The transition from primary to secondary school has been identified as a time that requires further investigation. In particular there is a need to include the experiences of disabled young people, and their parents. With the introduction of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (ASL) it is envisaged that school experiences and transitions should improve for these young people. Two groups of participants were recruited via the Cerebral Palsy Register for Scotland, both including parents and young people. The first group was made up of families completing the transition prior to the introduction of the ASL act, and the second group after it. Data was obtained via individual interviews with both parents and young people. Little difference was found between the transitional experiences of the first and second group. When discussing the transition parents explained how they chose a secondary school for their child to attend. The majority of parents wanted their child to attend the local school, a view supported by the young people themselves. The main concern identified by this work for both parents and young people is that of mobility. This work also contributed to the knowledge of coping mechanisms, and revealed that parents draw on past transitional experiences of their child as a means to cope with this move. For many of the young people this transition marks a change in their own personal identity. Throughout the move the young people became more aware of how others perceived them, and how they wished to be portrayed. Overall both parents and young people felt they had had a positive transitional experience, despite many encountering problems during it. How these problems were overcome was significant to the overall view they formed of the transition. From this work it would suggest that the ASL act has had little impact on this transition.

There are a variety of guidelines and methods available to measure and assess survey quality. Most of these are based on qualitative descriptions. In practice, they are not easy to implement and it is very difficult to make comparisons between surveys. Hence there is a theoretical and pragmatic demand to develop a mainly quantitative based survey assessment tool. This research aimed to meet this need and make contributions to the evaluation and improvement of survey quality. Acknowledging the critical importance of measurement issues in survey research, this thesis starts with a comprehensive introduction to measurement theory and identifies the types of measurement errors associated with measurement procedures through three experiments. Then it moves on to describe concepts, guidelines and methods available for measuring and assessing survey quality. Combining these with measurement principles leads to the development of a quantitative based statistical holistic tool to measure and assess survey quality. The criteria, weights and subweights for the assessment tool are determined using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) and a survey questionnaire based on the Delphi method. Finally the model is applied to a database of surveys which was constructed to develop methods of classification, assessment and improvement of survey quality. The model developed in this thesis enables survey researchers and/or commissioners to make a holistic assessment of the value of the particular survey(s). This model is an Excel based audit which takes a holistic approach, following all stages of the survey from inception, to design, construction, execution, analysis and dissemination. At each stage a set of criteria are applied to assess quality. Scores attained against these assessments are weighted by the importance of the criteria and summed to give an overall assessment of the stage. The total score for a survey can be obtained by a combination of the scores for every stage weighted again by the importance of each stage. The advantage of this is to construct a means of survey assessment which can be used in a diagnostic manner to assess and improve survey quality.

The thesis develops from the viewpoint that the most important structure in any Police Organisation is the local Police Station, directly providing a service to the public. It proposes that effective and efficient policing of this type is almost impossible without clear theories and definitions of the police service. This must be followed by a clear analysis of the method by which this policing can be achieved, leading to precisely defined systems of policing. These systems must be designed to achieve measurable objectives within the total resources available. Existing theories of 'demand led' policing problems are then developed by the thesis into the concept of an Extended Reactive Spiral. This involves public demands, the Police System and the external environment. The analysis concludes that to counter the majority of these problems a new police system must be designed. This system must develop and utilise voluntary public assistance as a major preventive resource. Prosocial public behaviour, in the form of 'self policing' is required as a preventive community activity. Three types of police service are described in ascending levels of effectiveness against the problems of the Extended Reactive Spiral. A new 3RD LEVEL or Geographic policing system is developed in detail and tested in a case study at Brixton Police Station between 1983 and 1986. It is concluded that there was significant evidence supporting the effectiveness of police officers influencing public demands in hostile, high demand areas. In addition, evidence suggests that the type of police behaviour required for this effect is directly influenced by the design and processes of the police system involved.

This thesis explores the implications of power in relation to the psychological contract. The majority of the psychological contract literature, because of its underpinning assumptions of mutuality and reciprocity, largely downplays the dynamics of power in the employment relationship. The key objective of the current study therefore is to make further empirical and theoretical developments in relation to the psychological contract by exploring these power dynamics in the relationship between employees and employer. Concerning power, the complex interdependencies and the associated workplace struggles characterizing the employment relationship between employees and the different representatives of the organization are investigated. From an empirical perspective, the research contributes in a twofold manner as the results not only highlight the complex interdependencies and the workplace struggles in the employment relationship but also offer new knowledge about work and management in Pakistan. This context of employment relations based on underlying power dynamics that are embedded into the complex and interdependent relationships between employees and organizational representatives is globally significant in terms of workplace research, yet generally neglected in the relevant studies. The current study has a qualitative orientation and follows a critical realist research philosophy. Using data collected from 43 interviewees in three call centre organizations, the research additionally makes a theoretical contribution to the psychological contract from the perspectives of mutuality, reciprocity and agency. The results illustrate that, in comparison to mutuality and reciprocity, interdependence and negotiation play a critical role in the psychological contracts of employees. Largely acknowledging the implications of power dynamics, these concepts highlight that employees, based on their perceptions of interdependence (rather than mutuality) in the employment relationships, tend to focus primarily on negotiation (rather than reciprocation) in their psychological contracts with employers. Concerning agency, different classifications of human agents are highlighted (i.e. primary agents, secondary agents, multiple agents, incumbent agents). The current research extends the concept of agency beyond the boundary of human agents into the domain of the electronic agents of the organization. The results highlight that it is not only the perceived capability to reward or punish but also the perceived tendency to actively use that capability which significantly influences employees’ assumptions to consider particular organizational members as the agents of the organization. From the viewpoint of relational interdependence in the employment relationship, the efforts made by employees to decrease their dependence on employers and increase the employer’s dependence on them are illustrated. The research findings demonstrate that these efforts are largely motivated by the employees’ objective of promoting their bargaining power in employment relationship.

This thesis reveals the complexities in older men’s experience of involuntary childlessness. Research literature on both involuntary childlessness and ageing has highlighted the paucity of material on men’s experience. The aim of this study was to explore and understand the impact of childlessness on the lives of older, self-defined, involuntarily childless men. This qualitative study employed a pluralistic framework formed by life course, biographical, and gerontological approaches to explore the lives of 14 men, aged between 49 and 82 years. A broad thematic analysis was applied to the material, and the findings demonstrated the intersections between childlessness and ageing over the life course. Reproductive intentions were affected by many factors including the timing of exiting education, relationship formation and dissolution, and choice of partner. The men’s attitude to fatherhood changed with age and centred on the theme of the ‘social clock’ that revealed the synergy between an individual and societal morès surrounding parenthood. The loss of the assumed father role and relationship ebbed and flowed throughout the men’s lives in a form of complex bereavement. Awareness of feeling both a sense of ‘outsiderness’ and a fear of being viewed as a paedophile were widely reported. Quality of life was linked with current health, and ageing was strongly associated with loss of physical or mental functionality. This thesis supports the case for a biographical method of research drawing on a pluralistic framework. It challenges research that reports men are not affected by the social, emotional and relational aspects of involuntary childlessness. In addition, it adds to the debate between the concepts of ‘emergent’ and ‘hegemonic’ masculinities. Recommendations are made in the conclusion regarding the use of the findings for future research and policy.

Current study advances the understanding of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the context of online brand communities (OBC) embedded in social media. The focal concept of this thesis is OBCeWOM, which represents a behavioural manifestation of OBC engagement – a growing stream of research in the brand community literature. By connecting the two key streams of research on online consumer-to-consumer and consumer-brand interactions, the current thesis addresses the nature, drivers and outcomes of OBCeWOM in the social media setting. The study follows a sequential mixed-methods research design, where the data was first collected via 22 semi-structured interviews, followed by a survey of 652 members of social media-based OBCs. The research was divided into three studies in line with the stated research questions. Consistent with the RQ2 and RQ3, Study 1 utilised semi-structured interviews to identify the key motivations for and outcomes of OBCeWOM in the social media setting which were consequently included in the finalised conceptual framework. Following this, Study 2 relied on interview and survey data to answer the RQ1 by clarifying the dimensionality of and developing a new measurement scale for OBCeWOM. Finally, Study 3 utilised the survey data to confirm the relationships hypothesised in the conceptual model and answer the RQ2 and RQ3. Findings of this thesis confirm the multi-dimensional nature of OBCeWOM, consisting of reading, posting and sharing components and offer a new reliable measurement for eWOM in the OBC context. Results of the study further identify four key motivations of OBCeWOM in the social media setting, including getting assistance from the brand, social interaction, social expression of opinions and expressing positive emotions. Concurrently, self-expression motivation has a negative effect on OBCeWOM. Finally, this thesis confirms the role of OBCeWOM in brand trust, brand loyalty, and oppositional brand loyalty. Current research offers several theoretical, methodological and managerial implications.

This thesis contributes to the literature of critical geopolitics. Based on the exploration of existing studies of critical geopolitics, in this thesis I first argue that this body of literature only presents a partial picture of the world from the perspective of political geographies. While it does offer a solidly critical stance in the investigation of how spatiality influences the exercise of power, it also has certain limitations from ontological and epistemological perspectives. Many studies in this literature suffer from three problems. First, many works have empirically and overly focused on Western states while neglecting both non-Western spaces/places and non-Western geopolitical theories. Second, this body of literature has paid too much attention to media texts rather than the audience who consume those media. In the small amount of audience studies, fans, who are considered to be the most passionate consumer, have always been equated with the audience, thereby ignoring other consumption forces, such as critics and occasional readers. Third, the majority of extant critical geopolitical studies have been concerned with constructionism, which emphasises the significance of human beings in creating a space and thus influencing the exercise of power, while much less attention has been paid to the materiality that underlines the being, or object, playing any of a set of active roles in a narrative. Those limitations of critical geopolitical studies, in particular the lack of non-Western examples, provide new possibilities for the development of the current field of critical geopolitics. This thesis focuses on Chinese political geographies, a non-Western socio-political background. It indicates that the socio-political context of China has brought potentialities for investigating the complex entanglement between spatial practices and the exercise of power. Specifically, this thesis gives an overview of Chinese geopolitical traditions, hua-yi distinction and Sino-centrism, that have had, and still have, a significant impact upon Chinese political cultures. At the same time, this thesis also reviews the extant literature of Chinese geopolitics. On this basis, it argues that previous works of/in Chinese geopolitical studies have been intimately associated with Western dominance, in particular the classical geopolitical tradition in Western academia, and thus lacked the examination of internal geopolitical voices. These overviews have built two fundamental frameworks for this thesis: critical geopolitics and non-Western geopolitics. Critical geopolitics is the main theoretical framework for this thesis, while non-Western geopolitics is the primary empirical framework for this thesis, although its contribution is not limited to empirics. Thus I argue that geopolitical space is seldom a pure space controlled by any single force or any single element, but rather a heterogeneous space influenced by a mixed range of forces and factors, including both Western and non-Western forces and values, ruling and ruled forces and values, and socially constructed and material factors. In particular for popular geopolitics, I argue that popular space usually strengthens cultural hegemony, but at the same time it also erodes authority. It is a space of difference and antagonism. Armed with the above perspectives, this thesis will use three chapters of empirical studies to explain how various spaces, forces and values are involved in the exercise of power. Three stories are narrated in this thesis: (1) Two different – even opposite – Chinese newspaper writings of terrorism and the US war on terror, which can be read as an examination of how Chinese elites practice and perform their geopolitical identities. (2) Audience imaginations of terrorism and the US war on terror through their readings of Chinese newspapers as mentioned above (1), which can be read as an investigation of how Chinese elitist views are spread and how geopolitical visions are established in Chinese society. (3) Discussion of terrorism and the US war on terror in the Internet community, in which both Internet users and computer algorithms and bots have a significant impact upon the creation of public opinion.

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

Arguments have been forwarded that terminating a pregnancy affected by a congenital abnormality discriminates against those living with disabilities and makes negative judgements about their lives. For the clinical geneticist these arguments raise questions as to whether their practice is ethical. In this thesis I aim to consider these concerns primarily from the position of the clinical geneticist by addressing ethical arguments. I argue that the fetus does not have full moral status equivalent to a person and therefore terminating a disabled fetus is not comparable with ending the life of a disabled person, and so does not imply that the lives of disabled persons are not worth living. I further argue that the decision to carry out prenatal testing and abortion should not solely rely on disability and on the objective opinions of healthcare professionals. Central to this argument is that when considering whether or not prenatal testing and abortion are justifiable, it is important to take into account the specific and unique circumstances of the family, particularly the parents and pre-existing children. Parents’ reproductive autonomy therefore needs to be considered as well as the harm having a disabled child could cause; both to the future child to and those directly affected by their existence. I conclude that prenatal testing and abortion does not discriminate against those living with disabilities. Despite this, however, reproductive autonomy is not being respected in current approaches to prenatal testing as late termination of pregnancy can only be legally permitted where two healthcare professionals agree to it. Therefore, in order to enhance reproductive autonomy I have made recommendations whereby the supportive role of the clinical geneticist can be further developed by their acting as an advocate for prospective parents when justifications for late termination of pregnancy are being considered by healthcare professionals.

This thesis is concerned with the problem of new technology in manufacturing industry. Increasing attention is being focused on the possible consequences of new technology as it begins to penetrate the various factors or elements within firms. Claims of massive unemployment and growing dissatisfaction with people de-skilled by automation have been made by various authorities and organisations, yet little recorded research has been made on this subject to provide evidence of the real effect and problem of new technology. Two types of new technology are studied in this research project. The first technology is that of the numerical control machine tool which having been introduced in the 1950s was slow to develop in the 1960s and has now become of major prominence in manufacturing industry. The research investigates the problems associated with this technology and the effects it has had on industry. The second technology is that of the co-ordinate measuring machine, an entirely new technology developed out of the wake of numerical control machine tools and part of an advance in measuring technology never before seen in the field of metrology or manufacturing. A model of the enterprise is proposed which shows a linking relationship between 6 key factors namely, organisation (structures), management (decision-making), strategies (objectives and plans), machine shop environment (the technology), control systems (return on investment) and people (behaviour). Each of these factors are examined against established theoretical bases, prior research and the findings from this project. From a brief description of the development of measuring machines and the invention of the co-ordinate measuring machine, the investigation consists of a logical analysis in 5 steps of manufacturing plants experiencing change due to the introduction of new technology. The first 2 steps examine the single manufacturing plant for the effects of numerical control machine tools and the effects of co-ordinate measuring machines. The third step is the investigation of a multinational organisation for the effect of co-ordinate measuring machines in 23 plants. The final 2 steps in the investigation analyse a large number of manufacturing firms using and not using co-ordinate measuring machines to determine any differences in organisation structures, strategies and people, then concentrates the study on firms using co-ordinate measuring machines to ascertain the overall effects on this larger population of manufacturing firms. The objectives of the thesis are two-fold: the investigation of a very major and critical development in industry, and the research for constructive conclusions which would create positive contribution to manufacturing industry. The outcome will show that manufacturing industry has to make radical changes if it is to maximise on the advantages of new technologies.