'Not Forsworn with Pink Ribbons': Hannah More, Thomas De Quincey, and the Literature of Power

De Quincey's conception of the literature of "power" as opposed to that of "knowledge," has proved to be one of the most influential of romantic theories of literature, playing no small part in the canonization of Wordsworth. De Quincey's early acquaintance with the Lyrical Ballads was made through the Evangelical circles of his mother, who was a follower of Hannah More and a member of the Clapham sect. In later years, however, De Quincey repudiated his early Evangelical upbringing and wrote quite scathingly of the literary pretensions of Hannah More. This paper attempts to uncover the revisionary nature of De Quincey's later reminiscences of More and to indicate thereby the covert influence of Evangelical thinking on his literary theorizing. Far from absolving literature of politics, however, colonialist and nationalist imperatives typical of Evangelical thinking may be seen to operate within the spiritualized and aesthetic sphere to which literary power is arrogated by De Quincey.

Professional Educational Psychology and Community Relations Education in Northern Ireland.

This article provides an account of practice-based research of, at least, one-star quality in terms of its contribution to both theory and practice. Aimed at practitioner (as opposed to academic) psychologists, the article addresses a dimension of the practitioner role that has remained silent in the literature. The article makes creative and original connections between school effectiveness, school improvement and education in a divided society. Post 11th September, the article was described as being highly original, significant and relevant to all practising educational psychologists. Concrete evidence for this is gained from, eg: hits on the online electronic version (2002-2003 Annual Report of the Association of Educational Psychologists), citations in reviews of research, and author invitations to present his work at UK and international practitioner psychology conferences. The article is published in the premier journal reporting on quality applied educational research and practice within the United Kingdom and beyond.

Approved Social Work Training in Northern Ireland: Using Research to Examine Competence-Based Learning and Influence Policy Change

This article reports on how research activity helped describe and analyse ASW (Approved Social Worker) learning experience as well as acting as a catalyst for change and development in policy and practice in Northern Ireland. The paper contextualizes the study by outlining the legislation, the main features of the ASW role and the approach to ASW training in Northern Ireland, and by reviewing the literature on the efficacy and value of competence-based learning. While the findings do not provide conclusive evidence that a competence-based approach is inherently more effective than previous courses, they do indicate that candidates who were trained in this way were moderately more satisfied than those who had participated in non-competence based programmes. The research also highlights the importance of the interrelationship between training, practice experience and support in developing and sustaining competence. The paper concludes with a review of the recommendations arising from the study and an analysis of the developments in training and regulations relating to practice experience and re-approval of ASWs since publication of the research. The study is of contemporary interest given the proposed changes to the role of ASWs/Mental Health Officers in the context of the reviews of UK mental health law.