A dissertation submitted to the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg 2013. / Tool manufacturing played a major role in the development and evolution of our species, and by studying the tools left behind by our ancestors we gain valuable insight into their development and behaviours through time. This study was conducted on the Swartkrans Oldowan (2.2 - 1.7 Ma), early Acheulean (1.5 - 1 Ma), and Middle Stone Age (<110 ka) assemblages to determine the degree of lithic raw material selectivity for making stone tools, and if they practiced ever increasing selection towards better quality stone over time. The presence of quality selection was determined by comparing the various Swartkrans assemblages with experimentally created lithic tools from rock types found in the study area. Three main characteristics that determine selection of rock types were isolated: flaking predictability, durability and sharpness. Analysis of the data provided further evidence that our early stone tool making ancestors had the ability to understand how different rock types behave when knapped and tended to select rocks that had a high flaking predictability, high durability and could produce fairly sharp edges. It was also apparent that they could identify features that diminish the above mentioned characteristics. Variables such as the impurity encounter rate, fracture encounter rate, weathering, grain size and homogeneity were semiquantitatively recorded for the three techno-complexes at Swartkrans and compared to each other to help identify the degree of selectivity that was practiced over time. The data revealed that selection for quality of lithic raw materials was practiced to some extent during the Oldowan and improved slightly in the early Acheulean. The most marked selection for quality was seen for the Middle Stone Age when modern humans used the site. These results indicate that as time progressed in the Sterkfontein valley, and the stone tool technologies became more complex, so too did the selective pressures and thus an increase in selection for quality lithic raw materials over the course of time.

We studied the eclosion rhythm of the marine midge Pontomyia oceana in southern Taiwan. The lunar/semilunr rhythm is known to be endogenous since it persists under continous light or dark conditions. In this study, we discovered that the period of the eclosion rhythm is about 15 days, although the midges have to spend an additional 15 days in the beginning of their lives before entering the eclosion rhythm. The period of the semilunrar eclosion rhythm is controlled by counting cycles of endogenous circadian rhythms which in term was entrainable by external light-dark (LD) cycles. We demonstrated this by modifying the period of LD cycles in different parts of their life histories with or without the entraining factor and then observing the ecolsion times in the laboratory. Night light can entrain the semilunar eclosion rhythm; we discovered that the cue and the eclosion are in the same phase of the semilunar rhythm but with a full cycle of shift. Temperature compensation in period control is demonstrated in this species. Q10 values close to 1 is found between 24 to 30¢XC in the laboratory.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: Dept. of Maternal Child Nursing. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 104-116.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 261-283).

SAMMANFATTNING   Lina Högemark ”Jag bor på Spanien” En studie om hur tvåspråkighetsutvecklingen av det svenska språket kan se ut i Spanien   “I live at Spain” A study on the bilingual development of the Swedish language might look like in Spain   Antal sidor: 47     Studiens syfte är att belysa olika aspekter av tvåspråkighet och ge en fördjupad kunskap inom ämnet. Den empiriska studien syftar till att se hur fyra olika pedagoger som undervisar i svenska i Spanien ser på tvåspråkighet och vad som krävs av pedagoger och föräldrar för att det svenska språket skall utvecklas. Stort intresse ligger i huruvida ett språk måste introduceras före en viss ålder för att utvecklas optimalt samt om det finns några generella språkfel och bakomliggande orsaker till detta fenomen. Observationer med två svensk/spansktalande barn har utförts för att ge studien en djupare inblick i ämnet. Resultatet från observationerna ger en fingervisning om hur olikartad språkutvecklingen kan se ut hos två barn och pekar på att varje barn och varje situation är unik. Därför går det inte att återge en generell bild av hur tvåspråkighet ”ska” se ut. Komplexiteten med tvåspråkighet diskuteras. Nyckelord: kritisk period, kodväxling, övergeneralisering och anomi

A novel sensor using a polymer coated long-period grating (LPG) has been proposed for monitoring levels of organic contaminants in air or water systems. The sensor operates by detecting refractive index changes in the polymer coating as analytes partition in. Polymer coatings used must be able to reversibly and reproducibly absorb contaminants of interest from the sample and have a refractive index just below that of the fiber cladding. The synthesis and characterization of several chemically selective polysiloxanes is described. Pre-polymer materials are made through the catalyzed condensation of silane monomers. Different functional groups are incorporated either through polymerizing functionalized monomers, or by post-functionalizing the polymer through a platinum-catalyzed hydrosilylation reaction. The pre-polymer materials are crosslinked into elastomeric films using titanium(IV) tetraisopropoxide. The polymer refractive index is controlled through altering the ratios of functional groups within the polymer or changing the loading levels of titanium. Four polymers were made, having different functional groups and optimized refractive indices for use on the proposed sensor. The partition coefficients for the polymers with a variety of solvents are calculated and compared. Each polymer was found to have a slightly different chemical selectivity pattern, demonstrating that a set of polymers could be used to generate a sensor array. Partition coefficient data was calculated from the gas phase by considering the change in polymer refractive index as the solvents partitioned into the polymer. The Lorentz-Lorenz equation was used to model the relationship between the change in refractive index and the solvent concentration within the polymer. Finally, polymers were applied to LPGs and used to successfully detect various solvents from the gas phase. This was accomplished by monitoring the entire LPG spectrum, and also by considering loss at a single wavelength using fiber-loop ring-down spectroscopy. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-26 15:28:35.603

No description available.

The archaeological evidence for the Neolithic of the Levant, considered to have lasted from c. 8500 to 3750 B.C., is presented and an attempt made to explain its origins and development. The discussion is concerned with four principal themes: (1) the transition from a hunter-gatherer to a farming economy, (2) the social evolution that accompanied this economic development, (3) population growth immediately before and during the Neolithic and (4) the modifications in settlement patterns which followed these other changes. The environmental changes which occurred at the end of the Pleistocene and early in the Holocene are believed to be of fundamental importance. The degree of their influence on the four main themes is examined. The effects of man's own changing activities upon his environment are also considered. The Neolithic of the Levant is divided into four stages, designated Neolithic 1 to 4, on the evidence of changes in economy, population, settlement patterns and cultural remains. Regional groups of sites, defined by their cultural material, may be discerned and their evolution followed from one stage to the next. The detailed archaeological evidence is examined principally for the light it throws upon the development of the four main themes of the thesis and the contemporary changes in environment. It is argued that the amelioration of the environment in the late Pleistocene created a greater supply of wild foods for man which stimulated population growth. This was accompanied by increased sedentism and the development of agricultural techniques. In Neolithic 2 agriculture was intensified and the population grew further. After 6000 B.C. the population of the Levant lived in permanent settlements supported by agriculture but these were concentrated only in the more fertile and well-watered areas of the Levant. This new way of life permitted another increase in population in Neolithic 4 despite a deterioration in the environment.

The thesis examines the perceptions and treatment of Gypsies in Britain during the early twentieth century. This enquiry touches upon a number of historically important themes and also has a contemporary relevance. Firstly it outlines the tradition of writing about the Gypsies which had developed over the previous two centuries and considers the treatment of the group in the work of early commentators. Secondly, it explores the nature of stereotypes of the Gypsies in early twentieth century society and considers the ways in which romantic and antipathetic images of the Gypsies could be crafted into a coherent rather than a contradictory body of thought by drawing on ideas of hierarchy and degeneration. Thirdly, it analyses responses to Gypsies from across sedentary society. The focus here is on the treatment of the group by legislators, local authorities, missionaries and scholars. Finally, it argues that responses to the group must be considered as of part of the age-old tradition of hostility towards nomadism in Europe. The examination of the treatment of the Gypsies in Britain reveals significant differences with their treatment elsewhere in Europe during the same period. Although there is evidence of antipathy towards the Gypsies at every level of British society there is a relative absence of institutionalised intolerance. However, it is evident that the ideas which were used to justify such treatment of the Gypsies elsewhere in Europe were also present in Britain, and that the treatment of immigrant Gypsies by the British state, in particular, reveals that it was not immune from antipathy.