title: 'He is a gentleman. I am a gentleman’s daughter. So far we are equal’: Gender performance in twenty-first century adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma and Pride and prejudice

authors: Hodgson, Laura

abstract: The core focus of this thesis is gender performance in two of Jane Austen’s novels, Pride and Prejudice and Emma, and twenty-first-century adaptations of these novels. The thesis revolves around six key texts: Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, its 2005 film adaptation of the same name directed by Joe Wright, and the transmedia modernisation, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries; as well as Austen’s novel Emma, its 2020 film adaptation of the same name directed by Autumn de Wilde, and the transmedia web series, Emma Approved. There have undoubtedly been shifts in gender performance over the two hundred years since Austen published her novels, but these are not always reflected in the adaptations. In part this is due to the surprisingly progressive nature of some of Austen’s meditations on gender, with Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice presenting as a pre-feminist and George Knightley from Emma performing as a pre-feminist man. These aspects of gender performance are extended by Keira Knightley’s portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in Wright’s film, which reframes the character as a Romantic feminist, and Johnny Flynn’s performance of Mr. Knightley as a hero positioned under the female gaze in de Wilde’s film. 

Yet, the thesis also reveals that Austen’s feminist precursors are not always developed in contemporary adaptations. Indeed, Lizzie Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a postfeminist who is far from being an autonomous twenty-first century woman and is dependent on family and male suitors to provide her with opportunities. Likewise, the opportunity to reimagine Austen’s characters in a twenty-first-century gender context is also ignored in some adaptations, particularly the transmedia web series, with Emma in Emma Approved continuing to endorse patriarchal structures in the same way that she does in Austen’s original novel. The dandyism of Frank Churchill in Austen’s Emma is also undercut in Emma Approved through a performance of heteronormativity that sidelines the queer potential initiated by previous adaptations, such as the 1995 film Clueless. Most striking is the stagnant gender performance of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice who remains the embodiment of hegemonic gentry masculinity in both the film and the web series. This thesis reveals that the lack of change in gender performance in some contemporary Austen adaptations demonstrates the persistence of hegemonic masculinity in the twenty-first century, while postfeminist performances of gender at times seem regressive.

text: 'He is a gentleman. I am a gentleman’s daughter. So far we are equal’: Gender performance in twenty-first century adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma and Pride and prejudice The core focus of this thesis is gender performance in two of Jane Austen’s novels, Pride and Prejudice and Emma, and twenty-first-century adaptations of these novels. The thesis revolves around six key texts: Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, its 2005 film adaptation of the same name directed by Joe Wright, and the transmedia modernisation, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries; as well as Austen’s novel Emma, its 2020 film adaptation of the same name directed by Autumn de Wilde, and the transmedia web series, Emma Approved. There have undoubtedly been shifts in gender performance over the two hundred years since Austen published her novels, but these are not always reflected in the adaptations. In part this is due to the surprisingly progressive nature of some of Austen’s meditations on gender, with Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice presenting as a pre-feminist and George Knightley from Emma performing as a pre-feminist man. These aspects of gender performance are extended by Keira Knightley’s portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in Wright’s film, which reframes the character as a Romantic feminist, and Johnny Flynn’s performance of Mr. Knightley as a hero positioned under the female gaze in de Wilde’s film. 

Yet, the thesis also reveals that Austen’s feminist precursors are not always developed in contemporary adaptations. Indeed, Lizzie Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a postfeminist who is far from being an autonomous twenty-first century woman and is dependent on family and male suitors to provide her with opportunities. Likewise, the opportunity to reimagine Austen’s characters in a twenty-first-century gender context is also ignored in some adaptations, particularly the transmedia web series, with Emma in Emma Approved continuing to endorse patriarchal structures in the same way that she does in Austen’s original novel. The dandyism of Frank Churchill in Austen’s Emma is also undercut in Emma Approved through a performance of heteronormativity that sidelines the queer potential initiated by previous adaptations, such as the 1995 film Clueless. Most striking is the stagnant gender performance of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice who remains the embodiment of hegemonic gentry masculinity in both the film and the web series. This thesis reveals that the lack of change in gender performance in some contemporary Austen adaptations demonstrates the persistence of hegemonic masculinity in the twenty-first century, while postfeminist performances of gender at times seem regressive.

year: 2023

title: Total site methodology as a tool for planning and strategic decisions

authors: Nemet, Andreja

subjects: Electricity production

abstract: A Total Site (TS) is defined as a set of processes (industrial plants, residential, business and agriculture units) linked through the central utility system. The utility system incorporates a number of operating units such as boilers, steam turbines, gas turbines and letdown stations. Many sites are using the TS system representation. Heat Integration at TS level has been well developed and successfully implemented. However, sites typically develop with time and even minor changes/extensions can affect TS heat recovery significantly. It is beneficial to plan their strategic development in advance, to increase or at least not to decrease the rate of heat recovery when integration of additional processes takes place. Even when this has not been done at the initial stage, the TS methodology can still be used as a tool for the strategic planning decision making. This work illustrates how the TS methodology can contribute to the strategic development and the extension planning of already existing TS. The aim is to reveal the potentials for Heat Integration, when new units or processes are considered for the inclusion in the TS. Moreover, some operating parameters (e.g. temperature or capacity) of the unit can be proposed to achieve the best possible heat recovery. The degrees of freedom for TS changes can be on two levels: (i) only adding an operating unit to the current utility system (the Total Site Profiles remain the same) or (ii) changing of the TS by including more processes (the Total Site Profiles are changed). The first group of changes includes the integration of heat engines to produce electricity utilising heat at higher temperature and returning it to the system at lower temperature, which is still acceptable for the heat recovery and simultaneously for the electricity production. The second group of changes is more complex. For evaluating these changes a plus/minus principle is developed allowing the most beneficial integration of new units to the TS. Combinations of both types of changes are also considered.

text: Total site methodology as a tool for planning and strategic decisions A Total Site (TS) is defined as a set of processes (industrial plants, residential, business and agriculture units) linked through the central utility system. The utility system incorporates a number of operating units such as boilers, steam turbines, gas turbines and letdown stations. Many sites are using the TS system representation. Heat Integration at TS level has been well developed and successfully implemented. However, sites typically develop with time and even minor changes/extensions can affect TS heat recovery significantly. It is beneficial to plan their strategic development in advance, to increase or at least not to decrease the rate of heat recovery when integration of additional processes takes place. Even when this has not been done at the initial stage, the TS methodology can still be used as a tool for the strategic planning decision making. This work illustrates how the TS methodology can contribute to the strategic development and the extension planning of already existing TS. The aim is to reveal the potentials for Heat Integration, when new units or processes are considered for the inclusion in the TS. Moreover, some operating parameters (e.g. temperature or capacity) of the unit can be proposed to achieve the best possible heat recovery. The degrees of freedom for TS changes can be on two levels: (i) only adding an operating unit to the current utility system (the Total Site Profiles remain the same) or (ii) changing of the TS by including more processes (the Total Site Profiles are changed). The first group of changes includes the integration of heat engines to produce electricity utilising heat at higher temperature and returning it to the system at lower temperature, which is still acceptable for the heat recovery and simultaneously for the electricity production. The second group of changes is more complex. For evaluating these changes a plus/minus principle is developed allowing the most beneficial integration of new units to the TS. Combinations of both types of changes are also considered.

year: 2012

title: Sustainable management, a sustainable ethic?

authors: Daya-Winterbottom, Trevor

abstract: New Zealand legislated for sustainability by enacting the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The RMA received the Royal Assent on 22 July 1991 and came into force as law on 1 October 1991. It restated and reformed “the law relating to the use of land, air, and water”, and is the principal statute governing the New Zealand environment. 
Despite the rhetoric of sustainable management, environmental law and governance in New Zealand continue to grapple with persistent challenges in relation to protecting biodiversity on private land, maintaining freshwater quantity and quality, and recognising Maori interests in resource management. New strategies are however emerging for promoting environmental justice and using the law to advance sustainability. My paper will therefore explore these aspects of the New Zealand experiment in legislating for sustainable management.

text: Sustainable management, a sustainable ethic? New Zealand legislated for sustainability by enacting the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). The RMA received the Royal Assent on 22 July 1991 and came into force as law on 1 October 1991. It restated and reformed “the law relating to the use of land, air, and water”, and is the principal statute governing the New Zealand environment. 
Despite the rhetoric of sustainable management, environmental law and governance in New Zealand continue to grapple with persistent challenges in relation to protecting biodiversity on private land, maintaining freshwater quantity and quality, and recognising Maori interests in resource management. New strategies are however emerging for promoting environmental justice and using the law to advance sustainability. My paper will therefore explore these aspects of the New Zealand experiment in legislating for sustainable management.

year: 2012