Paraméricas Utópicas: entranced and transient nations in "I Am Cuba" (1964) and "Land in Anguish" (1967)

This article examines the astonishing similarities between two political films, Land in Trance (Glauber Rocha, 1967) and I Am Cuba (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1964). Both address the subject of revolution through the enactment of trance. Both reject all forms of naturalistic account, adopting a series of anti-realist devices, such as poetic language, synecdoche, personification, parable and allegory, as a means of expanding the concept of the nation beyond territorial borders and conveying the meaning of revolution through the film form, rather than its content. Because there is no evidence that Glauber Rocha had seen I Am Cuba before he shot Land in Trance, these coincidences are treated as an intellectual 'transit' between film-makers whose art was fuelled by cinephilia and the belief in the reality of the film medium.

Are greenhouse gas signals of Northern Hemisphere winter extra-tropical cyclone activity dependent on the identification and tracking algorithm?

For Northern Hemisphere extra-tropical cyclone activity, the dependency of a potential anthropogenic climate change signal on the identification method applied is analysed. This study investigates the impact of the used algorithm on the changing signal, not the robustness of the climate change signal itself. Using one single transient AOGCM simulation as standard input for eleven state-of-the-art identification methods, the patterns of model simulated present day climatologies are found to be close to those computed from re-analysis, independent of the method applied. Although differences in the total number of cyclones identified exist, the climate change signals (IPCC SRES A1B) in the model run considered are largely similar between methods for all cyclones. Taking into account all tracks, decreasing numbers are found in the Mediterranean, the Arctic in the Barents and Greenland Seas, the mid-latitude Pacific and North America. Changing patterns are even more similar, if only the most severe systems are considered: the methods reveal a coherent statistically significant increase in frequency over the eastern North Atlantic and North Pacific. We found that the differences between the methods considered are largely due to the different role of weaker systems in the specific methods.

Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans

Despite decades of research, the roles of climate and humans in driving the dramatic extinctions of large-bodied mammals during the Late Quaternary period remain contentious. Here we use ancient DNA, species distribution models and the human fossil record to elucidate how climate and humans shaped the demographic history of woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison and musk ox. We show that climate has been a major driver of population change over the past 50,000 years. However, each species responds differently to the effects of climatic shifts, habitat redistribution and human encroachment. Although climate change alone can explain the extinction of some species, such as Eurasian musk ox and woolly rhinoceros, a combination of climatic and anthropogenic effects appears to be responsible for the extinction of others, including Eurasian steppe bison and wild horse. We find no genetic signature or any distinctive range dynamics distinguishing extinct from surviving species, emphasizing the challenges associated with predicting future responses of extant mammals to climate and human-mediated habitat change.

Advancing polar prediction capabilities on daily to seasonal time scales

It is argued that existing polar prediction systems do not yet meet users’ needs; and possible ways forward in advancing prediction capacity in polar regions and beyond are outlined. The polar regions have been attracting more and more attention in recent years, fuelled by the perceptible impacts of anthropogenic climate change. Polar climate change provides new opportunities, such as shorter shipping routes between Europe and East Asia, but also new risks such as the potential for industrial accidents or emergencies in ice-covered seas. Here, it is argued that environmental prediction systems for the polar regions are less developed than elsewhere. There are many reasons for this situation, including the polar regions being (historically) lower priority, with less in situ observations, and with numerous local physical processes that are less well-represented by models. By contrasting the relative importance of different physical processes in polar and lower latitudes, the need for a dedicated polar prediction effort is illustrated. Research priorities are identified that will help to advance environmental polar prediction capabilities. Examples include an improvement of the polar observing system; the use of coupled atmosphere-sea ice-ocean models, even for short-term prediction; and insight into polar-lower latitude linkages and their role for forecasting. Given the enormity of some of the challenges ahead, in a harsh and remote environment such as the polar regions, it is argued that rapid progress will only be possible with a coordinated international effort. More specifically, it is proposed to hold a Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) from mid-2017 to mid-2019 in which the international research and operational forecasting community will work together with stakeholders in a period of intensive observing, modelling, prediction, verification, user-engagement and educational activities.

Origin of 10(15)-10(16) G magnetic fields in the central engine of gamma ray bursts

Various authors have suggested that the gamma-ray burst (GRB) central engine is a rapidly rotating, strongly magnetized, (similar to 10(15)-10(16) G) compact object. The strong magnetic field can accelerate and collimate the relativistic flow and the rotation of the compact object can be the energy source of the GRB. The major problem in this scenario is the difficulty of finding an astrophysical mechanism for obtaining such intense fields. Whereas, in principle, a neutron star could maintain such strong fields, it is difficult to justify a scenario for their creation. If the compact object is a black hole, the problem is more difficult since, according to general relativity it has ""no hair"" (i.e., no magnetic field). Schuster, Blackett, Pauli, and others have suggested that a rotating neutral body can create a magnetic field by non-minimal gravitational-electromagnetic coupling (NMGEC). The Schuster-Blackett form of NMGEC was obtained from the Mikhail and Wanas`s tetrad theory of gravitation (MW). We call the general theory NMGEC-MW. We investigate here the possible origin of the intense magnetic fields similar to 10(15)-10(16) G in GRBs by NMGEC-MW. Whereas these fields are difficult to explain astrophysically, we find that they are easily explained by NMGEC-MW. It not only explains the origin of the similar to 10(15)-10(16) G fields when the compact object is a neutron star, but also when it is a black hole.

WHICH TOPOLOGIES HAVE IMMEDIATE PREDECESSORS IN THE POSET OF HAUSDORFF TOPOLOGIES?

We study which topology have an immediate predecessor in the poset of Sigma(2) of Hausdorff topologies on set X. We show that certain classes of H-closed topologies, do have predecessors. and we give examples of second countable H-closed topologies which are not upper Sigma(2.)

Finite-dimensional non-associative algebras and codimension growth

Let A be a (non-necessarily associative) finite-dimensional algebra over a field of characteristic zero. A quantitative estimate of the polynomial identities satisfied by A is achieved through the study of the asymptotics of the sequence of codimensions of A. It is well known that for such an algebra this sequence is exponentially bounded. Here we capture the exponential rate of growth of the sequence of codimensions for several classes of algebras including simple algebras with a special non-degenerate form, finite-dimensional Jordan or alternative algebras and many more. In all cases such rate of growth is integer and is explicitly related to the dimension of a subalgebra of A. One of the main tools of independent interest is the construction in the free non-associative algebra of multialternating polynomials satisfying special properties. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

POLYNOMIAL IDENTITIES OF FINITE DIMENSIONAL SIMPLE ALGEBRAS

Let F be an algebraically closed field and let A and B be arbitrary finite dimensional simple algebras over F. We prove that A and B are isomorphic if and only if they satisfy the same identities.

Understanding Foreign Masters : the examples of Rabindranath Tagore and Fyodor Dostoyevskiy

The Indian author Rabindranath Tagore was received like royalty during his visits to the West after winning the Nobel Prize in 1913. Dreams of foreign cultures offered a retreat from a complicated age. In a time when the West appeared to be living under threat of disintegration and when industrialism seemed like a cul-de-sac, he appeared to offer the promise of a return to a lost paradise, a spiritual abode that is superior to the restless Western culture. However, Tagore’s popularity faded rapidly, most notably in England, the main target of his criticism. Soon after Tagore had won the Nobel Prize, the English became indignant at Tagore’s anti-colonial attitude.Tagore visited Sweden in 1921 and 1926 and was given a warm reception. His visits to Sweden can be seen as an episode in a longer chain of events. It brought to life old conceptions of India as the abode of spirituality on earth. Nevertheless, interest in him was a relatively short-lived phenomenon in Sweden. Only a few of his admirers in Sweden appreciated the complexity of Tagore’s achievements. His “anathema of mammonism”, as a Swedish newspaper called it, was not properly received. After a steady stream of translations his popularity flagged towards the end of the 1920s and then almost disappeared entirely. Tagores visits in Sweden gave an indication that India was on the way to liberate itself from its colonial legacy, which consequently contributed to the waning of his popularity in the West. In the long run, his criticism of the drawbacks in the western world became too obvious to maintain permanent interest. The Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevskiy’s Crime and Punishment (1866) has enticed numerous interpretations such as the purely biographical approach. In the nervous main character of the novel, the young student Raskolnikov, one easily recognizes Dostoyevskiy himself. The novel can also be seen as a masterpiece of realistic fiction. It gives a broad picture of Saint Petersburg, a metropolis in decay. Crime and Punishment can also be seen as one of the first examples of a modern psychological novel, since it is focused on the inner drama of its main character, the young student Raskolnikov. His actions seem to be governed by mere coincidences, dreams and the spur of the moment. it seems fruitful to study the novel from a psychoanalytical approach. In his book Raskolnikov: the way of the divided towards unity in Crime and Punishment (1982), a Swedish scholar, Owe Wikström, has followed this line of interpretation all the way to Freud’s disciple C G Jung. In addition to this, the novel functions as an exciting crime story. To a large extent it is Viktor Sjklovskij and other Russian formalists from the 1920s and onwards who have taught the western audience to understand the specific nature of the crime story. The novel could be seen as a story about religious conversion. Like Lasarus in the Bible (whose story attracts a lot of attention in the novel) Raskolnikov is awakened from the dead, and together with Sonja he starts a completely new life. The theme of conversion has a special meaning for Dostoyevskiy. For him the conversion meant an acknowledgement of the specific nature of Russia itself. Crime and punishment mirrors the conflict between traditional Russian values and western influences that has been obvious in Russia throughout the history of the country. The novel reflects a dialogue that still continues in Russian society. The Russian literary historian Mikhail Bakhtin, who is probably the most famous interpreter of the works of Dostoyevskiy, has become famous precisely by emphasizing the importance of dialogues in novels like Crime and Punishment. According to Bakhtin, this novel is characterized by its multitude of voices. Various ideas are confronted with each other, and each one of them is personified by one of the characters in the novel. The author has resigned from his position as the superior monitor of the text, and he leaves it to the reader to decide what interpretation is the correct one..The aim of the present study is thus to analyze the complex reactions in the west to Tagore’s visits in Sweden and to Fyodor Dostoyevskiys novel Crime and Punishment.. This leads to more general conclusions on communication between cultures.

"Porque quiero casarme con un varón hermoso de la orilla del mar" Un análisis de lo grotesco femenino de María Josefa en La casa de Bernarda Alba

This essay is an analysis of the character María Josefa in the play 'The House of Bernarda Alba' (1936) by Federico García Lorca. It is hypothesized that the character of María Josefa can be considered a distorting mirror of the femininity presented in the play, and that through María Josefa this femininity is both revealed and problematized. The analysis adopts theories from the field of the (female) grotesque, using terminology both from Mikhail Bakhtin and Mary Russo. Throughout the analysis it is demonstrated how the character of María Josefa challenges the boundaries and norms which are dictated by Bernarda to control the women of the house. These conventions are challenged by María Josefa with the use of her loud speech, her dressed up appearance, and in her physical resistance. In this manner María Josefa is creating and embodying an alternate feminine view that is uncovered through her consistent provocation and by making herself into "a spectacle", a transboundary behaviour that is well interpreted within the theories of carnival, the grotesque body, and the spectacle of the female grotesque.

'Off with his head!' : Inexplicable Faith in Bulgakov's Master and Margarita

Examining how, in the novel, Bulgakov shows the conflict between logic and faith through the actions of his characters : the characters who are logical are generally not portrayed as wise and are said to not appreciate, nor understand, faith.

Upside Down World -- the Opposition Between Light and Dark in Bulgakov's Master and Margarita

A look at the role that symbolism plays in the novel. In this case, as it is in many other great novels, we see that symbolism is used to enhance the mood and the atmosphere of the novel rather than adding anything of importance to the plot.