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A Computational Model Of Auditory Feature Extraction And Sound Classification, Martin Coath Jan 2005

A Computational Model Of Auditory Feature Extraction And Sound Classification, Martin Coath

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This thesis introduces a computer model that incorporates responses similar to those found in the cochlea, in sub-corticai auditory processing, and in auditory cortex. The principle aim of this work is to show that this can form the basis for a biologically plausible mechanism of auditory stimulus classification. We will show that this classification is robust to stimulus variation and time compression. In addition, the response of the system is shown to support multiple, concurrent, behaviourally relevant classifications of natural stimuli (speech). The model incorporates transient enhancement, an ensemble of spectro - temporal filters, and a simple measure analogous to …

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Computational Models Of The Thalamocortical Circuit: Sleep Oscillations And Receptive Fields., Nada Yousif Jan 2005

Computational Models Of The Thalamocortical Circuit: Sleep Oscillations And Receptive Fields., Nada Yousif

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

The thalamus is a subcortical structure, which consists of a collection of functionally and morphologically defined nuclei. A subset of these, the sensory nuclei, receive information from the periphery and relay it to the related primary cortical area. Hence the thalamus was traditionaUy assumed to passively relay afferent information. However, the fact that thalamic relay cells receive a large proportion of their sjoiaptic inputs from the cortical cells to which they project, has led to the consensus that there is a more significant thalamic contribution to sensory processing. This thesis investigates the role of the thalamocortical feedback loop using population-level …

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Environmental Assessment Of Biogeochemical Cycling Of Dissolved Organic Carbon (Doc) And Nitrogen (Don) In Natural Waters, El-Sayed A. Badr Jan 2005

Environmental Assessment Of Biogeochemical Cycling Of Dissolved Organic Carbon (Doc) And Nitrogen (Don) In Natural Waters, El-Sayed A. Badr

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Increases in human population and activities have lead to significantly enhanced inputs of carbon and nitrogen fiom both point and difiuse sources to rivers, estuaries, and coastal seas, altering the global carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles. This increased load has had a marked ecological impact globally, with detrimental changes to primary production, conununity stricture and water quality. Understandmg the nature and cycling of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON), significant components of the global carbon and nitrogen cycles, in estuaries will provide better estimates of C and N transport to coastal and ocean waters. This study involves: (1) optimisation …

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Appropriate Practice? : A Study Of The Role And Co-Ordination Of Volunteer Appropriate Adults For Young Suspects, Harriet Louise Pierpoint Jan 2005

Appropriate Practice? : A Study Of The Role And Co-Ordination Of Volunteer Appropriate Adults For Young Suspects, Harriet Louise Pierpoint

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis reports on the first empirical study of the volunteer appropriate adult service for young suspects and the first attempt to determine the extent and nature of volunteer appropriate adult provision nationally. The investigation provides an original insight into the philosophy, role, practice and co-ordination of the appropriate adult. At an empirical level, the investigation fills a gap in the current work on the appropriate adult by considering the use of volunteers in the role, in terms of their practice and co-ordination and the extent and nature of their use. The empirical research is based on a detailed case …

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Using Interactive Software As A Conceptual Tool: An Examination Of Cognition In Improvised Musical Performance, Timothy Thomas Sayer Jan 2005

Using Interactive Software As A Conceptual Tool: An Examination Of Cognition In Improvised Musical Performance, Timothy Thomas Sayer

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Viewing musical improvisation in the light of psychology and cognitive science, this thesis will explicate the rationale behind the development of a software based audiovisual interface for use in improvised solo instrumental performance. The evolution of the performance environment is presented along with the theories and concepts that have shaped its progress. The opening chapter will review the terms of reference used throughout the work and will set a boundary around the area of examination. Chapter two will place musical improvisation within the context of human behaviour and in so doing will draw upon theoretical discourse from the fields of …

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Academic Feminism In Britain And The Usa 1980 And 1998: A Comparative Analysis, Rachel Torr Jan 2005

Academic Feminism In Britain And The Usa 1980 And 1998: A Comparative Analysis, Rachel Torr

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Questions concerning the relationship between knowledge and other factors in the social world are among those that have been central to contemporary academic debates both within and outside of academic feminism. Linking into these debates, this study is guided by one central, underlying question; "What relationships exist between the changing perspectives, themes and contexts of academic feminism in Britain and the USA?" Four hypotheses form the framework for the project These hypotheses are informed by recent debates within feminist theory that appear to emphasise the dominance of poststructuralism in 1990s feminism and literature addressing the social shaping of knowledge. By …

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Performing A Practice: Narrative • Translation • Live Installation • Urban Intervention, Anya Lewin Jan 2005

Performing A Practice: Narrative • Translation • Live Installation • Urban Intervention, Anya Lewin

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Abstract: This is a practice based PhD which follows several different lines of inquiryin order to pursue the ideas and territories which the practical worksthemselves lead to rather than imposing a question which the practical workhad to speak to. The practical works ore as much a port of the submissionas the text and each chapter includes a DVD with either the work, or if itwas site specific, the documentation. The text never seeks to explain thework but to expand and contextualise it. Although each chapter of thedocument is specific to a particular inquiry - mistranslation throughsubtitling, representations of the self …

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Broken Contract : The Autobiographical Performance Or Producing 'Self' In The Act Of Writing A Life, Joshua Leo Sofaer Jan 2005

Broken Contract : The Autobiographical Performance Or Producing 'Self' In The Act Of Writing A Life, Joshua Leo Sofaer

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Taking as its starting point the definition of autobiography proposed by Philippe Lejeune in his essay 'The Autobiographical Contract', this study uses performance-based research to instigate a number of theoretical propositions which aim to test the boundaries of what is understood as autobiography. While the area under investigation is tightly focussed on the margins of autobiographical practices, examples and case studies range across literature (including J. M. Barrie, Marcel Proust and W. G. Sebald), performance practice (including Marina Abramovic, Tim Etchells and Zhu Yu), popular culture (including Blind Date, Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe) and philosophy (including Giorgio Agamben, Gilles …

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Writings, Readings And Not Writing: Poems, Prose Fiction And Essays, John Hall Jan 2005

Writings, Readings And Not Writing: Poems, Prose Fiction And Essays, John Hall

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This submission of published work consists of a number of different modes of writing that interrelate as the concerns of a poet, essayist and teacher. There are twenty-seven separate publications, presented under six categories headings: (A) poems, including prose-poems, written for the page; (B) prose-fiction, represented through a single work; (C) visual poems; (D) enquiries into aspects of a general poetics, including questions about 'situatedness' or 'implicatedness', genres of discourse and their related modalities, poetics and grammar, and a poetics of reading; (E) critical and celebratory readings, mostly of contemporary poets and poems; (F) meditations on institutionalised divisions and modalities …

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The Role Of Attachment To Obesity And Psychopathology, Gretchen Moran Marsh Jan 2005

The Role Of Attachment To Obesity And Psychopathology, Gretchen Moran Marsh

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Obesity and overweight have reached epidemic proportions in the United States (WHO, 1988). Despite the various treatment programs, the problem is getting worse, more people are becoming obese, and it is estimated that 90-95% of those who lose weight will regain it (Legro, 2000). Current treatment programs fail to take into consideration emotional variability within this population. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between attachment, BMI, and psychopathology. Obese participants (N = 101) seeking treatment for weight loss completed 3 questionnaires: 1) Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised, 2) Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-Ill, and 3)Questionnaire on Eating …

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Carhampton Magistrate District In Relation To The 1856 County And Borough Police Act : A Case For Non-Statutory Policing, Janet Susan Setterington Jan 2005

Carhampton Magistrate District In Relation To The 1856 County And Borough Police Act : A Case For Non-Statutory Policing, Janet Susan Setterington

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

The 1856 County and Borough Police Act had a pronounced effect on the criminal statistics in Somerset. Assize and Quarter Session committal statistics dropped across the county as a whole and this fall was reflected in six of seven individual magistrate areas studied. The seventh, the Carhampton magistrate district, showed no reduction in recorded crime. The records, in fact, suggest that the area was either subject to little criminal activity, or that people were not reporting offences. The lack of petty session records in Somerset prevented their inclusion in this study. In this thesis a number of criteria are applied …

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Collage Music : The Development Of A Language Of Studio Composition, Paul Lewis Mumford Jan 2005

Collage Music : The Development Of A Language Of Studio Composition, Paul Lewis Mumford

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis is intended to amplify, support and provide historical and aesthetic contexts for the concerns which I have explored and developed in my creative practice as a composer. It is accompanied by three audio CDs containing six compositions which map the development of my language of studio music, together with a further two CDs containing earlier compositions and a sixth CD containing a musical reference compilation which supports the text. The thesis is divided into the following six sections: Introduction "a brief account of my background as a composer including a summary of the composition portfolios of my previous …

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Influence Of Nationality On The Interpretation Of Ireland's Tourism Destination Imagery, Catriona Murphy-Underhill Jan 2005

Influence Of Nationality On The Interpretation Of Ireland's Tourism Destination Imagery, Catriona Murphy-Underhill

Plymouth Business School Theses

This thesis investigates the influence of nationality on the interpretations of the tourism destination imagery of Ireland, drawing in particular on the views of tourists travelling from Britain. It involved an assessment of the influence (if any) of the nationality of the tourist and the nationality of the place on pre- and post-visit interpretations of Ireland's perceived and projected images, as well as an evaluation of the implications of such influences on Ireland's image as a tourist destination. By means of empirical research applied to the same sample of tourists travelling from Britain to Ireland via Shannon airport, the factors …

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The Influence Of Ethics And Social Responsibility On Grocery Shopping Behaviour In The Uk, Juliet Emma Memery Jan 2005

The Influence Of Ethics And Social Responsibility On Grocery Shopping Behaviour In The Uk, Juliet Emma Memery

Plymouth Business School Theses

Consumption as an aspect of most people's lives in affluent societies is widely acknowledged as having become increasingly important (Newholm, 2005). We consume more, and consume more often, than previous generations (Durning, 1992) meaning the actions we make and the decisions we take have greater impact than ever before on the world we inhabit. For many their involvement with consumption goes beyond the act of purchase (Oilman, 1998) to include complex ethical dimensions. The relationship between ethics and social responsibility (E&SR) and consumption choices has received growing attention over recent years, resulting in the topic of 'sustainable consumption' becoming a …

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International Freight Transport Multimodal Development In Developing Countries: The Case Of Bangladesh, Dewan Mohammad Zahurul Islam Jan 2005

International Freight Transport Multimodal Development In Developing Countries: The Case Of Bangladesh, Dewan Mohammad Zahurul Islam

Plymouth Business School Theses

An efficient transport system is essential for an efficient supply chain to facilitate international trade. To utilise all cheaper resources, such as labour in Bangladesh, companies receive supplies from one coxintry (e.g. in Hong Kong), produce the products in another country, and sell them in other countries (e.g. European countries). Thus the production and consumption has turned into a global activity with transport filling the gaps among them. To perform the transport function a carrier may require the use of more than one mode, the so-called multimodal transport. Multimodal transport, an integrated systems approach, can be defined as the most …

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An Evaluation Of Desktop Video Conferencing For One-To-One Tutorial Support In Mathematics, Brian Joseph Walker Jan 2005

An Evaluation Of Desktop Video Conferencing For One-To-One Tutorial Support In Mathematics, Brian Joseph Walker

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The growth in Flexible and Distributed Learning will, it is believed, lead to a need for a more innovative and flexible approach to the way support is offered to students. This study which was conducted with students at a Further Education College looks at the effectiveness of using Desktop Video Conferencing (DVC) to provide support to students studying mathematics at a number of different levels. The research design adopted the concept of triangulation with three different approaches being used. The first strand of the methodology was the collection of statistical data for all students re-sitting GCSE mathematics to develop a …

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A Biased Competition Computational Model Of Spatial And Object-Based Attention Mediating Active Visual Search, Linda Jane Lanyon Jan 2005

A Biased Competition Computational Model Of Spatial And Object-Based Attention Mediating Active Visual Search, Linda Jane Lanyon

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

A computational cognitive neuroscience approach was used to examine processes of visual attention in the human and monkey brain. The aim of the work was to produce a biologically plausible neurodynamical model of both spatial and object-based attention that accounted for observations in monkey visual areas V4, inferior temporal cortex (IT) and the lateral intraparietal area (LIP), and was able to produce search scan path behaviour similar to that observed in humans and monkeys. Of particular interest currently in the visual attention literature is the biased competition hypothesis (Desimone & Duncan. 1995). The model presented here is the first active …

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Investigation Of The Multi-Scale Variability Of Beach Profiles, Ying Li Jan 2005

Investigation Of The Multi-Scale Variability Of Beach Profiles, Ying Li

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This work focuses on the multi-scale variability of beach profiles. This includes the spatial variability over a range of scales of surveyed beach profiles and the complex temporal variability of beach elevation at given positions along the profile. The aims of this work are to characterize the variability of beach profiles in both time and space, to identify the predominant spatial and temporal patterns of beach profile changes, to identify the extreme profile changes due to infrequent storms/storm groups, to understand the nature of beach profile change in depth, to quantify the non-stationarity of beach profile and to provide insight …

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Pulsed Field Magnetometry For High-Speed Characterisation Of Rare Earth Magnets, Robin Nathan Cornelius Jan 2005

Pulsed Field Magnetometry For High-Speed Characterisation Of Rare Earth Magnets, Robin Nathan Cornelius

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Pulsed Field Magnetometers (PFM) offer large advantages over conventional magnetic characterising equipment for high speed measurement of modern permanent magnet materials. A lack of systematic design procedure and many perceived problems has prevented adoption of the technique. This thesis examines in detail the system components of a PFM, the perceived problems and presents design methodology for critical system components and data processing methods to recover accurate and repeatable material characteristics. A method for the design of position insensitive gradient coils is presented and compared to a conventional design. By using an inverse Biot-Savat simulation, the coupling from each turn of …

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Modelling Learning Behaviour Of Intelligent Agents Using Uml 2.0, Hossam Allam Jan 2005

Modelling Learning Behaviour Of Intelligent Agents Using Uml 2.0, Hossam Allam

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis aims to explore and demonstrate the ability of the new standard of structural and behavioural components in Unified Modelling Language (UML 2.0 / 2004) to model the learning behaviour of Intelligent Agents. The thesis adopts the research direction that views agent-oriented systems as an extension to object-oriented systems. In view of the fact that UML has been the de facto standard for modelling object-oriented systems, this thesis concentrates on exploring such modelling potential with Intelligent Agent-oriented systems. Intelligent Agents are Agents that have the capability to learn and reach agreement with other Agents or users. The research focuses …

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Cross-Shore Morphodynamics Of Coarse Grained Beaches And Beach/Structure Interaction: Numerical Modelling And Large Scale Measurements, John Lawrence Jan 2005

Cross-Shore Morphodynamics Of Coarse Grained Beaches And Beach/Structure Interaction: Numerical Modelling And Large Scale Measurements, John Lawrence

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Coastal defence systems are implemented in many countries for the stability of coastlines and prevention of erosion and flooding. The maintenance of such schemes includes the use of 'soft' engineering techniques, which require accurate predictions of sediment transport and profile change. This thesis describes the development of a numerical model for coarse-grained crossshore transport for use in such schemes. The model combines a hydrodynamic model based on weakly non-linear Boussinesq equations, coupled to a sediment transport module and a morphology change module. Studies have been performed on the hydrodynamic and sediment models to assess the performance of the components for …

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Delay Hierarchy Propagation Model, Ehab Mohammed Soliman Jan 2005

Delay Hierarchy Propagation Model, Ehab Mohammed Soliman

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Construction projects are always exposed to delay. Research has shown that most projects encounter delays and this problem is a global one. Previous research related to delays in construction projects have been dedicated to measuring and ranking the direct delays that have occurred. These types of delay are past delays and have already affected many aspects of the project's performance. This type of research is of the reactive type and handles delays after they have happened. The objective of this research is to model the construction project delays that can be used to predict the level of delays that the …

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Artificial Intelligence-Based Approach To Modelling Of Pipe Organs, Brahim Hamadicharef Jan 2005

Artificial Intelligence-Based Approach To Modelling Of Pipe Organs, Brahim Hamadicharef

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The aim of the project was to develop a new Artificial Intelligence-based method to aid modeling of musical instruments and sound design. Despite significant advances in music technology, sound design and synthesis of complex musical instruments is still time consuming, error prone and requires expert understanding of the instrument attributes and significant expertise to produce high quality synthesised sounds to meet the needs of musicians and musical instrument builders. Artificial Intelligence (Al) offers an effective means of capturing this expertise and for handling the imprecision and uncertainty inherent in audio knowledge and data. This thesis presents new techniques to capture …

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Concerning Swash On Steep Beaches, Adrian Pedrozo Acuna Jan 2005

Concerning Swash On Steep Beaches, Adrian Pedrozo Acuna

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This investigation focuses on the prediction of sediment transport and beach evolution in coarse-grained beaches. This includes observed morphological changes on both gravel and mixed beaches from experimental investigations at the Large Wave Flume (GWK) in Hanover. Germany. The recorded measurements show that the majority of morphology change took place adjacent to the zone of wave-breaking, close to the shoreline in both cases. Based on these observations, the discussions are carried out with psirticular regard to the observed tendency for onshore transport axid profile steepening in the swash zone. The aim is to identify the cross-shore hydrodynamics and sediment transport …

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Multi-Agent Fitness Functions For Evolutionary Architecture, Richard Holden Jan 2005

Multi-Agent Fitness Functions For Evolutionary Architecture, Richard Holden

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The dynamics of crowd movements are self-organising and often involve complex pattern formations. Although computational models have recently been developed, it is unclear how well their underlying methods capture local dynamics and longer-range aspects, such as evacuation. A major part of this thesis is devoted to an investigation of current methods, and where required, the development of alternatives. The main purpose is to utilise realistic models of pedestrian crowds in the design of fitness functions for an evolutionary approach to architectural design. We critically review the state-of-the-art in pedestrian and evacuation dynamics. The concept of 'Multi-Agent System' embraces a number …

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Perceived Similarity Between Complex Sounds: The Contribution Of Acoustic, Descriptive And Categorical Features, Kirsteen M Aldrich Jan 2005

Perceived Similarity Between Complex Sounds: The Contribution Of Acoustic, Descriptive And Categorical Features, Kirsteen M Aldrich

School of Psychology Theses

The thesis identifies some of the most salient acoustic and descriptive features employed in listeners' representations of sounds focussing on similarity judgements. A range of descriptive data (including word pair and imagery/word use) was collected alongside acoustic measures for the sound stimuli employed. The sounds employed were initially all abstract in nature but environmental sounds were included in later experiments. A painwise comparison task and a grouping task were employed to collect (dis)similarity data for multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses. These provided visual output that represented the sounds' perceived similarities. Following participants' similarity judgements correlational techniques identified which of …

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Training And Dual Processes In Human Thinking, Helen Louise Neilens Jan 2005

Training And Dual Processes In Human Thinking, Helen Louise Neilens

School of Psychology Theses

The aim of the research presented in this thesis was to investigate the effects of trainin- on reasoning and decision making performance. In Experiment Ia study is reported which examined the relationships between performance on a variety of reasoning tasks and measures of individual differences. Tasks employed were documented in the literature for their differential responding according to heuristic and analytic processes. The reasoning tasks to be utilised in the training studies were also validated. In Chapter 4, two statistical training studies are reported which demonstrate that analytic responding on everyday reasoning problems can be increased after instruction on the …

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Action Comprehension: Deriving Spatial And Functional Relations., P Bach, G Knoblich, Tc Gunter, Ad Friederici, W Prinz Jan 2005

Action Comprehension: Deriving Spatial And Functional Relations., P Bach, G Knoblich, Tc Gunter, Ad Friederici, W Prinz

School of Psychology

A perceived action can be understood only when information about the action carried out and the objects used are taken into account. It was investigated how spatial and functional information contributes to establishing these relations. Participants observed static frames showing a hand wielding an instrument and a potential target object of the action. The 2 elements could either match or mismatch, spatially or functionally. Participants were required to judge only 1 of the 2 relations while ignoring the other. Both irrelevant spatial and functional mismatches affected judgments of the relevant relation. Moreover, the functional relation provided a context for the …

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Construction And Validation Of A Bovine Innate Immune Microarray, L Donaldson, T Vuocolo, C Gray, Y Strandberg, Et Al Jan 2005

Construction And Validation Of A Bovine Innate Immune Microarray, L Donaldson, T Vuocolo, C Gray, Y Strandberg, Et Al

Peninsula Medical School

involved in the responses of cattle to disease challenges. This knowledge may allow the development of strategies that exploit these genes to enhance resistance to disease in an individual or animal population. Results The Bovine Innate Immune Microarray developed in this study consists of 1480 characterised genes identified by literature searches, 31 positive and negative control elements and 5376 cDNAs derived from subtracted and normalised libraries. The cDNA libraries were produced from 'challenged' bovine epithelial and leukocyte cells. The microarray was found to have a limit of detection of 1 pg/µg of total RNA and a mean slide-to-slide correlation co-efficient …

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Weak Links And Scene Cliques In Shakespeare's Plays, M Hudson, J Stiller Jan 2005

Weak Links And Scene Cliques In Shakespeare's Plays, M Hudson, J Stiller

School of Psychology

Forms of narrative such as drama allow for the transmission of information to large audiences. The drama therefore has to contain structural elements that are easily accessible to the viewer. The structures of 10 plays by William Shakespeare were studied and shown to exhibit small world properties, in that any node (character) in a network is connected to any other node by only a few intermediate steps. It is suggested that the number of characters that are present within each scene reflect similar numbers to those of observed human support cliques. This might reflect possible cognitive limits, as when there …

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