‘Dangerous Creatures’: Selected children’s versions of Homer’s Odyssey in English 1699–2014

This thesis considers how the Odyssey was adapted for children, as a specific readership, in English literature 1699-2014. It thus traces both the emergence of children’s literature as a publishing category and the transformation of the Odyssey into a tale of adventure – a perception of the Odyssey which is still widely accepted today (and not only among children) but which is not, for example, how Aristotle understood the poem. I explore case studies from three different points in the development of children’s literature, and in the development of the Odyssey as a tale of adventure, and connect them to broader cultural attitudes to children and to classical literature. The first, the successful translation of François Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon’s Les aventures de Télémaque (The Adventures of Telemachus, 1699) illustrates the clash of the Odyssey with contemporary discourse on literature and education. I then turn to Charles Lamb’s The Adventures of Ulysses (1808) – a text that was at the heart of Romantic cultural upheavals and the commercial development of children’s literature, and which responded directly to Fénelon. Lamb’s work transformed the way the Homeric poem would engage with children by focusing on the fantastic adventures of Odysseus, rather than Telemachus, as Fénelon had done. The nineteenth-century shift in the critical reaction to Lamb’s work, and to the notion of reading adventure for recreational purposes, would eventually see The Adventures of Ulysses become a foundational text for future generations of Odysseys for children, and indeed in the reception of the Odyssey more generally (Lamb’s version was foundational for Joyce, for example). The final part of the thesis explores how Lamb’s influence is still operational in a new generation of texts that use subaltern voices in an apparently antagonistic approach to the poem. The thesis argues that the children’s texts considered, which are often treated as marginal, both as classical receptions and as children’s literature, need to be brought to the core of classical studies

Are there three main subgroups within the patellofemoral pain population? A detailed characterisation study of 127 patients to help develop targeted Intervention (TIPPs)

• Background Current multimodal approaches for the management of non-specific patellofemoral pain are not optimal, however, targeted intervention for subgroups could improve patient outcomes. This study explores whether subgrouping of non-specific patellofemoral pain patients, using a series of low cost simple clinical tests, is possible. • Method The exclusivity and clinical importance of potential subgroups was assessed by applying à priori test thresholds (1 SD) from seven clinical tests in a sample of adult patients with non-specific patellofemoral pain. Hierarchical clustering and latent profile analysis, were used to gain additional insights into subgroups using data from the same clinical tests. • Results One hundred and thirty participants were recruited, 127 had complete data: 84 (66%) female, mean age 26 years (SD 5.7) and mean BMI 25.4 (SD 5.83), median (IQR) time between onset of pain and assessment was 24 (7-60) months. Potential subgroups defined by the à priori test thresholds were not mutually exclusive and patients frequently fell into multiple subgroups. Using hierarchical clustering and latent profile analysis three subgroups were identified using 6 of the 7 clinical tests. These subgroups were given the following nomenclature: (i) ‘strong’, (ii) ‘weak and tighter’, and (iii) ‘weak and pronated foot’. • Conclusions We conclude that three subgroups of patellofemoral patients may exist based on the results of six clinical tests which are feasible to perform in routine clinical practice. Further research is needed to validate these findings in other datasets and, if supported by external validation, to see if targeted interventions for these subgroups improve patient outcomes

Exploring the views of dentists and dental support staff regarding multiple caries in children

This paper explores the reasons for multiple caries in children from the viewpoint of clinical practice, namely General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) and their teams, to identify obstacles to reducing inequalities in caries experience. The context of the research is the distribution of dental caries in UK communities where disease prevalence correlates with deprivation and these sub-groups are not attending for dental care on a regular basis. A focus group of dentists, along with individual interviews with dentists and dental support staff were chosen to explore the perceptions of GDPs, Dental Therapists, and Dental Nurses. The content analysis of the data highlighted six main themes. These included sugar, in terms of the amount, availability and the marketing of it; socioeconomic associations with dental caries experience; the dentists’ role; the National Health Service (NHS) dental contract in terms of time-constraints in meeting targets and finally, the management of the child with multiple caries. This research suggests that there are possible barriers to the delivery of equitable care to populations. These include availability and access to GDPs along with the perceptions held by GDPs. Training aimed to develop a targeted behavioural approach towards deprived sub-groups is required in order to avoid unintended social exclusion

Solar Cell Panel and the Method for Manufacturing the Same

According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a solar cell panel and a method for manufacturing the same. The solar cell panel comprises: a solar cell for generating electric power from sunlight; a coverglass for covering the solar cell; transparent shims, which are disposed between the solar cell and the coverglass at the points where the distance between the solar cell and the coverglass needs to be controlled, and form a space between the solar cell and the coverglass; and adhesive layer, which fills the space between the solar cell and the coverglass and has the thickness the same as that of the transparent shims