Gay actors have a long history with the notion of “straightening up” to remain castable and economically feasible in today’s market. Searching to find answers for young acting students while strengthening their own self worth, I will explore the history of gay actors in film, television and theatre and in society to understand this notion more fully. By interviewing working actors and managers in the business I will explore how I can address this question of “straightening up” to the future generation of actors and analyze how we can face the future with integrity and self-respect.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of prior information about hydraulic conductivity (K) by Kriging, using point K data and/or residual covariance, on improvements of K estimates at the North Campus Research Site (NCRS). Among many methods that can characterize the mean or detail distribution of hydraulic conductivity (K), the Cooper-Jacob straight line solution, Kriging using point K data, single-well pumping tests inversion and Hydraulic Tomography (HT) have been compared in this study, using the head data collected from 15 cross-hole pumping tests collected at NCRS, where 9 existing wells were installed with packer system and the pressure responses at different intervals in different wells were monitored with transducers. It is found that the HT method, which fuse all the available pumping test data, yields more accurate and consistent results. However, many studies have indicated that the hydraulic data combined with geologic investigation will improve the HT estimates. Thus, in this study, hard data of K obtained by permeameter (227 data points) are brought in using Kriging and combined with HT to yield better estimate K field. Moreover, the validations of unused tests indicate that the estimated K obtained using collected K information makes more accurate predictions.

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of dentofacial appearance on perceived social attributes of college-aged adult males and females as judged by their peers. Specifically, the objective was to determine if ideal smile esthetics positively influenced this age group’s perception of opposite-sex peers based on ratings of the following psychosocial characteristics: attractiveness, desire to spend time with, desire to date, and desire for a long-term relationship. Evaluators were shown digital photographs of subjects with ideal and nonideal smiles and asked to rate those 4 attributes using a visual analogue scale (VAS). The subjects’ photographs with ideal smile esthetics were consistently rated higher on average than the same subjects’ photographs with nonideal smile esthetics. The differences in ratings between ideal and nonideal smile images were significant for all 4 psychosocial judgments (P <.0001). These differences ranged in magnitude depending on the sex and race of the evaluator and subject.

Mapa conceitual (MC) é uma técnica de organização e representação do conhecimento através de uma rede proposicional. Ainda que utilizado no âmbito da educação formal poucos trabalhos mencionam a importância e necessidade da capacitação na técnica para que se possa desfrutar de seus benefícios. Este estudo desenvolveu um instrumento para avaliar o nível de conhecimento de mapeadores após o processo de capacitação em MCs. A tabela de clareza proposicional, o MC semiestruturado e a aprendizagem colaborativa expandida foram três estratégias instrucionais desenvolvidas a fim de permitir que os alunos compreendessem os quatro conceitos centrais do mapeamento conceitual: proposição, questão focal, recursividade e hierarquia. Um questionário (escala Likert 5-níveis) contendo cinco afirmações foi desenvolvido, validado (? de Cronbach 0,902) e aplicado para medir a compreensão dos alunos sobre os MCs. Os questionários (n = 232) foram coletados na última aula da disciplina Ciências da Natureza, oferecida aos alunos ingressantes da Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (EACH/USP Leste) em 2009 e 2010. Quatro turmas receberam treinamento sistemático em MCs (grupo experimental) enquanto uma turma não recebeu o mesmo treinamento (grupo controle). A análise dos dados envolveu o tratamento estatístico de comparação entre médias por teste-t de Student e a estatística multivariada exploratória com métodos de reconhecimento de padrões através das análises hierárquica de agrupamentos (HCA) e de componentes principais (PCA). O resultado do teste-t confirmou que o questionário foi capaz de diferenciar alunos do grupo experimental em relação ao grupo controle. A HCA agrupou os alunos de acordo com seu nível de entendimento em mapeamento conceitual e a PCA, além de corroborar com os resultados da HCA, indicou que o entendimento da clareza semântica de proposições e da importância da pergunta focal são críticos para se tornar proficiente na técnica. / Concept Map (Cmap) is a technique to organize and represent knowledge through a propositional net. Although the fact that concept maps are used in formal education context few papers has mentioned the importance and necessity of a straight-forward training session on the technique, which allow to enjoy its benefits. This study develops an instrument to assess the level of knowledge of mappers after the straight-forward training session. The propositional clarity table, the half structured Cmap and the expanded collaborative learning were the three strategies responsible to guarantee the understanding of four central concepts in conceptual mapping: proposition, focal question, recursivity revision and hierarchy. Five statements\' questionnaire (five-level Likert\'s scale) was developed, validated (Cronbach\'s alpha 0.902) and tested to assess the students\' understanding about Cmaps. Those questionnaires (n = 232) was collected on the last class of Natural Science course offered to first year\'s students of the Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (School of Arts, Science and Humanities - University of São Paulo) in 2009 and 2010. Four classes was systematic trained (experimental group) and one class does not received the same training (control group). The data analysis involved the statistical treatment to comparison between the means by Student\'s t-test and non-supervised exploratory multivariate analysis for pattern recognition by Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results of t-test confirmed the questionnaire capability to distinguish the students of experimental from control group. HCA clustered the students according to their knowlodge level in concept mapping. PCA not only agree with the HCA results but also demonstrated that the understanding of propositional clarity semantic and the importance of focal question are critical to students that desire to be proficiencies in Cmaps.

A inserção de gotejadores em uma tubulação modifica as linhas de fluxo, provocando turbulência local, que resulta em perdas de carga adicionais maiores que as perdas contínuas na tubulação. Para avaliar a perda total de carga, ao longo da linha lateral de gotejadores, as perdas contínuas e as localizadas, devidas à presença dos emissores no tubo, devem ser consideradas. Este trabalho apresenta os resultados de um experimento conduzido para avaliar as perdas localizadas de carga em gotejadores coaxiais integrados em tubos de polietileno. A perda de carga para diferentes vazões foi determinada em quatro modelos de tubos gotejadores, com sete repetições. Cada segmento de tubo utilizado continha 11 gotejadores. Para cada vazão, a perda localizada de carga foi calculada pela diferença entre a perda de carga no tubo com emissor e a perda de carga continua no tubo uniforme, estimada pela equação de Darcy-Weisbach. Aproximações matemáticas foram sugeridas para calcular a perda de carga com base no coeficiente de carga cinética (K) e em um valor constante de comprimento equivalente (Le). Para cada modelo de tubo gotejador, o coeficiente K foi praticamente independente do número de Reynolds, para R > 10 000, sugerindo que cada gotejador pode ser caracterizado por um valor médio de K, obtido em função de um índice de obstrução. Em decorrência, propôs-se uma alternativa para calcular a perda localizada de carga, provocada por gotejadores coaxiais integrados a tubos de polietileno, em função de relações geométricas entre a área de escoamento através do gotejador e a da seção do tubo. Os resultados encontrados possibilitam concluir que: (a) maior variabilidade dos valores de K ocorreu para os gotejadores não-autocompensados e a maior perda localizada de carga para os autocompesados; (b) o aumento do grau de obstrução (1 - Ag/At) proporcionou o aumento na perda localizada de carga. Considerando a vazão de 20 x 10-5 m3 s-1, nos tubos gotejadores Amanco, observou-se que o aumento de 1,79 vez no grau de obstrução resultou no aumento de 3 vezes na perda localizada de carga; já nos gotejadores Naandan, o aumento de 2,2 vezes no grau de obstrução proporcionou o aumento de 8,9 vezes na perda de carga; (c) a consideração da perda localizada de carga é um critério relevante no dimensionamento de linhas laterais de gotejamento, especialmente quando se utilizam gotejadores autocompensados. A desconsideração da perda localizada de carga levou à superestimativa do comprimento máximo da linha lateral de até 25,7%, para os gotejadores autocompensados, e de 9,5%, para os não-autocompensados; (d) o cálculo da perda localizada de carga, utilizando o modelo potencial para estimar o valor de K em função do índice de obstrução, mostrou bons resultados, comparáveis àqueles obtidos com o valor de K ajustado pelos dados observados em laboratório, o que resultou em pequenas variações na estimativa do comprimento máximo da linha lateral por esses dois procedimentos. Considera-se, assim, que a perda localizada de carga em gotejadores coaxiais, pode ser calculada utilizando-se um coeficiente de carga cinética calculada em função do índice de obstrução. / The insert of the drip in a pipe modifies the flow line, causing local turbulance, which results in more additional head loss than the continued loss in pipes. In order to evaluate the local head loss, along the drip irrigation laterals, the continued and localized loss due the presence of these emitters inside the pipes must be considered. This work shows the results of an experiment carried out to evaluate the local head loss in coaxial drippers integrated to polyethylene pipes. The head loss for different discharges was determined using four drip pipe models, using seven repetitions. Each pipe segment contained 11 drips. For each discharge, the local head loss was calculated by the difference between head loss in the pipe with emitters and the continued head loss in the uniform pipe, estimated by Darcy-Weisbach equation. Mathematical approaches were proposed to calculate the head loss based on the kinetic head coefficient (k) and in a equivalent length of pipe constant value (le). For each drip pipe model, the k coefficient was considered independent from Reynolds number, R >10.000. It can be concluded that each drip can be characterized by an average k, obtained in function from a obstruction index. As a result, it was proposed an alternative to calculate the local head loss caused by coaxial drip integrated to polyethylene pipes, according to geometric relationship between the flow area through the drip and the pipe section. According to the results can be concluded that: (a) the not self-compensated pressure emitters showed more variability in k values and the self-compensated showed greater local head loss; (b) the obstruction index increase (1 ag/at) caused an increase in the total head loss. Considering a discharge 20 x 10 -5 m3 s-1, it was observed in Amanco drip that a 1,79 times increase in obstruction index, resulting in 3 times the head loss and in Naandan drip, it was observed that 2,2 times increase in obstruction index, resulting in 8,9 times the head loss; (c) the head loss is a relevant criterion in the drip laterals design, especially for self-compensated drips. The disregard of the local head loss resulted in a over-estimate of 25,7% in the maximum length lateral, for self-compensated drips, and until 9,5% for not self-compensated drips; (d) the calculation of the local head loss using the potential model to estimate k value, according to the obstruction index, showed good results when comparing to those obtained using k factor adjusted to the observed data in the laboratory. Resulting in few variations in the maximum length lateral estimation for both procedures. It is considered that the local head loss, caused by the integrated drip on drip lateral, can be calculated using kinetic head coefficient according to obstruction index.

Em perspectiva histórica, esta tese analisa a trajetória da Rua Direita com base em fontes primárias inéditas e jamais seriadas dessa forma. Como uma metonímia, em que a parte representa a dinâmica do todo, por meio do estudo da transformação da rua buscou-se analisar o processo de transformação do Centro Histórico de São Paulo em suas interfaces com a cidade. Partindo dos Maços de População e das Décimas Urbanas, foram inventariados - lote a lote - proprietários, usuários, tipologia e usos, desde o século XVIII, quando ali moravam em casas de taipa de pilão os mais ricos comerciantes de São Paulo que geralmente vendiam tecidos para vestuário (as chamadas \'fazendas secas\'). Resultado da grande expansão da economia cafeeira, no século XIX observamos uma profunda alteração na arquitetura da rua, reconstituída com base nos documentos da Série Obras Particulares do Arquivo Histórico de São Paulo. Para consecução dos objetivos, elaboramos uma metodologia inédita de cruzamento de fontes conexas e diversas, envolvendo as supracitadas além de fotos, mapas, almanaques, memoriais, inventários post-mortem, etc. A ideia era espacializar o processo de mudança, sem perder de vista as permanências ao longo do tempo. No início do século XX, a Rua Direita passou a ser o centro das atenções e negócios novos da Metrópole do Café que alteraram seu perfil e sua arquitetura. Cresceu em comprimento e em movimento com a implantação do Viaduto do Chá e depois foi encurtada, mas valorizada, com a abertura da Praça do Patriarca. Nas décadas de 1920 a 1950 retomou sua vocação inicial de polarizadora do comércio de tecidos finos, mas, com o advento do Centro Novo, declinou em importância. Pouco se verticalizou até a década de 1950, mantendo a maioria dos imóveis, mas alterando aos poucos o perfil dos usos e usuários novamente, transformando-se um eixo de comércio de vestuário de baixo preço. Entre 1950 e 1977, voltou a se verticalizar ganhando oito arranhacéus de uso misto, com conjuntos de salas e lojas no térreo, numa época em que a Avenida Paulista e a Avenida Faria Lima estavam apenas se insinuando no cenário. De 1988 a 1991 foram tombados seus principais edifícios pelo Conpresp, assim como os das imediações, acompanhando a tendência iniciada com o Pátio do Colégio em prosseguimento às iniciativas do Condephaat. / In historical perspective, this thesis analyzes the history of Rua Direita based on unpublished primary sources never previously ordered in this way. As a metonymy, in which a part stands for the dynamics of the whole, the aim of studying the transformation of this street was to analyze the process of transformation of São Paulo\'s historic center and its interfaces with the city. Based on census and tithe data (Maços de População and Décimas Urbanas) a lot-by-lot inventory was compiled for owners, users, types and uses, from the 18th century when São Paulo\'s richest merchants lived on Rua Direita in houses made from pressed earth and usually sold fabrics for clothing (called \'dry goods\'). The 19th-century boom in the coffee economy led to far-reaching changes in the street\'s architecture, which have been reconstituted based on documents from São Paulo\'s Historic Archive. We developed a new method to cross-check different sources, involving the above data and photographs, maps, almanacs, memoirs, postmortem inventories, etc. The idea was to spatialize the change process without losing sight of continuities over time. In the early 20th century, Rua Direita became the center of attention and new business for the city now named the \'coffee metropolis\', modifying its profile and architecture. It was lengthened and bore more traffic when a bridge was added (Viaduto do Chá) and then shortened, although gaining value, when a new plaza (Praça do Patriarca) was laid out. From the 1920s through the 1950s, it regained its original purpose as a center for fine fabric traders but later declined in importance when a new downtown district (Centro Novo) was built. There were few high buildings until the 1950s; most properties remained unaltered but profiles of uses and users gradually changed again as it became an area for the low-price garment trade. From 1950 through 1977, 8 more high-rise buildings were erected for mixeduse office suites and stores on the ground floor, at a time when Paulista and Faria Lima Avenue were just beginning to show on the scenario. From 1988 to 1991, the street\'s main buildings were listed by municipal heritage entity Conpresp, as were its surroundings, following a trend that had started when the founding fathers\' building (Pátio do Colégio) was listed by the state heritage entity Condephaat.

This thesis foregrounds a question unanswered in queer theory�s account of the ongoing reproduction of heteronormativity. In Gender Trouble, Judith Butler asks "From where does the performative draw its force, and what happens to the performative whose task it is to undo" that discursively legitimated enacting? (Bodies That Matter 224-5). While queer theory offers a compelling account of how the normative fictions of identity privilege heterosexuality, the first part of Butler�s question remains relatively under-theorised. This thesis addresses this gap and argues that to understand the source of performative authority, we must address the intimate relationship between gay identity and commodity culture. Thus, I investigate the connections between the marketing industry, an historically politicised gay press, and a lesbian and gay politics imagined through the paradigm of identity, and argue that they combine in a citational feedback loop to performatively produce gay identity as the "ideal consumer." I then undertake case studies of two media texts, the website Gay.com and the television series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, in order to demonstrate how the white, male, middle-class gay aesthete functions hegemonically as gayness in culture. My analysis then turns to the second part of Butler�s question -"what happens to the performative whose task it is to undo?"- and examines the consequences of the absence of an analysis of commodity culture for the notion of queer. To that end, I suggest that alongside their repetitions of gay normativity, both Gay.com and Queer Eye perform queer possibility. However, the case studies I undertake, along with the critical reception of Queer Eye and the internet technologies behind Gay.com, suggests that these media texts fall short of the promise of queerness. This apparent failure to disturb heteronormative reproduction is connected in these critiques to each text�s commercial imperatives. This thesis argues that such critiques tend to rely on determinations of the authenticity of queer performance, and emphasise veracity over queer theory�s potential to exploit the critical potential of deliberate indeterminacy. I argue, instead, that a key part of queer theory�s contingency is its capacity to respond to the changing performative contexts of the normative repetitions it seeks to undo. To put this more simply: If consumer desire defines contemporary gayness, then it is with consumer desire that queer theory must contend. It is precisely the indeterminacy of queer that enables such shifts in its strategies of subversion. Recognition of how queer�s indeterminacy enables those subversive moves returns us to the importance to queer theory of a sustained consideration of the constitutive capacities of commodity culture. What I suggest in this thesis is that if we do no ask "From where does the performance draw its force?" then we cannot answer "And what happens to the performative whose task it is to undo?" the normative framework of identity.

Fracture toughness is an important rock property for rock fracturing and fragmentation applications. Theory and practice of opening mode (mode I) and shearing mode (mode II) fracture toughness tests are still in a developing stage for the cylindrical rock cores. A new circular plate type test specimen is used for mode II fracture toughness testing on rock cores. This involves a straight edge notched circular plate type core disc geometry under three-point bending load / new method and its associated specimen geometry is referred as straight edge notched disc bend (SNDB) specimen under three-point bending. Mode II fracture toughness results of the tests with this new geometry were compared to the results of the tests commonly employed for mode II fracture toughness testing. Specimen geometries were modeled and mode II stress intensity factors were computed by finite element modeling using ABAQUS program. For comparison purposes, mode II or shearing mode fracture toughness KIIc of two different rock types were determined by different testing methods commonly employed in recent practice. Core specimens of Ankara andesite and Afyon marble rock types were tested with cracked chevron notched Brazilian disc and cracked straight through Brazilian disc specimens under Brazilian type loading, semi-circular bend specimen and straight edge notched disc bending specimen geometries under three-point bending.For all testing groups, cylindrical cores with diameters varying from 7.5 cm to 12.5 cm were prepared with notch lengths changing from 1.5 cm to 2.6 cm. Effect of specimen thickness on mode II fracture toughness was investigated for three different testing methods. Fracture toughness values remained constant when thickness of the specimens was increased for cracked straight through Brazilian disc, semi-circular bend and straight notched disc bend methods. For cracked straight through Brazilian disc method KIIc values of Ankara andesite and Afyon marble were 0.99 MPa&radic / m and 0.86 MPa&radic / m, respectively. Mode II fracture toughness with semi-circular bend specimen was 0.43 MPa&radic / m for andesite and 0.46 MPa&radic / m for marble. When the results of the two three-point bending type tests were compared straight notched disc under three-point bending resulted in higher KIIc values (0.61 MPa&radic / m for andesite and 0.62 MPa&radic / m for marble) than the results found by semi-circular bend tests.

In this study, a new approach for the matching and reconstruction of line features from multispectral stereo aerial images is presented. The advantages of the existing multispectral information in aerial images are fully taken into account all over the steps of pre-processing and edge detection. To accurately describe the straight line segments, a principal component analysis technique is adapted. The initial correspondences between the stereo images are generated using a new pair-wise stereo matching approach which involves a total of seven relational constraints. The final line to line correspondences between the stereo images are established in a precise matching stage in which the final line matches are assigned by means of three novel measures and a final similarity voting scheme. Once the line matches are established, the stereo reconstruction of those matches is performed by an innovative reconstruction approach that manipulates the redundancy inherent in line pair-relations. By this way, the reconstruction of the stereo matches that are observed in a nearly-parallel geometry with the epipolar lines can also be performed accurately. The proposed approach is tested over two different urban test sites with various built-up characteristics, and as a result, very successful and promising stereo line matching and reconstruction performances are reached. Besides, the comparison of the results of the proposed approach with the results of one of the state-of-the-art stereo matching approaches proves the superiority and the potential of proposed approach.

There were adapted the stream commands (SSE2) for videooculography measuring methods of eyes movements in this activity (an analysis by straight lines and an analysis by a circle). By their assistance the time of detection methods of eye pupil centre coordinates was accelerated. The algorithm of eye pupil centre detection was presented in which there were used the methods of analysis by straight lines and analysis by circles. There were presented stream commands (SSE2) and the methods of their use. After investigetion it was determined that the time of eye pupil centre coordinates by assistance of stream commands has been accelerated.