Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2008. / "December, 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-80). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Economics. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2009.

Adult safeguarding guidance in the UK highlights the importance of fully engaging adults at risk in all areas of safeguarding (at both a strategic and an individual level). However, research has suggested that the level of involvement is low, both regionally (in the North East of England), and nationally. This thesis presents an exploration of the involvement of older people at both a strategic level (within local decision making on policy and practice guidance), and an individual level (within individual safeguarding investigations), with the aim of contributing to greater knowledge and understanding of this area, and developing indicators for best practice. The research applied a qualitative approach, informed by critical realism, with data collected in two local authorities in the North East of England. Data collection methods included interviews and observations, as well as the compiling of related policy documents. Participants included key stakeholders in adult safeguarding; social workers, members of the Safeguarding Adults Boards, family members, and advocates were all interviewed as part of the research. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Through this in-depth exploration a theoretical model of the involvement of older people in adult safeguarding was developed. The emerging model provides a deeper understanding of involvement in adult safeguarding by highlighting key factors which both help and hinder involvement. The model reveals the complex interplay between multiple factors impacting on the involvement of older people in adult safeguarding which include, for example, the individual circumstances of the older person and the environment within which adult safeguarding work occurs. The importance of establishing a clear role and remit for involvement in this area is also demonstrated with reference to established models, and the manner in which involvement is constructed within adult safeguarding policy and by key stakeholders. The outputs from this project include contribution to the current discussion in the areas of service user involvement, adult safeguarding, and social work policy, practice and research.

The fastest growing family type in the UK is the stepfamily with social parenting an increasingly normal practice. Parenting policy and practice, which has increased exponentially over the last two decades, has historically been modelled on the biological nuclear family model with marginalised families the main recipients. The possibility that parents in marginalised stepfamilies might have separate and discrete parenting support needs to biological parents seems to be overlooked in policy, practice and research. Rather, the historical legacy of deficit, dysfunction and a ‘whiff’ of poor parenting in marginalised stepfamilies lingers on. The focus of the research was to determine marginalised parents’ perceptions and experiences of parenting in their stepfamily and their parenting support needs. An interpretivist research paradigm with an inductive research strategy was utilised, based on a situated methodology, which was a pragmatic approach to gathering a sample of marginalised parents, who are often difficult to access. Theoretical sampling elicited fifteen parents from ten couples. The choice of loosely structured in-depth interviews enabled previously silent voices to be heard. Thematic analysis of the data revealed accounts that were interwoven throughout with strong moral undertones which seemed to categorise their lives. The parenting issues were different and more complex than those they had encountered before. The parents adopted biological family identities, but these didn’t fit with their social roles and often rendered them powerless in their relationships with stepchildren. This appeared to have a cumulative effect which impacted on the already fragile couple relationship. Despite the parents easy articulation of the parenting issues there was a contrasting unease and ambivalence in discussing parenting support needs. Parenting support seemed to be an irrelevance that could be disregarded. Ultimately the moral significance of the parents marginalised class positions appeared to be central to their lives, which has important implications for policy and practice.

The thesis evaluates the impact the inclusion of Prevent had on CONTEST, the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, both in terms of innovative and tension which arose throughout the three stages of the policy process: its formation, implementation and social impacts. Many of the tensions identified are not unique to Prevent and appear to be inherent in prevention and policing policies more generally. The thesis relies on qualitative interviews with national policy makers, and local professionals in a case study area in the North of England, as well as focus groups with members of Muslim communities in the same case study area. Three broad areas of tensions were identified. The first policy tensions centred on the debate about how to prevent violent extremism, communication of the strategy and the merits of excluding community cohesion as a means of tackling extremism per se. The majority of the national policy makers, including senior police officers and local professionals, agreed that contrary to the Prevent Review 2011, community cohesion should remain an integral part of Prevent. Secondly, there are organizational tensions. These tensions mainly relate to inter- and intra-organizational issues such as funding, information-sharing and evaluation. One of the main areas of conflict identified was the relationship between the national and local authorities. Thirdly, the thesis identified tensions relating to Prevent’s impact on the local community. This thesis suggests that Prevent had little influence, and that most perceptions about counter-terrorism and Prevent were shaped by negative political and media discourse about Islam and British Muslim communities. This has led to disengagement amongst the Muslim communities in the case study area with Prevent and local authorities in general, the limiting of freedom of expression through external social control, and the inability/unwillingness of these communities to tackle such extremism as might exist in their midst.

Spatial Plan within a Contemporary Milieu: The Republic of Korea The intention of this thesis is to develop a spatial plan for an underdeveloped country within the constraints of the current milieu. A three level approach is taken to describe the environment into which the eventual plan must fit. The general theme that runs throughout the three levels is one of a central oriented society. The plan suggests that the most rational location of new development under these constraints is the suburban area of the primate city and that the form of development might best be industrial estates. The first level of analysis deals with centralization trends in contemporary Korea; the country is currently undergoing rapid urbanization. This is most intense in the capital city of Seoul, where there is a centripetal concentration of economic activity as well as population. The second level is an investigation of the Korean government development policy. The First (1961) and Second (1966) Five-Year Plans have given priority to economic efficiency and increasing the industrial-manufacturing sector. The third level, the cultural milieu, offers up an historic precedent as a basis for contemporary society. Examination within this context of the current broad based education system and the structure of government reveal an apparent institutional manifestation of earlier philosophical tenets. The above three levels of investigation are developed in a parallel fashion, coming together in the proposed plan for the Republic of Korea - suburban development of industrial estates near Seoul. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The policy of a political party reflects its philosophy and historical background. Social welfare has become an integral part of our modern society and as a result a major concern of political parties. Therefore, specific political parties will have social welfare policies based on their philosophical views. The subject of this thesis is the philosophy of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia and its social welfare policies. This thesis has examined the historical development of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation-New Democratic Party from its inception. In doing this the history of socialism has been explored from the early 19th century in Europe. The socialist movement began its development in Canada in the early 1900’s and has evolved from a theoretical socialist base (emphasis on the class struggle) to an essentially welfare state focus. The methods used to obtain this information were drawn from a review of historical literature and interviews. The resolutions which were examined from the convention proceedings did not demonstrate this movement to welfare statism so completely, since a large group in the Party gives a higher priority to economic reforms. A questionnaire, sent to a sample of the New Democratic Party membership, indicated that there was a great deal of consistency among them in favor of the welfare state. The thesis is, to our knowledge, the first attempt at providing a comprehensive review which links the philosophy of the New Democratic Party to their social welfare policy. Because political parties play a major role in the genesis and development of welfare programs, it is essential to the public, and to persons directly concerned with social welfare, that accurate descriptions of philosophy and policies of individual parties be available. This thesis has been an attempt to provide such a description with respect to the New Democratic Party. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The watershed in this century's politics of welfare is the transformation in income security away from charitable towards governmental support. But in the Canadian case its origins still remain obscure. Although the shift is often pinpointed as occurring during and after World War II, the decisive battles over the propriety of a more active state role were fought between 1914 and 1939. The aims of this study are to demonstrate their significance in pioneering acceptance of the principle of social collectivism, and to shed light on the range of forces shaping the complex process of social policymaking. The case-study method is used to investigate the legacy of interwar welfare politics, viz., the development of emergency and statutory aid for select groups among the very poor. This technique has the advantage of capturing the historical dimension of the policymaking process, and filling the much-needed gaps in Canadian welfare research. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to test propositions concerning social policy innovations and developments. The existing literature identifies several factors as important: the nature of the economy, the cultural context, the structure of political institutions, and four sets of participants - militant workers, interest groups, politicians and bureaucrats. The analysis focuses upon the interaction between these determinants in shaping all the major interwar policy decisions in means-tested income maintenance. The evidence reveals that a myriad of forces shaped the origins of the Canadian welfare state, but their influence varied. Socio-economic change played a mediating role by creating the social problems requiring resolution, and generating the revenues to finance innovations. The general framework of ideas and the institutional structure also exerted a mainly indirect impact, with the former defining the values and the latter guiding the behaviour of the participants. In contrast, all the active political forces played the pivotal role of interpreting the problems and deciding the timing and content of the policy decisions. Interest group power overshadowed working-class militancy as the effective societal spur, with farmers rather than businessmen qualifying as the arch opponents of the collectivist cause. Inside government, elected, not appointed, officials dominated the social policymaking process. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

Bibliography: pages 96-108. / The period immediately after entering the teaching profession is of the utmost importance to beginner teachers. This is a moment when beginner teachers learn how to become competent in the classroom. More often than not, beginning teachers are generally expected to assume full responsibility of professional teachers from the first day they report to school. In this regard, the transition from being student teachers to qualified teachers is seen as unproblematic. The beginner teacher is seen as totally prepared to face the reality of teaching. However, literature on professional development indicates that beginner teachers experience a kind of "reality shock" in their first professional year. This research study explored the concerns and problems experienced by beginner teachers during their first years of teaching, at three historically different high schools in Cape Town. A literature survey investigating the realities and conditions of beginner teachers in their workplaces - both local and international was conducted. Furthermore, existing research concerning beginner teachers' professional growth was reviewed to shed light on the research area. A qualitative methodology was adopted in order to facilitate an in-depth understanding of the beginners' experience. Given the qualitative nature of my research topic, which dwells in-depth with people experiences, I found it convenient to use unstructured interviews as a means of collecting data. Unstructured later discussed.