Dante, Damnation, and The Undead: How The Conception of Hell Has Changed in Western Literature from Dante\u27s Inferno to The Zombie Apocalypse

Dante\u27s Inferno defined hell in Western literature for centuries; it was a physical place for sinners, they were subjected to physical torments, and it was in the afterlife. Dante’s depiction was firmly rooted in Christian theology. However, as fears and morals change, ideas of hell evolve as well. With the popularity of the zombie and other apocalypse narratives, these ideas return to the notion of physical torment and earthly places. In poetry, novels, theater, television, and film, writers examine different interpretations of hell, punishment, and redemption as metaphors for modern sins. In Sartre’s Huis clos, hell is a windowless room, and the tortures are inflicted psychologically by other people. In Romero’s Living Dead films, hell comes to earth, and the torments are both physical and psychological. Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows how hellish the common experiences of high school and growing up can be. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road examines hell as a lack of place, a relentless journey without end. In these and other works, the concept of hell is reinvented and replaced by new ideas, but the influence of the past iterations shapes the new landscapes

Effect of sampling rate and record length on the determination of stability and control derivatives

Flight data from five aircraft were used to assess the effects of sampling rate and record length reductions on estimates of stability and control derivatives produced by a maximum likelihood estimation method. Derivatives could be extracted from flight data with the maximum likelihood estimation method even if there were considerable reductions in sampling rate and/or record length. Small amplitude pulse maneuvers showed greater degradation of the derivative maneuvers than large amplitude pulse maneuvers when these reductions were made. Reducing the sampling rate was found to be more desirable than reducing the record length as a method of lessening the total computation time required without greatly degrading the quantity of the estimates

A total production index for Washington, D.C.

A heavy concentration of services characterizes the economy of the District of Columbia. Growth in the D.C. economy, although usually heavily insulated from the swings of the U.S. business cycle, varies in intensity and, sometimes, in direction. Now, a new monthly index of total production provides a timely measure of services and goods production in Washington, D.C.Industrial production index ; Federal Reserve District, 5th

Agricultural policy reform and less-favoured areas policy: application of EU policy to Japan

This paper aims to overview Japan’s implementation of the EU’s Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) direct payment support. Furthermore, we discuss the limitations of Japan’s LFA payments to the development of rural policy. Japan’s LFA direct payment policy was formed through adjustments to the small-scale Monsoon Asia terraced paddy field farming which still strongly relies on the community function. It has been effective in preventing further increases in farmland abandonment. However the long-term effectiveness of this policy is questionable due to the likelihood of further depopulation and ageing in Japan’s LFAs. We suggest the need for a conceptual shift from current support that maintains the status quo to one that emphasises investment in rural regeneration

The new HiVIS spectropolarimeter and spectropolarimetric calibration of the AEOS telescope

We designed, built, and calibrated a new spectropolarimeter for the HiVIS spectrograph (R 12000-49000) on the AEOS telescope. We also did a polarization calibration of the telescope and instrument. We will introduce the design and use of the spectropolarimeter as well as a new data reduction package we have developed, then discuss the polarization calibration of the spectropolarimeter and the AEOS telescope. We used observations of unpolarized standard stars at many pointings to measure the telescope induced polarization and compare it with a Zemax model. The telescope induces polarization of 1-6% with a strong variation with wavelength and pointing, consistent with the altitude and azimuth variation expected. We then used scattered sunlight as a linearly polarized source to measure the telescopes spectropolarimetric response to linearly polarized light. We then made an all-sky map of the telescope's polarization response to calibrate future spectropolarimetry.Comment: PASP 118, June 200

My Sweet White Rose

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/2242/thumbnail.jp

Optical Astronomy from Orbiting Observatories

Atmospheric extinction, seeing, and light pollution £re the most significant factors affecting the quality of observations obtained from ground-based optical telescopes, degrading resolution and limiting reach. In addition, the earth\u27s atmosphere is opaque to radiation shorter than 0.3 microns preventing the ultraviolet from being observed in detail from the ground. The solution to these problems has been to move astronomical telescopes into earth orbit. Initially these orbiting observatories carried instruments sensitive to ultraviolet and higher energy radiation since it was otherwise unobservable. The success of the first series of these orbiting observatories, the Orbiting Astronomical Observatories (OAO), established these satellites as one of a new generation of tools for exploring the universe. Another orbiting observatory, the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), is unique among the current orbiting observatories in that it is in a geosynchronous orbit and provides a guest observer facility serving the international community. IUE has had a significant impact on observational astronomy. Nearly 10 percent of all observational papers published JLi the Astrophysical Journal in 1980 reported or used observations made by IUE. The figure for all astronomical satellites is about 3 times higher and continues to rise. With the orbiting of the Space Telescope in the mid 1980s by the Space Shuttle, observational astronomy will enter a new era. For the first time, astronomers will have access to a large (2.4 meter) high-resolution telescope unhindered by the earth f s atmosphere. With the potential such an instrument offers, there is little doubt that the near future will see a large fraction of observational astronomy performed from orbiting observatories