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Postal Drawing
No full textPostal Drawing was developed to address the implications of transporting artefacts to exhibitions that feature physical work in an age of financial crisis. To achieve this a drawing box was constructed out of corex plastic and paper and a drawing ‘shuttle’ added, in action whilst the work was couriered from the site of production to the site of exhibition the particular motions produced the marks that formed the final presentation of the work. The work explores the transformation of actions and movement defined by a specific journey into a visual drawing. The artist is in control of certain aspects such as choice of paper or types of pencils but the outcome is defined by each venues location thus the work captures the unseen phenomena of exhibiting and transferring work from one location to another. The methods are chosen as they allow the concept of movement between venues to become the content of the work, in each case what is displayed is a direct correlation with that venues and the artist’s studio.
‘Postal Drawing’ offers a response to the challenges faced by artists in the age of global financial crisis as it allows the artist to continue to explore the notion of surrogates defined in other works; where the anomalies that result from transforming one material process to another create the conditions of expression within the work. In this case the accepted norm of sending a work for show is subverted by the act of sending being the mode of production, offering the artist the chance to address the research imperatives whilst addressing the challenges of financial limitations post 2008. This response is timely in the early twenty-first century where financial crisis has become the norm (Lerer & McGarrigle 2018) and to maintain international communities artist must seek novel ways to address their concerns in more frugal budget friendly ways
Witchcraft Accusations and Persecutions as a Mechanism for the Marginalisation of Women
No full textThis books draws on feminist commentary from the disciplines of anthropology, history, law, politics and sociology in order to deal with the phenomenon of modern-day witchcraft. It focuses on the re-emergence of witchcraft beliefs in contemporary society, suggesting that witchcraft accusations and persecution are being used as a marginalisation mechanism of women. The re-emergence of witchcraft beliefs in contemporary society and the prevalence of the violence associated with such beliefs has received little attention within academic literature, yet witchcraft-related violence against women is, progressively, becoming one of the most pervasive forms of violence facing women today. This book addresses this gap in the literature, discussing the return of witchcraft beliefs to contemporary society, whilst assessing the effectiveness of international human rights law in protecting women from witchcraft accusations and persecution
An Evaluation of the Use of 360° Photographic Technology in a Forensic Context
No full textCrime scenes represent ephemeral and complex environments and the intelligence and evidence that they contain requires them to be documented and collected quickly and efficiently so as to limit any loss of evidence. With the continuous developments of new imaging and recording technologies, there is the opportunity for more innovative and appropriate methods for documenting and managing crime scenes that may improve investigative proffered to the Criminal Justice system and indeed the public. This thesis has explored the potential of new panoramic imaging technologies and crime scene management content software to assist and develop the way in which criminal investigations are investigated, and conducted starting with how crime scenes are recorded and evidence linked with them.
There is currently a vast array of differing panoramic imaging technologies available to Police services such as SceneVision Panorama, Panoscan MK-3, iStar
(NCTech), SceneCam (Spheron VR AG), ScanStation C10 (Leica) and Focus3D X
330 (FARO), with each reporting to offer unique merits to an investigation. This can present difficulties for police services when considering the purchase and use of such technologies. With declining budgets, Police services do not have the time and resources to evaluate technology prior to its adoption. Thorough research evaluating the technology would allow Police services to make informed decisions about the adoption of technology which is fit for purpose and cost effective.
This research explored panoramic technologies available to Police services and the considerations which organisations must account for prior to the adoption and integration into current standard operating procedures. An important adoption criteria is the accuracy and precision of capture and measurement of the technology’s hardware and software and these factors are essential factors for the successful integration of such equipment within the Criminal Justice System. The accuracy and precision of measurements taken using a 360o panoramic imaging system, ‘SceneCam’ and its complimentary content management system,
‘SceneCenter’ (Spheron VR AG) was examined and compared to traditional
measurement methods. Measurements taken using the photogrammetry software were identified as being more reproducible than the any manual approach, and this offered flexibility with regards to the time and location of the documentation process in a crime scene
Particulate matter pollution capture by leaves of seventeen living wall species with special reference to rail-traffic at a metropolitan station
Get PDFAtmospheric Particulate Matter (PM) constitutes a considerable fraction of urban air pollution, and urban greening is a potential method of mitigating this pollution. The value of living wall systems has received scant attention in this respect. This study examined the inter-species variation of particulate capture by leaves of
seventeen plant species present in a living wall at New Street railway station, Birmingham, UK. The densities of different size fractions of particulate pollutants (PM1, PM2.5 and PM10) on 20 leaves per species were quantified using an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) and ImageJ image-analysis software. The overall ability of plant leaves to remove PM from air was quantified using PM density and LAI (Leaf Area Index); any inter-species variations were identified using one-way Anova followed by Tukey’s pairwise comparison. This
study demonstrates a considerable potential for living wall plants to remove particulate pollutants from the atmosphere. PM capture levels on leaves of different plant species were significantly different for all particle size
fractions (P < 0.001). Smaller-leaved Buxus sempervirens L., Hebe albicans Cockayne, Thymus vulgaris L. and Hebe x youngii Metcalf showed significantly higher capture levels for all PM size fractions. PM densities on
adaxial surfaces of the leaves were significantly higher compared to abaxial surfaces in the majority of the species studied (t-test, P < 0.05). According to EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray) analysis, a wide spectrum of elements were captured by the leaves of the living wall plants, which were mainly typical railway exhaust
particles and soil dust. Smaller leaves, and hairy and waxy leaf surfaces, appear to be leaf traits facilitating removal of PM from the air, and hence a collection of species which share these characters would probably optimize the benefit of living wall systems as atmospheric PM filters
The GPR investigation of the Shakespeare family graves
No full textAs part of a multi‐disciplinary programme of archaeological investigation, GPR was used to investigate the Shakespeare family graves below the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, Warwickshire, England. Although William Shakespeare's place as perhaps one of the most famous individuals who has ever lived has been cemented in the annals of history, much of his life and death is still shrouded in mystery. As a result, a large number of myths and legends have grown up around his burial place. These included the suggestion of an unusually deep burial or the presence of a large family crypt beneath the chancel floor. A series of multi‐frequency surveys was carried out to establish the depth and structure of the graves and as much burial information as possible. Close survey (using a strategy developed and successfully applied in Westminster Abbey and other churches) was used in order to optimise the quality of patterning in the data. Within Holy Trinity, this strategy was validated by the detection of a known vault.
The use of multiple frequencies was critical in this investigation in order both to detect the graves and also to establish information about the graves. Too low a frequency may result in non‐detection because of the relatively low target resolution whereas too high a frequency risks insufficient depth penetration.
From this process a number of myths can now be discounted, including the presence of a large Shakespeare family vault or crypt. Instead, the GPR survey suggests that a simple, shallow, earth‐cut burial lies beneath William's tombstone. One story however concerning disturbance of William Shakespeare's grave in order to remove his skull does correspond with the evidence
Lifestyle exercises for bone health and health-related quality of life among premenopausal women: A controlled trial.
Get PDFParticularly among the premenopausal age group, promotion of bone-health enhancing exercises (a prerequisite for optimal bone health across the lifespan) presents with unprecedented challenges. As a deviation from traditional, facility-based, supervised, long duration exercise regimes, the efficacy of brief, bouts of lifestyle exercises for improving bone health and quality of life was examined. Methods: Premenopausal women (n= 96, mean age: 22.25 ± 3.5 years; mean BMI: 23.43±3.5 kg/m2) participated in a six-month randomised controlled trial of lifestyle osteogenic exercises for the intervention group and lifestyle (non-osteogenic) exercises for the control group. The outcome measure SF SF-36 was accessed pre- and post-intervention. Participants’ scores were calculated according to the SF-36 scoring manual and compared with population norms for each health domain. Paired t tests were used to examine changes within trial arms from baseline to post-intervention while ANCOVA was performed to examine the effect of the lifestyle exercise programme on quality of life of premenopausal women. Results: Post-intervention, 63% of the participants (compared to 59% at baseline) were either at or above the general population norm for general health. Similarly, the percentage of participants who were below population health norm for mental health reduced from 45% at baseline to 40% post exercise intervention. Comparable improvements in QOL were found in both trial arms post participation in the bone health promotion programme. Conclusions: Osteogenic exercises, when implemented as easily adoptable lifestyle physical activity, may also enhance QOL of premenopausal women. Hence, a practical lifestyle approach to exercise may proffer a much needed public health strategy for bone health promotion among women
New Place; Shakespeare's Medieval Residence
No full textLecture given at Shakespeare’s New Place: A One Day Conference. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford, September 17th 2016. This looked at comparative, background and archaeological evidence supporting the existence of New Place, William Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon Home. An analysis of the architectural elements and of the architect of the building; Hugh Clopton was examined
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