87 research outputs found
Austin also must be remembered. The Augustinian legacy in Milton's work
No full textWhen I started working on this project, with a limited knowledge of Augustine, but determined to spot his presence in Miltonâs poetry, I was little aware of the intricacy of the relationship between the two authors. At this stage of my research, I do subscribe to Savoyeâs opinion, that this relationship is pervasive. However, one could safely add, it is as pervasive as it is hidden, primarily because of changed cultural paradigms, so that Miltonâs references are no longer familiar to the reader.
As I have pointed out in my presentation of the state of the art, these articulations are hardly made explicit in Miltonâs Oeuvre and also in critical literature they are hardly brought to the surface. My objective has been to make them a little more visible.
I have started my own process of discovery from the works where Milton more openly (but not completely) acknowledges his Augustinian sources, although arguably mediated. As concerns Samson Agonistes, I have presented a reading through Augustinian lenses. I am by no means claiming that mine is the best of all possible readings, but through those lenses I have been able to see a coherence, in Miltonâs dramatic poem, that is not generally recognized.
On the other hand, I thoroughly agree that âone cannot simply take any English poet and turn the post-structuralist critical machine loose on him or her in good faithâ. In particular, I am aware that I have read Miltonâs works against the current critical grain which, with a powerful turn impressed by Empsonâs Miltonâs God, is continually surfacing Miltonâs idiosyncrasies in order to cancel the received picture of a Christian author. Rather, I agree with Cirillo that Miltonâs perspective is that of âa professed Christian poet whose Christian consciousness, no matter how heterodox, colored virtually everything he wrote.â.We may ask, echoing Febvre on Rabelais, âMais de quel christianisme? In accordance with very traditional, even traditionalist Milton Criticism, I think it can safely be stated that Milton is a post-Reformation religious author, and one whose endeavour to âjustify the ways of God to menâ had to come to terms with the difficult task to find signs of providential history in the aftermath of a civil war and in the adverse context of the Restoration. His last published poems deal with this problem in different terms. As readers, we can come to different conclusions as to the texts. Behind them there is the man, âest abyssus humanae conscientiae,â in front of which, after Augustine, I can only say: "nescio"
Economic utopia of the Torah. Economic concepts of the Hebrew Bible interpreted according to the Rabbinical Literature
No full textHebrew Bible offers alternative Economic utopia for building Theocratic society. In this paper, various economic concepts and themes are presented, as found in the Hebrew Bible. These economic concepts include taxation, property rights, labor market, social policy, banking, years of Sabbath and Jubilee, and business cycles. Most economic issues of the Bible are found in the texts of Torah, also known as five Books of Moses. These texts are analyzed by using classical Rabbinical commentaries for better insight. Contrary to the modern Economic theory which is based on the assumptions of scarcity of resources and unlimited needs of consumers, Economics of the Torah is based on God’s resources which are enough for all true needs of His people.Hebrew Bible, History of Economics, History of Economic Thought, Ancient Israel, Judaism
Energy based spectrum sensing for enabling dynamic spectrum access in cognitive radios
No full textSpectrum scarcity is increasingly becoming an obstacle for the implementation of new wireless technologies. On the contrary, recent studies have discovered considerable under-utilization of the allocated spectrum by the licensed users. This suggests that the solution to the problem is a transition from static spectrum allocation policies to dynamic spectrum access methodologies. This can be accomplished through the use of Cognitive Radio technology. Cognitive Radio is considered as an intelligent radio which is capable of altering its transmission or reception parameters in accordance to the radio environment and the network state to use the available spectrum optimally. Significant research efforts have furthered Cognitive Radios since the idea was first conceived by Joseph Mitola in 1998. Cognitive Radio technology allows for the licensed spectrum of the primary users to be used on an opportunistic basis by unlicensed secondary users. A vital requirement of such an opportunistic scheme is that the licensed primary users be protected from detrimental interference from the secondary users while at the same time optimizing the performance for the secondary users. Thus the reliable detection of primary users offers better secondary system throughput via increased spectral efficiency in addition to safeguarding the primary system. Spectrum sensing is a technique used to detect the presence of primary users in the licensed spectrum. It is the estimation of the instantaneous occupancy of the frequency spectrum and is a key enabling factor for Cognitive Radios. Various techniques exist for performing spectrum sensing. In addition to primary user detection, spectrum sensing can also be employed for secondary detection and co-existence, interference analysis in multi-radio environments etc. In this thesis we study adaptive spectrum sensing based on energy detection with a purpose of demonstrating Dynamic Spectrum Access. The major focus has been to evaluate algorithms that can allow for estimation of noise in the presence of the signal which is essential for energy detection based schemes. We also present the system level implementation and evaluation of a Dynamic Spectrum Access setup developed using the USRP2/GNU Radio platform on the ORBIT Wireless Testbed at WINLAB as part of the WINLAB-NEC Collaborative Cognitive Radio Project.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Samson Sequeir
Hope and Despair in Milton's Samson Agonistes and Paradise Regained
No full textHope and Despair in Milton’s Samson
Agonistes and Paradise Regained
Abstract
This thesis aims to explore the notions of hope and despair in Milton’s companion poems, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. In the first chapter, I will define and establish the notions of hope and despair in the Christian context by examining the configurations of these two ideas in the Bible, fathers of the church, and representative reformation theologians. A broader contextual study will include renaissance poets and prose writers and one emblem author. The second chapter presents an outline and discussion of the critical history of these two poems, and I will focus upon critics’ reading of hope and despair in these two poems. The third and fourth chapters are devoted to Samson Agonistes and Paradise Regained respectively. Samson and Christ exemplify true hope. A false hope is then embraced by Samson’s visitors, the Chorus, Manoa, Dalila, and Harapha, and the Philistines, and Jesus’ tempter, Satan. In these two chapters, a revelation of the causal relationship between other virtues, faith, patience, and confidence, and hope will enhance our understanding of Christian hope. Milton’s treatments of hope as an act and a tangible being can be evidenced in the protagonists of his two major poems. Samson conquers his near-despair, withstands temptations of false hope and despair, and eventually regains hope as God’s chosen. Jesus passes the trials of faith and patience, maturing in self-knowledge, defeating the despairing Devil, and proving himself as Hope of mankind. The epilogue of the thesis is intended to compare Milton’s representations of hope in Samson and Christ.Table of Contents
Page
Acknowledgement iii
Abstract iv
Chapter 1
Introduction: Hope and Despair in the Renaissance and Reformation: a Context...................................1
I. Definitions and Biblical Tradition
II. The Patristic Tradition: St. Augustine and St. Thomas
III. The Renaissance and the Reformation Tradition
Chapter 2
The Critical History of Samson Agonistes and Paradise Regained ............................................... 43
Chapter 3
Reading Samson Agonistes............................ 65
I. Linguistic Distinction: Hope as a Verb
II. Samson Agonistes and the Book of Judges
III. Hope and Faith
IV. Manoa’s False Hope
V. Regaining Hope: Samson Conquering Despair
Chapter 4
Reading Paradise Regained ..........................104
I. Linguistic Definition: Hope as a Noun
II. Mary and the Apostles’ Concepts of Christian Hope
III. Satan’s False Hope and Despair
IV. Hope Confirmed: Christ’s Growth
Epilogue ...............................................140
Works Cited ............................................144
Appendi
Music for classical guitar by South African composers : a historical survey, notes on selected works and a general catalogue
No full textIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 296-309).This is the first comprehensive investigation of music for, or including, the classical guitar by South African composers. The focus of this research has been, firstly, to uncover as much of the repertoire as possible, and, secondly, to collate, study, catalogue and report on the information. A brief historical survey of the guitar in South Africa provides the context within which this study was conducted. The primary sources of quantitative data collection were through the archival catalogues of the South African Music Rights Organisation and through personal contact with guitarists, composers and guitar teachers. Other sources consulted were publishers, broadcasting corporations, recording companies, libraries and the internet. The body of the dissertation comprises biographical sketches, background notes, analyses and technical notes on 17 selected solo and chamber works dating from 1947 to 2007 by some of South Africa's most prominent composers and guitaristcomposers. The repertoire ranges in style from the traditional and ethnically inspired to the experimental and abstract. As this is an empirical survey, each selected entry includes details on instrumentation, duration, level of difficulty, number of pages, scordatura, commissions or requests, sources or publishers, premières and recordings. A biography of each composer is provided as well as background notes which offer an overview of the selected work. The notes discuss historical, cultural, musical and extra-musical influences, and frequently include references to interview material. The commentaries on the selected works, with musical examples, include an analytical component describing structure, form, stylistic and compositional elements, while the technical observations include performance suggestions and a grading for each work
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Science education for environmental sustainability A case study of the Palouse watershed
No full textThis study uses case study and qualitative content analysis methodologies to answer the question: What is the relationship between Washington State's k-12 science education standards and the environmental sustainability needs of the Palouse River Watershed? After defining the Palouse Watershed's attributes, the author presents a land use history of the Palouse from prehistory to the present. Investigation of Palouse land, air, and water issues revealed that the Palouse Watershed is one of the most damaged ecosystems in the United States. Current efforts at restoring environmental quality in the Palouse were considered along with unaddressed environmental needs. Twenty-seven restorative and educative strategies were elucidated and later employed in a qualitative content analysis of Washington State's 58 k-12 science education standards. Content analysis revealed that only two of 58 science standards have content that is connected with preparing students to address the actual environmental sustainability needs of the Palouse Watershed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest llc. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Improving Aeromagnetic Surveying Capabilities of Uninhabited Aircraft Systems
No full textUninhabited aircraft systems (UAS) have grown in popularity for aeromagnetic surveying. While the technology has been demonstrated to be viable, studies have not addressed three areas. First, comparisons with traditional platforms over geologically interesting regions are limited. Second, demonstrations of advanced processing with UAS data are rare. And lastly, methods for magnetic compensation of UAS data is outstanding. This thesis addresses these three areas and provide approaches to evaluate UAS performance and improve data quality. A hexacopter UAS was used to fly an aeromagnetic survey over a property with prospective gold targets. The UAS data was found to be repeatable and consistent. Qualitative and quantitative comparison with data from traditional magnetic surveys revealed that the UAS data could delineate geological structures better than the helicopter data and more efficient to collect than ground data. Unconstrained and constrained magnetic inversion demonstrated that the quality of the data collected by the UAS was sufficient to model the structural framework of banded iron formations within the survey area. It highlighted that the potential gold ore zones are not directly associated with them, but rather with steeply dipping faults that transect the area. The exercise showed that, at the early stage of exploration, performing unconstrained inversion yielded a realistic and detailed model of the subsurface, opening the possibility of implementing magnetic inversion as a continuous process during targeted high-resolution surveying for mineral exploration. Magnetic compensation of noise from aircraft attitude variations is typically modelled by performing a least-squares fit to a 16-term model by bandpass filtering data from a high-altitude (3,000 m) figure-of-merit flight. Government and hardware limitations generally prevent UAS to fly at such altitudes (over 122 m AGL), so an alternative solution was developed that uses recurrent neural networks on survey data, without the need of an FOM. The algorithm was tested on data from a traditional fixed-wing airplane survey and data from UAS flying at 120 m and 50 m above ground level. Comparisons with established compensation methods showed that the proposed algorithm could become a practical alternative
"And they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan" (1 Sm 31, 10). The problem of a suicide in the Old Testament. This paper addresses a multi-faceted, intriguing issue of suicide in the Bible, especially in Jewish and ancient tradition. The author aims to show all cases of suicide in the Old Testament (Abimelech, Samson, King Saul and his armor-bearer, Ahithophel, Zimri, Ptolemy Macron, Razis), focusing on a theological, linguistic and cultural analysis of selected biblical excerpts. In addition, there are many of suicide prevention in the Bible in which God’s intervention prevented the accomplishment of suicidal behavior (Moses, David, Elijah, Job, Jeremiah, Jonah). Suicide in the Bible occurs for a variety of complicated, ambiguous reasons, including intense personal guilt, sense of hopelessness, human inclination to despair or tremendous personal loss. The Bible nowhere proscribes suicide distinctly, and the question of self-killing in Hebrew Scriptures is a still live dilemma
'One equal music’: The royal college of music, its inception and the legacy of Sir George Grove 1883-1895
No full textThe establishment of the Royal College of Music (RCM) in 1883 represents the denouement of an eighteenth-century movement to found a conservatoire with a national remit in Britain. Whether motivated by the desire to rival Continental conservatoires to generate and develop an environment in which a worthy successor to Purcell could be nurtured or to create an indigenous musical workforce to obtain direct control of market forces, the RCM was seen as a panacea in the light of the demise of the experimental National Training School for Music (1876-1882) and the ineffectual Royal Academy of Music founded in 1822. The NTSM's financial concerns led Sir Henry Cole to approach the Royal Commission of 1851 for aid. In return for a meagre grant, the Commission insisted the NTSM remodel its management and constitution on pain of eviction from buildings on the Kensington Estate. Cole's approach to 1851 Commissionets precipitated the involvement of the Prince of Wales and other senior members of the Court that led directly to the establishment of the RCM in 1878.Attempts to institute the RCM as a quango to regulate the music profession alongside music education both at elementary school and university level were intended to provide ideal circumstances for inducing comprehensive treasury assistance where the NTSM failed. When this proved elusive, a contingency was provided by George Grove (first RCM Director from 1882) who, at the request of the Prince of Wales, imtiated a capital fund. The introduction of fee-paying students alongside scholars provided financial security that distanced the College & insolvency. Substantial growth in numbers during the first few years forced Grove and the Council to address the issue of a new building. Grove's appointment of an unrivalled professorial staff and the development of a rigorous curriculum, whose inspiration was to be found within the Continental traditions in France and Germany, had paid dividends. By 1894, the results of RCM's pedagogical methods were respected across Europe. The appointment of Grove's neighbour, Alexander Mackenzie, as Principal of the RAM heralded an environment for mutual co-operation between two rival institutions. The institution of local examinations under the Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music from 1889 marked the conclusion of further attempts to amalgamate the two institutions. The foundation of both the Associated Board was intended to provide a remedy to the shortage of suitably-qualified candidates entering for scholarships and to improve music tuition among school children as set out in the RCM's 1883 charter. The coalition created formidable opposition to Halle's proposal to establish a chartered Royal College of Music in Manchester (RMCM) in 1893 and Parliament's attempts to include music within the provision of the bill for the regulation and registration of teachers. The foundation of the Associated Board allowed Grove to begin implementing the RCM's remit to lead the music profession on both a national and imperial scale. The RCM's national and European reputation established by Grove was consolidated under the directorate of his successor, c. Hubert H. Parry, who confirmed the RCM's global reputation to which other, fledgling institutions, such as New York's Juilliard School of Music, came to aspke. Grove's initiatives, which began the process of emancipating composer and performer alike, went on to transform Britain's international musical reputation within a generation, the ramifications of which continue to affect us more than a century later
England Calling: A Narratological Exploration of Martin Amis’s 'London Fields'
No full textThis paper will explore connections between fictional narrative methodology and contemporary conceptions of Englishness by applying aspects of Gerald Prince’s (2005) conceptions of a ‘postcolonial narratology’ to Martin Amis’s “London Fields” (1989). Amis has commented that ‘it’s almost an act of will on my part trying not to be an English writer’. However, this paper will suggest that the novel under consideration here exhibits methodological tendencies which have their roots in a protracted engagement with problematic notions of English identity (principally, instability and disengagement) and that postcolonial approaches to narrative technique can lead to very interesting results, even when applied to the work of writers not typically identified with such constituencies. The central point of investigation will be the novel’s exhibition of metafictional tendencies. In “London Fields”, Amis narrates via an authorial surrogate, Samson Young, who purports to be the author of the text, yet becomes implicated in the events of the novel to the point where his actions, rather than his imagination, determine its outcome. It is interesting also in this connection that the novel is voiced by an ‘outsider’ to England, an American.
Prince is intrigued by the possibility that a postcolonial narrative discourse might emerge ‘free of any narratorial introduction, mediation, or patronage.’ He also points to the significance of narratological features such as hybridity, migrancy, otherness, fragmentation, diversity and power relations. Amis’s novel exhibits all of these features, and takes the ambition of authorial invisibility to a paradoxical extreme. Voices, characters, reliability and even actantial events are brusquely ‘disowned’ by the author, resulting in a textual instability and uncertainty which, it will be demonstrated through close textual analysis, is intimately linked to England’s postcolonial condition
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