271 research outputs found
Placing pottery: an actor-led approach to the use and perception of medieval pottery in Southampton and its region cAD700-1400
No full textThis study considers the relationship between how we traditionally categorise pottery in archaeological analysis and the ways that it was understood in the past, using a case study from medieval Southampton (Hampshire, UK). In an effort to overcome the chronological fragmentation inherent in the study of medieval archaeology, a long temporal span is considered, from cAD700-1400. Traditionally pottery has been studied from an economic viewpoint and archaeologists have seen it as reflecting patterns of trade and wider economic or social trends. This study takes a nonrepresentative approach to the study of this material. Following work on 'Actor-Network Theory' it is argued that rather than reflecting an over-riding 'social', that engagements with pottery were active in constructing a patchwork of meanings and associations which constructed the medieval 'social'. The study begins with an overview of the state of medieval ceramic studies, demonstrating that the focus on economic issues developed from a need to provenance and date pottery, and that now we are in a position to ask more subtle questions about its role in everyday life. Chapter 2 outlines a history of categorisation studies, both in relation to archaeology and other disciplines, before moving on to introduce the non-representative framework utilised through the remainder of the study. The research questions are posed in chapter 3 and a methodology for answering them is proposed. In chapter 4 the archaeology and history of medieval Southampton is described, the pottery summarised and a résumé of other material evidence is also presented. The next three chapters reconstruct the engagements between people and pottery in medieval Southampton, through exchange, use and deposition. Chapter 8 then takes a regional perspective to these trends, looking at how pottery was exchanged, used and disposed of in Hampshire, other large towns in England and in northern France. Chapter 9 uses these engagements to examine the formation of categories of people through engagements with pottery, before these strands are all brought together in chapter 10, which considers how engagements between people and pottery were active in creating 'the social' in medieval Southampton, with a particular focus on the process of urbanism. Finally the effectiveness of the approaches taken are evaluated and ways forward for future research are outlined
Rules, identity and a sense of place in a medieval town: the case of Southampton's Oak Book
No full textFPGA Realization of a Neural Network based Motor Controller
No full textFPGAs are a hardware solution for applications that require low power usage and real time execution. This work focuses on motor control. We show the design and FPGA implementation of a motor controller based on a small Neural Network (NN) as alternative to a traditional Proportional Integral (PI) controller that was used as reference. Performance metrics are defined from a simulation of the target motor. We investigate different NNs, training, code generation methods and numerical precisions. The best-performing controller is a multilayer NN trained with Reinforced Learning. The controller is implemented and runs on an Intel MAX 10 FPGA. The methodology described in this work is easily applicable to more complex designs when FPGAs become the best implementation platform
Marine protection dividend
No full textAs the NSW government considers marine management reforms, this report finds that marine parks already provide significant economic benefits, but it is too early to judge their environmental effectiveness.This short paper presents compelling evidence that: NSW marine parks are already delivering clear and demonstrable economic benefits for local communities and businesses.The protected areas must be allowed to exist for a minimum of 15 years before they can be judged as to their effectiveness.Community support for marine parks and the sanctuary zones within them, is very high around the more established reserves. NSW marine parks are all relatively young. The oldest NSW marine parks are barely 11 years old and the youngest only six. In ecological terms, these parks are still in their infancy. Yet marine parks are already providing economic dividends to local communities, by attracting significant tourism. The establishment of the Solitary Island Marine Park, for example, saw a 20% increase in local business’s turnover in the first five years. Jervis Bay Marine Park has brought an estimated $2.4 million into the region through marine tourism. “Marine parks have become essential infrastructure for regional economies. As long as investment in the parks is maintained, benefits will continue to increase over years and even decades,” said report author Caroline Hoisington. Recreational and commercial fishing also benefit from marine parks, particularly sanctuary zones, where fishing is restricted. European studies have shown that for each year a sanctuary zone is in place, the number and/or size of commercially valuable fish increased by 8 per cent compared to surrounding fished areas. Benefits flow when these fish spill over into surrounding areas. “Local community support for sanctuary zones is 80 per cent or higher, in the three marine parks where opinions have been surveyed”, Caroline said. “The numbers are no different for recreational fishers.” Recreational fishing may also see bigger and better catches immediately, as competition from commercial fishing is reduced. However, sustainable fish stock management must also take account of recreational fishing, which makes up as much as 90 per cent of the catch for some NSW species. The report recommends the NSW Government set 15 years after zoning as the earliest point for making judgments about the impacts and environmental effectiveness of marine parks. Improvements in biodiversity, biomass and resilience of fish species will continue to take place after this time. The first fifteen years is not the end of benefits from marine parks, but is just enough time to show big changes. By contrast, decisions based on short-term assessments risk being driven by emotional reactions, rather than taking a balanced view based on evidence of the dividends that will continue to flow from marine parks
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