The aim of the thesis is to clarify the methodology of the original institutional economics and then to evaluate the current attempts to utilize critical realism as a superior methodology for it. After sketching the historical background of the discussions surrounding methodology of science and 19th century economic methodology, the thesis separately analyses the methodology of institutional economics and critical realist stance in the philosophy of science. A critical discussion of the subject matter reaches to the conclusion that critical realism does not offer a better methodology for institutional economics.

Over the last few decades, thermal treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW) has been strongly opposed in North America. The reasons for public opposition are complex and could vary from community to community. Typically, public antagonism towards thermal treatment option is clearly revealed during the planning process of energy-from-waste facilities. Concepts such as NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) have become synonymous with the siting of MSW thermal treatment facilities. Given the highly controversial nature of such projects, effective organization and conduct of the municipal planning process is of high importance. The literature suggests that public opposition can be fuelled by the perception of unfair outcome and unfair planning process. Therefore, the equity dimension of the planning process has gained importance. This research explores the planning processes surrounding the development of thermal treatment plants for MSW in the province of Ontario, Canada by focusing on the equity dimension. The research aims to reveal the role and the nature of substantive equity, procedural equity, and cost and time efficiency, as well as the role of contextual elements in planning processes. Additionally, the research intends to provide recommendations on the effective incorporation of the equity dimension into the waste management planning processes. Through a review of the literature on planning controversial facilities with a focus on waste disposal plants, it was revealed that the clear delineation of substantive and procedural equity as well as the identification of the main elements that fall under these notions are absent. Different studies present various elements of substantive and procedural equity, but they fall short in consolidation and analysis of linkages among the elements. In addition, it was revealed that the study of the contextual elements in relation to substantive and procedural equity has been quite limited. Three research questions were identified that were informed by two assumptions derived from the consulted literature. To answer the research questions, three cases of planning thermal treatment plants in Ontario were investigated using qualitative research methods. The first case studied the Halton region thermal treatment project that was initiated in 2006 but was soon dropped without reaching the stage of full environmental assessment. The second case study focused on the Niagara-Hamilton thermal treatment project that was a joint effort between the city of Hamilton and the regional municipality of Niagara to find a local solution to the waste problem. An environmental assessment was conducted; however, before its completion the parties decided to stop the project and concentrate on other waste management alternatives. Finally, the third case studied the Durham-York thermal treatment project that underwent a full environmental assessment process and is currently close to completion. This research contributes towards expanding the conceptual discourse about the role of equity in planning waste disposal facilities with a particular emphasis on thermal treatment plants. More specifically, the thesis contributes towards delineating the notions of substantive and procedural equity and distinguishing their elements. It introduces the notion of context and explores those contextual elements that influence substantive and procedural equity during planning processes for thermal treatment facilities. As a result, the thesis develops a comprehensive analytical framework that consolidates the major elements that fall under the domains of substantive equity, procedural equity, and context that have previously been dispersed in the literature. In addition, the research establishes linkages among the elements within each domain and across domains. Based on the findings of the case studies, the notion of distributional equity is reconsidered. Whereas the distributional aspect of the equity dimension is undoubtedly important, the thesis concludes that the substantive equity should go beyond the locational aspect of planning. The existence of cross-domain linkages and their importance and diversity confirms that the notion of equity should be studied and discussed in broader terms which acknowledge not only procedural or distributional issues, but also contextual elements and efficiency questions. The existing scholarship places particular emphasis on locational considerations (siting) and procedural issues; however, it fails to present a comprehensive and multidimensional view of equity and explain how this is embedded within the broader context. This research is an attempt to present equity with all its diversity and complexity and build a foundation upon which further work in this direction can be conducted. More broadly, this research contributes to the better understanding of the perceptions and motivations behind public opposition towards infrastructure projects, and particularly waste management facilities. Given the complex nature of public opposition phenomenon, the research addresses the need to build an in-depth understanding of public motivations and perceptions that shape attitudes towards proposed projects.

Motivation is a universal psychological phenomenon that determines all that we do. Self- determination Theory (SDT) and Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) each explain the academic motivation of university students and its relation to important academic outcomes (achievement, dedication, and well-being). Recently, an integration of these theories has been proposed (Drylund, 2009) which theorizes that achievement goals affect academic outcomes through their relationship with SDT constructs. The current study uses this integrative theory as a starting point but applies the critical realist perspective which posits that all empirical behaviours are produced by real generative mechanisms (Bhaskar, 1978). Although critical realism is considered vital to the advancement of psychology, its methodology and actual application has yet to be elaborated. Thus, the goals of the current study are: 1. to increase the current understanding of academic motivation; and, 2. to provide a method capable of facilitating research conducted from the critical realist perspective. Study 1 uses a variable-based approach and statistical analysis of questionnaire data from 385 undergraduate students; Study 2 uses a case-based approach through causal mapping of interview data from a purposeful sample of 12 Study 1 participants. Results support an academic motivational mechanism primarily influenced by autonomy satisfaction and controlling motivation that functions through the complex reciprocal relationships between achievement goals, competence satisfaction, and autonomous motivation. Comparison of Study 1 and 2 results supports the argument for case-based research from a critical realist perspective to aid in the further advancement of psychology.

The concept of moral panic has enjoyed a rich history in sociological literature. Since Stanley Cohen (1972) published his seminal study on the Mods and Rockers, scholars have used the concept of moral panic to identify and explain disproportional and exaggerated societal reactions to perceived threats against the social order posed by some condition, episode, person or group of people. However, recent scholars have sought to revise or problematize Cohen’s initial conceptualization, culminating in calls to ‘rethink’ (McRobbie and Thornton, 1995) and ‘think beyond’ (Hier, 2008) moral panic, as well as to ‘widen the focus’ of moral panic analysis (Critcher, 2008). In response, my thesis seeks to strengthen the conceptual and methodological approach to the concept of moral panic by integrating the meta-theoretical principles of critical realism. Critical realism, I argue, provides both the conceptual clarity and methodological insight necessary to enhance scholarly research on moral panic. In addition, the integration of critical realism allows me to more fully explore the internal dynamics and causal mechanisms involved in the genesis of moral panic. The result is a deeper understanding of the ontological nature of moral panic.

The thesis is concerned with the growth of ‘connected’ firms, characterised as small firms that are engaged in stable spatial and vertical network relationships, involving a variety of actors, including larger firms. It locates these firms within the landscape of the ‘New Competition’, (Best 1990, 2001), highlighting the relatively unexplored region occupied by connected artisanal firms. The literature review is constructed around a detailed re-appraisal of Edith Penrose’s (1959) study, The Theory of the Growth of the Firm, which traces its antecedents, re-constructs its interconnections and calibrates its explanatory potential against the work of contemporaries, successors and opponents. The review provides the basis for development of a modified Penrosian framework, designed to embrace a multi-level analysis of growth processes that span the ‘blurred boundaries’ of the connected firm. An empirical study of the growth of connected artisanal firms demonstrates the application of this modified framework. The study is presented in the form of an analytically structured narrative, illustrated by network mapping sequences and informed by a qualified critical realist perspective. The final chapters reflect on the theoretical, methodological and practical policy implications of the study, highlighting the broader implications for researching the growth of other forms of connected firm.

Introduction: Appalachian women have high rates of preterm birth and low birth weight infants. A new format of group prenatal care, known as CenteringPregnancy, decreases the rate of preterm birth and low birth weight when compared with individual care. However, clinics in Appalachia often struggle to recruit women into group care. Theory & Methods: Using critical realism and the middle-range theory of motivation-ease as frameworks, this qualitative study had two research questions: ‘What influences Appalachian women’s choice of traditional prenatal care instead of CenteringPregnancy care?’ and ‘What are Appalachian women’s perceptions of prenatal care and their access to prenatal care?’. Twenty-nine Appalachian women, who had declined CenteringPregnancy care, were interviewed about their perceptions of prenatal care, what facilitated care, and their decision to decline CenteringPregnancy. Verbatim transcripts of these semi-structured interviews, in-depth demographic questionnaires, and field notes were coded and analyzed using conventional (inductive) content analysis. Findings: Two meaning units were identified, information concerning women’s reason(s) for declining CenteringPregnancy and facilitators of prenatal care access. The reasons women provided for declining CenteringPregnancy care fell into three overarching categories, preferred one-to-one care, experienced barriers to Centering, and did not know Centering was an option. The most common reason for declining Centering was a preference for individual care. This category had three subcategories: do not like groups, don’t want to put everything out there with other women, and no need for change from existing care. Women predominately named two facilitators of prenatal care access, insurance and compassionate care. Conclusions: Clinicians should decrease barriers to CenteringPregnancy utilization and should partner with the local community to better market this new model of care. In addition, small modifications in Centering may make the model more appealing and accessible. However, clinicians should continue to provide individual care for women who cannot access group care. Participants stated state-provided insurance greatly facilitated prenatal care which supports the need for ongoing Medicaid funding. Women also stated compassionate care enhanced their ability and desire to get prenatal care. Healthcare providers should renew efforts to provide personalized and unrushed clinical environments to assist women in obtaining needed prenatal care.

This thesis consists of two parts. The first is a series of photographic essays documenting the lived experience of a woman who is HIV positive and a group of young females who are socially marginalised. The written component attempts to underlabour in a philosophical sense for the artistic/creative element of the thesis. That is, it seeks to take on a range of theoretical issues that cluster around the practice of documentary photography. By clarifying these issues the thesis endeavours to act as a stimulus to artistic practice and also to explain and introduce that practice to a wider audience. Among the theoretical issues addressed is the ontological status of the documentary photograph. Here, the thesis draws upon Roy Bhaskar's Critical Realism to suggest a rational alternative to postmodernist scepticism and naive realism. The thesis also takes on a range of ethical problems. Most important of these is the question whether the relationship between the photographer and her subject is inherently exploitative. The thesis attempts, in this case, to unite Emmauel Levinas' philosophy of the Other with Critical Realist Ethics. Here, the thesis advances a novel differentiation of the Other and combines this with the Critical Realist notion of ontological depth. The argument of the thesis is that the nature of the contract between the photographer and her subject depends on which Other the subject is regarded as. In addition, the thesis explores the social and gender dimensions of documentary photography concentrating in particular on the Farm Security Admininstration photography in America in the 1930s, and the radical self-imaging of the British photographer Jo Spence and the Pop Star Madonna.

Negative perceptions of being Aboriginal persist and policies such as self-determination are generally perceived to have failed despite many texts to the contrary. This thesis examines assumptions and presuppositions within contemporary writings and practices, determining in the process, conditions seeming necessary for decolonising ways of living and research. Much closer attention is required not only to developing better understandings, but especially to articulating explanations via the reality of deep structures, their powers and causal mechanisms underpinning social life generally and in particular, the lived experience of oppressed communities. Neo-Nietzscheanism and post-structuralism tend to see reality as merely constructed. Maximising movements of solidarity with the oppressed must express the freedom of everyone in any particular place. The thesis begins by exploring the nature and significance of philosophical underlabouring (clearing the ground) for decolonisation as self-emancipation. It then engages with issues of value, truth and power by means of establishing a critical realist dialogue between two sets of writings. Key works by Australian (Japanangka West, Yolnju) Maori (Tuhiwai Smith) and American (Moonhawk Alford, Taiaiake Alfred) First Nations thinkers in modernity's colonial context are retroductively analysed in order to suggest what must be the case (in terms of being and becoming) for decolonisation to be possible. Works by philosophers currently establishing and applying Bhaskarian transcendental dialectical critical realist and/or meta-Realist principles of self-emancipation are critiqued in relation to their compatibility with decolonisation. Terms of reference within this dialogue are then supplemented from within writings by a range of others (Fanon, Said, Otto and Levinas), selected for their perceived significance in developing a dialectical praxis of personal and social transformation through spirit within the domain of strengthening community and protecting children.

Abstract of Making Their Way—Making Art and Making Money: The working lives of visual artists with disabilities Susan Agatha Maley People with disabilities have marked lower rates of employment than people without disabilities in both Australia and the United States, the countries chosen for this research inquiry. That this is the case decades after the introduction of anti-discrimination laws in these developed democratic countries highlights the continuum of constraints people with disabilities still experience in securing work. Some of these constraints include socially discriminatory attitudes and perceptions, the lack of available accommodations and adaptations in work settings (and the misconception that they will be onerous and expensive to implement), lack of accessible transportation, the unavailability of work within established job markets and the restrictions of vocational rehabilitation and disability employment programs’ past focus on existing jobs in organisational settings. These constraints have a negative impact on the overall quality of life for many people with disabilities as employment is a key component to individual self-sufficiency and personal fulfilment and also crucial to inclusion in community and social settings. Among the notable initiatives to address these persistent inequities are research-informed projects focusing on self-employment as a viable alternative mode of employment to the established job market. Within the last decade, myriad research reports, model demonstration projects, and a US national research program, funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy, have been demonstrating the success of self-employment in expanding self-determined income generation. Within this burgeoning and productive investigation on self-employment, one gap is that there has been little focused inquiry on creative work. Such a void is significant since the predominant work mode among visual artists is self-employment, albeit sometimes supplemented with other arts, and non-arts related work. This study addresses the lack of investigation of artists’ modes of work by examining the working lives of practicing professional visual artists with a range of significant physical, sensory and neurological disabilities. There are a number of reasons for this research study’s focus on the area of visual arts. Visual arts has been documented to be one of the largest groups among artistic disciplines in studies in both Australia and the US, as well as European countries. Within this sizable arts arena, there are established and emerging markets for sale of visual arts products. This discipline can also offer flexible work locations, hours and adaptations in art making. Thus, there may be numerous benefits to pursuing careers in the visual arts for creative people with disabilities. Yet, little is known about the lived work experience of practicing visual artists with disabilities and their career strategies. Thus, an exploration of visual artists with disabilities working in a range of mediums such as this research study can reveal new, and potentially useful, knowledge about their methods of art-making and marketing, adaptations in the design and execution of their work, their experiences of disability and the facilitators and obstacles they face when preparing for and pursuing their working lives as artists. This research study is based on the results of in-depth, face-to-face interviews of twenty-one visual artists, eleven in Australia and ten in the US, who used multiple artistic mediums. The conceptual lens for the analysis is intersectionality with an underlying critical realism foundation. These theories were used to explore the intersecting social positions of being a person with a disability and a practicing artist and the related interplay of agency and structure in shaping the careers of these artists. The main findings from this research focus on how the artists in this study made their way, made art and made money. These findings commence with an examination of the early shaping and continued sustaining influences in their artistic development and education. It continues with an exploration of the influence of their disability experiences on making art including their adaptive methods and conceptual process. The analysis continues with a focus on factors involving their means of making money, marketing and self-promotion methods and professional progressions. The findings conclude with an analysis of aids and obstacles these artists with disabilities experienced during interactions with a range of organisations including disability employment and vocational rehabilitation counselling and financial support agencies, arts educational institutions, art galleries and arts and disability agencies. Highlights of the findings are that the majority of the artists in the study earned their income from arts and arts related work, that they made active use of their own personal and collective agency to meet their artistic and professional goals and that their actions influenced structural change. They also positioned aspects of their social and personal identity to best suit their career progressions and some made artistic use of their conceptions of disability with innovative impact on social conceptions of disability. Implications of these findings are that artists experiencing disability developed strategic skills to negotiate difficult terrain while forging an income-producing arts practice. In addition, their creation of new options for themselves, and other artists with disabilities, has wider implications for improving equity for artists with disabilities.

This thesis examines the role of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) task analysis within the context of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) system design. It recognises and critically examines several carrefours that differentiate cognitive from sociocultural task analysis theories in Second Language Acquisition and Human-Computer Interaction. A study into the role of multimodal interaction and second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition revealed the need for an integrative approach to examining learner-computer interaction. In response, a conceptual, situated task analysis framework was developed that promotes (1) a common unit of analysis for principled theoretical investigation and methodological selection; and (2) a formative task analysis framework which considers both software engineering and human-computer interaction practices within CALL system design. / Understanding the extant relationships between learner, theory and practice has become increasingly important in light of recent criticisms of CALL software quality, and its influence on learning outcomes. To further develop our understanding of the role of HCI and Software Engineering in CALL, an empirical exploratory study was undertaken. The design of the study was influenced by research concerning (1) cognitive complexity and language learning; (2) social perspectives on learner-computer interaction; and (3) the intersection between system design, quality, and learner-computer interaction. / Computer-mediated activity in language learning environments can be categorised as a highly social process through its dependency upon a number of sociocultural and environmental contraints. As such, learner-computer interaction is likely to be highly fluid and dynamic. The distinction between static and dynamic environments is a critical determinant when selecting a particular HCI task analysis strategy. To evaluate competing task analysis approaches, a small qualitative study was established that considered the role of multimodal interaction in L2 vocabulary acquisition. Emerging trends from this study served to elucidate the appropriateness of existing HCI theories and their units of analysis within the context of CALL system design. / Participants for this study were selected from an undergraduate Computer Science degree at a major Australian university. Participants had little to no prior knowledge of the L2 used in the study. Participants conducted three sessions with a multimodal speech-enabled language learning tool. After each session, participants completed an immediate recall test and responded to a series of semi-structured interview questions. After an eight week period, participants were asked to take part in a delayed recall and recognition test. Findings from this study showed two distinct trends: (1) a relationship between the degree of multimodal interaction strategy and delayed L2 vocabulary recall and recognition; and (2) the limitations of existing HCI task analysis approaches with respect to analysing learner-computer interaction within the context of CALL system design. As such, this study provided key insights into the role of HCI in CALL, proposing several implications for further research. / Instructed by these findings, research was undertaken to develop an holistic, situated task analysis framework: C.A.S.E (Cognition, Activity, Social Organisation, Environment). Ontological, epistemological and methodological components of the framework are discussed in detail. C.A.S.E provides a conceptual framework for integrating cognitive and social theories on learning, interaction and system design. Consequently, C.A.S.E provides both theoretical and methodological support for bridging the divide between CALL, HCI and Software Engineering. Several applications of the framework relevant to CALL practitioners are described in this thesis. / The outcomes of this investigation establish an agenda for further research. The thesis concludes with a discussion related to CALL system design, specifically the role of Software Engineering in end-user developer CALL activities. To assist readers, additional discussions on Philosophy of Science and Software Engineering have been provided as appendix chapters.