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Investigating ‘Active Citizenship’: A Journey Toward The Political Heart Of Education In The Company Of Hannah Arendt., Kevin Richard Walker

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

The formation of ‘active citizens’ has become a desirable educational outcome in mainstream secondary and adult education in the UK. However, there is a wide range of interpretations regarding what being ‘active’ as a citizen actually involves and a lack of consensus on the role of education in this process. Drawing on Arendt’s conception of action as the basis of political activity where “to be free and to act are the same” (Arendt 1968a: 153), I propose an understanding of ‘active citizenship’ which involves the appearance of an individual citizen in relationship with the shared public world. It is argued …

A Riverine Ecosystem Service Cascade Model (Rescam) Framework For Assessing Ecosystem Service Provision As Applied To English Geomorphic River Types, Claire Bithell

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Riverine ecosystems are considered the lifeblood of the Earth and because of this, have been exploited for centuries for social, agricultural and industrial development, resulting in their environmental degradation and simplification. This has led to a shift in the natural processes and functions and thus their ability to provide a full range and overall high levels of regulating, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services, which humans rely on. An ecosystem service and nature-based approach is being increasingly recognised as a useful tool to help evaluate, protect and restore river ecosystems for maximising the delivery of ecosystem services sustainably. Riverine ecosystem services …

Adaptive Capacity And The Responses Of Local Governance Actors To Evolutionary Political-Economic Change: Lessons From The Heart Of The South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Tim Sydenham

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

This thesis critically examines how micro-level adaptive processes and capacities operate and unfold in local/regional economic development governance in the context of cumulative and often disruptive political-economic change. It argues that states often seek to promote the adaptability and growth of local/regional economies by reconfiguring subnational governance arrangements but the evolutionary consequences of centrally driven state transformation processes for local/regional adaptation remain unclear. Evolutionary economic geography (EEG) provides concepts, mechanisms and models of adaptation but has tended to focus on firms and macro-structural economic change and pay limited attention to how the critical micro-level adaptive processes at work are influenced …

An Investigation Of The Impacts Of A Dairy Industry Waste On River Water Quality And The Appropriateness Of Current Monitoring Approaches And Regulation, Rupert Goddard

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Rupert Goddard AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACTS OF A DAIRY INDUSTRY WASTE ON RIVER WATER QUALITY AND THE APPROPRIATENESS OF CURRENT MONITORING APPROACHES AND REGULATION. The modern dairy industry is a key contributor to global food security, with diverse production practices reflecting different geographic, economic and cultural contexts. Across the globe, the dairy industry has a significant contribution to global employment and wealth, health and land use. However, untreated or partially treated dairy waste entering a river system can be detrimental, increasing eutrophication, changing community structure or in the worst case scenario, causing death to organisms. Dairies are located near …

Developing A Virtual Approach To Determine If Ecosystem Service Provision Differs Between Scottish River Corridors With And Without Nature Designations, Victoria Keele

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Humanity survives because we are graced with nature, or ‘ecosystem services’. In a time of turbulence caused by climate change and increasing population, there is debate surrounding the extent to which areas protected for biodiversity can deliver ecosystem services. Subsequently, the overarching aim of this PhD thesis is to determine if ecosystem service provision differs between Scottish river corridors with and without nature designations. To achieve the primary research aim, this thesis has a secondary aim of developing a methodology which can capture multiple riverine ecosystem services at the reach scale. Following an extensive review of the methods used to …

The Efficacy Of A Newly Developed Method Of Controlled Calcium Carbonate Introductions For Anthropogenic Acidification Mitigation In A Naturally Acidic Riverine Environment, Lauren Dawson

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Historical anthropogenic acidification in the West Dart River, southwest England, represents a significant threat to surface water quality and aquatic ecology through flushing induced pH troughs and elevated bioavailable Aluminium (Al) levels. The West Dart River is failing to meet good ecological status established under the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) (WFD) for pH (Upper West Dart, Cycle 2 classifications 2013-2019 = Moderate, physico-chemical quality elements 2013-2019 pH = Moderate). The aim of this study was to develop and test a method of controlled calcium carbonate (CaCO3) introductions, in order to preserve the naturally acidic riverine state and the biological communities …

The Developing Maternal-Infant Relationship: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study, Jane Peters

School of Nursing and Midwifery Theses

Aim The study aimed to explore maternal perceptions and the use of knowledge relating to their infant’s mental health over time using qualitative longitudinal research. Background There has been a growing interest in infant mental health over recent years. Much of this interest is directed through the lens of infant determinism, through knowledge regarding neurological development resulting in biological determinism. Research and policy in this field are directed toward individual parenting behaviours, usually focused on the mother. Despite this, there is little attention given to maternal perspectives of infant mental health, indicating that a more innovative approach to methodology is …

Association Between Motor Planning And The Frontoparietal Network In Children: An Exploratory Multimodal Study, Ranila Bhoyroo, Beth Hands, Karen Caeyenberghs, Alberto De Luca, Alexander Leemans, Adam Wigley, Christian Hyde

IHR Papers and Journal Articles

Objective: Evidence from adult literature shows the involvement of cortical grey matter areas of the frontoparietal lobe and the white matter bundle, the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) in motor planning. This is yet to be confirmed in children.

Method: A multimodal study was designed to probe the neurostructural basis of childhood motor planning. Behavioural (motor planning), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) data were acquired from 19 boys aged 8–11 years. Motor planning was assessed using the one and two colour sequences of the octagon task. The MRI data were preprocessed and analysed using FreeSurfer 6.0. Cortical …

Endogenous Retroviral Proteins As Potential Drug Targets For Merlin-Deficient Tumours, Bora Agit

Peninsula Medical School Theses

Merlin is a tumour suppressor, and its loss is the major cause of a hereditary disease Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) characterised by the development of multiple tumours of the nervous system such as schwannomas, meningiomas and ependymomas. Current surgical treatments and radiotherapy for this group of tumours are not fully effective and there is an urgent need for new therapeutic options. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are retroviruses that have been incorporated into the human genome during evolution, now comprising 5% of it. The majority of HERVs are defective except for a few groups, including type K (HERV-K) which kept full-intact …

Novel Signalling Pathways Resolving The Inflammatory Response During Peripheral Nerve Regeneration, Patricia Kate Woodley

Peninsula Medical School Theses

Introduction. The peripheral nervous system has the remarkable capacity to regenerate and restore function following damage or disease. Instrumental in this regenerative process are macrophages, Schwann cells and the production of inflammatory cytokines. The production of inflammatory cytokines from macrophages and Schwann cells needs to be tightly regulated to ensure efficient regeneration and to prevent chronic inflammation. Currently there is limited knowledge regarding which signalling pathways act to control both the inflammatory response and macrophage efflux that allows tissue homeostasis to resume within the peripheral nerves. This thesis aims to investigate the expression pattern and distinct function of VIP and …

Statistical Learning For Gene Expression Biomarker Detection In Neurodegenerative Diseases, Jack Kelly

Peninsula Medical School Theses

In this work, statistical learning approaches are used to detect biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases (NDs). NDs are becoming increasingly prevalent as populations age, making understanding of disease and identification of biomarkers progressively important for facilitating early diagnosis and the screening of individuals for clinical trials. Advancements in gene expression profiling has enabled the exploration of disease biomarkers at an unprecedented scale. The work presented here demonstrates the value of gene expression data in understanding the underlying processes and detection of biomarkers of NDs. The value of novel approaches to previously collected -omics data is shown and it is demonstrated that …

Functional Studies Of Genetic Variants Associated With Human Diseases In Notch Signaling-Related Genes Using Drosophila, Sheng-An Yang, Jose L Salazar, David Li-Kroeger, Shinya Yamamoto

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Rare variants in the many genes related to Notch signaling cause diverse Mendelian diseases that affect myriad organ systems. In addition, genome- and exome-wide association studies have linked common and rare variants in Notch-related genes to common diseases and phenotypic traits. Moreover, somatic mutations in these genes have been observed in many types of cancer, some of which are classified as oncogenic and others as tumor suppressive. While functional characterization of some of these variants has been performed through experimental studies, the number of ‘variants of unknown significance’ identified in patients with diverse conditions keeps increasing as high-throughput sequencing technologies …

Epithelial Morphogenesis In The Drosophila Egg Chamber Requires Parvin And Ilk, Athina Keramidioti, Evgenia Golegou, Eleni Psarra, Nikolaos Paschalidis, Konstantina Kalodimou, Shinya Yamamoto, Christos Delidakis, Katerina M Vakaloglou, Christos G Zervas

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Integrins are the major family of transmembrane proteins that mediate cell-matrix adhesion and have a critical role in epithelial morphogenesis. Integrin function largely depends on the indirect connection of the integrin cytoplasmic tail to the actin cytoskeleton through an intracellular protein network, the integrin adhesome. What is currently unknown is the role of individual integrin adhesome components in epithelia dynamic reorganization. Drosophila egg chamber consists of the oocyte encircled by a monolayer of somatic follicle epithelial cells that undergo specific cell shape changes. Egg chamber morphogenesis depends on a developmental array of cell-cell and cell-matrix signalling events. Recent elegant work …

Emerging Roles Of Alternative Cleavage And Polyadenylation (Apa) In Human Disease, Prakash Dharmalingam, Rajasekaran Mahalingam, Hari Krishna Yalamanchili, Tingting Weng, Harry Karmouty-Quintana, Ashrith Guha, Rajarajan A Thandavarayan

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

In the messenger RNA (mRNA) maturation process, the 3'-end of pre-mRNA is cleaved and a poly(A) sequence is added, this is an important determinant of mRNA stability and its cellular functions. More than 60%-70% of human genes have three or more polyadenylation (APA) sites and can be cleaved at different sites, generating mRNA transcripts of varying lengths. This phenomenon is termed as alternative cleavage and polyadenylation (APA) and it plays role in key biological processes like gene regulation, cell proliferation, senescence, and also in various human diseases. Loss of regulatory microRNA binding sites and interactions with RNA-binding proteins leading to …

Presence, Sources And Transport Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In The Arctic Ocean, Lihong Zhang, Yuxin Ma, Simon Vojta, Maya Morales-Mcdevitt, Mario Hopggmann, Thomas Soltwedel, Jane Kirk, Amila De Silva, Derek Muir, Rainer Lohmann

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are continuously released from multiple sources and are prone to long-range transport. Little is known regarding their presence, transport and fate in remote and deep oceans. Polyethylene passive samplers were hence deployed at deep moorings and surface seawater in the Fram Strait and Canadian Archipelago, as well as in air and surface water of the lower Great Lakes, a potential high-emission region, to understand the transport of PAHs to the Arctic. Dissolved PAHs showed significantly higher concentrations in the lower Great Lakes than those in the high Arctic. Concentrations of dissolved PAHs (Σ₁₉PAHs) ranged …

Editorial: Symbiotic Relationships As Shapers Of Biodiversity, Guillaume Chomicki, Roxanne A. Beinart, Carlos Prada, Kimberly B. Ritchie, Marjorie Gail Weber

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Global 16s Rrna Diversity Of Provannid Snail Endosymbionts From Indo-Pacific Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents, Corinna Breusing, Jade Castel, Yi Yang, Thomas Broquet, Jin Sun, Didier Jollivet, Pei-Yuan Qian, Roxanne A. Beinart

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pfas And Precursor Bioaccumulation In Freshwater Recreational Fish: Implications For Fish Advisories, Heidi M. Pickard, Bridger J. Ruyle, Colin P. Thackray, Adela Chovancova, Clifton Dassuncao, Jitka Becanova, Simon Vojta, Rainer Lohmann, Elsie M. Sunderland

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse class of fluorinated anthropogenic chemicals that include perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAA), which are widely used in modern commerce. Many products and environmental samples contain abundant precursors that can degrade into terminal PFAA associated with adverse health effects. Fish consumption is an important dietary exposure source for PFAS that bioaccumulate in food webs. However, little is known about bioaccumulation of PFAA precursors. Here, we identify and quantify PFAS in recreational fish species collected from surface waters across New Hampshire, US, using a toolbox of analytical methods. Targeted analysis of paired water and tissue samples …

Strength And Consistency Of Density Dependence In Marine Fish Productivity, Anna Rindorf, Mikael Van Deurs, Daniel Howell, Elder Andonegi, Aaron Berger, Bjarte Bogstad, Noel Cadigan, Bjarki Þór Elvarsson, Niels Hintzen, Marie Savina Roland, Marc Taylor, Vanessa Trijoulet, Tobias Van Kooten, Fan Zhang, Jeremy Collie

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The correct prediction of the shape and strength of density dependence in productivity is key to predicting future stock development and providing the best possible long-term fisheries management advice. Here, we identify unbiased estimators of the relationship between somatic growth, recruitment and density, and apply these to 80 stocks in the Northeast Atlantic. The analyses revealed density-dependent recruitment in 68% of the stocks. Excluding pelagic stocks exhibiting significant trends in spawning stock biomass, the probability of significant density dependence was even higher at 78%. The relationships demonstrated that at the commonly used biomass limit of 0.2 times maximum spawning stock …

Global Distribution Of The Cold-Water Coral Lophelia Pertusa, R. Tong, Andrew J. Davies, A. Purser, X. Liu, F. Liu

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Lophelia pertusa plays an important role as a major contributor to many cold-water coral reefs, supporting a high diversity of associated benthic and benthopelagic species. Due to the high sensitivity of L. pertusa to human activity, it has been classified as indicator species for Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems. However, the global spatial distribution of L. pertusa is far from well known. In this study, a database of L. pertusa presence data was compiled derived from the large number of L. pertusa occurrence records appearing in recent years. In conjunction with data layers covering a range of environmental drivers, habitat suitability for …

Reflector Magazine, Georgia Southern University

Reflector Magazine

• Letters from the Editors
• Jessica Baytea
• Kaz Thomas Defining Non-Binary
• The Female Gaze
• 100th Edition Photoshoot
• Men Embrace Femininity
• Ode to Nail Polish
• The Power in Expressing Femininity

Novel Approaches To Assess Cellular Interactions And Their Role In The Pathology And Treatment Of Lymphoproliferative Disorders, Frances Hilary Rose Frend

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Background: Migration and homing are essential to B-lymphocyte mediated immunity, and are driven by rapid, directed, and appropriate reorganisation of the actin cytoskeleton. Important observations have linked the cytoskeletal-rearrangements made by leukaemic B-lymphocytes of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) to disease pathology. In particular, cytoskeletal alterations mediated by B-cell receptor (BCR) engagement or chemokine-binding are recognised to be central to the migration of CLL cells to lymphoid tissues, where they engage in the complex cellular and molecular interactions that underlie their survival, proliferation, and drug resistance. Further emphasising this importance, has been the observation that highly effective small molecule inhibitors that …

Nitrite And Insulin Lower The Oxygen Cost Of Atp Synthesis In Skeletal Muscle Cells By Pleiotropic Stimulation Of Glycolysis, Rosie Donnell

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Dietary nitrate lowers the oxygen cost of submaximal exercise, but precise mechanistic insight into how this occurs is lacking. Research suggests that dietary nitrate may render oxidative ATP synthesis more efficient, but evidence is inconclusive at present. This thesis aimed to establish how nitrite (a reduced form of nitrate) affects the bioenergetics of cultured skeletal muscle cells. Comparison between the acute effects of nitrite and insulin, a hormonal regulator of muscle function that increases mitochondrial efficiency, was explored to assess possible mechanistic overlap. Calculation of real-time intracellular ATP synthesis rates from simultaneous oxygen consumption and medium acidification measurements revealed the …

Prediction Of Cardiometabolic Risk In Children, Olubukola Ajala

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Background: Three decades of clinical research have demonstrated that the risks of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD: coronary disease and ischaemic stroke), and the closely related type 2 diabetes (T2D) are established and influenced by events during childhood. This is at least partly because childhood obesity usually leads to adult adiposity; so, the currently high prevalence of adult cardiometabolic disease, means that obesity needs to be identified as early as possible, ideally in childhood. Screening for obesity largely relies on anthropometric measurements like body mass index (BMI), however this has many limitations including its inability to distinguish lean from fat mass. …

Architectural Design For Dementia: Exploring Alternate Contemporary Cultures Of Residential Care Design, Ricky Burke

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

Architectural Design for Dementia: exploring alternate contemporary cultures of residential care design. The Alzheimer's Association (2018) projected the number of people living with a dementia diagnosis to surpass 2 million, reaching 1 in 37.5 of the population of the United Kingdom by 2051: up from 1 in 79 in 2015. This growth in rate and number coincides with an ageing population and a decline in the relative number of people able to care for the needs of people suffering difficulties associated with the symptoms of their diagnosis. The move to a residential care home is not only a viable but …

An Interdisciplinary Study Of An Aesthetic Particularism: The ‘Split Representation In The Art Of Asia And America’, Benjamin Pothier

School of Art, Design and Architecture Theses

An interdisciplinary study of an aesthetic particularism: the ‘Split representation in the Art of Asia and America’. This thesis consists of an interdisciplinary research on an aesthetic particularism mentioned by anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss as “The split representation in the Art of Asia and America” in his 1944 eponymous essay. Most researchers include in this group the Ainu and Jōmon People from Japan, tribes from the Amur Basin, Haida people from the Northern West Coast, Ancient China (Yangshao and Shang Dynasty), Māori People from New Zealand and Kadiweu people from Brazil. I conducted this inquiry through an online study of academic …

Association Between Hispanic Parents’ Attitudes And Knowledge Regarding Obesity And Their Children’S Body Mass Index, Renee Starr, Eva Miller, Roy K. Chen, Ralph Carlson, Veronica I. Umeasiegbu, Bruce J. Reed

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 13.7 million children experience obesity nationally and Hispanic children display the highest occurrences of obesity for all racial/ethnic groups (Hales et al., 2020). Because parents have a significant influence on their children’s overall health, we were interested in examining whether parents’ attitudes and knowledge about obesity impacted their child’s body mass index (BMI) for their age. We surveyed 210 adult Hispanic parents whose children were receiving general healthcare services at a pediatric medical clinic located near the U.S.-Mexico border. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the estimation …

Predictive Effects Of Satisfaction With Life, Self-Esteem, And Loneliness On Alcohol Related Problems In College Students At A Minority-Serving Institution, Roy K. Chen, Wei-Mo Tu, Rebecca R. Sametz, Bryan S. Austin

School of Rehabilitation Services & Counseling Faculty Publications

Objective: Little research has focused on the drinking issues at minority serving institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among personal psychological distress, mental well-being, self-esteem, and alcohol-related problems. Participants: 360 undergraduate students were recruited at a public university in the Southwest US. Methods: A cross-sectional design survey was conducted. One-way ANOVA and multiple regression analyses were utilized. Results: Male students experienced more alcohol-related problems than female students. Statistically significant correlations were found among life satisfaction and loneliness, life satisfaction and self-esteem, life satisfaction and alcohol-related problems, and self-esteem and loneliness. The predictor variables accounted for …

Molecular Control Of The Migratory Phase During Cutaneous Wound Healing, Chloe Elizabeth Bolton

Other Faculty of Health Theses

Superficial cutaneous injuries occur on a huge scale across the globe; while most will resolve without intervention or any lasting damage, many will experience complications that arise through delayed healing or as a consequence of the skins protective barrier being breached. The migration of cutaneous cells across a wound site is a crucial factor in establishing permanent restoration of the skins integrity. This study provides insight into molecular events that facilitate the migratory ability of cutaneous cells during this phase of the healing process. Through subcellular analysis, molecular manipulation and various imaging techniques of in vivo and in vitro wound …

Avoiding Kidney Damage In Icu Sedation With Sevoflurane: Use Isoflurane Instead, J. Robert Sneyd

More Faculty of Health Research

Intensive care unit (ICU) sedation with sevoflurane is associated with nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. Given that isoflurane is now licenced (in Europe) for ICU sedation and has Investigational New Drug status in the USA, evidence indicates that clinicians should stop using sevoflurane in this indication except in the context of clinical trials.