The study explores Filipino seafarers’ integration and cross-border practices using a transnational paradigm. As seafarers’ lives span the ship and the shore, a transnational framework entails looking at whether belongingness is manifested simultaneously and the extent to which this can be possible. The study’s multi-sited approach considers both the everyday realities in the community and on board the ship including the transnational linkages they maintain and deploy to remain part of both realms. The analyses show that seafarers’ repeated reincorporation and conformity in the community reflects how belongingness is largely constituted as aspirational at home. Integration on board, largely work-oriented and subject to a racialised hierarchy, favours less the social aspect of integration. The limited involvement in both contexts mutually reflects fringe belonging. Under conditions of high mobility, cross-border practices are constrained inasmuch as they are facilitated through access to communication technologies. The ties of reciprocity under extensive kin relations similarly accentuate the strain affecting connection at home. Such conflicting outcomes undermine the connectivity and continuity of social relations that is purportedly enhanced by linking across borders. Such ties are nonetheless employed as a strategy of counteracting labour insecurities despite the burden arising from such tenuous links. This thesis concludes that seafarers evince a form of transactional transnationalism such that they inhabit both worlds only if on board.

Large-scale cases involving multi-national corporations such as the BAE Systems and Siemens bribery scandals illustrate the complex organisation of such serious trans-national and multi-jurisdictional crimes. Sovereign states that do not have an active enforcement stance against transnational bribery are facing intense criticism from ‘moral entrepreneurs’ such as international and intergovernmental anti-corruption bodies. However, the regulation of such crimes faces a key contradiction: as business transactions become more global, enforcement and regulation remain at the local and national level. In short, national authorities are pressured to respond to trans-national corporate bribery using inter-national frameworks for enforcement. This thesis imports regulatory concepts to understand the variety of enforcement (e.g. criminal prosecution, civil sanctioning) and non-enforcement (e.g. self-regulation, accommodation) practices that help explain policy responses to transnational bribery. Comparing these responses in Germany and the UK is a useful empirical focus for examining the strengths and limitations of national enforcement approaches given both jurisdictions inhabit similar institutional contexts for corporate bribery e.g. relatively strong western European economies, fellow members of the EU/G8, subject to international conventions. The research incorporated a qualitative, comparative research strategy that involved semi-structured interviews, participant observation and bilingual document analysis. The research found that despite significant differences (e.g. centralised or decentralised systems, existence of corporate criminal liability, legal cultures), both UK and German anti-corruption authorities (i) face similar difficulties in enforcement as they are limited by their national jurisdictional boundaries and face several procedural, evidential, legal, financial and structural obstacles but (ii) are converging towards similar prosecution policies (e.g. negotiation of civil settlements for corporations). However, in both cases, evidence suggests enforcement and emerging self-regulatory practices are limited in relation to the anti-corruption actors’ own estimation of the problem. Therefore, (iii) the default position of the response is an accommodation of corporate bribery, even where the will to enforce is high.

This thesis maps a qualitative empirical investigation of the talk, dynamics and theological practice of Bible-study groups. Chapter 2 locates this in the field of practical theology, demonstrating only a rather tenuous link between practical theological reflection on biblical interpretation and the practice of churches. This clarifies the aim of the thesis: to investigate the practice of Bible-study groups, as a contribution to the practical theology of biblical interpretation. Chapters 3 and 4 consider the methodology of the investigation (including in operation), bringing together interests from ethnography and discourse analysis, in relation to a wider frame of action research. Chapters 5 to 7 of the thesis account for the field work of the research, carried out through meetings with the three Bible-study groups, recording of data, transcription, coding and further analysis. Analytical concerns include the speech-exchange patterns of group meetings and the linguistic resources employed, in order to investigate how interpretative activity is achieved in the interaction between group participants. A particular interest is in the way different voices interrupt each other, and re-contextualise the conversation but also contribute to dialogue, especially between authoritative interpretations and critical questions from participants' experience. Comparisons are drawn with discourse in medical contexts and of scientists. Chapters 8 and 9 offer a comparative study of the three groups: of group dynamics and of the dynamics of interpretative dialogue. They also provide a rich picture of the practice of Bible-study, which includes sensual, ritual, relational and theological dimensions, key to which is the critical recruitment of texts and other voices, in order to interpret the relationship between God, group participants and others. God is experienced as incarnate in this interaction but also transcends the dialogue. Chapter 10 concludes the thesis, identifying questions for further research and offering suggestions designed to enhance Bible-study practice.

This thesis is theoretically guided by the ethics of care and sociological debates over structure and agency. The key areas explored are: the types of employment practices that men adopt which take account of fathering and how fathers negotiate domestic labour and childcare. Semi-structured interviews with twenty-four fathers from two public and private sector employers, explored these issues. These gathered men's accounts of their fathering practices. In addition, five key actor interviews were conducted with representatives from organisations with policy interests in this area. It was found that fathers' employment practices were organisationally patterned. For instance, managerial fathers internalised employers' demands. Fathers in public sector roles accessed flexitime, but its use was restricted by continuous service provision. Fathers without access to formal flexible working policies made informal and occasional arrangements. It emerged that fathers' involvement in care changed in response to children's development. Playing and routine caregiving were important forms of engagement for fathers of younger children. In contrast, fathers of adolescents facilitated their independence whilst providing guidance and helping with homework. In relation to fathers' involvement in domestic labour a diverse typology was presented. This ranged from fathers who left routine tasks to partners, to “sharers” and lone fathers with responsibility for domestic routines. Fathers' felt that partners' standards could obstruct their participation, but this was related to the ownership of tasks. Fathers' care could be fostered through a gendered policy awareness, with arrangements moving beyond children's early years. Domestic labour could be given weight as an area of policy intervention.

Despite a growing body of literature concerned with the sustainability of sports mega-events, there is relatively little analysis examining environmental sustainability commitments at the Olympic Games, and the environmental impact of the Olympics on the host communities. Research to date has lacked an explicit theoretical underpinning and in particular, the use of theoretical perspectives from the sociology of the environment literature to analyse the intersections between the economy, the environment and locality at the Olympic Games, and the environmental impact of the Games on the host communities. This thesis develops a theoretical framework that combines elements of a „Critical/Marxist‟ perspective, Næss‟ philosophical conceptualisation of „shallow‟ and „deep‟ ecology, and Ecological Modernisation Theory (EMT) in order to better understand the relationship between the environment, sustainability and the Olympic Games. Adopting a three-phase qualitative approach which utilises interviews, focus groups and an analysis of secondary sources, the thesis investigates three main topic areas pertaining to environmental sustainability and the Olympics: the International Olympic Committee‟s (IOC) recent commitment to the environment; local governmental perceptions of the environmental impact of the London Games; and local residents‟ and businesses‟ perceptions of the environmental impact of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The research critically assesses the „shallow‟ ecology/light green and EMT perspective historically adopted by Olympic Games organisers and the power relations that have helped to shape this. Within the context of London 2012 there was a perceived shift in priorities as the Games drew closer with the prioritisation of economic concerns and corporate interests over those of local people. Most notably, the ambiguity of „sustainability‟ was identified as a key factor which influenced local perceptions of the environmental impact of the Games. This original theoretically and empirically informed study makes a contribution to the growing body of research on sustainability and the Games, and to our understanding of the environmental impact of the Olympics on host communities.

This thesis explores the asset pricing implication of higher moments of return distributions on the UK stock market. It is found that in a market populated by risk-averse, prudent and temperate investors, firms whose returns exhibit negative coskewness (CSK) or positive cokurtosis (CKT) yield higher premia relative to counterpart firms with positive coskewness and negative cokurtosis respectively. Furthermore, results show that CSK and CKT are genuinely priced in the UK stock markets and outperform the covariance risk, size, value, and momentum factors in explaining the expected cross-sectional variation in asset returns. It is further found that a theoretically motivated, higher co-moment asset pricing model has a significant explanatory ability over the cross-section of CSK and CKT portfolio returns. A CSK- and CKT-augmented CAPM performed better in explaining the cross-sectional variation in expected returns as compared to empirically-motivated asset pricing models, such as the three-factor model (Fama-French 1996) and the four-factor model (Carhart 1997). In particular, a unit factor loading of CSK risk yields a statistically significant monthly premium of 0.22% (2.64% p.a.) across CSK portfolios and a unit factor of CKT risk 0.15% (1.8% p.a.) across the CKT portfolios. Motivated by the significance of CSK and CKT, this thesis also explores whether higher co-moments of asset returns can explain the profitability of a number of investment strategies; size, value, asset growth, accruals, dividend yield, net stock issue and momentum. In particular, this study shows that in the UK stock market, firms with low asset growth and net-stock issue have higher subsequent stock returns compared to counterpart firms with high asset growth and net-stock issue. Furthermore, the performance of the above investment strategies continues even if their portfolio returns are adjusted for risk factors such as size, value, and momentum of the Fama-French three-factor (1993) and Carhart four-factor (1997) models. The introduction of CSK and CKT factor loadings into commonly used asset pricing models shows a slight decrease in the profitability of size, value, asset growth and net-stock issue but returns remain significantly positive. However, CSK and CKT factor loadings have no impact on the profitability of momentum, dividend yield and accruals strategies. Overall, risk-adjusted performance of the above investment strategies remains intact in the UK stock markets during 1990 to 2008. The use of higher moments is suggested when exploring risk-adjusted returns.

Many different technologies are available to support teaching and learning in schools and their role is a key topic for debate in contemporary education (Selwyn, 2011b; Lankshear & Knobel, 2006; Collis & Moonen, 2001). Evidence shows that although some technologies are adopted and used successfully within schools, others are not (Straub, 2009). This study was conducted in a technologically-rich secondary school where first-order barriers (Ertmer, 1999) were not expected to affect the use of ICT, and yet there are problems with the adoption of ICT across the curriculum. This study has followed two separate but connected lines of inquiry – how second-order barriers affect the integration and use of ICT and how ICT is used in practice. This includes the roles of the teacher, students and managers in terms of delivery and provision (Moyle, 2006; Eynon, 2010; Wastiau et al, 2013), with a particular focus on the implementation and use of a VLE and e-portfolios for end of Key Stage 3 assessment (Stefani et al, 2007). Following a case study methodology, the research investigated the use of technology within a large secondary school in the South West of England. Data were gathered through the use of VLE logs, questionnaires and group interviews with Year 9 students, questionnaires and interviews with staff, and document analysis of lesson planning and the e-portfolios created by these students. The data shows that, despite good technology provision and access to resources, ICT use is variable within and between departments and despite the SLT vision for student-centred use of ICT, its use is mainly teacher-led. Issues such as how differences in understanding and interpretation of policy between SLT and teaching staff affect ICT use in practice and how teachers’ beliefs affect their practice are identified. By considering the role of second-order barriers on the integration of technology, the research examines the ‘messy realities’ of technology use in education. The key findings show the importance of the SLT and how their practice is central to implementing their vision for ICT use, the importance of the ICT department in supporting development of practice across the curriculum and how teachers’ beliefs about students’ home use of ICT affects their practice.

Background: UK welfare reform endeavours to reduce out-of-work health-related benefit receipt and support people into employment. Such reforms assume that work is good for health and that targeting welfare-to-work interventions at individuals will result in moves from benefit receipt to employment. The research in this thesis tackles two questions associated with UK welfare reforms: (1) Is work always good for health? And, (2) Is the focus on motivating individual Incapacity Benefit (IB) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) recipients appropriate, or are there barriers to return to work that this approach cannot address? Methods: Three approaches were taken to address the aims: 1) Longitudinal analysis, using Generalised Estimating Equations, of the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study (Twenty-07), to explore transitions from worklessness to employment. The analyses looked at both employment and health outcomes (self-rated and anxiety or depression) and took account of the psychosocial quality of the jobs obtained. 2) A systematic review of qualitative studies that explored the barriers and/or facilitators to employment from the perspective of people out of work because of health conditions or disabilities. A qualitative synthesis, using meta-ethnography, of the included studies was conducted. 3) A primary study utilising in-depth interviews with IB and ESA recipients, General Practitioners (GPs), and Employment Advisors (EAs) in Glasgow, to gain more understanding about barriers and facilitators to work and to fill the gaps identified in the qualitative synthesis. The interviews were analysed using Framework Analysis methods. Findings: Findings from Twenty-07 data showed that only 6.6% of those out of work because of ill health returned to work within the follow-up period. After a transition from worklessness to employment those in low-quality jobs had higher odds of poor health than those who moved to high-quality jobs, even after taking account of prior health. Those who remained workless had higher or similar odds of poor health as those who had moved to low-quality jobs. Nine studies were synthesised in the systematic review. Participants in the studies identified similar barriers and/or facilitators to return to work. Barriers and facilitators were related to health, workplace factors, the need to change job, financial issues, life stage and social circumstance, support, and self-construct. Synthesis and interpretation of the studies led to themes that were then further explored. These themes were: the complex pathway of return to work; competing participant and author narratives, and a difficulty of interpretation; the distinction between expected and experienced barriers to work; differences in barriers and facilitators by participant characteristics; job quality; and work-role centrality, adaptation, and financial risk. Seventeen IB or ESA recipients, six GPs, and six EAs participated in the qualitative study. Their barriers and facilitators to work confirmed the findings of the systematic review. All IB/ESA recipients had multiple and interacting barriers that were not limited to their motivation but also related to wider labour-market and social-context issues. Those with complex social situations and mental health conditions had lower expectation that they would successfully return to work. All participant groups were concerned that the policies of the welfare system did not match up with the labour-market or the social context. Conclusions: A very low proportion of those out of work because of ill health transitioned into employment. This is concerning because current policy is to reduce the number of people receiving IB and ESA. The research showed that there is a significant challenge to support this group into employment and that policies focusing on motivating individuals may miss important barriers to return to work. There appear to be health benefits from return to work; however, job quality is important, and the potential for health improvement is limited if the job is of poor quality. Supporting people into work has the potential to improve health, but more effort is required to determine how to improve support and target where it is most needed. Further research is necessary to explore the results of the current welfare reform i.e. whether IB/ESA recipients move into work, what helps them do so, and whether they experience a change in health.

Widespread concerns about obesity and overweight, have led to a focus on children’s diets, with government responses emphasising family responsibility for the provision of healthy food and for nurturing independent food choices. In parallel, the health promoting school approach attempts to reinforce messages within communities and families. Despite the potential for promoting consistent messages across settings, understanding the interface between families and schools remains limited, with a failure to appreciate the way in which food is embedded within social relationships and contexts. This study aimed to explore the family-school interface. It focused on the recursive interplay between agency and structure, employing ‘practices’ as a way of exploring how agency transforms structure, while also attending to taken-for-granted meanings of food as expressions of the structure. Case study methodology was employed with eleven families across three communities in South Wales to explore the perspectives of parents (n=18) and children (n=18). Audio-diaries together with interviews unpacked tacit understandings behind food practices, which are often difficult to articulate. Interviews with primary school heads and teachers (n=5) explored schools' experiences of family-school interactions. This thesis adds new understandings of the family-school interface, illustrating shifting discourses of control as individuals occupy multiple contexts at different times. These revealed dilemmas in the accomplishment of control: providing children with a balanced diet alongside the practicalities of parental-work, while attending to individualised food preferences. Structure-agency perspectives also uncovered multiple layers of meaning attached to food, emphasising the need to take account of the social context within which control is navigated. Targeted recommendations are considered. For schools, suggestions include improved partnership working with children and parents in order to overcome existing inherent tensions. For families, recommendations acknowledge the wider significance of food beyond nutrition, appreciating the contexts and constraints of family life. Policy recommendations relate to food availability, affordability, and changes to employment structures.

Background: From personal experience, plus a brief overview of literature, the researcher surmised that the potentially traumatic impact on patients of losing their analyst to terminal illness/sudden death had received scant attention from the psychoanalytic community. Listening directly to patients (as opposed to analysts) had been particularly overlooked. Literature Review: This initial hypothesis was confirmed/refined by this Review: it was felt that focusing on the account that patients gave of their experience would be the most appropriate means of eliciting information. Knowledge that would assist the psychoanalytic community to most effectively ensure the wellbeing of future patients. Methodology: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) seemed to most appropriately meet the aims of this research. 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted, allowing the flexibility in questioning that is an inherent characteristic of IPA. For consistency collecting, transcribing and analysing of data were undertaken by the researcher. Accepted ethical procedures were followed. Findings and Discussion: Five Superordinate Themes emerged based on 21 Major Themes – Changes in Analysis before Termination; Aftercare in Relation to Outcomes; The Inherent Nature of Analysis inc. Requirements of Analytic Training; Emotional/Psychic Effects; Experience Utilised. Within these 5 Superordinate Themes issues/dilemmas were identified that were detrimentally affecting, in some cases seriously, patients’ wellbeing. The majority of these issues had been identified, in some form, over the past 50 years but not adequately acknowledged/acted upon. Some new issues emerged, including problems that are occurring in the interface between formal executors and sick analysts. Suggestions were given that might be helpful for the profession to take forward. Conclusions: The researcher has separated out the variables that appear to affect the outcome for patients into those that are largely ‘fixed’ as opposed to those that are ‘more malleable’ and urges the psychoanalytic community to act speedily on the latter.