Feminist literary critics have long focused on the female gender role in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. This essay turns instead to the role of fatherhood in Frankenstein. This has been achieved by applying Judith Butler’s feminist theory, the Theory of Performativity, and by examining the different examples of fatherhood in the novel, performing a comparative study whilst applying a historical context. The main point of focus has been to compare the effects, of the existing types of fatherhood in the novel, on family and society, using the Theory of Performativity. This has resulted in the understanding that Frankenstein gives much consideration to the constituents of fatherhood which may represent the most immediate threat to the family as a building block, to the happiness of children, and the improvement of society.

This study examines boundaries and synergies between continuing professional learning contexts of academy, workplace and profession, and considers what factors and approaches of learning contribute to common good in societies. In a review of literature, historical trends in professions and professional learning, concerns of managerialism and performativity, and educational theories of socially constructivism, developmental and ethical learning were considered. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to collect and analyse data from eighty work-based student documents and from twelve semi-structured interviews with practitioners in four Scottish professions. The findings indicated that learning across contexts was disconnected, creating additional demands for professionals. Increased academic study indicated a more knowledgeable and skilled workforce, with a caveat of market-led credentialism in response to demands for higher qualifications. Professional CPD provided benefits of quality assurance and public safety, but was reported as individualised procedural accountability. Interpersonal communicative action was identified as key to workplace learning, although was afforded less significance than accredited learning in professional and academic contexts. Factors of individualism, accountability and credentialism were noted to have effect on participative workplace learning, which, the study argued, impacted on ethical agency in professions. To address these trends, adaptability, reciprocity and dialogical critical thinking were identified as necessary factors for a continuing professional learning that contributes to common good in societies.

The aim of the thesis is to analyse Virginia Woolf's novels and non-fiction in light of several recent trends in feminism and gender theory relevant to her work. The thesis considers Woolf's label of a feminist writer from a contemporary perspective. It examines a variety of ways in which her writing poses a challenge to patriarchal values regarding the treatment and representation of women. Woolf's position regarding gender issues, women and feminism is not monolithic or unified which must be accounted for. At points, some of her stances can be seen as problematic from a present-day feminist perspective. At the same time, in her work she raises concerns which have been relevant for and expanded by proponents of contemporary feminism and gender theory. The thesis focuses on three areas regarding gender awareness and representation in Woolf's work. They are her narrative style, the sociopolitical context of her work and the questioning of gender categories. Woolf's narrative style and strategies are viewed in light of écriture féminine as conceptualised by Hélène Cixous. Through her manner of writing Woolf aimed to disrupt established ways of narrating women's experience. Her concept of the woman's sentence can be seen as foreshadowing écriture féminine. Apart from her style, Woolf's development as a...