Academic literature on the topic 'Matter'

This article draws upon the investigation of distinctive features in Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speeches delivered during the period of the Russian invasion that started on 24 February 2022 and one month after it. The focus of the article is on the application of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) developed by Lakoff & Johnson, and Conceptual Blending invented by Fauconnier & Turner. These two leading approaches have taken a crucial position in cognitive studies and are the central methods used in conducting research in this particular domain. Consequently, in the framework of this article, these theories are regarded as essential resources for scrutinising the peculiarities of the speeches “The war of Russia is not only the war against Ukraine” dated 1 March 2022, and “Ukraine needs heavy weapons” dated 13 April 2022 delivered by the Ukrainian President. Similarly, the data for the study is analysed and processed by means of a corpus-based method and the UAM Corpus Tool, a software program that provides the necessary built-in or self-created layers to implement all-embracing and grounded manual annotation of any type of text corpora. To examine the effective conveyance of meaning in public discourse, this research primarily centers on linguistic and auditory modes, specifically analyzing the speeches of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and their corresponding transcripts. It is worth noting that while this study does not currently encompass visual, gestural, and spatial modes, they hold the potential for inclusion in future investigations of motivational speeches, which could potentially augment the research outcomes. In conclusion, the investigation of these data has revealed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy tends to utilise a vast range of conceptual metaphors, specifically structural, ontological, and building. With this in mind, ontological metaphors are the most frequent since they depict the “physical experience” of the speaker. Finally, by applying Conceptual Blending, we can examine how the President makes reference to Russia by overlapping the mental space of COUNTRY with the mental space of TERRORISM, and AGGRESSION. Additionally, in the case of Ukraine, he merges the mental space of COUNTRY with the mental space of FREEDOM, and LIFE.

The two edited volumes on ‘New Materialism’, entitled Power of Material/Politics of Materiality (2014) and Fragile Identities (2015), edited by Susanne Witzgall and Kerstin Stakemeier, are based on an ongoing lecture series organized by the CX – Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Both volumes bring together international theorists and artists alike and initiate a dialogue amongst them. They furthermore document and extend the talks that were presented at AdBK Munich, as well as the following discussions, and also include various artistic works that were created by students at the academy in the wider context of the unfolding public events of the CX. Neither of the volumes, this is explicitly made clear by the editors already in the first volume, wants to participate in the establishment of a new paradigm. What they try to do instead is to show tendencies within a diverse field that is indeed materialist but not necessarily ‘new’.

In mathematics education, teacher knowledge matters. However, the amount, type and nature of knowledge required for quality mathematics teaching is remains unclear. This may be due to the ways in which teachers’ subject matter knowledge has been measured. This study explored relationships between three aspects of teacher knowledge: knowledge for designing mathematical tasks; knowledge for solving mathematical problems; and knowledge for making judgements of student learning. Positivism was applied to establish expectations for objective, context-free generalisations throughout the research and used to attach corresponding methodologies and tools. Examining relationships between aspects of teacher knowledge required the selection, testing, development and use of instruments to gain insights into aspects of teacher knowledge before correlations among them could be tested. This necessitated the selection of content that could illuminate conceptual, rather than procedural, knowledge. All data were gathered in a single day from a group of 64 participants teaching 10 to 12 year old students in a large metropolitan schooling system in New South Wales. Relationships between aspects of teacher knowledge were identified and tested using measures of statistical association before correlations among all three aspects were studied simultaneously. Strong correlations were identified between teachers’ understandings of mathematics, the level of challenge in the tasks they designed and their noticing of higher levels of student achievement. Stronger subject matter knowledge, to the extent that teachers could solve more complex, unfamiliar, non-routine problems, was predictive of higher levels of pedagogical knowledge. Australia aspires to increase the proportion of students studying higher levels of mathematics. It is argued that teachers’ understandings of mathematical content are foundational to their development of aspects of pedagogical content knowledge essential for effective teaching. Without increasing the knowledge of the key stakeholders responsible for student learning, changing the syllabus, raising professional standards and testing students may not lead to higher levels of achievement in mathematics.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Cincinnati, 2007.
Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed July 18, 2007). Includes abstract. Keywords: Physicalism; Hempel's Dilemma; Physics Includes bibliographical references.

This essay have collected texts from the philosophers Giles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, science anthropologist and professor Bruno Latour and science biologist writer Janine Benyus, focused on bio mimicry. The essay is called “Moving Matter” and is focused on how these writers relate to materials and how it connects to nature and furthermore to ecology. In the first part of my study I connect, through a personal reading, these writers because I found shared views on materials , nature, as active, trans-disciplinary, related to science and part of a big collective. I divided the text by chapters of each writer where I try to build my case with examples from each author. What I try to conclude is that for these writers materials are not only a single matter waiting but to be formed, it is an active moving agent which contains complex chemical and biological structures, connects to history, have a social, cultural and political role. All this complex relations could be said to form a kind of science related material culture of materials, a moving matter. By using this method an implicit ethical relations to nature and ecology is created, a Geo philosophy In the second part, “Connecting the Material”, I wish to conclude and summarize how this theories discussed in the first part could be relevant working and treating materials both as makers ,consumers, wearer of jewelry. I wish to use the so called functions of jewelry by adapting the thoughts from the first part of the essay and also by including works from different jewelry artists. By this I am posing the question: -What could it mean when we say that materials are active and intelligent in the context of Jewelery and Jewelery art?

The process of obtaining the Master of Fine Arts degree led me to probe the aims and methods of my artmaking. What emerged and became uppermost was the issue of form and content or perhaps form versus content. While highly concerned with the formal aspects of art, content (subject matter) would not fade from my intentions or cease to occupy my mind. Through much "soul searching" and inquiries into numerous materials both familiar and new to me, I concluded that my intended content was about my experience of being. I further distilled my conclusion and focused on my ontological experience in terms of the self (subject) as contained by the body (matter). I realized that the successful and specific translation of my intentions into my artistic works had become one of the core issues in my artmaking endeavors. Thus, clarification of subject matter emerged as a core issue from the two year process and focused my attention. The many mediums I worked with helped to increase my sensitivity to the inherent nature, characteristics, and behaviors of materials. The body of work exhibited in the Autzen Gallery m Neuberger Hall from June 5th through the 20th reflects the preliminary residuals of this process.

Physical systems composed of a large number of reciprocally interacting constituents provide the natural context for the rise of emergent phenomena. Despite the intrinsic difficulty in providing a mathematical definition of what is meant for ‘emergence’ (see [Baas, in Langton, Alife III, Santa Fe Studies in the Sciences of Complexity, Proc. Volume XVII, Addison-Wesley, (1994)]), the intuitive notion of emergent property is that of a collection of interact- ing objects showing a novel collective behavior, qualitatively different from and not immediately attributable to the behaviors of the individual components. Non-linear interactions among elements of the system, or interactions between the system and the environment, or merely the large number of constituents are usually the motivations addressed to be responsible for emergent behavior. It is important to remark that emergent properties can only be inferred from a comprehension of the collective properties of the microscopic constituents [Kivelson et al, npj Quant. Mater. 1, 16024 (2016)]. In this regard, computer simulations provide a unique tool to support experimental observation, develop abstract models and investigate systems’ properties at a microscopic level. In general, condensed matter, particularly soft matter but also the complex systems studied in Physics, are necessarily described via simplified models, which include the key features of the corresponding real systems. On the one hand, this certainly represents a powerful approach when it finds its roots in the concept of universality, connected with critical phenomena, but this also turns into a limiting factor for the realistic description of the considered phenomena. On the other hand, it makes the properties of such abstract simulated systems calculable and investigable via computer simulations. As a consequence, the simulations assume a key role in complementing the comparison between experiments and theory [Frenkel and Smit, Understanding Molecular Simulations, Academic Press (2002); Allen and Tildesley, Computer simulation of liquids, Oxford University Press (2017)]. In this sense, simulations are often regarded as being computer experiments, in which materials properties and novel phases of matter can be investigated. The present PhD thesis is a collection of the main results coming from four different research lines which I have been involved into in the last 3 years. The topics could appear to be rather diverse but they are all connected by the presence of emergent phenomena which were studied via computer simulations (Molecular Dynamics and Monte Carlo methods, mainly). Three of these four research lines are related to collaborations with as many experimental groups. The first group I started collaborating with is led by dr. R. Grisenti, at the University of Frankfurt (https://www.atom. uni-frankfurt.de/hhng-grisenti/index.html). As reported in Chapter 1 and in a recent paper which I contributed to as first co-author [Schottelius, Mambretti et al., Nat. Mat. (2020)], we studied the crystal growth of supercooled Ar–Kr liquid mixtures by means of a micro–jet experiment, Molecular Dynamics simulation and thermodynamic analysis. The second ongoing collaboration is with the group of prof. P. Milani, which is the leader of the CIMaINa laboratories (http://cimaina.unimi.it/) at the Università degli Studi di Milano. We developed an abstract stochastic model of resistive switching devices that they are characterizing for neuromorphic applications (see Chapter 3). More recently, I started a collaboration with the group led by prof. T. Bellini at the Università degli Studi di Milano (https://sites.google.com/site/unimisoft/), in order to investigate the spinodal decomposition of mixtures of DNA nanostars via light scattering experiments and Monte Carlo simulations, as described in Chapter 4. I will now provide a brief overview of the contents of each Chapter, where each Chapter corresponds to a different research line. Crystal growth from a supercooled melt is of fundamental theoretical and practical importance in many fields, ranging from materials science to the production of phase–change memories. To date, the temperature dependence of the growth rates of many materials, including pure metals, metallic alloys, colloids and many others are still under intense scrutiny (see e.g. Tang et al., Nat. Mat. (2013) and Sun et al., Nat. Mat. (2018)). The majority of systems display a maximum growth rate at a temperature located between the melting point and the glass transition [Orava et al., J. Chem. Phys. (2014)]. Several materials are characterized by a range of many orders of magnitude between this maximum value and the crystal growth rates measured in other regimes. We still lack a deep comprehension of the mechanism underlying this phenomenology, which emerges from experiments and simulations both. Classical models of crystal growth from a melt hypothesize either a diffusion-limited process, or a collision–limited one, but for a lot of materials them both fail to fit the available data. This situation claims for further investigation about the key elements that tune the crystal growth rates from supercooled liquids, extending the current theoretical framework. Jointly with the experimental group of dr. Grisenti (which performed measurements at the EU-XFEL facility https://www.xfel.eu/), we studied the crystallization of supercooled mixtures of argon and krypton via Molecular Dynamics. Our results showed that their crystal growth rates (obtained from the analysis of simulated configurations exploiting Steinhardt angular order parameters) can be reconciled with existing crystal growth models only by explicitly accounting for the non–ideality of the mixtures. Our theoretical and computational contribution aided in highlighting the importance of thermodynamic aspects in describing the crystal growth kinetics, yielding a substantial step towards a more sophisticated theory of crystal growth. A second project concerns the study of soft matter systems in one dimension (1D), detailed in Chapter 2. Soft matter systems are made of particles which can overlap by paying a finite energy cost and they are renowned for being able to display complex emerging phenomena. Some of them, for example, are characterized by the presence of clustering phases [Prestipino, Phys. Rev. E (2014)]. Recently, a surprising quantum phase transition has been revealed in a 1D system composed of bosons interacting via a pairwise soft potential in the continuum. It was shown that the spatial coordinates undergoing two-particle clustering could be mapped into quantum spin variables of a 1D transverse Ising model [Rossotti et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. (2017)]. Extending the description and the results provided in a very recent paper I contributed to as first author [Mambretti et al., Phys. Rev. E (2020)], in the second Chapter we investigate the manifestation of an analogous critical phenomenon in 1D classical fluids of soft particles in the continuum. In particular, we studied the low–temperature behavior of three different classical models of 1D soft matter, whose inter–particle interactions allow for cluster- ing. The two–particle cluster phase is largely explored, by simulating the systems at the commensurate density via Monte Carlo and Simulated Annealing methods. The same string variables exploited in the aforementioned quantum case highlight that, at the right commensurate density, the peculiar pairing of neighboring soft particles can be nontrivially mapped onto a 1D discrete classical Ising model. We also observe a related phenomenon, i.e. the presence of an anomalous peak in the low–temperature specific heat, thus indicating the emergence of Schottky phenomenology in a non–magnetic fluid. The third Chapter presents the case of an electrical resistor network featuring novel emergent properties, such as memristivity and the possibility to be used as a self–assembled logic gate; an article on this topic is currently in preparation. The growing difficulties arising in the improvement of the performance of standard computing architectures encouraged the quest for different approaches aiming at reproducing the computational capability and energy efficiency of the human brain, by mimicking neurons and synapses as probabilistic computing units [Markovic et al., Nat. Rev. Phys. 2, 499–510 (2020)]. Networks based on the bottom–up assembling of nanoscale building blocks and characterized by resistive switching (RS) activities are becoming increasingly popular as possible solutions for a straightforward fabrication of complex architectures with neuromorphic features [Wang et al., Nat. Rev. Mat. 5, 173-195 (2020)]. Specifically, it has recently been demonstrated that metallic nanostructured Au films, under certain conditions show a non–ohmic electrical behavior and complex and reproducible resistive switching, which can be exploited for the innovative realization of logic gates. In these devices, the nonlinear dynamic switching behavior resulting from an applied input voltage can be exploited for developing hardware for reservoir computing applications. In Chapter 3, I show how it is possible to simulate a complex model (Stochastic Resistor Network Model, SRNM) able to imi- tate the phenomenology and give hints for the development of experiments ongoing at the CIMaINa research laboratories, regarding the electrical current passage through nanostructured cluster gold films [Mirigliano et al., Nanotechnology, 31, 23, (2020)]. To this purpose, I personally contributed to develop from scratch a C++ code, parallelized via the Armadillo library (http://arma.sourceforge.net/). To study the electrical transport properties of this system, we modeled the experimental sample as a network of interconnected resistors whose effective resistance under a given voltage can be determined using spectral graph theory. The network state evolves stochastically via random physically–inspired update moves, and its effective total resistance (and the related Power Spectral Density) has been analyzed. The structure and the topology of the network were studied via the investigation of the shortest path connecting the source and the sink of the system, thus exploring the possible paths in which the current could flow. Moreover, we also applied Information Theory entropy–based tools to investigate the time evolution of network resistance at a local, coarse–grained, scale. We observed that specific input signals corresponding to 2 logical ‘bits’ pro- duce rich outputs associable to a logical NAND gate, which posses functional completeness. Given that relevant differences could be detected between the behavior of the network at low voltage before and after the so called ‘writing’ step (where the system is under a high applied voltage), memristive effects naturally emerge in the study of network properties. These results encourage further investigations, both experimental and via the innovative SRNM approach we developed, in order to exploit these RS devices in hardware computing applications as self–assembled logic gates. Last, in Chapter 4 I focus on another soft matter system, that I have started to investigate during my PhD research activity, regarding Monte Carlo simulations of low valence DNA–based colloidal particles. This last Chapter is mainly devoted to the description of the simulation method I have been developing during my more recent PhD research activities, while the preliminary results presented obviously need to be confirmed and extended by further studies. Particles with a limited number of attractive spots (patches) on their surface are generally characterized by non–crystalline low energy states; they rather generate a disordered 3D network in which all the sticky sites are engaged in (mutually exclusive) patch–patch bonds [Bianchi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. (2006)]. One of the most promising experimental realizations of such peculiar colloids is extremely recent: laboratory synthesized DNA nanostars (NS) with fixed valence [Bi et al., PNAS (2013)]. In this field the landmark is represented by our collaborators from the group led by prof. T. Bellini. Recently, they started to investigate the behavior of mixtures of nanostars with leftwise or rightwise chirality of the DNA strands, characterized by a merely repulsive interspecies interaction. To date, our contribution mainly consisted in the development of an abstract model of these DNA nanostars, schematized as limited valence soft patchy particles, whose equilibrium configurations are sampled via a canonical Monte Carlo program. Their different chirality is represented by a mixed interaction which only comprises excluded volume terms. Our goal in this project is twofold: on the one hand, we aim to reconstruct the temperature–density phase diagram of such mixtures, also depending on the mixing ratio. Experiments revealed a critical behavior and a phase separation processes for dilute mono–component DNA solutions; the properties of a mixture of two components, each found in critical conditions, are studied in this work. In this Chapter, after a detailed overview of the experimental, computational and theoretical studies regarding low valence particles, the simulation code is described and it is presented a comparison between the simulation results and the experimental measurements at equilibrium. The peculiar structures found in the patchy particles network claim for further analysis, as well as the interesting behavior near the critical point for mono–component and bi–component systems both. The second perspective of this research regards the unexplored aggregation and cluster growth process of such particles. In this concern, part of the future research effort will be devoted to the transformation of our custom code into a Brownian Monte Carlo in order to unveil the mechanisms underlying the dynamics of such particles during their aggregation stages. The conclusions and further perspectives concerning each of the four topics addressed in this work can be retrieved at the end of each Chapter.

Thesis (M.F.A.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2003.
Thesis research directed by: Creative Writing. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

Swedish: Det här kandidatarbetet undersöker om karaktärer med icke-normativ sexualitet finns representerade i digitala spel och hur dessa framställs. Arbetet har även fokus på de reaktioner samhället har visat i samband med att spel som behandlar ämnet icke-normativ sexualitet kommit ut på marknaden. Syftet är att uppmärksamma och ge insikt om icke-normativ sexualitet som ämne och hur diskussionen av detta kan leda till en utveckling inom spelmediet. Informationen som användes för att undersöka ämnet och dess reaktioner finns sammanställt under ett forskningsmomentet, vilket sedan utvecklas till flera noveller. Dessa noveller har sedan användes i en undersökning som genomfördes av 11 stycken deltagare. English: This bachelor thesis investigates if characters with non-normative sexuality are represented in digital games and how these are portrayed. The thesis' focus is also to study the reactions games dealing with the subject of non-normative sexuality have received from society, and how the discussion about this can lead to a growth for games as a medium. The information used to analyze this subject and its reactions is collected from a time of researching, which later was developed into a number of short stories. These short stories were then used to conduct a survey answered by 11 respondents. Keywords: Homosexuality, bisexuality, digital games, non-normative sexuality, interpretation, game medium.

I defend the claim that some things genuinely matter to human beings. This involves overcoming a series of arguments which suggest that the things that matter to us are arbitrary. These arguments arise out of Nagel’s claim (in Mortal Questions) that life is absurd. The thesis also discusses different senses in which life can be said to have meaning. I put religious accounts of the meaning of life to one side. Instead, I focus on outlining how someone can experience their own life (and the world) as meaningful. My main aim is to show that some things genuinely matter. I argue that some things genuinely matter from the perspective of the individual in virtue of the fact that they can become conscious of their own needs. So, there are facts about human nature (we are self-consciousness and have needs) that, taken together, show that some things genuinely matter to us (non-arbitrarily). These include our vital needs, our happiness and positive relationships with others. I argue that these things matter to us not simply in virtue of the fact that we happen to think that they matter (although this is certainly true). Rather, they genuinely matter to us given our nature.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2012.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-150).
N-body simulations have revealed a wealth of information about dark matter halos but their results are largely empirical. Here we attempt to shed light on simulation results by using a combination of analytic and numerical methods. First we generalize an analytic model of halo formation, known as Secondary Infall, to include the effects of tidal torque. Given this model we compare its predictions for halo profiles to simulation results and infer that angular momentum plays an important role in setting the structure of dark matter profiles at small radii. Next, we focus on explaining the origin of universality in halos. We find evidence that diffusion -- which can potentially lead to universality -- occurs during halo evolution and is partially sourced by external torques from large scale structure. This is surprising given that the halo is nonlinear and typically thought to be unaffected by neighboring structures. Last, we describe promising ways to analytically describe the evolution of nonlinear halos using a Fokker-Planck formalism.
by Phillip Gregory Zukin.
Ph.D.