The economic, demographic and social changes of the latter half of the C20th have influenced the experience of individuals now at 'midlife'. Arguably the impact of these changes has been more profound for women; specifically in the UK for those educated to be the wives, mothers and carers of industrial Britain (Newsom, 1963). Now around 50 years old this group of women are likely to experience a lengthy period of 'postmaternity' (Sheriff and Weatherall, 2009) extending to over thirty years in many cases. This research considers the experience of this metaphorically entitled 'telescopic' cohort (Goldstein and Schlag, 1999). The major corpus of age related research assumes a linear developmental progression of life stages (Erikson, 1951, 1968; Gould, 1978; Levinson, 1978; Levinson, 1996; Klohnen et al., 1996; Miner-Rubinio, 2004). Drawing on life course theory (Elder, 1995; Runyan, 1982; Super, 1980) enables this research to explore how women may have changed assumptions about themselves and their expectations as the social world has changed around them, moreover offers an alternative to the essentialist, linear, deterministic models of ageing. This feminist poststructuralist examination of the experience of women at 'midlife' is divided into two parts; firstly the 'lived life' which examines demographic changes, and drawing on material from 'Jackie' magazine, considers discourses of femininity and the expectations for, and of, girls. The 'told story' is then explored using narrative interview material. How women 'story' their lives and their understanding of 'self' at midlife is examined within the context of the changing world and their ageing bodies. The research revealed that the experience of 'midlife' for this cohort of women is narrated as a time of change in social circumstances with some 'gains' and some 'losses', however it is not storied as a time of inevitable 'crisis'. Moreover despite the plethora of literature portraying the menopause as problematic, this was not supported by the interview material.

Les expériences rares, qu’elles soient positives ou négatives, surprennent par leur avènement inopiné et brutal. Toutefois, le plus surprenant reste l’incapacité des organisations à en tirer des leçons appropriées. Les expériences rares challengent les approches traditionnelles de l’apprentissage organisationnel fondées sur la réplication et l’amélioration progressive. De plus, les expériences rares sont souvent complexes : elles sont composées d’une grande variété d’éléments qui interagissent de façon incertaine. De ce fait, elles sont marquées par un niveau élevé d’ambiguïté causale qui peut conduire à un apprentissage superstitieux. Dans ces conditions, la littérature souligne la nécessité de mettre en oeuvre un apprentissage délibéré fondé sur la codification des connaissances. Mais la codification est une arme à double tranchant, qui peut rigidifier l’organisation et la littérature reste assez silencieuse sur comment réaliser une « bonne codification ». Ce travail de thèse s’intéresse alors à la question suivante : comment développer et mettre en oeuvre une stratégie de codification appropriée pour faciliter un apprentissage organisationnel délibéré à partir d’une expérience rare et complexe ? Cette recherche menée au sein de l’Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire s’appuie sur étude de cas réaliste critique. Elle vise à étudier deux apprentissages délibérés mis en place au sein de l’institut pour apprendre de deux accidents nucléaires graves : l’accident Fukushima Daiichi et l’accident Three Mile Island. Les résultats obtenus identifient trois mécanismes générateurs clés du processus de codification, leurs modes d’activation et la façon dont ils se combinent. Ces mécanismes s’activent grâce à la fois au contexte environnemental et à l’apparition de structures dédiées à la codification, puis se combinent pour former différentes configurations qui supportent deux cycles distincts d’apprentissage. Ces deux cycles sont essentiels pour apprendre d’une expérience rare et complexe. / Rare experiences, whether they are positive or negative, surprise by their unexpected and brutal occurrence. However, more surprising is organizations’ incapability to draw lessons from such rare experiences. Indeed, these experiences challenge traditional approaches of organizational learning based on replication and incremental improvement. In addition, rare experiences are often complex: they are composed of a large variety of elements that interact in uncertain ways. As a result, rare experiences are characterized by a high level of causal ambiguity that can lead to superstitious learning. In these circumstances, the literature emphasizes the need to implement deliberate learning based on knowledge codification. However, codification is a double-edged sword, which can produce organizational rigidity. Besides, research remains quite silent on how to achieve a "well-performed codification”. This research addresses the following question: how to develop and implement an appropriate codification strategy to facilitate deliberate organizational learning from rare and complex experiences? This research is conducted in the Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety. It is based on a critical realist case study which aims to study two deliberate learning process implemented within the institute to learn from two serious nuclear accidents: Fukushima Daiichi accident and Three Mile Island accident. Our results identify three key generative mechanisms of the codification process, their activation modes and how they are combined. These mechanisms are activated by both the environmental context and the emergence of dedicated structures to codification. The combination of these mechanisms forms different configurations that support two distinct learning cycles which are essential for learning from a rare and complex experience.

The economic, demographic and social changes of the latter half of the C20th have influenced the experience of individuals now at 'midlife'. Arguably the impact of these changes has been more profound for women; specifically in the UK for those educated to be the wives, mothers and carers of industrial Britain (Newsom, 1963). Now around 50 years old this group of women are likely to experience a lengthy period of 'postmaternity' (Sheriff and Weatherall, 2009) extending to over thirty years in many cases. This research considers the experience of this metaphorically entitled 'telescopic' cohort (Goldstein and Schlag, 1999). The major corpus of age related research assumes a linear developmental progression of life stages (Erikson, 1951, 1968; Gould, 1978; Levinson, 1978; Levinson, 1996; Klohnen et al., 1996; Miner-Rubinio, 2004). Drawing on life course theory (Elder, 1995; Runyan, 1982; Super, 1980) enables this research to explore how women may have changed assumptions about themselves and their expectations as the social world has changed around them, moreover offers an alternative to the essentialist, linear, deterministic models of ageing. This feminist poststructuralist examination of the experience of women at 'midlife' is divided into two parts; firstly the 'lived life' which examines demographic changes, and drawing on material from 'Jackie' magazine, considers discourses of femininity and the expectations for, and of, girls. The 'told story' is then explored using narrative interview material. How women 'story' their lives and their understanding of 'self' at midlife is examined within the context of the changing world and their ageing bodies. The research revealed that the experience of 'midlife' for this cohort of women is narrated as a time of change in social circumstances with some 'gains' and some 'losses', however it is not storied as a time of inevitable 'crisis'. Moreover despite the plethora of literature portraying the menopause as problematic, this was not supported by the interview material.

This research is concerned with Pakistan's participation in the US-led 'war on terror' in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. The study seeks to explain how Pakistan's state practice in the aftermath of 9/11 was normalised and made possible. In explaining the state practice, the study draws on a constructivist conceptual framework; which is further enhanced by incorporating key theoretical insights from critical realism. In the first instance, the study proposes that Pakistan's participation in the 'war on terror', seen as a set of actions and practices, was an outcome of a specific domestic political discourse. This discourse enabled and legitimised the state's alliance with the US and its abandonment of the Taliban regime. Secondly, the study is concerned with explaining why the particular discourse emerged in the shape and form that it did. In this context, the argument is that a depth 'critical realist' ontological inquiry can reveal underlying and enduring global and domestic social structural contexts, and traces of agential influence as connected to the discourse. Consequently, this study conceptualises Pakistan's actions in the context of the 'war on terror' as emerging from a multi-causal complex in which discourse, structure and agency are complicit. The study represents a departure from realist readings that emphasise a mono-causal relationship between the US and Pakistan. Instead, this research uses a synthesis of critical realism and constructivism to add a fresh perspective in terms of how we may conceptualise Pakistan's political practice in this instance.

This research is concerned with Pakistan¿s participation in the US-led `war on terror¿ in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. The study seeks to explain how Pakistan¿s state practice in the aftermath of 9/11 was normalised and made possible. In explaining the state practice, the study draws on a constructivist conceptual framework; which is further enhanced by incorporating key theoretical insights from critical realism. In the first instance, the study proposes that Pakistan¿s participation in the `war on terror¿, seen as a set of actions and practices, was an outcome of a specific domestic political discourse. This discourse enabled and legitimised the state¿s alliance with the US and its abandonment of the Taliban regime. Secondly, the study is concerned with explaining why the particular discourse emerged in the shape and form that it did. In this context, the argument is that a depth `critical realist¿ ontological inquiry can reveal underlying and enduring global and domestic social structural contexts, and traces of agential influence as connected to the discourse. Consequently, this study conceptualises Pakistan¿s actions in the context of the `war on terror¿ as emerging from a multi-causal complex in which discourse, structure and agency are complicit. The study represents a departure from realist readings that emphasise a mono-causal relationship between the US and Pakistan. Instead, this research uses a synthesis of critical realism and constructivism to add a fresh perspective in terms of how we may conceptualise Pakistan¿s political practice in this instance.

The rapid and sustained development of the rural regions of South Africa continues to pose an extraordinary challenge to the development community of the country. Policy makers continue to be overwhelmed by the lack of development in the rural areas in spite of the various efforts made to develop them. A review of the publications and development plans of the study region indicates that the planners have for long been pre-occupied with taking limited perspectives of the development planning problems. Development plans have been conceived and implemented in terms of individual sectors instead of looking at their relations with other sectors and regions. This study seeks to make a contribution to the solution of the development problems of the rural areas of the former homeland regions by demonstrating how an integrated approach to the research process and to development planning could make a difference to the lives of the rural communities. This theme is illustrated with reference to the rural energy sector and its relations with the broader regional development problems, challenges and plans of the Sekhukhune district municipality of the Limpopo Province. / GEOGRAPHY / MA (GEOGRAPHY)

This study is a contribution to the research projects in Africa that are concerned with the analysis of the various conflicts that currently face the continent. Political, ethnic, religious, cultural, and other forms of conflicts have increased in number over the past five decades. The academic community has been making its contribution to the understanding and resolution of the conflicts through its research projects. The contributions of the academic community are widely acknowledged in this regard. This study is about those conflicts emanating from differences in the cultural interpretations of natural resources between crop farmers and nomadic herdsmen. The example selected belongs to those conflicts, which are entrenched in the cultural practices of rural communities. These conflicts are unique, since most of them predate the political, economic, and ethnic-based conflicts, most of which have emerged since the colonial era. Understanding these types of conflicts thus constitutes an important area of the development process of countries such as the Republic of Sudan, which already has many conflicts to contend with. The areas elected the North, South and West Kordofan States constitute some of the conflict hotspots of the Republic of Sudan in terms of the cultural-natural resource conflict dynamics. The understanding and resolution of the conflicts between the crop farmers and nomadic herdsmen in the region have the potential to offer enormous benefits to the peace needed for the long-term development of Sudan. The objectives of this study were chosen purposely to contribute to the research projects on the peace-conflict discourse of the Republic of Sudan. They were aimed at finding out how the cultures of the crop farmers and nomadic herdsmen of the Greater Kordofan states explain the conflicts and the efforts of the Sudanese authorities to help address them. The critical realist research approach has been selected as the framework for the study. This involved a number of steps. First, information on the nature of the current policies and plans of the government of Sudan to address the conflicts has been collected as one basic element of the challenge of development of the Greater Kordofan region. The challenge has been discussed in terms of the gap currently existing between the government’s peace building plan objectives on the one hand and the actual outcomes on the other. Next, information was collected from the relevant stakeholders on the reasons for the persistence of the conflicts between the nomadic herdsmen and the crop farmers despite the efforts on the part of the government at building peace between them. Generating information in this way led to the recommendation that the stakeholders identified in this study hold the key to the success of the attempts at building long-term peace between the crop farmers and the nomadic herdsmen of the Greater Kordofan States. The recommendations of the study are based on the idea that opportunities always exist for the stakeholders to introduce positive change in their society. / Environmental Sciences / Ph. D. (Environmental Sciences)

The rapid and sustained development of the rural regions of South Africa continues to pose an extraordinary challenge to the development community of the country. Policy makers continue to be overwhelmed by the lack of development in the rural areas in spite of the various efforts made to develop them. A review of the publications and development plans of the study region indicates that the planners have for long been pre-occupied with taking limited perspectives of the development planning problems. Development plans have been conceived and implemented in terms of individual sectors instead of looking at their relations with other sectors and regions. This study seeks to make a contribution to the solution of the development problems of the rural areas of the former homeland regions by demonstrating how an integrated approach to the research process and to development planning could make a difference to the lives of the rural communities. This theme is illustrated with reference to the rural energy sector and its relations with the broader regional development problems, challenges and plans of the Sekhukhune district municipality of the Limpopo Province. / GEOGRAPHY / MA (GEOGRAPHY)

Au cours des dernières années, les communautés virtuelles de patients se sont énormément développées sur l'Internet. Ces communautés permettent des échanges fréquents entre les patients, qui peuvent partager des informations liées à la santé dans un environnement interactif. Alors que beaucoup s'accordent sur l'opportunité représentée par ces communautés pour ses utilisateurs, les connaissances sur ce qui détermine l'action collective en ligne des patients ainsi que sur les fondamentaux de l'action collective en ligne dans ces espaces virtuels sont relativement peu développées. En conséquence, ce travail doctoral examine les raisons pour lesquelles les patients interagissent entre eux et comment ils procèdent. En nous appuyant sur le modèle du comportement orienté vers un but, la théorie de la valeur de l'attente, la théorie des forces du champ, les concepts de dons et les interviews menées, nous avons développé un modèle qui examine les interactions en ligne des patients dans un contexte d'action collective en ligne. Une approche multi-méthode, qualitative et quantitative, permet d'explorer les interactions des patients et de mesurer les déterminants de l'action collective en ligne sur ces espaces virtuels. L'analyse qualitative de 54 entretiens menés avec des patients, des proches de patients, des professionnels de la santé 2.0, des médecins et des soignants permet d'affiner le modèle de recherche, qui a ensuite été testé au travers d'une enquête quantitative auprès de 269 patients. Cette recherche contribue à la recherche en systèmes d'information en augmentant nos connaissances sur la dynamique individuelle et les interactions qui entourent les communautés de patients en ligne. / Over the last few years, virtual patients’communities have been developing tremendously over the Internet. These Web 2.0 communities allow frequent interactions among patients, who can share health-related information within an interactive environment. While many agree on the opportunity represented by those communities for its users, we know very little about what determines patients’ online collective action, specifically on virtual communities as well as the fundamentals of online collective action in these virtual spaces. Accordingly, this doctoral work examines why patients interact with others and how they interact on topics related to their disease through these virtual communities. Drawing on the goal-directed behavior (MGB), the expectancy-value (EVT) theories, the field force theory, gift concepts and field interviews, we have developed a model for examining patients’ online interactions and identified gift-giving behaviors in the context of online collective action. A multi-method, qualitative and quantitative approaches, enables us to explore patients’ interactions and measures the determinants of online collective action on these virtual spaces. The qualitative analysis of 54 interviews conducted with patients, patient’s relatives, Health 2.0 professionals, doctors and caregivers allows refining the research model, which has then been tested through a survey handled with 269 patients, members of patient’s communities. This research contributes to IS research by increasing our knowledge regarding the individual dynamics and interactions that surround online patients’ communities.