7,866 research outputs found
Less is more : completing narratives in miniature fiction
This essay examines how readers interpret and interact with miniature fiction by completing the narratives in these extremely short stories. This is not to suggest that more traditional short stories have always provided complete narratives, but what we have found with miniature fiction is that the reader is more often required to complete the narrative in order for the story to make sense. At the same time, this inferencing process makes readers respond to these stories as they would to texts belonging to other genres.
Specifically, we will consider the following pieces of writing: an untitled 6-word story by Graham Swift, âThe Kids Are Alrightâ (148 words) by David Gaffney, âWaterâ (186 words) by Fred Leebron, and âSparklesâ (175 words) by Louise Yeiser. We have chosen these texts because in our opinion each provides a striking illustration of what âshort shortsâ require of the reader in order for them to make sense. It could be argued that each text demands more of its readers than the previous; hence the order of our discussion is incremental in terms of the complexity of the texts in question. Common to all four texts are the following:
⢠Inferences made to comprehend the narrative
⢠Inferences employed from known social narratives
⢠Inferences of the types used in reading texts from other genres.
Within this general examination of inferences, factors specific to each text will also be analysed
On the Torus Degeneration of the Genus Two Partition Function
We consider the partition function of a general vertex operator algebra
on a genus two Riemann surface formed by sewing together two tori. We consider
the non-trivial degeneration limit where one torus is pinched down to a Riemann
sphere and show that the genus one partition function on the degenerate torus
is recovered up to an explicit universal -independent multiplicative factor
raised to the power of the central charge.Comment: 18 page
Chandra astrometry sets a tight upper limit to the proper motion of SGR 1900+14
The soft gamma-ray repeater (SGR) SGR 1900+14 lies a few arcminutes outside
the edge of the shell supernova remnant (SNR) G42.8+0.6. A physical association
between the two systems has been proposed - for this and other SGR-SNR pairs -
based on the expectation of high space velocities for SGRs in the framework of
the magnetar model. The large angular separation between the SGR and the SNR
center, coupled with the young age of the system, suggest a test of the
association with a proper motion measurement. We used a set of three
Chandra/ACIS observations of the field spanning 5 years to perform accurate
relative astrometry in order to measure the possible angular displacement of
the SGR as a function of time. Our investigation sets a 3-sigma upper limit of
70 mas/yr to the overall proper motion of the SGR. Such a value argues against
an association of SGR 1900+14 with G42.8+0.6 and adds further support to the
mounting evidence for an origin of the SGR within a nearby, compact cluster of
massive stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. 4 pages in
emulate-apj styl
The Formation of a Bound Star Cluster: From the Orion Nebula Cluster to the Pleiades
(shortened) Direct N-body calculations are presented of the formation of
Galactic clusters using GasEx, which is a variant of the code Nbody6. The
calculations focus on the possible evolution of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC)
by assuming that the embedded OB stars explosively drove out 2/3 of its mass in
the form of gas about 0.4 Myr ago. A bound cluster forms readily and survives
for 150 Myr despite additional mass loss from the large number of massive
stars, and the Galactic tidal field. This is the very first time that cluster
formation is obtained under such realistic conditions. The cluster contains
about 1/3 of the initial 10^4 stars, and resembles the Pleiades Cluster to a
remarkable degree, implying that an ONC-like cluster may have been a precursor
of the Pleiades. This scenario predicts the present expansion velocity of the
ONC, which will be measurable by upcoming astrometric space missions (DIVA and
GAIA). These missions should also detect the original Pleiades members as an
associated expanding young Galactic-field sub-population. The results arrived
at here suggest that Galactic clusters form as the nuclei of expanding OB
associations.Comment: MNRAS, in press, 36 pages, 15 figures; repl.vers. contains
adjustments for consistency with published versio
THE POTENTIAL FOR MARKETING PORK PRODUCTS WITH EMBEDDED ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES: RESULTS FROM AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
Environmental issues such as air and water quality related to livestock production currently receive much attention. Potential methods for environmental improvement range from regulation to market solutions. This study looks at consumer willingness to pay for pork products with embedded environmental attributes. Experimental auctions showed that over one-half of the participants (62%) paid a premium, that did not vary significantly between differing regions of the United States.Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, Q13, Q25,
A Regional and Industry Analysis of the Complexity of the Regulatory Environment Affecting Agricultural Producers in California
This paper provides results from a producers survey that enquired about the complexity of the regulatory environment in California. The primary objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between the complexity of the regulatory environment, agricultural industries in California, and different regions in California. This objective is achieved by taking information gathered from a producers survey and applying an ordered logit econometric model using complexity of the regulatory environment as the dependent variable. A secondary objective of this study is to develop a motivation why the complexity of the regulatory environment is important issue to consider. To achieve this goal, the perception of the complexity of the regulatory environment will be examined with potential management options that producers can take including increasing and decreasing their size of operation, leaving agricultural production, and moving out of the state.Agricultural and Food Policy,
An Examination of Additively Separable Willingness-To-Pay for Environmental Attributes: Evidence from a Pork Experiment
This paper examines what is the best method for pork producers to market pork products with environmental attributes. The objective is to examine evidence of whether it is beneficial for pork producers to incorporate multiple environmental attributes into a single product or sell multiple products with a single environmental attribute.Environmental Economics and Policy,
An Estimation of the Regulatory Cost on California Agricultural Producers
This paper develops an estimation of the cost of regulations on California agricultural producers which can be used as a baseline for comparing regulatory environments. The estimated regulatory cost in relationship to operating costs for producers is between 2.21 billion. The range on percentage of income allocated to regulatory cost is between 5.24% and 9.19%.Environmental Economics and Policy,
INTERPRETING BIDS FROM A VICKREY AUCTION WHEN THERE ARE PUBLIC GOOD ATTRIBUTES
This paper provides a model that allows for interpreting bids in a Vickrey auction when the good has public good attributes. It also examines information obtained from a Vickrey auction, which collected consumer's willingness-to-pay for pork products that had embedded environmental attributes, and applies the new interpretation to the bids.Consumer/Household Economics,
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