Digital Commons Network^™

An Exploration Of How The Social Supply And User-Dealer Supply Of Illicit Drugs Differs To Conventional Notions Of Drug Dealing And Consideration Of The Consequences Of This For Sentencing Policy, Leah Moyle

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

The concept of ‘social supply’ has emerged as a term used both in the UK, and internationally, to describe drug distribution that is non-commercially motivated and almost exclusively found between friends and acquaintances. Social suppliers have increasingly been presented as actors who are qualitatively different to drug dealers (proper), in relation to their motivation and their activity. As a result, they have increasingly become identified as a group who should be distinguished as such legally (Police Foundation, 2000; Release, 2009). While social supply behaviours can be identified in wider research literature relating to recreational drug use, there is a relative …

The British Way Of War In North West Europe 1944-45: A Study Of Two Infantry Divisions, Louis Paul Devine

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis will examine the British way of war as experienced by two British Infantry Divisions - the 43rd ‘Wessex’ and 53rd ‘Welsh’ - during the Overlord campaign in North West Europe in 1944 and 1945. The main locus of research centres on the fighting components of those divisions; the infantry battalions and their supporting regiments. In order to understand the way the British fought this part of the war, the thesis will consider the British Army’s history since 1918: its level of expertise at the end of the First World War; the impact of inter-war changes, and the experience …

Blackshirts And White Wigs: Reflections On Public Order Law And The Political Activism Of The British Union Of Fascists, Iain Channing

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

While domestic fascism within the United Kingdom has never critically challenged Parliamentary sovereignty, it has decisively disrupted public order since its roots were established in the inter-war political scene. The violence provoked by Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF) was one of the stimulating factors behind the enactment of the Public Order Act 1936. This Act significantly strengthened the powers of the police to regulate or proscribe varies forms of political activism. This thesis analyses the legal responses of Parliament, the police and the judiciary to interwar British fascism. In addition, by analysing the legal responses to public …

Northeast Asian Containerised Maritime Logistics: Supply Chain Collaboration, Collaborative Advantage And Performance, Young-Joon Seo

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis aims to develop and validate the dimensions of supply chain collaboration and collaborative advantage in the containerised maritime industry and explores the impact of supply chain collaboration on collaborative advantage and port performance. Additionally, this thesis tests a mediation effect of collaborative advantage on the relationship between supply chain collaboration and port performance. This thesis employs a quantitative method. A theoretical model is built based on thorough literature reviews of supply chain management and maritime studies, in-depth discussions with experts, item review and Q-sorting techniques to signify ambiguity or misunderstanding with the scales and to suggest modifications. The …

Discourses Pertaining To, And Lived Experiences Of, 'Maternal Obesity' (Body Mass Index (Bmi) ≥ 30) And Gestational Diabetes Mellitus/Type Two Diabetes Mellitus In The Pregnancy And Post-Birth Period., Rachel Juliet Jarvie

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis reports on a qualitative exploration of the experiences of 30 women designated as ‘high risk’ due to the co-existence of ‘maternal obesity’ (BMI ≥ 30) and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)/Type Two Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in pregnancy. This is examined in the context of medico-scientific/public health/ popular media discourses pertaining to ‘maternal obesity’/GDM/T2DM in pregnancy. ‘Maternal obesity’/GDM/T2DM in pregnancy are increasingly prevalent and clinically associated in manifold ways. Increasing prevalence is linked to the ‘global epidemic’ of ‘obesity’/diabetes: now commonly referred to as ‘diabesity’. Current biomedical knowledge asserts ‘maternal obesity’ and diabetes (‘maternal diabesity’) synergise in causing adverse pregnancy …

An Investigation Of The Coherence Of Instrumental Accumulation, Using A Sculptural Methodology, Nicola Ann Gilmour

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis questions the coherence of modes of fabrication that introduce materials to a living context, in forms that resist the processes of biological change. In doing so this project explores the ideologies embedded in fabrication that have led to this current position. The implications of an accumulation of materials being recognized as an autonomous object, and treated as if they are detached from their environment are also expanded. The sculptural methodology used to undertake this investigation has used the feature of materiality and it’s behaviours, of both human fabrication and the living environment, as a means to explore processes …

A Reconsideration Of The Interpretation And Analysis Typically Applied To Edward Hopper’S Art During The 1940s, Ana-Ciara Evelini Ulamoleka

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This study aims to reframe the consideration and appreciation of Edward Hopper’s art focusing on the 1940s. The thesis proposes that Hopper should be categorised as a Modernist. This notion was explored by selecting and critically evaluating literature and original paintings by Hopper. The literature utilised for this research included: materials covering the social, political and economic circumstances of post-depression America, Art Historical critique of Hopper’s work and life, and the philosophical theories which influenced Modernism at the time. These theories, in particular Existentialism and Feminist writing, are here applied to Hopper’s own work. The research provided evidence to support …

'[email protected]', An Auto/Biographical Study Of Relationships With Food., Julie Parsons

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Popular discourses and current government policy focus on the need for individuals and families to make healthy food choices, without acknowledging the social and cultural milieu in which these are embedded. A neo-liberal focus on responsible individualism is part of a middle class habitus that ensures foodwork and foodplay are located within distinct heteronormative cultural fields. In my thesis I explore narratives from seventy-five mainly middle class respondents who engaged in a series of asynchronous online interviews over nine months beginning in November 2010. The themes that emerged aligned with public policy debates on the family, healthy eating, eating disorders, …

Legal Risk Associated With Electronic Funds Transfer, Samahir Abdulah

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

The past thirty years have seen rapid advances in the technological component of banking services and as a consequence new legal issues have come to the fore, especially with regard to Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTs) which are now used to transfer money around the world, and have made fund transactions between payers and payees easier, faster and more secure. The method involves risks for both banks and customers, due to the possibility of unauthorized payments risks, credit and insolvency problems, and confidentiality issues. Most contracts and obligations now depend on the new technology, although there is a variety of methods …

Secure Tracking System For Next Generation Cit Products, Christopher William Kosmas

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

The Cash in Transit (CIT) industry demands reliable and innovative products from its suppliers to ensure safety and reliability within the industry. Product innovation has been directed at a bespoke tracking system for the Cash in Transit industry, which can meet its stringent requirements and excel above the capabilities of standard, readily available tracking systems. The presented research has investigated the state of the art in tracking and localisation systems and has highlighted Wi-Fi as a potential novel Cash in Transit tracking solution. With research into 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and the effects in a CIT environment, the technology has been understood …

An Integrated Model Of The Influence Of Personal Psychological Traits And Cognitive Beliefs On Customer Satisfaction And Continuance Intentions In Relation To Internet Banking Usage Within The Saudi Arabian Context, Ahmed Dirwish G Alghamdi

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This thesis examines the effects of Culture, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) and Technology Readiness (TR) on the satisfaction and usage continuance intention of Internet banking customers within the Saudi Arabian context. The aim is to develop and test a new framework for use in determining the factors that affect Internet banking customers’ actual usage behaviours, with a special focus on the role of cognitive processes, and cultural and personal psychological traits. This research uses cross-sectional survey questionnaire methods within a quantitative approach. 261 valid responses were received. Structural Equation Modelling …

The Bioavailability And Assimilation Of Dietary Zinc In Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Daniel James Leeming

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This study examines three possible methods for improving the digestibility and bioavailability of zinc to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mikiss). The first method was to examine the availability of the zinc utilisation from commonly used protein sources; the second was to assess the efficacy of the upstream use of an enzyme treatment of the raw materials; the third was to assess the use of organically complexed mineral supplements as opposed to the inorganic salts widely used at present. The first section indicated that the zinc from the soyabean meal was the most available (49.4%). The zinc digestibilities of the animal based …

The Effect Of Probiotics On Bacterial Human Skin Pathogens, Jasim Hussein Al-Attwani

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Probiotic bacteria have been investigated in the prevention and treatment of various diseases and allergies. The current study was undertaken to determine the effect of eight probiotic Lactobacillus species against bacterial human skin pathogens using several techniques. Antimicrobial activity of lactobacilli against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Propionibacterium acnes was evaluated using lactobacilli broth cultures (BCB) and cell free supernatant (CFS). Antimicrobial activity was significantly greater with BCB compared with CFS especially for Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Lactobacilli and pathogen aggregation, biofilm formation and adhesion to keratin were assessed. L. casei and L. plantarum were selected for …

Re-Evaluating Rural Environments: Rural Tourism Development In Japan, Megumi Doshita

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

The beautiful scenery of rural environments has been created by the agricultural and forestry industries but nowadays, in various rural areas, tourism has become lucrative and has developed as a leading industry. When the utilisation of rural environments is evaluated by focusing on the term ‘resources,’ several key aspects in which rural environments are recognised as tourism resources are revealed. In addition, concerning the nature of resources, rural environments utilised for tourism practices are symbolic rather than ecological resources. In Japan, there are three catalysts for transforming rural elements into tourism resources. These transformations are actualised by the expansion of …

Book Reviews: Journal Of Tourism Consumption And Practice Volume 6 No.1 2014, Graham Busby, Charlie Mansfield, Maximiliano E. Korstanje

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

Re-imagining Heritage Interpretation – Enchanting the Past-Future Staiff, R. (2014) Ashgate 194 pp. ISBN 9781409455509 Tourists, Signs and the City – The Semiotics of Culture in an Urban Landscape Michelle Metro-Roland, M. (2011), Ashgate. 171 pp. ISBN : 978-0-7546-7809-0. Philosophical issues in tourism. Tribe, J. (ed) (2009) Channel View Publications 272 pp. ISBN 978-1845410964.

Host Perspectives On Ethnic Minority Tourism In Northern Thailand, Alexander Trupp

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

In recent years tourism scholarship has increasingly recognized the role and importance of host perspectives in ethnic minority tourism. The main aim of this paper is to explicate the opinions and perceptions of ethnic minority communities in Northern Thailand. By drawing on emerging concepts of the host gaze I aim to further the understanding of how local residents in the field of ethnic tourism perceive and gaze upon the various actors and dimensions of ethnic tourism. Based on a qualitative research study employing semi-structured interviews and participant observation in two minority villages with different touristic intensity, this paper uncovers local …

Tourism And Religion: An Uneasy Relationship?, Jan Te Kloeze

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

The interrelationship of religion and tourism has barely been touched upon in research (Vukonić, 1996). Smart (1996) distinguishes various dimensions of religion, but not in terms of cultural meaning and identity. Changes take place, for instance in Islamic beliefs, from relatively tolerant to extremely intolerant (Bauer, 2011), or in terms of secularisation in Christianity (Giddens, 1993). This paper questions how hosts and host societies perceive tourists’ behaviour while relating their perception to religious (or cultural) convictions. How far does this perception lead to condemnation through disapproval, bans, resistance, or violence? Nevertheless, Cavanaugh (2009) warns against the myth of religious violence.

Film Tourism: The Pre-Production Perspective. A Case Study Of Visit Somerset And The Hollywood Story Of Glastonbury, Natalie Semley, Graham Busby

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

Film tourism has been researched now for many years and the consequences of post-production are clear. However, there has been little opportunity to explore the perceptions of filming, pre-production, until now. Using a case study approach to the making of one particular Hollywood film on a rural location, the paper focuses on evaluating the business of film tourism and establishing the perceived impacts of film tourism from advanced practitioners and local residents, respectively. Two stages of data collection were adopted during pre-production: elite interviews and focus groups. The findings reveal that the role of each practitioner shapes their level of …

Challenges To Comsumer Protection Legislation In Tourism Contexts, Verity Greenwood, Larry Dwyer

Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice

Many destinations worldwide have enacted laws to protect consumers in general but which have relevance to tourists as consumers and thus destination competitiveness. The impact of any such consumer protection, however, is limited by certain complexities that erode consumer confidence within tourism contexts. These relate to unstable tourism environments, the changing dynamics of the travel services chain, growing product complexity, information failures, changes in consumer values, and technological change. Examples are provided of consumer laws relevant to each of these important features of tourism. Issues for further research into the links between consumer protection legislation and destination competitiveness are discussed.

The Antibacterial Properties And Biocompatibility Of Silver And Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles Coating On Dental Implants, Sanna Dara Hadi

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Introduction: Infection associated with dental implants is the most common cause of their failure. The aim of this study was to discover a new coating for dental implants that has a good antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against an early colonizer on implant surfaces: Streptococcus sanguinis. Furthermore, the coating should have a good biocompatibility with bone. Methods: Different coatings were prepared on the surface of titanium alloy (Ti4Al6V) discs. Silver, titanium dioxide, and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, as well as hydroxyapatite microparticles were used to coat titanium discs. Three techniques were used to coat the titanium discs; (i) Solution deposition and heating for …

Somatic Embryogenesis And Cryopreservation Of Cauliflower (Brassica Oleracea Var. Botrytis), Magda Al Shamari

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Abstract Successful efficient whole cauliflower plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis from root derived callus tissue was achieved. The research confirmed for the first time the capability of mass production of cauliflower somatic embryos through the indirect pathway. The best callus induction and proliferation was on semi solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2, 4-D at 0.15 mg L-1 and Kinetin at 0.1 mg L-1 and 3% sucrose. The response of different explant types (cotyledon, hypocotyls and root) through callus induction and subsequent culture was determined. The best period for subsequent callus culture was 21 days. Continuous immersion in …

The Utility Of The Auditory Brainstem Response In Children With Atypical Saccadic Eye Movements, Pauline Elizabeth Campbell

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Lesions in the brainstem result in widespread damage to a number of sensorimotor systems including oculomotor and auditory neural circuits. Although these systems are spatially separate and highly specialised, they are also co-located. This thesis, investigates whether lesions in the oculomotor system will also cause co-morbid dysfunction in the auditory pathways. Specifically, we investigated the usefulness of the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) in two oculomotor conditions: slow saccades in Gaucher disease (GD) and opsoclonus in Dancing Eye Syndrome (DES). We present four empirical studies. In our first study we systematically investigated the ABR in GD. We found that multimodal testing …

Effect Of Dietary Β-Glucan Supplementation On Growth, Intestinal Functionality And Disease Progression In Selected Cyprinids (Cyprinus Carpio And Danio Rerio), Holger Kühlwein

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of a ß-(1,3)(1,6)-D-glucan derived from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, on growth performance parameters and intestinal functionality in mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) and on progression of a chronic, pre-existing mycobacteriosis in zebrafish (Danio rerio). The 1st experiment revealed that mirror carp fed diets containing 1% and 2% ß-glucan showed significant improvements in growth performance compared to fish fed both the control and the 0.1% ß-glucan containing diet. Equally, fish fed diets supplemented with 1% and 2% ß-glucan displayed significantly higher infiltration of leukocytes into the epithelial layer of in …

Tribological Characterisation And Modelling Of Premium Tubular Connections, Fiona Stewart

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

Premium tubular connections (sometimes referred to as rotary shouldered thread connections), are commonly used to complete a production string in a well in the oil and gas industry. These are attached to threaded pipe ends using a bucking unit and a pre-defined torque value. The torque value is calculated using the coefficient of friction between the two surfaces and a well-known torque equation. The existing technology relies on the coefficient of friction approximated by interpolation, or extrapolation, of empirical data. This may become inaccurate due to the variation of surface finish and/or operation conditions and lead to over or under …

Computational Study Of The Mechanisms Underlying Oscillation In Neuronal Locomotor Circuits, Robert Merrison-Hort

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

In this thesis we model two very different movement-related neuronal circuits, both of which produce oscillatory patterns of activity. In one case we study oscillatory activity in the basal ganglia under both normal and Parkinsonian conditions. First, we used a detailed Hodgkin-Huxley type spiking model to investigate the activity patterns that arise when oscillatory cortical input is transmitted to the globus pallidus via the subthalamic nucleus. Our model reproduced a result from rodent studies which shows that two anti-phase oscillatory groups of pallidal neurons appear under Parkinsonian conditions. Secondly, we used a population model of the basal ganglia to study …

Working-Class Housing In Plymouth 1870-1914, Ann Bond

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis sets out to explore the development of working-class housing in Plymouth, East Stonehouse and Devonport in the period between 1870 and 1914. Housing reform has been well documented with particular reference to London and other large urban areas, but has been little explored in the context of the greater Plymouth area – the Three Towns. These three towns with their similarities and variances have demonstrated that a London-centric study of housing will fail to capture the full range of complex challenges faced by provincial towns and cities in effecting improvements to the living conditions of the labouring and …

Experience And Viewpoints In The Social Domain Of Space Technology, Joanna Griffin

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

This thesis is about how space technology is experienced in the social domain and how its purpose is recast from different viewpoints. The author is an artist and the approach taken foregrounds qualities of experience and viewpoint in which artists have a particular investment. This approach opens up the ways that affect, agency and authorship cross social domains that are directly and indirectly associated with the production of space technologies. A key focus is a group project led by the author that was initiated in response to the launch in October 2008 of the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft by the Indian Space …

Montage As A Participatory System: Interactions With The Moving Image, James Moore

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

Recent developments in network culture suggest a weakening of hierarchical narratives of power and representation. Online technologies of distributed authorship appear to nurture a complex, speculative, contradictory and contingent realism. Yet there is a continuing deficit where the moving image is concerned, its very form appearing resistant to the dynamic throughputs and change models of real-time interaction. If the task is not to suspend but encourage disbelief as a condition in the user, how can this be approached as a design problem? In the attempt to build a series of design projects suggesting open architectures for the moving image, might …

Weatherford: Undergraduate Catalog 2014-2015, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Undergraduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Parent And Staff Perceptions Of Family-Centered Care In Two Australian Children’S Hospitals, Fenella J. Gill, Elaine Pascoe, Leanne Monterosso, Jeanine Young, Charlotte Burr, Ann Tanner, Linda Shields

Nursing Papers and Journal Articles

Aim: This paper is a report of the comparison of perceptions of family-centred care by hospital staff (nurses, doctors and allied health staff) and parents of hospitalised children in two Australian tertiary paediatric hospitals.

Background: Family-centred care is an accepted approach to caring for children and their families in hospital. Previous publications have been inconsistent, ranging from promoting its benefits and integration into practice, reporting operational difficulties and proposing that family-centred care may not be working at all. An evaluation of the model of care is long overdue.

Method: A quantitative comparative cross-sectional survey was used to collect …