Robert Browning, playwright : an analysis of "Strafford" and suggestions for its revaluation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University

Browning wrote Strafford at an early stage in his career. He was twenty-four. He had not long completed Paracelsus, and was working on the composition of his most difficult poem, Sordello. The play did not outlive its premiere season on the stage, playing only four nights to moderate but by no means completely discouraging acclaim and critical review. Like the remaining plays in the canon – there were seven in all – it has fallen into disregard as a closet drama. The play is thus, definitionally, a failure. A revaluation of the play appears timely. Such a revaluation would not necessarily demand its reinstatement on the boards, or as mandatory reading within the closet, but would certainly seek to establish its place within the Browning canon. The exercise would also be worthwhile because it would go some way towards explaining why Browning continued to write for the stage, and towards illuminating the dramatic elements that are characteristic of his "best" poetry : character – specifically 'Character in Action' devices of characterisation diction imagery the substitution of process for action. In some respects, Strafford was ahead of its time. William Charles Macready at his prime, for instance, might have been better equipped to direct it, and might thus have secured for it more immediate acceptance. Browning's approach might have been more in accord with stage requirements. In the realm of fact, however, the play was mounted in a time at which the theatre was in decline. Too little work has been done in considering Strafford in the context of the contemporary theatre, and some space is devoted here to a brief survey of English theatre in the 1830's and '40's. Again, elements can he isolated that point to problems and attempts at solving them in the development of theatre to our own time. Included here might be those of poetic diction in dialogue, motivation of characters, the isolate character, and departures from the Aristotelian norms. In this area, Browning has had little or no influence, and suffers some measure of undeserved neglect. The present intention is to show, in examining Strafford, how Browning approached the theatre: not only the sort of play he wrote, but, by implication, the sort of writing he considered appropriate for stage presentation. This will lead to some estimate of the strengths and weaknesses of the play in performance. It ought also to open up an area of speculation about modern trends in thought and practice in the theatre. Early Victorian theatre presents a paradox. It is at once in a state of grievous decline and sprawling vigour. Some understanding of its conditions and status is necessary to a balanced view of Browning's plays, and will be attempted under the difficulties imposed by access to a plethora of data and a dearth of authoritative judgment. Finally, the major criticism of Browning's theatrical ventures will be reviewed, and this, with the questions raised above, will point towards a revaluation of Strafford in particular, and the remaining plays that Browning wrote, generally

Regulation of the protein kinase C-related kinase family

Protein phosphorylation and its control by the action of protein kinases and phosphatases has been shown to play an essential role in signal transduction pathways and hence cell functions. More recent discoveries have implicated GTP hydrolysing enzymes and lipids; adding to the depth of complexity required for the balance and amplification of signals. The Protein Kinase C (PKC) family of kinases can be subdivided based on their requirement for Ca2+, Diacylglycerol (DAG) and phosphor-lipids. Previously, a PCR-based screen for novel PKC isoforms produced two new gene products, which were subsequently fully cloned: Protein Kinase C-Related Kinases (PRK 1 and 2). These were seen to be highly homologous to the PKCs in their kinase domains but had novel N-terminal regulatory regions. Their serine/threonine kinase activity was insensitive to both Ca2+ and DAG but was activated in vitro by limited proteolysis and polyphosphoinositides Ptdlns(4,5)P2 and Ptdlns(3,4,5)P3. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the control of the PRKs. Initial work focused on the potential interaction between the PRKs and Small GTPases of the Rho family, and assessed what role such an interaction would have on the kinase's activity. A variety of in vitro techniques were used to characterise the site of contact on both the PRKs and the Rho proteins. The nucleotide-specificity of binding was also analysed. The definition of the Rho binding region within the PRKs novel regulatory region (Homology Region 1) suggested the GTPase disrupted an intramolecular, pseudo-substrate site interaction with the kinase domain. However, our data showed only a two-fold increase in the PRK's kinase activity when co-expressed in cultured cells with an active Rho. Nevertheless we were able to show translocation of PRK to early endosomes with RhoB overexpression and further that a hyperphosphorylated form of the kinase existed within this sub-cellular compartment. This suggested that other components were involved in the control of the kinase. On consideration of the similarities between members of the AGO kinase subfamilies within the activation-loop, the involvement of the upstream kinase PDK1 in PRK activation was assessed. Co-expression studies in cultured cells allowed the definition of a Rho-dependent interaction between the two kinases and a three-way co-localisation of PRK, RhoB and PDK1 on early endosomes. An activation loop phosphorylation event was analysed using phospho-specific polyclonal antisera. In vitro and in vivo studies using both wild type and mutant PRKs demonstrated that this phosphorylation event was necessary for kinase activity. It has thus been shown that both Rho family GTPases and PDK kinases, which depend on the products of PI3-Kinase activity, are required for the cellular localisation and activation of the PRK sub-family of kinases

The relationship between spatial ability and mathematical ability : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spatial ability and general mathematical ability. Many researchers have assumed that a positive correlational relationship exists between mathematics and spatial ability. However, a review of the literature shows that the relationship is not as simple as thought, partly because there is disagreement among researchers on a definition of spatial ability. In the present study general mathematical ability was indexed by the Progressive Achievement Test: Mathematics. A group of 50 high ability and a group of 50 low ability children completed five tests relating to spatial ability from the Kit of factor Related Cognitive Tests. Results from a discriminant function analysis supported the hypothesis that a positive correlational relationship exists between spatial ability and general mathematical ability. This result is important because it provides new evidence to support the argument that there is a relationship between spatial ability and general mathematical ability. The potential for spatial ability tasks to aid in the understanding of mathematics is discussed. However, it is argued that there is a need for greater refinement of the spatial ability construct before more research using it as a factor is conducted

Untold Stories in South Africa: Creative Consequences of the Rights-Clearing Culture for Documentary Filmmakers

This report summarizes research on the perceptions of South African documentary filmmakers about copyright clearance requirements and the effect of such requirements on their work. This work was performed in the context of a larger project exploring how lessons learned from “best practices” projects with documentary filmmakers in the U.S. can help their counterparts in other countries identify and overcome barriers to effective filmmaking posed by escalatingcopyright clearance requirements