Eastern cultures enter hyperspace : Asian interpretations in the postmodern fictional universe of "Star Wars"

The article discusses inspirations from Far Eastern cultures present in George Lucas' Star Wars saga. This cinematic story is treated as a postmodernist text, in which references to earlier cultural works appear. More attention is given to the sequel trilogy, not explored in academic circles as much as the two earlier trilogies. These inspirations are analysed through the lens of Edward Said’s concept of orientalism, with additional focus on the specific ways in which it was employed in the United States of America. In the conclusion, some reflections are devoted to audience reactions to the newest trilogy and the Eastern elements present therein

Methods for the Electrical Impedance Tomography Inverse Problem: Deep Learning and Regularization with Wavelets

Electrical impedance tomography, also known as EIT, is a type of diffusive imaging modality that is non-invasive, radiation-free, and cost-effective for recovering electrical properties within a closed domain from surface measurements. The process involves injecting electrical current into a set of electrodes to measure the voltage on the smooth surface of the domain. The recovered EIT images show how well different materials or tissues within the domain conduct or impede electrical flow, which is helpful in detecting and locating anomalies. For the EIT inverse problem, it is challenging to recover reliable and resolvable electrical conductivity images since it is highly nonlinear and severely ill-posed, especially when the data is corrupted with noise. To address this issue, we propose (1) a wavelet-based modified Gauss-Newton (WGN) method that uses wavelets as a form of regularization and parameter reduction. In (1), we enforce regularization through the use of wavelet coefficients by projecting the original formulation to the wavelet domain and then only retaining the wavelet coefficients of highest power. The projected wavelet formulation is of a smaller dimension and, therefore, shows promise in improving the ill-posedness of the EIT inverse problem. Different wavelet families are implemented to capture localized features, smoothness, and irregularities within the domain. In addition, we also propose (2) a novel deep learning algorithm to solve the EIT inverse problem. In (2), we develop a deep neural network (DNN) with multiple transposed convolutional layers and activation functions to recover the EIT images. The DNN is first trained on a large set of EIT images and data, and then we recover EIT images in real-time from the trained DNN. We compare the image reconstructions from the DNN with a benchmark algorithm. For model validation, we employed a set of synthetic examples with various anomalies to test the performance and efficacy of both the DNN and WGN method. The results from both methods show promise in improving EIT image reconstructions

An Integrated Approach for the Study of Symbolically Inspired Literature

This paper is an essential work to any individual who is involved in trying to comprehend the literary, creative process. This article represents a bifurcation of literary art in terms of how this kind of creation is either derived from the subconscious of the artist, or represents, in platonic terms, the fusion of self with ineffable mental machinations. Theorists like Coleridge, Karl Jung and Shelley postulated paradigms where literary art was either created purely from the practitioners’ subconscious mental activities or were muse-driven to where the artist abandoned all aspects of his or her psychological dynamics. This work is an essential reading for anyone in literary criticism who is interested in the mystical dimensions of sublime creation as well as Neoplatonism. The author creates a theoretical model where visionary artists are capable of a deeper coalescence with subtle energy dynamics which is not understood by conventional neuroscience. The true man is the source he being the poetic genius… No man can think write or speak from his heart, but he must intend truth… As non by traveling over known lands can find out the unknown, so from already acquired knowledge man could not acquire more. Therefore a universal poetic genius exists… (Blake, 1790, pp.2-3).No, lead me where some heavenly silence glasses the purer joys. That rounds the poet throng… (Goethe, 1962, p.45).The poets eye in a find frenzy rolling,/doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven,/and as imagination bodies forth/ the forms of things unknown, the poets pen/ turnes them to shapes, and gives to aire nothing a local habitation and a name./Such tricks hath strong imagination… (Shakespeare, 1952, p.536)

The Political Struggle Behind the Delgamuukw Case: The 1994-1996 Trilateral Treaty Negotiations with the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en

This thesis examines the political struggle behind the Delgamuukw court case, particularly the 1994-1996 trilateral treaty negotiations with the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en. The Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en’s quests to have their Aboriginal rights and title recognized, and to prevent resource depletion in their hereditary territories, were intricately connected and multi-faceted. The Delgamuukw court case, which is often treated as a distinct issue, should be examined in the context of all significant events, both those which took place in the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en territories, as well as those at the negotiating tables. Although Aboriginal peoples’ struggle to preserve their cultural identity dates back to their early contact with the newcomers, colonial governance changed significantly in the 1980s. The neo-liberal governments of Canada and British Columbia moved from the paternalistic policies of the Indian Act to supporting industrial encroachment on a large scale. Neo-liberal governments tend to show benevolence. In fact, their policies may be as harmful as the colonial policies from the first half of the 20th century. In 1990, British Columbia joined the treaty negotiations and commissioned the establishment of the B.C. treaty negotiations process. The Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en were among those First Nations who undertook negotiations with the provincial government soon after the process had been established. Therefore, their experience provides valuable insight into how this new process started in the 1990s. Since that time, the B.C. treaty process has been extremely unproductive, and the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en trilateral treaty negotiations are among the many examples of its failure

Edukacja a rozwój człowieka – wprowadzenie

Terminy „edukacja” oraz „rozwój” charakteryzuje wysoka frekwencyjność w literaturze z zakresu nauk społecznych, a zwłaszcza psychologii. Świadczy to o ich popularności i użyteczności, jednakże precyzja w definiowaniu obu pojęć różni się znacznie. Pojęcie „rozwoju” zostało na gruncie psychologii dokładnie sprecyzowane m.in. przez Tyszkową (1996, s. 47) jako „zmiany i  przekształcenia tego układu, jaki stanowi psychika człowieka wraz z kontrolowanym przez nią zachowaniem”.Pojęcie „edukacja” sprawia już o wiele więcej problemów. W podstawowej literaturze psychologicznej nie jest łatwo znaleźć definicję czy dokładne określenie tego pojęcia. Dla większości użytkowników kojarzy się z oddziaływaniem szkoły, często z nauczanie

Chemometria

Jednymi z najistotniejszych elementów wykształcenia chemika są umiejętności prawidłowego wykonywania pomiarów i interpretacji uzyskanych wyników. Badania analityczne prowadzone są za pomocą nowoczesnych technik pomiarowych, które skracają czas analiz i dostarczają dużych ilości wyników. Metrologia i walidacja to wciąż rozwijające się dziedziny, łączące wiedzę z zakresu chemii analitycznej i fizycznej, matematyki oraz statystyki. Pozwalają one na weryfikację uzyskiwanych danych i umożliwiają porównywanie ich między laboratoriami. Obszerne zbiory danych pomiarowych są trudne do efektywnej interpretacji. Z pomocą przychodzi tu chemometria – nowa dziedzina wiedzy, która zajmuje się wydobywaniem użytecznych informacji z wielowymiarowych danych pomiarowych, bazując na metodach m.in. statystyki i matematyki. Skrypt skierowany jest głównie do studentów kierunków chemicznych i przyrodniczych, ale będzie przydatny również tym wszystkim, którzy w swoim życiu zawodowym wykonują pomiary chemiczne oraz zajmują się interpretacją uzyskanych wyników badań.Publikacja została przygotowana w ramach projektu „CHEMONIT Szkolenie podnoszące kompetencje studentów i absolwentów: Monitoring środowiska z wykorzystaniem nowoczesnych technik analitycznych i chemometrii” współfinansowanego ze środków funduszy norweskich i krajowych. (Nr umowy FSS/2014/HEI/W/0108)