The effect of background knowledge on young children's comprehension of explicit and implicit information

Bibliography: leaves 15-16Supported in part by the National Institute of Educatio

Considering an alternative perspective : an exploration of the meaning and experience of gratitude for individuals living with illness

This portfolio thesis consists of three parts: a systematic literature review, an empirical paper and a set of related appendices. The thesis as a whole considers what gratitude means and how it is experienced by individuals living with a diagnosis of a chronic condition.The first section is a systematic literature review that explores how gratitude is experienced by individuals living with a diagnosis of cancer, and critically examines how gratitude as a concept is understood and discussed within the cancer literature. Eighteen papers were reviewed. The data were synthesised using a meta-ethnographic approach, which took a critical interpretivist stance to consider how findings were structured and interpreted by researchers. The findings indicate that people living with cancer encounter positive experiences related to gratitude, which have multiple aspects, and co-occur with difficult experiences. The findings are discussed within the context of wider literature, and the implications for future gratitude research are considered.The second section of the portfolio is an empirical study that explores the meaning of the concept of gratitude for people who are living with dementia in the community, and the experience of this concept. A secondary aim of the study was to explore the usability and acceptability of a diary as a data collection method for this group. The research used a mixed-methods approach, primarily collecting qualitative data using interviews and diaries, and analysing this using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Secondary quantitative data were collected via a questionnaire and summarized using descriptive statistics to assess the usability of the diary method. Eight participants aged over 65 and living in the community were interviewed, and six of these participants kept a gratitude diary for a week following interview. Two superordinate themes and seven subthemes emerged from the data. These findings indicate that gratitude has meaning as a multidimensional construct and is experienced in life with dementia, influenced by and balanced with the changes of dementia and ageing. Descriptive statistics indicate that a diary may be an acceptable method of data collection for this group. The findings are discussed in the context of wider literature, and the implications for dementia care generally and the specific application of positive psychology interventions are discussed.The third section consists of a set of appendices relating to both the systematic literature review and the empirical paper. Also contained within these appendices are a reflective statement and an epistemological statement, which consider the researcher’s experience of conducting the research and the philosophical position and assumptions underlying the research

Australia’s media climate: Time to renegotiate control

In 2007, Australia was rated by two international media bodies as well down the chain in media freedom. Within its own borders, internal media groups—in particular the Australian Press Council and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, as well as a consortium of major employer groups—have recently released reports investigating the position of media freedoms. This atricle examines a select few of these shrinking freedoms which range from the passive restrcitions on access to documents to the overt threat of imprisonment for publishing sensitive material. In particular, it considers laws relating to freedom of information, camera access to courts, shield laws and whistleblower protection and finally revamped anti-terrorism laws. The article maps the landscape of Australia's downgraded press fredom and suggests that laws controlling media reportage need to be renegotiated.&nbsp

Using longitudinal administrative data to characterise mental health problems and substance misuse among women whose children enter care in England

Background Maternal mental health problems and substance misuse are key risk factors for child maltreatment and are common among children entering care in England. Better evidence about the health needs of women whose children enter care is needed to inform prevention and service responses across the family courts, children’s social care and healthcare. Methods I used area-level and person-level linked administrative data from health, children’s social care and family justice in England. First, I performed an ecological analysis of the association between maternal health before birth and infant entry into care using national data. Next, I used linked mental health and substance use service use and family court data for 3226 women in court proceedings concerning their child(ren)s entry into care in the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust catchment. I generated evidence on the type, severity and timing of health problems and identified predictors for returning to court with a new child. Results Parts of England with higher prevalence of maternal history of mental health, substance misuse or violence-related hospital admission among births had higher rates of infant entry into care, adjusting for potential confounders. Among women in proceedings in the SLaM catchment, 66% (of 3226) linked to a SLaM patient record and 54% were known to SLaM before their first recorded set of proceedings. Women who linked had high rates of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, personality disorders and substance misuse, compared to other female SLaM patients. They also had two-fold higher expected mortality rates, adjusted for age, and higher rates of service disengagement. I found six common trajectories of SLaM inpatient and outpatient contact among women in proceedings, which revealed that many (53%) women had little or no service contact around proceedings despite most having a SLaM referral. I found that being younger, having a young child in proceedings, and having parental responsibility curtailed or terminated were most predictive of returning to court with a new infant. Conclusions Mental health problems and substance misuse are common among women involved in proceedings, with healthcare needs often acute and complex. Given the scale of this issue, family law and social care policy reform is needed to ensure adequate and timely treatment for maternal mental health problems

\u3cem\u3eAlderwood Associatesv. Washington Environmental Council\u3c/em\u3e: State Action and the Washington State Constitution

In Alderwood Associates v. Washington Environmental Council, the Washington Supreme Court reversed a temporary restraining order forbidding the defendant\u27s solicitation or demonstration on plaintiff\u27s privately owned shopping mall. Although there was no majority opinion because the court split four-one-four, the result of the several opinions is that the Washington constitution now bars private as well as state action that interferes with the gathering of initiative signatures on certain private property. However, four justices also concluded that the free speech sections of the Washington constitution restricts private as well as state action. The Alderwood result is desirable, but could have been reached without an abandonment of the state action requirement. Such an abandonment, although subscribed to by less than a majority, strays from principled constitutional analysis and inhibits further reasoned development of the state constitution

\u3cem\u3eAlderwood Associatesv. Washington Environmental Council\u3c/em\u3e: State Action and the Washington State Constitution

In Alderwood Associates v. Washington Environmental Council, the Washington Supreme Court reversed a temporary restraining order forbidding the defendant\u27s solicitation or demonstration on plaintiff\u27s privately owned shopping mall. Although there was no majority opinion because the court split four-one-four, the result of the several opinions is that the Washington constitution now bars private as well as state action that interferes with the gathering of initiative signatures on certain private property. However, four justices also concluded that the free speech sections of the Washington constitution restricts private as well as state action. The Alderwood result is desirable, but could have been reached without an abandonment of the state action requirement. Such an abandonment, although subscribed to by less than a majority, strays from principled constitutional analysis and inhibits further reasoned development of the state constitution

"The press is plural - it represents all the political parties": media access for the transitional justice campaign during democratisation in Uruguay (1989-2012)

This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of media democratisation in post-authoritarian societies. Since the return to democracy across Latin America, research has yielded important insights into normative expectations of the media during democratisation, and country case studies have highlighted the diversity of contexts for analysis. Long-standing obstacles to media democracy in the region have not been overcome by democratisation. However, there has been little attention to exploring whether media access for civil society actors – and, so, internal plurality of the media – improves over the process of democratisation and what factors influence this. Based on a content analysis of newspaper coverage of major strategies of the campaign for transitional justice in Uruguay spanning from 1989 to 2012 and 16 interviews with journalists and civil society actors, this thesis draws three main conclusions. Firstly, it concludes that there is not a progressive increase in the quantity or quality of media access for civil society actors and this is principally due to the contingency of media access upon both journalistic routines and broader shifts associated with the process of democratisation including the return to “politics as usual” and increasing market competition. It further concludes that transitional justice campaigns face considerable obstacles in gaining media access to further their strategic ends, due to the way in which the media follows the mainstream political and public agenda during democratisation, and low levels of quality of access. Finally, it makes a methodological contribution in its mixed methods approach, which embraces the debate of de-Westernisation in media scholarship. This multi-faceted approach to researching media access reveals the way in which inequalities in media access cannot be divorced from wider power relations in society. Overall, the thesis argues that the lack of media access for civil society actors constitutes a significant and ongoing problem for the deepening of democracies in Latin America. To this end, the thesis supports a more radical account of media democratisation which incorporates a greater normative duty to represent civil society groups, particularly given the dominance of hegemonic, state-led narratives in pacted transitions. This should inform the way in which media policy is approached during democratic transitions and provide impetus for the current push for civil society-led media reform movements in the region. In addition to this, the thesis indicates the need for further and broader research into media coverage of transitional justice campaigns and mechanisms in different contexts and in comparison with other human rights issues

The neurochemistry of Huntington's disease

This thesis describes the study of the neurochemistry of Huntington's disease using a large series of post mortem brain tissue taken from patients with Huntington's disease and from matching controls with no previous history of neuropsychiatric disorder. There were two main aims: firstly, to identify and characterise any altered parameters of neurotransmitter systems, especially in relation to the symptomatology of the disease; secondly, to understand the role of neurotoxins in the aetiology of the disease, particularly endogenous compounds that may have derived from aberrant metabolism. Concentrations of the amino acid transmitters, GABA and glutamate, were generally significantly decreased throughout the brain in Huntington's disease, including cortical and limbic regions. Cortical deficits were not associated with the dementia of the disease, whereas caudate levels of GABA and glutamate showed a relationship with the dementia. In patients with severe chorea, the medial pallidum was found to have a relatively smaller GABA deficit than mildly choreic patients. Another novel finding was that 5HT and 5HIAA concentrations were significantly increased in most regions of the brain in Huntington's disease, perhaps reflecting abnormal tryptophan metabolism. Such changes in the cortex provide evidence for a cortical involvement in the disease. Dopamine metabolism appeared to be reduced in Huntington's disease, reflected by the significantly decreased concentrations of its major metabolite, homovanillic acid, in most regions except for the cortex (where it was increased). Neuroactive compounds of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism were measured in Huntington's disease. Quinolinic acid concentrations were not significantly altered, however 3- hydroxykynurenine concentrations were significantly increased in the striatum and cortex. This provides the first evidence for increased concentrations of an endogenous neurotoxic compound in the brain in Huntington's disease