The Paradox of Beheading Risk: Specifically Clear and Sublimely Chaotic

In this paper, I will investigate repetition and accuracy in the simplicity and complexity of the following thesis roles: Tour Guide, Aunt, Female Doctor, and Attendant #2 performed in Middletown by Will Eno. I will develop my own actor process which will facilitate a greater sense of clarity, embodiment, and authenticity. With an end goal of identifying an effective approach for both artistic and pedagogical application. The following specific methods that I have performed and studied will be applied: Authentic Movement, Syntonics, Laban/Bartenieff Movement, and Coordination Patterns. I will examine body, mind, and spirit through concepts of authenticity, clarity and embodiment (ACE)

Expression of membrane-associated proteins within single emulsion cell facsimiles

MreB is a structural membrane-associated protein which is one of the key components of the bacterial cytoskeleton. Although it plays an important role in shape maintenance of rod-like bacteria, the understanding of its mechanism of action is still not fully understood. This study shows how segmented flow and microdroplet technology can be used as a new tool for biological in vitro investigation of this protein. In this paper, we demonstrate cell-free expression in a single emulsion system to express red fluorescence protein (RFP) and MreB linked RFP (MreB–RFP). We follow the aggregation and localisation of the fusion protein MreB–RFP in this artificial cell-like environment. The expression of MreB–RFP in single emulsion droplets leads to the formation of micrometer-scale protein patches distributed at the water/oil interface

A case for interfering with freedom of contract? An empirically-informed study of bans of assignment

Do "bans on assignment" of trade receivables cause serious problems with receivables financing? Should Government render them ineffective? Two empirical investigations suggest that though there are good reasons for using BoAs, they cause disproportionate problems to SMEs needing to factor their debts, and there is a good case for interventio

A case for interfering with freedom of contract? An empirically-informed study of bans on assignment

This article is about clauses in the contracts between a business and its customer which prohibit the supplier assigning receivables arising under the contracts. These clauses are sometimes called “prohibitions on assignment”, sometimes “anti-assignment clauses”; but in the industry it seems most common to call them “bans on assignments” or BoAs. This is how we will refer to them in this article. There is an argument that BoAs do little for the customer while posing a serious problem for small suppliers, and only appear when the customer has the bargaining power to dictate the terms of the contract. This paper draws on empirical work to consider whether, notwithstanding English law’s commitment to commercial parties’ freedom to agree their own terms, there is a case for legislation to render BoAs in contracts for the supply of goods and services ineffective

Population dynamics of rodents and their parasite communities in a naturally fragmented landscape

An island system with corresponding mainland sites, was used to study woodland rodent dynamics and their parasite communities within a naturally fragmented landscape. The study site, hosts and parasite species investigated within this thesis allowed the investigation of how natural fragmentation affects demographic and population dynamics of rodents (chapter 3). Reduced habitat connectivity is known to affect nearly every process in biology. Low degrees of fragmentation and high connectivity between habitats have been shown to provide the most stable conditions for populations to persist, as movement of organisms is less restricted. It is shown that in contrast to previous studies on fragmented populations, the fragmented landscape of the islands had little effect on the demographic characteristics of rodent populations in comparison to those on the mainland. There were few difference found in the demographics of wood mice and bank voles when compared to mainland sites. The results from this study then allowed the broader question of how parasites dynamics are affected by the spatial structure of a host population to be addressed. Theory predicts that parasites are unable to persist in small, isolated host populations, due to small host population size as well as potential genetic factors increasing the risk of extinction. However parasites may become more prevalent in isolated populations as hosts may have a reduced ability to deal with infection. It is shown (chapter 4) that within this study system that despite some island populations being extremely small, there is no overall reduction in parasite species found within fragmented habitats. Furthermore, extinction of the parasites investigated within wood mice and bank voles is unlikely due to the direct life cycle of these parasites. Variation was seen in the prevalence of infection, however the majority of the parasite species on islands did not show a reduced prevalence of infection compared to mainland sites. Finally parasite co-infection and co-aggregation and their dependency on host characteristics in woodland rodents (chapter 5) were investigated. Parasite species infecting hosts are normally studied individually, however this is not what is seen within natural populations. Co-infection is an important concept within natural systems as there is a vast diversity of parasite species that create ample opportunity for concurrent infections. Therefore, it is proposed that studies should be focused on parasite interactions, as within host interactions can in turn affect the abundance and distribution at the level of the host population. This study focused on seven parasite taxa, and it was found that the maximum number of parasite species any individual was found to be infected with was five, with the mean number for both host species at around two. Parasites associations were also more common than expected within the same functional groups with co-occurrence being more common between parasite species associated with ectoparasites. Within this study, host aggregation was positively correlated with differing parasite taxa. Furthermore, looking at patterns of co-aggregation could aid in our understanding of parasite interactions within hosts. The nature of these interactions will determine whether aggregation is positively or negatively correlated across different parasite taxa. A small number of hosts maybe responsible for transmitting the majority of infections (20/80 rule). Identifying these individuals would be informative in helping to control disease spread. Host characteristics have been found to be informative in terms of single parasite species infections. Within this study it was found that juvenile bank voles were more likely to be co-infected than those within other age classes. No host characteristic explained patterns of co-infection in wood mice. In conclusion I found that natural fragmentation does not have an overall negative effect on rodent host dynamics nor does it reduce the number or prevalence of infection of parasite species able to infect hosts. This thesis has highlighted the importance for using natural wildlife systems in empirical studies, and the need to further address multiple parasite interactions within a host community

The use and prescription of epicene pronouns : a corpus-based approach to generic he and singular they in British English

In English the personal pronouns are morphologically marked for grammatical number, whilst the third-person singular pronouns are also obligatorily marked for gender. As a result, the use of any singular animate antecedent coindexed with a third-person pronoun forces a choice between he and she, whether or not the biological sex of the intended referent is known. This forced choice of gender, and the corresponding lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun where gender is not formally marked, is the primary focus of this thesis. I compare and contrast the use of the two main candidates for epicene status, singular they and generic he, which are found consistently opposed in the wider literature. Using corpus-based methods I analyse current epicene usage in written British English, and investigate which epicene pronouns are given to language-acquiring children in their L1 input. I also consider current prescriptions on epicene usage in grammar texts published post-2000 and investigate whether there is any evidence that language-external factors impact upon epicene choice. The synthesis of my findings with the wider literature on epicene pronouns leads me to the conclusion that, despite the restrictions imposed on the written pronoun paradigm evident in grammatical prescriptivism, singular they is the epicene pronoun of British English.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Non-sexist Language Policy and the Rise (and Fall?) of Combined Pronouns in British and American Written English

This paper focuses on the use of combined pronouns (s/he, his or her, him/her, etc.) as an example of late twentieth-century non-sexist language reform which had an overt democratizing aim. Within the scope of second-wave feminism, the use of combined pronouns increased the visibility of women in discourse by encouraging the use of feminine pronouns (she, her, hers) alongside masculine pronouns (he, him, his). Despite their promotion, however, the use of combined pronouns is relatively rare. This paper uses the LOB and Brown families of corpora to diachronically and synchronically study patterns in the use of combined pronouns in written American (AmE) and British English (BrE) from the 1930s to the early 2000s. The analysis not only determines what forms these patterns take, but questions whether combined pronouns are influenced by (a combination of) syntax and/or semantics, and questions whether combined pronouns are really democratic at all

Promoting influenza vaccine for children

This autumn influenza vaccine will again be offered to all 2- and 3-year-olds in general practice. In addition, all children in clinical risk groups aged 6 months and above should be offered the vaccine. Children in primary school years from reception class to year 4 will also be offered the vaccine as part of the on-going extension of influenza vaccination to healthy children. Since the start of the paediatric programme, transmission of influenza has reduced across all age groups in those parts of the country vaccinating all children of primary school age. Children under 5 years of age have the highest rate of hospital admissions for influenza. However, many parents do not think that influenza is a serious illness and it is the vaccine they are most likely to decline. Health professionals are the most trusted source of advice and information about vaccination, so staff in general practice have a crucial role to play in recommending this vaccine to parents. Health professionals are the most trusted source of advice and information about vaccination, so practice nurses have a crucial role to play in recommending the influenza vaccine to parents and increasing uptake </jats:p

Evidence that implementation intentions reduce self-harm in the community

Objectives: Implementation intentions are 'IF‐THEN' plans that encourage goal‐intended behaviour. This study was designed to test whether an intervention encouraging the formation of implementation intentions can reduce self‐harm in the community. Design: A randomized controlled design was used. Methods: At pre‐intervention, outcome variables (self‐harm in both specified and unspecified critical situations and suicidality) and potential moderators of implementation intentions (goal intention, mental imagery, and exposure to self‐harm) were measured using self‐report questionnaires. The participants (N = 469, aged 18–66 years, 86.4% female, 6.8% male and 6.7% other) were then randomized to either an experimental (implementation intention) or control task. At three‐months post‐intervention, self‐report questionnaires were used again to measure the outcome variables. Results: There were no overall differences between the conditions at post‐intervention. However, goal intention and mental imagery, but not exposure to self‐harm, moderated the effects of condition on self‐harm in specified critical situations. At high (mean + 1SD) levels of both goal intention and mental imagery, the experimental condition reported self‐harming less frequently in the situations specified in their implementation intentions. Conclusions: Implementation intentions therefore represent a useful intervention for reducing self‐harm in specified critical situations for people in the community who wish to avoid self‐harm and those who frequently experience self‐harm and suicide related mental imagery