Revealing Reality : Four Asian Filmmakers Visualize the Transnational Imaginary

This dissertation posits that four Asian filmmakers engage in “revealing reality” in unique but interconnected ways that employ innovative narrative and cinematic/visual techniques, including a direct address to the senses and an augmenting of their vision with fantasy or surrealism. My study argues that Hou Hsiao-hsien (Taiwan), Jia Zhangke (China), Tsai Ming-liang (Taiwan), and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand) mobilize this visual and narrative strategy to participate in debates about globalization and to comment on the state of their respective nations, the concept of the nation, and the transnational. The films of each artist are examined in detail; I investigate their stylistic choices and their works’ cultural significance on local and global terms in relation to critical theory, particularly postcolonial theory. The dissertation argues that these filmmakers’ works both constitute and conceive the transnational imaginary, the space within which border gnosis and subaltern pasts are produced. It counters arguments that one cannot posit cultural explanations for a filmmaker’s stylistic choices and argues that there is a way to read a filmmaker’s style and films as politically significant. Overall, the project posits film as an analytical tool, and employs interdisciplinary methods used by scholars in film or cultural and media studies who engage with these lenses and frames. By analyzing the technique and the political implications of several films by each filmmaker in a transnational context, it expands the boundaries of American Studies, charting a nexus of border gnosis, subaltern pasts, and the transnational imaginary. Together, this dissertation supports the argument that the varieties of realism developed throughout this region during this period have expanded the transnational imaginary and have contributed to discourse on globalization, postcolonialism, and the multicultural project. Each artist\u27s modification or manipulation of the tenets or rules of realism are suited to their purpose and their aim to “reveal reality,” and this revelation is aimed at twin goals of beauty and political truth

Effect of excess iron on oxidative dehydrogenation of 1-butene over a series of zinc ferrite catalysts

The influence of excess Fe3+ in ZnFe2O4 for the catalytic oxidative dehydrogenation of 1-butene to 1, 3-butadiene was investigated to try to clarify inconsistencies in the existing literature. A series of nanoscale zinc ferrite powders were produced with increasing Fe: Zn ratios. The materials were characterized by a range of techniques, which showed the presence of α-Fe2O3 as a distinct phase with an increasing excess of Fe3+ and SEM highlighted the increased presence of surface structures on the ferrites at higher Fe: Zn ratios. Reaction testing showed α-Fe2O3to be virtually inactive for the oxidative dehydrogenation of 1-butene. Results for the ferrite catalysts showed a significant decrease in both conversion and yield with an increasing excess of Fe3+. Therefore an excess of Fe3+ has a negative effect on catalytic activity and selectivity of zinc ferrite for the oxidative dehydrogenation of 1-butene, but acts as a promoter for competing hydrogenation and combustion side reactions

Quo Vadis: Doctoral Programs in Private Non-Profit Higher Education? The View From Two Providers

In order to provide high level research and postgraduate education opportunities in the widest possible range of contexts, private non-profit higher education providers (PNHEPs) have developed doctoral program offerings outside the university system. We discuss the nature of these programs, their origins, quality control mechanisms and current trajectories. We also explore the advantages and benefits of private doctoral programs along with their challenges and limitations. Participants in the provision of private non-profit doctoral programs with a Christian ethos discuss these issues in this paper, dealing with both professional and research doctorates. Apart from the limitations arising from working outside the funding envelope of university doctoral programs and university self-accrediting status, numerous other potential limitations had to be overcome. These included the range of supervision resources available, the nature of academic freedom, and minimal institutional research culture. How these and other hurdles were overcome and how the collaborative engagement of a wide range of national and international top scholars was achieved is presented via case studies of two multi-disciplinary colleges. The current doctoral programs in the two colleges reflect differing approaches to program quality and accreditation, one tending towards specialisation, the other towards a more generic model. These approaches may converge in the future as the experiences of the different players in the field are shared and optimal approaches are identified. This paper may assist institutions in deciding whether to adopt a generic or specialised approach for research doctorates

Effective end wall profiling rules for a highly loaded compressor cascade

This paper presents a numerical study of a linear compressor cascade to investigate the effective end wall profiling rules for highly loaded axial compressors. The first step in the research applies a correlation analysis for the different flow field parameters by a data mining over 600 profiling samples to quantify how variations of loss, secondary flow and passage vortex interact with each other under the influence of a profiled end wall. The result identifies the dominant role of corner separation for control of total pressure loss, providing a principle that only in the flow field with serious corner separation does the does the profiled end wall change total pressure loss, secondary flow and passage vortex in the same direction. Then in the second step, a multiobjective optimization of a profiled end wall is performed to reduce loss at design point and near stall point. The development of effective end wall profiling rules is based on the manner of secondary flow control rather than the geometry features of the end wall. Using the optimum end wall cases from the Pareto front, a quantitative tool for analyzing secondary flow control is employed. The driving force induced by a profiled end wall on different regions of end wall flow are subjected to a detailed analysis and identified for their positive/negative influences in relieving corner separation, from which the effective profiling rules are further confirmed. It is found that the profiling rules on a cascade show distinct differences at design point and near-stall point, thus loss control of different operating points is generally independent. </jats:p

Flow Control by Slot Position and Noise Baffle in a Self-Recirculation Casing Treatment on an Axial Fan-Rotor

To address the situations where the casing treatment needs to be used to stabilize axial compressors through strong recirculation, this paper initiated a CFD study to investigate how the flow could be suitably controlled in the casing treatment to minimize the efficiency penalty and increase the flow range. A counter-swirl self-recirculation casing treatment was first designed on a low speed axial fan rotor as a baseline case. Then three different slot positions and the influence of including the noise baffle were numerically studied. Based on the understanding of their coeffects, the shorter noise baffle was considered and it was found that the highest efficiency was achieved in the case of the upstream slot when the length of baffle was suitably adjusted to balance the incoming flow and recirculation. The largest flow range was achieved by locating the slot at the most downstream position and using a 50% length baffle since it suitably controlled the recirculating flow and relieved the separation at the low-span region. An optimization study showed that the optimum length of the baffle for efficiency was always larger than for the flow range. Both of the two optimum values reduce as the slot moves downstream

Dual effects of implicit bystanders: Inhibiting vs. facilitating helping behavior

Encouraging consumers to engage in helpful behavior is a perennial task of marketers in non‐profit and for‐profit organizations. Recent research suggests that merely imagining the presence of others can lead to less helping behavior on a subsequent unrelated task (Garcia, S.M., Weaver, K.D., Moskowitz, G.B., and Darley, J.M. (2002). Crowded minds: The implicit bystander effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 843–853.). The present analysis uncovers the boundary conditions of this effect. Across four studies, we establish that the degree to which a group situation fosters public scrutiny is an important moderator. When group primes are paired with public scrutiny, their inhibitive effect on helping behavior diminishes, and helping behavior on a subsequent task tends to increase. The present research thus adds complexity to previous findings by suggesting that implicit bystanders can both decrease and increase helping behavior.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142246/1/jcpy215.pd