http://hdl.handle.net/1842/1638 2013-06-13T02:48:49Z http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6379 Title: Scotland's First Road Network. A Cost Path based analysis of the Roman roads of Scotland Authors: Erskine, Graeme Abstract: The Roman roads of Scotland are a currently under-researched and less understood component of the Roman occupation of the country. Recent research has focussed mainly on engineering aspects, and the geographical bias towards the better-preserved network of the south east is readily apparent. However, the advent of GIS as a new, flexible means of archaeological analysis allows a re-appreciation of this somewhat overlooked phenomenon. The use of GIS in archaeology has developed rapidly over the last few decades. A once foreign and terrifying discipline has been combined with that of archaeology, opening up new means of investigating old problems. One such important methodology which has found wide use in archaeological analysis is that of least cost paths, which have been used to assess potential prehistoric routeways throughout Europe and the Americas. In this dissertation, cost path models are built to investigate the factors behind Roman road building in Scotland in three separate invasion periods. By combining several variables in differentially-weighted models it has been possible to investigate the parameters which may have influenced where Romans built their roads. Rather than discovering generalised governing laws about the placement of roads in the province, it is evident that localised factors are the main consideration in significant stretches of road. A call is made for better understanding of the remaining archaeology and for greater investigation into the use of Roman roads as a tool of Imperial control and oppression in the new province. 2012-11-29T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6378 Title: Adding Fuel to the Fire; the Effect of Political Unrest on Forest Burning in Sub-Saharan Africa Authors: Duff, Alice Abstract: The connection between forest fires and political unrest has been noted throughout the literature (see Thomas, 2012,) and in a number of countries including; Malawi, Madagascar, Kenya and Ethiopia (Kull, 2002, Hoffmann et al., 2009, Cochrane, 2009 and Kuhlken, 1999), but never before has it been quantified. Political unrest can often manifest itself in the form of protest or armed conflict, these may involve fire setting. This investigation evaluates and visualises the correlation between these two parameters by linking the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area product with World Bank political unrest indicators and the Armed Conflict Location and Events Dataset (ACLED) across sub-Saharan Africa. The investigation uses spatial techniques to analyse these data; the ACLED points were buffered by 50, 75 and 100km, these buffers were then used to extract the burned area data surrounding the points. These data were used to calculate what proportion of burnt area within that country burnt within the defined distances of a political unrest event; these outputs were then plotted against the World Bank political unrest data for the years 2002 – 2010, no data was available for 2003. This relationship was statistically tested using a Spearman’s rank correlation. Outliers were accounted for using other data sets including the Global Road Inventory Project (GRIP) road data, Global Land Cover 2000 (GLC 2000), and BioClim climate data. The results of this investigation show that there is a statistically significant relationship between political unrest and forest fire for all of the years being analysed (p = .000 - .017). This result is of great importance as currently no fire or forest risk models incorporate political unrest as a parameter. It also has implications for forest protection programmes, as if corruption and unrest are not addressed these schemes will never reach their full potential. 2012-11-29T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6377 Title: Train noise mapping: sound in the landscape and implications for wildlife Authors: Altringham, Anne Abstract: Noise pollution is a concern both to wildlife conservation and to human health. Much research has been done on the effects of road noise on breeding birds in the adjacent landscape, but the effects of train noise have not yet been studied. I determined the pattern of amplitude decay of train noise in the natural environment. Full spectrum sound was recorded at 25, 50, 100 and 200 m intervals on transects perpendicular to a major railway line in the North of England. Recordings were made of a range of train models passing through woodland and open ground. Decay curves were determined for full spectrum noise, and specifically over the frequency range of bird calls, to assess the potential for call masking and other auditory interference for birds. There was no significant difference in the amplitude decay curve between woodland and open ground. Some small differences (<10%) were found between some train models at some sites. Sound in the higher frequency bird call band deteriorated with a steeper curve than full frequency spectrum sound. Rail noise amplitude (relative to that at 25 m) deteriorated to 50% at 200 m for full spectrum and to 30% in the bird call frequency band. The road network in England is not only more extensive than the rail network, but generates almost continuous noise pollution over a much greater distance (amplitude falls to 50% at 900 m) relative to the intermittent noise of rail. This study highlights a previously unforeseen environmental benefit of rail over road. 2012-11-29T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6376 Title: The future of literary GIS: James Boswell in Rome Authors: van der Velden, Johanna J. Abstract: This course aims to find the future of literary GIS; it wants to find out how much of an aid GIS can be to literary studies, and if GIS can become an integrated part of literary research. There have some studies been done before, but none discuss the realistic possibilities and issues of mapping within literary research and only a few studies have been done that include GIS. This research has taken the diary of James Boswell as a case study, focussing on his stay in Rome in 1765. By using a simple methodology that would be easy to implement by literary scholars themselves, the goal is to see if GIS can aid existing research and/or pose new questions. Several maps were made, covering topics such as the different types of Boswell’s visits, visit frequency and his social encounters. Unfortunately, 34 of the 91 places mentioned by Boswell could not be mapped because their coordinates are unknown to us. This proves to give a great distortion in the data and most maps are therefore not usable. However, the maps that do not cover the problematic types of visits do show that GIS can be of aid to existing research and pose new research questions. Concluded is that GIS cannot be an integrated part of literary research because not all texts are suitable. But because GIS can offer visualisation for existing studies and inspire new research questions, it might be feasible to see at the start of a new research if GIS can be incorporated so no information will remain undiscovered. 2012-11-29T00:00:00Z