At the end of 1818 the first duke of Wellington returned to Britain after making his name and fortune on the continent. Despite primarily being remembered as a military hero and diplomat, his excursion into party politics upon joining Lord Liverpool's cabinet constituted a second career that continued until the duke's death in 1852. This thesis sets out to analyse that political career from 1819 to the first Reform Act in 1832 through Wellington's unsolicited correspondence. This previously neglected source offers a revealing insight into the popular perception of politics, society and Wellington himself, which often challenges the assumptions made about press and public opinion. Indeed, these letters themselves can be regarded as a form of public opinion. Hundreds of ordinary people from across the country wrote Wellington on every matter of government and society, for personal, commercial, political or charitable reasons. They wanted patronage for themselves or friends, money and favours. They contributed to debates on Catholic Emancipation, Parliamentary Reform and Economic distress. A sizeable minority wrote anonymous, threatening letters in an attempt to intimidate Wellington, while others gave the duke their wholehearted support. These letters reveal the politicisation of 'The People' and their willingness to get involved in public debates. The correspondents often used the same language and terms of reference. They wrote with the same concerns, albeit for different reasons and with varying suggestions. These letters also provide a glimpse of the popular perception of Wellington - how this military hero was considered, in turn, to be a saviour, influential friend and 'evil nemesis' of the people. Wellington did not ignore this correspondence. Most people got a reply. Their letters were filed, discussed, forwarded to appropriate people, acted upon and investigated. Crucially, some of this correspondence influenced the duke's thinking and impacted on events. Writing a letter to a member of the ruling elite could make a difference.

This research explored young people’s learning needs related to sexuality and relationships within the current rapidly changing social, cultural and religious context of the Maltese Islands. It also explored the challenges, opportunities and alternative means by which these needs can be met. A definitional matrix for needs assessment that adopts a sociological perspective to people’s needs, which is widely used in health promotion, was employed. This thesis was framed around the underlying principles of youth involvement, participation and empowerment, and thus emphasised young people’s own perspective of their learning needs. The mixed-methodology approach was adopted in this research. The first stage of investigation sought to achieve an overview of sexual behaviour and knowledge among young Maltese people aged 14 - 16 attending secondary schools. A stratified random sample of 1310 pupils (68% response rate) provided a first-ever snapshot of young people’s sexual behaviour in Malta. The second stage sought to explore young people’s felt and expressed learning needs within and outside the school setting by way of sixteen focus groups involving another 166 pupils. Findings suggest a relatively low rate of pupils who would have practiced sexual intercourse by school-leaving age in Malta (12.3%). Mean age at first intercourse seems similar to that of other European countries (14 years) for both genders. Only a fifth used condoms every time they had sex. Knowledge of STIs was scant. The pupils were more informed about HIV. Girls were more knowledgeable. Boys had sex with more sexual partners. No gender differences were noted in substance abuse with sex. Discussions among pupils revealed a high degree of perceived unmet learning need. Participants valued highly learning about sexuality but thought it received much less attention than their other academic learning needs. Disparities between schools were evidenced. Learning was sporadic and uncoordinated with conflicting messages from different teachers. Often sessions started timely to pupils’ needs, but ended prematurely. Learning from parents was scanty and associated with the overall relationship and bonding between parents and the child. Gaps were noted between perceived ideal sources (teachers, parents and visiting speakers) and actual / preferred sources (friends and the media). Needs were perceived in relation to the content and timing of learning, sources of knowledge, learning styles and resources. Maltese pupils had diverse values and called for a variety of approaches. Recommendations were made for a national sexuality education policy to standardize the framework of sexuality education among Maltese schools; more initial teacher training and inservice training in sexuality education to meet the needs of a diverse group of adolescents through various approaches; more collaboration among teachers within schools; parenting skills and lifelong learning opportunities for parents; more active involvement of adolescents and a wider consultation with schools and families in the evaluation of sexuality education.

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According to one estimate, about 40 percent of the driving population will be over the age of 60 by the year 2020 in the UK and currently, several hundred thousand drivers with dementia hold driving licenses. The number of motor vehicle crashes per unit distance of automobile travel is “U”-shaped, with risk increasing slightly between the ages of 55 and 60, but risk increasing with each successive five-year interval. Some individuals who have mild dementia possess sufficient driving skills to be designated as fit drivers. The most challenging assessment and decision for the physician/licensing authority as regards fitness to drive lies in drivers who are questionably demented or are in a state of very mild dementia. In the absence of a reliable standard protocol, some clinicians make judgment based on selfreporting, which has risks associated with it as lack of insight and judgment are potential common traits of the population experiencing cognitive decline. Seldom is recourse made by health professionals to on-road assessment as a first alternative as it requires a fee and such testing centers are not readily available everywhere. This research addresses this issue of the identification of cognitive tests that can be used to assess an individual’s ability to drive and especially of those individuals that are questionably demented and are the most difficult to identify. A younger and an older group consisting of 56 drivers in total were administered nine different cognitive tests and two drives (Drive-I and Drive-II) on the STISIM driving simulator. The cognitive test ufov3 (involving the identification of a central target and simultaneously the radial localization of a peripheral target embedded in distracter triangles), which is the third subtest of the UFOV (Useful Field of View) test showed the highest discriminating ability in separating “poor-drivers” from “not-poor-drivers”, with 92.86 % of the drivers correctly classified. The next best discriminating ability in decreasing order of strength was that of dichotic listening test, trail making test, rey-copy test and paper folding test. Also, age was found to be an excellent discriminator of “poor-drivers” and “not-poor-drivers” with 91.07 % of the drivers correctly classified. A composite cognitive measure consisting of the sum of all nine cognitive tests was not a better predictor than the ufov3 test alone; overall it was still an excellent discriminator, classifying 89.29 % of drivers correctly. The commonly recommended Clock Drawing test and the Trail Making test did not emerge as significant predictors of driving ability. A general driving skills linear model for prediction purposes was derived that explained 59 % of the variation in a general driving performance index with the ufov3 test, the dichotic listening test and the rey-recall test as significant predictors. Recommendations are made as to how this test should be used to screen potentially at risk drivers.

It is well understood by international students who are studying in an English speaking country that proficiency in English is crucial to success. English for Academic Purposes has conventionally aimed to focus on a blend of language skills and study strategies to support students before and during their postgraduate studies. It is apparent from anecdotal information that the needs of Saudi Arabian students are not being met, as they continue to encounter problems with the academic culture of the British higher education system. This study investigates the needs of Saudi students. It draws principally on present situation analysis and target situation analysis to explore the extent of students‟ needs. It exceptionally introduces a new element, referred to as cultural aspects of learning analysis, to assess new areas that preparation courses can usefully focus on. A mixed methods approach is used in this study (Questionnaire, Interview, and Observation), and three groups of participants were approached for the purpose of data collection to determine precisely what elements of academic study in the UK uniquely pose problems for Saudi students. The questionnaire was distributed to 62 Saudi students (male and female) studying at postgraduate level at Southampton University; from this, deductions could be drawn that should apply across the whole Saudi community of graduate learners in the UK. Interviews were composed of three sets: with postgraduate students; with students studying on the English for academic studies programme; teachers teaching on the English for academic studies programme. The observations centred on different English for academic studies classes. Therefore, the data have been analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The research examines traditional methods of English teaching in the KSA within the context of the Saudi education system, and surveys attitudes towards the difficulties of studying in the English language, in terms of language differences and the academic cultural demands of British postgraduate study programmes. It also examines the area of English for Academic Purposes to ascertain why Saudi students report that these courses do not meet their target situation needs. The results of this study reveal that there are indeed specific needs that relate only to Saudi students studying in the UK, and that a number of these do relate to cultural difference. The recommendations assist in three major areas: (a) to outline suggestions for the provision of preparation courses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; (b) to improve the provision of programmes of English for Academic Purposes; and (c) to provide advice to Saudi students in their studies in the United Kingdom.

This research investigates how Trinidadian students in the United Kingdom (UK) respond to their new environment. The research explores and conceptualises the participants' experiences in the UK. It investigates Trinidadian student adjustment in the UK from a postcolonial perspective. To acquire data on Trinidadian experiences in the UK I created a private, password-protected group blog (interactive webpage) where eight respondents interacted and shared aspects of their everyday life and experiences over six months. After the blogging period follow-up face-to-face individual interviews were conducted with five of the eight participants. The research design was formulated so that the two methods would work together to paint a vivid, multidimensional and dynamic picture of the participants' experiences. These two techniques together are referred to as the blog-interview method. The experiences of three of the participants were captured as in-depth case studies. Grounded Theory was used to analyze the data and generate a working theory of the participants' experiences. A theory of adjustment, called (dis)juncture, was developed. The theory views the students' adjustment as a continuous process of negotiation among simultaneous connecting and disconnecting forces. This can create a student who is a synergy of global experiences, signifying systems, representations, identities, worldviews and perspectives that are not exclusively in one domain: they are hybrid. Unlike much work in this area, (dis)juncture does not view adjustment in stages nor does it assume that adjustment is something that can be achieved. Adjustment is advanced as a process of continuous transformation as a result of constant contact with multiple signifying systems simultaneously. (Dis)Juncture breaks important ground in the field by reconceptualising and re-imaging the process of international student adjustment. The theory thus makes a significant contribution to research on international student experiences

Recent government reports indicate that there is a high incidence of enduring mental health problems in the African and African Caribbean communities living in the UK. Although research has explored the experience of service users from both of these communities, little is known about how family carers experience caring for a relative with an enduring mental health problem from the same communities. The aim of this investigation was to explore the lived caring experience of seven carers from the African and African Caribbean communities who cared for family members with an enduring mental health problem. A hermeneutical phenomenological approach, as described by Van Manen was used, which encompassed descriptions of carers’ experience of caring and subsequent interpretation of their lived experience. Analysis of the findings revealed the caring experience to encompass: (i) being there and staying there; (ii) losing oneself and re-discovering self; (iii) keeping an on-going dialogue with others, (iv) a conscious awareness of cultural stereotypes and (v) sustaining hope during the caring experience. The study concluded that carers from both communities maintain a strong familial obligation in their caring experience. Carers also make use of local community care groups to assert their carer role with mental health and social care services. Recommendations for future research are discussed in relation to improvements in mental health and social care provision.

Submitted by Hiolanda Rêgo (hiolandar@gmail.com) on 2013-05-23T19:33:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Nut_ Judelita Carvalho Santos.pdf: 2831087 bytes, checksum: d80cee8492e4eafe2bc5baebff037a65 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Flávia Ferreira(flaviaccf@yahoo.com.br) on 2013-05-28T16:41:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Nut_ Judelita Carvalho Santos.pdf: 2831087 bytes, checksum: d80cee8492e4eafe2bc5baebff037a65 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-28T16:41:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Nut_ Judelita Carvalho Santos.pdf: 2831087 bytes, checksum: d80cee8492e4eafe2bc5baebff037a65 (MD5) / FAPESB;CNPQ / OBJETIVO: Investigar os efeitos do tratamento com triptofano sobre o consumo alimentar em ratos adultos submetidos ou não a desnutrição precoce. MÉTODOS: 64 ratos Wistar machos foram divididos em nutridos (n=32, caseína=17%) e desnutridos (n=32, caseína=8%) de acordo com a dieta materna empregada no período de lactação. Após o desmame, todos os ratos receberam dieta com 23% de proteína. Pesos corporais foram avaliados no 7º, 21º e 70º dias de vida. Aos 70º dias de idade, cada grupo nutricional foi dividido em sub-grupos: Nutrido-Salina (NS, n=16) e Nutrido-Triptofano (NT, n=16), Desnutrido-Salina (DS, n=16) e Desnutrido-Triptofano (DT, n=16). Os grupos receberam diariamente 1,0ml/100g por 14 dias de triptofano na dose de 50mg/KgP ou salina com 0,9% NaCl. Neste período foram realizados os estudos dos parâmetros do comportamento alimentar. Posteriormente obteve-se a média do consumo alimentar relativo e a média do ganho de peso relativo. As análises estatísticas foram feitas utilizando os testes t-Student e ANOVA seguida de Tukey, com p<0,05. RESULTADOS: As ninhadas de mães alimentadas com dieta hipoprotéica mantiveram pesos inferiores comparados com as ninhadas nutridas (p<0,01) até os 70 dias de vida. Os ratos NT (6,88±0,05) e DS (6,99±0,07) reduziram a ingestão alimentar comparados aos NS (7,271±0,08) (p<0,01), contudo não houve efeito sobre o ganho de peso. Entre os desnutridos nenhuma diferença foi encontrada. CONCLUSÃO: No presente estudo, a restrição protéica neonatal alterou a evolução ponderal em ratos e o consumo alimentar na vida adulta. Além disso, a desnutrição precoce tornou os ratos adultos resistentes aos efeitos inibitórios do triptofano sobre a ingestão alimentar. / Salvador