Of Harps and Vīṇās: Translating ‘Tone-Values’ in Tagore’s Songs

Rabindranath Tagore’s English translations of his Gitanjali secured him global influence and a Nobel Prize in 1913, but without effective acknowledgement of many of these poems’ prior musical existence, as songs. Subsequent retranslations have done little to correct this, and for historical reasons connected to the epochal transition from Romanticism to modernism around the First World War, translators have also tended to abandon the verse structure of the originals, “level down” the characteristically “high” diction of Tagore’s poetic idiom, and stick to a literal representation of individual images in the text. However, historical practices of translation from the early twentieth century, including those of Tagore himself, were much freer with literal meaning, aiming primarily to communicate a poem’s original emotional “effect” or aesthetic “essence” (rasa) – above all when a poem was to be sung in translation.  Drawing on my own translations of Tagore, this paper looks at the consequences of taking such an approach today

A statistical framework for joint eQTL analysis in multiple tissues

Mapping expression Quantitative Trait Loci (eQTLs) represents a powerful and widely-adopted approach to identifying putative regulatory variants and linking them to specific genes. Up to now eQTL studies have been conducted in a relatively narrow range of tissues or cell types. However, understanding the biology of organismal phenotypes will involve understanding regulation in multiple tissues, and ongoing studies are collecting eQTL data in dozens of cell types. Here we present a statistical framework for powerfully detecting eQTLs in multiple tissues or cell types (or, more generally, multiple subgroups). The framework explicitly models the potential for each eQTL to be active in some tissues and inactive in others. By modeling the sharing of active eQTLs among tissues this framework increases power to detect eQTLs that are present in more than one tissue compared with "tissue-by-tissue" analyses that examine each tissue separately. Conversely, by modeling the inactivity of eQTLs in some tissues, the framework allows the proportion of eQTLs shared across different tissues to be formally estimated as parameters of a model, addressing the difficulties of accounting for incomplete power when comparing overlaps of eQTLs identified by tissue-by-tissue analyses. Applying our framework to re-analyze data from transformed B cells, T cells and fibroblasts we find that it substantially increases power compared with tissue-by-tissue analysis, identifying 63% more genes with eQTLs (at FDR=0.05). Further the results suggest that, in contrast to previous analyses of the same data, the majority of eQTLs detectable in these data are shared among all three tissues.Comment: Summitted to PLoS Genetic

Recipient of the 2011 Alumni Distinguished Leadership Award

Dr. Matthew Pritchard ‘93 is a geophysicist who measures changes in the shape of the Earth and develops models of the myriad processes that cause these changes including: earthquakes, volcanoes, groundwater, landslides and glaciers. He is an associate professor in Earth and Atmospheric Science at Cornell University and a faculty fellow at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. Through research and teaching, Dr. Pritchard strives to answer some of today`s pressing societal questions about natural hazards and the degree to which humans are influencing glaciers and groundwater resources. His work has been published in many science journals and he was recently awarded the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) CAREER Award. This most prestigious NSF award is “in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.” He also is a recipient of the NASA New Investigator Program Award given to “develop a broader sense of responsibility for effectively contributing to the improvement of science education and the public science literacy.” Dr. Pritchard received a B.A. degree in Physics from the University of Chicago and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Geophysics from Caltech

A seismological study of the mantle beneath Iceland

Iceland has long been thought to be underlain by a thermal upwelling, or plume, rising from deep within the mantle. This study tests this hypothesis, by a) seeking evidence for a plume in the lower mantle in azimuth anomalies at the NORSAR array and b) mapping the three-dimensional structure of the mantle beneath Iceland using teleseismic tomography and data from an Iceland-wide broadband seismometer network. A temporary network of 30 digital broadband, three-component seismographs was deployed 1996-1998 to complement the existing, permanent seismic network on Iceland. This created a dense, well-distributed network. 3159 P-wave and 1338 S-wave arrival times were measured and inverted for velocity structure using the ACH method of teleseismic tomography. The preferred models are well-resolved down to -400 km, and reveal a low-velocity body with anomaly up to -2.9% in V(_p)) and -4.9% in V(_s) beneath central Iceland. This persists throughout the entire model depth range. The amplitudes of the anomalies imply an excess temperature of 200-300 K relative to the surrounding mantle. The morphology of the anomaly changes from cylindrical to tabular at 250-300 km depth, a feature that resolution tests suggest is real. This is consistent with the predictions of some convection models and suggests that the plume is restricted to the upper mantle. Anomalies in v(_p) and v(_s) provide evidence for lateral flow of material beneath the Reykjanes Ridge to the southeast in the depth range 50-200 km. Similar anomalies are present beneath the Kolbeinsey Ridge to the north only beneath 160 km. This shows that flow outwards beneath the Kolbeinsey Ridge is blocked by the Tjörnes Fracture Zone above 160 km. Azimuthal anomalies detected on the NORSAR array for rays travelling beneath Iceland at 1,500 km depth are consistent with a plume beneath Iceland at this lower-mantle depth with a Gaussian radius of 125 km and a strength of 1.5%. The observations do not serve as proof for such an anomaly because the solution is not unique. V(_p)/V(_s) ratios are 1% high throughout most of the plume, and up to 3.2% high at depths of 100-300 km beneath central and east-central Iceland. This suggests that up to a few percent of melt pervades the entire plume

Manipulation of ultracold atoms using magnetic and optical fields

The loading and guiding of a launched cloud of cold atoms with the optical dipole force are theoretically and numerically modelled. A far-off resonance trap can be realised using a high power Gaussian mode laser, red-detuned with respect to the principal atomic resonance (Rb 5s-5p). The optimum strategy for loading typically 30% of the atoms from a Magneto optical trap and guiding them vertically through 22 cm is discussed. During the transport the radial size of the cloud is confined to a few hundred microns, whereas the unconfined axial size grows to be approximately 1 cm. It is proposed that the cloud can be focused in three dimensions at the apex of the motion by using a single magnetic impulse to achieve axial focusing. A theoretical study of six current-carrying coil and bar arrangements that generate magnetic lenses is made. An investigation of focusing aberrations show that, for typical experimental parameters, the widely used assumption of a purely harmonic lens is often inaccurate. A new focusing regime is discussed: isotropic 3D focusing of atoms with a single magnetic lens. The baseball lens offers the best possibility for isotropically focusing a cloud of weak-field-seeking atoms in 3D.A pair of magnetic lens pulses can also be used to create a 3D focus (the alternate-gradient method). The two possible pulse sequences are discussed and it is found that they are ideal for loading both 'pancake' and 'sausage’ shaped magnetic/optical microtraps. It is shown that focusing aberrations are considerably smaller for double-impulse magnetic lenses compared to single- impulse magnetic lenses. The thesis concludes by describing the steps taken towards creating a 3D quasi- electrostatic lattice for 85Ilb， using a CՕշ laser. The resulting lattice of trapped atoms will have a low decoherence, and with resolvable lattice sites, it therefore provides a useful system to implement quantum information processing

Translation Impossible: : The Ethics, Politics and Pragmatics of Radical Translation in South Asian Literatures

Since the growth of translation studies, translators and literary scholars have increasingly come to acknowledge the intense ethical and political, as well as practical, issues involved in preparing, producing and circulating translations of literature

The Importance of the Inelastic and Elastic Structures of the Crust in Constraining Glacial Density, Mass Change, and Isostatic Adjustment From Geodetic Observations in Southeast Alaska

Elastic deformation of the solid Earth in response to ice mass loss offers a promising constraint on the density of glacial material lost. Further, the elastic response to modern deglaciation is important to constrain for studies of glacial isostatic adjustment to determine the mantle’s structure and rheology. Models of this elastic uplift are commonly based on the 1‐D, seismically derived global average Preliminary Reference Earth Model and typically neglect uncertainties that can arise from regional differences in elastic structure from that of the global average, lateral heterogeneities within the region, and inelastic behavior of the crust. We quantify these uncertainties using an ensemble of 1‐D local elastic structure models and empirical relations for the effects of inelasticity in the upper ∼10 km of the crust. In Southeast Alaska, modeling elastic uplift rates with local elastic structures results in up to a 20–40% difference from those modeled with the Preliminary Reference Earth Model. Although these differences are limited to regions near to ice‐covered areas, they are comparable to the differences in uplift rates expected from the loss of firn versus loss of ice. Far from ice‐covered areas, where most of the region’s GPS observations were made, these differences become insignificant and do not affect previous glacial isostatic adjustment studies in the region. The methods presented here are based on the globally available LITHO1.0 seismic model and open source software, and the approach of using an ensemble of 1‐D elastic structures can be easily adapted to other regions around the world.Key PointsElastic uplift rate uncertainty quantified using local 1‐D models has implications for glaciological studies constrained by elastic upliftIn Southeast Alaska, these uncertainties are insignificant past 1 km distance from glaciated areas and do not affect previous studies of GIAThe inelastic behavior of the upper 10 km of the crust is a significant source of uncertainty in near‐field elastic deformation estimatesPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148245/1/jgrb53217.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148245/2/jgrb53217-sup-0001-supplementary.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148245/3/jgrb53217_am.pd

The Chars Livelihoods Programme in Bangladesh: Factors that Enable, Constrain and Sustain Graduation

The Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP) in Bangladesh aims to lift households out of extreme poverty by providing a comprehensive package of support. As with other poverty reduction programmes in Bangladesh, CLP's success is partly judged using the concept of graduation. Defining graduation and how to actually measure it has generated significant debate. This article, prepared by members of the team responsible for implementing the programme, explains how CLP's thinking in terms of defining and measuring graduation has evolved over time. The programme finally arrived at an agreed set of graduation criteria and a measurement methodology in early 2014. This article presents graduation rates. It goes on to outline the factors that constrain and enable graduation and offers a set of conclusions and lessons learned, including the need to ensure alignment between programme design, operations and graduation criteria; and ensuring that sustainability of impacts/graduation is monitored and evaluated

Übergangsharmonien: Die »Kunst des Übergangs« als Erkundung des tonalen Raums im Spätwerk Liszts und Wagners

Many of Liszt’s early virtuosic works for piano are limited by a rigidified conception of thematic substance: the sonorous and harmonic impressionism in introductions and bridge passages does not disguise the finite and static treatment of themes. This problem found effective solution during the 1850s. With reference in particular to the first book of the Années de Pélérinage, it is shown how Liszt, even before Wagner, succeeded in making »his whole art [...] an art of transition« by systematic exploration of symmetrical, cyclic (octatonic, hexatonic) tonal spaces. The opening up of space within the thematic substance makes the forms of musical time themselves fluid and infinitely makes the forms of musical time themselves fluid and infinitely expandable, a potentiality exploited to the full by Wagner in Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal, and hinted at in the famously enigmatic line from the latter »Zum Raum wird hier die Zeit«. The introduction of »tonal space« as a compositional means can be logically related to an increase in the use of octatonic and hexatonic pitch collections as substitutes for diatonic tonality, a process that occurred around the turn from the 19th to the 20th century and that can be set against modernist historiographical narratives of the »dissolution of tonality« as apologia for the dodecaphonic method. Tonal space is further interpreted here as an expressive and not merely technical resource, carrying particular cultural connotations such as landscape, poetic transcendence, and magic. The importance of such meanings suggests the need to take a more interpretative and less »material« view of music history itself

Re-inserting and re-politicizing nature: the resource curse and human-environment relations

The last sixty years have seen a significant shift away from seeing resource wealth as a key component of positive macro-economic reform, to acceptance of the negative impacts that an abundance of, or dependence on, natural resources can have on security, economic growth, and the development of accountable political institutions. The appropriation and extraction of natural resources emerge as expressions of complex relations existing within and between states, institutions and actors. At the same time, the attention given to this potential 'resource curse' has precipitated a number of critiques that challenge not only the data and statistical methods used to link resource wealth with negative development outcomes, but also the theoretical foundation and relevance of studies that reduce complex socio-political and economic relations to the presence of specific resources. This article draws on key literature from the field of political ecology to demonstrate how the concept of 'nature' has been omitted from these discussions. Critical analysis of 'nature' can refine the theoretical foundation and practical application of the 'resource curse' thesis. By re-inserting, re-politicizing and re-localizing the concept of nature we can include local production and consumption in the analysis, while also highlighting the link between our understanding of natural resources and historically rooted discourses of 'proper-use.' Key Words: Resource curse, political ecology, security, natur