Discourse Analysis: varieties and methods

This paper presents and analyses six key approaches to discourse analysis, including political discourse theory, rhetorical political analysis, the discourse historical approach in critical discourse analysis, interpretive policy analysis, discursive psychology and Q methodology. It highlights differences and similarities between the approaches along three distinctive dimensions, namely, ontology, focus and purpose. Our analysis reveals the difficulty of arriving at a fundamental matrix of dimensions which would satisfactorily allow one to organize all approaches in a coherent theoretical framework. However, it does not preclude various theoretical articulations between the different approaches, provided one takes a problem-driven approach to social science as one?s starting-point

The biosynthesis of betaine and related compounds in higher plants and fungi

A satisfactory synthesis of crystalline betaine aldehyde was achieved and methods were developed for the isolation and characterization of choline, betaine aldehyde, betaine and related compounds. The suitability of these methods (ion-exchange column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography in particular) were demonstrated by their application to the choline oxidase system known to exist in the mitochondria of rat liver. Attempts were made to demonstrate a similar choline oxidase system in plants. Experiments designed to demonstrate the existence of these enzymes by spectrophotometric and polarographic methods in mitochondria extracted from plant sources were largely unsuccessful. The mitochondria were structurally intact and were of high bio chemical integrity. On the isolated occasions when stimulation of respiration occurred when choline was supplied as substrate, the formation of betaine aldehyde or betaine was never confirmed by the characterization techniques which had been developed. The existence of a permeability barrier to the uptake of choline was discounted as an explanation of the 'latency' of the enzymes investigated. The methods employed to overcome such a barrier in mitochondria extracted from rat liver were without effect on the plant systems. Radioactive choline was taken up by mitochondria, from plants and a fraction of the labelled compound became closely associated with the mitochondrial membranes. However, the level of radioactivity did not increase with time indicating an upper limit of choline uptake or a continual utilization of the choline taken up. The existence of an alternative pathway for the oxidation of choline was superficially examined but no definite conclusions could be reached

The utility of unmanned probes in lunar exploration

Utility of unmanned probes of Ranger or Surveyor class in Apollo exploration program - Lunar scientific exploratio

A theory for investment across defences triggered at different stages of a predator-prey encounter

We introduce a general theoretical description of a combination of defences acting sequentially at different stages in the predatory sequence in order to make predictions about how animal prey should best allocate investment across different defensive stages. We predict that defensive investment will often be concentrated at stages early in the interaction between a predator individual and the prey (especially if investment is concentrated in only one defence, then it will be in the first defence). Key to making this prediction is the assumption that there is a cost to a prey when it has a defence tested by an enemy, for example because this incurs costs of deployment or tested costs as a defence is exposed to the enemies; and the assumption that the investment functions are the same among defences. But if investment functions are different across defences (e.g. the investment efficiency in making resources into defences is higher in later defences than in earlier defences), then the contrary could happen. The framework we propose can be applied to other victim-exploiter systems, such as insect herbivores feeding on plant tissues. This leads us to propose a novel explanation for the observation that herbivory damage is often not well explained by variation in concentrations of toxic plant secondary metabolites. We compare our general theoretical structure with related examples in the literature, and conclude that coevolutionary approaches will be profitable in future work

The Impact of Welfare Reform in Essex: A Report for the Essex Housing Officers' Group

This report, based primarily on open-ended interviews with 40 people living in Essex affected by the 2013 UK Welfare Reform Act, analyses the financial, subjective and social effects of Welfare Reform on those participants. Almost all participants were affected by having to pay the Spare Room Subsidy (?bedroom tax?) and council tax contributions which had reduced weekly incomes, after paying utility bills, to as little as 10 or 20 pounds, meaning that spending on food and heating was squeezed to less than a minimum, and that many participants had fallen into severe debt with utility companies and housing providers. Many participants had also been affected by the Reforms through being re-categorised as available for work from their previous status as disabled and unable to work. These penalties and re-categorisations had made the UK welfare system increasingly precarious and conditional and this was interpreted by many as form of punishment for life events over which they felt they had little control. The result was high levels of stress which participants felt had affected their physical health and their ability to ?take control? of their lives. However, despite the financial problems occasioned by, in particular, the Spare Room Subsidy, most participants preferred to pay the penalty rather than move to a smaller dwelling. Not moving was largely due to perceptions of needing a ?spare? room due to disability or family responsibilities, strong attachments to local communities and dwellings in which they had lived, often, for decades, and the lack of suitable alternatives. Reforms were also seen by participants as strengthening the discourse on welfare claimants as scroungers and liars, which had a further insidious effect on participants? self-identity and mental health. This stigma was also experienced directly through what participants? saw as the belittling attitude of welfare agency workers, their bureaucracy, and an associated lack of consistent information about the Reforms. Despite this, because of the political narrative about welfare claimants as liars and scroungers, almost all participants thought that Welfare Reform was necessary. Yet, participants felt that the reforms had been aimed at the wrong people i.e. people like themselves who had a moral and financial right to adequate welfare