Peter Robinson

Profile article in Italian by Fabrizio Caramagna with sample aphorisms in English by Peter Robinson and Italian translation by Caramagna with Sara Bauducco and Ornella Trevisan

Why was urban overcrowding much more severe in Scotland than in the rest of the British Isles? Evidence from the first (1904) official household expenditure survey

This article presents an analysis of British urban working-class housing conditions in 1904, using a rediscovered survey. We investigate overcrowding and find major regional differences. Scottish households in the survey were more overcrowded despite being less poor. Investigating the causes of this overcrowding, we find little support for supply-side theories or for the idea that the Scottish households in our survey experienced particularly great variations in income, causing them to commit to overly modest accommodation. We present evidence that is consistent with idea that particularly tough Scottish tenancy and local tax laws caused excess overcrowding. We also provide evidence that Scottish workers had a relatively high preference for food, rather than housing, expenditure, which can be at least partly attributed to their inheritance of more communal patterns of urban living.

Describing seasonal variability in the distribution of daily effective temperatures for 1985-2009 compared to 1904-1984 for De Bilt, Holland

This paper proposes a method for describing the distribution of observed temperatures on any day of the year such that the distribution and summary statistics of interest derived from the distribution vary smoothly through the year. The method removes the noise inherent in calculating summary statistics directly from the data thus easing comparisons of distributions and summary statistics between different periods. The method is demonstrated using daily effective temperatures (DET) derived from observations of temperature and wind speed at De Bilt, Holland. Distributions and summary statistics are obtained from 1985 to 2009 and compared to the period 1904–1984. A two-stage process first obtains parameters of a theoretical probability distribution, in this case the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution, which describes the distribution of DET on any day of the year. Second, linear models describe seasonal variation in the parameters. Model predictions provide parameters of the GEV distribution, and therefore summary statistics, that vary smoothly through the year. There is evidence of an increasing mean temperature, a decrease in the variability in temperatures mainly in the winter and more positive skew, more warm days, in the summer. In the winter, the 2% point, the value below which 2% of observations are expected to fall, has risen by 1.2 °C, in the summer the 98% point has risen by 0.8 °C. Medians have risen by 1.1 and 0.9 °C in winter and summer, respectively. The method can be used to describe distributions of future climate projections and other climate variables. Further extensions to the methodology are suggested.

High-resolution (space, time) anthropogenic heat emissions: London 1970-2025

The anthropogenic heat emissions generated by human activities in London are analysed in detail for 2005–2008 and considered in context of long-term past and future trends (1970–2025). Emissions from buildings, road traffic and human metabolism are finely resolved in space (30 min) and time (200 × 200 m2). Software to compute and visualize the results is provided. The annual mean anthropogenic heat flux for Greater London is 10.9 W m−2 for 2005–2008, with the highest peaks in the central activities zone (CAZ) associated with extensive service industry activities. Towards the outskirts of the city, emissions from the domestic sector and road traffic dominate. Anthropogenic heat is mostly emitted as sensible heat, with a latent heat fraction of 7.3% and a heat-to-wastewater fraction of 12%; the implications related to the use of evaporative cooling towers are briefly addressed. Projections indicate a further increase of heat emissions within the CAZ in the next two decades related to further intensification of activities within this area.

The Mystery of Privity: Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada v Robinson (1915)

This article examines a little known decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council: Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada v Robinson (1915). The examination is historical and it provides a different insight into the understanding of privity of contract, a doctrine central to contract law. The examination reveals a process of trans-Atlantic legal migration in which English law was applied to resolve an Ontario case. The nature of the resolution is surprising because it appears to conflict with the better known decision of the House of Lords, Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company, Limited v Selfridge and Company, Limited, which a similarly constituted panel delivered in the same week. This article argues that there was a greater malleability in the resolution of cases concerned with privity than was thought to have existed. It is also argued that the power of Canadian railway capitalism is a significant factor in understanding the legal resolution of the case. Finally, it the article considers the use of English and American precedents relevant to the case. The application of English precedents to the case led to a resolution not entirely befitting Canadian conditions.

Glastonbury Abbey: archaeological investigations 1904-79

This volume reports on the results of the Glastonbury Abbey Archaeological Archive Project, a collaboration between the University of Reading and the Trustees of Glastonbury Abbey, funded principally by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project has reassessed and reinterpreted all known archaeological records from the 1908–79 excavations and made the complete dataset available to the public through a digital archive hosted by the Archaeology Data Service (http://dx.doi.org/10.5284/1022585). The scope of the project has included the full analysis of the archaeological collections of Glastonbury Abbey by thirty-one leading specialists, including chemical and compositional analysis of glass and metal and petrological analysis of pottery and tile, and a comprehensive geophysical survey conducted by GSB Prospection Ltd. For the first time, it has been possible to achieve a framework of independent dating based on reassessment of the finds and radiocarbon dating of surviving organic material from the 1950s excavations. The principal aim of the Glastonbury Abbey Archaeological Project was to set aside previous assumptions based on the historical and legendary traditions and to provide a rigorous reassessment of the archive of antiquarian excavations. This research has revealed that some of the best known archaeological ‘facts’ about Glastonbury are themselves myths perpetuated by the abbey’s excavators.

MODELLING OF HIGH-PRESSURE PHASE EQUILIBRIUM IN SYSTEMS OF INTEREST IN THE FOOD ENGINEERING FIELD USING THE PENG-ROBINSON EQUATION OF STATE WITH TWO DIFFERENT MIXING RULES

In this work, thermodynamic models for fitting the phase equilibrium of binary systems were applied, aiming to predict the high pressure phase equilibrium of multicomponent systems of interest in the food engineering field, comparing the results generated by the models with new experimental data and with those from the literature. Two mixing rules were used with the Peng-Robinson equation of state, one with the mixing rule of van der Waals and the other with the composition-dependent mixing rule of Mathias et al. The systems chosen are of fundamental importance in food industries, such as the binary systems CO(2)-limonene, CO(2)-citral and CO(2)-linalool, and the ternary systems CO(2)-Limonene-Citral and CO(2)-Limonene-Linalool, where high pressure phase equilibrium knowledge is important to extract and fractionate citrus fruit essential oils. For the CO(2)-limonene system, some experimental data were also measured in this work. The results showed the high capability of the model using the composition-dependent mixing rule to model the phase equilibrium behavior of these systems.

Musiklyssnande i förändring : C-uppsats om hur lyssnarvanorna förändrats sedan 1970-talet

Jag har jämfört hur unga människor lyssnade på inspelad musik på 1970-talet med hur unga lyssnar idag. Jag har gjort en enkätundersökning där två grupper, en som är ung idag och en som var ung på 1970-talet, fått svara på frågor om sitt musiklyssnande. Enkäten har jag kompletterat med fyra intervjuer. Den stora skillnaden när det gäller förutsättningarna för lyssnandet, är övergången från analog till digital teknik. Idag lyssnar vi mer vid datorn eller i portabla medier som mp3-spelare eller mobiltelefoner. På 1970-talet var man mer bunden till stationära anläggningar som stereoanläggningen eller radion. Teknikskiftet har också påverkat hur man lyssnar. Förr lyssnade man oftare tillsammans. Idag har det fysiska lyssnandet individualiserats. Den sociala interaktionen har i hög grad flyttat ut i cyberrymden: Man byter spotifylistor, man tipsar om klipp på youtube, man delar med sig av sin egenproducerade musik på myspace osv. Lars Lilliestam använder begreppet musikantropologi för att beskriva studiet av musik som en social aktivitet. Möjligheten att välja ur ett enormt utbud och sätta ihop sina egna spellistor har gett lyssnaren större kontroll över sitt lyssnande. De portabla medierna innebär också en möjlighet till effektivt tidsutnyttjande; man tar med sig musiken samtidigt som man gör något annat. Marie Strand Skånland har undersökt hur mp3-spelare används i vardagen och kommit fram till att musik används som en resurs. Lyssnande på personligt utvald musik, i form av spellistor, kan ge en känsla av kontroll över sig själv, omgivningen och över andra. Man stänger in sig i sin egen ljudbubbla.Lyssnarna anser att ljudkvaliteten har stor betydelse för musikupplevelsen. Men åsikterna går isär, både om vad som är bra ljudkvalitet och om vad som är en bra musikupplevelse.

Historia Reciente del Pueblo Mapuche (1970-2003) : Presencia y Protagonismo en la vida política de Chile

This article relates the Actual History of the Mapuche People with the different political processes that have taken place in Chile from 1970 until the present time, passing through the government of Popular Unity, the Pinochet’s Regime and the return of Democracy. The purpose of this paper is to show that the political and social conditions of the Mapuche People were directly connected with what was going on in Chile during those years, not only being part of the general Chilean History but also protagonist and mean actors of the moment.

Från kvinnans problem till problemfri kvinna : En undersökning av audiovisuell reklam för sanitetsprodukter till menstruerande kvinnor mellan åren 1970 och 2000

This thesis tries trough qualitative analyzes to illuminate advertising and its didactic aspects, how menstruation and menstruating women are portrayed over time. The method underlying the survey is didactic, diachronic comparative and hermeneutic. There will also be a feminist point of view on the material. The issue is about how the advertisement presents sanitary products and menstruation and how a menstruating woman is portrayed.The conclusion is that the image of a menstruating woman changes slightly while consolidating the ethos that menstruation should not be visible. The menstruating woman is in constant motion, always fresh and fragrant.