VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Pirandello's meta-theatrical plays beyond the trilogy

The discussion of the evolution of Luigi Pirandello's process of revision of the very nature of the theatrical experience is the focus of the present study. The Sicilian's internal debate, on the one hand his essays on theatre and theatricality, on the other his plays, are the focal point of the study. Since Pirandello, the essayist, strongly defended the importance of the text and saw its staging only as a necessary evil, an outline of Edward Gordon Craig's position, in Pirandello's initial stance, is central to the first chapter. The comparison between Craig, who is commonly considered the forefather of contemporary stage directing and Pirandello, who is often only considered a great playwright, is essential to shed new light on the Italian's role in the development of Twentieth century theatre theory. The second chapter deals with Pirandello's theoretical writings on the theatre vis-a-vis an analyses of Enrico IV, Ciascuno a suo modo and Sagra del Signore della Nave. The third chapter deals with the various re-writings of Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore and centers on the differences between the 1921 text and the 1925 version of the play. Pirandello's various attempts as capocomico to pragmatically give new vitality and vigor to the theatrical experience are also the focus of this chapter. His interaction with the actors while director at the Teatro d'Arte are also closely scrutinized as they influenced his vision of the theatre and his subsequent play writing. Lazzaro and La nuova colonia are seen as the product of Pirandello's failure to revive the theatre while director of the Teatro d'Arte. The fourth chapter centers on Pirandello's attempt to find "another stage," that of the mind in Sogno (ma forse no), and a purely mythical stage in I giganti della montagna. In conclusion, the present work studies Pirandello's role in defining and proposing a resolution to the theatrical impasse in which the stage had found itself the beginning of the Twentieth century. It proposes a new perspective on Pirandello's plays as theory of the theatre.
Theories of directing in late Renaissance and early Baroque Italy

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the status of the art of direction in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries in Italy, to appraise its first emergence as an independent craft, and to examine its changing artistic ideals in the context of the dominant styles of the time. To this effect I examine the following texts, which represent the earliest formal treatments of direction: Quattro dialoghi in materia di rappresentazioni sceniche (1565) by Leone De Sommi, also known as Leone Ebreo, professional director at the court of Mantua; Della poesia rappresentativa e del modo di rappresentare le favole sceniche (1598) by Angelo Ingegneri, director of the first production of Oedipus the King (1585) in modern Europe; and Il corago o vero alcune osservazioni per mettere ben in scena le composizioni drammatiche (1628), an anonymous treatise by a professional director in the early baroque theatre. Most theatre historians quickly dismiss the idea of the art of directing before the nineteenth and twentieth centuries on the grounds that there were no professional directors before this period and no formal treatments of the art of direction worthy of notice. By closely examining the theory and methodology of De Sommi, Ingegneri and the author of Il corago, I argue that their work in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries already has all the fundamental characteristics of the work of modern professional directors. I examine their approach to textual analysis, casting, working with actors, acting and technical rehearsals, costume and scenic design, use of stage machines, music and sound effects, and production organization. In the process, this thesis defines each author's concept of the role and function of the director and his strategic position in the hierarchy of theatrical production.
A loop material flow system design for manufacturing plants

Around 20 to 50 percent of the operating expenses within manufacturing plants are related to material handling. Effective facilities planning can reduce these costs by 10 to 30 percent. The material flow system is the foundation of facilities planning. It is defined in terms of the type of the material handling equipment, the flow network, its directions, and the number and locations of Pick-up and Delivery stations. Automated Guided Vehicles are now considered as the basic material handling equipment in manufacturing plants. They are preferred to conveyors because of their flexibility, and to robots because of their mobility. We develop a model to design a unidirectional loop flow system for automated guided vehicles. A set of assumptions are examined. Linear Programming, Integer Programming, and Network Flows are modeling tools of our research. The shortest loop problem is transferred into the Generalized Traveling Salesman Problem. Compared to available models for designing a loop on a block layout, our model is better integrated, has a smaller number of binary variables and stronger constraints. A Goal Programming approach to design the shortest loop with a secondary objective function is also examined. The shortest loop model minimizes all costs proportional to the length of the loop, but does not cover the travel costs. We integrate both the design of the unidirectional loop, and determination of the number and location of stations in order to minimize the total loaded vehicle travel distance. No earlier model designs the loop and the station locations simultaneously. To solve the problem, we have concentrated on 3 directions. Having a stronger LP-relaxation, an intelligent Branch and Bound, and a set of MIP solver methods which are most appropriate for this particular problem. The model is extended to minimize the cost of the total system, including the network, stations, and loaded travel distance. Capabilities of the model to cover the conventional configuration and the bi-directional loop are also discussed. Finally the model evaluates the impact of the empty vehicle travel. All considerations of the loaded travel distance formulation and solution procedure, as well as a decomposition approach are implemented to solve the model. We show that the optimal solution for loaded travel distance is far from optimal for both loaded and empty travels. The models developed in this research may be examined in three environments: fixed loop-variable station location, variable loop-fixed station location, and variable loop-variable station location. However, it is mostly implemented in the last environment. Computational results are reported for a set of randomly generated problems as well as some well known examples.
Electrical coupling mechanisms of excitable cells

Rhythmic excitable cells can be viewed as nonlinear oscillators which are coupled to neighbouring cells through various mechanisms. Entrainment of oscillators as a result of this coupling is an important consideration, required for normal functioning of the gut but producing epilepsy in the brain. There are two direct electrical coupling mechanisms: gap junctions and electric field coupling. There are several scenarios where gap junctional coupling is either absent or unable to account for observed behaviour. Electric fields, produced during depolarization, induce voltages in nearby membranes which cannot be measured directly. Modelling must be used to determine if the effects of these fields are sufficient to bring about entrainment. The boundary element method (BEM) was used to compute the induced transmembrane voltage in a cell due to the depolarization of a nearby cell. A formulation obtained by differentiating Green's Theorem to produce a Fredholm equation of the second kind for current in terms of voltage, proved to be more computationally efficient and accurate. Use of BEM to model exterior diffusion was possible for a simple known case, but applicability to morphologically relevant cases was questioned due to computational demands and mapping of boundary conditions. Morphological structures between cells, specifically interdigitations, limit diffusion and amplify extracellular concentration changes in both amplitude and duration, as well as increase induced voltage in spherical cell models. The induced voltage produced by a synchronized aggregate of cylindrical cells on a passive cell was studied. Results found were (1) placing the passive cell end-to-end with the aggregate was most efficacious, (2) decreasing conduction volume decreased voltages, (3) the dependence of voltage on source aggregate size, and (4) very low gap junction conductances provide good coupling. The propagation velocity of depolarization waves is a crucial parameter, yet remains unknown. Extending the BEM to use mixed triangular/cylindrical element models allowed modelling of realistic 3-dimensional neurons with dendritic trees. Biologically recorded waveforms called spikelets, which resemble differentiated action potentials, were reproduced. Based on amplitude considerations, we concluded that spikelets are produced by several neurons whose activity is synchronized in part through gap junctions. This supports other biological evidence.
Regulating religion and morality in the King's armies, 1639-1646

The centrality of religion and piety has traditionally been attributed by historians of the Civil Wars to the Parliamentarians, and especially to the New Model Army. This dissertation documents the commitment to religion and morality in the King's armies. A close textual analysis of printed military regulations, royal proclamations, and injunctions establishes the official religious culture in the King's armies from 1639 to 1646. It describes a royal/episcopal tradition featuring a type of piety in which reverence for the liturgy and sacraments of the Church of England were emphasized. After 1643, this religious culture showed an increasingly pronounced devotion to the Eucharist. One notable feature of the religious culture of the King's armies was the likelihood of a de facto tolerance of Roman Catholics. This finding reinforces Newman's assessment of Catholic involvement in the Royalist armies. The shift to a greater Eucharistic focus in the religious culture outlined in the attempts at regulation of the King's army coincide with a change in genre, from military regulations alone, to proclamations and injunctions as well. It also coincides with the splintering of the Royalist Council of War and the rise of the Courtier Councillors previously noted by Ian Roy. With regard to morality, the King's armies of the Bishops' Wars conformed generally to the campaign to reform manners variously described by Spufford and Underdown. In the Civil Wars, the Royalist army notably departed from the precedent of the Bishops' Wars regulations and eliminated the purely sexual offenses of adultery and fornication. Swearing and the provocation of duels were perennial concerns throughout the period. Unanticipated results of this investigation include the discovery of the regulatory foundation of the British Army Chaplains' Corps and many details about attitudes to and the status of women in the King's armies.
Children's and adolescents' understanding of the psychosocial implications of physical anomalies

A central theoretical framework in person perception research characterizes changes in children's person descriptions across age as a concrete-to-abstract shift. Empirical support exists for this shift; physical characteristics predominate in young children's descriptions, while abstract qualities become more frequent with age. However, concrete qualities do not necessarily drop out of older children's person descriptions. In addition, research on facial and bodily anomalies reveals that physical characteristics remain central in children's evaluations of peers across age. How these physical characteristics are understood by children of different ages, however, has not been studied. This issue was the focus of the present research. Children between 4 to 15 years of age (N = 199) heard a scenario describing a same-sex peer who had a physical anomaly. Anomalies varied by location (face versus body) and type (cosmetic versus functional). When interviewed individually, participants were asked about the potential effects of the anomaly on the scenario character's emotional, physical, and social functioning. As predicted, interpretations varied with age, gender and anomaly dimensions. Older children used more abstract descriptors than younger children. For example, references to complex emotions and identity, social comparisons, and interpersonal notions of appearance, were more prevalent in older children's descriptions. However, contrary to prediction, references to physical functioning increased, rather than decreased, with age. For the gender effects, males were more concerned than females about physical functioning implications. Females, in comparison, focussed on consequences for attractiveness and self-consciousness. For both sexes, however, cosmetic anomalies produced more appearance and self-consciousness concerns than the function conditions. Among the function anomalies, the bodily condition elicited more concerns about functional limitations than the facial condition. This research examined the contribution of physical characteristics to children's person descriptions across age. It also called for a more comprehensive approach to developmental person perception research that addresses the role of physical characteristics in children's understanding of others.
Development of a short-baseline transient EM marine system and its application in the study of the TAG hydrothermal mound

Seafloor hydrothermal mounds are accumulations of polymetallic sulfides that are produced by hydrothermal processes along active plate boundaries. While surficial rocks and fluids of such mounds have been extensively sampled, few geophysical methods are capable of resolving their structure at depth. Consequently, little is known of the resource value of individual deposits. Electrical conductivity is a parameter sensitive to variations in rock porosity, pore fluid salinity and temperature. Perhaps nowhere on Earth are these parameters more variable than in a hydrothermal environment, suggesting that conductivity measurements made with an appropriate technique are a method of choice for imaging the internal features of these deposits. Innovative transient electric dipole-dipole instruments have been developed for this purpose. The instruments are compact, autonomous, and have dual transmitter/receiver capability. When transmitting, the instruments generate a 3 A bipolar square wave of variable base frequency. When receiving, the instruments act as recording voltmeters which measure the horizontal components of the seafloor electric field. The instruments were deployed in their first trial in a survey of the Trans-Atlantic Geotra-verse (TAG) hydrothermal mound on the mid-Atlantic ridge using the Alvin submersible. One instrument was configured as a transmitter and another as a receiver. Alvin carried the instruments to the seafloor where the receiver was deployed near the center of the mound. The transmitter was then carried through a survey path which circled the receiver at a range of $\sim$70 m, providing measurements of axial variations in the mound's conductivity. The survey lasted 3.5 hours. One receiver component was damaged during deployment. Measurements made at 12 sites on the second receiver component are interpreted in terms of a uniform seafloor model and a two-layered seafloor model. Results from the layered seafloor interpretation are rejected on the basis of eigenparameter error analysis. Apparent conductivities for the uniform seafloor model range from 1.4 to 15.9 S/m, being generally higher than the 3.2 S/m of seawater. Sensitivity analysis indicates that these values primarily reflect structure over a depth interval of 10 to 30 meters below the seafloor. The results are discussed in terms of known geology of the TAG mound.
The knowledge of insight, reclaiming through adult education the feminine/dionysian

This is an interpretative study which has several dimensions. As an adult educator interested in teaching holistically, it was important to begin by focusing on my own teaching and learning practices. I did this by writing my teaching and learning story. Through this experience, I discovered how control, habit, and fear serve to perpetuate the existing rationalist and mechanistic paradigm and how these states simultaneously deny knowledge related to insight--the feminine/Dionysian. At this time in our history, I theorize that the knowledge of insight must be reclaimed as our species evolves towards achieving a consciousness of wholeness. The literature pertaining to the feminine/Dionysian is collected under the headings of possibilities, poetic language, the personal I, relationship, imagination, metaphoric modes of learning and knowing, storytelling, art, art and the body, and intuition. Following this body of literature are six related teaching and learning stories shared by adult educators. The feminine/Dionysian is also addressed. The process of designing the Korean Teachers Education Program, a one-month intensive program for Korean teachers at the University of Alberta, is then described. This is followed by a description and interpretation of the actual program. Twenty-six people, including myself as the facilitator, participated in the program and the study. I photographed the art work of the participants, transcribed their stories, interviewed them mid-way through the program, and conducted a written evaluation of the program at the end, and a follow-up evaluation four months later. Through documenting how participants could make changes in their personal and professional lives, this inquiry demonstrates the value of incorporating the feminine/Dionysian into the curriculum. Subsequent to the research I conducted in 1994, I developed two more programs for the Korean teachers in 1995 and 1996. A brief description of these two programs shows results similar to the experiences in the 1994 program.
The control of real-time discrete-event systems subject to predicate-based constraints

A unique systematic design methodology is developed for achieving efficiency in solving some useful control problems of real-time discrete-event systems. To achieve this, an extended modelling formalism, which allows the incorporation of data variables, is proposed for describing real-time discrete-event systems. Based on this formalism, a new state-feedback control framework which can exercise two types of control mechanisms: enabling/disabling and forcing is established. Two important control problems are handled in this thesis. The first problem involves finding solutions which ensure that predicate-based constraints are satisfied invariantly in a closed-loop real-time discrete-event system. To tackle this problem leads to the development of a self-contained theory based on an innovative analysis of event trajectories of a system and a strategy for manipulating control mechanisms. A novel decision algorithm, employing a hybrid dynamic programming/constrained-search method, offers a baseline for handling forcing and thereby plays a key role in the derivation of sufficient conditions which guarantee this control problem is solvable. Furthermore, a procedure for controller synthesis is obtained based on a crucial connection between solvability conditions of this problem in this theory and an adapted notion of control-invariance in Ramadge-Wonham theory. The second control problem is how to find solutions which ensure that the first control problem is solvable and deadlock-freedom is achievable. Sufficient conditions are presented for the existence of solutions to this problem. For both control problems, synthesis procedures in pseudocode are provided. As application examples, some control problems are examined: a traffic-light in a subway system, a transfer line in manufacturing system, and two rods in a nuclear power plant. The feasibility of this systematic design approach is effectively demonstrated by these examples in terms of computational effort and explicit representations of control policies. As a whole, this thesis combines mathematical theory and quasi real-world applications.
La configuración del mundo narrativo de Yo el supremo de Augusto Roa Bastos

A phenomenological hermeneutical study of Yo el Supremo (1974), the novel by the Paraguayan Augusto Roa Bastos, is undertaken in this dissertation. This analysis deals with the study of the internal organization of the text and the extensive textual referentiality of the novel before turning to an interpretative examination. Writing uses the language of the writer's community. Literary language assimilates the values and judgments fostered by the community. Thus it could be said that no text is entirely original, for it is constructed from a web of references that are taken and transformed from other texts. Yo el Supremo is constructed as an intertext. Its structure is based upon other texts from History, Philosophy, Chronicles, and Guarani cosmogony and myth. Bakhtin's theory that the framework surrounding discourse is responsible for its new meaning is put to the test in this investigation by analyzing the semantic and pragmatic changes of those texts in the new contextualization. Mario J. Valdes' hermeneutical phenomenology has served as theoretical background for my approach to the study of Yo el Supremo and indeed for my understanding of Bakhtin's literary theory.
Protein-protein interactions involved in transcriptional activation by activators

The mechanism by which transcriptional activators increase the levels of message RNA is poorly understood. It is generally believed that activators directly or indirectly contact the basal transcription apparatus through their activation domains to stimulate transcription. In this thesis, I first showed that two acidic transactivators, herpes simplex virus VP16 and human p53, directly interact with the multi-subunit human general transcription factor TFIIH and its Saccharomyces cerevisiae counterpart, factor b. The VP16-and p53-binding domains in these factors lie in the p62 subunit of TFIIH and in the homologous subunit, TFB1, of factor b. Point mutations in VP16 that reduce its transactivation activity in both yeast and mammalian cells weaken its binding to both yeast and human TFIIH. This suggests that binding of activation domains to TFIIH is an important aspect of transcriptional activation. As well, I also demonstrated that the human immunodeficiency virus activator Tat, but not the cellular proteins Sp1 and CTF, bound TFIIH. The correlation between the ability of activators to stimulate elongation and their ability to bind TFIIH suggests that TFIIH-activator interaction may be involved in stimulation of transcriptional elongation. Finally, I have identified two human proteins (57 and 30 kDa) that bind to the activation domain of Tat (amino acids 1-48). One (57 kDa) is the human cellular protein CD46 and the other (30 kDa) is a novel human protein for which there is an existing cDNA. Point mutations in the amino-terminal portion of Tat that reduce its transactivation activity also weaken its binding of CD46 and the 30 kDa protein. Moreover, CD46 can bind to both of the glutamine-rich activation domains of Sp1. Coexpression of CD46 in human HeLa cells, which already contain CD46, further increased transcriptional activation by Tat of the HIV1-LTR. Therefore, Tat and Sp1 may form a complex mediated by CD46 to increase the efficiency of transcription.