Swift\u27s Attack On Pedantry

It may seem to the modern reader that Jonathan Swift fell short in his attempt to ridicule pedantry, for Swift\u27s most sarcastic illustrations of the follies of learned men might well find their parallel as commonplace news items in the magazines or newspapers of today. Swift must have felt that he was exaggerating to absurdity the follies of the learned of his time in the fields of science and the arts; and in order to accord him the proper credit, we must look at his works in the light of historical perspective

The role of gesture delay in coda /r/ weakening: an articulatory, auditory and acoustic study

The cross-linguistic tendency of coda consonants to weaken, vocalize, or be deleted is shown to have a phonetic basis, resulting from gesture reduction, or variation in gesture timing. This study investigates the effects of the timing of the anterior tongue gesture for coda /r/ on acoustics and perceived strength of rhoticity, making use of two sociolects of Central Scotland (working- and middle-class) where coda /r/ is weakening and strengthening, respectively. Previous articulatory analysis revealed a strong tendency for these sociolects to use different coda /r/ tongue configurations—working- and middle-class speakers tend to use tip/front raised and bunched variants, respectively; however, this finding does not explain working-class /r/ weakening. A correlational analysis in the current study showed a robust relationship between anterior lingual gesture timing, F3, and percept of rhoticity. A linear mixed effects regression analysis showed that both speaker social class and linguistic factors (word structure and the checked/unchecked status of the prerhotic vowel) had significant effects on tongue gesture timing and formant values. This study provides further evidence that gesture delay can be a phonetic mechanism for coda rhotic weakening and apparent loss, but social class emerges as the dominant factor driving lingual gesture timing variation

High frequency electromagnetic links for wireless power transfer

This thesis investigates inductive links used in wireless power transfer systems. Inductive power transfer can be used as a power delivery method for a variety of portable devices, from medical implants to electric vehicles and is gaining increased interest. The focus is on high quality factor coils and MHz operation, where accurate measurements are difficult to achieve. Fast models of all pertinent aspects of inductive power transfer systems for constant cross section coils are developed. These models are used to optimise a new coil winding pattern that aims to increase efficiency in volume constrained scenarios. Measurement systems are developed to measure coil Q factors in excess of 1,000. The prototype measurement systems are verified against models of that system, as well as finite element simulations of the coil under test. Shielding of inductive power transfer systems is then investigated. A structure typically used at GHz frequencies, the artificial magnetic conductor, is miniaturised as an alternative to conventional ferrite backed ground plane shielding. Finite element simulation shows this structure significantly improves link efficiency. The artificial magnetic conductor prototype does not result in a gain in efficiency expected, however it does display the properties expected of an artificial magnetic conductor, including increased coupling factor. Finally, an unconventional inductive power transfer system is presented where transmitter and receiver are up to 6m away from each other and of radically different size. This system provides mW level power to remote devices in a room, for example thermostats or e-ink displays. Conventional approaches to design do not consider the distortion of the magnetic field caused by metallic objects in the room. It was found that treating the system as a decoupled receiver and transmitter provides a better prediction of received power in real world environments.Open Acces

The palace at Revere and the earlier architectural patronage of Lodovico Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (1444-78)

After a brief introduction providing some general information about Lodovico Gonzaga and the reasons for the palace's interest to the student, Chapter II discusses the location of Revere in the territory and gives an account of works done there in the 1370s. The third chapter continues consideration of how older remains conditioned the form of the work of the 1450s. Here, planning is of primary interest and the courtyard is discussed at length. It is suggested that its present layout differs from another proposed earlier using some of the same materials. The traditional attribution of design work to Luca Fancelli is disputed. As elsewhere in the palace, two styles meet in the courtyard. This stylistic discontinuity persisted through the history of construction of the palace. Chapter IV deals with the application of stone-carved all'antica detail to the building, and Lodovico's understanding of the classicizing Tuscan style in the 1450s is discussed. The general order in which walls were built, interior spaces were enclosed and the building grew is the subject of Chapter V. Discussion of the functions of the palace leads to the question of typological identifications of the building as castle, town house and country house. The next chapter seeks to consider contemporary and near-contemporary buildings in Mantua and the t erritory. The influence of the palace is discussed. The size of the Mantuan building trade and the many projects of Lodovico Gonzaga are also indicated in Chapter VI. Among the rewards of Lodovico's work at Revere were the praises of the building bycontemporaries. These are discussed in Chapter VII. Lodovico is also considered, as a patron of architecture: how he used the visual arts as a means of political expression; how he was constrained to occupy the role of patron; and how it served as an exercise of princely erudition. In a real sense, Lodovico created many of his buildings. A conclusion follows

Canada as Churkendoose: A Response to Paul Kellogg, Escape from the Staple Trap

This response is based on a presentation as part of a panel on Paul Kellogg's Escape from the Staples Trap at the annual meeting of the Society for Socialist Studies. The responder welcomes Kellogg's diligent use of statistics and argumentation in critiquing the left-nationalist tradition, including its emphasis on staples (raw-material exports) as central to Canada as a "rich dependency" and false comparisons with countries of the Global South.  It also suggests a possible one-sided over-emphasis on Canada's membership in top-tier advanced industrialized societies, and questions the general emphasis on categorization at the expense of a more humanistic multi-sidedness, or of an acceptance of ironic or paradoxical categorizations.  Some features of Kellogg's positive case about Canada, including "extractivism", need to be more clearly distinguished from the approaches he rejects. Finally, the categorical rejection of the possibility of a sound left-nationalism may need to be explained or qualified