Fausts Wette und der Prozess der Moderne : zur historischen und aktuellen Bedeutung der Tragödie Goethes

This article emphasizes that the central element of the satanic pact in Goethe’s Faust is the driving force of modernity: the negation of the present. In contrast to traditional interpretations of Faust as a positive figure and his "striving" as a virtue of modern man, the author argues that the destructive side of Faust’s restlessness should be examined. The effective counterpoints of the rhythm of modernity, as Goethe himself suggests in the play, are religion (in its broader unconventional sense, and classically inspired art, which enable thought to "stop" in the present moment.O artigo enfatiza que um elemento central no pacto demoníaco configurado por Goethe em seu Fausto simboliza também a força motriz da Modernidade: a negação ininterrupta do presente. Diferentemente das interpretações tradicionais que vêem Fausto como figura positiva e a sua aspiração como virtude do homem moderno, o autor expõe a dimensão destrutiva da inquietude fáustica, a qual deve ser questionada pelo público contemporâneo. Na perspectiva do autor, os contrapontos efetivos ao ritmo destrutivo da Modernidade seriam, como o próprio Goethe parece sugerir no drama, a attitude religiosa (em sentido amplo, não convencional) e a arte de inspiração clássica, que propicia a reflexão e o "deter-se" no instante presente

Forward model for quantitative pulse-echo speed-of-sound imaging

Computed ultrasound tomography in echo mode (CUTE) allows determining the spatial distribution of speed-of-sound (SoS) inside tissue using handheld pulse-echo ultrasound (US). This technique is based on measuring the changing phase of beamformed echoes obtained under varying transmit (Tx) and/or receive (Rx) steering angles. The SoS is reconstructed by inverting a forward model describing how the spatial distribution of SoS is related to the spatial distribution of the echo phase shift. CUTE holds promise as a novel diagnostic modality that complements conventional US in a single, real-time handheld system. Here we demonstrate that, in order to obtain robust quantitative results, the forward model must contain two features that were not taken into account so far: a) the phase shift must be detected between pairs of Tx and Rx angles that are centred around a set of common mid-angles, and b) it must account for an additional phase shift induced by the error of the reconstructed position of echoes. In a phantom study mimicking liver imaging, this new model leads to a substantially improved quantitative SoS reconstruction compared to the model that has been used so far. The importance of the new model as a prerequisite for an accurate diagnosis is corroborated in preliminary volunteer results

Should they Stay or Should they Go: Can State Attorneys General Avoid Removal of Parens Patriae Suits to Federal Court Under the Class Action Fairness Act?

The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) allows a defendant to remove a class action filed in state court to federal court if certain requirements are met. There is currently a circuit split as to whether a parens patriae suit—a suit brought by a state attorney general on behalf of the citizens of the state—qualifies as a class action under CAFA. The issue raises serious concerns about federalism and has significant implications for civil procedure, and it could affect the ongoing suits by states against mortgage lenders in the wake of the financial crisis. This Note argues that the circuits that have declined to classify a traditional parens patriae suit as a class action are correct, because they are in line with both the intent of CAFA and longstanding jurisdictional and federalism principles underlying removal. The Note suggests that Congress craft a legislative solution to the split, using as a template an amendment contemplated during CAFA\u27s passage but ultimately not included because it was believed—erroneously, it appears—not to be necessary

The Effects Of Differential Reinforcement Structures On Computer-Assisted Instructional Learning

The use of computer assisted instruction as a viable educational technology in our nation\u27s schools has presented educators with new dilemmas and decisions. To operate these devices in the manner in which they were intended, computer software or courseware, whose cost often rivals the original cost of the computers themselves, must be purchased before their potential benefit can be realized. The most widely used type of instructional design that is inherent in these programs can be categorized under the operant theory of learning comprising the styles such as tutorial, skills building, and drill and practice. These computer lessons can be described as question-response-reinforcement in organizational design. The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of the reinforcement and its effects upon certain learner behaviors. Four computer lessons of equal length, scope and difficulty were designed to teach symbolic number systems to high school students. The lessons were designed with four different types of reinforcement structures ranging from sound and color graphics animation to simple knowledge of correct response. The programs were coded so that the students could control the real times allowed to read instructional frames, compute their responses, or watch the rewards. It was clear from the study that reinforcement style had little to do with the effectiveness of the lesson. Students watched the reinforcements for a substantial time to begin with, but ultimately opted to continue the program with little attention to the rewards. Students spent significantly more time watching the frames that demonstrated the question and correct response when they answered incorrectly than they spent listening or watching an animation intended for their delight. The implications for software publishers and purchasers are threefold: 1) Effort needs to be given in examination and evaluation of educational software concerning its learning design. 2) Programs designed as instructional tutorials should be structured economically, without the extensive reinforcement frills. 3) Continued research should be aimed at identifying the most efficient reinforcement strategies in operant-style computer assisted instruction

WSC-07: Evolving the Web Services Challenge

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an evolving architectural paradigm where businesses can expose their capabilities as modular, network-accessible software services. By decomposing capabilities into modular services, organizations can share their offerings at multiple levels of granularity while also creating unique access points for their peer organizations. The true impact of SOA will be realized when 3rd party organizations can obtain a variety of services, on-demand, and create higher-order composite business processes. The Web Services Challenge (WSC) is a forum where academic and industry researchers can share experiences of developing tools that automate the integration of web services. In the third year (i.e. WSC-07) of the Web Services Challenge, software platforms will address several new composition challenges. Requests and results will be transmitted within SOAP messages. In addition, semantic representations will be both represented in the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and in the Web Ontology Language (OWL). Finally, composite processes will have both sequential and concurrent branches

A new algorithm for recognizing the unknot

The topological underpinnings are presented for a new algorithm which answers the question: `Is a given knot the unknot?' The algorithm uses the braid foliation technology of Bennequin and of Birman and Menasco. The approach is to consider the knot as a closed braid, and to use the fact that a knot is unknotted if and only if it is the boundary of a disc with a combinatorial foliation. The main problems which are solved in this paper are: how to systematically enumerate combinatorial braid foliations of a disc; how to verify whether a combinatorial foliation can be realized by an embedded disc; how to find a word in the the braid group whose conjugacy class represents the boundary of the embedded disc; how to check whether the given knot is isotopic to one of the enumerated examples; and finally, how to know when we can stop checking and be sure that our example is not the unknot.Comment: 46 pages. Published copy, also available at http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/gt/GTVol2/paper9.abs.htm

Model-driven semantic Web service composition

As the number of available Web services increases there is a growing demand to realise complex business processes by combining and reusing available Web services. The reuse and combination of services results in a composition of Web services that may also involve services provided in the Internet. With semantically described Web services, an automated matchmaking of capabilities can help identify suitable services. To address the need for semantically de-fined Web services, OWL-S and WSML have been proposed as competing semantic Web service languages. We show how the proposed semantic Web service languages can be utilized within a model-driven methodology for build-ing composite Web services. In addition we combine the semantic-based discovery with the support for processing QoS requirements to apply a ranking or a selection of the candidates. The methodology describes a process which guides the developer through four phases, starting with the initial modelling, and ending with a new composite service that can be deployed and published to be consumed by other users.

Consonant Context Effects on Vowel Sensorimotor Adaptation

Speech sensorimotor adaptation is the short-term learning of modified articulator movements evoked through sensory-feedback perturbations. A common experimental method manipulates acoustic parameters, such as formant frequencies, using real time resynthesis of the participant\u27s speech to perturb auditory feedback. While some studies have examined phrases comprised of vowels, diphthongs, and semivowels, the bulk of research on auditory feedback-driven sensorimotor adaptation has focused on vowels in neutral contexts (/hVd/). The current study investigates coarticulatory influences of adjacent consonants on sensorimotor adaptation. The purpose is to evaluate differences in the adaptation effects for vowels in consonant environments that vary by place and manner of articulation. In particular, we addressed the hypothesis that contexts with greater intra-articulator coarticulation and more static articulatory postures (alveolars and fricatives) offer greater resistance to vowel adaptation than contexts with primarily inter-articulator coarticulation and more dynamic articulatory patterns (bilabials and stops). Participants completed formant perturbation-driven vowel adaptation experiments for varying CVCs. Results from discrete formant measures at the vowel midpoint were generally consistent with the hypothesis. Analyses of more complete formant trajectories suggest that adaptation can also (or alternatively) influence formant onsets, offsets, and transitions, resulting in complex formant pattern changes that may reflect modifications to consonant articulatio

Micromachined Active Magnetic Regenerator for Low-Temperature Magnetic Coolers

A design of an Active Magnetic Regenerative Refrigeration (AMRR) system has been developed for space applications. It uses an innovative 3He cryogenic circulator to provide continuous remote/distributed cooling at temperatures in the range of 2 K with a heat sink at about 15 K. A critical component technology for this cooling system is a highly efficient active magnetic regenerator, which is a regenerative heat exchanger with its matrix material made of magnetic refrigerant gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG). Creare Inc. is developing a microchannel GGG regenerator with an anisotropic structured bed for high system thermal efficiency. The regenerator core consists of a stack of thin, single-crystal GGG disks alternating with thin polymer insulating layers. The insulating layers help minimize the axial conduction heat leak, since GGG has a very high thermal conductivity in the regenerator s operating temperature range. The GGG disks contain micro channels with width near 100 micrometers, which enhance the heat transfer between the circulating flow and the refrigerant bed. The unique flow configuration of the GGG plates ensures a uniform flow distribution across the plates. The main fabrication challenges for the regenerator are the machining of high-aspect-ratio microchannels in fragile, single-crystal GGG disks and fabrication and assembly of the GGG insulation layers. Feasibility demonstrations to date include use of an ultrashort- pulse laser to machine microchannels without producing unacceptable microcracking or deposition of recast material, as shown in the figure, and attachment of a thin insulation layer to a GGG disk without obstructing the flow paths. At the time of this reporting, efforts were focused on improving the laser machining process to increase machining speed and further reduce microcracking