Curating Suffering: The Challenges of Mobilising Holocaust Histories, Narratives and Artifacts

With the upsurge in public interest in truth and accessibility to historically suppressed narratives surrounding human atrocities, the research done by archaeologists has taken on a new authority in these discussions as being a tangible link to victims, perpetrators and context. With this comes a return of the common debate amongst researchers, how best to present and represent their work to the public ensuring it is accessible, accurate and interesting. When it comes to knowledge mobilization of sensitive but important events, the Holocaust makes an interesting and relevant case study as debates surrounding its teaching and presentation have been continuous over the last half-century. Current trends favour an upfront and personal approach balancing access with empathy when presenting its narrative. This review of current writings on Holocaust archaeology and museum curation will examine these current practices, their implications, and how artifact collection and presentation affect the interpretation of both the objects and the experience of Holocaust victims. Debates surrounding ownership, narrative viewpoint, practice, comparison, inclusion, assumption, subjectivity and sensitivity will all be discussed, with a final discussion of the importance of ambivalence in the manner Holocaust artifacts are presented to allow for an authentic, respectful but challenging experience to engage with visitors and teach both fact and empathy for an impactful presentation of human atrocity

Crystallographic and Magneto-Dynamic Characterization of Thin-Film Spintronic Materials

This thesis sets out to identify and characterise the critical properties of two spintronic materials, the half-metallic Fe3O4 and the amorphous rare earth-transition metal alloy GdFe. The critical property of Fe3O4 is its crystal ordering, due to the array of exchange and superexchange interactions which define its conductive and magnetic behaviour. A series of post-oxidized Fe3O4||MgO (001) thin-films have been produced and the oxide growth has been analyzed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The quality of the film has been assessed by magnetometry and critical parameters for the growth of quality films are described. Previous procedures on the (001) orientation turn out to have masked much of the disorder in the films. This meant that judgments of quality based on magnetometry conflicted with optic data. By cutting down the (011) plane this research was able to resolve these conflicts and effectively explain the performance of a film as observed from magnetometry data. Previous work has elucidated the theoretical imperfections that can exist in this material. This work confirms the potential for these defects and has identified others. The characteristic visibility criteria for these crystal defects are confirmed and extended. By contrast the critical property of GdFe is the temperature dependent coupling between rare earth and transition metal sublattices. A measurement system was constructed to resolve the temperature dependence of the magneto-optic Kerr effect at femtosecond time scales. By this method, the theoretical timeline of dynamic behaviour has been experimentally validated and enhanced. Observations of resolved sublattice dynamics have been identified and interpreted, including a clear indication of picosecond ferromagnetic ordering. As such this work corroborates and advances existing techniques for the production, analysis and understanding of these spintronic materials

Spatially resolved variations in reflectivity across iron oxide thin films

The spin polarising properties of the iron oxide magnetite (Fe3O4) make it attractive for use in spintronic devices, but its sensitivity to compositional and structural variations make it challenging to prepare reli- ably. Infrared microspectroscopy and modelling are used to determine the spatial variation in the chem- ical composition of three thin films of iron oxide; one prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), one by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) deposition of iron whilst simultaneously flowing oxygen into the chamber and one by flowing oxygen only once deposition is complete. The technique is easily able to distinguish between films which contain metallic iron and different iron oxide phases as well as spatial variations in composition across the films. The film grown by post-oxidising iron is spatially uniform but not fully oxi- dised, the film grown by simultaneously oxidising iron showed spatial variation in oxide composition while the film grown by PLD was spatially uniform magnetite

Spatially resolved variations in reflectivity across iron oxide thin films

The spin polarising properties of the iron oxide magnetite (Fe3O4) make it attractive for use in spintronic devices, but its sensitivity to compositional and structural variations make it challenging to prepare reli- ably. Infrared microspectroscopy and modelling are used to determine the spatial variation in the chem- ical composition of three thin films of iron oxide; one prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), one by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) deposition of iron whilst simultaneously flowing oxygen into the chamber and one by flowing oxygen only once deposition is complete. The technique is easily able to distinguish between films which contain metallic iron and different iron oxide phases as well as spatial variations in composition across the films. The film grown by post-oxidising iron is spatially uniform but not fully oxi- dised, the film grown by simultaneously oxidising iron showed spatial variation in oxide composition while the film grown by PLD was spatially uniform magnetite

Advanced masking agent for leather tanning from stepwise degradation and oxidation of cellulose

An oligosaccharide-based masking agent suitable for chrome-free metal tanning was produced from cellulose via a stepwise degradation and oxidation process. Firstly, an AlCl3-NaCl-H2O/γ-valerolactone (GVL) biphasic solvent system was established for cellulose conversion (87.6%), which allowed in situ separation of the oligosaccharides and valuable small molecules into the two phases. Then, a H2O2 oxidation process enabled further degradation of the oligosaccharides and introduced –CHO/–COOH groups. This process strengthened the surface charge of the oligosaccharides, enhancing their coordination ability with metal ions. The post-oxidized fraction, together with added Zr species, exhibited satisfactory tanning performance, with a shrinkage temperature of 85.2 °C for the tanned leather. Al/Zr species could spontaneously coordinate with O atoms of O[double bond, length as m-dash]C(2) in the carboxylic group of post-oxidized oligosaccharides, which promoted the penetration of Al/Zr species into the leather matrix for efficient crosslinking reactions

Nanostructure and physical properties of collagen biomaterials : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

Thesis contains ACS journal articles published with permission: Sizeland, K. H., Basil-Jones, M. M., Edmonds, R. L., Cooper, S. M., Kirby, N. (2013). Collagen Orientation and Leather Strength for Selected Mammals. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 61, 887-892. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf3043067 Sizeland, K. H., Edmonds, R. L., Basil-Jones, M. M., Kirby, N., Hawley A., Mudie S. T., & Haverkamp R. G. (2015). Changes to Collagen Structure during Leather Processing. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 63(9), 2499-2505. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf506357j Wells, H. C., Sizeland, K. H., Edmonds, R. L., Aitkenhead, W., Kappen, P., Glover, C., Johannessen, B. & Haverkamp, R. G. (2014). Stabilizing Chromium from Leather Waste in Biochar. ACS Sustainable Chem Eng, 2(7), 1864-1870. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/sc500212r Wells, H. C., Sizeland, K. H., Kirby, N., Hawley, A., Mudie, S. T., & Haverkamp, R. G. (2015). Collagen Fibril Structure and Strength in Acellular Dermal Matrix Materials of Bovine, Porcine, and Human Origin. ACS Biomat Sci Eng, 1(10), 1026-1038. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5b00310Collagen is the main structural component of leather, skin, pericardium, and other tissues. All of these biomaterials have a mechanical function and the physical properties are partly a result of the structure of the collagen fibrils. The architecture of the collagen network and how it changes when different chemical and mechanical processes are applied is not fully understood and forms the foundation of this thesis. Synchrotron-based small angle X-ray scattering has been used to quantify aspects of the collagen structure, specifically the orientation index (OI) and D-spacing of the collagen biomaterials investigated. In leather, the nanostructural changes of the collagen network and the strength of the material across a range of different animals, through each stage of the leather-making process, and when model compounds are added or the fat liquor addition is varied has been investigated. Both the D-spacing and fibril orientation were found to change with leather processing. The changes to the thickness of the leather during processing impacts the fibril OI and, once taken into account, the main difference in OI is due to the hydration state of the material with dry materials being less oriented than wet. Model compounds urea, proline, and hydroxyproline were found to increase D-spacing. It was found that as the fat liquor addition is increased, the D-spacing increased. Pure lanolin resulted in a similar increase in Dspacing. The collagen fibril structure and strength of both adult and neonatal pericardium was also investigated. Significant differences were observed with the neonatal tissue having a higher modulus of elasticity and being significantly more aligned than adult pericardium. Neonatal pericardium is advantageously thinner for heart valve applications. This research proves it has the necessary physical properties required. By understanding the hierarchical structure of collagen and its mechanisms for modification when subjected to different chemical and mechanical processes, we gain valuable insight in understanding the performance of leather and skin in biological, medical, and industrial contexts. This will lead to better comprehension of current processes and informs future processing developments