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Sectioned Under The Mental Health Act, Kate Ross Jan 1995

Sectioned Under The Mental Health Act, Kate Ross

School of Psychology Theses

This project looks at the experience of being sectioned under the 1983 Mental Health Act for acute psychiatric patients. The view is taken that sectioning in itself is a major intervention and hence should be the subject of research scrutiny. The views of two groups of participants, sectioned and informal inpatients, are compared using a variety of survey techniques including standardised questionnaires, structured interviews and open ended questions. It was found that being sectioned did not have a major impact on patients' experience of hospital treatment or their understandings of mental health issues although the sectioned patients did place less …

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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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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 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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The Distribution And Transport Of Suspended Sediment In The Southern North Sea, Timothy Julian Moffat Jan 1995

The Distribution And Transport Of Suspended Sediment In The Southern North Sea, Timothy Julian Moffat

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Observational studies have been undertaken in the southern North Sea with the aims of describing the seasonal cycle of suspended sediments in three dimensions, and comparing the results with other measured physical and biological parameters in order to investigate some of the processes that control the distribution and transport of suspended sediments in shelf seas. A systematic investigation of the horizontal and vertical suspended sediment distributions, and the inorganic and organic components, over a period of fifteen months, has described major features, including a high turbidity region off the East Anglian coast, low turbidity regions in the northern and central …

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Towards The Development Of A Model Of Vision: An Investigation Into The Architectures And Mechanisms Of Visual Perception, Lucy Jane Troup Jan 1995

Towards The Development Of A Model Of Vision: An Investigation Into The Architectures And Mechanisms Of Visual Perception, Lucy Jane Troup

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

A conceptual model of visual perception has been developed using a multidisciplinary approach which combines both top-down and bottom-up descriptions of vision. Top-down psychological theories of visual perception have been investigated resulting in the development of a theory of perception which combines the best of existing accounts. Perception is defined in terms of a combination of "data driven" and "concept driven" explanations. Bottom-up neurophysiological descriptions have also been investigated to provide possible descriptions of structure and function for the development of a conceptual model based upon the theory. An attempt is made to provide a "complete" account of visual perception …

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A Holistic Approach To Computer Integrated Manufacturing Architecture And Systems Design, David Thompson Jan 1995

A Holistic Approach To Computer Integrated Manufacturing Architecture And Systems Design, David Thompson

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This work addresses the problem of finding an improved solution to Computer Integrated Manufacturing (ClM) Architecture and Systems Design. The current approaches are shown to be difficult to understand and use, over complex. In spite of their complexity of approach they lack comprehensiveness and omit many factors and dimensions considered essential for success in today's competitive and often global market place. A new approach to ClM Architecture and Systems Design is presented which offers a simpler, more flexible and more robust format for defining a particular ClM System within a general architectural framework. At the same time this new approach …

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Pilot Study For An "Emotion" Training Package For Adults With Asperger Syndrome, Nadine Solveig Hobro Jan 1995

Pilot Study For An "Emotion" Training Package For Adults With Asperger Syndrome, Nadine Solveig Hobro

School of Psychology Theses

Asperger Syndrome (AS) is considered to belong to the spectrum of autistic disorders. Although people with AS are more cognitively able than many others with autism, they share a number of traits including the social impairments identified by Wing and Gould ( 1979). Problems with processing emotional information may underlie some of these social impairments. Reported difficulties in this area include perceptual deficits which interfere with processing visual cues offered by others, difficulties in matching emotional signals across modalities (e.g. visual, auditory, and contextual), and lack of comprehension about affective information. The present study aimed to investigate the above emotional …

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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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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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Mediterranean Lens Irving After Its Collision With Seamounts, Gi Shapiro, Sl Meschanov, Mv Emelianov Jan 1995

Mediterranean Lens Irving After Its Collision With Seamounts, Gi Shapiro, Sl Meschanov, Mv Emelianov

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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Self-Similarity Of The Meddy Family In The Eastern North-Atlantic, Gi Shapiro, W Zenk, Sl Meschanov, Kls Tokos Jan 1995

Self-Similarity Of The Meddy Family In The Eastern North-Atlantic, Gi Shapiro, W Zenk, Sl Meschanov, Kls Tokos

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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Cell Division And Migration In A `Genotype' For Neural Networks, A Cangelosi, D Parisi, S Nolfi Nov 1994

Cell Division And Migration In A `Genotype' For Neural Networks, A Cangelosi, D Parisi, S Nolfi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Much research has recently been dedicated to applying genetic algorithms to populations of neural networks. However. While in real organisms the inherited genotype maps in complex ways into the resulting phenotype, in most of this research the development process that creates the individual phenotype is ignored. In this paper we present a model of neural development which includes cell division and cell migration in addition to axonal growth and branching. This reflects, in a very simplified way, what happens in the ontogeny of real organisms. The development process of our artificial organisms shows successive phases of functional differentiation and specialization. …

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A Self-Organising Fuzzy Logic Autopilot For Small Vessels, Martyn Neal Polkinghorne Jan 1994

A Self-Organising Fuzzy Logic Autopilot For Small Vessels, Martyn Neal Polkinghorne

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Currently small vessels use autopilots based on the Proportional plus Integral plus Derivative (PID) algorithm which utilises fixed gain values. This type of autopilot is known to often cause performance difficulties, a survey is therefore carried out to identify the alternative autopilot methods that have been previously investigated. It is shown that to date, all published work in this area has been based on large ships, however, there are specific difficulties applicable to the small vessel which have therefore not been considered. After the recognition of artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic as being the two most suitable techniques for …

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Temperature And Period Dependence In The Post-Diapause Development Of The Cabbage Root Fly, Delia Radicum, Lorne George Roberts Jan 1994

Temperature And Period Dependence In The Post-Diapause Development Of The Cabbage Root Fly, Delia Radicum, Lorne George Roberts

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The cabbage root fly (Delia radicum (L.) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) (Pont, 1981)), as it is known in the U.K. (Anon.,1947), or the cabbage maggot, as it is known in North America and Canada (Muesebeck, 1942) has been described by a number of different generic names and specific epithets. First described by Bouche in 1833 as Anthomyia brassicae, it is also known as Hylemyia, Erioischia, Chonophila, Phorbia and Delia brassicae. However, it is known now as Delia radicum (L.). D. radicum is found to cause serious damage to brassica crops in the Holarctic region (35-60°N) (Shoene, 1916; de Wilde, 1947). It is …

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The Influence Of Larval Density On Larval Growth, And The Consequences For Adult Survival And Reproductive Success In The Damselfly Calopteryx Virgo (Odonata), Claire Louise Lambert Jan 1994

The Influence Of Larval Density On Larval Growth, And The Consequences For Adult Survival And Reproductive Success In The Damselfly Calopteryx Virgo (Odonata), Claire Louise Lambert

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

This study of a population of C.virgo at Burrator, Dartmoor looks for signs of a population regulation mechanism acting through the effects of larval density on larval growth. The consequences of adult body size and emergence time for survival and reproductive success are also examined to look for further regulation mechanisms, and opportunities for natural and sexual selection; in particular the importance of body size to territorial males. Although there were significant differences in patterns of growth and body size within and between year classes of larvae, the differences were were not related to density. Smaller, later developing larvae were …

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The Water-Soluble Vitamin Nutrition Of The Gilthead Seabream (Sparus Aurata L.), Paul Christopher Morris Jan 1994

The Water-Soluble Vitamin Nutrition Of The Gilthead Seabream (Sparus Aurata L.), Paul Christopher Morris

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Given the paucity of information with regards the micronutrient requirements of the currently expanding number of cultured marine species, a series of investigations was undertaken to examine the water-soluble vitamin nutrition of the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.). A preliminary study identified the qualitative requirement of this species for ascorbic acid, the B complex vitamins and choline for the maintenance of health and optimum productivity. Based on the observations of the preliminary experiment, a study was designed which allowed the development of a semi-purified diet and illustrated the qualitative requirement of the gilthead seabream for thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine and …

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Genotoxicology Of Diesel Engine Exhaust Emissions In Cultured Mammalian Cells, Shaun Thomas Kingston Jan 1994

Genotoxicology Of Diesel Engine Exhaust Emissions In Cultured Mammalian Cells, Shaun Thomas Kingston

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Diesel exhaust emissions were collected from a 2 litre direct injection diesel engine using the Total Exhaust Solvent Scrubbing Apparatus (TESSA). Emission samples were collected from a series of two minute engine runs, at a variety of engine speeds and loads which covered the full operating range of the engine. The exhaust extracts collected were then tested for their cytotoxicity and mutagenic potential in cultured Chinese hamster cells. Emission samples were found to be extremely toxic, with most causing 100% cytotoxicity at concentrations of less than 100 /µg/ml. Chromosome aberration studies indicated that less than 50% of the emission samples …

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Effect Of Copper On The Gill Structure Of A Euryhaline Crab, Carcinus Maenas (Crustacea: Decapoda), Sarah Louise Lawson Jan 1994

Effect Of Copper On The Gill Structure Of A Euryhaline Crab, Carcinus Maenas (Crustacea: Decapoda), Sarah Louise Lawson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

A posterior gill of the common shore crab Carcinus maenas (Crustacea:Decapoda) was used to study the effects of sublethal copper concentrations on gill morphometry, and gill cell ultrastructure and distribution. Primarily, the ultrastructure and distribution of gill cells in the untreated gill of crabs acclimated to 35‰ seawater were characterised. Gill ultrastructure was subsequently shown to vary markedly at 10‰ compared to 35‰ seawater. Ultrastructural and distributional, rather than gross morphological, change occurred in the gill following exposure to copper at each salinity. Ultrastructural studies showed that as the length of copper exposure increased the gill epithelial layer became highly …

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