Jouko Turkan Teatterikorkeakoulun kauden yhteiskunnallinen kontekstuaalisuus vuosina 1982 - 1985

The subject of my doctoral thesis is the social contextuality of Finnish theater director, Jouko Turkka's (b. 1942) educational tenure in the Theater Academy of Finland 1982 1985. Jouko Turkka announced in the opening speech of his rectorship in 1982 that Finnish society had undergone a social shift into a new cultural age, and that actors needed new facilities like capacity, flexibility, and ability for renewal in their work. My sociological research reveals that Turkka adapted cultural practices and norms of new capitalism and new liberalism, and built a performance environment for actors' educational work, a real life simulation of a new capitalist workplace. Actors educational praxis became a cultural performance, a media spectacle. Turkka's tenure became the most commented upon and discussed era in Finnish postwar theater history. The sociological method of my thesis is to compare information of sociological research literature about new capitalist work, and Turkka's educational theater work. In regard to the conceptions of legitimation, time, dynamics, knowledge, and social narrative consubstantial changes occurred simultaneously in both contexts of workplace. I adapt systems and chaos theory's concepts and modules when researching how a theatrical performance self-organizes in a complex social space and the space of Information. Ilya Prigogine's chaos theoretic concept, fluctuation, is the central social and aesthetic concept of my thesis. The chaos theoretic conception of the world was reflected in actors' pedagogy and organizational renewals: the state of far from equilibrium was the prerequisite of creativity and progress. I interpret the social and theater's aesthetical fluctuations as the cultural metaphor of new capitalism. I define the wide cultural feedback created by Turkka's tenure of educational praxis, and ideas adapted from the social context into theater education, as an autopoietic communicative process between theater education and society: as a black box, theater converted the virtual conception of the world into a concrete form of an actor's psychophysical praxis. Theater educational praxis performed socially contextual meanings referring to a subject's position in the social change of 1980s Finland. My other theoretic framework lies close to the American performance theory, with its close ties to the social sciences, and to the tradition of rhetoric and communication: theater's rhetorical utility materializes quotidian cultural practices in a theatrical performance, and helps the audience to research social situations and cultural praxis by mirroring them and creating an explanatory frame.

Divergencies of Perception : The Possibilities of Merleau-Pontian Phenomenology in Analyses of Contemporary Art

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) has been known as the philosopher of painting. His interest in the theory of perception intertwined with the questions concerning the artist s perception, the experience of an artwork and the possible interpretations of the artwork. For him, aesthetics was not a sub-field of philosophy, and art was not simply a subject matter for the aesthetic experience, but a form of thinking. This study proposes an opening for a dialogue between Merleau-Pontian phenomenology and contemporary art. The thesis examines his phenomenology through certain works of contemporary art and presents readings of these artworks through his phenomenology. The thesis both shows the potentiality of a method, but also engages in the critical task of finding the possible limitations of his approach. The first part lays out the methodological and conceptual points of departure of Merleau-Ponty s phenomenological approach to perception as well as the features that determined his discussion on encountering art. Merleau-Ponty referred to the experience of perceiving art using the notion of seeing with (voir selon). He stressed a correlative reciprocity described in Eye and Mind (1961) as the switching of the roles of the visible and the painter. The choice of artworks is motivated by certain restrictions in the phenomenological readings of visual arts. The examined works include paintings by Tiina Mielonen, a photographic work by Christian Mayer, a film by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno, and an installation by Monika Sosnowska. These works resonate with, and challenge, his phenomenological approach. The chapters with case studies take up different themes that are central to Merleau-Ponty s phenomenology: space, movement, time, and touch. All of the themes are interlinked with the examined artworks. There are also topics that reappear in the thesis, such as the notion of écart and the question of encountering the other. As Merleau-Ponty argued, the sphere of art has a particular capability to address our being in the world. The thesis presents an interpretation that emphasises the notion of écart, which refers to an experience of divergence or dispossession. The sudden dissociation, surprise or rupture that is needed in order for a meeting between the spectator and the artwork, or between two persons, to be possible. Further, the thesis suggests that through artworks it is possible to take into consideration the écart, the divergence, that defines our subjectivity.

Prediction of the Indian summer monsoon rainfall using a state-of-the-art coupled ocean-atmosphere model

A state-of-the-art model of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system, the climate forecast system (CFS), from the National Centres for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), USA, has been ported onto the PARAM Padma parallel computing system at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Bangalore and retrospective predictions for the summer monsoon (June-September) season of 2009 have been generated, using five initial conditions for the atmosphere and one initial condition for the ocean for May 2009. Whereas a large deficit in the Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR; June-September) was experienced over the Indian region (with the all-India rainfall deficit by 22% of the average), the ensemble average prediction was for above-average rainfall during the summer monsoon. The retrospective predictions of ISMR with CFS from NCEP for 1981-2008 have been analysed. The retrospective predictions from NCEP for the summer monsoon of 1994 and that from CDAC for 2009 have been compared with the simulations for each of the seasons with the stand-alone atmospheric component of the model, the global forecast system (GFS), and observations. It has been shown that the simulation with GFS for 2009 showed deficit rainfall as observed. The large error in the prediction for the monsoon of 2009 can be attributed to a positive Indian Ocean Dipole event seen in the prediction from July onwards, which was not present in the observations. This suggests that the error could be reduced with improvement of the ocean model over the equatorial Indian Ocean.

Potential of bio-DME as a transportation fuel for India

This article discusses the potential of bio-dimethyl ether (DME) as a promising fuel for India in the transportation sector where a majority of imported petroleum in the form of diesel is used. Specifically, the suitability of DME in terms of its properties vis-a-vis those of diesel, ability to liquefy DME at low pressures similar to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and ease of production from renewable feedstock (biomass), and most importantly, very low emissions including near-zero soot levels are some of the features that make it an attractive option. A detailed review presents the state-of-the-art on various aspects such as estimates of potential bio-DME production, methods of synthesis of bio-DME, important physicochemical properties, fuel-injection system-related concerns (both conventional and common-rail system), fuel spray characteristics which have a direct bearing on the engine performance, and finally, exhaust emissions. Future research directions covering all aspects from production to utilization are summarized (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. doi:10.1063/1.3489529]

Microstructure evolution during solidification of DRMMCs (discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composites): State of art

Distribution of particle reinforcements in cast composites is determined by the morphology of the solidification front. Interestingly, during solidification, the morphology of the interface is intrinsically affected by the presence of dispersed reinforcements. Thus the dispersoid distribution and length scale of matrix microstructure is a result of the interplay between these two. A proper combination of material and process parameters can be used to obtain composites with tailored microstructures. This requires the generation of a broad data base and optimization of the complete solidification process. The length scale of soldification microtructure has a large influence on the mechanical properties of the composites. This presentation addresses the concept of a particle distribution map which can help in predicting particle distribution under different solidification conditions Future research directions have also been indicated.

Structure of the Pyridine-Chloranil Complex in Solution: A Surprise from Depolarized Hyper-Rayleigh Scattering Measurements

In this article, we report the structure of a 1:1 charge transfer complex between pyridine (PYR) and chloranil (CHL) in solution (CHCl(3)) from the measurement of hyperpolarizability (beta(HRS)) and linear and circular depolarization ratios, D and D', respectively, by the hyper-Rayleigh scattering technique and state-of-the-art quantum chemical calculations. Using linearly (electric field vector along X) and circularly polarized incident light, respectively, we have measured two macroscopic depolarization ratios D = I(X,X)(2 omega)/I(X,Z)(2 omega) and D' = I(X,C)(2 omega)/I(Z,C)(2 omega) in the laboratory fixed XYZ frame by detecting the second harmonic (SH) scattered light in a polarization resolved fashion. The stabilization energy and the optical gap calculated through the MP2/cc-pVDZ method using Gaussian09 were not significantly different to distinguish between the cofacial and T-shape structures. Only when the experimentally obtained beta(HRS) and the depolarization ratios, D and D', were matched with the theoretically computed values from single and double configuration interaction (SDCI) calculations performed using the ZINDO-SCRF technique, we concluded that the room temperature equilibrium structure of the complex is cofacial. This is in sharp contrast to an earlier theoretical prediction of the T-shape structure of the complex.

Comparison of North American universities with and without medical schools and their technology transfer initiatives

Empirical research available on technology transfer initiatives is either North American or European. Literature over the last two decades shows various research objectives such as identifying the variables to be measured and statistical methods to be used in the context of studying university based technology transfer initiatives. AUTM survey data from years 1996 to 2008 provides insightful patterns about the North American technology transfer initiatives, we use this data in our paper. This paper has three sections namely, a comparison of North American Universities with (n=1129) and without Medical Schools (n=786), an analysis of the top 75th percentile of these samples and a DEA analysis of these samples. We use 20 variables. Researchers have attempted to classify university based technology transfer initiative variables into multi-stages, namely, disclosures, patents and license agreements. Using the same approach, however with minor variations, three stages are defined in this paper. The first stage is to do with inputs from R&D expenditure and outputs namely, invention disclosures. The second stage is to do with invention disclosures being the input and patents issued being the output. The third stage is to do with patents issued as an input and technology transfers as outcomes.

Music and symbolic dynamics: the science behind an art

Music signals comprise of atomic notes drawn from a musical scale. The creation of musical sequences often involves splicing the notes in a constrained way resulting in aesthetically appealing patterns. We develop an approach for music signal representation based on symbolic dynamics by translating the lexicographic rules over a musical scale to constraints on a Markov chain. This source representation is useful for machine based music synthesis, in a way, similar to a musician producing original music. In order to mathematically quantify user listening experience, we study the correlation between the max-entropic rate of a musical scale and the subjective aesthetic component. We present our analysis with examples from the south Indian classical music system.

Dynamics of the North American continent

The forces that cause deformation of western North America have been debated for decades. Recent studies, primarily based on analysis of crustal stresses in the western United States, have suggested that the deformation of the region is mainly controlled by gravitational potential energy (GPE) variations and boundary loads, with basal tractions due to mantle flow playing a relatively minor role. We address these issues by modelling the deviatoric stress field over western North America from a 3-D finite element mantle circulation model with lateral viscosity variations. Our approach takes into account the contribution from both topography and shallow lithosphere structure (GPE) as well as that from deeper mantle flow in one single model, as opposed to separate lithosphere and circulation models, as has been done so far. In addition to predicting the deviatoric stresses we also jointly fit the constraints of geoid, dynamic topography and plate motion both globally and over North America, in order to ensure that the forces that arise in our models are dynamically consistent. We examine the sensitivity of the dynamic models to different lateral viscosity variations. We find that circulation models that include upper mantle slabs yield a better fit to observed plate velocities. Our results indicate that a model of GPE variations coupled with mantle convection gives the best fit to the observational constraints. We argue that although GPE variations control a large part of the deformation of the western United States, deeper mantle tractions also play a significant role. The average deviatoric stress magnitudes in the western United States range 30-40 MPa. The cratonic region exhibits higher coupling to mantle flow than the rest of the continent. We find that a relatively strong San Andreas fault gives a better fit to the observational constraints, especially that of plate velocity in western North America.

Assessing resilience and state-transition models with historical records of cheatgrass Bromus tectorum invasion in North American sagebrush-steppe

1. Resilience-based approaches are increasingly being called upon to inform ecosystem management, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. This requires management frameworks that can assess ecosystem dynamics, both within and between alternative states, at relevant time scales. 2. We analysed long-term vegetation records from two representative sites in the North American sagebrush-steppe ecosystem, spanning nine decades, to determine if empirical patterns were consistent with resilience theory, and to determine if cheatgrass Bromus tectorum invasion led to thresholds as currently envisioned by expert-based state-and-transition models (STM). These data span the entire history of cheatgrass invasion at these sites and provide a unique opportunity to assess the impacts of biotic invasion on ecosystem resilience. 3. We used univariate and multivariate statistical tools to identify unique plant communities and document the magnitude, frequency and directionality of community transitions through time. Community transitions were characterized by 37-47% dissimilarity in species composition, they were not evenly distributed through time, their frequency was not correlated with precipitation, and they could not be readily attributed to fire or grazing. Instead, at both sites, the majority of community transitions occurred within an 8-10year period of increasing cheatgrass density, became infrequent after cheatgrass density peaked, and thereafter transition frequency declined. 4. Greater cheatgrass density, replacement of native species and indication of asymmetry in community transitions suggest that thresholds may have been exceeded in response to cheatgrass invasion at one site (more arid), but not at the other site (less arid). Asymmetry in the direction of community transitions also identified communities that were at-risk' of cheatgrass invasion, as well as potential restoration pathways for recovery of pre-invasion states. 5. Synthesis and applications. These results illustrate the complexities associated with threshold identification, and indicate that criteria describing the frequency, magnitude, directionality and temporal scale of community transitions may provide greater insight into resilience theory and its application for ecosystem management. These criteria are likely to vary across biogeographic regions that are susceptible to cheatgrass invasion, and necessitate more in-depth assessments of thresholds and alternative states, than currently available.

Automatic Tonic Identification in Indian Art Music: Approaches and Evaluation

The tonic is a fundamental concept in Indian art music. It is the base pitch, which an artist chooses in order to construct the melodies during a rg(a) rendition, and all accompanying instruments are tuned using the tonic pitch. Consequently, tonic identification is a fundamental task for most computational analyses of Indian art music, such as intonation analysis, melodic motif analysis and rg recognition. In this paper we review existing approaches for tonic identification in Indian art music and evaluate them on six diverse datasets for a thorough comparison and analysis. We study the performance of each method in different contexts such as the presence/absence of additional metadata, the quality of audio data, the duration of audio data, music tradition (Hindustani/Carnatic) and the gender of the singer (male/female). We show that the approaches that combine multi-pitch analysis with machine learning provide the best performance in most cases (90% identification accuracy on average), and are robust across the aforementioned contexts compared to the approaches based on expert knowledge. In addition, we also show that the performance of the latter can be improved when additional metadata is available to further constrain the problem. Finally, we present a detailed error analysis of each method, providing further insights into the advantages and limitations of the methods.

Progress in tuberculosis vaccine development and host-directed therapies-a state of the art review

Tuberculosis continues to kill 1.4 million people annually. During the past 5 years, an alarming increase in the number of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis has been noted, particularly in eastern Europe, Asia, and southern Africa. Treatment outcomes with available treatment regimens for drug-resistant tuberculosis are poor. Although substantial progress in drug development for tuberculosis has been made, scientific progress towards development of interventions for prevention and improvement of drug treatment outcomes have lagged behind. Innovative interventions are therefore needed to combat the growing pandemic of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. Novel adjunct treatments are needed to accomplish improved cure rates for multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. A novel, safe, widely applicable, and more effective vaccine against tuberculosis is also desperately sought to achieve disease control. The quest to develop a universally protective vaccine for tuberculosis continues. So far, research and development of tuberculosis vaccines has resulted in almost 20 candidates at different stages of the clinical trial pipeline. Host-directed therapies are now being developed to refocus the anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis-directed immune responses towards the host; a strategy that could be especially beneficial for patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis or extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. As we are running short of canonical tuberculosis drugs, more attention should be given to host-directed preventive and therapeutic intervention measures.