Hypermasculinity and the hero in comic book fiction: This Is It

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Docter of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University on the 13th April 2011.This thesis examines occurrences of hypermasculinity in examples from the genre of comic book fiction, utilizing textual evidence to suggest the current collection has re-iterated the more negative hypermasculine components of their source material: comic books. In doing so, the thesis compares the present novels with the creative element of the PhD submission – This Is It – a novel which serves as a critique of the prevalence of hypermasculinity in heroic figures within comic book fiction. By analyzing the sociological reasons behind hypermasculinity, and its subsequent effects, this thesis aims to make apparent the danger inherent with the continued association of hypermasculinity and hero figures in a new medium such as comic book fiction. It will also argue that the development of such a form divergent from comic books allows scope for a deconstruction of the hypermasculine comic book hero

The evolution and performance of river basin management in the Murray-Darling Basin

We explore bioregional management in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) in Australia through the institutional design characteristics of the MDB River Basin Organization (RBO), the actors and organizations who supported and resisted the establishment of the RBO, and the effectiveness of the RBO. During the last 25 years, there has been a major structural reform in the MDB RBO, which has changed from an interstate coordinating body to an Australian government agency. Responsibility for basin management has been centralized under the leadership of the Australian government, and a comprehensive integrated Basin plan has been adopted. The driving forces for this centralization include national policy to restore river basins to sustainable levels of extraction, state government difficulties in reversing overallocation of water entitlements, the millennium drought and its effects, political expediency on the part of the Australian government and state governments, and a major injection of Australian government funding. The increasing hierarchy and centralization of the MDB RBO does not follow a general trend toward multilevel participative governance of RBOs, but decentralization should not be overstated because of the special circumstances at the time of the centralization and the continuing existence of some decentralized elements, such as catchment water plans, land use planning, and water quality. Further swings in the centralization–decentralization pendulum could occur. The MDB reform has succeeded in rebalancing Basin water allocations, including an allocation for the environment and reduced diversion limits. There are some longer term risks to the implementation of reform, including lack of cooperation by state governments, vertical coordination difficulties, and perceived reductions in the accountability and legitimacy of reform at the local level. If implementation of the Basin plan is diverted or delayed, a new institution, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, can play a major role in securing and coordinating environmental water supplies

Effectiveness of Surface Treatment Techniques for Composite Bonding with Different Contamination Levels

Various surface treatment techniques have been developed to promote adhesive bond performance for composite structural components in aerospace applications. The condition of the pre-bond surface is critical to achieving desirable bond quality. Contamination on bonding surfaces is well recognized as a major threat to ultimate bond performance. Variation in contamination level has brought additional challenges into manufacturing process control. High fidelity surface treatment techniques are required for effective removal of contaminants over a wide range of contamination levels. In this study, a common contaminant, i.e. silicone mold release, was introduced to pre-bond composite surfaces with different concentrations. Plasma and laser surface treatment techniques were performed and their effectiveness in restoring and enhancing desirable bond quality was investigated. Surface characterization techniques, including water contact angle goniometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, were conducted to assess the condition of contaminated surfaces and the improvement induced by plasma and laser surface treatments. Failure modes from a customized double cantilever beam test were investigated before and after surface treatments. Fundamental mechanisms of plasma and laser surface treatments on the composite bonding surfaces were also investigated

Basin Futures

This unique book brings together 27 chapters from some of the world’s leading practitioners and experts on environmental water, communities, law, economics and governance. Its goal is to understand the many dimensions of water in the Murray- Darling Basin and provide guidance about how to implement a water management plan that addresses the needs of communities, the economy and the environment. The comprehensiveness of topics covered, the expertise of its authors, and the absolute need to take a multidisciplinary approach to resolving the “wicked problem” of governing our scarce water resource makes this volume a must read for all who care about Australian communities and the environment

SLIDES: Learning from Drought Crises in Federations: Principles, Indicators and Lessons Learned

Presenters: Lucia De Stefano, Complutense Universidad de Madrid Dustin Garrick, McMaster University/University of Oxford Daniel Connell, Australia National University 27 slide

Defending Nietzsche from Heidegger\u27s Nietzsche: an analysis and critique of Heidegger\u27s understanding of Nietzsche\u27s ontology and epistemology

Daniel Connell\u27s thesis analysed Martin Heidegger\u27s ontological and epistemological critique of Nietzsche in his later writings. It argued that Heidegger\u27s understanding of Nietzsche is flawed, and presented an alternative account of Nietzsche\u27s ontology and epistemology

Greenridge Multi-Pollutant Control Project Preliminary Public Design Report

The Greenidge Multi-Pollutant Control Project is being conducted as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Power Plant Improvement Initiative to demonstrate an innovative combination of air pollution control technologies that can cost-effectively reduce emissions of SO{sub 2}, NO{sub x}, Hg, acid gases (SO{sub 3}, HCl, and HF), and particulate matter from smaller coal-fired electrical generating units (EGUs). The multi-pollutant control system includes a hybrid selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR)/in-duct selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to reduce NOx emissions by {ge}60%, followed by a Turbosorp{reg_sign} circulating fluidized bed dry scrubber system to reduce emissions of SO{sub 2}, SO{sub 3}, HCl, and HF by {ge}95%. Mercury removal of {ge}90% is also targeted via the co-benefits afforded by the in-duct SCR, dry scrubber, and baghouse and by injection of activated carbon upstream of the scrubber, as required. The technology is particularly well suited, because of its relatively low capital and maintenance costs and small space requirements, to meet the needs of coal-fired units with capacities of 50-300 MWe. There are about 440 such units in the United States that currently are not equipped with SCR, flue gas desulfurization (FGD), or mercury control systems. These smaller units are a valuable part of the nation's energy infrastructure, constituting about 60 GW of installed capacity. However, with the onset of the Clean Air Interstate Rule, Clean Air Mercury Rule, and various state environmental actions requiring deep reductions in emissions of SO{sub 2}, NO{sub x}, and mercury, the continued operation of these units increasingly depends upon the ability to identify viable air pollution control retrofit options for them. The large capital costs and sizable space requirements associated with conventional technologies such as SCR and wet FGD make these technologies unattractive for many smaller units. The Greenidge Project aims to confirm the commercial readiness of an emissions control system that is specifically designed to meet the environmental compliance requirements of these smaller coal-fired EGUs. The multi-pollutant control system is being installed and tested on the AES Greenidge Unit 4 (Boiler 6) by a team including CONSOL Energy Inc. as prime contractor, AES Greenidge LLC as host site owner, and Babcock Power Environmental Inc. as engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. All funding for the project is being provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, through its National Energy Technology Laboratory, and by AES Greenidge. AES Greenidge Unit 4 is a 107 MW{sub e} (net), 1950s vintage, tangentially-fired, reheat unit that is representative of many of the 440 smaller coal-fired units identified above. Following design and construction, the multi-pollutant control system will be demonstrated over an approximately 20-month period while the unit fires 2-4% sulfur eastern U.S. bituminous coal and co-fires up to 10% biomass. This Preliminary Public Design Report is the first in a series of two reports describing the design of the multi-pollutant control facility that is being demonstrated at AES Greenidge. Its purpose is to consolidate for public use all available nonproprietary design information on the Greenidge Multi-Pollutant Control Project. As such, the report includes a discussion of the process concept, design objectives, design considerations, and uncertainties associated with the multi-pollutant control system and also summarizes the design of major process components and balance of plant considerations for the AES Greenidge Unit 4 installation. The Final Public Design Report, the second report in the series, will update this Preliminary Public Design Report to reflect the final, as-built design of the facility and to incorporate data on capital costs and projected operating costs

Large dams and the 'risk society'.

The ongoing controversy about the social, economic and environmental costs and benefits of building large dams is a sub-set of the even larger debate about how we should move to a sustainable world. A central part of this debate has been the discourse about the development of ‘the risk society’, one in which policy makers believe they can reliably predict future problems and manage them. The term ‘risk society’ was popularized by Ulrich Beck in the 1980s. He described the ethos of the state – thinking of governments in western Europe and North America – as animated with confidence that humans could conquer nature in all its manifestations and deal with future hazards by continually assessing potential risk and planning to deal with them. He did not suggest that they would be successful but diagnosed this as the underlying ideology of what is sometimes called the ‘modern’ state

Resistance versus resilience

Since people first began attempting to manipulate rivers to increase the benefits they could gain there have been two distinct management approaches. They can be described broadly as resistance and resilience. One involves working to control rivers and the other as working with rivers. The benefits of the former are usually more immediate and larger than are those of the latter. In the second case benefits are not only longer in coming they are also more diffuse and harder to identify