The thesis sets out to critique recent accounts dealing with the notion and role of ontology in IR theorising as it can be found, for instance, in Alexander Wendt and more recently in the writings of critical realists. The main aim of these treatises on ontology is to provide a …
"18" Result
Sort By:
This thesis is concerned with the ‘problem’ of change in education, an issue characterised in much of the literature as a paradox of innovation without change. The thesis draws upon school-based empirical research, undertaken in the context of the reactions by Geography, History…
This research seeks to connect the philosophical focus of the agency-structure debate with the practice of management through a comparative study of organisational decision-making in situations involving stakeholder consultation. Set in the context of decision-making following a…
The transition from primary to secondary school is regarded as one of the most difficult in children’s educational careers and the negative academic, social and emotional effects of an unsuccessful transition have been widely documented, with many practitioners identifying the t…
The economic development challenges facing second-tier city-regions in the United Kingdom reflect a critical dimension of policy debates concerning spatial rebalancing. The integration of multi-location firms at second-tier territorial contexts is an important aspect of rebalanc…
The notion of 'fundamental British values' first appeared in the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition government's revised Prevent strategy in 2011. It stated that 'fundamental British values' are 'democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tole…
Relationships and sex education (RSE hereafter) is a fiercely political subject, and nowhere is it more contentious than at the primary school where, by some accounts, children's innocence is at risk and which is, by other accounts, an opportune moment for children to acquire im…
At the core of this thesis are two pieces of empirical work. The first is a case study of a multicultural day nursery in a deprived area of an inner-city London Borough. The purpose of the case study was to explore perceptions of ethnicity, and prospects for identity enhancement…
The quandary of university freshmen losing their Christian faith during the first year of university life is a well-known problem. Most explanations come from sources in structure and culture that deny the agency of the first year student; rarely is the ethnic identity of first …
Organisational silence is an essential aspect of the field of organisational behaviour, examining why and how information, ideas or opinions are withheld by individuals within organisations. Silence in the organisation can take place between employees and their managers, thus cu…
My thesis argues that the New Right (NR) sought to manipulate state education as a mechanism of both social transformation and social control in the UK between 1979 and 1992. This is investigated by employing a 'critical realist' perspective which is located within a wider 'neo-…
In Scotland, current policy aims to produce work ready young people with relevant enterprise and employment skills. However, many are caught in a repetitive cycle of short term work placements with large numbers of young people still not at work or in education. Accordingly, thi…
Healthcare professionals such as speech and language therapists are expected to change their practice throughout their career. However, from a practice perspective, there is a lack of knowledge around what practice change is, what it really takes, and why there are different tra…
This study examines the intersection of humanitarianism and warfare conducted by Western states in the late-modern era. It compares the use of humanitarian discourse (HD) by officials and civil-elites within two crisis moments each for the 1999 NATO war over Kosovo and the 2003 …
The aim of this study was to generate a substantive grounded theory to explain a variety of young people's experiences of football within and external to FA Charter Standard Clubs and Schools. A modified grounded theory methodology (Strauss and Corbin, 1998; Charmaz, 2000) was s…
This thesis analyses the scope for the “self-help” model of rural development to succeed in its broadly stated aims of enabling rural women to advance their social status and enhance their own and/or their family’s livelihoods. The thesis is organised around two key sites of inv…