A survey of Charles Wood's plays for stage and screen, with particular reference to the treatment of war in "Dingo", "H", and the associated films

Over the past twenty years, Charles Wood has written 13 stage plays, at least 20 screenplays, and more than 14 television plays (of which one was divided into two series, each of six 50-minute episodes). His major plays have been performed at either the National, Royal Shakespeare Company, or Royal Court Theatres; he has an international reputation for his work in the cinema; and writes regularly for television. Yet his work, though mentioned respectfully on the whole by modern theatre critics, has not received a full and considered critical appraisal. This study sets out to provide a fuller examination of a major aspect of his work; his treatment of War for theatre and screen. Its first chapter offers essential, and hitherto unpublished, biographical material concerning Wood's own Army career, and his early connections with the theatre. This provides a foundation for a consideration of those of his early plays, written from 1958 to 1965, with the Army as the basis for subject matter. These two chapters form a framework for the main emphasis of the study: his portrayal, in theatre and film, of the Second World War in Dingo, and 'How I Won the War'; and the Victorian conflicts in India and the Crimea, as shown in H, and 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'. Finally, there is a consideration of Veterans, and Has "Washington"? Legs?, two plays concerned with the making of films about War. The writer's source materials, both written and visual, are explored, and photographs accompany the text. An analysis of important scenes and characters is provided. Most importantly, the focus, where possible, is on the plays in performance, with observations on the rehearsal process (studied at first-hand in Has "Washington" Legs?) and the interaction at various stages between dramatist, director, and designer. Where available, original typescripts have been used, and comparisons made, where appropriate, with final, printed versions. Existing prompt copies have been referred to where available, and use made of conversations and interviews with the author and his associates. To widen the perspective, there is also an appraisal of critical responses from both reviewers and critics of modern drama.<p

A survey of Charles Wood's plays for stage and screen, with particular reference to the treatment of war in "Dingo", "H", and the associated films

Over the past twenty years, Charles Wood has written 13 stage plays, at least 20 screenplays, and more than 14 television plays (of which one was divided into two series, each of six 50-minute episodes). His major plays have been performed at either the National, Royal Shakespeare Company, or Royal Court Theatres; he has an international reputation for his work in the cinema; and writes regularly for television. Yet his work, though mentioned respectfully on the whole by modern theatre critics, has not received a full and considered critical appraisal. This study sets out to provide a fuller examination of a major aspect of his work; his treatment of War for theatre and screen. Its first chapter offers essential, and hitherto unpublished, biographical material concerning Wood's own Army career, and his early connections with the theatre. This provides a foundation for a consideration of those of his early plays, written from 1958 to 1965, with the Army as the basis for subject matter. These two chapters form a framework for the main emphasis of the study: his portrayal, in theatre and film, of the Second World War in Dingo, and 'How I Won the War'; and the Victorian conflicts in India and the Crimea, as shown in H, and 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'. Finally, there is a consideration of Veterans, and Has "Washington"? Legs?, two plays concerned with the making of films about War. The writer's source materials, both written and visual, are explored, and photographs accompany the text. An analysis of important scenes and characters is provided. Most importantly, the focus, where possible, is on the plays in performance, with observations on the rehearsal process (studied at first-hand in Has "Washington" Legs?) and the interaction at various stages between dramatist, director, and designer. Where available, original typescripts have been used, and comparisons made, where appropriate, with final, printed versions. Existing prompt copies have been referred to where available, and use made of conversations and interviews with the author and his associates. To widen the perspective, there is also an appraisal of critical responses from both reviewers and critics of modern drama.<p

Prospectus, January 28, 2004

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2004/1001/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, February 27, 2004

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2004/1005/thumbnail.jp

Improved determination of particulate absorption from combined filter pad and PSICAM measurements

Filter pad light absorption measurements are subject to two major sources of experimental uncertainty: the so-called pathlength amplification factor, β, and scattering offsets, o, for which previous null-correction approaches are limited by recent observations of non-zero absorption in the near infrared (NIR). A new filter pad absorption correction method is presented here which uses linear regression against point-source integrating cavity absorption meter (PSICAM) absorption data to simultaneously resolve both β and the scattering offset. The PSICAM has previously been shown to provide accurate absorption data, even in highly scattering waters. Comparisons of PSICAM and filter pad particulate absorption data reveal linear relationships that vary on a sample by sample basis. This regression approach provides significantly improved agreement with PSICAM data (3.2% RMS%E) than previously published filter pad absorption corrections. Results show that direct transmittance (T-method) filter pad absorption measurements perform effectively at the same level as more complex geometrical configurations based on integrating cavity measurements (IS-method and QFT-ICAM) because the linear regression correction compensates for the sensitivity to scattering errors in the T-method. This approach produces accurate filter pad particulate absorption data for wavelengths in the blue/UV and in the NIR where sensitivity issues with PSICAM measurements limit performance. The combination of the filter pad absorption and PSICAM is therefore recommended for generating full spectral, best quality particulate absorption data as it enables correction of multiple errors sources across both measurements

Numerical simulations of granular dynamics II: Particle dynamics in a shaken granular material

Surfaces of planets and small bodies of our Solar System are often covered by a layer of granular material that can range from a fine regolith to a gravel-like structure of varying depths. Therefore, the dynamics of granular materials are involved in many events occurring during planetary and small-body evolution thus contributing to their geological properties. We demonstrate that the new adaptation of the parallel N-body hard-sphere code pkdgrav has the capability to model accurately the key features of the collective motion of bidisperse granular materials in a dense regime as a result of shaking. As a stringent test of the numerical code we investigate the complex collective ordering and motion of granular material by direct comparison with laboratory experiments. We demonstrate that, as experimentally observed, the scale of the collective motion increases with increasing small-particle additive concentration. We then extend our investigations to assess how self-gravity and external gravity affect collective motion. In our reduced-gravity simulations both the gravitational conditions and the frequency of the vibrations roughly match the conditions on asteroids subjected to seismic shaking, though real regolith is likely to be much more heterogeneous and less ordered than in our idealised simulations. We also show that collective motion can occur in a granular material under a wide range of inter-particle gravity conditions and in the absence of an external gravitational field. These investigations demonstrate the great interest of being able to simulate conditions that are to relevant planetary science yet unreachable by Earth-based laboratory experiments

Evaluating the Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation D614G on Transmissibility and Pathogenicity.

Global dispersal and increasing frequency of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant D614G are suggestive of a selective advantage but may also be due to a random founder effect. We investigate the hypothesis for positive selection of spike D614G in the United Kingdom using more than 25,000 whole genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences. Despite the availability of a large dataset, well represented by both spike 614 variants, not all approaches showed a conclusive signal of positive selection. Population genetic analysis indicates that 614G increases in frequency relative to 614D in a manner consistent with a selective advantage. We do not find any indication that patients infected with the spike 614G variant have higher COVID-19 mortality or clinical severity, but 614G is associated with higher viral load and younger age of patients. Significant differences in growth and size of 614G phylogenetic clusters indicate a need for continued study of this variant

Evaluating the Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation D614G on Transmissibility and Pathogenicity

Global dispersal and increasing frequency of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant D614G are suggestive of a selective advantage but may also be due to a random founder effect. We investigate the hypothesis for positive selection of spike D614G in the United Kingdom using more than 25,000 whole genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences. Despite the availability of a large dataset, well represented by both spike 614 variants, not all approaches showed a conclusive signal of positive selection. Population genetic analysis indicates that 614G increases in frequency relative to 614D in a manner consistent with a selective advantage. We do not find any indication that patients infected with the spike 614G variant have higher COVID-19 mortality or clinical severity, but 614G is associated with higher viral load and younger age of patients. Significant differences in growth and size of 614G phylogenetic clusters indicate a need for continued study of this variant

Dictyostelium RasD is required for normal phototaxis, but not differentiation

RasD, a Dictyostelium homolog of mammalian Ras, is maximally expressed during the multicellular stage of development. Normal Dictyostelium aggregates are phototactic and thermotactic, moving towards sources of light and heat with great sensitivity. We show that disruption of the gene for rasD causes a near-total loss of phototaxis and thermotaxis in mutant aggregates, without obvious effects on undirected movement. Previous experiments had suggested important roles for RasD in development and cell-type determination. Surprisingly, rasD(−) cells show no obvious changes in these processes. These cells represent a novel class of phototaxis mutant, and indicate a role for a Ras pathway in the connections between stimuli and coordinated cell movement