This thesis examines the fictional island and assesses the impact of Darwinism on the genre. I show how islands have been a recurring feature in European literature, fictional spaces where authors create a microcosm in which they satirise, criticise or hold up a mirror to their own society. I argue that traditonal Utopian islands are static realms and that through the introduction of evolution (Darwin and Wallace made their most important discoveries regarding the mechanism of evolution on islands) fictional islands of the last century and a half have been radically transformed. The elements of chance, change, random mutation, natural and sexual selection, survival of the fittest as well as the knowledge of an animal heritage have changed the castaway experience, making it a far more anti-utopian one. The publication of The Origin of Species forced a reappraisal of all areas of knowledge and I show how, in the laboratory of the fictional island, authors examine the implications of Darwin's theory. Closely related issues are also taken into account, such as degeneration, the Second Law of Thermodynamics, developments in evolutionary anthropology, psychoanalysis and the coming of modern scientific method. I conduct a close reading of H. G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau in which I consider the phenomenon of the mad scientist (in this case a modern, distinctly Darwinian scientist). Using some of Wells' scientific articles as a starting point, I show how the doctor tries to replicate a speeded up version of evolution in his island laboratory. Wells was a student of T. H. Huxley and the chapter examines the situation on the island in relation to Huxley's famous essay, "Evolution and Ethics", in which he argues that the "cosmic process" must be fought with an "ethical process". Wells called the novel a "theological grotesque" and I show how the novelist parodies orthodox Christianity and creates a protagonist who is a perverted evolutionary "god". Much of the remainder of the chapter is a detailed examination of degeneration in which I describe how the beast begins to resurface in Moreau's half-human creations as well as in the human protagonists (graphically evidenced in a "return" to cannibalism). A chapter on Joseph Conrad considers the pessimistic intellectual, philosophical and metaphysical forces that affect the novelist and his protagonist. First I show how the fin de siècle mood, in conjunction with the popular contemporary philosophies of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche (perceived in the light of Darwinian science) colour the cerebral landscape of Victory. The main thrust of this chapter concerns the issues of degeneration and devolution and in this respect I examine contemporary fears concerning cannibalism, thermodynamics, atavism and the anarchy resulting from a corrosion within society. I show further how the issue of sexuality (with relation to such issues as miscegenation, heredity and perversion) bears directly upon the idea of degeneracy. Finally the chapter considers the case of the imperial subject, the other "races" represented on Samburan. Here I am particularly interested in the anthropological application of Darwinism: far from being degenerate or inferior, Conrad depicts the racial other as having the "biological" advantage. By the time William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies, evolutionary elements were coming to novelists diluted in many different areas of enquiry. I discuss how Golding's knowledge of (evolutionary) anthropology and archaeology create a blueprint for the regression of English schoolboys to the level of "savages" and metaphorically to the level of early hominids and even animals. I show how the evil they try to externalise arises from within and is a part of their "animal" heritage. The chapter traces the path of their regression looking at aspects of their microcosmic society and religion. I also consider the situation of Golding's boys with relation to Freud's Totem and Taboo and his theories of child sexuality. Finally Golding's attempt to chart an existential and spiritual course through the waters of evolutionary determinism is discussed. In my concluding chapter I account for the "demise" of the Darwinian island showing how new issues are dominating the genre and in a close reading of Marianne Wiggins' John Dollar and J. M. Coetzee's Foe I examine how and why the postmodern and poststructuralist island fails to live up to the exigencies of the genre.

This thesis attempts to gather all the evidence bearing on the English reception of Kepler's astronomy from the time when Kepler might first have been read up to around 1650/ when foreign secondary influences changed the content of English keplerian astronomy. Kepler first attained fame in England in the early 1600s, and from that time, he was in direct communication with English mathematicians and other scholars. As a result, there was an audience awaiting his Astronomia Nova (1609), which contained his first two laws of planetary motion. Some of its readers adopted the first law, which states that the planetary orbits are elliptical. Over the following decade, there was little apparent promotion of keplerian astronomy in England, but in the universities, libraries were beginning to stock Kepler's books, and dons were recommending his writings to their students of astronomy. Thereafter, the assimilation of the first law into English astronomical thought was very rapid, owing to the work of mathematicians in the universities and in London. Some consideration was given also to Kepler's new celestial physics. Until his death in 1630, Englishmen continued to communicate directly with Kepler, for whom they felt fellowship in matters of religion. By 1640, English astronomy was very much keplerian. Kepler's second law of planetary motion, however, was never mentioned directly in this period, and his third, harmonic law was not adopted until, in the late 1630s, Jeremiah Horrox adopted it and verified it by independent observation. Horrox was also the first to attempt, to any great degree, to advance the physical foundation of keplerian astronomy. Kepler's astrology did not prove popular, with the exception of some of his forecasts, which were reprinted at the beginning of the turmoil of the 1640s. In 1645, there began a French influence on English astronomy when English astronomers took over, with modifications, the device of Ismael Boulliaud for circumventing the second law. The second and longer part of the thesis is a collection of six very detailed case studies in which an attempt is made to explicate each man's approach to the new astronomy.

This study is framed by questions about the wider implications of a belief in Boulez's independent indeterminate aesthetic for divergent trends such as Europeanism vs. Americanism, modernism vs. postmodernism and serial structure vs. non-serial structure. In conclusion it suggests that an ongoing tendency toward historical revisionism in Boulez's texts may be a function of the difficulty in articulating an intentional indeterminate aesthetic in light of the serial inheritance.

This thesis analyses Russia's military, economic and diplomatic policies towards the newly independent states, particularly towards the members of the CIS, during Boris Yeltsin's first term as President of an independent Russia (December 1991 to July 1996). The objective is to determine whether after the collapse of the Soviet Union the new Russian state tried to restore a sphere of influence or informal empire over the former Soviet republics - as the French did in sub-Saharan Africa after decolonisation - or whether instead Russia's policies reflected a genuine desire to establish normal state-to-state relations with the new states. Chapter one analyses the underlying principles of Russia's foreign policy towards the former Soviet states and examines the debate on Russian foreign policy priorities which took place during the first years of Russia's independence. This section also overviews Russia's policies towards the Russian minorities that inhabit the Baltic states, in order to determine whether Russia attempted to use this diplomatic tool to further its own interests in the area. Chapter two analyses the peculiar structure of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the extent to which Russia used this political framework to achieve hegemony over the former Soviet republics. Chapter three looks at Russia's participation in the wars in Transdniestria, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabagh, and Tajikistan, and Chapter four analyses Russia's energy trade with Ukraine, Belarus, and the Caspian states. The thesis reaches the conclusion that during 1992- mid 1996 Russia's policies only partially reflected an attempt to reassert the country's influence over the republics of the former Soviet Union and create an informal empire in the post-Soviet space. Russia's behaviour was particularly assertive in the military field as well as in its attempts to build a Russian dominated CIS military infrastructure. However, Russia's policies were less aggressive in the economic sphere, except probably as far as energy policy is concerned, and regarding the fate of Russians living beyond the new borders. More often than not, though, Russia's policies followed an ambivalent and incoherent pattern, a result of the weak and fragmented character of the Russian state.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis deals with al-Ghazali's works and their influence on Indonesian Islam, an influence which, to a considerable extent, has marked the nature of the religious life practiced by the majority of Indonesian Muslims from the very beginning of its history until today. Their influence can be seen in the fact that Indonesian Islam appears to be a harmonious reconciliation between both the esoteric life represented by Sufism (tasawwuf) and the exoteric life which manifests itself in ritual obligation (shari'a). This characteristic owes much to the availability of most of al-Ghazali's works in the languages which Indonesian Muslims understand well. Many of these works have in fact been published repeatedly since they have long been considered by most Indonesian Muslims to be significant sources from which they might improve their understanding of Islam. Having investigated most of al-Ghazali's works which have been known in Indonesia, it would appear that his mystical works have been more popular than any other aspect of his teachings. Finally, this study comes to the conclusion that al-Ghazali's works have played an important role in the development of Indonesian Sunni Islam which has its roots in many of his teachings.

Research in cultural psychology suggests that East Asians are more likely than North Americans to be sensitive to contextual information. By contrast, much evidence suggests that even North Americans judgments are influenced by affective priming information, the effect of which can be seen as another type of contextual cue. However, the magnitude of such priming effect has not been tested in a cross-cultural context. Using the methodology of the affective priming paradigm, we conducted two studies, in which we manipulated (a) the timing of priming information (simultaneous vs. sequential) and (b) the type of affective information (background landscape vs. background human figures), in which European Canadians and Japanese judged either happy or sad facial expressions in the focal area of the scene. The results indicate that the two cultural groups are similar when contextual information is salient, but only Japanese remain sensitive to context with subtle cues.

Typescript. / Bibliography: leaves 184-191. / Photocopy. / Microfilm. / xii, 191 leaves, bound 29 cm

Exposure to natural altitude using the "live high-train low" method improves athletic endurance performance at sea level by 1-2%. This method can also be employed with hypoxic devices that simulate altitude, but there is limited and conflicting research on their efficacy. Consequently, three studies were undertaken to investigate changes in sea level performance of endurance runners following exposure to altitude simulated with hypoxic tents. The device was chosen because of its potential for incorporation into the athlete's routine. In Study 1, 10 runners received altitude simulated with hypoxic tents (~9 h overnight at 2500-3500 m) and trained at sea level, while 10 runners in the control group performed usual training. Athletes in both groups performed a lactate-threshold test, but only the altitude group performed a run to exhaustion. The effect on 4-mM lactate speed was unclear, owing to poor reliability of this measure. There was a 16% increase in time to exhaustion in the hypoxic conditioning group, equivalent to a 1.9% (90% likely limits, ±1.4%) increase in speed in a time trial. Effects on performance were not apparent four and eight weeks after use of the tents. To improve precision of the effect of the tents and to determine the effects on performance of different durations, a further controlled trial was performed. A reliability study (Study 2) was first conducted to investigate the potential for runs to exhaustion to provide reliable measures of performance. Eight runners performed a test consisting of three runs to exhaustion lasting ~2, ~4 and ~8 min on six occasions over 14 wk. The critical power and log-log models were used to provide factors for converting variability in time to exhaustion into variability in equivalent time-trial time. Variabilities in time to exhaustion expressed as coefficients of variation for predicted 800-3000 m timetrial times were ~1-3%. A crossover study (Study 3) was then conducted in which 11 athletes performed usual (control) training and usual training with altitude exposure by using tents for 25 ± 3 days (mean ± SD) for 8.1 ± 0.6 h.d-1, progressing from a simulated altitude of 2500 m to 3500 m above sea level. Washout period between control and altitude treatments was four weeks. Performance was assessed with treadmill runs to exhaustion as in Study 2. Improvements in mean predicted times (altitude-control) for standard competition distances of 800, 1500 and 3000 m derived from the runs to exhaustion were 1.0% (±1.3%), 1.4% (±1.2%) and 1.9% (±1.5%) respectively. There was some evidence that hypoxic exposure favoured those athletes carrying the I allele for angiotensin converting enzyme. In summary, the main finding from the series of studies is that hypoxic tents are likely to enhance sea level endurance running performance by ~1-2%.