An Anthropological Perspective on Magistrate Jelderks’ Kennewick Man Decision

The “Kennewick Man” controversy is an extremely important case in the history of American anthropology. As anthropologists with backgrounds in American Indian studies and American archaeology, we have a particular interest in this case. In this paper we present our perspective on the Kennewick Man case as anthropologists with expertise in archaeology, Pacific Northwest precontact history, Plateau ethnology, and cultural resource law. In general we find that the August 30, 2000, decision of Magistrate John Jelderks of the United States District Court for the district of Oregon to be incorrect and without anthropological foundation. Based on an analysis of the evidence reviewed by the Department of the Interior and Magistrate Jelderks we conclude that the Department of the Interior made a reasonable decision in determining that a preponderance of the evidence supports repatriation of the Kennewick Man to the defendants

Speculative Requirements: Design Fiction and RE

Many innovative software products are conceived, developed and deployed without any conventional attempt to elicit stakeholder requirements. Rather, they are the result of the vision and intuition of a small number of creative individuals who perceive a market opportunity that has been facilitated by the emergence of a new technology. In this paper we consider how the conditions that enable new products' emergence might be better anticipated, making innovations a little less reliant on individual vision and a little more informed by stakeholder need. We contend that this is particularly important where just-over-the-horizon technology would have the potential for social impact, good or bad. Speculative design describes a basket of techniques that seek to explore this landscape. We focus particularly on one of these, design fiction, and describe a case study where it was used to explore how plausible new technologies might impact on dementia care

The Presentation of Jerome’s First Letter to Paulinus of Nola in the Codex Amiatinus Pentateuch Diagram

A diagram in the first quire of the Codex Amiatinus features five textual captions arranged in cruciform formation, one for each book of the Pentateuch. These are taken from Jerome's first letter to Paulinus of Nola (Epistle 53) which was written in 394 AD. This essay examines the diagram's colours, geometric structure, manuscript location and script. It suggests that the Pentateuch diagram should be regarded as a highly original piece of visual exegesis which is designed to celebrate the contribution made by Jerome to the transmission of the Latin Bible and point the viewer towards typological interpretations of Old Testament figures and events

Bede, iconoclasm and the Temple of Solomon

In Bede's lifetime (c. 673–735) the churches at Wearmouth-Jarrow were richly decorated with panel paintings from Rome. This essay examines the significance that those paintings held for Bede and his community, and it reveals the strategies that Bede employed to defend them in his commentary on the Temple of Solomon (De templo), which was written after images had become a contentious issue in Byzantium during the reign of Emperor Leo III (714–741). This has important implications for our understanding of Bede's place in the intellectual landscape of early-eighth-century Europe and it shows the ambitious nature and topical relevance of his mature exegetical programme

Bede, iconoclasm and the Temple of Solomon

In Bede's lifetime (c. 673–735) the churches at Wearmouth-Jarrow were richly decorated with panel paintings from Rome. This essay examines the significance that those paintings held for Bede and his community, and it reveals the strategies that Bede employed to defend them in his commentary on the Temple of Solomon (De templo), which was written after images had become a contentious issue in Byzantium during the reign of Emperor Leo III (714–741). This has important implications for our understanding of Bede's place in the intellectual landscape of early-eighth-century Europe and it shows the ambitious nature and topical relevance of his mature exegetical programme

GFRP durability appraisal: mechanical testing of naturally aged composite panels

The findings of a durability study undertaken on pultruded glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) cladding panels are presented. Sourced at demolition from the Second Severn Crossing Visitors’ Centre building in the UK, the panels offered the rare opportunity to assess the characteristics of naturally aged composite material. Mechanical properties were determined and compared with the properties of new, equivalent material. The phenomenon of polymer hardening, typified by a reduction in the material strain limit over time, was investigated by further mechanical testing procedures. By contrasting the properties as found for panels taken from each of the four external walls of the building, factors concerning environmental exposure and factors relating to the original fabrication conditions were investigated. The results indicate that, regardless of the exposure conditions, in 17 years the mechanical material properties appear not to have significantly diminished, despite aesthetic quality suffering due to lack of maintenance. It has, however, been shown that ultraviolet exposure causes a hardening of the resin component of the composite, resulting in an increase in the compressive elastic modulus, but a reduction in the threshold of the brittle fracture of the matrix in tension. This final result has not been documented before and is significant in understanding the long-term performance of composites

Rolling With the Wheels of Commerce: The Challenges of Business and Industry-Based Resources

Collections and liaison librarians receive requests for specialized resources that may require use of passwords or other mediated access, local hosting, or special software. Sometimes, although not always, these resources are used in a business or industry setting, and their subscription and licensing processes do not follow typical academic library acquisitions patterns. Librarians may also receive requests for raw data that is part of a subscribed resource. How do librarians respond to these user needs? How do vendors make decisions about which products to bring to the academic library market? The authors present views on these issues and options to consider

Making Legacy Thermal Storage Heating fit for the Smart Grid

Collaborative paper with Oxford University Environmental Change Institute and Energy Local Ltd. The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Thermal storage heaters, charged using overnight off-peak electricity, have been used for domestic space heating in the UK and other countries since the 1980s. However, they have always been difficult for consumers to manage efficiently and, with the advent of a high proportion of renewables in the electricity generation mix, the time of day when they are charged needs to be more flexible. There is also a need to reduce peaks in the demand profile to allow distribution networks to support new sources of demand such as electric vehicles. We describe a trial of a smart control system that was retrofitted to a group of six dwellings with this form of heating, with the objectives of providing more convenient and efficient control for the users while varying the times at which charging is performed, to flatten the profile of demand and make use of locally-generated renewable electricity. The trial also employs a commercially-realistic combination of a static time-of-day tariff with a real time tariff dependent on local generation, to provide consumers with the opportunity and incentive to reduce their costs by varying times of use of appliances. Results from operation over the 2015-16 heating season indicate that the objectives are largely achieved. It is estimated that on an annualised and weather-adjusted basis most of the users have consumed less electricity than before intervention and their costs are less on the trial tariffs. Critical factors for success of this form of system are identified, particularly the need to facilitate hands-on control of heating by thrifty users and the importance of an effective and sustained user engagement programme when introducing the technology, to ensure users gain confidence through a readily-accessible source of support and advice