1,569 research outputs found
Follow the fugitive: an application of the method of images to open systems
No full textBorrowing and extending the method of images we introduce a theoretical framework that greatly simplifies analytical and numerical investigations of the escape rate in open systems. As an example, we explicitly derive the exact size- and position-dependent escape rate in a Markov case for holes of finite-size. Moreover, a general relation between the transfer operators of the closed and corresponding open systems, together with the generating function of the probability of return to the hole is derived. This relation is then used to compute the small hole asymptotic behavior, in terms of readily calculable quantities. As an example we derive logarithmic corrections in the second order term. Being valid for Markov systems, our framework can find application in many areas of the physical sciences such as information theory, network theory, quantum Weyl law and, via Ulam's method, can be used as an approximation method in general dynamical systems
The 'true use of reading' : Sarah Fielding and mid eighteenth-century literary strategies.
No full textPhDThe aim of this thesis is to explore, by examining her life and
works, how Sarah Fielding (1710-68) established her identity as an author.
The definition of her role involves her notions of the functions of
writing and reading.
Sarah Fielding attempts to invite readers to form a sense of ties
by tacit understanding of her messages. As she believes that a work
of literature is produced through collaboration between the writer and
the reader, it is an important task in her view to show her attentiveness
toward reading practice. In her consideration of reading, she has two
distinct, even opposite views of her audience: on the one hand a familiar
and limited circle of readers with shared moral and cultural values and
on the other potential readers among the unknown mass of people. The
dual targets direct her to devise various strategies. She tries to
appeal to those who can endorse and appreciate her moral values as well
as her learning. Her writings and letters testify that she is sensitive
to the demands of the literary market, trying to lead the taste of readers
by inventing new forms.
The thesis opens with an overview of Sarah Fielding's career,
followed by a consideration of her critical attention to the roles of
reading. I go on to examine the narrative structures and strategies
she deploys, with a particular emphasis on her use of the epistolary
method. The following chapter deals with her attention to the reading
of the moral message tangibly embodied in her educational writing. It
is followed by an analysis of the activity which earned her a reputation
as a learned woman. Various as the forms of her works are, they invariably
reflect her attempt to balance herself between the two demands of
inventiveness and familiarity
General Correspondence, Mission; 1898-1899; New England Conference Reports
No full textLetters and reports from various missionaries to John Mills Whitaker, President of the New England States conference of the Eastern States Mission, 10 to 30 September 1898Letter dated 10 September 1899 at Truro, Nova Scotia, from William Cameron and J. W. Hudson, to John M. Whitaker; Letter dated 16 September 1898 at Providence, Rhode Island, from Enoch Cornia to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 15 September 1898 at Maplewood, Maine, from Howard Henderson to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 15 September 1898 at Providence, Rhode Island, from Arthur F. Burton to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 15 September 1898 at Worcester, Massachusetts, from "Geo. M." [George C. Murdock] to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 15 September 1898 at Lynn, Massachusetts, from Charles E. Westover (?) to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 15 September 1898 at Lynn, Massachusetts, from [no name given, but from Samuel Knight] to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 17 September 1898 at Providence, Rhode Island, from W. L. McAlister to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 17 September 1898 at Providence, Rhode Island, from Arthur J. Wagstaff to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 18 September 1898 at Providence, Rhode Island, from J. Z. Stewart Jr. to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 15 September 1898 at Everett, Massachusetts, from Henry Abflandalph (?) to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 30 September 1898 at Providence, Rhode Island, from J. Z. Stewart Jr. to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 30 September 1898 at Providence, Rhode Island, from Don Spafford to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 15 September 1898 at Everett, Massachusetts, from William W. Graham to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 30 September 1898 at Centredale, Rhode Island, from P. C. Cornia to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 30 September 1898 at Providence, Rhode Island, from Arthur F. Burton to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 30 September 1898 at Everett, Massachusetts, from Henry Abflandalph (?) to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 30 September 1898 at Worcester, Massachusetts, from "G. C." [George C.] Murdock" to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 30 September 1898 at Worcester, Massachusetts, from Arthur J. Wagstaff to John M. Whitaker; Report dated 30 September 1898 at Lynn, Massachusetts, from S. [Samuel] Knight to John M. Whitake
Weymouth's once in a lifetime opportunity.
No full textOn the 6 July 2005 much changed for the towns of Weymouth and Portland, Dorset as they
heard that in seven years time they would be hosting the sailing for the successful London 2012
Olympic Bid. Two years later on, and whilst the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
(WPNSA) has swung into action with its preparations, the town of Weymouth itself in some respects
appears to be unsure of it’s future direction. At the time of the bid the road issue was still uppermost
in the minds of the residents; however that issue has potentially been resolved with the Government
announcing the decision to build the relief road in time for the 2012 Games which will alter significantly
the arrival of visitors into the town from Dorchester, until now a potential traffic nightmare
for both visitors and residents alike with long delays and traffic bottlenecks. Yet, within the town
itself, little has changed. Many plans are being suggested about developments including the new
Pavilion Peninsula and also the redevelopment of the waterfront esplanade, but it would appear that
the town is slightly indecisive as to where it wants to position itself with regard to attracting visitors
and income to the town.
Weymouth needs to decide on its strategy for the future, by adopting a concerted approach to
attract certain segments of the market and invest sensibly in these areas, rather than trying to spread
itself too thinly across all market sectors. The role of a good events portfolio could be a major contributor
to a successful marketing strategy. From research undertaken in 2004 ( Sadd, 2004 ), it is
evident that the locals are keen for the ‘ season ’ to be all year around and they recognise the importance
of events in the town and how, historically, they have been a great source of celebration, ranging
from the military parades to the hosting of the tall ships for an unprecedented three times. This
chapter will explain the historical underpinning of Weymouth’s present situation and will make suggestions
for possible events based strategies to maximise the potential benefits to be gained from
being Olympic Hosts in 2012
Battle of the Blockbusters: Joss Whedon as Public Pedagogue
No full textThis article discusses the concept of public pedagogy and the reasons for considering it relevant to the work of the writer/ director/ producer Joss Whedon, creator of numberous TV programmes, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, and Films Serenity, Marvel's The Avengers and The Age of Ultron. It analyzes Marvel’s The Avengers (Whedon, 2012) and Christopher Nolan’s (2012b) The Dark Knight Rises as competing public pedagogies.It suggests that popular films can be seen as important educational projects; filmmakers have tremendous resources at their disposal and their creations have a global reach that cannot be matched by individual teachers or national education systems. Whedon can be seen as a radical educator; he enables his audiences to experience ways of looking at the world that challenge aspects of neo-liberal hegemony, and also encourages them to become critical thinkers who have to reflect on their own feelings and perspectives and resist simplistic perspectives on morality and the difficult political choices facing global society
4-HYDROXY PHENYL ETHANOL (p-TYROSOL) AND ITS SINGLY HYDRATED COMPLEX
No full text M.R. Hockridge, S.M. Knight, E.G. Robertson, J.P. Simons, J. McCombie and M. Walker Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 1, 407-413 1999.Author Institution: School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; Physical and Theoretical Chemisry Laboratory, South Parks Road, Oxford, UKThe conformational structures of 4-hydroxy phenol ethanol (p-tyrosol) and it's 1:1 hydrated cluster, have been characterised in a free jet expansion through a combination of mass-selected, resonantly enhanced two-photon ionisation (MS-R2PI), fluorescence excitation and ultra-violet `hole-burning' spectroscopy, together with rotational contour analysis and ab initio . It has been possible to assign the structures of both the gauche cis and gauche trans OH rotamers, as well as the extended anti conformer, and their 1:1 hydrated clusters. The `tagging' of the phenolic OH group by the hydrogen-bonded water molecule also allows unambiguous assignment of the cis and trans gauche conformers through rotational band contour analysis
The Latvian banking crisis : lessons learned
No full textIn the spring of 1995, Latvia experienced the largest banking crisis in the Former Soviet Union to date, involving the loss of about 40 percent of the banking system's assets and liabilities. The authors outline the Latvian authorities'strategy for developing the banking system and identify how and why it unraveled. They discuss the World Bank's role and the lessons to be learned from the crisis, including the following: 1) banking systems are exposed to stress in several major ways. Enterprises - the main borrowers - are subject to hard budget constraints and are privatized. Inflation declines so enterprises can't rely on rapidly increasing revenues to service bank debts. Economic reform tends to produce banking systems that are mainly privately owned - making them vulnerable to withdrawals, as the public does not assume that failing banks will be bailed out; 2) the government must protect against this vulnerability by establishing a proper legal framework for banking, developing effective bank supervision and regulation, and implementing solid accounting, disclosure, and auditing standards. It must also develop effective ways to handle problem banks and to close insolvent banks promptly; 3) for banks in the state sector to be a source of strength to the banking system, they must have strong effective management and be relatively free from political influence; 4)"outlier"banks - those expanding assets very quickly or offering particularly high deposit rates - should be subject to intense supervision; and 5) four things must be done to prevent fraud, incompetent management and excessive risk taking: 1) careful screen thosewho want to get into banking; 2) subject all banks to thorough, frequent onsite examinations and assign the best examiners to the largest banks; 3) require annual audits of all banks by reputable auditing firms; and 4) act decisively when fraud or bank difficulties are detected or suspected.Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Financial Intermediation,Labor Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Municipal Financial Management,Settlement of Investment Disputes
Price support at any price? Costs and benefits of alternative agricultural policies for Poland
No full textThe author argues that Poland must choose an agricultural policy that promotes efficiency, structural change, and adjustment to the new market environment and eventual membership in the European Union. That policy must take into account both the needs of, and the financial constraints on, Polish agriculture. Results of simulation experiments performed with the use of the computable general equilibrium model of the Polish economy suggest that Common Agricultural Policy-type price supports are not the most efficient agricultural policy for Poland. The author discusses alternative policies and scenarios. Rather than discuss whether the relationship between farmers'incomes and average Polish wages is fair, the author analyzes whether medium- and long-term development trends in the Polish economy may cause this relationship to deteriorate, and what policies will counteract those trends. Rapid growth in the nonagricultural sectors combined with real appreciation of domestic currency (caused either through good current account performance or significant capital inflows) may jeopardize farmers'relative income position. And such developments are probable if positive projections for economic development and membership in the European Union are realized. The agricultural sector can defend its relative income only by becoming more efficient. Price supports improve farmers'relative income but at a high cost to taxpayers and consumers and to macroeconomic efficiency. To meet these costs, Poland must put in place firm quantity controls. But the author thinks that the best strategy would be to avoid price supports until the moment of joining the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy. In the interim, policies aimed at reducing farm employment seem most appropriate. The author discusses two such policies: encouraging older farmers to retire and promoting jobs in rural areas. He also proposes two feasible scenarios for integrating Polish agriculture with that of the European Union by 2005-10.Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Markets and Market Access,Access to Markets
Sarah Fielding: Satire and Subversion in the Eighteenth-Century Novel
No full textThis study of Sarah Fielding (1710―68) is an original contribution to Fielding scholarship that has a dual purpose: to support those who are striving to re-introduce her to the modern literary landscape in an effort to restore her eighteenth-century literary standing, and to firmly establish Fielding as an early feminist writer. It is argued here that throughout her oeuvre Fielding challenged prevailing traditions that denied women a choice, particularly in education, employment and marriage. These themes are also considered in the political treatises of Mary Astell (1666―1731) and Mary Wollstonecraft (1759―97), who are now widely recognised as feminist writers.
It is further argued that Fielding’s subversion in fiction of the English patriarchal system is underscored by her unorthodox performance in the literary arena. This is fully explored alongside her use of sentimentalism as a literary tool with which she challenges her seemingly inhumane society. Fielding’s interest in ‘the Labyrinths of the Mind’ (in modern terms, human psychology) will also be addressed as will her placement in the history of feminism and her placement in the sentimental novel tradition. Fielding’s performance as a literary critic will be compared with the few female authors who, like her, dared to publish literary criticism during her writing career. Accordingly, extracts from Fielding’s novels and her two critical pamphlets will be thoroughly examined.
An updated biography of Fielding that is also included here will provide evidence for a further claim, that her fiction is autobiographical in part. A comprehensive account of Fielding’s performance as a literary critic forms the final chapter of this work. It is the first full-length examination of her contribution to the genre and includes an appraisal of her recently unearthed critical pamphlet entitled A Comparison Between the Horace of Corneille and The Roman Father of Mr. Whitehead (1750) that is yet to be formerly attributed to her. Ultimately this study of Fielding will go far beyond what has previously been written about this remarkable eighteenth-century author, particularly regarding her feminist activity
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