Redeeming American Democracy in Sayonara

Affection is perceived as something natural, pre-existing Culture and, therefore, free form discursive constructions. However, insofar as reality is mediated, if not given existence by language, human relationships are inevitably fashioned by narratives. Romance fictions and in particular heterosexual, interracial love stories have been used in U.S. popular culture as a means of promoting American democratic values of racial harmony at home and abroad. This will be exemplified by analyzing James A. Michener's 1953 novel Sayonara together with Joshua Logan's 1957 film adaptation

The Japanese american experience through literature: Joy Kogawa's Obasan and Mitsuye Yamada's Poetry

The Japanese American community has been deeply marked by the internment experience as a result of the Second World War. This historical event demonstrated the fact that, despite the multicultural nature of U.S. and Canadian societies, notions of white supremacy were the ones that prevailed. Joy Kogawa and Mitsuye Yamada were two of the first voices that emerged breaking the silence of Canadian and American citizens of Japanese origin. They explore the ways in which the racist policies of their respective countries had affected not only their own lives, but also that of their ancestors and of the younger generations. La comunidad japonesa-americana se ha visto marcada por la experiencia del internamiento en campos de concentración a consecuencia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Este hecho histórico demostró que a pesar del carácter multicultural de las sociedades estadounidense y canadiense lo que prevalecía era la noción de la supremacía blanca. Joy Kogawa y Mitsuye Yamada fueron de las primeras voces que rompieron con el silencio de canadienses y estadounidenses de origen japonés. Ambas exploran cómo las políticas racistas de sus respectivos países han afectado no sólo sus vidas, sino también las de sus antepasados y la de las generaciones más jóvenes

Hawaii, Hawaii/Like a Dream/So I came/But my tears/Are flowing now/In the canefields: Beauty's Price in Philip Kan Gotanda's Ballad of Yachiyo.

Oftentimes popular culture depicts Hawaii as an ideal paradise, represented by images of '[p]alm trees, a distant mountain (frequently a smoking volcano), and a hula maiden, all surmounted by a splendid full moon' (Brown 1994). Such a picture clearly contrasts with the labour song quoted in the title of this article, which reflects the exploitation, mainly of Asian workers, in the sugar-cane plantation system the original basis for (white) American prosperity in the islands since the mid-nineteenth century. Philip Kan Gotanda's play, Ballad of Yachiyo, which premièred at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 1995, takes place within a Japanese community in early twentieth-century Hawaii. It is loosely based on the silenced story of the playwright's aunt who committed suicide for bringing shame to the family as a result of an extra-marital pregnancy. Gotanda considers that this particular work is not so much about politics, but about 'a tone' and a 'kind of beautiful sadness' (1997). Despite the author's words, Ballad of Yachiyo inevitably has embedded within a political message insofar as it makes references, for example, to working conditions in the sugar plantations, the formation of the first inter-ethnic (Japanese/Filipino) trade unions and the expectations of Japanese immigrants in search of the mythical paradise Hawaii was meant to be. That is, by recovering what was once a lost voice, Gotanda reconstructs part of his family's memory as forming part of Hawaii's recent history

Co-avaluació entre iguals d’assajos en el marc de les assignatures de narrativa en anglès

La nostra experiència docent ens va portat a detectar la manca de recursos lingüístics que limita la capacitat d'expressió escrita de l'alumnat d'"Estudis Anglesos". En aquest projecte hem proposat als estudiants una activitat que consisteix en l'escriptura d'un assaig crític i la seva posterior revisió i co-avaluació entre iguals per tal de proporcionar eines als estudiants per a que adquireixin aquestes competències d'expressió escrita en anglès

Representing Trauma in American Women’s Literature

[Abstract] This round table aimed at exploring how different female traumatic experiences have found expression through literature. For that purpose, the session began with an introduction to the question of trauma in the field of the humanities. Then the discussion focused on the representation of individual trauma through the poems of Anne Sexton. After that, the debate explored how social trauma was transmitted transgenerationally by analyzing Nora Okja Keller’s novel Comfort Woman. Finally, the work of Arab American women writers served to illustrate the issue of collective trauma caused by September 11, 2001

Redeeming American democracy in Sayonara

Affection is perceived as something natural, pre-existing Culture and, therefore, free form discursive constructions. However, insofar as reality is mediated, if not given existence by language, human relationships are inevitably fashioned by narratives. Romance fictions and in particular heterosexual, interracial love stories have been used in U.S. popular culture as a means of promoting American democratic values of racial harmony at home and abroad. This will be exemplified by analyzing James A. Michener’s 1953 novel Sayonara together with Joshua Logan’s 1957 film adaptation

‘Hawaii, Hawaii/ Like a dream/ So I came/ But my tears/ Are flowing now/In the canefields’: Beauty’s Price in Philip Kan Gotanda’s Ballad of Yachiyo

Oftentimes popular culture depicts Hawaii as an ideal paradise, represented by images of ‘[p]alm trees, a distant mountain (frequently a smoking volcano), and a hula maiden, all surmounted by a splendid full moon’ (Brown 1994). Such a picture clearly contrasts with the labour song quoted in the title of this article, which reflects the exploitation, mainly of Asian workers, in the sugar-cane plantation system—the original basis for (white) American prosperity in the islands since the mid-nineteenth century.Philip Kan Gotanda’s play, Ballad of Yachiyo, which premièred at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 1995, takes place within a Japanese community in early twentieth-century Hawaii. It is loosely based on the silenced story of the playwright’s aunt who committed suicide for bringing shame to the family as a result of an extra-marital pregnancy. Gotanda considers that this particular work is not so much about politics, but about ‘a tone’ and a ‘kind of beautiful sadness’ (1997). Despite the author’s words, Ballad of Yachiyo inevitably has embedded within a political message insofar as it makes references, for example, to working conditions in the sugar plantations, the formation of the first inter-ethnic (Japanese/Filipino) trade unions and the expectations of Japanese immigrants in search of the mythical paradise Hawaii was meant to be. That is, by recovering what was once a lost voice, Gotanda reconstructs part of his family’s memory as forming part of Hawaii’s recent history

Shelf-sea gross and net production estimates from triple oxygen isotopes and oxygen-argon ratios in relation with phytoplankton physiology

Shelf seas represent only 10 % of the ocean area, but support 30 % of oceanic primary production. There are few measurements of biological production at high spatial and temporal resolution in such physically dynamic systems. Here, I use dissolved oxygento- argon (O2/Ar) ratios and triple oxygen isotopes (δ(17O), δ(18O)) to estimate net and gross biological production seasonally in the Celtic Sea between summer 2014 and summer 2015, as part of the NERC Shelf-Sea Biogeochemistry programme. O2/Ar was measured continuously using a shipboard membrane inlet mass spectrometer. Discrete water samples from hydrocasts were used to measure O2/Ar, δ(17O) and δ(18O) depth profiles. The data were combined with wind-speed based gas exchange parameterisations to calculate biological air-sea oxygen fluxes. These fluxes were corrected for non-steady state and diapycnal diffusion to give net community production (N(O2/Ar)) and gross O2 production (G(17O)). N(O2/Ar) was highest in spring at (33±41) mmol m-2 d-1, and G(17O) was highest in summer at (494±370) mmol m-2 d-1, while autumn was net heterotrophic with N(O2/Ar) = (–14±28) mmol m-2 d-1. During spring, biological production was spatially heterogeneous, highlighting the importance of high resolution biological production measurements. The ratio of N(O2/Ar) to G(17O), ƒ(O2), was highest in spring at 0.18±0.03 corresponding to 0.34±0.06 in carbon equivalents; about 0.05 in summer and < 0 in autumn/winter. Statistical measurement uncertainties increase when terms other than air-sea exchange fluxes are included in the calculations. Additionally, electron transfer rate derived from fast repetition rate fluorometry measurements was compared with G(17O), but no simple relationship was found. This study characterised the seasonal biological patterns in production rates and shows that the Celtic Sea is a net carbon sink in spring and summer. Such measurements can help reconcile the differences between satellite and in situ productivity estimates, and improve our understanding of the biological carbon pump

Preparação de pós de WO₃ a partir de ácidos túngsticos e polioxotungstatos

Neste trabalho procurou-se investigar a influência que os métodos químicos de preparação de WO₃ podem ter nas características morfológicas e estruturais dos sólidos que originam. Assim, escolheram-se alguns processos de síntese de trióxido de tungsténio que envolvem a preparação prévia de precursores, cuja decomposição térmica origina WO₃. Os precursores utilizados foram os ácidos túngsticos (WO₃.nH₂O, para n= 1/3, 1 e 2) e sais do ião paratungstato ([W₁₂O₄₂H₂]¹ᴼ־). A síntese de ácidos túngsticos usando condições diversas de concentrações de W(Vl) e de H⁺, temperatura e tempo de reacção, permitiu obter amostras com características morfológicas distintas. Utilizando estes compostos como precursores na preparação de WO₃, verificou-se que as características morfológicas deste material dependem significativamente das do pó precursor. A preparação de amostras de paratungstato em que se variou o catião levou à obtenção de pós com características morfológicas distintas. Foi feito o tratamento dos ácidos túngsticos em solventes orgânicos, nomeadamente acetona, etanol e etilenoglicol. Com este tipo de tratamento obtiveram-se alterações tanto nas características morfológicas dos pós precursores como no WO₃ preparado a partir destes. Verificou-se ainda que os ácidos túngsticos dissolvem em etilenoglicol à temperatura de ebulição, originando soluções fotossensíveis na presença de água. Utilizou-se um conjunto de técnicas complementares para a caracterização dos pós obtidos: microscopia electrónica por varrimento, espectroscopia de absorção no infravermelho, difracção de raios-X, análise térmica e calorimetria diferencial por varrimento. Explorou-se, em particular, a utilização dos perfis dos espectros de infravermelho como método de identificação de diferentes morfologias de pós.The work described here is concerned with the influence which the chemical route used to prepare tungsten trioxide powders has on its morphological and structural characteristics. The WO₃ powders were prepared by thermal decomposition of tungstic acids (WO₃.nH₂O, n= 1/3, 1, 2) and paratungstates. These precursors were synthesized under a variety of conditions. Several different morphologies of WO₃.nH₂O powders were obtained by changing W(VI) and H⁺ concentrations, as well as temperature and aging time in the synthesis. The use of these powders as precursors in the preparation of WO₃ shows that the morphology of this material depend strongly on the precursors morphologies. Powders of paratungstates of different cations show different morphological characteristics. In the first part of the work, the purpose was to find out how the properties of the precursors and WO₃ could be modified by the chemistry of their synthesis. In the last part, the purpose was to investigate how the morphologies of tungstic acids and WO₃ could be modified by chemical treatment of the tungstic acids in organic solvents such as acetone, ethanol or ethylene glycol. In fact, changes in the morphological characteristics of the precursors were obtained after those treatments. The tungstic acids were solubilized in ethylene glycol at boiling temperature, the solutions thus obtained are photosensitive in the presence of water. Morphological characteristics were studied using electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy. The powders were also characterized by thermal analysis. Particular attention was given to the use of patterns of infrared spectra to identify distinct powder morphologies.Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e TecnológicaMestrado em Engenharia de Materiai

Electropolymerized, Molecularly Imprinted Polymer on a Screen-Printed Electrode—A Simple, Fast, and Disposable Voltammetric Sensor for Trazodone

In recent years, analytical chemistry has been facing new challenges, particularly in developing low-cost, green, and easy-to-reproduce methods. In this work, a simple, reproducible, and low-cost electrochemical (voltammetric) molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) sensor was designed specifically for the detection of trazodone (TZD). Trazodone (TZD) is an antidepressant drug consumed worldwide since the 1970s. By combining electropolymerization (surface imprinting) with screen-printed electrodes (SPCEs), the sensor is easy to prepare, is environmentally friendly (uses small amounts of reagents), and can be used for in situ analysis through integration with small, portable devices. The MIP was obtained using cyclic voltammetry (CV), using 4-aminobenzoic acid (4-ABA) as the functional monomer in the presence of TZF molecules in 0.1 M HCl. Non-imprinted control was also constructed in the absence of TZD. Both polymers were characterized using CV, and TZD detection was performed with DPV using the oxidation of TZD. The polymerization conditions were studied and optimized. Comparing the TZD signal for MIP/SPCE and NIP/SPCE, an imprinting factor of 71 was estimated, indicating successful imprinting of the TZD molecules within the polymeric matrix. The analytical response was linear in the range of 5–80 µM, and an LOD of 1.6 µM was estimated. Selectivity was evaluated by testing the sensor for molecules with a similar structure to TZD, and the ability of MIP/SPCE to selectively bind to TZD was proven. The sensor was applied to spiked tap water samples and human serum with good recoveries and allowed for a fast analysis (around 30 min).Project Farmasense (ref. 39957) is sponsored by Sistema de Incentivos à Investigação e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico do Portugal 2020, by Programa Operacional do Norte (NORTE 2020) and Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). João Pacheco is grateful to FCT for his postdoc grant (SFRH/BPD/101419/2014), financed by POPH-QREN-Tipologia 4.1-Formação Avançada, funded by Fundo Social Europeu and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior. Isabel Seguro is grateful to the project Farmasense (39957) that was funded by Sistema de Incentivos à Investigação e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico de Portugal 2020, through the Programa Operacional do Norte (NORTE 2020) and the Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). Patrícia Rebelo is grateful to FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) for her PhD grant (SFRH/BD/132384/2017). This work was financially supported by Portuguese national funds through projects UIDB/50006/2020, UIDP/50006/2020, LA/P/0008/2020 and PTDC/QUI-QAN/3899/2021 from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES). The authors would like to thank the EU and FCT/UEFISCDI/FORMAS for funding, in the frame of the collaborative international consortium REWATER financed under the ERA-NET Cofund WaterWorks 2015 Call. This ERA-NET is an integral part of the 2016 Joint Activities developed by the Water Challenges for a Changing World Joint Programme Initiative (Water JPI).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio