From upper limits to detection : continuous gravitational waves in the advanced detector era

This thesis concerns continuous gravitational wave signals from non-axisymmetric neutron stars and ground-based interferometric detectors. These detectors are currently being upgraded and this thesis explores relevant issues and methods to prepare for the advanced detector era. A study into sensitivity dependence on the addition of a southern hemisphere detector for a targeted continuous wave search is first presented. Next, we study the effect of close and/or high velocity neutron stars on the ability of a blind, all-sky search to make a detection. Initial results from a narrowband search for signals from the Crab Pulsar and a blind hardware injected signal are then presented. Finally, we describe the development and initial implementation of a large-scale mock data challenge designed to test current continuous wave algorithms to explore various issues before we enter the advanced detector era.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Human resource strategies of Chinese state crewing agencies with special reference to labour export and the experience of Chinese seafarers

The Chinese shipping industry is one of the fastest developing sectors in the Chinese economy. However, few studies have explored the changes within it, especially concerning its human resource element - seafarers - and the newly formed crewing agencies through which they are employed. This research seeks to explore the contemporary experience of Chinese seafarers and especially how this is impacted by the management strategies of Chinese crewing agencies. In doing so, it contributes to debates about changes in Chinese society - that is, whether the economic reform has led to a new market economy in China. The idea of the emergence of a modernized, free Chinese seafarer labour market is critically examined through research into the employment and labour supply strategies of two ship crewing agencies, which have been reformed to different degrees, and the experience of the seafarers who work for them. The research utilises qualitative methods, with twenty-two managers and fifty seafarers being interviewed extensively, supplemented by documentary research. It seeks to explain why China's seafaring labour export is far lower than people have expected. It is seen that it is difficult to characterise China's seafarer labour market as a free market. The state has limited the liberalization of the market by granting foreign manning qualification to less than sixty state-owned crewing agencies. It is seen that institutions at higher levels still intervene in the operation of the agencies, with their management consequently showing a lack of market orientation to different extents, which constrains the development of China's labour export. It is also difficult to characterise the movement of Chinese seafarers in the labour market as free movement. The argument that Chinese economic reform leads to the transformation of Chinese seafarers into freelancers, which implies a substantial increase of seafarer export due to the attractiveness of working in foreign shipping companies, is too simplistic. In addition, the wages of Chinese seafarers working in the global labour market are lower than the international benchmark rates and are not necessarily higher than the payments by domestic shipping companies. This weakens the willingness of Chinese seafarers to work in foreign shipping companies.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The use of a genetic strategy to study the role of modulation of oxidative stress by uncoupling proteins 2 and 3 in the pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the early pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes. The uncoupling proteins 2 and 3 are mitochondrial proteins found in man that have been implicated in protecting mammals from the effects of over-nutrition. Examination of the effect of genetic variation in the UCP2-UCP3 genetic cluster has so far been inconclusive. The aim of this thesis was to examine, using a genetic strategy, the hypothesis that the role of the uncoupling proteins 2 and 3 in the pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes is via modification of oxidative stress. In a prospective study of nearly 3000 men the risk of type 2 diabetes at 10 years was increased for both the UCP2-866AA (1.94 [1.18-3.19]: p=0.009) and the UCP3-55TT (2.06 [1.06-3.99]: p=0.03) homozygotes. This increased risk was not explained by the association with any measured conventional risk factors. Paradoxically, in a Europe-wide cross-sectional study of 598 subjects the UCP2-866A variant was associated with lower waist-hip ratio (GX v AA,1.00 [0.06] v 0.98 [0.07]; p=0.003), although also associated with lower insulin secretion (42.6 [24.6] v 35.6 [18.6]; p=0.03). The UCP3 variant was not significantly associated with any metabolic trait. The significant heritability of plasma markers of oxidative stress (TAS 0.54, TOAS 0.49) suggests anti-oxidant function is a plausible mechanism to determine Type 2 Diabetes risk. The predictors of anti-oxidant stress in a family study were examined, as was the impact of UCP2-UCP3 gene cluster variation. Genetic variation in the UCP2-UCP3 was found to increase the risk of the Type 2 diabetes. While UCP2 may modify insulin secretion directly, the mechanism of action for UCP3 is likely to involve novel risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes such as modification of mitochondrial oxidative stress. Finally, the development of a human model is described to examine genetic influences on oxidative stress burden using a meal rich in used cooking oil.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Conceptualising party political ideology : an exploration of party modernisation in Britain

Ideology in political parties has been studied in a variety of different ways. From accounts which emphasise the decline of ideology to scholars attesting the centrality of ideas, the interaction between parties and ideology is often far from clear. In this thesis I set out to explore this relationship in greater detail, arguing that ideological analysis is relevant to understanding parties, but that existing modes of investigation should be tailored to reflect the specific circumstances of political parties. In advancing this contention I introduce the concept of party political ideology as a means for schematising my own study of this area; offering a model in which parties are seen to both possess and project an ideology. In operationalising this approach I concentrate on ideology as projected, arguing that to understand parties’ contemporary relationship with ideology it is informative to consider how the public view this interaction. This leads me to examine ideology through rhetoric, exploring parties’ communicative utterances to discern the way in which ideology is conveyed, the form of ideological change and the apparent relevance of ideology vis-à-vis other party motivations. In applying this approach attention is directed to the Labour Party between 1982 and 1997 and the Conservatives between 1996 and 2010, exploring these periods to examine ideology, ideological change and the indicators of modernisation. Whilst characterising ideology in both of these cases, and developing my own narrative of ideological change and modernisation, I also use this analysis to exhibit the capacities of my theoretical and methodological approach. This leads me to examine how parties’ ideological messages are likely to be decoded and how notions of ideological irrelevance arise; insights which help to explain perceptions of ideology in relation to contemporary party politics. In this regard this thesis engages in a theoretical, methodological and applied analysis of the relationship between political parties and ideology. This multi-stranded inquiry is used to assert the relevance of ideology in the field of party politics and the need to advance, under the banner of party political ideology, a form of analysis capable of appreciating the nuanced interaction between these concerns.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Spectral spatiality in the acousmatic listening context

Sounds are often experienced as being spatially higher or lower in congruence with their frequency ‘height’ (i.e. pitch register). The term ‘spectral spatiality’ refers to this impression of spatial height and vertical depth as evoked by the perceived occupancy of evolving sound-shapes (spectromorphologies) within the continuum of audible frequencies. Chapters One and Two draw upon a diverse body of literature to explore the cognitive and physiological processes involved in human spatial hearing in general, and spectral spatiality in particular. Thereafter the potential pertinence of a spectral space consciousness in the acousmatic listening experience is highlighted, particularly with regard to more abstract acousmatic contexts where sounds do not directly invoke familiar source identities. Chapters Three and Four further elaborate aspects of spectral space consciousness and propose a terminological framework for discussing musical contexts in terms of their spectral space design. Consequently, it is argued that in acousmatic music, spectral spatiality must be considered as an inseparable aspect of spatiality in general, although its pertinence only becomes directly highlighted in particular musical contexts. The recurring theme in this thesis is that, in acousmatic music, 'space' is not a parameter but a multifaceted quality that is inherent to all sounds. As well as providing an analytical framework for discussing spatiality in acousmatic music, this thesis highlights the compositional potentials offered by spectral spatiality, particularly in relation to the creation of perspectival image in multichannel works. For instance, the possibility of (re)distributing the spectral components of a sound around the listener (circumspectral image) is discussed in context, and a software tool is presented that enables an intuitive and experimental approach to the composition of circumspectral sounds for 6 and 8 channel loudspeaker configurations. This thesis is useful for both composers and analysts interested in aspects of spatiality in acousmatic music. It also offers some insight into spectral space consciousness in non-acousmatic music, and may therefore contribute towards a more general understanding of the nature of our spatial experience in music.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Il ruolo dei proverbi sugli animali nella cultura contadina

Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità e del Vicino Oriente - Università Ca' Foscar