This thesis investigates the factors associated with provision of education for children with autism spectrum disorders. The child is at the centre of this investigation, as the issues and constraints clearly impact on the quality of the provision delivered. Educational provision for children with autism also affects families and social agencies. The family is usually first to recognise that their child is not developing as he or she should. Typically, a diagnosis of autism or autistic spectrum disorder leads the family to the LEA in an effort to get the child's educational needs met within a school setting. Improvement in educational provision for children can only be obtained when it is based on research in this area. This is especially true for the case of children diagnosed with autism, as research is limited. What research does exist focuses on specific methodologies or proposed causes, and does not explore the effects that appropriate provision has on a child. To aid this thesis, systems theory has been employed to explore the tensions and dilemmas that exist. This ecosystemic approach is useful when teasing apart the influences both proximal and distal that benefit the child's educational experience. These influences can come from the school, home, LEA or the interactions between and among these partners. This study will examine these influences. Through the use of a case study, the researcher observed a school during its day-to-day implementation of educational provision. In addition, the views of an LEA and parents were sought through the use of interviews and a survey. The main research findings showed several factors as having influence on the child in regards to educational provision. Investigation into a school showed the difficulties associated with putting provision into practice. When faced with severe staffing shortages, absence of active leadership,, and extreme behavioural problems of the children, teaching activity was thwarted. Survey results revealed the difficulties faced by parents in securing provision. Parents reported high levels of stress that this research correlated to longer waiting times, late diagnosis, type of provision, and guidance from specialists. Significant also, was the finding that survey parents reported a statistically significant decrease in the age of diagnosis of the children. Significant findings revealed through LEA interviews found that although striving to work with families, efforts were frustrated by increasing numbers of children, limitations on the number of children accepted into favoured placements, and parental self imposed restrictions on placement choice. Lastly, this research proposed several key suggestions based on the literature review and the research undertaken to improve and promote best practice in the agreement, allocation and enactment of educational provision.

The purpose of this study was to understand how becoming a physical education teacher is shaped by personally and socially constructed knowledge and is affected by the rules and resources of the structural systems in which physical education teacher education (PETE) takes place. The study was influenced by the traditions of Personal Construct Theory (Kelly 1955), the theoretical tenets of social constructionism (Gergen 1991), and Giddens’s work on structuration (1984) and self-identity (1991). Ten PETE students participated in the study over almost three years. They undertook repertory grid sessions periodically through their study, followed by ‘learning conversations’, in which the grid itself was discussed, reworked and collaboratively analysed. All conversations were audio taped and were fully transcribed. The data were analysed in three ways, all of which were used to construct a story of the study. First, the grids were analysed for patterns, consistencies across students and for consistencies within students. These grids provided the first level story that related to constructions of knowledge. These constructions were then content analysed using analysis categories developed from Gergen’s notion of the saturated self and Giddens’ ideas of identity in late modernity. These analyses represented what Giddens calls a double hermeneutic since to all intents and purposes, the story of the study was constructed from the participants’ constructions of what it is to be a physical education teacher. The data suggests that during the process of constructing professional knowledge the student experienced a series of dilemmas of professional self-identity. It seems that to become a PE teacher, the dilemmas must be worked through until a position of what Giddens calls ontologist security has been achieved. Some students in this study had not managed to reach such a point before they left university and entered the teaching profession. In spite of this, the methods of the study allowed the participants to begin to articulate their theories and visions of teaching physical education. The therapeutic qualities of Kelly’s theory encouraged a number of the students to ‘see it differently’ (Rossi, 1997) and to begin to develop a rationale for physical education based on educational practice that considers the needs of individuals and the promotion of a socially just community. I have argued however that this ‘critical’ approach to physical education pedagogy was considered risky and as such students who were prepared to engage in such risk strategies also had other strategic relational selves (Gergen, 1991) to minimise risk at key times during their teacher education.

This workplace study examined the every day ethical dilemmas of a multidisciplinary team in one acute psychiatric setting and the social factors affecting their moral domain of practice. The research design was a case study involving both qualitative and quantitative data. The context that shaped the team's process of ethical dilemma identification was conceptualised for the purpose of this research within a systems theory framework of interrelated factors at a societal, organisational and clinical level with ethics theory pervading the entire scene. The findings indicated that dilemmas arose in situations concerning patient care, team strain, and limited resources with the most common dilemma across disciplines arising from lack of community resources. Further findings suggested that clinicians were aware of various forces shaping practice but these ideas were not well connected conceptually. Staff felt wary of identifying ethical dilemmas because they were unsure of the process and sensed a reticence in the unit's social processes around negotiation and problem solving. Important social factors that were perceived to affect their abilities around ethical dilemma identification included rational economics, professional socialisation, medical-legal monopoly with a concomitant use of the ethic of justice, and managerial strategies. The concept of transference and countertransference issues within the staffing group was explored. These results are useful for the team to understand the nature of their own particular dilemmas and what factors constrain and enhance their abilities to identify dilemmas. Other health care settings may find that replication of the research results in a similar way may raise awareness of their moral situation. Generalisability at a theoretical level contributes to the current research agenda in applied ethics about the effect of context in the ethical domain of clinical practice.

This research examines and describes the ways psychotherapists address ethical dilemmas through a hermeneutic analysis of how they responded to a portrayal of a therapy session represented in a television series. Interview transcripts were analyzed and assessed for both how therapists navigate difficult ethical terrain, and upon what, thematically, they tend to direct their thought and concern. Moreover, particular consideration is given to the role of imagination in the development of ethical meaning, intention, and understanding in the clinical context, which intersects with a critique of the American Psychological Association's ethics code and its underlying philosophical assumptions. Such theoretical underpinnings suggest a view of therapists as rational agents capable of applying ethical rules and codes to resolve dilemmas in a logical, formulaic manner, a view which is questioned for its failure to account for the empathetic, vitalizing, and hermeneutic value of imaginative thought, rehearsal, and reflection in practice. Finally, implications for therapy, pedagogy, and interpersonal understanding are explored. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Clinical Psychology / PhD; / Dissertation;

Thesis advisor: Lisa Sowle Cahill / The existence of moral and tragic dilemmas is highly debated within philosophy. Tragic dilemmas are a special kind of moral dilemma that involve great tragedy. Traditionally, philosophy tends to deny dilemmas because obligations cannot truly conflict and an ethical system must always guide agents in deliberation. For the most part, Christian theology dismisses the possibility of moral dilemmas. A highly influential theological rejection comes from Aquinas. Philosopher Bernard Williams famously challenged traditional ideas, worrying that a focus on reason to the exclusion of feelings has prevented ethicists from recognizing important aspects of the moral life, including the existence of moral and tragic dilemmas. This omission renders ethics unable to capture moral experience, and what good is ethics if it doesn’t speak to the moral life as we experience it? This presents a challenge for theology as well. This dissertation takes seriously Williams’s concerns and investigates the possibility of tragic dilemmas within a Christian context. I develop a defense of tragic dilemmas within a Christian virtue framework using feminist insights. I argue that in a tragic dilemma an agent deliberates on, with sufficient knowledge, an issue that involves non-negotiable moral requirements in line with Christian obligations to protect human life and the vulnerable. A tragic dilemma causes great harm and can “mar” the agent’s life. The agent is morally responsible for the harm caused and/or the obligation not acted upon. However, culpability is mitigated due to the constraints of the situation as long as the agent acts with “repugnance of the will.” When involvement in a tragic dilemma produces emotional harm this has the power to undermine character because, as I argue, passions and the moral life are inextricably related. In turn, the agent’s life is “marred.” In light of this, Christian healing is necessary after involvement in a tragic dilemma. In the first half of this dissertation, I investigate moral dilemmas in general. In Chapter 1, I layout the major philosophical debates surrounding moral dilemmas and I highlight touchstones, questions, ambiguities, and problems to bring to theology—issues around logic, autonomy, the nature of moral requirements, blame, restitution, and what constitutes a tragic dilemma. In Chapter 2, I assess the theological response to moral dilemmas vis-à-vis Aquinas. Although Aquinas explicitly denies the possibility for moral dilemmas that are not the agent’s fault, I find new points of contact between Aquinas and moral dilemma theorists. In light of this, there is space for the possibility of moral dilemmas in a Christian virtue context, but this understanding is beyond the boundaries set-up by Aquinas. In the second half of the dissertation, I move to discuss tragic dilemmas, specifically. In Chapter 3, I use Christian thought and feminist insights to develop my definition of tragic dilemmas. As real-life cases of moral injury from war show, tragic dilemmas can cause emotional harm. In Chapter 4, I offer Christian strategies for healing from tragic dilemmas. Because we are social beings and because society often bears some blame for the occurrence of tragic dilemmas, healing must also happen in, with, and among the community member. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Morality has been a subject of study for centuries, though there is still much that is not understood about the factors that dictate moral decision making and moral identity. This study examines the relationship between the Big Five Personality traits (agreeableness, openness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and extraversion) as well as empathy and moral decision making. However, we use a slightly different methodology than previous studies on morality and personality by incorporating more relevant moral dilemmas related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in addition to the purely hypothetical dilemmas used in previous research (referred to as standard dilemmas). Additionally, rather than considering only the response to the dilemma as variable, this study also explored the relationship between these personality traits and the guilt felt by the decision made as well as how difficult participants felt it was for them to make the decision. The results suggest that there is a relationship between certain aspects of personality and the guilt felt by moral decisions as well as how difficult one finds making a decision. Additionally, the results imply that the relevance of the dilemma does significantly impact moral dilemma decisions and the feeling associated with such decisions.

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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Jack M. Holl / Donald J. Mrozek / General Walter Bedell Smith is the subject of this dissertation. It examines his career as Eisenhower's chief of staff from a functionalist perspective. Functionalism as a school of thought emphasizes the organic nature of social institutions, the importance of improvisation while framing solutions to problems, and the necessity of producing predictable results. In practice, the US Army and Smith applied functionalism in a restricted way, but conceived of the General Staff as the "brain of the army." While working for General Marshall in the War Department General Staff and later as General Eisenhower's chief of staff, General Smith met his responsibilities with respect to order, cohesion and objectives. Two general conditions complicated Smith's role at Eisenhower's headquarters: first, the burgeoning size of the staff made it difficult for Smith to manage by means of direct supervision and still preserve a measure of initiative among staff members; second, Smith's poor health and choler sometimes hindered his ability to adopt means that were consistent with the organic aspect of functionalism. In Washington, Algiers and London, Bedell Smith gained notoriety as a "hatchetman" who did his superior's dirty work. His ugly reputation was fitting in some ways, but undeserved in others. His achievements have been underestimated. Smith was the firm defender of the Eisenhower's prerogatives. Among British colleagues, he was a disciple of cooperation and diplomacy. He was intelligent, orderly and functionalist in the sense that his decisiveness and willingness to accept responsibility achieved quick and predictable results. Smith's understanding of principal issues and his grasp of details earned the trust and respect of colleagues. He acted out of duty, not "natural" meanness. The traits of a "hatchetman" - feared and detested by some - were the distinguishing features that won favor from his superiors, Marshall and Eisenhower.

The present doctoral thesis aimed to explore what it means to be a first-level manages in a Swedish municipal social care administration, seen from the managers’ perspective. The empirical data derives from a participative, constructivist project which intended to contribute to new practice-based knowledge and to the learning and development of the participating managers. The participating managers reflected over their work and their managerial role by the use of a combination of repertory grid interviews, personal diaries and group discussions. Qualitative descriptive phenomenological analyses of the extensive material painted a vivid and nuanced picture of their work situation and professional role. In Paper I the project and the used methods were described in detail. Short extracts of data illustrated the potential of the general approach of combining constructivist techniques in participative and action oriented projects. The first brief results illustrated by “A day in a team manager’s working life” and by three “leadership dilemmas”: The spider in the web; The border patrol; and The open door, presented a picture of the managers’ complex work situation and how they were stimulated to address the problems arising. Paper II showed the many facets of social care management, where six “faces” portrayed the complex managerial role. The results indicated that managers in this and other welfare organizations need to construe and re-construe their managerial role in order to balance the contrasting demands on their role, thereby ac-complishing a personal equilibrium. Paper III further explored the managers' leadership role ideal, grounded in the concept of care. Several aspects of the managers' work situation resulted, on their own or in conjunction, in difficul-ties fulfilling their caring leadership ideal. These difficulties of which the managers spoke were arranged into three distinct patterns: problems, dilemmas and paradoxes. The results gave insight of the nature of these difficulties, the implications which these might have on the managers, their staff and the delivery of service, and the discussed remedies. Taken together the results raises new questions about municipal managers’ abilities and possibilities to handle ideals and requirements which are difficult to consoli-date particularly in times or resource scarcity. Is it possible to be an at the same time caring and efficient manager? How can mangers’ options to handle the complexity of modern welfare organisations be strengthened?

Formulating consistent marketing strategies is a difficult task, but successfully implementing them is even more challenging. This is even more pertinent as marketing strategies quite often incorporate inherent conflicts between major breakthroughs and consolidation. Consequently, marketers need to balance exploratory and exploitative strategies. However, the literature lacks concrete insights for marketing managers as to how exploratory and exploitative strategies can be best combined. This paper addresses this issue by introducing a framework of multiple types of ambidexterity. Based on qualitative research, tools and procedures are identified to overcome marketing dilemmas and support strategy implementation by drawing on ambidextrous designs. (authors' abstract)