Performing gender in the studio and postmodern musical

This essay explores two distinct historical periods in the Hollywood musical through a Butlerian reading of gender as a performance.  The two example films from the studio era, Howard Hawks’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and the restored version of George Cukor’s A Star is Born (1954), are contextualised not only within the studio system but through the constructed star personae of their leads—Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland.  Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Rob Marshall’s Chicago (2002), the two example films from the twenty first century, are contextualised within a Jamesonian post-modern aesthetic and as examples of the non-studio, non-star filmic text  as act of nostalgia.  In contrasting these historical periods, the essay posits that the studio musical was, in fact, always already “post-modern” in its fragmentation of narrative in favour of the star performance, which constructs the gendered persona of the star.  In addition, it is suggested that the sub-textual subversion of traditional female roles within the studio star performance is in many ways more effectively critical of gender conventions than the intentionally parodic aesthetics of Luhrmann and Marshall

On the binding energies of antihydrogen formed by the interactions of antiprotons in cold positron plasmas

The binding energies of antihydrogen atoms formed when antiprotons are mixed with positron plasmas having densities ranging from 1013–1015 m−3, and at temperatures of 5–30 K, have been investigated using simulations. Major changes in the distribution of binding energies are observed, with more strongly bound states evident at the higher densities, and at lower temperatures. For deeper binding, the distribution of binding energies follows a power-law which is found to be strongly dependent upon plasma properties and the strength of the applied magnetic field. The underpinning role of collisions in determining the binding energies is explored

Antiproton collisions with excited positronium

We present results of calculations of several processes resulting from positronium (Ps) collisions with antiprotons: antihydrogen formation, Ps breakup, and nPs-changing collisions. Calculations utilize the quantum convergent close-coupling (CCC) method and the classical trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) method. We identify a region of Ps principal quantum numbers nPs and Ps energies where the classical description is valid and where the CCC calculations become computationally too expensive. This allows us to present the most complete and reliable set of cross sections in a broad range of nPs and initial orbital momentum quantum numbers lPs which are necessary for experiments with antihydrogen at CERN

Falsifying safety properties through games on over-approximating models\r\n

AbstractAbstractions of programs are traditionally over-approximations and have proved to be useful for the verification of safety properties. They are presently perceived as being useless for the falsification of safety properties, i.e. showing that program execution definitely reaches a “bad” state. Alternative techniques, such as the computation of under-approximating must transitions, have addressed this shortcoming in the past. We show that over-approximating models can indeed falsify safety properties by relying on and exploiting the seriality and partial determinism of programs: programs don't just stop for no reason, and most program statements have deterministic semantics. Our method is based on solving a two-person attractor game derived from over-approximating models and makes no assumptions about the abstraction domain used. An example demonstrates the successful use of our approach, and highlights the role played by seriality and our handling of nondeterminism. Finally, we show that our method can encode must transitions, if supplied, by a simple modification of the ownership of nodes in the attractor game derived from the over-approximating model

Ultrasonic Evaluation of Artificial Kissing Bonds in CFRP Composites

The primary aim of this paper is to create artificial inter-laminar kissing bond-like defects in CFRP panels for ultrasonic inspection. Carbon fibre reinforced polymer structures pose a unique problem, as unlike metal-tometal bonds (single bond line) carbon fibre reinforced polymer composites have multiple bond lines (between each laminate layer and between the individual carbon fibre bundles). This increases the number of locations for kissing bonds and other defects to lie. Published works look at bonding defects in joints (lap joints, and solidsolid bonding). This paper looks at inter-laminar bonding. A number of samples are created and attempts are then made to detect these kissing bonds using ultrasonic techniques. Further investigation into contaminants for artificial defect creation is advised and destructive verification of the kissing bond samples is still required