The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of colorectal cancer (CRC) with liver metastases on long-term quality of life (QOL) and survivorship experiences, and to explore the relevance of the EORTC QOL questionnaires to this population, using a qualitative approach. Overall 15 participants were interviewed, 5 women and 10 men. Interviews were analysed using inductive theoretical thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified: Cancer and me: establishing a relationship with cancer; Living with cancer; and Aligning the long-term impacts: the person I’ve become. The results illustrate that CRC survivors with liver metastases define QOL in different ways and have a broad and diverse range of experiences. As long-term cancer survivors, the focus on short-term physical symptoms is no longer relevant. Instead, the relationship with cancer, development of coping strategies, and coming to terms with a post-cancer self are of far more importance. As QOL is a subjective experience, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to definition and measurement. Health care professionals and policy makers need to understand the variety in meaning and be clear about the purpose of QOL measures. In attempts to promote long-term positive adjustment, cancer survivors may benefit from a wider range of support and expertise. Health Psychologists in particular could offer valuable insight and support in relation to adaptive coping strategies, mental framing, adjustment to physical changes, and the development and adjustment to the ‘post-cancer self’. Future work would benefit from holistic definition of QOL and from using a broad range of assessment techniques.

To investigate if problem-solving activity, not used in the UK, could support UK adolescent’s living with diabetes to improve self-management of their condition leading to improvements in self-care and glycaemic control when delivered alongside usual care at paediatric and young adults’ diabetes clinics. Method: A pilot study incorporating 23 Adolescents (13-18 years) with a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes of at least a year and with English as a primary language were randomised into a two arm (intervention based on the International Treatment Effectiveness Protocol (ITEP) node-mapping approach that addressed common aspects of non-adherence to life style factors via scenarios and personal experience to encourage behavioural change + usual care vs. education control DVD + usual care) randomised control trial. Results: 23 participants completed a 3 month follow up within the required time scale. There was no change in the HbA1c levels for either group. The intervention group appeared to improve self-management on scores for the SCI following the intervention. Conclusion: The study did not recruit substantial participants for a full powered study and any changes has to be treated with caution. As a pilot study it has helped identify protocols and processes that could lead to the delivery of a powered study. It received a grant from the InDependant Diabetes Trust and generated a number of learning outcomes that will support further research on its outcomes.

No description available.

The use of airborne remote sensing data for archaeological prospection is not a novel concept, but it is one that has been brought to the forefront of current work in the discipline of landscape archaeology by the increasing availability and application of airborne laser scanning data (ALS). It is considered that ALS, coupled with imaging of the non-visible wavelengths using digital spectral sensors has the potential to revolutionise the field of archaeological remote sensing, overcoming some of the issues identified with the most common current technique of oblique aerial photography. However, as with many methods borrowed from geographic or environmental sciences, archaeologists have yet to understand or utilise the full potential of these sensors for deriving archaeological feature information. This thesis presents the work undertaken between 2008-11 at Bournemouth University that aimed to assess the full information content of airborne laser scanned and digital spectral data systematically with respect to identifying archaeological remains in non-alluvial environments. A range of techniques were evaluated for two study areas on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire (Everleigh and Upavon) to establish how the information from these sensors can best be extracted and utilised. For the Everleigh Study Area archive airborne data were analysed with respect to the existing transcription from archive aerial photographs recorded by English Heritage's National Mapping Programme. At Upavon, spectral and airborne laser scanned data were collected by the NERC Airborne Research and Survey Facility to the specifications of the project in conjunction with a series of ground-based measures designed to shed light on the contemporary environmental factors influencing feature detectability. Through the study of visual and semi-automatic methods for detection of archaeological features, this research has provided a quantitative and comparative assessment of airborne remote sensing data for archaeological prospection, the first time that this has been achieved in the UK. In addition the study has provided a proof of concept for the use of the remote sensing techniques trialled in temperate grassland environments, a novel application in a field previously dominated by examples from alluvial and Mediterranean landscapes. In comparison to the baseline record of the Wiltshire HER, ALS was shown to be the most effective technique, detecting 76% of all previously know features and 72% of all the total number of features recorded in the study. Combining the spectral data from both January and May raised this total to 83% recovery of all previously known features, illustrating the value of multi-sensor survey. It has also been possible to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of a wide range of visualisation techniques through detailed comparative analysis and to show that some techniques in particular local relief modelling (ALS) and single band mapping (digital spectral data) are more suited to the aims of archaeological prospection than others, including common techniques such as shaded relief modelling (ALS) and True Colour Composites (digital spectral data). In total the use of “non-standard” or previously underused visualisation techniques was shown to improve feature detection by up to 18% for a single sensor type. Investigation of multiple archive spectral acquisitions highlighted seasonal differences in detectability of features that had not been previously observed in these data, with the January spectral data allowing the detection of 7% more features than the May acquisition. A clearer picture of spectral sensitivity of archaeological features was also gained for this environment with the best performing spectral band lying in the NIR for both datasets (706-717nm) and allowing detection c.68% of all the features visible across all the wavelengths. Finally, significant progress has been made in the testing of methods for combining data from different airborne sensors and analysing airborne data with respect to ground observations, showing that Brovey sharpening can be used to combine ALS and spectral data with up to 87% recovery of the features predicted by transcription from the contributing source data. This thesis concludes that the airborne remote sensing techniques studied have quantifiable benefit for detection of archaeological features at a landscape scale especially when used in conjunction with one another. The caveat to this is that appropriate use of the sensors from deployment, to processing, analysis and interpretation of features must be underpinned by a detailed understanding of how and why archaeological features might be represented in the data collected. This research goes some way towards achieving this, especially for grass-dominated environments but it is only with repeated, comparative analyses of these airborne data in conjunction with environmental observations that archaeologists will be able to advance knowledge in this field and thus put airborne remote sensing data to most effective use.

The thesis is a local-scale study which aims to place the Isle of Wight in the English landscape. It examines the much discussed but problematic concept of ‘islandness’, identifying distinctive insular characteristics and determining their significance but also investigating internal landscape diversity. This is the first detailed academic study of Isle of Wight land use and settlement from the early medieval period to the nineteenth century and is fully referenced to national frameworks. The thesis utilises documentary, cartographic and archaeological evidence. It employs the techniques of historic landscape characterisation (HLC), using synoptic maps created by the author and others as tools of graphic analysis. An analysis of the Isle of Wight’s physical character and cultural roots is followed by an investigation of problems and questions associated with models of settlement and land use at various scales. Specifically, national-scale models by Oliver Rackham and by Brian Roberts and Stuart Wrathmell are critically assessed for their value as frameworks within which Isle of Wight data may be examined, as is the local-scale Isle of Wight HLC model. Historic Ordnance Survey maps, royal surveys, manorial surveys and other sources are used to define the Isle of Wight’s territorial units and patterns of land use, enclosure and settlement; to create a new model of 1790s HLC Areas; and to construct a database listing all settlements by size and form. Nucleation and dispersion densities are calculated from this database, compared with Isle of Wight densities mapped by Roberts & Wrathmell and discussed in relation to densities elsewhere in England. Regional-scale patterns of settlement and land-use within central southern England are considered and the relevance of national-scale models of settlement and land use to this region is discussed. The origins and evolution of Isle of Wight settlements are then explored, using evidence from early sources including place-names, Domesday Book, tax lists and surveys. Subsequent analysis defines discrete cultural zones within the Isle of Wight, confirming the diversity and ancient origins of its cultural landscapes. The final chapter provides a synoptic assessment of models, emphasising the value of the local-scale 1790s HLC Areas model and recognising the compatibility of Roberts & Wrathmell’s national-scale settlement model with detailed local data for the Isle of Wight. It is found that Rackham’s model of Ancient Countryside conforms partially with local attributes but that this model may now need some revision. The paradoxical status of the Solent as both a gateway and a cultural boundary is proposed, as is the Island’s affinity with other ‘peripheral’ areas of England.

This volume and supporting papers constitute the submission for the award of a PhD research degree, by publication. Sixteen works completed by the author spanning ten years have been included for consideration. All the papers relate to a sustained endeavour to enhance higher education practice by exploring the salience of global perspectives, global citizenship and sustainable development, starting at the level of curriculum and pedagogy, escalating to encompass the development of an institutional-wide model and the concept of the ‘Global University’ and then extending to address university leadership, to examine how this might secure a ‘Sustainable University’. The contribution to knowledge lies in: the examination of the relevance of the concepts to higher education; the development of global perspectives as a pathway for change; the articulation of a framework that enables the relationship between concepts to be explored and; the proposition that global perspectives not only supports the institutional policy drivers of employability, diversity and internationalisation but would enable universities to contribute towards a more sustainable society. The papers individually and collectively, provide empirical evidence of a critical and reflexive account of a participative and holistic approach to change. The account of the change process, from curriculum development, to a consideration of institutional structure, and university leadership, contributes to knowledge in the articulation of what has facilitated and hindered engagement, and in demonstrating how practitioner knowledge may contribute to advance policy and practice within higher education.

It has long been known that areas such as Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Essex were intensely exploited for salt in the Iron Age and Romano-British periods. Previous research has tended to focus on the eastern coast of Britain, with less attention being paid to other potential salt-producing areas. In previous studies in southern Britain, much emphasis has been placed on the distribution of salt and the ‘equipment’ used to produce and potentially transport salt - briquetage. Much less attention has been paid to the production process. This research project directly addresses this imbalance, by placing the emphasis on to the study of the production sites, and by creating and analysing a new dataset to contextualise sites using a holistic perspective. The analysis of salt-production sites has redefined the archaeological terminology for salt production, and has critically evaluated how these sites have been incorporated into the archaeological record. The re-categorisation of the archaeological remains on a site by site basis has enabled the formation of a comprehensive dataset for the first time. This has enabled a regional and chronological comparison of salt-production in southern Britain to be undertaken. The analysis has shown that despite problems of incorrect perceptions of salt production practices, inconsistent recording and categorisation, and severe site damage by human and natural forces, it is possible, to inject concepts of ‘agency’ and ‘identity’ into these sites by exploring evidence of technological choice and use of space. It was possible to identify distinctive ‘working areas’ containing features (hearths and brine tanks) where the main stages of salt-production were carried out. New ‘Modes of Salt-Production’ have been created in order to compare different methods of organisation and ‘site management’ across time and space. These modes enable a new approach about salt-production to be made set in the wider context of supply networks and specific consumer markets. This research has shown that there were significant regional and chronological variations in salt-production; with three main areas of activity identified in Somerset, Dorset and Kent. The most significant chronological change was the substantial increase in salt-production during the 1st century A.D. followed by its decline in the 2nd century A.D in Kent and Dorset. However, this was not the case in Somerset, where the dominant period of salt-production occurred between the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D. The identification of regional trends in the scale and organisation of production, as well as the rich diversity of sites, shows that producers adapted to changes in the supply and consumption of salt over time. Considerably more salt would have been required to supply the growing population in the 1st century A.D and this encouraged the creation of many new production sites. However, the diversity in site character suggests that there was little tight control of coastal salt-production sites at that time. It is argued that instead, focus was placed upon the exploitation of salt from inland brine springs in Cheshire and Worcestershire. This is evidenced in the organisation, technology and creation of military supply bases close to these sites. Instead, it is argued that the Roman invasion formalised and expanded existing supply networks from coastal salt-production sites, in addition to creating new inland networks. This resulted in the creation of more formal ‘production and/or distribution centres. It is also probable that the emergence of uniform salt-production sites in Somerset in the later Roman period, reflects that this area had become predominant for the supply of salt to major ‘consumer sites such as legionary fortresses and the larger towns.

Unspecified counting practices used in a data collection may create rounding to certain ‘based’ number that can have serious consequences on data quality. Statistical methods for analysing missing data are commonly used to deal with the issue but it could actually aggravate the problem. Rounded data are not missing data, instead some observations were just systematically lumped to certain based numbers reflecting the rounding process or counting behaviour. A new method to analyse rounded data would therefore be academically valuable. The neural network model developed in this study fills the gap and serves the purpose by complementing and enhancing the conventional statistical methods. The model detects, analyses, and quantifies the existence of periodic structures in a data set because of rounding. The robustness of the model is examined using simulated data sets containing specific rounding numbers of different levels. The model is also subjected to theoretical and numerical tests to confirm its validity before being used on real applications. Overall, the model performs very well making it suitable for many applications. The assessment results show the importance of using the right best fit in rounding detection. The detection power and cut-off point estimation also depend on data distribution and rounding based numbers. Detecting rounding of prime numbers is easier than non-prime numbers due to the unique characteristics of the former. The bigger the number, the easier is the detection. This is in a complete contrast with non-prime numbers, where the bigger the number, the more will be the “factor” numbers distracting rounding detection. Using uniform best fit on uniform data produces the best result and lowest cut-off point. The consequence of using a wrong best fit on uniform data is however also the worst. The model performs best on data containing 10-40% rounding levels as less or more rounding levels produce unclear rounding pattern or distort the rounding detection, respectively. The modulo-test method also suffers the same problem. Real data applications on religious census data confirms the modulo-test finding that the data contains rounding base 5, while applications on cigarettes smoked and alcohol consumed data show good detection results. The cigarettes data seem to contain rounding base 5, while alcohol consumption data indicate no rounding patterns that may be attributed to the ways the two data were collected. The modelling applications can be extended to other areas in which rounding is common and can have significant consequences. The modelling development can he refined to include data-smoothing process and to make it user friendly as an online modelling tool. This will maximize the model’s potential use

Evoked potentials are electrical signals produced by the nervous system in response to a stimulus. In general these signals are noisy with a low signal to noise ratio. The aim was to investigate ways of extracting the evoked response within an evoked potential recording, achieving a similar signal to noise ratio as conventional averaging but with less repetitions per average. In this thesis, evolutionary algorithms were used in three ways to extract the evoked potentials from a noisy background. First, evolutionary algorithms selected the cut—off frequencies for a set of filters. A different filter or filter bank was produced for each data set. The noisy signal was passed through each filter in a bank of filters the filter bank output was a weighted sum of the individual filter outputs. The goal was to use three filters ideally one for each of the three regions (early, middle and late components), but the use of five filters was also investigated. Each signal was split into two time domains: the first 3Oms of the signal and the region 30 to 400ms. Filter banks were then developed Ibr these regions separately. Secondly, instead of using a single set of filters applied to the whole signal, different filters (or combinations of filters) were applied at different times. Evolutionary algorithms are used to select the duration of each filter, as well as the frequency parameters and weightings of the filters. Three filtering approaches were investigated. Finally, wavelets in conjunction with an evolutionary algorithm were used to select particular wavelets and wavelet parameters. A comparison of these methods with optimal filtering methods and averaging was made. Averages of 1 0 signals were ibund suitable, and time-varying techniques were Ibund to perlbrm better than applying one filter to the whole signal

The contributions of this research are threefold. First, it offers a new routing approach to ad hoc wireless network protocols: the Enhanced Heading-direction Angle Routing Protocol (EHARP), which is an enhancement of HARP based on an on-demand routing scheme. We have added important features to overcome its disadvantages and improve its performance, providing the stability and availability required to guarantee the selection of the best path. Each node in the network is able to classify its neighbouring nodes according to their heading directions into four different zone-direction group. The second contribution is to present a new Secure Enhanced Heading-direction Angle Routing Protocol (SEHARP) for ad hoc networks based on the integration of security mechanisms that could be applied to the EHARP routing protocol. Thirdly, we present a new approach to security of access in hostile environments based on the history and relationships among the nodes and on digital operation certificates. We also propose an access activity diagram which explains the steps taken by a node. Security depends on access to the history of each unit, which is used to calculate the cooperative values of each node in the environment.