The starting point for this project was my MPhil thesis (University of Leeds, 1995) Aural Geographies. An Investigation of Sound In Everyday Space, which has as its subject matter the concept of sound in everyday space. The MPhil thesis argued that in considering everyday space more attention should be paid to the aural experience. The argument did not try to `bolt on' what is heard to what is seen. Rather it contemplated the intricate relationships between the visual and aural senses within everyday space. Following from the work which was undertaken for the MPhil it became clear that further and more substantial research into the area of sound and space was merited. This research has been carried out at the University of East London as a PhD programme, under the supervision of Professor Andrew Blake, who introduced me to numerous aspects of music analysis. The thesis acknowledges and expands upon the work on sound carried out by the limited number of social theorists who have addressed this issue such as Adorno, Attali and in particular Schafer and his work on soundscapes. There is discussion throughout of the inspirational ideas of John Cage. The aim of the thesis, which is explored through many inter-related pieces of analysis and empirical work, is to expand upon our knowledge of the role of sound in everyday life. The thesis contributes towards knowledge by providing many new insights about the soundworld and its place in human experience. As befits a thesis which centres on the aural, the research methods are also innovatory allowing the readers/listeners themselves to experience sound worlds. The thesis therefore relies 111 heavily on newly-developed new recording/mapping techniques, using high quality audio recordings which are then used to produce digital sound maps in the form of hypermedia made available on a CD-ROM. The thesis demonstrates how these maps enable us to comprehend some of the complex sensory processes associated with sound worlds. Sound worlds are the main focus here, and in particular the way in which sound worlds are constructed by individuals. Where the MPhil examined sound in public spaces, this thesis further reflects on that investigation before going on to investigate the sound worlds generated in the living room (a key everyday space). This enables us to hear/see how the sound worlds associated with the living room link up with other everyday spaces. The contention is that sound is crucial for the organisation and operation of everyday space Though the thesis is persuasive in indicating the importance of the aural in everyday life, the question arises as to how the relationship between the aural and the visual can be represented in academic work, and especially in the discipline of geography. This question is addressed in the thesis by the presentation of a number of specially developed aural terms, such as `sonic order' and `sound maps'. The thesis describes how people organise their activities around sonic order, and explains how conflicts arise over sonic order. The thesis concludes that sound maps are present in everyday space and that people use them to navigate everyday space. This sensitivity to sound spaces generates geographical (aur/imagin)ations, which are in turn subject to study from within the discipline of geography.

This thesis addresses the challenges associated with thermal management systems (TMS) evaluation and selection in the conceptual design of hypersonic, air-breathing vehicles with sustained cruise. The proposed methodology identifies analysis tools and techniques which allow the proper investigation of the design space for various thermal management technologies. The design space exploration environment and alternative multi-objective decision making technique defined as Pareto-based Joint Probability Decision Making (PJPDM) is based on the approximation of 3-D Pareto frontiers and probabilistic technology effectiveness maps. These are generated through the evaluation of a Pareto Fitness function and Monte Carlo analysis. In contrast to Joint Probability Decision Making (JPDM), the proposed PJPDM technique does not require preemptive knowledge of weighting factors for competing objectives or goal constraints which can introduce bias into the final solution. Preemptive bias in a complex problem can degrade the overall capabilities of the final design. The implementation of PJPDM in this thesis eliminates the need for the numerical optimizer which is required with JPDM in order to improve upon a solution. In addition, a physics-based formulation is presented for the quantification of TMS safety effectiveness corresponding to debris impact/damage and how it can be applied towards risk mitigation. Lastly, a formulation loosely based on non-preemptive Goal Programming with equal weighted deviations is provided for the resolution of the inverse design space. This key step helps link vehicle capabilities to TMS technology subsystems in a top-down design approach. The methodology provides the designer more knowledge up front to help make proper engineering decisions and assumptions in the conceptual design phase regarding which technologies show greatest promise, and how to guide future technology research.