Space and spectacle : science and religion at the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1840-1890

This thesis examines public encounters between science and religion that took place in connection with the meetings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) between 1840 and 1890. Throughout, it is argued that these encounters are always made in place, and are profoundly shaped by the local, regional and national settings in which the BAAS met. This is explored through five meetings of the Association, including Cork (1843), Edinburgh (1850), Bath (1864), Bristol (1875) and Montreal (1884). From the politic-religious debates around Irish Repeal in Cork, the Disruption in Edinburgh's Established Church and the publication of Vestiges, or indeed the civic divide between Montreal's Protestant elite and the ultramontanist Catholic population, in each the boundaries between science and religion were differently shaped, contested and framed by local circumstances. As well as placing each meeting in its local, regional and national setting, attention is drawn to the importance of rhetorical geographies and 'communicative acts' in making science-religion encounters. The BAAS's dedication to political and religious neutrality in 1831 was a crucial organising protocol that limited the expression of religious ideas and the use of confessional language in the official confines of the meeting. Breaching this protocol, more often than not, invited controversy. At the same time, 'communicative acts' in different places also played a crucial role in mediating encounters. Spectacles, such as John Tyndall's 1874 'Belfast address', or the appearance of Bishop Colenso in Bath, or even minor religious services, were central in shifting and staging science-religion boundaries in particular times and places. Throughout the thesis, the profound spatial implications of the BAAS's prohibition on religion is highlighted. Indeed, attention is drawn to how the Association's leadership fostered the middle Sunday of the Association's week - a day left free from official business in the programme - as a rhetorical and material space where ideas banned from the Association could find expression. This space helped relieve tension between the Victorian appetite for religion and the BAAS's proscription. Finally, uncovering the Sunday activities attached to the Association helps, as is shown, counter a grand narrative of secularisation that ties science and professionalisation to religious decline.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Space and spectacle : science and religion at the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1840-1890

This thesis examines public encounters between science and religion that took place in connection with the meetings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) between 1840 and 1890. Throughout, it is argued that these encounters are always made in place, and are profoundly shaped by the local, regional and national settings in which the BAAS met. This is explored through five meetings of the Association, including Cork (1843), Edinburgh (1850), Bath (1864), Bristol (1875) and Montreal (1884). From the politic-religious debates around Irish Repeal in Cork, the Disruption in Edinburgh's Established Church and the publication of Vestiges, or indeed the civic divide between Montreal's Protestant elite and the ultramontanist Catholic population, in each the boundaries between science and religion were differently shaped, contested and framed by local circumstances. As well as placing each meeting in its local, regional and national setting, attention is drawn to the importance of rhetorical geographies and 'communicative acts' in making science-religion encounters. The BAAS's dedication to political and religious neutrality in 1831 was a crucial organising protocol that limited the expression of religious ideas and the use of confessional language in the official confines of the meeting. Breaching this protocol, more often than not, invited controversy. At the same time, 'communicative acts' in different places also played a crucial role in mediating encounters. Spectacles, such as John Tyndall's 1874 'Belfast address', or the appearance of Bishop Colenso in Bath, or even minor religious services, were central in shifting and staging science-religion boundaries in particular times and places. Throughout the thesis, the profound spatial implications of the BAAS's prohibition on religion is highlighted. Indeed, attention is drawn to how the Association's leadership fostered the middle Sunday of the Association's week - a day left free from official business in the programme - as a rhetorical and material space where ideas banned from the Association could find expression. This space helped relieve tension between the Victorian appetite for religion and the BAAS's proscription. Finally, uncovering the Sunday activities attached to the Association helps, as is shown, counter a grand narrative of secularisation that ties science and professionalisation to religious decline.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Investigation into Programmability for Layer 2 Protocol Frame Delineation Architectures

This paper presents the design and study of reconfigurable architectures for two data-link layer frame delineation techniques used for ATM and GFP. The architectures are targeted to Altera Stratix II FPGA technology and are investigated in terms of performance and area. This work addresses the potential for incorporating programmability into custom purpose architectures that could enable the same processing hardware to be used for processing multiple protocols. 1

Reform of the planning system in Northern Ireland: your chance to influence change

Consultation on the Reform of the Planning System in Northern Ireland commenced on 6 July 2009 with the publication of the long awaited proposals paper: 'Reform of the Planning System in Northern Ireland: Your chance to influence change'. A 12 week consultation period followed during which time a series of consultation roadshow events were undertaken. This report is an account of that strand of the reform consultation and the discussions that took place at the roadshows during a three week period in September 2009. The roadshow events formed the central part in a process of encouraging engagement and response to the Reform Proposals before the closing date of 2 October 2009. They were organised and facilitated by a team of event managers and independent planners who, together with key Planning Service personnel, attended a mixture of day and evening events in each of the new eleven council areas to hear the views and opinions of those who came along. Aside from being publicly advertised, over 1,500 invitations (written and e-invites) were issued to a wide range of sectors, including the business community,environmentalists, councils, community and voluntary groups and other organisations, and 1,000 fliers were issued to libraries, leisure centres, council offices and civic centres. In total almost 500 people took up the invitation and came along to one or more of the events