Urban Landscape in McEwan\u27s Narrative Representation of Berlin

In her article Urban Landscape in McEwan\u27s Narrative Representation of Berlin, Barbara J. Puschmann-Nalenz discusses the image of Berlin created in Ian McEwanﹸs novel The Innocent (1990) and the chapter titled Berlin in Black Dogs (1992). It starts from the hypothetical statement that while British literary fiction set in Berlin is rare after 1970 the genres of spy and detective novel, where crime and violence take center stage, shape the image of the city in highbrow narratives as well. The perspectivization of the cityscape, including its monuments, through the protagonists fundamentally influences its image. In The Innocent the limited view and interest of the central character transmits estrangement, indifference and personal preoccupations by a third-person narrator and figural narrative, whereas in Black Dogs a politically alert first-person narrator follows the event of the Fall of the Wall on the site as a detached observer. The ambiguity which results from the representations of the urban landscape reflects the display of ambiguous human characteristics in crucial situations. The essay argues that in the spatial narratives of these novels especially themes of disintegration, division and insecurity find their intricate symbolic expression

Birds of a feather petition together? Characterizing e-petitioning through the lens of platform data

E-petitioning platforms are increasingly popular in Western democracies and considered by some lawmakers and scholars to enhance citizen participation in political decision-making. In addition to social media and other channels for informal political communication, online petitioning is regarded as both a useful instrument to afford citizens a more important role in the political process and allow them to express support for issues which they find relevant. Building on existing pre-internet systems, e-petitioning websites are increasingly implemented to make it easier and faster to set up and sign petitions. However, little attention has so far been given to the relationship between different styles of usage and the causes supported by different groups of users. The functional difference between signing paper-based petitions vs. doing so online is especially notable with regard to users who sign large numbers of petitions. To characterize this relationship, we examine the intensity of user participation in the German Bundestag’s online petitioning platform through the lens of platform data collected over a period of five years, and conduct an analysis of highly active users and their political preferences. We find that users who sign just a single petition favor different policy areas than those who sign many petitions on a variety of issues. We conclude our analysis with observations on the potential of behavioral data for assessing the dynamics of online participation, and suggest that quantity (the number of signed petitions) and quality (favored policy areas) need more systematic joint assessment

How Digital Are the Digital Humanities? An Analysis of Two Scholarly Blogging Platforms

In this paper we compare two academic networking platforms, HASTAC and Hypotheses, to show the distinct ways in which they serve specific communities in the Digital Humanities (DH) in different national and disciplinary contexts. After providing background information on both platforms, we apply co-word analysis and topic modeling to show thematic similarities and differences between the two sites, focusing particularly on how they frame DH as a new paradigm in humanities research. We encounter a much higher ratio of posts using humanities-related terms compared to their digital counterparts, suggesting a one-way dependency of digital humanities-related terms on the corresponding unprefixed labels. The results also show that the terms digital archive, digital literacy, and digital pedagogy are relatively independent from the respective unprefixed terms, and that digital publishing, digital libraries, and digital media show considerable cross-pollination between the specialization and the general noun. The topic modeling reproduces these findings and reveals further differences between the two platforms. Our findings also indicate local differences in how the emerging field of DH is conceptualized and show dynamic topical shifts inside these respective contexts

Two-dimensional solar spectropolarimetry with the KIS/IAA Visible Imaging Polarimeter

Spectropolarimetry at high spatial and spectral resolution is a basic tool to characterize the magnetic properties of the solar atmosphere. We introduce the KIS/IAA Visible Imaging Polarimeter (VIP), a new post-focus instrument that upgrades the TESOS spectrometer at the German VTT into a full vector polarimeter. VIP is a collaboration between the KIS and the IAA. We describe the optical setup of VIP, the data acquisition procedure, and the calibration of the spectropolarimetric measurements. We show examples of data taken between 2005 and 2008 to illustrate the potential of the instrument. VIP is capable of measuring the four Stokes profiles of spectral lines in the range from 420 to 700 nm with a spatial resolution better than 0.5". Lines can be sampled at 40 wavelength positions in 60 s, achieving a noise level of about 2 x 10E-3 with exposure times of 300 ms and pixel sizes of 0.17" x 0.17" (2 x 2 binning). The polarization modulation is stable over periods of a few days, ensuring high polarimetric accuracy. The excellent spectral resolution of TESOS allows the use of sophisticated data analysis techniques such as Stokes inversions. One of the first scientific results of VIP presented here is that the ribbon-like magnetic structures of the network are associated with a distinct pattern of net circular polarization away from disk center. VIP performs spectropolarimetric measurements of solar magnetic fields at a spatial resolution that is only slightly worse than that of the Hinode spectropolarimeter, while providing a 2D field field of view and the possibility to observe up to four spectral regions sequentially with high cadence. VIP can be used as a stand-alone instrument or in combination with other spectropolarimeters and imaging systems of the VTT for extended wavelength coverage.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics v2: figures updated with improved qualit

High-order aberration compensation with Multi-frame Blind Deconvolution and Phase Diversity image restoration techniques

Context. For accurately measuring intensities and determining magnetic field strengths of small-scale solar (magnetic) structure, knowledge of and compensation for the point spread function is crucial. For images recorded with the Swedish 1-meter Solar Telescope, restoration with Multi-Frame Blind Deconvolution and Joint Phase Diverse Speckle methods lead to remarkable improvements in image quality but granulation contrasts that are too low, indicating additional stray light. Aims. We propose a method to compensate for stray light from high-order atmospheric aberrations not included in MFBD and JPDS processing. Methods. To compensate for uncorrected aberrations, a reformulation of the image restoration process is proposed that allows the average effect of hundreds of high-order modes to be compensated for by relying on Kolmogorov statistics for these modes. The applicability of the method requires simultaneous measurements of Fried's parameter r0. The method is tested with simulations as well as real data and extended to include compensation for conventional stray light. Results. We find that only part of the reduction of granulation contrast in SST images is due to uncompensated high-order aberrations. The remainder is still unaccounted for and attributed to stray light from the atmosphere, the telescope with its re-imaging system and to various high-altitude seeing effects. Conclusions. We conclude that statistical compensation of high-order modes is a viable method to reduce the loss of contrast occurring when a limited number of aberrations is explicitly compensated for with MFBD and JPDS processing. We show that good such compensation is possible with only 10 recorded frames. The main limitation of the method is that already MFBD and JPDS processing introduces high-order compensation that, if not taken into account, can lead to over-compensation.Comment: in press in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Accurate H-atom parameters for the two polymorphs of L-histidine at 5, 105 and 295 K

The crystal structure of the monoclinic polymorph of the primary amino acid l-histidine has been determined for the first time by single-crystal neutron diffraction, while that of the orthorhombic polymorph has been reinvestigated with an untwinned crystal, improving the experimental precision and accuracy. For each polymorph, neutron diffraction data were collected at 5, 105 and 295 K. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments were also performed at the same temperatures. The two polymorphs, whose crystal packing is interpreted by intermolecular interaction energies calculated using the Pixel method, show differences in the energy and geometry of the hydrogen bond formed along the c direction. Taking advantage of the X-ray diffraction data collected at 5 K, the precision and accuracy of the new Hirshfeld atom refinement method implemented in NoSpherA2 were probed choosing various settings of the functionals and basis sets, together with the use of explicit clusters of molecules and enhanced rigid-body restraints for H atoms. Equivalent atomic coordinates and anisotropic displacement parameters were compared and found to agree well with those obtained from the corresponding neutron structural models

The GREGOR Fabry-P\'erot Interferometer

The GREGOR Fabry-P\'erot Interferometer (GFPI) is one of three first-light instruments of the German 1.5-meter GREGOR solar telescope at the Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife, Spain. The GFPI uses two tunable etalons in collimated mounting. Thanks to its large-format, high-cadence CCD detectors with sophisticated computer hard- and software it is capable of scanning spectral lines with a cadence that is sufficient to capture the dynamic evolution of the solar atmosphere. The field-of-view (FOV) of 50" x 38" is well suited for quiet Sun and sunspot observations. However, in the vector spectropolarimetric mode the FOV reduces to 25" x 38". The spectral coverage in the spectroscopic mode extends from 530-860 nm with a theoretical spectral resolution R of about 250,000, whereas in the vector spectropolarimetric mode the wavelength range is at present limited to 580-660 nm. The combination of fast narrow-band imaging and post-factum image restoration has the potential for discovery science concerning the dynamic Sun and its magnetic field at spatial scales down to about 50 km on the solar surface.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figures, 4 tables; pre-print of AN 333, p.880-893, 2012 (AN special issue to GREGOR