Effects of an intergenerational program on children\u27s and teachers\u27 attitudes towards aging and seniors\u27 attitudes towards volunteering in the schools.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an intergenerational program on children\u27s and teachers\u27 attitudes towards aging and seniors\u27 attitudes towards volunteering in the schools. Nineteen children from two junior division classrooms in a rural elementary school were compared to 20 children from two different junior classrooms in the same school. The Children\u27s Attitudes Towards the Elderly instrument (CATE) (1976) was used to measure attitudes towards aging. Four measurement techniques were used: open ended questions, a picture series, a semantic differential, and a Piaget based technique to determine a child\u27s concept of age. A two way analysis of variance was computed using group (experimental and control) with test (pretest and posttest). The results showed no significant differences. Six teachers completed a pretest and posttest questionnaire based on Palmore\u27s Revised Facts on Aging Quiz (1980). One way analyses of variance were computed using test time (pretest and posttest). No significant differences were found. Seniors completed a pretest and posttest questionnaire to examine their attitudes towards volunteering in the school. The results indicated that they found volunteering a worthwhile experience. More research is needed to examine the effectiveness of intergenerational programs on children\u27s and teachers\u27 attitudes towards aging. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1993 .F455. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 32-02, page: 0394. Adviser: Colin Ball. Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1993

Using population surveillance data to identify factors influencing the dietary behaviours of Western Australians

The use of statistical techniques recently developed for application with sequential cross sectional data allowed quantification of the relative importance of influences on decisions about food choices. New findings included a temporal association between fast food consumption and BMI; two independent healthful eating indicators; and evidence of precursors and consequences of running out of food. While the findings are directly applicable to adults in Western Australia, the methods offer the possibility of wider application

Adolescents' Stigmatisation of Mental Illness

Stigmatisation of individuals with mental illness has a negative effect on their quality of life, help seeking behaviour, treatment outcomes, and on the individual‟s self-esteem and self-efficacy. The stigmatisation of mental illness has a harmful impact on the individual experience of mental illness and is found to reduce help-seeking behaviour. Adolescents in particular, are theorised to be the most vulnerable to the effects of stigmatisation and vulnerable to mental illness. This makes the identification of possible stigma within the adolescent population the first of several important steps on the road to reducing stigmatisation of mental illness and increasing help-seeking behaviour within this population. This study examined how the knowledge that someone has a mental illness affected adolescent cognitions about that person. The results indicate no significant difference for the total scores on the PPQ for the experimental and control conditions. However, the adolescents did show stigmatisation of mental illness when looking at the individual questions on the PPQ. They saw the interviewee as hostile, less competent as a parent, and as someone they would be less likely to go to for help in solving their problems. This research supports international literature which suggests the most prevalent mental illness stigmatisations are related to dangerousness and competence

Agrobacterium tumefaciens: chemotaxis and crop protection

Chemotaxis in Agrobacierium tumefaciens was studied. Several plant derived monocyclic phenolic compounds were analysed for their ability to act as chemoattractants for A. tumefaciens C58C (^1) and as inducers of the Ti-plasmid virulence operons. The results divided the phenolics into 4 groups. A strong correlation between vir- inducing ability and Ti-plasmid requirement for chemo taxis was established and chemical structure rules for vir induction and chemo taxis are outlined. Furthermore, virA and virG were found to be the Ti-plasmid virulence genes required for chemo taxis towards the monocyclic phenolic compound acetosyringone. Chemotaxis towards both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plant extracts was analysed. Undiluted shoot and root extracts from both sources elicited a response from both Ti-plasmid harbouring and cured A. tumefaciens C58C(^1) However, when diluted extracts of Wheat and Kalanchoe shoot homogenate were analysed, a distinct enhancement of chemotaxis was conferred by the Ti-plasmid, suggesting that recognition of, and attraction towards, susceptible plants is not the step blocked in monocot transformation. Analysis of cell wall material revealed that native cell wall components are not required for chemotaxis of A. tumefaciens C58C (^1) towards plant extracts. Results obtained on chemotaxis along with current knowledge of vir- induction allowed the development of a novel idea involving Agrobacterium as a biocontrol agent. A chitinase gene from Serratia marcescens was manipulated such that its promotor was removed. The promotorless cassette was linked to the virB pro-motor from an octopine Ti-plasmid and the construct introduced into Agrobacterium harbouring virA and virG. The potential benefit of this biocontrol system with respect to other existing biocontrol systems is that expression of the pesticidal gene is regulated by components of wound exudate and therefore is a conservative process, pesticide being produced only when a plant is wounded, at a time when it is most susceptible to attack by plant pathogens, and then exclusively in the microrhizosphere around the wound site

Moral continuity: Gujurati kinship, women, children and rituals

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This thesis is a study of Gujarati women and children living in the North London Borough of Harrow. It addresses the issues concerning women in the household, that include their relations with other kin and wider networks, caring for children, feeding, and protecting them from evil influences, and their key involvement in ritual practice. Men as husbands, fathers, uncles and grandfathers are also discussed. Children's involvement in ritual from birth, or even before, is addressed and the way they make sense of the world through multiple carers. Households were studied using the methods of participant observation and in-depth, taped, unstructured interviews. Different caste groups, religions and social classes were included in the study group, but the majority were Hindu, and a few Jain. Muslim households were excluded because they represented less than 10% of the Harrow population and would have made the study too broad. Data obtained from a three-month period of research in Ahmedabad, informed the Harrow data, but a direct comparison was not made. The theme of moral continuity emerged from the data as a central concern for Hindu and Jain households. This was linked to kinship ties, respect for elders, obligations, religious festivals and rituals. The joint household remains popular and many younger people are learning Gujarati, practising rituals and asking for arranged `introduction' marriages. Family `rules' which have been followed through many generations are followed in respect to festivals, life-cycle rituals of childhood, warding off the evil eye and what foods to eat. Childhood is a time of purity when children are thought to be close to the gods, requires special consideration, especially when it comes to food, and milk may be thought to be the safest option. Children live in a network of interdependency with other kin and through rituals participate in a world that respects the hierarchy of the household and wider Gujarati `community'. Western influences of toys, peers and the educational system are acknowledged at various points. In conclusion, a sense of being Gujarati is still held by individuals today in Britain. Continuity of moral codes is achieved through ritual practice, which is transformed over time, links with the ancestors and gives a sense of belonging to 'one of us'.This work was funded by the Florence Nightingale Foundation and the Mercers' Company

Special school teachers in Coventry primary schools: an exploratory study of the special needs outreach project

The study looks at a project run by Coventry LEA in which teachers from special schools visit nearby ordinary schools to advise them on teaching methods and resources for pupils with special needs. Learning materials are provided for the schools from the LEA's Special Needs Support Centre. The "Outreach" teachers work with individual teachers or with the whole staff. Some teaching of individuals and small groups of pupils is under taken as part of the Outreach project, although the long term aim is to "leave the schools better able to cope". Much of the work supported the development of the LEA's Special Needs Action Programme, better-known as SNAP. Several teachers were involved from each of the LEA's three schools for children with moderate learning difficulties. Most schools visited were primary schools, but a few secondary schools were also included. The main method used to collect information was the unstructured interviewing of forty-eight people involved in the project. These were the advisers who had designed the project, the area support teachers (formerly called remedial teachers) with whom the Outreach teachers worked, the Outreach teachers themselves, teachers in ordinary schools and the head teachers of the special schools. The introductory chapter discusses the arguments for and against integrated provision for children with special educational needs. The findings are presented in two chapters. The first, Chapter three, considers the explanations given for the development of the project. Chapter four describes the project by looking at the roles of those involved. The conclusion is that although the Outreach project seems to be developing a useful role, too much is expected of some Outreach teachers who feel the pressures of having "two jobs". A comparison is made to similar projects, and possible changes discussed

Eloquence in Talke and Vertue in Deedes: Education and Discontent in Early Modern England

The title for the project, Eloquence in Talke and Vertue in Deedes, comes from educational theorist William Kempe’s claim that the early modern humanist educational system was guaranteed to produce eloquence and virtue. It is, however, my argument that the educational failed in its promises. This project seeks to dissect the educational practices of the early modern period and reanimate the pieces to show how these practices were regularly critiqued on the early modern stage. More than showing the influence of the educational system in the production of drama, I point out that these practices are re-represented as rebuttals of the educational system. As such, Eloquence in Talke, and Vertue in Deedes is a series of essays united by the theme of discontentment with an educational system that failed to meet its promises

Molecular studies in x-linked immune deficiency diseases

A large number of inherited immunodeficiencies are known to exist, including seven X-linked immunodeficiency syndromes. For some of these disorders the underlying mechanisms are well understood, but for the majority the molecular defects remain to be elucidated. Even where the underlying abnormality has been characterised, treatments often remain far from adequate, and many disorders are still fatal. Reliable methods of prenatal diagnosis and carrier detection are therefore essential for families at risk. In order to improve these methods and to develop improved forms of treatment, it is important to identify and characterise the genes responsible for these disorders. This study involves two of the X-linked immunodeficiencies, one which is well understood, and one for which there is no knowledge about the underlying defect. X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD) is caused by absence of the large subunit of phagocyte cytochrome b-245, which results in defective intracellular killing of ingested micro-organisms. The defective gene was isolated in 1986. In this study a sample of normal females and members of families known to carry X-CGD were analysed for the existence of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) detected by the X-CGD cDNA, which might allow first trimester prenatal diagnosis, previously not available. A new RFLP was identified, and, in combination with one previously described, will allow prenatal diagnosis by chorionic villus sample analysis in approximately 45% of families. Two patients affected by X-CGD were found to carry deletions. One of these was detected only by altered band patterns on Southern blots hybridised with X-CGD cDNA. The other patient also exhibited McLeod red blood cell phenotype and possessed no X-CGD hybridising species at all. For both of these families prenatal diagnosis can be offered on the basis of these alterations. X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID) is characterised by severe defects in both cellular and humoral immunity, resulting in inevitable death within the first year of life in the absence of bone marrow transplantation. Nothing is known about the gene responsible for X-SCID or its protein product, but the approximate chromosomal localisation (Xq13-21) has been determined by family linkage analysis. The identification and characterisation of the X-SCID gene should lead to elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanism, and development of more rational forms of therapy, including somatic gene therapy. Data presented in this thesis represent the early stages of a long-term project aimed at isolating the X-SCID gene. A total of twelve single copy DNA probes, which map to Xq12-21, were used for long-range mapping by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. A short-range 1Mb map, including five probes in Xq12, has been constructed, which will not be relevant to X-SCID, but may be of value in isolation of other genes in the region. Preliminary data are presented for probes mapping to Xq13-21. A total of approximately 15Mb of DNA has been covered by non-overlapping Mlu I fragments, which emphasises the very large size of the region containing the gene