Currently, across dance studies, choreographies are usually discussed as representational of the choreographer, with little attention focused on the dancers who also bring the work into being. As well as devaluing the contribution that the dancer makes to the choreographic process, the dancer’s elision from mainstream discourse deprives the art form of a rich source of insight into the incorporating practices of dance. This practice-based research offers a new perspective on choreographic process through the experiential viewpoint of the participating dancer. It involves encounters with contemporary choreographers Rosemary Butcher (UK), John Jasperse (US), Jodi Melnick (US) and Liz Roche (Ire). Utilizing a mixed-mode research structure, it covers the creative process and performance of three solo dance pieces in Dublin in 2008, as well as an especially composed movement treatise, all of which are documented on the attached DVD. The main hypothesis presented is that the dancer possesses a moving identity which is a composite of past dance experience, anatomical structures and conditioned human movement. This is supported by explorations into critical theory on embodiment, including Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of ‘the habitus’. The moving identity is identified as accumulative, altering through encounters with new choreographic movement patterns in independent contemporary dance practice. The interior space of the dancer’s embodied experience is made explicit in chapter 3, through four discussions that outline the dancer’s creative labour in producing each choreographic work. Through adopting a postmodern critical perspective on human subjectivity, supported by Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari and Alain Badiou, among others, the thesis addresses the inherent challenges which face independent contemporary dancers within their multiple embodiments as they move between different choreographic processes. In identifying an emergent paradigmatic shift in the role of dancer within dance- making practices, this research forges a new direction that invites further dancer-led initiatives in practice-based research.

No description available.

Proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider provide insight into fundamental dynamics at unprecedented energy scales. After the discovery of the Higgs boson by the ATLAS and CMS experiments completed the Standard Model picture of particle physics in 2012, the focus turned to investigation of new phenomena beyond the Standard Model. Variations on Supersymmetry, which has strong theoretical underpinnings and a wide potential particle phenomenology, garnered attention in particular. Preliminary results, however, yielded no new particle discoveries and set limits on the possible physical properties of supersymmetric models. This thesis describes a search for supersymmetric particles that could not have been detected by earlier efforts. The study probes collisions with a center of mass energy of 13 TeV detected by ATLAS from 2015 to 2016 that result in events with a large number of jets. This search is sensitive to decays of heavy particles via cascades, which result in at least seven hadronic jets and some missing energy. Constraints on the properties of reclustered large-radius jets are used to improve the sensitivity. The main Standard Model backgrounds are removed using a template method that extrapolates background behavior from final states with fewer jets. No excess is observed over prediction, so limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses in the context of two different theoretical models. Gluino masses below 1500 and 1600 GeV, respectively, are excluded, a significant extension of the limits set by previous analyses.

Baculoviruses are lytic insect viruses. Upon internalisation, the viral genome orchestrates a sequential expression process ultimately leading to lysis of the infected cell. Release of progeny capable of infecting other cells during the process completes the infection cycle. Studies of the infection cycle in cell culture are typically conducted by synchronous infection, i.e. near simultaneous infection of all cells, by means of high virus concentrations. The behaviour of the synchronously infected culture, such as the timing of onset of progeny release, is considered representative for the infection progression within individual cells. In reality, however, the synchronously infected culture only reflects the average behaviour of all infected cells. The infection progresses in individual cells display large variability; this is most obvious in the observation that within the same culture some cells undergo cell lysis at two days post infection while others remain viable up to four days post infection. Such variabilities or asynchronies observed in synchronously infected culture is the topic of this thesis. Using a simple phenomenological model, it is demonstrated that cell death and associated intracellular product release is adequately described assuming that the waiting time from infection to cell death follows a Gaussian distribution with a mean of 59 hours post infection (hpi) and a standard deviation of 15hpi. Unlike other deterministic model developed over the last decade (Licari and Bailey 1992; Nielsen 2000), this stochastic model does not make the biologically inconsistent assumption that cells continue to be metabolically active following loss of membrane integrity. While elegant in its simplicity, the model provides no explanation for the underlying stochasticity. Investigations into the cause of this dispersion of cell death highlighted further asynchronies in the specific recombinant protein yield, in viral DNA content, in virus budding rate, and in cell volume increase instead of clarifying the issue. A modelling framework developed by Licari & Bailey (1992) and later Hu & Bentley (2000) incorporates the number of infectious particles each individual cell receives as a possible source of the dispersions in the host cell responses. However, this was found NOT to be the cause of the observed asynchronies under non-substrate limiting conditions. The timing of cell death, cell volume increase, recombinant product yield, viral DNA content, and virus budding rate is identical in Sf9 cell cultures infected at multiplicities of infection of ~5, ~15, and ~45 infectious particles per cell. Cell cycle variation has previously been suggested as a possible cause for observed asynchronies in baculovirus infections (Brown and Faulkner, 1975). The cell cycle phase is indirectly linked to the cell volume, because a G2-phase cell prior to division is inherently twice the cell volume of a G1-phase cell after cell division. By the same logic, it is also apparent that a G2-phase cell possesses twice the number of ribosomes of a G1-phase cell and thus a doubled protein production capacity. The effect of the cell cycle or cell volume on the baculovirus infection was determined by splitting an exponentially growing Sf9 cell culture into 5 cell size dependent fractions by centrifugal elutriation. The subsequent infection of these fractions showed (1) no dependency of the timing of cell lysis and cell volume increase and (2) approximately twofold increase of a) recombinant protein yield, b) viral DNA concentration, and c) budded virus yield. The recombinant protein yield showed a strong proportionality to the initial cell volume and the total RNA concentration during the late phase of the infection. As argued in chapter 6, these proportionalities suggest that the observed differences in the responses of the cell fractions to the baculovirus infection are more likely caused by the difference in the protein production capacity than by cell cycle specific molecules. This investigation gave also reason to speculate that infected cells cannot progress beyond the G2/M phase, and cell cycle progression continues undisturbed until ~8hpi when all cellular DNA replication appears to cease. Resuspended, infected Sf9 cells synchronised by centrifugal elutriation showed an identical cell cycle distribution as the non-infected control cultures for the first ~8hpi; G1 and G2/M phase cell proportions remained unchanged, whereas S phase cells progress to G2/M phase. Subsequently, the non-infected control cells resumed normal cycling whereas all infected cells remained at the same cell cycle phase from 8 to 11hpi. The initial cell cycle arrests in G2/M phase in both infected and non-infected cultures were caused through medium exchange.

Thesis advisor: John Sallis / Henri Bergson’s interpretation of Aristotle has not been adequately considered in scholarship. Bergson was greatly inspired by Aristotle’s method and discoveries in psychology and metaphysics, but Bergson also accused Aristotle of having reduced philosophy to an analysis of language. Beneath the apparent rigid formalism of Aristotelian logic, he had in fact described life in a dynamic and qualitatively rich way that is consonant with Bergson’s “qualitative multiplicity.” I show the commonalities between their philosophies and suggest ways of interpreting Aristotle from a Bergsonian perspective. In tracking all Bergson’s discussions of Aristotle—some very critical and reductive; others quite favorable and generous—it becomes evident that Aristotle’s dynamic sense of being describes qualitative multiplicity. This becomes clear when we examine the interrelated problems of movement, force, life, intuition, the soul, embodiment, time, ethics, and art. The theory of dynamics, or the dynamic sense of being, is the underlying thread which weaves these topics together in both Aristotelianism and Bergsonism. This dissertation demonstrates how effort and energy, constituting a hylomorphic unity of experience, provides phenomenological evidence grounding the theory of dynamics. The work of Bergson’s mentor, Félix Ravaisson, is decisive in this historical reconstruction. Ravaisson’s dynamic interpretation highlights Aristotle’s own critiques of logical formalism and presents an intuitive knowledge of life which is inexpressible in language. Bergson clearly borrows insights from Ravaisson’s interpretation but also discredits the validity of them. The burgeoning field of phenomenological interpretations of Aristotle contribute to the dynamic interpretation. I use this scholarship to refute aspects of Bergson’s logical interpretation. In sum, I show that Aristotle’s theory of dynamics is the central paradigm for his whole philosophy, tying together his physics, biology, psychology, epistemology, aesthetics and ethics. Bergson built further upon dynamics, evolving it endogenously, in order to create his qualitative multiplicity, flowing of duration, and élan vital. After critiquing the logical interpretations of Aristotle for their reliance on a metaphysics of presence, it becomes clear Aristotle had already described intensity, continuity, sympathy, and developmental progression as qualitative multiplicity, along the lines of Bergson. Key Words: Dynamism, Continuity, Virtual, Intensity, Development, Analogy, Integral, Concrete, Presence, Time, Energeia, Entelecheia, Movement, Invention, Intuition, Derivation, Habit, Intelligence, Indivisibility, Number, Qualitative, Multiplicity, Auto Affection, Phenomena, Aesthetics, Life. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.

No description available.

No description available.

In the need of computational tools for epsilon-multiplicity, we provide a criterion for a module with a rank E inside a free module F to have rational epsilon-multiplicity in terms of the finite generation of the saturation Rees algebra of E. In this case, the multiplicity can be related to a Hilbert multiplicity of certain graded algebra. A particular example of this situation is provided: it is shown that the epsilon-multiplicity of monomial modules is Noetherian. Numerical evidence is provided that leads to a conjecture formula for the epsilon-multiplicity of certain monomial curves in the 3-affine space.

This thesis presents an inquiry into the concept and phenomena of content marketing and its corresponding market in Sweden by attending to its constituent practices. By adopting a practice based approach to markets, influenced by recent developments in economic sociology, it utilizes a constructivist  view of markets as constantly forming and emerging. This allows examination of a concept that is novel, ambiguously defined yet increasingly popular by focusing on its practical enactments along with actors' conceptions and ideas in order to study what constitutes content marketing. By archival analysis of trade media, examination of industry media and in-depth interviews with content marketing practitioners the paper highlights the formatting effect of ideas on practice, the existence of multiple and conflicting definitions and enactments of content marketing and the implications thereof. It also shows how different categories of content marketing practice are connected and interlinked, before arriving at a definition drawing on practitioners descriptions, enactments and ideas central to the market. The thesis contributes with an inquiry into content marketing where academic research is scant and also provides an empirical application of theory from the growing research tradition concerned with a practice approach to markets.

Master of Science / Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering / J. Kenneth Shultis / Simulations were performed using MCNP5 to optimize the geometry of a neutron spectrometer. The cylindrical device utilizes micro-structured neutron detectors encased in polyethylene moderator to identify sources based on energy spectrum. Sources are identifi ed by comparison of measured detector responses to predetermined detector response templates that are unique to each neutron source. The design of a shadow shield to account for room scattered neutrons was investigated as well. For sufficient source strength in a void, the optimal geometric design was able to detect all sources in 1000 trials, where each trial consists of simulated detector responses from 11 unique sources. When room scatter from a concrete floor was considered, the shadow shield corrected responses were capable of correctly identifying 96.4% of the simulated sources in 1000 trials using the same templates. In addition to spectrometer simulations, a set of neutron multiplicity experiments from a plutonium sphere with various reflector thicknesses were simulated. Perturbations to nuclear data were made to correct a known discrepancy between multiplicity distributions generated from MCNP simulations and experimental data. Energy-dependent perturbations to the total number of mean neutrons per fission [average velocity] of [superscript]2[superscript]3[superscript]9Pu ENDF/B-VII.1 data were analyzed. Perturbations were made using random samples, correlated with corresponding covariance data. Out of 500 unique samples, the best-case [average velocity] data reduced the average deviation in the mean of multiplicity distributions between simulation and experiment to 4.32% from 6.73% for the original data; the average deviation in the second moment was reduced from 13.87% to 8.74%. The best-case [average velocity] data preserved k[subscript]e[subscript]f[subscript]f with a root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) of 0.51% for the 36 Pu cases in the MCNP validation suite, which is comparable to the 0.49% RMSD produced using the original nuclear data. Fractional shifts to microscopic cross sections were performed and multiplicity and criticality results compared. A 1.5% decrease in fission cross section was able to correct the discrepancy in multiplicity distributions greater than the [average velocity] perturbations but without preserving k[subscript]e[subscript]f[subscript]f .