Entering the Heart of Experience: First Person Accounts in Performance & Spirituality

In this paper, Middleton and Chamberlain introduce the inaugural publication of "Perspectives on Practice," which will be a new and ongiong section in "Performance and Spirituality" that will publish academically rigorous, first-person accounts of intersections between performance and spirituality. In this article, the authors take up arguments for the development of a rigorous first-person methodology for consciousness research and apply them to the study of performance and spirituality. They outline the implications of adopting and including the first person perspective in performance research, and then explore its applicability to the particular case of the enquiry into relationships between performance and spirituality. They argue that the promotion of rigorous and contextualised first-person accounts can provide this field of study with significant data; high-quality descriptions of what Varela and Shear called “The View from Within.” Such descriptions could provide detailed insights into, for example, the nature of the performative phenomena which yield spiritual experience. Further, we shall explore the extent to which the adoption of the first-person mode of enquiry can increase, as well as illuminate, the experience in question

A normative price for energy from an electricity generation system: An Owner-dependent Methodology for Energy Generation (system) Assessment (OMEGA). Volume 2: Derivation of system energy price equations

The methodology presented is a derivation of the utility owned solar electric systems model. The net present value of the system is determined by consideration of all financial benefits and costs including a specified return on investment. Life cycle costs, life cycle revenues, and residual system values are obtained. Break-even values of system parameters are estimated by setting the net present value to zero

A normative price for energy from an electricity generation system: An Owner-dependent Methodology for Energy Generation (system) Assessment (OMEGA). Volume 1: Summary

The utility owned solar electric system methodology is generalized and updated. The net present value of the system is determined by consideration of all financial benefits and costs (including a specified return on investment). Life cycle costs, life cycle revenues, and residual system values are obtained. Break even values of system parameters are estimated by setting the net present value to zero. While the model was designed for photovoltaic generators with a possible thermal energy byproduct, it applicability is not limited to such systems. The resulting owner-dependent methodology for energy generation system assessment consists of a few equations that can be evaluated without the aid of a high-speed computer

The survivorship and water loss of Liometopum luctuosum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Liometopum occidentale (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) exposed to different temperatures and relative humidity.

Two species of velvety tree ants, Liometopum luctuosum Wheeler, and Liometopum occidentale Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), are commonly found in the western Unites States from Washington to southern California. L. luctuosum is restricted to coniferous forests in the mountains in the southern range, whereas L. occidentale is found in the lowlands. The survivorship of workers of both species exposed to several temperatures and relative humidity (RH) was determined. As temperature increased, survival of both species decreased. As the RH increased, survival of both species increased. However, L. luctuosum had higher overall survival in all treatment groups. The cuticular permeability (CP) and the rates of body water loss for each species were determined. Both species had similar CPs. Increased physiological tolerances of L. luctuosum may be an explanation for its broader distribution

Photogrammetry-Based Analysis of the On-Orbit Structural Dynamics of the Roll-Out Solar Array

The Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) flight experiment was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 3rd, 2017. ROSA is an innovative, lightweight solar array with a flexible substrate that makes use of the stored strain energy in its composite structural members to provide deployment without the use of motors. This paper will discuss the results of various structural dynamics experiments conducted on the ISS during the weeks following launch. Data gathered from instrumentation on the solar array wing during the experiments was previously compared with pre-flight predictions from two different Finite Element Modeling (FEM) efforts. In this paper, data generated from photogrammetry is compared with accelerometer data and used to extend previous conclusions. Whereas previous analyses were only able to track the accelerations of six discrete points on the structure and photovoltaic (PV) blanket of ROSA, the photogrammetry analysis makes available displacements for dozens of points distributed throughout the array. This larger data set makes it possible to compare higher-order PV blanket modes with FEM predictions, in addition to verifying conclusions reached using accelerometer data. The goal in this effort was to better understand the performance of ROSA and to improve modeling efforts for future designs of similar solar arrays

Structural Analysis Methods for the Roll-Out Solar Array Flight Experiment

The Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) flight experiment was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 3rd, 2017. ROSA is an innovative, lightweight solar array with a flexible substrate that makes use of the stored strain energy in its composite structural members to provide deployment without the use of motors. This paper discusses the effort to model the structural dynamics of ROSA using finite element modeling. Two distinct and agnostic approaches were used by separate teams to assess the structural dynamics of the solar array prior to ground vibrational testing and flight testing. Results from each approach are compared to measured dynamics from accelerometers and photogrammetry data gathered on orbit. Advantages and disadvantages of each approach are discussed as are preliminary efforts to calibrate the models to the empirical data for the benefit of future modeling efforts on similar space structures

Buddhist Mindfulness and Psychophysical Performance

This is a very brief introductory sketch of some historical and cultural context for the relationship between Buddhism and western theatre practices in the early 20th century. As we’ve been asked to make sure that our presentation requires little specialist knowledge of our field, I will be simplifying and there will inevitably be important omissions and, perhaps some over-generalizations but, I hope, no fundamental errors