280 research outputs found
An Exploration of the Dynamics of Consensual Approaches in Biodiversity Planning for the Wider Countryside: Evaluating the Usefulness and Applicability of Actor-Network Theory
No full textThis research examines the usefulness of applying theoretical principles from the Sociology of
Translation and Actor Network Theory to the scenario of biodiversity planning in Oxfordshire
between the early nineteen nineties and 2001. It develops a model derived from a social
constructionist approach to considering Nature, and seeks to apply it to empirical data on the
development of Oxfordshire's Local Biodiversity Action Plan. The data is considered in relation
to the four poles of the model which are the 'scientific knowledge or technical' pole; the
'institutional' pole; the 'production of practices' pole and the 'nature protected' pole. The idea
that is applied is that scientific knowledge that is generated for a purpose becomes the accepted
wisdom and consequently is institutionalized. From this acceptance of the importance of
scientific or technical authority, practices will then be generated (for example, land or water
management strategies) and these then protect particular elements of nature; essentially what
society, and more specifically, the actors involved with problematising the issue deem as being
elements that are important to preserve.
Also, there is a time and space dimension built into the model since the author builds on the
ideas of actor-network theorists who argue that a network is not a flat shape but that actors may
act at a distance (e. g. global actor) but still be linked into a localized network. Similarly, actors
may be incorporated from different times but may be held into place within a given network
because their views or actions are part of a stable agreement (e. g. text/intermediary object) that
has encapsulated a number of different actors.The actor-networks presented in this thesis are
heterogeneous in nature in that they incorporate elements of nature and the human world as
different actors represent the views of others. The research explores stable and unstable
networks that are founded within consensual approaches through partnership working between
many different types of organisation
Chemical Structures of Specific Sodium Ion Battery Components Determined by Operando Pair Distribution Function and X-ray Diffraction Computed Tomography
No full textTo improve lithium and sodium ion battery technology we must understand how the properties of the components are controlled by their chemical structures. Operando structural studies give us some of the most useful information on how batteries work, but it remains difficult to separate out the contributions of the various components of a battery stack (e.g. electrodes, current collectors, electrolyte and binders) and examine specific materials. We have used operando X-ray diffraction computed tomography (XRD-CT) to study specific components of an essentially unmodified, working cell and extract detailed, space resolved structural information on both crystalline and amorphous phases present during cycling. We illustrate this method with the first detailed structural examination of the cycling of sodium in a phosphorus anode, revealing surprisingly different mechanisms for sodiation and desodiation in this promising, high capacity anode system
Genome-wide analysis reveals the extent of EAV-HP integration in domestic chicken
No full textBackground: EAV-HP is an ancient retrovirus pre-dating Gallus speciation, which continues to circulate in modern
chicken populations, and led to the emergence of avian leukosis virus subgroup J causing significant economic losses to
the poultry industry. We mapped EAV-HP integration sites in Ethiopian village chickens, a Silkie, Taiwan Country chicken,
red junglefowl Gallus gallus and several inbred experimental lines using whole-genome sequence data.
Results: An average of 75.22 ± 9.52 integration sites per bird were identified, which collectively group into 279 intervals
of which 5 % are common to 90 % of the genomes analysed and are suggestive of pre-domestication integration events.
More than a third of intervals are specific to individual genomes, supporting active circulation of EAV-HP in
modern chickens. Interval density is correlated with chromosome length (P < 2.31−6), and 27 % of intervals are
located within 5 kb of a transcript. Functional annotation clustering of genes reveals enrichment for immunerelated
functions (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: Our results illustrate a non-random distribution of EAV-HP in the genome, emphasising the
importance it may have played in the adaptation of the species, and provide a platform from which to
extend investigations on the co-evolutionary significance of endogenous retroviral genera with their hosts
Structural Elucidation, Aggregation, and Dynamic Behaviour of N,N,N,N-Copper(I) Schiff Base Complexes in Solid and in Solution: A Combined NMR, X-ray Spectroscopic and Crystallographic Investigation
No full textA series of Cu(I) complexes of bidentate or tetradentate Schiff base ligands bearing either 1-H-imidazole or pyridine moieties were synthesized. The complexes were studied by a combination of NMR and X-ray spectroscopic techniques. The differences between the imidazole- and pyridine-based ligands were examined by 1H, 13C and 15N NMR spectroscopy. The magnitude of the 15Nimine coordination shifts was found to be strongly affected by the nature of the heterocycle in the complexes. These trends showed good correlation with the obtained Cu−Nimine bond lengths from single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements. Variable-temperature NMR experiments, in combination with diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) revealed that one of the complexes underwent a temperature-dependent interconversion between a monomer, a dimer and a higher aggregate. The complexes bearing tetradentate imidazole ligands were further studied using Cu K-edge XAS and VtC XES, where DFT-assisted assignment of spectral features suggested that these complexes may form polynuclear oligomers in solid state. Additionally, the Cu(II) analogue of one of the complexes was incorporated into a metal-organic framework (MOF) as a way to obtain discrete, mononuclear complexes in the solid state
Whole genome sequencing SNP data of honey bee drones
No full textGenotype data from processing of whole genome sequence data for 689 honey bee drones representing samples from 14 countries and 7 subspecies."VCF files at various stages of processing:
raw.vcf.gz (raw)
raw.QC.vcf.gz (QC filtered)
raw.QC.imputed.vcf.gz (QC filtered > imputed)
raw.QC.imputed.LD.vcf.gz (QC filtered > imputed > LD filtered)
ancestral.QC.imputed.vcf.gz (QC filtered > imputed > ancestral allele set)
ancestral.QC.imputed.LD.vcf.gz (QC filtered > imputed > ancestral allele set > LD filtered)
Genetic map generated for use with RFMIX:
ancestral.QC.imputed.vcf.genmap (genetic map for ancestral.QC.imputed.vcf.gz)
Complete genetic maps generated from Liu's et al.'s crossover data:
geneticMaps.tar.gz (archive of genetic maps generated after NCBI LiftOver of Liu et al.'s crossover data from Amel_4.5 to Amel_HAv3.1, fields are [1] Linkage group accession number, [2] physical position (bp), [3] genetic position (cM), [4] rate of recombination, [5] chromosome number)
Sample metadata:
metadata.csv (sample metadata indicating colony (FID) sample ID, ENA accessions, country of sample origin, type)
Flexible models for dynamic linking
No full textAbstractDynamic linking supports flexible code deployment, allowing partially linked code to link further code on the fly, as needed. Thus, end-users enjoy the advantage of automatically receiving any updates, without any need for any explicit actions on their side, such as re-compilation, or re-linking. On the down side, two executions of a program may link in different versions of code, which in some cases causes subtle errors, and may mystify end-users.Dynamic linking in Java and C# are similar: the same linking phases are involved, soundness is based on similar ideas, and executions which do not throw linking errors give the same result. They are, however, not identical: the linking phases are combined differently, and take place in different order. Consequently, linking errors may be detected at different times by Java and C# runtime systems.We develop a non-deterministic model, which describes the behaviour of both Java and C# program executions. The non-determinism allows us to describe the design space, to distill the similarities between the two languages, and to use one proof of soundness for both. We also prove that all execution strategies are equivalent with respect to terminating executions that do not throw link errors: they give the same results
Critiquing the UK Judiciary's Response to Article 10 Post-HRA: Undervaluing the Right to Freedom of Expression?
No full textThe arrival of the Human Rights Act 1998 (the “HRA”) stimulated much speculation as to the effect that the Act would have on judicial approaches to the relationship between the individual and State. In particular, the Act generated expectations that it would raise rights consciousness within judicial thinking. Consequently, the potential effect this change would have on freedom of speech in the UK was intriguing. It had been said that the common law already recognised a ‘constitutional right to free speech’, although the strongest statements for its protection seemed reserved for freedom to publish, in particular and, furthermore, the common law could not interfere with contrary statutory measures. There had been speculation that the obstacle to the fullest protection for free speech would be removed if a constitutional measure was introduced that allowed the judiciary to protect free speech where the common law would otherwise be impotent. Yet it was also argued, pre-HRA, that, in addition, judicial attitudes toward freedom of speech required addressing. It was argued that the judicial approach to freedom of speech was inconsistent: the judiciary did not seem to treat free speech claims equally and so certain speakers seemed better placed than others. Certainly, uncompromisingly pro-free speech judgments were rare where the freedom to publish was not implicated. Thus, it was argued that the common law approach to free speech had developed incoherently and that there seemed to be a judicial readiness to allow restrictions on flimsy grounds. These criticisms implicated the UK judiciary’s conceptual understanding of free speech, suggesting failings in the court’s engagement with the moral and philosophical arguments underpinning the nature of the right. However, there was an expectation amongst some commentators that greater consistency of free speech protection would occur as a result of the provisions in section 2 of the HRA.
It has now been almost nine years since the substantive provisions of the HRA came into force (not counting the further two years of judicial preparation). By surveying the post-HRA landscape, the object of this enquiry is to ascertain whether the judiciary has realised protection for freedom of speech in its fullest terms. Prior to the HRA, Barendt, for example, had argued that in order to maximise protection, the judiciary ought to engage with the theoretical arguments for the free speech protection. This thesis seeks to understand what the judiciary’s approach to Article 10 is and how this compares to both established theory and the rationale underpinning the Strasbourg Article 10 jurisprudence. Thus, it will examine whether the judiciary has become acclimatised to the language of ‘rights’ in a free speech context and, furthermore, whether it has recognised the significance of underlying theories of free speech in this regard. As is well-established in the academic literature, there are several dominant theories which seek to explain and justify the concept of free speech as a right. Each of these offers different perspectives on the scope of free speech and approaches to protecting it. In raising free speech from a liberty to a right in all circumstances, has the judiciary demonstrably engaged with those theories and, if so, to what extent? In other words, what value or values has the judiciary identified as being served by freedom of expression? Does the jurisprudence suggest the judiciary is simply absorbing Strasbourg jurisprudence and, if so, how does this affect the UK judiciary’s engagement with theory? In other words, even if minded to do so, what obstacles stand in the judiciary’s way toward a more principled approach to Article 10 to fit theoretical understandings of the right?
By virtue of this critique, it will be argued that the UK judiciary has not developed the Article 10 jurisprudence in a principled manner, i.e., one that fully engages with the established theoretical approaches to freedom of expression. Instead, due to, amongst other things, its limited approach to the obligations contained within s. 2 of the HRA, the UK Article 10 jurisprudence demonstrates a particularly narrow approach to the consequentialist rationale for protecting expression that, consequently, neglects other rationales based on broader instrumentalist grounds or, indeed, protection based on the intrinsic value of free speech. Thus, it will be argued that in the UK, the Article 10 lens has been focussed too sharply on narrow forms of political expression. This is disappointing from a free speech advocate’s perspective not just because the concept of free speech is stunted in this environment but also because it suggests the promised ‘rights culture’ has not fully taken nor the constitutional significance of free speech fully secured
Primary teachers' epistemological beliefs about the teaching and learning of mathematics : the link with and implications for their classroom pedagogy
No full textEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Second Welland Canal - Book 1, Survey Map 12 - St. Catharines and Lock 4
No full textSurvey map of the Second Welland Canal created by the Welland Canal Company showing the Town of St. Catharines. Identified structures associated with the Canal include Lock 4, Hydraulic Race, floating tow path, and the Canal waterway itself.
The surveyors' measurements and notes can be seen in red and black ink and pencil.
Local area landmarks are also identified and include streets and roads (ex. Geneva Street, St. Paul Street, Queenston Street, Niagara Street and Mill Street), C. Phelp's Grist Mill and Store House, Stinson's Distillery, and several unnamed bridges.
Properties and property owners of note are: Concession 6 Lot 16, J. R. Benson, Calvin Phelps, J. Hudson, David Gray, A. Roberts, Mrs. McDonell, J. S. McDonell, T. B. Wragg, J. Donaldson, W. Barr Jr., C. L. Hall, G. Ward, Ridout Bros and Co., and the St. Catharines Grass Co
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