bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Potential Problem with the Application of Moist Static Energy in Tropical Cyclone Studies
Authors: Ma Zhanhong , Fei Jianfang , Huang Xiaogang , Cheng Xiaoping
Published: May 2015

The moist static energy (MSE) is derived from the first law of thermodynamics and has been widely used in tropical cyclone (TC) studies because of its energetic and conventionally recognized conservation properties. This study investigates the validation of the MSE application in TC systems based on cloud-resolving numerical simulations. By examining the approximations made in deriving the MSE, neglecting the horizontal advection of pressure (namely, the generation of kinetic energy) relative to the vertical advection of pressure is found to be in error in the boundary layer of TCs with the horizontal advection of pressure even being several times larger than the vertical advection of pressure near the surface. Such a problematic approximation has broken down the conservation property of MSE in adiabatic conditions. An investigation of the energetic characteristics based on an MSE budget equation demonstrates that the MSE has created significant bias in evaluating the energy transport in the inner region of the TC boundary layer. Neglecting the kinetic energy conversion term in the boundary layer leads to a more strengthened cool-pool feature of MSE relative to the equivalent potential temperature; therefore, the interchangeable relationship between these two terms may also be inaccurate in the boundary layer. It is concluded that, although the MSE is an instrumental term for TC studies, caution should be taken when it is used in the boundary layer of TCs.
Spatial Variability of Surface-Level State Variables over Arctic Sea Ice
Authors: Andreas Edgar L , Jordan Rachel E.
Published: May 2015

Numerical models of the atmosphere, oceans, and sea ice are divided into horizontal grid cells that can range in size from a few kilometers to hundreds of kilometers. In these models, many surface-level variables are assumed to be uniform over a grid cell. Using a year of in situ data from the experiment to study the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA), the authors investigate the accuracy of this assumption of gridcell uniformity for the surface-level variables pressure, air temperature, wind speed, humidity, and incoming longwave radiation. The paper bases its analysis on three statistics: the monthly average and, for each season, the spatial correlation function and the spatial bias. For five SHEBA sites, which had a maximum separation of 12 km, the analysis supports the assumption of gridcell uniformity in pressure, air temperature, wind speed, and humidity in all seasons. In winter, when the incidence of fractional cloudiness is largest, the incoming longwave radiation may not be uniform over a grid cell. In other seasons, the bimodal distribution in cloud cover—either clear skies or total cloud cover—tends to homogenize the incoming radiation at scales of 12 km and less.
Control Parameters for Track Continuity of Cyclones Passing over the South-Central Appalachian Mountains
Authors: Rostom Riem , Lin Yuh-Lang
Published: May 2015

The tracks of all 42 tropical cyclones (TCs) passing over the south-central Appalachians from the east or west during 1850–2011 are found to be continuous. By estimating the basic-flow and vortex Froude numbers, and the basic-flow and vortex Rossby numbers (U/Nh, Vmax/Nh, U/fLx, and Vmax/fR, respectively; where U is the basic-flow speed, Vmax is the maximum tangential wind speed, N is the buoyancy frequency, h is the mountain height, f is the Coriolis parameter, R is the radius of cyclone center to Vmax, and Lx is the mountain width), from the hurricane reanalysis data, the lack of track discontinuity is explained by weaker blocking associated with lower mountains. The track discontinuity is found to be mainly controlled by Vmax/Nh and Vmax/fR (greater than 1.5 and 4.0, respectively), and less sensitive to U/Nh and U/fLx, consistent with a previous study. It is hypothesized that stronger blocking associated with weaker near-surface tangential winds of extratropical cyclones tends to make their tracks across the Appalachians discontinuous. This hypothesis is verified by investigating 13 heavy snowstorms with discontinuous tracks during 1950–2003. The present results show that all Vmax/Nh fall below 1.5 and all Vmax/fR fall below 4.0. To help understand the dynamics associated with orographic blocking, the 2–5 February 1995 snowstorm is simulated by a numerical model. The simulated results indicate that the upstream Vmax/Nh and Vmax/fR are indeed less than 1.5 and 4.0, respectively. Therefore, it is concluded that track discontinuity of a cyclone passing over a mesoscale mountain is mainly controlled by strong orographic blocking as measured by lower vortex Froude number (i.e., Vmax/Nh) and/or lower vortex Rossby number (i.e., Vmax/fR).
On the Effects of Surge Absorbers-Part I, Analytical Foundation
Authors: Sakr M. M. , Mansour E. A. A. , Girgis R. S.
Published: May 2015

The work presented here deals with the effects of a simple surge absorber composed of an ordinary choke coil, and connected in series with the line ends of a power transformer. The study includes the effect of such absorbers on the wave form of the incident surge, and consequently on the voltage distribution along the high voltage transformer windings. Moreover, a sample set of calculations has been performed to find out the way, the absorber constants, and the transformer simulating capacitor capacitance, contribute to those effects. These calculations are included in the second part of the work.
Potential Distribution across a String of Insulators
Authors: Roy S. C. Dutta
Published: May 2015

The problem of determining the potential distribution across a string of insulators is solved by using the difference equation approach. Explicit expressions for the potentials are given in series as well as closed forms, and their variations with the parameters are displayed in the form of graphs. The results are also applicable to line calculations for major street lighting schemes.
A Practical Course in Electronics for Power Engineers
Authors: Cummins T.
Published: May 2015

A short practical evening course in electronics for practising power engineers was recently run at Brighton Polytechnic. It was designed to familiarize participants with new electronic devices and their uses. Details of the programme and the content of each evening are given. The course was well received and indications are for a continued demand.
The Design and Development of a New Energy Processing Laboratory
Authors: Bennett Jim A. , Dawson Graham E. , John Vila Yil I. , Sen Paresh C.
Published: May 2015

This paper describes the construction and operation of an Electrical Machines Laboratory. The reasons for choosing mobile machines and modular instrumentation for a laboratory are enumerated. The functional and safety features of the electrical distribution system for the laboratory are explained and a description of the laboratory activities is given.
Circuit Analysis Programmes Developed for Use in Degree Circuit Theory Courses
Authors: Hawkins G. J.
Published: May 2015

This paper describes five basic computer programmes, easy for the student or circuit designer to use, which aid and illustrate elementary circuit analysis techniques. Programmes may be stored in the computer library so permitting the minimum number of control instructions, and thus the data entry is very simple.
A Quick Method for Analysing Parallel Ladder Networks
Authors: Roy S. C. Dutta
Published: May 2015

Breaking up the common connection at the input side, a parallel ladder network can be converted to a multiple input one. Repeated application of Thevenin's theorem then eases the analysis, which can be done quickly and almost by inspection.
An Induction Motor Analyser
Authors: Kulkarni D. V.
Published: May 2015

An analyser which provides performance characteristics of a 3-phase induction motor from its equivalent circuit is described. The resistances and inductances in the circuit are replaced respectively by capacitances and resistances in a circuit analogue. This circuit analogue is particularly economical for highly inductive, e.g. power networks.
A First Exposure to Discrete-Time Modelling of Linear Continuous Systems
Authors: Haberland B. , Rao S. S.
Published: May 2015

The growing usage of discrete-time models to simulate continuous and sampled-data systems requires a fundamental and concise introduction in an engineering curriculum. In this paper the discrete-time models are developed from different approximations of the convolution integral representing the response of the continuous system. An example is presented to illustrate the merits of the various models.
A Laboratory Experiment on Communication Electronics
Authors: Cassara Frank A.
Published: May 2015

In this paper a laboratory experiment illustrating applications of the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) to communication electronics when the BJT is operating in its large signal nonlinear region is described. The analysis of a large signal tuned amplifier, frequency multiplier, mixer, A.M. modulator, limiter, and oscillator are among those circuits studied.
Poles and Zeros of a Bandpass Filter Obtained by Transformation of a Lowpass Filter
Authors: Duttaroy S. C.
Published: May 2015

The standard lowpass to bandpass transformation is shown to transform a complex conjugate pair of roots (poles or zeros) to two such pairs having equal damping ratio. Explicit expressions are given for the locations of the transformed roots; these should be useful in active R.C. bandpass realizations.
Generalised Theory of Ferrite-Field D.C. Linear Motors
Authors: Basak A.
Published: May 2015

A theory has been developed for the ferrite field d.c. linear motor based upon the generalised machine approach. Expressions for steady state and transient response of such motors have also been developed. Various motor parameters can be determined by analysing the transient response of the motor speed.
Pinch Effect Revisited
Authors: Murgatroyd P. N.
Published: May 2015

The magnetic self-compression of conductors known as Pinch Effect is a vintage subject for examination questions. Some difficulties are exposed and outflanked.
SNOCRAFT: A Learning-Oriented Shorthand Notation for Creating, Representing, and Analyzing Fast Fourier Transform Algorithms
Authors: Meir Robert J. , Rao Sathyanarayan S.
Published: May 2015

This paper presents a full and well-developed view of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). It is intended for the reader who wishes to learn and develop his own fast Fourier algorithm. The approach presented here utilizes the matrix description of fast Fourier transforms. This approach leads to a systematic method for greatly reducing the complexity and the space required by variety of signal flow graph descriptions. This reduced form is called SNOCRAFT. From this representation, it is then shown how one can derive all possible fast Fourier transform algorithms, including the Weinograd Fourier transform algorithm. It is also shown from the SNOCRAFT representation that one can easily compute the number of multiplications and additions required to perform a specified fast Fourier transform algorithm.

After an elementary introduction to matrix representation of fast Fourier transform algorithm, the method of generating all possible fast Fourier transform algorithms is presented in detail and is given in three sections. The first section discusses the Generation of SNOCRAFT and the second section illustrates how Operations on SNOCRAFT are made. These operations include inversion and rotation. The last section deals with the FFT Analysis. In this section, examples are provided to illustrate how one counts the number of multiplications and additions involved in performing the transform that one has developed.
The Reciprocity of Piezo-Electric Transducers Used to Demonstrate the Frequency Response of Gramophone Cartridges
Authors: Klaassen K. B. , Lugita L.
Published: May 2015

An experiment which is used in a course of lectures to illustrate the reciprocity property of piezoelectric transducers is described. A piezo-electric accelerometer is used as an exciter for the demonstration of the frequency response of a gramophone cartridge. The transfer relations are derived from a network model of the transducer. The response is compared with that obtained by a test record.
Practical Experience for Four-Year Degrees in Electrical Engineering
Authors: Cory B. J. , Allen P. H. G.
Published: May 2015

The industrial training content of the Electrical Engineering stream of the Imperial College four-year ‘enhanced’ engineering degree course, leading to B. Eng., is described. The component parts, practical and academic, of the pre-university year in industry are dealt with in some detail and possible variations between them discussed.
A Survey of Microprocessor Software Reliability with an Illustrative Example
Authors: Yaacob Mashkuri , Hartley M. G.
Published: May 2015

The paper is an attempt to provide a brief survey of the present state-of-the-art for teachers of computer technology. Coverage includes criteria for achieving reliable software, program testing and path testing. The final section provides a practical example of the implementation of the recommended path-testing methodology.
The Principle of Power Assignment
Authors: Moreno E.
Published: May 2015

It is shown that in a network obeying Kirchhoff's laws, it is possible to determine the distribution of the power consumed in each branch among the various sources. This principle of power assignment may be regarded as a general principle of circuit theory. Some applications are briefly mentioned.
Looking into the Future of Electrical Engineering Education: An Assessment and Prediction of Trends in Developing Countries
Authors: Mwandosya M. J. , Kabisama H. W.
Published: May 2015

Engineering education in Tanzania is conducted by the faculty of engineering at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, and by the two technical colleges, in Dar-es-Salaam and Arusha. It is felt that a project-oriented curriculum including business management and organisation will be the ultimate solution for Tanzania and for developing countries in general.
English for Electrical Engineers
Authors: Meyer Rosalind S.
Published: May 2015

This account of a year's teaching practice records the author's solution to the problem of introducing second-year electrical engineers to good habits of speech and writing. The thrust of the exercises devolved on encouraging ability to conceptualize, to express abstractions, and to employ them in given situations.
Circularly Polarized Waves in Ferrite
Authors: Warner G. , Anderson R.
Published: May 2015

A demonstration showing the resonance splitting associated with a ferrite loaded cavity subjected to a magnetic field is described.
Relationship between Constant Voltage and Constant Capacitance DLTS
Authors: Lau W. S. , Lam Y. W. , Chang C. C.
Published: May 2015

A unified approach is presented in the derivation of equations for the constant-voltage capacitance transient and constant-capacitance voltage transient in deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), and for the relationship between them. The validity of these equations is independent of the device and nature of deep traps.
A Digital Control Laboratory with Microprocessors
Authors: Luque E. , Serra I. , Moreno L.
Published: May 2015

A microprocessor-based digital control laboratory course has been developed at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. The microprocessor acts as a controller in a closed loop system. The plant has been simulated on an analog computer. Some experiments have been realized with the aim of improving the student's understanding of the digital control concepts.
Computer-Aided Circuit Design as a Final Year Honours Degree Option
Authors: Falkner A. H.
Published: May 2015

The Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Coventry (Lanchester) Polytechnic has been teaching computer-aided circuit design as a final-year Honours option for four years. The subject has been well received and forms an important part of the degree course. This paper describes the course and the background to its introduction.
The Use of a Computer in the Classroom for Undergraduate Instruction in the Physics of Electronic Devices
Authors: Ajmera Pratul K.
Published: May 2015

Several computer programs are developed on a portable microcomputer for demonstration purposes to aid a teacher in classroom instruction in the physics of electronic devices at the undergraduate level. These programs and their in-class usage are described. Their impact on the students is evaluated.
Microtransformers for Teaching and System Stability Research
Authors: Allen P. H. G. , D'Souza K. J.
Published: May 2015

Large transformers, like highly rated rotating machines, can be modelled in ‘micro’ form to demonstrate significant second order, non-linear, features. The design and manufacture of 3 kVA (nominal) rating three-phase and three single-phase transformer bank units, all with three-limb cores and 0.17 per unit leakage reactance are described.
An Accelerator for Real-Time Digital Signal Processing with Microprocessors
Authors: Ward C.
Published: May 2015

An accelerator consisting of a fast digital multiplier and A/D and D/A converters is designed for the BBC microcomputer. The circuit enables ‘hands-on’ experience of digital signal processing to be provided at minimal cost. Examples of implementations of FIR filters and an autocorrelation algorithm are provided.
A Workstation Self-Learning Programme
Authors: Hodgson J. M.
Published: May 2015

This paper describes the computer workstations within the School of Electronic System Engineering at the Polytechnic of Central London and workstation self-learning in first-year undergraduate analogue electronics. A BJT amplifier illustrates methods of simulating frequency and waveform responses, highlighting effects of component values etc. on circuit behaviour. Student tasks arising from simulations are described.
Capacitance Calculation of Three Core Belted Power Cables
Authors: Malik N. H. , Al-Arainy A. A.
Published: May 2015

Based on charge simulation technique for solving the electrostatic field problems, a method to compute the capacitance of three core belted power cables is discussed. It is shown that very accurate capacitance calculations are possible if an appropriate number of simulating charges are used. Furthermore, the factors which influence the accuracy of such computations are analyzed.
Teaching Electromagnetics through Finite Elements. Part I: The Rationale
Authors: Hoole S. Ratnajeevan H.
Published: May 2015

The rationale for teaching undergraduate electromagnetics partly through the finite element method, is put forward. Properly presented, the finite element method, easily within the ken of the engineering undergraduate, promotes clarity and helps to replace large portions of syllabi devoted to special solution methods, with problems of industrial magnitude and character.
Experiments on Microwave Heating
Authors: Hobson L. , Lancaster B. , Finney S.
Published: May 2015

The paper describes a series of experiments to illustrate microwave heating techniques. The experiments are based around easily available and relatively cheap equipment and attempt to demonstrate important considerations in industrial applications of microwave heating with particular reference to drying.
Practical Chip Design for Undergraduate Computer Scientists
Authors: Robinson Peter
Published: May 2015

A new course in practical electronic CAD has recently been introduced to the Computer Science Tripos in Cambridge. This note describes the way that the course was organised, discusses the sort of chip that was designed and concludes with an assessment of the educational benefits.
Functional Modelling Using Helix
Authors: Chester E. G.
Published: May 2015

A brief description of the Silvar-Lisco HELIX simulator is presented, followed by two example models. The first is a model of a standard component for which a data sheet is available. The second is a high-level model of a proposed circuit design for which no detailed information yet exists.
A Graphic Display Tool for the Hilo Logic Simulator
Authors: Hopkins Trevor P. , Mathieson David
Published: May 2015

One of the ECAD programs supported by the UK ‘ECAD Initiative’ is the HILO logic simulator. This paper describes the design and implementation of a graphical output tool for HILO. This tool presents the results of a simulation run on a Sun workstation screen in the manner of a logic analyser, and can also convert the display format to Postscript for output to a laser printer.
Computer-Aided Drafting in a First-Year Electrical Engineering Class
Authors: Shelley R. B.
Published: May 2015

Some of the problems of introducing computer-aided drafting, to a large first-year class, are discussed. The favoured solution is to use a general-purpose drafting package, adapted so that students can work on a simple printed circuit layout, during the second of two sessions.
Analysis of a Three-Phase Self-Excited Reluctance Generator
Authors: Chan Tze Fun
Published: May 2015

A three-phase, self-excited reluctance generator with capacitive excitation is described and analyzed using the two-axis theory developed for synchronous machines, magnetic saturation being accounted for by the use of a variable direct-axis magnetizing reactance. Experimental results are found to be in close agreement with theoretical calculations.
The Development of Immigration Policy in Japan
Authors: Kondo Atsushi
Published: May 2015

This article traces the development of Japan's immigration policy and the factors which shape its content. The first part discusses the unique aspects of Japan's immigration policy; the second part outlines the development of an integration policy; the third part examines how admission and immigration controls will have to contend with social changes such as globalization and the aging of the Japanese population. The conclusion cites the need to establish a specific office to implement Japan's emerging integration policy.
Mental Health of Asian Immigrants in New Zealand: A Review of Key Issues
Authors: Ho Elsie Seckyee
Published: May 2015

Although the mental health status of Asian immigrants in New Zealand is not well studied, the limited data that is available suggests that the mental disorder prevalence rates are similar to that of the general population, and that language problems, failure to find employment, separation from family and community, and traumatic experiences prior to migration are key factors associated with increased risk of minor mental disorders such as anxiety or depression. The research has also found that stigma is a major obstacle preventing Asian immigrants from using mainstream mental health services. Cultural differences in assessment and treatment, a lack of English proficiency and inadequate knowledge and awareness of existing services are additional barriers. These issues draw attention to the need for greater responsiveness to the needs of Asian service users and their families in the mental health system.
A Nation in Decline? Migration and Emigration from the Cook Islands
Authors: Connell John
Published: May 2015

The Cook Islands is the largest of several Pacific island microstates experiencing absolute population decline, raising questions over national viability. Since its peak of 21,300 in 1971 the population has almost halved, mainly through depopulation of the twelve outer islands. The population of the main island, Rarotonga, has remained constant. Decline has been particularly rapid following economic problems and restructuring in the mid-1990s, while return migration has been slight. Skilled migrants, especially health workers, have been most prone to migration, for educational, economic and social reasons, facilitated by unimpeded entry into Australia and New Zealand. Workers increasingly join the health system with the intention of subsequent migration. Both the education and health system are short of skilled workers, and service delivery is worsening. Economic growth through tourism may slow migration, but will not prevent it, and further overall population decline seems probable.
Occupational Concentration and Mobility of Asian Immigrants in Australia
Authors: Parr Nick , Guo Fei
Published: May 2015

Using data from the 1996 and 2001 censuses of Australia, this study provides a detailed description of the diverse patterns of occupational concentration and mobility of selected Asian immigrant groups. The study shows that Asian-Australians include not only groups which remain relatively concentrated in “low-end” occupations, but also many others which are more likely than the Australia-born to be in “high-end” professional occupations, and that almost all the selected groups experienced some degree of upwards occupational mobility between 1996 and 2001. However, after controlling for a range of demographic and human capital characteristics, the participation of most groups in the managerial and professional occupations is shown to be below that for the Australia-born. Hence, the high occupational status of most Asian groups does not mean they are advantaged.
Flannery O'Connor, Benedict XVI, and the Divine Eros
Authors: Wood Ralph C.
Published: May 2015

The violence lying at the core of Flannery O'Connor's fiction does not constitute, as it seems, a gross divine invasion of human autonomy. On the contrary, her work has a deep congruence with the theology of Benedict XVI and its claim that the natural order is never autonomous but always and already graced. Divine love is not only agape, therefore, but also eros: God is not only the self-giving Beloved but also the other-pursuing Lover. Thus do O'Connor's characters find their graciously implanted (but sinfully suppressed) longings erupting within them, as their holy Lover seeks and finds his own beloved.
Stomaching the Truth: Getting to the Roots of Nausea in the Work of Jean Paul Sartre and Flannery O'Connor
Authors: Kerr Carolyn Michaels
Published: May 2015

A comparison of Flannery O'Connor‘s stories to Jean Paul Sartre's Nausea reveals a surprising number of intertextual parallels and shared themes. Upon close examination, correlations emerge within the overarching incarnational framework of each writer, manifested in similar physical responses of characters in a world that assumes God is dead. Looking at O'Connor through the descriptive lens of Nausea serves to augment a reading of O'Connor as a Christian writer attuned to the nihilism of the modern age, and contributes to an appreciation of the complexity of her vision. Despite the existential angst permeating the work of each writer, the “lines of spiritual motion” found in O'Connor's work reveal redemption in the suffering of Jesus Christ, while Sartre, at best, finds a sort of consolation in “good” faith and art.
Stalking Joy: Flannery O'Connor and the Dangerous Quest
Authors: Desmond John F.
Published: May 2015

A central theme in Flannery O'Connor‘s personal life as a believer and in her life as a writer was the theme of “stalking joy” throughout the “dangerous quest” for salvation. The concept was taken immediately from one of her favorite prayers, the “Prayer to St. Raphael.” This article focuses on how the concepts of “stalking joy” and the “dangerous quest” informed both O'Connor's life and her fiction. It charts O'Connor‘s development of this theme in her personal life and her letters, particularly showing how she manifested them in her charitable and loving relationship with others. Using St. Thomas Aquinas and Jacques Maritain, the article explains some theological and philosophical groundings for O'Connor's theme of “stalking joy.” Finally, it analyzes how O'Connor developed this theme, often ironically, in several of her stories and both novels.
The Comedy of Enchantment in The Lord of the Rings
Authors: Garbowski Christopher
Published: May 2015

In this article, J. R. R. Tolkien's conception of the “enchantment” of fantasy as articulated in his essay “On Fairy-Stories” is initially discussed in relation to the Catholic imagination and its inclination toward inspiring a comedic narrative. In The Lord of the Rings, among others, it is incorporated through the enchanted hierarchical structure of Middle-earth that inspires some of its benign inhabitants, especially the hobbits, to “rightly order their lives” in terms of community and their attitude toward death, and likewise creates a universe “hospitable to the humane.” Tolkien's comedic narrative also awakens readers from the complacency that typically accompanies the contemporary spirit of disenchantment and helps readers in seeing their world anew.
Technology, Contingency and Grace: Raymond Carver's “A Small, Good Thing”
Authors: Lake Christina Bieber
Published: May 2015

In this essay I argue that Carver's story “A Small, Good Thing” can be read as an illustration of Albert Borgmann's argument that contemporary technological society conceals grace by encouraging the illusion than an individual can exert total control over her environment. The story shows how radical contingency punctures this illusion and offers potential for grace-filled communion with others through humble acts of hospitality. These humble acts—the small, good things of life together—parallel the giving and receiving of grace that takes place during the Eucharist.
“In the Fable This is Your Proper Home”: Imagining Lives of Faith through Poetry
Authors: Kilgore-Caradec Jennifer
Published: May 2015

Building on various interpretations of the words “faith” and “fable,” this essay presents Hill's poetry as inseparable from a quest for historical truth and linked to theological preoccupations. “Religion and literature” is a staid phrase that cannot avoid “the cost of discipleship” (as Bonhoeffer would say). The epic genre and certain theological myths are exposed as fables in Hill's poetry. Yet, personal religious testimony seems perceptible, with a strong attachment to the Anglican Church and Coventry Cathedral. Charles Péguy, whose poetry can be read as prayer, provides an example of one who loves the church while looking in from the outside. Like William Cookson he gives off a light that shines in darkness.
“In Strange Christian Hope”: Memory and Faith in Geoffrey Hill'sThe Mystery of the Charity of Charles Péguy
Authors: Shakespeare Alex
Published: May 2015

Geoffrey Hill's Christianity has underlain many discussions of Hill's poetry. Hill's own Christianity, however, is less relevant to his readers than how Christianity's symbols, doctrines, and liturgical language occur in Hill's texts. This essay considers the Christian substance of Hill's poetry in relation to Hill's avowed concern with the memory of the dead, especially in The Mystery of the Charity of Charles Péguy. Hill's engagement with Christianity in the poem (and elsewhere) is unlike T. S. Eliot's or W. H. Auden's, for Hill does not work in conclusions. In Hill's poetics the work of faith, like the work of memory, is ongoing, interminable, and indeterminable.
Public and Private Responsibility: Christianity and Politics in Carl Schmitt's The Concept of the Political
Authors: Durden William S.
Published: May 2015

This essay explores the relationship between political realism and Christian faith by reading Carl Schmitt's The Concept of the Political against St. Augustine's The City of God. The author stresses the public/private binary as the crucial concept for analysis. After rejecting the viability of political realism with Christianity, the author draws upon Jacques Derrida's The Gift of Death to outline a different possibility for the coexistence of Christianity and politics.
Trouble in Paradise: Dillwyn Parrish, Praise the Lord!, and Religious Fervor in Southern California in the 1930s
Authors: Parmelee Stephen F.
Published: May 2015

Dillwyn Parrish's 1932 novel Praise the Lord! depicts Midwestern migrants and their search for the Promised Land in Southern California, the shattered illusions that follow the highest of their hopes, and the strong, sometimes misplaced, and occasionally fanatical religious fervor in the Southland of the early twentieth century, both historically and in the literature of the region. It is an effective reflection of the quest by newcomers to Los Angeles for spiritual as well as economic fulfillment. It is an undeservedly overlooked work that merits a place in the literary and cultural histories of Los Angeles, particularly for its stark, unromanticized depiction of the spiritual zeal of many newcomers to the Southland.
Secular and Spiritual Salvation in 1961 Birmingham, Alabama: Martin Luther King's Beloved Community as Imagined in Vicki Covington'sThe Last Hotel for Women
Authors: Tewkesbury Paul
Published: May 2015

This essay examines the ways in which Vicki Covington's 1996 novel The Last Hotel for Women thematizes Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s notion of the “Beloved Community,” a social and religious ideal that shaped the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. The novel is set in Birmingham, Alabama, in May 1961, when the Freedom Riders were attacked by the Ku Klux Klan. Covington's thematic concerns overlap with King's in two areas: The desirability of integration, and the end goals of reconciliation and redemption. The novel draws parallels between the social redemption offered by the Movement and the spiritual redemption offered by Christianity.
An Old Testament Offering: The Origin of Frost's “Maple”
Authors: Karounos Michael
Published: May 2015

Frost's poem, “Maple,” raises three distinct issues: 1) What is the significance of the name “Maple” and of the circumstances contributing to the naming of Maple? 2) What is the significance of the phrase “wave offering” in the biblical passages where the maple leaf was found? and 3) What does the poem mean? My thesis centers on a biblical and etymological analysis of the Hebrew word for “offering” that is central to Frost's poem. The paper begins with an investigation into the Old Testament origins of this phrase and then analyzes the significance of Maple's naming and the poem's relevance to Frost's themes and previous poems.
Metaphysical Suspicions: Charles Simic as Agnostic Theologian
Authors: McAbee Donovan
Published: May 2015

This essay argues that through his poetry, Charles Simic navigates a personal via mystica, one that by its very nature must always remain a penultimate affair. In order to reach this conclusion, the essay first demonstrates the affinities between Simic's work and that of the Christian mystical tradition. Secondly, the essay shows how Simic's work navigates the linguistic and philosophical tensions that exist between medieval and postmodern deconstructive forms of negation. Finally, Simic's use of negation is set into the broader context of contemporary poetry through comparisons to the work of Charles Wright and Mark Strand.
Uwem Akpan's Say You're One of Them: Invitations to Solidarity
Authors: Szolosi Stephen M.
Published: May 2015

The stories of Uwem Akpan's Say You're One of Them reflect the principle of solidarity prominent in Catholic social teaching since Vatican II. In relation to Akpan's Jesuit vocation following the Second Vatican Council, this principle is seen to be a key to the religious imagery and underlying theology of the narratives. Anselm Min's theology of solidarity illuminates the social justice concerns that Akpan explores in various African countries. Repeatedly, whether when portraying the Rwandan genocide, slums, human trafficking, or interreligious conflict, Akpan invites his readers to reflect on the circumstances portrayed in relation to Christian and familial solidarity.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie'sPurple Hibiscusand the Paradoxes of Postcolonial Redemption
Authors: Wallace Cynthia R.
Published: May 2015

As a postcolonial text, Purble Hibiscus critiques the associated violences of Christian religion, colonial forces, and patriarchal domination. Yet it also complicates this indictment through parallel critiques of Igbo culture through contrasting characters whose own beliefs manifest the proliferated possibilities of a secular age: Not repudiation of Igbo culture or of Christianity, but a dynamic process of critique and embrace that exemplifies the cultural hermeneutics suggested by West African theologian Mercy Amba Odyoye. To do justice to the text, readers in a Western location must resist the urge to overlook either side of this risky and difficult paradox.
Reading the Bible “as the Report of the Word of God”: The Case of T. S. Eliot
Authors: Warner Martin
Published: May 2015

Eliot contrasted reading the Bible “as literature” with reading it “as the report of the Word of God.” Central to “the Bible as literature” movement was the contention that the Bible is best approached primarily in terms of its language (usually in translation), style, and/or structure. Eliot's preferred traditional mode of reading, while not fundamentalist, treated the Bible as authoritative witness to religious truth. This throws light on the way the biblical resonances of his mature poetry are often more imagistic than verbal, pointing to an intelligently “God-fearing” poetic approach to the literary dimension of the Bible.
Reading the Self, Reading the Bible (or is it a Novel?): The Differing Typological Hermeneutics of Augustine's Confessions and Defoe's Robinson Crusoe
Authors: Hinojosa Lynne Walhout
Published: May 2015

Robinson Crusoe's conversion plot in Daniel Defoe's 1719 Robinson Crusoe bears striking similarity to Augustine's conversion plot in Confessions, especially in the ways Bible-reading is narrated as transforming the ontological nature of each “character's” self. This essay argues that while both Crusoe and Augustine employ typological hermeneutics while reading the Bible, their hermeneutics are informed by vastly different ontological, epistemological, and ethical assumptions and emphases. Dissecting and outlining Crusoe's “modern novelistic” typology and comparing it to Augustine's “premodern” typology reveals some theological limitations of modern reading practices that have long influenced how readers approach both novels and the Bible.
Artful Dogma: The Immaculate Conception and Franz Werfel's Song of Bernadette
Authors: Astell Ann W.
Published: May 2015

An international bestseller when it first appeared in 1941 and the inspiration for an Academy-award winning film, Franz Werfel's historical novel The Song of Bernadette has received surprisingly little critical attention. Written against the background of the Nazi persecution of the Jews, the Song chronicles the Marian apparitions at Lourdes, France, in 1858 and the life of the young visionary, Bernadette Soubirous. A once-celebrated émigré writer, Werfel identified himself as both Jewish and Christian. His Song of Bernadette deserves recognition not only as a masterpiece of realistic hagiography, but also as a complex philosophical and theological commentary on modernism and Judeo-Christianity.
Burnt and Blossoming: Material Mysticism inTrilogyandFour Quartets
Authors: Anderson Elizabeth
Published: May 2015

This essay brings two WWII poems into dialogue: H.D's Trilogy and Eliot's Four Quartets. Both poems express a creative response to the destruction of war. My reading of Trilogy suggests a material mysticism in which vision and renewal are situated within the natural world, rituals, and bodily experience. Bringing this understanding of mysticism to bear on Four Quartets reveals tension between transcendence and materiality. For Eliot, redemption comes through time and location, while for H.D., redemption lies within material particularity. Four Quartets oscillates between an apophatic discourse that seeks to transcend desire and history and an emphasis on material particularities.
Calvin's Theory of Reading
Authors: Kort Wesley A.
Published: May 2015

Central to John Calvin's doctrine of Scripture, a doctrine basic to his theology and highly influential in his own time and subsequently, is a theory of reading. His doctrine, then, focuses not so much on the biblical text or on its origins as on the act of reading it. Three things are required for understanding and appreciating Calvin's theory of reading. The first includes the various sources upon which he drew and various influences exerted on him; the second exposes the conditions and dynamics crucial to this kind of reading; and the third points to consequences of his theory both for the Christian life and church and for the culture, including the rise and development of modernity.
Religion and Suffering inMacbeth
Authors: Cox John D.
Published: May 2015

The tragic quality of Macbeth is inseparable from the play's imaginative eliciting of compassion on an explicitly Christian model. A. C. Bradley understood Shakespearean tragedy as inherent in character, and the historicists who reacted to Bradley reaffirmed the importance of religion, but only as historical background. New historicists are more interested in irony than tragedy, and they understand religion as a function of social or psychological relations. Though Macbeth is a murdering tyrant, the play constantly makes us aware of his intense suffering, which he himself identifies with his rejection of grace.
Crucifix, Communion, and Convent: The Real Presence of Anglican Ritualism in Bram Stoker's Dracula
Authors: Bowles Noelle
Published: May 2015

This essay posits that Dracula's sacred symbolism embodies greater complexity than what has thus far been read as an “either/or” position of Catholic/Protestant representation. An examination of the theological debates that surround Bram Stoker and the composition of Dracula reveals that the novel speaks more to conflicts within the Anglican community than it does to the opposition between Catholicism and Protestantism. When Jonathan Harker wonders if “there is something in the essence of the [crucifix] itself” (52) that comforts him, and he and his companions successfully battle the count with what are typically viewed as Catholic accoutrements, Stoker advocates the existence and efficacy of the Real Presence, a highly controversial doctrine of High Church ritualism.
“Such Fire is Love”: The Bernardine Poetry of St. Robert Southwell, S.J.
Authors: Shaw Diana Marie
Published: May 2015

Though nearly forgotten for three centuries, the poetry of the Elizabethan Jesuit martyr, St. Robert Southwell, was immensely popular and influential among his contemporary cross-confessional readers. No less surprising, so too were the works of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, which the missionary-poet requested “for his solace” in the Tower. While most studies of Southwell mention this biographical fact, none examine its literary ramifications in any depth. In response, this essay explores Southwell's and Bernard's similar relations to their respective literary cultures, particularly in their religious conversion of the language of secular love. While better illuminating this central theme of both authors, this essay points to the Jesuit's contemplative medieval heritage as well as the Cistercian's early modern apostolate.
A Poetics of Consenting Attention: Simone Weil's Prayer and the Poetry of Denise Levertov
Authors: Wright-Bushman Katy
Published: May 2015

This article examines the practice of attention as a subject of Denise Levertov's poetry, one that emerges fully only after her commitment to Christianity and its convictions of immanent, incarnate transcendence. Simone Weil fluidly and precisely describes this practice and the receptive consent to the subject that accompanies it in her response to stark contemporary circumstances earlier in the century. I explore Levertov's exemplification of this practice in Weil's terms, arguing that Levertov's hesitant and late-arriving Catholicism, like Weil's own devotional experience, underwrites the responsorial practice of attention. It operates for Levertov as both a poetic method and as a response to contemporary questions of poetics and language, producing a poetics that privileges the possibility of knowing as love and speaking as prayer.
Secular or Spiritual: Rereading Anne of Green Gables
Authors: Howey Ann F.
Published: May 2015

Comparison of L. M. Montgomery's 1908 Anne of Green Gables with Kevin Sullivan's 1985 telefilm adaptation clarifies the role of religious and spiritual practices in both texts; the comparison, while it demonstrates the process of secularization in late twentieth-century popular culture, also highlights the institutional context for Anne's religious maturation in the novel. Montgomery's representation of a changing church and of a personal spirituality that is an essential component of maturation raises questions about the implications of secularization to the depiction of spiritual identity in young people's literature.
Þa3 Hit Displese Ofte: Monastic Obedience in Patience
Authors: Wolfe Elisabeth G.
Published: May 2015

The Patience poet's choice of Jonah as his example of an impatient figure from Scripture has long puzzled scholars, given that Jonah is best known for his disobedience. Assuming that the poet was writing within a monastic context, however, the implicit link between patience, poverty, and obedience becomes clearer through the discussions of those virtues in the Rule of Benedict and the writings of Bernard of Clairvaux. Within that context, the poet retells the story of Jonah in a way that frames Jonah as a stereotypical fugitive monk whose disobedience is a direct result of his lack of patience.
The Law Made Flesh: St. Paul's Corinth and Shakespeare's Vienna
Authors: Gates Daniel
Published: May 2015

This essay explores parallels between Shakespeare's Vienna and Corinth as it appears in Paul's letters. First Corinthians presents marriage as the solution for sexual license, a remedy the Duke also employs. Furthermore, the license of both cities seems to result from uncertainty about whether the law is still in effect. Shakespeare presents rival theories of the law through the Duke and Angelo. The Duke's approach of suspending the law, while merciful, tolerates the presence of unreformed elements in the city. The play's vision of society, while anti-puritan, is also indebted to Paul's letters to the church at Corinth.
Milton's Theology of the Cross: Substitution and Satisfaction in Christ's Atonement
Authors: Smith Samuel
Published: May 2015

Recent scholarship on John Milton argues that Milton rejected the popular Reformation understanding of Christ's atonement, the penal-substitutionary theory of atonement, and that Milton was uncomfortable with the Crucifixion of Jesus as God's means of human salvation. A close reading of Milton's Paradise Lost and De Doctrina Christiana clearly shows, however, that Milton did in fact embrace the penal-substitutionary theory of atonement, and he believed that Jesus' death on the cross effected this atonement. Milton's decision not to dwell on the cross or the details of the crucifixion in his poetry does not manifest a rejection of the cross as God's means of effecting atonement.
The Venerable Bede's Manuductive Hermeneutics: Lame Readers, Apostolic Teachers, and Temple Exegesis in His Commentary on Acts
Authors: Train Daniel M.
Published: May 2015

This essay examines Bede's portrayal of an Apostle as one who imitates Christ's example of a “good teacher” by leading others by the hand, physically and spiritually, toward a better interpretation of their texts and their world. Central to the development of this exegesis is his recurring focus on the ascent with Christ in both knowledge and virtue, the journey to and from the heavenly Jerusalem, and the Temple as a richly layered image of Christ's body. In so far that Bede's commentary itself “builds up” the life of faith and leads its own readers into a deeper understanding of Christ's body and the heavenly kingdom, Bede is himself modeling the pattern of a good teacher.
C. S. Lewis: The Anti-Platonic Platonist
Authors: Tiffany Grace
Published: May 2015

This essay argues that in much of his fiction and prose writings, C. S. Lewis strains conventional Platonism to accommodate Christianity, and vice versa. His “peculiar Platonism” includes his use of and interpretation of poetic creations as markers of a more authentic reality than mere reason can provide.