Cremation practices and the creation of monument complexes: the Neolithic cremation cemetery at Forteviot, Strathearn, Perth & Kinross, Scotland, and its comparanda

Around the beginning of the 3rd millennium cal bc a cremation cemetery was established at Forteviot, central Scotland. This place went on to become one of the largest monument complexes identified in Mainland Scotland, with the construction of a palisaded enclosure, timber structures, and a series of henge monuments and other enclosures. The cemetery was established between 3080 and 2900 cal bc, probably in the 30th century cal bc, which is contemporary with the cremation cemetery at Stonehenge. Nine discrete deposits of cremated bone, representing the remains of at least 18 people, were identified. In most instances they were placed within cut features and, in one case, a series of cremation deposits was associated with a broken standing stone. This paper includes the first detailed assessment of the cremated remains at Forteviot and the features associated with the cemetery, and explores how the establishment of this cemetery may have been both a catalyst and inspiration for the elaborate monument building and prolonged acts of remembrance that occurred at this location over a period of almost 1000 years. The paper also outlines the parallels for Forteviot across Britain and, for the first time, draws together the dating evidence (including Bayesian modelling) for this major category of evidence for considering the nature of late 4th/early 3rd millennium cal bc society. The results and discussion have wide implications and resonances for contemplating the establishment and evolution of monument complexes in prehistoric Britain and beyond

The Effect of Walkthrough Observations on Teacher Perspectives in Christian Schools

This study investigated the effects on teacher perceptions of frequent, brief classroom observations in Christian schools. Teachers (N=111) responded to 13 belief and value statements prior to and after the term during which administrators conducted weekly, brief, unannounced observations in their classes. Teachers reported significant positive change regarding (a) analyzing reasons for selecting methods to assess learning, (b) being encouraged after class observations, and (c) being encouraged after receiving feedback related to the observations

Bridge number, Heegaard genus and non-integral Dehn surgery

We show there exists a linear function w: N->N with the following property. Let K be a hyperbolic knot in a hyperbolic 3-manifold M admitting a non-longitudinal S^3 surgery. If K is put into thin position with respect to a strongly irreducible, genus g Heegaard splitting of M then K intersects a thick level at most 2w(g) times. Typically, this shows that the bridge number of K with respect to this Heegaard splitting is at most w(g), and the tunnel number of K is at most w(g) + g-1.Comment: 76 page, 48 figures; referee comments incorporated and typos fixed; accepted at TAM

Simulation of ultrasonic lamb wave generation, propagation and detection for an air coupled robotic scanner

A computer simulator, to facilitate the design and assessment of a reconfigurable, air-coupled ultrasonic scanner is described and evaluated. The specific scanning system comprises a team of remote sensing agents, in the form of miniature robotic platforms that can reposition non-contact Lamb wave transducers over a plate type of structure, for the purpose of non-destructive evaluation (NDE). The overall objective is to implement reconfigurable array scanning, where transmission and reception are facilitated by different sensing agents which can be organised in a variety of pulse-echo and pitch-catch configurations, with guided waves used to generate data in the form of 2-D and 3-D images. The ability to reconfigure the scanner adaptively requires an understanding of the ultrasonic wave generation, its propagation and interaction with potential defects and boundaries. Transducer behaviour has been simulated using a linear systems approximation, with wave propagation in the structure modelled using the local interaction simulation approach (LISA). Integration of the linear systems and LISA approaches are validated for use in Lamb wave scanning by comparison with both analytic techniques and more computationally intensive commercial finite element/difference codes. Starting with fundamental dispersion data, the paper goes on to describe the simulation of wave propagation and the subsequent interaction with artificial defects and plate boundaries, before presenting a theoretical image obtained from a team of sensing agents based on the current generation of sensors and instrumentation

How is Supply Chain Visibility Affecting SME's Operating in International Supply Chains?

Supply chain visibility is generally seen as a positive attribute for individual supply chain partners and the supply chain as a whole. There is limited research on how increasing levels of supply chain visibility can impact individual organizations, particularly smaller entities (SME's). This paper uses an Australasian SME (Orion) as a case study to investigate how increasing visibility is affecting them and the way they operate within international supply chains. The results indicate that increasing visibility can pose significant challenges and potentially negative consequences for smaller organizations. In addition to the extra resources required and complexity for the SME itself, diverging expectations and a lack of trust between supply partners can negatively impact on supply chain relations and long term supply chain innovation. Within the supply chains Orion operates, increasing visibility does not appear to be leading to improvements in collaboration, risk sharing or shared goals. Viewed through the lens of Michael Porter's five forces model Orion is in a precarious environment, although there remain options for increased visibility to be used to Orion's advantage

Production and management practices of selected beef cattle producers in Campbell County, Tennessee

The purposes of this study, then, were; (1) to determine the characteristics of cattlemen using the cowcalf system in high, medium, and low production categories; (2) to ascertain which of certain recommended practices they were and were not following; and (3) to discover some of the important factors influencing cattlemen to adopt or not adopt recommended practices

Efficiencies in the Small and Medium-Sized Private College Business Office

The college business office is a complex office involving many facets of institutional business. No matter whether the functions are performed by a single person or in a department, depending on the size of the college, much the same procedures are necessary for the operation of the department

Public Finance and Individual Preferences over Globalization Strategies

In the absence of distortionary tax and spending policies, freer immigration and trade for a country would often be supported by similar groups thanks to similar impacts on labor income. But government policies that redistribute income may alter the distributional politics. In particular, immigrants may pay taxes and receive public services. Imports, obviously, can do neither of these. This suggests quite different political coalitions may organize around trade and immigration. In this paper we develop a framework for examining how pre-tax and post-tax cleavages may differ across globalization strategies and also fiscal jurisdictions. We then apply this framework to the case of individual immigration and trade preferences across U.S. states. We have two main findings. First, high exposure to immigrant fiscal pressures reduces support for freer immigration among natives, especially the more-skilled. Second, there is no public-finance variation in opinion over trade policy, consistent with the data that U.S. trade policy has negligible fiscal-policy impacts. Public-finance concerns appear to be crucial in shaping opinions towards alternative globalization strategies.