Short Look Research Articles

The Material of Vernacular English Devotion: Temptation and Sweetness in Ancrene Wisse and Richard Rolle’s Form of Living

This short essay looks at how language about the material world is used to describe the spiritual world and how that language is replicated and changed in the course of medieval devotional texts for anchoresses. It specifically discusses the thirteenth-century Ancrene Wisse (Guide for Anchoresses) and Richard Rolle’s Form of Living.

The Tourism Accommodation Infrastructure of the Settlements in Moţilor Land

"In Romania, though there were some attempts to develop the rural tourism during the communist times, this domain has really started developing only after 1990. In Moţilor Land the exact extent of this development is hard to grasp from the official documents as most of the tourism accommodation infrastructure is still not fully certified. The present paper would like to size as accurately as possible the difference between what the official documents are saying and the reality of the situation. We concentrate our analysis on the evolution of the accommodation infrastructure before 2010 and after. We also take a short look at the road and rail infrastructure as it plays a significant role in the development of tourism in the area. Keywords: “Moţilor Land”, accommodation, infrastructure, development. "

O QUE BRASILEIROS DIZEM ACERCA DE USOS DE CONSTRUÇÕES COM VERBO-SUPORTE?

Focalizamos padrões construcionais com verbo-suporte DAR, enquanto operador de verbalização de elementos não-verbais do tipo (um(a)) X-[a/i]da, (um(a)) X-[a/i]dinha, (um(a)) X-adela e (um(a)) X-(z)inh[o/a], tal como em dar uma escapadinha e dar uma olhadela. Baseamo-nos em pressupostos da Linguística Funcional-Cognitiva e da Gramática de Construções. Utilizamos dados retirados de situações reais de comunicação, do acervo online do jornal O Globo (1925 a 2015), para lidar com o problema da avaliação subjetiva. A metodologia é a de pesquisa experimental baseada em usos observados nesses textos. Os objetivos consistem em observar quais valores são associados por brasileiros a usos dessas construções e descrever características formais e funcionais desses predicadores complexos considerando também a ótica do usuário sobre eles. Resultados apontam que essas construções põem em evidência não só aspectualidade, mas, principalmente, o valor modal, e tais valores são reconhecidos pelos informantes.

The gift of shame

This short confession looks back at the confessional mode of a 2009 article, ‘The Object of Devotion,’ on the impact of religious orientation on my scholarly formation, before turning to a different sort of self-examination: the moment of shame that is at once a source of pain and a generous gift. The inventory offered here concerns not religious orientation but the shame that arises from being wrong. It also casts light on changes that have come to our profession, where racist structures of thought and their administrative and social manifestations have become more visible than before. It’s not that our work environment has changed; rather, the assumptions that were there all along have become visible, and recognizing them – and responding to them – has become imperative. In this way, when I make a confession, and talk about my own shame, it’s in part the product of my own experience, but it is also the product of our common situation. This confession also looks forward to the fruitful outcomes of this experience, including collaborative workshops on indigenous pedagogy, on the role of indigenous story, and on the stories we tell about the land.

Trust, Blockchain-based Technologies, Public Sector, and the Social Good

Many public institutions, government bodies, municipalities are experimenting with blockchain based systems, decentralized ledgers, smart contracts to deliver new innovative services to citizens, or improve the speed, efficiency, accuracy of existing ones. This short policy analysis looks at the potential mismatch between usually high-trust public institutions, and trust-minimizing technological infrastructures. We warn that, in general, we should avoid replacing a high-trust environment with a trust-minimizing technology. Pre-existing trust is very valuable, and no new technology should endanger trust which is extremely hard to build but very easy to destroy. Of course, not all institutions enjoy the trust of the citizenry. In low-trust environments the implementation of trust minimizing technologies need to consider the relative benefits and harms of the different approaches to dealing with low-trust environments. One can decide to implement a technology that is able to operate in such low-trust settings. The alternative to this is to try to implement technologies and policies that foster the emergence of trust. What is the preferable way forward: replacing distrusted public entities with trust-minimizing technologies, or improving their trustworthiness? Should we implement a trust-minimizing architecture, or a trust-maximizing one? Our institutions may be imperfect, and often produce arbitrary outcomes; sometimes they are downright oppressive. But at least there are clear lines of social, public, institutional, political and economic accountability and oversight. Such mechanisms of trust are yet to mature with regard to blockchain technologies. Unless these technologies can be brought into the fold, they remain largely unaccountable, thus fundamentally untrustworthy. And even if they are, we still don’t know which is preferable: a polycentric system of power of checks and balances, which involves democratic oversight, or an ideally decentralized and disintermediated one, where power concentration is prevented? This should be a warning to well-intentioned public servants, institutions and private actors who are looking at implementing blockchain systems in order to better their domain or be seen as innovative, or simply because they fear missing out on a technology development sold to them as a revolution. It may be worth their while not to rush. It is OK to be slow and cautious. Disruptive digital innovation that targets trust should be treated with extreme caution.

Submicron-sized MoRe-doped Si-MoRe Josephson junctions with a low specific capacitance

We start with a short look at the problem of low-capacitance Josephson junctions, its history, and actual state-of-the-art. It is argued that such devices are important for applications requiring nonhysteretic current-voltage characteristics since reduction of capacitance by several times makes it possible to increase the device resistance by the same amount while keeping the McCumber-Stewart damping parameter unaltered. Moreover, at very high frequencies the capacitance in the RCSJ circuit with a parallel connection starts to shunt the superconducting current component due to reduction of the corresponding reactance inversely proportional to C. Hence, to extend the operating frequency range of a Josephson junction its capacitance should be as small as possible. As a solution of a new type of the Josephson device, less resistive and with smaller capacitance, we propose and realize a submicron-sized trilayer with tens nm-thick Si interlayer doped by metallic ultra-small inclusions and superconducting Mo-Re alloy electrodes.

Irradiation of cables, wires and heat shrinkables

This is a short look at the developments of electron beam crosslinked wire and cable and some the challenges it faces. Topics include Dosimetry, Dose simulation, Under Beam Handling Systems and Production Limitations.

“The joy that engineers and mathematicians have come together.”1

“The joy that engineers and mathematicians have come together.”¹

From Nuremberg to the Hague and beyond: International criminal law in courts: Court of Bosnia And Herzegovina as an example

International criminal law in courts will seize our interest forever. Adjudication of international criminal law violations have to happen in and by courts. They may be national courts; they also may be international (permanent or ad hoc) courts. Not to forget: It is also proposed to prosecute internationally active terrorists by international courts. It is worthwhile to take a short look at the historical development of such discussions. The so-called International (Legal) Community has discussed all forms of international criminal jurisdiction and will keep on discussing. In Bosnia and Herzegovina once the so-called internationals started an experiment with the (national) Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in its nutshell was an administrative court that then was turned into a hybrid court predominantly for war crimes (and other serious felonies). As such a hybrid institution the Court was successful. International judges have left and the court became a purely national institution again. The short hybrid history of this court in a corner of the Western Balkans is worthwhile to be studied shortly.

New information on the feeding habits of the percomorph Rhenanoperca minuta, together with a short look at other fish species from the Eocene Messel Formation of Germany

New information on the feeding habits of the percomorph Rhenanoperca minuta, together with a short look at other fish species from the Eocene Messel Formation of Germany

Non‐verbal mate retention behaviour in women and its relation to couple's relationship adjustment and satisfaction

AbstractThe function of mate retention strategies is to preserve the bond between romantic partners and to prevent desertion, which is also why such behaviours are often elicited by the presence of a potential rival. Most existing studies on mate retention are based on self‐reports, which are prone to various biases. In this study, we observed non‐verbal behaviour of 47 long‐term romantic heterosexual couples during their interview with a female experimenter, whom the women in the couples may have perceived as a potential rival. We measured non‐verbal displays of mate retention tactics (direct guarding, intimacy inducement, appearance enhancement, and love and care display), as well as relationship maintenance strategies of openness and positivity. We expected that relationship quality as reported by both partners in the couple would be positively associated with ‘benefit‐provisioning’ mate retention behaviours and negatively associated with a ‘cost‐inflicting’ mate retention tactic (direct guarding). Relationship quality was assessed by Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment Scale using both the total score of dyadic adjustment and a Dyadic Satisfaction subscale. We found a significant association between both partners' dyadic adjustment and satisfaction and woman's appearance enhancement behaviours (such as self‐touch, hair flip and primp) in the presence of her partner and a potential rival. We also found a negative association between partner's dyadic adjustment and woman's direct guarding of partner using short looks, and a positive association between woman's intimacy‐inducing behaviour using long gaze and her own dyadic satisfaction and her partner's dyadic adjustment. Our results highlight the specific role of female attractiveness in later stages of romantic relationships within the context of mate retention and draw attention to the significance of the use of observational techniques in addition to self‐reports.

My experiences of psychosis and what caused it; my experiences with mental health services and other things that helped or hindered my journey

ABSTRACTThis brief account is aimed at shedding some light on the cognitive processes involved with bringing about my psychosis, or put more simply – how I got ill. I have included as much description of my thought processes as is possible in this limited space. It is also a short look at parts of my journey towards recovery. To help clarify what I was going through and the “personality” of my psychosis, I candidly discuss how my mental illness affected my behaviour. I hope that my discussion about my thought processes can help people to understand a bit more about the workings of psychosis, which can be a rare thing as often people find it hard to share the face of their psychotic illness, because of stigma/embarrassment, lack of insight/understanding, and because the words can be extremely hard to find.

Wave modelling in coastal and inner seas

In the long term development of the research on wind waves and their modelling, in particular of the inner and coastal seas, the present situation is framed with a short look at the past, a critical analysis of the present capabilities and a foresight of where the field is likely to go. After a short introduction, Chapter 2 deals with the basic processes at work and their modelling aspects. Chapter 3 highlights the interaction with wind and currents. Chapter 4 stresses the need for a more complete, spectral, approach in data assimilation. Chapter 5 summarizes the situation with a discussion on the present status in wave modelling and a look at what we can expect in the future.

Antioxidant defense system versus 8-hydroxy-2’ -deoxyguanosine; a short look to recent findings

Antioxidant defense system versus 8-hydroxy-2’ -deoxyguanosine; a short look to recent findings

Another People of God? Exegesis and Reception of Zech 2:15

Abstract In a bold new interpretation Zechariah 2:15 is the only one among all the prophecies about the pilgrimage of the nations to Mount Zion that calls the non-Jewish nations “people of God.” The present article studies this verse in its context of Zech 2:14-17, analyzes its intertextual relations and discusses its supposed literary connection to Revelation 21:3. After a short look at traditional Jewish and Christian interpretations, it presents the specific contribution of Zech 2:15 to the Theology of the People of God.

Short motions look faster than long ones

Short motions look faster than long ones

Sediment transport studies—A brief retrospective look

In this paper, we present a short retrospective look at the evolution of acoustical, optical, and related measurements of sediment transport, bottom stress, and bottom bedforms over the past quarter century, using our programs at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as a “representative sample.” Results from the High Energy Benthic Boundary Layer Experiment, the Sediment Transport on Shelves and Slopes experiment, and the Strata Formation on Shelves and Slopes experiment will be shown. Emphasis will be given to both technological and scientific advances. [Work supported by ONR.]

Chemical Modification of Semiconductor Surfaces for Molecular Electronics.

Inserting molecular monolayers within metal/semiconductor interfaces provides one of the most powerful expressions of how minute chemical modifications can affect electronic devices. This topic also has direct importance for technology as it can help improve the efficiency of a variety of electronic devices such as solar cells, LEDs, sensors, and possible future bioelectronic ones. The review covers the main aspects of using chemistry to control the various aspects of interface electrostatics, such as passivation of interface states and alignment of energy levels by intrinsic molecular polarization, as well as charge rearrangement with the adjacent metal and semiconducting contacts. One of the greatest merits of molecular monolayers is their capability to form excellent thin dielectrics, yielding rich and unique current-voltage characteristics for transport across metal/molecular monolayer/semiconductor interfaces. We explain the interplay between the monolayer as tunneling barrier on the one hand, and the electrostatic barrier within the semiconductor, due to its space-charge region, on the other hand, as well as how different monolayer chemistries control each of these barriers. Practical tools to experimentally identify these two barriers and distinguish between them are given, followed by a short look to the future. This review is accompanied by another one, concerning the formation of large-area molecular junctions and charge transport that is dominated solely by molecules.

Some Remarks on Moving Sharp Interfaces

We deal with some aspects of the general (mathematical) modeling of sharp interfaces (i.e. two-dimensional surfaces within a three-dimensional body) without and with own thermodynamical activity (i.e. with interfacial densities, fluxes and supplies). Questions of regularity of the quantities involved are especially addressed. We present a classification of sharp interfaces taking their relation to the remaining body as well as their thermodynamic behavior into account. After a short look into local balances at the interface we discuss a model of a shrinking body (due to mechanical treatment, e.g.) in the framework of sharp singular interfaces.

“Every New Land Demands Blood”: ‘Nature’ and the Justification of Frontier Violence in Hell on Wheels

This paper demonstrates how AMC’s TV show Hell on Wheels portrays the ideological force of nature to justify violence in frontier mythology. After a short look into the historical and ongoing relevance of frontier mythology in US culture, I will argue for its ideological reliance on nature. The following chapter will provide a theoretical background on social Darwinism, determinism, and scientism. I will then analyze how these relationships are examined in Hell on Wheels. First, as Thomas Durant’s social Darwinist monologue is paralleled with imagery that challenges the providential myth of Manifest Destiny, the show reveals that both ideologies equally replace human responsibility with a quasi-evolutionary rhetoric of inevitable progress. Second, the Swede’s deterministic notions of nature demonstrate the mythical power of the natural environment and evolutionary biology, which can easily assume Manifest Destiny’s divine authority as a justification for violence. Finally, the Swede’s and Reverend Cole’s discursive replacement of God with blood signifies a shift from religion to a redemptive scientism, in which science purports not only to explain but also to justify the violence of westward expansion. In these renditions, nature is variably utilized as the prime model for social behavior, as the ultimate victor over culture, and as the final authority whose imperatives are intelligible only through science.