Ford Madox Ford's Anglo-German Ambivalence: Authoring Propaganda and Negotiating Nationalism as a Literary Cosmopolitan

This thesis aims to analyse and reintegrate Ford Madox Ford’s Anglo-German identity into the biographical and critical narrative of his work. I concentrate on Ford’s writing during the First World War, the period when, critics suggest, his views on Germany changed because of his involvement with the British propaganda campaign and his subsequent decision to enlist in the British Army. Throughout the first year of the war, Ford wrote for the Outlook, a weekly review of politics and the arts. This is the first detailed study of these articles and, as such, it contributes to our understanding of Ford’s experience of the war before enlisting, as well as his wider journalism. Analysing Ford’s Outlook articles alongside his propaganda books provides an important corrective to a singular focus on the propaganda as Ford’s literary response to life on the home front. Combining archival research and literary analysis of his unpublished manuscripts, correspondence, and some lesser-known works, I argue that Ford neither loved Germany before the war as much as has sometimes been portrayed, nor hated it afterwards as much as is often assumed. Ford’s mixed cultural heritage constitutes an important part of his personal and literary identity and contributes to his ambivalent aesthetic. Through comparison with his contemporaries, and exploration of the complexities of broader Anglo-German relations, I suggest that Ford gave expression to feelings that were more widespread among propagandists than is usually acknowledged. I see Ford’s ambivalence as an asset rather than a mark of indecision, a distinctive feature resulting from his dual cultural heritage, which fuelled his revived cosmopolitanism in the post-war period, and which had both a social and artistic function

Technical and tactical factors to model success in rugby union.

The aim of this study was to analyse technical and tactical variables in relation to the tackle contest and try scoring in professional rugby union. Twenty-nine matches from the Domestic and European season of a professional male rugby union team were notated using a computerised analysis system. Thirty-seven performance indicators relating to technical and tactical components of the tackle contest and try scoring were identified through review of existing research literature and developed with two expert analysts from a professional rugby union team. Each performance indicator was compared between the case team and the opposition using Chi-Square test of significance and revealed statistical differences in tackle contest profiles, tries scored per phase, pitch location and behavioural origin of tries. For the tackle contest patterns were shown for 'going forward' (p<0.001), 'arm extended' (p<0.001) and 'inside/outside clean' (p<0.001) for the case team and their opposition. The case team scored more tries (n=64) than their opponents (n=42) during the Domestic and European season with more tries being scored during the first phase of play and less tries scored in the eighth phase. The case team scored and conceded more tries from lineout's, with the opposition scoring more tries from the yellow zone (50m-22m lines) on the field (24%). The findings highlight a number of factors that contribute to a successful tackle contest and to tries being scored for the case team. Analyses of technical indicators have shown that when the case team retains the ball at the tackle contest the attack was sustained and therefore, provide more scoring opportunities. However, in addition to keeping possession, it appears that the likelihood of scoring tries is associated with specific areas of the pitch in which behaviours occurred. The results of the tactical indicators have shown that playing within the attacking 22m goal line area increased the chance of tries being scored for the case team

Re-examining the rationale for strategic assessment : an evaluation of purpose in two systems

Strategic forms of impact assessment have seen increased application around the world since their conception. Expansion has produced considerable variation and this range of tools and processes can create practitioner confusion and blurred boundaries in practice. This research draws on empirical data from England and Scotland to examine different systems to understand how the purposes of strategic assessment are framed and to consider how purposes are translated into practice. Four key purposes of strategic assessment are examined; overcoming EIA shortcomings, strategic thinking, representation of the environment and consideration of sustainability. It is concluded that various scales (international, national, local and individual) influence how strategic assessment purpose is framed. We find that as multiple purposes come together they interact, with regulatory compliance potentially dominating. Strategic assessment is also found to be described as information provider, and excluded or distant from strategic thinking as part of plan formulation

Social Return on Investment analysis of the Health Precinct community hub for chronic conditions

Local governments and Health Boards are seeking to develop integrated services to promote well-being. Social participation and physical activity are key in promoting well-being for older people. The Health Precinct is a community hub in North Wales that people with chronic conditions are referred to through social prescribing. To improve community-based assets there is a need to understand and evidence the social value they generate. Data collection took place October 2017&ndash;September 2019. Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis was used to evaluate the Health Precinct. Stakeholders included participants aged 55+, participants&rsquo; families, staff, the National Health Service and local government. Participants&rsquo; health and well-being data were collected upon referral and four months later using the EQ-5D-5L, Campaign to End Loneliness Scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Family members completed questionnaires at four months. Baseline data were collected for 159 participants. Follow-up data were available for 66 participants and 38 family members. The value of inputs was &pound;55,389 (attendance fees, staffing, equipment, overheads), and the value of resulting benefits was &pound;281,010; leading to a base case SROI ratio of &pound;5.07 of social value generated for every &pound;1 invested. Sensitivity analysis yielded estimates of between 2.60:1 and 5.16:1

Health service use of infants involved in family justice care and supervision proceedings in Wales: a data linkage study

IntroductionWhen a child has suffered, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm from parents or caregivers, the local authority may issue Section 31 (s.31) Care and Supervision proceedings under the Children Act (1989).ObjectivesWe compared the healthcare use of infants less than one year old subject to s.31 proceedings in Wales (n = 1,332),to that of a comparison group of infants not subject to s.31 proceedings (n = 204,417), between January 2011 and February 2020.MethodsPopulation-based e-cohort study utilising data held in the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank. Infants in s.31 proceedings were identified using the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service dataset. This was linked to demographic and healthcare datasets, to identify General Practice (GP) visits, emergency department (ED) attendances, and hospital admissions (emergency and elective); before the study end date or the child's first birthday for the comparison group, orbefore the s.31 application date.Regression analysis calculated event rate ratios [RR] and incidence rate ratios [IRR] for healthcare events, adjusting for widerdeterminants of health (e.g. perinatal factors, maternal mental health, deprivation), and investigated reasons for healthcare use.ResultsInfants in s.31 proceedings had ahigher number and incidence of healthcare events compared with the comparison group, across all healthcare settings. Differences were greatest for emergency hospital admissions (IRR = 4.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.53 - 4.59; RR = 4.60, CI = 3.90 - 5.41). "Injury and poisoning" was the main reason for emergency admissions amongst infants in s.31 proceedings. For ED presentations, emergency hospital admissions, and GP visits, there were proportionally more events for these infants across all top ten reasons for healthcare.ConclusionsFindings highlight greater healthcare utilisation for infants involved in s.31 proceedings in Wales, helping to build a better understanding of their needs and vulnerabilities