A Very British SUV: How Land Rover Used Sport, Competition and Notions of Adventure to Reinvent the Utility Four Wheel Drive

This paper examines the uses of the Land Rover in sporting activities. It explores how these activities were used to promote and expand the brand as well as the changing (and at times contradictory) customer sensibilities, which significantly impacted both the brand and ultimately the design of vehicles themselves. The Land Rover, originally envisaged as a ‘stop gap’ product for agriculture shortly after the Second World War, rapidly became established as the archetypal four-wheel-drive utility vehicle employed in a bewildering number of diverse roles. One such role to emerge in the 1950s was its use for expeditions, ‘adventure’ and the pursuit of sporting activities. Events such as the London to Singapore ‘First Overland’ expedition of the mid ‘50s, the ‘Darien Gap’ expedition of the ‘70s through to the ‘Camel Trophy’ of the ‘80s were milestones in its ‘sporting’ use. But there was also its use in amateur ‘off- road’ competition such as ‘trialling’ and its supporting role for the ‘country set’ through its use in hunting, shooting and equine sports. It has been said that Land Rover capitalised on the colonial notions of African adventures as well as masculine ideas of ‘off-roading’ to sell its products. However these themes were absorbed quite late in the products identity with the history of the brand being more nuanced and at times contradictory than the vehicles iconic status would now suggest. It can be argued that Rover (the original manufacturer) played ‘catch-up’ with the uses buyers were putting the vehicle to and then retrospectively built a brand identity on these emerging ‘value complexes’. This lead to a change in the value complexes associated with the vehicle and in time, spawned the proto-SUV the ‘Range Rover’ and, later, other models such as the ‘Discovery’, ‘Freelander’ and ‘Range Rover Sport’

Designing the Post-Colonial Car: a Bumpy Road for Personal Transport in Africa.

The history of the car in Africa engages with many of the colonial interests in the region but the topic has remained largely ignored by design historians. This article explores three attempts made to develop a post-colonial car for manufacture in Africa. In the 1980s the Englishman Tony Howarth designed the ‘Africar’, a vehicle intended specifically for rural Africa, constructed with a wooden body and an engine borrowed from the Citroën 2CV. The 1990s saw the ‘Uri’ design, initially developed by a Namibian farmer as a simple and robust 4x4. Currently the ‘Mobius’, an inexpensive yet rugged car, is under development in Kenya. Success for all of these vehicles has been problematic however. Despite various attempts, and a growing demand for personal transport in Africa, there is as yet no indigenously designed and manufactured car addressing the continents needs. This article explores these examples and asks what factors have prevented the creation of an indigenous car for post-colonial Africa. The recent ‘centre-periphery’ debate is applied to the case, the notion that there is one solution for an entire continent, and the intra-African factors that have inhibited the emergence of an African car industry are also explored

Rule analysis and social analysis

This thesis investigates the use of rules in the analysis of language mastery and human action, which are both viewed as social phenomena. The investigation is conducted through an examination of two analyses of the use of language in everyday social life and documents how each formulates a different understanding of rule-following in explaining linguistic and social action. The analyses in question are ‘Speech Act Theory' and 'Ethnomethodology'. The principal idea of speech act theory is that social action is rule-governed, and the theory attempts to explain the possibility of meaningful social interaction on that basis. The rigidities imposed by the notion of rule-governance frustrate that aim. The thesis then turns to an examination of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis and contrasts the notion of rule-orientation developed by that perspective. From that examination it becomes clear that what is on offer is not just a greater flexibility in the use of rules, but a restructuring of the concept of analysis itself. It is argued that re-structuring amounts to a reflexive conception of analysis. Its meaning and implications are enlarged upon through a close scrutiny of the later philosophy of Wittgenstein, particularly his concern with the nature of rule-following in his ‘Philosophical Investigations'. The thesis argues that his concern with rules was motivated by his insight that their use as ‘explanations’ of action said as much about the formulater of the rule as the activities the rules were held to formulate. The thesis concludes by outlining the meaning of this analytic reflexivity for social scientific findings

The Making of a Design Icon: The Utility Land Rover

The utility Land Rover, launched in 1948, was designed to meet the assumed needs of agriculture and to address the British government’s imposed export imperative. These very particular circumstances nevertheless yielded long-term success for the vehicle, leading to 67 years of continuous production. How then did a vehicle frequently characterised as a ‘stopgap’ product, intended to overcome the commercial constraints of the post-war British motor industry, go from humble workhorse to long-lived mythologised automotive icon? This research examines the factors leading to its prolonged production, the petrification of the design, as well as the changing value complexes associated with the utility Land Rover over time. It also deconstructs, by case study, the notion of iconisation with regard to technical artefacts and the significance of the vehicles reputation to the later hugely successful Land Rover corporate brand. A hybrid methodological model developed as part of the research and drawing from actor network theory (ANT), elements of the social construction of technology (SCOT) as well as ‘informational capital’ is employed. This is then utilised to identify and integrate the factors that led to the utility Land Rover’s longevity and its later frequent characterisation as an automotive icon. Furthermore, this innovative hybrid model seeks to make an original contribution to design history methodology by combining existing methodologies in an information flow diagram that facilitates the intergraded analysis of diverse factors affecting the development and nature of technical artefacts, particularly those that are long-lived. This thesis thereby demonstrates that the history of the utility Land Rover is one of persistence: operationally, culturally and temporally. Although anachronistic in many ways by the time production ended, the vehicle’s ability to remain relevant for seven decades was largely rooted in its versatility, both in terms of application but also through interpretive flexibility and its significance to relevant social groups. Findings also reveal that the process of iconisation requires either physical or cultural longevity of the artefact and is largely a democratised process reached by consensus, although the term ‘iconic’ has been progressively devalued through habituated use in the media. The research undertaken also highlights and seeks to address the limited design history research regarding automotive design particularly with regard to utility, the potential for engaging with enthusiasts and examining subjectivity in design historical scholarship, as well as the largely neglected topic of the design history of the car in developing countries

The causes and circumstances of drinking water incidents impact consumer behaviour:Comparison of a routine versus a natural disaster incident

When public health is endangered, the general public can only protect themselves if timely messages are received and understood. Previous research has shown that the cause of threats to public health can affect risk perception and behaviours. This study compares compliance to public health advice and consumer behaviour during two "Boil Water" notices issued in the UK due to a routine incident versus a natural disaster incident. A postal questionnaire was sent to 1000 randomly selected households issued a routine "Boil Water" notice. Findings were then compared to a previous study that explored drinking water behaviour during a "Boil Water" notice issued after serious floods. Consumers affected by the routine incident showed a significant preference for official water company information, whereas consumers affected by the natural disaster preferred local information sources. Confusion over which notice was in place was found for both incidents. Non-compliance was significantly higher for the natural disaster (48.3%) than the routine incident (35.4%). For the routine incident, compliance with advice on drinking as well as preparing/cooking food and brushing teeth was positively associated with receiving advice from the local radio, while the opposite was true for those receiving advice from the water company/leaflet through the post; we suggest this may largely be due to confusion over needing boiled tap water for brushing teeth. No associations were found for demographic factors. We conclude that information dissemination plans should be tailored to the circumstances under which the advice is issued. Water companies should seek to educate the general public about water notices and which actions are safe and unsafe during which notice, as well as construct and disseminate clearer advice on brushing teeth and preparing/cooking food

Understanding the mental health of doctoral researchers: a mixed methods systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-synthesis.

Data from studies with undergraduate and postgraduate taught students suggest that they are at an increased risk of having mental health problems, compared to the general population. By contrast, the literature on doctoral researchers (DRs) is far more disparate and unclear. There is a need to bring together current findings and identify what questions still need to be answered. We conducted a mixed methods systematic review to summarise the research on doctoral researchers' (DRs) mental health. Our search revealed 52 articles that were included in this review. The results of our meta-analysis found that DRs reported significantly higher stress levels compared with population norm data. Using meta-analyses and meta-synthesis techniques, we found the risk factors with the strongest evidence base were isolation and identifying as female. Social support, viewing the PhD as a process, a positive student-supervisor relationship and engaging in self-care were the most well-established protective factors. We have identified a critical need for researchers to better coordinate data collection to aid future reviews and allow for clinically meaningful conclusions to be drawn. PROSPERO registration CRD42018092867

Induction of astrocytic cyclooxygenase-2 in epileptic patients with hippocampal sclerosis

Induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) has been described in a wide range of neurological diseases including animal models of epilepsy. The present study was undertaken to assess COX-2 expression in hippocampal biopsies from patients with therapy-refractive temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). For this purpose, hippocampal CA1 subfield was dissected from epileptic patients with (n=5) or without (n=2) hippocampal sclerosis (HS). COX-2 expression was investigated using immunohistochemistry and semi-quantitative RT-PCR. COX-2 immunoreactivity in TLE patient material in the absence of HS was restricted to a few neurons of the hippocampus. In the presence of HS, on the other hand, a significant induction of astrocytic COX-2 immunoreactivity associated with a concomitant increase in the steady-state level of COX-2 mRNA was observed in the CA1 subfield. These findings suggest that induction of astrocytic COX-2 is implicated in the pathogenesis of HS in TLE and is consistent with the previous findings of increased concentrations of prostaglandins in the cerebrospinal fluid of these patients

Increased expression of "peripheral-type" benzodiazepine receptors in human temporal lobe epilepsy: implications for PET imaging of hippocampal sclerosis

Increased binding sites for "peripheral-type" benzodiazepine receptor (PTBR) ligands have been described in a wide range of neurological disorders including both human and experimental epilepsy. This study was undertaken to assess PTBR expression in relation to the presence of hippocampal sclerosis in human temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). For this purpose, hippocampal CA1 subfields were dissected from surgical samples from patients with therapy-refractive TLE with (n = 5) or without (n = 2) hippocampal sclerosis and from age-matched nonepileptic postmortem controls (n = 5). PTBR expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Receptor sites were evaluated using an in vitro binding assay and the selective PTBR ligand [3H]PK11195. Epileptic patients with hippocampal sclerosis showed increases in PTBR binding sites, immunoreactivity, and mRNA expression compared to both nonsclerotic TLE patients and postmortem nonepileptic controls. Induction of PTBR expression and binding sites were directly correlated with the presence of hippocampal sclerosis and the accompanying reactive gliosis