La recherche se présente comme une enquête sur les pratiques religieuses et spatiales dans l’ancienne Méditerranée, à travers une analyse interdisciplinaire sur la catégorie d’espace rituel comme procès intégré des traits corporels, idéologiques et symboliques. Dans la première partie on discute les catégories anciennes et modernes aptes à définir l’espace rituel en tant que concept compréhensif de paysage religieux, lieux de culte et architecture sacrée, en utilisant perspectives différentes comme celles de l’histoire de religions, de l’anthropologie religieuse et de l’archéologie. La deuxième partie se concentre sur les catégories d’espace et de rituel dans ses relations avec les principes de la logique polythéiste et des pratiques spatiales ; au centre de la réflexion sont l’aspect de la monumentalisation des lieux de culte et de la présence des dieux dans l’espace rituel que leur consacrent les hommes, en particulier à Rome. La troisième partie est centrée sur le contexte de l’Afrique romaine et prend en examen des cas d’études dans le cadre du contact entre cultures, romaine et indigène. En utilisant des sources épigraphiques et archéologiques on réfléchit sur la transformation des espace rituels et cultuels après la ‘romanisation’, comme le sanctuaire de Thinissut et les lieux de culte de Thugga. / This research is a survey of religious and spatial practices in the ancient Mediterranean, that takes its start from an interdisciplinary analysis of the category of ritual space as an integrated process of bodily, ideological and symbolic traits. The first part discusses the categories that in ancient and modern times have been used to define the ritual space (religious landscape, places of worship, religious architecture) considering the perspectives of history of religions, religious anthropology and archeology. The second part focuses on the categories of space and of ritual in their relationship with the founding principles of polytheistic logic and religious practice. Both the concrete aspect of the monumentalization of the places of worship and the conceptual one of the presence of gods in ritual spaces (particularly in Rome) are investigated. In the third part the Roman Africa is explored, examining some significant case studies in the context of the contact between roman and indigenous cultures. Using epigraphic and archaeological sources, the transformation of the cultural spaces in the Roman period, and the expansion of Roman models in contact with indigenous models, are investigated, focusing on the cases of the Thinissut sanctuary and of the places of worship of the city of Thugga. / La ricerca si configura come un’indagine sulle pratiche religiose e spaziali nel Mediterraneo antico, a partire da analisi interdisciplinare sulla categoria di spazio rituale quale processo integrato di tratti corporei, ideologici e simbolici. Nella prima parte si discutono in modo teorico le categorie antiche e moderne atte a definire lo spazio rituale come categoria comprensiva di paesaggio religioso, luoghi di culto, architettura religiosa, nella molteplicità di prospettive aperte dalle discipline, della storia delle religioni, dell’antropologia religiosa e dell’archeologia. La seconda parte si concentra sulle categorie di spazio e di rituale e sulle relazioni tra i principi fondanti della logica e della pratica religiosa politeista e le loro ricadute sulle pratiche spaziali; vengono indagati sia l’aspetto più concreto della monumentalizzazione dei luoghi di culto, sia quello più concettuale della modalità di presenza degli dei negli spazi rituali, in particolar modo a Roma. Nella terza parte si indaga il contesto storico-religioso dell’Africa romana, prendendo in esame alcuni casi di studio significativi nell’ottica del contatto tra culture. Ricorrendo alle fonti epigrafiche e archeologiche si focalizza in particolare la trasformazione degli spazi cultuali nel periodo della ‘romanizzazione’, e l’espansione di modelli romani nel contatto con modelli indigeni, dal santuario di Thinissut ai luoghi di culto della città di Thugga.

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<p>The incorporation of extremely compact multifunctional microsystems is a highly profitable long-term approach in spacecraft design. These systems bring substantial launch-cost reductions, and enable exciting space exploration and science missions.</p><p>Silicon microsystems technology is an adequate choice for the multifunctional microsystem development. However, the development of basic microsystems technology cannot be financed within application-specific space missions. Rather, the microsystems technology should be matured through fundamental research.</p><p>Silicon microsystems technology was used to develop a cold gas microthruster system suitable for minute movements of spacecraft (low Δv). In a hybrid integration, the system unit contains three silicon microsystem parts with four individual thrusters in total, together with external control electronics. The total mass is 0.35 kg.</p><p>Further integration will result in a mass of 0.08 kg. Complete system integration means that all package and interconnection levels are integrated into the silicon microsystem units. Several vital issues must be addressed, e.g. the reliable bonding of silicon wafers, the microfabrication process compatibility, and the manufacture process sequence. A graphical tool is introduced for process sequence evaluation.</p><p>Wafer bonding is used as fabrication process, assembly tool, and packaging technique. The quality and reliability of the bonded interfaces must be assessed in order to secure the operation of the microsystems in space. Therefore, statistical methods for burst test evaluation have been developed.</p><p>Weibull fracture probability functions have been derived in order to interpret the bond quality. In addition, rank-sum tests on spot series and analysis of variance are performed for bond quality diagnostics. The dependence on annealing temperature and surface-activation are presented, together with diagnosed degradation of insufficiently annealed bonds due to different spaceflight environments (thermal cycling, vibration, γ-irradiation).</p>

The incorporation of extremely compact multifunctional microsystems is a highly profitable long-term approach in spacecraft design. These systems bring substantial launch-cost reductions, and enable exciting space exploration and science missions. Silicon microsystems technology is an adequate choice for the multifunctional microsystem development. However, the development of basic microsystems technology cannot be financed within application-specific space missions. Rather, the microsystems technology should be matured through fundamental research. Silicon microsystems technology was used to develop a cold gas microthruster system suitable for minute movements of spacecraft (low Δv). In a hybrid integration, the system unit contains three silicon microsystem parts with four individual thrusters in total, together with external control electronics. The total mass is 0.35 kg. Further integration will result in a mass of 0.08 kg. Complete system integration means that all package and interconnection levels are integrated into the silicon microsystem units. Several vital issues must be addressed, e.g. the reliable bonding of silicon wafers, the microfabrication process compatibility, and the manufacture process sequence. A graphical tool is introduced for process sequence evaluation. Wafer bonding is used as fabrication process, assembly tool, and packaging technique. The quality and reliability of the bonded interfaces must be assessed in order to secure the operation of the microsystems in space. Therefore, statistical methods for burst test evaluation have been developed. Weibull fracture probability functions have been derived in order to interpret the bond quality. In addition, rank-sum tests on spot series and analysis of variance are performed for bond quality diagnostics. The dependence on annealing temperature and surface-activation are presented, together with diagnosed degradation of insufficiently annealed bonds due to different spaceflight environments (thermal cycling, vibration, γ-irradiation).

Architectural designers often need to strike an uneasy balance between idealism and reality. Under most circumstances, architects are restricted by clients, budgets, and available technologies. However, divorced from traditional constraints, visionary concepts of new dwellings, new cities, and new “worlds” will spark greater forms of innovation and drive creativity for future generations. The exploration of new spatial boundaries and conceptual environments for design will irrevocably alter the human experience while adapting new challenging roles for future architects. Architecture can be understood in part as the art of organizing spaces through the manipulation of materials and forms. Designed spaces are arranged to provide unique sensory reactions for their occupants while emotionally and physically orientating them on Earth. As a catalyst towards the awareness of one’s surroundings, architecture has always had to contend with the many limiting factors imposed by the forces on Earth. These include, but are not limited to, gravity and climate. On Earth, structurally sound construction is limited by the forces of gravity as it influences design capabilities by standardizing forms, functions, and structural elements of architectural spaces. New design challenges and opportunities arrive when we look to create structures outside of Earth’s boundaries. This thesis proposes a futuristic model of an efficient and unique passenger transport system that connects Earth-based hybrid air/space ports with an outer space orbital infrastructural hub. This modern intervention will allow for new outer space industries, such as transit, tourism, and hospitality, which will provide unique opportunities for the future of humanity. Additionally, the thesis studies the positive architectural and experiential potentials for the future living occupancy of outer space. In recognizing the financial and logistical limitations of current space constructions, such as the International Space Station, the thesis looks beyond the limitations of current technologies and towards designs that are driven by the fulfillment of human experiences in space. Life in space, the thesis envisions, will spark new human experiences and rituals while necessitating new forms and designs in architecture. Weightlessness and its related spatial disorientations, in addition to the many other unique conditions in this unfamiliar territory, will inspire a new conceptual language for architecture and human cultures. The thesis will demonstrate that spaces designed for extraterrestrial experiences can be innovatively dynamic as they respond to new cultures and activities that evolve as a reaction to extreme conditions. Introducing humans to the environs of orbital space will be the initial stage in a long-term phasing tactic to colonize and commercialize beyond the expanse of Earth, eventually extending humanity to the remote neighbouring planets of the universe.

This essay offers a deconstructive approach to Nabokov´s Lolita. Critics have tended to treat space and time as distinct concepts in the novel: choosing to analyse the role of either one or the other, and even when considering both, examining them in isolation. It´s narrator, Humbert Humbert, however, implies that "time" and "spatial" terms are interchangeable in a way reminiscent of Einstein´s Theory of Relativity in which space-time is a continuum that is experienced relative to the individual observer´s own position in the universe. This essay therefore explores the possibility that Nabokov may have used Einstein´s concept of space-time relativity as a metaphor in Lolita. The essay looks first at the various ways in which the idea of relativity surfaces throughout the novel not just in relation to space and time, but also in its moral, cultural and historic forms. The roles of the Hour Glass Lake, Lolita´s sunglasses and Humbert´s car, three of the novel´s chief symbols, are then discussed in relation to its key elements: the notion of time dilation, the place of the observer and Humbert´s space-time bubble. It next concentrates on how the characters in the novel exemplify the roles of both observer and observed in a modern, self-centred and morally relativistic world. The final section argues that Humbert’s "madness" represents the most extreme consequence of his living in his own solipsistic bubble of space-time, or "dream vacuum" as he calls it.

This dissertation investigates the problematic locality ¡§home¡¨ and its relationship with the female protagonists in Doris Lessing¡¦s novels by studying the interrelationship between gender and space. By applying the concepts of feminist geographers Linda McDowell and Doreen Masssey, this dissertation interprets how Lessing develops her childhood home, the source of nostalgia, to a fluid and dynamic domain in her imaginary world. I will argue that Lessing¡¦s women break through the arbitrary distinctions between the domestic and public, feminine and masculine, within and without the boundaries by infusing into contemporary elements such as mobility and globalization of women. The first chapter introduces the motivation of my dissertation, the intertextuality between these texts, then literature reviews on Lessing scholars, and on the speculative aspect of feminist geography, and finally the methodology and organization of the whole dissertation. In Chapter Two, the impact of domestic space on female subjectivity is the focus in The Grass Is Singing. Gender, race, and class barriers are violated by the female protagonist Mary Turner when she transgress the boundaries between domestic and public, white and black, master and servant. Chapter Three deals with the self-development of the female protagonist in Summer before the Dark. The female subjectivity must be reconstructed through the process of negotiation between the private and the public spaces. The heroine Kate Brown undertakes an ordeal physically and spiritually to achieve her self-awakening in sexuality and autonomy. Chapter Four focuses on women¡¦s anxiety about their identities in urban city in The Golden Notebook. The sense of insecurity in both private and public spaces is manifested in Anna Wulf, her writing, and her reflection of sexual relationship. In the fifth chapter, three essential factors that affect the concepts of home in this novel: time-space compression, globalization, and the changing relationship between biological mothers and their daughters are discussed in Lessing¡¦s latest full-length novel The Sweetest Dream. The final chapter is a conclusion of the whole dissertation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-134). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009. / Mode of access: Internet. Title from PDF title page; viewed on Feb. 10, 2010. Major professor: Dr. Eric Mehiel. "Presented to the faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering." "October, 2009." Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-185). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.