The aim of this study is to outline circumstances and reasons which caused a birth of an ambitious plan which enabled the USA to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth. The impact of this thesis is to chart individual pilot expeditions also from the eyes of real participants. One part of this study is a chapter dealing with astronauts' preparation and training. The thesis also reminds the fact that among people who landed on the Moon was also the astronaut of the Czech origin, Eugene A. Cernan. In the end the study deal with technology that helped to include program Apollo among the greatest events of the 20th century.

In Walter Pater’s work there are often mentions of discipline and ascesis in an explicitly positive way. But, in some of his work, discipline, although not ascesis, seem to be taking on a more negative form. Critics have nonetheless seemed satisfied with Pater’s explicit praise for discipline and the area is thus not very thoroughly researched. One area that is well researched is the homoerotic subtexts that are evident in a lot of Pater’s work, which critics have examined in a variety of different ways. I suggest analysing the imaginary portraits “Emerald Uthwart” and “Apollo in Picardy,” to argue that Pater contrasts the Ancient Greek notion of ascesis with the nineteenth century understanding of discipline in order to question the legal restrictions on homosexuality in late nineteenth century England. Due to the historical context of the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act, which criminalised homosexuality, and Pater’s regular use of—as well as his admiration for—Ancient Greece, I have found that there is a connection between discipline, ascesis, and homosexuality. In the essay I make use of some of Foucault’s theories, especially from The History of Sexuality Vol. 1 and Vol. 2., to argue that the juxtaposition between homosexuality and discipline and ascesis in the two portraits provides new insights to the intricacies of Pater’s work. Keywords: Walter Pater; discipline; ascesis; homosexuality; “Apollo in Picardy”; “Emerald Uthwart”; Imaginary Portraits

The Apollo Command Module had a tendency to flip over upon impact with the ocean surface after returning from space (9/19 times). In an effort to better characterize the inversion process for future water landing vehicles, experimental results for a simplified buoyant cylindrical puck impacting the water surface are presented. This study focuses on the dependence of inversion upon vertical velocity, horizontal velocity, and the pitch angle of the puck relative to the free surface. High-speed images reveal an asymmetric cavity that forms upon water impact. The asymmetric cavity then collapses, applying a moment, which can be sufficient to invert the puck after impact. Increasing the vertical velocity increases the likelihood of inversion. The puck never flipped over below a vertical velocity of 3.75 m/s. Increasing the horizontal velocity also slightly increases the likelihood of inversion. However, the largest effect of increasing horizontal velocity is to shift the range of impact angles for which the puck will invert to lower angles. The buoyant cylindrical puck used in this study requires a higher Froude number (4.34) to invert than previous geometries which have been studied.

No description available.

No description available.

The Apollo butterfly, Parnassius apollo, is categorized as Near Threatened (NT) in IUCN Red List. Today in Sweden it is found only in strongly fragmentized populations. In the county of Stockholm, P. apollo exists exclusively in some islands of the archipelago and with one mainland population in Stora Vika. This study has the purpose of expanding the knowledge of the local conditions for the butterfly in the south parts of the county of Stockholm and thereby contributes to a sustainable land management that can preserve the Apollo butterfly. A comparative study was done between areas where the butterfly today have: a stable population (Stora Vika, Utö and Ålö), has disappeared (Muskö and Yxlö) or is strongly declining (north part of Ornö). The investigation was based on factors that was considered be contributing to the species decline. Factors that was investigated was the general distribution of host-plant S. telephium, overgrowth in rocky outcrops, presence of nectar plants close to host-plants and if a large proportion of forest in the surroundings of the investigation sites could have a isolating impact on sites. The study was based on 10 sites where the butterfly exist, 7 sites where it has disappeared and 3 sites where it has declined. No significant differences could be found for any factor. On the contrary, the general presence of host-plants at rocky outcrops seems to be the same in areas where the butterfly has disappeared as in areas where it exist today. However caterpillars were only found at sites with a wide distribution of host-plants and also at sites with a large proportion of forest in the surroundings. This was speaking against the hypothesis that a large proportion of forest could have an isolating effect on sites and therefore a negative impact on the adult butterfly preferences. The result creates new questions and the conclusion is that more knowledge of the local conditions is needed to ensure good practice in land management. Sites which are today hosted by the caterpillar should be identified, investigated and protected. Furthermore should the dispersal of nectar plants be investigated and it would be interesting to study the effects of limestone by analyzing and compare Cd concentrations in S. telephium from Muskö with plants from Stora Vika, Utö and Ålö.

This thesis explores the historiography of the images of Antinoös, drawing the most evidence from the Delphi Antinoös, which shows the youth in the guise of Apollo. Building upon the discourse of Hadrian’s “Greekness” and sexuality in connection to the amount of images of Antinoös he had commissioned, this paper instead argues that the images of Antinoös were created in order to further a public and religious programme by Hadrian. I found support in both Mary Boatwright and Paul Zanker as they proposed those images for a public, civic, and religious audience as opposed to private patrons more inclined to luxury. The Delphi Antinoös is a well-documented example of numerous portraits of the youth, and it is this paper’s intention to depict the Pheidian inspiration sought after in the second century CE, at the time of Hadrian’s reign and Antinoös’s death, which illustrate the purpose of the images of Antinoös as religious and not as sexy. Hadrian’s public and religious policies, his tours across the empire, and the far-reaching distribution of images of Antinoös also contribute to the conclusion of the religious audience for the images of Antinoös.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A história da pólis de Esparta como, por vezes, nos foi apresentada tomou uma perspectiva historiográfica dotada de pressupostos Atenocêntricos, os quais acabaram apresentando-a como rústica, dotada de uma economia e uma cultura estática e demasiadamente inclinada às atividades militares. No entanto, através de nossa pesquisa verificamos que as práticas político-culturais dos cidadãos de Esparta eram dinâmicas, para sua época. Seguindo por esse viés, verificamos que as representações de Esparta, sobretudo dos esparciatas e dos seus basileus, variaram de acordo com o grupo social e o contexto histórico em que foram empregadas. Com isso, observamos que embora os cidadãos de Esparta tenham sido, em algumas circunstâncias, criticados pelos pensadores antigos, esta não foi uma tendência hegemônica. Sendo assim, mediante os indícios da documentação literária do período Clássico, notamos que os esparciatas e os seus basileus teriam sido homens dotados de um habitus tradicional, o qual valorizava o aprimoramento físico e mental, assim como a responsabilidade com os deveres sagrados. Através da interação entre os vestígios documentais e dos estudos historiográficos mapeamos parte das representações de Esparta que figuraram os diversos discursos no decorrer da história do Ocidente, no intuito de materializarmos as possíveis motivações político-culturais nas apropriações do habitus espartano. Por conseguinte, recorremos à documentação literária para entendermos como parte dos pensadores clássicos concebeu, por meio de uma memória ancestral, a formação da região da Lacedemônia e da pólis de Esparta, a qual teria se dado concomitantemente com a legitimação político-cultural da identidade étnica dos basileus e dos esparciatas. Por fim, analisamos as práticas rituais em honra ao deus Apolo como um mecanismo empregado pelos segmentos sociais hegemônicos da Lacedemônia para ratificar o seu poder político frente a grupos sociais submetidos. / The history of Sparta sometimes was presented in Athenocentric perspective, which considered Sparta as a rustic society, with static economy and culture, leaning only military activities. However, our research has shown that policies and cultural practices of the citizens of Sparta were dynamic for his time. Following in this way, we find that the representations of Sparta, especially the spartiates and its basileis, ranged according to the historical and social context. Thus, we observe that although the citizens of Sparta were criticized by some ancient thinkers, this wasnt a hegemonic tendency. Upon the evidence of Classical literary documentation, we note that the spartiates and their basileis were men endowed with a traditional habitus, which valued the physical and mental improvement, but also the responsibility to the sacred duties. Through interaction between documentary traces and historiographical studies we charted part of Sparta that figured the discourses throughout the history of the West, in order to materialize the possible political and cultural motivations in the appropriations of Spartans habitus. Therefore, we refer to literary documentation to understand as part of classical thinkers conceived the formation of Lacedaemon region and the polis of Sparta, which would have given concomitantly with the cultural and political legitimation of ethnic identity of the basileus and the spartiates. Finally, we analyze the rituals practices in honor of the god Apollo as a mechanism employed to ratify the political power of hegemonic social segments of Lacedaemon against the subjected social groups.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A história da pólis de Esparta como, por vezes, nos foi apresentada tomou uma perspectiva historiográfica dotada de pressupostos Atenocêntricos, os quais acabaram apresentando-a como rústica, dotada de uma economia e uma cultura estática e demasiadamente inclinada às atividades militares. No entanto, através de nossa pesquisa verificamos que as práticas político-culturais dos cidadãos de Esparta eram dinâmicas, para sua época. Seguindo por esse viés, verificamos que as representações de Esparta, sobretudo dos esparciatas e dos seus basileus, variaram de acordo com o grupo social e o contexto histórico em que foram empregadas. Com isso, observamos que embora os cidadãos de Esparta tenham sido, em algumas circunstâncias, criticados pelos pensadores antigos, esta não foi uma tendência hegemônica. Sendo assim, mediante os indícios da documentação literária do período Clássico, notamos que os esparciatas e os seus basileus teriam sido homens dotados de um habitus tradicional, o qual valorizava o aprimoramento físico e mental, assim como a responsabilidade com os deveres sagrados. Através da interação entre os vestígios documentais e dos estudos historiográficos mapeamos parte das representações de Esparta que figuraram os diversos discursos no decorrer da história do Ocidente, no intuito de materializarmos as possíveis motivações político-culturais nas apropriações do habitus espartano. Por conseguinte, recorremos à documentação literária para entendermos como parte dos pensadores clássicos concebeu, por meio de uma memória ancestral, a formação da região da Lacedemônia e da pólis de Esparta, a qual teria se dado concomitantemente com a legitimação político-cultural da identidade étnica dos basileus e dos esparciatas. Por fim, analisamos as práticas rituais em honra ao deus Apolo como um mecanismo empregado pelos segmentos sociais hegemônicos da Lacedemônia para ratificar o seu poder político frente a grupos sociais submetidos. / The history of Sparta sometimes was presented in Athenocentric perspective, which considered Sparta as a rustic society, with static economy and culture, leaning only military activities. However, our research has shown that policies and cultural practices of the citizens of Sparta were dynamic for his time. Following in this way, we find that the representations of Sparta, especially the spartiates and its basileis, ranged according to the historical and social context. Thus, we observe that although the citizens of Sparta were criticized by some ancient thinkers, this wasnt a hegemonic tendency. Upon the evidence of Classical literary documentation, we note that the spartiates and their basileis were men endowed with a traditional habitus, which valued the physical and mental improvement, but also the responsibility to the sacred duties. Through interaction between documentary traces and historiographical studies we charted part of Sparta that figured the discourses throughout the history of the West, in order to materialize the possible political and cultural motivations in the appropriations of Spartans habitus. Therefore, we refer to literary documentation to understand as part of classical thinkers conceived the formation of Lacedaemon region and the polis of Sparta, which would have given concomitantly with the cultural and political legitimation of ethnic identity of the basileus and the spartiates. Finally, we analyze the rituals practices in honor of the god Apollo as a mechanism employed to ratify the political power of hegemonic social segments of Lacedaemon against the subjected social groups.

The contemporary era is dominated by an Apollonian visual language, i.e. the visual language of mainstream cinema and the mass media, and this study concerns the role that critical cinema, as Dionysian subverter, plays under such conditions. I argue that critical cinema should not be viewed as something completely ‘new’ but rather as a new, or at least the latest, manifestation of an older subversive ‘Dionysian’ voice that has made its presence felt since the dawn of the hegemony of an Apollonian disposition in Homeric epic. (I maintain that the history of western culture can be understood in terms of the persistent tension between Apollonian and Dionysian dispositions, and I use the distinction Derrida makes in Différance, between restricted and general economies, to distinguish between them, respectively.) I begin by considering the Dionysian echoes within Homer’s Iliad and then consider the way in which they became a ‘roar’ in the tragedies of Aeschylus. After Aeschylus a predominantly Apollonian voice asserted itself once again (to various degrees) through the work of Sophocles and Euripides. This was in keeping with the trend towards a more (Apollonian) restricted economy that is reflected in the writings of Homer’s literary successors, and which reached a crucial stage in Plato’s valorisation of ‘dialectics’, or what I term ‘dialecticis m’, which saw the birth of ‘dialectical language’. Through Plato dialecticism, or dialectical language, became instantiated as the ‘language’ of western philosophy and this predisposed western culture to develop along predominantly Apollonian lines. This continued from Plato, through the Middle Ages, until in the 17th century this Apollonian trend became manifest in the concept of the stable, integral, autonomous and self -transparent Cartesian ego, which is inextricably linked to dialectical language that promises certainty of ‘truth’ and maintains the possibility of representing the world in its entirety (as a system). In the contemporary ‘age of a world picture’, the hegemonic (Apollonian) visual language of mainstream cinema and the mass media propagates and perpetuates the belief in the possibility of representing the world in its entirety through the image, and insofar as it caters to audiences’ needs for stability and certainty (of ‘truth’) through providing such ‘complete’ representations, shapes their subjectivity along the lines of the Cartesian ego. According to Baudrillard, in contemporary society and culture the hyperreal realm of visual language has become far more significant for individuals than their immediate, empirical experiences, and that, as a result, they are far less predisposed to discussion and reflection and far more prone to passive ‘watching’. Also, Adorno maintains that it is impossible to have a form of critical cinema because of the way in which features inherent to cinema predispose it towards being an ideological apparatus. However, if both Baudrillard and Adorno are correct then the future appears increasingly bleak as it involves nothing other than the continuation and propagation of the hegemony of the visual language of mainstream cinema and the mass media, with no possibility for critical resistance. I argue instead that critical cinema is possible because the move towards a more restricted economy, motivated by an Apollonian disposition, did not develop from Homer to the contemporary era without meeting Dionysian resistance. I trace the presence of a subversive Dionysian voice through Homer’s Iliad, through Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, and through Plato’s Dialogues, where it echoes in the sentiments of some of Plato’s interlocutors, such as Callicles. In addition, I maintain that a ‘Dionysian’ voice resonates through both Nietzsche’s and Heidegger’s respective criticisms of ‘dialectical language’ and the ‘validity’ of the Cartesian ego. I argue that critical cinema, particularly Aronofsky’s postmodern critical cinema, parallels their similar epistemological and ontological perspectives in the way in which it engages with the (Apollonian) visual language of mainstream cinema and the mass media, and thereby, potentially, facilitates a more porous and protean subjectivity.