Reverse and dual Loomis-Whitney-type inequalities

Various results are proved giving lower bounds for the $m$th intrinsic volume $V_m(K)$, $m=1,\dots,n-1$, of a compact convex set $K$ in ${\mathbb{R}}^n$, in terms of the $m$th intrinsic volumes of its projections on the coordinate hyperplanes (or its intersections with the coordinate hyperplanes). The bounds are sharp when $m=1$ and $m=n-1$. These are reverse (or dual, respectively) forms of the Loomis-Whitney inequality and versions of it that apply to intrinsic volumes. For the intrinsic volume $V_1(K)$, which corresponds to mean width, the inequality obtained confirms a conjecture of Betke and McMullen made in 1983

S/M, Splatter, and Body Modifications in the early Clive Barker. Birth of a Political Aesthetic

This paper deals with three components of the aesthetic framework elaborated by author, artist, and filmmaker Clive Barker in his first works during the first half of the 1980s, with a particular focus on the fictional creatures known as Cenobites featured in the novella The Hellbound Heart (1986): the references to S/M visuals and culture, the taste for gore/splatter and the aspect related to (self)induced body modifications. In the first part, these three elements will be discussed, and their origins tracked down in Barker’s biographical background and artistic career. In the final part I will try to contextualize this composite aesthetics in its historical setting to show how its elements combined to outline a coherent worldview, different and subversive with respect to the one imposed by the then hegemonic and heteronormative narrative, and how they became one of the main grounds for political criticism and contestation in the ultraconservative United Kingdom during the Thatcher era

Belief in YHWH as Identity Marker in Pre-exilic Israel: An Identity-Oriented Reading of Deuteronomy 13

This article outlines an identity-oriented reading of the so-called “apostasy series” (Deut 13) to explore the modes of articulation and construction of collective identity in pre-exilic Israel. Heuristically, the article integrates assumptions of the social constructionist approach and some points of Jan Assmann’s model of “secondary religion”. The reading of Deut 13 in this article highlights, on the one hand, how religious belief functions as a marker of collective identity in Deut 13, and on the other, how identity construction depends on inner social articulations within Israel rather than on subversive political or theological claims against the Assyrian power. Ultimately, Deut 13 frames the shaping of a self-articulation within Israel, which may be expressed as follows: belief in YHWH as an identity marker allows the Israelite community to distance itself from one of its parts to define what Israel is and what it is not. The real tension felt in the passage is between a plural community and a collective that attempts to standardise plurality to define itself, that is, a tension between a real Israel and an ideal Israel, between the layers of historical reality and the normative abstractions that attempt to control them

Intersections of Dilatates of Convex Bodies

We initiate a systematic investigation into the nature of the function ∝K(L,ρ) that gives the volume of the intersection of one convex body K in Rn and a dilatate ρL of another convex body L in Rn, as well as the function ηK(L, ρ) that gives the (n - 1)-dimensional Hausdorff measure of the intersection of K and the boundary ∂(ρ L) of ρL. The focus is on the concavity properties of αK (L, ρ). Of particular interest is the case when K and L are symmetric with respect to the origin. In this situation, there is an interesting change in the concavity properties of αK (L, ρ) between dimension 2 and dimensions 3 or higher. When L is the unit ball, an important special case with connections to E. Lutwak\u27s dual Brunn-Minkowski theory, we prove that this change occurs between dimension 2 and dimensions 4 or higher, and conjecture that it occurs between dimension 3 and dimension 4. We also establish an isoperimetric inequality with equality condition for subsets of equatorial zones in the sphere S2, and apply this and the Brunn-Minkowski inequality in the sphere to obtain results related to this conjecture, as well as to the properties of a new type of symmetral of a convex body, which we call the equatorial symmetral

<Melek over all the earth> The roots of Israelite monotheism as a reflection of the idea of divine kingship in pre-exilic times

Questa tesi è un contributo al dibattito meta-terminologico sull'uso scientifico del termine "monoteismo" in relazione alla religione dell'Israele antico. L'attenzione è rivolta principalmente a un tema specifico: l'esplorazione della nozione teistica di "esistenza" divina (implicita nell'uso di "monoteismo" come lente di osservazione) e il problema della sua applicazione alle concettualizzazioni della divinità che emergono nella Bibbia ebraica. In primo luogo, il "monoteismo" come termine e concetto viene ricondotto alle sue origini storiche nell'ambiente intellettuale del platonismo di Cambridge nell'Inghilterra del XVII secolo. Poi, si affronta il dibattito contemporaneo sull'uso del termine "monoteismo" in relazione alla religione dell'Israele antico e si evidenzia il ruolo dell'"esistenza" teistica come lente distorcente nella lettura dei testi biblici. La maggior parte della tesi sostiene questo assunto con una lettura esegetica dettagliata di tre passi biblici scelti come casi di studio: Sal 82; 1Re 18,20-40* e Zc 14,9. Queste analisi mostrano come la nozione teistica di un'esistenza divina astratta non sia in grado di spiegare la rappresentazione del divino che emerge da questi testi. Allo stesso tempo, il potere divino come categoria euristica viene proposto come un'alternativa più adatta a spiegare queste concettualizzazioni della divinità. L'ultima sezione elabora ulteriormente questi risultati. Qui la regalità di YHWH, come immagine metaforica del suo potere, viene utilizzata per descrivere i cambiamenti nella concettualizzazione di questa divinità. L'argomentazione finale è che in nessuna parte del materiale biblico affrontato in questa tesi si trova una nozione simile a quella di esistenza divina astratta. Poiché tale nozione è implicita nell'uso del termine "monoteismo", questi risultati richiedono una considerazione ancora più attenta del suo uso nel dibattito scientifico.This dissertation is a contribution to the meta-terminological debate about the scholarly use of the term “monotheism” in relation to ancient Israelite religion. Its primary focus is narrowed on a specific topic: the exploration of the theistic notion of divine “existence” (embedded in the use of “monotheism” as a reading lens) and the problem of its application to conceptualizations of divinity that stem from the Hebrew Bible. First, “monotheism” as a term and a concept is traced down to its historical origins in the intellectual environment of Cambridge Platonism in 17th-century England. Then, the contemporary debate about the use of the term “monotheism” in relation to ancient Israelite religion will be addressed, and the role of theistic “existence” as a distorting lens to read biblical data highlighted. The bulk of the dissertation substantiates this assumption with a detailed exegetical reading of three biblical passages selected as case-studies: Ps 82; 1 Kings 18:20-40* and Zech 14:9. These examinations show how the theistic notion of an abstract divine existence falls short in elucidating the representation of divinity displayed in these texts. At the same time, divine power as a heuristic category is proposed as a more fitting alternative to account for such conceptualizations of divinity. The last section further elaborates these results. Here YHWH’s kingship, as a metaphorical image of his power, is used to describe changes in the conceptualization of this god and his relations with other deities. The final argument is made that nowhere in the source material of the Hebrew Bible addressed in this dissertation a notion similar to that of abstract divine existence is found. Since such a notion is implied in the use of the term “monotheism”, these results call for an even more careful consideration of its use in scholarly discourse

Caratterizzazione tassonomica e funzionale della fauna ittica nel Lago Maggiore con particolare riferimento alla competizione per le risorse alimentari e alle specie alloctone invasive di recente comaparsa

Not availableRicerche sull\u27evoluzione del Lago Maggiore. Aspetti limnologici. Programma triennale 2013-2015. Campagna 2014. Caratterizzazione tassonomica e funzionale della fauna ittica nel Lago Maggiore con particolare riferimento alla competizione per le risorse alimentari e alle specie alloctone invasive di recente comaparsa. Composizione della comunit? ittica del Lago Maggiore: abbondanze assolute e relative; distribuzione verticale; caratterizzazione della comunit? ittica. Sovrapposizione nella nicchia trofica

Caratterizzazione tassonomica e funzionale della comunit? ittica nel Lago Maggiore con particolare riferimento alle specie alloctone invasive di recente comparsa e alla sovrapposizione della nicchia trofica

Not availableRicerche sull\u27evoluzione del Lago Maggiore. Aspetti limnologici. Programma triennale 2013-2015. Campagna 2013. Caratterizzazione tassonomica e funzionale della comunit? ittica nel Lago Maggiore con particolare riferimento alle specie alloctone invasive di recente comparsa e alla sovrapposizione della nicchia trofica. Premessa. Composizione della comunit? ittica del Lago Maggiore: abbondanze assolute e relative; distribuzione verticale; caratterizzazione della comunit? ittica: considerazione conclusive. Sovrapposizione nella nicchia trofica