Thea Astley’s modernism of the 'Deep North', or on (un)kindness

Although she is often perceived as a writer of the local, the rural or the regional, Thea Astley herself notes writing by American modernists as her primary literary influence, and emphasises the ethical value of transnational reading and writing. Similarly, she draws parallels between writing of the American ‘Deep South’ and her own writing of the ‘Deep North’, with a particular focus on the struggles of the racial or cultural outsider. In this article, I pursue Astley’s peculiar blend of these literary genres — modernism, the Gothic and the transnational — as a means of understanding her conceptualisation of kindness and community. Although Astley rejects the necessity of literary community, her writing emphasises instead the value of interpersonal engagement and social responsibility. With a focus on her first novel, Girl with a Monkey (1958), this article considers Astley’s representation of the distinction between community and kindness, particularly for young Catholic women in Queensland in the early twentieth century. In its simultaneous critique of the expectations placed on women and its upholding of the values of kindness and charity, Astley considers our responsibilities in our relations with the Other and with community

Monetary Policy Roundtable

On 8 June, the Bank of England and the Centre for Economic Policy Research jointly hosted a Monetary Policy Roundtable.

Interpreting recent movements in sterling

The sterling effective exchange rate has depreciated significantly since the start of the financial market crisis in August 2007. Movements in sterling affect UK monetary policy via their potential impacts on CPI inflation prospects, where it is important to consider the reasons behind the change in the exchange rate. Sterling’s movements potentially reflect a wide range of factors in the United Kingdom and overseas, in both the real economy and in financial markets. Indicative evidence suggests that sterling’s depreciation reflected a combination of perceived changes to UK relative cyclical prospects, the perceived riskiness of UK assets and the apparent need for the UK economy to rebalance, the effects of which may have been amplified by financial market factors. But there is substantial uncertainty about the precise role of each factor.

The role of generalization decrement in failures to demonstrate conditioned reinforcement: temporal factors

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1978 A84Master of Scienc

An integral formulation for wave propagation on weakly non-uniform potential flows

An integral formulation for acoustic radiation in moving flows is presented. It is based on a potential formulation for acoustic radiation on weakly non-uniform subsonic mean flows. This work is motivated by the absence of suitable kernels for wave propagation on non-uniform flow. The integral solution is formulated using a Green's function obtained by combining the Taylor and Lorentz transformations. Although most conventional approaches based on either transform solve the Helmholtz problem in a transformed domain, the current Green's function and associated integral equation are derived in the physical space. A dimensional error analysis is developed to identify the limitations of the current formulation. Numerical applications are performed to assess the accuracy of the integral solution. It is tested as a means of extrapolating a numerical solution available on the outer boundary of a domain to the far field, and as a means of solving scattering problems by rigid surfaces in non-uniform flows. The results show that the error associated with the physical model deteriorates with increasing frequency and mean flow Mach number. However, the error is generated only in the domain where mean flow non-uniformities are significant and is constant in regions where the flow is uniform

A point collocation approach to modelling large dissipative silencers

A numerical matching technique known as point collocation is used to model mathematically large dissipative splitter silencers of a type commonly found in HVAC ducts. Transmission loss predictions obtained using point collocation are compared with exact analytic mode matching predictions in the absence of mean flow. Over the frequency range in which analytic mode matching predictions are available, excellent agreement with point collocation transmission loss predictions is observed for a range of large splitter silencers. The validity of using point collocation to tackle large dissipative silencers is established, as is the computational efficiency of the method and its suitability for tackling dissipative silencers of arbitrary, but axially uniform, cross sections

Application of steady state finite element and transient finite difference theory to sound propagation in a variable area duct: A comparison with experiment

Sound propagation without flow in a rectangular duct with a converging-diverging area variation was studied experimentally and theoretically. The area variation was of sufficient magnitude to produce large reflections and induce modal scattering. The rms (root-mean-squared) pressure and phase angle on both the flat and curved surface were measured and tabulated. The steady state finite element theory and the transient finite difference theory are in good agreement with the data. It is concluded that numerical finite difference and finite element theories appear ideally suited for handling duct propagation problems which encounter large area variations

Global imbalances and the financial crisis

The recent financial crisis has put the spotlight on the rapid rise in credit which preceded it and the macroeconomic context in which it developed. This article examines the contribution of international savings and investment imbalances to the crisis and how these imbalances have evolved since its onset, focusing on the UK experience as a deficit country over the past decade. It also briefly discusses some implications of the crisis for global imbalances over the medium term.