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This thesis aims to interrogate the potential for equality of participation in theatrical performance for deaf and hearing actors and spectators. The research builds on earlier work by the author that reveals that existing methods employed to provide accessibility for deaf people are widely considered by deaf spectators to be ineffective in offering equality of participation. It sits within an interdisciplinary theoretical frame that draws from Deaf Studies, Performance Studies and Bourdieu's field theory. Methodologically the research is grounded in Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed and draws on the principles of Participatory Action Research, guidelines for ethical practice when working with deaf people, and Applied Theatre practice as research. Knowledge is generated by a group of ten actors, five who self-identify as deaf and five as hearing. They are tasked with identifying techniques for creating performances that might be equally accessible to deaf and hearing audiences. Over five days they devise nine new scenes, the primary data of the project. The scenes are shown to a mixed deaf/hearing audience, and metadata concerning audience response to the scenes are generated in focus groups. Further metadata concerning the creative process are generated by the actors, using reflective diaries and small group reflexive interviews. Throughout the project, the lead researcher predominantly adopts the role of participant observer; his field notes also form part of the metadata. The scenes created employ a variety of cross-cultural and bilingual performance techniques. Despite the ensemble's view that each scene will be successful in offering access, the response of the spectators suggests that equality of participation is not achieved; the societal frames of each group create different expectations and prejudices that influence the receptive process. Socio-analysis of the metadata concerning the creative process reveals a similar situation. Examples of practice do occur, however, in which equality of participation is achieved. This is dependent on participants over-riding their own ideological positions, particularly those concerning language and translation, to create a third space where practice is not determined by field conditions, but instead where participants who draw from both oppressor and oppressed groups work together to create a utopia of Freirean equality.

This study investigates Irish masculinities on Tyneside with thirty eight men of Irish descent over three living generations. The intergenerational approach to researching men’s lives contributes to the geographies of masculinities literature by researching the relationships between place, age, and gender. It considers the intersections of masculinity with roles within the family: such as son, father and grandfather. Furthermore, it looks at masculinities in the context of the workplace, the home, the school, and wider social settings to shed light on the aspirations and economic priorities of ‘Irish’ men. These discussions reveal gender and generation dynamics: looking at ‘growing up’ in the post industrial city; at the fusion of Irish and Geordie cultures; as well as the underpinning influence of class and religion. I note the intersections of age, roles within the family, embodied working identities and attitudes towards a religious upbringing as key to understanding the everyday experiences of men of Irish descent, in what I have called ‘Irish Incarnate’. To date, there has been much work on the intersectional aspects of identity – gender, race, religion – though much less which combines this with an intergenerational approach. I argue that generational differences have acted as a force of change in the perceptions and performances of Tyneside Irish masculinities. The thesis reveals significant change, often shaped by wider socio-economic factors, such as social mobility and the declining role of institutional religion; but also continuity, through an inheritance of culture and heritage and at times an explicit resistance to change. Through studying the processes of place, age, and masculinity with men of Irish descent I analyse how they negotiate growing up and growing old and all that is in between; how nationality is considered across generations, of what bits of them they claim to be Irish and why; and why ultimately, this all matters.

One of the central concerns in recent anthropological theory has been the status of objectivity. In the influential writing of James Clifford, it is argued that anthropology needs to recognise that it can only establish 'partial truths' and that holistic and integrated disciplinary approaches are untenable. The re-evaluation of the subjective brings any concept of objectivity into question. Clifford's work has had such an influence that it suggests a generalised crisis is perceived in relation to how anthropological conceptions of objectivity have been established. The thesis will consider this question by looking back to aspects of the romantic tradition. It will especially consider surrealism in anthropological perspective and will question the way in which Clifford has founded his subjectivism in his understanding of surrealism. It will be argued that surrealism sought its own standard of objectivity which issued out of romanticism and needs to be considered in such historical perspective. It will be further argued that romantic concepts of objectivity have been systematically distorted by positivism, something which has had important consequences for the history of anthropology. This was particularly so in that romanticism provided anthropology with a methodological tool, in the concept of empathy, against which positivist and empiricist inductive methodologies based on intensive fieldwork have reacted. This entails a re-consideration of the nature of anthropological evidence and its effects, particularly in the way we construct images of other people. The aim will be to show that it is only through an understanding of the process of reciprocity that takes account not only of the nature of otherness but also our notions of the familiar that a genuine anthropological objectivity can be established. It will be argued that the current idea of a reflexive anthropology is inadequate to engage with all the implications of such an approach.

In bird embryos, melanin pigments in the feathers are made by melanocytes derived from the neural crest. I have examined the mechanisms by which these cells can give rise to pigment patterns. In the embryonic quail wing, most of the dorsal feather papillae are heavily pigmented, while many of those on the ventral surface are unpigmented. When quail neural crest cells were grafted to the chick, they gave rise to a pigment pattern which bore little or no resemblance to the donor. In contrast to the quail, the guinea fowl embryo has pigment in nearly all of its wing feathers, including those on the ventral surface. Chimaerae made from these species showed pigment patterns which, in most cases, corresponded to the genotype of the feathers and not that of the crest cells. Histological studies of the quail-chick chimaera showed that undifferentiated neural crest cells were present in unpigmented feathers. The same was shown to be true of the normal quail embryo: ectoderm was taken from unpigmented feathers and then grown in vitro. Melanocytes appeared in the culture after 3 days. Dihydroxyphenylalanlne (DOPA) was used to examine melanocyte differentiation. Pigmented feathers were DOPA-positive, while unpigmented feathers were DOPA-negative. A graft of polarizing region to the anterior margin of the quail wing produced a wing in which the cartilage, feather, and pigment patterns were all a mirror-image. The following model is proposed: pigment patterns arise from local cues In the feathers acting upon the differentiation of a uniformly distributed population of neural crest cells. These local cues constitute an Isomorphic prepattern, which may be specified by positional information.

On a hot summer day, high levels of solar radiation are incident on concrete bridge decks, causing non-linear variations in temperature through the depths of the structures. The changes in temperature lead to axial expansion and curvature of decks. In addition, self-equilibrating stresses arise from the non-linearity of the temperature profiles. In continuous structures, where axial expansion and curvature may be restrained, secondary thermal stresses are induced also. Tests are described in which reinforced concrete beams were subjected to daily cycles of heating. Applied temperature profiles were similar to maximum positive profiles for the United Kingdom. It was found that a linear elastic analysis, based on the uncracked section, generally gave an adequate prediction of thermal strains of non-loaded and loaded single span beams during heating cycles. Changes in curvature, during heating, were substantially modified in the early stages of loading, due to the existence of creep curvatures. Two span beams were tested also, with special regard to changes in support reactions during heating. No evidence was found in any of the tests of increases in the extent of cracking as a result of heating. Daily heating cycles were imposed over several weeks and evidence was found of a steady increase in the coefficient of thermal expansion, attributed to drying. Changes in curvature resulting from non-uniform shrinkage were observed, these being greatest in non-heated beams. Creep curvatures were found to increase roughly in proportion to the time-averaged beam temperature. Creep results were compared with prediction methods, including an incremental rate of creep analysis. Additional tests are described in which variations in moisture content and in the coefficient of thermal expansion within members were identified, using a segmentation technique.

This study uses the biographical method to explore the postbellum Indian Wars that resulted in the consolidation of federal authority over the territory and peoples of the trans-Mississippi West. Frontier army officers Richard Pratt, Gustavus Doane, and Charles Gatewood commanded Indian scouts during campaigns to subjugate tribes that resisted federal authority. Military records and other archival sources, including personal memoirs, allow us to understand this process of consolidation through their experiences. What these officers accomplished by, with, or through Indian scouts provide windows on the army’s essential role in consolidating federal authority. They also demonstrate the effect of their individual agency on the broader outcomes of consolidation.The army was sent west to nation build following the Civil War, facilitating settlement and development throughout the region. To limit friction between settler and Indian communities along the frontier the federal government sought to concentrate Indians on reservations. The army’s role was to subjugate Indian tribes that violently resisted concentration. Pratt enabled General Philipp Sheridan’s plan to subdue the Comanche by employing scouts from a variety of tribes to lead army columns during the 1874-75 Red River War campaign. Doane acted through the Crow tribe to support army commands during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. In the final phase of consolidation, Gatewood acted with two Apache scouts to open negotiations with Geronimo, resulting in his surrender to General Nelson Miles. The role of commanding scouts also allowed officers to transcend the rigid regimental structure and stagnation of the army’s promotion system. These officers had outsized effects on how consolidation was implemented and, importantly, how we understand that historical process today. Pratt changed the national discourse on Indian assimilation, eliminating overt extermination from the debate. Doane’s official reports motivated national leaders to preserve a precious western landscape, thereby redefining the possible outcomes of consolidation. Gatewood’s faithfulness provided the myth of the west one of its central characters, who remains the benchmark for understanding consolidation today. This study also prepares us to more effectively examine current U.S. policies, the army’s role in implementing those policies, and the effects officers have on implementation.

A highly efficient, low-power, compact thermal neutron detection system with excellent gamma-ray discrimination is desired for a number of applications. 10B [boron- 10] has a large cross section for thermal values and a Q-value of 2.78 MeV. For this reason, investigations into boron carbide, boron nitride, and boron phosphide semiconductor neutron detectors are underway. Because boron carbide has the highest fraction of boron of the three, it holds the highest potential. With this in mind, a hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) system was designed and built in order to grow thin films of boron carbide onto n-type silicon substrates. Deposition was accomplished via the thermal decomposition of B2H6 [diborane] and CH4 [methane].

The National Graphical Association (NGA) typified the British model of craft unionism with substantial positional power and organisational strength. This study finds that it relied upon, and was reinforced by, the common occupational bonds that members identified with. It concludes that the value of collective identity warrants greater attention in the debate over union renewal alongside theories around mobilisation and organising (Kelly 2018), alliance-building and social movements (Holgate 2014). Sectionalism builds solidarity through the exclusion of others. Occupational identity is vulnerable to technological change. This model neglects institutional and associational power, eschewing legal protections in favour of collective bargaining and ignoring alliance-building in favour of sovereign authority. The development of large conglomerate unions has placed membership unity over sectionalist solidarity but membership and its density in workplaces have fallen (Trade Union Statistics).This thesis concludes that the capacity for strategic choice by union leaders depends upon the union's leverage with employers and its ability to mobilise collective action within and beyond the workplace. These rely on strong collective identity of workers as demonstrated by the NGA in its 1980 national printing campaign. The series of employment laws, launched in 1980, has constrained strategic options available to union leaders but the thesis argues that the technology and non-union labour rather than new laws were the critical factor in the NGA's defeat in the 1983 Messenger dispute. The loss of positional power exposed the weakness of associational power when the NGA looked to the TUC and union allies for aid. It argues that the forces that had made the union organisationally strong prevented it from taking alternative routes to survive or to transform itself in the face of fundamental technological change. Yet this should not lead union strategists from paying more attention to the value of sectional occupational identity in the mobilisation and organisation of workers.

Rhenium (VII) oxides have proven to be mild and versatile catalysts in organic chemistry. They have previously been utilized to catalyze the transposition of allylic aclohols, Prins reaction, and reductive amination to name a few examples. This thesis reports the application of Re(VII) oxide in the substitution of hemi-acetals with a wide array of nucleophiles including oxo-, thio-, and peroxy-nucleophiles. These reactions proceed efficiently with rapid reaction times and high yields. Adviser: Patrick H. Dussault