Policing the Globe: State Sovereignty and the International in the Post-9/11 Crime Novel

Two recent studies of 9/11 literature are dismissive of the contributions that crime and espionage novels have made to ongoing efforts to map the significance of 9/11 and its aftermath. My essay contests the assumption that only literary fiction – which pays sufficient attention to trauma – can “bear witness” to the events of 9/11 and argues that such fiction is, in fact, singularly ill-equipped to illuminate the complex geo-political circumstances that 9/11 entrenched and transformed. By contrast, genre novels by John Le Carré and Don Winslow have responded in imaginative and critical ways to post-9/11 and avowedly trans-national securitization initiatives and hence to efforts to trouble traditional accounts of state sovereignty.

Form Follows Media::What is The Matrix as Film, Animation, Game and Comics?

In the digital age, the hyperspace of virtual reality systems stands out as a new spatial notion creating a parallel world to the space we live in. In this alternative realm, the body transforms into a hyperbody, and begins to follow the white rabbit. Not only in real world but also in the Matrix world. The Matrix project of Andy and Larry Wachowski started with a feature film released in 1999. However, The Matrix is not only a film (trilogy). It is a concept, a universe that brings real space and hyperspace together. It is a world represented not only in science fiction films but also in The Animatrix that includes nine animated Matrix films directed by Peter Chung, Andy Jones, Yoshiaki Kawajiri and others, four of which are written by the Wachowskis. The same universe is used in Enter the Matrix, a digital game whose script was written and directed by the brothers and a comic book, The Matrix Comics, which includes twelve different stories by artists like Neil Gaiman and Goef Darrow. The Wachowskis played an active role in the creation and realization of all these “products” of different media. The comic book came last (November 2003), however it is possible to argue that everything came out of comics – the storyboards of the original film. After all the Wachowskis have a background in comics.

In this study, I will focus on the formal analysis of the science fiction world of The Matrix - as a representation of hyperspace - in different media, feature film, animated film, digital game and comic book, focusing on diverse forms of space that come into being as a result of medium differences. To unfold the different formal characters of film, animation, game and comics, concepts and features including framing, flattening, continuity, movement, montage, sound/text, light and color will be discussed. An analysis of these products will help to open up a discussion on the relation of form, media and representation.

TIME-RESOLVED RESONANCE RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPY OF TRIPLET-STATE METALATED AND FREE-BASE TETRAARYLPORPHYRINS

Resonance Raman spectra of the T-1 excited states of Zn and free-base tetra-4-sulfonatophenylporphyrin (TPPS) have been recorded at room temperature in aqueous solution using two-colour time-resolved methods. The spectra of both sulfonated molecules are very similar to their tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) analogues, which have been recorded in THF solution using the same pump-probe conditions, but they have higher signal-to-noise ratios because interference from strong solvent bands is reduced. Although two different T-1 spectra of Zn(TPP) have been reported these spectra differ slightly from each other and from the spectrum reported here, which has band positions very close (+/-6 cm(-1)) to those of Zn(TPPS). The high S/N ratios obtainable for the water-soluble porphyrins have allowed reliable polarization data to be recorded for their S-0 and T-1 states. This data set allows a realistic comparison of the changes in bonding associated with excitation of both free-base and Zn tetraarylporphyrins to the T-1 state.

COUNTER-STATE ZIONISM AND POLITICAL ZIONISM

This article reviews the debate between Political Zionism and Counter-State Zionism, a little know and suggestive interpretation of Zionism

Family, state, class and solidarity: re-conceptualising intergenerational solidarity through the grounded theory approach

The relationship between class and intergenerational solidarities in the public and private spheres calls for further conceptual and theoretical development. This article discusses the findings from the first wave of a qualitative longitudinal study entitled Changing Generations, conducted in Ireland in 2011–2012, comprising 100 in-depth interviews with men and women across the age and socioeconomic spectrums. Constructivist grounded theory analysis of the data gives rise to the following postulates: (1) intergenerational solidarity at the family level is strongly contoured by socioeconomic status (SES); (2) intergenerational solidarity evolves as family generations observe each others’ practices and adjust their expectations accordingly; (3) intergenerational solidarity within families is also shaped by the public sphere (the welfare state) that generates varying expectations and levels of solidarity regarding State supports for different age groups, again largely dependent on SES; (4) the liberal welfare state context, especially at a time of economic crisis, enhances the significance of intergenerational solidarity within families. We conclude by calling for research that is attuned to age/generation, gender and class, and how these operate across the family and societal levels.