This doctoral thesis is a practice-led and corporate-grounded enquiry into the role of design research methods in a global technology company. The work aims to understand and communicate through a series of case studies how locally conducted participatory action research can be integrated into the processes of an in-house design team at the global NCR Corporation. It questions the current approaches taken in the design and development of consumer transaction technologies in the context of a global organisation and new markets. The thesis starts by introducing the reader to the global corporation in which the study is focused and author employed, the NCR Corporation. The contextual grounding of the corporate environment, its heritage, history and continued evolution will illustrate the dynamic yet traditional role design has played within the corporation. As a senior member of the Consumer Experience Design (Cx Design) team in the corporation the author is well placed to evaluate the role of design and how it can evolve. The immediate contextualisation is then followed by a broad examination of the literature in the field of design in a corporate culture, research methods and socially-led innovation. This will define the boundaries of interest and influence in the thesis. A participatory action research approach was taken to address the research questions. Informed by a series of hyperlocal and global community engagements framed and directed from within the corporate culture, the author defines an understanding of the levels of community engagement through design research. The resulting outputs are then applied within the context of the NCR Corporation where the impact and influence on such engagements can be understood. The author concludes that his contribution to new knowledge, the development of a Participatory Action Based Strategic Design Process, can be applied within a global technology company. The process adapts McNiff’s and Whitehead’s (2011) seven phases of action research reporting and Ravi Chhatpar’s strategic decision-making process. The thesis demonstrates the value and influence of design research methods in the design of consumer transaction technologies. The thesis provides an understanding of how design research methods have been applied in a corporate environment, how the insights are applied, and demonstrates how the research has influenced the author’s practice and therefore the wider Cx Design group.

Reports and consultative documents published at national level since about 1980 have indicated that British Industry must look to modern technology and also educate and train its workers on a 'broad base', with an 'integrated' approach. Traditionally, and still very much the mode of operation, teaching has been confined within subject boundaries. A research group was established by Professor Bajpai consisting of the author, Mr Rod Bond (Burleigh Community College, Loughborough) and a few others working overseas to investigate a teaching strategy based on an interrelated approach to teaching mathematics. Measurement was chosen as the first topic of investigation using this approach which then formed the basis for further research undertaken by the two research workers of the group whose work is reported in the form of two theses. This thesis aims to show that mathematics is naturally related to science and technology in industrial practice and that when taught in an interrelated way it would be more interesting and have more relevance to real applications in technology-based employment at craft and technician levels. To help establish the case experiments carried out by the author are referred to; these include a few case studies, a questionnaire survey and results analysed from more than five hundred basic mathematics tests. The various kinds of mathematics taught in further education are described and compared with mathematics in a practical context as seen from a case study within an engineering training school. Next a survey of mathematics at work shows that, like the training school, there is a task associated with the mathematics which is also related to science or technology or both. Another case study in the pharmaceutical industry lends further support to the way mathematics is used in industry. Much of the mathematics also seems to be basic and used in association with measurement and a particular task. It was decided by the research group that a tape/slide programme on measurement for students and educators should be developed by the author and tested in different situations. Teaching modules on relevant mathematical topics based on the interrelated approach were constructed for students with strong support from industry in the form of materials and advice. Testing of these modules, in their original and revised forms after feedback, is described. These trials were also carried out in other establishments. Modules based upon the interrelated approach developed by the author formed a basis for promoting the underlying philosophy behind this approach. These were presented to educators in in-service training and staff development programmes in the north western region of the UK with success. Observations and conclusions drawn clearly indicate that this type of method makes mathematics more interesting and relevant for students of different abilities and backgrounds. Finally pointers are given in the thesis as to the wider use and promotion of this approach for teaching mathematics in further education.

Current literature has indicated a concern about standards of maternity care experienced by pregnant asylum seeking women. As the next generation of midwives, it would appear essential that students are educated in a way that prepares them to effectively care for pregnant asylum seekers. Consequently, this study examined the way in which midwifery students constructed a pregnant asylum seeker's health and social needs, the discourses that influenced their constructions and the implications of these findings for midwifery education. For the duration of year two of a pre-registration midwifery programme, eleven midwifery students participated in the study. Two focus group interviews using a problem based learning (PBL) scenario were conducted. In addition, three students were individually interviewed and two students' written reflections on practice were used to construct data. Following a critical discourse analysis, dominant discourses were identified which appeared to influence the way that pregnant asylum seekers were perceived. The findings suggested an underpinning discourse around the asylum seeker as different and of a criminal persuasion. In addition, managerial and medico-scientific discourses were identified, which appeared to influence how midwifery students approach their care of women in general, at the expense of a woman centred, midwifery perspective. The findings from this study were used to develop 'the pregnant woman within the global context' model for midwifery education and it is recommended that this be used in midwifery education, to facilitate the holistic assessment of pregnant asylum seekers' and other newly arrived migrants' health and social needs. / Became: Haith-Cooper, Melanie. Please search under Haith-Cooper for later articles.

Multiple Intelligences (MI) is a theory that has radically challenged the conventional perception of human intelligence. Individuals have different combinations of intelligences (strengths and weaknesses). Teachers who want to achieve success in facilitating the learning of all learners in their classes need to understand and respect the varied learning styles and differences in each individual. In formulating this study, I was interested in how MI is utilised in the classroom, enabling learners to solve problems individually and in society. The aims of the study are to describe and understand the experiences of the Heads of Departments at their schools, in terms of whether teachers facilitate MI practices in their classrooms and how this impacts both on teachers and learners. In this study I followed a qualitative approach and I employed a case study design. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews that were conducted with four Heads of Department (HODs), in different local school settings in an urban environment. I also used a research diary, observations and visual data collection techniques. It was found that leadership plays a crucial role in how teachers understand and facilitate MI in their schools. There is a basis from which the HODs could be empowered to change the conditions where they manage, teach or facilitate. Teachers can be empowered to meet the challenges of implementing MI in their own planning, preparation and classroom practice. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Multiple Intelligences (MI) is a theory that has radically challenged the conventional perception of human intelligence. Individuals have different combinations of intelligences (strengths and weaknesses). Teachers who want to achieve success in facilitating the learning of all learners in their classes need to understand and respect the varied learning styles and differences in each individual. In formulating this study, I was interested in how MI is utilised in the classroom, enabling learners to solve problems individually and in society. The aims of the study are to describe and understand the experiences of the Heads of Departments at their schools, in terms of whether teachers facilitate MI practices in their classrooms and how this impacts both on teachers and learners. In this study I followed a qualitative approach and I employed a case study design. Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews that were conducted with four Heads of Department (HODs), in different local school settings in an urban environment. I also used a research diary, observations and visual data collection techniques. It was found that leadership plays a crucial role in how teachers understand and facilitate MI in their schools. There is a basis from which the HODs could be empowered to change the conditions where they manage, teach or facilitate. Teachers can be empowered to meet the challenges of implementing MI in their own planning, preparation and classroom practice. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)