Landscapes evolve through a number of processes in response to a wide range of forcing mechanisms. Many of the processes that drive landscape evolution occur at the interface between fluid and sediment. Sediment transport leads to changes in topography that, in turn, influence fluid flow. Feedback mechanisms between topography and fluid flow can lead to the formation of patterns, such as sand ripples, dune fields, parallel channel networks, and periodically spaced valleys. In many cases, the development and evolution of patterns within landscapes are heavily influenced by environmental conditions. Therefore, given relationships between landform features and the underlying processes, present-day landscapes have the potential to be used to infer a record of climatic conditions over the course of their development. An inability to make direct observations over geologically relevant timescales makes it difficult to study the processes that influence landscape evolution. Mathematical models provide a means of quantitatively linking natural patterns and landscape features with physical processes. Patterns in landscapes also provide a simple means of testing quantitative representations of geomorphic processes. In this work, we develop landscape evolution models to study the development of debris-flow-dominated hillslopes, rill networks, and cinder cones. Through a combination of theoretical modeling, analysis of experimental data, and remote sensing data, we attempt to better understand each of these three systems. While each system is interesting in isolation, these and similar studies add to our knowledge of the mathematical representations of processes that are used more generally within the study of landscape evolution.

"Yuewang Goujian shijia," the forty-first chapter of the Shiji, is one of the most important sources for the history of the ancient state of Yue. However, this chapter has not received serious scholarly examination in the West. Unlike those chapters of the Shiji which have been translated in the Shiji translation project headed by William Nienhauser, "Yuewang Goujian shijia" has not yet been translated into English. This thesis provides an annotated translation of the "Yuewang Goujian shijia." In addition, it has been argued that the history of the Spring and Autumn period in the Shiji is a compilation of earlier sources. The introduction to the translation will specifically look at the relationship of the "Yuewang Goujian shijia" to one of its proposed sources, the "Yueyu xia," which is the twenty-first chapter of the Guoyu. In comparing these two texts, it will be shown that dependence cannot be definitely demonstrated.

This study qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes the geomorphology of alluvial fans in the Guadalupe Mountains Region (GMR) of west Texas and south-central New Mexico. Morphometric data for 31 alluvial fans and drainage basins ha ve been derived. The data set was subdivided into Guadalupe and Brokeoff Mountain fans and was further subdivided on the basis of their location along the two mountain ranges. A conventional morphometric analysis was conducted relating alluvial fan area and slope to drainage basin area in order to understand if and to what extent the alluvial fans of the GMR are dependent on the physical environment, including characteristics and processes of the drainage basin and depositional site. The results of the morphometric analysis indicate that the morphometric relationships that exist between the alluvial fans of the GMR and their contributory drainage basins are comparably to those of alluvial fans of the western United States. Morphologic and morphometric differences between the various groups primarily reflect geographic differences in the physiography and lithology of the contributory drainage basin, tectonics, and the various physical constraints imposed by the GMR.

Mental imagery as a form of human cognition is still not well understood, particularly in the area of spatiality. This thesis attempts to find the relationship between the mental images of places created while reading a story (ekphrastic) and the mental images created while viewing a cinematic adaptation of that story. Using Bakhtin’s idea of chronotope, and Panofsky’s theory of iconography, associations can be made between places in text and film that inform the themes that readers/spectators identify and evaluate. Netlytic, an online text analysis tool, permits the analysis of online message board fan opinions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings according to themes of visualization and of place. Analysis of findings suggests that mental images created from the text and from the filmic adaptation are both passively and actively integrated in order to increase comprehension of spatial elements in Tolkien’s epic.

Cultural policy theory operates on a division between producers and the public. Dualisms, such as producer/consumer – or, in more nuanced circles, the triadic relationship of consumer/producer/owner – have had a structuring effect on the way in which we envision cultural policy theories. At its core, the producer/consumer dualism implies subjectivities – that is to say that it defines positions in relationships between socio-political actors/actresses. At the governmental level, such clear-cut subject positions are perceptible beyond theories, entering into the actual practice of policy-making to the point where certain policies structure the notion of the public (or consumers), and the producers and/or owners. Copyright law, for instance, represents a good example of such an ideational construct. As a form of cultural policy, copyright law seeks to define the rights of producers with regards to their productions. Consequently, this thesis aims at exploring the forms of agency that develop and challenge both the practice and theoretical constructs of cultural policy. Two aspects command us to question anew these boundaries, one based on contemporary social and technical transformations (the rise of the digital age), and one based on cultural practice (in this case, those of fans and fandoms).Borrowing from theories of cultural studies and Foucauldian approaches to discourse analysis, this thesis explored the emerging discourses surrounding fans and their use of copyrighted material via the internet. Putting emphasis on three fandoms that have had marked histories of fan activism and fan production via the use of copyrighted material – Star Trek, Firefly, and Harry Potter – this paper investigated fans’ use of copyrighted material in developing fan cultures and as a vehicle for their discursive practices. These cases illustrate how fans have challenged the established repertoires of subjects in cultural policy (making and theory), and how their form of agency represents an interesting case of resistance to the rise of the cultural industries conception of cultural policy.

The present work examines the construction of race on reality television through the use of an exemplar in this genre, MTV's The Real World. By the sheer fact of its popularity and ubiquity, as The Real World is nearly two decades old and is the longest-running example of the genre, reality television programming warrants deeper academic investigation. The present work argues that as we are consuming mass media, we are also consuming specific ideas about our social world. These ideas inform audiences and are necessary to uncover in order to learn about the social structure of our racialized society. Findings reveal race and ethnicity is embedded in our culture and how this show has communicated race through its depiction and even exclusion. Further, findings reveal that racial and ethnic relations are most often depicted as a "Black versus White" issue. The current work focuses specifically on the construction of race because of the similarly ubiquitous nature of race in society. Because The Real World is a long-running series, it provides an ample database from which to sample for a discourse analysis. The show is marketed and viewed by a specific target audience such that it allows for the exploration of one of the research arguments: that we must continue to rethink and challenge our view that mass media audience members, specifically here television, are passive consumers of material. The present work seeks to extend the application of theoretical contributions of Hall, Morley, Ang, and Jenkins by applying models to a type of programming that complicates the vision of media where consumers and producers are identifiably different spheres. The field of reality television programming is unique because of its dependence on viewers to become cast members and participants in the media production process. Finally, as previous research has shown, even in fictional settings viewers have conflated the individual who plays a character and the character the actor is playing. Thus by analyzing issues of race, where the line between real and unreal is purposely blurred the impact of how race is constructed can be quite great.

Freie Univ., Diss.--Berlin, 2002.

abstract: Thermal modeling and investigation into heat extraction methods for building-applied photovoltaic (BAPV) systems have become important for the industry in order to predict energy production and lower the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of generating electricity from these types of systems. High operating temperatures have a direct impact on the performance of BAPV systems and can reduce power output by as much as 10 to 20%. The traditional method of minimizing the operating temperature of BAPV modules has been to include a suitable air gap for ventilation between the rooftop and the modules. There has been research done at Arizona State University (ASU) which investigates the optimum air gap spacing on sufficiently spaced (2-6 inch vertical; 2-inch lateral) modules of four columns. However, the thermal modeling of a large continuous array (with multiple modules of the same type and size and at the same air gap) had yet to be done at ASU prior to this project. In addition to the air gap effect analysis, the industry is exploring different ways of extracting the heat from PV modules including hybrid photovoltaic-thermal systems (PV/T). The goal of this project was to develop a thermal model for a small residential BAPV array consisting of 12 identical polycrystalline silicon modules at an air gap of 2.5 inches from the rooftop. The thermal model coefficients are empirically derived from a simulated field test setup at ASU and are presented in this thesis. Additionally, this project investigates the effects of cooling the array with a 40-Watt exhaust fan. The fan had negligible effect on power output or efficiency for this 2.5-inch air gap array, but provided slightly lower temperatures and better temperature uniformity across the array. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Technology 2010

Esta dissertação trata da fanfiction ou fanfic (a príncípio, ficções escritas pelos fãs de determinado objeto cultural filme, seriado de televisão, livro, história em quadrinhos, animação, jogo), com atenção aos conflitos entre escritores de fanfiction quanto às formas de escrita nesse espaço de comunicação. Defende-se que a prática de escrita das fanfictions constitua um campo estruturado no qual seus agentes lutam por capital simbólico, segundo a noção de campo de Pierre Bourdieu. Analisam-se as forças de conservação e de mudança no universo das fanfictions, presentes em um corpus contendo textos escritos pelos fãs discussões, manifestos e fanfic. Nesses textos, os fãs debatem sobre problemas existentes em seu meio (conflito entre autores que buscam a popularidade e os que buscam qualidade, preconceitos com determinadas categorias nesse meio e com aqueles que possuem dificuldade de escrita). Também se analisa a maneira como os fãs e escritores de fanfictions se relacionam com os objetos culturais nos quais se baseiam, com o mercado de entretenimento e com a literatura. Da mesma forma como existem preconceitos entre os fãs, também existem forças que buscam um espaço democrático e livre para escritores e leitores de fanfiction, no qual é possível a escrita de fanfics com temas geralmente rejeitados pelos produtores culturais e pela sociedade, como narrativas envolvendo protagonistas femininas, relacionamentos homossexuais, sexo explícito etc. Assim, a fanfiction é também uma possibilidade para a expressão de grupos minoritários. / This dissertation focuses on fanfictions, or fanfics fictional pieces of writing from fans of a specific cultural object movies, series, books, comic strips, animations, games, etc,) with special attention to the conflicts among the ficwriters which arose from the types of writing in this environment. It is stated that the fanfiction writing practice constitutes a structured field in which its agents fight for symbolic capital, according to the concept created by Pierre Bourdieu. The forces of preservation and change in the fanfiction universe are analyzed in the context of a corpus of written texts created by fans forum discussions, manifests and fanfic. In these texts, fans debate the existing problems in the environment disagreement between authors in search of popularity and those seeking quality, prejudice against certain categories in the field and against authors with difficulties in writing. It also analyses the way fans and fanfiction writers relate with cultural objects on which they base their production, with the entertainment market and with Literature. In the same way there is a great deal of prejudice among fans, there are also forces in search of a democratic space, a free zone for fanfiction writers and readers, where it is possible to produce fanfics whose themes are generally rejected by mainstream media producers and society alike. These themes comprehend narratives with female main characters, homosexual relationships, explicit sex, etc. Therefore, the fanfiction is also an opportunity of free speech for minority groups.

Efeito do sistema é o nome dado ao decréscimo no desempenho do ventilador que surge quando a instalação deste no sistema não é feita de forma que seja permitido o desenvolvimento completo do escoamento nos trechos de duto em sua entrada ou saída. Esse efeito, muitas vezes não levado em conta durante o dimensionamento de ventiladores associados a sistemas de movimentação de ar, pode causar a insuficiência na vazão de ar ou na pressão requerida para um determinado processo ou objetivo. Este trabalho analisa, para um determinado caso de efeito do sistema, a influência dos parâmetros envolvidos no processo para se melhor compreender este fenômeno. É escolhida para o procedimento experimental, a faixa de velocidades de escoamento em que os dados de fatores do efeito do sistema variam em maior grau nas referências bibliográficas. A metodologia aplicada nos ensaios experimentais é baseada em bibliografias que estudaram diferentes formas de efeito do sistema. Os equipamentos utilizados no processo são escolhidos de forma a atender os fatores restritivos existentes no Laboratório de Instrumentação em Mecânica dos Fluidos da Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo. Os valores de fator do efeito do sistema obtidos experimentalmente são comparados com os da bibliografia, sendo encontradas diferenças que variam entre 0% e 58%. São buscadas formas de estimar o impacto de cada uma das variáveis envolvidas. O estudo apresentado aqui é de importância para a indústria, devido ao fato de que diferenças de até 200% surgem entre os cálculos de perda de carga que contabilizam o efeito do sistema e aqueles que não contabilizam. / System effect is the name given to the performance decrease of the fan that takes place when the installation of the fans in the system is in a form where the complete development of the flow is not possible to occur in the duct regions in the entrance and exit of the fan. This effect is frequently not considered during the dimensioning of ventilation systems and the selection of the fan for a given process or purpose, which may lead to deficiency in the flow and pressure values when compared to the requirements. The influence of each involved parameter was analyzed in this project for a specific case of system effect in order to better comprehend this phenomenon. The range of airflow speeds chosen for the experimental procedures defined was the one that differed the most in the bibliography. The methodology applied in the experiments was based on bibliography that studied different forms of system effect. The equipment used in the process was chosen to attend to the restrictive factors existent in the Laboratório de Instrumentação em Mecânica dos Fluidos from the Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo. The values of system effect obtained experimentally were compared to the bibliography, and differences between 0% and 58% were found. A way to estimate the impact of each involved variable was studied. The study present here is quite important to the industry, due to the fact that differences of up to 200% can be found between losses calculations that consider the system effect and those which do not.