1,721,042 research outputs found
Not just a book on media: Extending the Gutenberg Galaxy
No full textThe essay delves into McLuhan's humanism in light of his work on media and culture, exploring how he began to perceive literature not just as a subject, but as a function inseparable from cummunal existence. The essay pays particular attention to the central role played by Modernism in the making of his theories, including the writings of Ford Madox Ford, James Joyce, Ezra Pound and Wyndham Lewis. Recnnecting McLuhan with his literacy past, the essay is a demonstration of one of his greatest ideas: the literature not only matters, but can help us understand the hidden patterns that rule our environment
«Sono cose delicate»: Antonio Virgilio Savona e Angela (Davies). Per una semantica del dissenso cantato
No full textEver since the Occitan troubadours, that is, the songwriters of the 11th-13th centuries considered to be at the origins of Western poetry, the broadly "political" theme has flanked the amorous type, more widely in vogue. In popular tradition, the subversive force of the songs accompanied the entire European Risorgimento and became a precious form of awareness in the years of the First World War. Among the lesser-known Italian singer-songwriters who embodied this libertarian vein in the second half of the twentieth century, the figure of Antonio Virgilio Savona stands out: he was one of the members of the Quartetto Cetra, who composed, with Tata Giacobetti also from the Quartetto Cetra, the song Angela to raise awareness on the unjust detention of African-American activist Angela Davis. This is the first artistic protest from the Western world (the protests of John Lennon and Yōko Ono, the Rolling Stones and Jean-Paul Sartre followed Sa-vona’s). When, in 1971, the Quartetto Cetra presented Angela at the RAI program “Stasera sì”, the censors ordered Savona not to deal with political matters anymore, with the justification that it was “delicate things”. In response, Savona took the opportunity to compose the ironic song They are delicate things. This episode represents an admirable case study to reflect on the status of the song as an artistic tool that has been at the forefront of denouncing controversial aspects of society since its origins, in dialogue with – if not anticipating – many poetic paths character-izing, each time, forms of dissent and resistance
Watson, McLuhan(& Lewis): Conscious (Modernist) Solitudes, Challenging Canadians
No full textThe essay traces the influence of vorticism on Marshall McLuhan and Canadian Modernism, with a special focus on the relation betwen the famous media guru, Wilfred Watson, and Sheila Watson. Building on the initial accmplishment of the magazine "Blast", McLuhan's subsequent "Counterblast", and the network of artistic and intellectual relationships that flourished in Canadian vorticism, the essay offers groundbreaking examinations of postwar Canadia literary culture, particularly the legacies of the Watsons and their rolw in linking traditional Canadian literary themes and new and evolving media contexts
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Design of a hybrid bio-adsorbent based on Sodium Alginate/Halloysite/Hemp hurd for methylene blue dye removal: kinetic studies and mathematical modeling
No full textThis research aims for designing and fabricating green and sustainable systems for an efficient removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions. The hybrid beads, obtained by using ionotropic gelation technique and calcium chloride as cross-linking agent, are composed of sodium alginate matrix, hemp hurd as agro-waste resource and halloysite nanoclay (HNTs). The produced composite beads were characterized morphologically by using SEM and EDX techniques. The batch adsorption studies were performed up to 24 h using methylene blue (MB) as model hazardous dye in order to investigate the effect of HNTs content (0–35% wt) and pH (2, 7 and 12) on the adsorption capacity. In neutral conditions, a maximum adsorption capacity of 32 mg/g was obtained for sample with 0% of HNTs while it increases up to 41, 43 and 50 mg/g for 5%, 20% and 35%wt, respectively. Moreover, swelling/deswelling behavior and point of zero charge (PZC) analysis were even investigated since they are known to affect the adsorption process. A slight increase in PZC can be observed by adding clay nanotubes from 7.42 (0% wt HNTs) up to 7.98 (35% wt HNTs). The experimental data were fitted through first order model, pseudo-second order model and intraparticle diffusion model, demonstrating that the adsorption phenomenon is well described by second order process as well as that the process is mainly characterized by boundary diffusion and intraparticle diffusion. Finally, diffusion of dye was evaluated as function of HNTs content and H+ concentration appearing to decrease from pH= 2 up to pH= 7 and then to increase in alkaline medium (pH=12). Diffusion coefficient and recovery % trends were modeled through design of experiment methodology
Hemp fibers modified with graphite oxide as green and efficient solution for water remediation: Application to methylene blue
No full textIn this paper, the use of hemp fibers modified with graphite oxide for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions was investigated. Parameters such as contact time, pH, temperature, initial concentration of dye and ionic strength were varied and their effects on the adsorption recovery were evaluated. The adsorption process attained the equilibrium within 30 min while the adsorption capacity was found to increase with increasing contact time. The experimental data were fitted through a pseudo-second order model. Maximum adsorption capacity slightly increases with temperature changing from 54 mg/g to 58 mg/g at pH = 7.5, from 37 mg/g to 45 mg/g at pH = 3 and from 44 mg/g to 49 mg/g at pH = 12, by increasing the temperature from 20 °C to 80 °C indicating that the process is slightly endothermic (ΔH = 3.43 kJ/mol). The thermodynamic parameters were even calculated demonstrating that the process is spontaneous (ΔG ≈ −4.4 J/mol K and ΔS = 3.16 J/mol K)). Finally, a mathematical algorithm was applied to forecast the response surface model. A second order model was chosen to fit the experimental data and the statistical effect of the process parameters were estimated. A numerical optimization was even performed to individuate the optimal set of process parameters (pH = 9.25, T = 53.8 °C and C0 = 13.2 mg/L) which maximizes the removal capacity. A possible adsorption mechanism was even presented. So, it was proved the efficiency of the adsorption of a novel, inexpensive and sustainable composite material obtained from agro-waste resources by performing reusability cycles
Design of sodium alginate/soybean extract beads loaded with hemp hurd and halloysite as novel and sustainable systems for methylene blue adsorption
No full textThis work concerns the fabrication of a green, novel, and sustainable system for the efficient removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions. The proposed system is obtained by using sodium alginate/soybean extract blend reinforced with hemp hurd from agro-waste resources and halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). The ionotropic gelation methodology, using calcium chloride as a crosslinking agent, was easily applied to obtain composite beads. The adsorption studies were carried out up to 24 h using methylene blue as model system. The effect of HNTs on adsorption capacity was investigated proving that an increase in inorganic filler determined an increase in adsorption capacity from 32 to 49 mg/g by adding 35% wt of HNTs. The experimental data were fitted through four different models, demonstrating that the adsorption phenomenon is described by second-order process. Film diffusion and pore diffusion values were evaluated to better investigate the rate controlling mechanisms. Isotherm studies were then carried out to extrapolate thermodynamic parameters. Finally, a possible mechanism of adsorption was proposed on the basis of chemisorption mechanism. Here, we demonstrate that the proposed novel, inexpensive, and sustainable composite material obtained from agro-waste resources has high efficiency in removing a cationic dye from wastewaters
The representation of work in German grammar books
Full text linkThis dissertation explores the language of three German grammar books and accompanying exercise books which are produced in Germany for international students of German. It examines how the examples and exercises presented in these books constitute ‘colony texts’ which convey different representations of human activity to the reader. Analysis of the language used in the German grammar books centres on the Linguistics of Representation and borrows techniques used normally in Corpus Linguistics. By using WordSmith Tools this study shows how particular terms (nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives) occur with greater frequency than others in the books under analysis thereby representing certain human activities more strongly than others. The activity of ‘work*, in particular, emerges in the grammar books as a key human activity and consequently provides the main focus for analysis in this study. Concordances relating to ‘work’ are grouped and analysed in terms of what they reveal about popular professions, workplace hierarchy and attitudes and approaches to work. Findings are considered from three perspectives: what they reveal to the researcher and learners of German about the representation of ‘work’ in the chosen context, how they compare to findings from comparative analyses of German textbooks and how they can contribute to our overall understanding of ‘text*. Grammar book examples and exercises emerge as ‘texts’ which have significant potential to reflect cultural norms and attitudes despite being considered generally as a source of innocuous and unremarkable language
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