A Medievalist Point of View on George R. R. Martin’s \u3ci\u3eA Song of Ice and Fire\u3c/i\u3e: Power and Women: An Examination of Daenerys Targaryen

George Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series utilizes the appropriation of historical influences, medieval conventions and fantasy tropes to create a rich and brutal world that both revitalizes and defies its genre. Martin’s work focuses on the importance of the struggle of the human condition. His construction of a patriarchal and misogynistic world while reminiscent of the Middle Ages, uses a stark realism and harsh flavor to draw attention to the conflicts his characters fight to survive. Within the confines of his fantasy setting, this work examines the opportunities for agency and power that exist for the women, in spite of the patriarchal setting. Under the right conditions women, particularly mothers, can find agency as peaceweavers, intercessors and nurturers. And on rare occasion, when the proper conditions are met, maternity affords these women real public authority. Using medievalism as a point of reference this work focuses on the struggles of the women, particularly Daenerys Targaryen, within the texts to achieve agency and power. Her struggle to rise above the fray and find influence in a male dominated world, allows us to examine the impact of medieval cultures on both popular culture and modern society

A Preliminary Approach to Linguistic Variation in the TV Series Game of Thrones

Traballo Fin de Grao en Lingua e Literatura Inglesas. Curso 2018-2019One of the main features that defines a community is its language. Generally speaking, when TV series recreate the language of a specific community in a given period of time, their characters try to imitate that particular variety as closely as possible, not only in terms of pronunciation and accent, but also in terms of vocabulary, syntax and so on and so forth. This research will focus on the varieties of English observed in the fictional TV show Game of Thrones, by concentrating, if possible, on features such dialectal diversity, register, jargon and idiolect(s). The project will consist of two main parts: (i) an introductory section, in which I will present Game of Thrones from a linguistic point of view, along with a brief description of the varieties of English represented in the series; (ii) a practical section, in which I will study some of the linguistic features that characterize those varieties the way they are used in the fictional TV show. For this purpose, I will analyze a number of scenes where the characters reflect those linguistic features chosen for the analysis. Hopefully, the information gathered will allow me to draw some relevant conclusions on the linguistic singularities that characterize the language recreated in the serie

Scalable and Reliable Middlebox Deployment

Middleboxes are pervasive in modern computer networks providing functionalities beyond mere packet forwarding. Load balancers, intrusion detection systems, and network address translators are typical examples of middleboxes. Despite their benefits, middleboxes come with several challenges with respect to their scalability and reliability. The goal of this thesis is to devise middlebox deployment solutions that are cost effective, scalable, and fault tolerant. The thesis includes three main contributions: First, distributed service function chaining with multiple instances of a middlebox deployed on different physical servers to optimize resource usage; Second, Constellation, a geo-distributed middlebox framework enabling a middlebox application to operate with high performance across wide area networks; Third, a fault tolerant service function chaining system

Resource Orchestration in Softwarized Networks

Network softwarization is an emerging research area that is envisioned to revolutionize the way network infrastructure is designed, operated, and managed today. Contemporary telecommunication networks are going through a major transformation, and softwarization is recognized as a crucial enabler of this transformation by both academia and industry. Softwarization promises to overcome the current ossified state of Internet network architecture and evolve towards a more open, agile, flexible, and programmable networking paradigm that will reduce both capital and operational expenditures, cut-down time-to-market of new services, and create new revenue streams. Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) are two complementary networking technologies that have established themselves as the cornerstones of network softwarization. SDN decouples the control and data planes to provide enhanced programmability and faster innovation of networking technologies. It facilitates simplified network control, scalability, availability, flexibility, security, cost-reduction, autonomic management, and fine-grained control of network traffic. NFV utilizes virtualization technology to reduce dependency on underlying hardware by moving packet processing activities from proprietary hardware middleboxes to virtualized entities that can run on commodity hardware. Together SDN and NFV simplify network infrastructure by utilizing standardized and commodity hardware for both compute and networking; bringing the benefits of agility, economies of scale, and flexibility of data centers to networks. Network softwarization provides the tools required to re-architect the current network infrastructure of the Internet. However, the effective application of these tools requires efficient utilization of networking resources in the softwarized environment. Innovative techniques and mechanisms are required for all aspects of network management and control. The overarching goal of this thesis is to address several key resource orchestration challenges in softwarized networks. The resource allocation and orchestration techniques presented in this thesis utilize the functionality provided by softwarization to reduce operational cost, improve resource utilization, ensure scalability, dynamically scale resource pools according to demand, and optimize energy utilization

Cripples and Bastards and Broken Things: Masculinity, Violence, and Abjection in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones

Normative models of masculinity that are based upon violence, domination, and invulnerability are recognised by scholars as damaging for the individuals who enact them and for the societies in which they are enacted. In both the "real" world and the cultural texts that reflect and shape it, this narrow definition of masculinity is debated, reinforced, and/or critiqued. Challenges to normative masculinity are often identified in literary representations; but fantasy fiction seldom features in these analyses, despite the genre's ongoing engagement with masculine characters, themes, and images. The genre's long history of subversive content and ability to (re)imagine the world without the constraints of realism also suggest its capacity to expand conceptions of masculinity. Using a theoretical framework based primarily on Judith Butler's work on gender performativity and subversion, Julia Kristeva's theory of abjection, and Barbara Creed's notion of the monstrous feminine, I argue that, in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (1996-) and its television adaptation Game of Thrones (2011-), when masculine characters use violence to gain power at others' expense, they are positioned as monstrous and are shown to be part of a destructive cycle, whereas when these characters use violence in ways that makes the world a more liveable place, they are able to maintain their constitutive borders and proliferate their ideas and practices through queer kinship. Illegal and excessive forms of violence used by normatively masculine characters, such as torture and rape, are critiqued through the same textual devices as legal and legitimate sovereign violence when they are individualistic and reproduce existing power structures. In contrast, female, disabled, and queer masculine characters make violence a visibly masculine act and use it in ways that are coded it as heroic or horrifying, depending on whether it empowers or disempowers others. The relationship between masculinity and violence is negotiated in the Martinverse in complex ways, and I demonstrate that the fantasy genre and its conventions have unique potential for presenting alternative masculine discourses and queer kinships that interrogate, refuse, or work the weaknesses in patriarchal logics of reproduction and repetition that maintain a lack of opportunity for certain subjects unable to access these privileged power dynamics

The Ticker, April 20, 2015

The Ticker is the student newspaper of Baruch College. It has been published continuously since 1932, when the Baruch College campus was the School of Business and Civic Administration of the City College of New York

Development of new blood banking strategies for processing and storage of red blood cell components

The field of red blood cell (RBC) components has been quite uneventful during the last few decades, save for the experimental exploration of alternative additive solution compositions. The reason is likely that the RBC quality has been good enough and the shelf-life of conventional RBC concentrates (RCC) has been long enough to not really motivate the workload that any dramatic changes would implicate. However, the concern for future blood supply shortage is now growing in Europe. It is incited by multiple factors; perhaps foremost, the oncoming ban of the blood bag plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). DEHP prolongs the RBC’s lifespan during blood bank storage by stabilising the RBC membrane, and removal of DEHP has been linked to unacceptable haemolysis levels. For a long time, it has been a challenge to find a replacement to DEHP that does not compromise the RBC quality or RCC shelf-life. Concomitantly with the imminent non-DEHP transition, new regulatory frameworks call for better blood supply contingency and preparedness for emergency situations, and the healthcare community encourages more individualised treatment therapies. A contra-indication to all of these proceedings is that the donor population is decreasing due to smaller birth cohorts, simultaneously as the number of patients needing transfusion therapy is increasing due to longer life expectancy and more successful treatment of diseases. The four studies of this theses have focused on different ways to approach the same aim of preserving or even improving the RBC quality, limit the outdating frequency and, ultimately, ensure a safe and sufficient blood supply. Whole blood was processed into RCCs, which were further treated to fit the objectives of each respective study. In Paper I, a method was developed to cryopreserve split RCCs, by combining the ACP 215 automated cell processor with a subsequent manual centrifugation step. In Papers II and III, a four-armed study compared storage or RCCs in DEHP to a suggested substitute plasticizer, di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT), combined with either of the two additive solutions saline-adenine-glucose-mannitol (SAGM) or phosphate-adenine-glucose-guanosine-saline-mannitol (PAGGSM). Paper II addressed ideal storage conditions whereas Paper III exposed the RBCs to extreme oxidative stress in the form of X-ray irradiation. Irradiated and ACP 215-washed RCCs were then compared to RCCs pathogen reduced with the Intercept blood system in Paper IV. All studies assessed the RBC quality after intervention and during subsequent storage by utilising a battery of analyses that together determined the RBC storage lesion, i.e. the RBCs metabolic, morphologic and oxidative status as well as the direct preservation of its membrane. Paper I demonstrated that it was possible to successfully cryopreserve split RCCs without negatively impacting the quality of the final component compared to traditional, non-split cryopreserved RCCs. In fact, the levels of haemolysis and extracellular potassium ions (K+) were both lower than in non-split cryopreserved RCCs, which emphasised the compatibility of split cryopreserved RCCs in a paediatric transfusion setting. The quality of all the split RCCs was very even, demonstrating the robustness and reproducibility of the protocol, which is essential for everyday blood banking. Papers II and III verified DEHT as a strong potential substitute plasticizer to DEHP, even though the RBC membrane integrity was slightly impaired, foremost during SAGM storage. Irradiation expectedly introduced additional membrane damage, but satisfactory, the haemolysis was still well within the allowed margin. Independent of the level of stress exposure, the results suggested that if a transition to PAGGSM is adopted at the same time as a new plasticizer is implemented, any deleterious effects of the DEHP removal can be strongly mitigated. The two papers also confirmed that the RBC metabolism was unaffected by the switch of plasticizer. Paper IV demonstrated that, in addition to increased safety in terms of transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases, pathogen reduction is a promising future option to both irradiation and washing of blood components. Pathogen reduced RCCs exhibited membrane preservation similar to conventional RCCs and far superior to irradiated and automated-washed RCCs, where shelf-life reduction is a necessary adverse measure. With pathogen reduction, the shelf-life of conventional RCCs in Sweden, 42 days, would still be feasible. In addition, pathogen reduced RCCs implicated better ATP preservation, which may be beneficial for the RBC in vivo survival; however, at the expense of 2,3-DPG. Considering the washing-specific parameters, implying efficacy of plasma reduction, minor adjustments of the centrifugation protocol would still be desirable. In conclusion, this thesis explores the multiple pathways of RBC processing in order to develop or refine RBC components or RBC storage. The purpose behind this is to propose a way to adapt to the growing urge of ensuring availability of a blood supply fit for all essential transfusions to all categories of patients. In four individual papers, this thesis shows the deleterious effects of RBC cell stress, but also proposes a joint common approach to mitigate it or, in some cases, even improve the components further compared to the previous standard. Hopefully, this innovative view on classical RBC components, along with the presentation of a satisfactory plasticizer option, may inspire to the introduction of a number of measures that can contribute to decreased RCC wastage or prevention of shelf-life reduction. These are two key attributes in increasing patient safety