Shakespearean laughter: A study of Shakespeare's bases of laughter and their implications

Thesis (Ph.D)--Boston University.In attempting to discover the significance of laughter in interpreting Shakespeare's plays, one must realize that laughter is not always certain in any given instance, that no single, simple explanation of laughter either of the past or of the present will cover all kinds of laughter, and that people in different countries and periods laugh at different things differently. It is possible, nevertheless, to discover with considerable certainty what people laughed at in Elizabethan times. Although the small amount of sixteenth century theory about laughter probably had little direct influence upon the Elizabethan dramatists, a study of contemporary comments on the theater, of some plays by Shakespeare's contemporaries, of Elizabethan jigs, and of the jest-books of successful Elizabethan comedians indicates that certain actions, speeches, topics, and types of characters and situations were likely to evoke laughter. I drew up a list of these topics and devices for securing laughter and selected those often repeated in the various sources. The similarity of topics and devices appearing in both dramatic and non-dramatic sources makes it reasonable to believe that certain things had become established as evocative of laughter in Elizabethan times. A study of selected early religious plays, of moralities, and of school, court, and professional plays shows that certain topics on the already developed lists keep reappearing and become traditional sources of laughter and that laughter varies with the kind of audience for which a play was designed. It also shows that the repetition of certain topics for securing laughter in the same play and the constant direction of the laughter of the audience at a certain person and with others emphasized the theme of the play as, for example, in Wyt and Science with its praise of the academic virtues and the condemnation of idleness and ignorance [TRUNCATED

Selected Mineral Collecting Sites in Northeastern Rhode Island

Guidebook to geologic field studies in Rhode Island and adjacent areas: The 73rd annual meeting of the New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, October 16-18, 1981: Trip B-

Peg Penetration in Three Commercially Important Tasmanian Eucalypt Species

Commercially important species of Tasmanian hardwood timber were immersed in 30% (v/v) polyethylene glycol (PEG) of molecular weights 400, 600, and 1000 and incubated up to seven days at three temperatures (30°C, 45°C, 60°C). Slices obtained from the incubated timber samples were stained with cobalt thiocyanate to indicate the depth of penetration by PEG 400, 600, or 1000 after incubation from two to seven days at the various temperatures. Analysis of the data showed that there was an observable difference in the rate of penetration between each species of eucalypt used in the trial. Incubation time, temperature, and PEG molecular weight were all factors affecting the rate of PEG penetration in a linear fashion and basic density (BD) was the physical property that best supported the trends in this study. This paper is a baseline study that provides the foundation for the quantification and prediction of the movement of PEG into three species of Tasmanian eucalypt timber

Laser Ablation of Materials for Propulsion of Spacecraft

A report describes experiments performed as part of a continuing investigation of the feasibility of laser ablation of materials as a means of propulsion for small spacecraft. In each experiment, a specimen of ablative material was mounted on a torsion pendulum and irradiated with a laser pulse having an energy of 5 J. The amplitude of the resulting rotation of the torsion pendulum was taken to be an indication of the momentum transferred from the laser beam. Of the ablative materials tested, aluminum foils yielded the smallest rotation amplitudes of the order of 10 degrees. Black coating materials yielded rotation amplitudes of the order of 90 degrees. Samples of silver coated with a fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) copolymer yielded the largest rotation amplitudes 6 to 8 full revolutions. The report presents a theory involving heating of a confined plasma followed by escape of the plasma to explain the superior momentum transfer performance of the FEP specimens. It briefly discusses some concepts for optimizing designs of spacecraft engines to maximize the thrust obtainable by exploiting the physical mechanisms of the theory. Also discussed is the use of laser-ablation engines with other types of spacecraft engines

The Government Contracts Reference Book: A Comprehensive Guide to the Language of Procurement

This book - first published in 1992 and now in its fifth edition - is intended to offer concise, comprehensive information to the practitioner of the art of government contracting. Looking up a key term, the reader can find a definition, followed by a summary of where the term is used in the statutes or regulations dealing with the procurement process. The book also includes references to literature where the term is more fully discussed. The book is not designed as a standalone encyclopedia: it is a first reference, pointing the user to additional sources as needed. The book makes it clear that government contracting is complex, and the rules cannot be gleaned from a single source such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation. They can only be learned from constant reading of reference materials and textbooks—not to mention decisions of the courts, boards of contract appeals, and the Government Accountability Office. Navigating the waters of government procurement is an arduous task, and this book is intended as an aid in that journey. The authors fully understand that it is impossible to make the book fully comprehensive. While this edition is (again) expanded, we know additional terms could be added. We welcome readers to let us know of terms that should be included in the next edition

A study of monolithic brick paving: its evolution, construction and strength

Thesis (BS)--University of Illinois, 1917TypescriptIncludes bibliographical reference