Politics Between and Within Us: Authenticity and Theatricality in Modern Political Thought

This dissertation details the ways in which two distinct models of politics — the politics of authenticity and the politics of theatricality — have influenced political rhetoric and activity in America and beyond. The focus on authenticity in politics goes back to the ancients, yet it has taken on greater political significance in the modern era. Morally-charged language of “telling the truth”, or “being oneself” in politics has meant that public judgment and analysis has increasingly focused on the interiority of the speaker: one’s intentions, feelings and consistency, rather than on the persuasive case one is attempting to communicate. In the extreme, this has led to some nefarious actions and political regimes in the modern world (e.g. the Terror of the French Revolution and twentieth century totalitarianism) as well as less severe but still troubling results (the lack of a dynamic public sphere in which our everyday political discourse takes place). To combat the theory that led to these developments, I offer an analysis of theatrical politics which sees politics as something existing “outside and between us” rather than “within us.” At the same time, I acknowledge the ways in which authenticity in politics has led to emancipatory movements of oppressed persons and groups (e.g. abolitionism and civil rights, especially in America). The main representative of authentic politics I employ in this dissertation is Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and for theatricality, I detail the arguments of Hannah Arendt. I argue that we can find a proper balance between the two models in the politics of Henry David Thoreau. Ultimately, I explain the potential for a politics in which the best elements of each model could be practiced

Space Transportation System solid rocket booster thrust vector control system

The Solid Rocket Booster, Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system was designed in accordance with the following requirements: self-contained power supply, failsafe operation, 20 flight uses after exposure to seawater landings, optimized cost, and component interchangeability. Trade studies were performed which led to the selection of a recirculating hydraulic system powered by Auxiliary Power Units (APU) which drive the hydraulic actuators and gimbal the solid rocket motor nozzle. Other approaches for the system design were studied in arriving at the recirculating hydraulic system powered by an APU. These systems must withstand the imposed environment and be usable for a minimum of 20 Space Transportation System flights with a minimum of refurbishment. The TVC system completed the required qualification and verification tests and is certified for the intended application. Substantiation data include analytical and test data

Stop churning relationships by avoiding the relationship slide

Previous research has identified a link between romantic relationship formation (sliding vs. deciding) and satisfaction (Clifford et al., 2017; Vennum et al., 2015). During college, the decision to enter and maintain a romantic relationship can play a role in the relationship-churning process among young adults (Brandes & Doron, 2020; Grower & Baldwin-White, 2021). Specifically, some college students may slide into marriage or having kids (Loeb et al., 2020; Priem et al., 2015) due to financial, social, and psychological barriers that keep them from ending an unhealthy relationship (Loeb et al., 2020). To explore the effect of sliding into a relationship further, we conducted a relationship education workshop (N = 12) at a University in the Southeastern United States. We adopted the Love Notes curriculum to create a 45-minute workshop on the topics of self-reflection, communication skills, and relationship conflict management. The goal of the workshop was to increase participants self-awareness of their communication skills when they experience conflict in a relationship. Most participants identified as White females (n = 10; 76.9%), and the average age of the participants was 23.7. 2 The statistical analysis revealed participants confidence in having difficult conversations with romantic partners and their ability to recognize healthy relationships increased as a result of their participation in the workshop. Therefore, relationship education programs on college campuses can help not only develop the communication skills of college students but also positively contribute to their ability to form meaningful and healthy relationships

An examination of the association between seeing smoking in films and tobacco use in young adults in the west of Scotland: cross-sectional study

The objective is to examine the association between the amount of smoking seen in films and current smoking in young adults living in the west of Scotland in the UK. Cross-sectional analyses (using multivariable logistic regression) of data collected at age 19 (2002–04) from a longitudinal cohort originally surveyed at age 11 (1994–95) were conducted. The main outcome measure is smoking at age 19. No association was found between the number of occurrences of smoking estimated to have been seen in films (film smoking exposure) and current (or ever) smoking in young adults. This lack of association was unaffected by adjustment for predictors of smoking, including education, risk-taking orientation and smoking among peers. There was no association between film smoking exposure and smoking behaviour for any covariate-defined subgroup. Associations have been found between film smoking exposure and smoking initiation in younger adolescents in the United States. In this study, conducted in Scotland, no similar association was seen, suggesting that there may be age or cultural limitations on the effects of film smoking exposure on smoking. The lack of association could be due to methodological issues or greater sophistication of older adolescents and young adults in interpreting media images or the greater ubiquity of real-life smoking instances in Scotland. If the latter, film smoking exposure could become a more important risk factor for smoking uptake and maintenants in older adolescents following the recent ban on smoking in public places in Scotland

Robotic weeding – from concept to trials

This paper reports on the use of robotic selective mechanical cultivation as an alternative method to herbicide control for managing weed species in zero-till cropping systems. Existing best-practice technology in weed spot spraying utilises infrared technology to detect and selectively spray weeds using herbicide at quantities significantly less than those used in normal blanket spray applications. This reduction in the herbicide de- creases operational costs and can be beneficial for the environment; however, the capital investment in the technology is substantial for farmers who wish to own and operate their equipment. While effective in reducing overall herbicide usage, the technology has done little to tackle the rapid evolution of herbicide resistant weed species. As a potential solution to this issue, our research over the past three years has been focused on the development of non-chemical methods of weed management utilising robot-enabled selective mechanical weeding. Used in conjunction with a robotic vehicle platform, a mechanical weeding array is capable of working throughout the day and night. The weeding tools have been designed to be removable and inter- changeable, allowing the use of tools especially designed for different weed species, weed densities, and soil types. The system developed consists of a one-degree-of-freedom array of weeding tines, actuated into the ground in time to remove individual weeds. Sensing of the weeds is enabled by a vision-based plant detection and classification system, while the timing for the implement actuation to hit the weed is determined as a function of the robot speed. The field trials reported in this paper demonstrate the potential of this robotic system for individualised weed treatment and multi-mode weed management methods. In particular, a trial of the mechanical weeding array in a fallow field over six weeks maintained the weed coverage in robot treated sections to be 1.5%, compared to 37% in the control areas not treated by the robot—a reduction in excess of 90% in weed coverage

1987 Crop Enterprise Budgets, Selected Tillage Systems, Eastern Whitman County, Washington

This publication estimates 1987 costs, returns, and soil loss information for selected crops grown under alternative tillage systems in the 19- to 24-inch rainfall area (eastern region) of Whitman County, Washington (see map below). Production costs, returns, and profitability measures are calculated for winter wheat under conventional, minimum, and no-tillage schemes. The same three performance measures are calculated for dry peas, lentils, spring barley, and summer fallow-rapeseed under conventional tillage. Relative soil losses are also estimated for alternative tillage practices and crop rotations. The specific crop rotations evaluated are: (1) dry peas (CT) - winter wheat (CT); (2) dry peas (CT) - winter wheat (MT); (3) dry peas (CT) - winter wheat (NT); (4) dry peas (CT) - winter wheat (CT) - spring barley (CT); (5) lentils (CT) - winter wheat (CT) - spring barley (CT); and (6) summer fallow - rapeseed (CT).1