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Alexander the Great represents the pinnacle of mortal achievement. There are many histories, novels, and even self-help books written on Alexander, though very few discuss in detail exactly who this enigmatic youth was. Tragically, many historians deny the possibility of understanding the intricacies of Alexander's complex personality. This thesis espouses that Alexander can be studied as a human-being brimming over with wisdom and accomplishment. The research conducted for this thesis has involved combing the ancient authors whom Alexander read and was influenced by in order to fully represent Alexander as a deeply emulative hero. The portrait of Alexander that readers will find below is both deeply historical and fascinatingly mythical, for he lived in both worlds. Alexander believed in a prophecy uttered by Prometheus which foretold of a weapon that would "best the thunderbolt" of Zeus; the fulfillment of this prophecy would bring the glory of Alexander's heroic bloodline to a dramatic and powerful conclusion. To reach this goal, Alexander had to rival his ancestors Achilles and Hercules in accomplishment and then excel them in memory. It is the hope that this thesis will paint an original portrait of Alexander which is overflowing with the spirituality, passion, and adventure that characterized the young king.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The history of Western civilisation is generally demarcated into three broad epochs: ancient, Christian and modern. These eras are usually defined in political terms, but they may also be differentiated in terms of fundamental differences in the nature of the organisations that constitute civil society in each age, how they defined the public good, and even what they consider philanthropic. In the nineteenth century, for instance, 'Scientific philanthropy' displaced 'Christian charity' as the dominant model for charitable giving; a development accompanied by a number of other secularising trends in Western civil society, generally understood as a broad cultural shift in conceptions of public good, from religious to scientific. From the fourth to the sixth century CE, by comparison, another broad cultural shift, from paganism to Christianity, also led to fundamental changes in the nature and composition of ancient civil society. A central premise of this dissertation is that fundamental historical transformations in Western civilisation – from pagan to Christian, to modern, to post-modern – may be traced to the influence of some of the most important philosophers in the Western philosophical tradition, among them: Protagoras, Socrates, Plato, Francis Bacon and Friedrich Nietzsche. Each of these philosophers may be seen to have promulgated their teachings in a consciously Promethean manner; as gifts of fire, understood as philosophical teachings intended to be promulgated for the wider benefit of humankind. In Greek myth, Prometheus, whose name is traditionally thought to have literally meant 'forethought', is the one who steals fire from the gods and gives it to humans. Prometheus is also the first figure in history to be described as "philanthropic" (Prometheus Bound, 11 & 28). Plato, Bacon and Nietzsche all employ significant variants of the Promethean mũthos in their philosophical works, and may be seen to personally identify with the figure of Prometheus, as an allegorical figure depicting the situation of the wise, particularly in relation to political power. This dissertation thus closely analyses the Promethean mũthos in order to cast light on the philosophical philanthrôpía and Promethean ambitions of Protagoras, Socrates and Plato, and to provide the basis for consideration of the same in Bacon and Nietzsche.

Skogsbränder är kraftfulla naturfenomen kapabla att åstakomma omfattande skada över stora ytor och medföra omfattande kostnader för sammhället både humanitärt, ekonomiskt och miljömässigt. Det finns därför ett starkt incitament att övervaka och förutspå skogsbränders utveckling och spridning. Traditionellt används kraftfulla skrivbordsklienter för att köra den simulerings-mjukvara som förutspår skogsbränder, vilket begränsar användningsområdet för simuleringar. Webbklienter är naturligt mobila och lättanvända. Genom att flytta bearbetningen till en server överförs majoriteten av arbetet från klienten. Det här projektet utvecklar ett server-klient baserat ramverk för att simulera skogsbränder, visualisera resultatet och hantera data för användning i skogsbrandsbekämpnings och -analys arbetsflöde. Både parametrarna som skickas till servern och simuleringsresultatet som returneras till klienten. Ramverket använder en kombination av HTTPS-kommunikation och websocket-teknologi för att kommunicera data mellan klienten och server i real-time genom Django-ramverket. Brandmodellen på den Kanadensiska empiriska brandmodellen Prometheus som är implementerad i programmeringsspråket Python. Det är optimerat för det svenska klimated för att enkelt kunnas fältsättas i en webbapplikation för svenska myndigheter. Webb-applikationen är tillgänglig genom mobila och stationära enheter där ramverket beräknar och visualiserar förutspådd fortspridning av skogsbrand i realtid. Skogsbrands moduleringsmodellen av applikationen är jämförd med skogsbränderna i Enskogen och Ängra närastaden Kårböle under sommaren 2018. Noggrannhetsbedömningen av modellen påvisar att den simulerade branden tenderar att innehålla den egentliga elden men är benägen att överskatta eldspridningen. Applikationen utvärderades även genom ett formulär om applikationens funktionallitet som skickades till en provgrupp av personer som arbetar med skogsbränder eller annat relevant område. Provgruppen var nöjd med applikationen och såg ett anvädningsområde för applikationen i sitt arbetsflöde. Mycket arbete återstår för att göra applikationen fältduglig genom integration av myndigheters datatjänster och andra databaser som innehåller riskobjekt, byggnader, kraftledningar e.g. Trots detta ansågs brandingejörer inom räddningstjänster en möjlighet att använda verktygen i dess nuvarande tillstånd om simuleringsresultatet anses korrekt nog för att fungera som underlag för beslut. Detta understryker behovet av en liknande applikation, med vidare funktionalitet och integration med data-system. / Wildfires are powerful natural forces capable of causing extensive damage to large areas of lands and induce a high societal cost in both humanitarian, economic and environmental terms. As such there is a strong incentive to track and predict wildfires' development and spread. Traditionally heavy desktop clients are required to run the simulation-software required to perform wildfire spread predictions, which limits their use and versatility. Conversely, web-based clients are lightweight and versatile by design. By moving the processing of the simulation to a server the bulk of the workload is removed from the client. This project aims to produce a server-client framework for simulating wildfires, visualising the result and handling the fire data for use in the workflow of wildfire suppression and analysis. Both the parameters sent to the server and the simulation result returned to the client. It utilises a combination of HTTPS-requests and websockets-technology to communicate data and information between the client and server in real-time through the Django framework. The fire simulation is based upon the Canadian empirical fire-model Prometheus. The implementation of the algorithm were adopted in the programming language python and optimized for the Swedish climate to be easily deployed in a web-application to be used by Swedish organisations. The web-application was accessible though mobile and stationary devices where the framework calculated and visualised the progression of the wildfire in real-time. The wildfire progression model of the application was compared to the wildfires Enskogen and Ängra, close to the town of Kårböle during the summer of 2018. The accuracy assessment of the fire progression model found that the simulated wildfire progression tend to contain the observed fire and prone to overestimate the wildfires progression. The application was evaluated though a questionnaire which was answered by a sample group composed of persons working with wildfires or wildfire related fields. The sample group were satisfied by the application and broadly found that the application could be implemented into their workflow.  Much work remain to operationalise the application, such as integration of municipal data sources and other databases containing resources, risk-objects, buildings, power-lines. In spite of this Fire-engineers in emergency services state a possibility for use of the application as is, if the simulations are deemed accurate enough and provide a better basis for decision making and measures. This underlines the need of an application such as this in the field, and with further functionalities and integration's with data-systems.

This dissertation explores the role and significance of the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus in Western philosophy from Antiquity to today. Paying particular attention to its moral and existential meanings, an analysis of this in-depth investigation produces an overview of the exceptional array of the myth’s functions and themes. It demonstrates that the most significant functions of the Prometheus myth are its social, epistemic, ontological and moral functions and that the myth’s most significant themes are fire, rebellion, creation, human nature and ambiguity. The dissertation argues that this analysis brings to light meaningful information on two sides of a reference to the Prometheus myth: it reveals the nature, functions, themes and connotations of the myth, while information about these functions and themes provides access to fundamental meanings, moral statements and ontological concepts of the studied author. Based on its findings this work claims that, as in history, first, the Prometheus myth will still be meaningful in philosophy today; and second, that the analysis of the myth’s functions and themes will provide access to essential ideas underlying contemporary references to the myth. To prove the validity of these claims this thesis examines the contemporary debate on ‘human enhancement’. Advocates as well as opponents of enhancement make use of the Prometheus myth in order to support their arguments. Employing the acquired knowledge about the myth’s functions and themes, the dissertation analyses the references encountered. The results of this analysis confirm that the Prometheus myth still has a significant role in a contemporary philosophical context. They improve our understanding of the philosophical argument, ontological framework and ethics of the debate’s participants; and thus demonstrate that the information about the Prometheus myth acquired in this thesis is a useful means to reveal fundamental ideas and conceptualisations underlying contemporary (and possibly future) references to the myth.

The aim of this thesis is to identify differences among Mathematics textbooks and to find out how they work in real education process. This research will provide information whether such textbooks are actually used by Maths teachers, and if so, then in what manner and how effectively. This will be viewed from the perspective of a teacher-beginner who searches for the most appropriate textbook for Mathematics lessons. Another goal is to introduce the offer of various Maths textbooks for the 2nd stage of basic schools. Also, there is a research performed that could compare these books, especially books published by Prometheus, Fraus and H-mat. Results of the research will be then used for lesson plans of a beginning teacher.

El cine siempre me hipnotiza. Desde pequeña tuve una enorme facilidad para entregarme a la convención y dejarme llevar por aquello que veo en la pantalla, sin mayores pretensiones. Tal vez es un hábito heredado de mi abuela, a quien le encantaban las películas del cine de oro mexicano, o heredado de mis padres, que eran asiduos al cine de desastre de los setenta y al cine de terror. En realidad, es difícil saber. Lo único seguro es que lo disfruto mucho. Mi gusto por el terror y la ciencia ficción empezó temprano. Cuando nació mi hermana menor, mi mamá me regaló un televisor de 9 pulgadas, pequeñísimo, en el que podía ver la programación hasta muy tarde. Siempre sintonizaba Última función del canal 2. Obviamente, no tenía permitido ver televisión hasta tarde, pero ¿Quién se iba a dar cuenta?. En teoría, yo estaba “bien dormida”. Mi mamá me acostaba a las 8 de la noche. Aquella Última función empezaba a la medianoche. La matemática en este caso es bastante simple. / Tesis

A new generation of compact and highly efficient power production and propulsion technologies are critically needed in enabling NASAs long-term goals. Nuclear fission power technologies as part of project Prometheus are in development to meet this need. Proposed reactor concepts utilize a combination of refractory metals and stainless steels. One such refractory alloy, Niobium 1% Zirconium (Nb-1Zr), will be used because of its strength at high temperatures, neutron absorption properties, and resistance to corrosion by liquid alkali metals. One potential problem in using Nb-1Zr is that it undergoes rapid high temperature oxidation, even in low oxygen concentrations. Long-term oxidation of the niobium matrix can significantly deteriorate the mechanical properties of the alloy. This thesis reports on experimental studies of the high temperature interaction of 316 stainless steel (316 SS) and Nb-1Zr under prototypic space fission reactor operating conditions. Specifically, how the high temperature oxidation rate of Nb-1Zr changes when in contact with 316 SS at low external oxygen concentrations. The objective of the project is to determine if transport of gaseous contaminants, such as oxygen, will occur when Nb-1Zr is in contact with 316 SS, thereby increasing the oxidation rate and degrading material properties. Experiments were preformed in a realistic non-nuclear environment at the appropriate operating conditions. Thermal Gravimetric Analysis techniques were used to quantify results. Coupons of Nb-1Zr and Nb-1Zr in contact with 316 SS foil are subjected to flowing argon with oxygen concentrations between 4-15ppm and heated to a temperature of 500, 750, and 1000oC for 2 to 10 hours. Experiments were conducted at the Early Flight Fission Test Facility at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The experimental results indicate that a complex oxidation process, which depends greatly on temperature and oxygen concentration, occurs at the expected operating conditions. Non-linear regression techniques were applied to experimental data in order to derive correlations for the approximate oxidation rate of Nb-1Zr and Nb-1Zr in contact with 316 SS as a function of time, temperature, and oxygen concentration.

The thesis combines D.N. Rodowick’s concept of the figural, denoting the complex nature of filmic signification; Roland Barthes’ distinctions between the readerly and the writerly, which are different methods of engaging with a text; and Thierry Kuntzel’s concept of semiotic constellations, the reading of recurring yet fragmented motifs that occur throughout the film. Here reintroduced through the concept of eddies—discursive fields within the film which displace the connection between the signifier and signified (the flow of signification), instead distinguished by signifiers engendering new signifiers (the swirl of signification)—to unlock a new method of reading a film. This method focuses on interpreting the latent meanings of the plural of the text; the residual signs in the film which hold little to no bearing on its narrative, but through their deconstruction and later reassembly they may guide to viewer to new meanings. By first delineating the method proposed for this type of reading, the thesis then applies this method to the reading of one such eddy in the art-film Out 1: Noli me tangere from 1970, which is connected to the discursive field of Prometheus Bound, a play rehearsed within the film by a group of six actors who engage in various exercises, which at first glance seem to be entirely unconnected to the play. In this case, the method reveals through the figural activity of the film that the exercises of the group are engaged in dialogue with themes touched upon in the play.