THE IMPASSE OF LIBERAL (IN)EQUALITY: MATERIALISING EGALITARIAN POLITICS THROUGH COLLECTIVE FIDELITY

This thesis is concerned with ways in which equality may be materialised through politics. It engages with various strands of literature that have had a profound impact on theoretical considerations of egalitarian politics. The thesis begins by mapping various branches of liberal egalitarianism that all set equality as a political objective. In attempting to substantiate equality through the liberal democratic nexus, these thinkers often construct their egalitarian models alongside liberal values such as individual liberty, autonomy, human rights, and market exchange. These approaches fall short of reconciling their egalitarian ambitions with the inegalitarian tendencies of market exchange, reducing equality to a question of inequalities in the process. Whereas contemporary neoliberal subjects embody the complete marketisation and individualisation of the liberal ideal of autonomy, hence foreclosing its egalitarian potential into purely heteronomous conducts, Jacques Rancière and Alain Badiou provide a way out of the impasse of liberal (in)equality. They do so by reconceptualising equality as a starting point rather than an objective of politics. Framed as such, egalitarian politics becomes a fully emancipatory project depending on the work of a subject for its realisation. Although Rancière’s egalitarianism is boundless, his account of subjectivation is politically limiting. Conversely, Badiou offers a methodical account of the process of ‘becoming subject’ rooted in his notions of ‘event’, ‘truth’, and ‘fidelity’. Focusing specifically on the latter, the last part of this thesis will theorise the notion of faith as a process for the materialisation of egalitarian politics. Against Badiou, political fidelity will be conceptualised as a subjective as well as an objective procedure. The object of political fidelity is the actual constitution of a collective. To the extent that theoretical subjects and truths play a crucial role in enacting egalitarian politics, existing bodies also actively participate in its material elaboration through a distinctive perspective provided by the horizontality of the existing ground, and their capacity to relate as equal through economic production, distribution, and exchange

Combined convective and infrared drying of a capillary porous body

This research has resulted in the design and development of an experimental facility to study the combined convective infrared (I.R.) drying process of a capillary porous material (glass beads) in high temperature flow conditions.The necessity to decrease the heat transfer coefficient for the effect of high mass transfer flux (when convection is combined with I.R. heating) has been demonstrated. Further, the analogy between the transfer of heat and mass expressed in terms of average heat and mass transfer coefficient ratios has been verified to apply when the surface is not contaminated. Experiments have also showed that there is a link between the evaporation temperature and crust formation at the evaporating surface. Moreover, an increase in the heat transfer coefficient was observed when the surface reaches the boiling point and is higher than that of the flowing air. Lastly, it was observed that the critical moisture content is independent of the convective drying parameters, sample thickness and the overall incident heat flux.A drying front model is also presented and tested with the experimental results in convection drying and for the combined process. The drying time, the bottom temperature evolution, the surface temperature evolution up to the critical point and the overall shape of the drying rate curve were well reproduced by the model. Simulations have also showed that the effect of the diffusion mass flux on the heat and mass transfer coefficients leads to a decrease of the evaporation rate by a maximum of 8% for both the purely convective and combined processes

Etude des rubiacées tinctoriales, garance des teinturiers (Rubia peregrina (L.) S/E tinctorum)

On appelle Garance, l'espèce Rubia peregrina L.(garance voyageuse) et la sous-espèce Rubia tinctorum L. (Garance des teinturiers), plantes tinctoriales de la famille des Rubiacées. Rubia tinctorum L. était préférée en teinturerie. Ses racines renferment des colorants rouges, dérivés de l'anthraquinone. Le plus célèbre est l'alizarine. Une préparation méticuleuse permettait d'obtenir la poudre tinctoriale. En France, elle est utilisée jusqu'aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles. C'est une teinture de grand teint. Elle est re-introduite dans le sud aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles. En 1868, les chimistes synthétisent l'alizarine et la garance périclite. Les techniques de teintures sont extrêmement complexes, la présence d'un sel métallique le mordant, est indispensable. Pour ses propriétés médicinales, la garance était utilisée dans de très nombreuses indications dès l'antiquité, mais pratiquement plus de nos jours. C'est encore aujourd'hui un sujet de recherche.TOULOUSE3-BU Santé-Centrale (315552105) / SudocSudocFranceF