21 research outputs found
Mass action models of Falklands War battles
No full textWe develop a dataset describing variables associated with six Falklands War battles: combatant numbers; deaths; temporal aspects; and offensive support. Linear relationships between battle duration and deaths necessitate using force and loss ratios to remove temporal variation. Mass action models of battle attrition fit this dataset poorly (at best coefficient of determination ). The low level rules in simulations used by military force designers frequently share assumptions with, or are, mass action models. Errors in force balance or constitution are dangerous so exposing problems with and exploring improvements on existing combat models is important. While six data points are too few for a thorough analysis, our results are consistent with: a linear relationship between time in danger and number killed; different times in danger for the two sides, dependent on detection and lethality ranges; and data substructure, even when temporal aspects are removed through ratio models. This data substructure indicates at least one extra variable needs to be considered. We contend that this variable is related to suppression, and this contention is not falsified by the high use of offensive support in the most successful attacks. Mathematical modellers should consider cancelling out temporal variation in combat datasets through ratio models and/or exploring the effects of mutable detection and lethality ranges. Suppression is an attempt to manage exposure to death, to introduce non-stationarity and irregularity into the dataset to benefit the suppressor, to change the bounds of the system using a soft controller; we should investigate how to model it. Force designers should ask simulation modellers whether the mathematical models underlying their simulations represent suppression accurately (or at all) and rethink reductions of simultaneously delivered offensive support available on demand based on models ignoring suppression.
References J. B. A. Bailey. Field artillery and firepower. Routledge, London, 2009. A. Baudry. La Bataille navale: etudes sur les facteurs tactiques. 1912. Translated by C. F. Atkinson. The naval battle: Studies of the tactical factors. Hugh Rees, London, 1914. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k11639411/f9.image S. Biddle. Military power: Explaining victory and defeat in modern battle. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 2004. F. D. J. Bowden, B. M. Pincombe and P. B. Williams. Feasible scenario spaces: A new way of measuring capability impacts. In T. Weber, M. J. McPhee and R. S. Anderssen (eds), MODSIM2015, 836–842, 2015. http://www.mssanz.org.au/modsim2015/D3/bowden.pdf D. Brown. The Royal Navy and the Falklands War. Pen and Sword Books, Barnsley, UK, 1987. J. V. Chase. Sea fights: A mathematical investigation of the effect of superiority of force in combats upon the sea. Naval War College Archives, RG 8, Box 109, XTAV (1902), 1902. A. J. Echevarria. After Clausewitz: German military thinkers before the Great War. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA, 2001. J. A. English and B. I. Gudmundsson. On infantry. Praeger, Westport, CT, USA, 1994. B. A. Fiske. American Naval Policy. U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, January 1905. L. Freedman. The official history of the Falklands Campaign, Volume 2: War and diplomacy. Routledge, London, 2005. G. Fremont-Barnes. The Falklands 1982: Ground operations in the South Atlantic. Osprey, Oxford, UK, 2012. https://ospreypublishing.com/the-falklands-2130 S. Fitz-Gibbon. Not mentioned in despatches: The history and mythology of the Battle of Goose Green. The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge, UK, 1995. http://www.lutterworth.com/product_info.php/products_id/1019 T. R. Hogan. No shells, no attack! The use of fire support by three Commando Brigade Royal Marines during the 1982 Falkland Islands War. AD-A208862, US Army War College, PA, USA, 1989. http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a208862.pdf. L. R. Kosowski, A. Pincombe and B. Pincombe. Irrelevance of the fractal dimension term in the modified fractal attrition equation. ANZIAM J, 52:C988–C1011, 2011. doi:10.21914/anziamj.v52i0.3963 F. W. Lanchester. Aircraft in warfare: The dawn of the fourth arm. Constable, London, 1916. https://archive.org/details/aircraftinwarfar00lancrich C. D. Landry. British artillery during Operation Corporate. Masters Thesis, United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2002. http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a401278.pdf. T. W. Lucas and T. Turkes. Fitting Lanchester equations to the Battles of Kursk and Ardennes. Nav. Res. Log., 51:95–116, 2004. doi:10.1002/nav.10101 J. Millikan, M. Wong and D. Grieger. Suppression of dismounted soldiers: Towards improving dynamic threat assessment in closed loop combat simulations. In J. Piantadosi, R. S. Anderssen and J. Boland (eds), MODSIM2013, 1054–1060, 2013. http://www.mssanz.org.au/modsim2013/D1/millikan.pdf M. Osipov. The influence of the numerical strength of engaged forces in their casualties. Translated by R. L. Helmbold and A. S. Rehm. Nav. Res. Log., 42:435–490, 1995. doi:10.1002/1520-6750(199504)42:3<435::AID-NAV3220420308>3.0.CO;2-2 R. Peterson. On the logarithmic law of combat and its application to tank combat. Oper. Res., 15:557–558, 1967. doi:10.1287/opre.15.3.557 A. H. Pincombe and B. M. Pincombe. Markov modelling of the effectiveness of arms sanctions: A case study of the Falklands War. ANZIAM J., 48:C527–C541, 2006. doi:10.21914/anziamj.v48i0.80 A. H. Pincombe and B. M. Pincombe. Tractable approximations to multistage decisions in air defence scenarios. ANZIAM J., 49:C273–C288, 2007. doi:10.21914/anziamj.v49i0.349 A. H. Pincombe, B. M. Pincombe and C. E. M. Pearce. Putting the art before the force. ANZIAM J., 51:C482–C496, 2010. doi:10.21914/anziamj.v51i0.2584. A. H. Pincombe, B. M. Pincombe and C. E. M. Pearce. A simple battle model with explanatory power. ANZIAM J., 51:C497–C511, 2010. doi:10.21914/anziamj.v51i0.2585 A. H. Pincombe and B. M. Pincombe. Dispersed combat as many-on-many search: Solving generalised Lanchester equations. ANZIAM J. to appear. doi:10.21914/anziamj.v57i0.10447 B. M. Pincombe and A. H. Pincombe. Scoping a flexible deployment framework using adversarial scenario analysis. Int. J. Intell. Def. Supp. Sys., 3(3/4):225–262, 2010. doi:10.1504/IJIDSS.2010.037092 B. M. Pincombe, S. Blunden, A. H. Pincombe and P. Dexter. Ascertaining a hierarchy of dimensions from time-poor experts: Linking tactical vignettes to strategic scenarios. Technol. Forecast. Soc., 80(4):584–598, 2013. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2012.05.001 R. H. Scales. Firepower in limited war. National Defense University Press, Washington, DC, 1993. G. Smith. Battle atlas of the Falklands War 1982 by Land, Sea, and Air. Naval-History.net, Penarth, UK, 2006. http://www.naval-history.net/NAVAL1982FALKLANDS.htm G. Hubbard. HMS Yarmouth: Captains Diary. http://www.hms-yarmouth.com/co.diary.htm
Tractable approximations to multistage decisions in air defence scenarios
No full textSimulations are commonly used to investigate the control and resource allocation problems associated with pitting aircraft against ground based air defences. Such simulations rapidly become computationally intractable as units are added. Previous work described an envelope method that retains computational tractability if the lowest and highest cost target sequences can be defined a priori and used to establish solution bounds. This approach must be modified to be applied to the more common case where there are no obvious best or worst sequences of targets. We show that these bounding sequences can be approximated by using binary comparisons and by basing decisions on a heuristic. This approach compares well with exact results in some computationally tractable situations.
References R. E. Ball, The Fundamentals of Aircraft Combat Survivability Analysis and Design (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1985). D. Ghose, M. Krichman, J. L. Speyer and J. S. Shamma, Modeling and analysis of air campaign resource allocation: A spatio-temporal decomposition approach, IEEE Transactions on systems, man and cybernetics- Part A: Systems and humans 32 (2002) 403--418. Jose B. Cruz Jr, Marwan A. Simaan, Aga Gacic, Huihui Jiang, Bruno Letellier, Ming Li and Yong Liu, Game-theoretic modeling and control of a military air operation, IEEE Transactions on aerospace and electronic systems 37 (2001) 1393--1405. Eric V. Larson and Glenn A. Kent, A new methodology for assessing multilayer missile defence options, Monograph Report, RAND Corporation (1994) . W. McEneany, B. Fitzpatrick and I. Lauko, Stochastic game approach to air operations, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems 40 (2004) 1191--1216. A. H. Pincombe and B. M. Pincombe, A Markov decision model for tactical military engagements, Proceedings of ASOR2001 (2001) . A. H. Pincombe and B. M. Pincombe, A Markov based method for military analysis, Bulletin of the Australian Society for Operations Research 22 (2003) . A. H. Pincombe and B. M. Pincombe, Markov modelling on the effectiveness of sanctions: A case study of the Falklands war, in Proceedings of the 13th Biennial Computational Techniques and Applications Conference, CTAC-2006 (eds. Wayne Read and A. J. Roberts), Volume 48 of ANZIAM J., http://anziamj.austms.org.au/ojs/index.php/ANZIAMJ/article/view/80 [November 14, 2007], C527--C541. A. Tversky and I. Simonson, Context-dependent preferences, Management Science 39 (1993) 1179--1189. Yong Liu, Marwan A. Simaan and Jose B. Cruz Jr, An application of dynamic Nash task assignment strategies to multi-team military air operations, Automatica 39 (2003) 1469--1479
Water balance of South Lake and the water quality of the Octopus-Ominnik-South Lake system, Riding Mountain National Park, A
No full textParks Canadaâs mandate directs the park to manage for ecological integrity, which includes restoration of anthropogenically altered landscapes back to their natural state. In this case, restoration means re-aligning Octopus Creek in Riding Mountain National Park back to its natural flow path. The original diversion was created with the intention of minimizing nutrient loading to Clear Lake and helped to maintain an ideal spawning habitat for northern pike in South Lake. Redirecting this human constructed channel back to its natural flow path could have implications for water levels and therefore, critical fish spawning habitat. A water balance which included all of the inflows and outflows of South Lake was conducted over two field seasons. Surface water, groundwater, evaporation, and precipitation were quantified. A water quality study was also conducted to monitor a point source of pollution, the Wasagaming Wastewater Lagoons, and to determine if non-point source pollution was occurring (alike many of the previous studies conducted in this study area). It was found that there is an excess amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the system. It was also concluded that the constructed channel is a significant source of surface water to South Lake. Therefore, redirecting the natural flow path into Clear Lake could have negative impacts on its current trophic status and could reduce available northern pike spawning habitat within South Lake. It is recommended that the hydrological system remains the way it currently flows."Chapters 2 and 3 of this thesis are co-authored by Dr. Peter Whittington while Chapter 4 is co-authored by Dr. Christopher Malcolm. The bulk of the writing and data analysis was done by Brandice Hollier, but guidance and refining was provided by the aforementioned. The intention is to publish each manuscript separately."--Page iii.Includes bibliographical references (pages 95-100)."In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Evironmental and Life Sciences.
Economic parameters of deforestation
No full textRecent debate about how timber prices affect deforestation has focused mainly on how log export bans (imposed in many developing countries to protect domestic timber processing) affect deforestation. One side argues that the lower domestic timber prices that result from banning log exports increase deforestation by making forestry less profitable than competing land uses, such as agriculture. The other argues that lower timber prices reduce profits from logging, so they slow down deforestation caused by logging. The author argues that the conflicting views result from simplistic analysis that ignores differences between types of forest. The two positions are reconciled by distinguishing between unmanaged forests (for example, biologically mature, previously unlogged primary forests) and managed forests (such as forest plantations cultivated for periodic harvest). This distinction allows the derivation of unambiguous comparative static results and is useful because many nontimber benefits from forests (such as biodiversity conservation) are associated mainly with unmanaged forests. The distinction between managed and unmanaged forests leads to both unconventional and conventional results. All things being equal, a lower timber price results in larger areas of unmanaged forests and smaller areas of managed forests. That is, measures that reduce the producer price for timber (for example, import restrictions in timber-consuming countries and export restrictions in timber-producing countries) are suitable as a second-best policy to reduce the pressure on unmanaged forest frontiers. Most logging in tropical forests occurs in unmanaged forests, so the claim that trade restrictions (such as log export bans) increase deforestation is inconsistent with profit-maximizing land use. A fee on land used for logging is preferable to a tax on timber output,which is far more common but encourages logging waste. Technological interventions that increase the intensity of forestry or alternative land uses are an ambiguous instrument for the conservation of unmanaged forests. If demand elasticity for outputs is high, an intervention that increases the intensity of agriculture, logging, or other land uses increases incentive for conversion of unmanaged forests. The building of roads is particularly harmful to the conservation of unmanaged forests, as it increases incentives for logging and subsequent alternative land uses. Proper pricing of forest lands would increase land prices and lead to market-driven intensification accompanied by forest protection. Such pricing policies would be preferable to a technological intervention that increases land use intensity with ambiguous outcomes for forest protection. If unmanaged forest is converted to agriculture, the effect of lowering the decisionmaker's discount rate depends on the size of timber rents from logging unmanaged forests. If the standing timber has high commercial value, a lower discount rate would slow conversion of unmanaged forests. If the standing timber has no commercial value, logging is an investment for obtaining future benefits of alternate land use. A lower discount rate would stimulate this investment and increase the conversion of unmanaged forests. Also, if unmanaged forests are converted to managed forests, a lower discount rate can increase conversion since profits from managed forestry are higher with a lower discount rate.Silviculture,Agribusiness,Forestry,Environmental Economics&Policies,Forests and Forestry
âPrescribed fire shrub consumption in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest
No full textLive shrubs in forest understories pose a challenge for mitigating wildfire risk with prescribed fire. Factors driving shrub consumption in prescribed fires are variable and difficult to explain. This study investigated spatial patterns and drivers of Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest shrub consumption in prescribed fires through analysis of high-resolution imagery taken before and after prescribed fire. We applied a spatially explicit, generalized additive model to assess tree cover and coarse woody material as potential drivers of shrub consumption. Shrub cover in two experimental stands prior to burning was 38% and 59% and was 36% and 45% one-year post burn. In both stands shrub patch density increased, while area-weighted mean patch size and largest patch index decreased. Increased local percent cover of coarse woody material was associated with increased shrub consumption. These findings provide information for prescribed fire managers to help better anticipate shrub consumption and patchiness outcomes under similar conditions.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
The representation of trauma in narrative : a study of six late twentieth century novels
No full textThis thesis conducts a close analysis of representations of trauma in six
late twentieth century novels. I construct a theoretical framework by examining
debates about trauma and narrative which have taken place in the fields of
historiography, social studies, psychoanalysis and literary fiction. By drawing on
these debates, I argue that the relationship between narrative and trauma is
paradoxical: narrative is an essential tool, both for working-through and bearing
witness to the trauma, but it can also intentionally or unintentionally be used to
create an inauthentic version of events.
I illustrate the need felt by many late twentieth century theorists for the
development of a narrative form that will be able to produce an effective version
of trauma. This narrative needs to facilitate working-through and enable
witnessing of trauma. However, it must strive to avoid producing a falsifying
version of the trauma. I argue that it can achieve this by acknowledging its own
provisionality and therefore highlighting the limitations but also the necessity of
narrative representations of trauma.
I argue that the six contemporary novels I have chosen are examples of
narratives that strive to develop a more effective means of representing trauma.
The novels explore their concerns about trauma and narrative on both a thematic
and formal level. The story told in each novel follows a similar pattern of events:
in each novel the protagonist is depicted as suffering from the effects of trauma;
they all try to evade their traumas by creating falsifying versions of their
experiences; and they all offered a means of interpreting which will allow them to
work-though and, therefore, bear witness to their traumas. Finally, the six authors
utilise their narrative strategies to teach their readers this therapeutic and ethical
hermeneutics which corresponds with contemporary concerns about trauma and
narrative
Clincial Translational Science Research of the Functional Role of Large Conductance Potassium Channels in Selective Destruction of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells
No full textABSTRACT
The preliminary background that puts this research into context is threefold; it is the aggressive nature of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), the complexity surrounding its pathology, and the significant lack of targeted treatment for this disease. To clarify the focus of my research, I have concentrated on identifying a targeted treatment for TNBC. In the process, I have identified cycles of reciprocity between treatment, clinical diagnosis, staging, and pathology that will be addressed in smaller papers. However, the weight of this work is in the discovery of a novel target for triple negative breast cancer. The value of this research is evidenced by the significant discovery of a novel ion channel target that demonstrates selective, targeted destruction of TNBC without damage to healthy tissue. The specific research aims and objectives are to first, characterize the big conductance calcium and voltage gated potassium channel (BK) in TNBC to investigate the apparent contradiction of a depolarized (more positive) resting membrane potential within the context of a membrane with overexpression of channels that cause hyperpolarization (more negative) in the membrane potential. Secondly, examine hyperpolarization of TNBC cells as the mechanism of cell death by severe efflux of potassium (K) from the TNBC cell via these overexpressed BK channels. Thirdly, establish the first steps for human translational research of this discovery with evaluation of human TNBC tumor biopsies for similar overexpression of this BK channel. In summary, the objectives are to fill the knowledge gap by demonstrating BK channels are not functional (active) in TNBC [which explains why we can have a positive (depolarized) cell that should be more negative (hyperpolarized) due to the overexpression of the BK channel but is not]. Secondly, demonstrate that this overexpression of non-functioning (not-active) channels can be exploited by activating those channels and hyperpolarizing the cells with efflux of their potassium from the cell as a mechanism for selective (not impacting healthy cells), targeted treatment for TNBC. Finally, translating that to a first step evaluation of human TNBC from tumor biopsies.
The additional supportive papers in the scope of this work are in chapter two and chapter four surrounding the main work in chapter three. The supportive work in chapter two exists to identify the opportunity for electrophysiology as a tool for translating basic science discovery to clinical application and is listed as reference [1]. The supportive work in chapter four exposes an epidemiologic discovery of a translational gap in the clinical diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer (manuscript under review) where ion channels can impact. This dissertation interpolates information from the afore mentioned papers by the author. As described, chapter two references material from reference [1] and was authored as follows: Gina Sizemore1, Brandon Lucke-Wold2, Charles Rosen2, James W. Simpkins3, Sanjay Bhatia2, and Dandan Sun4. Chapter three references material from the main body of work and was authored as follows: Gina Sizemore1, Sarah McLaughlin2, Mackenzie Newman3, Kathleen Brundage4, Amanda Ammer2, Karen Martin2, Elena Pugacheva5, James Coad6, Malcolm D. Mattes7, Han-Gang Yu3. Finally, chapter four supports the research with the transition to epidemiology and references material authored as follows: Gina Sizemore1, Toni Rudisill2.
In summary, this composition weaves a thread across the clinical translational science field intertwining chapter two (paper 1) a methods paper of ion channels and the electrophysiology tool, with chapter three (paper 2) the novel discovery of an ion channel target, and the epidemiologic opportunity for ion channel translation in chapter four (paper 3)
The development of quantitative methods for residues in foods of animal origin with validation according to commission decision 2002/657/EC
No full textResidue methods were developed for the determination o f the coccidiostat robenidine in egg, the benzimidazoles (13) in liver (albendazole 2-amino albendazole sulphone, albendazole sulphoxide, albendazole sulphone, thiabendazole, oxfendazole or fenbendazole sulphoxide, hydroxy mebendazole, amino flubendazole, fenbendazole sulphone, oxibendazole, mebendazole, flubendazole and albendazole) and the triphenylmethane dyes (4) in salmon (malachite green, crystal violet, leucomalachite green and leucocrystal violet). The methods were validated according to the criteria defined in Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Robenidine was extracted from egg with acetonitrile and the sample extracts analysed by liquid chromatography (LC) with ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometric detection at 317 nm. The decision limit (CCa) and the detection capability (CCP) were 10 |xg.kg_I and 17 ng.kg'1 respectively.
The benzimidazoles were extracted from liver samples with ethyl acetate, sample extracts were defatted with hexane and cleaned up by automated solid-phase extraction (SPE) on Ci8 cartridges. Aliquots o f the extracts were analysed by LC with UV detection at 298 nm. The CCa values ranged between maximum residue limit (MRL) + 12% and MRL + 25% and the CCP ranged between MRL + 25% and MRL + 45%. The triphenylmethane dyes were extracted from salmon with acetonitrile and pH 3 buffer, extracts were cleaned up using cation-exchange SPE on sulphonic acid (SCX) cartridges and the sample extracts were analysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS). CCa for malachite green, leucomalachite green, crystal violet and leucocrystal violet were 0.17, 0.15, 0.40 and 0.17 iig-kg'1 respectively and CCP were 0.30, 0.35, 0.80 and 0.32 ng.kg 1 respectively.
All research undertaken in this thesis was published in peer reviewed journals. This work has made a significant contribution to residues science as more novel methods have become available for surveillance of these drugs at national and international level. The methods developed in this research also provide a legal basis for prosecuting individuals who use these veterinary products without adhering to EU legislation. Ultimately the work enhances food safety as methods developed help to eliminate the hazards associated with drug residues entering the food chain
An evaluation of the use of phallometric assessment for men incarcerated for sexually offending against children in New Zealand: Past results and future directions.
No full textPhallometric assessment, the direct measurement of male sexual arousal in response to stimuli presented in a controlled setting, has been widely used in the assessment of sexual offenders to detect deviant sexual interests, determine treatment needs and inform risk assessments, but they have also been criticised due to a weak theoretical basis, wide variations in methodology and serious concerns around reliability and validity. From 1999 to 2007, phallometric assessments were conducted at two treatment units for incarcerated child sex offenders in New Zealand using a standardised Monarch 3.1 phallometric system which provided a database of 583 cases for analysis. This project, the only large scale analysis of phallometric data known to have been conducted using New Zealand data, was designed to explore a large number of research questions in three areas. The first area explored the factor structure of the assessments and the relationships between arousal profiles and a variety of co-existing demographic and offence related variables including age, social desirability, victim gender and victim age. The second area investigated the ability of a large number of possible phallometric indices to predict future both any sexual reconvictions and those involving children, with a particular focus on the role played by stimuli depicting teenagers. The third area investigated the prevalence and effects of the deliberate suppression of arousal, and analysed the ability of physiological measures to detect such suppression. The results of these investigations indicated that phallometric data factored according to the gender of the stimuli and could be further divided into age preferences resembling pedophila and teleiophilia. Phallometric indices consistently related to known victim gender but not victim age, suggesting that these offenders tended to target victims based on gender preferences but not age preferences to the same degree, posing questions about the relevance of diagnostic labels for age based sexual preferences. Phallometric results were demonstrated to be predictive of sexual reoffending against children and outperformed actuarial or structured dynamic variables. The best predictions were obtained using ratio and z-scored differential deviance indices from initial assessments to predict sexual reconvictions involving children in a sample of extrafamilial offenders, with a maximum AUC found of .69. Post-treatment assessments also predicted reconviction, but change scores from pre to post-treatment did not, suggesting that the practice of conducting post-treatment phallometric assessments is of little value. The investigation into the suppression of arousal found that subjects could reduce the magnitude of their arousal, but could not reduce the discriminative abilities of interpretative indices. In this sample, there was no reliable way to detect markers of suppression using GSR traces, respiration traces or the patterns in the penile traces themselves. While many of these findings support those in the existing literature, others are original contributions which extend the literature, including the use of a Principal Component Analysis on raw phallometric data, an exploration of the effects of the use of pubescent stimuli, a mathematical rather than subjective analysis of the properties of penile, GSR and respiration data in relation to suppression, the use of Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis to clarify the relationship between arousal profiles and victim preferences and an analysis of the effects of varying significance levels on the detection of male victims and the prediction of recidivism. Overall, this research extends and clarifies the phallometric literature through evidence that phallometric assessments may not provide a definitive measure of sexual interests and are not an absolute predictor of reconviction, but are the best available tool for measuring arousal patterns and could be a valuable contributor to a multimodal assessment of risk
The yagé aesthetic of William Burroughs: the publication and development of his work 1953-1965
No full textPhDMy concern in this thesis is to show that a reconstruction of the publishing history of
the work of William Burroughs offers a new, critical perspective on his experiments
with psychoactive substances and their connection to his developing practice.
I begin with an exploration of the publication of The Yage Letters (1963) and Naked
Lunch (1959), and reveal how the complexities of their publishing histories shaped
their critical reception. I examine the legal defence of Naked Lunch as it developed
from the Big Table Post Office hearing through to the 1965 Boston trial and
demonstrate the degree to which censorship came to define the published text. The
legal defence of Naked Lunch, as it was incorporated into the Grove publication,
emphasised the issue of opiate addiction. The way in which Burroughsâ 1953 letters to
Allen Ginsberg were reworked as The Yage Letters did much to conceal the
significance of yagĂ© for Burroughsâ later work. Together, these publishing histories
have obscured the relationship between his use of psychoactive substances and his
evolving aesthetic.
At the same time many of Burroughsâ most experimental - and important - works
appeared only in small, ephemeral magazines. His adoption of avant-garde strategies
such as collaboration and collage and his dedication to multimedia experimentation
with the non-chemical alteration of consciousness made conventional book
publication problematic or unsuitable. These experiments in aesthetic production, I
argue, are central to our understanding of Burroughs. His main published writings
must be re-evaluated as one element in this collage of multimedia activities.
4
I argue that Burroughsâ experiences with yagĂ©, mescaline and dimethyltryptamine
exerted an influence on his shift to experimentalism in the early 1960s, which sought
to replicate the experience of these altered states of consciousness. That this is so is
evident from a study of two collections of correspondence - Burroughsâ letters to
Ginsberg held at Columbia University Library and his letters to Brion Gysin in the
William S. Burroughs Papers held at the New York Public Library. My reading of
these letters forms an important component of my argument, working to reveal what
the conventional âpublishedâ Burroughs serves to conceal.Arts and Humanities research Board.
Queen Mary University of London English Department
funding naked Lunch @ 50 conference in Pari
