Stature of English Youth in the late-18th and early-19th Centuries
No full textThe physical stature of lower- and upper-class English youth are compared to one another and to their European and North American counterparts. The height gap between the rich and poor was the greatest in England, reaching 22 cm at age 16. The poverty-stricken English children were shorter for their age than any other European or North American group so far discovered, while the English rich were the tallest in their time: only 2.5 cm shorter than today’s US standards. Height of the poor declined in the late-18th century, and again in the 1830s and 1840s conforming to the general European pattern, while the height of the wealthy tended rather to increase until the 1840s and then levelled off.Height; Biological Standard of Living; Anthropometry; Inequality; Industrial Revolution
Refined Risk Management in Safe Reinforcement Learning with a Distributional Safety Critic
No full textSafety is critical to broadening the real-world use of reinforcement learning (RL). Modeling the safety aspects using a safety-cost signal separate from the reward is becoming standard practice, since it avoids the problem of finding a good balance between safety and performance. However, the total safety-cost distribution of different trajectories is still largely unexplored. In this paper, we propose an actor critic method for safe RL that uses an implicit quantile network to approximate the distribution of accumulated safety-costs. Using an accurate estimate of the distribution of accumulated safetycosts, in particular of the upper tail of the distribution, greatly improves the performance of riskaverse RL agents. The empirical analysis shows that our method achieves good risk control in complex safety-constrained environments.AlgorithmicsIntelligent Electrical Power Grid
The Nova Scotia Teachers Union, 1961-1973
No full textiv, 150 leaves : charts ; 28 cm.Bibliography: leaves 146-150.Online version unavailable; print version available from Patrick Power Library.This thesis is a study of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) in its dual role as a professional interest group and as a bargaining agent. The thesis deals with the degree of success with which the NSTU has performed these interdependent roles since 1961.
Throughout the thesis, material is brought to bear on the internal structure of the Union, internal and external communication and the need for recognized legitimacy, all of which determine the effectiveness of a professional interest group. The functions of the NSTU as a bargaining agent, although related to its functions as an interest group, are analyzed separately by examining the effectiveness of the Union in negotiating salaries and fringe benefits.
The ability of the NSTU to accomplish its primary goal, the advancement and elevation of the status of the teaching profession, is revealed. Impediments to Union progress such as structural inadequacies and poor bargaining procedures are also examined as well as the proposals for change designed to alleviate the impediments.
Possible future alternatives with respect to Union structure and the bargaining process are examined and the recommendations of the author presented
Landscape-painter as landscape-gardener : the case of Alfred Parsons R.A.
No full textIn 2 vols.Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN016830 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo
A Hierarchy of Hyperbolic Macrodynamic Equations as a Model for Network Training
No full textThe author proposes mathematical models of hyperbolic type for training of neural networks, and its computational implementation using the Markov Chain approximation method. I. Introduction Let a mapping x t : R ! \Sigma be a sigmoidal function (activator) coupled to a neural network defined by its neurons x t ffi ¯ : T\Omega \Sigma\Omega UT ! R; (1) where ¯ : T\Omega \Sigma\Omega UT ! R will be referred to as the decision making function. In (1) we assume that the network is trained by a dynamic system with the state space \Sigma during time defined by a set T, and UT is a set of all permissible training strategies. Let H be a mapping XT ! R M ; and HT : N ! N is a T-computable function. Then H can be in principle arbitrarily well approximated by a network implementing HT due to the Godel numeration procedure. On the one hand if XT is a compact Borel set and H 2 L 1 (XT ) then for any arbitrary small ffl ? 0 there exists a feedforward neural network (FNN) ~ H such that jj..
The 'forgotten workforce': a study into the effects of working part-time unsocial hours upon secondary wage earners within hospitality and retail
No full textThe expansion of trading hours especially within hospitality and retail has allowed a previously restricted segment of the nation's workforce an enhanced opportunity to participate in employment outside traditional working hours. Focusing upon mothers who adopt employment outside of the conventional working day, this study examines the consequences of accepting such employment and considers what influence this type of employment has upon the individual, their partner and their family. Despite the growing numbers, this vulnerable sector of the workforce often fails to attract a high priority of public or academic attention with the majority of policy initiatives (both company and government) being directed toward full-time employees.To document the effect of working part-time unsocial hours this research undertook interviews with eighty six individuals from a national supermarket chain and a restaurant group with a further twenty three follow-up interviews one year later. The data gathered documents the reality of paritime unsocial hours working (often involving emotional labour ) and examines the effect this form of employment has upon work performance. The analysis continues with an assessment of the effect such working has upon the lives of the individuals concerned and discusses the importance of partner support for coping with the problems associated with part-time unsocial hours work. The study concludes with practical suggestions that employers can adopt to improve welfare at work. It recommends government initiatives together with legislative changes designed to protect this vulnerable sector of the workforce from exploitation
Patterns of behavior in biodiversity preservation
No full textConservation budgets are limited, so it is right to ask of biodiversity programs, What should be preserved? How much should be preserved? Where? Recent papers on optimal preservation policy have tried to integrate three considerations: the relative uniqueness of different species or habitats, the degree of risk to their continued survival, and the opportunity cost of the resources needed to enhance their prospects for survival. It is natural to ask, How are we doing? Have biodiversity conservation resources been optimally allocated? What determines government decisions about the preservation of endangered species? The authors submit the first report card, an empirical analysis of U.S. species preservation policy, the best-documented country experience currently available. The authors discuss the most common normative justifications for biodiversity preservation and identify measurable proxies for a subset of those justifications. Proxies include"scientific"species characteristics, such as"degree of endangerment"and"taxonomic uniqueness,"as well as"visceral"characteristics, such as physical size and to what extent a species is considered a"higher form of life."They find that both kindsof characteristics, but especially"visceral"characteristics, influence government decisions on whether to protect a species under the Endangered Species Act. The authors find that"visceral"characteristics- especially physical size and taxonomic class - are also important in explaining how much is spent on endangered species. Perhaps more surprising is their finding that more is spent on animals with lower risk of extinction than on animals with a higher risk of extinction. The author's results are sobering. Many millions have been spent on species preservation, but neither uniqueness nor risk has weighed heavily in resource allocation. Instead there has been a heavy bias toward"charismatic megafauna"- large, well-known birds and mammals ("higher forms of life,"in the human value system). Other classes of fauna - including, say, eels or wild toads - and all flora, have gotten extremely short shrift. Prominent examples of species with high charisma, high attention, and relatively low endangerment are the bald eagle, the Florida scrub jay, and the grizzly bear. Other species may have less charisma but could have more scientific value or species risk.Wildlife Resources,Wetlands,Environmental Economics&Policies,Information Technology,Biodiversity
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