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In this thesis I describe a novel role for the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) in spindle positioning and stability in the early C. elegans embryo. Within the embryo the ER is intimately associated with the microtubule cytoskeleton and I show that the disruption of this association leads to instability of nuclear and spindle positioning. I first describe RNA interference screens that I performed to identify new genes involved in the regulation of spindle positioning. This led to the identification of three ER resident proteins that comprise C. elegans homologs of the Oligosaccharyl Transferase (OST) complex. Through characterisation of the spindle phenotypes induced by knockdown of OST components, I show that these proteins are similar to a diverse collection of mutants affecting the ER, such as the trans-membrane ER protein, ooc-3 and the npp (nuclear pore protein) genes. I found that identical nuclear and spindle instability phenotypes could be replicated by using the drug Brefeldin A to rapidly disrupt the ER, suggesting the ER might have a structural role in stabilizing nuclear and spindle position. I also provide evidence suggesting that the association between the ER and the microtubule cytoskeleton involves Clathrin heavy-chain (CHC). CHC may form part of the link between the ER and microtubule networks. Overall my results describe a role for the reticular ER network in stabilizing the assembling mitotic spindle and a potential new role for clathrin in linking the ER and microtubules. I addition, I show that Early Endosomes in the C. elegans embryo are polarized and asymmetrically segregated with the actin-myosin cytoskeleton, and present work optimizing the creation of transgenic lines by microparticle bombardment.

This thesis aims to show that a right to be able to practice autonomy well lies at the heart of liberal aspirations for individual flourishing. In the past, autonomy was associated with metaphysical or essentialist conceptions of the self. However, the diversity of contemporary liberal societies has meant that liberals now seek new conceptual resources to underpin their normative theories. This is accomplished here by decontesting a doctrine which recognises that liberal acceptance of the malleability of the elf can generate certain moral aspirations associated with practising autonomy in a liberal society. It then aims to highlight that the normative content of these aspirations can be attractively conceptualised by reviving the currently neglected concept of character. A right to be able to practice autonomy well implies that agents in liberal societies should possess a certain sort of character to do so. A liberal concept of character has two aspects: moral and individual. These two aspects together provide normative content and criteria for a liberal character-ethics which can be promoted by the liberal state (and civil society) to enable agents in liberal societies to practice autonomy well. And the philosophical presuppositions of promoting this liberal character-ethics can be helpfully understood in quasi-Foucauldian terms as the inculcation of specifically liberal ‘technologies of the self’. The final chapter uses the liberal doctrine defended throughout the thesis to examine the normative cogency of the programme of political education currently being implemented in English secondary schools. The thesis then concludes by highlighting that liberal aspirations for character, politics and education must be confidently explicated if they are to shape the processes of ‘governmentality’ in liberal democracies.

The main object of the thesis is to explore the concepts 'literature' and 'dogma' in relation to education. It considers the place of literature in the educational curriculum and examines its relationship with religion, moral education and science. The point of departure for the study is Matthew Arnold's Literature and Dogma (1873) which, in conjunction with related writings, is considered first within the cultural and educational climate of its own age, and then evaluated for its relevance and educational implications for the present day. Matthew Arnold, a distinguished social critic, professor of poetry and Inspector of Education, wrote Literature and Dogma at a time of considerable social and intellectual upheaval; and the pattern of social change bro ught about by accelerating technology over the past century, with its increasing clash of cultures and diverse dogmatic and ideological systems has given new significance to Arnold's thought. In particular, his ideas on moral, scientific and religious education have implications for the modern curriculum and for the place of literature within it, which the research endeavours to bring into focus and develop. In a shrinking and increasingly complex world1where there is evidence of an increasing need for education to provide young people with both a sense of security and a flexible capacity to cope with unexampled change, Arnold's own upbringing is shown to be of some educational interest. The conclusion reached is that, while it is impossible to prove the moral. efficacy of literature, there seems to be some justification for believing that imaginative literature, appropriately taught, has an increasingly significant role to play as a means of ordering emotions, conveying values, enhancing our capacity for empathy and communicating insights, as religious certainties and moral dogmas come under challenge from alternative competing dogmas and agencies for change.

Methods for the detection and characterisation of DOPA derivatives in plant tssues have been investigated. In relation to this study, several methods for the production of possible naturally occurring derivatives were explored. The most success was achieved by feeding L-DOPA to Pislum sativum seeds which were then allowed to germinate for a short periods. Five compounds were isolated from the treated seedlings and one of them was shown to be identical to the DOPA glucoside which had previously been reported in the testas of broad been (Vicia faba) seeds (5). The same compound was later identified in the cotyledons of dormant bean seeds, and its structure shown to be B - (3-B-D - glucopyranosyloxy) - 4 - hydroxyphenyl) - L - alanine. The chemical nature of the other compounds was also investigated and tentative deductions made for their structures. A number of 0 and N - methylated derivatives of DOPA have been synthesised chemically. Their properties have been recorded and whereby isomeric 0 - substituted DOPA derivatives may be distinguished are outlined. Using the information from the preliminary studies, the distribution of DOPA and its derivatives in about 200 different species of plants have been investigated. This has revealed that DOPA derivatives are rare in plants, although free DOPA has been detected in a number of leguminous species and in species grouped within the order of Centrospermae. This latter discovery adds weight to the suggestion that DOPA is a precursor of the characteristic red-violet and yellow pigments which are found within the Centroapermae. A detailed study the distribution of DOPA and related compounds in the broad bean has been undertaken. Variations in the concentrations of the compounds throughout the growth cycle have been studied qualitatively using chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques, and quantatively, using an iodine colourimetric procedure and by ran exchange chromatography. The presence of DOPA in the tissues of leguminous species is often associated with the formation of dark brown or black pigments. Observations on the biogenesis, histology and chemical nature of these pigments are described. Comparison of the chemical and physical properties of plant pigments with those of biosynthetically prepared melanins showed that there are considerable differences. The plant pigments do not appear to be similar to animal melanins. The enzyme in dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) leaves which catalyses the deamination of DOPA has been studied. This appears to be labile, particulate and distinct from the phenylalanine ammonia lyase which is also present in the leaves.

The main object of the thesis is to explore the concepts 'literature' and 'dogma' in relation to education. It considers the place of literature in the educational curriculum and examines its relationship with religion, moral education and science. The point of departure for the study is Matthew Arnold's Literature and Dogma (1873) which, in conjunction with related writings, is considered first within the cultural and educational climate of its own age, and then evaluated for its relevance and educational implications for the present day. Matthew Arnold, a distinguished social critic, professor of poetry and Inspector of Education, wrote Literature and Dogma at a time of considerable social and intellectual upheaval; and the pattern of social change bro ught about by accelerating technology over the past century, with its increasing clash of cultures and diverse dogmatic and ideological systems has given new significance to Arnold's thought. In particular, his ideas on moral, scientific and religious education have implications for the modern curriculum and for the place of literature within it, which the research endeavours to bring into focus and develop. In a shrinking and increasingly complex world1where there is evidence of an increasing need for education to provide young people with both a sense of security and a flexible capacity to cope with unexampled change, Arnold's own upbringing is shown to be of some educational interest. The conclusion reached is that, while it is impossible to prove the moral. efficacy of literature, there seems to be some justification for believing that imaginative literature, appropriately taught, has an increasingly significant role to play as a means of ordering emotions, conveying values, enhancing our capacity for empathy and communicating insights, as religious certainties and moral dogmas come under challenge from alternative competing dogmas and agencies for change.