‘Role and Ritual: Function and Performance in Domestic Spaces of Elite Eighteenth-Century English Houses, 1750-1800’

This thesis offers an, albeit necessary brief, historical analysis of the eighteenth-century incorporation of ritual practises and sociabilities enacted in a few elite interior environments of what I consider to be six of the most interesting English houses, either newly constructed or extended during the course of the eighteenth century. Two of which houses are now demolished in whole, as is the case with Bulstrode Park, situated in Gerrard’s Cross, Buckinghamshire, or part, as is the case with Norfolk House, located in St. James’s Square, central London. It is useful to note that before the start of the research for this thesis began it was assumed on the part of the author that eighteenth-century domestic space were increasingly segmented for inflexible and separate activities. There follows a focused discussion of the varying types of display, ritual and sociable interaction made manifest in; the ground floor spaces of the Entrance Hall, Library, State Bedchamber and Etruscan Dressing Room at Osterley House and Great Hall and Long Gallery of Syon House; the Music and Ball Room of Norfolk House; and, finally, the first floor Dressing Rooms of Bulstrode Park, No. 23 Hill Street and Montagu House in Portman Square. Discussion has a concern to establish the ways in which such material display and sociabilities may have served their owners for a variety of ends. Such interior (and exterior) commissions of assimilated materiality and resulting sociabilities are found to serve their male householder, or as is discovered, female head of house, in a number of different, distinctive and often adaptable ways. Analysis of the specific spatial environments in each elite household discussed reveals that different types of social rituals were often adopted depending upon the individual interests of a patron, their gender and nature of relationship to the head of household. Often divergent strands of cultural influence overlapping forms of ritual practise were incorporated in modernised, areas within a grand household, like that of Bulstrode Park’s Dressing Room, which could be tailored to a surprising number of functions and usages, according to the nature of the relationship with the householder. It also emerges, somewhat surprisingly, that strong and educated female patrons included in this thesis incorporated most successfully different cultural forms of practise and unusual methodologies of aesthetic display within the most private spatial areas in their residences. Again, illustrated most notably with the case of Bulstrode Park, that enabled these women to effectively, and creatively, portray a memorable image and identity individual to themselves

Modelling the seasonality of Lyme disease risk and the potential impacts of a warming climate within the heterogeneous landscapes of Scotland

Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The abundance of infected nymphal ticks is commonly used as a Lyme disease risk indicator. Temperature can influence the dynamics of disease by shaping the activity and development of ticks and, hence, altering the contact pattern and pathogen transmission between ticks and their host animals. A mechanistic, agent-based model was developed to study the temperature-driven seasonality of Ixodes ricinus ticks and transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato across mainland Scotland. Based on 12-year averaged temperature surfaces, our model predicted that Lyme disease risk currently peaks in autumn, approximately six weeks after the temperature peak. The risk was predicted to decrease with increasing altitude. Increases in temperature were predicted to prolong the duration of the tick questing season and expand the risk area to higher altitudinal and latitudinal regions. These predicted impacts on tick population ecology may be expected to lead to greater tick–host contacts under climate warming and, hence, greater risks of pathogen transmission. The model is useful in improving understanding of the spatial determinants and system mechanisms of Lyme disease pathogen transmission and its sensitivity to temperature changes

Redefining the role of 'non-professionally affiliated' workers in community mental health care : a qualitative exploration of co-worker and client relationships

Recent changes to UK health care policy have led to a dramatic increase in the non-professionally affiliated (NPA) workforce. Despite the growing presence and importance of NPA roles as part of the ‘drive for better value’, until recently they existed as healthcare’s ‘invisible workers’ (Thornley, 1997). The developing body of literature is at an early stage, with discussion usually confined to hospital wards and to consideration of the NPA-professional relationship. This study advances existing theory using an exploration of the subjective NPA experience within the novel context of community mental health services. Underpinned by an interpretivist, qualitative approach the findings are constructed using data from semi-structured interviews with workers (n=32) across a number of roles, teams and organisations, alongside interviews with team managers (n=5) and documentary analysis. Drawing on the concept of ‘community co-production’, the presented findings contrast discussion elsewhere by building a picture of working life characterised by professional distance rather than professional proximity. In light of high levels of lone working, autonomy and responsibility reported by workers it is argued that worker role may be more usefully defined in terms of the position relative to the client (supporter, facilitator or ambassador) than relative to the professional. The client interaction is introduced as an under-explored but central aspect of worker experience, shown to exert considerable influence both as a positive source of worker fulfilment and as a potential source of burden arising from risk, dependency and boundary issues. Attention is drawn to the influence of workplace, organisational and political context in shaping worker role and relationships. As NPA numbers continue to rise on a rapid, global scale in combination with an increasing move towards care in the community, the findings presented here raise a number of issues for researchers, managers and policy makersEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Environmental effects on progesterone profile measures of dairy cow fertility

Environmental effects on fertility measures early in lactation, such as the interval from calving to first luteal activity (CLA), proportion of samples with luteal activity during the first 60 days after calving (PLA) and interval to first ovulatory oestrus (OOE) were studied. In addition, traditional measurements of fertility, such as pregnancy to first insemination, number of inseminations per service period and interval from first to last insemination were studied as well as associations between the early and late measurements. Data were collected from an experimental herd during 15 years and included 1106 post-partum periods from 191 Swedish Holsteins and 325 Swedish Red and White dairy cows. Individual milk progesterone samples were taken twice a week until cyclicity and thereafter less frequently. First parity cows had 14.8 and 18.1 days longer CLA (LS-means difference) than second parity cows and older cows, respectively. Moreover, CLA was 10.5 days longer for cows that calved during the winter season compared with the summer season and 7.5 days longer for cows in tie-stalls than cows in loose-housing system. Cows treated for mastitis and lameness had 8.4 and 18.0 days longer CLA, respectively, compared with healthy cows. OOE was affected in the same way as CLA by the different environmental factors. PLA was a good indicator of CLA, and there was a high correlation (−0.69) between these two measurements. Treatment for lameness had a significant influence on all late fertility measurements, whereas housing was significant only for pregnancy to first insemination. All fertility traits were unfavourably associated with increased milk production. Regression of late fertility measurements on early fertility measurements had only a minor association with conception at first AI and interval from first to last AI for cows with conventional calving intervals, i.e. a 22 days later, CLA increased the interval from first to last insemination by 3.4 days. Early measurements had repeatabilities of 0.14–0.16, indicating a higher influence by the cow itself compared with late measurements, which had repeatabilities of 0.09–0.10. Our study shows that early fertility measurements have a possibility to be used in breeding for better fertility. To improve the early fertility of the cow, there are a number of important factors that have to be taken into account

A study of George Wilson’s eighteenth-century narrative fans as prints and mobile conduct instructors

This thesis focuses on the engraved narrative fans made by the English fan maker George Wilson (active before 1795 to after 1801). Wilson’s fans form part of the extensive collection belonging to Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Schreiber (1812-1895) held at the British Museum. The thesis challenges the hitherto overlooked status of printed fans in art history and fan history by revealing the ways in which their study enriches current understanding of eighteenth-century print culture. It does so by establishing the fan shop as an important contributor to the range of visual material circulating in London. It demonstrates how closely Wilson’s fans were aligned with popular print narratives. Besides prints, it further shows how closely fans were linked to conduct literature through their pictorial engagement with virtuous and satirical tropes and motifs. It argues that Wilson’s fans provide an innovative form of spectatorship and readership on which textual and visual sources relating to behaviours were experienced in the public sphere, aiding different sensory ways in which a female owner could learn about, and understand, conduct. Thus, it concludes that Wilson’s fans reveal insights into eighteenth-century print processes, the function and circulation of artworks, and themselves created novel forms of social conduct