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Examination Of The Role Of The Teacher In Early Reading, Rosalind Fisher Jan 1995

Examination Of The Role Of The Teacher In Early Reading, Rosalind Fisher

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

The research presented here considers the role of the teacher of reading in the child's first year of school. It was undertaken in an attempt to find out more about how teachers go about teaching children to read. The research was inductive in design and adopted an ethnographic methodology. The research was undertaken in two parts with five teachers in all providing case studies of practice. In the first part. the roles adopted by three Reception / Year One teachers were examined and the literacy tasks they provided for children were analysed. The results of this study led the researcher …

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The Microbiostratigraphy Of The Paiaeocene Of The Northwest European Continental Shelf, Michael Dominick Bidgood Jan 1995

The Microbiostratigraphy Of The Paiaeocene Of The Northwest European Continental Shelf, Michael Dominick Bidgood

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

A total of 186 samples taken from 9.offshore Central & Southern North Sea boreholes, 1 onshore "XJK borehole, 2 onshore UK locahties and 2 onshore Danish' localities were processed and analysed for microfauna. A total of 273 individual taxa were identified- the majority to species level. The dommant microfaunal group recorded are the Foraminifera of which 23 genera were agglutmated, 75 calcareous benthonic and 21 planktonic. Other groups recorded are the Ostracoda which comprised 5 genera, Diatomacea 2 and Radiolaria 1. The recorded taxa are diagnosed and their stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental significance discussed. The samples range in age from Late …

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An Investigation Of Soil Water Movement On Drained And Undrained Clay Grassland In South West England, Paula Jane Addison Jan 1995

An Investigation Of Soil Water Movement On Drained And Undrained Clay Grassland In South West England, Paula Jane Addison

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The Rowden Moor experimental site (A.F.R.C. I.G.E.R., North Wyke) provided an opportunity to characterise discharge regimes, elucidate runoff generation mechanisms and to consider implications for solute movement under natural and drained conditions. Research was conducted on a heavy clay grassland soil in an area of high rainfall (1053 mm a ˉ¹) in South West England. A combined hydrometric and tensiometric study was undertaken within a nested experimental design (1 m² to 1 ha) on one undrained and one drained site throughout a drainage season (October to March). Results at the hectare scale demonstrated that drainage did not substantially alter the …

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The Reactivity Of Some Transition Metal Nitrides And Carbides, Jeremy Clark Jan 1995

The Reactivity Of Some Transition Metal Nitrides And Carbides, Jeremy Clark

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The formation and oxidation of transition metal nitrides and carbides is reviewed and the crystal structures and types of bonding are discussed. Types of nitrides and carbides are categorized in terms of physical and chemical properties and type of bonding. The principles of sintering are summarised. Tlie theory and applications of thermal analytical techniques are reviewed. Surface area determination and estimation of average crystallite size by the BET method utilizing the adsorption of nitrogen gas at -196 X are explained along with the application of x-ray dififractometry ajid scanning electron microscopy to work in this area. In this present research …

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The Determination Of Hydrogen Peroxide In Sea Water Using Flow Injection With Chemiluminescence Detection, David Price Jan 1995

The Determination Of Hydrogen Peroxide In Sea Water Using Flow Injection With Chemiluminescence Detection, David Price

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

This thesis describes the design, assembly and optimisation of a flow injection-chemiluminescence (FI-CL) procedure for the determination of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in seawater. An overview of the biogeochemical importance of H2O2 in seawater is presented in Chapter One. The use of both flow injection and chemiluminescence based methods are also reviewed. Chapter Two describes the type of analytical instrumentation used in both flow injection and chemiluminescence methods. Each component is described and its suitability to the FI-CL method discussed. Two detection systems; photomultiplier tube and photodiode, and two flow cell designs; coiled glass and lamina, were compared for their suitability …

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Characterisation And Environmental Effects Of Unresolved Complex Mixtures Of Hydrocarbons, Kevin Victor Thomas Jan 1995

Characterisation And Environmental Effects Of Unresolved Complex Mixtures Of Hydrocarbons, Kevin Victor Thomas

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The gas chromatograms of crude oil hydrocarbons reveal both resolved and unresolved components. The unresolved feature is commonly referred to as the unresolved complex mixture (UCM). UCMs are thought to result from the co-elution of complex mixtures of hydrocarbons with similar chemical properties and become more obvious as resolved components are removed by processes such as weathering and refining. Consequently UCMs are a prominent feature in oil-polluted sediments, biodegraded crudes and refineiT products. The characterisation of both aliphatic and aromatic unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs) of hydrocarbons, as well as their possible effects on the environment, is described. An aliphatic hydrocarbon …

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Investigations Of Preferential And Matrix Flow In A Mole Drained Soil Block, Lynda Karen Deeks Jan 1995

Investigations Of Preferential And Matrix Flow In A Mole Drained Soil Block, Lynda Karen Deeks

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

An innovative research study was established at IGER, North Wyke, Devon, to investigate preferential flow through a poorly structured relatively impermeable soil. Macropore channels were added by a mole plough in order to investigate soil water pathways and chemical transport in a soil in which preferential flow was guaranteed. The investigation focused on water and solute movement through specific flowpaths, namely macropores and mesopores, and the interaction between mobile and immobile zones within the soil. Two large soil blocks (1 m2 by 0.85 m) of the Hallsworth series were removed from the field and placed on sand tables so that …

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The Effect Of Synoptic Scale Weather And Topography On Road Surface Temperatures In Devon, Peter James Mclean Jan 1995

The Effect Of Synoptic Scale Weather And Topography On Road Surface Temperatures In Devon, Peter James Mclean

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Microclimates of various road weather stations in Devon were examined. Road surface temperatures were measured during various synoptic conditions. Data from the thermal mapping exercise conducted by Vaisala TMI were analysed and categorised as clear and calm, cloudy and windy, and a condition between the two extremes. Results indicate valleys to be relative cold spots in clear conditions, and high altitude stations are cold spots during cloudy conditions. A separate case study during the cold spell of February 1991 reinforced the conclusion and extended these views county wide. Coastal stations with surface winds were observed to be 1 to 3 …

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Structural Characterisation Of Highly Branched Isoprenoid Alkenes From Sediments And Algae, David Alan Cooke Jan 1995

Structural Characterisation Of Highly Branched Isoprenoid Alkenes From Sediments And Algae, David Alan Cooke

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

At least fourteen C25 highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) alkenes have been previously reported in estuarine and coastal sediments from locations worldwide. The parent alkane structure has been proven but only a few of the double bond positions established previously. A wide body of evidence suggests that the compounds have a diatomaceous origin, with one report in the laboratory cultured diatom Haslea ostrearia. Alkenes with more than two double bonds appear to be rapidly removed from the hydrocarbon fraction of most sediments. There is evidence that some of the alkenes react rapidly with sulphur to form S-containing analogues. HBIs, both as …

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The Origin Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Diesel Exhaust Emissions, Paul James Tancell Jan 1995

The Origin Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Diesel Exhaust Emissions, Paul James Tancell

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Emission limits for diesel engine exhaust pollutants are being continually reduced in line with increasingly stringent emissions legislation. Essential to the task of reducing diesel exhaust emissions is an understanding of the origin of the exhaust pollutants. This research has investigated the origin of a group of compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), in diesel exhaust emissions using 14C-radiotracer techniques developed specifically to investigate the origin of the organic components in diesel emissions. The use of radiotracers in this research has enabled both the extent to which individual PAH survive combustion and the extent to which PAH are pyrosynthesized during combustion …

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Modelling Pore-Level Properties Of Porous Materials, Catherine Jean Ridgway Jan 1995

Modelling Pore-Level Properties Of Porous Materials, Catherine Jean Ridgway

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Pore-Cor is a 1.2 Mbyte Fortran 77 software package, which uses information from mercury porosimetry curves, supported by image-analysed electron micrographs, to generate a three-dimensional representational model of the pore-space within a porous material. As a result of this project, a much-improved version has been produced. The mercury intrusion curves for the simulated structures now converge automatically onto the experimental curves, so reducing the simulation time from several days to less than an hour. A further time economy has been provided by the incorporation of an improved permeability routine, reducing the calculation time from 10 minutes to 30 seconds. Modifications …

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Profiling The Organic Emissions From A Light-Duty Direct Injection Diesel Engine Over A Range Of Speeds And Loads, Anthony Richard Collier Jan 1995

Profiling The Organic Emissions From A Light-Duty Direct Injection Diesel Engine Over A Range Of Speeds And Loads, Anthony Richard Collier

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Diesel engines account for a large percentage of the particulates in urban city environments. Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC), some proven carcinogens, have been found on diesel particulates. The trace level nitro-PAC emissions, such as 1-nitropyrene and dinitropyrenes, contribute a large proportion of the mutagenicity in the particulates; in the case of 1-nitropyrene between 10 to 40% of the total mutagenicity of the particulate has been claimed. The potential health hazards of PAC require the levels and sources of such emissions to be evaluated over a range of speeds and loads. PAC emissions are dependant on the engine specification, such as …

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High Resolution Palaeomagnetic Analyses Of Cretaceous Shallow Water Carbonate, Marina Lorio Jan 1995

High Resolution Palaeomagnetic Analyses Of Cretaceous Shallow Water Carbonate, Marina Lorio

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

A sequence of 88 m of continuous borehole cores of Lower Cretaceous shallow water carbonates from Southern Italy was obtained and studied lithologically and palaeomagnetically. It was found that the rocks are organized in cyclic lithofacies representing depositional environments from subtidal to supratidal and their magnetic remanences are all measurable and stable even if very weak. Cyclicities in the Milankovitch band were found using F.F.T analyses in both the sedimentological and palaeomagnetic records, and these matched the astronomical periodicities predicted for the Early Cretaceous. From this link it is possible to date the absolute time represented by the sediments, and …

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An Evaluation Of Alternative Management Strategies For Shallow Eutrophicated Lakes And Reservoirs, Helen M. Wilson Jan 1995

An Evaluation Of Alternative Management Strategies For Shallow Eutrophicated Lakes And Reservoirs, Helen M. Wilson

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

External phosphorus loadings on a range of freshwater Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) thought to be affected by eutrophication were predicted utilising export coefficients. The effect of such loadings on lake trophic status was evaluated using the Vollenweider-OECD eutrophication model. Estimates of the relative contribution of phosphorus from various sources enabled the selection of possible reduction strategies on a site specific basis. The effect of reduction strategies on trophic status was predicted with the aid of the model. It was established that diffuse agricultural losses of phosphorus are the most common source of enrichment. However, consented discharges of sewage …

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Ecological Management Strategies For Impounded Harbours, Jim Smith Jan 1995

Ecological Management Strategies For Impounded Harbours, Jim Smith

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Long-term physical, chemical and biological monitoring (May 1990 to November 1994) was conducted in order to quantify water and sediment quality changes arising from the impoundment of Sutton Harbour, Plymouth (UK). Spore tracer studies revealed that 95 % water renewal times increased from 45 h to 72 h after impoundment. Semi-diurnal (tidal) salinity variations of circa 5 x10ˉ³ were observed, revealing a mechanism which shunts contaminated estuarine water into the harbour during flood tides. Salinity typically varied from 17 x 10ˉ³ to 34 x 10ˉ³ seasonally, and exhibited strong inverse correlations with total oxidised nitrogen and orthophosphate, demonstrating the riverine …

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Characterisation Of Waxy Gas-Condensates By High Temperature Capillary Gas Chromatography And Oxidative Degradation, David John Heath Jan 1995

Characterisation Of Waxy Gas-Condensates By High Temperature Capillary Gas Chromatography And Oxidative Degradation, David John Heath

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

High molecular weight (HMW) hydrocarbons (defined herein as C35+ compounds) are difficult to characterise by conventional analytical methods. Very few studies have reported precise and reproducible quantification of such compounds in fossil fuels. Nonetheless, such components have important effects on the physical and biological fate of fossil fuels in the geosphere. For example, the phase behaviour of waxy gas condensates is significantly affected by the varying proportions of HMW compounds. Similarly HMW compounds are amongst the most resistant petroleum components to biodegradation. The current study reports the development of reproducible quantitative high temperature capillary gas chromatography (HTCGC) methods for studying …

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The Sedimentary Evolution Of The 'Exmoor Basin' During The Late Emsian - Early Eifelian: The Lynton Formation, Christopher John Pound Jan 1995

The Sedimentary Evolution Of The 'Exmoor Basin' During The Late Emsian - Early Eifelian: The Lynton Formation, Christopher John Pound

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

An integrated investigation of the sedimentological, ichnological and syn-sedimentary tectonic aspect of the late Emsian to early Eifelian Lynton Formation (Lynton Beds of previous studies) has revealed a varied mudstone-dominated shallow marine succession which accumulated in a rapidly subsiding rifted basin. The 'Exmoor Basin' developed in response to a Devonian phase of transtension associated with dextral shear along a fundamental east-west lineament to the north (the Bristol Channel Fault Zone). The Lynmouth - East Lyn Fault (a splay off the BCFZ?) was active throughout the deposition of the Lynton Formation and strongly influenced the depositional styles developed along its length. …

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On-Line Systems For Automated Sample Introduction In Atomic Spectrometry, Leslie John Pitts Jan 1995

On-Line Systems For Automated Sample Introduction In Atomic Spectrometry, Leslie John Pitts

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Automation has become increasingly common in most areas of human endeavour. In the field of analytical chemistry, particular attention has been paid to on-line systems which offer high sample throughput. Among other attributes, such systems also offer advantages in terms of ease of automation and coupling to a variety of analytical detection systems. This thesis describes a number of automated approaches that have been developed to form either complete systems, or units which may be incorporated into hyphenated techniques.

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Study Of Trace Element Determination By Ion Chromatography With Chemiluminescence Detection, Hugh Graham Beere Jan 1995

Study Of Trace Element Determination By Ion Chromatography With Chemiluminescence Detection, Hugh Graham Beere

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

This thesis details the development of several highly sensitive liquid chromatography post-column reaction detectors based on chemiluminescence (CL) for the ion chromatography (IC) determination of metal species in a range of sample types. The first chapter describes a non-selective multi-element CL detector based on metal-ligand reactions involving cobalt (11) and EDTA. A complexation reaction was designed so that eluting metal species displaced or produced equivalent amount of free cobalt ions which then catalysed the CL oxidation of luminol. The effect of pH, temperature and reaction time was investigated and optimised. It was found that the detector responded to a wide …

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Judgement Analysis Of Patient Management: General Practitioners' Policies And Self-Insight., Clare Harries Jan 1995

Judgement Analysis Of Patient Management: General Practitioners' Policies And Self-Insight., Clare Harries

School of Psychology Theses

In this thesis judgement analysis (multiple linear regression techniques) was used to look at both GPs' decisions to prescribe certain types of drug for patients and their judgements of patients' risk of coronary heart disease. All of these were idiographic analyses in that decision making by each GP was modelled separately. Judgement analysis (paramorphically) describes a subject's judgement or decision making policy in terms of the relative influence of different pieces of information. The amount of information subjects could take into account was limited. For all types of judgement or decision doctors were influenced on average by only four of …

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Promoting Child-Care Skills Among Parents With Learning Difficulties, Christopher Lewis Hamilton Jan 1995

Promoting Child-Care Skills Among Parents With Learning Difficulties, Christopher Lewis Hamilton

School of Psychology Theses

The investigation was designed to evaluate a training intervention to increase child-care skills among parents with learning difficulties. Twenty six participants took part in the study. These were divided into three groups: group “A”, experimental group (n=8), group “B”, experimental group (n=8) and group c, control group (n=10). Training consisted of six one hour sessions conducted in the parents' home over a period of six weeks. The ability of parents to acquire and maintain knowledge of basic behavioural principles was examined and behavioural outcome measures were taken to test for the application and generalisation of the knowledge in question. The …

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Anxiety In Military Members And Their Spouses Over The First Twelve Months After Relocation, Susan Sanneman Kelly Jan 1995

Anxiety In Military Members And Their Spouses Over The First Twelve Months After Relocation, Susan Sanneman Kelly

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Research of the impact of relocation has failed to produce a theoretical foundation and is predominantly polarized into positive and negative effects. Two themes, however, recur throughout the literature: a) the experience of relocation includes loss, and b) wives feel the impact of relocation more severely than their husbands. Parkes' theory of psychosocial transition (1971) encapsulates the theme of loss. In this study, anxiety of 314 active duty men and women and their civilian spouses was measured 1-12 months after a military move to explore the fit of Parkes' model to relocation. Impacts of relocation by gender and roles (active …

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Soil:Plant Relationships Of Species-Rich Molinia Caerulea Dominated Communities Of The Culm Measures, North Devon, With Special Reference Given To Phosphorus Cycling, M. Jane Goodwin Jan 1995

Soil:Plant Relationships Of Species-Rich Molinia Caerulea Dominated Communities Of The Culm Measures, North Devon, With Special Reference Given To Phosphorus Cycling, M. Jane Goodwin

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

A semi-natural community known locally as Culm grassland in Devon and N. E. Cornwall is under threat from agricultural improvement, abandonment and inappropriate management In the last fifty years 87% of the original area has been lost. Further loss may be prevented by an examination of the factors that influence the plant community and how they may be manipulated by management. Thus the research described in this thesis addressed the soil conditions and the plant communities, with particular reference to phosphorus cycling. In 1992 a preliminary characterisation of soil nutrient and water conditions, and species composition was conducted on a …

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Growth, Carcass Composition And Meat Quality Of Angora Goats Reared For Fibre Production, Sarah Ann Barber Jan 1995

Growth, Carcass Composition And Meat Quality Of Angora Goats Reared For Fibre Production, Sarah Ann Barber

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

The effects of age and plane of nutrition on the body and carcass composition and mohair fibre yield and quality of British Angora wether goats slaughtered at six, 12, 18 and 24 months of age were investigated. Carcass yield, composition and conformation improved with increasing age and plane of nutrition. Greasy fleece weight also increased with increasing age and plane of nutrition but fibre quality declined since the increase in mass was achieved by means of increased fibre diameter with no effect of age or plane of nutrition on the fibre elongation rate. There was a constant relationship between the …

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Stakeholder Approach To The Segmentation Of The Short Haul Business Air Travel Market, Keith John Mason Jan 1995

Stakeholder Approach To The Segmentation Of The Short Haul Business Air Travel Market, Keith John Mason

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

The marketing literature deals inadequately with markets which show characteristics of both consumer and industrial markets. In this work such markets are called hybrid markets. The research attempts to find an appropriate research approach for the short haul business related air travel market, which has hybrid market characteristics. Recent studies of the business travel market (Stephenson and Fox, 1987, Toh and Hu. 1988 and 1990) have investigated corporate and traveller attitude towards frequent flier programmes (see Glossary). However, as yet the airline marketing literature has not investigated the role the purchasing organisation (the employer of the traveller) has to play …

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A Company-Led Methodology For The Specification Of Product Design Capabilities In Small And Medium Sized Electronics Companies, Jan Paul Humphreys Bennett Jan 1995

A Company-Led Methodology For The Specification Of Product Design Capabilities In Small And Medium Sized Electronics Companies, Jan Paul Humphreys Bennett

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

It is the aim of the research reported in this thesis to improve the product design effectiveness of small and medium sized electronics companies in the United Kingdom. It does so by presenting a methodology for use by such firms which will enable them to specify product design capabilities which are resilient to changes in their respective business environments. The research has not, however, concerned itself with the details of particular electronics component technologies or with the advantages of various CAD or CAE products, although these are both important aspects of any design capability. Nor is it concerned with the …

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Occupational Commitment Under Conditions Of Social Change: The Case Of Professional Marine Engineering In Taiwan, Yan-Nan Chiang Jan 1995

Occupational Commitment Under Conditions Of Social Change: The Case Of Professional Marine Engineering In Taiwan, Yan-Nan Chiang

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

The thesis is concerned with investigating the area of occupational commitment to marine engineering of students from various levels of higher education in maritime institutions. From a general description of socioeconomic change and its relationship to the seafaring profession, the study focuses on the case of Taiwan. A review of literature on commitment demonstrates that commitment may vary as the social-economy changes over time. As technology changes, ships' officers, more specifically marine engineers, are required by shipowners to be educated to degree level. The emphasis in this study is upon the commitment to the shipping industry of young engineering students …

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An Investigation Of Certain Human Health Problems Associated With Bracken Fern (Pteridium Aquilinum)  Environments In The U.K., Barbara Joan Sheaves Jan 1995

An Investigation Of Certain Human Health Problems Associated With Bracken Fern (Pteridium Aquilinum)  Environments In The U.K., Barbara Joan Sheaves

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Bracken environments harbour the sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus), known vector of a number of diseases. Initial investigation indicated the presence of sheep ticks infected with the Lyme disease spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi on open moorland areas of the North York Moors and the moorland areas of the South West of the U.K. Some aspects of the problem of Lyme disease on U.K. moorlands were explored in this study. A survey through the summer of 1993 of people using the North York Moors, Dartmoor and the Quantock Hills in Somerset for both work and leisure activities revealed a very high proportion of …

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An Exploration And Development Of The Knowledge Foundations Of Social Work, With Particular Reference To Mental Health And Compulsory Admission Assessments, Michael Gerhardt Sheppard Jan 1995

An Exploration And Development Of The Knowledge Foundations Of Social Work, With Particular Reference To Mental Health And Compulsory Admission Assessments, Michael Gerhardt Sheppard

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This submission seeks lo establish the case that this corpus of work makes a significant and original contribution to a central problem for social work as a profession: the status in relation to practice of its formal knowledge base. This issue has generated intensive debate, with some claiming a central place for formal knowledge in practice and others a more peripheral position. The debate is inconclusive, but evidence suggests that social workers do not generally use theory in practice. This has necessitated recourse to a 'subconscious assimilation' thesis, but evidence from the main research studies is inconclusive, because of the …

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Wheat Hardness By Near Infrared (Nir) Spectroscopy: New Insights, Marena Manley Jan 1995

Wheat Hardness By Near Infrared (Nir) Spectroscopy: New Insights, Marena Manley

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

The determination of wheat hardness by the evaluation of whole wheat grain would be of considerable value to the UK Milling Industry. Until now, accurate whole wheat grain hardness predictions by NIR spectroscopy have only been reported for North American wheats. By the evaluation of selected samples of UK and North American wheats this study showed that the prediction of whole wheat grain hardness by NTR spectroscopy depends only on the scattering properties of the sample and that there is no direct relationship with chemical composition. The scattering effect, in case of whole wheat grain reflectance and transmittance spectra, was …

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