24 research outputs found
The age of analogy: comparative science and social history in the nineteenth-century British novel
No full textThis dissertation pursues the rich vein of comparative historicism found in the written works of nineteenth-century novelists and naturalists, including Scott, Dickens, Eliot, and Darwin. The Victorian novel shared with contemporary natural history an animating fascination with interconnection, both between individuals, and between individuals and history. "The Age of Analogy" argues that the historical novel formulated this comparative historicism, both as it specified older traditions of analogy as aging modes of outdated speculative philosophy, and honed comparative strategies to examine the historicity of the "age" itself. The linguistic technology of this comparative philological, historical, and scientific analysis transformed older hermeneutic traditions of analogy into sophisticated methods of ethnographic and evolutionary inquiry. Drawing from a range of historicist, linguistic, and informatic approaches, I specify analogy and the comparative method as historically-embedded textual forms that structured engagements of comparison and narrative connection. This thesis analyzes the narrative naturalism of Victorian science, an empiricism that explained heterogeneous scientific observations by coordinating these accounts in narratives of fundamental historical process. While the extensive cultural influence of period science has received substantial critical attention, this thesis reverses the direction of influence, and examines the representational and methodological dependence of mid-century naturalism upon the innovations of socio-historical novels, particularly by Scott and Dickens. Comparative textual strategies reshaped period naturalism, and conditioned the scientific theories, models, and configurations of "objectivity" that nineteenth-century science offered. These comparative practices also challenge the secularization hypothesis as it bears upon Victorian literature and science, by foregrounding how ostensibly secular writers like Eliot and Darwin engaged the hermeneutic tradition of analogy as a set of practices with deep roots in biblical scholarship and natural theology. In gauging the relationship between contemporary observations and past processes, novelists and naturalists alike adapted interpretive strategies first crafted to discern God's fingerprints on creation, and in doing so, created the modern vocabulary of multiplicity and differentiation. Revitalized in the historical novel, historicist analogy gave to Dickens' "innumerable histories of the world" and Eliot's "tempting range of relevancies" a logic of organization, and a vantage from which to survey the extensive interrelation that underwrites nineteenth-century writing.Ph.D.Includes abstractVitaIncludes bibliographical referencesby Devin Scott Griffith
Analytical Film & Television Reviews with Devin: Coffee Talk
No full textabstract: My thesis project was creating a page on my website where I upload movie reviews. Additionally, I have created my own medium/format in which I create three different sized critical analysis reviews. This way I can continue to pursue the skills I learned from Barrett for critical and philosophical thinking in regard to films and television shows throughout my career. (abstract
Gary Walton won a $500,000 award in his age-discrimination lawsuit against his f
No full textGary Walton won a $500,000 award in his age-discrimination lawsuit against his former employer, Nalco Chemical Co. It was the largest judgement ever of its kind in Maine and should start a wave of similar claims. Details, box defining age discrimination. Related From the editor column on the author\u27s age and Gary Walton\u27s
Managing Canada's Park Systems: Exploring Aboriginal Involvement in Canadian National Parks
No full textIn recent years attempts have been made to bridge Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal interests in the management of Canadian federal parks. In part this reflects increasing recognition of Aboriginal rights to lands and resources, and the need to reconfirm at an operational level the relationship that Aboriginal peoples have to the land (Sherry 1999; Speilmann and Unger 2000; Devin and Doberstein 2004; Battiste 2005; Hawley et al. 2005; Houde 2007). This thesis uses Clark’s (2002) policy sciences framework on problem orientation to examine how Aboriginal cultural perspectives can be better incorporated into park management, and how Aboriginal employment opportunities in parks can be increased (as per park policy). Clark’s (2002) problem orientation framework offers ways to explore and identify strategies by which policy problems can be improved by accommodating common interests, people’s expectations and their preferred goals. The research used a case study approach focusing on Pukaskwa National Park and the Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the Pic River First Nation and Parks Canada representatives. By reviewing the broader literature on policy and planning related to First Nations and Parks Canada and then evaluating that in context of the case study, my research examined the current state of Aboriginal involvement in Pukaskwa National Park and makes recommendations for future improvement in this area. My analysis found that at this time Aboriginal culture is not being well integrated in the park, especially in relation to park programming. Further to this, my analysis also showed that Aboriginal employment levels are at a standstill and there is a desire to see more Aboriginal people in managerial roles within the park. Factors such as competing interests, mandates and timelines have affected the current relationship between Parks Canada and members of the Pic River First Nation. I believe that a significant difficulty lies in establishing an appropriate balance between the priorities of Parks Canada and Pic River First Nation
The economic impact of the New England Pond Hockey Classic to the Town of Meredith, NH
No full textFor our Sport Management Practicum, we conducted an Economic Impact study of the Town of Meredith, NH in relation to an event that the town hosts every year: The New England Pond Hockey Classic. The CEO of the event, Scott Crowder, approached our group with the task of gathering information on how much the average participant spends on Travel, Lodging, Groceries, and Restaurants and Bars in the town of Meredith. We also looked into an increase, if any, in the sales of the local restaurants, bars, and motels in the area. After concluding our research, we will present our data to the CEO and the Meredith chamber of commerce. (Author abstract)Cowels, M., Conley, D., & Daly, J. (2014). Economic impact report: New England Pond Hockey Classic, Meredith, NH 2014. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.ed
AdviSync: A Dynamic Academic Course Scheduler
No full textAcademic advising at universities can be a tedious and disorganized process for both students and advisors. Each advisor may have several dozen advisees to manage each semester, and each individual student has unique sets of classes they need to take to graduate. This might lead to scheduling errors. These errors can put the student behind in their degree, thus extending the time it takes for them to graduate past financial aid periods and delay their entry into the workforce. To address this issue, we create AdviSync. It is a tool for both students and advisors that aims to provide a personalized degree map. AdviSync dynamically suggests classes for each semester left in their degree plan. This application would not only be beneficial for the students to graduate on time, but also eliminate any human error and help with financial repercussions
The Role and Function of Feature Film Trailers as a Marketing Tool and Artform
No full textabstract: Trailers are an effective tool used by marketing teams in the film industry to persuade people to spend money to see a movie. Their role in film marketing has changed and exponentially increased throughout the history of the medium, and their form is constantly evolving. While the core function of trailers is to advertise a finished product, they are created with a focused effort on grabbing an audience's attention and initiating an emotional interaction. The development of a feature film trailer by an organized marketing group is also an artistic venture that requires a high level of proficiency at editing and storytelling to effectively communicate the necessary elements of a film in an effort to persuade. Trailer making is a craft honed by an extraordinary amount of person-hours and intentionality, with a blend of plenty of diegetic and non-diegetic functions which exhibit the best parts of a movie. While trailers can suffer from hyperbolicism as well as excessive genre signaling, it's important to stand out and prove a product worthy of a customer's dollars especially in a film culture saturated with content. As marketing budgets continue to balloon in the entertainment industry, it seems that trailers will continue to be a mainstay of promoting art, and will evolve to fit any societal shifts they encounter
Author response: Intrinsic disorder within AKAP79 fine-tunes anchored phosphatase activity toward substrates and drug sensitivity
No full textIdentification of heart rate-associated loci and their effects on cardiac conduction and rhythm disorders
No full textElevated resting heart rate is associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. In a 2-stage meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in up to 181,171 individuals, we identified 14 new loci associated with heart rate and confirmed associations with all 7 previously established loci. Experimental downregulation of gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio identified 20 genes at 11 loci that are relevant for heart rate regulation and highlight a role for genes involved in signal transmission, embryonic cardiac development and the pathophysiology of dilated cardiomyopathy, congenital heart failure and/or sudden cardiac death. In addition, genetic susceptibility to increased heart rate is associated with altered cardiac conduction and reduced risk of sick sinus syndrome, and both heart rate-increasing and heart rate-decreasing variants associate with risk of atrial fibrillation. Our findings provide fresh insights into the mechanisms regulating heart rate and identify new therapeutic targets
Meta-analysis identifies 13 new loci associated with waist-hip ratio and reveals sexual dimorphism in the genetic basis of fat distribution
No full textWaist-hip ratio (WHR) is a measure of body fat distribution and a predictor of metabolic consequences independent of overall adiposity. WHR is heritable, but few genetic variants influencing this trait have been identified. We conducted a meta-analysis of 32 genome-wide association studies for WHR adjusted for body mass index (comprising up to 77,167 participants), following up 16 loci in an additional 29 studies (comprising up to 113,636 subjects). We identified 13 new loci in or near RSPO3, VEGFA, TBX15-WARS2, NFE2L3, GRB14, DNM3-PIGC, ITPR2-SSPN, LY86, HOXC13, ADAMTS9, ZNRF3-KREMEN1, NISCH-STAB1 and CPEB4 (P = 1.9 × 10⁻⁹ to P = 1.8 × 10⁻⁴⁰) and the known signal at LYPLAL1. Seven of these loci exhibited marked sexual dimorphism, all with a stronger effect on WHR in women than men (P for sex difference = 1.9 × 10⁻³ to P = 1.2 × 10⁻¹³). These findings provide evidence for multiple loci that modulate body fat distribution independent of overall adiposity and reveal strong gene-by-sex interactions
