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Remote Sensing Of Suspended Sediment, Samantha Jane Lavender Jan 1996

Remote Sensing Of Suspended Sediment, Samantha Jane Lavender

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

A remote sensing near infrared suspended sediment algorithm is developed from first principles and applied to Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imagery (CASI) data flown over the Humber Estuary. Laboratory measurements were used as the basis for the algorithm development, with the resulting spectra indicating that the ideal wavelength for a suspended sediment algorithm is the near infrared. The resulting algorithm took the form of a waveband ratio which was subsequently validated with a semi-analytical water optics model based on the absorption/scattering properties of the optically active constituents. The model was then used to derive a global water-leaving radiance algorithm, which is …

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Outcome Bias In Judgements Of The Quality Of Experimental Designs, Peter Bradon Jan 1996

Outcome Bias In Judgements Of The Quality Of Experimental Designs, Peter Bradon

School of Psychology Theses

This thesis is concerned with the evaluation of experimental design. It reviews design research in general and notes some methodological limitations. The process of experimental design is considered in the light of this review, particularly in terms of the ability of designers to evaluate potential designs. Experiment 1, a prospective study involving the creative design of psychology experiments, reports inadequate assessment of experimental power and little or no evidence of explicit evaluation processes. Experiment 2 assesses the evaluation of existing experimental designs and demonstrates that judgements of the quality of experimental design are influenced by the presence of outcome information …

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Paradigms For The Design Of Multimedia Learning Environments In Engineering, Chrisopher Robert Smith Jan 1996

Paradigms For The Design Of Multimedia Learning Environments In Engineering, Chrisopher Robert Smith

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The starting point for this research was the belief that interactive multimedia learning environments represent a significant evolution in computer based learning and therefore their design requires a re-examination of the underlying principles of learning and knowledge representation. Current multimedia learning environments (MLEs) can be seen as descendants of the earlier technologies of computer-aided learning (CAL), intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) and videodisc-based learning systems. As such they can benefit from much of the wisdom which emerged from those technologies. However, multimedia can be distinguished from earlier technologies by its much greater facility in bringing to the learner high levels of …

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Investigation And Computer Modelling Of The Pore Structure Of Paper And Of Consolidated Pigment Coatings, John Kettle Jan 1996

Investigation And Computer Modelling Of The Pore Structure Of Paper And Of Consolidated Pigment Coatings, John Kettle

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The aim of this project was to enhance the current state of knowledge of the void structure of paper, and pigments used to coat paper. The porosities and pore size distributions of consolidated pigments were measured using mercury porosimetry. Prior to this work, mercury porosimetry was rarely used in this field due to problems associated with the conventional interpretation of mercury porosimetry data. These problems were examined and two limitations of mercury porosimetry were addressed. Firstly, the shrinkage of compressible samples causes an apparent increase in void volume and secondly, large void spaces shielded by smaller ones are not intruded …

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Rurality, Locality And Industrial Change: A Micro-Scale Investigation Of Manufacturing Growth In The District Of Leominster, Richard Yarwood Jan 1996

Rurality, Locality And Industrial Change: A Micro-Scale Investigation Of Manufacturing Growth In The District Of Leominster, Richard Yarwood

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

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The Long Term Psychological Consequences Of War Experiences, Nigel Hunt Jan 1996

The Long Term Psychological Consequences Of War Experiences, Nigel Hunt

School of Psychology Theses

The present study was carried out to examine long-term psychological difficulties associated with war experience. 731 World War Two and Korean War veterans completed a questionnaire supplying biographical details, war-related experience, and present day psychological health. A significant proportion had war-related psychological difficulties, these problems correlating more strongly with war-related intrusive thoughts and avoidance than with actual combat experiences. A subgroup of 25 veterans were selected for depth interview. The results of these interviews supported the finding that many veterans have war-related problems, and that they related more to intrusion and avoidance than to actual experiences. For some veterans these …

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Finite Deformations Of A Generalized Blatz-Ko Material, Yi Wang Jan 1996

Finite Deformations Of A Generalized Blatz-Ko Material, Yi Wang

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

In this dissertation, the finite deformations of a certain class of compressible, isotropic elastic materials are investigated. The class is characterized by a two-parameter family of strain energy functions which includes the well-known Blatz-Ko material model for foam rubbers. The Blatz-Ko material, which has been arrived at by experiment and whose deformations have been studied previously, is obtained from the considered class of materials by specifying one of the two parameters involved in the definition of the class. On employing the semi-inverse method, according to which the form of the solution is given at the outset in terms of functions …

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An Approach For The Development Of Computer Based Best Practice Delivery Mechanisms For Small And Medium Sized Manufacturing Enterprises, Philip Andrew Smart Jan 1996

An Approach For The Development Of Computer Based Best Practice Delivery Mechanisms For Small And Medium Sized Manufacturing Enterprises, Philip Andrew Smart

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Changes in the competitive environment have strongly influenced manufacturing companies to adopt and develop best practice. Best practice is usually imported into companies using the services of consultancy organisations. The use of consultancy services does not guarantee success however, and inadequate results have been obtained by practitioners who have engaged in client-consultant relationships. The inadequacy of these results may be explained by the installation of pre-defined solutions by consultants as opposed to the adaptation and implementation of solutions to meet the specific requirements of practitioners. Tills may in part be explained by a lack of understanding of 'best practice'. Tills …

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The Antioxidant Role Of Α-Tocopherol In The Nutrition Of African Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus Burchell), Remi Thomas Merrett Baker Jan 1996

The Antioxidant Role Of Α-Tocopherol In The Nutrition Of African Catfish (Clarias Gariepinus Burchell), Remi Thomas Merrett Baker

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The role of the lipid-soluble antioxidant α-tocopherol (vitamin E) in the nutrition of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell) has been investigated with respect to effects on growth, certain indices of health and prevention of tissue lipid peroxidation. Although juvenile C. gariepinus were not found to show an immediate dependency on vitamin E for growth, even during rapid growth stages, a minimum requirement of α-tocopherol based on the prevention of hepatic lipid peroxidation was established at 30-40mg α-tocopherol per kg dry diet. This is in line with published values for numerous cultured fish species. Tissue α-tocopherol accretion was found to be …

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The Conservation And Ecology Of The Heath Lobelia, Lobelia Urens L., Janet Mary Dinsdale Jan 1996

The Conservation And Ecology Of The Heath Lobelia, Lobelia Urens L., Janet Mary Dinsdale

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

This programme of research examines the ecology of the threatened perennial Lobelia urens L. (the heath lobelia) which reaches the northern limit of its distribution in the southern coastal counties of England. A survey of the historical evidence of the distribution of the species in England is presented. Restricted to such a small area, L. urens has always been rare in Britain. The six remaining populations were surveyed to describe the phytosociology of communities containing L. urens and the variability of the environmental factors controlling its distribution. L. urens is shown to be a member of rough grass-heath communities dominated …

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Joint Determination Of Demand For Inputs And Choice Of Rice Varieties In Northern Thailand, S Rahman, S Sriboonchitta Jun 1995

Joint Determination Of Demand For Inputs And Choice Of Rice Varieties In Northern Thailand, S Rahman, S Sriboonchitta

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The paper explores the potential of Khao Dawk Mali expansion in Northern Thailand as well as presents estimation of demand for variable inputs and choice of rice varieties as jointly determined by the profit-maximizing farmers. Results reveal that, Khao Dawk Mali provides economic advantage over glutinous varieties and can be conceived as a better alternative crop particularly in areas with inadequate irrigation and water control facilities. Consideration of the possibility of rice variety switching, that is, allowing the movement along a meta-production function, improved the elasticity estimates. A two-stage switching regression procedure which adjusts for selectivity bias is used to …

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Auditory Alarms In The Intensive Care Unit: Experimental And Observational Studies, Christina Meredith Jan 1995

Auditory Alarms In The Intensive Care Unit: Experimental And Observational Studies, Christina Meredith

School of Psychology Theses

There are many problems associated with the number of auditory warnings in hospital environments such as the Intensive Care Unit. As the amount of medical technology used to monitor a patient's condition increases, there is a concomitant increase in the number of auditory warnings. Each piece of equipment has its own alarm and often the sounds used are inappropriate. For example, the sounds are often too loud, too insistent and are irritating to staff, distracting them from other tasks. A further feature of sounds used for auditory alarms is that there is, at present, no agreement between manufacturers on the …

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Computer Models Of Corrosion In Passivating Systems, Simon Sebastian Phillips Jan 1995

Computer Models Of Corrosion In Passivating Systems, Simon Sebastian Phillips

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Analysis of corrosion in marine and acid environments is a complicated task, involving the interaction of thermodynamic, kinetic and geometrical factors. Two mathematical models which predict corrosion behaviour have been implemented for personal computers. The first program uses an assumption of unidirectional current flow to simplify the prediction of potential distributions for systems of essentially cylindrical geometry containing natural seawater-based electrolytes of differing strength. Using experimentally determined electrochemical and flow rig data, experimental and theoretical results were compared. The correlation between the two was shown to be poor, and this is attributed to the unrepresentative nature of the electrochemical data …

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Statistical Aspects Of Fetal Screening, Christine M Donovan Jan 1995

Statistical Aspects Of Fetal Screening, Christine M Donovan

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis discusses the current screening algorithm that is used to detect fetal Down's syndrome. The algorithm combines a model for predicting age related risks and a model for appropriately transformed serum concentrations to produce estimates of risks. A discriminant analysis is used to classify pregnancies as either unaffected or Down's syndrome. The serum concentrations vary with gestational age and the relationship between serum concentrations and gestational age is modelled using regression. These models are discussed and alternative models for these relationships are offered. Concentration values are generally expressed in terms of multiples of the medians for unaffected pregnancies, or …

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Design Practice In The Uk Car Industry: How Coventry University Is Addressing The Needs, Aj Robotham, R Perks, Rm Jones, Gn Blount Jan 1995

Design Practice In The Uk Car Industry: How Coventry University Is Addressing The Needs, Aj Robotham, R Perks, Rm Jones, Gn Blount

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

This paper considers the needs of the UK car industry and identifies specific situations that have serious implications upon design practice. The response at Coventry University to these needs is discussed and our PAKTS model for Design Education introduced.

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Modelling Pore-Level Properties Of Porous Materials, Catherine Jean Ridgway Jan 1995

Modelling Pore-Level Properties Of Porous Materials, Catherine Jean Ridgway

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Pore-Cor is a 1.2 Mbyte Fortran 77 software package, which uses information from mercury porosimetry curves, supported by image-analysed electron micrographs, to generate a three-dimensional representational model of the pore-space within a porous material. As a result of this project, a much-improved version has been produced. The mercury intrusion curves for the simulated structures now converge automatically onto the experimental curves, so reducing the simulation time from several days to less than an hour. A further time economy has been provided by the incorporation of an improved permeability routine, reducing the calculation time from 10 minutes to 30 seconds. Modifications …

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Ecological Management Strategies For Impounded Harbours, Jim Smith Jan 1995

Ecological Management Strategies For Impounded Harbours, Jim Smith

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Long-term physical, chemical and biological monitoring (May 1990 to November 1994) was conducted in order to quantify water and sediment quality changes arising from the impoundment of Sutton Harbour, Plymouth (UK). Spore tracer studies revealed that 95 % water renewal times increased from 45 h to 72 h after impoundment. Semi-diurnal (tidal) salinity variations of circa 5 x10ˉ³ were observed, revealing a mechanism which shunts contaminated estuarine water into the harbour during flood tides. Salinity typically varied from 17 x 10ˉ³ to 34 x 10ˉ³ seasonally, and exhibited strong inverse correlations with total oxidised nitrogen and orthophosphate, demonstrating the riverine …

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Particulate Trace Metals In British Coastal Waters, Mark Richard Williams Jan 1995

Particulate Trace Metals In British Coastal Waters, Mark Richard Williams

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Key processes affecting the transport of particulate trace metals in the coastal waters of the Irish and North Seas have been examined. Sample collection and experimentation was carried out on board R.R-S. Challenger in January 1992 (Irish Sea) and in December 1992 and November 1993 (North Sea). Particulate samples were digested in IM HCI and the concentrations of Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn were determined, together with the 206/207Pb isotopic ratio. In the North Eastern Irish Sea the concentrations of suspended particulate trace metals were affected significantly by tidal processes, such that ebb tides transport particles …

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Experiences Of Women Before And After Bariatric Surgery, Janet Followell Jan 1995

Experiences Of Women Before And After Bariatric Surgery, Janet Followell

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Obesity has reached epidemic proportion in the United States. Results of diet, exercise regimens, and/or medications are discouraging for most individuals; therefore, bariatric surgery is on the rise. Patients undergoing bariatric surgery are overwhelmingly female. There is a plethora of research regarding improvement of co-morbidities, but little focus has been placed on the impact of bariatric surgery on positive as well as negative psychosocial outcomes. The purposes of this study were to explore experiences of women who have undergone bariatric surgery and to gain an understanding of the decision to have surgery. No qualitative research was found regarding individuals' life …

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Temporally Discriminated Operant Responding In Fish, Phil Gee Jan 1995

Temporally Discriminated Operant Responding In Fish, Phil Gee

School of Psychology Theses

In Experiment 1, groups of 10 goldfish and of 10 grey mullet were trained to press a lever for food under a fixed, daily, light cycle. The periods during which responses were reinforced were restricted to two, 1-hr periods in every 24 hrs. These periods occurred at the same time each day. Responses were coordinated with the temporal contingencies of the schedule, and this pattern persisted for a number of days when no responses were reinforced. Experiment 2 demonstrated that a fixed light cycle was not essential for the maintenance of temporal discrimination. Experiment 3 followed a similar procedure to …

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Examination Of The Role Of The Teacher In Early Reading, Rosalind Fisher Jan 1995

Examination Of The Role Of The Teacher In Early Reading, Rosalind Fisher

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

The research presented here considers the role of the teacher of reading in the child's first year of school. It was undertaken in an attempt to find out more about how teachers go about teaching children to read. The research was inductive in design and adopted an ethnographic methodology. The research was undertaken in two parts with five teachers in all providing case studies of practice. In the first part. the roles adopted by three Reception / Year One teachers were examined and the literacy tasks they provided for children were analysed. The results of this study led the researcher …

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Judgement Analysis Of Patient Management: General Practitioners' Policies And Self-Insight., Clare Harries Jan 1995

Judgement Analysis Of Patient Management: General Practitioners' Policies And Self-Insight., Clare Harries

School of Psychology Theses

In this thesis judgement analysis (multiple linear regression techniques) was used to look at both GPs' decisions to prescribe certain types of drug for patients and their judgements of patients' risk of coronary heart disease. All of these were idiographic analyses in that decision making by each GP was modelled separately. Judgement analysis (paramorphically) describes a subject's judgement or decision making policy in terms of the relative influence of different pieces of information. The amount of information subjects could take into account was limited. For all types of judgement or decision doctors were influenced on average by only four of …

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An Exploration And Development Of The Knowledge Foundations Of Social Work, With Particular Reference To Mental Health And Compulsory Admission Assessments, Michael Gerhardt Sheppard Jan 1995

An Exploration And Development Of The Knowledge Foundations Of Social Work, With Particular Reference To Mental Health And Compulsory Admission Assessments, Michael Gerhardt Sheppard

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This submission seeks lo establish the case that this corpus of work makes a significant and original contribution to a central problem for social work as a profession: the status in relation to practice of its formal knowledge base. This issue has generated intensive debate, with some claiming a central place for formal knowledge in practice and others a more peripheral position. The debate is inconclusive, but evidence suggests that social workers do not generally use theory in practice. This has necessitated recourse to a 'subconscious assimilation' thesis, but evidence from the main research studies is inconclusive, because of the …

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Analysis Of The Impact Of East European Change Upon European Community And East European Liner Shipping, Gillian Deborah Ledger Jan 1995

Analysis Of The Impact Of East European Change Upon European Community And East European Liner Shipping, Gillian Deborah Ledger

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

In its attempt to analyse the impact of East European change upon the European Community and East European liner shipping industries this thesis covers an extensive range of highly topical subject areas. The wide range of non uniform information gleaned from the research and the question of spurious objectivity form the main arguments behind the use of qualitative rather than quantitative assessment throughout. The diverse study area also necessitated a narrowing to the case of Polish Ocean Lines' North Atlantic operations to enable a meaningful analysis to be carried out. The early part of the thesis examines the background to …

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The Learn To Travel Project: A Case Study Of Curriculum Innovation In Primary Schools, Peter Mason Jan 1995

The Learn To Travel Project: A Case Study Of Curriculum Innovation In Primary Schools, Peter Mason

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

This thesis is a case study of curriculum innovation in the primary school at a time of major change during the introduction of the National Curriculum. It involved a small number of primary schools, teachers and children. In particular the processes and impacts of the innovation were investigated. Action research methodology (Carr and Kemmis, 1986 McNiff, 1988) was employed and teachers' plans, classroom activities and children's responses were analysed. The research informs us about the nature and effects of opportunities created and constraints imposed by the National Curriculum. The case study indicates that teachers responded to the innovation as if …

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Control Techniques Applied To Integrated Ship Motion Control, Mohammed Tariq Sharif Jan 1995

Control Techniques Applied To Integrated Ship Motion Control, Mohammed Tariq Sharif

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Fins stabilisers are devices which are fitted to the hull of a ship and utilised to ameliorate its rolling motions. They apply a regulated moment about the ship's axis of roll in order to oppose the sea induced disturbances. Recognising their unsurpassed performance, the Royal Navy, since the 1950's, equips all its vessels with fin stabilisers. It can be shown that the rudders, in vessels of appropriate size, also have the potential to be harnessed as roll stabilisers Rudder Roll Stabilisation (RRS) without degrading the ship's course-keeping. Thus creating a more stable platform for the human operators and equipment. The …

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The Flow Of Liquid Polymers Through Fibrous Reinforcements, Patrick Robert Griffin Jan 1995

The Flow Of Liquid Polymers Through Fibrous Reinforcements, Patrick Robert Griffin

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM), at present, is a semi-automated, low volume production process for fibre reinforced plastics with much work being undertaken to achieve full automation and medium volume production. The efficient and consistent impregnation of thermosetting resin into a reinforcement pack are key requirements in the development of RTM. For mass production and automation accurate predictions of mould fill times are critical in order to plan production. At present, the fill times are predicted by assuming Darcy's law and using experimentally determined permeability value. Permeability measurements display a large amount of scatter which affects the accuracy of simulations of …

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Self-Similarity Of The Meddy Family In The Eastern North-Atlantic, Gi Shapiro, W Zenk, Sl Meschanov, Kls Tokos Jan 1995

Self-Similarity Of The Meddy Family In The Eastern North-Atlantic, Gi Shapiro, W Zenk, Sl Meschanov, Kls Tokos

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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The Effect Of Patient Gender On Medical Decision Making: The Influence Of Decisional Stress, Antonietta Di Caccavo Jan 1995

The Effect Of Patient Gender On Medical Decision Making: The Influence Of Decisional Stress, Antonietta Di Caccavo

School of Psychology Theses

This research investigated the influence of patient gender as a nonclinical variable on treatment decisions made in general practice. Responses to exploratory interviews carried out with 34 GPs supported the relevance of decisional stress in general practice. Decisional conflict theory therefore provided a theoretical basis for predicting that gender differences in management would be most likely to occur under conditions of decisional stress. This is because GPs are likely to rely on gender stereotypes to simplify decision tasks as this allows them to selectively search and appraise information. Responses to interview questions regarding the influence of patient gender on decision …

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Cell Division And Migration In A `Genotype' For Neural Networks, A Cangelosi, D Parisi, S Nolfi Nov 1994

Cell Division And Migration In A `Genotype' For Neural Networks, A Cangelosi, D Parisi, S Nolfi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Much research has recently been dedicated to applying genetic algorithms to populations of neural networks. However. While in real organisms the inherited genotype maps in complex ways into the resulting phenotype, in most of this research the development process that creates the individual phenotype is ignored. In this paper we present a model of neural development which includes cell division and cell migration in addition to axonal growth and branching. This reflects, in a very simplified way, what happens in the ontogeny of real organisms. The development process of our artificial organisms shows successive phases of functional differentiation and specialization. …

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