Searching for chaos on low frequency

A new method for detecting low dimensional chaos in small sample sets is presented. The method is applied to financial data on low frequency (annual and monthly) for which few observations are available.low dimensional chaos

General properties and analytical approximations of photorefractive solitons

We investigate general properties of spatial 1-dimensional bright photorefractive solitons and suggest various analytical approximations for the soliton profile and the half width, both depending on an intensity parameter r

An Automated lawncare system

Focuses on a robotic lawn care system

Queering Empathy

This research is an exploration of personal utopia by locating oneself within the worlds of dance and dance studies, deconstructing past lived experiences where queer futurity presents itself, and connecting them with present and future realities. The critical research manifests within a practice of reconstructing a non-linear understanding of one’s personhood. Creating artwork and sculpture, songwriting, editing dance and dance on film, and exploring the self as a partner of each medium reveals a greater sense of physical, emotional, and social structures that allow, inhibit, or deny one their place historically. Investigating one’s agency and personal autonomy, and the lack thereof, reveals a greater understanding of identity, privilege, and the effects of marginalization across intersections of those under dominant power structures. These practices bring greater empathy and solidarity with Queer, Crip, Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Feminist communities, those most affected by systemic racism, capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. The research of personal utopia has encouraged an agency and responsibility to the histories, sacrifices, and inspirations of those that have come before within these communities, those present, and those that will come after

Adaptation and resistance: the impact of German unification on the living and working conditions of visual artists in Saxony and their response to transformation

This thesis analyses the changes in visual artists' living and working conditions and the ways in which visual artists reacted to these changes after German unification. It has sought to explore aspects of the interface between the state, the individual visual artists and the visual artists' community in a society of transformation and comments on the impact of change on the existence of such a relationship. The aims are twofold. First, to contribute to an understanding of visual artists' reactions to the dynamics of change created by changes of their working and living conditions after German unification. A second aim was to analyse the causes of the behaviour of the group of older visual artists. This study of change employed an interdisciplinary approach and combined sociology, psychology, history and cultural policy studies in order to analyse visual artists' responses to the challenge of German unification. Exploration of these themes has been informed by a qualitative empirical study of how visual artists respond to change in the East German region of Saxony. A theoretical framework was developed using grounded theory, which was used to code the following datasets: interviews with 30 visual artists, 10 administrators and 3 group discussions. The theoretical perspective adopted drew on organisational change theory, on sociology of culture and on socialisation theory. In this way it contributes to the relocation of visual artists as key actors in cultural policy research. The results of the research revealed that initial expectations of the swift adaptation of visual artists' to the new living and working conditions were not fulfilled and that visual artists moved between adaptation and resistance. Although the administrative transformation of the state was completed by 1998, the process of change is ongoing for the visual artists. Unification left the visual artists in a state of shock, a state they have been recovering from since 1990. The findings lead to development of the Visual Artists Adaptation Model, which as a unique approach combines the collective cultural shock model and human change role model with the responses of visual artists to German unification. It analyses the process of change experienced by visual artists in five stages (1. euphoria, 2. shock and disconfirmation, 3 adaptation, 4. stabilisation, 5. normalisation). In an ideal case scenario, the result of adaptation should be a career re-start, which can be achieved once visual artists manage to overcome cultural shock. I argue that adaptation is delayed when learning anxiety conflicts with survival anxiety and when a psychologically safe situation fails to be provided. This proved to be the case for the group of older visual artists. It is concluded that values, developed as part of a socialist socialisation, acted as key obstacles to adaptation to the capitalist system. These values and norms evolved in different ways over years due to successful indoctrination with Marxist-Leninist ideology

Computer-aided design of lossless non-uniform transmission lines

A numerical iterative design technique is presented for the synthesis of lossless non-uniform transmission lines. A variational approach is used to minimize an error functional to which the system and boundary equality constraints have been adjoined by Lagrangian multipliers. The resultant network optimization conditions lead to an iterative scheme requiring analysis of the non-uniform line, analysis of an adjoint system and calculation of the error gradient in parameter space. A steepest descent procedure is used to optimize parameter values. Finite difference equations are used to provide an approximation model for implementation on the digital computer. A design example and a fortran computer program are provided --Abstract, page ii

Social comparison of romantic relationships: The influence of family, friends, and media

The purpose of these studies was to gain understanding of multiple facets of relationship social comparison. Study 1 (N = 304) utilized a longitudinal survey design to determine 1) the relative importance to one\u27s own relationship of social comparisons to the relationships of family members, friends, and media portrayals of romantic relationships; and 2) the impact of comparisons to relationships of higher or lower quality on outcomes of relationship quality and stability at a follow-up three months later. No differences emerged in the impact of comparisons to family members, friends, or media portrayals on participants\u27 evaluations of their own romantic relationships. Evidence was found for a detrimental effect of upward comparisons, with participants making upward comparisons experiencing lower relationship quality and a higher rate of break-up than those making downward comparisons. Study 2 (N = 221) used an experimental design to explore the effects of a forced upward or downward comparison to media portrayals of relationships on the outcome of perceived relationship quality. No significant differences in relationship quality were found between those assigned to view and evaluate positive versus negative media portrayals of romantic relationships, although participants who judged the media portrayal relationships more negatively did experience a bolstering effect on their own relationship satisfaction

Responding to the Workplace Narcissist

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)The presence of narcissism in the workplace is well established. Some have even gone so far as to extol the virtues of the narcissistic personality and the effect that it has on the leadership roles in organizations. Still, research suggests that there are more narcissists than there are leadership positions that might be filled. It is well established that the presence of those with strong narcissistic tendencies at the lower levels of organizations are disruptive to the productivity and the morale of the organization as a whole. This paper found that five coping method categories existed: non-responding, quitting one’s job, befriending the narcissist, confronting the narcissist, and going to management. Contrary to existing literature, only quitting one’s job or going to management were perceived by respondents as effective methods