Graphic Content Warning; Personal and Political Traumas

The written portion of this thesis work is meant to address and further investigate the visual work created using mediums of print and found video. This artistic research has been interested in examining varying associations with truth, recollection, and evidence. This includes the recollection of public histories and news-media narratives as well as my own history and trauma. Through this work my aim was to create a deconstruction and revolt against how associations are formed, and how to understand imagery as information. This thesis first discusses my relationship to appropriated imagery, then connects and examines it through the addition of poetic elements and events from my own lived experience

A triclinic polymorph of benzanilide : disordered molecules form hydrogen-bonded chains

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Generic effective source for scalar self-force calculations

A leading approach to the modelling of extreme mass ratio inspirals involves the treatment of the smaller mass as a point particle and the computation of a regularized self-force acting on that particle. In turn, this computation requires knowledge of the regularized retarded field generated by the particle. A direct calculation of this regularized field may be achieved by replacing the point particle with an effective source and solving directly a wave equation for the regularized field. This has the advantage that all quantities are finite and require no further regularization. In this work, we present a method for computing an effective source which is finite and continuous everywhere, and which is valid for a scalar point particle in arbitrary geodesic motion in an arbitrary background spacetime. We explain in detail various technical and practical considerations that underlie its use in several numerical self-force calculations. We consider as examples the cases of a particle in a circular orbit about Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes, and also the case of a particle following a generic time-like geodesic about a highly spinning Kerr black hole. We provide numerical C code for computing an effective source for various orbital configurations about Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, final published versio

Improving the triple bottom line returns from smallholder tree farms in the Philippines: A systems approach

This paper outlines the application of Systems Thinking in investigating ways to improve the returns to smallholder tree farmers in the Philippines. The paper illustrates how a systems approach was used in the conceptualisation of the project and how systems thinking facilitated a shared understanding of the how each individual’s research contributed to the broader project activities. Systems Thinking has also been used in the design and implementation of various project activities. Three examples are provided. The first example illustrates how a systems diagram was developed which outlined the direct and indirect linkages between biophysical data on tree farms and various activities designed to increase returns. The second example illustrates how the suggested approach for improving the flow of information concerning tree registration, harvest and transportation regulations and approval mechanisms link with various project activities and have been informed by a series of action research workshops. The third example illustrates how systems thinking has also been applied to understand the factors affecting the production of high quality tree seedlings and to investigate the effect of policy interventions on improving the quality of seedlings available to smallholders

A mild and efficient method for the preparation of 3-(2'-Aminoaryl)pyrazoles from 4-chloroquinolines

We describe a mild and efficient method for the formation of 3-(2'-aminoaryl)pyrazoles in excellent yields from reactions of 4-chloroquinolines with hydrazine. These heterocyclic ring opening reactions occur under much milder conditions then previously described

The role of symptomatic presentation in influenza A transmission risk

Computer models can be useful in planning interventions against novel strains of influenza. However such models sometimes make unsubstantiated assumptions about the relative infectivity of asymptomatic and symptomatic cases, or conversely assume there is no impact at all. Using household-level data from known-index studies of virologically confirmed influenza A infection, the relationship between an individual's infectiousness and their symptoms was quantified using a discrete-generation transmission model and Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. It was found that the presence of particular respiratory symptoms in an index case does not influence transmission probabilities, with the exception of child-to-child transmission where the donor has phlegm or a phlegmy coughR.W. was supported by a New Colombo Plan scholarship from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). K.P. and A.R.C. were supported by funding from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Defence, and the National University Health System, all Singapore (grant nos. CDPHRG/ 0009/2014, NUHSR0/2013/142IH7N9104, PROJECT MODUS 9014100379). B.J.C. was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (grant U54 GM088558), a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. T11-705/14N), and a commissioned grant from the Health and Medical Research Fund from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The original household trial in Hong Kong was supported by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant no. 1 U01 CI000439)

LX-17 Deflagration at High Pressures and Temperatures

We measure the laminar deflagration rate of LX-17 (92.5 wt% TATB, 7.5 wt% Kel-F 800) at high pressure and temperature in a strand burner, thereby obtaining reaction rate data for prediction of thermal explosion violence. Simultaneous measurements of flame front time-of-arrival and temporal pressure history allow for the direct calculation of deflagration rate as a function of pressure. Additionally, deflagrating surface areas are calculated in order to provide quantitative insight into the dynamic surface structure during deflagration and its relationship to explosion violence. Deflagration rate data show that LX-17 burns in a smooth fashion at ambient temperature and is represented by the burn rate equation B = 0.2P{sup 0.9}. At 225 C, deflagration is more rapid and erratic. Dynamic deflagrating surface area calculations show that ambient temperature LX-17 deflagrating surface areas remain near unity over the pressure range studied

[1-(2,5-Dichloroanilino)-5-methyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]methanol

In the title compound, C10H10Cl2N4O, the hy­droxy group and benzene ring are disposed to opposite sides of the central 1,2,3-triazolyl ring. The dihedral angle between the five- and six-membered rings is 87.51 (12)°, and the C-O bond of the hy­droxy group lies almost normal to the plane of the 5-membered ring [N-C-C-O = -93.2 (2)°]. An intra­molecular amino-N-H...Cl hydrogen bond is noted. In the extended structure, supra­molecular layers in the ab plane are formed via hy­droxy-O-H...N(ring) and amine-N-H...O(hy­droxy) hydrogen bonds. The layers are connected along the c axis by [pi]-[pi] contacts between benzene rings [inter-centroid distance = 3.7789 (13) Å] and by C-Cl...[pi] inter­actions

Cross-scale analysis of social-ecological systems:Policy options appraisal for delivering NetZero and other environmental objectives in Scotland

Public policy confronts complex, contested, wicked problems such as climate and biodiversity crises with challenges of how issues are framed, analysed, codified, and interpreted. Social-ecological systems provide an analytical framework that couples the biosphere and technosphere, recognising biophysical limits and emphasising the importance of critical reflection within policy decision-making. Conducting policy-options appraisals is increasingly seen as a transdisciplinary research-policy endeavour with researchers engaging policy actors in an extended peer community (post-normal science). This paper presents a case study of analysis undertaken with researchers, policy analysts, policy makers and other stakeholders to support decisions on how to implement future agriculture support in Scotland, so that the policy programme better delivers across social, economic and environmental objectives. The key change being considered in the future agricultural support programme is Enhanced Conditionality (EC) where the level of financial support provided to farm-businesses will depend on their undertaking agri-environmental measures that deliver against the key priorities of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reversing biodiversity losses. The paper outlines the policy context within which the EC options appraisal takes place – highlighting how EC is a crucial component in making the wider suite of policy measures work. The transdisciplinary approach, Quantitative Story Telling (QST) is presented, emerging from decision support, participatory research, and post-normal science for policy domains. The stages of QST highlight the importance of analysis that underpins any quantification (decision on how issues are framed and what it included in the analysis) and the expectation that research outputs with be deliberated on with, and interpreted from, stakeholder perspectives. The project specific analyses are outlined, combining top-down options appraisal of how macro-policy decisions could constrain EC and bottom-up analysis of potential uptake and effectiveness of EC measures, undertaken in inter-disciplinary workshops with domain experts from biodiversity, soils and waters. The paper highlights challenges for implementation and evaluation at meso-scale with interactions between farm-businesses and catchment, landscape and regional objectives. The conclusions of the analysis, in policy terms, are that EC presents an opportunity to significantly realign how agricultural land management is conducted in Scotland, so that it is more effective in delivering climate change and biodiversity objectives, but there are formidable challenges in resolving the policy “sudoku”. Meso-scale issues are likely to mean the need to integrate alternative modelling paradigms such as spatial, empirical agent-based modelling (ABM) into policy option appraisals. By taking multi-scale, social-ecological systems perspectives on EC it has been possible to identify key policy decisions at a range of scales on which the success of EC will depend, to have a realistic understanding of how effective the EC measures might be in heterogenous Scottish environments and what are the likely barriers to uptake. The analysis also highlighted where outcomes of the policy change are likely to be challenging to monitor-evaluate; and where there are dependencies between farm-businesses that mean EC measures need to be supplemented with mechanisms that (1) promote cooperation between land managers and (2) identify and respond to agreed local priorities. The value of the participatory QST process was in making sure the analyses being undertaken were salient and the outputs seen as credible – but the challenges of interpreting necessarily complex outputs remain. The greatest value of QST may be that it provides a structured way to navigate complexity with policy makers rather than seeking to control or eliminate it.</p