Changes in the production and use of pottery from the Early Neolithic to the ‘secondary products revolution’: some evidence from LN Makriyalos, Northern Greece

Recent developments in pottery studies have altered the way archaeologists handle and interpret prehistoric pottery. The technology and use of pottery, the symbolic and social meaning of the pot are considered as anthropological phenomena, the products of human action. Excavations at Late Neolithic Makriyalos offered the opportunity to explore from a new perspective several aspects of neolithic society in Greece in terms of the use, function, distribution and discard of pottery.Sodoben razvoj preučevanja keramike je spremenil način arheološke obravnave in interpretacije prazgodovinske keramike. Tehnologijo in uporabo keramike, simboličen in družbeni pomen posod smatramo za antropološki fenomen, za proizvod človekove dejavnosti. Izkopavanja poznoneolitskega Makriyalosa so omogočila nove poglede na neolitsko družbo v Grčiji z vidika uporabnosti, namenskosti, distribucije in zavrženosti lončenine

Novel algorithms in wireless CDMA systems for estimation and kernel based equalization

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.A powerful technique is presented for joint blind channel estimation and carrier offset method for code- division multiple access (CDMA) communication systems. The new technique combines singular value decomposition (SVD) analysis with carrier offset parameter. Current blind methods sustain a high computational complexity as they require the computation of a large SVD twice, and they are sensitive to accurate knowledge of the noise subspace rank. The proposed method overcomes both problems by computing the SVD only once. Extensive simulations using MatLab demonstrate the robustness of the proposed scheme and its performance is comparable to other existing SVD techniques with significant lower computational as much as 70% cost because it does not require knowledge of the rank of the noise sub-space. Also a kernel based equalization for CDMA communication systems is proposed, designed and simulated using MatLab. The proposed method in CDMA systems overcomes all other methods

Ceramics from Makriyalos II, northern Greece.

Recent theoretical and methodological developments in pottery studies have altered the way archaeologists handle and interpret prehistoric pottery. The technology and use of pottery, and the symbolic and social meaning of pots, are considered as anthropological phenomena, the products of human action. Excavations at Late Neolithic Makriyalos offered the opportunity to explore several aspects of Neolithic society in Greece from a new perspective. This thesis explores the ceramic assemblage of the second phase of Makriyalos. The study is structured around the concept of the ceramic chalne operatoire in an attempt to move beyond the traditional concern with typology and chronology and towards an approach that foregrounds the producers and consumers of ceramics. Ceramics are studied in terms of their production, use, function, and discard and, as far as the available data permit, in terms of the spatial distribution and social contexts in which these activities took place. The choices made by potters at successive stages of ceramic production show that pottery from Makriyalos II exhibits a level of complexity and diversification in terms of ware, ceramic paste, surface finishing and firing conditions, directly linked, on the one hand, to practical considerations and, on the other hand, to cultural and social distinctions or contexts of use, consumption and discard. Spatial and contextual differences in a series of variables related to the ceramic material suggest differences in the intra-site organisation of space, some of which may plausibly be interpreted in terms of an opposition between smaller (perhaps `household') and larger ('interhousehold') scales of social activity

Investigating factors that influence adoption of and adherence to Mediterranean style diet in healthy adults who live in England.

Aim: This project aimed to investigate the factors (barriers & facilitators) that influence adoption of and adherence to Mediterranean style diet (MedDiet) in adults aged 18 years old and above who live in England. For the purposes of the study, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and a pilot anonymous cross-sectional online questionnaire study have been conducted. The SLR informed the content of the questionnaire study. Results: Of 3.971 retrieved articles, 10 studies fulfilled our inclusion criteria and were included in the SLR. Eight influencing factors were identified and categorized into themes: financial factors, cognitive factors, sociocultural factors, motivational factors, health and lifestyle factors, accessibility & availability factors, hedonic factors and demographic factors. The SLR results informed the content of the anonymous online cross-sectional questionnaire study. The questionnaire survey was launched online in April 2020 and it was disseminated through social media (Facebook, twitter and BU research blog). Potential participants were asked to complete the eligibility criteria, before getting redirected into the MEDAS (Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener) score measurement section. Firstly, the questionnaire assessed current MEDAS score of each participant. Secondly, the factors associated with adoption of or adherence to Mediterranean style diet were scored based on a seven- point Likert scale, and finally, various participants' demographic and lifestyle characteristics were collected. The total MEDAS score was found to be below moderate level (5.8 ± 2.7). British citizens’ MEDAS scores had significant positive correlations with the influence of family members and their upbringing (r = 0.35, p = 0.03) and their smoking habits (r = 0.37, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Worldwide various factors related to adoption of and adherence to MedDiet was documented to have an impact into the consumption of the Mediterranean dietary pattern among adults outside Mediterranean regions. Our synthesis of previous findings from various studies provided insights into the factors that could influence adoption of and adherence to MedDiet in healthy adults globally. Moreover, our questionnaire study findings confirmed that two factors had statistical significant impact on Mediterranean diet adoption in our sample of British citizens. Concerning adherence related factors our results were not significant, but might show tendency and bigger study (larger sample) needed to elucidate the statistical significance of these results. If our findings are confirmed in future studies, nutrition professionals can consider the development of nutritional interventions based on MedDiet’s influencing factors

Modeling the Scientific Dimension of Academic Conferences

AbstractThe rapid spread of the Internet and the growing trend towards research are the leading factors and strong springboards, for the Industry of conference organizations, to proceed with further development. With the increase of shareholding in organizing events, the environment has become very complex. The Conference Organizing Committee is challenged to define a wide range of factors, in order to better serve the needs and objectives of the Conference.The main topic of this research is the study and modeling of the scientific dimension of Academic Conferences. We studied and recorded the basic procedures that govern the organization of scientific conferences. These are the procedures that affect the way that scientific conferences are conducted and eventually of course, the success or failure of those. Our research is engaged in the scientific aspect of these conferences, as the majority of the participants are scientifically renowned academics

Greening Supply Chains: Impact on Cost and Design

The consideration of environmental issues has emerged as a topic of critical importance for today’s globalized supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to develop a strategic-tactical decision-support methodology to assist managers in evaluating the impact of environmental issues, related to transportation emissions, on the transport geography of a region. Specifically we provide a tool that addresses: (i) supply chain network design, including port of entry and transportation mode, and (ii) decisions on leasing vs. outsourcing of transportation and distribution centers. The applicability of the proposed methodology is examined through the development of a sustainable supply chain network in the South-Eastern Europe region. The results indicate that in most cases outsourcing distribution centers to Third Party Logistics operators improves both the cost and the environmental performance of a company. In all cases outsourcing of transportation operations minimizes the amount of CO2 and PM emissions generated, while leasing minimizes costs

Tactical/Operational Decision Making for Designing Green Logistics Networks

Cap and trade regulations along with an increasing consumer and company demand for green products and services constitute two major drivers for motivating corporations to adopt green practices. However, the adoption of such practices usually increases their operational costs. Therefore, the trade-off between “green” and cost-optimal policies is a common challenge for most organizations, at least in developed countries. The purpose of this paper is to assess alternative logistic network design options (applicable in most supply chains) taking into account both their cost and CO2 emissions performance. The applicability of the proposed methodology is illustrated through the design of a major white good retailer’s logistics network in the region of Greece. The results indicate that a company optimizes its cost performance by serving all its retail stores directly by truck through one central distribution center. On the other hand, a CO2 emissions optimal performance includes additional distribution centers and the employment of rail instead of truck transportation. Moreover, longer review periods, despite the higher holding and backorder costs, result in lower transportation costs and CO2 emissions

Inventory strategies for systems with fast remanufacturing

We describe hybrid manufacturing/remanufacturing systems with a long lead time for manufacturing and a short lead time for remanufacturing. We review the classes of inventory strategies for hybrid systems in the literature. These are all based on equal lead times. For systems with slow manufacturing and fast remanufacturing, we propose a new class. An extensive numerical experiment shows that the optimal strategy in the new class almost always performs better and often much better than the optimal strategies in all other classes

The impact of slow steaming on the carriers’ and shippers’ costs: The case of a global logistics network

We propose an analytical modeling methodology for quantifying the impact of slow steaming on the carrier's voyage cost and on the shipper's total landed logistics costs. The developed methodology can be employed by a carrier and a shipper in their contract negotiations, in order for the two parties to determine how they could divide between them the savings resulted from slow steaming. We demonstrate that the impact of slow steaming and speed adjustment policies on the shippers’ total landed logistics costs tend to increase as the vessel travels towards the end of its voyage

Inflammatory Response and Congestive Heart Failure Following Extensive Left Atrial Ablation

A case of a patient with persistent atrial fibrillation and normal left ventricular systolic function who developed acute heart failure symptoms after a procedure of extensive left atrial ablation is presented and possible aetiologies are being discussed