This thesis examines the concept of Agencification against the backdrop of Public Sector Reforms in Nigeria in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. These reforms had components and elements of New Public Management (NPM). New Public Management ideas of public sector management and governance have been influential in reform strategies across the world since the 1980s. Notwithstanding its popularity, New Public management approaches and methods have attracted controversies in areas of practical applications and ‘context’ domain. Evaluation of New Public Management reforms in Developing and Developed Countries have produced mixed results, somewhat a hazy picture which cannot be categorised as either a success or failure (Overman et al. 2015). NPM, as a policy development tool and management initiative, raises more questions than answers. An assessment of NPM and public governance models by academics and public policy analysts have generated phrases expressions such as ‘implementation habitats’, ‘cultural homogeneity’, ‘unstructured complexity’, ‘matrix of governance’, choreographies of governance ‘appropriateness milieu’ etc. (Lieberthal, 1995; Swyngedouw, 2001; Jessop, 2004), to describe the rather complex nature of public sector reforms. The main aim of this thesis is to understand the behaviour of an agency whose original design is inspired by the New Public Management (NPM) doctrines. The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Nigeria is the selected case study in this research. The objectives of the research are tied to the various narratives on NPM reforms and Agencification deliberations like the drivers, accountability, transparency, doctrines of autonomy, structural disaggregation, contractualisation, ministerial relationship, cross functionality, independence and governance (e.g. state- society relationship). In the context of Nigeria, the implementation of NPM inspired reforms elicits several distinct analyses given the volatile politico-administrative structures and the oscillation between political regimes and systems, e.g. parliamentary (1963-1966) to Military (First Junta,1966-1979, Second Junta 1983-1999) and to Presidential (1979-1983, Interim Presidential administration 23rd June1993-17th Nov. 1993, 1999-Present). This research adopts a single case study research design and qualitative data collection methods. The research findings offer a unique insight into New Public Management Reforms in Nigeria and this enables us to draw some tentative generalisations about the organisational behaviour of public agencies in the context of a developing country such as Nigeria. The research unveils an interesting finding that the TETFund does, to a large extent, display some form of autonomy. In contrast to what existing literature emphasis on problems and obstacles to NPM implementation in developing countries, e.g. corruption and political decay; the TETFund operates as a semi-autonomous organisation- in a political context which provides formidable challenges to an NPM agency.

This study explores the meanings that older people attach to their participation in group arts activities throughout their lives. Existing literature on arts engagement and ageing is limited, especially in the UK context, and does little to reveal the complex factors that shape people’s participation. Much existing research approaches the subject from an arts and health perspective, meaning that issues for older people who are actively engaged in their communities are largely unexplored, and their voices are absent. Reflecting a narrative approach, and the need to adopt a life-course perspective, this study involves qualitative interviews with 24 participants who have connections with a case-study town in the English Midlands. Participants were recruited through a range of groups, including choirs, dancing, amateur dramatics, and arts and crafts groups. The study’s findings highlight the key roles played by people’s childhood experiences at home, school and church, in shaping arts engagement. There are important gender and class differences in participants’ experiences, and these in turn are significantly influenced by historical context. In challenging a common ‘deficit’ approach to research with older people, this study uses the concept of social capital as a basis for analysis. This emphasises the critical importance of people’s relationships and communities in shaping participation. Findings offer qualitative understandings of the ways in which older people experience and invest social capital through their group arts engagement, and of the dynamics of mutual support and reciprocity that can thus be seen in the lives of older people. The study concludes that social capital and people’s group arts engagement can be linked to the wider concept of ‘resourceful ageing’ which, in turn, contributes to a better understanding of the impact of life-course experiences on later life opportunities and challenges.

Central to successful therapeutic relationships in working with people with a learning disability is the language used by nurses; the discourses which they create and perpetuate; and resultant implications for practice. These are key issues in the current investigation. Employing retrospective data obtained during an action research programme carried out in a medium security forensic unit (MSU), it analyse types of discourse employed by the men who reside there and the staff. Part of the analysis shows having a learning disability as viewed through the eyes of the men themselves in a study extending over twenty months. Literary analyses on method, representations of learning disabilities, security and discipline, and forensic practice were carried out concurrently. Aims These are to (1) develop a critical and a post-modern approach to investigating given 'truths' about; the positives of learning disability; men with learning disability who offend; and the nature of forensic nursing: (2) develop a socio-political overview by applying critical discourse analysis to examine micro discourses and macro models associated with learning disabilities, related national and local policies, and models of nursing and disability: (3) combine the products of (1) and (2) to illustrate discourse, repertoires, paradoxes and practical ideologies justifying treatment in the MSU, revealing ideologies and beliefs regarding learning disabilities in this setting. Theory and method Foucault shows how linguistic constructions, written protocols and customary oral dialogue are used to create and sustain dominant views of 'reality' — and may also be used to challenge these. Retrospective data regarding six men living in the MSU and their staff [total N=17] were obtained using diaries, observational notes, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and evaluations originally collected as part of an action research project. National and local policies were also interrogated. Data were then reanalysed using critical discourse-analytic techniques. Outcomes Findings suggest that the men are viewed paradoxically. On one hand, they are seen negatively as different, dangerous, lacking ability: and staff as custodians restricting their rights. Paradoxically, affirmative discourse is also abundant — the men are talented and pleasant companions. Repertoires illustrate warm therapeutic relationships existing between the men and staff, demonstrating 'good nurse' characteristics expressed within a complex and restrictive environment, with humour playing an important part. These paradoxical repertoires reveal practical ideologies which defend forensic practice and justify treatment. Results have implications for the men (their views are acknowledged and disseminated); for practice through enhancing the evidence base; for nurse education through reflection on ideologies and justifications on which forensic practice is based.

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Introduction: Cervical cancer is 11th most common cancer among young women in the UK. Early detection through screening is thought to have resulted in a 75% decrease in cervical cancer and saves over 4,500 lives each year. However, recent years have seen a continuous decline in screening uptake, especially among young women. Scientific literature reviews show little research in this area. There is therefore a need for a qualitative exploration into the reasons and motives for low uptake of cervical cancer screening from service users’ viewpoints in England. This study explores factors that influence the participation and non-participation of young women aged 25-34 in the NHS cervical cancer screening programme in the Northeast. Findings are expected to inform age-specific interventions aimed at increasing participation. Methodology: Employing the qualitative approach of grounded theory (GT) enabled the development of an understanding of participants’ behaviours and factors affecting participation, including health beliefs and other associations that influence the decision to attend screening. Twenty-four research participants were recruited purposively and theoretically from universities in the Northeast and a community centre in Newcastle, as well as through the Northeast Call and Recall Centre in accordance with ethical approval. Data was collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews and a focus group session. The analysis was done using the GT techniques of the constant comparative method and theoretical sampling, aided by individual sorting and use of Mind Genius software. Findings: Awareness of cervical cancer prior to receiving a screening invitation was found to be relatively low and there was an overall lack of understanding of what the screening entails. There was no direct correlation between health beliefs and participation, however, health beliefs were influenced by cultural, environmental and social factors. The findings from both the interviews and the focus group led to the creation of three contextual categories, which are: health views relative to self; knowledge/awareness; and health service influences and practicalities associated with participation in cervical cancer screening. The three main categories and their subcategories were further conceptualized to create a core category, ‘sexual association’, made up of four elements: awareness, human issues, emotional attribution, and acceptability. Decisions to participate in the cervical cancer screening were largely influenced by the elements within ‘sexual association’, showing the psychosocial or cognitive impact of the association between sex and the cervical cancer screening procedure. Sexual association seemed to be a key influence in participation, with factors from the three main categories feeding into it. Discussion: All participants, particularly in relation to health protection, viewed the screening positively. Within the sexual association and practicality issues, there are facilitators and potential barriers. The psychosocial impact (fear, embarrassment, intrusiveness and taboos) of sex being associated with cervical screening, as well as practical issues, tends to dissuade people from participating in the screening. An explanatory model was developed to understand the factors influencing participation and non-participation and this has commonalities with the health belief model and social cognitive theory, which are typically used to explain health behaviours. This is one of the few studies investigating factors that affect the uptake of cervical cancer in the Northeast of England. The results obtained in this study are likely to have high importance to policy and practice, as they represent user-focused perspectives. Recommendations and implications for further research, policy, practice and education are provided.

This thesis demonstrates how literary and medical authors explored changing concepts of childbirth and reproductive medicine between the years 1737 and 1798. Considerable changes took place during this period that transformed birth from a social rite of passage into a medical event. Questions such as who and what was involved in reproduction, how childbirth was managed by individuals and communities, as well as how common understanding about these matters were reached, were brought to the fore in a way that they had never before been raised. A key means by which these ideas were communicated was through the rapidly developing print market with its overlapping interests in literature and medicine. Scholarship of medical humanities and medical history has grown exponentially in the last few decades, including that relating to the history of midwifery and the professionalization of what would become obstetric discourse, yet no study has brought together the theme of reproduction with trends in medical and literary publishing directly. The methodology employed here favours neither the literary nor historical, nor the feminist over the biographical, but rather brings these approaches together, drawing on medical theory of the period, trends in publishing, the rise of both women’s writing and the novel, as the texts considered require. The thesis widens the source pool consulted for purposes of developing a detailed understanding of the history of reproductive medicine. In doing so, the materials analysed reveal that both lay and professional authors found a range of creative ways of relating to changes in the medical management of pregnancy and childbirth, using personal stories and broader medical information, some of this illicit.

This research focuses on designing with indigenous communities. The use of design raises concerns in this context. Because of the aim to ‘improve’ lives and the emphasis on innovation, design approaches have the probability to colonise. As designers, we have to find ways to deal with such concerns. Approaches that do this within the context of indigenous communities are Sheehan’s respectful design and Tunstall’s culture-based innovation. Both approaches acknowledge that the community should benefit from projects. In this, the role of the designer becomes to spark the resourcefulness of the community members to find such benefit. However, neither approach states in pragmatic terms how such a space can be reached. Therefore, this research aims to: explore the dynamics of a respectful design space in co-creative and co-reflective encounters with indigenous communities; and to provide recommendations to reach such a space. The explorations were performed by introducing co-creative design methods during a case study with three indigenous communities. Some co-creative processes led to respectful design spaces, others did not. All processes were analytically studied by combining annotated portfolios and content analysis in timelines. The aim was to find patterns of dynamics essential for respectful design. The dynamics that arose were: 1) ownership through the type of design participation, 2) indicators of ownership, 3) the type of novel expressions made and 4) the type of material culture introduced. This led to contributions of this research being, firstly, a framework of a respectful design space and recommendations of how to reach such a space. Secondly, the concept of constellations of design initiatives, to understand respectful design in situ. Thirdly, the importance of inclusion of the community’s own material culture to facilitate dialogical spaces, and, finally, the analytical approach used to find the dynamics.

While there is significant interest in the lives of looked-after young people, little attention has been given to the way these young people are depicted onscreen. The aim of this study is to explore looked-after young people's perceptions of these fictional depictions and the impact these depictions have on them. Drawing on Freire’s seminal text, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I adopt a participatory approach throughout. Research methods involved viewing and discussing TV and film content depicting looked-after characters with a group of young people in care, followed by semi-structured interviews with group members. The data is analysed using a modified Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis protocol. My research highlights that these young people perceive onscreen fictional depictions to be “unrealistic” and negative. These depictions have significant impact, particularly in terms of “presumed media influence”, on how these young people perceive negative depictions to influence others. The young people offer a range of suggestions in terms of better depicting looked-after characters, drawing on their own experiences of care. My research also highlights the benefit of utilising a Freirean empowerment model, in terms of raising critical consciousness, for a group of looked-after young people.

This Thesis explores the nature and practice of ‘Ethical Hacking’. Ethical Hackers are individuals who use hacking skills, knowledge and techniques within legitimate authorised practice; they are employed to Hack. A Critical Realist methodological approach is employed in order to gain a qualitative understanding of a real phenomenon through a range of key informants who provide personal narratives within semi-structured interviews, commenting upon their own realities, and their perceptions of the field in which they work. A Bounded Rational Model of decision making reveals that decisions relating to involvement in criminality and individual Hacking events are made through a process of reasoning, of approximating the net gains and losses of a particular course of action, and that these decisions are ‘bounded’ by social norms, ethical approaches and the personal motivations and social circumstances within which the decisions and behaviour are framed.

This thesis explores how the nature of engagement in formal volunteering by older adults is shaped by experiences across the lifecourse and into older age. It utilises the Total Social Organisation of Labour theoretical approach to situate volunteering within the wider work context, looking at how volunteering is undertaken alongside other work commitments - paid and unpaid - at different times across the lifecourse. This synthesis of TSOL and lifecourse approaches allows this research to take a holistic approach to understanding volunteering by older adults; rather than approached in isolation, the nature of volunteering in older age is considered in context. Analysis of this was undertaken through qualitative semi-structured interviews with 26 older volunteers who engage with voluntary and community organisations in England. This data was used to develop further a heuristic proposed by Davis Smith and Gay (2005), which presents three categories of older volunteer lifecourse; constant, serial and trigger volunteers. In doing so, the differences in lifecourse experiences between individuals in the three categories are explored, and differences examined. This allows for the impulses to engage in formal volunteering in older age to be explored in light of these differences, and this thesis looks at how internal and external impulses to engage in formal volunteering are shaped by previous life experiences. It concludes by arguing that, while all volunteers have unique pathways to engagement and unique reasons for engaging, in understanding the different categories of older volunteer we can better understand how previous life experiences affect the ways in which older adults engage in formal volunteering.