Around the Barbarian Sea: Settlements and Outcomes in the Early Medieval Baltic

The development of urbanism in the Viking Age is undoubtedly one of the best-studied fields in the archaeology of the period. The Viking towns of Birka, Kaupang, Hedeby and Ribe have captured the imagination of archaeologists and the public alike, presenting the lives of their enigmatic inhabitants. Discussed in the literature but only occasionally discussed comparatively are a significant number of other settlements founded across the Baltic coast in the Early Medieval Period, from northern Germany to the tributary rivers of north-western Russia. These settlements appear across the Mare Barbarum at a very similar time, in similar forms, in response to ostensibly similar circumstances. Some survive through to today, most meet a variety of different ends, but all transformed in some way into the world of the later, more easily recognisable High Medieval town. This thesis presents a model of Early Medieval settlement in the Baltic region, acknowledging the modern day historical and political reasons for the lack of representation of the southern and eastern Baltic countries and emphasising a comparative approach to remove these barriers of recent history. Thirteen settlements have been chosen for analysis, selected for the availability of information for the development of a quantitative model of settlement trajectory. Despite their similar beginnings, the settlements all met very different ends, and a triadic framework of settlement analysis is applied to this problem, highlighting interconnection between material form, social operation, and settlement outcome. Regardless of just what these settlements were, as indeed discussions around the terminology of urbanism have predominated in recent years, they undoubtedly were something, strangers in an overwhelmingly rural and agricultural landscape, situated outside contemporary political and social systems. As the Scandinavian focus on archaeology of the Early Medieval period in Northern Europe begins to change, this thesis illustrates the role of comparative analysis in revealing the importance of sites less well-studied

Exploring interconnectivity and similarity in the rune-stones of 10th-12th century Sweden

What began as a study of difference in the 10th-12th century rune-stones of Sweden has become a case study in homogeneity. These ‘close-knit’ people as described by Olrik in 1930 (:4) were much more interconnected than the current literature generally suggests, and clearly had communication networks running the length and breadth of settled Sweden. A result of the trade and wealth that characterised pre-Medieval Sweden, the rune-stones illustrate just how small and intertwined the world of the Scandinavians actually was. They suggest an interconnectivity that is now only just beginning to be recognised. The initial rapid proliferation of a small, highly integrated tradition that then contracted to the Mälaren Valley may be indicative of a society at a cultural ‘crossroads’, caught between the traditions of the past and the consequences of trade

An investigation into the paintbrush deposition technique for P3HT:PCBM based organic heterojunction solar cells

Research in organic semiconductor materials and devices has increased dramatically in the last decade, particularly in the photovoltaics field. Organic based solar cells with record power conversion efficiencies of 8% to 9% have recently been reported, and future expectations for organic solar cell power conversion efficiencies are believed to approach 15%. Organic semiconductors hold interest due to their flexible mechanical properties and their ability to be solution processed. Processing techniques such as: spin coating, drop casting, roll painting, and ink jet printing can be readily used to deposit dissolved solutions of polymers and fullerenes to create organic solar cells. One novel, minimally researched solution processing technique for the deposition of polymer and fullerene solutions is paint brushing. Current research on paintbrushed solar cells has shown that solar cell efficiencies close to 5% can be obtained from active layer paint brushing on heated indium-tin-oxide covered glass substrates. In this study, organic solar cells are fabricated from P3HT and PCBM in chlorobenzene solution via paint brushing technique. Unlike previous studies, no heat treatment is applied to P3HT:PCBM active layers during or after device production. Paint-brushed devices are compared to spin-coated devices fabricated from the same P3HT:PCBM chlorobenzene solution in an effort to further investigate why paint-brushed solar cell devices perform better than non-annealed, spin-coated solar cell devices. Results from a full device characterization process including light current-voltage measurements, dark current-voltage measurements, active layer absorbance measurements, and external quantum efficiency measurements for both paint-brushed and spin-coated devices will be shown and discussed. Atomic Force Microscopy is used to provide active layer thickness data and film morphology information for both paint-brushed and spin-coated devices. Practical issues concerning using the paint-brush technique for organic solar cell fabrication are also covered

Career-computer simulation increases perceived importance of learning about rare diseases

Background: Rare diseases may be defined as occurring in less than 1 in 2000 patients. Such conditions are, however, so numerous that up to 5.9% of the population is afflicted by a rare disease. The gambling industry attests that few people have native skill evaluating probabilities. We believe that both students and academics, under-estimate the likelihood of encountering rare diseases. This combines with pressure on curriculum time, to reduce both student interest in studying rare diseases, and academic content preparing students for clinical practice. Underestimation of rare diseases, may also contribute to unhelpful blindness to considering such conditions in the clinic. Methods: We first developed a computer simulation, modelling the number of cases of increasingly rare conditions encountered by a cohort of clinicians. The simulation captured results for each year of practice, and for each clinician throughout the entirety of their careers. Four hundred sixty-two theoretical conditions were considered, with prevalence ranging from 1 per million people through to 64.1% of the population. We then delivered a class with two in-class on-line surveys evaluating student perception of the importance of learning about rare diseases, one before and the other after an in-class real-time computer simulation. Key simulation variables were drawn from the student group, to help students project themselves into the simulation. Results: The in-class computer simulation revealed that all graduating clinicians from that class would frequently encounter rare conditions. Comparison of results of the in-class survey conducted before and after the computer simulation, revealed a significant increase in the perceived importance of learning about rare diseases (p < 0.005). Conclusions: The computer career simulation appeared to affect student perception. Because the computer simulation demonstrated clinicians frequently encounter patients with rare diseases, we further suggest this should be considered by academics during curriculum review and design

Biological control of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), in gerberas, chrysanthemums and roses

Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), western flower thrips (WFT), is a major worldwide pest of vegetables and ornamental crops. The biology of WFT was examined on gerberas, chrysanthemums and roses in relation to plant stage (flowering and non-flowering), pupation site, soil moisture and plant parts often inhabited by adult and immature thrips. Four foliage thrips predators ( Transeius montdorensis (Schicha), Orius armatus (Gross), Mallada signata (Schneider) and Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans)) and three soil predators ( Geolaelaps aculeifer (Canestrini), Steinernema feltiae (Filipjev) and Dalotia coriaria (Kraatz)) were studied to determine their ability to reduce the numbers of WFT on gerberas, chrysanthemums and roses. There was no difference in the number of adults that emerged from growing media of high or low moisture content on any host plant. There were also no differences in the total numbers of WFT recaptured from flowering gerberas, chrysanthemums or roses. However, about seven times the number of thrips were collected from flowering chrysanthemums compared with non-flowering chrysanthemums, indicating that the flowering plants were more suitable hosts. Of all thrips recollected, the greatest percentage was immature (larval and pupal) thrips (70%, 71% and 43%) on the flowers for gerberas, chrysanthemums and roses, respectively. The mean percentage of thrips that emerged as adults from the soil was very low (5.31.2, 8.52.9, 20.59.1 and 28.25.6%) on gerberas, flowering and non-flowering chrysanthemums, and roses, respectively. Simultaneous release of foliage and soil predators did not reduce the number of thrips beyond that caused by foliage predators alone. Of the foliage predators, T. montdorensis, O. armatus and N. cucumeris performed best, significantly reducing the numbers of adult and immature thrips on flowers and foliage by 30-99%. Further research is required to determine the most cost-effective rates of release in cut flower crops

An Auditing Overview: Higher Education Auditing for Quality Enhancement - a PRATS Perspective

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Herbert Michael Moran: An Australian Life, 1885–1945

Herbert Michael Moran (1885-1945), also known as “Paddy” Moran, was reasonably open about his life, except when it came to his family. There, matters were private. Using his skill as a surgeon and writer, he improved cancer treatment in Australia and published twenty-five medical articles and other works about the disease and its treatment. He also published three autobiographical books and contributed opinion pieces and letters to mainstream Australian and British newspapers and journals. Cancer treatment and Italy were his key areas of interest, although his sixty-nine written works ranged more widely than this. They illustrated an event-filled life, complete with football, politics, religion, cancer research, and visits to Italy and with Mussolini. In writing about his World War 2 experience as a medical board examiner in Colchester, England, Moran gave people a sense of possibilities and insight into the different world around them. Moran helped modernise Australian cancer treatment using radium and radiology alongside surgery. His medical articles captured the transformation occurring in cancer treatment and he highlighted the importance of working collaboratively with dermatologists and physicists to improve cancer outcomes. Somewhat opinionated, he was not narrow-minded and had a deep awareness of human frailty. His stories captured moments of technological change, political rupture, public health challenges, social and cultural differences, and showed glimpses of the private lives of otherwise ordinary people who became entangled in behaviours and activities often beyond their control. Australian and British institutional behaviour also came under his gaze, as did Italy, Mussolini, and the League of Nations. As an aspirational and successful post-Federation man, he showed another way of being Australian and encouraged others to think more deeply and broadly about life, culture, nation, and politics