Phase II planned for Lincs2Nepal shelter

An ongoing project for Rosie and Trevor Elvin working with local charity lincs2nepal

Edge condition: tracing the negative chain reaction resulting from the construction of the wall in Qalqilya, Palestine

Abstract Theoretical Currents II: Architecture and its Geographical Horizons Edge Condition The construction of the separation barrier in The West Bank has had an enormous impact on the day-to-day lives of Palestinians in Qalqilia, a town bordering Israel. Once described as ‘The West Bank’s Fruit Basket,’ serving Israel and the West Bank as an affluent market town, the people of Qalqilia are now geographically cut off from their farms, schools, universities, places of work, medical care, friends and family Qalqilia is unique to the West Bank, in that the separation barrier surrounding the town is made entirely of concrete sections, with no fences allowing views of the landscape. It is a Palestinian policed city, with one entrance and exit, guarded by Israeli soldiers. The road leading in to the town is often closed, or blocked causing traffic congestion The negative chain reaction that has resulted from the construction of the wall can be seen in the visual interruption of the landscape, the sharp rise in unemployment, shop closures and the shrinking market size This paper explores the construction of the wall, documenting the structures and defence mechanisms. The networks and the logistics of occupation and disruption are visually represented with diagrammatical maps and collages. The work expresses the negative chain reaction the wall has had on individual’s lives in Qalqilia, including the farmer’s separation from their land and the shrinking of The West Ban

The Composition of Arylstibonic Acids

This thesis describes a detailed ESI-MS investigation into the arylstibonic acids, organo-antimony-containing compounds that are currently of interest as anticancer reagents. Four arylstibonic acids, of nominal formula RC6H4SbO3H2 [R = p-chloro-, p-tolyl-, p-nitro- and α-naphthyl-] were synthesised, and a further eight archival samples from the National Cancer Institute Repository were obtained for use in the project. Results indicate clearly that the acids exist as polyoxometalate aggregates [H8(RSb)12O28], rather than monomeric species, in both the solid state and in acetonitrile solution, thus resolving a century-old debate concerning the nature of their molecular composition. Variations in solvent, time in solution and pH have also defined the stability of these aggregates under different conditions. Synthesis of arylstibonic acids by traditional methods (pre-1940) has been shown to lead to products contaminated with cations present during their preparation. An improved method of synthesis has been devised, and the crystal structure of an intermediate in the synthesis of these acids, [C6NH6][p-O2NC6H4SbCl5], is reported. Salts of arylstibonic acids with a range of cations were investigated by ESI-MS and shown to form a diverse family of polyoxostibonates with nuclearities including Sb12, Sb14 and Sb16. Crystal structures containing some of these aggregates, verified through parallel studies with collaborators, are described. Preliminary study of mixed polyoxometalates (Sb/As) showed a strong tendency to form As4Sb2 species but these could not be fully characterised

Reset button: place in the digital age

Abstract The computer is to contemporary society what the machine was to modernism this statement form Christine Boyer has a profound effect on the way we currently engage with our built environment. The architecture and urban issues that come with this digital era are important and have a profound affect on our public services, the character and content of our public spaces and the control and access of power. Disciplinary spaces once described by Foucault are now dislocated, hidden within electronic global networks. This paper involves speculating on how digital technology and communication gain importance over material form and how cities are becoming saturated. Our culture is now one of simulation. The paper draws upon work undertaken at the University of Lincoln and manifests itself both within a Poststructuralist and later a phenomenological framework it speaks of the need to readdress what Paul Virilio calls our overexposed city and what Charlene Spretnak suggests is the flattening process of mass culture. Embracing the need to maintain some degree of autonomy in a world wishing to reduce everything to one vast commodity the paper seeks to through independent research explore projects, which speak of a sensual knowledge such concepts as anxiety and the “un-canny”, interiority, three dimensional space and perception of it, the proposition of capturing “real” three dimensional space as a two dimensional image, the oppositions between the real and the imagined, solid and void, permanence and transience, darkness and light, memory and loss. As Sverre Fehn best sums up “When man conquered darkness the latent generosity of night ceased to exist

Evaluation of numerical integration schemes for a partial integro-differential equation

Numerical methods are important in computational neuroscience where complex nonlinear systems are studied. This report evaluates two methodologies, finite differences and Fourier series, for numerically integrating a nonlinear neural model based on a partial integro-differential equation. The stability and convergence criteria of four finite difference methods is investigated and their efficiency determined. Various ODE solvers in Matlab are used with the Fourier series method to solve the neural model, with an evaluation of the accuracy of the approximation versus the efficiency of the method. The two methodologies are then compared