The Audio-Visuality Of Transcendental Style in Film

Transcendental style in film is an expression of spiritual, ineffable and even holy subjects, often conveyed via a reduction of cinematic aesthetics and further aided by narratives of hardship. In audio-visual studies, the concept of the transcendental has been a consistent presence, especially in descriptive language concerned with the use of music in film, due in part to music’s abstract, ineffable form. Film studies, on the other hand, have been more concerned with the notion of the transcendental as a reception effect, linked to an aesthetic style rather than simply a formal outcome. In this thesis, the various aspects of a transcendental style will be addressed within a cinematic context with two aims: • To highlight a neglect of aural analysis within the cinematic realm of transcendental studies. • To critique the etymological and philosophical assumptions regarding the transcendental elements found in the language of audio-visual scholarship. The labelling of something as transcendental is simultaneously distinctive and vague. This duality allows writers to identify aspects of audio-visual work that are ultimately beyond the reach of language-based communication. The word has complex connotations within a variety of different philosophical and theological movements, and the use within cinematic academia - as a descriptor of an aesthetic style - is equally as complex. In his 1972 work, Transcendental Style in Film, Paul Schrader suggested a transcendental potential within cinema through discussing a number of temporal means and aesthetics. Music is mostly absent from his analysis, however. Film supposedly needs to move from "abundance" to "stasis" and this is often suggested by the reduction of the general cinematic style and the removal of music due to its editorial intonation. I argue, on the contrary, that music and sound used in specific ways can inform the viewer of transcendental qualities and create both old and new ways of expressing transcendence. What my thesis will show is how this is achieved by a number of different filmmakers with emphasis on their aural character as well as the aural potential already found within previous theorisations of the style

Wolves in the Wolds: Late Capitalism, the English Eerie, and the Wyrd Case of ‘Old Stinker’ the Hull Werewolf

In this article, I depart from the earlier opinions of Emily Gerard, Sabine Baring-Gould, and others, who explained the disappearance of the werewolf in folklore as following the extinction of the wolf. I argue instead that British literature is distinctive in representing a history of werewolf sightings in places in Britain where there were once wolves. I draw on the idea of absence, manifestations of the English eerie, and the turbulence of England in the era of late capitalism to illuminate my analysis of the representation of contemporary werewolf sightingsPeer reviewe

Subsurface scientific exploration of extraterrestrial environments (MINAR 5): analogue science, technology and education in the Boulby Mine, UK

The deep subsurface of other planetary bodies is of special interest for robotic and human exploration. The subsurface provides access to planetary interior processes, thus yielding insights into planetary formation and evolution. On Mars, the subsurface might harbour the most habitable conditions. In the context of human exploration, the subsurface can provide refugia for habitation from extreme surface conditions. We describe the fifth Mine Analogue Research (MINAR 5) programme at 1 km depth in the Boulby Mine, UK in collaboration with Spaceward Bound NASA and the Kalam Centre, India, to test instruments and methods for the robotic and human exploration of deep environments on the Moon and Mars. The geological context in Permian evaporites provides an analogue to evaporitic materials on other planetary bodies such as Mars. A wide range of sample acquisition instruments (NASA drills, Small Planetary Impulse Tool (SPLIT) robotic hammer, universal sampling bags), analytical instruments (Raman spectroscopy, Close-Up Imager, Minion DNA sequencing technology, methane stable isotope analysis, biomolecule and metabolic life detection instruments) and environmental monitoring equipment (passive air particle sampler, particle detectors and environmental monitoring equipment) was deployed in an integrated campaign. Investigations included studying the geochemical signatures of chloride and sulphate evaporitic minerals, testing methods for life detection and planetary protection around human-tended operations, and investigations on the radiation environment of the deep subsurface. The MINAR analogue activity occurs in an active mine, showing how the development of space exploration technology can be used to contribute to addressing immediate Earth-based challenges. During the campaign, in collaboration with European Space Agency (ESA), MINAR was used for astronaut familiarization with future exploration tools and techniques. The campaign was used to develop primary and secondary school and primary to secondary transition curriculum materials on-site during the campaign which was focused on a classroom extra vehicular activity simulation

A new and working petroleum source rock on the UK Continental Shelf (upper Permian, offshore Yorkshire)

We report on the discovery of oil from the Boulby Mine and its likely productive source rock from Yorkshire in NE England, located to the west (<30 km) of the newly licenced petroleum exploration areas in the vicinity of the Mid-North Sea High. Oil samples from the mine have likely been generated from Zechstein Group Kirkham Abbey Formation (KAF) sapropelic carbonate rock as indicated by aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon biomarkers. Other potential source rocks of Carboniferous (Westphalian, Namurian, Viséan coals and mudrocks) and Jurassic (the Jet Rock, Bituminous Shales, Kimmeridge Clay Formation) age are ruled out on the basis of organic geochemical data. Boulby oil was generated in the peak-to-late oil-window and it is characterised by the high abundance of C32 and C34 homohopanes, slight even-over-odd predominance (EOP) of C20-25 n-alkanes indicating restricted carbonate-evaporite depositional conditions, and C29 ethyl-diacholestane 20 S likely implying a clay-rich source rock. The structural framework and tectonic history of the Permian strata reveal the presence of several fault systems which served as conduits for migrating petroleum. Similar Zechstein-sourced oil is known from Poland and Germany, but the occurrence at Boulby is the first positive identification of oil derived from Zechstein source rock in the North Sea area. The Boulby oil is reservoired in Zechstein 3 (Z3) Brotherton Formation dolomite and sealed by Z3 evaporite rocks. The proven oil occurrence at Boulby has significant implications in terms of reducing the risk of a lack of oil mature source rock for acreage offered in the neighbouring North Sea during the UK's 30th and 31st licencing rounds

Cabergoline in the Treatment of Male Orgasmic Disorder—A Retrospective Pilot Analysis

Introduction: Male orgasmic disorder is common, with few treatment options. Cabergoline is a dopamine agonist that acts centrally to normalize serum prolactin that could improve orgasmic dysfunction. Aims: To determine whether cabergoline increases the potential for orgasm in men with orgasmic disorder. Methods: A retrospective chart review of men treated in a single andrology clinic for delayed orgasm or anorgasmia in a pilot study using cabergoline 0.5 mg twice weekly was performed. Duration of treatment and response were noted. Medical records were examined for other factors including history of prostatectomy and concomitant androgen supplementation. Main Outcome Measures: Subjective improvement in orgasmic function resulting from cabergoline treatment. Results: Of 131 men treated with cabergoline for orgasmic disorder, 87 (66.4%) reported subjective improvement in orgasm and 44 (33.6%) reported no change in orgasm. Duration of therapy (P = .03) and concomitant testosterone therapy (P = .02) were associated with a significant positive response to cabergoline treatment. No differences were found between injectable and non-injectable testosterone formulations (P = .90), and neither age (P = .90) nor prior prostatectomy (P = .41) influenced the outcome of cabergoline treatment. Serum testosterone levels before (P = .26) and after (P = .81) treatment were not significantly different in responders vs non-responders. Conclusion: Cabergoline is a potentially effective and easy-to-administer treatment for male orgasmic disorder, the efficacy of which appears to be independent of patient age or orgasmic disorder etiology. Prospective randomized trials are needed to determine the true role of cabergoline in the treatment of this disorder

High Energy Physics Opportunities Using Reactor Antineutrinos

Nuclear reactors are uniquely powerful, abundant, and flavor-pure sources of antineutrinos that continue to play a vital role in the US neutrino physics program. The US reactor antineutrino physics community is a diverse interest group encompassing many detection technologies and many particle physics topics, including Standard Model and short-baseline oscillations, BSM physics searches, and reactor flux and spectrum modeling. The community's aims offer strong complimentary with numerous aspects of the wider US neutrino program and have direct relevance to most of the topical sub-groups composing the Snowmass 2021 Neutrino Frontier. Reactor neutrino experiments also have a direct societal impact and have become a strong workforce and technology development pipeline for DOE National Laboratories and universities. This white paper, prepared as a submission to the Snowmass 2021 community organizing exercise, will survey the state of the reactor antineutrino physics field and summarize the ways in which current and future reactor antineutrino experiments can play a critical role in advancing the field of particle physics in the next decade

High Energy Physics Opportunities Using Reactor Antineutrinos

Nuclear reactors are uniquely powerful, abundant, and flavor-pure sources of antineutrinos that continue to play a vital role in the US neutrino physics program. The US reactor antineutrino physics community is a diverse interest group encompassing many detection technologies and many particle physics topics, including Standard Model and short-baseline oscillations, BSM physics searches, and reactor flux and spectrum modeling. The community's aims offer strong complimentary with numerous aspects of the wider US neutrino program and have direct relevance to most of the topical sub-groups composing the Snowmass 2021 Neutrino Frontier. Reactor neutrino experiments also have a direct societal impact and have become a strong workforce and technology development pipeline for DOE National Laboratories and universities. This white paper, prepared as a submission to the Snowmass 2021 community organizing exercise, will survey the state of the reactor antineutrino physics field and summarize the ways in which current and future reactor antineutrino experiments can play a critical role in advancing the field of particle physics in the next decade

High Energy Physics Opportunities Using Reactor Antineutrinos

Nuclear reactors are uniquely powerful, abundant, and flavor-pure sources of antineutrinos that continue to play a vital role in the US neutrino physics program. The US reactor antineutrino physics community is a diverse interest group encompassing many detection technologies and many particle physics topics, including Standard Model and short-baseline oscillations, BSM physics searches, and reactor flux and spectrum modeling. The community's aims offer strong complimentary with numerous aspects of the wider US neutrino program and have direct relevance to most of the topical sub-groups composing the Snowmass 2021 Neutrino Frontier. Reactor neutrino experiments also have a direct societal impact and have become a strong workforce and technology development pipeline for DOE National Laboratories and universities. This white paper, prepared as a submission to the Snowmass 2021 community organizing exercise, will survey the state of the reactor antineutrino physics field and summarize the ways in which current and future reactor antineutrino experiments can play a critical role in advancing the field of particle physics in the next decade