Studies in the genus Luzula

#1. Luzula campestris (L) DC. as described in Buchenau's Monograph of the Juncaceae is morphologically very diverse; to the twenty varieties described in this work, six more have been added since 1906. #2. The geographical distributions of these taxa are different; many of them overlap, but some cover only a very limited area. #3. The taxa found in Europe are ecologically separated* Their morphology has been more closely examined, and they are found to fall into six quite distinct groups: sudetica, pallescens, campestris, multiflora, campestris and congesta. A small proportion of plants could not be assigned to any taxon, and must be considered as possible hybrids or as intermediate forms. The flowering time of campestris is two or three months before that of the other taxa. #4. Three of the taxa are very common in Britain: campestris, multiflora and congesta. They are ecologically separated, campestris growing in dry grassland, multiflora in woods and congesta in moors and bogs. #5. Detailed examination of the morphology of these three taxa shows that they remain more or less distinct in the field, but that they do merge into each other to some extent. The number of plants intermediate between congesta and multiflora is much greater than the number between campestris and either of them. #6. The three taxa mentioned above were grown under identical conditions in the experimental garden. The morphological differences were maintained in the floral characters, and the differences between campestris and the other taxa in the vegetative characters were emphasised. #7. Chromosome counts were obtained from seedlings and from plants grown in cultivation. The numbers obtained were: - pallescens 2n = 12 diploid; campestris 2n = 12 diploid; multiflora 2n = 36 hexaploid; con fiesta 2n = 48 octoploid; multiflora x congesta 2n = 42 heptaploid. #8. The evidence from the morphology, ecology and cytology of the British material suggests that specific rank should be given to all three. #9. If (campestris) multiflora and con esta are recognised at specific rank, it seems to be reasonable that most of the other varieties should receive the same treatment. Specific rank is therefore proposed for all the varieties of L. campestris in Buchenau, with the exception of flaccida, debilis and calabra, of which insufficient material was available. Specific rank is also recommended for L, echinata, L. bulbosa and probably also for L. kobaysii, L. k;jelimnnniana and L. cusickii. #10. Although the taxa warrant specific rank, some recognition of their affinities should be made. They should perhaps therefore be considered as an aggregate species, L. campestris agg., which is composed of a polyploid complex of related species

Therapists’ and Interpreters’ Perceptions of the Relationships When Working with Refugee Clients

This dissertation consists of two articles focusing on foreign language interpreters in mental health. The first article is a literature review examining the existing research on mental health professionals working with foreign language interpreters while conducting therapy with refugee clients. After excluding articles that were not research studies and those that focused on physicians rather than therapists, 19 articles fit the search criteria. The majority of the articles that did not fall into the research category focused on recommendations and protocols for treatment. Those that did fit within the criteria were categorized into 5 main themes. Those themes were: effectiveness research, emotional influences, therapeutic alliance, role of the interpreter, and therapists’ experiences of interpreter roles. The second article explored the interpreters’ and therapists’ perceptions of the triadic and dyadic relationships within the therapist-interpreter-refugee client system. A systemic lens was adopted to directly examine the question of how interpreters and therapists working with refugee clients experience the relationships among interpreters, therapists, and refugee clients in therapy. Three interpreters and three therapists were interviewed and four themes and nine subthemes emerged, all centered around a triadic relationship between the therapist, interpreter and client. This study revealed a circular process within the triadic system in which all of the members of the system influenced one another. It also revealed a reciprocal process in which both the therapist and the interpreter’s perception of the other member’s relationship with the client influenced the individual’s feelings of effectiveness in therapy

Therapists’ and Interpreters’ Perceptions of the Relationships When Working with Refugee Clients

This dissertation consists of two articles focusing on foreign language interpreters in mental health. The first article is a literature review examining the existing research on mental health professionals working with foreign language interpreters while conducting therapy with refugee clients. After excluding articles that were not research studies and those that focused on physicians rather than therapists, 19 articles fit the search criteria. The majority of the articles that did not fall into the research category focused on recommendations and protocols for treatment. Those that did fit within the criteria were categorized into 5 main themes. Those themes were: effectiveness research, emotional influences, therapeutic alliance, role of the interpreter, and therapists’ experiences of interpreter roles. The second article explored the interpreters’ and therapists’ perceptions of the triadic and dyadic relationships within the therapist-interpreter-refugee client system. A systemic lens was adopted to directly examine the question of how interpreters and therapists working with refugee clients experience the relationships among interpreters, therapists, and refugee clients in therapy. Three interpreters and three therapists were interviewed and four themes and nine subthemes emerged, all centered around a triadic relationship between the therapist, interpreter and client. This study revealed a circular process within the triadic system in which all of the members of the system influenced one another. It also revealed a reciprocal process in which both the therapist and the interpreter’s perception of the other member’s relationship with the client influenced the individual’s feelings of effectiveness in therapy

The impacts of short break provision on disabled children and families: an international literature review

For over 30 years, short breaks have been part of the landscape of support provision for families with a disabled child. Historically, the term ‘respite care’ has been used in much of the research literature concerning short breaks for families with a disabled child. However, ‘short breaks’ has become the preferred term, partly due to the negative connotations of family carers requiring ‘respite’ from their children, and partly because short breaks now encompass a much wider range of supports than out-of-home placement in specialist residential facilities (Cramer and Carlin, 2008). As such, the term ‘short breaks’ will be used throughout this review, with the exception of direct quotes from research studies where the term ‘respite’ is used by study participants or study authors

The Impact of Short Breaks on Families with a Disabled Child: Report One of the Quantitative Phase

This document reports on a cross-sectional sample of families with a disabled child using short breaks in England; it describes the characteristics of children and families using short breaks, the nature and quantity of the short breaks they are using, their experiences of and satisfaction with short breaks and which factors are associated with a range of outcomes for family carers, disabled children and their siblings. This report uses both quantitative data derived from standardised questions and qualitative data from family members’ written responses to open-ended questions in the survey instruments

Gold standard or fool's gold: the pursuit of certainty in experimental criminology

This article assesses some of the claims made for experimental research in the field of rehabilitation of offenders. It suggests that both policy officials and evaluators have tended to over-invest financially and intellectually in a technocratic model of reducing reoffending that emphasizes programmes for offenders, and to under-invest in models that see the process as a complex ‘people changing’ skill. It argues that the complexity of this process renders it hard to evaluate using experimental methods of evaluation such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs). RCTs provide strong internal validity, but in complex settings offer weak external validity, making it hard to generalize from the experimental setting to other settings. The article suggests that the proper role for evaluative research in this field should be seen as building and testing middle-level theories about how best to change offenders’ behaviour

Mortality in people with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy:a systematic review

Purpose: Epilepsy is highly prevalent in people with intellectual disabilities and mortality is increased in people with epilepsy generally. This review summarises research on the comparative risk of mortality in people with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy compared to the general population, people with intellectual disabilities without epilepsy, and people with epilepsy without intellectual disabilities. Method: Studies were identified via electronic searches using Medline, Cinahl and PsycINFO and cross-citations. Information extracted from studies was tabulated and reviewed narratively. Results: Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Epilepsy was associated with increased mortality in people with intellectual disabilities in most studies, particularly in those experiencing recent seizures. Further research is needed to substantiate some of the reported findings. Conclusion: Services must be equipped with the skills and information needed to manage this condition in order to minimise the risk of death in people with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy. (C) 2015 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The impact of health checks for people with intellectual disabilities:an updated systematic review of evidence

Health checks for people with intellectual disabilities have been recommended as one component of international health policy responses to the poorer health of people with intellectual disabilities. This review updates a previously published review summarising evidence on the impact of health checks on the health and well-being of people with intellectual disabilities. Electronic literature searches and email contacts were used to identify literature relevant to the impact of health checks for people with intellectual disabilities published from 1989 to 2013. Forty-eight publications were identified, of which eight articles and two reports were newly identified and not included in the previous review. These involved checking the health of people with intellectual disabilities from a range of countries including a full range of people with intellectual disabilities. Health checks consistently led to detection of unmet health needs and targeted actions to address health needs. Health checks also had the potential to increase knowledge of the health needs of people with intellectual disabilities amongst health professionals and support staff, and to identify gaps in health services. Health checks are effective in identifying previously unrecognised health needs, including life threatening conditions. Future research should consider strategies for optimising the cost effectiveness or efficiency of health checks