4,410 research outputs found

    The Lives of the Other(s): The Instability of Foreignness in Deutschland 83

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    Set in Germany at a hot moment in the Cold War, with the Able Archer exercises and downing of Korean Airlines Flight 007 etched in sharp relief, Deutschland 83 is an entertaining spy drama—and considerably more. The critical viewer will find surprises in the first Germanophone series on American television. The hero is an East German spy who goes undercover on a West German military base, and his crossings over the iconic border are not the only traversals as he forms relationships and acculturates to a “foreign” land. Deutschland 83 performs a neat trick: while the series powerfully reconstructs a world starkly split between West and East, it simultaneously challenges this separation, as well as divisions between domestic and foreign, capitalist and communist, hero and villain, and family and outsider. Through the interweaving of actual media coverage of the historic events of 1983 with the fictional plot, the television narrative also chips away at the difference between reality and fiction. This paper will draw on Milica Bakić-Hayden’s theory of “nesting orientalisms” and the work of Anikó Imre and others to explore how this popular drama, among some enjoyable thrills and testosterone, deserves scholarly scrutiny. As it undercuts a clear Other and destabilizes foreignness, this German drama could be a valuable lesson in an increasingly nativist world

    Development and characterisation of holmium and erbium lasers for the ablation of biological tissue

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    The development of pulsed laser systems operating in the infrared at 2.1 µm and 2.94µm, based on Cr:Tm:Ho:YAG and Er:YAG laser crystals, and the ability of these lasers to ablate biological tissue is reported. Thermal lensing in the laser crystals has been investigated and found to be the main factor restricting the operating ranges of these lasers. Additionally, increases in the threshold of holmium lasers due to thermal population of the lower laser level increases the amount of heat dissipated in the crystal lattice, leading to increased thermal lensing. Thus, the divergence properties of resonators containing these crystals depends, additionally, on the operating temperature. Modelling of the divergence behaviour of resonators based around Cr:Tm:Ho:YAG and Er:YAG laser crystals in simple resonator geometries is demonstrated using computer based ray tracing algorithms. The temporal behaviour of these lasers has been experimentally assessed and compared to a 'rectangular pump pulse' theory. Using this theory it is possible to predict the delay between the start of the excitation pulse and the start of the laser pulse but not the duration of the output pulse. The reasons for this are discussed. Pulses of 2.94µm radiation ablate soft tissue more efficiently than similar pulses of 2.1µm. Mass loss due to laser radiation is shown to be linear with dose for the 2.1µm radiation. However, at 2.94µm mass removal is impeded at high doses by the extension of a charred zone into the ablation crater. Operation at high fluences is required to overcome this problem. However, there is an increase in mechanical damage to surrounding tissue and a change in crater shape at fluences greater than 0.085 J mm-2 coinciding with a significant impulse being imparted to the tissue. The maximum mass loss per unit of delivered energy at 2.1µm and 2.94µm are approximately 48% and 60% of that expected for ablation of a pure water target. Routes for the energy loss are discussed. The energy lost in the form of kinetic energy is determined experimentally to be less than 1% of the total energy delivered. A linear model was found to best described the ablation performance at both wavelengths. The implications of these findings are discussed

    Existential isolation...Press play to escape

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    While consumer research has frequently visited the fantastical search for escape from everyday life, this story (part autoethnographic, part fiction – all the characters and incidents are the author’s creation) documents a solo consumer’s spirited desire to escape from beyond what quotidian life affords, and society’s sometimes unwelcome gaze, in a more sombre and hermit form than has previously been explored. The story plays on immersion, narrative transportation, and parasocial imaginings around a prolonged binge-watch marathon and coping with the existential isolation, a resource in constant need of replenishment

    Effects of Five Different Intensities of Stand Establishment on Wildlife Habitat Quality and Tree Growth in Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda) Plantations in Southern Mississippi

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    I evaluated effects of 5 intensive pine plantation establishment regimes during years 1 – 5 post-establishment on vegetation communities, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) growth, nutritional carrying capacity for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), habitat values for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), and projected financial viability in the Lower Coastal Plain of Mississippi. Treatments were combinations of mechanical site preparation (MSP), chemical site preparation (CSP), and herbaceous weed control (HWC) designed to reflect the range of operational intensities on industrial forest lands in the southeastern U.S. Results should inform plantation management decisions throughout the region. Pine growth increased with greater treatment intensity. At age 5, trees in the most intensively managed treatment were 1.5 m taller than those in the least intensive treatment. Mechanical site preparation improved growth by alleviating soil physical problems. Growth and yield projections indicated that increased fiber yield may not justify investment in more intensive regimes; financial analysis favored the least expensive treatment, though all regimes produced potential internal rates of return \u3e 9% when managed to financial maturity. Use of MSP with banded HWC yielded abundant low-quality deer forage sufficient for body maintenance; nutritional needs for lactating does were better served by CSP with banded HWC. Broadcast HWC reduced biomass of high-quality forbs. In this region of limited soil nutrients and abundant low-quality forages, the optimal combination of maintenance-level and lactation-level nutrition was provided by CSP or CSP and MSP combined with banded HWC. I evaluated vegetation communities for nesting, loafing, brood-rearing, and fall and winter food suitability for northern bobwhite. No treatment provided brood-rearing habitat due to combined lack of bare ground and forb coverage. Fall and winter feeding, nesting, and loafing cover were best produced by MSP and CSP combined with banded HWC. However, lack of brood-rearing cover may reduce or eliminate usable space in all treatments. Differences between vegetation communities were caused by use of CSP, which eliminated many residual woody and vine species, and by differences in broadcast versus banded HWC. Herbicide use decreased plant diversity and species richness, and impacted successional trajectory. Community differences persisted through year 5

    C. High-School-College Co-Operation in Determining Mathematics Requirements

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    Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66645/2/10.1177_019263655403820307.pd

    Effects of Five Different Intensities of Stand Establishment on Wildlife Habitat Quality and Tree Growth in Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda) Plantations in Southern Mississippi

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    I evaluated effects of 5 intensive pine plantation establishment regimes during years 1 – 5 post-establishment on vegetation communities, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) growth, nutritional carrying capacity for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), habitat values for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), and projected financial viability in the Lower Coastal Plain of Mississippi. Treatments were combinations of mechanical site preparation (MSP), chemical site preparation (CSP), and herbaceous weed control (HWC) designed to reflect the range of operational intensities on industrial forest lands in the southeastern U.S. Results should inform plantation management decisions throughout the region. Pine growth increased with greater treatment intensity. At age 5, trees in the most intensively managed treatment were 1.5 m taller than those in the least intensive treatment. Mechanical site preparation improved growth by alleviating soil physical problems. Growth and yield projections indicated that increased fiber yield may not justify investment in more intensive regimes; financial analysis favored the least expensive treatment, though all regimes produced potential internal rates of return \u3e 9% when managed to financial maturity. Use of MSP with banded HWC yielded abundant low-quality deer forage sufficient for body maintenance; nutritional needs for lactating does were better served by CSP with banded HWC. Broadcast HWC reduced biomass of high-quality forbs. In this region of limited soil nutrients and abundant low-quality forages, the optimal combination of maintenance-level and lactation-level nutrition was provided by CSP or CSP and MSP combined with banded HWC. I evaluated vegetation communities for nesting, loafing, brood-rearing, and fall and winter food suitability for northern bobwhite. No treatment provided brood-rearing habitat due to combined lack of bare ground and forb coverage. Fall and winter feeding, nesting, and loafing cover were best produced by MSP and CSP combined with banded HWC. However, lack of brood-rearing cover may reduce or eliminate usable space in all treatments. Differences between vegetation communities were caused by use of CSP, which eliminated many residual woody and vine species, and by differences in broadcast versus banded HWC. Herbicide use decreased plant diversity and species richness, and impacted successional trajectory. Community differences persisted through year 5

    Cooperative area surveillance strategies using multiple unmanned systems

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    Recently, the U.S. Department of Defense placed the technological development of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) tools at the top of its priority list. Area surveillance that takes place in an urban setting is an ISR tool of special interest. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are ideal candidates to perform area surveillance because they are inexpensive and they do not require a human pilot to be aboard. Multiple unmanned systems increase the rate of information flow from the target region and maintain up to date information. The purpose of the research described in this dissertation is to develop and test a system that coordinates multiple UAVs on a wide area coverage surveillance mission. The research presented in this document implements a waypoint generator for multiple aerial vehicles that is especially suited for large area surveillance. The system chooses initial locations for the vehicles and generates a set of balanced sub-trees which cover the region of interest (ROI) for the vehicles. The sub-trees are then optimally combined to form a single minimal tree that spans the entire region. The system transforms the tree path into a series of waypoints suitable for the aerial vehicles. The output of the system is a set of waypoints for each vehicle assigned to the coverage task. Results from computer simulation and flight testing are presented.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Dr. George Vachtsevanos; Committee Member: Ayanna Howard; Committee Member: Dr. Thomas Michaels; Committee Member: Eric Johnson; Committee Member: Linda Will
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