198 research outputs found
Quantum techniques for classical black holes
No full textModern theoretical physics has benefited from a rapid growth in mathematical
technology. In particular, technology developed in one field can be quickly
adapted for use in another. Two key techniques developed for simplifying
calculations of Feynman diagrams are spinor-helicity and the double copy. This
thesis will discuss how they can be applied to general relativity.
Spinor-helicity is used in particle physics to simplify expressions. In D > 4 this is
done by observing that the residual symmetry of the little group is non-trivial. We
adapt this technology to classify higher-dimensional spacetimes in the style of the
D = 4 Petrov classification. Focusing on D = 5, our scheme naturally reproduces
the full structure previously seen in both the CMPP and de Smet classifications,
and resolves long-standing questions concerning their relationship.
We review the exact classical double copy introduced for stationary Kerr-Schild
spacetimes. We consider a time-dependent generalisation: the accelerating,
radiating point particle. This Kerr-Schild solution has a non-trivial stress-energy
tensor which we interpret as the radiative part of the field and find the
corresponding single copy. Using Bremsstrahlung as an example, we determine
a scattering amplitude describing the radiation which is consistent with the
quantum double copy. This indicates a profound connection between exact
classical solutions and the double copy.
The double copy relates YM and gravity amplitudes through the observation
that numerators of Feynman diagrams can be made to obey a Jacobi relation
mirroring the colour charges. This additional structure can be adapted for use in
classical perturbative calculations. The double copy maps to N = 0 supergravity
requiring careful treatment of the dilaton. Using the Janis-Newman-Winicour
family of naked singularities as an example we demonstrate how to construct
spacetime metrics through a systematic perturbative expansion
Oscar Wilde : a Victorian sage in a modern age
No full textThis paper assesses Oscar Wilde’s reaction to the fin de siècle and argues against his widely-accepted position as a main figure in the English avant-garde movement, a view which major literary critics such as Peter Gay, Sos Eltis and S. I. Salamensky promote today. Based on Foucault’s definition of modernity as ‘a break with tradition' rather than a specific time, I argue that Wilde was not the modernist author he is widely perceived as, but a conventional Victorian sage who cleverly adopted, and tailored, the fashion of his time to deliver his thoroughly traditional teachings. The paper is split into five sections. The first of deals with Wilde’s creation of his dandy self and the influences of Carlyle, Arnold and Christ over him; the second section examines Ruskin’s influence over Wilde’s theory of art, and Wilde’s self-perception; the third section continues to examine the influence of the Victorian sages on Wilde by exploring his criticism of contemporary modernity in some of his works; the fourth and fifth sections deal with Wilde’s views on the roles of the sexes and his homosexuality respectively, and weigh these views, through further close analysis of his works, against the argument of his modernity. The research ends by asserting that Oscar Wilde was thoroughly Victorian in his views and themes, and that he perceived himself as a sage for his modern age.peer-reviewe
William Baker & Isobel Armstrong, eds., Form and Feeling in Modern Literature: Essays in Honour of Barbara Hardy
No full textForm and Feeling in Modern Literature pays tribute to critic Barbara Hardy, born in 1924, and to ‘a lifetime of absolute immersion in . . . fiction’ (2). The variety of articles and narratives included in the volume bears witness to Barbara Hardy’s range of interest which goes beyond English fiction of the 19th and 20th centuries to include poetry and creative writing. Besides her academic work, as Isobel Armstrong reminds us in her introduction, Barbara Hardy is the author of a novel, her au..
Uma leitura de Isobel Gunn de Audrey Thomas no contexto do travestismo no discurso feminino
No full textDissertação(mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras, Instituto de Letras e Artes, 2004.O travestismo feminino é um tema recorrente na história da literatura. Contudo, não encontramos tantos estudos quanto a relevância da temática sugere, e a maioria
daqueles realizados não leva em consideração o histórico do motivo. Nesse trabalho, percorremos práticas representativas do travestismo feminino na literatura, num estudo diacrônico da figura, delineando um caminho para a investigação da problemática no discurso feminino. O travestismo, no contexto discursivo feminino, significa uma
importante estratégia de (des)construção de possibilidades identitárias para o ser
mulher. A obra escolhida para analise é o romance Isobel Gunn (1999), da escritora
canadense Audrey Thomas. Na proposta artística dessa narrativa, Thomas apresenta técnicas de travestismo que desestabilizam a noção cultural de gênero e agenciam a autonomia identitária do sujeito feminino. Verificamos nesse estudo como o signo do travestismo, inserido em ambiente literário de inter/invenção feminina, realiza relevantes contribuições para o debate crítico feminista atual, dentre os quais estão as relações de gênero, a busca da identidade autêntica, e o papel da narrativa nessas questões. Na leitura do texto, focalizamos os processos de tecnologia de gênero, presentes em Isobel Gunn numa abordagem que aponta possibilidades de interferência e subversão nas suas relações com a visão tradicional. Nosso embasamento teórico ancora-se nas perspectivas dos estudos femininos da contemporaneidade e nos princípios da hermenêutica moderna.The feminine cross-dressing is a frequent theme in the literary history. However, we do
not find as much studies as the significance of the motif suggests, and most of them do
not take into consideration its history. In this research we follow representative
occurrences of the motif in literature, through a diachronic study of this figure.
Presenting this panorama, we delineate a way to investigate the problematic in the feminine discourse. The cross-dressing, in this context, becomes a special tool to (de)construct identity possibilities of the female self. The narrative we analyze is Isobel Gunn (1999), written by the Canadian author Audrey Thomas. In the artistic perspective of this novel, Thomas presents crossdressing techniques that disestablish the cultural notion of gender and promote identity autonomy to the female individual. In this study we observe how this sign, within a literary environment of woman in(ter)vention, makes relevant contributions to the contemporary feminist critical debate, like gender relations, the search for an authentic identity and the role and influence of narrative on these issues. When reading the text, we focus on the processes of gender technology, presented in Isobel Gunn with an
approach that provides possibilities of interference and subversion in relation to the traditional view. The contemporaneous female studies and the principles of the modern hermeneutic are the theoretical support of this research
Uma leitura de Isobel Gunn de Audrey Thomas no contexto do travestismo no discurso feminino
No full textDissertação(mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras, Instituto de Letras e Artes, 2004.O travestismo feminino é um tema recorrente na história da literatura. Contudo, não encontramos tantos estudos quanto a relevância da temática sugere, e a maioria
daqueles realizados não leva em consideração o histórico do motivo. Nesse trabalho, percorremos práticas representativas do travestismo feminino na literatura, num estudo diacrônico da figura, delineando um caminho para a investigação da problemática no discurso feminino. O travestismo, no contexto discursivo feminino, significa uma
importante estratégia de (des)construção de possibilidades identitárias para o ser
mulher. A obra escolhida para analise é o romance Isobel Gunn (1999), da escritora
canadense Audrey Thomas. Na proposta artística dessa narrativa, Thomas apresenta técnicas de travestismo que desestabilizam a noção cultural de gênero e agenciam a autonomia identitária do sujeito feminino. Verificamos nesse estudo como o signo do travestismo, inserido em ambiente literário de inter/invenção feminina, realiza relevantes contribuições para o debate crítico feminista atual, dentre os quais estão as relações de gênero, a busca da identidade autêntica, e o papel da narrativa nessas questões. Na leitura do texto, focalizamos os processos de tecnologia de gênero, presentes em Isobel Gunn numa abordagem que aponta possibilidades de interferência e subversão nas suas relações com a visão tradicional. Nosso embasamento teórico ancora-se nas perspectivas dos estudos femininos da contemporaneidade e nos princípios da hermenêutica moderna.The feminine cross-dressing is a frequent theme in the literary history. However, we do
not find as much studies as the significance of the motif suggests, and most of them do
not take into consideration its history. In this research we follow representative
occurrences of the motif in literature, through a diachronic study of this figure.
Presenting this panorama, we delineate a way to investigate the problematic in the feminine discourse. The cross-dressing, in this context, becomes a special tool to (de)construct identity possibilities of the female self. The narrative we analyze is Isobel Gunn (1999), written by the Canadian author Audrey Thomas. In the artistic perspective of this novel, Thomas presents crossdressing techniques that disestablish the cultural notion of gender and promote identity autonomy to the female individual. In this study we observe how this sign, within a literary environment of woman in(ter)vention, makes relevant contributions to the contemporary feminist critical debate, like gender relations, the search for an authentic identity and the role and influence of narrative on these issues. When reading the text, we focus on the processes of gender technology, presented in Isobel Gunn with an
approach that provides possibilities of interference and subversion in relation to the traditional view. The contemporaneous female studies and the principles of the modern hermeneutic are the theoretical support of this research
Early conversations about computer requirements: alternative approaches to understanding conversations between computer systems analysts and potential computer users, with a view to discovering what should be taught to computer experts about how to discover user's requirements
No full textComputer systems analysts arrange to meet users to find out what is required of software to support an improved human x computer system. Bostrom (1989) successfully uses the precision model to help users explain what they want. Double-loop learning should help analysts hear what users say, but this is difficult to use (Salaway 1987).
This research found a majority of analysts had primitive models of users. First meetings are specially difficult:
a. Users rapidly pour out masses of information.
b. Analysts experience cognitive overload.
C. There is less opportunity to use reflective technique.
Three discrete populations of analysts were detected:
GROUP ANALYSTS 'VIEW OF PROBLEMS
Al The analyst is the problem
A2 Systems thinking aids this difficult task. Why won't my colleagues use it?
Any problems are due to users
IT MANAGERS' VIEW OF THIS ANALYST
Few problems
Perhaps naive
Very effective
Hard to control
Too often on users' side
Users complain
Analyst doesn't care
In order to introduce analysts to systems thinking about people, the following models were designed:
a. MENDAC, a cybernetic model of how people think while talking about computer requirements, designed to introduce technical experts to human-centered issues via the technical paradigm
(avoids challenging the technical paradigm, because computer experts often reject human issues rather than question their
existing values and assumptions).
b. Management of disconfirming evidence: a model of how people might, decide when they could risk double-loop learning.
c. H-structures, a model of both views in arguments concerning values. This highlights assumptions of semantic equivalence
between one side's fear and the other side's aspirations.
REFERENCES in this abstract.
Bostrom,R.P. 1989, Successful application of communication techniques to improve the systems development process,
Information & Management,16,279-295.
Salaway,G. 1987, An organisational learning approach to information systems development.
MIS Quarterly,11,2,245-264
Depression and Gender: The Expression and Experience of Melancholy in the Eighteenth Century
No full textThis thesis investigates the life and work of six eighteenth-century writers, two male and four female. It explores their experience of depression through their letters and other autobiographical material, and examines the ways in which they represent melancholy in their poetry and prose. The subject of Chapter Two is Thomas Gray, whose real life persona as the lonely intellectual is also identifiable in his poetry. The Scottish poet Robert Fergusson is studied in Chapter Three. Fergusson’s lively and vigorous mind was shattered in the months leading up to his death, during which time some of his writing became darkly nihilistic. Chapter Four looks at Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea, a lifelong depressive who often wrote about her feelings of despair in her poetry. Chapter Five explores Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. She was a courageous and controversial figure, but despite her resilience, on occasion in her letters she reveals her vulnerability and susceptibility to low spirits, a mood which is sometimes expressed in her creative writing. Sarah Scott, whose life and work have not yet been considered in relation to the subject of melancholy, is examined in Chapter Six. Her novel includes several low-spirited and depressed female characters who are continually seeking asylum from a hostile world. Chapter Seven analyses Charlotte Smith, a mother of twelve children whose unhappy marriage ended in separation. Smith wrote extensively about her depression in her letters, prefaces, poetry and novels.
This study shows that the women in particular use their writing on melancholy and depression to express their discontent with the confined way in which they are often expected to live out their lives
George Eliot, Spinoza, and the emotions
No full textThe author concentrates on traditions governing the affects and the expression of emotion available to George Eliot. There is expressive emotion in Eliot's novels. Eliot herself, in her “Notes on Form in Art,” affirmed that poetry, by which she included all literary production, consisted of “relations and groups of relations” that “are more or less not only determined by emotion but intended to express it”. “Sympathy” is less likely to explain these “emotional states,” the author believes, than an understanding of Eliot's response to Spinoza. The author turns to what Eliot's translation of the Ethics would have shown her. In the Ethics Spinoza sets up both a logic and a phenomenology of the affects. There is no unconscious in Spinoza's logic. Pleasure and pain have their counterparts in love and hatred. The final section considers form and emotional states in Daniel Deronda, with a brief preface on Middlemarch
Multimedia software to motivate ethnic minority children to learn about their culture and language of origin
No full textInsights into organisational capabilities that influence innovation and organisational competitiveness in SMEs (small and medium enterprises).
No full textThis thesis seeks to develop insights into the nature of organisational capabilities that influence organisational competitiveness and innovation amongst a selection of SMEs. An interpretivist approach was followed to understand the phenomena from the participants point perspective. Participants in the study were the key players in the selected organisations, and had the experience and knowledge base to help the author develop deep insights into the research subject. The emerging analysis shaped the theory which the study set out to generate. This thesis generates an understanding and insights into the role of leadership, organisational structure and culture and a company's relationships with stakeholders in making an SME company innovative and competitively sustainable.The influence of the role of leadership, the influence of organisational culture on performance and their relationships and collaborations within companies and with others towards competitiveness and innovation is explored in this study. However, the author felt that whilst previous research were interesting, they did not fully explain the nature of innovation and its relationship to the ability of a company to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It is for this reason the author wished to put extant literature to one side and take a fresh look at innovation from the perspective of companies that had a successful innovative culture and had achieved sustainable growth through a strong track record of innovation.This research treats the innovation phenomena holistically and draws on the stories and views of company managers to develop insights into the true nature of a strong innovative culture and it relationships with sustainable competitive advantage from the perspective of the managers building the strategy and the culture of the company. The findings of this research are explained in the formulated theory which highlights the importance of creating innovative leadership, innovative structure and culture and innovative relationships and collaboration capabilities. These elements are linked by an open organisational mindset, effective internal and external relationships and proactive and supportive knowledge systems and resourcing to create a culture of innovation
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