Ian Muller - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ian Muller

What role can, or do, children’s literature play in development communication? Recently, neotonou... more What role can, or do, children’s literature play in development communication? Recently, neotonous childlike curiosity and creativity has become a research and development strategy and a trendy corporate culture for companies like Google. Including children in decision making and in the search for development solutions – PDC & PR4D – is also being advocated by the U.N. and Plan International especially with regards to issues that affect children. This paper will explore how children’s books open spaces for dialogic communication with children by examining how we define them, how we speak about them, how we speak for them, how we speak to them and how they may talk back through children’s texts. The aim is to relate elements of traditional storytelling to modern forms of dialogic communication and, by extension, to development goals: “helping adults understand children’s issues through their lens” (Commissioner for Children, Tasmania).

This dissertation argues that the history of anti-communism in English Canada between 1945 and 19... more This dissertation argues that the history of anti-communism in English Canada between 1945 and 1967 is more diverse and complicated than traditionally acknowledged. Often dispersed throughout the scholarship as elements of other Cold War topics, including espionage, state surveillance, and policing, anti-communism is the central subject of this investigation. A series of case studies are used to analyze individual encounters with the state and civic engagement with the domestic threat of communism. The unique politico-cultural approach of this dissertation will bolster Canada’s Cold War historiography by investigating both public and private manifestations of anti-communism. The intersections of public safety, the arts, and national identity all contribute to the multifaceted and complex nature of anti-communism in English Canada. Communism was consistently viewed as a public safety concern that produced a governmental response with contrasting political and policing priorities. Additionally, educational campaigns were initiated by business associations such as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and stark public safety warnings were issued by activists Marjorie Lamb, Ron Gostick, and Patrick Walsh. This study stresses the importance of the arts for interpreting and engaging with the perceived domestic threat of communism. Whether through the politics of a Paul Robeson musical performance, the writing of Ted Allan, a radio drama penned by Reuben Ship, or the nationalist emphasis of the National Film Board or Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, communities of cultural influence explored the boundaries of ideological exploration and depicted the consequences of suspected subversion. Notably, this research also reveals a nuanced expression of Canadian national identity influenced by perceptions of anti-communism. Subtle Canadian anti-communism was overshadowed by the conspicuous imagery of aggressive American communist witch-hunts, reckless accusations, and a pervasive security apparatus. The absence of a visible Canadian version of “McCarthyism” enabled the development of a narrative that Canadian anti-communism was less punitive than in the United States. The validity of this idea, with respect to actual American policies, is not debated here. Rather, it is the existence of this perception, observable through different interactions with American anti-communism, that has significant influence on the constructed notion of a unique Canadian national identity. Recognizing and examining these particular intersecting patterns contributes a unique politico-cultural analysis of anti-communism in Canada that further advances existing historiography

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 2018

University of Toronto Quarterly, 2016

This thesis is a qualitative applied cultural analysis of Folkets Park, Malmö: specifically Do It... more This thesis is a qualitative applied cultural analysis of Folkets Park, Malmö: specifically Do It Yourself (DIY) creative theatrical performance as a form of playing. During the summer of 2012, over 1,000 quantitative Social Return on Investment surveys were collected for the city to assess the park's 'value' to visitors compared to the municipal operating costs. In an effort to compliment this study, I will address the question of 'value' as worth, as benefit and as utility and what this means to the various stakeholders: municipal policymakers, the community and economic interests. Using interviews, photos and focus groups as ethnographic methods to compliment the surveys, I review comparative ideologies and policies towards urban commons and public needs and usage. Ethnographic sensorial descriptions of the park space and activities during the summer of 2012 will hopefully also serve as a documentary tool for posterity as well. What is the value of an urban park? Playful performing creates trust, place-attachment, and symbolic-ownership of space, social cohesion and a sense of community. The balances of prescriptive and implied rules of society are played with on the playfield created by the structures of capital, government policy and the public. The social capital which is created, like real capital, is being reinvested in the new knowledge and innovation economy by the city of Malmö and the region of Skåne. Analyzing usage and municipal policy, past and present, will help answer the question of what 'value' is in this context and address the future of urban parks and commons.

American Review of Canadian Studies, 2014

Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, 2000

2014 IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence in Ensemble Learning (CIEL), 2014

2014 IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence in Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM), 2014

In molecular biology, it is estimated that there is a correlation between the secondary structure... more In molecular biology, it is estimated that there is a correlation between the secondary structure of a protein and its functionality. While secondary structure prediction is ultimately possible in wet lab, determining a correlation with the functionality is a hard task which can be facilitated by a computational model. In that context, this paper presents an automated algorithm for the visualization and classification of enzymatic proteins with the aim of examining whether the functionality is correlated to the secondary structure. To that end, up-to-date protein data was acquired from publicly accessible databases in order to construct their secondary structures. The resulting data were injected into a tailored version of a Kohonen Self-Organizing Map (SOM). Part of the work was to determine a proper way of reducing large secondary structures to a common length in order to be able to cope with the constant dimensionality requirement of SOMs. The final contribution consisted in the labeling of the trained nodes. Eventually, we were able to get a visual intuition and some quantified assessment on the nature of this correlation.

Abstract: Extracted from text... 6 Civil Engineering| October 2006 THE COnTRACT FOR the Municipal... more Abstract: Extracted from text... 6 Civil Engineering| October 2006 THE COnTRACT FOR the Municipal Infrastructure Development zone 1, Phase 1 for the Coega IDz was started in January 2005 and is due for completion in October 2006, four months ahead of the ...

Abstract: Extracted from text... 4 Civil Engineering| October 2006 LAKE MzIngAzI in the Mzingazi ... more Abstract: Extracted from text... 4 Civil Engineering| October 2006 LAKE MzIngAzI in the Mzingazi River is located in the area of the City of uMhlathuze and supplies water to users in the Richards Bay area. The lake has a catchment area of approximately 171 km2 and is ...

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between the oil industries of Canada and the U... more Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between the oil industries of Canada and the United States in the years leading up to the 1973 oil crisis. Shortly after the Second World War it became apparent that American domestic production would not sustain that ...

The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth, 2014

This book examines the character and legality of nation-states' threats of force under internatio... more This book examines the character and legality of nation-states' threats of force under international law, drawing its title from Article 2(4) of the United Nations (UN) Charter: "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations." The article's wording seems straightforward enough: most statesmen recognize unlawful uses of force when they see them, and hundreds of legal works are available to help dissect any areas of ambiguity. But identifying prohibited threats of force-as legally serious as actual uses, according to the author-forms the question at the heart of this book. How should lawyers and statesmen identify and respond to illegal threats of force under the UN Charter? Astride the intersection of war and diplomacy, this short and readable volume is the author's revised dissertation in international law. The first and second of the book's seven chapters examine threats of force from 1648 to the present, determining how international law dealt with them (or mostly did not). Francis Grimal's argument is that coerced states reacting to threats of force have lost their independence and are thus damaged by them. This perspective is a key assumption for the theoretical analysis that follows. Grimal contends that the failure to deal with threats of force is a serious risk to international peace and stability, frequently neglected not because of a lack of enforcement mechanisms but because of the imprecise wording and interpretation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. What is needed, he believes, is an objective categorization of legal and illegal threats, separate from historical or geopolitical contexts and known to all parties involved. Hence, he sets forth to create one. Turning first to legal precedent, Grimal scrutinizes cases of the International Court of Justice as well as several national courts to find appropriate guidelines. Through a series of case studies in chapter three, he searches in vain for judgments that explain exactly what type of state threats of force violate the UN Charter. Yet statesmen do seem to recognize such threats when they see them. Chapter four assesses the UN's record, including dozens of General Assembly and Security Council resolutions responding to threats of force

Palliative Medicine, 2009

Drafts by Ian Muller

Muller Ian, 2019

This project concept mainly entails controlling plastic waste and turning them into a more useful... more This project concept mainly entails controlling plastic waste and turning them into a more useful end product that doesn't have negative effects to the environment, humans and marine life. With plastics being non-decomposing, they tend to cause more harm to the ecosystem than the positive outcome they offer in return. In addition to the huge available population, massive job opportunities will be offered thus a reduction in unemployment and crime rates. Around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, while up to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastics produced are designed for single use purposes. From the 1950s to the 1970s, only a small amount of plastic was produced, and as a result, plastic waste was relatively manageable. The mass of plastic detritus present in the oceans is so enormous that it is called the "7th continent". At this rate, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050.