The phenomenon of panic is one of the most unedifying experiences to inflict the human condition. It is a globally-recognised problem regularly encountered in psychotherapeutic practice. Whilst it is thought that distressing psychological and social (‘psychosocial’) problems might help account for this experience, the precise role they play - particularly in first onset - remains difficult to fathom. For example, whilst there is evidence to suggest that stress related to an individual’s family and work life, marital circumstances, age and gender appear linked with initial episodes of panic, these and many associated stressors people endure remain largely under-researched. Following an inquiry aim that recognises the social construction of reality, this research offers an insight into my first experience of panic attack (my being both a panic sufferer and psychotherapist). The aim was to identify an ‘invisible cord’ (e.g. a series of causally linked stressful life events) related to my panic. These events are typically thought to be found in the twelve months prior to first onset and hold important clues to an individual’s recovery. Hence my research question was: ‘What sense can be made of the invisible cord of events leading to my first experience of panic attack’? Using analytical autoethnographic methods to guide this research, significant personal events were discovered and are presented here in the findings. The earliest events uncovered would stretch back far longer than twelve months; with a series of five scenarios plotted from childhood to my mid-forties. To ensure that this research remained an exercise in critical thinking, each event was then examined alongside broader psychosocial theory and frameworks; offering a connected analysis of this first attack and contingent factors. A summary follows, ‘pulling together’ aspects of this undertaking and offering implications for practice. For example, having only made visible elements of my stressful cord by means of the analytical methods at my disposal (including use of collage and timelines) I suggest that such tools might routinely help other panic sufferers in retracing their past. Equally, in learning that my (often confused) Christian faith was implicated in this panic, I advance that we, as therapists, must remain vigilant to matters of client spirituality: noting that traditional forms of religious guidance are receding in an increasingly sceptical UK society. The thesis concludes with a personal reflection that aims to facilitate a deeper understanding of my research journey.

Corporate entrepreneurship is dedicated to the continuous exploration of opportunities and leveraging innovation activities to achieve a competitive advantage, improved performance, and prosperity of companies. The problem is that the complex reality of multinational corporations is creating distinct obstacles for subsidiary managers who are attempting to develop and promote entrepreneurial activities. The purpose of this qualitative analytic autoethnographic study was to explore barriers and enablers for corporate entrepreneurship ‎practice by focusing on the individual and organizational processes, culture, and lessons learned from entrepreneurial activities that took place at the selected organization during the last decade. The interviews with 9 participants, who were involved in the activities covered by the study, served to reflect the researcher’s narrative and strengthen the reliability and trustworthiness of the results. The study results are based on the contextual data analysis and involved identified barriers in organizational, cultural, and business environments along with the specific manager’s actions and organizational processes for overcoming them. Findings showed that despite the obstacles in the subsidiary’s internal and external environments, one could achieve acknowledging the value of the subsidiary’s innovation activities and establish foundations for the practice of corporate entrepreneurship. The adaption of the study findings is expected to catalyze social change and strengthen the positive impact of entrepreneurial activities on employees’ motivation and job satisfaction, innovativeness, sustainability, and growth of companies and national economies.

This research seeks to explore how the metal arts are taught to women in Kuwait in an undergraduate setting, making the call for the use of feminist pedagogy when teaching the metal arts to women in Kuwait. This research is achieved using the qualitative methodology of analytic autoethnography. The theoretical framework is a feminist lens bridging the social construction of gender with the gendering of objects and feminist standpoint theory. The data comes from the experiences of creating three of my own pieces of artwork as well as the pieces themselves in tandem with historical, political, and cultural contexts. The analysis from this research is then bridged with feminist pedagogy in order to begin to develop an inclusive metal arts curriculum for women in Kuwait.

No description available.