Revolutionary Artistry-- Brecht, Marx, and the Evolution of Epic Theatre

Playwrights have long drawn inspiration from a variety of muses in order to flesh out their works. The use of art and literature to critique society presents one such example, especially with regard to theatre when it critiques politics and human nature. In the case of German playwright Bertolt Brecht, one cannot fully understand his plays and the concept of epic theatre without looking at the influence of Marxism in his work. Indeed, it permeates his work through the years, with Brecht’s understanding of Marx’s writings evolving with clarity in his later works. Through sampling a variety of plays from the diverse corpus of Brecht’s writing (such as The Threepenny Opera, Mother Courage and Her Children, and Life of Galileo) and selected essays written by Marx, political theory becomes married to artistic direction. Culminating in a director\u27s proposal for a production of Life of Galileo, this project yields a new understanding of how directors can utilize political theory to further creative performance

The Rise of the Ideological Left? Testing the Asymmetrical Party Theory Through Case Studies of 2018 Primary Elections

During the mid-term elections of 2018, primary challenges against Democratic incumbents in Congress captured the attention of national media. One of the most prominent cases of this was the victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York’s 14th Congressional District against the ten-time incumbent and Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley on June 26. While her successful primary challenge could be attributed to many different factors, of interest is the way in which she campaigned – bringing into question how primary campaigns have changed in recent years and the rhetoric that hopeful-nominees adopt to secure their party’s nomination. The central question of this research is whether, during the 2018 mid-term primary elections, the rhetoric of Democratic hopefuls more closely matched the same rhetorical strategy adopted by ideologically conservative Republican challengers (i.e. “I am more liberal than Representative X.”)? Or were the appeals based in relation to representing the interests of their constituents (i.e. “Representative X is no longer represents the interests of this district.”)? Through content analysis of the websites of four Democratic primary challenges in 2018, I found that Democratic candidates appear to continue to rely on appeals to interest groups, suggesting that the Asymmetrical Party Theory (Grossman and Hopkins 2016) continues to operate even after high profile losses of more moderate incumbents to liberal challengers in Democratic primaries

Studies on Selection in Natural and Experimental Populations of Drosophila Pseudoobscura

Two genetic characters in Drosophila pseudoobscura were utilized in an investigation of some of the genetic mechanisms in evolution. The characters are (1) body size, which is a continuously-varying, polygenic trait, and (2) the arrangement of genes along the third chromosome, which is a Mendelizing, discrete trait. Collections of Drosophila pseudoobscura were taken in many localities in the American West. The two characters vary\u27 regularly with the physiographic division of the West. This variation is evidence that the frequencies of the genes controlling each character are strongly regulated by selection; such variation is the first stage in the genetic divergence which leads to the formation of new species. The frequencies of the gene arrangements on the third chromosomes are contrasted with those obtained in previous samples dating back as far as thirty years. A consistent pattern of change is apparent. The agent of selection responsible for these changes cannot be decided at present, although several possibilities are discussed. The system of inversions on the third chromosome is shown to be independent of that on the X-chromosome. One of the commonest geographic variations of insects is that of body size with temperature, the genetically larger strains coming from the cooler regions. Body size was studied in six experimental populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura which had been exposed to different temperatures. These populations were genetically identical at their inception but were maintained thereafter at different temperatures. After six years a striking genetic divergence in body size was found. The populations kept at the lower temperature had genetically larger flies than those kept at the higher temperatures. Crosses between the populations showed that the genes for larger size are partially dominant. The temperature-directed selection tor body size in these experimental populations may well be similar to that which has produced the temperature-oriented gradients for body size in natural populations of several species of Drosophila

Combined visible and near-infrared OPA for wavelength scaling experiments in strong-field physics

We report the operation of an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) capable of producing gigawatt peak-power laser pulses with tunable wavelength in either the visible or near-infrared spectrum. The OPA has two distinct operation modes (i) generation of >350 uJ, sub 100 fs pulses, tunable between 1250 - 1550 nm; (ii) generation of >190 uJ, sub 150 fs pulses tunable between 490 - 530 nm. We have recorded high-order harmonic spectra over a wide range of driving wavelengths. This flexible source of femtosecond pulses presents a useful tool for exploring the wavelength-dependence of strong-field phenomena, in both the multi-photon and tunnel ionization regimes.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, This paper was published in Proceedings of SPIE 10088, Nonlinear Frequency Generation and Conversion: Materials and Devices XVI, doi 10.1117/12.225077

Science in the Middle School Revisited: Contrasting 1965 with 1990

Describing science as middle school students experience it continues to be a challenge. The science that students experience in the classroom is that which their teachers have selected and organized for them. This selection/organization process is itself guided by the teacher\u27s knowledge base and the expectations of the schooling context. Presented here is a contrast practiced in the middle school in 1990 with 1965. The findings show that while teachers today may be better prepared in terms of academic courses, they are still not being adequately prepared to work with the emerging adolescent in the middle school

Thermal Noise Behavior of the Bridge Circuit

This paper considers a connection between the deterministic and noisy behavior of nonlinear networks. Specifically, a particular bridge circuit is examined which has two possibly nonlinear energy storage elements. By proper choice of the constitutive relations for the network elements, the deterministic terminal behavior reduces to that of a single linear resistor. This reduction of the deterministic terminal behavior, in which a natural frequency of a linear circuit does not appear in the driving-point impedance, has been shown in classical circuit theory books (e.g. [1, 2]). The paper shows that, in addition to the reduction of the deterministic behavior, the thermal noise at the terminals of the network, arising from the usual Nyquist-Johnson noise model associated with each resistor in the network, is also exactly that of a single linear resistor. While this result for the linear time-invariant (LTI) case is a direct consequence of a well-known result for RLC circuits, the nonlinear result is novel. We show that the terminal noise current is precisely that predicted by the Nyquist-Johnson model for R if the driving voltage is zero or constant, but not if the driving voltage is time-dependent or the inductor and capacitor are time-varyingSupported by the National Science Foundation under Grant 94-23221, by DARPA/ARO under Contract DAAH04-94-G-0342, and by the NEC Research Institute, Princeton, New Jersey

Traction Drives for Zero Stick-Slip Robots, and Reaction Free, Momentum Balanced Systems

Two differential (dual input, single output) drives (a roller-gear and a pure roller), and a momentum balanced (single input, dual output) drive (pure roller ) were designed, fabricated, and tested. The differential drives are each rated at 295 rad/sec (2800 rpm) input speed, 450 N-m (4,000 in-lbf) output torque. The momentum balanced drive is rated at 302 rad/sec (2880 rpm) input speed, and dual output torques of 434N-m (3840 in-lbf). The Dual Input Differential Roller-Gear Drive (DC-700) has a planetary roller-gear system with a reduction ratio (one input driving the output with the second input fixed) of 29.23: 1. The Dual Input Differential Roller Drive (DC-500) has a planetary roller system with a reduction ratio of approximately 24:1. Each of the differential drives features dual roller-gear or roller arrangements consisting of a sun, four first row planets, four second row planets, and a ring. The Momentum Balanced (Grounded Ring) Drive (DC-400) has a planetary roller system with a reduction ratio of 24:1 with both outputs counterrotating at equal speed. Its single roller cluster consists of a sun, five first and five second row planets, a roller cage or spider and a ring. Outputs are taken from both the roller cage and the ring which counterrotate. Test results reported for all three drives include angular and torque ripple (linearity and cogging), viscous and Coulomb friction, and forward and reverse power efficiency. Of the two differential drives, the Differential Roller Drive had better linearity and less cogging than did the Differential Roller-Gear Drive, but it had higher friction and lower efficiency (particularly at low power throughput levels). Use of full preloading rather than a variable preload system in the Differential Roller Drive assessed a heavy penalty in part load efficiency. Maximum measured efficiency (ratio of power out to power in) was 95% for the Differential Roller-Gear Drive and 86% for the Differential Roller Drive. The Momentum Balanced (Grounded Ring) Drive performed as expected kinematically. Reduction r-atios to the two counterrotating outputs (design nominal=24:1) were measured to be 23.98:1 and 24.12:1 at zero load.. At 25ONm (2200 in-lbf) output torque the ratio changed 2% due to roller creep. This drive was the smoothest of all three as determined from linearity and cogging tests, and maximum measured efficiency (ratio of power out to power in) was 95%. The disadvantages of full preloading as comvared to variable preload were apparent in this drive as in the Differential Roller Drive. Efficiencies at part load were low, but improved dramatically with increases in torque. These were consistent with friction measurements which indicated losses primarily from Coulomb friction. The initial preload level setting was low so roller slip was encountered at higher torques during testing

Interannual variability of Alexandrium fundyense abundance and shellfish toxicity in the Gulf of Maine

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B. V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 52 (2005): 2843-2855, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2005.06.020.Six years of oceanographic surveys of Alexandrium fundyense concentrations in the Gulf of Maine are combined with shellfish toxicity records from coastal monitoring stations to assess covariations of these quantities on seasonal to interannual time scales. Annual mean gulf-wide cell abundance varies by less than one order of magnitude during the time interval examined (1993-2002). Fluctuations in gulf-wide annual mean cell abundance and shellfish toxicity are not related in a consistent manner. This suggests that interannual variations in toxicity may be regulated by transport and delivery of offshore cell populations, rather than the absolute abundance of the source populations themselves.We gratefully acknowledge the support of the US ECOHAB Program, sponsored by NOAA, NSF, EPA, NASA, and ONR

Influences on diet and physical activity choices of 11–13-year-olds in a school setting

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.Objective: This paper uses a qualitative approach to explore the factors that influence diet and physical activity choices of 11–13-year-olds with a particular focus on the impact of the school environment. Design: Qualitative focus groups. Setting: Three purposively sampled secondary schools in Devon, UK. Method: A total of 53 students, aged 11–13, took part in six focus groups. Thematic, framework analysis was used to analyse the data. Result: Four overarching themes emerged: (1) health now and in the future; (2) the role of others; (3) provision, temptation and addiction; and (4) boundaries, strategies and support. Participants demonstrated good knowledge of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and its importance for future health, although it was not necessarily seen as a priority at this stage of life. Key influences on their choices were their peers and family, although participants also identified that the school environment influences the food choices they make while there. Conclusion: In this study, 11–13-year-olds identified that schools could do more to support them to make healthier food choices. However, future research needs to understand the constraints schools face in terms of food provision in order to highlight possible opportunities for intervention.All Saints Educational TrustNational Institute for Health research (NIHR