Of missing fathers and Big Fish: reconstructive tendencies after postmodernism

Many things have been said about literature after postmodernism, but one point there seems to be some agreement on is that it does not turn its back radically on its postmodernist forerunner, but rather generally continues to heed and value their insights. There seems to be something strikingly non-oedipal about the recent aesthetic shift. It is a project of reconstruction that remains deeply rooted in postmodernist tenets. Such an essentially non-oedipal attitude, I would argue, is central to the nature of the reconstructive shift. This, however, also raises questions about the wider cultural context from which such an aesthetic stance arises. If postmodernism was nurtured by the revolutionary spirits of the late 1960s, reconstruction faces a different world with different strategies. Instead of the postmodernist urge to subvert, expose and undermine, reconstruction yearns towards tentative and fragile intersubjective understanding, towards responsibility and community. Instead of revolt and rebellion it explores reconciliation and compromise. One instance in which this becomes visible in reconstructive narratives is the recurring figure of the lost father. Missing father figures abound in recent novels by authors like Mark Z. Danielewski, Dave Eggers, Yann Mantel, David Mitchell etc. It almost seems like a younger generation is yearning for the fathers which postmodernism has struggled hard to do away with. My paper will focus on one particularly striking example to explore the implications of this development: Daniel Wallace’s novel Big Fish and Tim Burton’s well-known film adaptation of the same. In their negotiation of fact and fiction, of doubt and belief, of freedom and responsibility, all of which converge in a father-son relationship, they serve well to illustrate central characteristics and concerns of recent attempts to leave postmodernism behind.

Revisiting the ISN Flow Parameters, using a variable IBEX pointing strategy

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has observed the interstellar neutral (ISN) gas flow over the past 6 yr during winter/spring when the Earth's motion opposes the ISN flow. Since IBEX observes the interstellar atom trajectories near their perihelion, we can use an analytical model based upon orbital mechanics to determine the interstellar parameters. Interstellar flow latitude, velocity, and temperature are coupled to the flow longitude and are restricted by the IBEX observations to a narrow tube in this parameter space. In our original analysis we found that pointing the spacecraft spin axis slightly out of the ecliptic plane significantly influences the ISN flow vector determination. Introducing the spacecraft spin axis tilt into the analytical model has shown that IBEX observations with various spin axis tilt orientations can substantially reduce the range of acceptable solutions to the ISN flow parameters as a function of flow longitude. The IBEX operations team pointed the IBEX spin axis almost exactly within the ecliptic plane during the 2012-2014 seasons, and about 5° below the ecliptic for half of the 2014 season. In its current implementation the analytical model describes the ISN flow most precisely for the spin axis orientation exactly in the ecliptic. This analysis refines the derived ISN flow parameters with a possible reconciliation between velocity vectors found with IBEX and Ulysses, resulting in a flow longitude lambda∞ = 74.°5 ± 1.°7 and latitude beta∞ = -5.°2 ± 0.°3, but at a substantially higher ISN temperature than previously reported.

Patient Safety Alert : A new way to share patient safety information among departments and units

Communication : If there is one topic that comes up over and over again as we discuss ways to make John Dempsey Hospital the safest hospital, it is “communication.” In fact, several of the 2006 and 2007 National Patient Safety Goals are centered around improving the effectiveness of communication among caregivers. There are many ways of doing this, and we have implemented several already. These include handoffs, medication reconciliation, “SBAR,” etc. On page two, we will talk in more detail about hand-offs and the use of “SBAR.”

Sófocles : Áyax, una mirada desde la Justicia

En Ayax de Sófocles, se rompe la cadena inexorable de odios heredados, porque alguien, Teucro, acepta la mano tendida del adversario, Odiseo. Blundell remarca este lento pero efectivo caminar hacia la conciliación. Nuestro trabajo se propone una mirada "desde la justicia" humana y divina. Efectúa un rastreo sobre el juicio de Ayax a través de visiones de la épica tardía, la lírica y la tragedia y descubre en esta obra la confluencia de juicios injustos del pasado y el comienzo de futuros juicios también injustos. El interés por la instancia judicial nos lleva al análisis de la constitución del tribunal, su modo de proceder y las consecuencias de su accionar. También nos detenemos en el enfoque religioso elegido por Sófocles. Por último se evalúa la tragedia a la luz de los estadios de evolución del sentimiento de venganza

Forma y contexto : La tensión arendtiana en torno al problema del juicio

Este trabajo pretende ser una aproximación al pensamiento de H. Arendt desde la perspectiva del interés de la autora por el problema del juicio. Para ello nos concentraremos en la peculiar interpretación que Arendt realizó de la Crítica de la facultad de juzgar de Kant, texto del cual la filósofa se apropió para reflexionar sobre la política y no sobre la estética. A partir de dicho análisis mostraremos que tal interpretación presenta varias dificultades, que encuentran uno de sus principales puntos de origen en el inusual tránsito arendtiano de Aristóteles hacia Kant para el desarrollo de sus consideraciones políticas. En ese sentido, señalaremos las posibles razones del mencionado tránsito y trataremos de proponer una vía de conciliación a través de una contextualización apropiada del pensamiento de Aristóteles que nos permita reconectarlo con los intereses de la filosofía política de Arendt

Forma y contexto : La tensión arendtiana en torno al problema del juicio

Este trabajo pretende ser una aproximación al pensamiento de H. Arendt desde la perspectiva del interés de la autora por el problema del juicio. Para ello nos concentraremos en la peculiar interpretación que Arendt realizó de la Crítica de la facultad de juzgar de Kant, texto del cual la filósofa se apropió para reflexionar sobre la política y no sobre la estética. A partir de dicho análisis mostraremos que tal interpretación presenta varias dificultades, que encuentran uno de sus principales puntos de origen en el inusual tránsito arendtiano de Aristóteles hacia Kant para el desarrollo de sus consideraciones políticas. En ese sentido, señalaremos las posibles razones del mencionado tránsito y trataremos de proponer una vía de conciliación a través de una contextualización apropiada del pensamiento de Aristóteles que nos permita reconectarlo con los intereses de la filosofía política de Arendt

Sófocles : Áyax, una mirada desde la Justicia

En Ayax de Sófocles, se rompe la cadena inexorable de odios heredados, porque alguien, Teucro, acepta la mano tendida del adversario, Odiseo. Blundell remarca este lento pero efectivo caminar hacia la conciliación. Nuestro trabajo se propone una mirada "desde la justicia" humana y divina. Efectúa un rastreo sobre el juicio de Ayax a través de visiones de la épica tardía, la lírica y la tragedia y descubre en esta obra la confluencia de juicios injustos del pasado y el comienzo de futuros juicios también injustos. El interés por la instancia judicial nos lleva al análisis de la constitución del tribunal, su modo de proceder y las consecuencias de su accionar. También nos detenemos en el enfoque religioso elegido por Sófocles. Por último se evalúa la tragedia a la luz de los estadios de evolución del sentimiento de venganza

Sófocles : Áyax, una mirada desde la Justicia

En Ayax de Sófocles, se rompe la cadena inexorable de odios heredados, porque alguien, Teucro, acepta la mano tendida del adversario, Odiseo. Blundell remarca este lento pero efectivo caminar hacia la conciliación. Nuestro trabajo se propone una mirada "desde la justicia" humana y divina. Efectúa un rastreo sobre el juicio de Ayax a través de visiones de la épica tardía, la lírica y la tragedia y descubre en esta obra la confluencia de juicios injustos del pasado y el comienzo de futuros juicios también injustos. El interés por la instancia judicial nos lleva al análisis de la constitución del tribunal, su modo de proceder y las consecuencias de su accionar. También nos detenemos en el enfoque religioso elegido por Sófocles. Por último se evalúa la tragedia a la luz de los estadios de evolución del sentimiento de venganza

Forma y contexto : La tensión arendtiana en torno al problema del juicio

Este trabajo pretende ser una aproximación al pensamiento de H. Arendt desde la perspectiva del interés de la autora por el problema del juicio. Para ello nos concentraremos en la peculiar interpretación que Arendt realizó de la Crítica de la facultad de juzgar de Kant, texto del cual la filósofa se apropió para reflexionar sobre la política y no sobre la estética. A partir de dicho análisis mostraremos que tal interpretación presenta varias dificultades, que encuentran uno de sus principales puntos de origen en el inusual tránsito arendtiano de Aristóteles hacia Kant para el desarrollo de sus consideraciones políticas. En ese sentido, señalaremos las posibles razones del mencionado tránsito y trataremos de proponer una vía de conciliación a través de una contextualización apropiada del pensamiento de Aristóteles que nos permita reconectarlo con los intereses de la filosofía política de Arendt

Myanmar and Japan: How Close Friends Become Estranged

Independent Myanmar and Japan had long held the strongest ties among Asian countries, and they were often known as having "special relations" or a "historically friendly relationship." Such relations were guaranteed by the sentiments and experiences of the leaders of both countries. Among others, Ne Win, former strongman throughout the socialist period (1962-1988), was educated and trained by the Japanese army officers of the Minami Kikan, leading to the birth of the Burma Independence Army (BIA). Huge official development assistance provided by the Japanese government also cemented this special relationship. However, the birth of the present military government (SLORC/SPDC) in 1988 drastically changed this favorable relationship between the two countries. When the military seized power in a coup, Japan was believed to be the only country that possessed sufficient meaningful influence on Myanmar to encourage a move toward national reconciliation between the junta and the opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi. In reality, Japan failed to exert such an influence due to its sour relations with the military government and reduced influence in the new international and regional political landscape. What is worse, Japan seems to be losing its say on Myanmar issues in the international political arena, as it has been wavering in limbo between the sanctionist forces, such as the United States and the European Union, and engagement forces, such as China and ASEAN.

Parameterization of applied general equilibrium models with flexible trade specifications based on the Armington, Krugman, and Melitz models

This paper explains how the Armington-Krugman-Melitz supermodel developed by Dixon and Rimmer can be parameterized, and demonstrates that only two kinds of additional information are required in order to extend a standard trade model to include Melitz-type monopolistic competition and heterogeneous firms. Further, it is shown how specifying too much additional information leads to violations of the model constraints, necessitating adjustment and reconciliation of the data. Once a Melitz-type model is parameterized, a Krugman-type model can also be parameterized using the calibrated values in the Melitz-type model without any additional data. Sample code for the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) has also been prepared to promote the innovative supermodel in the AGE community.

Blind reconiliation

Information reconciliation is a crucial procedure in the classical post-processing of quantum key distribution (QKD). Poor reconciliation e?ciency, revealing more information than strictly needed, may compromise the maximum attainable distance, while poor performance of the algorithm limits the practical throughput in a QKD device. Historically, reconciliation has been mainly done using close to minimal information disclosure but heavily interactive procedures, like Cascade, or using less e?cient but also less interactive ?just one message is exchanged? procedures, like the ones based in low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. The price to pay in the LDPC case is that good e?ciency is only attained for very long codes and in a very narrow range centered around the quantum bit error rate (QBER) that the code was designed to reconcile, thus forcing to have several codes if a broad range of QBER needs to be catered for. Real world implementations of these methods are thus very demanding, either on computational or communication resources or both, to the extent that the last generation of GHz clocked QKD systems are ?nding a bottleneck in the classical part. In order to produce compact, high performance and reliable QKD systems it would be highly desirable to remove these problems. Here we analyse the use of short-length LDPC codes in the information reconciliation context using a low interactivity, blind, protocol that avoids an a priori error rate estimation. We demonstrate that 2×103 bits length LDPC codes are suitable for blind reconciliation. Such codes are of high interest in practice, since they can be used for hardware implementations with very high throughput.

Towards an Optimal Implementation of Cascade

Cascade is an information reconciliation protocol proposed in the context of secret key agreement in quantum cryptography. This protocol allows removing discrepancies in two partially correlated sequences that belong to distant parties, connected through a public noiseless channel. It is highly interactive, thus requiring a large number of channel communications between the parties to proceed and, although its efficiency is not optimal, it has become the de-facto standard for practical implementations of information reconciliation in quantum key distribution. The aim of this work is to analyze the performance of Cascade, to discuss its strengths, weaknesses and optimization possibilities, comparing with some of the modified versions that have been proposed in the literature. When looking at all design trade-offs, a new view emerges that allows to put forward a number of guidelines and propose near optimal parameters for the practical implementation of Cascade improving performance significantly in comparison with all previous proposals.