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The Poetry Of Ronald Duncan, Daniel Charles Lane Jan 1996

The Poetry Of Ronald Duncan, Daniel Charles Lane

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis is the first sustained critical analysis of the poetry of Ronald Duncan (1914-1982). As this is the first study of Duncan's poetry, a substantial part is exegesis and follows a chronological pattern. Duncan was a man of letters who wrote poetry, plays, librettos, songs, short stories, journals, autobiographies, biographies and novels. He was strongly influenced by T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. Their poetics and personal advice enabled Duncan to produce a series of publications that pursued some basic modernist tenets, such as an adherence to a European poetic tradition and the belief that poetry could induce cultural …

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Change And Implementation In A Social Services Department, Stuart Dennis Williams Jan 1996

Change And Implementation In A Social Services Department, Stuart Dennis Williams

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This work is an examination of contemporary public policy implementation. It seeks to isolate those features which need to be incorporated into implementation theory to assist in the analysis of the implementation of public policy The "new right" ideology requires that a particular organisational form be adopted by public implementing agencies. This form must reflect the need to introduce competition, the precepts of the "new managerialism" and to view the user of the public services as a "customer". These three elements will have a bearing on the process of the implementation. In particular, the need to regard the user of …

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A Rule-Based Approach To Animating Multi-Agent Environments, Victor Ye Jan 1996

A Rule-Based Approach To Animating Multi-Agent Environments, Victor Ye

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This dissertation describes ESCAPE (Expert Systems in Computer Animation Production Environments), a multi-agent animation system for building domain-oriented, rule-based visual programming environments. Much recent work in computer graphics has been concerned with producing behavioural animations of artificial life-forms mainly based on algorithmic approaches. This research indicates how, by adding an inference engine and rules that describe such behaviour, traditional computer animation environments can be enhanced. The comparison between using algorithmic approaches and using a rule-based approach for representing multi-agent worlds is not based upon their respective claims to completeness, but rather on the ease with which end users may express …

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Nearbed Flows And Sediment Movement On The Continental Slope, Paul Gareth Chatwin Jan 1996

Nearbed Flows And Sediment Movement On The Continental Slope, Paul Gareth Chatwin

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

The steep continental slopes of the southern Celtic shelf have long been thought to be a major export region for the flux of sediment from the south west approaches to the deep ocean (47-49°). Recent studies have suggested that the transfer of energy from the large barotropic tidal currents to internal tides, and higher frequency internal waves is locally enhanced, and provides a mechanism for the re-suspension and downslope transport of bed material on the upper slope region. This material is thought to be preferentially transported at the head of the many submarine canyons that exist along these ocean margins, …

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Vulvar Vestibulitis Syndrome: An Ultrastructural And Epidemiological Investigation, Penelope Sargeant Jan 1996

Vulvar Vestibulitis Syndrome: An Ultrastructural And Epidemiological Investigation, Penelope Sargeant

School of Biomedical Sciences Theses

Vulvar Vestibulitis Syndrome (VVS) is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the vestibular epithelium of the vulva, which has been estimated to affect 15% of the female population (Goetsch, 1991 ). Many studies have attempted unsuccessfully, to elucidate the cause of this condition, and few advances have been made towards the understanding of the associated inflammatory response. The initial, and principal aim of this investigation was to characterise normal vestibular epithelium using electron microscopy. The ultrastructural characteristics of normal vestibular epithelium were compared with closely related epithelia, and with vestibular epithelia from VVS patients. Other aims included an investigation of the …

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The Effect Of Moisture Content And Composition On The Compressive Strength And Rigidity Of Cob Made From Soil Of The Breccia Measures Near Teignmouth, Devon, Matthew James Addison Greer Jan 1996

The Effect Of Moisture Content And Composition On The Compressive Strength And Rigidity Of Cob Made From Soil Of The Breccia Measures Near Teignmouth, Devon, Matthew James Addison Greer

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Earth has been used as a reliable building material for many thousands of years. Recently there has been a world wide renaissance in the use of earth as a building material due to its architectural versatility and environmental sustainability. However, in the United Kingdom it is regarded by the majority of building professionals as either obsolete or a novel historical material. The utilisation of earth as a modern building material and the repair of historic earth building structures is retarded by the uncertainty of the knowledge of the properties of the material. This thesis considers earth building materials as composite …

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Remote Sensing Of Suspended Sediment, Samantha Jane Lavender Jan 1996

Remote Sensing Of Suspended Sediment, Samantha Jane Lavender

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

A remote sensing near infrared suspended sediment algorithm is developed from first principles and applied to Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imagery (CASI) data flown over the Humber Estuary. Laboratory measurements were used as the basis for the algorithm development, with the resulting spectra indicating that the ideal wavelength for a suspended sediment algorithm is the near infrared. The resulting algorithm took the form of a waveband ratio which was subsequently validated with a semi-analytical water optics model based on the absorption/scattering properties of the optically active constituents. The model was then used to derive a global water-leaving radiance algorithm, which is …

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The Structure And Dynamics Of A Convergent Estuarine Front, Lisa Jane Redbourn Jan 1996

The Structure And Dynamics Of A Convergent Estuarine Front, Lisa Jane Redbourn

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This thesis considers the structure and dynamics of a convergent front, which forms at the confluence of the Tamar and Lynher rivers during the ebb tide, in the Tamar Estuary, South West England. Temperature, salinity and velocity were sampled at high frequency in the region of frontogenesis, and these data are used to assess the evolution and development of a front during the course of an ebb tide. The equation of continuity and the horizontal equations of motion are applied to the data set in order to evaluate the dynamic regime operating in the vicinity of the front, and its …

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The Composite Scene: The Aesthetics Of Igbo Mask Theatre, Victor Ikechukwu Ukaegbu Jan 1996

The Composite Scene: The Aesthetics Of Igbo Mask Theatre, Victor Ikechukwu Ukaegbu

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

An observation of mask performances in Igboland in South-Eastern Nigeria reveals distinctions among displays from various communities. This is the product of a democratic society which encourages individualism and at the same time, sustains collectivism. This feature of Igbo masking has enriched and populated the Igbo theatrical scene with thousands of diverse and seemingly unconnected masking displays. Though these peculiarities do not indicate conceptual differences or imperfections, the numerous Igbo dialects and sub-cultural differences have not helped matters. Earlier studies by social anthropologists and a few theatre practitioners followed these differentials by focusing on particular masking types and sections of …

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Outcome Bias In Judgements Of The Quality Of Experimental Designs, Peter Bradon Jan 1996

Outcome Bias In Judgements Of The Quality Of Experimental Designs, Peter Bradon

School of Psychology Theses

This thesis is concerned with the evaluation of experimental design. It reviews design research in general and notes some methodological limitations. The process of experimental design is considered in the light of this review, particularly in terms of the ability of designers to evaluate potential designs. Experiment 1, a prospective study involving the creative design of psychology experiments, reports inadequate assessment of experimental power and little or no evidence of explicit evaluation processes. Experiment 2 assesses the evaluation of existing experimental designs and demonstrates that judgements of the quality of experimental design are influenced by the presence of outcome information …

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The Effect Of Heavy Metal Contamination On Estuarine Benthic Fauna At Varying Levels Of Biological Organisation, Sarah Alicia Michelle Perryman Jan 1996

The Effect Of Heavy Metal Contamination On Estuarine Benthic Fauna At Varying Levels Of Biological Organisation, Sarah Alicia Michelle Perryman

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Biological monitoring techniques, selected to cover increasing levels of biological organisation (cellular, individual, population and community), were compared and contrasted to determine the relative sensitivities of these approaches to heavy metal contammation. The study was centred on the Fal Estuary in Cornwall, an ideal experimental field site-with well documented heavy metal contamination resulting firom the long-term discharge of waste from a local tin mine. Five creeks leadmg from the estuary differ dramatically in the concentrations of heavy metals in the sediments, but little in natural environmental variables (sediment granulometry, salinity etc.). The contaminant induced damage was evaluated at the cellular …

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An Investigation Into The Fate Of Benzylpenicillin And Its Degradation Compounds In Milk Following Intramammary Treatments For Bovine Mastitis, David Roger Hulse Jan 1996

An Investigation Into The Fate Of Benzylpenicillin And Its Degradation Compounds In Milk Following Intramammary Treatments For Bovine Mastitis, David Roger Hulse

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The presence of antibiotics in bovine milk results mainly from the treatment of mastitis by intramammary infusion. The sale of this contaminated milk is illegal and the milk supply is routinely tested for adulteration by antibiotic residues. At present these tests are unspecific microbiological assays which detect only inhibitory substances and consequently the presence of any inactive degradation compounds is not tested for. Various chromatographic approaches exist in the literature which report the resolution of mixtures of antibiotic compounds from milk. However, the presence of antibiotic degradation residues in milk, which may have serious implications for the health of the …

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Evaluation Of Techniques For The Biomonitoring Of Pollutants In Members Of The Ulvaceae, Rebecca Schild Jan 1996

Evaluation Of Techniques For The Biomonitoring Of Pollutants In Members Of The Ulvaceae, Rebecca Schild

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

This study involved the development and evaluation of a number of biomonitoring techniques for use with members of the Ulvaceae, Enteromorpha intestinalis (L.) Link, and Viva lactuca (L.). The techniques included both previously established ones and those which required development. The two main procedures developed for these algae were the neutral red retention technique (making use of a vital stain) and the ion leakage Health Index (based upon electrolyte leakage). Following optimisation both were used to produce quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) for a series of n-alcohols using log KOW as the physicochemical parameter. The resultant QSARs were statistically indistinguishable with …

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Support For Post Start-Up Small Business Growth, Jonathan Lean Jan 1996

Support For Post Start-Up Small Business Growth, Jonathan Lean

Plymouth Business School Theses

The objective of this thesis is to determine how small firm support provision might be improved in order to help post start-up businesses in Devon and Cornwall to grow. Interest in this issue stems from (a) previous research carried out in the region highlighting a possible need for continued business support after the initial 12 month start-up period and (b) the increasing emphasis upon stimulating business growth apparent in recent small firm policy. An examination of relevant literature demonstrates that current understanding of the critical influences upon young post start-up business growth and the extent to which existing support adequately …

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Adaptive Search And Constraint Optimisation In Engineering Design, George Angelov Bilchev Jan 1996

Adaptive Search And Constraint Optimisation In Engineering Design, George Angelov Bilchev

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The dissertation presents the investigation and development of novel adaptive computational techniques that provide a high level of performance when searching complex high-dimensional design spaces characterised by heavy non-linear constraint requirements. The objective is to develop a set of adaptive search engines that will allow the successful negotiation of such spaces to provide the design engineer with feasible high performance solutions. Constraint optimisation currently presents a major problem to the engineering designer and many attempts to utilise adaptive search techniques whilst overcoming these problems are in evidence. The most widely used method (which is also the most general) is to …

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An Investigation Into Adaptive Search Techniques For The Automatic Generation Of Software Test Data, Alison Elizabeth Lachut Watkins Jan 1996

An Investigation Into Adaptive Search Techniques For The Automatic Generation Of Software Test Data, Alison Elizabeth Lachut Watkins

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The focus of this thesis is on the use of adaptive search techniques for the automatic generation of software test data. Three adaptive search techniques are used, these are genetic algorithms (GAs), Simulated Amiealing and Tabu search. In addition to these, hybrid search methods have been developed and applied to the problem of test data generation. The adaptive search techniques are compared to random generation to ascertain the effectiveness of adaptive search. The results indicate that GAs and Simulated Annealing outperform random generation in all test programs. Tabu search outperformed random generation in most tests, but it lost its effectiveness …

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The Long Term Psychological Consequences Of War Experiences, Nigel Hunt Jan 1996

The Long Term Psychological Consequences Of War Experiences, Nigel Hunt

School of Psychology Theses

The present study was carried out to examine long-term psychological difficulties associated with war experience. 731 World War Two and Korean War veterans completed a questionnaire supplying biographical details, war-related experience, and present day psychological health. A significant proportion had war-related psychological difficulties, these problems correlating more strongly with war-related intrusive thoughts and avoidance than with actual combat experiences. A subgroup of 25 veterans were selected for depth interview. The results of these interviews supported the finding that many veterans have war-related problems, and that they related more to intrusion and avoidance than to actual experiences. For some veterans these …

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Finite Deformations Of A Generalized Blatz-Ko Material, Yi Wang Jan 1996

Finite Deformations Of A Generalized Blatz-Ko Material, Yi Wang

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

In this dissertation, the finite deformations of a certain class of compressible, isotropic elastic materials are investigated. The class is characterized by a two-parameter family of strain energy functions which includes the well-known Blatz-Ko material model for foam rubbers. The Blatz-Ko material, which has been arrived at by experiment and whose deformations have been studied previously, is obtained from the considered class of materials by specifying one of the two parameters involved in the definition of the class. On employing the semi-inverse method, according to which the form of the solution is given at the outset in terms of functions …

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An Approach For The Development Of Computer Based Best Practice Delivery Mechanisms For Small And Medium Sized Manufacturing Enterprises, Philip Andrew Smart Jan 1996

An Approach For The Development Of Computer Based Best Practice Delivery Mechanisms For Small And Medium Sized Manufacturing Enterprises, Philip Andrew Smart

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Changes in the competitive environment have strongly influenced manufacturing companies to adopt and develop best practice. Best practice is usually imported into companies using the services of consultancy organisations. The use of consultancy services does not guarantee success however, and inadequate results have been obtained by practitioners who have engaged in client-consultant relationships. The inadequacy of these results may be explained by the installation of pre-defined solutions by consultants as opposed to the adaptation and implementation of solutions to meet the specific requirements of practitioners. Tills may in part be explained by a lack of understanding of 'best practice'. Tills …

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Reference And Representation In Down's Syndrome, Lois Joy Kingsbury Moore Jan 1996

Reference And Representation In Down's Syndrome, Lois Joy Kingsbury Moore

School of Psychology Theses

Previous research has highlighted a different pattern in the use of grammatical forms to successfully maintain coherent discourse by individuals with Down's syndrome. To maintain coherent discourse both linguistic and non-linguistic information must be integrated and maintained in a mental representation of current discourse. The ability of children with Down's syndrome to use such a mental representation has been assessed in this study. The ability of adults with Down's syndrome to comprehend and produce a range of grammatical forms was initially assessed, using a grammaticality judgement task, an imitation task, and a spontaneous speech sample. Results indicated that the production …

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Joint Determination Of Demand For Inputs And Choice Of Rice Varieties In Northern Thailand, S Rahman, S Sriboonchitta Jun 1995

Joint Determination Of Demand For Inputs And Choice Of Rice Varieties In Northern Thailand, S Rahman, S Sriboonchitta

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The paper explores the potential of Khao Dawk Mali expansion in Northern Thailand as well as presents estimation of demand for variable inputs and choice of rice varieties as jointly determined by the profit-maximizing farmers. Results reveal that, Khao Dawk Mali provides economic advantage over glutinous varieties and can be conceived as a better alternative crop particularly in areas with inadequate irrigation and water control facilities. Consideration of the possibility of rice variety switching, that is, allowing the movement along a meta-production function, improved the elasticity estimates. A two-stage switching regression procedure which adjusts for selectivity bias is used to …

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Cellular Aspects Of The Immune Response Of The Turbot, Scophthalmus Maximus (L.), Amanda Susan Burrows Jan 1995

Cellular Aspects Of The Immune Response Of The Turbot, Scophthalmus Maximus (L.), Amanda Susan Burrows

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Peripheral blood leucocytes of the turbot, Scophthalmus maximus, were characterised into 4 distinct groups following morphological, morphometric and histochemical examination. Total and differential cell counts were determined. Thrombocytes, the most abundant leucocyte type (52%), were highly mobile and encountered in several morphological forms. Granulocytes, representing 5.6% of the leucocyte population, histochemically most resembled the mammalian neutrophil. Both large and small lymphocytes (40.8%), were encountered. Monocytes were rarely observed (1.6%). Thrombocytes and monocytes were phagocytic in vitro at 12oc and 22oc, showing increased phagocytic activity at the higher temperature. The thymus was paired and consisted of a well developed outer cortex …

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Particulate Trace Metals In British Coastal Waters, Mark Richard Williams Jan 1995

Particulate Trace Metals In British Coastal Waters, Mark Richard Williams

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Key processes affecting the transport of particulate trace metals in the coastal waters of the Irish and North Seas have been examined. Sample collection and experimentation was carried out on board R.R-S. Challenger in January 1992 (Irish Sea) and in December 1992 and November 1993 (North Sea). Particulate samples were digested in IM HCI and the concentrations of Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn were determined, together with the 206/207Pb isotopic ratio. In the North Eastern Irish Sea the concentrations of suspended particulate trace metals were affected significantly by tidal processes, such that ebb tides transport particles …

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Development Of A Tracer Technique For The Study Of Suspended Sediment Dynamics In Aquatic Environments, Jonathan K. Marsh Jan 1995

Development Of A Tracer Technique For The Study Of Suspended Sediment Dynamics In Aquatic Environments, Jonathan K. Marsh

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The development and field testing of a particle tracing technique for the prediction and monitoring of cohesive sediment transport is described. Natural, chemical and water soluble dye tracers have been used for many years to determine water circulation in order to predict sediment transport. Radioactive and fluorescent particles have been used widely to predict sediment particle transport, but have been restricted mainly to non-cohesive sand and gravel transport studies due to the difficulties of preparation, handling, disassociation of the label from the particle and labour-intensive analysis. The development of a fine cohesive tracing technique therefore offered a significant advancement for …

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Wetting And Drying In Two-Dimensional Tidal Numerical Models, Stuart Stripling Jan 1995

Wetting And Drying In Two-Dimensional Tidal Numerical Models, Stuart Stripling

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The purpose of this research is to adapt and improve existing two-dimensional numerical tidal models so that they can cope with regions where the tide falls and rises to uncover and cover inter-tidal banks without incurring numerical shocks which may be caused by the discretization of time and space. This thesis presents a review of current practices in the numerical modelling of flooding and drying banks in two dimensions. A two-dimensional depth-averaged numerical model has been written and is presented. It is used as a tool with which to investigate various existing algorithms which represent the physical process of the …

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A High-Speed Integrated Circuit With Applications To Rsa Cryptography, Paul David Onions Jan 1995

A High-Speed Integrated Circuit With Applications To Rsa Cryptography, Paul David Onions

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The rapid growth in the use of computers and networks in government, commercial and private communications systems has led to an increasing need for these systems to be secure against unauthorised access and eavesdropping. To this end, modern computer security systems employ public-key ciphers, of which probably the most well known is the RSA ciphersystem, to provide both secrecy and authentication facilities. The basic RSA cryptographic operation is a modular exponentiation where the modulus and exponent are integers typically greater than 500 bits long. Therefore, to obtain reasonable encryption rates using the RSA cipher requires that it be implemented in …

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The Interrelationship Between Coping Styles, Cognitive Appraisal, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms And Psychological Reactions In Individuals With Hand Injuries, Lynne Valerie Hopkinson Jan 1995

The Interrelationship Between Coping Styles, Cognitive Appraisal, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms And Psychological Reactions In Individuals With Hand Injuries, Lynne Valerie Hopkinson

School of Psychology Theses

The following study examined the psychological reactions following hand injuries and the interrelationship of coping styles (in particular, emotion-versus problem-focused coping), post-traumatic stress disorder reactions and psychological distress in this client group, compared to a comparison group of individuals with non-traumatically induced hand deformities (primarily Dupuytren's contractures). The hypothesized positive impact of problem-focused coping and negative impact of emotion-focused coping on psychological outcome was also investigated. A total of 25 individuals with hand injuries and 20 individuals with a hand deformity were interviewed. This involved completion of a semi-structured interview plus a range of standardized assessment scales including the COPE …

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The Role Of Causal Perception Of Movement In The Early Social Development Of Autistic Children, Martin Morris Jan 1995

The Role Of Causal Perception Of Movement In The Early Social Development Of Autistic Children, Martin Morris

School of Psychology Theses

Autistic children often lack social behaviours which are normally present by 8-12 months (Klin et al, 1992; Mundy et al, 1986), although current 'top down' theories about autism hypothesise later-developing conceptual difficulties in social cognition. Research indicates that there are abnormal 'bottom up' perceptual processes in autism (Moore, Hobson & Lee, 1995). Processing of unexpected dynamic visual information may occur to a diminished extent (Courchesne, 1987), whilst in normal infancy, causal perception of the movements of animate. and inanimate objects is likely to be important for social cognition and affective relationships (Shultz, 1989; Premack & Dasser, 1990). It has been …

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Auditory Alarms In The Intensive Care Unit: Experimental And Observational Studies, Christina Meredith Jan 1995

Auditory Alarms In The Intensive Care Unit: Experimental And Observational Studies, Christina Meredith

School of Psychology Theses

There are many problems associated with the number of auditory warnings in hospital environments such as the Intensive Care Unit. As the amount of medical technology used to monitor a patient's condition increases, there is a concomitant increase in the number of auditory warnings. Each piece of equipment has its own alarm and often the sounds used are inappropriate. For example, the sounds are often too loud, too insistent and are irritating to staff, distracting them from other tasks. A further feature of sounds used for auditory alarms is that there is, at present, no agreement between manufacturers on the …

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Temporally Discriminated Operant Responding In Fish, Phil Gee Jan 1995

Temporally Discriminated Operant Responding In Fish, Phil Gee

School of Psychology Theses

In Experiment 1, groups of 10 goldfish and of 10 grey mullet were trained to press a lever for food under a fixed, daily, light cycle. The periods during which responses were reinforced were restricted to two, 1-hr periods in every 24 hrs. These periods occurred at the same time each day. Responses were coordinated with the temporal contingencies of the schedule, and this pattern persisted for a number of days when no responses were reinforced. Experiment 2 demonstrated that a fixed light cycle was not essential for the maintenance of temporal discrimination. Experiment 3 followed a similar procedure to …

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