Memory and Belonging in Ulster Loyalist Identity

In Northern Ireland there is a constant struggle between competing interpretations of historical events, the determination of which serves to validate and legitimate views of the present and to meet contemporary political concerns. The memory of historical events carry a profound political significance, as the past is altered to suit present purposes, and transmitted across generations by commemoration and memorialization. This article examines how Ulster Loyalist collective memory is characterized by an attempt to ensure collective coherence and how individuals understand their relationship to contemporary political events through their interactions with the past

Precision measurement of magnetic characteristics of an article with nullification of external magnetic fields

An apparatus for characterizing the magnetic field of a device under test is discussed. The apparatus is comprised of five separate devices: (1) a device for nullifying the ambient magnetic fields in a test environment area with a constant applied magnetic field; (2) a device for rotating the device under test in the test environment area; (3) a device for sensing the magnetic field (to obtain a profile of the magnetic field) at a sensor location which is along the circumference of rotation; (4) a memory for storing the profiles; and (5) a processor coupled to the memory for characterizing the magnetic field of the device from the magnetic field profiles thus obtained

Cultural influences on low back pain - Extending the biopsychosocial model

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The present investigation examined the influence of cultural factors on Low Back Pain (LBP). Multiple regression techniques were used to determine the relative importance of clinical, social and psychological factors to LBP disability and cultural influences on these factors were then explored. The findings indicated that compared to clinical and social factors, LBP disability was most strongly associated with psychological factors (adjusted R2 change = 0.38, p<0.00), the most important of which was psychological distress. Clinical (adjusted R2 change = 0.11, p<0.00) or social (adjusted R2 change = 0.02, p=0.09) factors were only moderately or weakly associated with LBP disability. A series of hierarchical regression models examined the mediating role of cognitive Coping Strategies (Catastrophising & Praying and Hoping (Rosenstiel and Keefe (1983)) and Pain Control Beliefs (Control of Pain & Responsibility for management of Pain (Main and Waddell (1991)) on the relationship between LBP disability and distress. In support of the Cognitive Behavioural Mediational Model of chronic pain (Rudy and Turk, 1987), evidence was found to suggest that the relationship between LBP disability and distress was largely dependent upon Coping Strategies and Pain Control Beliefs. The findings also suggested that Pain Control Beliefs were largely dependent upon Coping strategies, although these relationships varied between specific Pain Control Beliefs and Coping Strategies. The study found evidence to suggest that certain self report questionnaires which are commonly used to assess cognitive factors associated with LBP may not have robust cross cultural reliabilities as measured by Cronbach's Alpha (Cronbach 1951) (Praying and Hoping (P&H) subscale of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) Rosensteil and Keefe 1983; Pain Responsibility (PR) subscale of the Pain Locus of Control (PLC) Main and Waddell 1991). The findings indicated that when used in their present form, these self reported questionnaires may provide inconsistent results with South Asian, African-born or Muslim LBP patients. The study provided evidence for the role of Cultural factors (self defined Ethnicity, Country of Birth and reported Religious Affiliation) on the experience of LBP. Although the relationship between cultural factors and LBP was generally weak (R2 change < 0.15), it appeared that South Asian, African-born and Muslim patients experienced LBP significantly worse than other LBP patients. The cultural group differences were strongest for the "passive" coping strategy "Praying and Hoping" (Rosensteil and Keefe 1983) (R2 change = 0.15, p < 0.001). The most apparent cultural differences were for Muslim patients who compared with all other Religious groups consistently reported the worst experience of LBP. Muslim LBP patients were clinically more disabled than either Christian (mean Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) difference (Roland and Morris, 1983) = 4.13) or other (mean RMDQ difference = 4.29) LBP patients. The statistical control of clinical variables in the regression models led to the conclusion that these groups of patients had a more "chronic" experience of LBP. Religious affiliation may help to identify LBP patients who present to secondary care with more chronic symptoms of LBP. Standardisation of self report questionnaire in these cultural groups may improve the precision of these findings. The present investigation was primarily descriptive in that reasons for cultural differences were not empirically examined. However the study findings suggest potentially fruitful areas for further investigation particularly that work on the meaning of "Praying" as a coping strategy and on its relationship with LBP disability for non-Christian groups would appear warranted

Predicting outcome in acute low back pain using different models of patient profiling

Study Design: Prospective observational study of prognostic indicators, utilising data from a randomised, controlled trial of physiotherapy care of acute low back pain (ALBP) with follow up at 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months. Objective: To evaluate which patient profile offers the most useful guide to long-term outcome in ALBP. Summary of Background Data: The evidence used to inform prognostic decision-making is derived largely from studies where baseline data is used to predict future status. Clinicians often see patients on multiple occasions so may profile patients in a variety of ways. It is worth considering if better prognostic decisions can be made from alternative profiles. Methods: Clinical, psychological and demographic data were collected from a sample of 54 ALBP patients. Three clinical profiles were developed from information collected at baseline, information collected at 6 weeks, and the change in status between these two time points. A series of regression models were used to determine the independent and relative contributions of these profiles to the prediction of chronic pain and disability. Results: The baseline profile predicted long-term pain only. The 6-week profile predicted both long-term pain and disability. The change profile only predicted long-term disability (p \u3c 0.01). When predicting long-term pain, after the baseline profile had been added to the model, the 6-week profile did not add significantly when forced in at the second step (p \u3e 0.05). A similar result was obtained when the order of entry was reversed. When predicting long-term disability, after the 6-week profile was entered at the first step, the change profile was not significant when forced in at the second step. However, when the change profile was entered at the first step and the 6-week clinical profile was forced in at the second step, a significant contribution of the 6-week profile was found. Conclusions: The profile derived from information collected at 6 weeks provided the best guide to long-term pain and disability. The baseline profile and change in status offered less predictive value

“Faith, Crown and State”: Contemporary Discourses within the Orange Order in Northern Ireland

Despite a decline in membership in recent decades the Orange Order remains one of the largest and most significant organisations within civil society in Northern Ireland, representing a significant proportion of the Protestant population. The Orange Order claims a moral and political rationale to opposition to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and many of the political consequences that have followed. Drawing upon a large membership survey of the Orange institution (the first such survey ever undertaken), and abetted by in-depth semi-structured interviews, this paper examines core political and social attitudes of Orange Order members in a post-conflict environment. It identifies core discourses on offer within Orangeism, and how these structure responses to contemporary events. It concludes that the maintenance of “traditional” discourses within the Orange Order (seen by its critics as a barrier to the modernisation of unionism) may be key to its endurance against the odds in a changing political context and increasingly secularized world

‘Us’ and ‘Them’: Ulster Loyalist Perspectives on the IRA and Irish Republicanism

This article draws on data from one-to-one interviews with members and former members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Red Hand Commando (RHC), Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) and the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) to explore the dynamic and fluid perceptions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Sinn Fein among Ulster Loyalists. The article will illustrate now attitudes and perceptions are influenced by the shifting political landscape in Northern Ireland as Ulster Loyalists come to terms with the new realities created by the peace-process, security normalization, decommissioning and the rise in the threat of dissident Republican violence. The also illustrate that these perceptions are not purely antagonistic and based on the creation of negative stereotypical ‘enemy images’ fuelled by decades of conflict, but pragmatic, bound to societal and local events and influenced intragroup attitudes and divisions in addition to the expected conflictual ingroup vs. outgroup relationships. Finally, the paper will explore how Loyalists employ Republicanism and the transformation of the Provisional IRA in particular, as a mirror or benchmark to reflect on their own progress since 1994