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Consider the following two commonly held views in Ethics. Firstly, that for something to be a reason for an agent to act it must be capable of motivating them ('reasons internalism'). Secondly, that agents have reasons - most obviously moral reasons - to act in at least some ways whatever their motivations may be. These two views would at least appear to be in conflict with each other. Internalists however, maintain that they can be reconciled. It is argued that, given the nature of moral reasons, no such reconciliation could succeed. The argument is based in part on exploring the different attempts at reconciliation offered by three contemporary philosophers within the internalist tradition - David Gauthier, Mark Schroeder & Christine Korsgaard - each of which is shown to fail. It is then argued that this failure at reconciliation is endemic to internalism; internalism necessarily involves imposing a flawed constraint on what normative reasons can exist, which in practice makes it incompatible with the existence of moral reasons.

In modern capitalist societies such as Britain work performed by children outside school hours is invariably officially portrayed (and, indeed, widely perceived) as a harmless, and even educational activity. However, in recent years research has shown that this ‘idealistic’ conception of employment alongside learning is not necessarily accurate. In relation to the employment of school children, since the early 1970s a host of studies have been published, which suggest that the paid labour activities performed by children in Western European nations are frequently very demanding, arduous and sometimes dangerous. In relation to the employment of undergraduate students, both Conservative and Labour governments have presided over changes to the funding the regime that have generated a significant increase in the employment of undergraduate students. Discussions about child employment have long centred on its supposed ‘beneficial’ aspects, with advocates claiming that it has the potential to enhance pupils’ learning experiences. Since the cuts to student funding have been implemented, similar claims have been made about the ‘educational potential’ of work for undergraduate students. As with child employment, the evidence points to a far more nuanced picture regarding the impact of employment on the studies of undergraduate students, and this non-problematic conception of undergraduate employment has been challenged. Research suggests that students rarely undertake employment of any relevance to chosen studies, and that part-time work frequently appears to have a deleterious, rather than a positive impact upon academic performance. The aim of this thesis is, using a historical perspective, to assess the competing claims that have been made about the educational utility of ‘labour’. It will show, with regards to both child employment and the employment of undergraduate students, the recent fashionable emphasis placed upon the ‘beneficial’ aspects of ‘work experience’ alongside learning is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, it will be shown that this is a recurring, if unproven, theme throughout the history of debates about education reform and child employment. Likewise, that the notion that children (and indeed students) ‘enjoy’ working is not new. Nor is the insistence that employment teaches children and young people about rewards for hard work, value for money and the disciplines of getting up for work particularly novel. As will become evident, whenever further restrictions on school children’s employment have been contemplated in major inquiries into the phenomenon, these same claims have been in defence of a deregulatory approach. Hence, throughout this thesis it will be shown that the arguments today to defend child employment in Britain, and indeed the employment of undergraduate students, have a long historical pedigree. A particular focus in the thesis will be upon those interests that have traditionally defended the ‘right’ of children and young people to work, and their claims about the ‘educationally beneficial’ aspects of employment will be tested by reference to historical evidence.

Analyses of extensive time-series optical spectroscopy of three early-type stars, HD 64760 (B0.5 la), HD 151804 (O8 Iaf), and HD 152408 (08: Iafpe) are presented. Observations of the two O stars are based primarily on a time-series data set of high resolution echelle spectra spanning 21 nights. These datasets are supplemented by older observations with a longer time span, but poorer temporal and spectral coverage. The observations of HD 64760 are based principally on a 6-night longslit time-series data set from Mount Stromlo, and are supplemented with echelle spectra from the AAT and ESO. The optical data sets allow the photosphere and innermost wind region to be probed, to look for a possible 'photospheric connection' to wind variability. In HD 64760, the well known 1.2 and 2.4 d periods found in the UV wind lines (Prinja et al., 1995; Fullerton et al, 1997) are detected in the photospheric spectra. The results presented here indicate that stellar surface structure is maintained in the wind transition zone, and into the main wind region sampled by UV data. The discovery of shorter periods at 20.0 h and 13.7 h are also reported. These are attributed to non-radial pulsation in the modes l = -m = 3, and l = - m = 4 respectively. The investigation of the two Of stars focuses on the wind lines of the Balmer series and He 1, and the weak metal absorption and emission lines (e. g. He II λ4542, O III λ5592, and C III λ5696) which probe the near-photosphere region. Greyscale plots of the time-series spectra demonstrate substantial organised structure in the inner wind region. The wind activity is characterised by localised absorption and emission features that evolve blueward and redward over ~ 4 days. Interestingly, the acceleration and maximum velocity reached by the red-ward features is approximately half that of the blueward features. The discrepancy between the maximum velocities reached arises from cancellation effects, whilst the difference between the acceleration of the blue and red features (if interpreted in the context of CIR models) may indicate different velocity fields at the leading and trailing edge of the CIR. The repetitive nature of the wind activity is suggestive of rotational modulation of the wind, although it is difficult to uniquely establish a link to stellar rotation given the average values of ve sin i of the O stars. Analysis of the weak metal lines reveals significant radial velocity shifts. In the metal emission lines, the radial velocity shifts sometimes betray the start of a strong wind event, whilst Fourier analysis of the metal absorption lines reveals periodic radial velocity shifts (P=1.5, 1.9 d) that may result from pulsation in the radial fundamental mode.

Saliva has a number of functions which are important in maintaining a healthy oral environment. Its composition and rheological properties are complex making the formulation of a saliva substitute with identical properties difficult. Recently it has become apparent that saliva also forms a tough viscoelastic film at the air-saliva interface. The significance of this property is currently unknown but it may have implications for the development of better saliva substitutes and in the pathogenesis of some oral diseases. The aims of the current study were to; 1. Investigate the surface film forming properties of saliva. 2. Compare these properties with those of commercially available saliva substitutes. 3. Undertake preliminary characterisation of the composition of the surface film. Surface elasticity and surface viscosity were assessed using an Oscillating Ring Surface Shear Rheometer (ORSSR) at approximately 6Hz. Whole resting saliva and stimulated parotid saliva were collected using standard techniques from one healthy male subject. The surface rheological properties of human saliva were compared with those of commercially available saliva substitutes. Results indicated that whilst human saliva had pronounced surface film forming properties none of the commercially available saliva substitutes demonstrated any measurable surface elasticity or surface viscosity. Freezing stimulated parotid saliva at either -20°C or -70°C produced a 90% reduction in surface elasticity (from approx. 125mN/m) and viscosity (from approx. 1.75Ns/m). Dilution of saliva with normal saline produced a further reduction in rheological parameters but these were not directly related to the concentration of saliva. Isolation of the surface film of stimulated parotid saliva enabled its protein composition to be investigated with SDS page electrophoresis. Results indicated that two protein fractions were concentrated within the surface film, one with a large molecular weight (>205KDa) and one with a lower molecular weight (approx. 10-12KDa). Conclusion - Human saliva forms a strong viscoelastic film at its interface with air. The formation of the film is adversely affected by freezing and appears to involve concentration of two distinct protein fractions in the surface layer.

The legal system is the product of lawyers. Lawyers are the product of a specific educational system. Therefore, to understand the legal system, we must first explore how lawyers are trained and conditioned to think. What does it mean to "Think Like a Lawyer?'' This dissertation makes use of autoethnography to explore the experience and effects of law school. It recreates the daily ritual of law students and law professors. It explores the Socratic nature of legal education. Finally, it links these processes to complex systems in general and the practice of law in particular. This dissertation concludes that lawyers and the legal system are the product of a specific, initiation-like ritual process that occurs during and within the specific sociocultural context of law school. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

A technique for the routine determination of the nitrogen contents and the δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values of diamonds has been developed. δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N measurements have been performed on coated, cubic and octahedral diamonds from Australia, Africa, Siberia and N. America. Amongst the octahedral diamonds two broad groups can be distinguished. Group O₁ diamonds have δ¹³C values between -3 and -7v (similar to most other mantle samples) and contain nitrogen generally depleted in ¹⁵ relative to AIR; δ¹⁵N ca.-5‰ (range +5 to -13‰). Group O₂ diamonds have variable δ¹³C values (-21 to -2‰) and contain N generally enriched in ¹⁵ relative to AIR; ca. +5‰ (range -5 to +16‰). The cubic coatings on diamonds from Zaire, Sierra Leone, Siberia, Angola and Botswana and cubic diamonds from Zaire have a restricted range in isotopic composition (δ¹³C -5 to -1.5‰, δ¹⁵N -2 to -8‰). Both group O₁ and O₂ diamonds were present as cores within these samples. The coats of coated diamonds have been interpreted as being phenocrystic overgrowths. The isotopic uniformity of diamond coats, on a regional scale, suggests the existence of a homogeneous C and N reservoir underlying the continental lithosphere. This reservoir supplies the volatiles associated with kimberlite eruptions. Coated diamonds occur in Phanerozoic kimberlites which implies that, by this time, the extreme carbon isotope heterogeneity within the mantle (+3 to -35‰) was restricted to the continental lithosphere. The isotopic characteristics of the coats are similar to the O₁ diamonds. Since diamonds from Finsch and Premier (both O₁) have been dated at 3.3 Ga and 1.2 Ga respectively there appears to have been little change in the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N value of the uniform mantle reservoir since the mid-Archean. The origin of the isotopic characteristics of the group O₂ diamonds is uncertain, however it is unlikely that they are reflecting relict primordial heterogeneity.