Pixelated flesh

The pixel and the technique of pixelating faces belong to a politics of fear and a digital aesthetics of truth which shapes public perceptions of criminality and the threat of otherness. This article will draw on Paul Virilio's account of the pixel in Lost Dimension in order to analyze its specific role and operation in relation to contemporary representations of incarceration. In particular, the article will consider the figure of the incarcerated informant. The incarcerated criminal or informant plays a complex role as both subversive other and purveyor of truth and as such constitutes an important example of the ways in which pixelation functions as a visible signifier of a dangerous truth whilst blurring, erasing and, ultimately, dehumanizing those "speaking" this truth. Our discussion forms part of a larger analysis of the production, framing and circulation of images of otherness, identifying Virilio as key to debates around the violence of the screen

Protection of stainless-steels against corrosion in sulphidizing environments by Ce oxide coatings: X-ray absorption and thermogravimetric studies

In this paper a study is reported concerning ceramic coatings containing cerium oxide, prepared by the sol-gel method, used to protect Incoloy 800H against sulphidation. When the coating is sintered in air at 850°C good protection is obtained. In an X-ray absorption spectroscopic study of the coatings it was observed that the best protective coating contains all cerium as CeIV after pretreatment. After sulphidizing cerium was reduced to CeIII. Possible mechanisms to explain the protective properties are discussed

In search of temporal loopholes: insuring against a future that will never come

This series of reflections on the contemporary experience and consciousness of time calls for a radical rethinking to confront the present and future threat of climate-led disaster. Focusing on the pocketwatch and smartwatch, the article will consider Paul Virilio's critique of contemporary forms of alienation and the ever-increasing disjuncture between human experience and the instruments that measure and analyse time in the service of the global, financial market. Jean-Pierre Dupuy's 'enlightened catastrophism' is proposed as opening up possibilities for a politics of time which can reposition the present in the service of a future threatened by the vicissitudes of late capitalism. The paper goes on to argue that Dupuy needs to be reread alongside Virilio, taking into account the latter's notion of 'time pollution' and critique of forecasting. The conceptual framings proposed are elucidated with reference to a cinematic tradition that takes the multiple temporalities shaping human existence as its object

Excavating Government: Giorgio Agamben's Archaeological Dig

This paper looks at the development of certain Foucauldian concepts and themes within the work of the Italian philosopher, Giorgio Agamben. Where Agamben is well-known for his critique of biopower in Homo Sacer, his recent work a more complex engagement with Foucault both in terms of his subject matter, governmentality and economy (oikonomia), and his critical methodology, most notably, his reaffirmation of the value of Foucault’s archaeological method. Focusing on three of Agamben’s recent publications, Signatura Rerum: Sul Metodo, Il regno e la gloria. Per una genealogia teologica dell'economia e del governo and What is an Apparatus?, the article looks first at Agamben’s development of Foucault’s archaeological method within his own concept of the signature. It then goes on to consider Agamben’s identification of an economic theology in contradistinction to Schmitt’s political theology and how Agamben’s discussion of collateral damage might be related to Foucault’s notion of security as developed in Security, Territory, Population. Finally, the article considers how Agamben links Foucault’s notion of ‘dispositif’ [apparatus] to an economic theology of government, calling for the development of counter-apparatuses in a similar way to Foucault’s call for ‘resistances.’ The article concludes by considering both the benefits and the limitations of Agamben’s engagement with Foucault

Topics in the Chemistry of Niobium and Tantalum Pentafluorides and Other Higher Halides

Research presented in this thesis falls into four areas. 1) Vibrational spectra of pentafluorides. 2) Preparation and spectra of NbF5 and TaF5 complexed with Lewis bases. 3) Preparation and some properties of some Nb, and Ta (V) fluoride-halides and pseudohalides. 4) 93Nb n.q.r. spectra of some compounds derived from 93Nb n.q.r. spectra of NbF5 and vibrational soectra of NbF5 and TaF5 are interpreted in terms of a very small deviation from C4v symmetry in the tetrameric molecules of the solid state. I.R. spectra suggest that NbF5, and TaF5 are polymeric in the liquid state up to at least 15

Assessing the enhancement of awareness of conservation issues using cross-sectional and longitudinal survey designs

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