Maria Edgeworth: Novelist as a social historian of early nineteenth century Ireland

The purpose of the study is to call the attention of present-day historians to the importance of Maria Edgeworth’s “Irish novels.” Miss Edgeworth’s Significance in the field of literature has long been acknowledged. However, she is also entitled to recognition as a social historian because of the content of her novels, especially those dealing with Ireland. These novels accurately depict the social situation and lifestyles of the various classes of early nineteenth-century Irishmen. This study begins with a brief survey of the early history of Ireland and a review of the Anglo-Irish political arrangements of Maria\u27s day. A consideration of those aspects of Maria\u27s life which qualified her to write about all classes of Irish society follows: an examination of the various aspects of Irish life and character as they were portrayed in the Irish novels completes the study

Counselor, Stop Everything - Missouri\u27s Venue Statutes Receive an Expansive Interpretation

This Note seeks to place Nixon in the context of Missouri law in order to analyze the court\u27s holding and its attendant consequences. First, this Note will review Missouri\u27s venue law leading up to Nixon. Next, this Note will examine the court\u27s reasoning, consider its interpretation of the newlyenacted venue provision of section 508.012, and explore the issues and implications arising from the decision. Finally, this Note will conclude that in order to mitigate Nixon\u27s departure from the legislative goals of the Tort Reform Act, future courts will limit the decision\u27s reach by failing to apply its reasoning beyond the narrow procedural issue presented in Nixon

Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) Landing Parachute Demonstrator (LPD) Drop Test

The Landing Parachute Demonstrator (LPD) was conceived as a low-cost, rapidly-developed means of providing soft landing for the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) crew module (CM). Its experimental main parachute cluster deployment technique and off-the-shelf hardware necessitated a full-scale drop test prior to the MLAS mission in order to reduce overall mission risk. This test was successfully conducted at Wallops Flight Facility on March 6, 2009, with all vehicle and parachute systems functioning as planned. The results of the drop test successfully qualified the LPD system for the MLAS flight test. This document captures the design, concept of operations and results of the drop test

Lucky Strike House: The Space Between

With the onset of one of the worst economic downturns in recent history, the face of poverty is changing. This project seeks to explore a design solution aimed at helping a newly emerging segment of the population: the “half homeless”, formerly middle class individuals/families who lost their jobs and homes during the recession. Set in the building known as the Lucky Strike Power Plant, the project contains two distinct, but overlapping, programs: 1) multi-family housing, and 2) a continuum of supportive services accessible to both the residents and the community at large. The main focus of this project is the housing component; more specifically, exploring an unconventional housing typology designed to encourage interaction between the residents, as well as the residents and non-residents. Ultimately, this project is a study of how through the interplay between public vs. private and mass vs. void, design can heal, inspire, and bring people together

Temporal and geographic patterns of kinship structure in common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) suggest site fidelity and female-biased long-distance dispersal

Social structure plays a crucial role in determining a species’ dispersal patterns and genetic structure. Cetaceans show a diversity of social and mating systems, but their effects on dispersal and genetic structure are not well known, in part because of technical difficulties in obtaining robust observational data. Here, we combine genetic profiling and GIS analysis to identify patterns of kin distribution over time and space, to infer mating structure and dispersal patterns in short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). This species is highly social, and exhibits weak spatial genetic structure in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, thought to result from fluid social structure and low levels of site fidelity. We found that although sampled groups were not composed of closely related individuals, close kin were frequently found in the same geographic location over several years. Our results suggest that common dolphin exhibits some level of site fidelity, which could be explained by foraging for temporally varying prey resource in areas familiar to individuals. Dispersal from natal area likely involves long-distance movements of females, as males are found more frequently than females in the same locations as their close kin. Long-distance dispersal may explain the near panmixia observed in this species. By analysing individuals sampled in the same geographic location over multiple years, we avoid caveats associated with divergence-based methods of inferring sex-biased dispersal. We thus provide a unique perspective on this species’ social structure and dispersal behaviour, and how it relates to the observed low levels of population genetic structure in European waters

Photogrammetric Technique for Center of Gravity Determination

A new measurement technique for determination of the center of gravity (CG) for large scale objects has been demonstrated. The experimental method was conducted as part of an LS-DYNA model validation program for the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) crew module. The test was conducted on the full scale crew module concept at NASA Langley Research Center. Multi-camera photogrammetry was used to measure the test article in several asymmetric configurations. The objective of these measurements was to provide validation of the CG as computed from the original mechanical design. The methodology, measurement technique, and measurement results are presented