Generalising quasinormal subgroups

In Cossey and Stonehewer ['On the rarity of quasinormal subgroups', Rend. Semin. Mat. Univ. Padova 125 (2011), 81-105] it is shown that for any odd prime p and integer n >= 3, there is a finite p-group G of exponent p(n) containing a quasinormal subgroup H of exponent p(n-1) such that the nontrivial quasinormal subgroups of G lying in H can have exponent only p, p(n-1) or, when n >= 4, p(n-2). Thus large sections of these groups are devoid of quasinormal subgroups. The authors ask in that paper if there is a nontrivial subgroup-theoretic property X: of finite p-groups such that (i) X is invariant under subgroup lattice isomorphisms and (ii) every chain of X-subgroups of a finite p-group can be refined to a composition series of X-subgroups. Failing this, can such a chain always be refined to a series of X-subgroups in which the intervals between adjacent terms are restricted in some significant way? The present work embarks upon this quest

Addressing Obstacles to Success: Improving student completion, retention and achievement in science modules in applied health programmes, with particular reference to Maori

The overall aim of our research project is to remove “the problem” of achievement in science for students in the nursing and midwifery programmes. Past students have reported science as difficult and time-consuming, and their achievement results reflected this. Science was seen as a barrier to overall course success (Gibson et al, 2005). Other research (Zepke, et al, 2006; Otrel-Cass et al, 2006) has focused on problems of retention and completion in the tertiary sector, thus locating the student or the tertiary context as the problem. Our research rests on a different proposition, arguing that the curriculum is at the root of “the problem”. We are adjusting the science curriculum in an attempt to make the links between science and practice more explicit, so that students might see greater relevance for their learning, make richer links to prior experience and more explicitly link the science to their chosen careers

Gender, faith, and storytelling: an ethnography of the charismatic Internet

Although early predictions that an emerging ‘cyberspace’ could exist in separation from offline life have been largely discarded, anthropological studies of the internet have continued to find notions of ‘virtual reality’ relevant as individuals use these technologies to fulfil the “pledges they have already made” (Boellstorff, 2008; Miller & Slater, 2001: 19) about their own selfhood and their place in the world. There are parallels between this concept of ‘virtual reality’ and the on-going spiritual labour of Charismatic Christians in the UK, who seek in the context of a secularising nation to maintain a sense of presence in the “coming Kingdom” of God. The everyday production of this expanded spiritual context depends to a large extend on verbal genres that are highly gendered. For women, declarations of faith are often tied to domestic settings, personal narratives, and the unspoken testimony of daily life (e.g. Lawless, 1988; Griffith, 1997). The technologies of the internet, whose emerging genres challenge boundaries between personal and social, public and private, can cast a greater illumination on this inward-focused labour. This doctoral thesis is based on ethnographic research in four Charismatic Evangelical congregations and examination of the online practices of churchgoers. I have found that the use of the internet by Charismatic Christian women fits with wider religious preoccupations and patterns of ritual practice. Words posted through Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and other online platforms come to resemble in their form as well as their content Christian narratives of a life with meaning

The last glaciers in Western Perthshire

The principal aim of the work described in this thesis was to discover the extent of the last stage of glaciation in the western part of Highland Perthshire.After preparatory stereoscopic study cf aerial photographs, an area of 450 sq. km in Glen Lyon and southern Rannoch Moor was mapped at the 1:10,560 scale and subsequently another 2250 sq. km were mapped at the 1:63,360 scale. Features of special interest, such as outwash terraces and the lake terraces or 'Parallel Roads' of Loch Tulla, were mapped in greater detail and instrumentally levelled.Particular attention was paid to the character and extent of fresh hummocky drift, described by earlier workers as 'hummocky moraine' and thought to belong to a distinct period of glaciation. From examination of thepatt.ern of this hummocky drift and of the constituent sediments it was concluded that the features are basically kames that are often thickly covered with ablation moraine.Eight major valley systems were studied. They include Glen Garry - Glen Errochty, the Loch Rannoch - Loch Tummel valley, Glen Lyon, the Loch Tay valley, Glen Almond, Glen Artney, Loch Voil - Loch Earn and the Trossachs - Teith valleys, in addition to part of Rannoch Moor. The evidence of fresh glacial deposits in these valleys indicates that a system of glaciers existed in the area during the last stage of glaciation.By discussing the valley systems in turn and regarding each as a case that can be justified independently of the others, it is concluded for three reasons that the last glaciers in each area existed during the same lateglacial period. Firstly, there is one clear down -valley limit to the fresh hummocky drift in each valley system. Secondly, with the exception of the isolated Glen Almond area, the spread of moundy drift continues from one valley system to the next via interconnecting valleys. Thirdly, the pattern of glaciers inferred from the evidence appears to be inherently probable.There are five principal reasons for concluding that these glaciers existed during pollen Zone III. Sediments from present or former lakes just outside the limit of the last Glen Almond glacier and just outside the terminal moraine of the last Teith glacier contain pollen from much of the Lateglacial, including the interstadial preceding Zone III, but the earliest deposits found immediately inside the Teith moraine belong to the Postglacial. Secondly, the Teith terminal moraine occupies a position at the mouth of a Highland valley analogous to those of the neighbouring Menteith and Loch Lomond terminal moraines that were dated by pollen and radiocarbon analyses as having been formed in Zone III. Thirdly, a suite of outwash terraces formed beyond the Teith moraine passes into a buried fan that was largely deposited during a period of low sea -level when the adjacent Menteith moraine was being formed, that is in Zone III. Fourthly, whereas the largest glaciers in the thesis area advanced eastwards from the west Highland watershed area, other major glaciers flowed westwards from this watershed to the western coast. It is generally considered on morphological evidence that the glaciers that terminated at Benderloch, Loch Leven, Loch Linnhe, Loch Shiel and Loch Morar represented the Loch Lomond Readvance in Zone III, whilst radiocarbon dating of organic material proves that the Benderloch glaciers existed during Zone III. Fifthly, it seems entirely logical to expect that the limits in the Highland part of western Perthshire that do not happen to have been independently dated by pollen studies should have been formed in the same period as those that have been dated.It is concluded that the last valley glaciers in western Perthshire were part of the Loch Lomond Readvance that is correctly correlated with pollen Zone III

Borderline personality disorder from both sides : staff and client perspectives

The difficulties faced by individuals attracting a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are multiple and varied. Whilst the psychological difficulties characteristic of this diagnosis have a significant impact on these clients’ everyday lives, they also contend with others’ attitudes and responses to their diagnosis, which has proved both controversial and stigmatising. Chapter one concentrates on the stigma that surrounds the BPD label by presenting a systematic review of the literature relating to professionals’ attitudes and responses to individuals diagnosed with BPD. This highlights the predominantly negative perceptions of this client group, the strength of countertransference experienced by professionals working with this client group, and the ways in which clinicians respond to this. Chapter two concentrates on the perspectives of clients with BPD by reporting an empirical study investigating the lived experiences of parenting for mothers with BPD. The experiences of six mothers are explored using a phenomenological approach and the themes emerging from their interviews are discussed in detail. The findings are considered in relation to the existing literature and the implications in terms of providing support for mothers with BPD are discussed. Chapter three continues the theme of motherhood by presenting a reflective paper focussing on the analysis of parenting–related dreams experienced by the author during the course of the research. The personal and professional implications of the dream analysis and research completion are considered

Best Practices of Sport For Development: A Case Study of An African Organization

Sport-for-development is the active practice of achieving social ideals through the use of sport and other traditional development programs. The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate SFD best practices from the context of an African organization development project. The case was a development organization in Zambia, Africa that was utilizing sport within its strategy. The data collection and analysis framed using Curado and Bontis (2007) MIC Matrix, the Sport For Development International Working Group’s (2007) best practices model, and B. Kidd’s (2011) Sport-in-Development Logic Model. The research supports that a SFD project is multi-faceted and should include the employment of strategic community programming on the basis of collaborative and integrative sport, health care and education. Further, the researcher found that the best practices include setting specific goals and objectives, as well as instituting regular monitoring and evaluation strategie

Methodology for Analysis of Diet Grit Size on Molar Attrition for Fourche Maline and Caddo People

Using the Murphy (1959) system for scoring the degree of dentin exposure, Fourche Maline (Woodland) molars show a greater attrition rate than Caddo (Mississippian) molars. Archeological evidence suggests that this differential in attrition rates is caused by the use of stone grinders for food preparation in the Fourche Maline culture and their absence among the Caddo. Analysis of scratches on the occlusal surface of molars from these samples confirms this hypothesis. Several techniques for observing these scratches and reconstructing the grit sizes and grit particle frequencies responsible for this differential abrasion are evaluated