Dissertations / Theses: 'Social sciences -> social sciences -> general'

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Greene, Catherine. "Laws in the social sciences." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2017. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3697/.

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The social sciences are often thought to be inferior to the natural sciences because they do not have laws. Bohman writes that “the social sciences have never achieved much in the way of predictive general laws—the hallmark of naturalistic knowledge—and so have often been denied the honorific status of ‘sciences’” (1994, pg. vii). Philosophers have suggested a number of reasons for the dearth of laws in the social sciences, including the frequent use of ceteris paribus conditions in the social sciences, reflexivity, and the use of ‘odd’ concepts. This thesis argues that the scarcity of laws in the social sciences is primarily due to the concepts that social scientists often work with. These concepts are described as Nomadic and are characterised by disagreement about what can reasonably be included within the scope of a concept. The second half of the thesis explores the implications of this analysis. It argues firstly, that counterfactual analysis is problematic when using Nomadic concepts. Secondly, it argues that taking an intentional perspective on behaviour often involves the use of Nomadic concepts so, if social scientists do hope to formulate laws, then they are more likely to succeed if they focus on behaviour that is not intentional.

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Jones, Rhys. "Igniting the statistical spark in the social sciences." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2018. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/111418/.

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Several investigations have concluded that there is a quantitative deficit within the social sciences in the UK (Fonow and Cook, 1991; Lincoln and Denzin, 2003; Payne et al., 2004; Williams, et al., 2008; MacInnes, 2009; Platt, 2012; Payne, 2014; Williams et al., 2015). Reasons for this are potentially rooted within the societal negative attitudes towards mathematics. Societal negative attitudes towards mathematics could be a product of the traditional teaching approaches of mathematics education. In particular, teaching methods have potentially contributed to the subject identity as being right or wrong, perceived as a difficult discipline (Porkess, 2013; Donaldson, 2015). Significant changes have been made to mathematics education (years 7-13) more recently to encourage greater student uptake post-16, within England and Wales (Porkess, 2013; Donaldson, 2015). Statistics has gained an increasingly important voice within mathematics education. Statistics also cuts across many disciplines, becoming a core subject. In addition, employers are increasingly requesting employees acquire data analysis skills, underpinned by statistical and scientific principles. In relation to the quantitative deficit, the Q-Step initiative was created across 15 British universities to develop a range of undergraduate social science degree courses to improve quantitative methods skills. The Q-Step centre within Cardiff University invested in the development of a range of school and further education activities, to highlight the importance of these quantitative skills. The development of a QCF level 3 course in Social Analytics (investigation of social processes using statistical analysis and techniques) involved the creation of the Pilot Scheme in Social Analytics (SA). This course was developed with a group of secondary school teachers and FE lecturers, delivered over a series of 21 weeks to a mixture of year 12 and 13 students in Cardiff in 2014/15 (44 students) and 2015/16 (29 students). To investigate the effectiveness of the Pilot Scheme in SA, a series of research questions were developed. A quasi-experimental design was used to operationalise these research questions to measure the impacts on student attitudes and attainment in statistics (in year 12 and 13) on an experimental group who received a contextualised statistics course in 2015/16 (Pilot Scheme in SA), compared to two control groups. Results suggest the course did lead to changes in the students’ attitudes, becoming more positive. In addition, their statistical abilities also seem to have improved, in comparison to the two control groups. Although the positive impacts of the course are somewhat tentative, and in places it is difficult to make unequivocal inferences, there is no evidence to suggest the course had a negative impact on the experimental group. In comparison, students in both control groups who didn’t receive the treatment, showed negative differences in their attitudes and abilities with respect to mathematics and statistics. In light of the findings and discussion, recommendations have been made with reference to professional practice and also future research. These include expanding the Pilot Scheme in SA to be made available for more schools in Wales and developing teacher training support to deliver these courses.

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Runhardt, Rosa. "Causal inquiry in the social sciences : the promise of process tracing." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2015. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3099/.

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In this thesis I investigate causal inquiry in the social sciences, drawing on examples from various disciplines and in particular from conflict studies. In a backlash against the pervasiveness of statistical methods, in the last decade certain social scientists have focused on finding the causal mechanisms behind observed correlations. To provide evidence for such mechanisms, researchers increasingly rely on ‘process tracing’, a method which attempts to give evidence for causal relations by specifying the chain of events connecting a putative cause and effect of interest. I will ask whether the causal claims process tracers make are defensible, and where they are not defensible I will ask how we can improve the method. Throughout these investigations, I show that the conclusions of process tracing (and indeed ofthe social sciences more generally) are constrained both by the causal structure ofthe social world and by social scientists’ aims and values. My central argument is this: all instances of social phenomena have causally relevant differences, which implies that any research design that requires some comparison between cases (like process tracing) is limited by how we systematize these phenomena. Moreover, such research cannot rely on stable regularities. Nevertheless, to forego causal conclusions altogether is not the right response to these limitations; by carefully outlining our epistemic assumptions we can make progress in causal inquiry. While I use philosophical theories of causation to comment on the feasibility of a social scientific method, I also do the reverse: by investigating a popular contemporary method in the social sciences, I show to what extent our philosophical theories of causation are workable in practice. Thus, this thesis is both a methodological and a philosophical work. Every chapter discusses both a fundamental philosophical position on the social sciences and a relevant case study from the social sciences.

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Todres, Mathew. "Exploring the 'social' in social entrepreneurship : applying the concept of network sociality to social entrepreneurs." Thesis, University of Kent, 2016. https://kar.kent.ac.uk/56195/.

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The purpose of this thesis is to mobilise the concept of network sociality (Wittel 2001) as a framework for exploring how social entrepreneurs enact social entrepreneurship. Specifically, this thesis questions the tendency to interpret social entrepreneurs and their ability to achieve their altruistic aim of solving social problems only in terms of the successful application of business practices such as financial control, marketing, and strategising. Instead it is argued that critically deploying the concept of network sociality does two things. Firstly, it highlights the importance of also depicting and understanding the nature of the social processes (i.e., interactions with other stakeholders) which play a crucial role in the success of social entrepreneurial activity. Network sociality therefore helps to conceptualise the under researched activities which precede social change. Secondly, this thesis facilitates a move away from the dominant stance in the literature where the social entrepreneur is conceptualised in terms of either an individualist 'solitary hero' operating alone without the assistance of others (Nicholls 2010), or alternatively as a communally embedded actor operating in the context of strong ties of solidarity (Hjorth and Bjerke 2006; Hjorth 2013; Steyaert and Hjorth 2007). The aim of this thesis is to shed light on the social processes inherent in doing business in a social entrepreneurship context, by drawing on data derived from 33 semi-structured interviews with social entrepreneurs located in the south east of England. An abductive analysis (Van Maanen, Sørensen and Mitchell 2007; Tavory and Timmermans 2014) whereby the interview data is read through the five dimensions of the concept of network sociality - individualisation, ephemeral relations, information exchange, assimilation of play and work, and use of technology - facilitates a critique of the literature privileging outcomes at the expense of conceptualising the social actions that precede and facilitate these outcomes (826 Seymour, Richard 2012), as well as the prevailing dichotomy in the social entrepreneurship literature where the 'social' element is conceptualised largely in collectivist (Hjorth 2013; Steyaert and Hjorth 2007), philanthropic (Tan, Williams and Tan 2003; Tan, Williams and Tan 2005) terms while the 'entrepreneurship' element is conceptualised in largely individualist business terms (Dees, Emerson and Economy 2002). The analysis sheds light on social entrepreneurship beyond the distinction of collective versus individual (Nicholls 2010). Through the use of the concept of network sociality, the thesis rather makes visible how the social entrepreneur engages in several social activities while operating in an individualistic manner to achieve social/business aims within the context of impermanent relationships (113 Wittel, Andreas 2001). The thesis concludes that it is in researching and conceptualising what social entrepreneurs do, that we can better understand who social entrepreneurs are, in their missions to secure positive solutions to social problems.

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Shaw, Alan. "Enhancing the social ecological framework : a social marketing solution." Thesis, University of Hull, 2016. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/31188/.

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Purpose – Social marketing has been criticised for mainly focusing on the individual and not the wider environmental impacts. Collins, Tapp and Pressley (2010) began the process of tackling this issue by introducing the Social Ecological Framework (SEF). The SEF is based on Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) Ecological Theory, but it utilises his first iteration. This thesis has enhanced the framework by incorporating Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) Person-Process-Context-Time Model. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises a mixed methods approach with a single case study: examining why individuals living with diabetes chose to attend (or not) a structured education course in England. It examines the attitudes of the patients, healthcare professionals and administrators of the NHS. Findings – The research identified that there was a large disparity in the types of services provided by the various PCTs. Many patients were unaware of the courses and that they should have been offered a place: the key driver, which dictated the types of services provided by the NHS was money. The patient’s decision to attend or not was influenced by a variety of factors that were correlated to wider environmental issues, or more specifically Bronfenbrenner’s PPCT model. Research implications/limitations – Utilising Bronfenbrenner’s PPCT model within the SEF has positive implications to the process. Researchers and practitioners will now have a new way of addressing social marketing issues. The study’s scope was limited to a ‘health’ social marketing review, further research will be required to confirm it relevance across the wider social marketing domain. Practical implications – Diabetes is a growing chronic condition that accounts for approximately 11% many nation health service providers’ budgets. Diabetes structured education is proven to empower patients and reduce costs but many of these patients are failing to engage with the process. The enhanced SEF that this research is providing may solve the issue. Originality/value – The study provides an example of social marketers having to deal with multiple complex behaviour changes. It also addresses a concern that is continually raised by the social marketing fraternity: researchers tend to focus on the individual. Keywords – Social marketing, Social Ecological Framework, Ecological Theory, Bio-Ecological Theory, Bronfenbrenner, PPCT Model (Person, Process, Context and Time), diabetes and diabetes structured education.

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Vass, Jeffrey Matthew. "Rethinking the social : from society to zones of social making." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2010. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/191875/.

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‘Apocalyptic’ theories of the social, from different theoretical schools of thought, declare that diverse social, cultural, economic or technological changes have impacted negatively on contemporary social life to the extent that the social is reduced, minimised or is even ended. In particular, macro-historical changes have had consequences for the regions in which actors communicate, interact and socially construct. These pronouncements are concurrent with some lack of confidence in social theory itself. While accepting that the characteristics of modernity have substantially altered since the nineteenth century, this thesis argues that inadequate attention has been given to the way in which its consequences for ‘sociation’ have been conceptualised. Three schools of apocalyptic thought are identified and discussed: ‘dislocation’ theorists (Habermas, Giddens and Bauman); social constructionists (Berger, Berger and Kellner) and cultural absorptionists (Baudrillard, Lash and Urry). In each case the consequences of change have been registered to effects and experiences in the ‘ground of social activity’: i.e. reciprocity, mutuality and situated exchange show more ironic distance, insincerity, moral expropriation, ambivalence, alienation, simulation and dissimulation. This thesis argues that our understanding of this ground of social activity, based on a simplistic model of reflexivity and skill, is not at a detailed enough level of analytic resolution to warrant these claims. However, in identifying flaws in the development of apocalyptic claims, a more sustainable account is produced, ‘the zone of social making’. Based on a return to the work of Weber and Schutz, the new account suggests that the symptoms of late modern life are better viewed as chronic features of sociation, constitutive of constructive activity itself. An alternative, more detailed model of activity is proposed

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Mason-Wilkes, Will. "Science as religion? : science communication and elective modernism." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2018. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/109735/.

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My central concern in this thesis is how science should be understood by the public. I argue that science should be understood, and valued for, the formative aspirations of the scientific community. The formative aspirations of the scientific community are the values members try to uphold as members of the group, even when this is not always possible. These aspirations are constitutive of the scientific ‘form of life’. I argue that science and religion are distinct forms of life, and through their formative aspirations can be differentiated from one another. Drawing on the theory of Elective Modernism (Collins and Evans 2017), I argue that the formative aspirations of science overlap with democratic values. Media representations of science shape public understanding. Non-fiction television is a ubiquitous and trusted medium for the communication of science. Non-fiction science television programme makers were interviewed to understand the process of science television production: the pressures, tensions and constraints inherent to this process. I analyse representations of science in British non-fiction television programmes and argue that a ‘religious’ portrayal of science can be identified in some programmes. I identify a contrasting ‘secular’ portrayal of science in other programmes. The religious portrayal presents science as providing a definitive creation narrative. In this portrayal scientific knowledge is presented as a set of certain and immutable truths which are revealed by nature with little or no human intervention. In this portrayal science is presented as providing meaning. The secular portrayal’s representation aligns more closely with a sociological understanding of science. In this portrayal scientific knowledge is represented as requiring human skill to produce and as being subject to change, revision and debate. Science in this portrayal is represented as producing both positive and negative outcomes for society. From the perspective of Elective Modernism, if citizens are to properly understand, engage with and value science they need an understanding informed by sociological conceptions of science which emphasise science’s formative aspirations as its defining characteristic. The requirements for the production of an ‘elective modernist’ portrayal of science, one which foregrounds the formative aspirations of science, are discussed. The problematic consequences of the religious portrayal of science are laid out. Presenting science as a religion disguises its formative aspirations. This provides an inaccurate picture of how science works and a widespread (mis)understanding of science as a religion would undermine democratic society.

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Burrows, Daniel. "Social work within a medical setting : an ethnographic study of a hospital social work team." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2018. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/111557/.

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This thesis reports on an ethnography of a hospital social work team in Wales. The aim of this study was to explore the nature of the statutory social work role within hospitals, to examine how hospital social workers do their work, and to shed light on how social work fits into the hospital context. My findings indicate that hospital social workers face constant pressure from managers and clinicians to expedite patient discharges, and exclude almost all other tasks from their role. Their daily work is a sequence of bureaucratic tasks, focused on management of the failing body, often to the exclusion of considering the wider social or psychological needs of the patient. Drawing on the work of Bauman, I argue that the bureaucratic and managerial systems in which hospital social workers operate produce dehumanising practices and distance decision makers from the human consequences and moral dimensions of their decisions. Even within these systems, however, some levels of discretion are maintained and hospital social workers use their discretion in a variety of ways. The hospital social workers in this study consistently expressed values derived from anti-discriminatory practice and, despite the constraints they encountered, were able to perform work that showed a concern for social justice, human rights and empowerment at the individual’s level. Thus, I argue that hospital social work in the UK is driven by liberal, rather than radical values, and is largely unconcerned with addressing wider issues of structure, social disadvantage and oppression. The hospital social work role involves the co- ordination of knowledge provided by clinical professions, which must then be processed to match the needs of the patient to the services that are available. Social workers are outsiders within the hospital setting and there is a considerable amount of distrust between them and the clinical professionals, which occasionally manifests in open conflict. I draw on Goffman’s dramaturgical insights to analyse how social workers manage their position within the hospital and draw on his theory of frame analysis to understand the way conflicts arise. Hospital social workers maintain a distinct identity within the hospital that is tied to their liberal values. I argue that their practices can be interpreted both as arising from the zeitgeist of liquid modernity and as adapting to the human need brought about by liquid modernity. I suggest that social work must either pursue individual liberation further, following the liberal values currently underpinning these hospital social workers’ practice, or adopt a more radical or critical approach in seeking to influence government policies around social care.

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Hanaee, Jalal. "Investigation on TQM implementation in medical sciences universities of Iran." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2011. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/12150/.

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Higher education institutes are undergoing fundamental changes and rapid development. Customers (faculty, staff, student)2 demand high quality services at reasonable and affordable costs. Customer dissatisfaction and a growing awareness of gaps between actual and ideal service have led to intensifying pressure to improve quality. Total Quality Management (TQM) is considered one of the most important methods adopted by managers in recent decades to make their organizations more sustainable, competitive and profitable. It has been admitted that TQM is not embraced by universities as much as industries and governments, particularly in developing countries. The present research is an important first exploratory empirical study of TQM implementation in Iran which assesses the extent to which the TQM approach is applied in Medical Sciences Universities (MSUs) and to propose a convenient model for effective implementation of TQM to promote the performance of the universities, increasing of customer satisfaction and to remain competitive in the region. The data were obtained from the field work at two major Iranian medical sciences universities as the representatives of MSUs through self administered questionnaires (adapted from an established Baldrige model) and also face to face semi structured interviews regarding the research objectives and research questions with a rage of stakeholders. The questionnaire aimed to investigate the implementation of TQM in MSUs, while, semi-structured interviews aimed to gain an understanding of themes which had emerged from the questionnaire as well as to validate the findings resulting from the questionnaire. Different statistical techniques (e.g. descriptive analysis, multiple regression, spearman‟s correlation, Kruskal-Wallis) were used to describe the respondents‟ characteristics and identify and explain findings of the data .The analysis of the data revealed that although the current state of the TQM practice in MSUs, in terms of seven Baldrige educational categories, is not satisfied, but it seems the universities have started improving in some areas. The results also indicated four new TQM implementation impediments: a) managers are multi jobs b) financial problems of the staff and lack of interest in participating in TQM training and programs, c) non accountability of the mangers to the ministry, and d) lack of time for TQM implementation. In addition the results showed that, there is a correlation amongst the seven categories. Also, it was found that the government (the ministry) policy acts as an encouraging factor to implement TQM successfully through the assessment of the senior leaders of the university. Moreover, the results showed that there is no difference in their levels of views on Baldrige TQM model by male and female respondents. The study has proposed a model which would be more helpful to the top managements of hifgher education institutions for providing the quality educational service to their customers as well as improvement in the delivery mechanisms. The research has identified some useful implications for Universities leadership and academic researchers. The study concludes by identifying recommendations of further research, considers the limitations of the research and discusses the researcher‟s personal learning.

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Collins, Kirsty-Lee. "Social media use, social anxiety and the relationship with life satisfaction." Thesis, University of Essex, 2017. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/19586/.

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Introduction: There has been a growing interest around the use of the Internet, and more recently the role of social media use, within all aspects of day-to-day living. Previous research has found contrasting relationship s between social media use and meaningful social connectivity. Some suggesting Facebook can provide a 'social compensation'; offering an opportunity of developing positive social relationships and self-exploration (Indian & Grieves, 2014; Selfout et al., 2009; Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2008). Other research argued that those who most benefitted from social media already have good social links, thus a 'rich get richer' effect (Kraut et al., 2002). Aim: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social anxiety symptoms, passive and active Facebook use and online and offline relationships (bridging and bonding) to life satisfaction. Method: A total of 124 completed online questionnaires were collected. The participants completed five quantitative measures. The link to the study was posted on related Facebook pages and online social anxiety forums. Results: The results demonstrated a positive correlation between social anxiety and passive and active Facebook use, but only a significant negative correlation between active Facebook use and life satisfaction. There was also a negative correlation between social anxiety and life satisfaction. A mediation analysis suggested that social anxiety acted as a significant mediating variable between active Facebook use and life satisfaction. Furthermore, a hierarchical regression suggested that it was, when controlling for social anxiety, face-to-face bonding relationship that was the most significant predictor variable for life satisfaction. Clinical implications: The study does not argue a causal relationship between Facebook use, social anxiety, relationship types and a negative impact on life satisfaction. However it does highlighted interesting significant correlation between Facebook use, social anxiety and life satisfaction. This would suggest that within clinical practice an individual’s digital life should be thought about, alongside the more traditional ideas of social networks. Furthermore, the clinical focus of developing of an individual’s face-to-face relationships remains an important factor associated with life satisfaction.

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Seanor, Pam. "Social enterprise networks : the everyday unfolding of social enterprise by interpreting & drawing different views." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2011. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/10604/.

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This thesis examines how social enterprise is constructed in theory and practice. A critical approach is taken to questioning assumptions about complex issues especially the dynamics of networks and those facing uncertain and ambiguous situations. Due to limited empirical evidence, a qualitative approach is adopted to explore how network interactions influence identity, meaning and actions. The research from a 16-month case study was undertaken to understand how social enterprise is made sense of by those in 37 existing social organisations, intermediate support and commissioning agencies in West Yorkshire. An analysis of data collected from in-depth interviews, together with participant observation of network events is used to theorise that issues of identity and interactions between network contacts. It attempts to make explicit some of the identity construction and maintenance processes which take place in local networks. The thesis contributes to knowledge in that it offers a ‘little’ narrative of social enterprise network interactions in context, presents an unfolding model for framing network processes and uses creative narrative approaches of stories, metaphors and visual methods, not well utilised in the field but borrowing from other fields. The value of these three contributions helps to develop an enhanced understanding of social processes involved in social enterprise actions. Because of its ethnographic and phenomenological approach, it adds to the theoretical narrative and offers rich insights into contemporary network practices. The originality of the study is an unfolding approach and an alternative research perspective with which to better understand the complexity of this diverse field of study. It uses participant drawings, metaphors and paradox to examine how practitioners viewed trust (and distrust), continuity (and discontinuity), success(and lessons learnt from failure). The unfolding nature of the study enables practitioners (and researchers) the ability to structure thinking but allows for flexibility in considering the influences of local context. By focussing upon a local context it contributes grounded data to support discourse in the social context of contemporary practice. It has attempted to foster discussion of social enterprise as a socially constructed phenomenon. This empirical work considers how everyday contemporary practices correspond to (or contrast) theories and models. It offers a pluralistic view and shifts the focus from a unitary perspective of individuals and individual organisations to enable academics, policy makers and organisational participants to consider and interpret different views of changes.

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Chessell-Edgar, Victoria. "The local governance of Anti-Social Behaviour." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2011. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/40486/.

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The aim of this study is to explore the ‘empirical particulars’ (Garland 2001, p. vii) of policymaking in crime and disorder control, and the ways in which sub national policy actors are able to adapt and exert influence more generally over national level policy decisions as well as resist such wider forces. This research contends that some rethinking is needed away from much existing criminological literature on shifts in crime control policy that has been dominated by the ‘grand narrative’ accounts of writers such as Garland (2001). These narratives have been concerned largely with the provision of general accounts of overall shifts in policymaking at the national and at times global levels. As a result the local dimension to this process has been with a few notable exceptions neglected or downplayed. Instead the primary focus of much existing criminological literature has been upon the role of national policy elites, presenting policymaking as a top down experience that follows a relatively smooth trajectory. In contrast this study suggests that policymaking is instead a more unpredictable and messier process that can be affected by problems of implementation and resistance. In order to examine the role of the ‘local’ within policymaking, this research employed the use of a single ‘exemplifying case study’ of one English city and in turn it examined in depth one particular area of policymaking and implementation, namely the local management of Anti Social Behaviour (henceforth ASB). This sought to bring together documentary analysis and elite interviews in an effort to provide an empirically detailed account of anti social behaviour policy development. This study focused primarily on a series of semi-structured interviews, involving a range of key local policy actors. These were conducted over an extended period of time, which coincided with the rise of the national level ASB agenda. This extended period enabled observations to also be made about the ebb and flow of policy often as it emerged and caused local practitioners to have to develop and adapt policy responses. The resulting empirical findings provide an informed example of the messiness and contingency of public policymaking, whilst also providing a site in which other academic theories can be tested and applied. The intention of this study is to not only make a significant contribution to the field in which it is nested (ASB policy and practice), but also to enhance our understanding of the effects that broader policy change and the impact that key national policy drivers can have upon the formulation of local level policy responses. In brief the thesis suggests that through the interaction of key policy actors at both the national and local levels, policy formulation and implementation is realised.

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Guter-Sandu, Andrei. "Leveraging social value : multiple valuation logics in the field of social finance." Thesis, City, University of London, 2018. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/20214/.

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What are the mechanisms behind the advance of financial actors, instruments, and models into the field of social policy design and delivery? Over the past couple of decades, the state’s function as provider of welfare and safety nets against various forms of socio-economic risk has been transformed not just by privatisation or downsizing, but also by the advent of alternative forms of social policy delivery. One example of the latter is social impact investment, a form of investing in social programmes with the intent of pursuing social (and environmental) impact alongside financial return, and yielding innovative financial instruments such as social impact bonds, social stocks, or community bonds. The emergence of this field is generally seen as an outcome of the broader process of financialisation. From this perspective, both financial return and social policy objectives can be achieved via the straightforward implementation of existing financial instruments and methodologies. However, the very process of implicating existing financial technologies in the sphere of the pursuit of social outcomes generates its own set of dynamics. This study focuses on these dynamics from the perspective of the valuation processes underpinning the emergence of social impact investment. It argues that as finance engulfs this field, it engages in a valuation process of fashioning and delineating a hybridised form of value – blended value – supporting its advance, which is distinctly separate, though not independent, from financial value creation. The result of this process is the concomitant proliferation of non-financial spaces of valuation, which come not to replace, but to accompany and support financialisation. In order to make this argument, it looks at the case of the valuation processes undergirding the launch of the world’s first social impact bond in 2010 in the UK. Besides providing an empirical account of the latter, it also makes a theoretical contribution to the literature on financialisation by deepening the understanding of the manner in which financial actors, instruments, and markets advance in non-financial realms.

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Crick, Martin John. "To make twelve o'clock at eleven : the history of the Social Democratic Federation." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 1988. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/7152/.

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The Social-Democratic Federation has been ill-served by historians, dismissed as an irrelevance or an alien intrusion into British politics. This thesis attempts to provide a balanced and coherent account of the SDF's history, emphasisi: regional as well as national developments to demonstrate that until the early years of the twentieth century, the party posed a genuine alternative to the supposed 'mainstream' development of the ILP/Labour Party. The Federation was far from the monolithic, centralised organisation, dominated by Hyndman, thatis often depicted. A study of the branches in Lancashire and Yorkshire reveals regional diversity and demonstrates that they enjoyed considerable autonomy, but although this autonomy allowed branches in areas like Lancashire to adapt to their environment with considerable success it also produced a party prone to internal divisions over strategy. Consequently it failed to develop consistent policies. This proved a fatal handicap at a crucial period in the history of the British Socialist movement, during the formative years of the Labour Party. The SDF was marginalised, preoccupied with its own internal debates at a time when it could have exercised considerable influence inside Labour's ranks. It never satisfactorily resolved the debate over which course to pursue, that of reform or revolution, until the outbreak of the First World War brought the divisioi within the party to a head, which ultimately caused its dissolution. Nevertheless its eventual demise should not obscure its achievements which, as is often the fate of pioneers, remain largely unsung. It educated and agitated; it played a leading role in the formation of both ILP branches and Labour Representation Committees; it produced a generation of working-class intellectuals and militants; it championed the cause of the unemployed. Most important of all, the SDF was responsible for re-introducing Socialism to the British political agenda.

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Fidanay, Nilüfer İlhan Supervisor :. Gitmez Ali. "The Social character of the European Union : flexible work arrangements." Ankara : METU, 2004. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/2/12605717/index.pdf.

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Smith, Niall D. "The everyday social geographies of living with epilepsy." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2013. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4696/.

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Radical, ‘eventful’ bodily vulnerability has yet to receive sustained attention in contemporary human geography. As one way of addressing the implications of existential vulnerability, this thesis explores the social geographies of people living with epilepsy. It draws upon multiple-methods research comprising an extensive mixed-methods questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, all conducted with people with epilepsy who are members of the charity, Epilepsy Scotland, the project partner. By paying attention to the (post-)phenomenological experience of ‘seizures’, the thesis argues that a failure to appreciate the complex and often extremely troubling spatialities of epileptic episodes invariably results in sustaining the stigmatisation of epilepsy and the partial views of ‘outsiders’. By exploring changed, changing and changeable relations between self, body, space, time and others, the thesis suggests that spatial behaviours in and across different places shift according to various biographical, social and illness experiences and contexts. More specifically, it contends that certain spaces become risky some or all of the time because of the body that not only threatens personal disorientation but also the very foundations of the social order. While there is a corresponding risk that individuals with epilepsy will confine themselves within the socially (although not materially) contained homeplace, many adopt active and resourceful practices, taking into account immediate time-space and embodied knowledges so as to resist being told what they can do, where and when. Disciplining the ‘epileptic body’ and environment to accommodate the unpredictability of seizures are put forward as a challenging case study for thinking through how the vital vulnerabilities of everyday life are made sense of through the very governmental regimes that they will always escape.

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Redhead, Daniel Joseph. "The dynamics of social hierarchy." Thesis, University of Essex, 2018. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/23263/.

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A growing body of research has outlined that humans gain social rank through two pathways: prestige and dominance. This dual model of social hierarchy advocates that individuals either attain positions of high rank though signals of an ability and willingness to either inflict harm (dominance) or confer benefits (prestige) to group members. While there is growing support for the dual model of social hierarchy, the extant empirical evidence has been cross-sectional and has neglected the impact that time and context has on the efficacy of prestige and dominance as long-term processes. The present research outlines a theoretical framework for the trajectories of prestige, dominance and social rank over time, and further provides longitudinal evidence of their temporal dynamics. In addition, the current research tests the longitudinal associations that prestige and dominance have with social networks, Results of study 1 suggest that, in collaborative task groups, prestige has a positive and bidirectional temporal association with social rank, while the association that dominance has diminished over time. Study 2 indicated that in these task groups those high in prestige were more likely to be asked advice and prestige was transmitted through advice ties but had a limited association with friendship. Those high in dominance were less likely to be nominated as friends, but dominance was transmitted through friendship ties. Results from Study 3 suggest that those high in prestige status were more likely to aid in food sharing and food production, and that the prestige status of an individual’s food sharing and food production partners increased their prestige status over a period of twelve years among the Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of Bolivia. Overall, the present research highlights the distinction between prestige and dominance over time and shows that prestige, dominance, social rank and social networks have bidirectional, dynamic relationships over time.

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Nedvetskaya, Olesya. "Social legacy of mega sport events : individual, organisational and societal implications of the London 2012 Games Maker Programme." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2015. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6612/.

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This thesis was focussed on volunteering as a social legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (London 2012). The study identified a research gap with regard to the details on the processes through which the volunteering legacy can be achieved, for whom, in what circumstances and over which duration. Therefore, the overall purpose of this research was to explore the processes by which the London 2012 Volunteer Programme (the Games Maker Programme) was used to deliver a desired social legacy in the historical context of sport event volunteering in the UK, such as the XVII Commonwealth Games in Manchester (Manchester 2002), their Pre-Volunteer Programme (PVP) and Manchester Event Volunteers (MEV). This was done by means of examining volunteering experiences and volunteer management practices in the context of the Olympics as the least explored form of the Games-related legacy. The uniqueness and strength of this research was in its empirically grounded and historically informed case study with an embedded single-case design with multiple units of analysis, where the case was the Games Maker Programme and units of analysis – different aspects of the Programme. The study employed critical realism and interpretative constructivism as the basis of its philosophical framework. It used a ‘realist’ approach drawing on the basis of realist evaluation: context + mechanism = outcome (Pawson and Tilley, 1997). Elements of the Programme became the mechanisms activated under certain conditions (contexts) to trigger certain outcomes. A two-layered theoretical framework was applied to help study volunteering in the context of the Olympics. The research utilised the Legacy Cube by Preuss (2007) as an outer layer of the framework to help identify positive and negative, planned and unplanned, tangible and intangible structures associated with a social legacy and analyse them at specific time and space. The Volunteer Process Model by Omoto and Snyder (2002) served as an inner-layer of the framework that helped explore more in-depth personal attributes of London 2012 volunteers (Individual level), processes, experiences and consequences of their involvement, as well as the ingrained nature of volunteering in the institutional and cultural environments (Organisational and Societal levels). Longitudinal time horizon and mixed methods were used to collect a richer and stronger array of evidence to address the research aims and questions. Qualitative evidence included various documents, in-depth semi-structured interviews with volunteers (before and after London 2012) and managers (after London 2012), as well as participant observations carried out by the researcher before and during the Games. These qualitative elements were supplemented with an on-line survey of a broader cross section of volunteers. Thematic analysis was used to make sense of the large volume of data and provide foundations for the results and a subsequent discussion. The findings revealed that the London 2012 Volunteering Strategy had multiple stakeholders and aims, from running an excellent Games-time Volunteer Programme to creating a sustainable social legacy. Competing demands, poor coordination, the confusion over who is responsible for what outcomes, the lack of specific plans on how to achieve these outcomes and external factors related to changes in political environment and worsened socio-economic conditions in the UK contributed to a legacy not being realised to the extent it was hoped for. Therefore, declared commitments to Excellence, Equality and Diversity, One Games, UK-Wide, Exchange, Legacy and Partnership were limited in their capacity. Ultimately, the need to deliver the Games took a priority. Although the Games Maker Programme appeared to achieve its target to recruit, train and manage 70,000 volunteers to work in 3,500 Games-time roles, organisers were not always effective in providing volunteers with the best experience, which largely depended on volunteer roles, placements and a management style of immediate managers and team leaders. It came across as a surprising outcome, given that the successful organisation of the Games was largely in hands of volunteers. Therefore, if the commitment is to have an exemplary Games-time Volunteer Programme, then a priority should be to make those who freely devote their time and effort feel valued and provide them with an array of opportunities and benefits that encourage positive experiences. This, potentially, can contribute to a sustainable volunteering legacy beyond the Games.

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Pylkkänen, Elisa Maaria. "Words that carry meaning: issue definition and affirmative action." Thesis, McGill University, 2004. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=18203.

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This paper presents a comparative study of affirmative action policies in effect in seven countries: Australia, Canada, India, the Netherlands, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States. Drawing on a wide range of literature, the paper discusses several analytical frameworks that help in describing and accounting for differences between the policies, including the distinction between soft and hard affirmative action, ideological differences, and the social actors expected to adapt to affirmative action legislation. Ultimately, however, it is argued that the greatest insights can be gained by applying the issue definition perspective into the study of affirmative action, in particular by examining the language associated with these policies. Based on the analysis, a typology of affirmative action policies is developed, bringing together the findings of the different analytical perspectives presented in the paper.
Le présent mémoire est une étude comparée de politiques d’action positive en vigueur dans sept pays : l’Australie, le Canada, l’Inde, les Pays-Bas, l’Afrique du Sud, le Royaume-Uni, et les États-Unis. Se basant sur une variété d’études universitaires, le mémoire aborde trois approches analytiques qui ajoutent à notre compréhension des différences entre les politiques : la distinction entre les mesures antidiscriminatoires dites douces et dures, les différences idéologiques, et les acteurs sociaux dont le comportement est visé par la législation. L’argument principal s’appuie sur la perspective théorique de définition de problèmes et soutient que la langue associée avec les politiques d’action positive nous aide à comprendre les différences observées entre ces politiques. Enfin, une typologie de programmes d’action positive est développée à partir des cadres analytiques présentés tout au long de l’étude. fr

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Goodyear-Grant, Elizabeth. "Politicians, journalists, and their audiences: gendered aspects of televised election news in Canada." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=18410.

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This dissertation is an analysis of the gendered aspects of televised election news in Canada. My theoretical framework is the 'gendered mediation thesis', and its central claim is that news is a predominantly masculine narrative that privileges men and masculinity in politics. The theory relies primarily on two causal factors to account for this pattern. First, news is a reflection of our gendered society. Thus, the frames used to report politics are replete with masculine symbols and metaphors and give primacy to masculine traits. Second, the structure and operation of the news system itself – particularly the political economic constraints imposed by competition for audience share and advertising revenues – encourage news formats that enforce, rather than challenge, established gender norms in the society.My empirical analyses focus on four components of the news media system: 1) news content, 2) news production, 3) media effects, and 4) elites' approaches to media. The first two themes analyze production and content, and the latter two themes focus on the consequences of gendered news. I use a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to demonstrate that aspects of televised news coverage present men and women candidates differently, and I find evidence that women are seriously underrepresented in Canadian newsrooms, particularly in positions of power. I also present evidence that gendered news has harmful effects on both audience perceptions of women candidates, as well as women politicians' own perceptions of their treatment by newsworkers as well as in news coverage. My analyses suggest that gendered news coverage can present distorted information about women politicians, harm women politicans' electoral prospects, and also possibly discourage women from entering politics as a profession, thereby contributing to a serious problem in the supply of women candidates.
Cette dissertation analyse la représentation biaisée des femmes dans les nouvelles télévisées des élections au Canada. J'emploie le cadre théorique de la « gendered mediation thesis », selon lequel les nouvelles constituent un narratif essentiellement masculin qui privilégie les hommes et la masculinité dans la politique. Cette théorie s'appuie sur deux facteurs causaux pour expliquer ce phénomène. Premièrement, les nouvelles reflètent les préjugés contre les femmes dans notre société. Ainsi, les cadres employés pour reporter les événements politiques regorgent de symboles et de métaphores masculins et accordent la primauté aux traits masculins. Deuxièmement, la structure et l'opération du système de nouvelles lui-même —particulièrement les contraintes politico-économiques imposées par la compétition pour capturer leur part du public et les revenus générés par la publicité— encouragent des formats de nouvelles qui renforcent plutôt que de défier les normes sociales établies biaisées contre les femmes.Mon analyse empirique porte sur quatre composantes du système médiatique de nouvelles : 1) le contenu des nouvelles, 2) la production de nouvelles, 3) les effets médiatiques, et 4) l'approche des élites aux médias. Les premiers deux thèmes analysent la production et le contenu, tandis que les deux autres se concentrent sur les conséquences de la représentation biaisée des femmes dans les nouvelles. J'emploie une combinaison de données quantitatives et qualitatives pour démontrer que les nouvelles télévisées présentent les femmes et les hommes différemment, et ma recherche démontre que les femmes sont sérieusement sous-représentées dans les salles de nouvelles canadiennes, particulièrement dans les positions de pouvoir. Je présente aussi des preuves empiriques que les nouvelles biaisées contre les femmes ont des effets néfastes sur la perception des femmes candidates par le public, ainsi que sur la

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Stretch, Kenneth. "Active labour market programs and attitudes towards globalization." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=18420.

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This article examines the relationship between spending on active labour market welfare programs (ALPMs) and attitudes towards two decomposed aspects of globalization: immigration and trade liberalization. Two empirical analyses related to this topic are carried out using cross-national survey data. The result is that ALMP spending has a positive impact on attitudes towards globalization. This finding suggests that governments can use targeted ALMP spending to counteract negative attitudes towards globalization and therefore ensure continuing economic benefits from trade liberalization and immigration.
Cet article se penche sur la corrélation entre les dépenses effectuées pour des programmes sociaux ciblés sur le marché du travail et les attitudes envers deux aspects de la mondialisation, soit l'immigration et la libéralisation de l'échange international. Deux analyses empiriques ont été effectuées sous la base de sondages multinationaux. Les résultats obtenus suggèrent que les gouvernements peuvent instaurer des programmes sociaux ciblés sur le marché du travail afin de contrebalancer les attitudes négatives soulevées par la globalisation et, par conséquence, préserver les avantages de la libéralisation de l'échange international et l'immigration.

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Bercuson, Jeffrey. "Patriotism, self-respect and the limits of cosmopolitanism: the moral and political philosophy of Rousseau and Rawls." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=18422.

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In contrast to the common depiction of Rawls's political theory as atomistic, his work is instead deeply connected to some of the fundamentally republican themes of Rousseau's political and philosophical oeuvre: these themes include our natural sympathy with other persons; our innate susceptibility to the pleasures of fellow feeling; the duty of political participation, as well as the importance of civic virtue; and, perhaps most importantly, an emphasis on properly designed political institutions as a necessary source of freedom. What we shall ultimately find in both Rousseau and Rawls, then, is a repudiation of cosmopolitan values in light of their mutual recognition of the emotional impact of shared domestic institutions. Indeed, one way to account for Rawls's rather surprising resistance to a cosmopolitan scheme of global redistribution is to highlight his intellectual affinity to Rousseau, a political theorist committed to both the equality of all persons – in a political sense, at least – and to a strict brand of national self-determination.
Contrairement à la description populaire de la théorie politique de Rawls comme atomistique, son travail est profondément relié aux thèmes républicains de Rousseau : ces thèmes incluent notre sympathie normale avec d'autres personnes ; notre susceptibilité innée aux plaisirs du sentiment de camarade ; le devoir de la participation politique, aussi bien que l'importance de la vertu civique ; et, le plus important, une emphase sur les établissements politiques correctement conçus comme source nécessaire de liberté. Rousseau et Rawls nient des valeurs cosmopolites en raison de leur reconnaissance mutuelle de l'impact émotif de partager les établissements domestiques. En fait, nous pouvons expliquer la résistance de Rawls à un arrangement cosmopolite de la redistribution globale en accentuant son affinité intellectuelle à Rousseau, un philosophe qui croit en égalité de toutes les personnes - dans un sens politique, au moins - et à une version stricte d'autonomie nationale. fr

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Hutchings, John David. "The state, development, and persistent authoritarianism." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=18487.

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This thesis helps explain persistent authoritarianism in Egypt and theMiddle East. It does so with two arguments: one about development and anotherabout the state. As economic reform ended Arab socialism, members of theprivate sector found their economic interests in collusion with the authoritarianstate. The character of this state-sponsored development trajectory maintainedbusiness support for authoritarian persistence. Egypt implemented a slow reformprocess that ruptured the Nasserite populist-authoritarian social contract but builtnew business support for the regime. In so doing, it abandoned the popular sectorand fractured state-society relations. Zones of informality developed, with civilsociety stepping in to provide services. This associational vigour has a perverseeffect on political engagement. State-society rupture feeds depoliticization andapathy, helping people survive while contributing to regime stability.Comparative perspective from Thailand, Ghana and Zambia supports theseconclusions.
Cette thèse contribue à l'explication de l'autoritarisme égyptien et moyen-oriental. Elle avance deux arguments : un sur le développement, et un sur l'État.Quand la libéralisation économique mit terme au socialisme arabe, les membresdu secteur privé réalisèrent leurs intérêts économiques en collusion avec l'Étatautoritaire. Ce trajet de développement étatique maintint le soutien du patronat àl'autoritarisme persistant. L'Égypte exécuta un programme de libéralisation lentequi fractura le contrat social populiste-autoritaire nassériste tout en créant unenouvelle base d'appui pour le régime. De cette façon, elle abandonna le secteurpopulaire et fractura les relations étatiques-sociales. Des zones d'informalité sedéveloppèrent, et la société civile intervint pour fournir des services. Cettevigueur associationnelle a un effet pervers sur l'engagement politique. La ruptureétatique-sociale nourrit la dépoliticisation et l'apathie, aidant la survie du peupletout en stabilisant le régime. Les expériences de la Thaïlande, le Ghana, et laZambie soutiennent ces conclusions.

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Kim, Kwangsu. "Adam Smith : a relationship between metaphysics and science." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1994. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4236/.

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This thesis is basically in line with a common standpoint according to which Adam Smith's methodology deserves to be given the main priority in order to understand best his system of moral philosophy or `social science' in a modern sense. In this connection Smith's `metaphysics' is treated as an extremely important element to which our attention has to be drawn when we are concerned with his system of social science. This point of view differs primarily from an interpretative framework which seems to be still influential; a perspective from which a linkage between metaphysics and science is ignored. Instead, this work is based on the argument that metaphysics which may be defined as confirmable yet irrefutable (thus extra-scientific) doctrines is at work in the background of scientific activities in such as way that the former proposes an outline of scientific research in terms of providing a general outlook whereby a coherent type of data may be sorted out, arranged and organized. The `predominant' aim of this work on the basis of the view just mentioned is to seek a linkage between Smith's study of natural theology, which is responsible for providing an influential metaphysical doctrine, and other disciplines such as ethics and economics in his scheme of moral philosophy. I begin by identifying Smith's three metaphysical doctrines, the doctrine of mechanistic determinism, organismic philosophy, and the belief in a benevolent God (Chapter 2). Chapter 3 is designed to identify Smith's metatheoretical principles which, in conjunction with his metaphysics which is rooted in his theological outlook, serve to regulate or shape his `theoretical' analysis of man and society.

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Stanistreet, Paul J. "Hume's scepticism and the science of human nature." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1999. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7007/.

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The difficulty of reconciling Hume's use and endorsement of sceptical arguments and conclusions with his constructive project of founding 'a science of man' is perhaps the central interpretive puzzle of A Treatise of Human Nature. Hume has been interpreted as an entirely unmitigated sceptic about induction, causation, personal identity and the external world. His sceptical arguments emerge as apart of a naturalistic programme to explain fundamental human beliefs, but seem to call into serious question the viability of this programme. This work is an attempt to understand the relationship between Hume's sceptical arguments and his Newtonian ambition of founding a science of human nature. It defends two main theses: that Hume's sceptical arguments appear as steps in a more general and systematic argument the conclusion of which involves a causal explanation of scepticism itself; and that the scepticism of Book One of the Treatise is to be seen not as unmitigatedly destructive but as a part of the necessary preparation for the more robustly Newtonian investigations of Books Two and Three. Hume's sceptical arguments support the general conception he has of philosophy, and of its role and value, which emerges in the conclusion to the first book. I show that Hume's exposition of this conception is the conclusion of a complex and systematic dialectic. The work is divided into four chapters. In Chapter One, I examine Hume's commitment to the experimental method of reasoning and formulate a number of general theoretical principles which, I argue, guide the Newtonian investigations of the Treatise. I also assess Hume's understanding of what constitutes a good or adequate explanation in science. Chapter Two considers Part III of Book One. Here I emphasise the reflexiveness of Hume's extended account of the causal relation, acknowledging the constructive programme which leads Hume to formulate a set of normative rules for telling what is the cause of what. The remaining two chapters deal with Hume's main sceptical arguments concerning the attribution of identity over time to bodies and persons.

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Sundberg, Marcus. "Spatial computable general equilibrium modelling : static and dynamic approaches." Licentiate thesis, Stockholm : Div. of transport and location analysis, Dept. of transport and economics, Royal institute of technology, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-484.

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Stone, Tobias. "An examination of startup accelerators using social network theory." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2018. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/34731/.

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This thesis combines a literature review and a case study in order to examine startup accelerators as social networks. The literature review looks at two distinct bodies of research; the first on Social Network Theory, in order to create a framework within which to describe an accelerator as a social network, the second on startup accelerators in order to understand their structure and evolution as business support programs. The case study uses EyeFocus Accelerator, founded by this researcher, to test some of the ideas formulated from the literature. The literature demonstrates that accelerators are social networks, and the dynamics between the different actors in those networks can be explained and defined using the vocabulary and concepts of Social Network Theory. This describes the structure of the accelerator network, and how such a network is able to reward people with Social Capital, which is observed in this thesis to be the currency of accelerators. Consequently, the unique nature of the research in this thesis is to describe accelerators using the language and concepts of Social Network Theory, providing new insights into how and why accelerators work. This understanding identifies that value in accelerators lies in their ability to facilitate the flow of non-redundant information, and to provide early access to this information. Creating this value also enables accelerators to withdraw access to that value as a threat of sanction against bad actors. Other aspects of the social network structure and behaviour of accelerators are examined, including the tendency of weak ties and non-redundancy of information to decay over time, suggesting that this may explain the typical fixed term of most accelerators. Combined, this theory leads to an accelerator being described as a dynamic social network with a high level of closure at the core, set within a weak network architecture, with many weak ties, and consequently many bridging ties. It is policed using link reciprocity, and its currency is Social Capital. The skill used to operate in this network involves having complex role and status sets.

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Kim, David A. "Social Networks and Health: From Epidemiology to Intervention." Thesis, Harvard University, 2015. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17465311.

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This dissertation applies network science to three foundational problems in: epidemiology (the social gradient in mortality), health economics (the geographic variation in health care spending), and public health (the diffusion of knowledge and behavioral change). Chapter 1 investigates the relationship between social network position and fibrinogen, a biomarker of inflammation and cardiac risk. Socially isolated individuals face elevated rates of illness and death not explained by behavior alone. Conventional measures of social connectedness reflect an individual’s perceived network and are subject to bias and variation in reporting. In this study of a large social network, I find that greater indegree, a sociocentric measure of friendship and familial ties identified by the ego’s connections rather than the ego herself, predicts significantly lower ego fibrinogen, after controlling for demographics, education, medical history, and known predictors of cardiac risk. The effect size of social isolation, as measured by low indegree, is comparable to that of smoking, and greater than that of low education, a conventional measure of socioeconomic disadvantage. By contrast, outdegree, which reflects an individual’s perceived connectedness, is weakly associated with fibrinogen. Chapter 2 turns to the networks of physicians whose behavior governs the cost and quality of health care across the country. Using data on hundreds of millions of patient-sharing relationships from 2009-2014, I construct comprehensive longitudinal networks of Medicare providers. For all providers billing for at least 100 office visits in 2012, I calculate six specialty-adjusted measures of billing intensity. After accounting for attributes of individual physicians, pairs of physicians who share patients are more similar on six dimensions of billing intensity than physicians who do not share patients but share a common colleague, who in turn are more similar than pairs of physicians separated in the network by three degrees or more. Moreover, patterns of physician clustering differ dramatically by region, with implications for efforts to reduce healthcare spending, and for the detection of fraud and abuse. Chapter 3 describes the first real-world, large-scale randomized trial of network interventions for public health. In 32 villages of rural Honduras, we delivered two dissimilar public health interventions: chlorine for water purification, and multivitamins for micronutrient deficiencies. Using a block randomized design, we assigned villages to one of three targeting methods, introducing interventions to 5% samples composed either of: randomly selected villagers, villagers with the most social ties, or nominated friends of random villagers (the last strategy exploiting the “friendship paradox” of social networks). We compared the diffusion of the products and of related knowledge across the three methods of network targeting. Targeting the most highly connected individuals produced no greater diffusion of knowledge and behavior than random targeting. Targeting nominated friends, by contrast, increased adoption of the nutritional intervention by 12.2% compared to random targeting, and also improved villagers’ knowledge of the intervention’s usage and benefits at follow-up. This method has the additional advantage of scalability, because it can be implemented without mapping the network. Deploying certain types of health interventions via network targeting, without increasing the number of individuals targeted or the resources used, may enhance the adoption and efficiency of those interventions, and thereby improve population health.
Health Policy

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Bravo, González Ramón. "Corporate social responsibility and brand value in luxury." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2017. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8159/.

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With a combined annual revenue of approximately $250 billion dollars, the luxury industry is highly significant, from a financial and commercial point of view. Within luxury, an area that is becoming increasingly important due to the visibility of this industry is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). While consumers are still not actively demanding CSR in luxury products and services, and there is evidence that CSR is not a key area of interest for the luxury industry; the luxury industry is becoming the target of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders interested in environmental and ethical practices. Thus, it is essential that luxury companies explore CSR implementation, as neglecting to do so, is likely to affect their brands and their brand value. One of the most important assets that luxury firms have is brand value, an intangible asset influenced by consumer and company-led actions. CSR is a company-led action, which depending on how it is managed, can either increase or decrease brand value. It is important to note that to understand the role of CSR within luxury and how it can influence brand value, it is not possible to study CSR in isolation, as this would not fully reveal its importance in the wider context of brand value overall. Thus, CSR needs to be studied alongside other factors affecting brand value. Despite the fact that CSR can influence brand value in luxury, CSR is still overlooked by the industry. Due to the increasing relevance of CSR within luxury, this research explores the role of CSR within luxury and how it, together with other factors, contributes to brand value in luxury. An additional consideration is that despite the importance of brand value in luxury, the industry does not normally measure, manage and leverage brand value. As a result, it is also necessary to examine how brand value is perceived within luxury. To meet these research goals, a mixed methods approach was selected. More specifically, a theoretical framework was built with input from the literature and interviews with key interviewees from the luxury industry. Then, the theoretical framework was tested quantitatively. The quantitative analysis was conducted with a dataset based on consumer panels, and additional secondary data including Bloomberg, CSRHub, Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), Interbrand, and company reports. The results were subject to ‘credibility checks’ with interviewees from the industry. It is noteworthy to highlight that for the statistical analysis, one of the largest datasets with US consumer data was used. Similarly, for the qualitative interviews, representatives from some of the largest luxury companies in the world in terms of brand value, and luxury stakeholders were recruited. The results from this research suggest that despite the importance of brand value within luxury; brand value is not widely understood by the industry and it is not measured, managed or leveraged. This research also suggests that CSR, company size, having controlled distribution, country of origin, marketing and research and development (R&D)/design, energized differentiation, esteem, and relevance; are critical factors to brand value. Consequently, luxury brands need to manage all these determinants to be able to create and preserve brand value. Nevertheless, while all these determinants are important, their importance can vary by brand; depending on brand size, brand category, target market, and whether the brand is heritage or non-heritage. With regard to CSR, an outcome from this research is that CSR is becoming an increasingly important contributor to brand value in luxury. Still, the luxury industry is not fully aware that CSR implementation is consistent with key luxury values such as high-quality and service and luxury’s long-term vision; and that stringent CSR policies and practices constitute a potential strategy to anticipate future regulatory and social constraints. Furthermore, CSR implementation within luxury is generally limited to discrete actions, such as collaboration with the arts, compliance, local production, philanthropy/voluntarism, and use of environmentally friendlier materials. It is crucial that luxury companies incorporate CSR into the DNA of their brands and choose a CSR strategy aligned with their brand vision. Luxury brands may be able to positively change consumer perceptions of CSR and, thus, drive consumer demand. Also, engagement with CSR may result in a competitive advantage to them and in a potential increase in their brand value. Moreover, the results suggest that brand knowledge is overemphasized by the luxury industry, although it does not appear to be essential for brand value in luxury. Additionally, with respect to brand relevance, this research makes a case to consider brand desirability as a potentially more appropriate determinant of brand value within a luxury context.

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Rayner, Danielle. "Informal social control in the context of deindustrialisation and disinvestment." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2013. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/52677/.

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The thesis is a qualitative ethnographic study which examines the interaction between the operation of informal social control and de-industrialisation, in the context of austerity measures and public sector retrenchment. Drawing theoretical and methodological insights from the Chicago School, which argued that population churn and competing value systems in the ‘zone of transition’ inhibited the transmission of pro-social values (Shaw and McKay, 1947), this research develops these insights in a setting where these phenomena are absent in order to understand the implications of this changed context for informal social control. This study develops a definition of informal social control past its traditional focus on crime and anti-social behaviour and towards the control of actors and behaviours which are deemed socially problematic due to their transgression of local cultures of decency and respectability. This localised culture of respectability is itself the product of a shared identity and collective memory of hardship in a stable community where these values have been transmitted. This research builds out of an inductive examination of what residents viewed as the key issues facing them, namely combating a spoiled identity which was drawn from stigmatising media depictions of poverty and which painted all residents as being ‘workshy’. The implications for future research build on the construction of ‘decent’ identities in the post-industrial context and the ways in which identity is managed and renegotiated in an environment where even respectable individuals experience spoiled identities. It uncovers hidden orders within a seemingly disorganised community and demonstrates the extent to which state-based theories of crime control cannot account for levels of conformity to pro-social normative orders. In the ‘age of austerity’ this study highlights the importance of further research into the conditions under which this conformity may break down across a variety of different contexts.

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Hadley, Kershaw Eleanor. "Co-producing Future Earth : ambiguity and experimentation in the governance of global environmental change research." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49869/.

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The aim of this thesis is to investigate efforts to transform global environmental change research through co-design and co-production (involving non-academic actors in research governance and conduct). Social scientific work to date on this topic has largely taken an evaluative perspective, outlining challenges of and guidelines for co-production on the ground. By contrast, there is little work on how co-production is conceptualised and put into practice through (international) research governance. Yet institutions aiming to govern research are significant arbiters of meaning and power; their efforts to change research are worthy of investigation. The thesis is based on a qualitative case study of Future Earth, a major international research initiative on global environmental change (GEC) and sustainability. Future Earth is unique in its ambition to internationally coordinate and co-design/co-produce new GEC/sustainability research at a global scale. The study is grounded in co-productionist, interpretive science and technology studies, drawing on ideas about political imaginaries of science and experimental approaches to engagement. It is based on thematic analysis of data from documents, interviews, focus groups and observation of Future Earth’s emergence and development between 2010 and 2015. The analysis suggests that visions of Future Earth were ambitious, diverse and sometimes ambiguous, evoking two potential institutional forms: a unified, cohesive ‘flagship’, or a ‘rich tapestry’ of varied initiatives. Ambiguity persisted in how co-production and related concepts were understood, with varying definitions motivated by different rationales for increased (or limited) involvement of non-academic stakeholders, from ensuring relevance to democratising expertise to preserving the objectivity or independence of science. These notions of appropriate engagement were underpinned by disparate conceptions of the value of research (as a service to society, site of democratic deliberation, or public good), reproducing (and challenging) established models of science and democracy. The thesis argues that, from an experimental perspective, this ambiguity in visions of (co-production in) Future Earth can be seen to enable flexibility and allow differences to co-exist. This might require new, perhaps radical, thinking about how to organise, conduct and value research and its outcomes, with an increased emphasis on fostering, appreciating and productively working with diversity and institutional indeterminacy.

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Fettes, Danielle L. "Social location, social support, and adolescent mental health service use an empirical application of the Children's Network Episode Model /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2009. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3354899.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Sociology, 2009.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Feb 4, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-04, Section: A, page: 1433. Adviser: Jane D. McLeod.

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Lortoğlu, Dilber Ceren. "Social distinction and symbolic boundaries in a globalized context leisure spaces in İstanbul /." Ankara : METU, 2003. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12604720/index.pdf.

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Moncrieff, Lilian M. "Bound to shop : corporate social responsibility and the market." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2011. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2315/.

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The social and environmental responsibility of corporations is a subject that continues to ignite public passions. No wonder, given the regular reminders of the kinds of trouble that irresponsible business practice can get society in! The persistence of corporate social responsibility in this context has proved controversial. A strategy for managing the social and environmental responsibility of business that relies on self-regulation, CSR is a concept that strikes an uncomfortable chord with the already high levels of corporate autonomy. Yet, there seems to be no shifting from CSR. The activist shopping, of which it boasts, has ingratiated itself with democratic politics and, as such, seems set to remain. Everyone today agrees on the need for business to be more responsible. CSR is an important part of how this responsibility is managed and organised today. This thesis analyses this entrenchment of CSR in terms of what it describes as ‘the double play.’ Markets first make demands on people, time and resources, in order to secure productivity and profitability. They then make a second play to service the social and environmental fall-out of this first drive for marketisation. CSR takes place on this second play, deploying market incentives and techniques to the remedy of market generated problems. Corporations participate, drawn to the security accorded their autonomy. They see in CSR a chance to right wrongs created in earlier cycles of exchange, without the risks created by external interference. The public engage where, as the ultimate source of economic demand, they feel the responsibility for everything that goes on in the market. They try to ‘shop better’ on the second wave, to instil recovery and prevent the rematerialisation of harm. This thesis problematises CSR and the double play. It does so in a series of critical provocations directed at CSR informed by the philosophy of Jean Baudrillard. It discusses CSR’s capacity to politically disempower public participants, by drawing their energies into a perpetual cycle of economic imperialism and exchange. It discusses the difficulty CSR creates, in terms of raising conflict with business actors, and the tendency for the system to leave inert, or exposed and abandoned, those that try. Finally, the thesis pushes up against an ultimatum in CSR – ‘buy, or people perish!’ – through which the market is able to indefinitely extend and regenerate itself. The thesis argues for the disengagement of this ultimatum. For only when social and environmental concern is not held hostage to the market can the political ambition, which is somewhere present in all of this, be realised.

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Craig, Susan Yvonne. "Social care managers as staff developers : help or hindrance?" Thesis, University of Southampton, 2008. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/66058/.

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There are many challenges facing the social care sector. These include how to ensure a qualified workforce exists that meets registration requirements as well as supporting the ongoing development of that workforce. At a time when social care services are under pressure to continuously improve and change, there is an increased pressure on care staff to meet greater demands from service users. Given the labour-intensive nature of social care provision, the training of staff is a significant factor in the provision of a high-quality service. The spectrum of learning and development for care staff is considerable and this presents challenges for managers and organisations. This thesis considers modern day social care provision with its diversity and challenges for those managing the delivery of a constantly changing care service where regulation is paramount and inspection regimes can significantly dictate the business need. Social care managers appear to deal with the demands of providing a service whilst meeting the development needs of staff. Balancing service needs with the need for staff to gain qualifications is an issue. Managers endeavour to overcome the challenges of releasing staff for training and development by considering diverse ways of delivering and accessing learning. The aim of this thesis therefore, is to assess whether social care managers could reasonably adopt a staff development role in addition to their care and other managerial responsibilities. The thesis also examines the perception of the managers and staff concerning the implementation of Government policies and aims to discover what impact this may have on the workplace. In seeking to understand what care staff and managers think about the expectations placed upon them what they say is clearly an important source of data. The use of interviews to gather primary data from a sample of care staff from the independent sector together with a review of secondary data in respect of learning and development research undertaken contributes to a clearer understanding of learning and development strategies adopted by managers. What emerges is that managers do require additional support to implement the learning and development spectrum required by the national minimum care standards and shifting trends in social care responsibilities, however, there is no single solution to the form of assistance required. As a result of this, a number of avenues for future action and recommendations for additional social care research are proposed.

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Love, Cecilia. "A psycho-social exploration of trans-racial adoptive subjectivity." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2015. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/71632/.

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The aim of this thesis is to convey a psycho-social and experiential understanding of the lived experience of trans-racial adoption. As a woman that was adopted as a baby from Malaysia by Caucasian parents during the 1970s, the personal experience of the phenomenon of trans-racial adoption has been integral to the theoretical foundations and overall research approach of this study. The primary aim of this study has been one that has sought to deepen understanding of the affective dimensions involved in being a trans-racially adoptive family member from both the perspective of the adoptive mother and the adoptee. The concept of trans-racial adoptive subjectivity is informed by phenomenological and psychoanalytic thinking and assumes an embodied subject that is embedded in a relational and material world. The analytical focus therefore prioritises understanding the historical, social and political processes that engage the body in particular ways that we can understand as being trans-racially adopted. The research framework assumes a psycho-social methodological framework that has prioritised depth of understanding experience. Six sets of trans-racially adopted adults and their adoptive mothers were engaged where each family members was interviewed over a period of six months, four times each. Influenced by the relational psychoanalytic tradition, the notion of inter-subjectivity was central to the methodological process. The research interview encounters therefore assumed a two person psychology where the feelings I experienced as the researcher were considered as important forms of research data. An inter-subjective dialogue enabled the method to go beyond purely the discursive and recognise the complex layers of unconscious forms of defence that are understood as being the multi-dimensions of experience. The empirical chapters have been presented in three separate analytical chapters entitled: Race, Class and Loss. In theorising an embodied subject, I have emphasised in this interpretation of trans-racial adoptive experience the inter-connection between these three analytical categories. That whilst presented as separate categories, the presentation of the experience in each empirical chapter has aimed to demonstrate the fluidity involved in the process of being trans-racially adopted.

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Slater, Thomas. "Exploring the role of social workers in suicide prevention." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2014. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/70904/.

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This thesis explores the role of social workers in suicide prevention. Using a mixed methods approach the research examines how social workers understand, and work with, suicidal individuals in multi-agency and interdisciplinary settings. In my first empirical chapter (chapter five) a secondary analysis of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (2007) (n=7,403) explores the circumstances under which social workers come into contact with suicidal individuals. Using a multinomial logistic regression it has been possible to establish that substance misuse is associated with social worker contact. This suggests that social workers are having contact with a group at elevated risk of suicide. The second part of the thesis is based on a series of semi-structured interviews with statutory social workers (n=17) (chapters six and seven), service users with a history of suicide attempts (n=3) and Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPNs) (n=3) (chapter eight). A thematic analysis of the interviews found that although statutory social workers had little or no training in assessing suicide, both service users and CPNs believed that social workers have a vital role in supporting suicidal individuals. Social workers found peer learning to be important as both a source of knowledge and learning, and as a support network. The findings of this research indicate that social workers have particular expertise in taking a holistic approach to suicide assessment and prevention. The Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) role is also felt to give social workers a strong knowledge of the legal issues that underpin working with this vulnerable group. However further research into the contact between social workers and suicidal service users and the assessment of suicide is necessary. The findings of this thesis have implications for practitioners, policy makers and researchers.

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Abrahams, Jessica. "Schooling inequality : aspirations, institutional practices and social class reproduction." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2016. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/100310/.

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Despite a mass expansion of the higher education sector in the UK since the 1960s, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds remain less likely to enter university (and in particular elite institutions) than their advantaged counterparts. Governmental approaches to narrowing this gap have tended to revolve around the provision of greater information and a raising of aspirations. This thesis contributes to sociological knowledge through exploring young people’s aspirations and opportunities in light of this context, paying close attention to how these are shaped through interactions with the institution of education. It does so through a focus on three schools in one city in England. Grand Hill Grammar (an independent fee paying school), Einstein High (a state-maintained school in a wealthy area) and Eagles Academy (a state-maintained school in a disadvantaged area). The fieldwork included a survey of over 800 pupils in years 7, 9 and 11 in each school, semi-structured interviews with 6-8 pupils per year per school and one careers advisor per school (n=60). Overall, whilst there were notable differences in the expression of occupational and educational aspirations across the three schools, my findings question a direct causal relationship between social class and aspiration. I found many young people in all schools aspiring to attend university and get a ‘good job’. Nevertheless, this thesis highlights the everyday institutional structures and practices at play which were powerfully rendering young people more or less able to pursue a desired pathway. This was largely manifest in the differential structures of GCSE and A Level options alongside variations in the practices of careers advisors in each school. In this thesis I offer a critique of the dominant political conception of ‘aspiration’, offering instead a Bourdieusian account which considers the role of what I call institutional concerted cultivation in the reproduction of social class inequality.

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Robinson, C. H. "The social construction of bereavement support in voluntary organisations." Thesis, University of Worcester, 2011. http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/1605/.

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This qualitative, phenomenological study focuses on the social construction of bereavement support in voluntary organisations. Three organisations were selected for the research project. These were an adult hospice, a local branch of Cruse, and PEAL (Parents Experiencing Adult Loss); an organisation unique to the locale at the time that the research for this study was conducted. Grounded theory research methodology was used to identify how these organisations construct their services. A key feature of this is their use of volunteers as bereavement supporters. The prime objective of the study was identification of the social construction of these three agencies. In particular the intention was to reveal features contributing to the shaping of their service provision. To this end the research design was developed with the aim of allowing respondents scope for self-expression. Twenty, one-to-one, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted and audio-taped with self-selected respondents from the three agencies. The core category to emerge from the data was „boundaries‟ which was further divisible into commonly held properties classifiable as personal, professional, organisational and societal. Each of these were sub dividable, forming what might be referred to as a family tree. Underpinning this framework of boundaries is a common psychological approach to service provision which draws on the Freudian tradition in counselling. A further feature in their commonality is that of the profile of the volunteer workforce which is drawn largely from a mono-cultural, middle class sector of the community. The central contention of the thesis is that in this instance, boundaries have become a significant influence on the shaping of service provision. It is argued that an overriding individualist perspective can serve to ensure that traditional boundaries are established and maintained, making a more diverse approach to service provision difficult to attain. Key words: boundaries (personal, professional, organisational, societal); social construction; bereavement support; grounded theory; individualism; power; culture; volunteer motivation.

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Lee, Xinyi. "A qualitative study exploring transgender youths' experiences of using social media." Thesis, University of Essex, 2017. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/21276/.

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Background: The rise of the Internet in recent decades, along with social media and communication platforms, has created an opportunity for transgender individuals to seek out a common alternative identity that may reduce the societal pressure of fitting into a particular gender role dictated by biological sex. The developmental period that adolescents go through is accompanied by an array of challenges, more so for a young person whose biological sex is incongruent to their felt gendered sense. Research in social media use within the trans population is still developing, given the growing interest in how social media impacts on our sense of identity. Given the importance of identity development in adolescence, this highlights the need for research into this specific population. This study thus aims to contribute to the existing literature by exploring the experiences of transgender adolescents in using social media. Method: A qualitative research methodology was employed, using a thematic analysis approach. A total of 11 participants between the ages of 15 to 18 were interviewed. Recruitment took place at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation trust as well as using snowballing sampling. Results: Participants described using a varied range of social media platforms. A total of 3 main themes were developed from the data, with participants describing how social media played an initial role in helping them explore their trans identity, how they find themselves aligning with particular trans narratives on social media and lastly how participants make use of social media to present an image of themselves to others. Discussion: The participants’ experiences on social media mirror and intersect with the transitional journey many of them take in changing their gender and this has implications for how clinicians can take into account social media influences when working with young trans individuals.

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Uzzell, M. "The internal conversations and social networks of care leavers at university." Thesis, University of Essex, 2018. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/22412/.

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Individuals who have been in care are often thought of as a homogenous group who, because of past and ongoing contextual adversities, have outcomes reflecting hardship in various do mains. Aggregated outcomes may conceal the presence of individuals within this group who develop life projects and are able to put plans into action. Some manage to succeed educationally and take up places on university course. This research seeks to explore the reflexivity, internal conversations and social networks of young people who had been in care but had managed to become students at university. Five young people were interviewed using Archer’s (2003, 2007) semi-structured internal conversation inter view and then using Hartman’s (1978) ecogram to graphically represent their social network. Data was analysed using Robinson and Smith’s (2010) composite analysis, which incorporates elements of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (2015) and the Inter active Model (Miles and Huberman (1995)). The young people’s accounts showed that they were proudly independent, demonstrating considerable personal agency, but were well connected and able to access emotional and practical support in their social networks. They felt different to others and managed their difficult histories in a variety of ways. The results are considered in relationship to Archer’s theory and theories of resilience.

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Smith, E. D. "Engaging with comedy as social conscience in Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld'." Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, 2016. http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/5260/.

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This project sits within the field of popular culture, exploring the ways in which people read Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. The primary research objective was to ascertain whether political values encoded within the comedic text would be understood by its readers. An iterative mixed methods approach was used to gauge audience engagement. Of the potential audiences, there was an audience segment who rejected the text on generic (fantasy) grounds. Of those with a greater investment of time, in dramatic production, this led to resentment and a refusal to impute any significance to the text. Audiences of the productions who invested less time rejected the fantasy genre but accepted the significance of the text as they experienced it. Subsequent on-line research on the more engaged fan audience showed different levels of engagement. Among fans, there was a minority who enjoyed the text but rejected any real world significance. More often the fans described their Discworld favourites in terms that reflected a connection with their own lived experience. Specific themes emerged which were discussed in relation to the text: The accessibility of the comic protagonists is discussed in relation to models of masculinity in late modernity. Vimes was admired by all demographic groups, often as an aspirational figure, with 64% nominating him as a favourite. Transtextual relationships with the gothic articulate a female voice within the Discworld and shows how fans relate their own mortality to the Discworld character Death. The theme of personal social responsibility recurs in the Discworld and is discussed in relation to the macro level politics of terrorism and conflict. Discworld fans tended to be socially and politically active, the majority of the fan respondents felt that key socio-political themes were evident in the Discworld diegesis.

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Gampa, Anup. "Comparing the Social Preferences of Therapeutic Community Participants to General Population Controls." The Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1316551143.

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Warwick, Ian. "An exploratory study of mental wellbeing and factors associated with resilience among girls engaged in competitive football." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2015. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/26165/.

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This study investigated the social and psychological impact on girls of playing competitive football and explored whether football is associated with their mental wellbeing. Football was identified as an appropriate focus for exploring the link between sport and wellbeing because of its status as the UK’s national sport and its role in gender socialisation processes. The study also explored the barriers to girls’ participation in football and discusses these findings in relation to gender/structural inequalities. The study contributes new knowledge about girls’ agency, desires, resilience and strategies for overcoming adversity and ways in which girls challenge the universality of assumptions about feminine body image. METHOD Girls aged 10-16 from a Centre of Excellence and a local community football club (n=68) and their parents (n=66) completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The questionnaires were analysed using SPSS. Smaller groups of girls were selected for focus group interviews, which were analysed using template analysis. Focus group questions were derived from three sources: consultations with parents, coaches and the representatives of the Football Association, the literature review and the SDQ results. FINDINGS This study was set within an interpretative paradigm with three theoretical strands being used to interpret results: gender, sport and agency; social context and structural inequalities; resilience, overcoming adversity and positive psychology. The study found a number of social barriers to girls playing football and demonstrated that they play football because they have agency and are self-motivated to do so. Although it is difficult to determine a causal relationship, girls who play football were found to have good self-efficacy and positive indicators for good mental health. The study sample seemed able to resist external social pressures to conform to gendered body image stereotypes that limit girls’ involvement in sport and which can contribute to low self-esteem. The primary incentive for girls who maintain their involvement in football centres on making and keeping friends. Girls who play football have in general positive explanatory styles and an optimistic nature. CONCLUSION There are benefits for girls who play football. Girls are motivated to play football but need the opportunities to participate. Access to physical activity such as football should therefore be promoted for girls. There is a pressing need to address the under-representation of women’s sport in the media and to challenge the status quo in school sport. A commitment to equal resources, equal time and space in the playground, and equal treatment by teachers and coaches is overdue. Furthermore, the study raises questions for social workers. An appreciation of the importance of resilience is embedded in Social Work professional competence requirements and the study suggests that supporting the development of resilience in girls, through access to physical activities that challenge gendered prescriptions and promote agency, can improve protection from adversity.

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Golding, Berenice Jane. "Exploring the lived experiences of egg share donors : can women consent to share their eggs?" Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2011. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/10780/.

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The thesis explores the 'lived experiences' of egg share donors in the United Kingdom (UK) and in particular, has examined the extent to which they are able to consent to becoming an egg share donor. Specific emphasis was given to exploring the factors that motivated their decision-making in view of the criticism egg sharing schemes have met with since their emergence in the early 1990s. Egg sharing provides women who are themselves undergoing assisted reproduction treatment (ARTs) with the opportunity to share their eggs with up to two recipients(s). The donor‘s treatment costs are subsidised by the recipient(s). Thus some women are able to access cheaper, expeditious treatment. Advocates perceive the schemes as 'win-win'. Conversely, critics challenge egg sharing on both psychosocial and ethical grounds. The thesis conveys the accounts provided by a self-selected sample of seventeen women recruited via two online infertility support websites and a charitable organisation. Hermeneutic phenomenology and the voice-centered relational method (VCRM) of analysis were employed to assess women‘s motivations to donate and their ability to provide informed consent. Four asynchronous e-mail interviews and data collected from an online self-completion questionnaire were utilised in order to enable the experiences of egg share donors to be revealed. Drawing extensively upon philosophical, social anthropological, social philosophical, sociological, and social psychological literature, the study demonstrates the complexities associated with the decision to egg share within the context of the UK regulatory framework for ART provision. This includes existing empirical accounts of egg sharing. The thesis describes how it is one of the first to examine the experiences of egg share donors since the removal of donor anonymity in the UK in 2005. Significantly, it makes an original contribution to current understandings of the experiences, motivations, ability to consent, and post-treatment implications for egg share donors.

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Kochakornjarupong, Paijit. "Trademark image retrieval by local features." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2011. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2677/.

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The challenge of abstract trademark image retrieval as a test of machine vision algorithms has attracted considerable research interest in the past decade. Current operational trademark retrieval systems involve manual annotation of the images (the current ‘gold standard’). Accordingly, current systems require a substantial amount of time and labour to access, and are therefore expensive to operate. This thesis focuses on the development of algorithms that mimic aspects of human visual perception in order to retrieve similar abstract trademark images automatically. A significant category of trademark images are typically highly stylised, comprising a collection of distinctive graphical elements that often include geometric shapes. Therefore, in order to compare the similarity of such images the principal aim of this research has been to develop a method for solving the partial matching and shape perception problem. There are few useful techniques for partial shape matching in the context of trademark retrieval, because those existing techniques tend not to support multicomponent retrieval. When this work was initiated most trademark image retrieval systems represented images by means of global features, which are not suited to solving the partial matching problem. Instead, the author has investigated the use of local image features as a means to finding similarities between trademark images that only partially match in terms of their subcomponents. During the course of this work, it has been established that the Harris and Chabat detectors could potentially perform sufficiently well to serve as the basis for local feature extraction in trademark image retrieval. Early findings in this investigation indicated that the well established SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) local features, based on the Harris detector, could potentially serve as an adequate underlying local representation for matching trademark images. There are few researchers who have used mechanisms based on human perception for trademark image retrieval, implying that the shape representations utilised in the past to solve this problem do not necessarily reflect the shapes contained in these image, as characterised by human perception. In response, a ii practical approach to trademark image retrieval by perceptual grouping has been developed based on defining meta-features that are calculated from the spatial configurations of SIFT local image features. This new technique measures certain visual properties of the appearance of images containing multiple graphical elements and supports perceptual grouping by exploiting the non-accidental properties of their configuration. Our validation experiments indicated that we were indeed able to capture and quantify the differences in the global arrangement of sub-components evident when comparing stylised images in terms of their visual appearance properties. Such visual appearance properties, measured using 17 of the proposed metafeatures, include relative sub-component proximity, similarity, rotation and symmetry. Similar work on meta-features, based on the above Gestalt proximity, similarity, and simplicity groupings of local features, had not been reported in the current computer vision literature at the time of undertaking this work. We decided to adopted relevance feedback to allow the visual appearance properties of relevant and non-relevant images returned in response to a query to be determined by example. Since limited training data is available when constructing a relevance classifier by means of user supplied relevance feedback, the intrinsically non-parametric machine learning algorithm ID3 (Iterative Dichotomiser 3) was selected to construct decision trees by means of dynamic rule induction. We believe that the above approach to capturing high-level visual concepts, encoded by means of meta-features specified by example through relevance feedback and decision tree classification, to support flexible trademark image retrieval and to be wholly novel. The retrieval performance the above system was compared with two other state-of-the-art image trademark retrieval systems: Artisan developed by Eakins (Eakins et al., 1998) and a system developed by Jiang (Jiang et al., 2006). Using relevance feedback, our system achieves higher average normalised precision than either of the systems developed by Eakins’ or Jiang. However, while our trademark image query and database set is based on an image dataset used by Eakins, we employed different numbers of images. It was not possible to access to the same query set and image database used in the evaluation of Jiang’s trademark iii image retrieval system evaluation. Despite these differences in evaluation methodology, our approach would appear to have the potential to improve retrieval effectiveness.

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Johnson, Paul. "Quantum performance : scientific discourse in the analysis of the work of contemporary British theatre practitioners." Thesis, Coventry University, 2006. http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/353/.

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The scientific developments made during the twentieth century have provoked a profound re-conceptualisation of the nature of reality. Quantum mechanics in particular has produced a spectacular paradigm shift, the philosophical implications of which are still being debated and explored. This thesis explores these implications in terms of developing a framework for the analysis of live performance through three conceptual categories: identity, observation and play. Though there has been some recent theatre work, notably Copenhagen and Hapgood, that engage explicitly with quantum mechanics in terms of form and content, these performances are not the focus of this study, rather the scientific material is used to engage with a range of performance practice.

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Fletcher, S. M. G. "'It's not a protest, it's a process' : a critical analysis of state power, class struggle, and the Occupy movement." Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, 2018. http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/9695/.

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In September 2011, over 2000 people set up a protest camp in Zuccotti Park, New York, to contest the increasing inequality and social injustices, they argued to have been brought about by the few, at the expense of the many. This camp along with thousands of other camps worldwide, that would emerge thereafter, would come to be known as the Occupy movement. This thesis offers an examination of the Occupy movement by way of considering this phenomenon through a neo-Marxist framework, concerning, in particular the matter of class struggle. The research contained within, offers a series of elucidations regarding key theoretical and conceptual concerns, pertaining to matters of state power, in the context of the war of position in the advanced capitalist state and the neoliberal conjuncture. Presented within this specific depiction of the convoluted process that is class struggle, there is also a consideration of potential strategies for alliance. These strategies for alliance are by way of seeking to realise the making of a social class force of 'the people', on the terms of the exploited classes, that would bring with it, a material change within the state, and to that end, greater forms of equality and social justice.

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Fletcher, Kate Elizabeth. "An investigation of practice and practitioner factors that influence the recruitment of patients to primary care based randomised controlled trials : case study of the Birmingham Atrial Fibrillation Treatment of the Aged (BAFTA) study." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/3519/.

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Background: Patient recruitment to trials is problematic; many fail to achieve targets, leaving them underpowered and unable to address their hypothesis. Few solutions have been identified in existing literature. This thesis aimed to: identify factors associated with recruitment; and understand clinicians’ experiences of recruiting patients to a primary care based randomised controlled trial (RCT). This was explored using The Birmingham Atrial Fibrillation Treatment of the Aged (BAFTA) trial as a case study. Methods: Mixed methods were used: a systematic review to identify factors influencing recruitment to primary care based RCTs; quantitative analysis of BAFTA data to identify factors associated with recruitment; and qualitative interviews with General Practitioners involved with BAFTA, to understand their experience of participation. Results: Existing literature demonstrated that influences on recruitment include: study workload; study question; concerns about patients. Recommendations to address these issues are not based on strong empirical evidence. BAFTA identified factors associated with patient recruitment (practice size; GP age; recruitment year); and patterns over time. Interviews identified differences in attitude between high and low recruiters, including risk perception and motivation. Conclusions: This thesis demonstrates how practitioners can influence patient recruitment. Revised recruitment methods need testing in prospective trials.

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Urselmans, Linda. "Agent-based modelling of complex systems in political science : social norms and tolerance in immigrant societies." Thesis, University of Essex, 2018. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/22040/.

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Migration is a political issue that has received more attention in recent years. Many questions remain as to how Western societies can successfully absorb migrants- economic arguments have largely been in favour of migration, but the social impact of diversity in previously homogeneous societies has been subject to ongoing debates in social science. Migrant societies are complex social systems with many interacting moving parts. How do rapid migration-changes in society affect the hosts? How do norms of tolerance towards minorities hold up when intergroup con icts emerge? Can segregating behaviour of different population groups be reduced by encouraging different settlement locations for new migrants? The questions address both the physical aspect of migrants entering an already populated space, and the social dimension in which the hosts are adapting their attitudes. I develop a Schelling model using Agent-based modelling to address these questions. I introduce the concept of external migration into an existing society and test how, by varying the kind of migration, introducing diversity affects local tolerance. In the second chapter, I show that large-scale migration results in short-term shocks to the populace, but that these effects are heavily dependent on the population density and how large the native majority is. In Chapter 3 I implement a version of the `contact hypothesis' which stipulates that contact with out-group members increases tolerance and I show that the adaptability increases the importance of native majorities further. In the fourth chapter, I move on to the social norms of tolerance, introducing an ABM in which agents can deceive others by signalling false information about their true attitudes. I show that the emergent pattern of these behaviours can lead to a false consensus effect in which the perceived majority public opinion is unstable. The thesis is able to generate societies that bear many similarities with the Western countries of today and can suggest explanations for the mechanisms that lead to changes in public opinion more negative towards migration, as well as reasons for growing separation of different population groups.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social sciences -> social sciences -> general'

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