The concept of talus slopes co-evolving with vegetation cover is investigated on the Trotternish Ridge, Isle of Skye, Scotland.  This uses several lines of contemporary and palaeoenvironmental evidence.  Through a replicated set of grazing enclosures, the composition and structure of present-day vegetation is linked to contemporary grazing regimes and slope erosion processes.  Vegetation history is reconstructed from the fossil pollen content of organic palaeosols intercalated within the talus deposits.  A new method using Long Chain Alcohols is used to support the interpretation of the fossil pollen records.  Geomorphological development is revealed through analysis of talus stratigraphy and the sedimentary deposits immediately below the slopes.  These lines of evidence are combined to construct a conceptual model for talus co-evolution on the Trotternish Ridge.  Talus development began as the climate warmed from around 17.5k cal yrs BP, and the glaciers of the last Ice Age retreated.  Slopes initially comprised rockfall debris, with a sparse cover of vegetation having little or no effect on slope processes.  Heathland and grassland vegetation, evidenced by the organic palaeosols, was intermittently present on the talus slope surfaces from 7.7-7.6k cal yr BP until approximately 0.6-0.5k cal yr BP.  This vegetation cover limited physical and hydrological surface processes, enabling the upper part of the talus slopes to over-steepen.  Evidence of increased frequency of organic palaeosol burial, and increased rates of sediment deposition after around 2.0k cal yr BP, both indicate greater debris flow and other erosional activity in the late Holocene.  This is attributed to both increased incidence of intense rainfall events and much higher levels of grazing associated with the introduction of cattle, sheep and rabbits.  Contemporary evidence shows that heavy grazing changes the vegetation composition and structure, and increases susceptibility to erosion.  Talus co-evolution on the Trotternish Ridge may be similar to that at other British and Faroese sites which share the same basaltic geology.

Autecological and demographic studies on Cerastium nigrescens and Arenaria norvegica subsp. norvegica on the Keen of Hamar and Nikkavord, two ultramafic outcrops on Unst, are reported. The fluctuations in numbers of the two species on the Keen showed differences within the site but in general were related to low spring rainfall, and to number of day degrees above 5.6 DC. Individuals of the two species were monitored on the Keen from June 1994 to November 1996. Plants of Cerastium showed Deevey type two curves and mature plants had a half life of 3.8 years. Most of the seeds germinated from July to November. Plants of Arenaria showed a Deevey type one curve with high mortality after flowering in the second year. Many Arenaria seedlings were recorded throughout the spring, summer and autumn. Seed bank measurements ranged from 12 - 13 m-2 for Cerastium and from 24 - 43 m-2 for Arenaria. On Nikkavord, Cerastium plants occurred on wetter areas than the Keen plants but showed similar population dynamics to them. Arenaria plants sampled on Nikkavord showed bigger fluctuations in numbers and flowering frequencies than Keen plants. Cerastium seeds were sown on Sobul, an ultramafic outcrop, about 6 km SW of the Keen, where the species did not occur naturally. There was germination and establishment after two years. Pilot studies on the Keen revealed the importance of soil surface microtopography for the establishment of Cerastium and Arenaria. Keen and Nikkavord Cerastium leaves were more densely glandular pubescent than leaves of Faroese Cerastium arcticum. The glands produced fats, pectins and other polysaccharides and may be part of an adaptation to drought. A nickel-rich fully vegetated area on the northern slopes of the Keen suggested that the lower nickel concentrations in the barest soils are not important in retarding successional processes.

This thesis examines the voluntary transfer of housing stock by Scottsh local authorities between 1986 and 1997, under a Conservative Government. The study sought to identify who had transferred what, why and how, employing a multi-theoretical approach and a range of concepts from policy studies to investigate rationaliy and opportunity in policymaking. The study used quantitative methods to define and establish the incidence of transfer, which was found in two forms: as partial transactions, with and without subsidy; and as privately financed disposals of whole stocks. Similar volumes of transactions were found in Scotland as in England, though on different terms and affecting fewer houses. Qualitative methods were used to explore the decisions, actions and capacity of people involved in voluntary sales of tenanted housing to other landlords. Key actors included tenants and community activists, politicians and officials in councils, government departments and agencies. The thesis argues that transfer in Scotland was the product of local responses to two key developments. One was accumulated financial constraints; the other, particularly affecting partial transfer, was the use of financial and organisational incentives, secured with ministerial acquiescence. Although government was ultimately responsible for both developments, it neither planned nor anticipated their consequences; it was often iiprepared to respond to local initiatives, partial and whole; and it failed to understand or monitor the consequences. Most Scottsh councils ignored whole stock transfer in 1996, when it came to be actively promoted by Conservative poliicians. Paradoxically, while organisations representing institutional interests in council housing vocalised opposition to stock disposals, their constituent members took action to transfer ownership, with the conflcting values of local incumbents accommodated by stealth. Transfer was later legally structured, when an afterthought from English legislation accidentally turned power relations upside down, making ministerial consent conditional on demonstrating lack of tenant opposition. Senior officials played a consistently critical role in initiating, brokering, frustrating and nourishing local negotiations. This study demonstrates the particular significance of local action in policy-making, allowing transfer to emerge in response to wider constraints determined at the centre.

This thesis documents, develops and demonstrates a novel form of praxis in relation to disability in Scottish Higher Education. 'Praxis', as I use the term in this thesis, refers to an ongoing, irreducible, collective process through which is enacted, in one and the same process: 'knowledgementing' (the construction and legitimation of knowledge claims); 'radical reflexivity' (the bringing to awareness and critical problematisation of interests served by what is thought, said and done by all relevant parties); and 'ideologically progressive social action' (the pursuit of emancipatory process and just outcomes and the contesting of'external and internal' institutional oppression). The meaning of praxis is explicated in this thesis and demonstrated in action with reference to disability in Scottish Higher Education. Particular attention is paid to explicating and demonstrating the conceptual unity of praxis and the interconnectivity in actuality of the practices, procedures and policies which disable in assemblages or apparatuses, as Foucault uses the terms. The interconnectivity of the praxis is, it is claimed, the key to unlocking the interconnectivity of the assemblages which produce and maintain disability in Scottish Higher Education. The thesis traces the connections between the various elements of the assemblage producing a novel account (and new knowledges) which, it is claimed, could only have been derived as a result of the praxis and which can also account for the knowledges presented in previous research into disability in British Higher Education, locating these studies as part of the disabling assemblage. The thesis concludes by drawing out wider implications of praxis for conventional research, for psychology and social science.

Traditionally, the interactions between geomorphic character and aquatic biodiversity have been widely acknowledged, but poorly quantified. However, the coupling of these disciplines is currently rising up legislative and political agendas, such as the European Union Water Framework Directive (EU WFD). The Directive requires Member States to classify rivers into types based on their natural morphology and geomorphic processes, and to link the biota to river types existing under natural conditions. Typing now forms the basis for evaluating environmental sensitivity to river engineering and determining reference conditions for river restoration. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has adapted the Montgomery and Buffington (1997) channel typology developed in the Pacific Northwest of the USA for use in Scotland. The modified typology identifies eleven distinct channel types (e.g. bedrock, plane-bed, wandering and meandering). In this study, 43 reference condition sites in the upper River Dee catchment in the Cairngorms, Scotland were chosen to determine the geomorphic validity of the proposed typology, and assess whether channel types support a distinct macroinvertebrate community. Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster Analysis failed to clearly identify eleven channel types based on catchment controls or on physical habitat characteristics. Four clusters were observed based on catchment drivers and six on physical habitat. Boundaries appear to be fuzzy, relating to a collective number of interacting environmental variables, geological discontinuities, and the geographic complexity of a river system. Multivariate ordinations and Analysis of Similarity indicated that macroinvertebrate communities only differed significantly between bedrock and step-pool reaches. A redundancy analysis showed differences in macroinvertebrate abundances among channel types were related to hydraulic, catchment drivers, physical habitat and physico-chemical variables. The results of the study have important implications for the use of geomorphic typologies in predicting aquatic biota.

Time-series analysis designs strengthen before and after studies and are regarded as easy and cheap to use. These designs have recently become more popular in guideline implementation studies but there is suspicion that time series analysis designs are used inappropriately or without sufficient understanding or the underlying methodology. In this thesis, we attempt to evaluate their use by means of a systematic review of published studies, and by actively using time series analysis to evaluate the effect of dissemination of the 3rd edition of the Royal College of Radiologists' guidelines on imaging referral patterns from primary care in the North East of Scotland. The systematic review established that indeed many time series studies are conducted inappropriately with key issues such as the use of adequate number of data points and adjustment for trends not taken into consideration. Often results are tested using non-statistical analyses. Our findings suggest that there should be an increased awareness among investigators of the correct statistical technique for performing and analysing time series analyses. From the guideline evaluation study, it was found that the passive dissemination of the imaging guideline in the North East of Scotland did not affect GPs' imaging referral patterns. This may suggest the need for reinforcement with more active dissemination strategies. It was also established that time series analysis can be complex, requiring a clear understanding before use if researchers are to achieve the best from them. Compared to time series analysis before and after studies were shown to be unreliable with the potential of giving misleading results.

Previous studies in localised areas have revealed spatial variability on Nephrops norvegicus population characteristics. In order to investigate this subject in a comprehensive way, a large amount of Nephrops data (catch rates, size compositions, female maturity condition, moult condition and burrow densities) and related sediment data, from different areas and grounds all around Scotland, were assembled and analysed. The available commercial fishery statistics on Nephrops were also used for this purpose. High variability in depth and sediment size composition was found in Scotland, between and within, Nephrops fishing areas. The East cost areas showed less variability than those from the West coast areas both in terms of depth and sediment types. The particle mean size of the sediments (in phi units) was found to be the most appropriate descriptor of sediment granulometry. Well defined relationships were found between the particle mean size and other sediment characteristics. Equations were provided to convert mean to median particle size and mean to percentage of silt and clay. Organic carbon was found to be linearly correlated to the particle mean size but different trend lines were found for the east and west coast. Contradictory trends in the relationships between the sediment size composition and depth suggested a major role of hydrographic and topographic factors in the distribution of the sediments. Large spatial variability in the biological characteristics of Nephrops living at different fishing grounds was found, between and within areas. Burrow density was directly associated with catch rates, and mean sizes were inversely correlated with catch rates. The female size statistics associated with the reproductive condition (e.g. the size at first maturity) were positively significant correlated with the female overall mean size. Populations with lower catch rates exhibited higher growth performance and size structures characterised by larger mean sizes. Females from populations with faster growth became sexually mature at a larger size than those with slower growth.

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No description available.

The part played by warshipbuilding in sustaining the Clyde shipbuilding industry between 1889 and 1939 has received less attention than it deserves. Only a minority of firms undertook warshipbuilding in peacetime but they included some of the leading shipyards an the Clyde. This study, based on a detailed examination of accounts and cost records, shows that naval work was of critical importance for these firms from the 1890's onwards. All of the firms which took advantage of the expansion in the demand for warships in the 1890's were in financial difficulties and profitable naval contracts were largely responsible for reviving their fortunes. From then until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, naval work constituted a major part of their output and the most profitable part of it. By 19149 all of the warshipbuilders had expanded their capacity and provided expensive new facilities largely an the strength of the demand for warships and the three biggest yards were owned by armaments manufacturers who were primarily interested in shipyards for their warshipbuilding capability. After the war, the demand for armaments contracted and the warshipbuilders were faced with the problem of finding profitable employment for capacity designed for building warships and warship engines. This proved to be impossible and the relative dearth of naval contracts in the 1920's and early 1930's was the primary cause of the severe financial difficulties in which they found themselves when the onset of the world financial crisis in 1931 brought merchant shipbuilding to a standstill. Only Beardmore's succumbed but, had rearmament not been in the offing, it is doubtful if many of the warshipbuilding yards would have survived the ensuing crisis. As it was the survivors regained their financial stability by 1939 only because of the revival in the demand for warships.