Reproducibility of third level fingerprint detail is important in personal identification. The effect of different substrates on the reproducibility of pore dimensions in inked reference fingerprints was investigated. Photomicrographs of reference prints were taken and pore area was measured repeatedly using appropriate software. Reproducibility of pore area was also studied in latent prints. Latent prints were deposited on chosen absorbent and non-absorbent surfaces and developed using Cyanoacrylate and Ninhydrin to determine pore area reproducibility. Photomicrographs of ridged skin were captured directly by focusing under microscope and pore area reproducibility in these images was studied. Live scans were also included in the study to see if pore area can be relied upon in live scans at 500ppi (pixels per inch). Results revealing best third level detail in inked prints were achieved by deposition onto a variety of non-absorbent substrates but inter-print variation indicated that pore area in inked prints deposited onto paper substrates cannot be used reliably in personal identification. In case of latent prints, variation was greater than normal acceptable limits suggesting that pore area is not reproducible in latent prints developed using Cyanoacrylate and Ninhydrin techniques. Results of direct microscopic images also showed too great inter-image variation which has further supported the unreliability of pore area as a tool in personal identification. Live scans at 500ppi did not prove to be useful in providing good pore detail for study. This study casts doubt on the use of pore area as a reliable identification tool in personal identification and suggests raising the scanning resolution to study pore detail in live scans.

Based upon two years fieldwork in Wolverhampton and Coventry, and several field trips to Punjab, this thesis focuses on the prevalence of possession and exorcism as a manifestation of Punjabi religion amongst the Punjabi diaspora in Wolverhampton. Euro-centric scholarship and reform movements in the 1900s, in India, suppressed religious traditions that did not conform to the textual and institutionalised forms of religion. This thesis proposes that the phenomenon of possession and exorcism observed amongst the Punjabi diaspora in Wolverhampton is in no way novel, rather it is a diasporic reconstruction of a vital tradition found within the religious traditions from the Punjab, and on a larger scale in the Indian sub-continent. Furthermore the Punjabi diaspora in Wolverhampton are in no way unique in the re-construction of this religious tradition in Britain. Various forms of supernatural malaise are prevalent amongst the Punjabi diaspora in Wolverhampton that are utilised by the community to explain the inexplicable diversities they face in daily life. These supernatural afflictions provide the Punjabi diaspora with a useful method of accepting adversity but also various methods to tackle it through the assistance of a baba or bhagat. This thesis explores the underlying cosmological discourses prevalent in the worldview of north Indian religious traditions in an attempt to analyse a relatively untouched phenomenon of religious beliefs and practices of the Punjabi diaspora in Wolverhampton.

This thesis investigates how the Conservative party coped with the far-reaching effects of democratic reform between 1867 and 1914. It analyses the performance of successive party leaders through their exploitation of high politics; and how ideology influenced their policy, and decision making. It also examines how the party’s organization was periodically revised to manage changing political circumstances. The relationships between these three elements, high politics, ideology, and organization are then analysed to explain the Conservative party’s appeal for electoral support during the period of study. The respective contributions made by the three elements to the party’s electoral performance are considered in relation to each other. Using this approach the thesis explains how the Conservative party managed to improve upon its dismal electoral record between 1832 and 1874; how it achieved electoral dominance between 1886 and 1906; and why its electoral fortunes declined so dramatically thereafter. The conclusions reached are threefold. Firstly, the importance attached to high politics by the Peterhouse school of thought may, in some respects, be exaggerated, certainly regarding elections. High politics, by its very nature seeks to exert influence at a level far removed from the mass electorate. Political rhetoric has obvious uses during elections, not least in the field of extra-parliamentary speech-making. But in the absence of any reliable indicators of what the electorate actually felt or desired, the effectiveness of political rhetoric could not be gauged a priori. The results of political manoeuvring at the highest levels may have been apparent to voters, but was of little concern to them. At worst, they were ignorant of it, and at best, ambivalent to it. Secondly, party leaders, whether knowingly or unknowingly, exploited the flexibility of Conservative ideology in their quest for votes. However, the core concepts of that ideology remained inviolable, only contingent values were successfully subjected to re-appraisal and revision to attract the voters. When ideological core values were misunderstood or misinterpreted the party suffered accordingly. Thirdly, the value of the Conservative party’s organization has been underestimated. High politics and ideology may have combined to produce a Conservative message for the voters, but the appeal of that message was unknowable. On the other hand, the party’s organization, when empowered to do so, adroitly and effectively utilized all the tools available to them to manage and maximize all potential Conservative support. Organization may be viewed as a make-weight, but like all make-weights it possessed the power to tip the electoral scales one way or the other.