Thesis (S.B. in Ancient and Medieval Studies)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-82). / This thesis explores the appearance alleged by ancient sources of a comet over Rome in 44 B.C. and its role in the use and abuse of divine patronage in the rise of the young Octavian between 44 and 27 B.C. The comet was concluded to have actually occurred through an analysis involving Poisson statistics, basic calculations of orbital dynamics, and historical context. The physical manifestation of this comet over Rome granted Octavian the opportunity to begin asserting himself as a legitimate political competitor in the wake of Julius Caesar's death and his adoption in Caesar's will. With the comet as a symbol of his father's deification, Octavian's new status as divi filius portrayed him as a pious young man dedicated to the traditions of the Roman Republic and won him the early support of the people, the legions, and the Senate. This image persisted through the 30s and became far preferable to that of the drunk and eastern Marc Antony when Octavian began to associate himself with the very Roman and republican figure of Apollo. Together, Julius Caesar and Apollo became two key divine patrons behind Octavian, with the generous Julius Caesar representing the more public aspects of Octavian's plan for Rome, and Apollo portraying the more personal side of Octavian's character and his dedication to the harmony of the Republic. / S.B.in Ancient and Medieval Studies

Thesis (S.B. in Literature)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-70). / Introduction: Translating science as dramatic tradition Scientific and literary traditions are curious bedfellows. Popular perception views contemporary scientists - especially those interested in mathematics or physics - and their occupation as fundamentally other and unknowable to a nonscientific audience. This viewpoint has led to a bizarre treatment of science and its practitioners in literary and dramatic works as most depictions of science in print are restricted to the realm of speculative science fiction geographically and chronologically removed from the author's own time. Those authors or playwrights who do take historical or contemporary science as their subject must present it in such a way that the science is made accessible to a diverse audience. This presentation is particularly important in the theatrical medium. Playwrights have integrated science with drama in a host of different ways, whether as a plot device or thematic concern. I will study plays that entertain broad thematic questions about the nature of truth and morality while still maintaining their focus on the scientific community and its scientific concerns, especially as these concerns intersect with those of society at large. My analysis will focus on two plays that use science more than rhetorically: Bertolt Brecht's Life of Galileo (editions published in 1937; 1945; 1953) and Michael Frayn's Copenhagen (1998). Although these two plays were written and produced more than fifty years apart and the historical events that they examine are over two hundred years removed from each other, both explore paradigm-shattering moments within physics research. I will argue that both plays use physics to examine, broadly, the responsibility that a scientist has to involve himself with the non-scientific community. Characters in both Life of Galileo and Copenhagen make a case that part of the scientist's responsibility lies in presenting science to the laity, both inside and outside the world of the play. The semantic shift involved in making scientific concepts both understandable and relevant within a dramatic context involves a movement on the part of the playwright and his characters that is, I shall suggest, similar to an act of translation. Translation is generally conceived of as purely linguistic, which might be described as an attempt at transmitting meanings across language barriers or a linguistic shift seeking to conserve the sense of a written text in a second language. In his seminal work "The Task of the Translator," Walter Benjamin sees translation as something more than a direct word-by-word transposition from one language to another. Instead, Benjamin posits that the translator endeavors to elevate his project beyond changing signifiers between tongues. A true translation moves past linguistic accuracy as an end point; instead, it identifies a higher meaning that the original text points to and creates a new text from that original. Benjamin's theoretical re-assessment of the task of the translator as one of unlocking meanings extends its boundaries to include the translation of different kinds of discourse into literary or dramatic forms. The plurality of central characters from Life of Galileo and Copenhagen belong to a scientific, not literary tradition. Although they conceive of their investigations philosophically, even this attitude requires a shift in thinking from an empirical or theoretical viewpoint to a more poetic one. Theorists and even non-academics have noted that the language of science involves a distinct set of signifiers that is highly metaphoric and symbolic. Mathematical formulae rely on a scientist's ability to perceive the inner workings of the world as numerical and then to further abstract from those numbers to abstract signifiers, the Greek pis and sigmas and the well-known "x" that appears in even the most fundamental of algebraic problems. This kind of abstraction is itself a translation that moves the scientist from observation to description and then understanding. Undertaking an act of translation requires a unique kind of mind - which I will refer to in shorthand as a "scientific mind" - which involves being able to conceive of the world around it in a more purely scientific way. The translation involved in viewing things scientifically is implicit within those of Brecht's and Frayn's characters who are presented to the audience as fully formed and educated scientists. For characters like Brecht's Andrea, however, that transition - from curious bystander to member of the scientific community - actually occurs onstage. The scientific mind, therefore, as seen within Brecht's and Frayn's plays, requires the ability to translate understanding from observations of the natural world to a scientific or mathematical understanding of those phenomena. I argue, therefore, that truly responsible science requires something more than the ability to translate into scientific understanding; it demands too a route from esoteric scientific knowledge back into a vernacular. As Benjamin intended, translation becomes a way of unpacking meanings deeper than either original form; it can illuminate questions of essential human nature. In each of the plays examined here, translation mediates the scientist's interactions with society. Galileo presents it as a way for scientific tools and thoughts to be used to benefit to common people; in Copenhagen for example, it is Heisenberg's inability to translate and therefore understand his equations that narrowly prevents him from potentially creating a deadly nuclear weapon for Hitler. The two plays focus on very distinct moments in physics - empirical observations of the planets versus theoretical models of a subatomic universe - and so the physicists' modes of translation are also unique. While Brecht's Galileo relies on explanation bolstered by visual proofs, Frayn's Bohr emphasizes the use of "plain language" as a way of parsing the implications of abstract equations. The plays are undeniably vastly different when it comes to both the scope of their science and dramatic form; the reason for this difference can be located in authorial intention. Brecht, a life-long committed Communist and social radical, is remembered for advancing the technique of epic or dialectical theatre, a style that sought to counter the melodramatic realism pioneered by the actor and director Constantin Stanislavski. Epic theatre is the theatre of the people, appealing to their reason while advancing the cause of social change. Life of Galileo uses the techniques of this epic dramaturgy; its goals are social, political and didactic in nature. Copenhagen is, by contrast, less informed by ideology than by the idea of intention itself: Frayn frames the play as an exploration into his historical character's motivations at a mysterious meeting in Copenhagen during World War II - the meeting itself is historical fact, although what transpired remains a mystery. The play begins by asking a simple question: why did Heisenberg come to Copenhagen in 1941? Through the drama, however, Frayn expands his investigations into a full study of how intentions are manifested through acts of scientific study; through an act of thematic mimesis, the more the audience attempts to unravel the characters' intentions, the more those intentions become unclear. Copenhagen's dramaturgy makes this complication explicit through its use of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle as a structuring metaphor. In parsing intent, Frayn's audience and Brecht's find themselves in a similar position: perhaps due to the numerous revisions Brecht made of the play, Galileo's character embodies a slippery position with respect to his translation and the audience. Unlike Frayn, however, Brecht makes his intended readings of the character clear, creating uncertainty and tension between the audience's reading of the character and the playwright's intentions. / by Anneke Schwob. / S.B.in Literature

Abstract Introduction Chris Hani Baragwanath (CHB) hospital has 20 000 deliveries per annum, with 25% by caesarean section (CS). Therefore, vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) is an important delivery option. We questioned the reasons for the low VBAC success following trial of labour (TOL). The primary objective was to determine the proportion of eligible patients attempting TOL and the VBAC success rate. Secondary objectives were to establish reasons for failed VBAC, predictive factors for VBAC, and maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Methodology A retrospective descriptive study by record review, analysing demographic, obstetric and delivery outcome variables of women with one prior CS in a subsequent pregnancy. Results From the 340 patients eligible for VBAC, 287 (84.4%) attempted TOL and 53 (15.6%) had an elective repeat caesarean section (ERCS). VBAC success was 51.6% (148/287). Prelabour rupture of membranes and prolonged latent phase of labour resulted in 40% of failed VBAC. Successful VBAC was associated with a higher parity, lower birth weight and lower gestation (p<0.001). Positive predictors of successful VBAC were previous vaginal birth (p=0.004), previous VBAC (p=0.038), previous CS for malpresentation (p=0.012), birth weight <3500g (p=0.003), and gestation ≤ 39 weeks (p<0.001). Negative predictors were previous CS for cephalopelvic disproportion (p=0.003) and women with no prior vaginal deliveries (p<0.001). There was no maternal mortality. Complications however, included 2 uterine ruptures, 2 uterine dehiscences, 4 hysterectomies, and one intrapartum fetal death. Adverse maternal outcomes were increased with TOL compared to ERCS (p=0.038), and more so with failed compared to successful VBAC (p=0.002). Adverse neonatal outcomes were also increased with TOL compared to ERCS (p=0.048), however there was no difference in neonatal outcomes between failed and successful VBAC (p=0.420). Conclusion VBAC remains a viable option for patients with one prior CS in this setting, despite a lower VBAC success than developed countries. Failed VBAC due to prelabour rupture of membranes and prolonged latent phase of labour remains a problem.

<p> In the soft photon limit the bremsstrahlung cross-section is related to the corresponding elastic scattering cross-section in a model-independent manner. The cross-section for threshold photoproduction of pions becomes independent of the detailed pion-nucleon interaction if the ratio of pion to nucleon mass is made sufficiently small. These two results are a consequence of the gauge invariance of the scattering amplitude for a process involving one photon. We review the derivation of Low's bremsstrahlung theorem for spin-zero and spin-half particles, and outline an extension to all orders of photon energy. The theorem for photopion production is derived by the same method. A non-relativistic analogue to the Bremsstrahlung theorem is also considered.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

<p> The total scattering cross section of solid methane has been measured for temperatures in the range from 4.2°K to 95°K. An anomalous increase in the total scattering cross section was observed at temperatures below 5°K. The effect is ascribed to conversion between nuclear spin species. Such spin conversion had been indicated by specific heat and NMR measurements; the present results give an independent confirmation of this. Calculations of the equilibrium value of <I(I + 1)> at 4.2°K give values lower than those obtained in the NMR work. The specimens used in the present work come to spin equilibrium in times much less than 20 minutes. This is less than the value of 90 minutes for pure methane seen by NMR; however, very small amounts of oxygen impurity in the specimen are known greatly to decrease this time.</p> <p> An abrupt change in the total scattering cross section at the 20°K phase transition is explained by a change in the rotational freedom of the molecules to a more strongly hindered state below the phase transition. In the region above the transition, the Krieger-Nelkin approximation for the total cross section was fitted to the observed temperature dependence of the cross section, treating the effective mass as a free parameter.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

<p> This study appraises the significance of a selected number of variables - economic demographic, and physical - in explaining the inter-farm variation in gross cash income on a sample of small-scale multiple enterprize farms, Jamaica, West Indies. Chapter I outlines the purpose and methodology of the analysis, while Chapter II describes the physical geography and farming systems of the area. A review of literature germane to the main body of the study is covered in Chapter III. Specifying a model that traces out the relative significance of those variables which are hypothesized as influences on the inter-farm variation in gross cash income is the focus of Chapter IV. The final chapter summarizes and interprets the main findings of the study.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

No description available.

No description available.

A Dempster-type double-focussing mass spectrometer has been used to determine the relative abundances of the isotopes of neodymium using two samples, one irradiated in a strong neutron flux, the other, obtained from the same source, unirradiated. A comparison of these results permits the calculation of the cross-section of each isotope for the capture of pile neutrons. Results previously obtained have been extended to give definite cross-sections for three of the isotopes, two of which have not previously been reported, and to lower the upper limits for the remainder. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

In Canada, one in five women can now expect to deliver their baby by caesarean section. For some women, this method of delivery creates little concern, but for others, birth by caesarean causes emotional trauma that can last for years. Childbirth was historically regarded as a natural event and was undertaken with little assistance from health professionals. However, with urbanization and medical advancements, childbirth soon became a medically managed process. During the Women's Health Movement of the 1970's, women reacted to the medicalization of birth by calling attention to the emotional reactions of women following childbirth, with particular attention paid to deliveries by caesarean section. This paper discusses interviews with five women who sought the assistance of a community support and awareness group following a negative emotional response to an unplanned caesarean section. Qualitative research methods were used in order to capture the participants' unique experiences during and after childbirth. The women described feelings of fear, failure, disappointment, and loss of control. They perceived that the medical staff was generally uncaring and dismissive of their concerns. Each participant felt that the support group was instrumental in helping them to recover from the trauma of their birth experience, but also reported that they would have appreciated the opportunity to speak with a social worker following the birth. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)