Journal of Nature

Poetry by Maggie Brodbeck. Finalist in the 2018 Manuscripts Poetry Contest

Fans and Adaptation: An Analysis of the Use of Interactive Storytelling in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

By using adaptations of Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) as a frame of reference, my thesis will demonstrate that transmedia narratives are most effective in tandem with original texts that have a history of successful adaptations due to the perpetual audience of fans and their previous knowledge of the story to meaningfully, as well as canonically, interact with the narrative. This thesis will first introduce theories surrounding adaptations and look at previous Pride and Prejudice adaptations in light of a devoted fan base. It will then introduce the concept of transmedia narratives and examine the culture of fans and their interactions with texts in the digital age. Lastly, I will analyze the success of the Internet production company Pemberley Digital and their transmedia YouTube adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that boasts a view count of 82.2 million views and secured an Emmy. This analysis will apply the theories on transmedia, fandom, and adaptation introduced in the first three sections to demonstrate that interactive transmedia narratives are most effective when they have an established fan base, which is most easily found in popular texts prone to adaptations. Digital storytelling will only continue to grow, especially as upcoming generations favor online streaming and independent producers as opposed to the cable television shows created by the larger media corporations. The research contained within this thesis will show the importance of appealing to wider audiences by creating richer, more immersive narratives through transmedia and paratexts that encourage collective authorship

THE NUMBER OF SPHALERON INSTABILITIES OF THE BARTNIK-McKINNON SOLITONS AND NON-ABELIAN BLACK HOLES

It is proven that there are precisely $n$ odd-parity sphaleron-like unstable modes of the $n$-th Bartnik-McKinnon soliton and the $n$-th non-abelian black hole solution of the Einstein-Yang-Mills theory for the gauge group $SU(2)$.Comment: one reference is adde

Stationary perturbations and infinitesimal rotations of static Einstein-Yang-Mills configurations with bosonic matter

Using the Kaluza-Klein structure of stationary spacetimes, a framework for analyzing stationary perturbations of static Einstein-Yang-Mills configurations with bosonic matter fields is presented. It is shown that the perturbations giving rise to non-vanishing ADM angular momentum are governed by a self-adjoint system of equations for a set of gauge invariant scalar amplitudes. The method is illustrated for SU(2) gauge fields, coupled to a Higgs doublet or a Higgs triplet. It is argued that slowly rotating black holes arise generically in self-gravitating non-Abelian gauge theories with bosonic matter, whereas, in general, soliton solutions do not have rotating counterparts.Comment: 8 pages, revtex, no figure

Einstein's Equations with Asymptotically Stable Constraint Propagation

We introduce a proposal to modify Einstein's equations by embedding them in a larger symmetric hyperbolic system. The additional dynamical variables of the modified system are essentially first integrals of the original constraints. The extended system of equations reproduces the usual dynamics on the constraint surface of general relativity, and therefore naturally includes the solutions to Einstein gravity. The main feature of this extended system is that, at least for a linearized version of it, the constraint surface is an attractor of the time evolution. This feature suggests that this system may be a useful alternative to Einstein's equations when obtaining numerical solutions to full, non-linear gravity.Comment: 23 pages, submitted to JMP, added reference for section

Cognitive continuity in cognitive dissonance

Zentall’s (2016) model of cognitive dissonance is compatible with cognitive continuity between humans and nonhumans. It may help explain cognitive dissonance-like behavior in many species, including humans. It is also consistent with Tinbergen’s (1963) ‘four whys’ in ethological explanation