Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of York., 1985. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

This thesis examines processes of political change in the Murton miners' and mechanics' branches of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) between 1978 and 1988. During this period both branches swung from the right of the NUM's political spectrum to the left. Recent debates in human geography - and the social sciences more generally - have drawn attention to the importance of place in analysing social developments. However, a review of the literature reveals a surprising lack of detailed studies undertaken at the local level. In order to understand the constraints under which events at a local level take place, it is necessary to place them in context. The coal industry is therefore located at the centre of a complex set of institutionalised relationships between capital, labour and the state known as the "post war settlement" (PWS). As economic crisis deepened in the 1970's, the PWS came under attack. In the coal industry this led to the progressive destabilisation of a characteristic "indulgency pattern" which had built up in the post war years. At Murton, this destabilisation created the room for left wing activists to build support in miners' and mechanics' branches. However, their impact was unevenly distributed among the workforce because miners from different backgrounds were affected in different ways by the crisis in the industry. Cleavages of age and residence led to significant differences in miners' and mechanics' understanding of the crisis facing the industry. This thesis examines the interaction between local union branch leadership, the changing situation in the coal industry, and divisions within the workforce during three distinct periods: from 1978 until the eve of the 1984/5 strike; the strike itself; and the period since the strike until the end of 1988.

This study examines via questionnaire and interview data, various aspects of the transition from school to work experienced by young people in the Durham Coalfield during the 1980s. The aspects covered are those of education and careers guidance, unemployment, occupational choice, experience of work and its financial rewards, trade unionism, changes in family and leisure patterns, migration and certain political issues relating to youth unemployment. Analysis of data from prospective school leavers and young workers relating to these areas form the bulk of the study, but the context(s) foranalysis are also of crucial importance. Data are analysed within two related contexts. The first is that of the history of the Coalfield - its economy and culture, class structure, sexual divisions and internal spatial variations. Particular attention is given to the decline of an economy based on coal and steel, and the rise of a 'branch plant' economy where factory employment suffers from considerable instability. The recent collapse of the youth 1 abour market and its progressive replacement by state sponsored schemes provide the immediate context for the study. A second concern is to relate study of the transition to three major debates with industrial sociology, namely those relating toorientations to work, to labour market divisions and the issue of a 'dual labour market', and to the arrival of a 'post-industrial' society. Throughout, a critique is offered of empiricist and reductionist accounts of the transition and an attempt is made to provide a more adequate analysis based on concerns with structure, consciousness andaction as catalogued in the testimony of prospective school leavers and young workers. It is also argued that the exchange of labour-power provides a crucial element in the framework for understanding the transition.

No description available.

No description available.

Based on author's Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 1979. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 10 septembre 2008). In Canadian electronic library. Description based on print version record. CaQQUQ CaQQUQ Comprend des réf. bibliogr.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-145).

Based on author's Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 1979. / Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Passive treatment systems for mine water pollution remediation require no chemical or energy inputs, and should only incur limited maintenance costs if properly constructed. This thesis investigates two such passive treatment systems that have been installed at sites in County Durham, UK. The overall objectives of the investigation were to improve understanding of the operation of passive systems in order to produce more accurate design guidelines, and to develop a new passive treatment option to complement existing technologies. To put the research into context the causes, impacts and extent of mine water pollution in the UK and overseas are outlined. In addition a detailed and up-to-date review of passive treatment research and development is provided, which highlights areas in which further research is required. At Quaking Houses, County Durham, a full-scale compost wetland has been constructed to treat an acidic and metal-rich discharge from the spoil heap of an abandoned coal mine. Over the 27 month study period the discharge had pH >_ 4, and mean iron, manganese and aluminium concentrations of 5.4 mg/L, 3.6 mg/L and 6.2 mg/L respectively. The unique design and construction of the 440 m2 wetland is described. An examination of the performance of the wetland illustrates that it has yielded significant improvements in water quality since its construction. Mean reductions in acidity, iron and aluminium concentrations are all around 50%. Bacterial sulphate reduction may be an important contaminant removal mechanism, but its proportional significance is unclear. Comparison of the system at Quaking Houses with other wetlands reveals that the mean reduction in acidity in terms of mass removal per unit area (5.01 g/m2/d) is comparatively low. However, it is shown that comparing wetland performance on this basis may be misleading where influent contaminant concentrations are relatively low, because contaminant removal is demonstrably influent concentrationdependent. A first-order removal assessment method of performance may be more appropriate, and on this basis the Quaking Houses wetland performs well when compared to systems in the USA. An algorithm for predicting wetland effluent iron concentrations is derived using a linear multiple regression technique. Time series analysis strongly suggests that some effluent water quality variables (and therefore wetland performance measures) are significantly affected by seasonal climate changes. In particular aluminium and acidity removal rates rise with increasing air temperature. This implies that to meet the same effluent water quality targets passive treatment systems in cold climate locations may need to be larger than equivalent systems in warmer climates. At Kimblesworth, also in County Durham, a pilot-scale passive treatment system has been operated for 4 months. The Kimblesworth discharge is a net-alkaline pumped mine water containing up to 2 mg/L iron and up to 1 mg/L manganese. The novel system at this site was designed to rapidly remove iron by oxidation and accretion of iron to high surface area media. The monitoring programme has revealed the system to be very efficient. Iron concentrations are consistently reduced to < 0.5 mg/L, and removal rates are an order of magnitude greater than in wetland systems. Furthermore, lithium tracer tests reveal that the residence time of water in the reactors is just 5- 10 minutes. The results of this research suggest that the technology could be applied at full-scale. The compost wetland at Quaking Houses and the new reactor at Kimblesworth may well complement each other. The Quaking Houses system generates alkalinity and removes metal contaminants, but effluent water still contains marginally elevated concentrations of iron (mean 2.4 mg/L). The Kimblesworth system is shown to be very effective at rapidly removing low concentrations of iron, and thus could conceivably be used as a polishing unit following a compost wetland such as that at Quaking Houses. Alternatively high surface area media reactors such as those at Kimblesworth could be used to treat discharges in topographically difficult locations, where the installation of a wetland is not feasible.