Object Of Desire Research Articles

Beyond Damsels in Distress and Heroic Knight of Valor: The Evolution of Female Portrayals in Medieval Romance Art

In the context of romance narratives, where women play a fundamental role, this research delves into the evolving depictions of women in medieval romance literature. Existing scholarly work primarily focuses on women within ecclesiastical representations. Aspects of a womens daily life and roles in society are also studied. However, there is a noticeable dearth of research concerning women in the illuminations of medieval romance. This study aims to address this gap by focusing on the the evolution of female portrayals in romance illustrations of the Middle Ages. The study analyzed four illuminations spanning from the High Middle Ages to the Late Middle Ages to trace the evolution of these depictions. In the prevailing archetype of medieval romance, women are often depicted as overly simplistic figures, primarily as objects of desire or as lovers. And while this may be true to come extent, it is hardly the whole story. This papers visual analysis reveals that her portrayals began as somewhat ornamental but gradually transformed into representations of women holding a more equal status with men and frequently taking on proactive roles in relationships. This shift in depictions may also reflect broader societal changes and the expectation of womens agency.

The Theme and the Form: Three Querelles in al-Ǧāḥiẓ’s Dispute over Girls and Boys

Abstract The literary dispute over the respective merits of girls and boys as objects of desire, well known in ancient traditions, appears in Arabic literature from the 9th century onwards. Al-Ǧāḥiẓ’s Mufāḫarat al-ǧawārī wa-l-ġilmān (Boasting Match over Maids and Youths) is, at the earliest extant, the first text in prose dealing with this issue, and it opened the floor for several later works. The author addresses this theme by means of the literary genre of the debate, in Arabic mufāḫara, in which the lover of girls (ṣāḥib al-ǧawārī) and the lover of boys (ṣāḥib al-ġilmān) present their arguments. In addition to the main debate, two other disputes occur in the text: one between the ancient poets (al-qudamāʾ) and the moderns (al-muḥdaṯūn), and the other between Basra and Kufa. The former is one of the main debates of the Abbasid literary criticism, and the latter is another literary topos in the early Abbasid period. We could even understand the Mufāḫara, therefore, as structured through not one but three mufāḫarāt. The aim of this contribution is to highlight the importance of the “form” of the text – namely the literary dispute – by analyzing how the three debates interact within the text. I therefore argue that, although the theme addressed in the essay remains of a great interest today, the aim of the text is not only to discuss erotic practices but also to teach the reader a lesson of dialectic.

Air fryer: reflections on working class objects of desire and changing food culture

Air fryer: reflections on working class objects of desire and changing food culture

Youthful ambivalence towards a good life: rhetorical anxieties as affective vacillations in Hegang

ABSTRACT This study revisits the concept of anxiety and affective dimensions through an analysis of social media related to affordable housing property in Hegang, a small city located in the northeastern part of China. We build on Calum Matheson’s reconceptualization of anxiety as arising from networks of affective investment along with Sara Ahmed’s concept of the sociality of emotions and Lauren Berlant’s notion of cruel optimism. The essay sees rhetorical anxieties as affective vacillations from constant adaptions to an impasse caused by the polarizing effect of a rising neoliberal order, manifested as shifted orientations toward objects of desire and happiness. Constant vacillations may lead to a state of restlessness where anxiety is sedimented to routines and thus recedes to the background, making anxiety ambivalent in shape and unpredictable in trajectory. Viewing rhetorical anxieties as affective vacillations offers insights into their manifestations as anxious encounters and constant affective (re)investments. This reimagination of anxiety has implications on both theoretical inquiries of rhetorical anxieties as affects and practical understandings of the rise of the recent youth counternarratives in China.

Melukis Kembali Penggambaran Citra Gender dalam Media Massa

In Netflix’s 'Ice Cold,' which delves into the murder of Jessica by Mirna, she is often praised and forgiven for her beauty. The documentary even states that the killer is a handsome figure. Women seem to be forced to conform to the image of modern women, who should hold feminist paradigms. Digital television content, as one of the mass media platforms, often portrays women as limited to the role of 'subordinates.' The existence of women is frequently reduced solely to their physical dimensions. It is as if advertisements and television programs would feel empty without the presence of women celebrated as objects. This perspective eventually becomes ingrained in the minds of modern women, largely through the influence of mass media, while commercial demands and the race for the highest ratings are the primary reasons why women continue to be used as complementary objects in various media content.This research employs Roland Barthes' Semiotics to explore how religious education, the male gaze, mass media, and societal views interact in shaping the contemporary perception of the female body. Ironically, the excessive use of patriarchal media has made women feel more liberated to express themselves and actualize their potential in various aspects of life. In this context, elements of religious education play a crucial role, as some Abrahamic religious teachings promote gender hierarchies that can influence society's perception of women and result in gender inequality. The concept of the male gaze is also relevant in this analysis, as it refers to how the male perspective dominates the understanding and representation of women in media, often reducing women to objects of male sexual desire. This research can offer valuable insights into the interconnection of these perspectives and women's potential for increased self-expression within patriarchal-dominated environments.

An advanced integral sliding mode controller design for residual current compensation inverters in compensated power networks to mitigate powerline bushfire hazards

AbstractThis work deals with designing an advanced integral sliding mode controller (AISMC) for residual current compensation (RCC) inverters connected with arc suppression coils to compensate for power distribution networks where the main idea is to alleviate hazardous circumstances caused by electric faults on powerlines. The key advancement in the proposed AISMC over traditional sliding mode controllers is the utilization of an improved exponential reaching law which ensures the faster convergence of the desired control objective that is the fault current compensation in this particular application. An improved exponential reaching law (IERL) used in this work is a combination of the exponential and constant‐proportional reaching laws (while existing approaches use constant reaching laws) which assists to minimize the current injection error through the RCC inverter in the steady‐state. The integral action in conjunction with the exponential function in the sliding surface, based on which the proposed controller is designed, helps to eliminate the chattering effects in a quickest way that can be evidenced from the settling time and percentage overshoot. The feasibility of the proposed AISMC is theoretically assessed by analyzing the stability using the Lyapunov stability theory. Simulation and processor‐in‐loop results further justify the theoretical foundation by confirming the desired current injection and compensating voltage and current due to the fault. Finally, results are compared with a TIMSC for demonstrating the superiority of the AISMC.

Prospect and sustainability prediction of China's new energy vehicles sales considering temporal and spatial dimensions

The development prospect and sustainability of new energy vehicles (NEVs) are facing numerous challenges under the coupling influence of various factors, which has become a major strategic issue in the automotive industry research within China. Establishing a prediction method to forecast the development trends of NEVs under the complex conditions is of great significance. This paper comprehensively addresses the relevant factors influencing the sales of NEVs over temporal depth and spatial breadth, including random white noise and lag effect resulting from lag operators of influencing factors. A multivariate forecasting approach utilizing the ARIMA model and its optimized model, alongside the GBDT model were adopted to forecast NEV sales in China. The findings demonstrate that: 1) NEVs have exhibited a trend of rapid growth, but are still susceptible to random interference and lag effects caused by influencing factors. Key technology breakthroughs, accessibility of charging infrastructure, and national policy support remain as primary drivers of NEVs development; 2) The ARIM–IO–LSTM model achieved high prediction accuracy with a goodness-of-fit R2 exceeding 90%, outperforming the ARIMA and ARIMA-IO models by 23.586% and 20.790%, respectively, while the ARIMA-IO model improved accuracy by 5.126% compared to ARIMA. The method of model combination and outlier incorporation have proved to be practical solutions for strengthening model accuracy. 3) In the next 3–5 years, the NEV industry will enter a stage characterized by steady progress with an upward trend. Adapting the intensity, scope, and direction of policy support, coupled with achieving technological breakthroughs and enhancing infrastructure construction, are essential for sustaining industrial development and attaining desired objectives.

Incremental swarm coordination control with self-triggered-organized topology and predictive-based control method

This work focuses on coordinating a swarm of multiple mobile robots with incremental joining units using an incremental-self-organized formation (ISOF) scheme. The ISOF scheme enables the assimilation of newly joined robots and autonomously establishes a feasible communication topology between the incremental and existing robots. To avoid redundant generation, the new communication topology is expanded and updated based on the existing topology while preserving the original structure. To realize the real-time update of control model and topology for generalized swarm system using the ISOF scheme, an incremental-self-triggered updating mechanism (ISTUM) is designed, and specific triggering conditions are defined. With the updated communication topology and control model, the incremental swarm system, subject to predefined constraints, can be controlled to achieve the desired formation objective using a model-predictive-control-based (MPC-based) protocol. The proposed control scheme aims to minimize the need for manual intervention in swarm reconstruction when incremental behaviour occurs, thereby enhancing the flexibility of swarm coordination. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed control scheme.

Energy management for object tracking under the energy-harvesting: Hierarchical reinforcement learning method

This paper explores the target localization problem with signal transmitters which are powered by energy harvesting (EH) devices. Due to the remote transmission and random energy harvesting, the energy supplied to transmitters to transmit information is often insufficient, resulting in packet dropout. The rate of packet dropouts is influenced mainly by the distance from the target to the transmitter and transmission energy. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the energy allocation policies to ensure the desired positioning performance using a two-level hierarchical framework. Initially, a lower-level policy works on a specified time scale and aims at minimize error covariances with prescribed distance to meet the step objective. Subsequently, a higher-level policy plans the step time scale and calls for the desired step objectives for the lower-level policy. Both policy levels are trained through deep reinforcement learning. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the efficiency of the designed strategy.

The artification of fossils in commercial art spaces: Dinosaurs in a desirescape

In this article we consider the movement of fossils into art commercial spaces as a process of artification underpinned by the deep object associations that art spaces foster. We combine observational data gathering at art and fossil fairs, dealerships, and auctions with snapshot analysis of the online market for Tyrannosaurus rex fossils, contextualized by interviews with palaeontologists and fossil dealers, to understand the increasing appearance of fossils within art commercial spaces. We believe that the placement of fossils within the art market desirescape, so within a network of alluring, provocative, affective art objects, allows the fossils to transform into what consumers would consider art. The fossils then gain the social associations that artworks have for these consumers. We believe that art and fossil consumers are not simply drawn to individual objects of desire, but to the myriad associations those objects have with other objects and the deep meanings those associations overlay. Those associations and the network they form can, in turn, transform the objects within it. When a fossil is artified, it can be desired like art, and can command art prices.

Development of Spiritually Charged Learning Media to Improve Learning Outcomes

Learning media development is an activity to create, improve, or improve the quality of learning information sources so that the desired learning objectives can be achieved. The development of learning media for Automation of Financial Management includes a processing process that involves all activities related to finance, making financial reports and achieving goals for the common good. The development of learning media with spirituality content is related to the profile of Pancasila students in the first element dimension, namely the dimension of faith, fear of God, and noble character, which teaches students to have good morals in relation to God. The problem in this study is how to develop learning media with spirituality to improve learning outcomes. The purpose is to find out the development of learning media with spirituality to improve learning outcomes at SMKS Ngunut Tulungagung. A research approach that conducts research, development, and testing of a product is called a research and development approach which produces certain products that are in accordance with the needs analysis. This research and development can test the effectiveness of the product so that the product can be useful for students. This research uses the Borg and Gall development model, which uses several stages for its development. The research uses the ASSURE approach with the steps needed to design and create an effective, efficient, and attractive teaching material. The results showed that (1) The first material expert validation received a score of 80, meaning good assessment, and the second material expert validation received a score of 93, meaning very good. (2) The first learning media expert validation received a score of 72, which means it is quite qualified, and the second learning media expert validation received a score of 83, which means it is good. (3) So the development of spiritually charged learning media with the One Day One Letter system can be used to improve learning outcomes. Keywords: Financial Governance Automation Learning Media, Spirituality, Learning Outcomes

Uniaxial constitutive models for wood under cyclic compression loads with varying loading orientations

A desirable objective is to develop a unified constitutive model for wood that can effectively capture its uniaxial cyclic compressive behaviors. To achieve this goal, quasi-static cyclic compression tests have been conducted to supplement the limited cyclic experimental data available. Observation of deformation within the cell structure led to the concluded that material failure resulted from the coalescence of shear or tensile microcracks and the rearrangement of cell structures in regions under compressive stress. Based on the experimental results, a secant stiffness degradation-based and an empirical-based unified constitutive model for wood were proposed. Comparison between the predicted and experimental results indicated that the two proposed models could accurately capture the nonlinear characteristics of wood.

Matrix‐phase material selection for shape memory polymer composites: A comparative analysis of multi‐criteria decision‐making

AbstractIn the present study, the selection of suitable shape memory polymers (SMPs) to be used as the matrix‐phase material with various (In)organic filler materials to achieve the required optimum multi‐stimuli response in shape memory polymer composites (SMPC) systems is analyzed. The selection of these materials is based on their mechanical and physical properties as well as other underlying factors such as cost, availability, shape recovery rate, and aesthetic characteristics. In this study, the entropy method was applied to estimate the weightages of the various criteria while the gray relation analysis (GRA) and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). Multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) approaches have been used to rank the suitable matrix‐phase polymer materials for manufacturing shape memory polymer composites (SMPC) system. A total of eight alternative SMP matrix‐phase materials based on a set of nine criteria were analyzed and ranked. The proposed methodology and the result obtained thereof have been illustrated in detail. The results obtained from TOPSIS and GRA methods have been compared to conclude the effects of the material properties on the ranking and the selection of the SMP materials. Among all the eight alternatives considered, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) was found to be the best material in both the MCDM methods. The material cost, resistivity, % elongation, and hydrophobicity present the most influencing properties on the SMP material selection, whereas density presents no effect on the SMP matrix material selection. The robustness of the results for the comparative analysis was verified using TOPSIS methodology to validate its reliability. It was revealed that the TPU, polycarbonate, polypropylene, and epoxy‐resin/poly(lactic acid) are the most dominant matrix‐phase SMP material alternatives when a deviation in the entropy weights of the primary evaluation criteria is applied. The novelty of this study is the exploration and application of statistical MCDM methods of engineering material selection problems based on a set of decision criteria, which can be time‐consuming and costly while using experimental analysis methods.Highlights SMPCs are applicable engineering materials thus making their research viable. SMPC systems can undergo various shape changes under external stimuli. Selection of matrix‐phase polymer is critical in achieving desired objectives. GRA and TOPSIS MCDM approaches have been applied in the selection process. TPU was found as the best material in both methods.

Racist Intimacies; or, The Femme Alter Ego and Her Retribution

Cultural depictions of Asian/white miscegenation have long been a source of fascination for scholars within Asian American and sexuality studies. Such a long-standing interest has not only provided key insights into the Orientalist structure of racialized sexuality, but it has also kept our sights set, perhaps too set, on deciphering the Asian woman both in the context of romance and as an object of desire. This essay recasts the narrative of Asian/white sexuality as one of minoritarian retribution, making the argument that insofar as Asian femininity forms the object of racist desires, it can also function as the basis for feminist revenge. The author contemplates racial fetishism through twenty-first-century feminist cultural production, namely the work of mixed-race artists Chanel Matsunami Govreau and Maya Mackrandilal, showing how neoliberal multiculturalism has become further embedded within the infrastructure of everyday encounters, giving rise to something we might call the erotic life of anti-racism.

ANALISIS KELAYAKAN VIDEO PADA MATERI TRIGONOMETRI SEBAGAI MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN

The problem faced in schools is the inconsistency in the selection of media used in the learning process. The primary consideration in choosing learning media is selecting media that can meet the needs or achieve the desired learning objectives. Therefore, feasibility testing is required for a learning media to address these issues. This study aims to assess the feasibility of video media produced by Jogja Belajar Media (JB Media) on trigonometry as a learning media. The research employed descriptive qualitative research with content analysis as the method. The analysis considered four aspects: content/material aspect, media/curriculum aspect, design aspect, and user aspect. The study used a validated instrument for assessing learning media. Based on the results from three assessors, the percentage of feasibility for the content aspect was 63.33%, media aspect 59.17%, design aspect 66.67%, and user aspect 68%. Thus, overall, it is categorized as feasible with a percentage of 64.29%. The video has not comprehensively considered some important aspects in the development of learning media, thus students cannot use it as a primary learning source to its fullest extent. Therefore, improvements are needed to support the comprehensive use of learning media.

Corporeal Conflict: Unmaking and Making the Self in Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman

The classical canons of literature create and consider the construction of women as objects of beauty and desire, who are motivated by no concern for themselves, inherently weak and impoverished. This study seeks an alternative narrative structure to such cultural constructions by exploring how Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman (1969) portrays and represents the female body in connection with female agency and power by writing against classical representations. Accordingly, this study employs recent theorists who blend feminist perspectives with theories based on the body including Elizabeth Grosz, Susan Bordo and Kim Chernin along with feminist literary critics including Simone de Beauvoir and Linda Hutcheon. By incorporating feminist theory and body politics together with literary criticism, this study presents a discourse of resistance and the potentiality of a new meeting point for shared experience and a common knowledge. In this regard, Atwood’s The Edible Woman suggests that there is agency and power to be attained through the knowledge of our bodies. As a counter-narrative, The Edible Woman promotes a resistance to dominant cultural and social constructions that proceed to objectify and undervalue the female body. Atwood’s novel attempts to bring a credibility and a value to knowledge to which we gain through our corporeal experience. What emerges from this perception is that corporeal knowledge appears to be essential to be able to acquire an understanding of our existence as well as to be read as a means to resistance.

Outlier-resistant non-fragile observer-based fuzzy boundary control for interconnected nonlinear PDE systems

This paper investigates an observer-based boundary controller design for interconnected nonlinear partial differential equation (PDE) systems. First, the Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy model is adopted to accurately describe the target systems. Then, boundary measurements are employed to reduce the number of sensors. Next, considering the phenomenon of abnormal interference that may lead to measurement outliers and observer parameters’ uncertainties, an outlier-resistant non-fragile observer expressed by a saturation function is designed to guarantee the desired control objectives. Moreover, the boundary control approach is employed to trade-off the cost of system design and system performance. Furthermore, utilizing the membership function-dependent Lyapunov functions and free-weight matrixes, sufficient conditions ensuring the closed-loop systems’ exponential stability are obtained while decreasing the conservativeness of the system stability analysis. Finally, the proposed method’s feasibility and effectiveness are validated by an example.

Aerodynamic/control integrated optimization method for unpowered high-speed vehicle configuration design

The unpowered high-speed vehicle experiences a significant coupling between the disciplines of aerodynamics and control due to its characteristics of high flight speed and extensive maneuverability within large airspace. The conventional aircraft conceptual design process follows a sequential design approach, and there is an artificial separation between the disciplines of aerodynamics and control, neglecting the coupling effects arising from their interaction. As a result, this design process often requires extensive iterations over long periods when applied to high-speed vehicles, and may not be able to effectively achieve the desired design objectives. To enhance the overall performance and design efficiency of high-speed vehicles, this study integrates the concept of Active Control Technology (ACT) from modern aircraft into the philosophy of aerodynamic/control integrated optimization. Two integrated optimization strategies, with differences in coupling granularity, have been developed. Subsequently, these strategies are put into action on a biconical vehicle that operates at Mach 5. The results reveal that the comprehensive performance of the synthesis optimal model derived from the aerodynamic/control integrated optimization strategy is improved by 31.76% and 28.29% respectively compared to the base model under high-speed conditions, demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of the method and optimization strategies employed. Moreover, in comparison to the single-stage strategy, the multi-stage strategy takes into deeper consideration the impact of control capacity. As a result, the control performance of the synthesis optimal model derived from the multi-stage strategy improves by 13.99%, whereas the single-stage strategy only achieves a 5.79% improvement. This method enables a fruitful interaction between aerodynamic configuration design and control system design, leading to enhanced overall performance and design efficiency. Furthermore, it improves the controllability of high-speed vehicles, mitigating the risk of mission failure resulting from an ineffective control system.

Synergistic Integration of Advanced Control Strategies for Comprehensive PID Controller Tuning using MATLAB

This study investigates the impact of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) tuning on system performance through comprehensive measurements before and after tuning. The parameters analyzed include rise-time, settling-time, overshoot, undershoot, and peak time. Prior to tuning, the system exhibited significant deficiencies, characterized by prolonged rise and settling times, substantial overshoot and undershoot, and extended peak time. Following PID tuning, notable improvements were observed across all parameters. The rise time and settling time were dramatically reduced, indicating a faster system response and improved stability. Moreover, overshoot and undershoot were effectively minimized, leading to greater accuracy and precision in the system's output. These findings underscore the efficacy of PID tuning in optimizing system performance and achieving desired control objectives.

The trans gender subject of fashion

The T-girl is a trans feminine subject whose trans-ness is embodied sartorially in controlled environments for a short amount of time. Her trans-ness is not socially visible, her existential possibilities have accompanied the imbrication of digitality in everyday life and she escapes well-acknowledged trans feminine categories such as the Latin American travesti or the trans woman writ large. The T-girl is yet to be rigorously theorized. In this auto-theoretical psychoanalytic inquiry I propose to theorize her alongside her lovers by placing the sartorial as the de facto object of desire between them. The methodology involves culling from personal sartorial-sexual experience as well as the language around clothes found in private messages sent by trans-attracted and straight-identified men to the author, a T-girl. What does such an intimate archive tell us about the way the trans subject negotiates her desire with and through the other? Their sartorial exchanges serve as unprecedented insight into the intrapsychic mechanisms a trans subject deploys to forge a position for herself where the sartorial all but replaces the anatomical as the slippery guarantor of gender. I articulate the function of clothing in conjuring a trans-ness addressed to a ‘other’ interpellated to ratify the (trans-)gendering process. This turns out to be a rather primary dynamic that founds the speaking subject as such. And yet, the T-girl and her lovers may end up getting more than what they bargained for from their sartorial-sexual encounter. What becomes clear is the fundamental function of clothes not just to render the T-girl girl, but as exhilarating signifiers in the written and oral exchanges between the T-girl and her lovers. Particularly for the lovers themselves, who can be quick to slip from the position of the subject who enjoys feminine clothing in the other to that of the subject who enjoys wearing such clothing themselves.