Browsing by Subject "Movement"

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12

Experimental and numerical investigation of integral/semi-integral bridge abutments for Texas conditions
(2018-05-07) Walter, Jakob Richard; Zornberg, Jorge G.
Integral abutment bridges (IAB), which are characterized by a lack of thermal expansion joints and bearings, expand into and contract away from retained backfill at the approaches. This behavior may lead to the development of increased lateral earth pressures or a long-term inward movement, as it has been observed in several structures. Additionally, it has been observed that repeated movements of IABs into and away from the adjacent soil because of annual and daily temperature fluctuations can lead to settlements in the approach roadways built on top of the retained fill. Yet, the possibly significant cost-effectiveness of the system has prompted the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to construct IAB and semi-integral abutment bridges (SIAB). The overall objective of the research is to investigate the geotechnical aspects relevant to the design of IAB/SIAB. The research project consists of four components: 1) a survey of state DOTs and Texas regarding IAB/SIAB design and construction, 2) an experimental program aimed to understand lateral earth pressure development and soil movement as a result of repeated movements, 3) a numerical component geared to predict soil response to repeated movements such as those in the experimental program, and 4) a field monitoring program involving instrumentation of three IAB/SIAB structures in the state of Texas. Surveys revealed that the anticipated approach to construct IAB/SIAB in Texas is viable. Furthermore, the compressible inclusion used by some states to prevent earth pressure ratcheting was proven to be successful in the laboratory and numerical components. Finally, the field monitoring program demonstrated two IAB/SIAB in Texas that have been performing well, and a third that has exhibited inadequate performance at the approach to bridge deck transition. In summary, the findings of the research have laid the foundation for development of design details to be presented to TxDOT for any future IAB/SIAB.
Focus and movement in a variety of K'ichee'
(2014-12) Velleman, Leah Bridges; England, Nora C.
This dissertation describes two related phenomena in the syntax and semantics of K’ichee’ (Mayan), concentrating on the variety spoken in and around Nahualá. The first phenomenon is focus, the special discourse status granted to constituents which provide new and important information. The second phenomenon is syntactic movement, which occurs in several different constructions in K’ichee’ — most relevantly, that of focus movement. Across languages, focused constituents are highlighted in one way or another; and in Mayan languages, this highlighting often takes the form of movement to a position immediately before the verb. But I show that the relationship between focus and movement in K’ichee’ is less straightforward than has previously been assumed. In particular, it is often possible for a focused constituent to remain in situ. Having shown that focus in situ is possible, I turn to the question of when it occurs. I show that focus in situ follows an ergative/absolutive pattern: it is impossible for transitive subjects, but possible for all other constituent types. This pattern is compared to ergative/absolutive patterns found elsewhere in K’ichee’ grammar, and in other languages.
Incorporating movement in species distribution models
(2016-05) Holloway, Paul; Miller, Jennifer A. (Jennifer Anne); Arima, Eugenio; Di Fiore, Anthony; Keitt, Timothy; Young, Kenneth R
Climate change and concomitant urbanization have led to many species shifting their geographical distribution, while other species have simply gone extinct. Understanding the current and future distributions of species is therefore a critical component of biodiversity conservation, with species distribution models (SDMs) a powerful GIScience approach increasingly used to achieve this. Movement is an ecological process that influences the distribution of all species. Broad-scale (spatially and temporally) movement includes processes like dispersal and migration that determine whether newly suitable habitats are accessible, while fine-scale movement effects resource availability, and subsequently habitat suitability. In spite of this ecological significance, movement is rarely incorporated in SDMs. An increasingly important application of SDM is to study the effects of climate change on species distributions, and while several models that incorporate species dispersal abilities have been proposed, none have been tested or compared. Past data (British birds and North American flora) were used to calibrate and extrapolate species-environment relationships to the current time-period in order to assess the accuracy of these dispersal models. Significant differences in the accuracy and area projected as present by the dispersal models were identified, and moreover, results were substantially influenced by the scale at which SDMs were calibrated. Fine-scale regular movement behaviors are another important determinant of mobile species distributions that are not currently incorporated within SDM. Spatial simulation was used to model the dynamic relationship between movement and biotic resources for oilbirds in Venezuela, in order to generate a new environmental variable for use in model calibration. The use of this layer greatly improved the accuracy and ecological realism of the SDM projection compared to other commonly applied SDM scenarios. Finally, the incorporation of movement across multiple scales has not been addressed in SDM research. Broad-scale dispersal was combined with fine-scale regular movements to predict continental changes in oilbird distribution over a decade, which improved the ecological understanding of distribution shifts and identified a number of new conceptual and methodological limitations. The incorporation of movement should now be a compulsory aspect of any study projecting the current or future distributions of species.
Interior sensation and exterior forces : cutting away
(2014-05) Salazar, Samantha Parker; Mutchler, Leslie
In my work, traditional printmaking techniques are pushed to their limits as a foundation for cut-paper installations and sculptures. The work reflects on notions of interiority and exteriority in relation to the body and nature, drawing from my experiences in meditation to create a two and three-dimensional visual play primarily using paper. Because of their illustrative looseness, the biomorphic structures convey a variety of sensations, shapes, and movements that are related to the interior of the body and exterior forces in nature. In this report, I plan to discuss topics of process, materiality, sensation, objecthood and phenomenology within the context of my work and as these topics relate to other artists such as: Lee Bontecou, Francis Bacon, Oskar Fischinger, Richard Serra, and Judy Pfaff. I also plan to indicate a contemporary and art historical context for the work, placing my pieces within a specific canon of visual culture.
Loose bodies
(2010-05) Akers, Madeleine Ruth; Howard, Donald Wayne; Lewis, Richard; Stein, Laura
My thesis film for the Master of Fine Arts degree is a 10-minute documentary entitled Loose Bodies. It traces my mom's recovery from knee replacement surgery, meanwhile exploring her relationship to her knees through interviews and archival footage and my own relationship to my body's ability to move. The film contains three animated sequences, using the Renaissance anatomical drawings of Andreas Vesalius. This report is an account of the filmmaking process from initial idea to finished film.
Mobility and environmental intimacy in Italian volcanic zones
(2019-12-05) McQuaid, Megan Louise; Sturm, Circe, 1967-
This thesis explores human and environmental movement and mobility in various Italian volcanic zones. Places and sites are typically thought of as stable, locatable in a specific location, pin-pointable. Places are not generally considered “mobile.” Stromboli, Italy and other volcanic sites force the ethnographer to reconcile a certain tension between movement and place. Volcanic sites are worlds that are materially and socially constituted through movement. How tectonic plates move creates volcanic activity, how lava moves up and out of the volcano transforms the landscape, and how people move to, from, around, through, up and down the volcano creates a volcanic social world. How do humans navigate this environment, and how does the environment agentially present itself as a force to be circumnavigated? Movement and mobility serve as a framework for theorizing human social relations with their environment and other non-humans. Thinking through mobility captures the unique limits and affordances that volcanic environments offer to their human, plant, and animal residents. Scholars differ on whether or not we can call a landscape “alive,” “lively,” or “vibrant.” This thesis argues that the answer to this question is based in observations about movement. That we can, in fact, locate agential capability in the way that a subject moves. The ability to move is the condition for agency.
Occupying memory : rhetorical studies for the 99%
(2013-05) Hoag, Trevor Lee; Davis, D. Diane (Debra Diane), 1963-
"Occupying Memory: Rhetorical Studies for the 99%" revitalizes rhetorical memory by emphasizing memory's rhetorical production and non-declinable relationship to forgetting, the persuasive force of local genealogy, and the capacity of memory to spur invention and civic intervention. "Occupying Memory" performs its revival of memory through theorization of the contemporary Occupy Movement. The first chapter, "Becoming Activist," argues that memories are rhetorically produced, and supports this supposition by analyzing various activist practices, icons, and experiences. I consider the discursive production of memory through Occupy's practice of the "human microphone," and the imagistic production of memory through images such as the Guy Fawkes Mask. I also consider forgetting in the production of memory, and analyze how subjects are compelled to action through "forgotten" affects and traumas that drive one to compose self-narratives. "Giving an Account of One's Wealth," strives to develop a strategy for teaching writing called "im-personal writing," and employs Percentile Narratives from the Occupy Movement throughout its implementation. I analyze existing narratives from multiple theoretical perspectives, and focus on how students can consider the rhetorical production of their memories while avoiding the pitfalls associated with "personal writing" such as the quest for authenticity. "The Infinite Archive," considers how the binary opposition between so-called "live" and "technological" memory deconstructs, and avers that the digitization of memory is an instance of "hyper-extension" rather than "externalization." I consider multiple cases of such extension in the form of social media archives including Twitter, live streaming video, and viral memes. The problem of digital forgetting and networked multitudes is likewise engaged. "Stiller than Still" contends that (singular) bodies and specific living structures can function as monuments oriented toward the future. I argue that the type of memory such monuments produce is a "common" rather than "public" memory, one that entails resistance to state control, participatory democracy, and the preservation of difference. I also consider the nature of "common" forgetting in relation to affirmation. The text culminates with "Beginning(s)," as I consider how rhetorical memory and the Occupy Movement open onto the future, as well as the relation between memory, social movements, nostalgia, and hope.
Redundancy reduction in motor control
(2015-12) Johnson, Leif Morgan; Ballard, Dana H. (Dana Harry), 1946-; Miikkulainen, Risto; Neptune, Richard; Peters, Jan; Stone, Peter
Research in machine learning and neuroscience has made remarkable progress by investigating statistical redundancy in representations of natural environments, but to date much of this work has focused on sensory information like images and sounds. This dissertation explores the notions of redundancy and efficiency in the motor domain, where several different forms of independence exist. The dissertation begins by discussing redundancy at a conceptual level and presents relevant background material. Next, three main branches of original research are described. The first branch consists of a novel control framework for integrating low-bandwidth sensory updates with model uncertainty and action selection for navigating complex, multi-task environments. The second branch of research applies existing machine learning techniques to movement information and explores the mismatch between these methods for extracting independent components and the forms of redundancy that exist in the motor domain. The third branch of work analyzes full-body, goal-directed reaching movements gathered in a novel laboratory experiment, using explicitly measured information about the goal of each movement to uncover patterns in the movement dynamics. Each branch of research explores redundancy reduction in movement from a different perspective, building up a sort of catalog of the types of information present in movements. Redundancy is discussed throughout as an an important aspect of movement in the natural world. The dissertation concludes by summarizing the contributions of these three branches of work, and discussing promising areas for future work spurred by these investigations. More detailed models of voluntary movements hold promise not only for better treatments, improved prosthetics, smoother animations, and more fluid robots, but also as an avenue for scientific insight into the very foundations of cognition.
Structural analysis of the San Simeon fault zone, California : implications for transform tectonics
(2008-12) Coppersmith, Ryan Thomas; Cloos, Mark
The San Gregorio-Hosgri fault zone (SGH), located in the Southern Coast Ranges of California is a 420 kilometer long right-lateral strand of the San Andreas fault system. The San Simeon fault zone is a segment of the SGH that cross-cuts the Nacimiento block which is primarily composed of Franciscan Complex accretionary prism. The Nacimiento block is juxtaposed against the Salinian block, a portion of the Sierra Nevada batholith, by the Nacimiento Fault. The Nacimiento and Salinian blocks have been displaced from the south in a right lateral sense as part of movements within the San Andreas fault system. The San Simeon segment juxtaposes mid-Jurassic Coast Range Ophiolite with Cretaceous Franciscan accretionary prism material. These units are locally overlain by the Oligocene Lospe Formation and Miocene Monterey Formation. To better understand the movement history near the San Simeon fault zone, 33 kilometers of outcrop were examined along the sea-cliff between Ragged Point in the north and Pico Creek to the south. Of this transect, 4 kilometers were buried under marine terrace and sand dunes. No data was collected along 1 kilometer of transect due to the presence of elephant seals. The 28 kilometers of bedrock examined include: 7 kilometers of ophiolitic material, 16 kilometers of Franciscan Complex, 2 kilometers of Lospe Formation, and 3 kilometers of Monterey Formation. In all, 466 minor faults and 254 major (≥0.5 meters exposure length) faults were mapped, and 22 of these major faults juxtapose different formations (n=8) or different units within the ophiolite (n=14). Slickenlines were measured on 517 faults, of which 237 record sense of slip. Of the faults measured, 199 are strike-slip (0-30° rake), 179 are dip-slip (60-90° rake), and 139 are oblique-slip (31-59° rake). Sense of slip indicators record a wide range of movements: 49 right-lateral, 47 left-lateral, 40 normal, 38 reverse, 18 reverse left-lateral, 17 normal left-lateral, 15 normal right-lateral and 13 reverse right-lateral faults. The study transect was divided into structural domains based on fault kinematic patterns. Movement recorded in these data resulted from transform-related faulting. Fault kinematics that differ from the regional N35W strike of the San Simeon fault zone are explained by local variations in movement patterns near the San Simeon fault zone. This variations include local bends and splays off of the fault zone. The Lospe and Monterey Formations that make up 18% of the mapped transect contain 12% of the faults. These formations only experienced transform-related deformation. Faults in the Monterey Formation are parallel to the regional San Simeon fault zone. Faults in the Lospe Formation to the north primarily strike E-W. Ophiolite material contains 25% of the mapped transect and 37% of the faults. These faults primarily indicate right-lateral movement; however, reverse and normal faulting near perpendicular to the regional NW fault trend is common. The Franciscan Complex along 57% of the mapped transect contains 51% of the faults. Faults in the Franciscan Complex and the ophiolite potentially record subduction-related faulting, but evidence from fault kinematics from this study indicates transform-related faulting. Reverse and right-lateral faulting along the splays is indicated. East of San Simeon Point, a 1 kilometer wide San Simeon fault zone is indicated by a cluster of faults between the San Simeon Pier and Broken Bridge Creek, the eastern boundary of the fault zone. The complexity of fault patterns and kinematics in and near the San Simeon fault zone record a long and complex history of transform faulting.
To be moved
(2022-05-04) Hart, Andrea L.; Habeck, Michelle M.; Sanchez, KJ; Bassett Shaw, Alexandra
In this thesis I will examine how I use movement in theatre with the goal of moving the audience emotionally. I will point to the ways I scaffold and build a process that draws from many other practices of physical theatre and remixes them into my unique approach. I will describe how I use ensemble and physical theatre techniques to stage work that generates deep engagement, builds community, and allows for catharsis for both performer and audience. Through looking at my work on several projects at UT, I will show how interacting physically with the actors, audience, and design elements creates connection and expounds on textual and subtextual themes. I will explore physicality on stage from multiple angles. With Ownerless Beasts the audience enacted the physicality as a way of deepening their personal connection and relevance to the text. In Wyeth Airlines and Meek, the actors’ physicality on stage and their interaction with moving design elements conveyed interstitial story elements and character interiority. Murky as Hell uses explicit, extreme physicality including fight and dance choreography to appeal to the audience on an instinctual level and to elicit crowd responses typical to sporting events. With each of these projects, I will describe the function of movement in the piece and seek to assess the effectiveness of that movement as a technique toward emotional responses in the audience. This assessment will allow me to discover areas for revision and improvement in future iterations of these pieces or new work I create. Ultimately, I intend to use this exploration of my craft to codify my rehearsal and staging practices and formalize my approach for future work in the field.
Trial-to-trial dynamics and learning in generalized, redundant reaching tasks
(2010-08) Smallwood, Rachel Fay; Dingwell, Jonathan B.; Abraham, Lawrence D.
Trial-to-trial variability in human movement is often overlooked and averaged out, but useful information can be gleaned on the brain’s control of variability. A task can be defined by a function specifying a solution manifold along which all task variable combinations will lead to goal success – the Goal-Equivalent Manifold (GEM). We selected a reaching task with variables reach Distance (D) and reach Time (T). Two GEMs were selected: a constant D/T and constant D×T. Subjects had no knowledge of the goal prior to the experiments and were instructed only to minimize error. Subjects learned the generalized tasks by reducing errors and consolidated learning from one day to the next, generalized learning from the D×T to the D/T GEM, and had interference of learning from the D/T to the D×T GEM. Variability was structured along each GEM significantly more than perpendicular to it. Deviations resulting in errors were corrected significantly more quickly than any other deviation. Our results indicate that subjects can learn generalized reaching tasks, and the brain exploits redundancy in those tasks.
Walking with the dead : transit, transfer, and transformation in São Paulo's devotion to souls
(2024-02-05) Amoruso, Michael Benjamin; Garrard, Virginia, 1957-; Tweed, Thomas; Graber, Jennifer; Butler, Matthew; Burdick, John
On Mondays—widely known as “the day of the souls” in Brazil—devotees across São Paulo visit cemeteries and Catholic churches to pray to the souls of the dead. But not all practitioners are Catholic, and some are Catholic and something else too. For this reason, observers call the devotion to souls syncretic. While some scholars have criticized the term for positing essential religious forms degraded through mixture, in Brazil, it is part of the vernacular. There it is wedded to a national racial ideology that characterizes Brazilians as a mixture of Portuguese, African, and indigenous peoples. According to this logic, Brazilians mix religions because they themselves are racially mixed. This dissertation considers this devotion to souls as a vector for religious movement. Turning syncretism on its head, it attends to how souls, living and departed, move and mingle. It argues that the devotion to souls is a point of transit and transfer between realms—that is, it connects devotees to departed kin and other souls in the spiritual world—and between religious theologies, identities, and institutions. Put more plainly, it suggests that devotees move across religious boundaries, and that movement changes religious spaces.