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Synchronization of networked staring radar with low phase noise photonic oscillators
Get PDFNetworked radar systems provide benefits in terms of extended coverage, resiliency and improvements to target tracking and classification. The remote sensor nodes provide additional challenges in distributing the local oscillator signal simultaneously to both the transmitter and receiver. This leads to increased requirements for timing synchronization as well as a reliance on stable and accurate oscillators due to the lack of inherent phase noise suppression. The focus of this work is to apply methods to synchronize two static L-band staring radar systems, and is achieved via signal processing methods as well as the use of disciplined oscillator configurations.
The use of digital signal processing techniques for synchronization provides adaptability and simplicity to the radar hardware. Novel methods have been developed with the subject of radar networks operating in an urban environment in mind. The range profile correlation method provides time offset correction for the radar and the multiple reference phase correction (MRPC) method corrects residual phase errors, both improving synchronization accuracy and suppressing phase noise. Both these techniques make use of alternative reference sources in the urban environment.
Alternatively, the use of atomic clocks provides a solution which is not reliant of external reference sources. This work is part of the development towards the quantum enabled network radar and reports on the use of a new Fabry-Perot cavity based, microwave photonic common-mode configuration for supplying disciplined oscillators to each node. This method has been applied to the network, achieving synchronization accuracy of 14 ps over the period of 600 s. Use of this photonics technology can have impacts on synchronization of various networked sensor systems
Exploring collaboration from the perspectives of culturally deaf parents and hearing school staff teaching children of deaf adults: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
Get PDFResearch indicates that parental involvement in their children’s education has a positive impact on a child’s academic and social-emotional development. Culturally Deaf parents, defined as individuals who self-identify with the culturo-linguistic model of Deafness, experience difficulties accessing their children’s education. However, there has been little published research exploring Deaf parents’ engagement in schools. The current research aimed to explore the lived experiences of Deaf parents and hearing school staff of collaboration and to identify the barriers and facilitators to effective collaboration in this population. Three Deaf parents and one hearing teacher participated in online individual semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis so that individual participants’ experiences could be explored and valued within their own right in addition to identifying themes evident across participants. Data indicated that participants’ experiences of collaboration were generally difficult and frustrating, and suggestions for how collaboration could be improved related to attitudinal changes and the implementation of systems and policies. These findings were discussed alongside exploration of relevant literature, following which a methodological review was provided and implications for professional practice and future research were considered
The morpho-mechanical and neuromuscular properties of the Triceps surae muscle-tendon unit in individuals with Achilles tendinopathy and the effects of exercise
Get PDFAchilles tendinopathy (AT), whether non-insertional (NIAT) or insertional (IAT), is a debilitating overuse injury causing significant functional impairments in both athletic and general populations. However, these are two distinct disorders with different underlying pathophysiology and treatments. NIAT is the most prevalent tendinopathy in the lower limb. Nevertheless, its aetiology remains unclear, and it is likely to be multifactorial. This thesis consists of 6 Chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of tendon structure and function, with a particular emphasis on the Achilles tendon. Subsequently, the chapter explores relevant topics about Achilles tendinopathy and the assessment of the morpho-mechanical and neuromuscular properties of the muscle-tendon unit. Chapter 2 presents the results of a systematic review showing that individuals with NIAT and IAT exhibit neuromechanical changes indicated by differences in the triceps surae muscle’s neuromuscular properties and the Achilles tendon’s morpho-mechanical properties. Additionally, exercise-induced mechanical tendon loading showed inconsistent results in modifying the morpho-mechanical properties of the Achilles tendon in individuals with NIAT. Chapter 3 revealed the results of an observational study showing a contraction-intensity dependent relationship between motor unit firing rate properties of the triceps surae muscles and the morpho-mechanical parameters of the Achilles tendon in asymptomatic individuals. One of the most relevant findings is that individuals with increased tendon stiffness showed a lower triceps surae muscle discharge rate at low target forces. Chapter 4 exhibited the outcomes of an observational study demonstrating that individuals with NIAT have load-dependent changes in triceps surae motor unit firing rate properties. Specifically, an increase in the discharge rate and a decrease in the derecruitment threshold of the lateral gastrocnemius muscle were observed in individuals with NIAT compared to controls during isometric plantarflexion contractions at high forces. Furthermore, it was observed that the contribution of the lateral gastrocnemius to the net plantarflexion force is altered in individuals with NIAT. Chapter 5 presents the results of a randomised controlled trial showing that a 6-week torque feedback intervention based on eccentric or concentric exercises induces load-dependent changes in the triceps surae motor unit firing properties in individuals with NIAT. Additionally, these exercise interventions effectively decreased pain, improved function, and increased tendon stiffness in individuals with NIAT. Moreover, our findings indicate that both exercise interventions produced similar triceps surae motor unit firing rate adaptations compared to controls, suggesting a normalisation of these properties after the intervention in individuals with NIAT. Finally, Chapter 6 highlights the most relevant findings of this thesis, explores the limitations of the studies and suggests possible future investigations
In what ways do feminist, Islamic, and development discourses compete, converge, and conflict in contemporary constructions of gender and gender justice?
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In What Ways Do Feminist, Islamic, and Development Discourses Compete, Converge, and Conflict in Contemporary Constructions of Gender and Gender Justice?
ABSTRACT
This thesis examines how an Islamic/Muslim Faith-Based Organisation in the UK, specifically Islamic Relief, engaged in the discourse on contemporary constructions of gender and gender justice during the ‘turn to religion’ period within International Development.
Methodology
A case study approach was employed, primarily based on interview data and analysis of Islamic Relief’s Gender Justice Policy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to prioritise the agentic experiences of a small group of policy-level faith actors/religious subjects. The research focused on participants' lived experiences and the organisational journey to develop a Gender Justice Policy by mobilising and operationalising religious knowledge to formally integrate gender considerations into their organizational context.
Theoretical Framework
A magpie approach was used, drawing on a range of critical theories and thinkers to create a set of analytical tools for an ascending analysis of power, as advocated by Michel Foucault. The theoretical framework includes:
Foucault: His concept of power dynamics from below was central to the analysis.
Said’s Orientalism: This discourse was explored throughout the thesis.
Spivak’s Epistemic Violence: Considered in the context of gender and knowledge production.
Butler’s Queer Theorization: Challenged gender binaries.
Hemmings’s Feminist Storytelling: Used to uncover the microscale mechanisms in the case study.
Findings
The study traces how exogenous and endogenous discourses within the Islamic, feminist, and development traditions often repeated, reproduced, and re-orientalised constructions of gender and gender justice praxis. These discourses surfaced and resurfaced within the case of Islamic Relief.
Contribution
Focusing on the micro-level analysis of power and experiences within one case, this thesis offers a detailed examination of the relations of power/knowledge and resistance. By exploring the agentic experiences of faith actors/religious subjects, it suggests that during the turn to religion era, the mechanism of Orientalist knowledge production about the ‘Other’ was transferred to faith actors in development, conceptualised as re-orientalism. The study demonstrates how competing, converging, and conflicting discourses play out and argues that these micro-mechanisms interact with macro and global mechanisms of ‘technologies of domination,’ indicating that orientalism remains unfinished within International Development
Reworking local materials in twentieth-century anglophone postcolonial poetry
Get PDFThis thesis examines the ways in which twentieth-century postcolonial poets rework local materials such as renewal myths, cosmological worldviews, spiritual belief systems, and literary traditions. It investigates how poets adapt these materials to challenge colonial discourses, redefine cultural heritage, and negotiate their position in a modern, globalising world. Taking a case study approach, I analyse the nature of the poets’ inclusion of local materials and its significance in three collections: Arun Kolatkar’s Jejuri (1976), Seamus Heaney’s North (1975) and Christopher Okigbo’s Heavensgate (1962). I argue that reworkings do not diminish the cultural specificity of the local. Instead, they generate new local materials – ones in which the local bears the imprint of engagement with contemporary, modern, and global contexts. By taking this approach to the local, this thesis offers to postcolonial poetry studies a more careful and attuned reading practice than the hybridity model which tends to misread or efface the agency of the local in its relationship to the colonial when countering reductive nativist interpretations, which, in their turn, confine the poets’ evocation of the local to a mere revival of a precolonial past
Investigating late Miocene coccolith geochemistry
Get PDFThis study focuses on tiny marine organisms called coccolithophores, which produce calcium carbonate shells that store important information about past ocean conditions. Our research investigates how these shells show vital effects- differences in their carbon isotope composition that are influenced by the biology of the organism and its environment during the late Miocene, a period of significant environmental change. Scientists have suggested that these isotopic changes were driven by declining carbon dioxide (CO2) levels during this time. We used a new technique to separate coccoliths of different sizes and analyze their carbon and oxygen isotopic signatures, greatly increasing the amount of data available for this period. This provided a much more detailed timeline of changes compared to previous studies. Our findings suggest that the vital effects seen in coccolith carbon isotopes are more closely related to global productivity trends, particularly during the Late Miocene Biogenic Bloom, rather than to shifts in CO2 levels, which remained relatively stable
Species distribution models and island biogeography: challenges and prospects
Get PDFThe distinct characteristics of oceanic islands—restricted geographic boundaries, remoteness, lack of competitors and reduced habitat diversity—have made them global hotspots of endemism. However, these factors also mean that many island species have small populations, low genetic diversity and reduced competitive abilities. The arrival of humans to these systems exposed their fragile vulnerability, causing numerous species extinctions, many more so than on mainland environments.
In addition to their inherent vulnerability, oceanic islands are especially susceptible to environmental change due to their geographic isolation and limited physical space. Unlike many continental species, island species, especially endemics, face restricted opportunities to adapt through migration or by tracking suitable climatic conditions, given their confined distribution and isolation by surrounding aquatic barriers.
To better understand and predict species loss and range shifts in response to global change, this thesis focuses on Species Distribution Models (SDMs). It addresses the limitations of existing SDM frameworks, which are generally designed for continental species with extensive occurrence data, by tailoring the models to the unique conditions of island environments. The thesis focuses on improving SDM applications through the use of high-resolution environmental descriptors (≤500m), given that traditional SDM approaches often rely on coarse climatic variables, which have been shown to be inadequate predictors of island species distributions in many cases. However, the use of high-resolution data raises important questions about how such predictors interact with the often-limited occurrence data available for island species.
To address these challenges, the thesis focused on the Revillagigedo Volcanic Archipelago, using it as a 'model archipelago' to provide insights relevant to a wider range of islands. Plant species were chosen as the focal taxon due to their critical ecological roles and usefulness as conservation indicators, with plant presence/absence data collected through field sampling. The thesis had two main objectives: to enhance SDM applications on islands through the use of high-resolution environmental descriptors, and to assess the robustness of fine-scale predictors, particularly in tropical island environments. The emphasis on tropical island environments was due to both the location of the model archipelago and, more broadly, the rich, yet understudied biodiversity of these regions. This research highlighted the potential of SDMs to deepen our understanding of ecosystems that, despite their global biodiversity significance, is often limited due to insufficient data.
Key findings include the identification of (1) minimum data requirements at very high resolutions (30m) for accurate presence-only species distribution modelling on islands, and (2) strategies to balance data limitations with pseudo-absence data to optimise predictability and accuracy. The research also investigates the impact of spatial inaccuracies in occurrence records, finding that while these inaccuracies are relatively less important for the SDMs of widespread species, they introduce greater uncertainty for range-restricted species; however, these uncertainties were found to be mitigated by the use of an adequate methodological framework.
The thesis further proposes methods for acquiring microclimatic descriptors that remain useful even in regions with sparse meteorological data, and provides strategies for validating these descriptors in future studies. The most informative analytical scales for these microclimatic data, for both predicting and projecting SDMs, and taking into consideration the spatial differences between training and projection areas, are identified.
The final empirical chapter of the thesis applies the lessons learned from the previous chapters in regard to the optimal implementation of SDMs in islands to analyse the impacts of future climate change on island species using a microclimatic approach. The results of this analysis confirm that endemic species' ranges are disproportionately threatened in most global biodiversity hotspots analysed, and that the current instruments to categorise species risks (e.g., the IUCN Red List) are not able to effectively identify the vulnerability of (island) species to climate change. This research marks a significant advancement in our understanding of island species' responses to climate change at microclimatic scales and offers a crucial baseline for developing more targeted mitigation strategies in different archipelagos around the world
Solidarities on the move: transborder theatre in Europe since 2015
No full textBetween the 2015 Long Summer of Migration and the Covid-19 pandemic, as border violence and far-right nationalism surged, theatre projects across Europe developed critical-creative spaces where regimes of exclusion could be documented, questioned, and reimagined. This thesis charts the transnational trajectories of four such performances: The Jungle (2017/2018), Phone Home (2016), Azimut Dekolonial (2019), and The Walk (2021). Drawing on scripts, live performances, recordings, set designs, promotion materials, interviews, and reception discourses, I trace an increasingly insistent shift of emphasis: departing from traditional humanitarian frameworks, these performances direct the critical gaze back onto Europe, its governments, and its institutions, inviting audiences to question the legitimacy of migration policies and border categories.
The four productions follow diverse journeys across and beyond Europe. Termed here ‘transborder theatre’, these expansive, collaborative projects respond to changing political moments, working with different styles and theatrical languages – from immersive stages to digital metatheatre, from walk-through archive installations to itinerant street puppetry. I show how these forms enable the performances to symbolically re-introduce Europe’s externalised and unacknowledged border contexts into the immediate time-space. Using interactive, synchronous, and self-referential elements, these theatrical encounters work to implicate audiences and performers in seemingly remote histories of migration and exclusion.
The performances gradually undermine representations that centre on the figure of the refugee/migrant as a humanitarian spectacle, a universalist archetype, or an object of politico-juridical suspicion. Instead, they turn towards more historicised and decolonial critiques of European border regimes, involving perspectives from artists, researchers, activists, and legal experts. By imbuing performances with historical, political, and legal specificity, Europe’s new transborder stages offer imaginative ways to reconceptualise contemporary languages of transnational solidarity
Patients’ perspectives of online group CBT therapy for people with bipolar disorder- a qualitative analysis.
Get PDFThe first chapter of this thesis is a meta-analysis exploring the all-cause and cause-specific excess mortality rates in bipolar disorder (BD). The second chapter reports on a reflexive thematic analysis (RTA), which reports participants with bipolar disorders' perceptions and experiences of using online CBT group therapy. The meta-analysis is an updated analysis replicating a previous paper exploring mortality rates among BD in 2015. The current meta-analysis included papers that reported mortality rates in BD since the publication of the previous meta-analysis (n=10). The findings suggest a slightly higher all-cause excess mortality rate among those with BD compared to the general population than the previous meta-analysis. These findings indicate a need for specific, targeted policies and specialist interventions to support people with BD and work towards reducing mortality rates.
The second chapter, which focuses on people's experience and perception of online group therapy, included interviews with 13 participants, which were analysed using the RTA method. Themes generated from the analysis suggest that connections and a sense of community can develop among people with BD using an online platform; online groups are inclusive and increase the sense of empowerment and control. The findings from the qualitative analysis suggest the need for innovative, digital group therapy to address known challenges, such as in accessing interventions, increasing people’s sense of community, and ensuring that service users can make decisions alongside clinicians and have an active role in their course of treatment
Ferrocene-containing DNA assemblies
Get PDFIn recent decades, significant achievements have been made in the development of modified nucleic acids and nucleic acid analogues. As far as metal-containing systems are concerned, ferrocene has emerged as a popular choice due to its stability, ease of functionalisation, and well-understood electrochemistry. It can also be readily incorporated into oligomeric strands using standard automated synthesis.
In this thesis, the scope of ferrocene-containing nucleic acids has been expanded in two main ways. Firstly, the design, assembly, and electrochemical characterisation of ferrocene-containing DNA tetrahedra are reported. These nanostructures, which contain ferrocene units located at up to four of their vertices, have been shown to form stable self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold surfaces and exhibit reversible electrochemistry.
Secondly, a series of hybrid oligomer strands containing DNA and ferrocene nucleic acid (FcNA) units have been synthesised. The synthetic chemistry of the FcNA monomeric components has been optimised so that units with either two thymine or two cytosine units can be made in sufficient quantities for oligomerisation. Further evidence is provided using high field NMR spectroscopy for cross-duplex H-bonding between FcNA and DNA nucleobases within complementary duplexes. Furthermore, the FcNA unit has been shown to be compatible for templating the insertion of polymerase-mediated nucleotide triphosphates into growing DNA strands, providing the first example of a functional biological use for FcNA-containing oligonucleotides
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