Fortune and desire in Guillaume de Machaut

There is a pervasive tendency, in Machaut scholarship, to read his poetry as having value only insofar as it speaks to our postmodern age: either it is fragmented and riven with ambiguities, or it celebrates eroticism and the things of this world for their own sake; in any case, it resists religious and moral orthodoxy. Such readings, while often valuable in themselves, fail to take sufficient account of the influence which Boethian and Neoplatonic ideas had upon Machaut, and thus misunderstand his work on a fundamental level. By paying attention to the Boethian content in the narrative dits, and by analysing Machaut's verse more thoroughly than has been done before, my thesis demonstrates not only this author's moral orthodoxy, but also his extremely sophisticated didactic methods. I begin with the Confort d'ami, Machaut's most overtly moral work. The Confort engages with the supposed 'worldly' perspective of its imprisoned addressee, adapting biblical and classical exempla in order to coax Charles of Navarre towards a deeper understanding of worldly fortune. In Chapter 2 I show how, in the Prologue and the Dit du vergier, the ambiguity so beloved of critics can serve as a moral commentary on the carnality and self-absorption of the erotic and artistic points of view. Having established, in the preceding chapters, that this author's approach to his subject is ambiguous and critical, in Chapter 3 I explore the extremes of his pessimism, and show how his love poetry can incorporate sophisticated philosophical ideas, through my analysis of the Jugement du roy de Behaigne. The thesis culminates in a detailed reading of the Remede de Fortune. Through his deliberately idealised statements about education, through his application of these views to the art of courtly love, through his composition (and setting to music) of a sequence of virtuoso lyrics, and through his explicit invocations of and borrowings from Boethius, Machaut develops an empathic but ultimately, as I argue, deeply sceptical vision of earthly love

Fortune and desire in Guillaume de Machaut

There is a pervasive tendency, in Machaut scholarship, to read his poetry as having value only insofar as it speaks to our postmodern age: either it is fragmented and riven with ambiguities, or it celebrates eroticism and the things of this world for their own sake; in any case, it resists religious and moral orthodoxy. Such readings, while often valuable in themselves, fail to take sufficient account of the influence which Boethian and Neoplatonic ideas had upon Machaut, and thus misunderstand his work on a fundamental level. By paying attention to the Boethian content in the narrative dits, and by analysing Machaut's verse more thoroughly than has been done before, my thesis demonstrates not only this author's moral orthodoxy, but also his extremely sophisticated didactic methods. I begin with the Confort d'ami, Machaut's most overtly moral work. The Confort engages with the supposed 'worldly' perspective of its imprisoned addressee, adapting biblical and classical exempla in order to coax Charles of Navarre towards a deeper understanding of worldly fortune. In Chapter 2 I show how, in the Prologue and the Dit du vergier, the ambiguity so beloved of critics can serve as a moral commentary on the carnality and self-absorption of the erotic and artistic points of view. Having established, in the preceding chapters, that this author's approach to his subject is ambiguous and critical, in Chapter 3 I explore the extremes of his pessimism, and show how his love poetry can incorporate sophisticated philosophical ideas, through my analysis of the Jugement du roy de Behaigne. The thesis culminates in a detailed reading of the Remede de Fortune. Through his deliberately idealised statements about education, through his application of these views to the art of courtly love, through his composition (and setting to music) of a sequence of virtuoso lyrics, and through his explicit invocations of and borrowings from Boethius, Machaut develops an empathic but ultimately, as I argue, deeply sceptical vision of earthly love.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Postmortem tissue distribution of morphine and its metabolites in a series of heroin related deaths

The abuse of heroin (diamorphine) and heroin deaths are growing around the world. The interpretation of the toxicological results from suspected heroin deaths is notoriously difficult especially in cases where there may be limited samples. In order to help forensic practitioners with heroin interpretation we determined the concentration of morphine (M), morphine‐3‐glucuronide (M3G) and morphine‐6‐glucuronide (M6G) in blood (femoral and cardiac), brain (thalamus), liver (deep right lobe), bone marrow (sternum), skeletal muscle (psoas) and vitreous humor in 44 heroin related deaths. The presence of 6‐monoacetylmorphine (6‐MAM) in any of the postmortem samples was used as confirmation of heroin use. Quantitation was carried out using a validated LC‐MS/MS method with solid phase extraction. We also determined the presence of papaverine, noscapine and codeine in the samples, substances often found in illicit heroin and that may help determine illicit heroin use. The results of this study show that vitreous is the best sample to detect 6‐MAM (100% of cases), and thus heroin use. The results of the M, M3G and M6G quantitation in this study allow a degree of interpretation when samples are limited. However in some cases it may not be possible to determine heroin/morphine use as in 4 cases in muscle (3 cases in bone marrow) no morphine, morphine‐3‐glucuronide or morphine‐6‐glucuronide was detected, even though they were detected in other case samples. As always postmortem cases of suspected morphine/heroin intoxication should be interpreted with care and with as much case knowledge as possible

Human error analysis: Review of past accidents and implications for improving robustness of system design

Since the establishment of the high-technology industry and industrial systems, developments of new materials and fabrication techniques, associated with cutting-edge structural and engineering assessments, are contributing to more reliable and consistent systems, thus reducing the likelihood of losses. However, recent accidents are acknowledged to be linked to human factors which led to catastrophic consequences. Therefore, the understanding of human behavioural characteristics interlaced with the actual technology aspects and organisational context is of paramount importance for the safety & reliability field. This study first approaches this multidisciplinary problem by classifying and reviewing 200 major accident data from insurance companies and regulatory authorities under the Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis framework. Then, specific attention is dedicated to discuss the implications for improving robustness of system design and tackling the surrounding factors and tendencies that could lead to the manifestation of human errors

Learning from accidents: Investigating the genesis of human errors in multi-attribute settings to improve the organisation of design

Remarkable advances in engineering and system controls in recent times and the consequent development of state-of-the-art technologies are clearly resulting in economic, environmental and safety benefits to the society. Latest disasters, however, put human error in the glare of the media spotlight. The February 2016 train collision in southern Bavaria, Germany, which took 11 lives and left more than 90 people injured, is one of several examples where human errors appear to have played a significant role in a major accident. In this emblematic case, the railway system had multiple safety barriers in place, such as an automatic braking system if a train crosses a stop signal, but the track controller had reportedly disabled it. When he realised the error and tried to warn the drivers, it was too late (BBC, 2016)

Learning from major accidents to improve system design

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.Despite the massive developments in new technologies, materials and industrial systems, notably supported by advanced structural and risk control assessments, recent major accidents are challenging the practicality and effectiveness of risk control measures designed to improve reliability and reduce the likelihood of losses. Contemporary investigations of accidents occurred in high-technology systems highlighted the connection between human-related issues and major events, which led to catastrophic consequences. Consequently, the understanding of human behavioural characteristics interlaced with current technology aspects and organisational context seems to be of paramount importance for the safety & reliability field. First, significant drawbacks related to the human performance data collection will be minimised by the development of a novel industrial accidents dataset, the Multi-attribute Technological Accidents Dataset (MATA-D), which groups 238 major accidents from different industrial backgrounds and classifies them under a common framework (the Contextual Control Model used as basis for the Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method). The accidents collection and the detailed interpretation will provide a rich data source, enabling the usage of integrated information to generate input to design improvement schemes. Then, implications to improve robustness of system design and tackle the surrounding factors and tendencies that could lead to the manifestation of human errors will be effectively addressed

Learning from major accidents: Graphical representation and analysis of multi-attribute events to enhance risk communication

Major accidents are complex, multi-attribute events, originated from the interactions between intricate systems, cutting-edge technologies and human factors. Usually, these interactions trigger very particular accident sequences, which are hard to predict but capable of producing exacerbated societal reactions and impair communication channels among stakeholders. Thus, the purpose of this work is to convert high-dimensional accident data into a convenient graphical alternative, in order to overcome barriers to communicate risk and enable stakeholders to fully understand and learn from major accidents. This paper first discusses contemporary views and biases related to human errors in major accidents. The second part applies an artificial neural network approach to a major accident dataset, to disclose common patterns and significant features. The complex data will be then translated into 2-D maps, generating graphical interfaces which will produce further insight into the conditions leading to accidents and support a novel and comprehensive “learning from accidents” experience

A nongenomic mechanism for progesterone-mediated immunosuppression: Inhibition of K+ channels, Ca2+ signaling, and gene expression in T lymphocytes

The mechanism by which progesterone causes localized suppression of the immune response during pregnancy has remained elusive. Using human T lymphocytes and T cell lines, we show that progesterone, at concentrations found in the placenta, rapidly and reversibly blocks voltage-gated and calcium-activated K+ channels (KV and KCa, respectively), resulting in depolarization of the membrane potential. As a result, Ca2+ signaling and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NF-AT)-driven gene expression are inhibited. Progesterone acts distally to the initial steps of T cell receptor (TCR)-mediated signal transduction, since it blocks sustained Ca2+ signals after thapsigargin stimulation, as well as oscillatory Ca2+ signals, but not the Ca2+ transient after TCR stimulation. K+ channel blockade by progesterone is specific; other steroid hormones had little or no effect, although the progesterone antagonist RU 486 also blocked KV and KCa channels. Progesterone effectively blocked a broad spectrum of K+ channels, reducing both Kv1.3 and charybdotoxin-resistant components of KV current and KCa current in T cells, as well as blocking several cloned KV channels expressed in cell lines. Progesterone had little or no effect on a cloned voltage-gated Na+ channel, an inward rectifier K+ channel, or on lymphocyte Ca2+ and Cl- channels. We propose that direct inhibition of K+ channels in T cells by progesterone contributes to progesterone-induced immunosuppression