M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The absence of a father in family life is an occurrence which is experienced in almost every family. The absent-father refers to the father who, as a result of certain circumstances, cannot properly fulfill his role as father in the family circle. It appears that this phenomenon is gradually on the increase and it is apparent that parents increasingly feel the necessity to obtain guidance in respect of this particular problem. Several factors contribute towards the phenomenon of father-absence. The most general reason for this occurrence is the father's responsibility towards his occupation. The absent-father could also create the image of a father being physically present yet being psychologically absent. In this script an endeavour has been made to grasp the phenomenon of fatherly absence and the influence it could possibly have on a child. The purpose of this study is to determine, in the light of certain studies of literature and empirical research, the influence the fatherly absence has on a child. The purpose of this exercise is dual. Firstly it entails a literature study and secondly an empirical research. A relevant critical survey has been conducted in respect of the role the father plays in the family and in particular with special reference to the differential role of the father in the life of the son and daughter. The study of relevant literature further entails a critical study of fatherly absence and the influence it could have on the son and daughter.

Att vara berövad sin frihet och sina valmöjligheter kan få stora konsekvenser i en individs hälsa och livssituation. Intagna riskerar att, efter avtjänat straff, släppas ut i samhället med begränsad förmåga att fungera självständigt, försämrat hälsotillstånd och med hög återfallsrisk. Ett aktivitetsvetenskapligt perspektiv är användbart för att förstå och utveckla interventioner som syftar till att upprätthålla och utveckla förmågor i det dagliga livet och utvecklandet av roller för att stödja framgångsrik återgång i samhället. Syftet med studien var att beskriva arbetsterapeutiska insatser och dess betydelse för intagna på straffrättsliga institutioner. En litteraturöversikt valdes och sökningar genomfördes i databaserna Web of Science, Cinahl, PubMed, Amed, Socindex och Academic Search Elite. Sju artiklar inkluderades för kvalitetsgranskning och analys. Resultatet visade en variation av interventioner där fokus låg på den generella livssituation de intagna befann sig i alternativt aktuell målgrupps specifika problematik. Gemensamt, inom samtliga instanser, var behovet av att öva upp sociala och kommunikativa förmågor. Viktiga betydelser som framkom var att intagna hade möjlighet till visst självbestämmande och att aktiviteter hade ett tydligt syfte för att upplevas som meningsfulla och terapeutiska. Studien visade att trots restriktioner till följd av säkerhetsaspekter, är det möjligt att genomföra klientcentrerade interventioner som har en positiv inverkan på intagnas hälsa, beteenden, självkänsla och utförandekapacitet. Arbetsterapeuten har en viktig roll i det rehabiliterande arbetet för att motverka kriminellt beteende och erbjuda redskap som underlättar övergången till samhället och minskar risken för återfall.

This thesis describes the use of in vivo and in vitro models to better understand the molecular correlates of sleep and sleep deprivation. Unlike previous studies, we utilise a timecourse based experimental design throughout, which has the advantage of identifying how the abundance of molecules return to baseline following sleep deprivation. Chapter 3 outlines the transcriptome of mouse cortex collected over 54 hours from mice subjected to varied durations of sleep deprivation. The timecourse experimental design aids in the identification of genes that are induced during both spontaneous and enforced wakefulness, and facilitates the dissociation of genes whose expression is tightly linked to the current wake state of the animal from those whose expression is linked to the total amount of wakefulness recently experienced by the animal. Like previous studies, we identify several genes involved in the unfolded protein response and synaptic function that are upregulated by sleep deprivation. We also find that increasing durations of sleep deprivation progressively reduces the total number of rhythmically expressed genes in mouse cortex, with only a handful of transcripts identified as diurnal following 12 hour sleep deprivation. Chapter 4 outlines the proteomic and metabolomic effects of 12 hour sleep deprivation. Proteomic analyses indicate that the abundance of ribosomal and nucleosomal proteins is suppressed for at least 24 hours following sleep deprivation, whilst the abundance of several phosphodiesterases are acutely increased following sleep deprivation. Metabolomic analyses of sleep deprived mouse cortex identified 3 molecular species whose abundance profile implicate them as sleep homeostats. Finally, we also set out to develop an in vitro model of sleep deprivation based on the optogenetic activation of a neuroblastoma cell line, which is outlined in Chapter 5. Following several rounds of optimisation, the stable expression of an opsin was found to induce intracellular calcium spikes and immediate early gene expression during illumination. Transcriptomic profiling of illuminated SH-SY5Y cells induced large scale transcriptomic changes, and modulated the expression of genes involved in synapses, cholesterol synthesis, the molecular clock and the unfolded protein response. Although these functional classes are reminiscent of those modulated by in vivo sleep deprivation, there was only a slight enrichment of individual genes modulated by in vivo sleep deprivation amongst the blue light sensitive genes, indicating further work is required to more closely model in vivo sleep deprivation.

Worldwide, asthma is a chronic condition which is prevalent and neglected and Scotland has a high prevalence of asthma compared to the rest of the world. In their report on the global burden of asthma, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Program ranks Scotland as having the highest asthma prevalence in the world, with almost one in every five people affected and 6.3 % of the population in Scotland are seeking treatment at General Practices. The aetiology of asthma is complex and it remains a persistent and chronic problem affecting many people, and prevention and treatment are not working. This thesis makes a unique contribution utlising an interdisciplinary approach from Geography and Public Health to explore the nature and role of the socio-environmental context in relation to the prevalence and management of asthma at Scottish General Practices located in areas of dissimilar deprivation levels. The key focus of the research is the way that health professionals (and related stakeholders) understand the factors that shape the causation and prevalence of asthma (including social and environmental contexts), and how this in turn shapes their management of the condition in their practice. Aim: The overall aim of this research is identify, understand and interpret the nature and role of the socio-environmental context in relation to asthma prevalence and management at the Scottish primary care setting. Methods: The research employed quantitative analysis of a secondary dataset on asthma and a case study analysis of two General Practices located in areas of dissimilar deprivation levels in Scotland. Practices were selected after quantitative data analysis comparing the deprivation scores (SIMD) against crude prevalence rates of asthma. The case study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in asthma care. The results of the study contributed to the understanding of what a conventional deprivation measure does/ does not reveal about asthma–place contexts. It also gave insights on how health professionals perceived their area, patient population and how they integrated these perceptions it into their practice as their understanding or lack of understanding or their inability to act upon their understanding on the importance of the socio-environmental context was one of key factors that shape their management of asthma. The study concluded imparting policy implications and renewed approaches to asthma care and management practices within the Health Services.

Med en kombinerad kvalitativ och kvantitativ ansats genomfördes denna experimentella studie för att undersöka om och i så fall hur intranasalt oxytocin påverkar relationella upplevelser under sensorisk deprivation samt om anknytning är en modererande variabel. Resultaten (N=114) visade att intranasalt oxytocin inte påverkade antal eller förekomst av relationella upplevelser i sensorisk deprivation, jämfört med placebo. Det fanns inte heller något stöd för att typ av behandling hade några interaktionseffekter med anknytningsdimensionerna ångest och undvikande. En tänkbar anledning till de uteblivna resultaten kan vara att många deltagare upplevde den sensoriska deprivationen som något obehaglig, vilket kan ha gjort att experimentets design inte fungerade som avsett. Explorativa tester visade att intranasalt oxytocin påverkade förekomsten av negativa kontra positiva/neutrala relationella upplevelser. De som fick oxytocin hade i lägre utsträckning negativa och i högre utsträckning positiva eller neutrala relationella upplevelser under den sensoriska deprivationen, jämfört med de som fick placebo. Studien bidrar till mer osäkerhet kring effekterna av intranasalt oxytocin och motiverar vidare forskning.

Extended duration and irregularly planned overnight shifts are becoming frequent features of current working time arrangements. However, there is great concern about the detrimental effect that these shifts are likely to have on the sleep, performance and fatigue levels of workers. To date, the empirical evidence regarding the effects of extended and irregular overnight shifts is sparse and workers have rarely been followed up longer term to assess possible changes over time. Because these types of overnight shifts are being introduced into transport settings such as aviation and shipping where safe and productive operations are paramount, there is a real imperative to examine and trial workplace-based methods aimed at counteracting night shift related fatigue and performance deficits. Taking short duration naps on the nightshift at work is one potential countermeasure that has shown promise in the laboratory but has yet to be examined in any real-world setting under conditions of extended duration or irregular night work. This thesis takes up these issues in a series of four empirical workplace-based studies. The impact of the introduction of regularly planned 12 h day and overnight shifts was examined on three occasions via questionnaire in a group of aircraft maintenance engineers, once before the change, and twice after the change from 8 h shifts. The results showed that high levels of acute fatigue on the 12 h night shifts and high chronic fatigue levels were common, and were strongly associated with poor overall job performance, poor safety of job performance, and longer recovery times, effects that persisted over time. Of major concern was the finding that over half of the engineers reported having nodded off while driving home from their extended overnight shifts. The impact of irregularly planned 8 h overnight shifts worked by cargo handlers in a shipping container terminal was also examined via self-report questionnaire. The findings revealed significant detrimental impacts on sleep, fatigue levels and performance at work. High fatigue levels were strongly associated with poor self-rated performance output and safety of performance at work on the overnight shifts. The primary focus of this thesis was to evaluate the effect of a scheduled 20 min nap opportunity taken in these two fully operational workplaces during the night shift on sleep, performance and alertness. Sleep was achieved by 50 to 59% of workers. Speed of performance in 24 male aircraft maintenance engineers on a vigilance task was significantly faster at the end of a 12 h overnight shift that had contained sleep during the nap compared to the control condition. There was no such effect of the nap on the performance of 22 cargo handlers working impromptu 8 h shifts in a shipping container terminal. However, the duration of sleep obtained by the 8 h workers was shorter in comparison and was likely to have been undermined by the high noise levels around the nap facility and time pressures related to the organisation of work. Actigraphy data recorded from all subjects showed that subsequent daytime sleep was not disrupted by the night shift nap opportunity. Overall, the most interesting findings were that simply being tired and presented with a sleep opportunity during the night shift did not guarantee either sleep, or recovery but that sleep, as opposed to rest, was necessary for the benefits to performance to be fully realised. These findings have shown for the first time that management of fatigue associated with extended duration night work can be achieved in some instances by the use of a short duration nap taken in the workplace on the night shift. However, operationalizing in-situ napping on the night shift has a range of organisational influences that must be considered for the potential of such a strategy to be fully harnessed.

The aim of this study was to examine how food deprivation effects food-related and other behavioural systems of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) and the domesticated White Leghorn layers. If an animal is denied to perform their natural behaviours, like eating, sleeping or preening, the motivation for the behaviour can increase. Behavioural systems may interact and motivation to perform behaviours may be influenced. After being deprived of a certain need the reaction can become exaggerated or abnormal. Food deprivation is often used in ethology research to motivate animals. The hypothesis in this study was that the chickens would become affected by the food deprivation and reallocate their behaviours. They would get more stressed and frustrated. Domestication effects and sex differences were explored. The birds were tested in four standardized behavioural tests; food consumption test, general behavioural test, open field test and novel object test. The results showed that they foraged and explored more, had less comfort behaviours, and less perching the longer they had been without food. They did not show a higher degree of frustration, stress or aggressive behaviours. There were domestication effects, where the Leghorns seem to have lost some of their ability to respond adaptively to food shortage. Differences between the sexes were found, where the females foraged more and the males were more stressed. The conclusion was that the birds do not get more stressed when food deprived, but they forage and explore more which is a desirable effect of food deprivation used in ethology research.

The ability to navigate with limited vision is a skill that is often employed in our daily lives. Navigating without vision to a remembered target has previously been studied. However, not much is known about the attention required to perform blind navigation. We examined the effect of aging and presence of obstacles on the attentional demands of blind navigation. We evaluated reaction time, navigation errors and average walking speed in an 8 meter walking path, with or without obstacles, in the absence of vision. Results showed that older participants had increased reaction time and increased linear distance travelled as opposed to young participants, that obstacles increased reaction time and decreased average walking speed in all participants, and that emitting the reaction time stimulus early in the trial increased the linear distance travelled. Interpretation of the results suggests that aging and presence of obstacles augments the attentional demands of blind navigation.

Brain development and function depend on intrinsic and extrinsic factors. In particular, the proper functioning of sensory systems can be altered according to the quality of extrinsic sensory information received during life. In this context, questions concerning neuroplasticity take on special relevance when considering that sensory experience has a big impact on the degree of plasticity of the brain. In this thesis, we have sought to understand how visual deprivation affects the development and maintenance of visual centers in the brain and the role of visual deprivation on plasticity throughout life. We have addressed this question by studying the retinocollicular projection, which is the neuronal pathway that connects the retina with a visual input processing center, the superior colliculus (SC). Unexpectedly, we found that in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) the size of receptive fields (RFs) of neurons in the SC is plastic in adult animals if they have been deprived of a minimum of visual experience when juveniles. Specifically, dark-reared (DR) hamsters refine SC RFs as do their normally-reared counterparts, but they lose RF refinement if they remain in the dark after their RFs get refined. We found that a well defined period and duration of visual experience can stabilize RF size in adulthood. Furthermore, we sought to investigate the mechanisms by which RF size is increased in adult DR hamsters. By testing the strength of intracollicular inhibition using electrophysiological and molecular techniques, we have found that visually-deprived animals have weaker inhibitory circuitry in their SC than normal animals. The quantity of GABA receptors and GABA containing neurons is decreased in the SC of adult DR animals. We propose that these results explain at least in part the RF enlargement we find in visually-deprived animals. Knowledge from this study provides general insight into sensory system plasticity in adulthood and new information about visual system development that is relevant for treatments of diseases.

Social interactions in early life influence the organization of neural and behavioural systems of developing mammalian young. Deprivation of social interactions with the primary caregiver and other immediate conspecifics (early social deprivation) has lasting consequences on behavioural functioning in later life. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how early social deprivation affects the motivational aspects of behaviour in the context of appetitive stimuli. Rats were reared in complete isolation from the mother and litter using the method of artificial rearing (AR). Control rats were maternally reared (MR). In adulthood, rats were tested in a series of behavioural paradigms designed to assess the motivational impact of primary food reward and reward-related cues on food-seeking behaviour. AR increased the behavioural responsiveness of rats to the motivational impact of reward-related cues, but not to primary rewards themselves. Specifically, there were no significant effects of AR on food consumption or goal-directed instrumental responding for food. However, AR enhanced instrumental responding triggered by a previously conditioned reward cue. AR also increased the expression of approach behaviour towards a localizable conditioned reward cue and instrumental responding when the same cue was used as a reinforcer. An assessment of the mediating factors during development revealed that the lack of tactile stimulation normally received from the mother, but not sustained exposure to the stress hormone corticosterone, contributed to the long-term effects of AR. These findings represent a potential link between early-life social adversity and vulnerability to the development of problems with behavioural inhibition and attention in the presence of appetitive environmental cues.