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This investigation grew out of my experiences while working as a mental nurse with people deemed to be insane. The behaviours which they presented and the medical and legal control exercised over them became of concern to me because I felt their rights were not being respected. A primary issue is the extent to which adherence to the medical-somatic view of insanity held by psychiatrists, lawyers and politicians has led to the exclusion of viable custody and treatment alternatives. The purpose of this research is to question the role and functions of mental nurses. It suggests that 'caretakers' might be a more suitable title for such workers with the insane. The hypothesis underlying the research links the work of 'caretakers' of the insane to changes in government policies and legislation; the thesis examines this hypothesis in the light of changes in the roles and functions of 'caretakers' over the period from 1890 to 1990. Research activities included the examination of primary sources, Hansard, newspapers, and professional journals. Interviews were also carried out with nine contemporary caretakers who have worked with the 1959 and the 1983 Mental Health Acts. These research methods provided an historical background to the debates in the Houses of Parliament when mental health legislation was discussed; information from the writings of the professionals who worked with the insane at the times of new mental health legislation; data on the public and media debate of these issues; and information on the perceptions and duties of caretakers working with the insane at the times of new mental health legislation. The research findings show that both those who cared for the insane and the insane themselves have been subjected to changes brought about by mental health legislation since 1890. These changes affected the working conditions of the caretakers and the social control and rights of the insane. The changes in the work of caretakers led to new directions in their education. Workers with the insane became a part of nursing by adopting the somatic approach to care. When this occurred, many of the care activities of keepers, attendants and mental nurses became redundant. Over time, there has been a move to, and then away from, the clinical-somatic model of nursing towards caretaking skills such as group work, therapeutic community skills, counselling skills and psychotherapy skills. These caretaking skills are seen by contemporary caretakers as going beyond their custodial and social control functions, towards providing a space in which people can be respected, encouraged, supported and be open to new insights.

This thesis reports a study of women, living in London, who became mothers when aged 16-19 years, and of their children. The women and children were white and black and came from a range of ethnic groups. In late pregnancy 102, 16-19 year old women were given short interviews and 79 were given in-depth interviews. Data from 85 of these combined samples were analyzed when their children were six months old and from 68 when they were 21 months old. Sixty two of their children were given a developmental test 21 months after birth. The study aimed to identify women's reasons for becoming pregnant and going on to have children; to get a good picture of how the women and their children fared over the course of the study and to consider intra-group differences that may have led some women to fare well and others to fare badly. The findings suggest that mothers under twenty are not as problematic as they are generally believed to be. Most of the women were aware of the contraceptive methods available. They had become pregnant for a range of reasons. These included wanting a child; not minding whether they conceived; their male partners' reported lack of concern about contraception; contraceptive failure and chance. The majority of the women did not consider that childbearing should be inextricably linked with marriage and many reported negative views about the benefits of marriage for women. Nonetheless, most of the single women expected to marry at some time. Most women and their children were faring well despite high rates of poverty. Good outcomes were partly mediated by the social support that women received (particularly from their own mothers who were generally more supportive than their children's fathers) and by the fact that their poor educational qualifications and labour market experiences meant that, for the great majority, early motherhood was not disruptive of their other life course careers.

A review of the literature suggests there is a gap in the research on the experiences of staff working in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) early years settings in relation to their experiences of children demonstrating difficult and concerning behaviour. Previous research has predominantly focused on practitioner experiences of behaviour in mainstream settings (Merrett and Taylor, 1994; Stephenson, Linfoot and Martin, 2010). Consideration of practitioner experiences of training and support in relation to behaviour were also important given the potential impact of the staff group on a child’s socio-emotional development (Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, Siraj-Blatchford and Taggart, 2004). A two stage mixed methods design was adopted to address three research questions: 1. What are the behaviours that early years practitioners in private, voluntary and independent nursery settings find difficult to manage and how concerning do they perceive these behaviours to be? 2. What do early years practitioners think are the factors influencing children’s behaviour and what do they find helpful when managing behaviour in their setting? 3. What training and support are available to early years practitioners in these settings to help them manage difficult behaviour? Questionnaire data was gathered from 63 practitioners working in PVI settings in one local authority. Semi-structured interviews, analysed using thematic analysis were conducted with a sample of the practitioners (n=11). The findings from the two stages of the data collection were combined during the data analysis under thematic headings. The findings from the questionnaires and interviews were then discussed in relation to the previously introduced literature and relevant psychological frameworks, e.g. Bronfrenbrenner’s ecological systems model (Bronfrenbrenner, 1974;1994) and Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969). Limitations of the study were critiqued and future research areas and implications for the role of Educational Psychologists discussed.

Across the European Union, an aggregate professional field can be identified: the “social professions”. This field is characterised by being composed, in most countries, of two traditional professions with specific higher education programmes: “social work” and “social pedagogy”. The thesis explores their mutual relationship by revisiting theories from Germany, the home of social pedagogy, where the two paradigms have, in higher education policy-making, largely merged in the second half of the twentieth century. This development at the level of curriculum prescription indicates the so-called “convergence paradigm” advocated, for many years, by some academic authors. Alternatives to convergence were known, however, and an analysis of material from other EU countries may serve to reassess the thinking which has become orthodoxy in Germany. The thesis established the concepts of “social work/social pedagogy dichotomy” (the fact that the two paradigms are separate and discernible) and “social work/social pedagogy convergence”, the latter drawing upon the German concept. Using these analytical tools, first to revisit and characterise the developments observed in Germany, then to assess material from Denmark and Belgium (French Community), the thesis shows that dichotomy has continued to be a determining factor of professional education in Denmark and Belgium, while there are no signs of convergence. The discussion is based on the 15-year period starting with the enactment of the relevant EU directive on mutual recognition of qualifications (1989–2004). By ending in 2004, the investigation enables recent English developments in relation to the exploration and possible future introduction of “social pedagogy”, alongside “social work”, to be taken into consideration, thereby helping to inform current English and British debates.

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The Mineral Deposit Research Unit's findings translate into more effective mining - and a new generation of science-savvy miners.

Purpose of Study. The ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus torquatus Gmelin) is well enough known to need no introduction. It is at present undoubtedly the most abundant and most important gallinaceous game bird in northern Utah. Its abundance and its occurrence in agricultural areas has stimulated much general interest. Yet, aside from two food habits studies, both conducted in Utah County, no intensive research has been made into its ecological relationships or its general life history in Utah. In order to formulate sound management plans for the pheasant in Utah, the Utah Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit has felt the need for basic information regarding its mortality phases, movements, food habits, habitat preferences, interspecific relationships, and its effect on cultivated crops and the effect of farm practices upon its numbers and distributions.

Here we detail these and other contributions made by DRU in fields such as molten salts, liquid state physics, refrigerants, cryogenic liquids, food chemistry, electrolyte and non-electrolyte solutions, and the theory of mass and charge transport processes in solutions. These illustrate the wide use and fundamental importance of diffusion processes in diverse areas of Science and Technology.

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