No description available.

The central argument of this thesis is that, for the Gaels of Lismore, their boundaries are not just the physical ones (important though they may be) of living on an island bounded by the sea, but that the boundaries are also symbolic and relate to the recreation and reinforcement of a cultural identity. These can be denoted by a variety of things but, in this thesis, I explore boundaries of History, Oral Tradition, Music, Language, Life-cycle rituals and the ritual boundaries of 'celebrations', both at home and when the Gael moves away from the Highlands. Where possible, several specific historical incidents have been used which have direct relevance and significance for the mental construction of these boundaries for the Gaels in general, and the Gaels of Lismore in particular. One of the aims has been to understand the present, by looking at the past, since the culture of the Gaels has important historical referents for them. Both emic and etic perspectives are considered as far as possible, using two types of perspectives on history, outsider viewpoints and those of the Gaels themselves. The identity of a community is a reality: a community consciousness is reinforced and encompassed by boundaries which can be symbolic. The symbols of community can incorporate many differences successfully, specifically because symbols can be so general. In this way, it is possible for a community to come under one banner despite intense variations in belief and ideals. When community parameters are under threat, perhaps by historical factors which necessitate social cliange as in the case of Lismore, people reinforce these boundaries by turning to symbolic behaviour. Ethnographic examples are used throughout to illustrate these points. An audio tape is supplied to use with the Gaelic extracts. This is to allow the reader to hear the sound of the language and music extracts used in the thesis.

This study examines collaborative working in the provision of housing services, explored by focusing on military veterans as the client group. Military veterans are recognised as being over represented in the homeless population and they are one of the few employment groups who usually have to give up their homes when they give up their employment. Therefore, access to services that assist them into housing are likely to be an important resource for them. This study adopted a case study approach and an online survey to obtain empirical evidence to explore the extent of organisations working together to provide housing services for military veterans in Scotland. The work was underpinned by theoretical frameworks in governance, networks and partnership working. Governance theory provides an understanding of how state control impacts on organisational relationships and the fragmentation of public service delivery, with the associated drivers for collaborative working to provide cohesion into the system. Studying governance focuses attention on the blurring of organisational boundaries, which both enable and restrict partnership working. It requires actors to be prepared to take risks beyond their institutional boundaries to work with others; this is a barrier for some practitioners who do not have the remit to take such risks. The findings suggest veterans experience problems at the points of interaction with generic public service providers. Also, there is a perception that this group may have, or develop, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This perception may be over emphasised, however social housing providers are concerned about supporting this group in social housing tenancies. Three themes emerged from the study. Firstly, coherent, rational and strategic drivers for collaborative working exist and are clear. Secondly, the obstacles to this rational objective of collaborative working include differing organisational objectives and ethos and the effects of state control on different types of organisations. Actors have to overcome these barriers to work with others, in networks, in order to provide services resulting in messy and patchy delivery. Finally, service users are left to negotiate the resulting disjointed and chaotic service provision. The thesis concludes that organisational collaborations to house military veterans are relatively new, and the extent of this activity is likely to be low throughout Scotland. Whilst collaborative working does improve housing outcomes for some military veterans, as an overall strategy it fails to deliver for all.

No description available.

Culture is a dynamic entity that changes and adapts over time. However, as our world grows increasingly interconnected, indigenous cultures throughout the world are being assimilated into a 'global' culture, and losing many of the attributes that keep them unique. For instance, the traditional culture of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland is being squeezed between the need for increased development and modernization, and the desire to remain distinct and separate from the cultures of Britain and the world beyond. The Outer Hebrides is an archipelago lying off the northwest coast of Scotland, and is the last stronghold of Gaelic cultural heritage. This thesis examines the cultural changes that have taken place in the Outer Hebrides, as a result of development and modernization throughout the past century. It undertakes this investigation through the eyes of those who have witnessed the changes firsthand, by using research methods that have not yet become common in the planning profession; namely, the use of story and life histories to gather data for further analysis. A quantitative questionnaire was also employed to determine which elements of the traditional culture Hebrideans consider most important, and to provide balance to the qualitative research data. The data generated through the Hebridean field research reveals how the traditional culture of the islands has changed over the decades, and also points to ways that planners can aid development while fostering cultural preservation at the same time. Recommendations for innovative strategies are then made based on the collected data. Ultimately, this thesis reveals that the use of story and life histories represents valid methodology for planning research, while the collected stories from the elderly informants represent an act of cultural preservation on its own. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

NOTE: Missing p. i of Preface

No description available.

No description available.

This inter-disciplinary thesis addresses the long term continuity and change found in representations of Scottish royal authority through state ceremonial bridging the gap between medieval and early modern across four centuries. Royal ceremony in Scotland has received very haphazard research to date, with few attempts to draw comparisons that explore how these crucial moments for the representation of royal authority developed over the course of a number of centuries. Three key royal ceremonies – inaugurations/coronations, funerals and weddings (with consort coronations) – form the core of this study of the Scottish monarchy from c.1214 to c.1603, and were chosen due to their integral position in the reign of each monarch. The issues of succession and security of hereditary monarchy dictate that the ceremonies of death and accession are inescapably intertwined, and funerals and coronations have been studied in unison together for other European comparators. However, the frequency of minor accessions, early and violent deaths, absentee kingship and political upheaval in Scotland across the time period determined from an early stage that weddings – often the first occasion for Scottish monarchs to project their personal adult authority and the point at which Scotland had the widest European audience for their display – were essential to forming a rounded view of developments. By offering a detailed analysis of these ceremonial developments across time, this study will provide the framework from which further research into royal ceremony and its place as essential platform for the dissemination of royal power can be undertaken. The thesis focuses upon key questions to illuminate the developments of these ceremonies as both reflectors of a distinct Scottish royal identity and representative of their integration within a broader European language of ceremony. How did these ceremonies reflect the ideals of Scottish kingship? How were they shaped to function within the parameters of Scottish governance and traditions? How was the Scottish crown influenced by other monarchies and the papacy? How did it hope to be perceived by the wider European community and how was royal power exercised over its subjects in this transitional period of Scottish history? The focus upon Scotland’s visual forays on the international stage and varied relations with European actors has required a continual comparison with other European countries across this time period, with particular attention being paid to England, France, Ireland and the Low Countries. Within the context of a highly public and interactive era of display and posturing by great leaders across Europe, crucial points this thesis engages with include: what made the Scottish ceremonies unique? And how can this further our understanding of that which lay beneath such representations of royal authority?

This thesis examines the political, social and, in particular, military conditions that influenced the allegiance of the men and women of the political community of Lothian, that is to say those people with personal landholding, legal and military obligations whose services were crucial to the efficient administration of the sheriffdom and whose support was courted by kings and magnates alike. The key issue is the high degree of survival among these minor landed families. The upper strata of Scottish political society underwent considerable changes in the early to middle fourteenth century through the fortunes of war, in particular through the disinheritance of the Comyn family and their allies early in the reign of Robert I. Some families lost their Scottish properties, such as the Balliols and the Comyns. Others grew in stature; notably the Douglases and, in Lothian specifically, the Setons and the Lauders. Most landholders would probably have been content to retain their inheritances, and indeed, virtually all of the Lothian landed families of the late thirteenth century would seem to have managed to do just that. A high rate of success is not necessarily evidence that something is easily achieved; the retention of family properties was a complex business in wartime. In the period 1296-1314 the political community had to discharge their financial, legal and military burdens to the party currently in charge, but without permanently compromising themselves with the opposition, who might, after all, be in a position to exert lordship themselves at some point in the future. The military burdens are central to this thesis. Army service was a very obvious indication of allegiance. Given the nature of the normal practice of war in thirteenth and fourteenth century Europe, it is inevitable that this study examines the nature and incidence of armoured cavalry service in Lothian. The overwhelming majority of that service was performed by minor landholders. Records of their service in garrisons or their forfeiture as rebels provide us with a guide to the rate and incidence of defections from one party to another and therefore some guide to the degree to which a particular party was able to impose their lordship. The thesis explores the various challenges that faced the lesser landholders and more prosperous tenants and burgesses who lived through the Wars of Independence from the campaign of 1296 which ended the reign of King John and imposed the rule of Edward I, until 1341 when Edinburgh castle was recovered by the Scots from the forces of Edward III. It also questions the extent to which Edward III was able to impose his lordship in Lothian, considers the nature of the forces ranged against him and challenges the perception that only the outbreak of the Hundred Years War prevented the operational defeat of the Bruce party. The siege of Edinburgh castle in 1341 marked the end of the last attempt by an English medieval king to provide Lothian with a government. Naturally this would not have been abundantly apparent at the time; however subsequent English invasions, though they might attack Edinburgh, were not designed to bring about the conquest of Lothian. The political environment of Lothian landholders therefore differed substantially in 1296-41 compared to the century either side of the Wars of Independence in that the minor nobility faced difficult decisions which had to be made on assessments of the likely eventual success of the Balliol, Plantagenet and Bruce parties.