Elementi postmoderni nell'horror americano contemporaneo. Forme testuali e culturali della mutazione 1968-1998

This research argues for an analysis of textual and cultural forms in the American horror film (1968- 1998), by defining the so-called postmodern characters. The “postmodern” term will not mean a period of the history of cinema, but a series of forms and strategies recognizable in many American films. From a bipolar re-mediation and cognitive point of view, the postmodern phenomenon is been considered as a formal and epistemological re-configuration of the cultural “modern” system. The first section of the work examines theoretical problems about the “postmodern phenomenon” by defining its cultural and formal constants in different areas (epistemology, economy, mass-media): the character of convergence, fragmentation, manipulation and immersion represent the first ones, while the “excess” is the morphology of the change, by realizing the “fluctuation” of the previous consolidated system. The second section classifies the textual and cultural forms of American postmodern film, generally non-horror. The “classic narrative” structure – coherent and consequent chain of causal cues toward a conclusion – is scattered by the postmodern constant of “fragmentation”. New textual models arise, fragmenting the narrative ones into the aggregations of data without causal-temporal logics. Considering the process of “transcoding”1 and “remediation”2 between media, and the principle of “convergence” in the phenomenon, the essay aims to define these structures in postmodern film as “database forms” and “navigable space forms.” The third section applies this classification to American horror film (1968-1998). The formal constant of “excess” in the horror genre works on the paradigm of “vision”: if postmodern film shows a crisis of the “truth” in the vision, in horror movies the excess of vision becomes “hyper-vision” – that is “multiplication” of the death/blood/torture visions – and “intra-vision”, that shows the impossibility of recognizing the “real” vision from the virtual/imaginary. In this perspective, the textual and cultural forms and strategies of postmodern horror film are predominantly: the “database-accumulation” forms, where the events result from a very simple “remote cause” serving as a pretext (like in Night of the Living Dead); the “database-catalogue” forms, where the events follow one another displaying a “central” character or theme. In the first case, the catalogue syntagms are connected by “consecutive” elements, building stories linked by the actions of a single character (usually the killer), or connected by non-consecutive episodes about a general theme: examples of the first kind are built on the model of The Wizard of Gore; the second ones, on the films such as Mario Bava’s I tre volti della paura. The “navigable space” forms are defined: hyperlink a, where one universe is fluctuating between reality and dream, as in Rosemary’s Baby; hyperlink b (where two non-hierarchical universes are convergent, the first one real and the other one fictional, as in the Nightmare series); hyperlink c (where more worlds are separated but contiguous in the last sequence, as in Targets); the last form, navigable-loop, includes a textual line which suddenly stops and starts again, reflecting the pattern of a “loop” (as in Lost Highway). This essay analyses in detail the organization of “visual space” into the postmodern horror film by tracing representative patterns. It concludes by examining the “convergence”3 of technologies and cognitive structures of cinema and new media.

"Narrativa di frontiera". Fenomenologia di una forma aperta.

«Fiction of frontier». Phenomenology of an open form/voice. Francesco Giustini’s PhD dissertation fits into a genre of research usually neglected by the literary criticism which nevertheless is arousing much interest in recent years: the relationship between Literature and Space. In this context, the specific issue of his work consists in the category of the Frontier including its several implications for the XX century fiction. The preliminary step, at the beginning of the first section of the dissertation, is a semantic analysis: with precision, Giustini describes the meaning of the word “frontier” here declined in a multiplicity of cultural, political and geographical contexts, starting from the American frontier of the pioneers who headed for the West, to the exotic frontiers of the world, with whose the imperialistic colonization has come into contact; from the semi-uninhabited areas like deserts, highlands and virgin forests, to the ethnic frontiers between Indian and white people in South America, since the internal frontiers of the Countries like those ones between the District and the Capital City, the Centre and the Outskirts. In the next step, Giustini wants to focus on a real “ myth of the frontier”, able to nourish cultural and literary imagination. Indeed, the literature has told and chosen the frontier as the scenery for many stories; especially in the 20th Century it made the frontier a problematic space in the light of events and changes that have transformed the perception of space and our relationship with it. Therefore, the dissertation proposes a critical category, it traces the hallmarks of a specific literary phenomenon defined “ Fiction of the frontier” ,present in many literary traditions during the 20th Century. The term “Fiction” (not “Literature” or “Poetics”) does not define a genre but rather a “procedure”, focusing on a constant issue pointed out from the texts examined in this work : the strong call to the act of narration and to its oral traditions. The “Fiction of the Frontier” is perceived as an approach to the world, a way of watching and feeling the objects, an emotion that is lived and told through the story- a story where the narrator ,through his body and his voice, takes the rule of the witness. The following parts, that have an analytic style, are constructed on the basis of this theoretical and methodological reflection. The second section gives a wide range of examples into we can find the figure and the myth of the frontier through the textual analysis which range over several literary traditions. Starting from monographic chapters (Garcia Marquez, Callado, McCarthy), to the comparative reading of couples of texts (Calvino and Verga Llosa, Buzzati and Coetzee, Arguedas and Rulfo). The selection of texts is introduced so as to underline a particular aspect or a form of the frontier at every reading. This section is articulated into thematic voices which recall some actions that can be taken into the ambiguous and liminal space of the frontier (to communicate, to wait, to “trans-culturate”, to imagine, to live in, to not-live in). In this phenomenology, the frontier comes to the light as a physical and concrete element or as a cultural, imaginary, linguistic, ethnic and existential category. In the end, the third section is centered on a more defined and elaborated analysis of two authors, considered as fundamental for the comprehension of the “Fiction of the frontier”: Joseph Conrad and João Guimarães Rosa. Even if they are very different, being part of unlike literary traditions, these two authors show many connections which are pointed by the comparative analysis. Maybe Conrad is the first author that understand the feeling of the frontier , freeing himself from the adventure romance and from the exotic nineteenthcentury tradition. João Guimarães Rosa, in his turn, is the great narrator of Brazilian and South American frontier, he is the man of sertão and of endless spaces of the Centre of Brazil. His production is strongly linked to that one belonged to the author of Heart of Darkness.

Decrescita sostenibile applicata alla mobilità nelle aree urbane.

La mobilità nelle aree urbane di medie e grandi dimensioni risente di molte criticità e spesso è causa di numerose discussioni. L'utilizzo sempre crescente del mezzo di trasporto privato ha prodotto conseguenze negative: l'aumento del traffico e degli incidenti stradali, dell'inquinamento atmosferico e del rumore sono accompagnati da un forte spreco energetico. Dall'altra parte, il trasporto pubblico locale (TPL) non è riuscito a costruirsi canali preferenziali all'interno dell'immaginario cittadino, poiché sottomesso da un modello economico e un mercato fortemente dipendenti dall'automobile. Una via d'uscita dalla mobilità non sostenibile basata sull'utilizzo di combustibili fossili porta a concepire un trasporto pubblico locale gratuito, fruibile dal cittadino in qualsiasi momento della giornata. Attraverso un'analisi dell'azienda del trasporto pubblico bolognese (ATC) e dei dati provenienti dalla sanità regionale, questa tesi intende mostrare che vi sarà un miglioramento della qualità di vita in aree urbane nel momento in cui la teoria della decrescita venga condivisa da tutti i cittadini. Così sarà possibile liberare i centri urbani dai mezzi privati e quindi dagli alti livelli di inquinamento acustico e atmosferico, e dare ai cittadini la vera libertà di movimento. Mobility in medium and large sized urban areas is critical and often a cause for numerous debates. The use of private transport is in constant increase and has generated negative consequences: congestion and road accidents, air and noise pollutio as well as a considerable waste of energy. On the other hand, the local public transport (LPT) has not succeeded in representing the preferred choice by citizens in the urban imaginary. Its potential has been subdued by economic models and markets that are largely dependant on the production of vehicles. An alternative to the current non sustainable mobility based on the combustion of fossil fuels could be the provision of a free local transport network available to the citizen from anywhere at any time. This dissertation's objective is to show how an improvement of the quality of life in urban areas is connected to a collective awareness on the degrowth theory. I intend to achieve this by analysing thoroughly the system of the public transportation agency in Bologna (ATC) and considering data from the local health department. Only then we will be able to limit private vehicles from city centres and as a result of that drastically decrease air and noise pollution whilst providing a true service for a free moving citizen.

Simulative Investigation on the Electronic, Vibrational and Optical Properties of the Ge2Sb2Te5 Chalcogenide

Chalcogenides are chemical compounds with at least one of the following three chemical elements: Sulfur (S), Selenium (Sn), and Tellurium (Te). As opposed to other materials, chalcogenide atomic arrangement can quickly and reversibly inter-change between crystalline, amorphous and liquid phases. Therefore they are also called phase change materials. As a results, chalcogenide thermal, optical, structural, electronic, electrical properties change pronouncedly and significantly with the phase they are in, leading to a host of different applications in different areas. The noticeable optical reflectivity difference between crystalline and amorphous phases has allowed optical storage devices to be made. Their very high thermal conductivity and heat fusion provided remarkable benefits in the frame of thermal energy storage for heating and cooling in residential and commercial buildings. The outstanding resistivity difference between crystalline and amorphous phases led to a significant improvement of solid state storage devices from the power consumption to the re-writability to say nothing of the shrinkability. This work focuses on a better understanding from a simulative stand point of the electronic, vibrational and optical properties for the crystalline phases (hexagonal and faced-centered cubic). The electronic properties are calculated implementing the density functional theory combined with pseudo-potentials, plane waves and the local density approximation. The phonon properties are computed using the density functional perturbation theory. The phonon dispersion and spectrum are calculated using the density functional perturbation theory. As it relates to the optical constants, the real part dielectric function is calculated through the Drude-Lorentz expression. The imaginary part results from the real part through the Kramers-Kronig transformation. The refractive index, the extinctive and absorption coefficients are analytically calculated from the dielectric function. The transmission and reflection coefficients are calculated using the Fresnel equations. All calculated optical constants compare well the experimental ones.

Collective effects for the LHC injectors: non-ultrarelativistic approaches

The upgrade of the CERN accelerator complex has been planned in order to further increase the LHC performances in exploring new physics frontiers. One of the main limitations to the upgrade is represented by the collective instabilities. These are intensity dependent phenomena triggered by electromagnetic fields excited by the interaction of the beam with its surrounding. These fields are represented via wake fields in time domain or impedances in frequency domain. Impedances are usually studied assuming ultrarelativistic bunches while we mainly explored low and medium energy regimes in the LHC injector chain. In a non-ultrarelativistic framework we carried out a complete study of the impedance structure of the PSB which accelerates proton bunches up to 1.4 GeV. We measured the imaginary part of the impedance which creates betatron tune shift. We introduced a parabolic bunch model which together with dedicated measurements allowed us to point to the resistive wall impedance as the source of one of the main PSB instability. These results are particularly useful for the design of efficient transverse instability dampers. We developed a macroparticle code to study the effect of the space charge on intensity dependent instabilities. Carrying out the analysis of the bunch modes we proved that the damping effects caused by the space charge, which has been modelled with semi-analytical method and using symplectic high order schemes, can increase the bunch intensity threshold. Numerical libraries have been also developed in order to study, via numerical simulations of the bunches, the impedance of the whole CERN accelerator complex. On a different note, the experiment CNGS at CERN, requires high-intensity beams. We calculated the interpolating Hamiltonian of the beam for highly non-linear lattices. These calculations provide the ground for theoretical and numerical studies aiming to improve the CNGS beam extraction from the PS to the SPS.

Einzelspin-Asymmetrien in der elastischen Elektron-Proton-Streuung und die Beiträge der Strange-Quarks zu den Formfaktoren des Nukleons

Die A4-Kollaboration am Mainzer Mikrotron MAMI erforscht die Struktur des Protons mit Hilfe der elastischen Streuung polarisierter Elektronen an unpolarisiertem Wasserstoff. Bei longitudinaler Polarisation wird eine paritätsverletzende Asymmetrie im Wirkungsquerschnitt gemessen, die Aufschluß über den Beitrag der Strangeness zu den Vektor-Formfaktoren des Protons gibt. Bei transversaler Polarisation treten azimutale Asymmetrien auf, die auf Beiträge des Zwei-Photon-Austauschs zum Wirkungsquerschnitt zurückzuführen sind und den Zugriff auf den Imaginärteil der Zwei-Photon-Amplitude ermöglichen. Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden Messungen bei zwei Impulsüberträgen und jeweils Longitudinal- und Transversalpolarisation durchgeführt und analysiert. Im Vordergrund standen die Extraktion der Rohasymmetrien aus den Daten, die Korrekturen der Rohasymmetrien auf apparative Asymmetrien, die Abschätzung des systematischen Fehlers und die Bestimmung der Strange-Formfaktoren aus den paritätsverletzenden Asymmetrien. Bei den Messungen mit Longitudinalpolarisation wurden die Asymmetrien zu A=(-5.59 +- 0.57stat +- 0.29syst)ppm bei Q^2=0.23 (GeV/c)^2 und A=(-1.39 +- 0.29stat +- 0.12syst)ppm bei Q^2=0.11(GeV/c)^2 bestimmt. Daraus lassen sich die Linearkombinationen der Strange-Formfaktoren zu GEs+0.225GMs= 0.029 +- 0.034 bzw. GEs+0.106GMs=0.070+-0.035 ermitteln. Die beiden Resultate stehen in Übereinstimmung mit anderen Experimenten und deuten darauf hin, daß es einen nichtverschwindenden Strangeness-Beitrag zu den Formfaktoren gibt. Bei den Messungen mit Transversalpolarisation wurden die azimutalen Asymmetrien zu A=(-8.51 +- 2.31stat +-0.89syst)ppm bei E=855 MeV und Q^2=0.23(GeV/c)^2 und zu A=(-8.59 +- 0.89stat +- 0.83syst)ppm bei E=569 MeV und Q^2=0.11(GeV/c)^2 bestimmt. Die Größe der gemessenen Asymmetrien belegt, daß beim Zwei-Photon-Austausch neben dem Grundzustand des Protons vor allem auch angeregte Zwischenzustände einen wesentlichen Beitrag liefern.

Reti socievoli: l’impatto dei social networks nella costruzione dello spazio pubblico

La tesi si è consolidata nell’analisi dell’impatto dei social networks nella costruzione dello spazio pubblico, nella sfera di osservazione che è la rete e il web2.0. Osservando che il paradigma della società civile si sia modificato. Ridefinendo immagini e immaginari e forme di autorappresentazione sui new media (Castells, 2010). Nel presupposto che lo spazio pubblico “non è mai una realtà precostituita” (Innerarity, 2008) ma si muove all’interno di reti che generano e garantiscono socievolezza. Nell’obiettivo di capire cosa è spazio pubblico. Civic engagement che si rafforza in spazi simbolici (Sassen, 2008), nodi d’incontro significativi. Ivi cittadini-consumatori avanzano corresponsabilmente le proprie istanze per la debacle nei governi.. Cultura partecipativa che prende mossa da un nuovo senso civico mediato che si esprime nelle “virtù” del consumo critico. Portando la politica sul mercato. Cultura civica autoattualizzata alla ricerca di soluzioni alle crisi degli ultimi anni. Potere di una comunicazione che riduce il mondo ad un “villaggio globale” e mettono in relazione i pubblici connessi in spazi e tempi differenti, dando origine ad azioni collettive come nel caso degli Indignados, di Occupy Wall Street o di Rai per una notte. Emerge un (ri)pensare la citizenship secondo due paradigmi (Bennett,2008): l’uno orientato al governo attraverso i partiti, modello “Dutiful Citizenship”; l’altro, modello “Self Actualizing Citizenship” per cui i pubblici attivi seguono news ed eventi, percepiscono un minor obbligo nel governo, il voto è meno significativo per (s)fiducia nei media e nei politici. Mercato e società civile si muovono per il bene comune e una nuova “felicità”. La partecipazione si costituisce in consumerismo politico all’interno di reti in cui si sviluppano azioni individuali attraverso il social networking e scelte di consumo responsabile. Partendo dall’etnografia digitale, si è definito il modello “4 C”: Conoscenza > Coadesione > Co-partecipazione > Corresposabilità (azioni collettive) > Cultura-bility.

Women writing Ireland, 1798 – 1921: il popular novel tra identità nazionale e immaginario religioso nelle autrici cattoliche e protestanti.

La presente tesi si concentra sul romanzo popolare irlandese scritto da donne, nel periodo compreso tra il 1798 e il 1921. Quattro sono le autrici prese in considerazione: Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna, Sydney Owenson (meglio conosciuta come Lady Morgan), Edith Somerville e Katharine Tynan, le cui vite e opere coprono un periodo storico fondamentale per l’uscita dell’Irlanda dal dominio coloniale britannico e la formazione della nazione irlandese nel sud del paese. L’interesse principale è quello di analizzare il modo in cui nei loro testi prende forma la nazione, e in particolare attraverso quali immagini e riferimenti religiosi. Il senso è quello, dunque, di rileggere tali testi prestando maggiore attenzione alla religione, uno dei principali collanti tra autrici e pubblico: all’epoca in cui l’Irlanda stava acquisendo i confini che oggi ancora mantiene, esisteva un terreno d’incontro tra discorso politico e letterario, quello della nazione, e tale terreno veniva attraversato anche dal messaggio religioso. Il fine ultimo è quello di dimostrare che la letteratura popolare non è “seconda” ad altre quanto a valori che è in grado di trasmettere e a messaggi che è in grado di veicolare: trascurarla significa non capire i meccanismi attraverso i quali una società si sviluppa e si modifica.

Il geografo riluttante. R.K. Narayan e il mondo di Malgudi

Il presente lavoro è dedicato allo studio della geografia immaginaria creata dallo scrittore indiano di lingua inglese R.K. Narayan (1906-2001), allo scopo non solo di indagare la relazione che si stabilisce tra spazio, personaggi e racconto, ma anche di rilevare l’interazione tra il mondo narrativo e le rappresentazioni dominanti dello spazio indiano elaborate nel contesto coloniale e postcoloniale. Dopo un primo capitolo di carattere teorico-metodologico (che interroga le principali riflessioni seguite allo "spatial turn" che ha interessato le scienze umane nel corso del Novecento, i concetti fondamentali formulati nell’ambito della teoria dei "fictional worlds", e i più recenti approcci al rapporto tra spazio e letteratura), la ricerca si articola in due ulteriori sezioni, che si rivolgono ai quattordici romanzi dell’autore attraverso una pratica interpretativa di ispirazione geocritica e “spazializzata”. Nel secondo capitolo, che concerne la dimensione “verticale” che si estende dal cronotopo dei romanzi a quello dell’autore e dei lettori, si procede al rilevamento, all’interno del mondo narrativo, di tre macro-paesaggi, successivamente messi a confronto con le rappresentazioni endogene e esogene dello spazio extratestuale; da questo confronto, la cittadina di Malgudi emerge come proposta autoriale di riorganizzazione sociale e urbana dal carattere innovativo e dallo statuto eterotopico, sia in rapporto alla tradizione letteraria dalla quale origina, sia rispetto alle circostanze ambientali dell’India meridionale in cui essa è finzionalmente collocata. Seguendo una dinamica “orizzontale”, il terzo capitolo esamina infine il rapporto tra lo spazio frazionato di Malgudi, i luoghi praticati dai suoi abitanti e la relazione che questi instaurano con il territorio transfrontaliero e con la figura del forestiero; inoltre, al fine di stabilire la misura in cui la natura dello spazio narrativo influisce sulla forma del racconto, si osservano le coincidenze tra il tema dell’incompiutezza che pervade le vicende dei personaggi e la forma aperta dei finali romanzeschi.

Aging of nuclear power plant cables: in search of non-destructive diagnostic quantities

The safety systems of nuclear power plants rely on low-voltage power, instrumentation and control cables. Inside the containment area, cables operate in harsh environments, characterized by relatively high temperature and gamma-irradiation. As these cables are related to fundamental safety systems, they must be able to withstand unexpected accident conditions and, therefore, their condition assessment is of utmost importance as plants age and lifetime extensions are required. Nowadays, the integrity and functionality of these cables are monitored mainly through destructive test which requires specific laboratory. The investigation of electrical aging markers which can provide information about the state of the cable by non-destructive testing methods would improve significantly the present diagnostic techniques. This work has been made within the framework of the ADVANCE (Aging Diagnostic and Prognostics of Low-Voltage I\&C Cables) project, a FP7 European program. This Ph.D. thesis aims at studying the impact of aging on cable electrical parameters, in order to understand the evolution of the electrical properties associated with cable degradation. The identification of suitable aging markers requires the comparison of the electrical property variation with the physical/chemical degradation mechanisms of polymers for different insulating materials and compositions. The feasibility of non-destructive electrical condition monitoring techniques as potential substitutes for destructive methods will be finally discussed studying the correlation between electrical and mechanical properties. In this work, the electrical properties of cable insulators are monitored and characterized mainly by dielectric spectroscopy, polarization/depolarization current analysis and space charge distribution. Among these techniques, dielectric spectroscopy showed the most promising results; by means of dielectric spectroscopy it is possible to identify the frequency range where the properties are more sensitive to aging. In particular, the imaginary part of permittivity at high frequency, which is related to oxidation, has been identified as the most suitable aging marker based on electrical quantities.

Ground penetrating radar early-time technique for soil electromagnetic parameters estimation

In recent years, thanks to the technological advances, electromagnetic methods for non-invasive shallow subsurface characterization have been increasingly used in many areas of environmental and geoscience applications. Among all the geophysical electromagnetic methods, the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has received unprecedented attention over the last few decades due to its capability to obtain, spatially and temporally, high-resolution electromagnetic parameter information thanks to its versatility, its handling, its non-invasive nature, its high resolving power, and its fast implementation. The main focus of this thesis is to perform a dielectric site characterization in an efficient and accurate way studying in-depth a physical phenomenon behind a recent developed GPR approach, the so-called early-time technique, which infers the electrical properties of the soil in the proximity of the antennas. In particular, the early-time approach is based on the amplitude analysis of the early-time portion of the GPR waveform using a fixed-offset ground-coupled antenna configuration where the separation between the transmitting and receiving antenna is on the order of the dominant pulse-wavelength. Amplitude information can be extracted from the early-time signal through complex trace analysis, computing the instantaneous-amplitude attributes over a selected time-duration of the early-time signal. Basically, if the acquired GPR signals are considered to represent the real part of a complex trace, and the imaginary part is the quadrature component obtained by applying a Hilbert transform to the GPR trace, the amplitude envelope is the absolute value of the resulting complex trace (also known as the instantaneous-amplitude). Analysing laboratory information, numerical simulations and natural field conditions, and summarising the overall results embodied in this thesis, it is possible to suggest the early-time GPR technique as an effective method to estimate physical properties of the soil in a fast and non-invasive way.

Pedagogia e immaginario: Fiction e giovani dell'eta' post-moderna

La ricerca prende in esame le produzioni narrative, in particolare quelle dedicate agli adolescenti e ai giovani adulti, nei cui linguaggi e nelle cui trame si insinuano modelli di vita, comportamenti, valori, stereotipie, ecc. Attraverso le fiction dell'ultimo decennio, sono offerte interpretazioni alle costanti e alle variabili che percorrono i diversi prodotti culturali e che sono metafore di caratteristiche e di dinamiche della società post-moderna. Nella ricerca si studiano le trame e i personaggi delle narrazioni e, in parallelo, si individuano le correlazioni con studi pedagogici interessati alle ultime generazioni giovanili. La comparazione ha portato ad un sistema di decifrazione per individuare il giovane dell'era post-moderna tra gli elementi di finzione. Si sono prese in esame le più importanti icone dell'immaginario che, pur attraverso innumerevoli riscritture, continuano ad imporsi come metafore per identificazione, abnegazione, catarsi. Rispetto al passato, molte icone presenti nelle ultime produzioni di fiction subiscono alterazioni leggibili come spie (i.e. Ginzburg). È in queste trasformazioni, spinte fino alla metamorfosi dell'icona, che è possibile rintracciare alcune caratteristiche proprie del mondo giovanile in rapporto con la società contemporanea. L'immaginario può dunque essere lo specchio in cui l'uomo e la società possono riconoscersi, e studiarlo apre possibilità per sviluppare prospettive di interpretazione verso nuovi orizzonti.

Vidding Grrls. Pratiche di remix audiovisivo nella cultura digitale contemporanea

La pratica del remix è al giorno d’oggi sempre più diffusa e un numero sempre più vasto di persone ha ora le competenze e gli strumenti tecnologici adeguati per eseguire operazioni un tempo riservate a nicchie ristrette. Tuttavia, nella sua forma audiovisiva, il remix ha ottenuto scarsa attenzione a livello accademico. Questo lavoro esplora la pratica del remix intesa al contempo come declinazione contemporanea di una pratica di lungo corso all’interno della storia della produzione audiovisiva – ovvero il riuso di immagini – sia come forma caratteristica della contemporaneità mediale, atto di appropriazione grassroots dei contenuti mainstream da parte degli utenti. La tesi si articola in due sezioni. Nella prima, l’analisi di tipo teorico e storico-critico è suddivisa in due macro-aree di intervento: da una parte il remix inteso come pratica, atto di appropriazione, gesto di riciclo, decontestualizzazione e risemantizzazione delle immagini mediali che ha attraversato la storia dei media audiovisivi [primo capitolo]. Dall’altra, la remix culture, ovvero il contesto culturale e sociale che informa l’ambiente mediale entro il quale la pratica del remix ha conosciuto, nell’ultimo decennio, la diffusione capillare che lo caratterizza oggi [secondo capitolo]. La seconda, che corrisponde al terzo capitolo, fornisce una dettagliata panoramica su un caso di studio, la pratica del fan vidding. Forma di remix praticata quasi esclusivamente da donne, il vidding consiste nel creare fan video a partire da un montaggio d’immagini tratte da film o serie televisive che utilizza come accompagnamento musicale una canzone. Le vidders, usando specifiche tecniche di montaggio, realizzano delle letture critiche dei prodotti mediali di cui si appropriano, per commentare, criticare o celebrare gli oggetti di loro interesse. Attraverso il vidding il presente lavoro indaga le tattiche di rielaborazione e riscrittura dell’immaginario mediale attraverso il riuso di immagini, con particolare attenzione al remix inteso come pratica di genere.

Expériences du sacré et (dé)figurations du Christ. Artaud, Beckett, Pasolini

« Dieu est mort » proclame à l’envi le fou nietzschéen. C’est sous l’égide inquiète de cette assertion paroxystique, traduisant ce «malaise de la culture» qu’évoquait Freud, que la pensée, la littérature et l’art du XXe siècle européen évoluent. Cependant, le christianisme dont ce cri signe l’extrême décadence, n’est pas seul à imprégner les productions artistiques de ce siècle, même les plus prétendument athées, mais avant tout la figure du Christ - autour de laquelle sont structurés tant cette religion que son système de croyance – semble, littéralement et paradoxalement, infester l’imaginaire du XXe siècle, sous des formes plus ou moins fantasmatiques. Ce travail se propose ainsi précisément d’étudier, dans une optique interdisciplinaire entre littérature, art et cinéma, cette dynamique controversée, ses causes, les processus qui la sous-tendent ainsi que ses effets, à partir des œuvres de trois auteurs : Artaud, Beckett et Pasolini. L’objectif est de fournir une clé de lecture de cette problématique qui mette en exergue comment « la conversion de la croyance », comme la définit Deleuze, à laquelle ces auteurs participent, n’engendre pas un rejet purement profanatoire du christianisme mais, à l’inverse, la mise en œuvre d’un mouvement aussi violent que libératoire qualifié par Nancy de « déconstruction du christianisme ». Ce travail entend donc étudier tout d’abord à la lumière de l’expérience intérieure de Bataille, l’imaginaire christique qui sous-tend leurs productions ; puis, d’en analyser les mouvements et les effets en les questionnant sur la base de cette dynamique ambivalente que Grossman nomme la « défiguration de la forme christique ». Les excès délirants d’Artaud, l’ironie tranchante de Beckett et la passion ambiguë de Pasolini s’avèrent ainsi participer à un mouvement commun qui, oscillant entre reprise et rejet, débouche sur une attitude tout aussi destructive que revitalisante des fondements du christianisme.

Laboratory study on the optical properties of absorbing atmospheric aerosols and field applications

The interaction between aerosols and sun light plays an important role in the radiative balance of Earth’s atmosphere. This interaction is obtained by measuring the removal (extinction), redistribution (scattering), and transformation into heat (absorption) of light by the aerosols; i.e. their optical properties. Knowledge of these properties is crucial for our understanding of the atmospheric system. rn Light absorption by aerosols is a major contributor to the direct and indirect effects on our climate system, and an accurate and sensitive measurement method is crucial to further our understanding. A homebuilt photoacoustic sensor (PAS), measuring at a 532nm wavelength, was fully characterized and its functionality validated for measurements of absorbing aerosols. The optical absorption cross-sections of absorbing polystyrene latex spheres, to be used as a standard for aerosol absorption measurements, were measured and compared to literature values. Additionally, a calibration method using absorbing aerosol of known complex refractive index was presented.rn A new approach to retrieve the effective broadband refractive indices (mbroad,eff) of aerosol particles by a white light aerosol spectrometer (WELAS) optical particle counter (OPC) was achieved. Using a tandem differential mobility analyzer (DMA)-OPC system, the nbroad,eff are obtained for both laboratory and field applications. This method was tested in the laboratory using substances with a wide range of optical properties and it was used in ambient measurements to retrieve the nbroad,eff of biomass burning aerosols in a nationwide burning event in Israel. The retrieved effective broadband refractive indices for laboratory generated scattering aerosols were: ammonium sulfate (AS), glutaric acid (GA), and sodium chloride, all within 4% of literature values. For absorbing substances, nigrosine and various mixtures of nigrosine with AS and GA were measured, as well as a lightly absorbing substance, Suwannee river fulvic acid (SRFA). For the ambient measurements, the calibration curves generated from this method were to follow the optical evolution of biomass burning (BB) aerosols. A decrease in the overall aerosol absorption and scattering for aged aerosols during the day after the fires compared to the smoldering phase of the fires was found. rn The connection between light extinction of aerosols, their chemical composition and hygroscopicity for particles with different degrees of absorption was studied. The extinction cross-section (σext) at 532nm for different mobility diameters was measured at 80% and 90% relative humidity (RH), and at an RH<10%. The ratio of the humidified aerosols to the dry ones, fRHext(%RH,Dry), is presented. For purely scattering aerosols, fRHext(%RH,Dry) is inversely proportional with size; this dependence was suppressed for lightly absorbing ones. In addition, the validity of the mixing rules for water soluble absorbing aerosols is explored. The difference between the derived and calculated real parts of the complex RIs were less than 5.3% for all substances, wavelengths, and RHs. The obtained imaginary parts for the retrieved and calculated RIs were in good agreement with each other, and well within the measurement errors of retrieval from pulsed CRD spectroscopy measurements. Finally, a core-shell structure model is also used to explore the differences between the models, for substances with low growth factors, under these hydration conditions. It was found that at 80% RH and for size parameters less than 2.5, there is less than a 5 % difference between the extinction efficiencies calculated with both models. This difference is within measurement errors; hence, there is no significant difference between the models in this case. However, for greater size parameters the difference can be up to 10%. For 90% RH the differences below a size parameter of 2.5 were up to 7%.rn Finally, the fully characterized PAS together with a cavity ring down spectrometer (CRD), were used to study the optical properties of soot and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) during the SOOT-11 project in the AIDA chamber in Karlsruhe, Germany. The fresh fractal-like soot particles were allowed to coagulate for 28 hours before stepwise coating them with SOA. The single scattering albedo for fresh fractal-like soot was measured to be 0.2 (±0.03), and after allowing the soot to coagulate for 28 hours and coating it with SOA, it increased to 0.71(±0.01). An absorption enhancement of the coated soot of up to 1.71 (±0.03) times from the non-coated coagulated soot was directly measured with the PAS. Monodisperse measurements of SOA and soot coated with SOA were performed to derive the complex refractive index (m) of both aerosols. A complex refractive index of m = 1.471(±0.008) + i0.0(±0.002) for the SOA-αO3 was retrieved. For the compact coagulated soot a preliminary complex refractive index of m = 2.04(+0.21/-0.14) + i0.34(+0.18/-0.06) with 10nm(+4/-6) coating thickness was retrieved.rn These detail properties can be use by modelers to decrease uncertainties in assessing climatic impacts of the different species and to improve weather forecasting.rn