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Religious conversion is often understood as a sudden, dramatic, emotionally intense, one-off experience which utterly revolutionises a convert's life and religious worldview. This conception of conversion is driven by the influence of William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), along with a strain of Protestantism which emerged in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century North America. Contemporary social scientific analyses of religious conversion reveal that conversions are in fact often long-term processes which play out over multiple years. Philosophy of religion has not often considered the question of religious conversion and, where it has done so, has adopted a Jamesian model as its object of study. Consequently, philosophical research into religious conversion often misidentifies its object of study, overemphasises the immediate experience at the expense of longer-term effects and processes, and is biased towards the experiences of modern Protestant Christians. This thesis offers a philosophical reconceptualisation of religious conversion by way of phenomenological analysis. It is informed by recent social scientific research, especially that of Henri Gooren, and adopts a more process-oriented, long-term view of conversion experiences which can unfold over a number of years. The thesis is philosophically influenced by the twentieth-century French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty, whose phenomenological philosophy provides resources for thinking about conversion processes which occur over a longer time period and are affected by a convert's immersion in a material, linguistic and social world. Embodiment, expression, and community are the three philosophical themes about which this thesis turns. Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of embodiment, complemented by recent developments in cognitive science, enables an articulation of the embodied, belief-forming context within which conversion takes place. Without reducing conversion to physical or physiological processes, a philosophy of embodiment is able to present a view of human subjectivity as material and physical and explain how affective and embodied processes can influence, shape, and precipitate conversion. Added to this philosophy of embodiment is an analysis of expression. The thesis explores Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of language, focusing on the human's immersion in a linguistic world and speech as accomplishing thought, and appends a Wittgensteinian praxeology and argument for the affectivity of language. It is argued that religious expression, rather than following conversion, is in fact capable of shaping belief, preceding and contributing to the conversion process, and works through the affective pathways of the body. The final philosophical theme of the thesis is the effect of community on conversion. Community is examined both as the context for ritual as well as that which offers a feeling of belonging. With reference to ritual studies and affect theory, respectively, community is understood to be a deeply affective experience which shapes how an individual believes and thus contributes to conversion experiences. This thesis contributes to the philosophy of conversion by refocusing research on the subjective experiences of converts and correcting the dominant stereotype of conversions as one-off dramatic events. It also builds a bridge between conversion studies and a wider philosophical anthropology, whereby the process and experience of conversion can affect how we understand human experience, belief, and freedom.

This thesis is divided into three sections. The first begins with a review of the Fefferman-Graham embedding space construction and the closely-related tractor calculus, which provides a simple way to catalogue and invent conformally invariant operators. In particular, the conformal wave operator arises as the descendant of the ordinary wave operator on the Fefferman-Graham space. We construct a worldline action on the Fefferman-Graham space whose equations of motion descend to a conformally coupled scalar on the base manifold. We present also a novel Fefferman-Graham worldline action for the massless Dirac equation and demonstrate that it descents to a Dirac spinor on the base manifold. Unlike the scalar, the massless Dirac equation is conformally invariant without modification. The second concerns the application of twistor theory to five-dimensional anti-de Sitter space. The twistor space of AdS_5 is the same as the ambitwistor space of the four-dimensional conformal boundary; the geometry of this correspondence is reviewed for both the bulk and boundary. A Penrose transform allows us to describe free bulk fields, with or without mass, in terms of data on twistor space. Explicit representatives for the bulk-to-boundary propagators of scalars and spinors are constructed, along with twistor action functionals for the free theories. Evaluating these twistor actions on bulk-to-boundary propagators is shown to produce the correct two-point functions. In the final chapter, we construct a minitwistor action for Yang--Mills--Higgs theory in three dimensions. The Feynman diagrams of this action will construct perturbation theory around solutions of the Bogomolny equations in much the same way that MHV diagrams describe perturbation theory around the self--dual Yang Mills equations in four dimensions. We also provide a new formula for all tree amplitudes in YMH theory (and its maximally supersymmetric extension) in terms of degree d maps to minitwistor space. We demonstrate its relationship to the RSVW formula in four dimensions and show that it generates the correct MHV amplitudes at d=1 and factorizes correctly in all channels for all degrees.

The Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction is a heterogeneous catalytic reaction that produces synthetic linear hydrocarbon fuels from syngas. Recently there has been renewed academic and industrial interest in the reaction due to its potential to be used in the production of carbon-neutral fuels. The reaction typically occurs inside mesoporous catalyst particles. It is well known that at steady state, the catalyst mesopores are filled with heavy liquid hydrocarbon product. The diffusion of reactants and products through this liquid has a significant influence on reaction selectivity and activity, however this is currently poorly understood in the literature. This thesis presents the use of magnetic resonance techniques to understand this diffusion, and in particular how it depends on the composition of the heavy liquid product. The Cohen-Turnbull-Bueche (CTB) free volume model of diffusion is shown to be an accurate description of the diffusion of liquid hydrocarbon products. As such, a novel optimisation method is developed that is able to calibrate the model when applied to hydrocarbon mixtures confined in mesopores. This enables the reconstruction of carbon number distributions of confined mixtures using Pulsed-Field Gradient (PFG) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques. An advancement on this calibration technique is used to show that the diffusion mechanism of these liquids, in addition to the activation energy and molecular free volume, changes significantly when they are confined in mesopores compared to their bulk liquid counterpart. Further, temperature variations at FT conditions are shown to influence the diffusion mechanism. It is also found that a simple Arrhenius activation energy description of mixture diffusion fails to yield the correct enthalpic activation energy; a more careful treatment based on the CTB model yields the correct result. The CTB model is parametrised for FT reaction conditions at 220 ºC. Using spatially resolved PFG NMR, the carbon number distributions of liquid products as they form in situ inside catalyst mesopores during an operando FT reaction have been computed. Resolution of pores within a single catalyst pellet was achieved. It is shown that the average carbon number of liquid products inside pores is smaller than liquid products accumulating between pellets. Finally, an analysis of the diffusion of CO and H2 (syngas) dissolved in model FT hydrocarbon liquid confined in mesopores is presented. Using the results, a simplified model based on existing literature that depends only on the solute and the temperature is shown to describe well the temperature dependence of diffusion.

John Grierson's theories of documentary cinema have been analysed alongside the philosophy of German Idealism, the sociology of Walter Lippmann and the film theory of the early Russian Formalists for decades. Whilst arguments have ensued over how explicit these ideological relationships actually were, a clear gap is found in how the research conducted by Griersonian scholars has overlooked certain forms of archival evidence. The examination of under-appreciated and newly acquired personal documents offers a unique way in which to analyse Grierson's influence on British documentary. As such, this thesis presents the importance of engaging with Grierson's canon of literature and film through practice-as-research. By including oft-neglected sources, and relating these extensive documents to the panoply of well-established influences attributed to Grierson, early British documentary and its tendency towards social purpose can be interpreted from a new perspective. Whilst Grierson utilised the dialectic nature of philosophical Idealism to communicate social and industrial relations, both through written argument and visual montage, this thesis presents the functional qualities behind that formal rhetoric through practical and theoretical study. This focus allows the conversation to be shifted from value judgements on British documentary towards considerations of material changes in film production, and how methodological and technological developments in creative practice attract comparisons with Grierson's moral conception of the function and duty of the state. Two films produced as a part of this research, The Colours of the Sound (2018) and Every Which Way(2019), provide an audio-visual expression of the influential qualities of Grierson's propaganda. This inquiry will question how media manipulation relates to subjectivity, abstraction and the ethical considerations of film production. In essence, the simplification of content, both intellectual and experiential, presents further complications in how we conceive our external environment and, consequently, the historical foundations upon which immediate reality is built.

Gradual typing aims to improve the correctness of dynamically typed programs by incrementally adding type information. Sound gradual typing performs static type checking and inserts run-time checks when a type cannot be guaranteed statically. This form of gradual typing offers many features, but also requires that the programmer uses a language with a specialised gradual type system. A lightweight form of gradual typing uses contracts to enforce types at run-time, assigning blame when a type assertion fails. Contracts can be implemented as a library, without requiring a specialised gradual type system. Contracts provide a lower barrier of entry into sound gradual typing. This thesis investigates the design and evaluation of contracts for gradual typing, focusing on bridging the gap between JavaScript (dynamic) and TypeScript (static). There are two key outcomes regarding theory and practice. Contracts for higher-order intersection and union types can be designed in a uniform way, using blame to derive the semantics of contracts satisfaction. Contracts and gradual typing can be evaluated using the DefinitelyTyped repository, where JavaScript libraries are annotated with TypeScript definition files. Contract composition is the fundamental method for building complex type assertions. Intersection and union types are well suited for describing patterns common to dynamically typed programs. Our first contribution is to present a calculus of contracts for intersection and union types with blame assignment, giving a uniform treatment to both operators. A correct model of contracts must include a definition of contract satisfaction. Our second contribution is to show that contract satisfaction can be defined using blame: satisfying programs are those that do not elicit blame when monitored. We define a series of properties mandating how contract satisfaction should compose, ensuring that a contract for a type behaves as one would expect for that type. Building on our technical developments, our third contribution is a practical evaluation of gradual typing using the DefinitelyTyped repository. We show that contracts can be used to enforce conformance to a definition file, detecting errors in the specification. Our evaluation also reveals that technical concerns associated with implementing contracts using JavaScript proxies are a problem in practice.

Many studies have demonstrated a role for a tissue-specific circadian clock in peripheral tissues such as liver, lung, tendon, and cartilage (Pekovic-Vaughan et al., 2014; Yeung et al., 2014; Gossan et al., 2013; Lamia et al., 2008). Studying the ways each peripheral clock is controlled and how it helps maintain normal physiology is crucial for of our understanding of basic biology, and for developing new therapeutic strategies. In this thesis, I have examined the role and regulation of the circadian clock in the mammary gland. Using an arrhythmic model to study the role of the clock in normal breast physiology, I observed a decrease in the number and proliferative capacity of stem cells in the epithelial ducts. This corresponds to a decrease in the sexual development of the breast during pregnancy and lactation, with reduced differentiation of epithelia into milk-producing alveoli. As the mouse ages, mammary tissue rhythms dampen, and this coincides with a similar reduction in the number of stem cells seen in the arrhythmic model. Dampening of tissue rhythms with age is not a cell intrinsic effect, and appears to be due to a change in the matrix. Aged mammary matrix contains more fibrillar collagen and is stiffer than its young counterpart. Reducing the stiffness of the cytoskeleton rescued the dampened rhythm in aged tissues, indicating a potential role for mechanical signalling in controlling the clock. Increased extracellular stiffness and intracellular tension dampens the epithelial circadian clock. This effect is mediated via actomyosin contractility and RhoA signalling, but other mechanotransduction pathways may also be important. Mechano-control of the clock is not limited to mammary epithelia, but is also seen in lung and skin epithelia. The phenotype is reversed in fibroblasts from these tissues, whereby the circadian rhythm is stronger in stiffer conditions. Finally, I find the human mammary clock is also mechanosensitive, which could contribute to stiffness-mediated cancer formation. Primary tumour cells have severely dampened rhythms compared to their normal counterparts, which could be a key mediator of proliferative and metastatic behaviour in these cells. Collectively these data reveal a novel mechanism of clock control which was seen in all cell types tested, and could be potentially important for the design and outcome of future circadian studies in breast biology and the wider field.

Current understanding of the nature of rockfall and their controls stems from the capabilities of slope monitoring. These capabilities are fundamentally limited by the frequency and resolution of data that can be captured. Various assumptions have therefore arisen, including that the mechanisms that underlie rockfall are instantaneous. Clustering of rockfall across rock faces and sequencing through time have been observed, sometimes with an increase in pre-failure deformation and pre-failure rockfall activity prior to catastrophic failure. An inherent uncertainty, however, lies in whether the behaviour of rockfall monitored over much shorter time intervals (Tint) is consistent with that previously monitored at monthly intervals, including observed failure mechanisms, their response to external drivers, and pre-failure deformation. To address the limitations of previous studies on this topic, 8 987 terrestrial laser scans have been acquired over 10 months from continuous near-real time monitoring of an actively failing coastal rock slope (Tint = 0.5 h). A workflow has been devised that automatically resolves depth changes at the surface to 0.03 m. This workflow filters points with high positional uncertainty and detects change in 3D, with both approaches tailored to natural rock faces, which commonly feature sharp edges and partially occluded areas. Analysis of the resulting rockfall inventory, which includes > 180 000 detachments, shows that the proportion of rockfall < 0.1 m3 increases with more frequent surveys for Tint < ca. 100 h, but this trend does not continue for surface comparison over longer time intervals. Therefore, and advantageously, less frequent surveys will derive the same rockfall magnitude-frequency distribution if captured at ca. 100 h intervals as compared to one month or even longer intervals. The shape and size of detachments shows that they are more shallow and smaller than observable rock mass structure, but appear to be limited in size and extent by jointing. Previously explored relationships between rockfall timing and environmental and marine conditions do not appear to apply to this inventory, however, significant relationships between rockfall and rainfall, temperature gradient and tides are demonstrated over short timescales. Pre-failure deformation and rockfall activity is observed in the footprint of incipient rockfall. Rockfall activity occurs predominantly within the same ca. 100 h timescale observed in the size-distribution analysis, and accelerated deformation is common for the largest rockfall during the final 2 h before block detachment. This study provides insights into the nature and development of rockfall during the period prior to detachment, and the controls upon it. This holds considerable implications for our understanding of rockfall and the improvement of future rockfall monitoring.

Like its ancestral disciplines, archaeology is no stranger to human conflict. Greek and Roman warfare often resulted in the sacking of cities, with all property (public, private, temple) taken as booty and the population and heritage exterminated or absorbed (men killed, women and children sold into slavery). In addition to the personal danger risked in a hostile region, archaeologists may also be thrust into deep and divisive cultural embattlements. Cultural property may be destroyed, intentionally or unintentionally. Graves, including potential evidence of genocide or mass murder, may be disturbed. Archaeologists may find themselves embroiled in many of these disputes and violent events, leading to difficult and complex ethical issues. This viperous nest of ethical concerns is amplified where an archaeologist is present as part of, or perceived to be related to, an invading or occupying military force. The goal of this thesis is to develop an engaging and pragmatic virtue-based professional ethic that may guide an archaeologist and archaeology through the ethical bramble bush raised by modern human conflict. The present ethical systems, based primarily on utilitarian or deontological principles manifested in ethical codes, are deficient because they fail to establish the archaeologist as a trustee (active or passive) in a political dynamic, elevate the archaeological record even when these professional codes purport to discount its importance, fail to address adequately the matrix of relationships in a manner that ensures trust across the interests of all stakeholders – both present and past, and dramatically fail to identify and develop the central thrust of a professional ethic (as opposed to personal moral judgment) in the first instance.

This project sought to evaluate the efficacy of using the EPflex MRline guidewire for endovascular treatment guided by real-time Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). MRI theoretically has numerous advantages over x-ray, the current clinical standard imaging modality for endovascular procedures. The most profound advantage of MRI is the ability to acquire physiological functional information, via perfusion and diffusion measures, for better intervention planning before and during the procedure. The EPflex guidewire was selectedbecause of its ability to perform in an MRI and x-ray fluoroscopy environment, allowing for relevant and useful comparisons of the guiding imaging modality. An abdominal aorta phantom was used to assess the ability of experienced and inexperienced operators to successfullynavigate the wire under each imaging modality. It was found that x-ray guidance provided statistically faster and more successful navigation attempts than MRI guidance; however, more clinical tests need to be performed in order to assess the clinical significance of these results.This study represents an important step in the direction of developing safer and more effective imaging systems for guiding endovascular procedures.

Three groups of participants were exposed to different unit price sequences. Unit prices for all groups ranged from unit price 1 to 21. Analyses of demand curves, response rates, session duration, and elasticity coefficients suggest that the sequence of exposure to unit prices can affect the elasticity of demand. In addition, the size of unit price contrast, direction of unit price change, and proximity to experimental milestones also may affect the consumption of monetary reinforcers.