Cyclopean masonry, used to construct the LH III fortifications on mainland Greece, has been broadly defined as being of large irregular-shaped blocks, commonly of local limestone, unworked or roughly dressed and assembled without mortar, but with small stones set in interstices. Unfortunately, this is the extent to which this masonry has been defined, leaving unanswered questions concerning building style, engineering techniques, and the amount of labour invested in the projects. The heavily fortified palatial/residential complexes of Mycenaean Greece have often been considered the result of an unsettled and aggressive society; however, an investigation into the types and location of the various structures suggest that the walls were designed to conspicuously display wealth. Cyclopean stonework is not confined to the citadels, but includes the elaborate drainage project of the Copais and a system of road networks, both which would suggest a high level of cooperation between communities. Indeed, calculations made in considering resource availability demonstrate that fortifications exceeded all defensive requirements and were probably constructed in then- initial form as part of a programme promoting and strengthening the status of the state through a display of its wealth in large scale building programmes. These monumental fortifications are often believed to have then- origins elsewhere in the Aegean, Cyprus, or the Near East; however, the evidence points to an independent development on mainland Greece. Features of the fortifications are analysed and compared to earlier and contemporary forms of Aegean, Cypriote, and Near Eastern structures in order to understand similarities and/or differences in construction, with a particular emphasis on those structures outside the Greek mainland that have been labelled as "Cyclopean". The conclusion reached is that in each geographical region the fortifications form a distinct group. In order to determine the origins of Cyclopean masonry on the Greek mainland, Cyclopean structures other than fortifications are studied and the masonry style is classified into a typology for an understanding of differences in regional work or date. This information is then used to understand Mycenaean social complexity, defined as the resultant behaviours of individuals or groups functioning within a larger collective assembly whose attitudes and actions, either directly or indirectly, affect the larger community, and to show how previous notions of an aggressive and warring society maybe inaccurate. Although the Mycenaean culture may have been competitive, its means for competition and displays of wealth could only have been achieved through cooperative measures.

This thesis considers some of the ways in which images of justice were used to express and in some cases promote certain aims and aspirations of those who commissioned them, in northern Italy between c.1250-1400, and whether and to what extent this impacted upon their depiction. It explores the question of a sacred/secular distinction in relation to the use and depiction of images of justice, and proposes that certain changes in such images can be read as responses to developments in the law and in the secular justice system. An introduction defines the essential elements of the subject and the main objectives of the thesis. As the thesis takes a social historical perspective, the first chapter provides details to establish the historical context for the following case studies. The main body of the thesis adopts a thematic approach. The second chapter examines the interrelationship of divine and secular justice through an analysis of images depicting the Last Judgment, or referencing its imagery. First it looks at several monumental representations of the Last Judgment, addressing developments in the artistic treatment of the torments of Hell in the context of changes in contemporary legal punishment practices. The chapter then explores further the relationship of earthly punishments and divine imageries, in a work not previously studied as an image of justice. The congruence in these artworks of sacred and secular elements allows a discussion of the interrelationship of these terms in relation to the contemporary conception and practices of justice. Further chapters examine how a new and increasing emphasis on the judge in the prosecution procedure from the early thirteenth century is mirrored in the artistic representation of secular and judicial authority after that period. This is first addressed by analysing images of the trials of Christ as examples of ‘secular’ justice in a religious or ‘sacred’ context, and exploring how contemporary issues relating to the administration of justice contribute to an understanding of changes in the iconography of these scenes. A fourth chapter addresses images more overtly associated with secular and judicial authority, offering a new perspective on these images as expressions of contemporary societal interests, many arising from the justice system, leading to their use as exemplars, to guide and inform. The thesis contributes to the debate on the distinction between the terms ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’ in the late medieval period, exploring how analysing artworks can lead to a better and more nuanced appreciation of the application of those terms in relation to the contemporary notion of justice. Further, my research has indicated that what could account most comprehensively for certain changes in the use and depiction of such images may be found in specific aspects of a justice system in transition.

The origins of Early Iron Age polity in south-east Cyprus have traditionally been attributed to the formal imposition of Phoenician dominion over Kition in 707 BC. It is proposed that this paradigm fails adequately to acknowledge local agency in the preceding development of relations with Canaan and the Nile Delta from c.1650 BC onwards. Longue durée trends in settlement and societal development suggest that Late Bronze Age communities became pre-adapted to incorporation into wider Levantine spheres of interaction through participation in 'orientalizing' exchange. An emphasis is placed upon the significance of bulk commodity industry as a catalyst for social innovation, including the adoption of urbanism, concurrent with secondary state formation. Three case studies examine the development of regional settlement landscapes within the environs of Ayios Sozomenos, Pyla, and Hala Sultan Tekke. Discussion chiefly incorporates the results of new fieldwork conducted by the author [2007-2009] at the site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos. This involved pedestrian, geophysical and remote sensing survey combined with trial excavation. Several previously unknown archaeological features were identified, providing significant new information concerning the character and intramural composition of this important maritime centre. These findings complement those of previous missions, and reflect an established community rooted in its surroundings. A dominant trend of continuity in settlement and societal development, most clearly apparent through successive episodes of synoecism, is proposed for south-east Cyprus as a whole across the Bronze-to-Iron Age transition. Changes in occupation throughout the eastern Mediterranean at this time have conventionally been attributed to successive waves of migration and colonisation. This thesis constitutes an attempt at a pre-colonial narrative for Phoenician Cyprus, and by extension a conceptual framework to structure investigation of Levantine diaspora communities elsewhere in the Mediterranean.

published_or_final_version / Ecology and Biodiversity / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The aim of this study of Up holland in Lancashire is to investigate the late-medieval and Tudor community, to understand the landscape in which this community operated and to assess the impact of marginality on society and economy. Upholland lay within the agricultural fringe in respect of its soils and straddled the geographical interface between lowland wetlands on the Lancashire plain and elevated land on the Billinge-Parbold ridge. It was a peripheral place, too, as regards its positions on the western edge of Wig an parish and on the eastern border of West Derby hundred. Despite its undoubted marginality, there are indications for great stability in its boundary, for ancient settlement patterns and for clearance levels remaining fairly constant between the Iron Age and the early-modern period. Because several tracts of ancient woodland survived into Tudor times and as most soils in this township were wet and/or infertile, farming life was based on the wood-pasture economy. Upholland farmers made the best possible use of their resources and diversified into rural crafts, such as tanning, carpentry, and the ferrous metal industry. There is a particularly early example of a water-powered bloomery in the demesne. Upholland was arguably part of a multiple estate in the pre-Conquest period. It was held in thegnage in 1066. Under the later manorial system the township had powerful lords in the de Holands, the Lords Lovell and the Earls of Derby. Only the former, however, were resident. Their status symbols included a castle, two large parks, a warren and a priory. Despite this emergence of power, tenants enjoyed autonomy and security of tenure. Their dispersed homesteads lay amidst enclosed fields and there was an absence of communal organisation in agriculture. Many copyhold families were long established by the sixteenth century and well aware of their ancient rights. When the second Earl of Derby tried to impose more-stringent tenurial conditions, several copyholders took their case to the Court of Star Chamber. Tenant independence is also seen in local government. Although this institution was presided over by the lord's steward, community regulation was effectively in the hands of a tenant elite. Tenant holdings tended to be small although disparkment and shrinkage of population after the Black Death made way for the creation of larger allotments. Population recovery by the mid-sixteenth century led to expansion by 1600, an increase largely due to the growth of leasehold properties in the former parks and in the waste. Upholland lay within a part of Lancashire that was relatively rich by the 1540s. Growing commercialisation is evident in the trading centre present by 1599. This study demonstrates how independence and skilful use of the environment can turn marginality into advantage. It shows, too, how the fringe can provide quality of life.

This document proposes a study designed to investigate the association between executive function abilities and social anxiety in a group of adolescent survivors of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) who were treated with chemotherapy for central nervous system prophylaxis. The proposed study is also designed to evaluate a possible interaction effect between executive function abilities and social skills in their impact on social anxiety in this population. The report provides detailed background information describing ALL and available treatments for the disease. It also reviews the literature on both acute and late effects of chemotherapy, with particular attention placed on understanding both neurocognitive and psychosocial effects in the context of adolescent development. The proposed project involves collecting parent and teacher reports to measure the constructs of Executive Function and Social Skills. Parent measures may be completed in English or Spanish. Self-reports of Social Anxiety symptoms in the adolescent survivor sample will also be collected. Simultaneous regression analyses will be used to analyze the influence of executive function abilities on social anxiety. Sequential multiple regression analyses will then be conducted to check for differences in the magnitude of the relationship between executive function abilities and social anxiety with varying levels of social skills. Significant results would inform the development of targeted interventions. For example, if it is determined that executive function abilities are indeed associated with social anxiety symptoms, existing programs focused on neurocognitive remediation could begin to monitor participants for anxiety and provide preventative therapeutic intervention. Additionally, if social skills is confirmed as a moderator, evidence-based interventions targeting the development of social skills in the survivor population would be warranted as well. / text

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No description available.

Drilling during ODP Leg 133 offshore Cairns, northeast Queensland, provided a unique opportunity to document carbonate production and facies development on a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic margin. Recent studies have shown that variations in the sedimentology of Late Quaternary and Pliocene periplatform sediments (Schlager and James, 1978), deposited on continental slopes and in deep basins surrounding shallow carbonate platforms, are linked to changes in sea-level (Droxler et al., 1993; Schlager et al., 1994). However, considerable debate has arisen to the timing of the production and export of shallow water carbonate material, with respect to sea level change. Two main hypotheses have been proposed to explain the response of shallow water carbonate platforms to variation in Late Quaternary sea level: I) 'highstand shedding' and 2) 'lowstand shedding'. Proponents of highstand shedding argue that depositional systems shed most of its carbonate sediments onto the platform slopes during highstands of sea level. Conversely, during lowstands of sea level bank top production and export of carbonate material is restricted, and platform slopes are largely starved of bank derived carbonate (Schlager, 1992; Schlager et al., 1994 ). Supporters of lowstand shedding maintain that significant carbonate production and export of shallow water carbonate material occurs during lowstands (and highstands) of sea level (Bosellini, 1989; Goldhammer and Harris. 1989; Grammer and Ginsburg. 1992). In order to investigate the response of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic systems to variations in Late Quaternary sea level and climate change, core material was collected from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 133, Sites 819 and 823 (northeast Australian margin). These two sites form part of an eastward extending transect of drill localities, offshore Cairns, Queensland, from the outershelf/upper-slope of the Great Barrier Reef (Sites 821 /820/819), into the Queensland Trough (Site 823) and ultimately onto the flanks of the Queensland Plateau (Sites 824 and 811 /825). Pelagic to hemipelagic sediments collected from these two sites were examined for the downcore distribution of grain size, magnetic susceptibility, carbonate content, variations in carbonate mineralogy (XRD), and major and minor element (XRF) geochemistry. Using high resolution foraminiferal stable oxygen isotopes, coupled with biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic datums, well defined age models for Hole 819A and Hole 823A have been constructed, although it was not an easy task as hiatuses occur in these records. Age models for the sequences recovered from Hole 819A and Hole 823A have been further refined using correlation with existing isotopic stratigraphies in the Pacific Ocean (ODP Hole 677, Raymo et al., 1989), and comparison with high resolution sedimentologic records from other ODP Leg 133 marine sequences. Analysis of the mineralogical, sedimentological and geochemical records from Holes 819A and 823A indicate that, over the last 1.1 million years, highstands of sea level (and during the early regression) are characterized by increased shallow water carbonate production, and deposition on the upper slope. This pattern of carbonate deposition is consistent with the highstand carbonate shedding scenario outlined by Schlager et al. (1992), and Schlager et al. ( 1994 ). Lowstands of sea level (and particularly the early transgression) are characterized by increased deposition of non-carbonate (mainly terrigenous) material and/or were not diluted by shallow water carbonate platform material. During the lowstands of sea level the shallow water carbonate factories were switched off. Therefore, the sediments deposited during lowstands of sea level tend to record the greater influence of pelagic driven carbonate. Although the above mentioned scenario of highstand shedding applies to the entire record of 1.1 million years. mineralogical and geochemical data indicate that shallow burial diagenesis, and dissolution of solution sensitive carbonate, occurred in the lower part of the records. The diagenesis and dissolution, however, have played only a minor role in determining the composition of the Queensland margin sediments. Variations in the terrigenous input (Cr/Al and Ti/AI ratios) in Queensland margin sediments indicate that interglacial periods were generally wetter than corresponding glacials or lowstands of sea level, during the Late Quaternary.

Freshwater loch settlements were a feature of society, indeed the societies, which inhabited what we now call Scotland during the prehistoric and historic periods. Considerable research has been carried out into the prehistoric and early historic origins and role of artificial islands, commonly known as crannogs. However archaeologists and historians have paid little attention to either artificial islands, or loch settlements more generally, in the Late Medieval or Early Modern periods. This thesis attempts to open up the field by examining some of the physical, chorographic and other textual evidence for the role of settled freshwater natural, artificial and modified islands during these periods. It principally concentrates on areas of central Scotland but also considers the rest of the mainland. It also places the evidence in a broader British, Irish and European context. The results indicate that islands fulfilled a wide range of functions as secular and religious settlements. They were adopted by groups from different cultural backgrounds and provided those exercising lordship with the opportunity to exercise a degree of social detachment while providing a highly visible means of declaring their authority. This thesis also argues that loch settlements were not a lingering hangover from the past, as some have suggested, but a vibrant part of contemporary culture which remained strong until the latter half of the seventeenth century before going into final decline and disappearing as a significant social phenomenon.