1,892 research outputs found

    Raymond Williams and the limits of cultural materialism

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    Cultural materialism has become an influential discipline in recent years, particularly so in 'Renaissance' studies, but also more generally in 'English', as well as departments defined as practising 'cultural' or 'communications' studies. The phrase is usually linked with the name of Raymond Williams, but a cursory examination of Williams's own work quickly establishes that it is a phrase he rarely uses, and only schematically attempts to define. The thesis therefore takes the form of an investigation into the way cultural materialism has come to be understood, by examining in detail the trajectory of Raymond Williams's theoretical development, and how his own engagement with various theoretical positions has helped to set 'limits' on the meaning of cultural materialism. Chapters 1 and 2 deal with some of Williams's earliest work, particularly Reading and Criticism, as a way of investigating how reasonable it is to tag him as a 'Left-Leavisite', arguing that Leavis's undoubted influence is resisted (though not entirely rejected) from a very early stage. The first chapter considers in detail Leavis's work at Cambridge, the influence of Eliot, and the significance of the 'Organic Community'. Chapter 2, which is based around a comparative analysis of Williams's and Leavis's readings of Dickens, argues that Williams rejects the 'organic community' in favour of his 'knowable community'. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with specific 'theoretical' issues: the first, based around a reading of Terry Eagleton's critique of Williams's use of the Marxist metaphor of 'base and superstructure', shows some of the problems which arise from Williams's cultural model, as well as suggesting refinements; the second deals with the influence of Volosinov's theories on Williams. Chapter 6 comes out of Williams's readings of the 'Country-House' poems in The Country and the City, showing how his practice of literary criticism relies on an acceptance of 'ideology' apparently denied in his more 'theoretical' writings. This analysis is extended as a result of investigations into the 'De L'Isle' manuscripts relating to the Penshurst estate. Chapter 7 argues that it is possible to see the work of Fredric Jameson as developing Williams's cultural materialism into Jameson's debates on postmodernism. In the Introduction and Conclusion, I have taken the opportunity to look briefly at the activity of cultural materialism as it has developed since Raymond Williams's death in 1988. The Introduction emphasizes what I see to be important methodological differences between 'cultural materialism' and 'new historicism'; the Conclusion deals with the continuing debate over the value of a cultural materialist approach by considering the 'appropriation' of Shakespeare

    Adapting authoritarianism: institutions and co-optation in Egypt and Syria

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    This PhD thesis compares Egypt and Syria’s authoritarian political systems. While the tendency in social science political research treats Egypt and Syria as similarly authoritarian, this research emphasizes differences between the two systems with special reference to institutions and co-optation. Rather than reducibly understanding Egypt and Syria as sharing similar histories, institutional arrangements, or ascribing to the oft-repeated convention that “Syria is Egypt but 10 years behind,” this thesis focuses on how events and individual histories shaped each states current institutional strengthens and weaknesses. Specifically, it explains the how varying institutional politicization or de-politicization affects each state’s capabilities for co-opting elite and non-elite individuals. Beginning with a theoretical framework that considers the limited utility of democratization and transition theoretical approaches, the work underscores the persistence and durability of authoritarianism. Chapter two details the politicized institutional divergence between Egypt and Syria that began in the 1970s. Chapter three and four examines how institutional politicization or de-politicization affects elite and non-elite individual co-optation in Egypt and Syria. Chapter five discusses the study’s general conclusions and theoretical implications. This thesis’s argument is that Egypt and Syria co-opt elites and non-elites differently because of the varying degrees of institutional politicization in each governance system. Rather than view one country as more politically developed than the other, this work argues that Syria’s political institutions are more politicized than their Egyptian counterparts. Syria’s political arena is, thus, described as politicized-patrimonialism. Syria’s politicized-patrimonial arena produces uneven co-optation of elites and non-elites as they are diffused through competing institutions. Conversely, the Egyptian political arena remains highly personalized as weak institutions and individuals are manipulated and molded according to the president’s ruling clique. This is referred to as personalized-patrimonialism. As a consequence, Egypt’s political establishment demonstrates more flexibility in ad hoc altering and adapting its arena depending on the emergence of crises. This study’s theoretical implications suggest that, contrary to modernization and democratization theory’s adage that institutions lead to a political development, politicized institutions within a patrimonial order actually hinder regime adaptation because consensus is harder to achieve and maintain. It is within this context that Egypt’s de-politicized institutional framework advantages its top political elite. In this reading of Egyptian and Syrian politics, Egypt’s personalized political arena is more adaptable than Syria’s. These conclusions do not indicate that political reform is a process underway in either state

    Letter from Raymond C. Patterson, Director of Internal Affairs, the American Legion, to Lillian Baker, October 21, 1983

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    Copy of correspondence between the director of Internal Affairs at the American Legion and Lillian Baker with copies of rebuttals written by Lillian Baker against Japanese American reparations.The Japanese American Relocation Collection is composed of ephemera related to the relocation program during World War II. Items include the official government report of Manzanar Relocation Center, a photo album, post-war activism materials related to preserving and remembering the camps, various clippings, and documents. The strength of this collection is found in its many perspectives on the controversial relocation program and how it has been presented since World War II

    Economic incentives and point source emissions : choice of modeling platform

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    The purpose of this study is to identify the best modeling platform for the analysis of alternative environmental policy instruments designed to reduce the emission of pollutants from point sources, most notably, central power generating stations and manufacturing facilities. The primary analysis of concern is a cost-effectiveness investigation of the policy; where for the most part, the cost of compliance is a multidimensional variable that includes the private costs incurred by the owners of the facility, measures of the change in the cost of providing the facility's product, and estimates of the change in facility capacity factors. The range of pollutants under consideration include the usual menu of air- and waterborne emissions as well as solid and liquid wastes finding their way to landfills and other such disposal options. The range of policies considered include: (a) tariffs on the emission of pollutants; (b) tariffs and subsidies applied to the inputs or the outputs of the point source activities under consideration; (c) limits on the pollutant emissions themselves; and (d) directives regarding the installation of particular equipment and/or the alteration of process activities. The paper also discusses a nonexhaustive set of issues associated with the modeling of point source emissions and policies for their control.Economic Theory&Research,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access,Consumption,Environmental Economics&Policies

    The Nebraska Stream Surveys--The Photographs: Nebraska Streams Photographed During Raymond Johnson\u27s Statewide Stream Fishery Survey (1939-41) and How They Look Now, 78 Years Later.

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    Raymond E. Johnson and associates surveyed Nebraska\u27s streams for fish (1939-1941). This print-ready pdf shows original photographs from the survey side-by-side with the author\u27s recent photographs from the same or nearby locations, along with comments regarding changes observed. Includes map and index of locations

    sUAS integration into the Mode C Veil using an enterprise architecting framework

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    Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2019Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 152-159).Integrating small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) into the national airspace system (NAS) represents a challenging problem set that requires consideration through multiple lenses. Like most complex problems, considering one class of constraints is inadequate to developing a solution that satisfies all interested stakeholders. Rather than focusing solely on the technological limitations of sUAS operation, this work employs the Architecting Innovative Enterprise Strategy (ARIES) Framework to understand the current and future landscapes for the NAS. This work considers the ecosystem that influences the NAS and the key stakeholders with decision-making authority. The author uses the ARIES elements (strategy, information, infrastructure, products, services, processes, organizations, and knowledge) to holistically describe the current architecture that allows for very limited sUAS operations in the Mode C Veil.After considering the ongoing efforts to integrate sUAS into the NAS, the envisioned future describes how the enterprise may transform under ideal conditions. This thesis incorporates aspects of the current architecture for sUAS operations and provides a recommended future architecture that expands sUAS use. By identifying current limitations and incorporating emerging mitigation techniques, the author is able to develop and evaluate different alternatives. These alternatives seek to address externalities that emerge from the increased use of sUAS in close proximity to the general public. Such externalities include safety, security, privacy, and transparency concerns. The recommended future architecture relies on airborne systems to detect and avoid manned aircraft and utilizes an unmanned traffic management system for information sharing and flight coordination.This architecture requires significant investment in developing a shared database to manage unmanned vehicle operations, but provides the structure and functions required to make sUAS operations feasible when considering constraints, externalities, and public acceptance.by Raymond Thomas Vetter.S.M. in Engineering and ManagementS.M.inEngineeringandManagement Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Progra

    Phoebus 5: A Journal of Art History

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    tableOfContents: Editor's note Preface. p. 9 Hiram Power's Bust of George Washington, The President as an Icon by Vivien Green Fryd p. 18 A Sky After El Greco, An Early Homage by Demuth by Marie Timberlake p. 29 Ben Shahn's Mine Building, A Symbol of Disaster by Carolyn Robbins p. 45 Georgia O'Keefe's Horse's Skull on Blue, A Dedicatory Essay by Barbara Spies p. 61 Eastman Johnson's Cranberry Pickers by Joseph Lamb p, 67 Dull Knife's Definance by Maria Leone p. 75 A Designer of Dreams, Arthur B. Davies Dawn, Mother of Light by Anne Gully. p.81 Death and Mystical Liberation in John B. Flannagan's Beginning by Timothy Norris p. 89 Architecture that Speaks Edward Hopper's Cottage, Cape Cod by William Laubach p.93 Behind the Mask, Walt Kuhn's Young Clown by Richard Raymond p. 97 George Elbert Burr, A Sometimes Master by Thomas van der Meulen p. 102 Parade In Review, an Interview with Philip C. Curtis by Dawane Walczak p. 109 Notes p. 12

    Cubic surfaces and their invariants: Some memories of Raymond Stora

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    AbstractCubic surfaces embedded in complex projective 3-space are a classical illustration of the use of old and new methods in algebraic geometry. Recently, they made their appearance in physics, and in particular aroused the interest of Raymond Stora, to the memory of whom these notes are dedicated, and to whom I'm very much indebted.Each smooth cubic surface has a rich geometric structure, which I review briefly, with emphasis on the 27 lines and the combinatorics of their intersections. Only elementary methods are used, relying on first order perturbation/deformation theory.I then turn to the study of the family of cubic surfaces. They depend on 20 parameters, and the action of the 15 parameter group SL4(C) splits the family in orbits depending on 5 parameters. This takes us into the realm of (geometric) invariant theory. I review briefly the classical theorems on the structure of the ring of polynomial invariants and illustrate its many facets by looking at a simple example, before turning to the already involved case of cubic surfaces. The invariant ring was described in the 19th century. I show how to retrieve this description via counting/generating functions and character formulae
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