Whose international matters, and why? How are geographic regions constructed? What are the channels of engagement between a place, its people, its institutions, and the world? How do we understand... Show moreWhose international matters, and why? How are geographic regions constructed? What are the channels of engagement between a place, its people, its institutions, and the world? How do we understand the non-West’s influence in contemporary global interactions? From humanitarianism and activism to diplomacy and institutional networks, South Asia has been a crucial place for the elaboration of international politics, even before the twentieth century. South Asia Unbound gathers an interdisciplinary group of scholars from across the world to investigate South Asian global engagement at the local, regional, national, and supra-national levels, spanning the time before and after independence. Only by understanding its past entanglements with the world can we understand South Asia’s increasing global importance today. Show less
This thesis examines silicon pore optics (SPO), a technology that exploits silicon wafers from the semiconductor industry to create extremely high quality X-ray optics, by studying its... Show moreThis thesis examines silicon pore optics (SPO), a technology that exploits silicon wafers from the semiconductor industry to create extremely high quality X-ray optics, by studying its manufacturing process, applications, and prospects. SPO technology has become very mature thanks to the continuous development efforts to prepare for the industrial production of Athena, the largest space-borne X-ray telescope yet to be launched. In effect, SPO is also a versatile technology that can be further developed for a wide range of applications, including radiation therapy. Show less
Although useful, digital screens have not yet replaced physical books. The printed book offers three concurrent psychological advantages that explain its puzzling resilience: (1) Better learning... Show moreAlthough useful, digital screens have not yet replaced physical books. The printed book offers three concurrent psychological advantages that explain its puzzling resilience: (1) Better learning and remembering are associated with the physical act of moving through the space of printed pages, which stimulates the visuo-spatial sketchpad component of working memory; (2) since reading is based on temporal, sequential processing, the fixed frame of reference of printed pages and their fixed shape are great aids to memory; (3) the properties of paper and the standard design of a printed book guarantee that it will always function properly: one day, a year, or many centuries later. One reads the same words on screen or in print, but the context in which the symbols are read is very different. The digital book appears and vanishes. The physical book – where kinesthetic experience is more vivid – remains as an actual, remembered space. Show less
In literature ghosts have a long history. They manifest themselves in a variety of forms. They are intriguing because of their undecidable nature—their association with death and afterlife, which... Show moreIn literature ghosts have a long history. They manifest themselves in a variety of forms. They are intriguing because of their undecidable nature—their association with death and afterlife, which are irredeemable and inexplicable to the living. Especially in postcolonial literature we encounter the presence of ghosts. Ghostly figures often serve as metaphors of return—the return of repressed history, which continues to haunt the present. Sometimes they mark a present absence of marginalized groups of people. Noting the ineluctable encounters between ghosts, memories, and subjectivities in postcolonial literature, this dissertation tries to reach a deeper and broader understanding of the narrative potential of the ghostly in spatial, cultural and ethical dimensions. By perceiving ghosts as metaphorical concepts, I incorporate a variety of notions of ghosts into my exploration of ‘spectral space,’ ‘ghost language,’ and ‘mediums.’ I also investigate how these ghost-related concepts function to illuminate a new mode of thinking about the realms of knowledge and ethics. I argue that ghosts are ethical subjects rather than objects of social constructions. They provide us a productive way of establishing a new ethics of ghosts, which is reconsidered as the ethics of how to live with and survive as ghosts. Show less
The thesis aims at combining metabolomics with other methods to investigate the regulation of the TIA biosynthesis and how this is connected with other pathways and the plant__s physiology and... Show moreThe thesis aims at combining metabolomics with other methods to investigate the regulation of the TIA biosynthesis and how this is connected with other pathways and the plant__s physiology and development. It reviews the biosynthesis studies of Catharanthus roseus. An HPLC method is described for both precursors and alkaloids which was validated to analyze alkaloid contents in different organs, its relationship with leaf age and growth of C. roseus plants. A metabolomics investigation of C. roseus varieties with different flower colors by NMR profiling method is also reported. Besides, it explores the effect of JA/MeJA treatment on TIA biosynthesis in different organs and the influence of flowering on TIA levels in C. roseus plants. Overexpression of ORCA3 and G10H in C. roseus plants is reported and the effect on alkaloid biosynthesis and general metabolism is revealed by NMR-metabolomics. Finally, it reports on C. roseus plants fed with 13C-labeled glucose to study the flux into different metabolic pathways, and gives a summary and discussion about further perspectives. Show less
The field of research of my dissertation is nineteenth-century Iranian portrait photography. The goal of this research is to demonstrate that photography is always a construction of reality,... Show moreThe field of research of my dissertation is nineteenth-century Iranian portrait photography. The goal of this research is to demonstrate that photography is always a construction of reality, regardless of the photographer's nationality. I am specifically interested in exploring how indigenous Iranian photographers constructed their own realities in contrast to how foreign photographers constructed Iranian’s realities. My approach to early Iranian photography is an analytical one based on the visual analysis of photographs taken by Iranian photographers in the nineteenth century. While applying visual analysis, I take into consideration the cultural components of the image. The research undertakes a comparative study of the Iranian painting tradition and nineteenth-century Iranian portrait photography. The elements identified and analyzed are: mirror-like composition due to the visual laterality phenomenon, defined here as the influence of the direction of writing on the composition in works of art, particularly in photography; use of calligraphic inscriptions or text within the photographic space; use of traditional Iranian portraiture poses, such as kneeling; the understanding of space in photographic composition: isometrical perspective, vertical composition, grid structure layout and diffuse compositions; and the mixed aesthetics present in nineteenth-century Iranian photography due to the appropriation of Western elements. Show less
In October 2007, Malaysia sent its first astronaut into space. The thirty-six year old orthopaedic surgeon, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, was sent to the International Space Station on 10 October 2007... Show moreIn October 2007, Malaysia sent its first astronaut into space. The thirty-six year old orthopaedic surgeon, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, was sent to the International Space Station on 10 October 2007 and returned to earth on 21 October 2007. As the astronaut was a practicing Muslim the Malaysian space agency provided him with advice on religious practice in the form of a guideline for performing the Islamic rites at the space station, and adapted classical legal opinions on religious practice during travel to the new context of outer space. Show less
