'Silence bleeds': Hamlet across borders : The Shakespearean Adaptations of Sulayman Al-Bassam

Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713734315~db=all Copyright Informa / Taylor and FrancisThis article addresses the writing and performance work of Anglo-Kuwaiti director Sulayman Al-Bassam, tracing the development of his various adaptations of Shakespeare's Hamlet into English and Arabic 'cross-cultural' versions between 2001 and 2007. Al-Bassam's work presents English as a 'language in translation'. His works move from early modern to modern English, from Arabized English to Arabic, from one linguistic and geographical location to another, their forms moulded and remoulded by complex cultural pressures. The study focuses on specific examples from three adaptations to show in practice how in these works English is 'constantly crossed, challenged and contested'Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Optimization of model matrices of mechanical structures using experimental modal data

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Damage Assessment of a Bridge under Varying Environmental Conditions

It is known that modal parameters such as natural frequencies and mode shapes are sensitive indicators of structural damage. However, they are not only sensitive to damage, but also to the environmental conditions such as, humidity, wind and most important, temperature. For civil engineering structures, modal changes produced by environmental conditions can be equivalent or greater than the ones produced by damage. This paper proposes a damage detection method able to deal with temperature variations. The objective function correlates mode shapes and natural frequencies, and a Parallel Genetic Algorithm handles the inverse problem. The numerical model of the structure assumes that the elasticity modulus of the materials is temperature dependent. The algorithm updates the temperature and damage parameters together. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish between temperature effects and real damage events. Experimental data of the I-40 Bridge validates the algorithm. Four levels of damage were gradually introduced to this bridge, later processing of the experimental data revealed that the ambient temperature effect played a mayor role in the variation of the modal parameters. Results show that the proposed algorithm is able to detect the experimental damage despite the temperature variations.status: publishe

Tests on the vibro-acoustic behaviour of a brushless DC-motor

In the design of rotating electrical machines, the vibro-acoustic behaviour becomes an important criterion. In an electrical machine, electromagnetically induced forces may cause vibrations of for instance, the stator. These vibrations may radiate annoying acoustic energy, especially at resonances of the stator assembly. This paper describes some techniques to analyse the vibro-acoustic behaviour of a (brushless DC-) motor. However; the technique is quite general and cart be used for all types of electrical machines. The "inverse-frequency-response-function" technique (IFRF) allows the identification of the actual vibration behaviour of the motor frame from the measurement of the acoustic field around the motor. Experimental modal analysis yields the resonant behaviour of the motor: A combination of both techniques indicates the critical resonances, causing the undesired acoustic emissions. This may lead to an improved, quieter design of the electrical motor.status: publishe

Modelling of sprayer boom dynamics by means of maximum likelihood identification techniques, Part 1: A comparison of input-output and output-only modal testing

It is a well-known fact that the linear dynamic behaviour of mechanical structures can be studied by modelling the relation between force(s) [input(s)], acting on the structure, and their resulting structural vibration response(s) [output(s)]. For industrial structures, in their real in-operation conditions, it often becomes hard (or impossible) to experimentally measure the excitation. For this reason, attention has been paid to the development of system identification techniques that work on a basis of response data only. The use of such techniques allows the identification of modal models for structures excited by unknown ambient noise and vibration. In this contribution, controlled vibration experiments were conducted on a sprayer boom that was mounted on a tractor. A comparison was made between the results of a classic input-output and output-only modal analysis based on maximum likelihood system identification techniques. Due to the interaction between the dynamic artificial excitation device and the test structure, the output-only approach modelled the excitation device together with the test structure. The identified output-only modal parameters were validated by direct comparison to the identification results obtained on a classic input-output transfer function data set between the generator input signal and the structural responses. (C) 2003 Silsoe Research Institute. All rights reserved Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.status: publishe

Determining the elastic moduli of the individual component layers of cylindrical thermal barrier coatings by means of a mixed numerical - experimental technique

Cylindrical specimens made of the Ni-based super-alloy Inconel 625 (IN 625) were coated with (a) NiCoCrAlY, or (b) NiCoCrAlY and yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ: in this case, zirconia with 7-8 wt% yttria), using the electron beam - physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) technique. In the bi-layer coatings, the YSZ layer is the thermal barrier coating (TBC) and the NiCoCrAlY layer is the metallic bond coat (BC). The BC improves the bonding between the substrate and the ceramic TBC, while the low thermal conductivity of the TBC offers high-temperature protection to the substrate. This paper focuses on the determination of the elastic moduli of the substrate and the coating layers of the test samples. The elastic moduli of the three different materials (IN 625, NiCoCrAlY and YSZ) were determined by means of a mixed numerical - experimental technique (MNET). The employed MNET was based on the comparison of the experimentally measured resonant frequencies of the first bending mode of the test samples to the numerically calculated ones. The unknown elastic properties were determined by fine-tuning the elastic material parameters of the numerical models so as to enable the reproduction of the experimentally measured resonant frequencies.status: publishe

Labor Policies to Raise Employment

Using panel data for 15 industrial countries, active labor market policies (ALMPs) are shown to have a positive effect on employment rates, after controlling for institutional variables and country-specific effects. Among such policies, direct subsidies for job creation were the most effective. This paper shows that ALMPs raise employment by improving labor market functioning: higher expenditure on ALMPs is associated with lower wages for given levels of the unemployment rate. Whether ALMPs are cost-effective from a budgetary perspective remain to be determined, but they are certainly not substitutes for comprehensive institutional reforms. In particular, if higher expenditures on ALMPs are financed through increased labor income taxation, it could have deleterious effects on labor utilization. IMF Staff Papers (2007) 54, 113–138. doi:10.1057/palgrave.imfsp.9450004