Signing off on the state

This thesis provides a contextual analysis of my creative practice as a visual artist. An overview of the social and historical relationships of the individual in societal organisations, and in relation to what Stuart Hall refers to as tendential lines of force, the dominant structures of religion and the state (Hall, 1996), set the context for a selfreflexive analysis of my practice. In carrying out a contextual analysis of my practice, it is the intention of this thesis to map a context by which Australian national identity is manufactured. This context is the hegemonic processes that seek to maintain a cultural and political dominance using systems of representation and symbolic power to do so. I have framed this subject against the United Nations as an international body with which the nation-state needs to negotiate. This thesis draws on the debates surrounding the history wars in Australia under the former Howard government, with particular reference to the Australian War Memorial and the National Museum Australia, and their particular responses to the histories of frontier warfare. The significations of state power on Anzac Day are examined, as are the state embodied mechanisms that have censored the representation of Australia’s history. This is supported by a visual register of historical images from the archives of various state libraries depicting frontier violence in Australia over the first 160 years of European settlement. This thesis is supported by visual documentation of my exhibition Signing Off on the State held at the Fremantle Arts Centre in 2005. Seminal texts I have referred to are; Pierre Bordieu’s Language and symbolic power (1991), Stuart Hall, Critical dialogues in cultural studies (1996), Adolpho Sanchez Vazquez Art and Society: Essays in Marxist aesthetics (1973), John Connor’s The Australian frontier wars (2002), and Mckernan and Browne, Australia – two centuries of war and peace (1988)

Organic Smart Home - Energiemanagement für Intelligente Gebäude

The Organic Smart Home is a generic framework as well as a runtime environment for the application in real smart homes to cope with the challenges of a flexible and adaptive energy management system

Charakterisierung des Heme-Responsive Gene 1-Proteins (HRG-1) als Interaktionspartner des Lysosomal-Assoziierten Membranproteins Typ 2 (LAMP-2)

Das lysosomal-assoziierte Membranprotein 2 (LAMP-2) ist eines der häufigsten Membranproteine des Lysosoms und Mutationen in LAMP-2 sind mit der Danon Erkrankung assoziiert, welche sich durch eine Kardio- und Skelettmuskelmyopathie und geistige Retardierungen auszeichnet. In dieser Arbeit wurden mittels Split-Ubiquitin Yeast Two-Hybrid Screens neue Interaktionspartner für LAMP-2 gesucht. Hierbei wurde der Hämexporter HRG-1 (heme-responsive gene 1) identifiziert, dessen Interaktion nach transienter Expression auch in humanen Zellen validiert werden konnte. Im Zuge einer Charakterisierung des Membranproteins HRG-1 als Interaktionspartner von LAMP-2 konnte die zytoplasmatische Lokalisation des N-Terminus von HRG-1 belegt werden. Des Weiteren konnte eine proteolytische Prozessierung des N-Terminus nach Überexpression in eukaryotischen Zellen gezeigt und die hierfür verantwortlichen Enzyme auf Cysteinproteasen eingegrenzt werden. In mikroskopischen Untersuchungen wurde die spät endosomale und lysosomale Lokalisation von endogenem HRG-1 in eukaryotischen Zellen bewiesen. Zudem konnte in murinen Wildtyp und LAMP-2 Knockout Fibroblasten gezeigt werden, dass LAMP-2 keinen offensichtlichen Einfluss auf die Lokalisation von HRG-1 hat. Weiterhin konnte unter Verwendung von Alaninmutanten ausgeschlossen werden, dass ein Tyrosin- und auch ein Di-Leucin-basiertes putatives Sortierungsmotiv im C-Terminus von HRG-1 für dessen lysosomale Lokalisation beteiligt ist. Durch den Vergleich von Wildtyp und LAMP-2 Knockout Organlysaten konnte eine geringere HRG-1 Proteinkonzentration in LAMP-2 Knockout Geweben detektiert werden, welche jedoch nicht durch eine transkriptionelle Herabregulation der HRG-1 mRNA begründet zu sein scheint. Die Funktion von HRG-1 als Hämexporter wurde in den retikuloendothelialen Zellen der Milz näher untersucht. Hierbei konnte in Milzen von LAMP-2 Knockout Tieren eine Infiltration durch CD68+ Gewebemakrophagen und, mit zunehmendem Alter, eine Akkumulation von Eisen (Fe3+) in diesen Zellen beobachtet werden. Gleichfalls waren sowohl der HRG-1- als auch der Hämoxygenase-1 (HO-1) Gehalt in den Gewebemakrophagen aus LAMP-2-defizienten Mäusen erhöht. Ein Zusammenhang zwischen einer gestörten autophagozytotischen Degradation der intrazellulären Eisenspeicherproteine (Ferritin) und den für die Danon Erkrankung typischen autophagozytotischen Vesikeln wird postuliert. Die Akkumulation von Eisen in den LAMP-2 Knockout Milzen ist zusätzlich von Veränderungen der Erythropoese begleitet, was für eine verminderte Eisenrückgewinnung spricht. Zuletzt konnte durch Untersuchungen der Erythrophagozytose ein Anstieg von HRG-1 und LAMP-1 in der Erythrophagolysosomenmembran von LAMP-2 Knockout Makrophagen gegenüber dem Wildtyp gezeigt werden. Zusammenfassend konnte durch diese Studie HRG-1 als neuer Interaktionspartner von LAMP-2 identifiziert und Veränderungen im Eisenhaushalt von LAMP-2-defizienten Mäusen aufgedeckt werden.The lysosome-associated membrane protein-2 (LAMP-2) was described as one of the most abundant membrane proteins of the lysosome. Mutations in LAMP-2 are associated with Danon disease, which is characterized by cardiomyopathy, myopathy and mental retardation. In this study split-ubiquitine yeast two-hybrid screens were used to identify novel interaction partners of LAMP-2. Thereby an interaction between the heme exporter HRG-1 (heme-responsive gene 1) and LAMP-2 could be revealed and further validated after transient expression in human cells. By characterizing this interaction the cytosolic localization of the N-terminus of HRG-1 was proven. In addition, a proteolytic cleavage of the N-terminus was observed after overexpression in eukaryotic cells and the responsible enzymes could be narrowed down to cysteine proteases. Microscopic analysis demonstrated the late endosomal and lysosomal localization of endogenous HRG-1 in eukaryotic cells. Using murine wild-type and LAMP-2 knockout fibroblasts no obvious effect of LAMP-2 on the localization of HRG-1 could be observed. Furthermore, alanine mutants showed that neither the tyrosine-based nor the dileucine-based putative sorting signals in the C-terminus of HRG-1 are crucial for its lysosomal localisation. Comparing the protein levels of HRG-1 in wild-type and LAMP-2 knockout organs a decrease in HRG-1 expression could be observed in LAMP-2 knockout tissues, which is apparently not due to a down regulation of HRG-1 specific transcription. The function of HRG-1 as a heme exporter was further investigated in splenic reticuloendothelial cells. In LAMP-2 knockout spleens an infiltration of CD68+ tissue macrophages was observed as well as an age dependent accumulation of ferric iron (Fe3+) in these cells. Both HRG-1 and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) levels were increased in tissue macrophages. A connection between defects in the autophagic degradation of intracellular iron stores (ferritin) and the accumulation of autophagic vesicles in patients with Danon disease was postulated. The accumulation of iron in LAMP-2 knockout spleens is accompanied by changes in erythropoiesis, which hints at a deficiency in iron recycling. An erythrophagocytosis assay showed an increase in HRG-1 and LAMP-1 in the erythro-phagolysosomal membrane of LAMP-2 knockout macrophages compared to wild-type. Taken together, this study shows HRG-1 as a new interaction partner of LAMP-2 and uncovers changes in the iron homoeostasis of LAMP-2-deficient mice

Organic Smart Home - Energiemanagement für Intelligente Gebäude

Das Energiemanagementsystem Organic Smart Home, ein generisches Rahmenwerk und eine Laufzeitumgebung für den Betrieb von Energiemanagementsystemen in intelligenten Gebäuden, ist darauf ausgerichtet, die resultierenden Anforderungen hinsichtlich Flexibilität, Adaptivität und Erweiterbarkeit zu erfüllen

An experimental investigation of the circular disc antenna

The impedance of a circular disc printed circuit antenna and that of a full scale model using polystyrofoam as the dielectric were measured as a function of the dielectric thickness, the operating frequency and the feed point location. The impedance of both the model and the actual printed circuit antenna was then compared with existing data from previous experimental investigations. The electric field inside the cavity formed by the circular radiator and the ground plane of the model was measured varying the same parameters as before. These measurements were then compared with a previous theoretical analysis for the case of the antenna fed at the edge of the disc. Field measurements were also taken for other feed positions for which present theory does not apply.Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department o

The Porter Proposal: Its Impact on Women's Social Security Benefits

Social Security is one of the programs most accepted by the general public. Its purpose is to provide adequate and equitable benefits for the disabled and the retired. Once faced with bankruptcy, it now has a cash surplus estimated to reach twelve trillion dollars by 2030. The program, however, is not without critics. With its cash surplus being used to pay for current federal expenditures, it has been under increasing opposition. Representative John Porter, an advocate for change, has introduced a bill which would partially privatize the program. His intent is to eliminate the cash surplus by allowing workers to invest part of their payroll taxes into private individual annuities. The Social Security Program has also encountered severe criticisms for the inadequacies in women's benefits. Women have, traditionally, received lower Social Security benefits than men. Because of this benefit gap, the Social Security Program has been under increasing pressure to correct this inadequacy. What type of impact would the Porter Proposal have on eliminating the benefit gap and raising women's monthly benefits? This paper examines both the Social Security Program and the Porter Proposal, under specific conditions, to determine which would generate the highest monthly benefit. The results suggest that Porter's Proposal would generate higher monthly benefits, but only marginally. Over a longer period, however, these benefits would gradually be lower than Social Security , as the Social Security benefits are increased according to the cost of living.Master of Public AdministrationPublic AdministrationUniversity of Michigan-Flinthttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143315/1/Allerding.pd