Formulaic theme and wisdom in Eddic poetry

This thesis explores how wisdom was delivered in Eddic poetry via the mechanism of formulaic theme. It demonstrates how the delivery of wisdom was a vital part of Eddic poetry, and that even poems not typically counted amongst the wisdom canon contain the same elements found in texts such as Hávamál. Additionally, this thesis explores how the formulaic delivery of wisdom developed from the earliest poems to the latest. This can further inform us on the fundamental creation of Eddic poetry. After establishing the methodology of this study in the introductory chapter, Chapter 2 provides an in-depth analysis of David Crowne’s 1960 theory of the ‘hero on the beach’ and how such a study may not just be translated from the Old English tradition to the Old Norse, but also across genres from the Heroic to Wisdom, using episodes from Hávamál to illustrate this. Following this study, the thesis progresses through the Codex Regius considering the following poems: Vafþrúðnismál, Grímnismál, Reginsmál, Fáfnismál, and Sigrdrífumál. Vafþrúðnismál and Grímnismál are found in Chapter 3, along with an analysis of the various forms of staging wisdom and the types of wisdom delivered. Chapter 4 features the three Sigurðr poems, and shows how the wisdom formulaic theme crosses over from the wisdom mythological poem in the heroic poetry, and the impact that this crossing over has on the delivery of wisdom. Chapters 5 and 6 are each dedicated to a single poem, Grípisspá and Sólarljóð respectively, as these poems serve to illustrate the different ways in which the theme developed and stagnated. Chapter 7 is the final summation chapter and shapes all the previous analysis into a cohesive theory of what precisely was needed in the theme, and what could change as its users needed. Finally, the conclusion offers some final commentary, before exploring how the theory could be studied further beyond the scope of this thesis

Materials and machine techniques for automated repair of bituminous pavements

Research has been conducted to evaluate the feasibility of automating crack and pothole repairs in bituminous pavements within a laboratory setting. Traditional manual methods, while effective, are labour-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to variability, underscoring the urgent need for automation to enhance efficiency, precision, scalability, and safety. To address these limitations, machines requiring minimal human input were developed alongside asphalt mixtures tailored for automated applications. A comprehensive review identified 3D printing as an optimal, economical, and user-friendly technology for creating repair machines. Accordingly, a RepRap 3D printer was modified for repair tasks, with parameters such as filling speed and extrusion temperature systematically optimised to improve repair quality. The research investigated the effects of bitumen type, crack width, irregularity, and hot bitumen flow on the performance of automated crack filling. Results revealed that bitumen flow rate, filling speed, and crack geometry significantly affect fill quality. Specifically, lower temperatures resulted in incomplete filling, while higher temperatures and suboptimal speeds led to overfilling. These findings highlight the critical importance of precisely controlling temperature, flow rate, and filling speed to optimise performance in future fully autonomous robotic systems. A novel digital methodology, developed using physics engine software with aggregate geometry as a key input, enabled the design of asphalt mixtures tailored to performance requirements such as extrudability, stability, and flow. Validated through independent tests at the Czech Technical University in Prague, the method achieved 78% accuracy in predicting the properties of real mixtures with highly variable compositions. It offers a reliable, performance-based alternative to traditional trial-and-error methods and lays the groundwork for automating asphalt design in road repair operations. The digital method was further applied to produce asphalt repair cartridges for a screw-extrusion-based automated pothole filling machine, which achieved 86% of the rutting resistance observed in manual techniques. In a transitional phase, this machine could be mounted on trucks for in-situ pothole repairs, providing an immediate and cost-effective solution for practitioners. Over the long term, it has the potential to evolve into advanced, fully autonomous robotic systems, paving the way for more efficient, self-operating road maintenance

A Quantum Graph Approach to Metamaterial Design

Since the turn of the century, metamaterials have garnered significant attention for their ability to exhibit exotic properties such as cloaking and perfect lensing. This has led to a growing need for reliable mathematical models capable of describing these materials' complex behaviors. While various modeling techniques exist for studying and engineering metamaterials, this thesis introduces a novel approach based on the scattering formalism of quantum graph theory. The flexibility and mathematical simplicity of this framework make it an ideal tool for designing metamaterials with unique band structures and for exploring complex multi-layer configurations. This thesis begins by extending quantum graph theory's scattering formalism to study wave propagation in complex periodic and finite quantum systems. Green’s functions on quantum graphs are developed using a scattering approach, offering a powerful method for analyzing wave behavior on both closed and open graphs. Next, we apply this formalism to study acoustic metamaterials modeled as networks of interconnected waveguides, confirming the model's predictions through both simulations and experiments. Finally, the thesis explores the design of an angular Fourier filter using a periodic quantum graph with beyond-nearest-neighbor connections, demonstrating that quantum graphs can be used to model resonant wave transmission at discrete angles. The results were verified using COMSOL simulations in the acoustic regime, showing excellent agreement between theory, simulation, and experiment. This work establishes quantum graph theory as a new paradigm for metamaterial design, offering a versatile and intuitive framework for modeling wave behavior and guiding the development of future metamaterial technologies

Concentration Inequalities for Fluctuations in Classical and Quantum Markov Processes

Markov processes describe a plethora of physical systems in nature, including the mechanics of molecular motors, chemical reactions, and even financial markets. In the framework of continuous-time Markov processes, there are many important quantities of interest. One example are dynamical observables: time-integrated functionals of stochastic trajectories. Another are first passage times (FPTs), which are the time taken for an observable to reach a fixed threshold. The fluctuations of these two quantities are bounded from below by the thermodynamic uncertainty relations (TURs), a fundamental result which captures the tradeoff between their precision, and physical parameters such as entropy production or activity. Whilst these lower bounds are well-known, less attention has been given to finding upper bounds on fluctuations. We first prove the existence of general upper bounds, at any time, on the variance of any linear combination of fluxes for classical, continuous-time Markov processes. These are derived by considering perturbed dynamics and applying techniques in concentration theory, in particular the Cramer-Chernoff method. We call these bounds "inverse thermodynamic uncertainty relations". Spectral methods allow us to express the bounds in terms of parameters of the dynamics which include the symmetrised spectral gap of the generator and max/min escape rates, alongside observable-dependent quantities. Afterwards we provide a concentration inequality for dynamical observables, which upper bounds the probability distribution for finite time. We then extend these results to FPTs for the dynamical activity, as well as a tail bound for general counting observables. Finally we generalise our FPT results to the quantum framework for general quantum Markov processes and reset processes, including a tail bound for FPTs of general counts, i.e. counts of a subset of emissions. We also prove a large deviation principle for FPTs of classical and quantum counting processes. Our results have several consequences and applications. By providing upper bounds on the relative uncertainty, the range of estimation errors is bounded from both sides. These findings suggest that spectral quantities limit the range of fluctuations. The observable-dependent parameters in the bounds offer an advantage over the traditional TURs for precision estimation. Inverse TURs provide bounds on the accuracy of classical or quantum clocks or the efficiency of heat engines. The concentration inequalities can be used in finite-regime parameter estimation of classical and quantum processes, with open quantum dynamics being particularly relevant in experimental situations

Understanding high redshift Active Galactic Nuclei activity through infrared variability

In this thesis, we report on the properties of a new selection of active galaxies found using long-term NIR variability. Data from the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey Ultra Deep Survey (UKIDSS UDS) is used, which is the deepest near-infrared (NIR) survey over ∼1deg2 and has an 8 year baseline for IR imaging. Here we select 601 AGN based on their (long-term) NIR variability in the J (1.2um) and K (2.2um)photometric bands. We also make use of X-ray imaging from the X-UDS survey, a Chandra space telescope based X-ray survey of a sub-region of the wider UDS field, to detect 710 X- ray bright AGN. We first begin by investigating how the properties of active galaxies change depending on the detection method used to select them. A comparison of the AGN identified by near-infrared variability to those selected by X-ray detection find only modest overlap in the galaxies detected. Only 37 per cent of galaxies are found to be both X-ray bright and IR variable for the same imaging area. We find that NIR variability is able to detect AGN activity in galaxies with a range of stellar masses, which is in contrast to X-ray detection, which preferentially selects AGN in massive galaxies (M∗ ≳ 1010M⊙). From these findings, we conclude that a range of selection methods is required for a complete census of active galaxies to be obtained. Having established that NIR variability as a relatively new way of finding AGN, we explore how the properties of these variable galaxies differ depending on the band in which the AGN is found to be significantly variable. To inspect their rest-frame properties, we group the variability detected AGN based on their detection band and plot the ratio of their variability amplitude vs redshift. K-band variable AGN are preferentially observed at rest-frame infrared wavelengths whereas J-band variable AGN show no obvious preference for the rest-frame of detection. Inspecting the SED of the galaxies, AGN variable in the K-band have significantly redder UV colours compared to AGN variable in the K-band, with similar results being found between X-ray hard and X-ray soft active galaxies respectively, where the hardness ratio is used as an alternative measure of obscuration. AGN variable in the J-band also show lower variability amplitudes and variability that skews towards longer timescales compared to their J-band variable counterparts. The properties of AGN variable in different bands suggests that the IR spectrum of K-band variable AGN is dominated by thermal emission from hot dust, whereas J-band variable AGN show features consistent with thermal emission from accretion disk processes. These differences identify the rest-frame J to rest-frame J-band as a possible turnover in dominant IR emission processes in AGN and we suggest K-band variability detecting AGN emission in dusty galaxies as a possible explanation for the properties found in these galaxies. Finally, we examine the environment, observed colours and host galaxies to explore possible reasons for the differences seen in X-ray and variability detected active galaxies and their subgroups. X-ray and variability detected AGN are found in different environments compared to each other as well as when comparing to corresponding sets of control galaxies matched in stellar mass, redshift and effective radius. X-ray bright active galaxies are preferentially found in overdense environments whereas variability detected active galaxies do not show any obvious trends with environment. Optical (V - I) and infrared (J - H) colour comparisons over time find X-ray bright active galaxies to appear redder than variability detected samples at the 4000Å break, a feature that is typical of high mass galaxies with larger passive fractions. In preliminary work, X-ray to IR luminosity comparisons provide evidence that two component Sérsic + point source models are able to effectively decompose AGN from host galaxy emission. Inspecting the host galaxies of X-ray bright AGN finds significantly redder optical colours than control galaxies, but infrared colours are generally indistinguishable over time. Colour evolutions change when grouping galaxies by morphological type, with disk-type X-ray AGN hosts appearing redder both in the optical and infrared colours, but spheroidal hosts showing no clear trend in the optical colour but appearing much bluer than controls in the infrared colour. This preliminary work illustrates the need for AGN-host galaxy decomposition in determining intrinsic host properties in future wide-field studies

Towards energy benchmarking in residential buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Countries worldwide are facing the challenges of improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions to mitigate climate change, conserve resources, achieve energy security, and reap economic benefits. Over recent decades, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has experienced a rapid increase in domestic energy consumption. Notably, residential buildings have emerged as significant consumers, accounting for approximately 50% of the total electricity consumption within the building sector. This sustained expansion in energy demand raises concerns regarding environmental impact. Sustainability has recently become a fundamental issue in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), as one of the cornerstones of Saudi Vision 2030. One of the key initiatives under Vision 2030 is the Saudi Green Initiative, which aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions and achieve net zero emissions by 2060. To support the goals of the Saudi Green Initiative and promote sustainable growth, it is essential to develop effective strategies and tools for improving energy efficiency in residential buildings. One of the key challenges here is the lack of a national benchmark values that may help stakeholders to evaluate the energy consumption of their buildings. In response, this research attempts to develop a benchmarking framework tailored explicitly to the Saudi Arabian context and establish an energy benchmarking for residential buildings. The research is divided into five milestones. The first milestone involves a thorough review of energy consumption in the KSA, identifying factors contributing to energy demand, and reviewing the current energy benchmarking methods for buildings. This review provides a comprehensive insight into the energy consumption of residential buildings and identifies the most appropriate energy benchmarking methods, which can be adapted to the Saudi Arabian building context. The second research milestone involves collecting data from a representative sample of residential buildings in the Saudi Arabia. The third milestone involves improving the specifications of the representative sample buildings to comply with the Saudi Building Code (SBC) requirements. The fourth milestone concerns conducting statistical tests and analyses, which are necessary to ensure that the research is based on sound data and assumptions, contributing to the overall quality of the research. The last milestone involves developing energy benchmarks for villas and apartments in the KSA. The benchmark can contribute to improving building energy performance in the region. The benchmark provides insights into factors influencing energy use, enabling stakeholders to assess the energy efficiency of their buildings. The benchmark also educates the public about energy consumption patterns, influences building asset value, and aids policymakers in setting energy-efficiency standards and implementing incentives. The main findings reveal that applying the SBC-602/2018 requirements to the buildings can improve the energy consumption of villas and apartments by up to 19% and 40%, respectively. Moreover, the findings suggest that the normalised energy use intensity (EUInorm) benchmarks for villas and apartments that meet the SBC requirements in the Riyadh region are 60 kWh/m2/Yr and 98 kWh/m2/Yr, respectively. These benchmarking values were based on normalising the significant variables that affect energy consumption

Enhancing ESG efforts through reporting: how do we minimize greenwashing? (focused on the SGX energy & utilities sector)

The integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria into corporate strategy has become increasingly crucial as stakeholders demand more sustainable and ethical business practices. However, the concurrent rise of greenwashing—where companies may overstate or inaccurately represent their ESG efforts to appear more environmentally friendly and socially responsible than they actually are—presents a notable challenge. Greenwashing not only undermines stakeholder trust but also jeopardizes the overall credibility of genuine sustainability efforts. This thesis aims to explore how enhanced reporting mechanisms can mitigate the incidence of greenwashing, thereby promoting authentic sustainability practices. A key component of this research involves understanding the public’s perception of corporate sustainability reporting. Public scrutiny has intensified as consumers, investors, and other stakeholders become more informed and vocal about corporate sustainability practices. This study seeks to incorporate the views of the public by examining how their trust in a company's reported ESG efforts influences their support and investment decisions. Through surveys and interviews, we will gather insights into how transparent and reliable the public perceives current ESG reporting to be, and what improvements they believe are necessary to reduce greenwashing. Through a comprehensive examination of current ESG reporting standards, regulatory frameworks, and best practices, this study seeks to explore how transparency and accountability can be enhanced through the adoption of unified reporting standards, mandatory disclosures, and the use of advanced technologies for traceability. By examining the roles of regulatory bodies and third-party verifications, this research will highlight effective strategies for minimizing greenwashing. The ultimate goal is to provide actionable recommendations that businesses and policymakers can implement to enhance the integrity of ESG reporting, ensuring that sustainability efforts are genuine and impactful, and fostering greater trust and engagement from the public

Phenotypic and genetic investigation of plant phenological development, architecture and yield in winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.)

The worsening effects of climate change and malnutrition have significantly impacted global food and nutrition security. Diversifying food sources through the cultivation of underutilised crops could mitigate these challenges and promote resilient agricultural food systems. Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.) is a protein-rich crop grown in humid tropical regions. With its various edible plant parts, broad distribution in the tropics, and adaptation to diverse local environmental conditions, it has notable trait variations for exploration in crop improvement. Research on winged bean genetic diversity has been limited in the past 50 years, primarily relying on phenotypic assessments without the utilisation of molecular markers. However, recent advancements in genotyping techniques have enabled the integration of phenotypic and genetic data. Molecular breeding accelerates the characterisation of diverse core collections, leading to cultivar development, contributing to global initiatives for dietary diversity and nutritional resilience. A mini-core collection of winged bean comprising 22 accessions was formed from prior genetic diversity assessment of 91 accessions originating from seven countries, and two continents, using DArTseq SNP markers. Multi-locational trials of this mini core collection were carried out at three locations: the Field Research Centre of Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFF-FRC) in Semenyih, Malaysia (May 2019 to March 2020); the rainout shelter of the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) in Semenyih, Malaysia (November 2020 to August 2021); and Fireflies Organic Farm (FF) in Broga, Malaysia (January to October 2021) in a randomised complete block design (RCBD). Among them, FP15 consistently exhibited shorter days to first flower (DtFF) and days to first pod (DtFP) within 79 and 81 days after sowing (DAS) at the CFF-FRC and 62 DAS and 64 DAS in the UNM rainout shelter, respectively with significant differences (p0.05) were found between phenological traits and yield traits. In contrast, significant positive correlations (p<0.05) were observed between architecture and yield-related traits, including stem length (StL) and pod length (PodLe) (r=0.791), PodLe and PodY (r=0.538), and PodLe and SY (r=0.526). These findings suggest that yield improvement could be achieved through selection based on plant architecture, particularly stem length, while phenological traits may have limited potential for direct yield selection. Nine accessions were identified based on their superior traits: FP15 and a57 for earliness in flowering and pod production, a10, a6, and a7 for consistent stem length, and a6, a13, a15, a35 and Ma3 for high pod yield and seed yield potential. An in-field evaluation of 192 F2 lines (TF2) from a cross between i10 (high above-ground biomass, shorter pods) and FP15 (early flowering, early maturity, high harvest index) was conducted at Beacon Eco Farm, Mantin, Malaysia, from June to December 2022. The study assessed plant phenology, architecture, yield, and yield components in an RCBD with four blocks. Significant differences (p<0.001) were observed between parents for flowering initiation, pod production, and seed harvest, with F2 progenies showing intermediate trait values. Significant positive correlations were found between DtFF and DtFP (rs=0.707), DtFF and DtMS (rs=0.455), and DtFP and DtMS (rs=0.554) at p<0.001. No significant differences were found between parents for architectural traits including number of branches (NoB), sum of branches length (SoBL), and StL, but transgressive segregation occurred in the TF2 population. Both parents differed (p<0.05) in yield components such as seeds per pod (SPP), above-ground biomass (AGB), and harvest index (HI) while significant differences (p<0.001) were observed for PodLe, pod width (PodWi), and below-ground biomass (BGB). Five TF2 lines — L012, L013, L014, L015, and L109— produced up to 15,120 kg/ha of pods and 5,725 kg/ha of seeds, with early flowering and seed harvest comparable to FP15, making them distinguished candidates for selection and advancement to the F3 stage. A genetic linkage map was constructed, followed by QTL analysis. Initially, a total of 4576 DArTseq SNP markers were filtered from 6025 SNP markers of 184 TF2 individual lines. A genetic linkage map consisting of ten linkage groups was constructed from 493 polymorphic SNP markers, with two linkage groups of Chromosome 03 were obtained. The map was 1053.3 cM in total. A total of 15 significant QTLs were identified for ten traits, including DtFF, DtFP, DtMS, 15th internode length (IntL15), 20th internode length (IntL20), NoB, pods per plant (PPP), PodLe, PodWi and seed colour (SC), distributed across six linkage groups: LG01, LG04, LG05, LG07, LG08, and LG09. These QTLs were major accounting for more than 15% of the phenotypic variation in each trait. Additionally, nine transcription factors potentially associated with germination, mature seed harvest, seed yield, seed colour and leaf chlorophyll content were identified. In-field evaluation of subsequent F3 and F4 generations will aid in selecting superior lines and refining QTL mapping for marker-assisted breeding. Further study of trait inheritance will provide deeper insights into winged bean yield traits. Multi-location trials will help identify key trait correlations in phenology, architecture, and yield, laying the foundation for developing improved cultivars with early maturity and high yield potential. QTL mapping of genetic regions responsible for trait expression will inform future breeding, not only for winged bean but also for other crops facing similar challenges. Ultimately, this project contributes to the efforts aimed at improving global food and nutrition security by expanding the range of crops available and improving their yield potential to address changing environmental conditions

Exploring the experiences and perspectives of Saudi mothers in interaction with their primary school children’s autonomy and motivation within COVID learning contexts

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted families worldwide; those in Saudi Arabia were among them. This period presented mothers with unique opportunities and challenges, including the chance to “get to know” their children better and explore strategies to promote autonomy and motivation during the primary school years. Despite Saudi Arabia’s ongoing development and implementation of Vision 2030 – i.e., a dynamic strategy that supports lifelong learning and individual potential – there is a notable lack of studies that focus on the role of the family and the importance of autonomy for children in remote learning. However, remote learning is a relatively new experience for Saudi society, especially for primary-aged children. This research aligns with the concept of “actualising tendency”, pioneered by Carl Rogers in 1961, which emphasises personal autonomy as an intrinsic motivation that drives individuals towards excellence. Understanding how Saudi families navigated these challenges during remote learning is crucial for children and future educational development and alignment with the goals of Vision 2030. This research is divided into two studies. The first study solely focuses on mothers with a background in Saudi Arabia; the second study concentrates on mothers with a multicultural “KSA-UK” background. In order to explore the mothers’ in-depth subjective experience with remote learning, an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is used to analyse the interview data and answer the following questions: 1. What experiences, challenges and strategies are encountered by Saudi mothers, with exposure to only a single culture, when their children interacted with remote learning? 2. What are the influential factors and strategies that Saudi mothers perceived and experienced when their children interacted with remote learning and multicultural contexts? The findings revealed a complex interplay of culture and mothers’ experiences, which seem to shape their self-concept, defined in this study as a person’s perception and comprehension of themselves, including their beliefs, values, abilities and traits (Ismail & Tekke, 2015). Furthermore, remote learning plays a role in collaboration between mothers and their children, allowing them to experience autonomy and self-determination. Mothers acknowledge their children’s ability to adapt to challenges in remote learning contexts, which seems to contribute to increasing child autonomy. In both studies, mothers used rewards and punishment as motivational methods, which presents tensions with the person-centred approach (PCA) and self-determination theory (SDT), as these approaches emphasise intrinsic motivation and the importance of fostering autonomy rather than relying on external controls such as rewards and punishments. The second study reveals how the mother’s experience abroad possibly influences her personal values and attitudes. Moving away may have disrupted the influence of others, allowing mothers more freedom to develop their parenting style. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and relevant theories. The study also considers the implications of the findings for Saudi society and families, including Saudi mothers who study abroad, remote learning and childhood education

Fabrication of polyurethane composites via reactive binder jetting (RBJ) using a dual-ink binding system

The high processing temperatures traditionally required for Additive Manufacturing (AM) often degrade polymer powders, limiting part performance and recyclability. Reactive Binder Jetting (RBJ), a novel AM process, addresses these challenges by utilizing a dual-ink binding system that facilitates powder consolidation at ambient temperatures. This eliminates the need for energy-intensive equipment, such as lasers or heaters, enabling sustainable manufacturing of complex, functional parts. This research focuses on the fabrication of polyurethane (PU) components using RBJ. PU is highly versatile due to its tunable co-polymer structure, making it a valuable material for applications ranging from insulation foams to biomedical implants. RBJ challenges addressed in thesis include reliable ink jetting, maintaining stoichiometry and achieving optimal saturation levels for part consolidation. To address these challenges, all materials were characterised, inkjet printing parameters were optimised, and fully consolidated, three-dimensional (3D) 'green' part tested. The �ndings demonstrate RBJ printing is capable of forming robust polymer 'green' parts, introducing potential applications within the biomedical or sports industries. Through characterisation of reactive inks, control of droplet deposition strategies, and validation via mechanical testing, this work establishes RBJ as a sustainable alternative for polymer AM. The research highlights opportunities for future innovations, such as expanding the range of printable materials, including sustainable inks and reactive powders, improving RBJ printing process scalability, and developing multifunctional components with gradient properties