Investigations of Southwest Pacific Intraplate and Backarc Volcanism using Traditional and Non-Traditional Isotopes.

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

The electrokinetic behavior of calcium oxalate monohydrate in macromolecular solutions

Electrophoretic mobilities were measured for calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) in solutions containing macromolecules. Two mucopolysaccharides (sodium heparin and chrondroitin sulfate) and two proteins (positively charged lysozyme and negatively charged bovine serum albumin) were studied as adsorbates. The effects of pH, calcium oxalate surface charge (varied by calcium or oxalate ion activity), and citrate concentration were investigated. All four macromolecules showed evidence for chemical adsorption. The macromolecule concentrations needed for reversing the surface charge indicated that the mucopopolysacchrides have greater affinity for the COM surface than the proteins. The amount of proteins that can chemically adsorb appears to be limited to approximately one monomolecular layer. When the surface charge is high, an insufficient number of proteins can chemically adsorb to neutralize or reverse the surface charge. The remaining surface charge is balanced by proteins held near the surface by longer range electrostatic forces only. Citrate ions at high concentrations appear to compete effectively with the negative protein for surface sites but show no evidence for competing with the positively charged protein

Achieving best for project success outcomes through optimal employee engagement – a proposal for organisations operating engineering alliances

Employee engagement has continued to develop as an area of both academic and business interest but there remains paucity in literature that links employee engagement to engineering alliances and concomitant achievement of project success. This research examines current theoretical concepts and praxis contributions of institutions that represent industry. This research is contextualised within the engineering sector and does not specifically address other sectors such as, for example, healthcare, and public sectors. The research outlines key components of an employee engagement model within an engineering alliance and does not critically focus attention on conceptual notions of employee engagement not their utility. The research has novelty in that, to our knowledge, it is original in defining employee engagement in an engineering alliance. It addresses the knowledge gap in this area and makes a contribution to academic discourse pertaining to employee engagement as a developing approach to managing projects

‘As Shakespeare so Memorably Said…’: Quotation, Rhetoric, and the Performance of Politics

This article examines the use of quotation in British political rhetoric since 1945. It argues that quotations are not only a source of authority, but a way of claiming authorisation. The article also shows how, through quotations, party leaders try to establish connections between themselves and the common cultural resources of their audience, and how they attempt to show fidelity to a tradition even as they try to redirect it. The conclusion is that rhetorical analysis exposes the symbolic, ritualised aspect of contemporary political and ideological practices, the understanding of which requires the integration of rhetorical and performance theories

User guide for the British Geological Survey Blockfields dataset

This report presents a description of the Blockfields dataset developed by the British Geological Survey (BGS). The dataset provides screening-level data that gives an indication of the geological suitability of the subsurface for the presence of blockfields. The dataset is designed to be used by those involved in the strategic assessment of the subsurface for the management or development of sites in Great Britain. It may be particularly valuable for spatial planners and local authorities who wish to undertake a strategic assessment. The dataset is derived from a combination of BGS national datasets and the DTM of Great Britain at 5m resolution © Bluesky International Limited elevation data to show the environmental suitability for blockfield presence in Great Britain. The approach was developed by geologists using basic landscape characteristics from a large sample of observed blockfields, and implemented by specialists in geologically derived products at BGS. The purpose of this user guide is to enable those licensing this dataset to have a better appreciation of how this dataset has been created and therefore gain a better understanding of its potential applications and limitations

Experimental and Theoretical Studies of the Environmental Sensitivity of the Absorption Spectra and Photochemistry of Nitenpyram and Analogs

Neonicotinoid (NN) pesticides have widespread use, largely replacing other pesticides such as the carbamates. Hence, there is a need to understand their environmental fates at a molecular level in various media, especially water. We report here the studies of a nitroenamine NN, nitenpyram (NPM), in aqueous solution where the absorption cross sections in the actinic region above 290 nm are observed to dramatically decrease compared to those in nonaqueous solvents. Quantum chemical calculations show that addition of a proton to the tertiary amine nitrogen in NPM breaks the conjugation in the chromophore, shifting the absorption to shorter wavelengths, consistent with experiment. However, surprisingly, adding a proton to the secondary amine nitrogen leads to its immediate transfer to the NO2 group, preserving the conjugation. This explains why the UV absorption of ranitidine (RAN), which has a similar chromophore but only secondary amine nitrogens, does not show a similar large blue shift in water. Photolysis quantum yields in aqueous NPM solutions were measured to be φ = 0.18 ± 0.07 at 254 nm, (9.4 ± 1.6) × 10-2 with broadband radiation centered at 313 nm and (5.2 ± 1.1) × 10-2 for broadband radiation centered at 350 nm (errors are 2σ). The major products in aqueous solutions are an imine that was also formed in the photolysis of the solid and a carboxylic acid derivative that is unique to the photolysis in water. Combining the larger quantum yields in water with the reduced absorption cross sections results in a calculated lifetime of NPM of only 5 min at a solar zenith angle of 35°, typical of 40°N latitude on April 1. The products do not absorb in the actinic region and hence will be long-lived with respect to photolysis

Thermoconvection in magnetized ferrofluids: the influence of boundaries with finite heat conductivity

Realistic boundaries of finite heat conductivity Realistic boundaries of finite heat conductivity for thermoconvection in a Rayleigh-B\'enard setup with magnetized ferrofluids are investigated. A linear stability analysis of the conductive state is performed with a shooting method. It shows that the critical wave number is for any magnetic field stronly influenced by the conductivity of the boundaries. Linear as well as nonlinear coefficients of a Ginzburg Landau amplitude equation for convection shortly above the onset are evaluated as functions of the magnetic Rayleigh number, the boundary conductivities, and the fluid Prandtl number.Comment: 10 pages, 9figure

Bio-economic evaluation of pasture-cropping, a novel system of integrating perennial pastures and crops on crop-livestock farms

Pasture-cropping is a novel approach to increase the area of perennial crops in mixed sheep and cropping systems. It involves planting annual cereals directly into a living perennial pasture. There is interest in subtropical grasses as they are winter dormant and their growth profile is potentially well suited to pasture-cropping. However, a wide range of factors can affect the uptake of such systems. This paper assesses the relative importance of factors that can influence decisions to introduce pasture-cropping. In this paper the research question is: what factors predispose a farm to take up a new technology such as (1) subtropical grass and (2) subtropical grass that is pasture-cropped. The analysis uses the MIDAS model of a central wheatbelt farm in Western Australia. The results suggest the adoption of subtropical grasses is likely to be strongly influenced by soil mix; feed quality; and whether the farm is predominantly grazing or cropping and by the presence of meat versus wool producing animals. The same factors are relevant for subtropical grass that is pasture-cropped but in addition yield penalties due to competition between the host perennial and the companion cereal become important. The results suggest the level of forage production by subtropical grass is less important but this factor is likely to become more important if feed quality can be improved.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Beyond the Jordan: Multiformities of the pre-pottery neolithic

Recent excavations in Jordan have demonstrated a long sequence of development from the late Pleistocene Epipalaeolithic through the early Holocene Pre-Pottery Neolithic. Superficially, the growing body of social and subsistence evidence suggests Neolithic communities emerged from traditions rooted in the early Epipalaeolithic. However, while developments such as the construction of shelters, population aggregation, and subsistence intensification may be essential for the emergence of a southwest Asian Neolithic, they are typical of contemporary hunter-gatherer societies and not inherently Neolithic. Notably, the Neolithic in Southwest Asia was not a homogenous entity, but instead supported diverse expressions of subsistence, symbolic behaviors, and cultural trajectories across the region. To understand the emergence and development of the Neolithic, we need to examine this richly diverse history and its many constituent pathways