The Cailleach Bheara: a study of Scottish Gaelic highland folktales

 This thesis focused on the figure of the goddess within Scottish Highland Gaelic folk tales, namely the Cailleach Bheara. I examined her position in modern literature and film, engaging in discussions of ecofeminism, the preservation and understanding of Gaelic culture and the importance of strong female characters.

Changes in weight and waist circumference over 9 years in a Scottish population

Objective: To document patterns of measured weight and waist circumference (WC) change and the increase in overweight and obesity over a 9-year period. Subjects/Methods: A total of 1044 subjects from two age-defined cohorts aged 39 and 59 in 1991. Height, weight and WC were measured in 1991, 1995 and 2000 and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Pattern of weight and WC change was studied over approximately 9 years. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased markedly and the younger cohort showed greater increases in weight and WC than the older cohort. There was no significant difference in mean BMI and/or mean 9-year weight change between men and women in either age cohort, and mean weight gain was similar for all occupational groups. Only 20% of subjects maintained a stable weight (plusminus2 kg), while 42.2 and 17.6% gained greater than 5 and 10 kg over the 9-year period, respectively. The rate of weight gain appeared to be relatively steady over the 9 years among younger subjects but declined in the older subjects in the second half of the observation period. Conclusions: Health promotion strategies to prevent weight gain need to be population-based, targeting all social and age groups, but particularly those in their early middle-age.

Assessment practices in Scottish social work education: a practice audit of Scottish universities providing qualifying social work courses

Student assessment is a critical component of social work education. In the last ten years, the nature of assessment in social work education has changed considerably. Alongside innovations to more traditional forms of assessment such as essays and examinations, there has been increased emphasis on student participation in assessment in various forms of self- and peer-assessment. However, there is a dearth of published information on assessment strategies and methods employed in mainstream social work education programmes. The inception of the new qualifying courses across the UK has catalysed interest in the development of innovative assessment strategies and tools. In Scotland, the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education (SIESWE) has commissioned research into innovative assessment strategies. This paper reports on the findings of a practice audit of current assessment practices in social work education in Scotland.

"Appear as crucified for me" : sight, suffering, and spiritual transformation in the hymns of Charles Wesley

Early Methodist laypeople often described their conversion experiences in terms of seeing the suffering of Christ. This article considers this theme within early Methodist culture by examining the relationship between sight, suffering, and spiritual transformation in the hymns of Charles Wesley. Many of Wesley's hymns depict the suffering of Christ in evocative detail, encouraging the singer or reader to imagine and respond to this suffering in particular ways. I argue that Wesley presents the sight of Christ's suffering as having profound transformative power, at the heart of Christian experience. In doing so he constructs Methodist spirituality in a way that draws upon both the ancient Christian tradition of Passion devotion and contemporary eighteenth-century convictions about the power of the sight of suffering.

'The suffering members sympathise' : constructing the sympathetic self in the hymns of Charles Wesley

For the first time in history, this timely landmark volume brings together contributions from the leading scholars working on the life and work of Charles Wesley.