This study describes research on an undergraduate part-time blended learning programme within the former Information Systems Institute at the University of Salford. This research is based on the interpretive philosophical paradigm and examines four cycles of action research. The question being addressed in this research is: ‘How can blended learning be used to deliver a programme?’ In answering this question three overlapping perspectives were taken, as outlined below: 1) Concept of blended e-learning: This research suggests that a better term for ‘blended learning’ is ‘blended e-learning’. A Fine Structure of the Blended E-learning Concept comprising learning and learning context is proposed. This concept incorporates three nodes associated with learning: face-to-face facilitated learning, e-facilitated learning and selfstudy; and three nodes associated with the learning context: learner, pedagogic beliefs and the programme related issues. 2) Pedagogy in blended e-learning: This thesis identifies the three Key Issues of Blended Elearning Pedagogy, these are: communication, social interaction and assessment. Drawing on these issues, the thesis extends the Skeleton of Conversation to the Blended E-learning Skeleton of Conversation. 3) Pragmatic implications of blended e-learning: Building on the Fine Structure of the Blended E-learning Concept, three areas of pragmatic concern are identified as the Bermuda Triangle of Blended E-learning. These are the learning related nodes: face-to-face facilitated learning, e-facilitated learning and self-study. Both students and staff on blended e-learning programmes need to be aware of the Bermuda Triangle of Blended E-learning. For students, the awareness can be integrated in the learning to learn element within the Blended Elearning Skeleton of Conversation; for staff, the awareness can be achieved through staff development.

UK Higher Education is considered to be at the forefront of equality and diversity policy and practice, yet its staff profile is characterised by persistent gender (among other types of) imbalance. This thesis investigates this paradox, focusing on the under-researched professional and support services staff, and particularly female-dominated administrative and secretarial occupations. In contrast to the few previous studies on the topic, this PhD project takes a discursive perspective to explore this paradox. In other words, it examines how university professional and support staff discursively account for the persistent gender imbalance in their sector, with a particular focus on how they talk themselves out of acting to change the status quo, i.e. on discursive barriers to change. A UK case-study university, whose staff gender-imbalanced profile is representative of the national picture, was selected as the epistemological site. Focus groups were conducted with female and male staff in administrative and secretarial occupations; interviews were carried out with managers who had progressed internally from administrative and secretarial roles, and with former employees of the case-study university. Data were analysed and interpreted from a critical realist, feminist perspective. Discourse analysis was conducted, with a specific focus on the functions, effects and implications of participants’ situated use of gendered discourses and discursive constructions, and co-production of patterned accounts. This thesis takes a much-needed step beyond deconstruction and critique of discursive barriers, towards promoting discursive reconstruction and change. It highlights participants’ potentially emancipatory uses of counter-discourses, and provides recommendations for discursive change.

This thesis examines the links developing between the universities and their regions in the globalising knowledge economy as observed in the UK. It examines institutional responses to two realms of policies, namely, higher education policy and regional development policy. The diversifying missions of universities, especially, the ‘third stream activities’ promoted by the UK government since the late 1990s, are set against the dynamics of the multi-level territorial governance structure emerging within Europe. The key question examined is: can the new institutional strategies of universities in order to compete in a globalising market be reconciled with the increased emphasis upon their regional engagement in various policy agendas? The tensions created here are explored through an examination of policy discourses, and by means of empirical evidence concerning different institutional networks in different spatial contexts, in particular, in the West Midlands Region and at the University of Birmingham. Applying Jessop’s strategic-relational approach to institutions, networks are conceptualised as strategic alliances creating the dynamics of regional innovation systems emerging within the nine English regions. The thesis argues that harnessing universities to the creation of regional advantage involves building networks of knowledge flows across different spatial scales at which the knowledge economy is organised.

There has been a significant shift in initial teacher training (ITT) and teachers’ professional development (PD) to include masters level (M level) study in recent years in England and this research investigates aspirations for the M level teaching profession, providing a rationale for the M level Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), a masters level profession and the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) and providing the perceptions of key stakeholders. Although these initiatives represented a major shift in the training and development of teachers, only limited consideration has been given to these areas, despite the plethora of research regarding ITT and teachers’ PD. Findings suggest that HEIs superimposed their own rationale for these initiatives, in addition to the imposed rationale. Findings also indicate that universities consider M level ITT and PD to have many benefits, but there was much scepticism regarding the MTL. Furthermore, although trainees and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) were positive about M level study in principle, especially when there was an element of choice, they were sceptical regarding its benefits to practice and considered M level to be more important later in their careers, due to their more immediate concerns to meet statutory professional requirements.

Collaboration has become closely linked with school improvement. Literature identifies elements which contribute to successful collaboration. This study identifies some of these elements. The study focus is collaboration of senior leaders in primary schools in a Midland’s LA. It identifies senior leaders’ understanding of collaboration and how the collaborative process is developed in contributing schools. The study is largely qualitative and based on the perceptions of primary school leaders. The methodology is that of survey, within this two methods were used to gather data – questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire was designed to identify themes relating to collaboration which were then developed using semi-structured interviews to provide additional data and clarify specific areas relating to senior leaders’ perceptions and understanding of collaboration and their approach to collaborative working in primary schools. The findings show collaboration is perceived to be important to school improvement although the majority of contributors in this study have a ‘top-down’ approach. The study identifies if collaboration is to be successful there may be a need for reflection to be built into the collaborative process presenting a potential model for discussion on how reflection could be included in the collaborative process in primary schools. The study contributes to existing knowledge of collaboration of senior leaders in primary schools presenting a tentative ladder, based on literature and findings in this study, for different stages of collaboration moving forward from little or no collaboration to achieving successful effective equal collaboration, identifying how collaboration may be further developed in primary schools.

This thesis considers the introduction of the free school, questioning whether the culture of such start-up schools differs to that of existing schools. The research focuses on the extent to which the founding headteacher controls the formation and continuation of culture, and by what methods. The research builds on existing theories of organisational culture to establish a current understanding of leadership of school culture within English schools and compares this it five secondary free schools. Within each case study a range of stake holders were interviewed, and documents analysed to investigate how the intended culture was planned for the schools, and what emergent culture has resulted. The findings presented show an explicit need to plan and embed a new culture and give some practical suggestions as to how to achieve this. Free schools studied demonstrated some distinctive cultural elements, unique in the consistency with which they were embedded. It is postulated these cultural facets are as a direct result of the political turmoil surrounding the free school, and largely result from the external opposition to such schools. The importance and power of the founding generation of staff and students in creating new culture has also emerged as a critical theme.

Les télécommunications très basses fréquences (Very Low Frequency/Low Frequency) sont utilisées pour les communications militaires à couverture mondiale avec des sous-marins en plongée. La simulation de ces antennes nécessite l'utilisation de méthodes numériques bien souvent en limite de leur domaine de validité. L'objectif de la thèse est de développer un outil de modélisation globale des structures antennaires VLF/LF [3-300 kHz] prenant en compte l'environnement proche tels que les isolateurs, les structures de soutien, le plan de sol, les bâtiments annexes, ... Une première partie est consacrée à la caractérisation des isolateurs. Le comportement de ces dispositifs soumis à de très hautes tensions est en effet peu connu dans la bande de fréquences VLF/LF. Une seconde partie est consacrée à l'élaboration et au développement d'un modèle de "Fil Mince" arbitrairement orienté intégrant des composants localisés. Trois méthodes sont présentées puis validées par comparaison à des résultats théoriques. Enfin l'étude de l'influence de la structure de soutien sur le fonctionnement des antennes VLF/LF est présentée.

This thesis examines Dar&uuml / lf&uuml / nun Konferanslari which consists of a series of lectures that were delivered by Salih Zeki in 1914 &ndash / 1915 in Ottoman State. These lectures were on geometry, its history and especially on the discovery of non-Euclidean geometries. And the purpose of this thesis is to propose the sufficiency and the legitimacy of these lectures as an account on the history of geometry. As a preliminary to analyzing Salih Zeki&rsquo / s lectures, different views on geometry&rsquo / s history and progress will be analyzed and compared. The results of this comparison will be the guide by means of which Dar&uuml / lf&uuml / nun Konferanslari will be examined. This thesis also serves as a source that makes Salih Zeki&rsquo / s ideas accessible, by presenting an English summary of his lectures which were originally published in Ottoman Turkish.

ABSTRACT ADMINISTRATIVE AND SERVICE SATISFACTION WITH THE ERASMUS STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM AT MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY FROM THE VIEWS OF STUDENTS AND COORDINATORS Bulut Sahin, Bet&uuml / l M.S., Department of Educational Sciences Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hasan SiMSEK June 2008, 131 pages As a result of globalization, educational systems become more and more internationalized through mobility and exchange programs. The supra-natural organizations, such as European Union, have developed organized education programs to adapt to this transformation. Since 1987, the mobility of students and faculty throughout Europe has dramatically increased through Erasmus, which is the Program of European Union for higher education. Turkey, as a candidate country for European Union, became one of the participants of this program in 2004. Yet, the influence of the quality administration on such programs and customer satisfaction is relatively unexplored in Turkey. In this research, Middle East Technical University (METU), one of the leading universities in Turkey, is analyzed in scope of its effectiveness in the administration of Erasmus Program from the students&rsquo / and Erasmus coordinators&rsquo / point of view through questionnaires. Total Quality Management framework is used to design the research. The results of this study showed that students and departmental coordinators are generally more satisfied with the administrative services than communication, interaction with customers and academic issues.

ABSTRACT INCREASING WALKABILITY IN PUBLIC SPACES OF CITY CENTRES: THE CASE OF TUNALI HILMI STREET, ANKARA GHADIMKHANI, PARISA M.Sc., the Department of City and Regional Planning in Urban Design Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. M&Uuml / GE AKKAR ERCAN May 2011, 204 pages Liveability and walkability have recently become one of the major policy topics in the agenda of many cities all over the world because of the negative effects of car-oriented urban developments that have impoverished physical, social, cultural, economic and environmental values of cities. In Ankara, however, the urban development policies based on the decentralization of the city centre and inner city, the impoverished public transportation services and infrastructure, the increasing car-dependent development and the neglect of pedestrians accessibility within the urban public spaces in last twenty years have decreased the walkability and therefore liveability of the city center. This thesis aims to investigate the notion of &lsquo / walkability&rsquo / in urban space, specifically in urban public space, and to identify the measures of &lsquo / walkability&rsquo / . By employing a case study method, it examines how far Tunali Hilmi Street (THS) - one of the major high streets and public spaces of Ankara - is a walkable street and identifies the positive and negative factors which effect its walkability capacity. The analysis on THS is carried out through six measures of the walkability: safety, orientation, attractiveness, comfort, diversity and local destination. Based on the findings of the investigation, this thesis gives recommendations which are practical and which can be implemented on the design of the case study area, as well as on the public spaces that are similar to THS in Ankara or other cities. Key words: Liveability, sustainability, walkability, public space, urban design, Ankara, Tunali Hilmi Street