Many animals including marine mammals and several seabird species dive in large groups, but the impacts that social interactions can have on diving behaviour are poorly understood. There are several potential benefits to social diving, such as access to social information or reduced predation risk. In this body of research I explore the use of social information by groups of diving animals by studying the behaviour of European shags (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) diving in “foraging rafts” in the Isles of Scilly. Using GPS tracking I establish where shags regularly forage in relation to bathymetry and areas where foraging rafts frequently formed. Using these data I show that the foraging ranges of different colonies overlap and that foraging ranges of individual shags are often predictable. This suggests that social information will be of less value while searching for foraging patches. However, using observational studies to further explore the conditions and areas in which foraging rafts formed, I show that advantages such as anti-predation or hydrodynamic benefits are unlikely to be the main drivers of rafting behaviour in the Scillies. I therefore suggest that access to social information from conspecifics at a foraging patch may be one of the main benefits diving in groups. Using a dynamic programming model I show that individuals diving in a group benefit from using social information, even when unable to assess conspecific foraging success. Finally I use video analysis to extract the positions and diving behaviour of individuals within a foraging raft and compare this to simulated data of collective motion and diving behaviour. The results of these studies indicate that an individual being able to utilise dives of conspecifics to inform their own diving decisions may be one of the main advantages of social diving.

Large-scale interstate migration raises questions about where the responsibility for migrant welfare lies, whether with the sending state and its institutions, the receiving state or both. Across the middle decades of the twentieth century, around half a million people left Ireland, the majority for England. This study analyses the policy responses of governmental, Catholic church and voluntary organisations in both countries to Irish migrant welfare. Using records from Irish and English diocesan archives and the National Archives of Ireland and England the study identifies the policy claims that were made to church and state in the two countries and the responses that resulted. The majority of migrants were young, single and migrating alone. A distinctive feature was that, for much of the period covered, female migrants outnumbered males. The young age and gender of these migrants made moral welfare a major concern. The Irish Catholic hierarchy, led by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Charles McQuaid, accepted responsibility for Irish migrant welfare and understood their needs through a discourse of ‘faith and morals’. This interpretation led to solutions designed to support religious faith and practice delivered by Catholic priests and lay volunteers. Both the Irish government and British institutions (state and voluntary) accepted the centrality of Catholicism to Irish identity and the right of the Catholic church to lead welfare policy and provision for Irish migrants. No alternative understanding of Irish migrant needs within a secular framework emerged during this period. This meant that whilst the Irish hierarchy developed policy responses based on their assessment of need, other agencies, notably the British and Irish governments, did not consider any specific policy response for Irish migrants to be required.

This thesis is a study of the representation of emigration to Canada in Scottish Romantic periodicals and fiction, and of the relationship between these genres and the little-studied genre of the emigrant's guide. Chapter One tracks the Edinburgh Review and Quarterly Review's reviews of books on Canadian topics and demonstrates how the rival quarterlies respond to, and intervene in, the evolving public debate about emigration. Chapter Two examines depictions of Canada in Blackwood's Magazine and Fraser's Magazine, and reveals connections between these magazines' engagement with Canadian affairs and the concurrent reception of Scottish Romanticism in early Canadian literary magazines. Chapter Three argues for an understanding of the emigrant's guide as a porous form that acts as a bridge between nonfictional and fictional representations of emigration. Chapter Four reads novels with emigration plots in relation to the pressures of American, Canadian and transatlantic canon formation, arguing that these novels trouble the stark division between the American and Canadian emigrant experiences which was insisted upon by contemporary commentators and which continues to underpin criticism of transatlantic literary works. Chapter Five considers the relationship between Scottish Romanticism and nineteenth-century Canadian literature, a relationship which has often been framed in terms of the portability of a 'Scottish model' of fiction associated most strongly with Walter Scott. Overall, this thesis contends that foregrounding the literature of emigration allows for greater understanding of the synchronicity of Scottish Romanticism and the escalation of transatlantic emigration, offering an alternative to conceptions of Canada's colonial and transatlantic belatedness.

Main goal of this thesis was to compare geographical variability of sizes of colonies in the relationship with the type of roost of 6 models of originally cave bats species: Greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis), Geoffroy's bat (Myotis emarginatus), Common bent-wing bat (Miniopterus schreibersii), Greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) a Mediterranean horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus euryale). The selected data set was also analyzed the possible influence of the composition of land cover in roosts around the variability of the size of the colonies. Based on compilation of literature and active communication with regional bat-monitoring coordinators, entries about size of colonies from 2 603 locations in 24 countries of Europe were collected. 1 952 entries were from roosts in buildings and 651 from caves. Based on statistical analysis, conclusive influence of type of roost on size of colonies by M. schreibersii, M. myotis a R. hipposideros was discovered. While in M. schreibersii and M. myotis are human colonies in smaller buildings, in R. hipposideros by contrast, they are larger. Simultaneously, north-west gradient in geographical distribution of maternal bat- colonies in dependence on type of roost (caves vs. buildings): in southern areas...

This thesis investigates socio-economic integration of men and women immigrants (‘Old’ and ‘New’) relative to United Kingdom (UK) born White in the UK labour market. In order to assess my research hypotheses I use both cross-sectional and panel data based on the world’s largest panel survey: UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), (data collected between 2009 and 2014). The first two essays are cross-sectional studies examining access (or lack of access) to the professional class and pay asymmetry of these groups, while, the third paper, uses the full potential attributes of a ‘strict balanced’ panel to investigate occupational status transitions and earning trajectories using a more refined parsimonious random effects model approach. The main findings show that the labour market performance of immigrants differs from that of UK born White in several important ways. The education and experience of immigrants are subject to different ‘rewards’ to those of natives, and immigrants will usually end up in jobs that are a poor match for their education. These findings are in line with the results of the literature in this field. The main contributions of this thesis are twofold: substantively, the thesis addresses and explores the heterogeneity in the groups studied in terms of observable and unobservable characteristics. Also, this study is among the pioneering research being conducted with the re-scaling of complex survey weights associated with the UKHLS.

M.A. (History) / The purpose of this thesis Is to determine the role the British Government played In the events which led to the dismantling of the Central Africa Federation in 1963. After the dismantling, historians and other Interest-groups debated the question why the Central Africa Federation had failed. The whites In Rhodesia were convinced that the British government were responsible for the break-up. Britain was accused of yielding to black radical demands. These demands led to the Independence of both Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia, and they were allowed to secede from the Federation. Britain was also accused of having deliberately broken Its promises to the federal government. The federal government ultimately expected dominium Status for the Federation. Britain's policy of decolonlsatlon was also criticized by the whites and the colonial government was accused of deliberately following a policy of dismantlement. There were however other factors involved in the break-up of the Federation. The climate of decolonlsation and the growing number of Independent Africa states Influenced events In the Federation. The rise of African nationalism, liberation movements and pressure by black militant parties and leaders, brought about 8 withdrawal of colonial powers from Africa. Independent black states became a reality. Blacks In the Central African Federation soon followed this pattern. The partnership polley, on which the Federation was based, failed and blacks became Increasingly unsatisfied. Blacks did not have equal political rights and most of the blacks were excluded from the political structures. The Federation and partnership policy were seen as synonymous with racial discrimination and black national leaders started pressurislng Britain Into dissolving the Federation. The rise of black nationalism In the Federation resulted In fear for black domination on the part of the whites. A Federation where two out of three areas were dominated by blacks, was unacceptable to them. Therefore also white pressure for the dismantling of the Federation started to emerge. Britain's colonial policy in the crucial years, 1960-1963, Is examined as well as its strategies in dealing with a complex issue. Pressure by blacks as well as whites are taken into account In this study, to determine its influence on British actions that ultimately led to the break-up of the Federation.

The aim of this research is to examine the impact of UKs immigration policies and procedures on asylum seekers and ‘illegal’ migrants. The study investigates the ways in which ‘risks’ have been proffered as a justification to contain and control this group of individuals. Those claiming asylum are increasingly subjected to a complex set of rules and legislation, and their access to the welfare state and labour market is severely restricted, if not completely denied. Individuals are increasingly pushed into a bureaucratic limbo in which they are rendered destitute and stateless. This Thesis draws upon asylum seekers’ and ‘illegal’ migrants’ experiences of living in this empty space and shows the ways in which they have used their agency to ‘resist’ and overcome the controls that render them as ‘bare-life’. The study employs a qualitative methodology which includes in-depth interviews with twenty two asylum seekers and six specialist practitioners. The conclusion reveals a constant struggle against the status quo and dissent against abusive state power.

Insects are considered to be responsible for 80-85% of all pollination, with honeybees being well known for their pollination services for many crops. The effect of managed honeybee pollination on sunflower seed yield and quality (germination percentage and oil content) was investigated at the University of Pretoria experimental farm and in commercial sunflower fields at Settlers. This was done through pollinator exclusion and pollinator surveys on sunflower field plots located at different distances from managed honeybee colonies. Observations on the foraging behaviour and activity of honeybees throughout the day were also made. The data presented in this thesis reveal that seed quantity and quality of sunflower increased significantly as a result of insect visits. Insect pollination improved the mass of 100 seeds (by 38%), as well as their germination percentage (by 38%) and oil content (by 36%). Moreover, visitation frequency, seed yield and quality were negatively correlated with distance to the honeybee hives, suggesting that the distribution of honeybee colonies is not enough to maintain an adequate pollination service throughout the large sunflower fields at Settlers. Honeybee foraging activity varied throughout the day, the highest activity being from 9h00 until 16h00, and activity was correlated with temperature. The results of this study suggest that the use of managed honeybees in sunflower crop production can effectively increase the seed quality and quantity, but additional management measures should be considered to improve production in large monocropping farms that are currently isolated from pollinator sources. Additional provision of honeybee colonies is needed in sunflower production areas during the flowering period. Furthermore, as our results show that in the presence of pollinators other than honeybees seed yield was also improved, management measures that promote the biodiversity of sunflower visitors may also have an important contribution. / Dissertation (MScAgric)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

No abstract included. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

A large number of Englishmen, predominantly from the West Country and East Anglia, began the settlement of New England in 1630. In the sparsely populated North American wilderness they established a new society. The foundation for their New England community lay in the English experience which they brought to the New World. When a group of men consciously agree to form a new community it is essential that they share certain aspirations, needs and experiences. The form of this new society results from an effort to fulfill and satisfy their common characteristics. An agricultural occupation was the experience shared by the Englishmen who settled the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1630. Their common needs included finding an environment in which the physical geography fit their accustomed agricultural practices. A large majority of the settlers of Dorchester came from the three West Country counties of Somerset, Dorset, and Devon. The Somerset and Dorset emigrants were from regions known for their dairy products since the Middle Ages. The Devonshiremen, in contrast, had lived in that county's grain and fruit producing sections. At the time the Dorchester settlers left their English homes economic conditions in the West Country pressed hard on individual farming families. Increased demand for agricultural products in emerging urban areas caused rents and the cost of good land to multiply rapidly. Price increases outran incomes and many people, in trying to escape the rural hard times, found themselves among the urban unemployed in cities such as Dorchester, in Dorset, and Exeter, in Devon. In an effort to understand the motivation for both the impulse to emigrate from England and the formation of a new community at Dorchester in Massachusetts Bay, a crisis situation was selected for study. During 1635 and 1636 one-third of Dorchester's population moved to the Connecticut River Valley. As with all of New England's history this event has been interpreted on the basis of either its religious or political significance. The people of Dorchester have been portrayed as fleeing from an increasingly rigid and narrow religious orthodoxy in the Bay Colony, or as democractically inclined frontiersmen escaping the oppressive, feudal oligarchy of the Massachusetts leaders. The people of Dorchester who established Windsor, Connecticut in 1636 did not fit either of these categories. They were dairy farmers and cattle raisers from Somerset and Dorset, together with a few east county men, whose Dorchester lands were not compatible with their agricultural practices. The Connecticut Valley, particularly at Windsor where they settled, provided the meadowlands and pasturage absolutely necessary to the successful maintenance of their cattle. The native grasses in the river-bottom meadows and higher pastures grew in red sandstone-based loams, reminiscent of the best soils in Somerset and Dorset. It is concluded that it was cattle, not religious doctrine or politics, which split the Dorchester community and resulted in the foundation of Windsor, Connecticut. It is suggested that while religion and politics were important to seventeenth-century New England husbandmen, as social determinants these were decidedly subordinate to the soil and the agricultural use of that soil. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate