Pulsed parabolic equation model of acoustic transmission (PPEMAT)

Underwater sound is very important in the field of oceanography where it is used for remote sensing in much the same way that radar is used in atmospheric studies. One way to mathematically model sound propagation in the ocean is by using the parabolic-equation method, a technique that allows range dependent environmental parameters. More importantly, this method can model sound transmission where the source emits either a pure tone or a short pulse of sound. Based on the parabolic approximation method and using the split-step Fourier algorithm, a computer model for underwater sound propagation was designed and implemented. This computer model differs from previous models in its use of the interactive mode, structured programming, modular design, and state-of-the-art graphics displays. In addition, the model maximizes the efficiency of computer time through synchronization of loosely coupled dual processors and the design of a restart capability. Since the model is designed for adaptability and for users with limited computer skills, it is anticipated that it will have many applications in the scientific community.

Mirror self-recognition in a gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Psychologists have studied self-recognition in human infants as an indication of self-knowledge (Amsterdam, 1972) and the development of abstract thought processes. Gallup (1970) modified the mark test used in human infant work to examine if nonhuman primates showed similar evidence of mirror self-recognition. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and orangutans (Pongo pygmnaeus) pass the mirror self-recognition test with limited mirror training or exposure. Other species of primates, such as gorillas and monkeys, have not passed the mirror test, despite extensive mirror exposure and training (Gallup, 1979). This project examined a gorilla (G. gorilla gorilla) named Otto in the traditional mark test. Using the modified mark-test, there were more incidents of touching the marked area while Otto was in front of the mirror than when he was not in front of the mirror. These results indicated that Otto was able to show some evidence of selfawareness.

The Broken Mirror: Maternal Agency and Identity in Charles Dickens's Bleak House

This paper examined how Esther Summerson, Dickens’s ideal good mother, can be understood as a woman who has maternal agency and identity both as a character and as a narrator, and how she contrasts with other maternal characters in the novel, both major and minor. While more transgressive mothers, such as Lady Dedlock, Mrs. Jellyby and even Krook’s cat, are doomed to death, ineffectiveness and madness, Esther moves from a frozen, “unsexualized” state into a space of life and sexual possibility. In addition, Esther has agency and identity as a narrator since she shares the narration with a third-person male narrator. Esther becomes the one who speaks rather than the one who is spoken of, and her maternal, nurturing voice provides a balm for the often harsh, judgmental voice of the male narrator. As the narrator’s patriarchal voice dies away at the end, it is Esther’s maternal voice that survives.