Alex in Wonderland (or A Clockwork Tour) + Whale Watching

Lewis Carroll’s (Charles Dodgson’s) Alice stories (1865, 1871) and Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange (1962) remain some of the most linguistically inventive works of English literature. Yet despite their shared fondness for creative wordplay—and due, perhaps, to the stylistic differences of their respective film adaptations—Carroll and Burgess are rarely considered side by side. While some of the parallels between their works can no doubt be traced to James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake—which took inspiration from Carroll and which Burgess, in turn, translated into Italian—the similarities between the Alice stories and A Clockwork Orange are significant enough in themselves to merit attention. Beginning with a biographical comparison of Dodgson’s and Burgess’s backgrounds, this critical-creative essay explores the way the authors’ religious upbringings and intellectual pursuits influenced their creative work. The essay then examines the way that both books use their “coming-of-age” structure as a vehicle through which to explore the power of creative wordplay. As linguistic outsiders in their respective worlds, both “little Alice” and “little Alex” find freedom from the limitations of the adult world through creative expression. By tracing the cycles of growth apparent in both protagonists, we can observe that the narratives also lend themselves toward a liberating stance on language that is of interest to writers, readers, and language enthusiasts of all stripes

Target detection using oblique hyperspectral imagery: A Domain trade study

Hyperspectral imagery (HSI) has proven to be a useful tool when considering the task of target detection. Various processes have been developed that manipulate HSI data in different ways in order to render the data useable for target detection activities. A fundamental initial step in each of these processes is ensuring that the HSI data set obtained is in the same domain as the target’s spectral signature. In general, remotely sensed HSI is collected in terms of digital counts which are calibrated to units of radiance, whereas spectral target signatures are normally available in units of reflectance. This work investigates target detection using simulated hyperspectral imagery captured from highly oblique angles. Specifically, this thesis seeks to determine which domain, radiance or reflectance, is more appropriate for the off-nadir case. An oblique atmospheric compensation technique based on the empirical line method (ELM) is presented and used to compensate the simulated data used in this study. The resulting reflectance cubes are subjected to a variety of standard target detection processes. A forward modeling technique that is appropriate for use on oblique hyperspectral data is also presented. This forward modeling process allows for standard target detection techniques to be applied in the radiance domain. Results obtained from the radiance and reflectance domains are comparable. Under ideal circumstances, however, the radiance domain results observed tend to be superior compared to results observed in the reflectance domain. These somewhat favorable results observed in the radiance domain, considered with the practicality and potential operational applicability of the forward modeling technique presented, suggest that the radiance domain is an attractive option for oblique hyperspectral target detection

Utilization of the seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education in general chemistry by community college instructors

In recent years, higher education has undergone many changes. The advent of assessment, accountability, and a newfound focus on teaching have required faculty to examine how they are teaching. Administrators and faculty are beginning to recognize that learning is not a one size fits all enterprise. To this end, Chickering and Gamson developed an inventory that examined faculty utilization of the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. The seven principles included by the authors included faculty-student interaction, cooperative learning, active learning, giving prompt feedback, emphasizing time on task, communicating high expectations, and respecting diverse talents and ways of learning. It was determined by Chickering and Gamson, as well as many other researchers, that these seven principles were hallmarks of successful undergraduate education.;Community colleges are important institutions to study, as many students begin their higher education at two-year colleges. Most students are also required to take one or more science classes for their general education requirements; therefore, many students must take at least one general chemistry course. Both community colleges and chemistry are rarely studied in literature, which makes this study important.;Community college general chemistry instructors were surveyed using an online version of Chickering and Gamson\u27s Faculty Inventory for the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. Responses were analyzed, and it was discovered that not only did instructors utilize the principles to a different extent, but there were also differences between genders as well as between the specific actions related to each principle

Real time hand gesture recognition including hand segmentation and tracking

In this paper we present a system that performs automatic gesture recognition. The system consists of two main components: (i) A unified technique for segmentation and tracking of face and hands using a skin detection algorithm along with handling occlusion between skin objects to keep track of the status of the occluded parts. This is realized by combining 3 useful features, namely, color, motion and position. (ii) A static and dynamic gesture recognition system. Static gesture recognition is achieved using a robust hand shape classification, based on PCA subspaces, that is invariant to scale along with small translation and rotation transformations. Combining hand shape classification with position information and using DHMMs allows us to accomplish dynamic gesture recognition

Investigation of the hydrolytic stability of polyurethane applied to vehicle suspension components

Process parameters such as temperature and humidity, as well as formulation are the main factors in the manufacture of a polymeric component through a polyurethane prepolymer, which define the reaction kinetics as well as the bonds and the resulting chemical interactions, determining the final characteristics of the material. One of the expected skills of polyurethane, when applied to components used in contact with water, is hydrolysis resistance. Being this research constituted by the exposure of a polymerized TDI polyether polyurethane to different proportions of the curing agent, MOCA, in an environment susceptible to reactions with water at 70 °C. In this case, this material is applied in the manufacture of coil spring solid axle with trailing arms and Panhard rod suspension bushings. Mechanical tests and DSC, TGA and FTIR evaluations of the samples and prepolymer are conducted for the characterization of the different formulations, showing the negative relationship of the curing agent proportion parameters with the hydrolysis resistance, where it is verified. depolymerization of the urethane and ether groups, as well as lower retention of yield stress. These findings can subsidize developing predictive models for performance and lifetime of polyurethanes

The market dynamics of condominium conversion from a supply perspective : Brookline, a town in turmoil.

Thesis. 1979. M.C.P.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Includes bibliographical references.M.C.P

Digital library economics : aspects and prospects

A review of the issues surrounding the economics of and economic justification for, digital libraries