Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Plymouth

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 11371 - 11400 of 11814

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

Imaginary Relish And Exquisite Torture: The Elaborated Intrusion Theory Of Desire, David J. Kavanagh, Jackie Andrade, Jon May Jan 2005

Imaginary Relish And Exquisite Torture: The Elaborated Intrusion Theory Of Desire, David J. Kavanagh, Jackie Andrade, Jon May

School of Psychology

The authors argue that human desire involves conscious cognition that has strong affective connotation and is potentially involved in the determination of appetitive behavior rather than being epiphenomenal to it. Intrusive thoughts about appetitive targets are triggered automatically by external or physiological cues and by cognitive associates. When intrusions elicit significant pleasure or relief, cognitive elaboration usually ensues. Elaboration competes with concurrent cognitive tasks through retrieval of target-related information and its retention in working memory. Sensory images are especially important products of intrusion and elaboration because they simulate the sensory and emotional qualities of target acquisition. Desire images are momentarily …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

Neurological Complications Following Extrusion Of Sodium Hypochlorite Solution During Root Canal Treatment., R. Witton, K. Henthorn, M. Ethunandan, S. Harmer, P. A. Brennan Jan 2005

Neurological Complications Following Extrusion Of Sodium Hypochlorite Solution During Root Canal Treatment., R. Witton, K. Henthorn, M. Ethunandan, S. Harmer, P. A. Brennan

Peninsula Dental School

AIM: To report the presentation and management of two cases with neurological complications secondary to the extrusion of sodium hypochlorite solution into the facial soft tissues during root canal treatment. SUMMARY: The clinical features, with particular emphasis on nerve deficit following inadvertent extrusion of sodium hypochlorite, are discussed and its management highlighted. Early and aggressive treatment is advocated following such incidents in order to reduce potentially serious complications. KEY LEARNING POINTS: *Neurological sequelae can follow inadvertent hypochlorite extrusion. *Early recognition may avert a potentially more serious outcome. *Active hospital treatment including intravenous steroids and antibiotics is recommended.

Go to article

Hcv-Specific Cellular Immune Responses In Subjects Exposed, But Uninfected By Hcv, Mk Metzner, A Houldsworth, A Demaine, E Kaminski, Me Cramp Jan 2005

Hcv-Specific Cellular Immune Responses In Subjects Exposed, But Uninfected By Hcv, Mk Metzner, A Houldsworth, A Demaine, E Kaminski, Me Cramp

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

Hcv-Specific Cellular Immune Responses In Subjects Exposed To But Uninfected By Hcv, M Metzner, A Houldsworth, Ag Demaine, E Kaminski, Me Cramp Jan 2005

Hcv-Specific Cellular Immune Responses In Subjects Exposed To But Uninfected By Hcv, M Metzner, A Houldsworth, Ag Demaine, E Kaminski, Me Cramp

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

Phytoplankton Responses As Indicators Of Exposure To Toxicants, Rosangela Aparecida Devilla Jan 2005

Phytoplankton Responses As Indicators Of Exposure To Toxicants, Rosangela Aparecida Devilla

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The use of antifouling booster biocides on boats and ships is of environmental concern as the leached products can affect non-target, highly susceptible phytoplanktonic organisms. Appropriate assessment of whether or not estuarine/marine phytoplankton are potentially at risk should include a combination of approaches, investigating toxic effects for both single species and natural phytoplankton communities and ideally include field verifications. This research addresses the application and comparison of methods to investigate toxic responses to four antifouling biocides Irgarol 1051®, diuron, Sea-Nine 211® and zinc pyrithione in laboratory-based experiments with single species and using natural phytoplankton assemblages. The applicability of photosynthetic parameters …

Go to article

The Use Of Prebiotics To Improve Fish Health, Michelle Stone Jan 2005

The Use Of Prebiotics To Improve Fish Health, Michelle Stone

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The aim of this project was to analyse critically the potential use of prebiotics in aquaculture. Initially, the intestinal microflora of rainbow trout, raised in the aquarium facilities at CEFAS, Weymouth, was investigated using both conventional bacteriological (culture, BiOLOG) and molecular (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), 16S rRNA gene sequencing) techniques. Dominant colony types were identified as Aeromonas sobria, Carnobacterium piscicola and Clostridium gasigenes. A series of in vitro growth curve studies was carried out using a selection of intestinal bacteria and known fish pathogens, to determine the ability of intestinal bacteria to utilise the potential prebiotic candidates inulin, lactulose …

Go to article

Changes In The Biogeographic Distribution Of The Trochid Gastropods Osilinus Lineatus (Da Costa) And Gibbula Umbilicalis (Da Costa) In Response To Global Climate Change: Range Dynamics And Physiological Mechanisms, Nova Mieszkowska Jan 2005

Changes In The Biogeographic Distribution Of The Trochid Gastropods Osilinus Lineatus (Da Costa) And Gibbula Umbilicalis (Da Costa) In Response To Global Climate Change: Range Dynamics And Physiological Mechanisms, Nova Mieszkowska

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

There is an urgent need to understand the effects of climatic variability on species' distributions. This thesis uses an integrative approach to identify and explain the changes in geographical distribution of two rocky intertidal, warm water species of trochid gastropod, Osilinus lineatus (da Costa) and Gibbula umbiiicalis (da Costa) that have occurred since the onset of rapid climate warming in the mid-1980s. The potential physiological mechanisms causing the range shifts are examined, and the effects on population dynamics quantified. I resurveyed sites in Britain and northern France previously surveyed by Southward & Crisp (1950s), Hawthorne (1960s) and Kendall, Williamson & …

Go to article

Ammonia Emissions From Slurry Applications To Land, Thomas Henry Misselbrook Jan 2005

Ammonia Emissions From Slurry Applications To Land, Thomas Henry Misselbrook

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Over the last 10-15 years there has been increasing concern within Europe as to the effects of ammonia emission and subsequent deposition to sensitive ecosystems, causing eutrophication and soil acidification. Transboundary transport of emissions has led to legislation at EC level with member states being given emission ceiling targets. Research has therefore aimed at quantifying national emissions, modelling emission processes and developing mitigation strategies. Agriculture accounts for >80% of total UK ammonia emission, therefore an accurate and robust model is required to estimate emissions from this sector. National inventory methodology has improved as the database of emission measurements and survey …

Go to article

The Role Of Biological Interactions In Modifying The Effects Of Climate Change On Intertidal Assemblages, Phillipa Jane Moore Jan 2005

The Role Of Biological Interactions In Modifying The Effects Of Climate Change On Intertidal Assemblages, Phillipa Jane Moore

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The geographic distribution of most species is expected to alter as a consequence of global climate change. Predictions for the extent of these range shifts are frequently based on anticipated changes in temperature using a 'climate envelope' approach, which oversimplifies predictions because it does not consider interactions with other physical and biological factors. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how biological interactions modulate species responses to climate change. On many rocky shores in the NE Atlantic the interaction between limpets, barnacles and canopy forming macroalgae have an important role in structuring rocky shore communities. In particular, limpets control …

Go to article

Environmental Impacts Of Technological Change In Bangladesh Agriculture: Farmers' Perceptions, Determinants, And Effects On Resource Allocation Decisions, S Rahman Jan 2005

Environmental Impacts Of Technological Change In Bangladesh Agriculture: Farmers' Perceptions, Determinants, And Effects On Resource Allocation Decisions, S Rahman

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

This article measures the impact of modern technology adoption in raising farmers' environmental awareness and the impact of farmers' environmental awareness on resource use by utilizing survey data from 21 villages in three agro‐ecological regions of Bangladesh. The econometric analysis is based on the application of the Tobit model explaining farmers' environmental awareness in the first stage and a profit function examining environmental awareness and resource use relationships in the second stage. Results reveal that the “level” and “duration” of involvement with modern technology raises farmers' environmental awareness, and that farmers' environmental awareness reduces resource use including chemicals. Farmers, who …

Go to article

Geography, Citizenship And Volunteering: Some Uses Of The Higher Education Active Community Fund In Geography, Richard Yarwood Jan 2005

Geography, Citizenship And Volunteering: Some Uses Of The Higher Education Active Community Fund In Geography, Richard Yarwood

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Voluntary work with local communities has been advocated as beneficial for geography students, higher education institutions and the public. In England, the Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF) has recently been established by the Government to encourage staff and students in higher education to undertake voluntary work in local communities. This paper reports on the use of HEACF funding to develop voluntary work projects for geography students at the University of Plymouth. It examines the student experience of voluntary working and concludes that it helps students to develop as both geographers and active citizens in their local communities.

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

Design Of An Automated Flow Injection-Chemiluminescence Instrument Incorporating A Miniature Photomultiplier Tube For Monitoring Picomolar Concentrations Of Iron In Seawater, Ar Bowie, Ep Achterberg, S Ussher, Pj Worsfold Jan 2005

Design Of An Automated Flow Injection-Chemiluminescence Instrument Incorporating A Miniature Photomultiplier Tube For Monitoring Picomolar Concentrations Of Iron In Seawater, Ar Bowie, Ep Achterberg, S Ussher, Pj Worsfold

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Go to article

First Prev Next Last