Build n burn: using fire as a tool to evoke, educate and entertain

The visceral nature of fire was exploited in the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in Britain by the burning down of timber buildings and monuments, as well as the cremation of the dead. These big fires would have created memories, perhaps even ‘flashbulb memories’, and this powerful mnemonic aspect of fire was likely of significance to the social and religious lives of individuals, families and communities. This article introduces the Build N Burn concept, where fires are recreated and deployed alongside public talks, performances, experimental archaeology activities and demonstrations by craft specialists to create memorable and informative public events. Three public engagements to date, two on the island of Arran and one in Caithness, both Scotland, are described here. In each case, we constructed replica timber structures inspired by local prehistoric sites, and then burned these down in a free-to-attend public event at dusk, evoking the culmination of a prehistoric festival. Build N Burn has, at its core, the principle of delivering memorable experiences for the public inspired by prehistory, underpinned by research and experiment, using events which draw on cross-sectoral collaboration and working with local communities. This article offers a critical reflection on work to date, and discusses future potential for such activities, utilizing the mnemonic power and transformational potential of fire for public engagement and experimental archaeology

Paleogene foraminifera of the Central and Southern North Sea, and their Biostratigraphical application

This thesis examines the Microfauna of the North Sea Palaeogene, particularly the foraminifera, and their biostratigraphical applications in the Central and Southern North Sea. A biostratigraphical scheme has been erected for calcareous benthic (CB Zones 1-15), agglutinated benthic (AB Zones 1-11b) and planktonic foraminifera (PK Zones la-13, utilising diatoms and radiolaria where necessary), which was then combined into one scheme using the previous 3 'groups'. The Shell Expro. U.K. computer was used to draw up rangecharts of these 'groups', and each well is described in the text and in 'Distribution charts' (See Enclosures Nos. 1-10, plus Rangecharts in pocket). The for amini feral biozonation of this thesis is correlated with NSP (North Sea planktonic) and NSB (North Sea benthonic) Zones of King (1983, 1989), the P Zones of Berggren et al. (1985), the sedimentological sequences of Stewart (1987) and the nannoplankton zones of L. Gallagher in his Ph.D. thesis. A canbined biostratigraphic scheme, utilising both foraminifera and nannoplankton was proposed in Gallaghers thesis and is discussed here

Degradation of Axial Shaft Capacity of Piles in Soft Clay Due to Cyclic Loading

This paper presents details of the installation and axial compressive cyclic load tests performed on the UCD 76mm diameter highly instrumented steel pile at a soft clay test site in Belfast. Lateral stress measurements and pore pressures are obtained through pressure transducers mounted diametrically opposite each other in the pile wall at three levels. The pore pressures during installation are seen to drop off as pile-slip occurs for a given jacking stroke before rising to higher ultimate values, resulting in a brittle load response. Following an equalisation period two cyclic load tests were performed, where the loads were applied from zero up to a prespecified maximum and cycled about these values for a number of cycles, N, before ramping up the load and repeating the process. Cyclic loads at 33% and 66% of the installation resistance generate negligible displacements with the pore pressure and total stresses remaining relatively stable. High level loads at 150% of the installation resistance cause rapid displacement accumulation to occur. The pore pressure behaviour for a given cycle is comparable to that observed during installation as temporary reductions in pore pressure when cyclic loads are applied results in a dynamic capacity resisting cyclic loading which is greater than the static capacity. However positive pore pressure generation results in decreased effective stresses as the pile displaces under the higher loads. A comparison with normalised uncycled fully equalised radial effective stresses indicates degradation in excess of 50%, resulting from the high level cyclic displacements

Number and plural semantics: Empirical evidence from Marori

This paper presents new empirical evidence from Marori (a Papuan language of Southern New Guinea) for the semantics of number in a complex number system. Marori has a basic three-way number system, singular/dual/plural. Marori is notable for showing distributed number exponence and constructed number strategies, in sharp contrast with familiar twoway, morphologically simpler number systems in languages such as English. Unlike in English, the reference of plurals in Marori in many contexts is to a group of three or more individuals. While Marori’s number system is typologically quite different from English, it shows an intriguing similarity in that in certain contexts, plural/nonsingular forms allow an inclusive reading (i.e. reference to any number of individuals, including one). The paper also presents evidence that all number types, including constructed dual, can be used for generic reference. The paper concludes with remarks on the theoretical significance of our findings

The ACCENT Policy Wizard

The ACCENT project (Advanced Component Control Enhancing Network Technologies) developed a practical and comprehensive policy system for call control/Internet telephony. The policy system has subsequently been extended for management of sensor networks/wind farms and of home care/telecare. This report focuses on a web-based policy wizard that acts as the primary interface between end users and the policy system. The policy wizard has an intimate knowledge of the APPEL policy language (Adaptable and Programmable Policy Environment and Language). The wizard allows end users to create policies using nearnatural language without knowing or seeing XML, and to upload them to the policy system. The wizard also provides a number of convenience functions such as predefined policy templates, editing and activating existing policies, and defining policy variables. Relative to the version of December 2005, this Technical Report has been updated as follows to reflect changes in the policy wizard: - The whole report has been updated to reflect later work on the PROSEN and MATCH projects. As a result, the ACCENT and APPEL acronyms have changed. Call control, however, remains are the primary illustration of the approach in this report. - Chapter 1 is now named ‘Introduction’, and a brief ‘Conclusion’ chapter has been added in section 4. - Chapter 2 has been updated to sheet screenshots of the new policy wizard. The wizard now handles resolution policies. - The wizard now makes use of ontologies, as described briefly in section 3.1. All domain-specific knowledge is held outside the wizard, so that largely common code can be used across all domains. As a result, the wizard configuration now also refers to the POPPET server. - Section 3.6 describes a new code structure that allows different versions of the wizard to coexist. - A brief explanation has been given in section 3.8 of what is involved in supporting a new application domain with the wizard

Absence of Magnetic Fluctuations in the Ferromagnetic/Topological Heterostructure EuS/Bi2_{2}Se3_{3}

Heterostructures of topological insulators and ferromagnets offer new opportunities in spintronics and a route to novel anomalous Hall states. In one such structure, EuS/Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ a dramatic enhancement of the Curie temperature was recently observed. We performed Raman spectroscopy on a similar set of thin films to investigate the magnetic and lattice excitations. Interfacial strain was monitored through its effects on the Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$ phonon modes while the magnetic system was probed through the EuS Raman mode. Despite its appearance in bare EuS, the heterostructures lack the corresponding EuS Raman signal. Through numerical calculations we rule out the possibility of Fabry-Perot interference suppressing the mode. We attribute the absence of a magnetic signal in EuS to a large charge transfer with the Bi$_{2}$Se$_{3}$. This could provide an additional pathway for manipulating the magnetic, optical, or electronic response of topological heterostructures.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Determining the presence of scour around bridge foundations using vehicle-induced vibrations

Bridge scour is the number one cause of failure in bridges located over waterways. Scour leads to rapid losses in foundation stiffness and can cause sudden collapse. Previous research on bridge health monitoring has used changes in natural frequency to identify damage in bridge beams. The possibility of using a similar approach to identifying scour is investigated in this paper. To assess if this approach is feasible, it is necessary to establish how scour affects the natural frequency of a bridge, and if it is possible to measure changes in frequency using the bridge dynamic response to a passing vehicle. To address these questions, a novel vehicle–bridge–soil interaction (VBSI) model was developed. By carrying out a modal study in this model, it is shown that for a wide range of possible soil states, there is a clear reduction in the natural frequency of the first mode of the bridge with scour. Moreover, it is shown that the response signals on the bridge from vehicular loading are sufficient to allow these changes in frequency to be detected

Factors Influencing the Prediction of Pile Driveability Using CPT-Based Approaches

This paper investigates the applicability of Cone Penetration Test (CPT)-based axial capacity approaches, used for estimating pile static capacity, to the prediction of pile driveability. An investigation of the influence of various operational parameters in a driveability study is conducted. A variety of axial capacity approaches (IC-05, UWA-05 and Fugro-05) are assessed in unmodified and modified form to appraise their ability to be used in estimating the driveability of open-ended steel piles used to support, for example, offshore jackets or bridge piers. Modifications to the CPT-based design approaches include alterations to the proposed base resistance to account for the resistance mobilized under discrete hammer impacts and the presence of residual stresses, as well as accounting for the effects of static capacity increases over time, namely ageing. Furthermore, a study on the influence of various operational parameters within a wave equation solver is conducted to ascertain the relative impact of uncertain data in this respect. The purpose of the paper is not to suggest a new design procedure for estimating pile driveability, rather to investigate the influence of the various operating parameters in a driveability analysis and how they affect the magnitude of the resulting predictions. The study will be of interest to geotechnical design of piles using CPT data