Spartan Daily, March 16, 1988

Volume 90, Issue 31https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/7690/thumbnail.jp

Sylvester: Ushering in the Modern Era of Research on Odd Perfect Numbers

In 1888, James Joseph Sylvester (1814-1897) published a series of papers that he hoped would pave the way for a general proof of the nonexistence of an odd perfect number (OPN). Seemingly unaware that more than fifty years earlier Benjamin Peirce had proved that an odd perfect number must have at least four distinct prime divisors, Sylvester began his fundamental assault on the problem by establishing the same result. Later that same year, he strengthened his conclusion to five. These findings would help to mark the beginning of the modern era of research on odd perfect numbers. Sylvester\u27s bound stood as the best demonstrated until Gradstein improved it by one in 1925. Today, we know that the number of distinct prime divisors that an odd perfect number can have is at least eight. This was demonstrated by Chein in 1979 in his doctoral thesis. However, he published nothing of it. A complete proof consisting of almost 200 manuscript pages was given independently by Hagis. An outline of it appeared in 1980. What motivated Sylvester\u27s sudden interest in odd perfect numbers? Moreover, we also ask what prompted this mathematician who was primarily noted for his work in algebra to periodically direct his attention to famous unsolved problems in number theory? The objective of this paper is to formulate a response to these questions, as well as to substantiate the assertion that much of the modern work done on the subject of odd perfect numbers has as it roots, the series of papers produced by Sylvester in 1888

Ship carvers in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain

Vessel ornamentation has been practised for thousands of years and over a vast geographical area. Unsurprisingly, the type of carvings and their purpose vary considerably from place to place and their style, form and subject matter have changed significantly over time. This article focuses on the ship carvings of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain, and more specifically it investigates those who produced them. Classified as neither sculptors nor shipbuilders, ship carvers in Britain, both in the past and in more recent times, have been denied the appreciation that their unique and specialized art deserves. This article addresses the apparent difficulty that exists in classifying ship carvers and the carvings they produced. By examining how the carvers were trained and how work was commissioned and executed, the article investigates how these carvers were perceived by their contemporaries and how they fit into the broader historical context of the period

The Cowl - v.78 - n.7 - Oct 24, 2013

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 78 - No. 7 - October 24, 2013. 24 pages

Thackeray and Bohemia

Whether as a counter-cultural phenomenon or a sociological myth, Bohemia has long eluded concrete definitions. In the last thirty years, however, there has been a noticeable contrast between the ambitious theoretical concerns of cultural historians of nineteenthcentury Continental Bohemianism and the more staunchly biographical approaches of critics concerned with Bohemian writers in mid-Victorian England. In the absence of the Latin Quarter, attempts to define the English Bohemianism of Thackeray‘s era have been somewhat reductive, revolving around London establishments such as the Garrick Club and disparate groupings such as the metropolitan novelists, journalists, and playwrights who are sometimes pigeonholed as 'Dickens‘s Young Men'. This thesis uses the work of William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–63) to argue that such readings have lost sight of the profound impact which mid-Victorian ideas of Bohemianism had on a far wider section of middle-class Englishmen. Chapter 1 explores the pivotal role which Thackeray played in the translation of Bohemian behavioural ideals from France to England. Beginning and ending with his seminal Bohemian protagonist in $\textit{Vanity Fair}$ (1847–48), it surveys his engagement with the still-evolving ideas of Bohemianism at home and on the Continent. The chapter interrogates the relationship between the anglicized brand of homosociality which characterizes Thackeray‘s later fiction and the often contradictory images of Bohemianism which were circulating in 1830s and 40s Paris while he was an art student and then a foreign correspondent in the city. In the process, it considers the significant influence which these factors have exerted over later conceptions of Thackeray‘s biography and personality. As a whole, the chapter argues that his increasing focus on more anglicized spheres of masculine interaction in the late 1840s contributed to the emergence of a de-radicalized brand of middle-class English Bohemia. The second chapter considers the parallels between the impact of Thackeray‘s work and the contemporaneous writings of the famous chronicler of Parisian Bohemianism, Henry Murger (1822–61). Through analysis of cultural reception and literary form, this chapter investigates the way in which these writers have been both criticized and revered for perpetuating particularly inclusive myths of Bohemianism. It then explores the way in which Thackeray‘s $\textit{Bildungsroman, The History of Pendennis}$ (1848–50), helped to shape other myths of collective homosocial unconventionality — in particular, those which came to surround Fleet Street journalism. Chapters 3 and 4 are companion chapters, surveying the way in which ideas of Bohemianism developed post-$\textit{Pendennis}$ in the course of the 1850s and 60s. They demonstrate that the myths of 'fast' Bohemian life which came to be associated with particular journalists, playwrights, and performers, were as much the product of critical attacks as any form of Bohemian self-representation. Exploring the work of 'Bohemian‘ writers such as George Augustus Sala (1828–95) and Edmund Yates (1831–94), as well as the dynamics of London‘s eclectic club scene, these chapters conclude that ideas of a 'fast‘ disreputable Bohemianism always coexisted with more widely accepted and understated Bohemian ideals which thrived on remaining undefined

Bennett, Breen, and the birdman of alcatraz: A case study of collaborative censorship between the production code administration and the federal bureau of prisons

In bringing to the screen the life of murderer Robert Stroud in Birdman of Alcatraz (United Artists, 1962), filmmakers encountered official obstruction from the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, James V. Bennett. Campaigning for the release of Stroud, Burt Lancaster retaliated by exposing Bennett’s efforts to censor the film as evidence of a personal vendetta against the prisoner. However, new archival research demonstrates how the Bureau had collaborated with Hollywood’s own censorship body, the Production Code Administration, for many years - and that Birdman was in fact the culmination of a decades-long struggle to control all films about Alcatraz

Stage women, 1900–50

Stage women, 1900–50 explores the many ways in which women conceptualised, constructed and participated in networks of professional practice in the theatre and performance industries between 1900 and 1950. A timely volume full of original research, the book explores women’s complex negotiations of their agency over both their labour and public representation, and their use of personal and professional networks to sustain their careers. Including a series of case studies that explore a range of well-known and lesser-known women working in theatre, film and popular performance of the period. The volume is divided into two connected parts. ‘Female theatre workers in the social and theatrical realm’ looks at the relationship between women’s work – on- and offstage – and autobiography, activism, technique, touring, education and the law. Part II, ‘Women and popular performance’, focuses on the careers of individual artists, once household names, including Lily Brayton, Ellen Terry, radio star Mabel Constanduros, and Oscar-winning film star Margaret Rutherford. Overall, the book provides new and vibrant cultural histories of women’s work in the theatre and performance industries of the period

Marquette Presidents

Former Senior Editor of Presidential Communication in the Office of the President, Brad Stratton, researched and documented past presidents biographies and events that occured during their tenure at Marquette. In late 2022, he approached the University Archives for advice about using these documents to display the history of the President\u27s Office. In association with the archives, Statton, and the Digital Scholarship Lab, we created a page to display his work as a timeline of the University\u27s history. This site is available at presidents.raynordslab.or