http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/280 2013-05-25T05:38:14Z 2013-05-25T05:38:14Z Lea, Rachel http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6376 2012-12-03T12:21:37Z 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The performance of control and the control of performance: Towards a social anthropology of defecation Authors: Lea, Rachel Abstract: Defecation has remained overlooked within anthropology and sociology, despite recent focus on the body. The thesis suggests that this is related to its construction as something hidden in the last few hundred years of modern Western society. It is physically and mentally dismissed as personal and biological rather than social or cultural. The few references that exist enable one to argue that it always has significance as a repetitive daily activity needing careful social management and which is crucial to the definition of personhood. Its praxis reveals much about social values concerning differentiation by age, sex, gender and generation. Freud, Elias, Bakhtin and Douglas have influenced its image but do not adequately explain it. Phenomenological theories of embodiment and ideas of cultural performance are shown to be more useful in demonstrating that defecation is a lived cultural experience. The focus is on contemporary Britain, studied through participant observation and day-to-day participation, using material from conversations, anecdotes, observations, experiences, media reports, novels, and films encountered during the period of research. The main themes that emerge are privacy, hiddenness, embarrassment and concern but also that it is welcomed as physical release, and as offering valued periods of time-out and solitude. It is also a symbol of both all that is low and all that is deep. These contradictions are analysed through the two axes of control/loss of control and release/containment. It is argued against recent medical anthropological and sociological studies of incontinence that it cannot be assumed that the opposite of incontinence is continence and containment. The issue of control is paramount, rather than the issue of containment in itself. Description: This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.

2001-01-01T00:00:00Z Teasdale, Phillp Angus http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5574 2012-11-30T14:23:06Z 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The late holocene evolution of coastal wetlands in Argyll, Western Scotland Authors: Teasdale, Phillp Angus Abstract: A detailed geochronological and geochemical study has been undertaken on selected sediment cores from four lowland coastal marsh environments in Argyll, Western Scotland. This region of northern Britain has experienced differential crustal uplift and relative sea-level changes throughout the Holocene in response to glacio-isostatic adjustment. The complex interplay between land movements and relative sea-level continues to influence the morphological development of the Scottish coast. The study of lowland inter-tidal sedimentary environments from this region provides an opportunity to investigate the linkages between current estimated crustal movements, regional relative sea-level rise and the evolution of contemporary coastal saltmarshes derived from the record of historical sedimentation. The four sites are located across a ca. 70 km transect extending from the head of Loch Scridain (western Isle of Mull), across the Firth of Lorne to the head of Loch Etive, (mainland Argyll). Vertical activity distributions of the natural radionuclide 21OPb and anthropogenic isotopes (137Cs and 243Am) have been measured and are used to assess the depositional history of marsh sediment accumulation recorded in the four marsh cores. Down-core activity profiles of radionuclides are only reliable as a means of modelling recent marsh evolution provided no early-diagenetic (redox) reactions have compromised the historical depositional record within the marsh sediments. Solid-phase major and trace element down-core geochemical distributions provide a means of assessing the extent to which post-depositional (redox) reactions may have influenced the reliability of the radiometric dating methods. Marsh sediment geochemistry also serves as a useful proxy for identifying compositional variability over the period of marsh development investigated. Dating of the Argyll saltmarsh cores indicates that over the period corresponding to mature marsh conditions rates of sedimentation vary significantly across the study area. At Loch Scridain an average rate of 1.1 mm yr-1 corresponding to an historical period of ca. 130 years is recorded. Comparison with estimated rates of regional sea-level rise suggest an established asymptotic relationship between marsh accretion and coastal forcing, implying historical crustal stability at this site. At sites within the Firth of Lome (Loch Don and Loch Creran) average rates of 2.5 and 3.3 mm yr-1 are recorded for the ca. 70 year period to 1995 with a figure of 2.2 mm yr-1 recorded in the marsh core from the head of Loch Etive. These values are well in excess of estimated relative sea-level rise during the twentieth century suggesting that these marshes may not yet have reached full equilibrium with sea-level. Microfossil analysis of the Loch Etive core helps to identify a more complex depositional history with an underlying trend of marine transgression for the ca. 110 year period of marsh development recorded in these sediments. Over the most recent period of marsh development (ca. 5 years) a significant increase in the rate of marsh sedimentation at all sites is recorded. This signifies the response of these marshes to a very recent increase in the rate of relative sea-level rise across the region. Comparison with available storm frequency data indicates that the evolution of these marsh environments have not been subject to the influence of significant storm activity over the last in the late Twetieth century. The findings suggest that the more clastic sedimentary composition of the Argyll marshes results in these inter-tidal areas being extremely sensitive to changes in coastal forcing (sea-level rise). The implications of recent relative sea-level rise, current vertical crustal movements and future coastal management are discussed. Description: This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.

2005-01-01T00:00:00Z Weller, Susan http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5556 2012-12-07T14:48:49Z 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Teenage citizenship geographies: Rural spaces of exclusion, education and creativity Authors: Weller, Susan Abstract: In September 2002 citizenship education became a compulsory element of the secondary school curriculum in England. This policy development launches new interest in the spatial politics of childhood and youth. With increased focus on teenage apathy and declining civic engagement, citizenship education centres upon creating future responsible citizens. Using questionnaire surveys, group discussions, photography, diary completion, as well as more innovative techniques such as a teenage-centred radio phone-in discussion and web-based media, this thesis focuses on a case study of 600 teenagers, aged thirteen to sixteen, living in a variety of rural communities in an area of Southern England. Within many representations of rurality, teenagers are situated between a 'natural, innocent childhood' in idyllic, close-knit communities and threatening and 'out-of place' youths. Such representations foster complex experiences of citizenship. This study, therefore, sets about examining themes of socio-spatial exclusion and political engagement. For some, the deficit of meaningful spaces of citizenship results in frustrated relations with key decision-makers. Others are engaged in their own practices of citizenship, devising creative ways in which to carve out and reconstruct everyday spaces and identities. Contributing to new geographical knowledge(s), this thesis concludes by calling for schools and (rural) communities to support and respect teenagers' own interests, needs, aspirations and current acts of citizenship in their own diverse spaces. Furthermore, it is argued that teenagers, as 'citizen s-i n-th e-p resent' should be provided with the opportunity to engage meaningfully with decision-makers as an integral facet of the political mainstream. Description: This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.

2004-01-01T00:00:00Z Fadzakir, Alfiani http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5288 2012-12-03T11:13:17Z 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Muslims of Kathmandu: A study of religious identity in a Hindu Kingdom Authors: Fadzakir, Alfiani Abstract: This is a study of religious identity in Kathmandu, Nepal. The aim is to establish the circumstances and conditions that define religious identity and the contexts in which it is expressed. Religious identity operates on various levels. At the macro-level, the Muslims are defined by the state as a marginal group. At the same time, the Hindu state has also shown itself to be tolerant of Muslims: the Hindu state not only intervened in communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims but also showed its support for Muslims at a time of crisis, which then affirmed the loyalty of the Muslims to the state. However, the acquiescent attitude of the Muslims towards the Hindus does not hide the subtle attempts to differentiate themselves from the Hindus, and their response and resistance to Islamic reform clearly show that their secular interests are closely linked to their religious ones. Finally, this thesis also shows that religious identity is changeable. It presents case studies of religious conversion from one religion to another, from one sect to another or from one level of commitment to another. Description: This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.

2001-01-01T00:00:00Z