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Points On My Curve To Find: A Journey Around The Self To Find The World, Morgaine Gaye Jan 2004

Points On My Curve To Find: A Journey Around The Self To Find The World, Morgaine Gaye

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

My creative practice has undergone a chronological series of transformations that has entailed experiments in several modes of self-expression. This has included the writing of prose-text, lyrics, song-writing, musical performance as a vocalist, work in film-making and visual documentation and work as a visual artist. In a life that has so far spanned living for substantial periods in different countries and cultures, my creative practice has been strongly influenced by that international and inter-cultural existence. Whilst on the one hand, different cultures nevertheless manifest 'languages' of communality with each other (especially in non-verbal communication, global 'signs, signals' and 'symbols'), on …

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Self(Ish)-Fusion Thinking And Practice- A (Mainly) Visual Investigation Of Poly-Modal Art-Making, Pauline Amos Jan 2004

Self(Ish)-Fusion Thinking And Practice- A (Mainly) Visual Investigation Of Poly-Modal Art-Making, Pauline Amos

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

If it could be seen that a 'body of training' has a crucial impact on a creative practice, my own history of 'training' would be difficult to trace within any specific discipline or mode of self-expression. I have been 'trained' as a visual artist, actor, performance-artist, and to some extent, musician/sonic performer. This coexistence of modalities with associated meta-praxis, has in fact created a set of parallel dimensions embodied within a collective of theories as well as practices. On the one hand, this collective of practices has involved a view of myself (and what I make) as a form of …

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Melting Into The Margins: The Dis-Appearance Of Normality, Ruth Marie Heholt Jan 2004

Melting Into The Margins: The Dis-Appearance Of Normality, Ruth Marie Heholt

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Melting into the Margins intervenes in the academic and media debate about normality: the white nuclear family and white middle class men. This thesis traces the emergence of the contemporary discourse which suggests that the normal is being displaced into the margins, away from the centre, 'disproved' as a lived condition and shown to be ‘untrue’ as an ideological concept and examines the implications and effects of this discourse. A new discourse of the normal is deemed necessary by the academic disciplines of masculinity and family studies because they argue that we live in a new age of tolerance, equality, …

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Experiments With The Activated Presence, Joanna Louise Mayes Jan 2004

Experiments With The Activated Presence, Joanna Louise Mayes

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis considers how the making of artwork can enhance or develop an experience of being present. This is done through researching what it means to be present within the moment and how this can be shared with audience. An exploration and analysis of this way of working is provided, both in terms of the research process and artwork outcomes made as a consequence of it. The entanglement of process with outcome is central, as is the interrelatedness between personal research and artworks presented to audience. Activated presence refers to a way of researching, making and presenting performative artwork; artwork …

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German-Polish Cross-Border Co-Operation And The Politics Of Transgression, Ulrich Best Jan 2004

German-Polish Cross-Border Co-Operation And The Politics Of Transgression, Ulrich Best

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

The thesis looks at German-Polish relations and the changing practices of cross-border cooperation in the 1990s. It reviews theories of border studies and argues that, in spite of all change, border studies is part of a structure of power. The author analyses the concepts of transgression and regression in order to describe the current constitution of states, borders and practice. The example of German-Polish relations shows how this constitution has changed throughout history, from a clear delineation of the Other to increasingly European discourse, especially after 1989. Cross-border co-operation, the author argues, has become integrated into the structures of power, …

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The Distribution Of Attitudinal Attachment To The Male Breadwinner Role: A Quantitative Study Of The Plymouth Travel-To-Work Area, Suzanne E. Chamberlain Jan 2004

The Distribution Of Attitudinal Attachment To The Male Breadwinner Role: A Quantitative Study Of The Plymouth Travel-To-Work Area, Suzanne E. Chamberlain

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis is concerned with men's attitudes towards the breadwinner role. A representative sample of 330 men, aged between 17 and 84, and drawn from the Plymouth Travel-To-Work Area, participated in the study by completing a postal questionnaire. The aim of the study was to explore attachment to the breadwinner role, and to discover if greater or lesser attachment exists among particular socio-demographic or socio-economic clusters. The quantitative approach and the application of a random sample distinguish this study from those in the literature concerned with 'men and masculinities'. The study applies an empirical perspective to overview the trajectory of …

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Designing The Performative Object: A Study In Designing Mindful Interaction Through Artefacts, Kristina Niedderer Jan 2004

Designing The Performative Object: A Study In Designing Mindful Interaction Through Artefacts, Kristina Niedderer

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis investigates the potential of design to intentionally mediate social interaction in ethical (mindful) ways. The subject of the study has evolved from observations and reflections on my own practice. In using the drinking vessel to explore the mediation of human face-to-face interaction through the artefact, the question arose whether some objects can influence interaction more actively than others. In particular, the question was whether and how an artefact can stimulate the user's behaviour by means of its function, and whether this stimulation can cause mindful reflection and interaction. The aim was to understand better the characteristics of this …

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Bird Song As A Basis For New Techniques And Improvisational Practice With The Baroque Flute, Stephen Preston Jan 2004

Bird Song As A Basis For New Techniques And Improvisational Practice With The Baroque Flute, Stephen Preston

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Subsequent to a period of training as a flautist, I ultimately specialised professionally on the baroque flute. Consequently, a significant part of my research for a PhD was practice-led. My later career; concerned with dance and choreography, represented a widening and diversification of my interest in music in particular, and the allied arts in general. This was (and continues to be) paralleled, however, with a substantial research-interest in aspects of the performance of music and its potential interconnection(s) with modalities of speech. However, my own research commenced with a strong desire to discover new performance techniques on the baroque flute. …

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'Missing Youth' : A Discourse Analysis Of Policy Formulation On 'Child Prostitution', Lyvinia Elleschild Jan 2004

'Missing Youth' : A Discourse Analysis Of Policy Formulation On 'Child Prostitution', Lyvinia Elleschild

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Contemporary policy critics note that the concept of `youth' is of limited use and is `disappearing as a meaningful social category' (Jeffs and Smith 1999: 46). This thesis argues that although the concept of `youth' is flawed, without `youth' young people may be infantilised in policy formulation through being represented and managed as children. In order to argue that the concept of `youth' is both meaningful and useful recent policy formulation on `child prostitution' will be analysed. Throughout the 1990s Barnardo's, the Children's Society and radical feminists campaigned to redefine acts of prostitution by under-eighteens as `child sexual abuse', and …

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Towards A New Theory Of Social Perception: The Effects Of Sex And Sexuality On Rape Attributions, Louise Farbus Jan 2004

Towards A New Theory Of Social Perception: The Effects Of Sex And Sexuality On Rape Attributions, Louise Farbus

School of Psychology Theses

Heterosexual male victims and female perpetrators tend to be omitted from rape perception research as well as legal and everyday notions of rape. Therefore this thesis examined the effects of sex and sexuality on rape attributions. Criticisms of social representations theory provided the rationale for a new theory of social perceptions and for combining methods normally associated with opposing epistemologies and ontological beliefs. A grounded theory derived from ten interviews revealed double standards in the way that men and women are labelled for the same behaviours, whereby female-perpetrated male rape was considered less serious than male-perpetrated rape. Discourse analysis of …

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Factors Influencing The Accuracy Of Task Completion Time Estimates, Kevin Edward Thomas Jan 2004

Factors Influencing The Accuracy Of Task Completion Time Estimates, Kevin Edward Thomas

School of Psychology Theses

Whilst considerable research has found that people tend to underestimate their task completion times (e.g., Buehler et al., 1994), factors that might influence the accuracy of temporal predictions have received little empirical treatment. The research presented in this thesis identified two distinct factors that mediated time estimation accuracy and bias. One factor was task duration, whereas the other factor was the person’s prior experience of the task. There was evidence that having prior experience of performing all or a substantial part of the same task enabled participants to more accurately estimate its duration. Additionally, predictions were more accurate when participants …

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Trust In Client-Service Provider Relationships, Sven Markus Huth Jan 2004

Trust In Client-Service Provider Relationships, Sven Markus Huth

Plymouth Business School Theses

In the age of rapidly changing and competitive environments, companies are forced to build strong and long-lasting relationships with their customers. Over the last decades, marketing theory and practice developed a plethora of attempts to describe relevant factors, underlying correlations and complex constructs, explaining the relationship between buyer and seller. For several disciplines, which are part of, describe or influence the relationship between buyer and seller such as a) marketing, b) customer purchase behaviour and c) sales management and personal selling, it appears that trust has a strong impact and therefore is an important variable for building long-lasting relationships. Although …

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Gats Impacts On Entry Modes And Defensive Marketing Strategies In The Egyptian Banking Sector, Mansour Salman Mohamad Abdel-Maguid Lotayif Jan 2004

Gats Impacts On Entry Modes And Defensive Marketing Strategies In The Egyptian Banking Sector, Mansour Salman Mohamad Abdel-Maguid Lotayif

Plymouth Business School Theses

This research examines the effects of GATS agreements, both on entry modes and defensive marketing strategies in the Egyptian banking sector. The research population is the Egyptian banking sector, employing a total of 83179, from which a representative sample (equal to 800 responses) was selected. As the research aims are diversified, this sample was divided into two main groups i.e. local banks and foreign branches, investigated using different questionnaires. The latter population includes all the foreign branches working in the Egyptian market; the former includes all banks working in Egypt regardless of their ownership status. Four objectives have been pursued …

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Comparative Study Of Logistics Services In The Container Liner Shipping Market In The U.K. And South Korea, Ki Soon Hwang Jan 2004

Comparative Study Of Logistics Services In The Container Liner Shipping Market In The U.K. And South Korea, Ki Soon Hwang

Plymouth Business School Theses

In line with the dramatic changes of business environment, certain liner shipping companies have claimed that what they are providing is a 'logistics service' rather than a 'traditional shipping service'. It was found that there is a shortage of discussion in existing literature related to the liner shipping industry regarding the introduction of logistics service and no empirical study on how the operation of such a logistics service has been perceived by shippers. The prime objective of the research is to provide a practical clarification to understanding an operation of logistics service in the liner shipping market. The Delphi technique …

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User Authentication And Supervision In Networked Systems, Paul Steven Dowland Jan 2004

User Authentication And Supervision In Networked Systems, Paul Steven Dowland

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis considers the problem of user authentication and supervision in networked systems. The issue of user authentication is one of on-going concern in modem IT systems with the increased use of computer systems to store and provide access to sensitive information resources. While the traditional username/password login combination can be used to protect access to resources (when used appropriately), users often compromise the security that these methods can provide. While alternative (and often more secure) systems are available, these alternatives usually require expensive hardware to be purchased and integrated into IT systems. Even if alternatives are available (and financially …

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Affordance, Attention And Laterality, Lari Vainio Jan 2004

Affordance, Attention And Laterality, Lari Vainio

School of Psychology Theses

This thesis examines object-guided actions. Recently, micro-affordance effects have shown that a visual object affords actions automatically. These effects are observed when the grasp type (precision and power grasp) is facilitated by size (small and large) of the categorized object (the object-size effect), or when right or left hand responses are facilitated by object orientation (the object-orientation effect). It has been shown elsewhere that attentional mechanisms have a vital role in visually guided movements. In addition, visually guided movements have associated with hemispheric lateralization. Thus, the central focus of the thesis was the role of different components of attention (location-based-, …

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Advanced User Authentification For Mobile Devices, Nathan Clarke Jan 2004

Advanced User Authentification For Mobile Devices, Nathan Clarke

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Recent years have witnessed widespread adoption of mobile devices. Whereas initial popularity was driven by voice telephony services, capabilities are now broadening to allow an increasing range of data orientated services. Such services serve to extend the range of sensitive data accessible through such devices and will in turn increase the requirement for reliable authentication of users. This thesis considers the authentication requirements of mobile devices and proposes novel mechanisms to improve upon the current state of the art. The investigation begins with an examination of existing authentication techniques, and illustrates a wide range of drawbacks. A survey of end-users …

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Deconstructing The Tower Of London : Resolution, Alternatives And Executive Function, Hassina Carder-Gilbert Jan 2004

Deconstructing The Tower Of London : Resolution, Alternatives And Executive Function, Hassina Carder-Gilbert

School of Psychology Theses

Although widely employed as an executive task, the performance demands of the Tower of London task (TOL) are not well understood. The aim of this Thesis is to determine what TOL measures and seven studies are included that illustrate its performance demands. Much of the work is experimental and TOL is explored via a novel verification paradigm in which participants make speeded judgements about whether a demonstrated move is optimal or suboptimal. The deconstruction of the task to the level of the individual move indicated that the number of moves until a disk was placed in its goal position (resolution) …

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Vision-Based Urban Navigation Procedures For Verbally Instructed Robots, Theocharis Kyriacou Jan 2004

Vision-Based Urban Navigation Procedures For Verbally Instructed Robots, Theocharis Kyriacou

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The work presented in this thesis is part of a project in instruction based learning (IBL) for mobile robots were a robot is designed that can be instructed by its users through unconstrained natural language. The robot uses vision guidance to follow route instructions in a miniature town model. The aim of the work presented here was to determine the functional vocabulary of the robot in the form of "primitive procedures". In contrast to previous work in the field of instructable robots this was done following a "user-centred" approach were the main concern was to create primitive procedures that can …

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Classifying And Responding To Network Intrusions, Maria Papadaki Jan 2004

Classifying And Responding To Network Intrusions, Maria Papadaki

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Intrusion detection systems (IDS) have been widely adopted within the IT community, as passive monitoring tools that report security related problems to system administrators. However, the increasing number and evolving complexity of attacks, along with the growth and complexity of networking infrastructures, has led to overwhelming numbers of IDS alerts, which allow significantly smaller timeframe for a human to respond. The need for automated response is therefore very much evident. However, the adoption of such approaches has been constrained by practical limitations and administrators' consequent mistrust of systems' abilities to issue appropriate responses. The thesis presents a thorough analysis of …

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Heated Tooling For Aerospace Composites Manufacture, Losif Progoulakis Jan 2004

Heated Tooling For Aerospace Composites Manufacture, Losif Progoulakis

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The increasingly high capital investment required for large autoclaves, ovens and facilities for the processmg of large composite components creates a number of financial constraints for the development and manufacturing of larger composite aircraft products. This thesis has investigated the use of heated tooling as an alternative to the use of autoclave and oven curing. A design and development methodology for heated tools has been proposed while a number of heated tooling options have been identified and described. Three representative heated tool options using heater mats, electro-conductive textiles and wire heater elements have been evaluated. The curing capability of a …

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Guidance And Control Of An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Wasif Naeem Jan 2004

Guidance And Control Of An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Wasif Naeem

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

A cooperative project between the Universities of Plymouth and Cranfield was aimed at designing and developing an autonomous underwater vehicle named Hammerhead. The work presented herein is to formulate an advance guidance and control system and to implement it in the Hammerhead. This involves the description of Hammerhead hardware from a control system perspective. In addition to the control system, an intelligent navigation scheme and a state of the art vision system is also developed. However, the development of these submodules is out of the scope of this thesis. To model an underwater vehicle, the traditional way is to acquire …

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Quality Assurance Of Cervical Smear Slide Inspection Using A Novel Eye-Tracking Technique, Lee Roy Coombes Jan 2004

Quality Assurance Of Cervical Smear Slide Inspection Using A Novel Eye-Tracking Technique, Lee Roy Coombes

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

A novel objective quality assurance system for smear slide screening is investigated in this thesis. A method of data validation was developed that compares data from an eye tracked image display, machine image colour texture analysis and expert judgements in a statistical manner to identify salient areas of cervical cytological images. These data are used to construct screener performance profiles, which have been compared to screener experience. The experimental methodology is described and how the screener performance profile is constructed. Results from a study of 10 screeners, checkers and pathologists are presented showing predicted trends of human performance. Relations to …

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Visualization Techniques For The Analysis Of Neurophysiological Data, Martin Alan Walter Jan 2004

Visualization Techniques For The Analysis Of Neurophysiological Data, Martin Alan Walter

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

In order to understand the diverse and complex functions of the Human brain, the temporal relationships of vast quantities of multi-dimensional spike train data must be analysed. A number of statistical methods already exist to analyse these relationships. However, as a result of expansions in recording capability hundreds of spike trains must now be analysed simultaneously. In addition to the requirements for new statistical analysis methods, the need for more efficient data representation is paramount. The computer science field of Information Visualization is specifically aimed at producing effective representations of large and complex datasets. This thesis is based on the …

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Speech Quality Prediction For Voice Over Internet Protocol Networks, Lingfen Sun Jan 2004

Speech Quality Prediction For Voice Over Internet Protocol Networks, Lingfen Sun

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

IP networks are on a steep slope of innovation that will make them the long-term carrier of all types of traffic, including voice. However, such networks are not designed to support real-time voice communication because their variable characteristics (e.g. due to delay, delay variation and packet loss) lead to a deterioration in voice quality. A major challenge in such networks is how to measure or predict voice quality accurately and efficiently for QoS monitoring and/or control purposes to ensure that technical and commercial requirements are met. Voice quality can be measured using either subjective or objective methods. Subjective measurement (e.g. …

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A Model For Predicting The Performance Of Ip Videoconferencing, Licha Mued Jan 2004

A Model For Predicting The Performance Of Ip Videoconferencing, Licha Mued

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

With the incorporation of free desktop videoconferencing (DVC) software on the majority of the world's PCs, over the recent years, there has, inevitably, been considerable interest in using DVC over the Internet. The growing popularity of DVC increases the need for multimedia quality assessment. However, the task of predicting the perceived multimedia quality over the Internet Protocol (IP) networks is complicated by the fact that the audio and video streams are susceptible to unique impairments due to the unpredictable nature of IP networks, different types of task scenarios, different levels of complexity, and other related factors. To date, a standard …

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Early Detection Of Dementia Using The Human Electroencephalogram, Geoffrey T Henderson Jan 2004

Early Detection Of Dementia Using The Human Electroencephalogram, Geoffrey T Henderson

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Improved life expectancy has led to a significant increase in the number of people in the high-riskage groups that will develop Alzheimer's disease and other dementia. Efforts are being made to develop treatments that slow the progress of these diseases. However, unless a sufferer is diagnosed in the early stages the treatments cannot give the maximum benefit. Therefore, there isan urgent need for a practical, decision support tool that will enable the earliest possible detectionof dementia within the large at-risk population.Current techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) that are used to diagnose andassess neurological disorders require specialist equipment and …

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Performance Characterisation Of Ip Networks, Bogdan Ghita Jan 2004

Performance Characterisation Of Ip Networks, Bogdan Ghita

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The initial rapid expansion of the Internet, in terms of complexity and number of hosts, was followed by an increased interest in its overall parameters and the quality the network offers. This growth has led, in the first instance, to extensive research in the area of network monitoring, in order to better understand the characteristics of the current Internet. In parallel, studies were made in the area of protocol performance modelling, aiming to estimate the performance of various Internet applications. A key goal of this research project was the analysis of current Internet traffic performance from a dual perspective: monitoring …

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Maerl Grounds Provide Both Refuge And High Growth Potential For Juvenile Queen Scallops (Aequipecten Opercularis L.), Na Kamenos, Pg Moore, Jm Hall-Spencer Jan 2004

Maerl Grounds Provide Both Refuge And High Growth Potential For Juvenile Queen Scallops (Aequipecten Opercularis L.), Na Kamenos, Pg Moore, Jm Hall-Spencer

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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Simulated Effects Of Climate Change On The Production Pattern Of Winter Cauliflower In The Uk, Dce Wurr, Jr Fellows, Mp Fuller Jan 2004

Simulated Effects Of Climate Change On The Production Pattern Of Winter Cauliflower In The Uk, Dce Wurr, Jr Fellows, Mp Fuller

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Models of the phases of juvenility, curd induction and curd growth, driven by temperature, were developed for Roscoff, Walcheren and Roscoff× Walcheren winter cauliflower types and were linked to enable prediction of the time of curd maturity. Because some crop types in Cornwall (west of UK); Lincolnshire (east of UK) responded differently to weather, separate models were developed for each location. These models were then applied to each cauliflower type at four locations in the UK (Cornwall and Pembrokeshire (west); Kent and Lincolnshire (east)) using four climate impact emissions scenarios and three time-slices (2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100). In all forecasts …

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