Rab GTPases are major regulatory proteins of vesicle traffic and thus responsible for membrane identity, vesicle targeting and vesicle fusion. The angiosperm Rab GTPase family is grouped into eight clades (Rab-A to Rab-H) that are broadly conserved in animals and yeasts. It has been proposed that the Rab-A clade has diversified in land plants giving rise to six plant- specific structural subclasses, Rab-A1 to Rab-A6. Previous work suggests that the Arabidopsis Rab-A2 and Rab-A3 proteins define a novel endosomal compartment that lies on a pathway between the Golgi and the plasma membrane. In dividing cells, the Rab-A2/A3 compartment is implicated in biosynthetic traffic to the cell plate but it is unclear what traffics through this compartment in non-dividing cells. In this project, I investigated a range of membrane trafficking pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana. These were probed for dependency on RAB-A2a function, using the dominant negative approach combined with fluorescent marker technology. The data presented in this thesis suggests that RAB-A2a acts on a protein recycling pathway that is used by PIN2:GFP.

The C-type lectin CD161 is expressed by a large number of T lymphocytes, with approximately a quarter of both T cell receptor (TCR)αβ+ and TCRγδ+ T cells expressing this marker. Within CD8+ T cells, a large proportion of these are comprised of Mucosal Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells, a novel innate-like lymphocyte subset characterised by expression of a semi-invariant TCR together with high levels of CD161 (CD161++). These cells display a phenotype reflective of type 17 CD4+ helper T cells (Th17), which are also hallmarked by CD161 expression. Both MAIT and Th17 cells arise from preprogrammed progenitors, identifiable within umbilical cord blood by expression of CD161. Thus, CD161 appears to identify cells of a pre-determined and distinct phenotype. Whether this reflects a common transcriptional programme, developmentally induced within these cells, and further whether this extends to other CD161 positive T cells, was examined here by mRNA microarray analysis. This analysis identified a shared transcriptional signature and common innate-like function of all CD161 expressing T lymphocytes, and independent of TCR expression or lineage. Furthermore, a population of CD8+ T lymphocytes expressing lower levels of CD161 which overlap phenotypically with CD161++CD8+ MAIT cells was identified by both mRNA microarray analysis and mass cytometry (CyTOF); the CD161+CD8+ T cell population. TCR repertoire analysis, flow cytometry and cell culture experiments were utilised to investigate the origin of this subset, and its phenotype and function in both health and disease investigated in depth. This revealed a pre-programmed, tissue-resident memory population with potent effector functions. Both CD161++ MAIT and CD161+CD8+ T cells expressed high levels of the drug efflux pump MDR1, previously described to confer drug resistance to certain malignant cells. The significance of expression of this pump was hence investigated to determine its potential affect on the success of a variety of clinical therapies.

Since the collapse of the New Order regime in 1998, democratisation and economic liberalisation have combined to create both opportunities and constraints for the revival of organised labour in Indonesia. The picture of post-authoritarian labour movements painted by various scholars is almost universally bleak, portraying helpless trade unions in the face of economic impasse and the undemocratic remnants of the old forces. Being overtly cautious of the new democracy, this line of analysis has not done justice to Indonesian labour movements. It overestimates the ghost of the old dictatorship and underestimates the power of budding organised labour. Using trade union as the unit of analysis, this dissertation seeks to offer a different view of Indonesian labour movements. It looks at shifting political opportunities in the regions and the agency of trade unions which constitute a political force that is far from being consolidated but has certainly made a significant contribution to the broadening of democratic politics. In negotiating pressures that originate from an increasingly liberalised economy, trade unions have adopted a strategy which is called „playing politics‟ in this dissertation. The term means that in the absence of significant market power, trade unions enter into the realm of power politics primarily by organising labour as social movements and attempt to ally with political elites, exploit the conflicts that emerge within state institutions and between the state and business, and try to join the ruling classes. In developing this argument, this dissertation makes two contributions to the study of labour politics in Indonesia: its reassessment of the historiography of the first ten years of post-authoritarianism and its offer of insights into possible future directions of labour politics.

This thesis explores the intersection of age, gender and sexuality in representations of older lesbian characters in contemporary narrative film. Taking the 1990s as a benchmark of lesbian visibility, I explore the turn of the century representability by focusing on British and American film (1995 to 2009). I identify a hypervisibility paradox during this period of cinematic production where the presence of a multitude of young lesbian and bisexual characters can be seen to be in complete contrast with the invisibility of the older lesbian. Mainstream postfeminist culture censors the ageing female body, except in its ‘successfully aged’, youthful, heterosexualised form. Older lesbian characters are excluded from this frame of visibility and, instead, are represented through paradigms associated with the concept of ‘ageing as decline.’ There is little in existing age studies or lesbian film studies to articulate an understanding of the intersection of age, gender and sexuality in cinematic representation. I adopt an interdisciplinary cultural studies approach to make my contribution in what is an under-researched area and present a multifaceted approach to a complex cultural image. I investigate the continuity of the concept of the lesbian as ghostly (Castle, 1993) through narratives of illness, death and mourning. I argue that the narrative of ‘ageing as decline’ stands in for the process of ‘killing off’ lesbian characters (identified in 1960s and 1970s cinema). The intersection of the identity old with lesbian thus results in a double ghosting and ‘disappearance’ of the older lesbian character. Regarding Notes on a Scandal (Eyre, 2006), I pursue two particular readings. One emphasises the return of the lesbian as monstrous based on the construction of ageing and lesbian desire as abject (Kristeva, 1982). A second reading moves beyond the monstrous lesbian as a ‘negative’ stereotype and identifies the protagonist as a queer character who subverts heteronormativity. Finally, I turn to oppositional reading practices in order to optimise the possibilities of identifications across mainstream film texts. Based on Judi Dench’s various transgressive film roles, her role as M in the Bond franchise in particular, I explore this actress’ subversive potential to represent the older lesbian. I conclude that despite mainstream cinema’s hypervisibility paradox, characters who transgress age, gender and sexuality norms can provide opportunities for lesbian identification.

This thesis takes a qualitative, auto-ethnographic approach to interrogating heterosexuality via a series of in-depth interviews with young women about their experiences of watching films. I have adopted a feminist approach to the research, locating myself within the project via a series of extracts from research diaries I have kept during the project, reflecting my own position as 'researched' as well as 'researcher'. This auto-ethnographic approach draws on the work of previous theorists researching women's lives from a feminist perspective (e.g. Skeggs: 1995, 1997; Stanley and Wise: 1990, 1993; Maynard and Purvis: 1994).

Kurt Schwitters decisively established that Dada was indeed more a state of mind than a collection of creeds. Spurned by Berlin Dada, he was compelled to construct for himself an alternative Dada existence, and this he accomplished in the one-man movement he christened "Merz". Hundreds of Merz artworks were produced by the tireless Schwitters, but the summa summarum of his oeuvre was the Hanover Merzbau (circa 1923-1943). As it transcends architecture, sculpture, and assemblage, I have taken the distinctive approach of analyzing it first and foremost in terms of a theory of self-reflexivity. The first and second chapters of this thesis are dedicated to the writings of Georg Simmel and Henri Bergson. The former contributes an understanding of the psyche of the modernist metropolitan and how it is that the subjective spirit that resides in this enlightened individual substantiates its existence by producing forms and objects with which it continuously comes into conflict. As witnessed in Schwitters' Merzbau, the self-conscious "I" constitutes a centripetal force that organizes and directs the objects it encounters and thus exerts a unifying influence over its environment. In the Bergson chapter, I pursue an in-depth investigation into how self-reflexivity is predicated upon the search for true duration and the manifestation of the elan vital. I also include an in-depth analysis of Bergson's treatise on laughter, for the theories contained within go a long way towards explicating Schwitters' brand of humour and how the comic artist is a self-reflexive figure non-pareil. The third chapter, devoted to Schwitters and his place in Dada, takes into account the vitalist philosophical underpinnings of the Merzbau and asserts that self-reflexive art operates under an enantiodromic law; the presence of the artist must be effaced as thoroughly as possible before the creative self achieves materialization in the artwork it has engendered.

Works of art often refer to one another. Perhaps a closer examination of this relationship occurs if they are theoretically displaced from the sequence of events that contextualise them. Placed side-by-side, they may take on a fresh meaning that might identify artistic intention as universal — as a 'redemptive' statement of Being. Both Piero della Francesca and Stanley Spencer painted 'Resurrection' pictures. The five hundred years that separate them notwithstanding, the reasons for their so doing must bear some comparison. Each made a statement of belief in their depiction of a metaphysical world created primarily in the imagination but housed in cultural milieus that would identify them as 'visionary' amongst their peers. Yet, in many ways, one picture is the antithesis to the other, the first deeply religious, the second highly personal. Regardless of their differences, each work might perpetually and simultaneously strive toward 'the spiritual' in an individual and universal sense. As an artist whose work ostensibly denies any lofty 'spiritual' aspiration whatsoever, Frank Zappa's dismissal of authority, whether couched in religious, musical or sociological terms, marks a valid juxtaposition to current acceptance of artistic form. Not only was it legitimate to invite a musician into the affray, for me it was a vital continuation of my earlier exploration. Zappa seriously challenges the notion of 'feeling' as little more than a pre-set conditioned response to music. I hoped to establish that Zappa's own quest for musical perfection flew in the face of his notorious cynicism, proclaiming his output as 'redemptive' — alongside that of Piero della Francesca and Stanley Spencer. It is the main contention here that as the human predicament requires that the artist should attempt to re-present his vision in order to redefine reality for himself and his peers, the role of artist as 'visionary' is worthy of perennial consideration.

Undergraduate, Interactive Games Design (IGD) courses offered by technical universities in the UK recruit students who are not required to have art or design backgrounds. However, they need to be able to represent their creative ideas. Observations at the University of Gloucestershire have shown that many students find difficulties in expressing their ideas in a visual manner as they do not have adequate drawing skills and eventually some focus on coding and some withdraw. This thesis investigates the links between game design and drawing skills, examining concepts of creativity, learning, design communication and education. To establish the basis of this problem, it was necessary to gain an insight into students‘ and tutors‘ viewpoints and interpretation of this course. Using an interpretive philosophical framework, a mixed method approach was chosen to allow for greater opportunity to understand the phenomenon. Within an action research paradigm, the research was carried out in an evolutionary manner. The extent of the problem was established by eliciting tutors‘ insight from other institutions both arts and technical based. A case study was set out to study two cohorts of students. This identified the problems reported by students and the impact of these on students‘ attitude and motivation. The nature and necessity of drawing skills for sketching storyboards were explored by gaining views of students, tutors and industry professionals. The effect of the tutor-led Art interventions at UoG was investigated. The research identified criteria to assess the quality of storyboard communications and finally a framework for an e-learning object to develop storyboard communication skills was specified. This study revealed that obtaining visual skills is fundamental in order to be able to draw or use rapid prototyping techniques for storyboarding. This needs to be addressed in a specified module or several sessions. It appeared that the design of an art intervention (tutor-based or e-learning object) for IGD students, needs to address the issues of confidence and teamwork alongside with the learning materials in a constructive and gamified style and as interactive as possible in a structured goal-based manner. It would also benefit from Active learning teaching style.

Centrosomes are the main microtubule organizing centres in animal cells and are formed by a pair of centrioles together with surrounding pericentriolar material (PCM). Cycling cells duplicate their centrosomes strictly once per cell cycle. This process is driven by the semi-conservative duplication of the centrioles that are found at the centrosome core. During the exit from mitosis the two centrioles within the single inherited centrosome separate, and upon the start of S-phase each of these inherited mother centrioles assembles an adjacent daughter at its side. This process results in two complete centrosomes that can form the poles of the mitotic spindle, and thus segregate evenly to the next cell generation. The formation of a daughter centriole suppresses the initiation of new duplication events from the same templating mother centriole until this daughter separates - disengages - at the end of the cell cycle. This regulation - that acts to repress centriole amplification - is summarized in the 'licensing model of centriole duplication' (Tsou and Stearns, 2006). This model states that centriole disengagement provides the license for the re-duplication of mother centrioles. Importantly, experiments show that while abolishing centriole engagement is sufficient to allow mother centrioles to re-duplicate within the same cycle, it is insufficient to allow daughter centrioles the assembly of a granddaughter before they mature into mothers towards the end of their first cell cycle. The molecular nature of this daughter-to-mother transition remains mysterious. In this thesis I show that in Drosophila embryos the essential centriole duplication protein Asl is not incorporated into daughter centrioles as they assemble during S-phase, but is only incorporated once mother and daughter separate at the end of mitosis. The initial incorporation of Asterless (Asl) is irreversible, and is dependent on centriolar DSas-4. Crucially, Asl incorporation is essential for daughter centrioles to mature into mothers that can support centriole duplication. I propose that Asl acts as a permanent primary license that allows new centrioles to duplicate for the first time. Once acquired, this primary license is not lost but rather further regulation is taken over by the reduplication licensing mechanism, disengagement. This work extends the previously proposed licensing model to also explain how new centrioles are licensed for their first duplication event.

The development of concordatarian law from the year 1964 onward The goal of this thesis is the analysis and comparisson of concordatarian law in few select countries. This thesis is mainly focused on the countries of Central Europe (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Republic of Poland, Federal Republic of Germany). In order to expand the scope of this thesis, two other countries were chosen. The first one is the Kingdom of Spain, which represents a unique example of a gradual change between the so called traditional concordatarian system and the new and modern system developed after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. The second country, that was chosen is the Republic of Colombia as a non-European country with long and interesting history of concordatarian tradition. The thesis itself is divided into two main parts. The first part (composed of the first two chapters) aims to define the basic terms, which are used throughout the entire thesis. Such basic terms as concordat, the subjects of concordatarian agreements, the Holy See and others are defined in the first chapter. Also the international legal personality of the Holy See and its historical development is examined in the same chapter as well. The Second Vatican Council and its teachings had a profound impact on the concordatarian...