This study explores Anne Michaels’s representation of the Second World War – with particular reference to the Holocaust – in her novel Fugitive Pieces. The study contends that Michaels demonstrates a way of remembering these traumatic and debilitating events which not only promotes physical, emotional and spiritual recuperation but is also capable of beneficially affecting the future. The first chapter contextualises the study by describing the literary debate that surrounds Holocaust representation in writing, a debate which furthermore entails an argument on the efficacy of literary techniques such as the use of metaphor. In the chapter, it is proposed that the novel ‘speaks out’ against silence, and privileges remembrance over disregard. The second chapter suggests that the novel is an example of the way in which metaphor can be used effectively to figure the Holocaust for survivors and victims, and for subsequent generations. Concomitantly, the chapter defends Michaels’s use of metaphor in its presentation of proposals, concerning her characters and their experience of the Holocaust, that display rare perspicacity and benevolence. The third and final chapter of this study comprises a four-section exploration of specific metaphors which the author uses in Fugitive Pieces to demonstrate that the horror characterising the Holocaust should not be the sum total of its effect, and that affirmations such as faith and hope can and did arise in the context of extreme physical and mental distress. This thesis is based on the proposition that Michaels’s layering of real-life testimony with imaginative intuition introduces her readers to a valuable way of dealing with the past and facing the future.

This dissertation is a systematic investigation of fugitive slave advertisements aiming to understand the nature of fugitives’ rebelliousness in Georgia and Maryland between 1790 and 1810. Hitherto, historical inquiry pertaining to slave fugitivity has focused on other states and other times. This study provides a close reading of 5,567 advertisements pertaining to runaway slaves and analyses extracted data pertaining to the prosopography of 1,832 fugitives and their fugitivity. Its main research questions focus on advertisements as manifest records of rebellion. Who were the fugitives? What do the fugitive slave advertisements reveal about enslaved people’s contestation of slaveholders’ authority? The principal findings are as follows. First, the typography and iconography of fugitive slave advertisements were expressly intended to undermine the individualism and agency of enslaved people. Second, with regard to Georgia and Maryland, while there were spikes between 1796 and 1798 and 1800 and 1801, fugitivity was a daily occurrence, and thus a normative act of rebellion distinct from insurrection. Third, quantitative analysis indicated fugitives were typically young males, in their twenties, likely to escape at any time of the year; Georgia fugitives were more likely to escape in groups. Fourth, qualitative analysis of advertisers’ descriptions of fugitives revealed evidence of challenges to their authority. Depictions of fugitives’ character and remarks or notes on their behaviour constitute evidence of observed characteristics. From the advertisers’ perspective slaves were at their most dangerous when they could read and write or when they were skilled in deception. The “artful” fugitive in particular possessed many skills, sometimes including literacy, which could be used to defy the power that kept him or her in subjection. Fifth, further investigation established clear linkages between literacy and fugitives’ rebelliousness. Qualitative studies to date speak of slave literacy’s theoretical liberating and empowering effects but do not provide tangible accounts of who the literate slaves were or consider literacy as a factor in rebelliousness. The dissertation identified 36 literate slaves in Maryland and 9 in Georgia, and statistical analysis suggested 3.6 percent of US fugitive slaves were literate. Finally, it was evident that literacy was part of a larger contest to circumvent slaveholder authority and attain self-empowerment. Fugitivity itself was the outcome of a history of contestation that might be hidden from history were it not for the advertisements themselves.

Methane (CH4) is the primary constituent of natural gas and a significant contributor to global climate change, accounting for 11% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. With the advent of hydraulic fracturing technology, production of natural gas from shale gas reserves has increased by 35% from 2005 to 2013. Fugitive CH4 emissions attributed to venting or leakage across the life cycle of natural gas systems have also increased, making the climate benefits ascribed to natural gas questionable when compared to oil and coal. This dissertation reports the results of three studies that improve our knowledge of the environmental and political ramifications of continued investment in and consumption of natural gas fuels. Using bottom-up flux chamber techniques we made direct measurements of CH4 emissions from 100 natural gas leaks in cast iron distribution mains within Metro Boston, MA in order to assess the nature of the distribution of gas leak size and constrain estimates of fugitive CH4 emissions across leak-prone urban distribution infrastructure. We find that the distribution of leak size is skewed, a small fraction of ‘superemitter’ leaks contribute disproportionate CH4 emissions, and CH4 flux at leak sites is not an indicator of safety. Next, we use the lens of urban natural gas infrastructure systems and apply an ecological analytical framework to identify dysfunctions in and opportunities for coordinated urban infrastructure management in Boston, MA. We find that there are real physical and fiscal constraints to retrofitting and expanding aging, urban infrastructure in U.S. cities. Achieving sustainable, resilient urban infrastructure requires active participation by all stakeholders as well as coordination within and between stakeholder groups. Finally, we introduce the term ‘unleakable carbon’ to refer to the uncombusted carbon-based gases associated with fossil fuel systems and demonstrate that in particular the unleakable carbon associated with natural gas constitutes a potentially large and heretofore unrecognized factor in estimating usable portions of Earth’s fossil fuel reserves. We demonstrate that unless unleakable carbon is curtailed, roughly 80 – 100% of our global natural gas reserves must remain underground if we hope to limit warming to 2 °C from 2010 to 2050.

The main assertion of this thesis is that both 19th century and contemporary Gothic literary texts are characterised by fugitivity, embodied by the fugitive ‘figure’ which through its ambiguity is re-deploying the distinction proposed by Ross Chambers – inescapably both narrative and textual. The fugitive figure is intimately related to desire and its textual mobilisation. This mobilisation simulates the paradoxical experience of the sublime in which the pursuer of the fugitive figure is left speechless before the feared and desired unnamable other. Anne Rice’s ‘The vampire chronicles’ are discussed, as are ‘Frankenstein’, ‘The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ and ‘Dracula’. Analysis of these texts constitutes a ‘genealogy’, conceived and executed in poststructuralist terms, consisting of a deconstructive analysis inflected by psychoanalytic inputs. The genealogy is applied to indicate the importance of the family structure and its potential for dissolution in Gothic texts, and recreates a search for origins, which is a recurring theme in Gothic writing. The fugitive figure, through its embodiment of insatiable desire, is beyond either narrative or tropaic apprehension. It is in continual metamorphosis and invites pursuit in its different guises. However, although it appears as the objectified pursued, it actually arises from within the pursuer, so any attempt to arrest the disruptive flow it signifies is, although unavoidable and necessary, a self-deceptive act doomed to failure. This failure is registered simultaneously at narrative and textual levels. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-289).

No description available.

This thesis examines the ways in which definitions and perceptions of refugees in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia evolved over the course of the American Civil War. It investigates perspectives from individuals in both the United States and Confederate States to illustrate how misconceptions about refugees—who they were, what they wanted, and how they could benefit each side—dominated how displaced people were discussed. I argue that despite significant attention to refugees in newspapers, military reports, and among the public, both sides failed to adequately assist refugees who were displaced as a result of the war. Utilizing a broadly chronological approach allows greater insight into how the situation in the Shenandoah Valley escalated over time with the addition of various refugee demographic groups, including white Unionists, Black self-emancipated people, deserters, and pro-Confederate civilians. This thesis discusses how each of these groups challenged Americans' culturally-constructed definition of the word "refugee." It also demonstrates how military commanders made use of refugees as sources of military intelligence who directly influenced the events of several military campaigns. This thesis argues that misconceptions about refugees hindered an effective and meaningful response to the Valley's refugee crisis among government officials, military officers, and the general populaces of the North and the South. / Master of Arts / The devastation wrought by the American Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia sparked a refugee crisis that grew in size over the course of the war. From the earliest days of the conflict in 1861, Americans correctly predicted that the war would displace many people. However, mistaken ideas about who qualified as a refugee and what to do with or for refugees prevented an effective response that could have alleviated the suffering of many of these people. This thesis examines how Americans struggled to understand refugees as matters of gender, race, and loyalty appeared to complicate the subject. It offers insight into not only how Americans perceived refugees, but also explores refugee experiences in order to illuminate voices that were overlooked both in the 1860s and in the decades since the war.

What basic similarities are found in all the fugitives? First of all, they are fugitives in the sense that they are wanderers. While not necessarily running to or from some specific thing, the fugitives nonetheless are men who travel; they are men who only face their conflicts directly when they attempt to stop traveling either by changing themselves so that they will fit in (Val in Orpheus Descending and Chance), by changing their environment so that it will accept them (Val in Battle of Angels and Shannon), or by searching for something that is permanently lost (Kilroy).

Nos últimos anos é notável a preocupação mundial com o controle de taxas de emissões fugitivas em equipamentos instalados na indústria do petróleo e gás. Os prejuízos com a perda de produção e impacto ambiental direcionam as empresas do segmento a buscarem projetos mais eficientes, principalmente com relação às válvulas industriais, que são equipamentos utilizados para gerenciamento de fluidos com a função de bloquear, direcionar ou controlar o fluxo de determinado produto fluente em uma planta industrial. As emissões fugitivas são vazamentos de produtos químicos, que se apresentam para atmosfera de forma inesperada ou indesejada em equipamentos. O objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver e validar um projeto de válvula industrial do tipo esfera para aplicações que requerem baixas emissões fugitivas. Inicialmente foram identificados e avaliados os requisitos apresentados na norma ISO 15848-1, quanto aos ensaios que devem ser executados em protótipo de válvula do tipo bloqueio para qualificação de projeto, onde foi possível elaborar um procedimento de ensaio. Foi realizado o dimensionamento dos sistemas de vedações para um protótipo de válvulas do tipo esfera, Top Entry, Trunnion, bitola NPS 4”, classe de pressão CL600, utilizando como padrões construtivos as normas API 6D, ASME B16.34 e ABNT NBR 15827. Fabricou-se um protótipo deste equipamento o qual foi utilizado na realização dos ensaios de qualificação do projeto. Foram realizados ciclos de abertura e fechamento do obturador da válvula, utilizando a pressão máxima de trabalho, conforme padrões construtivos e como fluido de teste foi utilizado o gás Hélio. Os ensaios foram realizados em uma câmara de ciclagem de válvulas instrumentada com um espectrômetro de massa de Hélio, onde foi possível monitorar e registrar os dados do ensaio, tais como: vazamentos, número de ciclos, pressão de teste, temperatura e torque durante os acionamentos da válvula. Os resultados obtidos com relação aos requisitos da norma ISO 15848-1 foram: número de ciclos 2500 atendendo a classificação CO3, classe de vazamento Classe B, temperatura de qualificação de -29 °C a 200 °C. Também foi realizado a qualificação Fire Test conforme norma ISO 10497 como complemento. Conclui-se que este trabalho atingiu os objetivos pré-estabelecidos quanto à homologação do protótipo e contribuiu com a preservação do meio ambiente, pois a concepção de projetos eficazes, que minimizam as taxas de poluição para a atmosfera, contribuí com a preservação dos ecossistemas. / In recent years is remarkable worldwide concern over control rates fugitive emissions in equipment installed in the oil and gas industry. The loss of production and environmental impact, leads segment companies to seek more efficient projects, mainly with respect to industrial valves, which are devices used for fluid management with the function to block, to direct or to control the flow of fluent product in an industrial plant. Fugitive emissions are leaks of chemicals which present themselves to atmosphere in a manner unexpected or undesired in equipment. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a model of industrial ball valve design for applications requiring low fugitive emissions. Initially were identified and assessed the requirements of ISO 15848-1 standard, how much to the appropriate tests to be executed on the prototype of block valve for qualification. It was possible to develop a test procedure. It was made the design of the seals systems for a ball valve prototype, type Top Entry, Trunnion, NPS 4", pressure class CL600. Was used API 6D, ASME B16.34 and NBR 15827 as construction standards. A prototype of this equipment has manufactured and used in the realization of design qualification tests. Were performed opening and closing cycles of the valve plug by using the maximum working pressure conform construction standards and was used Helium gas as test fluid. The tests were performed in a valve cycling chamber instrumented with a Helium mass spectrometer, where it was possible to monitor and record the test data as: leaks, number of cycles, pressure, temperature and torque for the valve actuators. The results obtained with respect to the ISO 15848-1 standard requirements were: number of cycles 2500 attending to CO3, classification leakage Class B, qualification temperature of -29 ° C to 200 ° C. It was also performed the qualification Fire Test ISO 10497 standard as a complement. In conclusion, this work has reached the pre-established objective about the approval of the prototype and contributed to the preservation of the environment, because the conception of effective projects that minimize pollution rates to the atmosphere, contributes to the preservation of ecosystems.

Thesis (Ph.D) (Communication and Media) -- University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 1999. / Bibliography : p. 329-344.