This text demonstrates that my work on young people who are exploited through prostitution and young people involved in problematic drug use in Britain at the end ofthe twentieth and beginning ofthe twenty-first century constitutes a significant contribution to advancing our knowledge ofthese inter-related issues. The text demonstrates that, in Britain, at the end of the twentieth and beginning ofthe twenty-first century, young people exploited through prostitution and young people involved in problematic drug use share in common lived experiences in poverty at the margins of society. The common theme demonstrated here is that, as a result ofthe poverty generated by social and economic policies adopted in Britain in response to gIobalisation, 'street cultures' play an important role in the development and maintenance of survival strategies adopted by socially marginalised and economically disadvantaged young people. The discussion argues that these cultures perform important functions in time and space for socially and economically marginal young people. They do so in different ways for different young people. At the same time, however, they serve to further entrench their social and economic exclusion and disadvantage.

The post-conflict nature of the Kosovo society and economy led to an urgent need to address educational policy, specifically to raise the quality of the reconstituted formal schooling system. To address this priority major foreign aid and government subsidies were targeted at both the demand (students) and supply (school) side. One of the major contributors, the World Bank, aimed to improve the supply side by allocating development grants to schools in order to improve student performance. In this thesis the following four research questions are addressed: how appropriate are current evaluation strategies of education policy initiatives in developing countries, what has been the impact of school development grants on student dropout, attendance and student attainment, what are determinants of pupil dropout, attendance and attainment and what are the implications of the answers to the above questions for the reform of education policies in developing economies and the evaluation of policy initiatives. This is the first study that critically reviews previous attempts at evaluating educational initiatives in Kosovo and then employs econometric methods to measure the impact of school development grants on educational outcomes. A quasi experimental approach is utilised and comparisons made between schools with treatment and schools without treatment. A similar study for Cambodia serves as a reference for our research, though we have extensively refined the approach taken in that study. The empirical evidence presented in this thesis suggests at best only a marginal positive impact of these policy initiatives on educational outcomes. More specifically there is some evidence of reduced dropout but no effect is found on student attendance and attainment. These findings are consistent with the results of recent reviews of the literature on this type of policy initiative. This study seeks to act as an example of best practice which can be followed in future evaluations of policy initiatives in countries like Kosovo. It draws important conclusions about the need at the policy design stage to formulate appropriate evaluation strategy and to address related issues about data quality, collection and analysis.

This thesis aims to examine the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius, an ecumenical body that promotes relations between various Christian denominations. Despite being founded on the grounds to promote relations and dialogue between the Anglicans and the Orthodox, it has widened this scope, introducing new churches in its life, conferences, publications and history. In the first and second chapters of this thesis the first eighty five years (1927-2012) of its history are explored, identifying the Society’s strengths and weaknesses in achieving its objectives, whilst studying its theological approaches to the reunion work, understanding that this body has been a progressive fellowship, theologically and ecclesiastically. The third chapter investigates the life and the theological, philosophical and historical views of Nicolas Zernov, who had as a life goal to foster relations between the churches, whilst also promoting Orthodox and Russian topics to a Western audience. The final chapter examines two themes by two important members of the Fellowship, Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia’s ideas on deaconesses and women priests and former Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams’ views on icons. These two topics are interesting and current for the continuation of the relations between the Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion, trying to further understand each other in order to eventually achieve what many in the Fellowship profess and what the Bible promotes, ‘that they all may be one’ (John 17:21). The conclusion of the thesis assesses the work of the Fellowship, whilst also looking into the post 2012 objectives and achievements of the Fellowship and the future goals of the Society. Therefore, this paper is a quest for truth, a quest for theology and a quest for unity.