METROPOLITAN ENCHANTMENT AND DISENCHANTMENT. METROPOLITAN ANTHROPOLOGY FOR THE CONTEMPORARY LIVING MAP CONSTRUCTION

We can no longer interpret the contemporary metropolis as we did in the last century. The thought of civil economy regarding the contemporary Metropolis conflicts more or less radically with the merely acquisitive dimension of the behaviour of its citizens. What is needed is therefore a new capacity for imagining the economic-productive future of the city: hybrid social enterprises, economically sustainable, structured and capable of using technologies, could be a solution for producing value and distributing it fairly and inclusively. Metropolitan Urbanity is another issue to establish. Metropolis needs new spaces where inclusion can occur, and where a repository of the imagery can be recreated. What is the ontology behind the technique of metropolitan planning and management, its vision and its symbols? Competitiveness, speed, and meritocracy are political words, not technical ones. Metropolitan Urbanity is the characteristic of a polis that expresses itself in its public places. Today, however, public places are private ones that are destined for public use. The Common Good has always had a space of representation in the city, which was the public space. Today, the Green-Grey Infrastructure is the metropolitan city's monument that communicates a value for future generations and must therefore be recognised and imagined; it is the production of the metropolitan symbolic imagery, the new magic of the city

Biological adhesion in wet environments: adaptations and mechanisms

Physiochemical conditions in water are fundamentally different to those in air; hence, organisms require special adaptations to adhere in wet environments. In my thesis, I have investigated three study systems to elucidate mechanisms for adhesion under wet conditions. In Chapters 2 and 3, I explore an aquatic insect (Diptera: Blephariceridae) that uses suction organs to attach to rocks in raging alpine torrents. Suction-based attachment is driven by physical processes requiring a pressure difference and a seal to maintain it. Through my investigations, I have identified several key principles for biological suction attachments to wet and rough surfaces. Using three-dimensional reconstructions of blepharicerid suction organs and in vivo visualisation of the adhesive contact zone, I found several internal and external morphological adaptations that are important for strong adhesion under water. Moreover, I characterised a mechanism for rapid detachment which is the first detailed account of an actively controlled detachment system in biological suction organs. In Chapter 4, I investigate the contribution of physical and chemical mechanisms to the powerful attachment of common limpets (Patella vulgata) to rocks in the intertidal zone. I demonstrate that suction is not the primary contributor to their attachment forces; rather, it is their adhesive pedal mucus that is responsible. This adhesive mucus comprises of a complex mixture of glycans and proteins, many of which share homology with adhesive secretions from other marine invertebrates, such as sea stars, sea anemones, and flatworms. In Chapters 5 and 6, I study the physical and chemical properties of sticky secretions from carnivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthes) that help to capture, retain, and digest insects. I show that the viscoelastic pitcher fluid readily adheres to but not easily dewets from insect cuticle, and forms stable filaments as the insect attempts to escape that require significant work to overcome. In addition, the surface tension is reduced in pitcher fluid compared to water, making insects sink more easily into the former and facilitating further wetting of the cuticle. Chemical characterisation of the pitcher fluid revealed that its sticky filamentous property is caused by a polysaccharide with a glucurono-mannan backbone structure, which is chemically stable and contains carboxylic groups for strong interactions. Glucurono-mannan are an understudied group of plant polysaccharides that are present in mucilaginous secretions from across the plant kingdom, including sticky capture fluids from other carnivorous plants. My findings show that pitcher plant fluid can be used as a study system for future investigations into the origins and functional role of glucurono-mannan in carnivorous plants. In summary, my thesis has identified novel adaptations and principles for biological adhesion under wet conditions using three selected study systems, hence expanding our understanding of the underlying physical and chemical mechanisms and providing inspiration for biomimetic adhesives with improved performance in wet environments.EU Horizon 2020 under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 64286

Sonic heritage: listening to the past

History is so often told through objects, images and photographs, but the potential of sounds to reveal place and space is often neglected. Our research project ‘Sonic Palimpsest’1 explores the potential of sound to evoke impressions and new understandings of the past, to embrace the sonic as a tool to understand what was, in a way that can complement and add to our predominant visual understandings. Our work includes the expansion of the Oral History archives held at Chatham Dockyard to include women’s voices and experiences, and the creation of sonic works to engage the public with their heritage. Our research highlights the social and cultural value of oral history and field recordings in the transmission of knowledge to both researchers and the public. Together these recordings document how buildings and spaces within the dockyard were used and experienced by those who worked there. We can begin to understand the social and cultural roles of these buildings within the community, both past and present

Archaeological palaeoenvironmental archives: challenges and potential

This Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) sponsored collaborative doctoral project represents one of the most significant efforts to collate quantitative and qualitative data that can elucidate practices related to archaeological palaeoenvironmental archiving in England. The research has revealed that archived palaeoenvironmental remains are valuable resources for archaeological research and can clarify subjects that include the adoption and importation of exotic species, plant and insect invasion, human health and diet, and plant and animal husbandry practices. In addition to scientific research, archived palaeoenvironmental remains can provide evidence-based narratives of human resilience and climate change and offer evidence of the scientific process, making them ideal resources for public science engagement. These areas of potential have been realised at an imperative time; given that waterlogged palaeoenvironmental remains at significant sites such as Star Carr, Must Farm, and Flag Fen, archaeological deposits in towns and cities are at risk of decay due to climate change-related factors, and unsustainable agricultural practices. Innovative approaches to collecting and archiving palaeoenvironmental remains and maintaining existing archives will permit the creation of an accessible and thorough national resource that can service archaeologists and researchers in the related fields of biology and natural history. Furthermore, a concerted effort to recognise absences in archaeological archives, matched by an effort to supply these deficiencies, can produce a resource that can contribute to an enduring geographical and temporal record of England's biodiversity, which can be used in perpetuity in the face of diminishing archaeological and contemporary natural resources. To realise these opportunities, particular challenges must be overcome. The most prominent of these include inconsistent collection policies resulting from pressures associated with shortages in storage capacity and declining specialist knowledge in museums and repositories combined with variable curation practices. Many of these challenges can be resolved by developing a dedicated storage facility that can focus on the ongoing conservation and curation of palaeoenvironmental remains. Combined with an OASIS + module designed to handle and disseminate data pertaining to palaeoenvironmental archives, remains would be findable, accessible, and interoperable with biological archives and collections worldwide. Providing a national centre for curating palaeoenvironmental remains and a dedicated digital repository will require significant funding. Funding sources could be identified through collaboration with other disciplines. If sufficient funding cannot be identified, options that would require less financial investment, such as high-level archive audits and the production of guidance documents, will be able to assist all stakeholders with the improved curation, management, and promotion of the archived resource

Against Immateriality: 3D CGI and Contemporary Art

Against Immateriality: 3D CGI and Contemporary Art is a practice-led research project exploring three-dimensional computer-generated images (3D CGI), still and animated, as a mode of artistic expression. A post-photographic image paradigm that is habitually associated with soft power, spectacle and commodity forms, in recent years 3D CGI has emerged as a compelling way through which artists might express, represent and comprehend the effects of digitisation on art and life. Across three thematically linked but distinct chapters—Materialising, Corpsing, and Becoming 3D—I argue for the cultural, social and political realities associated with 3D CGI, investigating its unique characteristics as a sensual, multi-perspectival mode of image, object and world building. Through an exegesis of my own artistic practice, one in which I produce 3D computer-generated artefacts before translating them into physical objects and spatial installations, I examine the conditions of 3D CGI production, presentation and dissemination. I contextualise this practice within a broader movement within contemporary art of artists that use 3D CGI to comprehend and interrogate digital culture, analysing artworks by Mark Leckey, Ed Atkins, Sondra Perry, and the research group, Forensic Architecture. Each of these diverse examples provides a distinctive perspective on the implications of this mode of digital image making, including its role in refiguring notions of embodiment and materiality, how it can be used to vision aspects of contemporary society that are often occluded, and its ability to (re)construct images of traumatic pasts, turbulent presents and speculative futures. Ultimately, I argue that 3D CGI allows for reflection on and critique of digital technologies by underlining their immanent materiality and the lived, bodily effects these so-called immaterial images have the power to produce

Multimetal smithing : An urban craft in rural settings?

Multimetal smithing should be defined as the use of more than one metal and/or different metalworking techniques within thesame crafts-milieu. This complex metalworking has long been linked to centrality, central places and urbanity in Scandinavia.It has been extensively argued that fine casting and smithing, as well as manufacture utilizing precious metals was exclusivelyundertaken within early urban settings or the “central places” pre-dating these. Furthermore, the presence of complex metalcraftsmanship has been used as a driving indicator of the political, social and economic superiority of certain sites, therebyenhancing their identity as “centralities”.Recent research has come to challenge the universality of this link between urbanity, centrality and complex metalworkingas sites in rural settings with evidence of multimetal smithing are being identified. This shows that the relationship between thecraft and centrality (urbanity) must be nuanced and that perhaps multimetal craftsmanship should be reconsidered as an urbanindicator.The thesis project “From Crucible and onto Anvil” started in 2015 and focuses on sites housing remains of multimetalcraftsmanship dating primarily from 500-1000 AD. Within the project a comprehensive survey of sites will be used to evaluate thepresence of multimetal craftsmanship in the landscape. Sites in selected target areas will also be subject to intra-site analysisfocusing on workshop organisation, production output, metalworking techniques and chronological variances.A key aim in the project is to elucidate the conceptual aspects of complex metalworking. The term multimetality is used toanalytically frame all the societal and economic aspects of multimetal craftsmanship. Through this inclusive perspective both thecraftsmanship and the metalworkers behind it are positioned within the overall socioeconomic framework. The metalworkers,their skills and competences as well as the products of their labour are viewed as dynamic actors in the landscape and on thearenas of political economy of the Late Iron Age.The survey has already revealed interesting aspects concerning multimetal smithing and urbanity. Although the multimetalsites do cluster against areas of early urban development there are also other patterns emerging. Multimetal craftsmanship – both as practice and concept – was well represented in both rural peripheral settings and urban crafts-milieus. This means that therole of multimetality as part of an “urban conceptual package” is crucial to investigate. Such an approach will have the dual endsof properly understanding the craft and its societal implications, but also further the knowledge of the phenomenon of urbanityas a whole. Was multimetal smithing part of an “urban package” that spread into the rural landscape? Did the multimetality differbetween urban and rural crafts-milieus? How does early urbanity relate to the chronology of multimetal craftsmanship?This paper aims to counter these questions using examples from the survey of multimetal sites conducted within the thesisproject. A comparison between selected sites will be presented. The purpose of this is to evaluate the role of multimetality withinthe “urban package” and discuss the role of complex metalworking in the establishment of urban arenas of interaction in LateIron Age Scandinavia

An investigation into marine biofouling and its influence on the durability of concrete sea defences

This research has investigated marine biofouling and its influence on the durability of concrete sea defences using on-site and laboratory-based studies. The study was divided into three main phases namely: the surface analysis of armour concrete, the study of algal colonisation within the matrix and investigations into the presence of a bacterial biofilm within freshly hardened armour concrete. The effectiveness of photocatalytic coatings as a non-toxic anti-fouling strategy and cell attachment to synthetic fibres was also studied. It was found that algal growth quickly developed at the interface of inclusions within the matrix and that power washing with the use of Dairy Hypochlorite to remove this accelerated wear, leading to significant mass loss. It was also observed that bacterial growth within local beach sand, which was used in the production of the revetment armour units, survived the concrete manufacturing process. Bacteria were cultured from the sand and were found to match the Actinomycete like growth in the freshly hardened matrix of armour concrete. This thesis proposes a holistic model for biofouling of fibre reinforced marine concrete in which algal growth around inclusions facilitates a complex process of biodeterioration. Bacterial filamentous growth around and through synthetic fibres embedded in the new concrete mix, appears to be detrimental to the long term durability of synthetic fibres. Subsequent algal colonisation on the surface of newly placed units appeared to quickly penetrate the surface through exposed fibres and percolated interfaces of inclusions, subsequently weakening their bond. During the manufacture of the armour units, aggregate segregation in the 90° corners in the bottom of the form created a weaker matrix in the surface region most exposed to biodeterioration, the full force of wave action and power washing. The main conclusions from this study are: • Synthetic fibres used at the study site are inappropriate for marine concrete, particularly in algal rich waters, within the inter-tidal zone where beach sand is used in the concrete mix. Amendments to Concrete Society Technical Report No. 65: Guidance on the use of Macro-synthetic-fibre-reinforced concrete have been recommended. • Bacterial loaded beach sand is detrimental to the durability of marine concrete in the inter-tidal zone and amendments are recommended to PD 6682-1:2013 Aggregates for concrete (BSI, 2013a) in order to highlight this concern. This UK guidance suggests limiting values for aggregate properties within the ranges permitted in BS EN 12620 (BSI, 2013) but does not place any limits on microorganisms present in beach sand. Further work is needed into the susceptibility of synthetic fibres to crystal growth. Alterations in the manufacture of armour units have been recommended by this author

Hands-on Science. Celebrating Science and Science Education

The book herein aims to contribute to the improvement of Science Education in our schools and to an effective implementation of a sound widespread scientific literacy at all levels of society

Guidelines for geoconservation in protected and conserved areas

These Guidelines are to help all of those involved in any aspect of protected area establishment and management and the stewardship of conserved areas to understand and address the conservation of geoheritage (termed geoconservation throughout these Guidelines)