This thesis reports a qualitative case study exploring the connotation and implementation of reflection as an educational concept in a PGCE (secondary) programme at a UK university in the light of the perceptions of university tutors and student teachers. Reflection has been an important concept in many teacher education programmes but it has consistently been intricate in terms of its connotation and implementation and despite a vast amount of research aimed at deconstructing its complexity, the matter does not seem to have been resolved. Despite its conceptual complexity it has often been taken in its common sense meaning by practitioners in educational programmes and is, at times, turned into a slogan. This study was, therefore, aimed at an exploration of the meaning and implementation of the concept and the various factors that influence it in the programme under study. The findings of the study reveal that, true to its reputation, the concept defies any agreed upon understanding. On a conceptual level there was recognition of its complexity among the university tutors, although this did not come out in the case of student teachers who predominantly defined it in its common sense meaning. At the implementation level the common sense practice-oriented connotation appeared to prevail among both groups. Factors influencing this orientation included the practical emphasis of the PGCE, the focus on response to the centralised QTS standards, the time-work balance and the under-appreciation for theory in its technical-rational conceptualisation in the predominantly skill-oriented and subject-teaching focused structure of the training. The study implies that for reflection to be appreciated and implemented at the deeper, conceptual and critical level, it should be put into practice more overtly with elaborate theoretical underpinnings. This would call for changes in this and similar programmes in terms of structure, content and aims.

Achieving the Scottish Government's carbon reduction targets requires not only the decarbonisation of industry and electricity generation, which is now largely underway, but also significant changes in the actions and decisions of millions of individuals, whose carbon emissions fall outside the areas which Government can control. Transport, much of it undertaken by individuals, accounts for around 20% of Scotland's carbon emissions. Policy aimed at changing individual travel behaviours will therefore become increasingly important. Commonly applied behaviour change strategies based on rational actor theory face conceptual problems and cannot overcome the lack of agency experienced by individuals buffeted by a range of influences in a complex world. Practice theory relocates the site of analysis from the individual to the social and helps to overcome these problems, but it is not clear how to deliberately change practices to achieve the carbon reductions required. Understanding practices as emergent properties of complex social systems suggests that working to alter the complex social system may lead to different emergent properties, i.e. more sustainable practices. My research explored this approach by conducting an experiment in Aberdeen that sought to influence the complex social system within which audiences travel to a large theatre in the city. Emergent properties of the system encouraged travel by private car: problems of (in)convenience and insecurity were shaping individuals' travel practices. Collaboration between actors powerful enough to affect the system - a transport provider, a local authority and the theatre itself - was needed to influence it sufficiently to bring about a change in the main travel mode from private cars to public transport. Analysis of this case identifies the need to acknowledge the relevance of complexity theory when developing carbon reduction policy. Perverse incentives encouraging public organisations to focus on their own 'direct' carbon emissions need to be replaced with a duty to collaborate with others to reduce society's overall carbon emissions. Those making policy and those implementing it will therefore need to understand and apply complexity theory, and will need highly developed skills in managing long-term collaborative projects rather than 'delivering' one-off changes. These attributes may be found in practitioners from diverse and less obvious fields, including the cultural sector.

Esta tese tem como objetivo compreender as práticas relacionadas ao consumo de produtos audiovisuais sob demanda em plataformas digitais através da investigação das práticas relacionadas à Netflix na rotina dos seus usuários. O referencial teórico toma como base a Teoria da Prática, na qual a prática é considerada um comportamento rotinizado, com vários elementos interconectados, em uma relação constante entre agentes e objetos. O estudo empírico acontece a partir de entrevistas semiestruturadas e observação dos espaços de consumo — os respondentes foram selecionados por meio de um questionário prévio compartilhado em sites de redes sociais. A investigação acontece com base em cinco eixos: materiais, competências, dinâmicas afetivas, relacionais e espaço-temporais. Em termos gerais, conclui-se que o consumo de conteúdo na Netflix e as práticas relacionadas adquiriram ao longo do tempo um caráter social e recursivo, e assumem também uma dimensão afetiva no cotidiano dos usuários. Nesse sentido, nota-se também o estabelecimento e a reprodução de fluxos de consumo interconectados, nos quais usuários e empresa relacionam-se continuamente: de um lado, há a disponibilização contínua de conteúdo, e do outro, o acesso rotinizado, fragmentado e marcado pela insaciabilidade e autonomia do tempo dedicado à prática, o que favorece a manutenção da estrutura. / The aim of this study is to understand consumption habits of on-demand audiovisual products available on digital platforms by investigating how Netflix is incorporated into the routines of its subscribers. The theoretical reference is based on the practice theory, where the practice is a routine behavior with many interconnected elements of a constant relationship between agents and objects. The empirical research is comprised of semi-structured interviews and by observing spaces of consumption – the respondents were selected from a survey made available on social network sites. The research is based on five axes: materials, skills, affective dynamics, relational and space-time. Overall, it is concluded that content consumption in Netflix and related practices acquired a social and recursive character over time, assuming an affective dimension. In this respect, users and companies are constantly relating with one another in a flowing exchange of interconnected consumption. On one hand, there is constant access to content; on the other, there is routine access which can be fragmented and determined by one’s insatiableness and how much time is spent on it, a key to maintaining its structure.

Scholarly interest in the informal economy has burgeoned in recent years, in anticipation of expanding our knowledge beyond the easily observable organizational life that takes place within the formal economic system. In line with this research endeavour, the present work represents a focused study of what I have labelled 'disguised relationships'. These ties result in repeated transactions between informal economy enterprises, which fail to comply with certain elements of the laws and regulations applying to their operations, and formal firms, which operate within the state-sanctioned formal economy. Drawing on an abductive reasoning process and grounded theory approach, I conduct a case study that captures the interactions between two leading cosmetics firms (i.e. formal firms) and ten daigou enterprises (i.e. informal enterprises) between 2013 and 2017. The examination of multiple data sources (i.e. interviews, news articles and social media observations) suggests that the organizational landscape under study differs considerably from the one in which formal firms are portrayed as rational choosers of best-performing partners or exploiters of subordinate actors within the informal economy. Rather, disguised relationships emerge in a unilateral and disguised fashion following the lead of informal enterprises, and formal firms unintentionally engage in the unexpected ties. Furthermore, disguised relationships create the image of dynamism replete with, metaphorically speaking, give-take, push-pull and chase-evade. More specifically, the emergent model illustrates the interactive practices through four mechanisms: (a) informal enterprises gaining social acceptability from certain society groups and acquiring the necessary resources from the members of identity-based groups; (b) drawing on this momentum, informal enterprises forming unilateral ties with formal firms in a disguised manner; (c) formal firms counteracting the unexpected ties, with temporary compromising on the counteracting efforts; and (d) informal enterprises avoiding the combatting efforts of formal firms through socially learnt tactics and leveraging network brokers (i.e. actors sharing the same ethnic/cultural backgrounds with informal enterprises while at the same time working for formal firms). This thesis makes contributions to the literature on both interorganizational relationships and the informal economy by overcoming the perennial problem of 'dualism' that is prevalent in the extant work. First, while the subject-object dualism bestows upon formal firms a heroic status such that they are conceptualized as rational actors forming interorganizational relationships, always on the basis of plans and goals, the current work argues that formal firms may participate in unexpected, yet lasting, ties, which requires ongoing situational responsiveness. Second, the structure-agency dualism projects the static image in which formal firms deliberately establish exploitative ties with structurally isolated informal enterprises, whereas the present study suggests that informal enterprises may exercise agency to proactively establish or dissolve connections with formal firms and to strengthen or weaken the relationships at their discretion. As such, dynamism figures prominently in the interorganizational relationships between formal firms and informal enterprises.

Several surveys indicate that corporate leaders still consider the aligning of IT and business functions as a top management issue. The aim of this thesis is to illustrate how coordination emerges between IT and business departments and how formal structures intended to coordinate are influenced by human action. To deepen the understanding of this phenomenon we seek to analyze IT/business coordination from a perspective based on practice theory. A field study was conducted where observations and informal interviews were carried out at the IT department of a global company. The empirical analysis indicate that coordination problems between IT and business departments is in part affected by embedded factors such as different goals and perspectives on how IT is to be used in the organization or how to design IT related processes. Our findings suggest that social interaction plays an important role for coordination. It can enhance existing formal structures or create new structures, which improve the possibilities to coordinate between IT and business departments. Our findings also show how formal structures such as cross-functional roles can constitute conditions to initiate social interaction. The results can be used as indicators for how to enhance coordination between IT and business departments.

UK policy-makers, politicians and practitioners over the past few years have based the narrative of competitiveness around the idea of 'rebalancing the economy'. This entails viewing competitiveness as a rational process (through the Porterian lens) and identifies strategies from a top-down perspective. However, there is generally a lack of understanding of how competitiveness is practiced from the bottom-up. Therefore, this study adopts a practice-based perspective to investigate competitiveness from a practitioner's perspective. In this thesis, Bourdieu's habitus and reflexivity is used along with Maclean, Harvey and Chia's notion of life history storytelling through the lens of sensemaking and legitimacy. The thesis employs a constructivist perspective to collect and analyse qualitative evidence from 41 practitioners during the two phases of data collection. The data was analysed using thematic analysis, codes generated and inferences made. In the pilot-study (Delphi-study and semi-structured interviews), senior strategists (20) practicing in local enterprise partnerships (LEP's), universities, regional development agencies, manufacturing associations and various manufacturing firms confirmed the initial assumption that policy is prescriptive and rationalistic. The second phase consisted of semi-structured interviews (21) with senior, middle and lower level practitioners belonging to various types of manufacturing firms and allied services. The main contributions of the thesis are that (1) reflexive practitioner's past experiences shaped existing practices and perceptions of competitiveness and (2) three distinct thresholds of competitiveness inform the position of the practitioner and their desire to be competitive. This has implications for policy and practice.

Recent years have seen the emergence of a novel type of community space around the world, labelled variously as makerspaces, hackerspaces, hacklabs, Fab Labs, and repair cafés. These workshops, often known collectively as the ‘maker movement', have inspired considerable speculation regarding their potential to prefigure a more sustainable economy, including a shift to localised and participatory forms of production and consumption (Smith and Light, 2017). Until recently, the social scientific work on such spaces has been sparse, especially in-depth ethnographic work, though scholars are increasingly turning their attention to them, particularly in the fields of design and science and technology studies. This thesis, a practice-led ‘enactive ethnography' drawing from three case study workshops in Edinburgh, Scotland, explores the question of sustainable development and maker spaces along two main axes: firstly, the emergence of sustainable practice in such spaces, and secondly, the relevance of such spaces to the cultivation of human wellbeing. The thesis is the first examination of such spaces drawing from developments in social theory towards relational materialism, more-than-representational approaches, and a focus on social practice. It draws a number of conclusions. Firstly, that claims of an undifferentiated global ‘maker movement' may be exaggerated: the grassroots participant-led creation of such spaces results in irreducible diversity and local differentiation. Secondly, while claims about the potential of such spaces for reconfiguring global production and consumption are overstated, when viewed from a practice-oriented perspective, the communities of practice populating such sites comprise potent and potentially-valuable crucibles of knowledge and materials. And thirdly, trying to move away from individualistic conceptions of wellbeing, the case studies provided evidence for the shared workshops playing a crucial role in the contingent emergence of participant wellbeing. These findings are further developed in tandem with a posthuman reading of maker practices, contributing to timely scholarly debates on ‘making' and ‘craft'.

Esta tese tem como objetivo compreender as práticas relacionadas ao consumo de produtos audiovisuais sob demanda em plataformas digitais através da investigação das práticas relacionadas à Netflix na rotina dos seus usuários. O referencial teórico toma como base a Teoria da Prática, na qual a prática é considerada um comportamento rotinizado, com vários elementos interconectados, em uma relação constante entre agentes e objetos. O estudo empírico acontece a partir de entrevistas semiestruturadas e observação dos espaços de consumo — os respondentes foram selecionados por meio de um questionário prévio compartilhado em sites de redes sociais. A investigação acontece com base em cinco eixos: materiais, competências, dinâmicas afetivas, relacionais e espaço-temporais. Em termos gerais, conclui-se que o consumo de conteúdo na Netflix e as práticas relacionadas adquiriram ao longo do tempo um caráter social e recursivo, e assumem também uma dimensão afetiva no cotidiano dos usuários. Nesse sentido, nota-se também o estabelecimento e a reprodução de fluxos de consumo interconectados, nos quais usuários e empresa relacionam-se continuamente: de um lado, há a disponibilização contínua de conteúdo, e do outro, o acesso rotinizado, fragmentado e marcado pela insaciabilidade e autonomia do tempo dedicado à prática, o que favorece a manutenção da estrutura. / The aim of this study is to understand consumption habits of on-demand audiovisual products available on digital platforms by investigating how Netflix is incorporated into the routines of its subscribers. The theoretical reference is based on the practice theory, where the practice is a routine behavior with many interconnected elements of a constant relationship between agents and objects. The empirical research is comprised of semi-structured interviews and by observing spaces of consumption – the respondents were selected from a survey made available on social network sites. The research is based on five axes: materials, skills, affective dynamics, relational and space-time. Overall, it is concluded that content consumption in Netflix and related practices acquired a social and recursive character over time, assuming an affective dimension. In this respect, users and companies are constantly relating with one another in a flowing exchange of interconnected consumption. On one hand, there is constant access to content; on the other, there is routine access which can be fragmented and determined by one’s insatiableness and how much time is spent on it, a key to maintaining its structure.

Syftet med följande studie är att undersöka hur familjenormer görs och omförhandlas med frågeställningen Hur förhåller sig frivilligt ensamstående mödrar till normer i relation till sitt eget familjeskapande? För att studera detta har en kvalitativ studie genomförts där urvalsgruppen frivilligt ensamstående mödrar genom assisterad befruktning med donation undersökts. Analysen är baserad på sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med frivilligt ensamstående mödrar, som har genomförts genom skype, telefon eller på plats. Därefter har datan kodats, tematiserats och analyserats med hjälp av tematisk analys, varpå två huvudteman valdes ut som fokus för följande studie. Det teoretiska ramverket som använts är practice theory med inriktning på familjepraktiker baserat på Morgans, Finchs och Smartsteorier. Resultaten visar på hur normbrytande beslut medför ett omförhandlande av ens egna normativa uppfattningar vilket även leder till ett granskande av normer i stort, samt att denna process inleds med ett incitament och således inte sker omotiverat. Vidare visar studien hur familjen kan praktiseras flytande genom att inkludera personer i ens omgivning, samt att familjepraktiker både är av normativ och icke-normativ karaktär, men att normativa praktiker utförs på alternativa sätt. Detta innebär att även familjer som bryter mot normer ständigt är medvetna om dessa och förhåller sig till dem.

Esta tese tem como objetivo compreender as práticas relacionadas ao consumo de produtos audiovisuais sob demanda em plataformas digitais através da investigação das práticas relacionadas à Netflix na rotina dos seus usuários. O referencial teórico toma como base a Teoria da Prática, na qual a prática é considerada um comportamento rotinizado, com vários elementos interconectados, em uma relação constante entre agentes e objetos. O estudo empírico acontece a partir de entrevistas semiestruturadas e observação dos espaços de consumo — os respondentes foram selecionados por meio de um questionário prévio compartilhado em sites de redes sociais. A investigação acontece com base em cinco eixos: materiais, competências, dinâmicas afetivas, relacionais e espaço-temporais. Em termos gerais, conclui-se que o consumo de conteúdo na Netflix e as práticas relacionadas adquiriram ao longo do tempo um caráter social e recursivo, e assumem também uma dimensão afetiva no cotidiano dos usuários. Nesse sentido, nota-se também o estabelecimento e a reprodução de fluxos de consumo interconectados, nos quais usuários e empresa relacionam-se continuamente: de um lado, há a disponibilização contínua de conteúdo, e do outro, o acesso rotinizado, fragmentado e marcado pela insaciabilidade e autonomia do tempo dedicado à prática, o que favorece a manutenção da estrutura. / The aim of this study is to understand consumption habits of on-demand audiovisual products available on digital platforms by investigating how Netflix is incorporated into the routines of its subscribers. The theoretical reference is based on the practice theory, where the practice is a routine behavior with many interconnected elements of a constant relationship between agents and objects. The empirical research is comprised of semi-structured interviews and by observing spaces of consumption – the respondents were selected from a survey made available on social network sites. The research is based on five axes: materials, skills, affective dynamics, relational and space-time. Overall, it is concluded that content consumption in Netflix and related practices acquired a social and recursive character over time, assuming an affective dimension. In this respect, users and companies are constantly relating with one another in a flowing exchange of interconnected consumption. On one hand, there is constant access to content; on the other, there is routine access which can be fragmented and determined by one’s insatiableness and how much time is spent on it, a key to maintaining its structure.