Land surface models (LSMs) implemented in numerical weather prediction (NWP) models use several parameters to suitably describe the surface and its interaction with the atmosphere, whose determination is often affected by many uncertainties, strongly influencing simulation results. However, the sensitivity of meteorological model results to these parameters has not yet been studied systematically, especially in complex terrain, where uncertainty is expected to be even larger. This work aims at identifying critical LSM parameters influencing the results of NWP models, focusing in particular on the simulation of thermally-driven circulations over complex terrain. While previous sensitivity analyses employed offline LSM simulations to evaluate the sensitivity to surface parameters, this study adopts an online coupled approach, utilizing the Noah-MP LSM within the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. To overcome computational constraints, a novel tool, Machine Learning-based Automated Multi-method Parameter Sensitivity and Importance analysis Tool (ML-AMPSIT), is developed and tested. This tool allows users to explore the sensitivity of the results to model parameters using supervised machine learning regression algorithms, including Random Forest, CART, XGBoost, SVM, LASSO, Gaussian Process Regression, and Bayesian Ridge Regression. These algorithms serve as fast surrogate models, greatly accelerating sensitivity analyses while maintaining a high level of accuracy. The versatility and effectiveness of ML-AMPSIT enable the fast implementation of advanced sensitivity methods, such as the Sobol method, overcoming the computational limitations encountered in expensive models like WRF. The suitability of this tool to assess model’s sensitivity to the variation of specific parameters is first tested in an idealized sea breeze case study where six surface parameters are varied. Then, the analysis focuses on the evaluation of the sensitivity to surface parameters in the simulation of thermally-driven circulations in a mountain valley. Specifically, an idealized three-dimensional topography consisting of a valley-plain system is adopted, analyzing a complete diurnal cycle of valley and slope winds. The analysis focuses on all the key surface parameters governing the interactions between NoahMP and WRF. The proposed approach, novel in the context of LSM-NWP model coupling, draws from established applications of machine learning in various Earth science disciplines, underscoring its potential to improve the estimation of parameter sensitivities in NWP models.

This thesis investigates artifacts and concepts present in the Noahide world and how they affect Noahide identity. Five factors are analyzed, namely Noahide law, religious pluralism, ritual, sectarianism, and conversion. I consult the Hebrew Scriptures as well as early, medieval, and modern rabbinic sources to set the conceptual background of the Noahide movement before moving into the primary, contemporary sources written by Orthodox Jews, Orthodox rabbis, and Noahides. To supplement my literary analysis, I have conducted a survey of self-identifying Noahide practitioners. This survey collects data concerning religious background, religious behavior, demographics, and free responses. I aim to show first and foremost that Noahidism is a new, exclusive religious tradition which comprises the lay order of Orthodox Judaism. This is born out of a theology which requires belief in the Jewish God and Jewish revelation, a strict ritual system based on Orthodox Jewish prescriptions, and a sectarian typology which mirrors Orthodox Jewish sectarianism. Additionally, my analysis of conversion shows Noahidism is not a gateway to Orthodox conversion, but an end in itself.

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There is a popular misconception in the world that Jehovah is too severe on occasion while Jesus Christ is always kind and merciful. The Latter-day Saint belief that Jehovah and Jesus are the same person presents a supposed conflict. There has not been much written on this subject by either non-Latter-day Saints or Latter-day Saints, thus, this thesis represents a unique contribution to a common perception prevalent in many Christian circles. The research of this thesis shows that the misconception is based on three problems: first, a misinterpretation of biblical stories in both the Old and New Testament; second, a lack of understanding biblical context and culture; and third, a lack of applying modern revelation to this subject. The research of this thesis focuses on these three areas in an effort to resolve this false perception. This thesis takes a deeper look into the acts of Jehovah and Jesus Christ as found in the Old and New Testaments respectively. Next, it looks as several doctrines related to this subject that have been revealed through latter-day prophets and incorporates them into the Old Testament. This analysis paints a broader picture of the Lord and illustrates that He was, indeed, merciful in the Old Testament but, at times, severe in the New Testament. Lastly, this thesis takes four of the most difficult Old Testament stories that seem to represent Jehovah as harsh, capricious, and unyielding, and puts them in their cultural setting. Though not every act can be completely explained, there is a high degree of similarity between Jehovah and Jesus. The study concludes, therefore, that much of the problem lies with perception and not with reality.

Text in English with abstracts and keywords in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / Beyond the African boundaries, the black body is marked with an othered identity that often leaves its bearer open to discrimination. Being black is considered a transgression because, presumably, it constitutes deviance from a particular skin pigmentation, spatial norm and cultural practice. This dissertation examines the depiction of people of colour, particularly blacks, as transgressive bodies and invaders of space. From a postcolonial perspective, it investigates the racial implications of blackness by reason of migration. This study draws on a critical analysis of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013) and Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime (2016) to investigate the intersection of identity, race and spatial zones as thematic concerns in both texts. I contend that despite the fact that race is a social construct, it continually has an impact on the individual living of blacks in the space they inhabit or where they exist. They are burdened by the negativities generated by their colour, consequently perceiving themselves as deviants from the norm. Unlike Adichie’s other novels, the theme of migration is more profound in Americanah to reflect the intense consequences of race for African migrants in the western world. Therefore, I seek to establish that the stereotyping of Africans owing to their racial and cultural differences forces them to alter their identity in order to be recognised and accepted. In the same regard, the study projects Trevor Noah’s holistic representation of displacement both within self and community. More insightful is the writer’s engagement of body politics as a propeller for socio-economic issues. These issues explored in both texts ultimately present a (re)imagining of people of colour within the othered zones. / Buite die Afrikagrense word die swart liggaam gemerk met 'n gemarginaliseerde (“anderste”) identiteit wat die draer dikwels ooplaat vir diskriminasie. Swartwees word as 'n oortreding beskou, want dit is vermoedelik 'n afwyking van 'n bepaalde velpigmentasie, ruimtelike norm en kulturele praktyk. Hierdie verhandeling ondersoek die uitbeelding van mense van kleur, veral swart mense, as oortredende liggame en indringers van die ruimte. Vanuit 'n postkoloniale perspektief ondersoek dit die rasse-implikasies van swartheid as gevolg van migrasie. Hierdie studie neem as uitgangspunt die kritiese analise van Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie se Americanah (2013) en Trevor Noah se Born a Crime (2016) om die interseksie van identiteit, ras en ruimtelike sones as tematiek in albei tekste te ondersoek. Ek beweer dat, ondanks die feit dat ras 'n sosiale konstruk is, dit voortdurend 'n impak het op die individuele leefwyse van swart mense in die ruimte waarin hulle woon of waar hulle bestaan. Gevolglik word hulle belemmer deur negatiewe aspekte wat deur hul kleur gegenereer word, en hulself gevolglik as afwykers van die norm beskou. Anders as haar ander romans, is Adichie se migrasieprobleme meer diepgaande in Americanah om die intense gevolge van rassekwessies vir Afrika-migrante in die Westerse wêreld te weerspieël. Daarom wil ek vasstel dat die stereotipering van Afrikane weens hul rasse- en kulturele verskille hulle dwing om hul identiteit te verander om erken en aanvaar te word. In dieselfde verband projekteer die studie Trevor Noah se holistiese voorstelling van verplasing binne die self en die gemeenskap. Meer insiggewend is die skrywer se betrokkenheid by liggaamspolitiek as 'n voorstuwer vir sosio-ekonomiese kwessies. Hierdie kwessies, wat in albei tekste ondersoek word, bied uiteindelik 'n (her)verbeelding van mense van kleur binne die “ander” sones. / Nangaphandle kwemingcele ye-Afrika, imizimba yabantu abamnyama imakwe ngobuzazisi babanye, lokhu okuvama ukushiya lowo walowo mzimba omnyama esesimweni sokubandlululwa. Ukuba mnyama kuthathwa njengento eyisono neyeqe umngcele omukelekile ngoba, kuvanyiswe ukuthathwa njengokwehlukile kwibala elithile lesikhumba, indawo evamile kanye nezinkambiso zamasiko. Le dissertation ihlola ukuthathwa kwabantu abanebala, ikakhulukazi elimnyama, njengemizimba ewukweqa okuhle nokwamukelekile kanye neyabahlasela indawo. Ukusuka kwimibono yenkathi engemuva kobukoloni, iphenya ngemiphumela yombono webala elimnyama ngenxa yokuya kwamanye amazwe. Ucwaningo luthathela kuhlaziyo olunzulu lwemibhalo kaChinamanda Ngozi Adichie ye-Americanah (2013) kanye ne-Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime (2016) ukuphenya ngokuxhumana kobuzazisi, ukubuka izinto ngeso lebala kanye nezindawo njengezinto eziyizihloko zemibhalo. Ngibeka elokuthi noma udaba lwebala kuyinto eyenziwe ngabantu, kodwa inomphumela kumuntu ophila njengomuntu omnyama, ohlala endaweni ahlala kuyo noma lapho akhona. Ngenxa yalokho-ke, bathwele umthwalo omubi ngenxa yebala labo, ngalokho bazibona njengabahlukile kokujwayelekile nokufanele. Ngokwehluka namanye amanoveli, ukukhathazeka ngokuya kwamanye amazwe kubonakala kakhulu kwi-Americanah ukubheka kanzulu ngemiphumela ejulile yokubuka izinto ngokwebala kubantu ababuya eAfrika abaya kumazwe asentshonalanga. Ngakho ke, ngifuna ukuqaphela indlela abantu abangama-Afrika ababonwa ngayo ngendlela ethile embi nemi ndawonye (stereotyping) ngenxa yomehluko wabo ngokubona izinto ngokwebala kanye nomehluko ngokwezamasiko, ukushintsha ubuzazi babo ukuze bamukelwe nokumukeleka. Ngale ndlela, ucwaningo lubhekisa kwindlela ephelele kaTrevor Noah, yokuzibona eqhelilee nokwehluka ngobuyena ngaphakathi kuye kanye nasemphakathini. Ngokubona izinto ngeso elijulile ngokubheka ezepolitiki kombhali njengesisunduzi kwizinto ezibhekene nabantu kanye nezomnotho. Lezi zinto zicwaninga ngokombhalo kanye nokubeka kabusha ngombono nendlela entsha abantu bebala, emkhakheni wabanye. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M.A. (Theory of Literature)

No description available.

This thesis investigates the prevalence of religious themes in the work of several prominent contemporary women writers—Margaret Atwood, Michèle Roberts, Alice Walker and A.L. Kennedy. Relying on Luce Irigaray’s recent theorisations of the religious and its relationship to feminine subjectivity, this research considers the subversive potential of engaging with religious discourse through literature, and contributes to burgeoning criticism of feminist revisionary writing. The novels analysed in this thesis show, often in violent detail, that the way the religious dimension has been conceptualised and articulated enforces negative views of female sexuality, justifies violence against the body, alienates women from autonomous creative expression and paralyses the development of a subjectivity in the feminine. Rather than looking at women’s religious revision primarily as a means of asserting female authority, as previous studies have done, I argue that these writers, in addition to critiquing patriarchal religion, articulate ways of being and knowing that subvert the binary logic that dominates Western religious discourse. Chapter I contextualises this research in Luce Irigaray’s theories and outlines existing work on feminist revisionist literature. The remaining chapters offer close readings of key novels in light of these theories: Chapter II examines Atwood’s interrogation of oppositional logic in religious discourse through her novel The Handmaid’s Tale. Chapter III explores two novels by Roberts that expose the violence inherent in religious discourse and deconstruct the subjection of the (female) body to the (masculine) Word. Chapters IV and V analyse the fiction of Kennedy and Walker respectively, revealing how their novels confront the religious denigration of feminine sexuality and refigure the connection between eroticism and divinity. Evident in each of these fictional accounts is a forceful critique of religious discourse, as well as an attempt to more closely reconcile foundational religious oppositions between divinity and humanity, flesh and spirit, and body and Word.

In the nineteenth century, theatre and newspapers were the dominant expressions of popular culture in the northeastern United States, and together formed a crucial discursive node in the ongoing negotiation of American national identity. Focusing on the five decades between 1820 and 1870, during which touring stars from Great Britain enjoyed their most lucrative years of popularity on United States stages, this dissertation examines three instances in which English performers entered into this nationalizing forum and became flashpoints for journalists seeking to define the nature and bounds of American citizenship and culture. In 1821, Edmund Kean’s refusal to perform in Boston caused a scandal that revealed a widespread fixation among social elites with delineating the ethnic and economic limits of citizenship in a republican nation. In 1849, an ongoing rivalry between the English tragedian William Charles Macready and his American competitor Edwin Forrest culminated in the deadly Astor Place riot. By configuring the actors as champions in a struggle between bourgeois authority and working-class populism, the New York press inserted these local events into international patterns of economic conflict and revolutionary violence. Nearly twenty years later, the arrival of the Lydia Thompson Burlesque Troupe in 1868 drew rhetoric that reflected the popular press’ growing preoccupation with gender, particularly the question of woman suffrage and the preservation of the United States’ international reputation as a powerfully masculine nation in the wake of the Civil War. Three distinct cultural currents pervade each of these case studies: the new nation’s anxieties about its former colonizer’s cultural influence, competing political and cultural ideologies within the United States, and the changing perspectives and agendas of the ascendant popular press. Exploring the points where these forces intersect, this dissertation aims to contribute to an understanding of how popular culture helped shape an emerging sense of American national identity. Ultimately, this dissertation argues that in the mid-nineteenth century northeastern United States, popular theatre, newspapers, and audiences all contributed to a single media formation in which controversial English performers became a rhetorical antipode against which “American” identity could be defined. / text

The thesis is a comparative and multidisciplinary study of legendary genealogies in the historical writing of northern England and Iceland c. 1120 – c. 1241. Historical writing was produced in abundance over this period in both areas and the frequent contact between England and Scandinavia, as well as shared use of early medieval insular sources make them especially suitable for comparison. The Viking invasions and settlement in England had a significant impact on English culture, language and literature and changed attitudes to their own legendary past. The Danish conquest of England in the early eleventh-century also brought the insular and Scandinavian worlds closer together, and even after the Norman Conquest in 1066, England and Scandinavia engaged in scholarly and textual exchange The theoretical framework for the thesis combines approaches from religious history, art history, political history, literature history and gender history. The main research questions of the thesis consider the dissemination, development, and purpose of legendary genealogies. The sources are a collection of Durham related manuscripts with illuminations of the pagan god Woden (c. 1120–88) in two historical works De Primo Saxonum Aduentu and De Gestis Regum; Genealogia Regum Anglorum (Rievaulx, 1153x54) by Aelred of Rievaulx; two works attributed to Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda (Iceland, 1220s) and Heimskringla (Iceland, 1225x35). Common to the sources is the inclusion of genealogies that stretch from legendary generations to living individuals at the time of writing. Thus, genealogies connected dynasties and civilisations in mutual descent from pagan, Trojan and biblical ancestors. By analysing textual dissemination as well as political contexts, literary patronage and mechanisms in legitimisation of power, the thesis address amalgamations of origin myths, the use and significance euhemerised pagan gods, and female generations in genealogies.