"... a realization of what particularized the domain of spaces ideal for "school" would make the designing of an institution of learning challenge the architect and awaken in him an awareness of what 'school ' wants to be, which is the same as saying an awareness of the form: ’school'. " L. Kahn The aim of this design thesis is to consider 'the spirit of place' in a learning institution and explore how this 'spirit' may be expressed in a work of architecture. The project is a new School of Architecture in Old Town, Alexandria. Issues of concern include designing with sensitivity to an existing urban fabric, the articulation of boundary between public and private domains, order vs. spatial variety, and creating a place for students and the community which celebrates learning. / Master of Architecture

This is a presentation of the way I see the world created by mortals; these ideas shape my architectural perspective. The building is a museum designed to present a history of yachts: boats which present a way of building and a sensibility of materials. This consideration of the material used reveals each material’s characteristics in construction. Steel attenuates through optimization, and masonry becomes generous in form through the needs of its use. A building is a note emitted in a particular instant in the midst of a culture and composed of an infinitude of elements. Buildings measure mortal progress through the instrument of technology. Time is measured by matter. The building explores the rhythm and juxtaposition of elements in their relationships within the pattern of the building. The book is an examination of an order in text and images, given the technology i have chosen. The gathering of things that present meanings when juxtaposed begin to shape an idea, an emotion. Words as objects, gather to form complex ideas. In this book the transparent paper allows the presence of future images to influence present readings. To experience with the senses and the mind, we learn throughout existence giving order to our universe. Elements become multivalient by the continual layering of experience. Revisited in time, with fresh discovery in unselfconscious exploration things gain meaning. Culture evolved as its material record transforms. / Master of Architecture

As described in Christian Norberg-Schulz’s Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture, urban architecture requires a clear division between public and private. In this case, a desire for privacy when living so closely together inspires the idea to articulate the places of the private realm. Furthermore, such tight places need strict rules to guide the design. The rules of design employed have established a pattern both harmonious and practical; economical, yet relative. This pattern of place allows not only the sections of the design to relate to the whole, but the details relate to the sections, the sections to the unit and the unit to the whole. Finally, if the rules governing the design of one unit type are valid, that matrix can drive the design of similar units. / Master of Architecture

Ph.D.

Paradigm, analogue and artifact are the elements of a conceptual framework within which constitutive principles of architecture can be explored. / Master of Architecture

This thesis reports on the development and validation of a computer tool created to facilitate the input of three-dimensional human postural information. The computer program under development attempts to provide a high resolution technique that is easy to use and not overly time-consuming. The method incorporates two- and three-dimensional graphics and allows the representations to be manipulated to the same perspective as the subject being recorded. A mouse input system is used to allow users to select and manipulate limb postures from one of six different views (left, right, front, back, top, and three-dimensional). The separate views are coordinated to force a consistent representation for later analysis or storage. Human factors concepts have been incorporated into the program to increase the spatial compatibility of the task and to streamline the data input in an attempt to increase both recording accuracy and speed. A validation experiment was performed using 30 subjects, 15 male and 15 female, who were pre-tested for spatial ability. Subjects were asked to input postural information for five postures that were presented on videotape. The postures represented five different positions ('sitting,' 'pushing,' 'lifting,' 'reaching,' and 'crouching') that spanned the range of positions a worker is likely to adopt in the workplace. Subjects viewed each posture from one of three different viewing angles (the 'right' side in the sagittal plane, the 'front' side in the frontal plane, and an 'oblique' angle between the other two). Kappa coefficients were calculated to compare subjects' responses, and it was demonstrated that the method was reliable between subjects (p < .001). An analysis-of-covariance (ANCOVA) was performed on the speed of response data, with the spatial ability scores representing the covariate variable. Those subjects viewing the posture from the 'right' viewing angle had significantly lower times than those subjects viewing the postures from the 'front' or 'oblique' perspectives. Also, subjects were significantly slower when recording the pushing posture than when recording any of the other four postures. The average time required to record a posture ranged from 2.55 to 5.98 minutes, with an overall average of 4.04 minutes. It was also demonstrated that spatial ability had no effect on the speed of the subjects' responses. PI coefficients and Gamma Statistics were calculated to determine the accuracy of the method by comparing the subjects’ responses to accurate measurements of each posture. It was shown that the recordings were similar to the expert measurements (p̲ < .05) in all cases, except for the condition where the subjects were recording the frontal plane of the ‘crouching’ posture. The accuracy of the method was also evaluated using a analysis-of-covariance (ANCOVA) to analyze the angular deviations of the subjects responses from the expert measurements. Twelve link segments on the stick figure were used as the dependent measures, and the spatial ability scores were used as the covariate variable. The results of the ANCOVA indicated that subjects viewing the postures from the 'right' viewing angle were significantly more accurate than those subjects viewing the postures from either the ‘front’ or ‘oblique’ perspectives. Also subjects were significantly less accurate when recording the ‘pushing’ posture than when recording any of the other four postures. Finally, it was demonstrated that spatial ability had no effect on the accuracy of the subjects’ responses. / Master of Science

Several C-7 and C-13 diazirinyl taxol analogs have been synthesized as potential photoaffinity-labeled derivatives for studying the nature of the binding site of taxol on polymerized tubulin. One analog has been prepared in both deuterium- and tritium-labeled versions. Methods were developed to selectively hydrolyze the C-2 benzoate of taxol which have allowed for the preparation of a variety of C-2 modified taxol derivatives. The C-2 taxol analogs were tested in several cell culture assays, and substantial increases in potency were observed with many of these derivatives, suggesting that the C-2 benzoate may play a crucial role in taxol's activity. Reaction of 2'-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-7-triethylsilyl taxol with Triton B™ selectively hydrolyzed the C-2 benzoate and the C-4 acetate respectively. This is the first disclosure of the C-4 deacetylation of taxol carrying an intact C-13 side chain. Several oxetane ring opened taxol analogs were synthesized via reaction of taxol with electrophilic reagents. The reaction of these oxetane ring-opened analogs have revealed some interesting rearrangements and functional group transfer reactions. / Ph. D.

The present study shows that the process of composition is of foremost consideration and importance in William Stafford's poetics, and that his idea of the creative process can be understood as being composed of an organic relationship between self, language, and world, and of the writer's continual encounter with those elements during the creative act. The method for presenting a study of William Stafford's poetics in this dissertation comes from an examination of his poetry, essays, and interviews. The results of this examination provide the background for a detailed analysis of each element of the organic relationship--self, language, and world--as it appears in selected poems. Reading Stafford's poetry as a series of encounters with self, language, and world offers a view of Stafford as a writer deeply engaged in the creative process and provides a way of reading his poetry with greater comprehension and appreciation of his poetic vision.Chapter One, "Poetry As Process," provides an overview of the debate which began in the mid-1950s between the proponents of New Criticism and the shapers of the "new poetry." Though Stafford was not a spokesman for the new poetry, his poetry and essays about the nature of the creative process share many of the characteristics which have come to be associated with the new poetry, especially the revived discussions of "open" and "organic" form. An analysis of his writings shows that Stafford believes the process of writing to be more important than the end product, the poem, since it is the process of composition which defines the self. For Stafford, creativity is an organic process, consisting of the writer's persistent encounter with self and world as expressed in language.Chapter Two, "Encounter With Self," shows teat, for Stafford, writing is a manifestation of self, and that the self is dynamic rather than static, constantly being shaped by experience. The chapter shows that Stafford views the writing process as a highly subjective experience whereby he attempts to articulate his most deeply felt intuitions and feelings. An analysis of selected poems reveals that Stafford views poetry as a liberating force, a way of discovering the authentic self, with the poem becoming an extension of self.In Chapter Three, "Encounter With Language," Stafford's view of language is examined, revealing his belief that a trusting acceptance of the language of every day speech leads to the discovery of a coherence that exists in language. Since writing, for Stafford, is an attempt to uncover those mysteries which exist in daily language, he is suspicious of any prescribed rule or form that impedes the natural flow of language. He affirms intuition and imagination, rather than reason, as guides.Chapter Four, "Encounter With the World," examines the third element of the organic relationship, the world. An analysis of his poetry shows Stafford constantly working toward those moments of spiritual and mystical awakening. Because of his close attention to his immediate experience, Stafford's poems become small stories, interpreting the world for all who share in language and experience. For Stafford, imagination allows the self, through language, to construct a view of the world.

Seminario para obtener el Titulo de Ingeniero Comercial, mención Economía. / En este seminario se estudian los determinantes del empleo agregado en Chile. Modelando la ocupación como una función entre el producto y los precios de factores, se controla si la reforma laboral del año 2001 introdujo distorsiones desincentivadoras a la contratación de mano de obra. A su vez se analiza si el proceso de apertura vivido en Chile ha introducido un factor de incertidumbre que afecte el mercado laboral. Los resultados sugieren que la reforma laboral del 2001 no introdujo distorsiones adicionales y que la incertidumbre asociada a la apertura comercial tiene un efecto negativo en la contratación. Por su parte un simple ejercicio de simulación sugiere que de mantenerse los niveles de volatilidad cambiaria de los años noventa, se esperaría en promedio treinta mil puestos de trabajo adicionales para cada trimestre desde el año 2000 a la fecha.

M.A. / With the exception of the Western Sahara, Eritrea was the only African country to have been permanently occupied by another African country after the Second World War, when the concept of self-determination had been widely recognised and accepted. Despite the illegality of the Ethiopian annexation, the conflict in Eritrea was largely under-reported in the Western media, especially in the 70s and 80s. There were also few protests from the international community, especially African states and their leaders, many of whom viewed the conflict in Eritrea as a secessionist problem. The Organisation of African Unity was founded in Addis Ababa in 1963 and Ethiopia had a particularly prestigious position in Africa. During three decades the Eritrean nationalists conducted a war of liberation with no parallel in Africa and one which can only been compared to the Vietnamese struggle against French and American domination. The war in Eritrea was a protracted conflict that involved many thousands of soldiers, foreign military advisors and heavy military equipment on the Ethiopian side and a much smaller fighting force on the Eritrean side, which only had the support of the civilian population. This mini-thesis looks into those socio-economic aspects that enabled Eritrea's most efficient and resilient liberation front, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, EPLF, to mobilise the Eritrean population around the goal of national liberation. The study pays particular attention to how the EPLF obtained the highest degree of participation from the civilian population and how it maximised all available resources to fight the Ethiopian occupation forces.