This study of the position of women in Islamic society during the period of the Prophet in the early seventh century A.D. compares their status with the status of women in pre-Islamic Arabia, and investigates the changes, if any, which the new faith brought to the women believers. The thesis is composed of three chapters. The purpose of the first chapter is to outline the nature of the socio-economic and legal status of women in Arabia before Islam; it surveys the concept of Jahiliyyah, the tribal society as a whole, the practice of burying daughters alive, marriage, polygamy and divorce. The second chapter contains an over view of the new moral and legal status granted to women under Islamic law, according to the specific rules governing the rights and duties of the people as laid down by the Prophet himself. This can therefore be taken as the ideal example, in all aspects. of the true Islamic community. The third chapter contains cases of illustrious and influential women in the first seminal period of Islam: Khadija, the first believer and first wife of the Prophet, Aisha, the young wife and important transmitter of tradition and Faimah, the Prophet's daughter and other various examples of women in different aspects.

This thesis describes the results of an empirical study addressing the nature of family group visitors to a recently built art gallery. Specifically, the aims of this research were: To clarify what 'family' means in the context of family group visitors to a new art gallery * To explore the motivations of family group visitors in new art galleries * To explore the experience of family group visitors looking at modem art in new art galleries * To observe the behaviour of family group visitors looking at modem art in new art galleries * To provide evidence about family groups by collecting empirical data rather than relying on assumptions about family group visitors The research findings were obtained using qualitative and qualitative methods, analysis of interviews, survey data and statistical analysis, empirical observation, from the literature, from the researcher's own interpretation and the comments and quotations gathered throughout the research. The study begins by presenting a comprehensive taxonomy of family visitor studies research to date. A case study then tests seven hypotheses, shedding light on aspects of family group visiting that have been only partially illuminated in previous studies. The case study demonstrates the significance of the demographic findings; defining, accurately measuring and describing family group visitors to temporary exhibitions of modern art and makes an original contribution to methodology by advancing previous video observational research, harnessing the potential of CCTV film footage as an observational tool using existing in-house surveillance technology. Conclusions include: *A high proportion of grandparent family visitor groups within the sample, with important implications for the future development of the over 50 age group and their grandchildren, as an audience for contemporary art. * Family group visitors expect to enjoy looking at modem art, and typically visit several times, without however, increasing their knowledge of modem art; the study shows that family visitors are 'perpetual beginners' despite previous visits to modern art exhibitions. * Children are instrumental in the visit and engage in 'teaching behaviour' towards adult family members, showing and discussing the exhibits with parents and particularly, grandparents. The significance of the research is highlighted and future research topics are suggested.

In the first chapter, the aims of the study are set and the methodology of research adopted in conducting and organizing this study is explained. In the second chapter, major studies on translation are reviewed and trends in research activities are identified and evaluated. -Further, main contributions made to the discipline by the reviewed writers as well as areas of weakness are touched upon. In the-third chapter, the problems of metaphor and how to translate it are formulated. The nature of metaphor, its traditional classifications and. Leech's (1985) method of analyzing"it are described. Then major theories about the function of metaphor as well as major traditional schools of how to approach its translation are reviewed with the necessary evaluation. Lastly, an approach of deep-versus surface meaning is suggested and its implications for the division of texts into the Factual and the Fictitious are considered. The fourth chapter represents the application-of the approach to data of five different translations of Ouranic metaphors. The application is carried out as follows: Firstly the Quranic metaphors are classified according to common characteristics in order to establish major areas of metaphoric use in the Quran. Secondly, metaphor is defined as a text using de-Beaugrande and Dressler's(1981) definition of text characteristics. Thirdly, by modifying and incorporating House's (1981) and Crystal and Davy's in House (1981) models, a new model is devised to analyze, compare and assess adequacy of the translations of the Quranic metaphors identified earlier as texts in their own right. Fourthly, surface and deep meanings of every Quranic metaphor as well as its five translations are separated according to Leech's (1985) method described earlier in Chapter Three. The purpose of the separation of deep and surface meanings is to establish the non-figurative meaning of the metaphors and the translations divorced from their specific wording. Fifthly, the devised model is applied to the aforementioned data of translations of Quranic metaphors. Consequently, a profile of every translation of each of the Quranic metaphors is achieved. The profiles of the translations are then compared with the profiles of the original. As a result, inaccuracies of the translations and deviations from the original on the basis of the dimensions of the model and general approach are described to provide assessment of the quality of those translations. Chapter five deals with the consequences of applying the approach of deep versus surface meaning. These consequences are methods of metaphor translating derived from the five Ouranic translations. Those methods are further tested by applying them to random data of media metaphors and are then suggested as flexible rules of how to translate metaphors in general. The sixth chapter deals with the implications of the deep versus surface meaning approach for devising a second model to assess adequacy of longer and other types of translation texts. As a result, a second model is devised on the basis of disentangling form from content and then assessing the reproduction of content in the second language using the criteria of surface versus deep meaning, as well as the focus of the text. Chapter seven represents the consequences of the general approach as well as the two proposed models and their applications. These consequences crystalize as guidelines suggested to help translators in the HOW of translating. In the eighth chapter, as a conclusion, a summary of the proposed approach and its implications are presented as well as suggestions for future research.

This thesis is a conceptual study of institutionalised Islamophobia in British universities. My analysis is illustrated, although not driven, by exemplars drawn from fieldwork undertaken in four case study universities. The thesis is situated in the paradoxical context of increasing provisions for Muslim students that occurred throughout the 1990s while simultaneously fears of Muslim student 'fundamentalism' on campus were also on the increase and resulted in targeted action by the National Union of Students, the Committee for Vice-Chancellors and Principals, and a number of individual universities concerned about the possible threat to campus harmony posed by Muslim students. Employing a conceptual vocabulary influenced by anti-foundationalism and psychoanlysis, I explore the ways in which racialised governmentality is exercised over Muslim students. This analysis includes consideration of the functions of formal multiculturalist practices as strategies for the governance of bodies, and through which racialised exercise of disciplinary power over Muslim students can be exercised. The thesis begins with a general consideration of the reasons why perceived distinct changes to the ways in which Muslims articulate their identities should so often be seen as potentially transgressive or disruptive, It then proceeds to an analysis of the ways in which Muslim students are constructed through institutional practices, paying particular attention to strategies for stabilising representations of Muslims, whiteness and the west which range from lslamophobic hoaxing to lslamophobic violence.

The thesis is primarily concerned with the investigation of inter-related themes. Firstly, it sets out to examine the changing nature and role of the Conservative party in the decades immediately following the 1832 Reform Act up until the advent of householder franchise and the Second Reform Act of 1867. The main contention is that political parties after the First Reform Act began to display many of the features and functions which political scientists of our own age see as the essential traits of ndern party structures. One key area in which the Conservative party revealed these traits of ITodernity was in the way the party in the localities began to integrate sections of the industrial working class into the party structure, a phenomenon which had not occurred before 1832. This leads us on to our second central theme, namely the description of the political developiient of the vrking class of the North-West region with specific reference as to why some sections of the industrial working class began to support and join the Conservative party after 1832. The thesis is divided into two sections. The first is concerned with the changing nature of Conservatism and vrking class developaent, and the second with a series of coiarative case studies. These examine developents in three different types of urban centres of the North-West region. We look firstly at the county and market towns, secondly at an industrial borough with an established working class electorate, and finally we examine those boroughs created by the Act of 1832. The thesis ends with a chapter which aims to provide a concluding analysis.

The central concern of this study is the nature, origin and scale of the physical conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Liverpool throughout the period 1819 to 1914. This topic is examined within the framework of the endemic anti-Catholicism of Victorian England and the reactions to the dismantling of the privileges of the established Church. In addition, the scale of Irish immigration into Liverpool during the nineteenth century and its consequences for local government and the maintenance of public order are discussed and related to the phenomenon of sectarian violence. From this framework, certain themes are selected for detailed study and related to the core issue of physical sectarian conflict. Using both official sources and newspaper material, an account is given of the appearance and growth of the English Orange Order, its mexrüership, objectives and its role in formenting sectarian conflict. In particular, the relationship between Liverpool Conservatism and Orangeism before 1850 is examined in detail. The strength of the middle class adherence to Church and Constitution politics is an important theme within this study and the mechanism whereby such concerns were transferred to working class Protestants by evangelical Anglican clergy is examined in the context of Liverpool. Particular attention is also paid to the tensions within the Chruch of England arising from the activities of ritualist clergy and the consequences of this controversy in working-class Liverpool. The roles played by two individuals, Hugh McNeile and George Wise, in formenting sectarian violence are examined closely. Lastly, and most important from the viewpoint of the study's objective, the nature of the physical conflict, its extent and its enduring quality, together with its divisive effects on Liverpool's working class community is demonstrated.

In 1918, the Labour leadership embarked on a plan of reorganisation that it hoped would transform the party from a trade union pressure group into an independent, national political party. It equipped the party with a comprehensive political programme and determined to create a national network of local branches based on a mass individual membership. In essence, the leadership sought to make Labour a modern 'mass' political party. This study assesses how the national leadership's plan of reconstruction fared at grass roots level, by examining Labour's development in Manchester between 1918 and 1931. In doing so, it examines the nature and outlook of local members, in particular Labour's active core, exploring their role in the party and assessing how far their political views matched those expressed by the national leadership. A final section on Labour's electoral progress in Manchester draws these elements together, in an effort to explain the party's record at the polls. The study argues that the reorganisation carried out after 1918 was not the total failure some have suggested. Nevertheless, it concludes that Manchester Labour was largely frustrated in its efforts to create a 'mass' party machine, and remained marginal to the lives of most members of the local community. Furthermore, despite making electoral progress in the city, it is shown that Labour struggled to attract support outside the working class. However, it is argued that these failings cannot simply be blamed on the party's relationship with the trade unions, as many have claimed. Rather, the study shows that Labour's failure to achieve its organisational goals, and the subsequent problems that created, owed to more complex and deep-rooted problems connected to the public's lack of interest in politics. In the process, it reveals much about the nature of Labour organisation, membership and electoral support in this and subsequent periods.

There have been relatively few studies into new product development (NPD) in the apparel supply chain which is known for a high level of seasonal product development. Moreover the literature so far has been criticised as not being generalizable with a call for more sector specific studies. The literature also suggests that faster NPD is an aspiration of successive NPD models. The aim of this research has been to study the UK Textile and Clothing Supply Chain sector to discover if it achieves fast NPD through using the recommendations of the literature. The current literature suggests that flexibility is required for success, but that senior management still maintain close control of each project as it progresses through the NPD process. The study used the opportunity to study four supply chains where the researcher was facilitating on improvement projects supported by the Department of Trade and Industry. Sixty eight site visits took place over a two-year period, with two hundred and eighty nine interviews. Mappings were constructed for the NPD processes being used by three leading UK retailer clothing supply chains that collectively had nine hundred and fifty six stores in the UK. Analysis of the mappings and intervention project data suggests that the sector does not use the flexible NPD management and senior management control methods of the literature to achieve speed. Instead there are systems and structures that are by comparison very rigid with timings for key activities and far less senior management involvement. The study shows that sector specific studies can help develop understanding of NPD processes and the research has additionally identified clear methods to achieve fast product development in a supply chain. These include setting boundaries that reduce uncertainty, empowering junior staff and having fixed dates for completion of key NPD activities.

One of the most striking features of the spatial pattern of development in most developing countries is the wide difference between what occurs in urban areas and rural areas, particularly in those countries which have made a rapid transition from a traditional agriculturally based economy to a modern oil-based economy. The differences can be seen in the high concentration of development services in the larger urban centres, and the overshadowing of the larger rural areas. Obviously, the residents of urban centres not only enjoy high incomes, but they also have greater opportunities to use services and facilities than does the overwhelming majority of the rural population who live in scattered villages and hamlets. Jizan province as a rural area provides a classical example as is reflected by the wide gap in the spatial pattern of development in Saudi Arabia, not only between the province and the rest of the country, but also between the urban centres and rural areas within the province. In fact, this area is characterized by rich natural resources, particularly for agricultural development, as well as by a high population density. However, it is still one of the backward areas in the country, and it is characterized by traditional subsistence methods of agriculture, low incomes, low standards of living, and a high rate of rural emigration to urban areas for better jobs and social services. Recently, the development plans have initiated a system of urban development centres in the hope that the wide gap between regions and urban and rural areas will be reduced. Unfortunately, this strategy has clearly proven inadequate in providing a comprehensive regional development policy to solve the rural problems and stimulate the rural economy in the province. It is important to note that agriculture is the basic and predominant activity of the rural population in this area. Therefore, the development of this sector is not only desirable but also feasible for the purpose of making rural areas economically and socially more attractive by increasing farmers' incomes, and creating work opportunities as well as improving other sectors that depend on agricultural products. However, agricultural development by itself is not a sufficient basis for rural development that will encourage farmers to stay in their villages. This sector should be provided with support services that enhance the quality of life such as education, health care, water, and electricity supplies. In order to achieve the rural development objectives, the regional development policy in the province should be broken down, by an extension of the urban settlement hierarchy, to include the role •Ssmall towns. Since the larger urban centres have not generated the development process in rural areas, the small towns may play a positive and effective role in the provision of economic and social services in remote areas as rural service centres. This indeed is the main aim of the study. The structure of the study is divided into three parts. The first part demonstrates the theoretical framework of the development strategies, and their failure in relation to rural development. It also discusses the role of small towns as an alternative policy for rural development. Moreover, the spatial pattern of development in Saudi Arabia was also examined. The second part provides a comprehensive geographical analysis of Jizan province. Physical environment, socio-economic conditions, and rural settlement patterns are discussed in order to provide a general perspective of information about the study area. The rural problems that relate to agricultural development and the provision of public and community services are also examined. Indeed, these analyses show that the rural problems range from inadequate provision of services where they exist, to a complete absence of services and facilities in larger rural areas. This part also examines urbanization and the urban and rural relationship in order to see how the role of small towns could provide an appropriate extension of the urban hierarchy within the existing urban system. The third part of the study deals with the policy of small towns as a planning tool for solving rural problems. Factor analysis has been used for classification of small towns. This method shows that the rural market centres have a great potential for accelerating the development process as central places. Programmes and implementation policies to establish the new role of small towns are discussed at the end of this part.

Dickens's portrayal of madness in his novels was to some extent influenced by earlier literary conventions. The third chapter broadly considers his writing within the context of a range of literary traditions, indicating ways in which the subject of insanity was handled in a variety of genres with which he was familiar. The chapter highlights themes of madness as a punishment for human misdeeds: the use of insane characters as victims of circumstance, and the restorative effects of insanity. This study will, however reveal, that although Dickens's writing draws upon a wide range of literary traditions, his novels bear his own individual stamp. Chapter Four considers ways in which Dickens was influenced by his own firsthand knowledge of madness, as experienced by people known to him, or visited by him. It highlights his attitudes towards those who were mentally afflicted, and illuminates the nature of his strongly-held views on this subject, as author and as editor. In the ensuing chapters, several key novels have been selected for a detailed consideration of ways in which Dickens's handling of madness shifted in focus as he matured as a writer. Chapter Five compares and contrasts his early treatment of this theme in Sketches by Boz, Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, novels in which he explored the potential of madness as an expression of moral failure. The sixth chapter, whilst drawing upon some themes from The Old Curiosity Shop, highlights his experimentation with an insane central character in Barnaby Rudge. It also notes the significant contribution of the minor character, Mr Dick, within the framework of David Copperfield, contrasting the role of this benign madman with that of the deranged, malign figure of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, characters exemplifying his portrayal of insanity in victims of circumstance, whilst also illustrating their potential effect upon other characters. The treatment of insanity in Bleak House and Little Dorrit is examined in the seventh chapter, which highlights Dickens's experimentation with insanity as an expression of human frailty and concludes with a study of A Tale of Two Cities, a novel marking the height of Dickens's achievement in his arresting portrayal of madness in both theme and character. The final chapter evaluates the significant role of madness in Dickens's novels, and draws conclusions about the reasons why he chose to describe insanity in so many forms. Whilst illuminating ways in which his portrayal of this subject shifted in focus as he mastered new technical skills, it highlights the changing uses Dickens made of insanity. Far from being a "dreadful visitation" in its literary representation, Dickens discovered that madness, a subject which fascinated him, provided him with a wealth of possibilities in exposing hidden depths of meaning in his novels, highlighting too the ways in which his own creative vision changed in its emphasis as he matured as a writer.