Spaces of Communication

Semio-pragmatics, an approach to the study of film and audiovisual media first proposed by Roger Odin in the early 1980s, shifted the focus from textual analysis to the interaction of text and context and to the institutional modes of framing and reading which shape the viewer’s engagement with the film. A response to an impasse in post-1968 film semiotics and psychoanalytical approaches to film spectatorship, semio-pragmatics contributed significantly to the further development of film studies alongside Cultural Studies, neo-formalism, historical reception studies and the phenomenology of film. Spaces of Communication offers a concise introduction to semio-pragmatics and condenses the intellectual trajectory of one of the foundational figures of film studies into a relatively short and accessible volume. It is a book which testifies to the author’s deep and rich intellectual engagement with a vast array of objects ranging from the classics of the cinephile canon to television news programs, home movies and mobile phone films.

Jesus in Context

Jesus changed our world forever. But who was he and what do we know about him? David Wenham's accessible volume is a concise and wide-ranging engagement with that enduring and elusive subject. Exploring the sources for Jesus and his scholarly reception, he surveys information from Roman, Jewish, and Christian texts, and also examines the origins of the gospels, as well as the evidence of Paul, who had access to the earliest oral traditions about Jesus. Wenham demonstrates that the Jesus of the New Testament makes sense within the first century CE context in which he lived and preached. He offers a contextualized portrait of Jesus and his teaching; his relationship with John the Baptist and the Qumran community (and the Dead Sea Scrolls); his ethics and the Sermon on the Mount, his successes and disappointments. Wenham also brings insights into Jesus' vision of the future and his understanding of his own death and calling.

Cinnamal Sensing and Luminescence Color Tuning in a Series of Rare-Earth Metal−Organic Frameworks with Trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate

Three isostructural metal–organic frameworks ([Ln2(phen)2(NO3)2(chdc)2]·2DMF (Ln3+ = Y3+ for 1, Eu3+ for 2 or Tb3+ for 3; phen = 1,10-phenanthroline; H2chdc = trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid) were synthesized and characterized. The compounds are based on a binuclear block {M2(phen)2(NO3)2(OOCR)4} assembled into a two-dime nsional square-grid network containing tetragonal channels with 26% total solvent-accessible volume. Yttrium (1)-, europium (2)- and terbium (3)-based structures emit in the blue, red and green regions, respectively, representing the basic colors of the standard RGB matrix. A doping of Eu3+ and/or Tb3+ centers into the Y3+-based phase led to mixed-metal compositions with tunable emission color and high quantum yields (QY) up to 84%. The bright luminescence of a suspension of microcrystalline 3 in DMF (QY = 78%) is effectively quenched by diluted cinnamaldehyde (cinnamal) solutions at millimolar concentrations, suggesting a convenient and analytically viable sensing method for this important chemical.

Confined Quantum Hard Spheres

We present computer simulation and theoretical results for a system of N Quantum Hard Spheres (QHS) particles of diameter σ and mass m at temperature T, confined between parallel hard walls separated by a distance Hσ, within the range 1≤H≤∞. Semiclassical Monte Carlo computer simulations were performed adapted to a confined space, considering effects in terms of the density of particles ρ*=N/V, where V is the accessible volume, the inverse length H−1 and the de Broglie’s thermal wavelength λB=h/2πmkT, where k and h are the Boltzmann’s and Planck’s constants, respectively. For the case of extreme and maximum confinement, 0.5<H−1<1 and H−1=1, respectively, analytical results can be given based on an extension for quantum systems of the Helmholtz free energies for the corresponding classical systems.

Ancient and High Crosses of Cornwall

An illustrated guide to one hundred of the finest early Cornish stone crosses, dating from around AD 900 to 1300. These characteristic features of the Cornish landscape are splendid examples of their type, exhibiting a wide geographical spread and a certain weather-beaten beauty. The medieval stone crosses of Cornwall have long been objects of curiosity both for residents and visitors. This is the first ever accessible volume on the subject, combining detailed description and discussion of the crosses with information on access, colour images and suggestions for further reading. An approachable but academically rigorous work, it includes analysis of the decorative designs and sculptural techniques, accompanied by high-quality photographs which illustrate the subtleties of each cross, often hard to discern in situ. Ancient and High Crosses of Cornwall offers an ideal introduction for the general reader but will also prove essential to local historians, landscape historians, archaeologists and anyone working in the area of Cornish studies or connected with the Cornish diaspora.

Thinking better about rural wealth creation and retention

For some decades now, the practices of eco­nomic and community development have increasingly intertwined. This has largely involved a rebalancing of the economic and community por­tions of the mix to give increasing prominence to the community side of the ledger. In their decade-and-a-half-old article, Rethinking Community Economic Development, Shaffer, Deller, and Marcouiller (2006) illustrated this in their classification of successive waves of dominant community economic develop­ment (CED) theory and practice: export base, business retention and expansion, collaboration and partnership driven, and cluster development. Shanna Ratner’s 2020 book Wealth Creation: A New Framework for Rural Economic and Community Development comes from one of the leading devel­opers and practitioners of a fifth-wave approach that is beginning to lay a legitimate claim to the respect of academics, professionals, and commu­nity members alike. In 158 pages, Ratner’s slim and accessible volume does an admirable job of summarizing a synthetic approach that is both informed by theory and steeped in decades of participant-observation and learning-by-doing. The author, often addressing the reader as “you,” as if in the training workshops she has frequently pro­vided, explicitly aims at writing for those with few degrees of separation from CED practice: “policy makers, practitioners in economic and community development, teachers, students [including under­graduates, I would specify], financers and funders…” (p. viii). . . .

Verfassungsrechtliche Determination von Informations-und Auskunftsansprüchen der Medien in der Informationsgesellschaft

In the present work, the constitutional determination of rights to information for media is examined, with special attention being paid to the developments of the modern information society with a significantly increased and easily accessible volume of information and a heterogeneous landscape of sub-constitutional information rights. In particular, the questions will be investigated as to the extent of a direct constitutional right of the media to information and to which extent the information needs of the media are already adequately met by the Freedom of Information Act.

Book Review: Canvas Detroit

The title Canvas Detroit fulfills a promise long-understood in the Southeastern Michigan community: the Motor City, despite its rough and tumble journey into the 21st century, is home to a vibrant and flourishing arts scene. Far from a standard coffee table book, though, this rich—yet surprisingly accessible—volume functions as a visual ethnography of the artists who define that scene. Hundreds of beautiful images complement dozens of profiles of natives, adopted locals, and famous visitors, who collectively shape Detroit’s culture while representing the resilience of a population indelibly linked to the city’s Rust Belt origins.

Block by Block: The Historical and Theoretical Foundations of Thermodynamics

At the heart of many fields—physics, chemistry, engineering—lays thermodynamics. While this science plays a critical role in determining the boundary between what is and is not possible in the natural world, it occurs to many as an indecipherable black box, thus making the subject a challenge to learn. Two obstacles contribute to this situation, the first being the disconnect between the fundamental theories and the underlying physics and the second being the confusing concepts and terminologies involved with the theories. While one needn’t confront either of these two obstacles to successfully use thermodynamics to solve real problems, overcoming both provides access to a greater intuitive sense of the problems and more confidence, more strength, and more creativity in solving them. Success in this regard necessarily involves learning both the science and the history that led to the science. The two were intertwined during the evolution of thermodynamics and are thus likewise intertwined in this book.With this book I offer an original perspective on thermodynamic science and history based on standing at the interface between three worlds: practicing engineer, academician, and historian. I synthesize and gather into one accessible volume a strategic range of foundational topics involving the atomic theory, energy, entropy, and the laws of thermodynamics. For each topic I capture both the physical and historical underpinnings together with the human-interest stories as the hundreds of years of thermodynamic history are filled with many such stories. I share them to further engage, educate, and inspire the reader.