Research on the experience of international students often suffers from conflation, in that it uses culture (or nationality as a proxy for culture) as a categorising agent, thereby granting causal powers to cultural differences, and contributing to a deficit model of international students. In this research, I will argue that, while culture and structure both provide new sets of constraints and opportunities for international students, participants are active agents in shaping their own experiences, as they think, reflect and act in response to their situational context. Drawing on Archer’s concept of reflexivity, this thesis demonstrates that because international students are often not immediately able to exercise agency through conversation (thought and talk), they find a need to reflect on their experiences and develop a course of action based on greater autonomy (that is, they become more independent). However, while some students make the transition to independence relatively smoothly, for others, it is not so easy, and some participants may find it difficult to convert thoughts into effective action (or displaced reflexivity). Participants in the international student experience confront a situational context marked by four specific features: first, a lack of a sympathetic interlocutor (that is, they find themselves on their own); second, contextual incongruity (commonly conceptualised as culture shock); third, shared experiences, which leads to congruity; and fourth, troublesome events, which blocks agential action. This research provides empirical evidence of specific generative mechanisms which contribute to the shaping of agency in the international student experience.

Submitted by Marcus Vinícius Peinado Gomes (mvpgomes@gmail.com) on 2014-09-10T14:57:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Creating Meanings, Changing Contexts_Contested Sustainability in the Brazilian Beef Industry_FINAL VERSION.pdf: 3668174 bytes, checksum: aca1fc1a46fdb4ac7486c8e23ed8e2d9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by PAMELA BELTRAN TONSA (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2014-09-10T18:22:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Creating Meanings, Changing Contexts_Contested Sustainability in the Brazilian Beef Industry_FINAL VERSION.pdf: 3668174 bytes, checksum: aca1fc1a46fdb4ac7486c8e23ed8e2d9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-09-10T18:31:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Creating Meanings, Changing Contexts_Contested Sustainability in the Brazilian Beef Industry_FINAL VERSION.pdf: 3668174 bytes, checksum: aca1fc1a46fdb4ac7486c8e23ed8e2d9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-11 / The objective of this research is to understand how organisations fashion their environment, through analysing why some practices become known as ‘sustainable’ in the Brazilian beef industry. The research engages with the organisational institutionalism literature by pointing the need to account for politics (i.e. actor’s negotiations) and meanings in order to understand how stability and change take place under a situated context (i.e. a particular time and space). The research concludes that the understandings of what could be considerate ‘sustainability’ are the result of actors fashioning their environment through actions and interactions that produce meanings. Following a hegemony approach, such disputes are not only about actors looking for resources’ advantages, but also aimed at protecting or attacking the societal logics that support actors’ dominant position. Moreover, actors exert their agency under the conditions of the present time (i.e. situated context), by drawing on an inherited past in order to produce a future they have envisaged. To analyse such processes, a hegemony approach to actors and societal logics was developed, highlighting the negotiation order, an arena in which actors struggle for hegemony. As an outcome of such negotiations, a focal issue emerges, influencing actors’ discourse and interests, and justifying their initiatives, programmes and technologies developed to address such issue; thus, fashioning consent. Drawing on Critical Realism and Critical Discourse Analysis, the research developed a longitudinal case study supported by public and confidential documents, alongside interviews with experts, in order to examine the sustainability path at the Brazilian beef industry. Three different contexts for agency regarding sustainability were found. In the first one, a silence upon sustainability practices was identified, while the second context emphasised the emergence of Amazon deforestation as a focal issue, due to Greenpeace and MPF agency, forcing the industry to develop a monitoring system to trace its cattle suppliers in order to avoid procurement associated with Amazon deforestation, among other illegal activities. Finally, during the third context, the monitoring system enabled the beef industry to take-over of sustainability, enabling the beef sector to build its legitimacy so as to influence the risks and opportunities associated to the context of sustainability. In terms of societal logics, the Amazon deforestation is denounced as an environmental problem anchored by capitalist logic characteristics, such as risk management, innovation and productivity increase, global supply chain and governance. Although during such attack the profit maximisation rationale is questioned by the imposition of environmental concerns over corporate behaviour, the developed solution draws upon the very same capitalism’s characteristic employed to attack it. As a consequence, a piecemeal change is illustrated by a transformation on the capitalism ‘quantitative efficiency’ – the productivity increase as a result of changing the proportion of resources consumed in the production process in order to avoid Amazon deforestation. However, the capitalism ‘qualitative efficiency’ is being preserved as the ruling dominant groups are still controlling the means of production and their associate resources (i.e. money, power and legitimation). Since such negotiations processes are mediated by the rationale of avoiding businesses risks, profit maximisation, the deep core of capitalist logic, is preserved. Therefore, the ruling groups maintain their hegemony / O objetivo desta pesquisa é compreender de que forma as organizações moldam seu ambiente, analisando por que algumas práticas tornam-se reconhecidas como ‘sustentáveis’ na indústria de carne bovina brasileira. O estudo dialoga com a literatura de institucionalismo organizacional ao apontar a necessidade de considerar a política (i.e. as negociações entre atores) e significados, a fim de entender como a estabilidade e a mudança institucional ocorrem em um contexto situado (i.e. em um tempo e espaço específicos). A pesquisa conclui que os entendimentos sobre o que poderia ser reconhecido como ‘sustentabilidade’ são o resultado de atores moldando o seu ambiente por meio de ações e interações que produzem significados. Seguindo uma abordagem de hegemonia, essas disputas não são apenas entre os atores que procuram vantagens recursivas, mas também procuram defender ou atacar as lógicas sociais que apoiam a posição dominante dos atores. Além disso, os atores exercem sua agência sobre as condições no presente (i.e. contexto situado), com base em um passado herdado e com o objetivo de produzir um futuro que eles imaginam. Para analisar tais processos uma abordagem de hegemonia entre atores e lógicas sociais foi desenvolvida para destacar a ordem de negociação, uma arena em que os atores lutam pela hegemonia. Como resultado de tais negociações, uma questão focal emerge, influenciando o discurso e interesses dos atores, bem como justificando as iniciativas, programas e tecnologias sobre tal questão; construindo, portanto, o consenso. Baseando-se em Realismo Crítico e Análise Crítica do Discurso, a pesquisa desenvolveu um estudo de caso longitudinal suportado por documentos públicos e confidenciais e entrevistas com especialistas, para examinar o caminho da sustentabilidade na indústria de carne bovina brasileira. Identificou-se três contextos diferentes para agência em relação à sustentabilidade. Enquanto no primeiro verifica-se um silêncio sobre práticas de sustentabilidade, o segundo enfatiza a emergência do desmatamento da Amazônia como uma questão focal, devido à agência do Greenpeace e MPF que força a indústria a desenvolver um sistema de monitoramento que rastreie seus fornecedores de gado de modo a evitar compra de suprimentos associadas ao desmatamento da Amazônia, dentre outras atividades ilegais. Finalmente, durante o terceiro contexto, o sistema de monitoramento permite que indústria de carne bovina se aproprie da sustentabilidade, assim o setor da carne passa a construir a sua legitimidade para influenciar sobre os riscos e oportunidades associadas ao contexto da sustentabilidade. Em termos de lógicas sociais, o desmatamento na Amazônia foi denunciado como um problema ambiental, nesta indústria, ancorado em algumas características da lógica do capitalismo, como a gestão de riscos, inovação e aumento da produtividade, cadeia de fornecimento global e governança. Embora este ataque questione a racionalidade da maximização racional lucro, impondo restrições ambientais para o comportamento das empresas, a solução desenvolvida é também ancorada sobre as mesmas características do capitalismo empregadas para atacá-lo. Como consequência, uma mudança gradual é ilustrada por uma transformação na ‘eficiência quantitativa’ do capitalismo, o aumento da produtividade devido à mudança da proporção de recursos consumidos para produção e à preocupação em evitar o desmatamento da Amazônia. No entanto, a ‘eficiência qualitativa’ do capitalismo é preservada uma vez que os grupos dominantes no poder ainda estão controlando os meios de produção e os recursos a eles associados (i.e. dinheiro, poder e legitimidade). Uma vez que estes processos de negociações são mediados pela racionalidade de se evitar risco aos negócios, consequentemente, a maximização do lucro, o núcleo duro da lógica do capitalismo é preservado. Portanto, os grupos dominantes mantêm sua hegemonia.

Seldom are we privileged to witness an international philosophical movement, which in addition to being a philosophical revolution, vindicates the values and concerns of a critical anthropological approach in Spirituality from the analytic tradition. The work of critical realists is potential remedy for the ills, dichotomies and lacunae inherent in the Western philosophical and spiritual traditions. Critical realism and philosophy of meta-reality, it is claimed, not only emancipate philosophy but, science and society as spiritual. This dissertation explores the many points of confluence and exposes dimensions of living and studying spirituality, which challenge us to think of ontological realism, epistemological relativism and rational (reflexive) judgement in a mode, which cautions against the naive relativism, tacit irrealism and other mistakes which tend to over-characterise our academic discourse with social linguistification, to the detriment of humanity and our utopian freedom and flourishing. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Christian Spirituality)

This thesis is a theoretical and empirical inquiry into ‘deliberative peacebuilding’, seeking to explain the ‘failures’ and ‘successes’ of peacebuilding in East Timor and Somaliland. While warfare has increased globally since the end of the Cold War, the UN has made efforts to build peace (e.g. Boutros-Ghali 1992). While peacebuilding has become an internationally applied set of ideas and practices, one of the theoretical gaps is deliberation. This research thus conceptualises ‘deliberative peacebuilding’, and associates this with peacebuilding in the non-Western, post-colonial, and (post-)conflict context. This research identified East Timor and Somaliland as its case studies. Despite similarity in the ‘legitimation problem’ with vertical (state-society) and horizontal (‘modernity’-‘tradition’) inequalities/differences based upon cultural and historical backgrounds, East Timor and Somaliland undertook different approaches in a decade after the end of their civil wars. While East Timor accepted UN peace operations, Somaliland rejected them. Yet both experienced similar transitions to make political order between ‘failure’ (political de-legitimation/societal dissent) and ‘success’ (political legitimation/societal consent).Accordingly, this thesis poses two questions: 1) what caused the UN to have ‘failed’ (to prevent the ‘crisis’ from recurring in 2006) in East Timor, and 2) what caused East Timor and Somaliland to have experienced ‘equifinality’ (making similar progress along different paths) in building peace (in East Timor from 1999 to 2012 and in Somaliland from 1991 to 2005). Findings, among others, include different paths in transition: a ‘hybrid’ path with external intervention in East Timor and an ‘agonistic’ path without it in Somaliland. Asymmetry in power relations urged deliberative agencies to address the ‘legitimation problem’ differently.

This study investigates and expands learning associated with the co-management of fisheries resources to inform extension and training in the fisheries sector in two case study sites in Malawi. The study was located in the field of environmental education with a specific focus on community learning, agency and sustainability practices in co-management of fisheries resources. It focuses on how fisheries stakeholder learning can be mediated through expansive social learning processes to inform extension and training in the Malawi fisheries sector and aims at understanding learning as an emergent, agency centred process of change through social learning models that are said to have power to mobilise community agency for change. The empirical research for the study was conducted in two Malawian fishing communities: in Lake Malombe and the south-east arm of Lake Malawi using qualitative case study research design. The two sites were selected because they were the first sites in Malawi to implement fisheries co-management programmes following the failure of centralised management of fisheries resources. Data was generated through interviews, focus group discussions, document analysis, observations and change laboratory workshops in both sites. The two sites fall under one administrative office based in Mangochi where the two important institutions of the sector – the Fisheries Research Unit of the Department of Fisheries and the Fisheries College (a government institution responsible for the training of extension services) are also based. Both sites have implemented new governance structures named Beach Village Committees which are community-based organisational structures that function in parallel with traditional authorities to manage the fishery. Contextual and literature review work showed that extension services and programmes over the past hundred years, as observed in the fisheries sector in Malawi and in extension services elsewhere, have co-evolved with approaches to natural resources management. Early approaches to natural resources management involved traditional management (associated extension services and programmes were community based); later fisheries governance practices changed to centralised management and associated extension approaches were mainly top-down involving command and control or technology transfer. These early approaches have been problematic as resource users were pushed away from their own resources and were viewed as poachers. This resulted in loss of ownership among resources users. Recently in Malawi, after the change of government to democracy in 1994, fisheries management policy focused on co-management and/or adaptive co-management approaches, an approach that has also been adopted in other African water bodies. This has implications for extension service programmes in the fisheries sector that are not yet well defined. The study’s literature review revealed that co-management approaches assume collaborative learning, or co-learning, also termed social learning, or approaches that promote the engagement of different actors who are working on shared practice. They also assume a new form of agency among co-management stakeholders and extension workers. However, the theoretical foundations for establishing co-learning or social learning approaches in support of co-management policies are not well established in the fisheries co-management sector in Malawi, nor are the practices of how to support co-learning amongst diverse stakeholders in the fisheries co-management in the Lake Malawi context. This study sought to address this gap in knowledge and practice.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-06-30T11:52:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 thiagoduartepimentel.pdf: 2965915 bytes, checksum: d808d5a25c89ee6e7ed300ca03480290 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Diamantino Mayra (mayra.diamantino@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-07-05T16:50:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 thiagoduartepimentel.pdf: 2965915 bytes, checksum: d808d5a25c89ee6e7ed300ca03480290 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-05T16:50:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 thiagoduartepimentel.pdf: 2965915 bytes, checksum: d808d5a25c89ee6e7ed300ca03480290 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-17 / Esta tese se insere, ontológica e epistemologicamente, na perspectiva do realismo crítico. Nela propõe-se a reafirmação da dimensão ontológica da realidade (a qual Bhaskar chamou de intransitiva), bem como seus rebatimentos na dimensão epistemológica (ou transitiva da realidade) que trata da possibilidade do conhecimento e das condições para sua ocorrência. Este enquadramento fornece, no âmbito da teoria social, uma forma de tratar da ontologia social e a natureza das relações entre agência e estrutura, que situa a discussão sobre o processo de estruturação da ação coletiva e seu resultado, em termos de elaboração de uma “entidade” socialmente real. Partindo do estado da arte dos estudos sobre as organizações, bem como a teorização acerca da categoria “coletivos” dentro da literatura da teoria social realista, identificou-se uma dupla lacuna: (1) nos estudos sobre as organizações, verifica-se a ausência de coerência e cumulatividade dos conhecimentos do campo, que é marcado por uma profunda dispersão de teorias e correntes orientadas por distintas tradições de pesquisa, todas, porém, tendo em comum sua filiação ao paradigma filosófico científico do positivismo e (2) nem a teoria social em geral e nem a teoria social realista elaboraram um relato que fosse capaz de dar conta e integrar, coerente e adequadamente, a categoria organização à sua proposta de teorização da realidade, restando por se fazer um relato específico que buscasse atacar o problema da organização (grupos sociais estruturados), como sugere Elder-Vass (2010). Visando endereçar esforços para a melhor compreensão desta questão, o objetivo, então, desta tese foi identificar as estruturas gerativas e suas tendências (poderes causais), bem como as circunstâncias em que elas são ativadas (mecanismos causais), que permitem a existência e a emergência das organizações como entidades coletivas reais. Para a realização deste estudo, recorreu-se, metodologicamente, a uma pesquisa teórica (ECO, 2001, p.11), amparada por procedimentos analíticos de coleta e tratamento dos dados de caráter hermenêutico. Como resultados, identificou-se a existência de três estruturas gerativas – o espaço, a identidade e o poder –, envolvendo diferentes componentes que se manifestam sob diferentes modos de realidade (material, ideal e social, respectivamente), cujos processos de enquadramento e fixação, de identificação e diferenciação, e de delegação e representação (respectivamente) conduzem às interações entre os indivíduos e à aquisição de padrões específicos bem como à mudança estrutural, morfológica e causal, atribuindo diferentes poderes causais a cada um desses estágios: aproximação e agregação, no momento 1 (M1); criação de uma unidade (exterior e irredutível ao indivíduo) e coesão diferentes de outras entidades, no momento 2 (M2) e, por fim, a instauração de uma ordem e capacidade de intervenção deliberada na realidade social, em âmbito institucional, no momento 3 (M3). Os três momentos sintetizados estão relacionados por meio da proposição de um modelo teórico de análise morfogenética da estruturação da ação coletiva. Apesar de este modelo se aplicar especificamente à análise da ação coletiva e de não ter sido validado empiricamente, sua contribuição original reside no fato de fornecer a elaboração de um quadro teórico suficientemente amplo e, ao mesmo tempo, específico para a análise das organizações, em particular, e da ação coletiva, em geral, em especial quando acrescentamos sua interface com a orientação ontológica e epistemológica do realismo crítico. Empiricamente, esta proposta traz um relato preciso de integração dos níveis micro e macro da realidade, por meio da atuação específica das organizações e instituições no nível mesossocial, que poderá ser aplicado para intervenção na realidade. / This thesis falls, ontologically and epistemologically, in the perspective of critical realism. The later proposes the reclaiming of (the ontological dimension of) reality (which Bhaskar called intransitive one) and its repercussions on the epistemological dimension (or transitive one) of reality, which deals with the possibility of knowledge and the conditions for its occurrence. This framework provides, in social theory, one way to address the social ontology and the nature of the relationship between agency and structure, which places the discussion of the structuring process of collective action and its outcome in terms of developing an "entity" socially real. Based on the state of the art of studies on organizations as well as theories about the category "collectives" in the literature of social theory, and in particular in the realist social theory, we identified a double gap: (1) studies on organizations there is a lack of coherence and cumulative knowledge of the field, which is marked by a deep scattering theories and currents driven by distinct research traditions. Nevertheless, all these traditions have in common their affiliation to the philosophical paradigm of scientific positivism; (2) neither social theory in general nor realist social theory produced an integrative and coherent report to the organization category. Thus, it remains to be done a specific report that called for attacking the problem of organization (structured social groups), as suggested by Elder-Vass (2010). Aiming to address efforts to better understand this issue, then, the objective this thesis was to identify the generative structures and its trends (causal powers), as well as the circumstances under which they are activated (causal mechanisms) that enable the existence and emergence of organizations as real collective entities. Methodologically this study was conducted in a form of a theoretical research (ECO, 2001, p.11), which was supported by analytical procedures for the collection and processing of data hermeneutic character. As a result, we identified the existence of three generative structures: space, identity and power. These structures involves different components that are manifested in specific modes of reality (material, social and ideal, respectively), whose the process of framing and mounting, identification and differentiation, and delegation and representation (respectively) lead to interactions among individuals purchasing patterns and structural change, morphological and causal, assigning different causal powers of each of these stages: approximation and aggregation, which was called “moment 1” (M1); the creating an unit (exterior and irreducible to the individual) and cohesion of different entities, called “moment 2” (M2); and, finally, the establishment of a command and ability to deliberate intervention in social reality, at institutional, called “moment 3” (M3). The three summarized moments are related each one by proposing a theoretical framework of the structure of collective action in a morphogenetic way. Although this model applies specifically to the analysis of collective action and has not been empirically validated, its original contribution lies in the fact provide the development of a theoretical framework sufficiently broad and simultaneously specific for the analysis of organizations, in particular, and collective action, in general. This is true especially when we add its interface with the ontological and epistemological orientation of critical realism. Empirically, this proposal provides an accurate account of the integration of micro and macro levels of reality, through the realization of specific organizations and institutions in mesossocial level. The correct knowledge of this level can be applied to intervention in reality.

Ecological economics has been repeatedly described as transdisciplinary and open to including everything from positivism to relativism. I argue for a revision and rejection of this position in favour of realism and reasoned critique. Looking into the ontological presuppositions and considering an epistemology appropriate for ecological economics to meaningfully exist requires rejecting the form of methodological pluralism which has been advocated since the start of this journal. This means being clear about the differences in our worldview (or paradigm) from others and being aware of the substantive failures of orthodox economics in addressing reality. This paper argues for a fundamental review of the basis upon which ecological economics has been founded and in so doing seeks improved clarity as to the competing and complementary epistemologies and methodologies. In part this requires establishing serious interdisciplinary research to replace superficial transdisciplinary rhetoric. The argument places the future of ecological economics firmly amongst heterodox economic schools of thought and in ideological opposition to those supporting the existing institutional structures perpetuating a false reality of the world's social, environmental and economic systems and their operation. (author's abstract) / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

Abstract The importance of high-growth firms for job creation is widely acknowledged and the promotion of such firms is a key area of industry policy in developed countries. However, despite the substantial development of firm growth research and the significant public investments, in many geographies the assumed good preconditions for high-growth entrepreneurship are not producing the desired results. The purpose of this study is to increase understanding of the emergence of high-growth startups by taking a systemic view of firm growth. Instead of examining individual firms, a high-growth startup focused systemic economic actor, defined as the startup industry, is taken as the research object. The startup industry is given a certain function in economic development and resource allocation, and its processual activity in particular contexts is examined under the experimental winner generation process. Critical realism is used for systemic reasoning of firm growth. The empirical study focuses on case startup industries of Finland, Israel and Silicon Valley. The emergence of startup-related actor structures and institutions, and their functioning is analyzed first from a cultural-historical and processual perspective. Second, the organization of the experimental winner generation process and its outcomes for each case are analyzed over a period of several decades, and a cross-case comparison is conducted between the cases. The results of the study propose that each startup industry develops in time a particular target for its activities. This target, defined as the perceived winner, is the key for alignment and functioning of the startup industry as a whole. Examination of this concept enables us to understand the logics of the firm growth at the wider system level and on that basis to suggest some key determinants of the performance of startup industries in the long run. The discussion of policy maker implications concludes the study. / Tiivistelmä Kasvuyritykset ovat tärkeitä uusien työpaikkojen synnyttäjiä, ja teollistuneissa maissa niiden tukeminen on teollisuuspolitiikan keskiössä. Huolimatta laajasta yritysten kasvun tutkimustiedosta, merkittävistä julkisista investoinneista ja oletetuista hyvistä lähtökohdista kasvuyrittäjyydelle ei monella maantieteellisellä alueella kuitenkaan synny panostukseen verrattuna tarpeeksi kasvuyrityksiä. Tämä väitöskirja tutkii nopeasti kasvavien startup-yritysten syntymistä systeemisestä näkökulmasta. Yksittäisten yritysten sijaan tutkimuksessa määritellään tutkimuskohteeksi startup-teollisuus, kasvuhakuisiin startup-yrityksiin keskittyvä systeeminen talouden toimija, jolle annetaan tietty tehtävä talouden kehityksessä ja resurssiallokaatiossa. Startup-teollisuuden toimintaa eri konteksteissa tarkastellaan kokeellisen voittajayritysten rakentamisen prosessin avulla. Yritysten kasvua lähestytään lisäksi kriittisen realismin mukaisen kausaliteetin pohjalta. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus on toteutettu tapaustutkimuksena, jossa analysoidaan Suomen, Israelin ja Piilaakson startup-teollisuutta. Tutkimuskohteiden startup-yrityksiin liittyvien toimijarakenteiden ja instituutioiden kehitystä ja toimintaa analysoidaan kulttuuri-historiallisesta ja prosessuaalisesta näkökulmasta. Lisäksi kokeellisen voittajayritysten rakentamisen prosessin organisointia ja lopputuloksia analysoidaan usean vuosikymmenen ajalta sekä tapauskohtaisesti että niiden välillä. Tutkimustulokset esittävät kunkin startup-teollisuuden kehittävän ajan myötä tietyn kohteen omalle toiminnalleen. Tämä kohde, näkemys voittavasta startup-yrityksestä, linjaa koko startup-teollisuuden toimintaa. Tutkimalla tätä näkemystä voimme ymmärtää yritysten kasvun logiikoita systeemisellä tasolla, mikä mahdollistaa startup-teollisuuksien välisten rakenteellisten- ja suorituskykyerojen ymmärtämisen pitkällä aikavälillä. Tutkimuksen lopussa esitetään johtopäätöksiä poliittisen päätöksenteon kannalta.

This thesis is concerned with teacher agency and how this is achieved within the autonomous schooling model of England’s academies programme. The enquiry draws upon the empirical work conducted in a single case study sponsored academy (‘Bucklands Academy’ ) in 2012. The research was conducted in order to investigate whether the autonomy and freedoms afforded to one such school extended to the teachers working in it and how this affected their professional roles as classroom educators. The thesis begins by sharing my research interest, which relates to whether greater levels of school autonomy enhance the pedagogical approaches taken by teachers. This interest then develops towards the notion of teacher agency and asks the fundamental research question: Is this academy a place where teacher agency can flourish? The study sets out the policy context for academies in England, including an analysis of the historical development of state secondary schooling since 1944. It is shown that the continued ‘need’ to develop a new approach to schooling, eventually in the form of academies, started with claims of unfairness, discrimination and waste of talent brought about by the tripartite system of schooling established by the 1944 Education Act. It then analyses later concerns about the alleged failure of the comprehensive system to achieve its aim of raising standards for all children. The political contexts of state schooling are considered, and particular attention is given to the neo-liberal ideology developed after 1979 of ‘rolling back the state’, introducing choice and competition between schools and increasing the role of the private sector in the delivery of public services. However, the scope of the investigation is not restricted to the national policy context; the research interest lies in establishing what the key reforms have meant for teachers in the classroom and how this has affected the agency they achieve. A number of themes emerged in the review of key literature, including school autonomy, teacher professionalism, the policy to practice paradox and discourses around the academies programme. This thesis sets out a clear theoretical position, which draws upon the critical realist social theory developed by Roy Bhaskar and Margaret Archer. This approach offers a centrist alternative to what Pring (2000b) describes as the false dualism of the two epistemological positions of educational research. Critical realism posits that the world is real and that its structures exist beyond our understanding, but that our knowledge of this stratified world is socially constructed. Within the structure-agency debate, the ecological view of agency developed by Priestley et al. (2015) is adopted, which sees it as being context-dependent and something that individuals achieve in concrete settings. The empirical work within this study consisted of semi-structured interviews, observations and documentary analysis. The main findings from the research are that the case-study school had significant autonomy to develop its own policies and approaches to raising standards. However, this autonomy did not extend to any significant extent below the level of the academy sponsors and the principal. The school had developed a highly performative culture where teachers’ work was centrally directed and through which they were held highly accountable for the attainment of their students. It was found that the way in which autonomy was distributed throughout the school affected the agency of key stakeholders. The sponsors achieved high levels of agency, the principal achieved restricted agency and teachers achieved limited agency. It was found that teachers took one of two approaches to a new curricular reform being introduced by the academy sponsors. They either adopted it or used their limited agency to modify it so that it aligned more closely with their own educational philosophies. There was no indication that any teachers rejected the school’s reform, and it is suggested that this may have been the result of them subordinating this key policy to their ultimate concern of working in a school recognised by school inspectors to be highly effective. This thesis concludes that, contrary to the policy rhetoric, teachers working in one sponsored academy may have had less autonomy than those teaching in local authority maintained schools. This in turn affected the agency they achieved, which appears to undermine the original vision and aims of the academies programme. The thesis concludes by offering possible areas for further research which emerged during this study.

This work examines the use of nonhuman animals in the farming industry and seeks to understand why this practice takes place and what supports its continuation. The research is approached from a critical realist perspective and after a description of past and current practices in the industry, it uses abduction and retroduction to determine the essential conditions for the continuation of the phenomenon of nonhuman animal farming. One essential condition is found to be the existence of negative discourses relating to nonhuman animals and this aspect is examined in more detail by analyzing a corpus of texts from a farming magazine using Critical Discourse Analysis. Major discourses which were found to be present were those of production, science and slavery which construct the nonhumans respectively as objects of scientific investigation, as production machines and as slaves. A minor discourse of achievement relating to the nonhumans was also present. Further analysis of linguistic features examined the way in which the nonhumans are socially constructed in the discourses. Drawing on work in experimental psychology by Millgram, Zimbardo and Bandura it was found that the effects of these discourses fulfil many of the conditions for bringing about moral disengagement in people thus explaining why billions of people are able to support animal farming in various ways even though what happens in the phenomenon is contrary to their basic ethical and moral beliefs.