Libya is still in the early stages of its financial liberalisation and reform following eleven years of political chaos and nearly three decades of central planning control. However, it is advancing as a result of the removal of UN and US sanctions during the last few years, and there are signs of rapid development. Despite these advancements, no study has been found which explores the readiness of the Libyan financial market for the establishment of a stock market. This thesis was undertaken to develop a conceptual framework for a research model with a specific focus on the Libyan economic reform programme and the development of the Libyan stock market between 1999 and 2008. The empirical study investigates the determinants of economic reform and stock market performance within the Libyan economy utilising data from three different sources and a multi-method approach. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the entire target population of the Libyan financial market, banking sector and a number of companies. A total of 330 questionnaires were distributed and of these, 203 were returned completed and usable, a response a rate of 61.5 per cent. Fourteen semistructured interviews were held with managers in a subset of companies, selected via a stratified sample of respondents to the self-administered questionnaires. The third method of data collection used financial market data over the period 1995-2006 from 42 emerging market countries. This data was analysed to examine whether best practice from emerging stock markets is transferable to the Libyan context. As a result, this study provides some knowledge that might usefully be generalised to other developing countries, particularly to those with a similar economic structure. The primary contribution of this study lies in the fact that it is the first attempt to study the impact of stock market development on the economic growth process of a specific-country experience and evaluates the success of the economic reform programme and Libya’s readiness to complete its transition to a market-based economy. The key findings are; first, the economic reform programme variables have an impact upon various features of the stock market performance variables within a linear regression model; second, stock market development has a significant effect on economic growth, and this effect remains strong even after controlling for banking sector and other control variables using a growth model; third, although the evidence largely supports the view that there is a stable, long-term equilibrium relationship between the evolution of the stock market and the evolution of the economy, it provides no support for the view that the stock market is a leading sector in the process of Libya’s economic development. The evidence supports the view that the relation between stock market development and economic growth in emerging economies is bi-directional. The findings describe that the stock market and the banking sector in Libya in particular and emerging economy in general are complementary rather than substitutes in providing financial services to the economy. This study seeks to make an original contribution to knowledge on the academic and practical levels as one of the first attempts at empirically investigating the impact of an economic reform programme on stock market performance in an emerging economy. The research represents an applied study of a type that has not appeared elsewhere, and the framework offered may therefore not only be appropriate to Libya as a case study, but also to other countries in similar circumstances. The research provides an important introduction to this area and has attempted to explore its significance for both the economy and business. This research adds to the existing body of literature regarding development and application of a series of models of economic reform programmes, stock market performance and economic growth in a developing country. Additionally, brief recommendations are offered regarding potential useful directions for future research arising from the conclusions of this research. These develop into a strategic framework for the improvement of an economic reform programme and stock market performance.

The thesis explores the 'lived experiences' of egg share donors in the United Kingdom (UK) and in particular, has examined the extent to which they are able to consent to becoming an egg share donor. Specific emphasis was given to exploring the factors that motivated their decision-making in view of the criticism egg sharing schemes have met with since their emergence in the early 1990s. Egg sharing provides women who are themselves undergoing assisted reproduction treatment (ARTs) with the opportunity to share their eggs with up to two recipients(s). The donor‘s treatment costs are subsidised by the recipient(s). Thus some women are able to access cheaper, expeditious treatment. Advocates perceive the schemes as 'win-win'. Conversely, critics challenge egg sharing on both psychosocial and ethical grounds. The thesis conveys the accounts provided by a self-selected sample of seventeen women recruited via two online infertility support websites and a charitable organisation. Hermeneutic phenomenology and the voice-centered relational method (VCRM) of analysis were employed to assess women‘s motivations to donate and their ability to provide informed consent. Four asynchronous e-mail interviews and data collected from an online self-completion questionnaire were utilised in order to enable the experiences of egg share donors to be revealed. Drawing extensively upon philosophical, social anthropological, social philosophical, sociological, and social psychological literature, the study demonstrates the complexities associated with the decision to egg share within the context of the UK regulatory framework for ART provision. This includes existing empirical accounts of egg sharing. The thesis describes how it is one of the first to examine the experiences of egg share donors since the removal of donor anonymity in the UK in 2005. Significantly, it makes an original contribution to current understandings of the experiences, motivations, ability to consent, and post-treatment implications for egg share donors.

This thesis documents a qualitative study investigating common patterns that cut across the behaviours of white, heterosexual, working and middle-class men. Previous literature has reported that men’s behaviour during their micro social relations is often risky and potentially harmful. This study provides an important contribution to knowledge regarding the motivation behind these patterns of behaviour. The research is rooted within a critical realist philosophical perspective. Of key importance are the concepts of a dominant masculine norm, as a pre-established representation of social reality, common patterns of men’s behaviour, as occurring during relations between men, and social class dynamics, specifically amongst the working and middle-class. Data were gathered from four focus groups, two with working-class men and two with middle-class men, and from one to one interviews with the same respondents. Template analysis was used to thematically organize and analyse the recorded accounts. Masculinity emerged in the data as a dominant, socially pre-established representation which establishes the transcendence of vulnerability as an esteemed form of men’s behaviour. Following the data, masculinity constitutes but one of a multitude of men’s social identities; with men gravitating to the dominant masculine norm within those contexts when they perceive their status as ‘masculine’ to be under threat. In this sense, men and masculinity emerged as separate constructs, with some men and women having the freedom to gravitate to both masculine and feminine gender norms. Men, during relations between men, police one another’s gravitations to the dominant masculine norm, ostracising those who expose vulnerability. As such, all-male domains emerged as the main context in which men demonstrate their masculinity. The data suggested that patterns of subordination and domination are common among groups of white, heterosexual men with similar social and material resources. The subordination of women and less valued varieties of masculinity emerged as being a by-product, rather than a direct objective.

As diversity in UK Higher Education Business Schools increases, the focus on ethnically diverse student achievement, experience, and attainment becomes prominent. This thesis investigates the role of Business School academics and Business School institutions in shaping a pedagogical process that is culturally responsive, to support the changing needs and expectations of ethnically diverse students. In order to achieve this the thesis introduces the five-pillar framework, which has been specifically designed and developed to help academics develop consistent pedagogy for ethnically diverse students. In order to investigate this in more detail, the research undertook a constructionism approach and employed the use of methodological tools including interviews, memoing and document analysis. By the end of the data collection process twenty-two rich interviews had been collected. The findings of the research where quite clear that the development of pedagogy is inconsistent across academia and training support and guidance is needed to help academics develop their skills and confidence in creating pedagogy for culturally diverse students. In addition, it was identified that many institutions could provide more support in creating policies and procedures which reflect the changing reality of ethnic diversity in UK higher education. Institutions could also do more in supporting academic staff with finding a balance between research, teaching and administration and hence allow for more time to create culturally responsive pedagogy. Finally, this research advocates the implementation of a cultural consciousness in UK higher education which moves away from culturally responsive teaching and towards culturally responsible teaching.

Introduction: Spirituality is a concept central to healthcare practice, and in particular to occupational therapy. As a profession, influenced from early Judeo-Christian religious beginnings, occupational therapy has retained yet translated this as a commitment to holistic, person-centred practice. Occupational therapy holds the uniqueness of the individual, and meaningful and purposeful expressions of health and well-being through occupation, as central to professional practice. Set in the context of 21st century healthcare, this thesis explored how occupational therapists (n=4) working in the English National Health Service (NHS) embedded spirituality into daily practice. Methods: Two studies were undertaken, first a structured literature review and concept analysis, applying the method outlined by Walker & Avant (2011), to conceptualise spirituality as described in occupational therapy practice. Second, a qualitative study was undertaken, underpinned by an ethnographic approach, using participant-as-observer observation and follow up interviews to explore how occupational therapists embedded spirituality into everyday practice. Framework approach was used to guide analysis and interpret the large volume of unstructured textual data. Findings: Despite the difficulties defining spirituality occupational therapists appeared able to apply the underpinning core values and philosophy of the profession and embed spirituality in their practice. Practitioners found it more meaningful to describe spirituality in terms of how they applied the concept in, and through, practice by comprehending the values, needs and concerns of the individual as opposed to a consistent definition. Occupational therapists engaged with spirituality by concerning themselves with supporting patients experiencing vulnerability due to disruption in their health and well-being. This support was achieved by the occupational therapist uncovering the individual needs of the patient and through delivering person-centred care by explicitly addressing spirituality. The scope to embed spirituality was on occasion limited by organisational and contextual factors that restricted the potential to practice fully. Achieving organisational targets by adopting time constrained interventions was perceived as having a particularly limiting impact on embedding spirituality in practice. Conclusion: The Embedding Spirituality into Occupational Therapy (ESpiOT) model which emerged from the findings of this study is offered as a tool to guide practice, education and research into how spirituality is, and could be, embedded into occupational therapy practice.

This research study endeavours to offer a better understanding of the relationship between performance measurement systems (PMS) and managerial performance in large and medium-sized manufacturing companies in a developing country, taking into account the role of cognitive and motivational mechanisms. Drawing on an extensive review of relevant literature in management accounting and psychology, a framework is developed to investigate the possible effect of comprehensive PMS on individual outcomes comprising job satisfaction and managerial performance through cognitive and motivational factors, including role clarity, psychological empowerment, mental model confirmation and mental model building. Included in the analysis are the potential different effects of financial and non-financial performance measures and rewards. Primary data were collected by means of a purposely constructed survey questionnaire from 122 strategic business unit managers at large and medium-sized manufacturing companies, from diverse industrial sectors in Libya. In addition to descriptive analysis, inferential statistical tools are used to investigate direct and indirect relationships between PMS and managerial performance. To fully comprehend the mediating effects of cognitive and motivational factors in these relationships, the most advanced and up-to-date tool - the Hayes’s (2013) macro called Process through the SPSS package – was applied to examine a total of twelve hypothesised mediated relationships, as well as to determine and report the result of measuring the effect size (i.e. the magnitude of an effect) related to these relationships. It was established from the descriptive analysis that the comprehensiveness of PMS is significantly high in the participating companies, noting that these companies use a mix of financial and non-financial performance measures and rewards, albeit putting slightly less emphasis on the importance of the latter. The study indicated that there are significant positive effects on the outcome variables of job satisfaction and managerial performance in the direct relationships involving comprehensive PMS, financial and nonfinancial performance measures and rewards. Interestingly, however, non-financial performance measures and rewards seem to have more impact on both outcome variables than the financial ones. Moreover, role clarity is also found to have a direct positive relationship with psychological empowerment, as does job satisfaction with managerial performance. Although each of the four cognitive and motivational variables explored in this study has a mediating effect on the relationship between comprehensive PMS and the outcome variables, large effect size was achieved only through role clarity and psychological empowerment by testing the indirect effect of comprehensive PMS on job satisfaction. The other indirect relationships of comprehensive PMS account for a medium effect size only. With regard to the indirect effects of both financial and non-financial performance measures and rewards, the results were also significant, except that, as with the direct relationships, non-financial performance measures and rewards seem to have more impact on both outcome variables than the financial ones. The largest effect size here is obtained from the indirect relationship between non-financial performance measures and rewards and job satisfaction through psychological empowerment; all other effects were medium. Being the first study of its kind on the complexities of PMS in companies operating in a rapidly changing emerging economy, this study contributes to knowledge by combining and testing four cognitive and motivational variables in one comprehensive model, distinguishing between various indirect effects by succeeding in separating and comparing between the effects of financial and non-financial performance measures and rewards and precisely measuring effect size of mediator factors Despite its novel and comprehensive approach, the study’s limitations are acknowledges and this leads to constructive suggestions for future research on a multi-faceted topic that needs exploring further in both developed and emerging economy environments.

The burden placed on society as a result of musculoskeletal disorders is substantial, requiring effective management especially in an occupational context. Recent occupational health guidelines recommend addressing potentially detrimental psychosocial factors in the management of workers sick-listed with musculoskeletal disorders, but the specific influence on absence from occupational, as well as clinical, psychosocial risk factors (termed 'blue' and 'yellow' flags) remains ill understood. In addition, the related principles of contemporary occupational health guidelines recommendations, seeking to reduce return-to-work times and improve work retention, have not been formally tested. A four-year study was carried out in two phases: Phase 1 comprised a workforce survey of a large multi-site company in the UK (n=7,838). Data on clinical and occupational psychosocial factors were collected, along with data on self-reported symptoms. Absence data were collected, both retrospectively and prospectively. Phase 2 was a quasi-experimental, controlled trial of an occupational guidelines-based intervention for workers with musculoskeletal disorders. Occupational health advisors delivered the experimental intervention over a 12-month period at two sites (n=1,435), with three matched sites acting as controls, delivering management as usual (n=1,483). Absence data were collected for both experimental and control sites over a 12-month follow up period, and psychosocial data were collected from the experimental sites at baseline and follow-up. The results confirmed an association between the psychosocial work environment and musculoskeletal disorders. Psychosocial risk factors (blue and yellow flags) predicted the likelihood of future absence, but not its duration; routine psychosocial screening to predict return-to-work does not appear to be feasible. Organisational obstacles (black flags) were identified that compromised the experimental intervention, and this precluded reliable conclusions regarding the effects of its specific components. Nevertheless, from a pragmatic perspective, implementation of certain guidelines principles (generating a supportive network with 'all players onside') was a successful strategy for reducing absence due to musculoskeleta'l disorders.

The Social-Democratic Federation has been ill-served by historians, dismissed as an irrelevance or an alien intrusion into British politics. This thesis attempts to provide a balanced and coherent account of the SDF's history, emphasisi: regional as well as national developments to demonstrate that until the early years of the twentieth century, the party posed a genuine alternative to the supposed 'mainstream' development of the ILP/Labour Party. The Federation was far from the monolithic, centralised organisation, dominated by Hyndman, thatis often depicted. A study of the branches in Lancashire and Yorkshire reveals regional diversity and demonstrates that they enjoyed considerable autonomy, but although this autonomy allowed branches in areas like Lancashire to adapt to their environment with considerable success it also produced a party prone to internal divisions over strategy. Consequently it failed to develop consistent policies. This proved a fatal handicap at a crucial period in the history of the British Socialist movement, during the formative years of the Labour Party. The SDF was marginalised, preoccupied with its own internal debates at a time when it could have exercised considerable influence inside Labour's ranks. It never satisfactorily resolved the debate over which course to pursue, that of reform or revolution, until the outbreak of the First World War brought the divisioi within the party to a head, which ultimately caused its dissolution. Nevertheless its eventual demise should not obscure its achievements which, as is often the fate of pioneers, remain largely unsung. It educated and agitated; it played a leading role in the formation of both ILP branches and Labour Representation Committees; it produced a generation of working-class intellectuals and militants; it championed the cause of the unemployed. Most important of all, the SDF was responsible for re-introducing Socialism to the British political agenda.

No description available.

The view of making sense of a person’s reality through the stories they tell about their lives, developed by Bruner (1991) and McAdams (1993) is the theoretical perspective used to reveal what offenders’ life-stories uncover about their offending action. Interviews with 63 incarcerated offenders and 90 non-incarcerated males’ explored three life-episodes: a Significant Event (SE), crime or deviant act, and life as a film. Narrative Roles Questionnaire (NRQ) and demographic information was also collected. The LAAF framework for eliciting and interpreting life-story narratives was implemented. The LAAF is developed from psychological literature from different aspects of narrative focusing on three primary areas: McAdams (e.g. 1993) life-stories, Bamberg’s (2009) identity in narrative, and Sykes and Matza’s (1957) neutralisation theory. The first section of analysis focuses on SE and film narratives. Firstly, incarcerated and non-incarcerated descriptions of SE and film, for each of the LAAF content variables, were compared employing Chi Square analysis. Findings show the incarcerated group having more negative items identified in their life-episodes. This difference was consistent in SE and film narratives. Secondly, SSA-I explored the thematic structure of the LAAF variables for the incarcerated and non-incarcerated individuals. A thematic region within the incarcerated SSA-I plot termed ‘contamination script’ was found in all of the incarcerated offenders narratives, for SE and film, but in only a small proportion of the non-incarcerated narratives. Thirdly, archetypal themes were identified in the SSA-I configuration showing distinct regions of themes relating to Youngs and Canter’s (2011; 2012) classifications of hero, victim, revenger and professional for the SE and film narrative. Findings demonstrated psychological consistency with dominant narrative roles across the two life-episodes. The second section focuses on crime and deviant life-episodes. Youngs and Canter (2012) identified narrative themes in offenders’ NRQ responses. First, SSA-I configuration confirmed narrative themes in the incarcerated and non-incarcerated responses to NRQ items. Principal Component Analysis revealed psychological components of emotion, identity, and cognitive interpretations in NRQ items. Secondly, crimes and deviant acts were differentiated using: property, person, and sensory categories; a psychological classification system, based on Bandura’s (1986, 1999) theory of incentives. Multivariate analyses of the NRQ responses provided loose support for different narrative themes underpinning different crime types. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed a number of psychological themes of emotion, preparedness, and blame present in both incarcerated and non-incarcerated narratives; differences were exhibited by Feshbach’s (1964) instrumental and expressive dichotomy. Similar dominant narrative roles were exhibited by the incarcerated and non-incarcerated crime and deviant episodes; differences resided in the contamination script and level of instrumentality. Psychological consistency, in different life-episodes, demonstrates theoretical contributions. Methodological contributions are recognised by the success of the LAAF framework for exploring criminals’ narratives. The application of a narrative perspective provides a tool for researching criminal action in a way that makes sense to those closest to the action – the criminal.