Bragg Gratings, Photosensitivity and Poling in Glass Waveguides (BGPP

Polymer optical fibre Bragg gratings are useful for strain sensor applications for large dynamic range. We report recent progress in developing polymer optical fibres with higher photosensitivity and fabricating POF gratings at alternative wavelength.

Freemasonary in France during the Nazi occupation and it's rehabilitation after the end of the Second World War

This thesis examines the involvement of the French Freemason movement in the Resistance during the Occupation of France by the Germans 1939-1945, its relationship with the Vichy government and the effect the 'Nouvelle Révolution' had on the lives of individual Masons. To set the scene and to put the role of Freemasonry into perspective in the life of France and the French political system, the origins of French Freemasonry are examined and explained. The main French Masonic obediences are discussed and the differences between them emphasised. The particular attributes of a Freemason are described and the ideals and ethos of the Order is discussed. From its earliest days, Freemasonry has often been persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church or by extreme Right-wing movements. The history of this persecution is reviewed and the reasons for its persistence noted, with especial emphasis on the treatment of Freemasons under the fascist regimes of Italy and Germany. The fate of Freemasonry in countries under German control is also briefly examined. With the occupation of France by the Germans, the differences and similarities of the treatment of French and German Freemasons are discussed. The processes and legislation of this ban are closely examined and the part played by the Vichy government in the persecution of French Freemasonry is discussed. The effects of this persecution and the consequences for individuals are examined and the Freemason's role in the emerging Resistance movement is reviewed. The contribution of many lodges to the Resistance movement is examined and the sacrifice of many Freemasons for their ideals is emphasised.

Negotiating proximity:expert testimony and collective memory in the trials of environmental activists in France and the United Kingdom

This article analyzes the role of expert witness testimony in the trials of social movement actors, discussing the trial of the "Kingsnorth Six" in Britain and the trials of activists currently mobilising against airport construction at Notre Dame des Landes in western France. Though the study of expert testimony has so far overwhelmingly concentrated on fact-finding and admissibility, the cases here reveal the importance of expert testimony not simply in terms of legal argument, but in "moral" or political terms, as it reflects and constitutes movement cognitive praxis. In the so-called climate change defence presented by the Kingsnorth Six, I argue that expert testimony attained a "negotiation of proximity," connecting different types of contributory expertise to link the scales and registers of climate science with those of everyday understanding and meaning. Expert testimony in the trials of activists in France, however, whilst ostensibly able to develop similar bridging narratives, has instead been used to construct resistance to the airport siting as already proximate, material, and embedded. To explain this, I argue that attention to the symbolic, as well as instrumental, functions of expert testimony reveals the crucial role that collective memory plays in the construction of both knowledge and grievance in these cases. Collective memory is both a constraint on and catalyst for mobilisation, defining the boundaries of the sayable. Testimony in trials both reflects and reproduces these elements and is a vital explanatory tool for understanding the narrativisation and communication of movement identities and objectives. © 2013 The Author. Law & Policy © 2013 The University of Denver/Colorado Seminary.

Bragg Gratings, Photosensitivity and Poling in Glass Waveguides (BGPP

Polymer optical fibre Bragg gratings are useful for strain sensor applications for large dynamic range. We report recent progress in developing polymer optical fibres with higher photosensitivity and fabricating POF gratings at alternative wavelength.

Having your day in court:judicial opportunity and tactical choice in Anti-GMO campaigns in France and the United Kingdom

Investigating the recent direct action campaigns against genetically modified crops in France and the United Kingdom, the authors set out to understand how contrasting judicial systems and cultures affect the way that activists choose to commit ostensibly illegal actions and how they negotiate the trade-offs between effectiveness and public accountability. The authors find evidence that prosecution outcomes across different judicial systems are consistent and relatively predictable and consequently argue that the concept of a “judicial opportunity structure” is useful for developing scholars’ understanding of social movement trajectories. The authors also find that these differential judicial opportunities cannot adequately account for the tactical choices made by activists with respect to the staging of covert or overt direct action; rather, explanations of tactical choice are better accounted for by movement ideas, cultures, and traditions.

A qualitative study of selection systems for managers in France and Britain:the attitudes of recruiters in multinationals

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

Supporting and Enhancing Research on Cultural Heritage in France: the PATRIMA Project

In this paper, we first overview the French project on heritage called PATRIMA, launched in 2011 as one of the Projets d'investissement pour l'avenir, a French funding program meant to last for the next ten years. The overall purpose of the PATRIMA project is to promote and fund research on various aspects of heritage presentation and preservation. Such research being interdisciplinary, research groups in history, physics, chemistry, biology and computer science are involved in this project. The PATRIMA consortium involves research groups from universities and from the main museums or cultural heritage institutions in Paris and surroundings. More specifically, the main members of the consortium are the two universities of Cergy-Pontoise and Versailles Saint-Quentin and the following famous museums or cultural institutions: Musée du Louvre, Château de Versailles, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Musée du Quai Branly, Musée Rodin. In the second part of the paper, we focus on two projects funded by PATRIMA named EDOP and Parcours and dealing with data integration. The goal of the EDOP project is to provide users with a data space for the integration of heterogeneous information about heritage; Linked Open Data are considered for an effective access to the corresponding data sources. On the other hand, the Parcours project aims at building an ontology on the terminology about the techniques dealing with restoration and/or conservation. Such an ontology is meant to provide a common terminology to researchers using different databases and different vocabularies.

Recovery of glass fibre and carbon fibres from reinforced thermosets by batch pyrolysis and investigation of fibre re-using as reinforcement in LDPE matrix

A semi-batch pyrolysis process was used to recover samples carbon fibre and glass fibre from their respective wastes. The mechanical properties of the recovered fibres were tested and compared to those of virgin fibres, showing good retention of the fibre properties. The recovered fibres were then used to prepare new LDPE composite materials with commercial and laboratory-synthesized compatibilizers. Mild oxidation of the post-pyrolysis recovered fibres and the use of different compatibilizers gave significant improvements in the mechanical properties of the LDPE composites; however some of the manufactured composites made from recovered fibres had properties similar to those made from virgin fibres.

Treason and trial : consuetudines and law in the romances of Chrétien de Troyes and the lais of Marie de France

Treason, in the romances of Chrdtien de Troyes and the lais of Marie de France, is explored more often as afin' amor problem than as a legal issue with its concomitant sociopolitical ramifications. It is precisely the historical function of literature within the ambit of court culture that appears to have shaped the legal context of the poems of Chrdtien de Troyes and the lais of Marie de France. Counterpoising the literary treatment of treason in Le Chevalier au Lion and Lanval with actions and definitions of treachery by contemporary, twelfth-century chronicle and customary law sources reveals that the conceptualized, fictional world of Chrdtien's Yvain closely reflects the workings of the Capetian society Chretien experienced. Marie's Lanval reflects as well the historical impressions of the Angevin court with which she had familiarity, a court whose concept of treason leaned more toward the maiestas concept found in Roman jurisprudence tradition.

Artistic Identities and Professional Strategies : Francophone Musicians in France and Britain

Funding This work was supported by Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant number AH/E508628/1] and European Commission [grant number HPSE-CT-2002-00133].

The Gentleman-Scholar at Home: Domesticity, Masculinity, and Civility in Dutch Seventeenth-Century Genre Painting

This dissertation examines the gentleman-scholar depicted at home in Dutch seventeenth-century genre paintings, focusing primarily on art created in the Northern Netherlands from the 1630s through the 1670s. The methodological approach is art historical but also pertains to history of architecture, history of dress, and gender studies. Employing the framework of the 'Ages of Man', this thesis investigates three related pictorial themes: the student, the scholar in his prime, and the aged scholar. Variations of male scholarly figures and the accoutrements of the study have a long history in Europe. Prototypical sources include religious history paintings of learned hermit-saints; artistic interest in the allegorical Saturnine persona; portraits of famous scholars; and the iconography of scholarly melancholy implied through vanitas allusions in portraiture and genre paintings. While the majority of Dutch genre paintings pertain to themes of women, male domestic routines form a small but important subset of this imagery and have not been studied. By the 1640s, this subject is readily identified by his setting, clothing, and actions. The ubiquity of scholarly attributes, such as books and globes, paired with the wearing of scholarly robes suggest the merits of intellectual curiosity and the privileges of studying as a pastime and designating a room as a study (studeerkamer). Distinct themes in genre also imply the challenges and rewards of scholarly activity pursued in concert with masculine civic and familial duty. Central to the development of this pictorial theme were: the innovative treatment of learned men by Rembrandt and his circle; the fijnschilder subjects of Dou; and the practice of amateur study by elite men, as suggested by the art of Vermeer. As this dissertation reveals, this convention did not grow to be consistent across the Northern Netherlands, nor was artistic interest limited to university towns. Rather, the larger relevance of scholars in Dutch society is evident in visual and literary sources. The domesticity of this figure in genre painting suggests that scholars mediated between an active and a contemplative life. Societal respect was garnered for scholars through their balance of familial and social duties with the honorable pastime of scholarly leisure.

Examination of stress and strain in glass structures during pressure treatment using FEM simulation and experimental tests

Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, Fakultät für Maschinenbau, Dissertation, 2016

Stability of micafungin sodium solutions at different concentrations in glass bottles and syringes

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