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Power, politics and the potential of private hospitality: volunteer experiences of the UK community sponsorship scheme
Full text linkIn 2024, over 120 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced, with the majority seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. This unprecedented increase of global displacement has driven the exploration of alternative solutions to the global refugee
situation. Attention has been paid to refugee sponsorship, which involves collaboration between Governments and private actors to facilitate resettlement in communities. Initiated in Canada in the late 1970s, sponsorship has gained traction in the last decade, with over 20 countries piloting national programmes. The UK introduced Community Sponsorship (CS) in 2016, the second of its kind globally.
Despite growing popularity, research on sponsorship, especially concerning volunteer experiences and their broader political implications, remains limited. This gap is notable given that refugee sponsorship relies heavily on volunteers. If national
sponsorship programmes are to be developed and sustained they must recruit, motivate and retain volunteers. Bringing together scholarship on sponsorship and critical and volunteer humanitarianism, this study addresses knowledge gaps around the role of volunteers focusing specifically on how volunteers’ engagement in CS influences relationships with sponsored refugees and ongoing voluntary activity. Employing a qualitative methodology, I utilise walking interviews and online photo-
elicitation interviews to explore volunteer experiences across three timepoints of the CS process: before, during and after the arrival of sponsored families.
Through the lens of hospitality, this study’s conceptual framework encompasses a broad understanding of power and political action. Findings indicate that volunteers engage with power dynamics in complex ways over the two-year resettlement
support period. Volunteers awaiting the arrival of a family exhibit a paternalistic perspective on power. However as relationships developed, by the second timepoint they began to engage with diverse forms of power, involving both dominant and more empowering dynamics, including recognition of refugee agency in the resettlement process. By the end of the two-year formal support period, volunteers in the final
timepoint demonstrated increased political engagement to advocate for refugees. This engagement took place overtly, through direct political advocacy, but also in a more micropolitical form, through forms of quiet, everyday politics. Overall, while dominant power dynamics persist in some volunteer/refugee interactions, CS demonstrates the potential to foster more balanced, reciprocal relationships and increased engagement in political support for refugees, which evolved from initial, humanitarian acts of care. Though community-based resettlement models face critique, these findings underscore the importance of motivating and sustaining volunteer involvement in CS and similar national schemes, as they offer a pathway towards more reciprocal refugee resettlement
The politics of parking: disabled people's experiences of everyday oppression through encounters with strangers in accessible parking spaces
Full text linkThis thesis explores the impact of disabled people’s encounters with strangers, in the context of Blue Badge accessible parking spaces in England. In documenting how these everyday interactions shape disabled people’s experiences of access to public space, I build on understandings of disability as social-relational phenomenon (Reeve, 2008; Thomas, 1999a). By focussing on supposedly ‘accessible’ spaces, I also contribute to critical perspectives on what constitutes ‘accessibility’. I consider how the UK’s political context of austerity has led to the surveillance and constant questioning of the ‘legitimacy’ of disabled people who are perceived to be receiving ‘perks’. I also explore the impact of the negative affects which circulate in parking spaces and the emotion work required to navigate encounters. My methodology brings together critical disability studies with feminist, queer, and postmodern approaches to challenge harmful binaries about disability and access, in favour of mapping the complexity of encounters.
To do this, I employ a two-stage mixed-methods approach. The first stage encompasses a content analysis of newspaper representations of the Blue Badge scheme, alongside a survey of over 300 Blue Badge holders. The second phase consists of 20 semi-structured interviews with disabled people. My findings expose the Blue Badge bay as a microcosm of the negative attitudes held about disability in an ableist society, meaning accessibility is always contingent on the ‘goodwill’ of others. Impossible stereotypes about what a disabled person should look and behave like lead to considerable anxiety in using accessible parking spaces. I also highlight the possibilities for solidarity and positive disabled identities in resisting these stereotypes. Encounters emerge not just as an individual experience, but as a communal one shared by and between many Blue Badge holders. Ultimately, my research highlights that while ableism and stigma against disability are pervasive, no space can ever be truly accessible
The adolescent social network: an investigation of social tie variables as predictors of developing economic decision-making and perspective-taking
No full textThis thesis asks three questions: Do directed and dyadic social tie variables predict adolescent decision-making in economic games? If so, does the strength of this prediction alter with age? If so, what are the cognitive mechanisms driving this development? We combine social network methods and game theory to investigate these three questions in four studies. In study 1, we use the Trust Game to test whether adolescent trust and expected reciprocity is predicted by directed and dyadic social tie variables (N = 169, Nnetworks = 11, range = 16-19). In study 2, we test whether adolescent cooperation in the Prisoner’s Dilemma is predicted by directed and dyadic social tie variables, and whether this association alters with age (N = 169, Nnetworks = 11, range = 16-19). In study 3, we employ social network methods to investigate whether late adolescents predict the strength of their relationships more accurately than early adolescents (N = 918, nNetworks = 58, age range = 12-18). Finally, in study 4, we use a novel Dictator Game to test whether directed and dyadic social tie variables predict adolescent giving and expected receiving, whether this association alters with age, and whether late adolescents predict the allocations of their peers more accurately than early adolescents (N = 292; Nnetworks = 24; age range = 12 – 18). We found that directed and dyadic social tie variables were robust predictors of economic decision-making in the Trust Game, Prisoner’s Dilemma, and Dictator Games. The strength of this association altered with age in the Prisoner’s Dilemma, and Dictator Game, but in the opposite of the hypothesised direction. Finally, we found that late adolescents more accurately predicted the strength of their social relationships than did early adolescents, but no evidence was obtained for a difference when predicting the allocative decisions of classmates in the Dictator Game. This thesis advocates for the utility of the social network approach as a tool for understanding adolescent decision-making at the level of the most integral unit of social interaction: the dyad
The role of evidence based prosopography in the digital study of past human lives
Full text linkThe Semantic Web presents an opportunity to study Past Human Lives (PHL) and their relationships. Information about PHL resides largely in the physical records in the archives and in digital representations on genealogical platforms. Information about PHL is not Born Digital, so to study PHL digitally, physical information in its original form must first be digitally represented. This is challenging because information about PHL is mostly
unstructured, messy and incomplete, and therefore largely unsuitable for digital study as data.
This thesis addresses the problematic relationship between ‘information’ (physical) and ‘data’ (digital) and the lack of comprehensive infrastructure provision for researchers into PHL in digital form. This concern is addressed by showing how extending digital infrastructure to embrace Evidence Based Prosopography (EBP), organised in a National Authority Indexing system and based on Unique Identifiers (NAI-UIDs), ensures that
information about PHL is represented digitally in a structured and useful format, thus enabling researchers to take full advantage of the Semantic Web. Issues such as fixity, affixedness and provenance tracking are addressed. The EBP system is based on linking existing data matching practices in genealogy, and existing catalogue and finding aids in academia, and it utilises UID structures common to both. Current Digital Humanities (DH) infrastructure is shown to be sufficiently mature to now extend its provision by adopting the EBP and NAI system.
This study is informed by a digital research project that models relationships between 3000 activists from 1830 to 1870, with 600 Quakers among them. This included design and build of a Human Data Digital Toolkit (HDDT) to organise and manage an EBP dataset combined from several archival sources in a variety of data formats. This ‘Independent Researcher’ project was compared with five other contemporaneous (larger and well resourced) research affordances taken from different countries, to show how the Independent Researcher model is not impaired when compared to much larger projects, and that the Independent Researchers needs bridge the gap between academia and genealogy.
The study concludes by demonstrating how the extension of infrastructure provision to include the EBP system will provide significant improvement to infrastructure support for researchers, from large well-resourced down to Independent Researcher projects, across academia and genealogy, and across society. The EBP system addresses key issues in data management, especially the three essential relationships between information and data – fixity, affixedness and provenance. It also provides a structured infrastructure which supports data interoperability and sustainability. The practical next steps necessary to develop the EBP system are set out
Do prisoners in so-called Supermax prisons suffer a “psychic death”? A Nietzschean solution
No full textThis thesis examines the experience of prisoners in prolonged solitary confinement in so-called Supermax prisons in the United States of America. The philosophical study of the Supermax prison is an emerging area particularly in relation to the psychological welfare of prisoners incarcerated in such an environment. Most psychiatric and psychological studies indicate that Supermax confinement harms the prisoner. This psychological harm is recognised in the American judiciary but the Supreme Court has not declared the punishment to constitute a violation of the ‘cruel and unusual’ clause in the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Consequently, several philosophical theories have developed that argue that prolonged solitary confinement not only harms the prisoner but amounts to a psychological or ‘psychic’ death. The inceptual and foremost of these theories is argued by Colin Dayan. Dayan draws on the psychiatric studies into the Supermax and John Locke’s philosophy on memory and personal identity to argue that Supermax inmates experience a ‘psychic death.’
This thesis argues that there are flaws in Dayan’s Lockean ‘psychic death’ argument. Instead, I argue that it is more defensible to argue that Supermax prison results in what Friedrich Nietzsche would term a ‘negation’ of psychological life. Crucially, I argue that the psychiatric evidence indicates that inmates do not suffer a psychological death but rather their psychological life is negated and ‘stifled’ in the sense in which Nietzsche uses those terms. For Dayan, the term ‘death’ implies that the inmate’s psychological life is permanently lost.
By exploring the psychiatric studies into the Supermax through a Nietzschean lens, I argue that in fact the inmate’s psychological life is not permanently lost. Rather, the inmate’s original psychological life collapses and re-emerges as a violent and destructive one due to the austere Supermax environment.
From this Nietzschean framework, my thesis intends to further advance Justice Kennedy’s ‘workable alternatives’ solution in Davis v. Ayala [2015] 576 U.S. 257 and the recommendations made by Jules Lobel. Despite Justice Kennedy’s solution and Lobel’s recommendation to limit the use of prolonged solitary confinement, both perspectives fail to recognise the harm that Supermax confinement has on a prisoner’s psychological life. This thesis aims to develop their positions by acknowledging the psychological harm that Supermax confinement has on inmates and why this punishment should be limited. One major objective of this thesis is to provide an incentive for penal regimes to restrict their use of Supermax confinement because the re-emergence of a violent psychological life presents a threat to the penal order and to the safety of correctional officers
Ultrasonic-assisted milling of advanced titanium alloys
No full textTitanium alloys, known for their outstanding mechanical properties, are highly utilised in crossgeneration aeroengine applications. Amongst these alloys, γ-TiAl has been developed as a potential substitute for nickel-based superalloys, specifically components used in the hot section of gas turbine engines due to its superior lightweight characteristics. However, the extremely poor ductility of γ-TiAl at room temperature presents a major bottleneck, restricting its broader engineering applications. Researchers have extensively explored the machinability of γ-TiAl, with most investigations concentrating on conventional processing methods. The primary challenges in cutting γ-TiAl include severe tool wear/low tool life, high cutting forces, and poor machined surface integrity. Therefore, further research is essential to develop innovative methods for the efficient and high-quality processing of γ-TiAl. One promising approach is ultrasonic-assisted cutting, a hybrid manufacturing process well-suited for hard and brittle materials. However, research on ultrasonic-assisted cutting of γ-TiAl remains scarce, while theoretical investigations into ball-end ultrasonic-assisted milling, particularly in developing models for cutting force and tool wear, require more in-depth study.
Following a comprehensive literature review covering the properties of aerospace metallic materials, machinability, tool wear and failure, workpiece surface integrity, ultrasonic-assisted cutting technology and theoretical modelling, particularly for milling titanium alloys, two principal phases of experimental work (Phase 1 and 2) were conducted. These were aimed to investigate the performance of the ultrasonic system, influence of cutting parameters on machinability of γ-TiAl, associated tool wear mechanisms/failure and the effect of ultrasonic vibration on cutting γ-TiAl. Phase 1 involved preliminary trials to evaluate the stability of the integrated ultrasonic system and identify significant cutting parameters. Initially, the influence of tool parameters on the ultrasonic system was systematically studied to determine the ideal tool size and clamping method for achieving the maximum vibration amplitude. The results indicated that lightweight tools with small size or low-weight materials consistently achieved the largest amplitude when the overhang was about 70% of the overall tool length. For example, an amplitude of 7.6 μm was recorded for high-speed steel (HSS) tools while tungsten carbide (WC) cutters of the same size and geometry only reached 3.5 μm. Similarly, amplitudes of up to 8.0 μm were produced using Ø4 mm (12.13 g) tools compared to 2.4 μm with Ø6 mm (25.96 g) tools. The existence of an operating threshold for the ultrasonic system was also discovered, as when cutting forces exceeded a critical value of approximately 90 N, the ultrasonic actuation of the tool was effectively suppressed. Subsequently, the influence of cutting parameters on machinability of γ-TiAl following conventional/ball-end ultrasonic-assisted milling was investigated in terms of cutting force, tool wear and machined workpiece surface integrity using a fractional factorial Taguchi experimental design. In general, higher cutting speeds, smaller depths of cut, lower feed rates and dry cutting environment resulted in longer tool life and better machining quality.
Based on the conclusions from Phase 1 trials, Phase 2 tests involved a more in-depth investigation of tool wear mechanisms/failure and machinability of γ-TiAl via a full factorial comparative experiment. Four primary wear mechanisms were identified during the milling of γ-TiAl including abrasion, adhesion, oxidation and diffusion wear. Under wet cutting conditions, the TiAlN coating was prevented from fully interacting oxygen in the air, with the large temperature gradient in the cutting zone leading to coating failure. As a result, abrasive wear dominated when machining with cutting fluid, while adhesive wear was the primary wear mechanism in dry cutting when using TiAlN coated tools. Additionally, the high aluminium and titanium content in γ-TiAl induced a protective film on the tool surface during dry machining. The comparative experimental results showed that ultrasonic-assisted milling significantly improved tool life by 15.9% and reduced cutting forces by up to 47.2% compared to conventional operation in the first 100 m distance machined. Surface defects were noticeably reduced while the edge burr at the tool exit position was alleviated. The high-frequency energy from ultrasonic vibration resulted in strain hardening, increased surface microhardness, and high surface compressive residual stress. These effects suppressed subsurface cracks and likely improved fatigue life.
Phase 3 work focused on the theoretical/analytical evaluation of ball-end ultrasonic-assisted milling. A modified surface morphology model was initially developed based on the kinematics of ball-end ultrasonic-assisted milling using the Z-map method. This was followed by formulation of a static cutting force model that accounted for tool bending deflection, while a tool flank wear prediction model was proposed by extending the pin-on-disc approximation. Validation tests demonstrated that the improved models were capable of predicting workpiece surface morphology, cutting forces and tool flank wear after ball-end ultrasonic-assisted milling with high accuracy and significantly reduced calculation time. For instance, compared with similar methods, the calculation of modified surface morphology simulation was improved by 68%. The maximum error in predicted cutting force was 18.42% while the minimum coefficient of determination for tool flank wear trend was 0.7773. Axial runout was identified as the root cause of multiple/overlapping feed marks on the machined surface, while the effect of increasing tool vibrational amplitude in reducing cutting forces was theoretically verified. Results from the models can be used to provide a basis for selecting optimal/preferred operating parameters in practical applications
Investigating the effect of Carbohydrate doses on Exogenous Carbohydrate oxidation rates
No full textCarbohydrate supplementation during endurance exercise has been extensively studied, but despite the presence of fueling guidelines, there is insufficient evidence to personalise strategies based on individual factors such as oxidation rates, body size or sex. The potential to personalise carbohydrate intakes based on exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates has been suggested, but remains unexplored. This thesis aims to evaluate the feasibility of personalising carbohydrate intakes to optimise exogenous oxidation rates during endurance exercise. The primary objective was to assess whether a high, fixed dose of glucose (90 g/h) during exercise could inform individualised carbohydrate strategies by maximising exogenous oxidation. Eleven trained endurance athletes performed three 150-minute cycling trials at 95% of LT1, ingesting either 90g/h or a personalised carbohydrate dose, derived from the first experimental trial; exogenous oxidation rates for each participant were divided by an oxidation efficiency of 80% to identify the rate to provide carbohydrates in the personalised trial. Results indicated that exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates were comparable between the high-dose and personalised carbohydrate trials. Mean peak exogenous oxidation rates in the personalised trial did not significantly differ from the 90g trial; 0.91 ±0.19 vs 0.91 ±0.15 g/min, respectively; (p =0.847). Heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, and gastrointestinal fullness were significantly lower in the personalised than the 90g trial, (142 ±12 vs 148 ±13 bpm; 13 ±1 vs 12 ±2; 2.5 ±1.1 vs 1.7 ±1.2 respectively). There were no significant relationships between peak exogenous carbohydrate oxidation and body mass, height, or workload (p ≥0.05) in either the 90g or personalised trial. Plasma glucose and lactate were not significantly different (p =0.812; p =0.360 respectively) between 90g and personalised trials. The low coefficient of variation (19% ±0.3) and limits of agreements between peak and average exogenous CHO oxidation rates across all timepoints in the 90g and personalised trials indicate a consistent response among participants, strengthening the reliability of these findings. Furthermore, total carbohydrate and fat oxidation rates were unaffected by any trial. The second objective examined the reliability of these exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates across repeated trials; by repeating the initial 90g trial; providing 1.5 g/min of carbohydrates. Mean peak exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates were not significantly different between the 90g and 90gR trials (0.89 ±0.19 vs 0.96 ±0.21 g/min, respectively; p =0.25). Ratings of perceived exertion, measures of gastrointestinal comfort and heart rate were all not significantly different between the two repeat 90g trials (p =0.393; p >0.05; p =0.900, respectively). In conclusion, it is possible to personalise carbohydrate ingestion rates to optimise exogenous oxidation and improve gut comfort during endurance exercise, supporting the potential for individualised dosing strategies. Additionally, whilst tighter controls are required, the determination of exogenous carbohydrate oxidation is somewhat reliable and research should extend to investigate the effect of multiple carbohydrates to determine whether the observed trends are evident, and therefore more applicable with current CHO recommendations during exercise
Essays on charitable fundraising, optimal health policy and economic inequality
No full textThe thesis consists of three chapters, each of which is an independent paper. Chapter 1 is an empirical paper focusing on charitable fundraising during pan- demics. Using Chinese data, I discuss whether charitable organizations react in response to a natural disaster or to co-existing government initiatives. Chapters 2 and 3 both delve into epidemiological macroeconomics. In Chapter 2, we apply deep-learning dynamic programming to solve epidemiological economic models under a representative agent framework. We address the question of whether the choice of epidemiological model matters in policymaking. We compare the optimal health policy functions and the dynamics between models with different assumptions on epidemiological dynamics. Chapter 3 is the main contributing paper in this thesis. We drop the representative agent assumption in the canonical epidemiological economic model and focus on the inequality problem during pandemics. A SIRS model is integrated into the Heterogeneous Agent Continuous Time Framework (HACT) to study the optimal precautionary and recuperative behaviours for individuals and the dynamics of wealth-health distribution during pandemics. This extends the canonical heterogeneous agent framework to include partial insurance against productivity shocks. The analysis of the joint evolution of infection rates and economic variables allows us to see how health, income, and wealth inequalities change during pandemics
An investigation into how Thailand should respond to non-medical preimplantation sex selection
No full textThis thesis examines the issue of non-medical preimplantation sex selection in Thailand, focusing on the prohibition of non-medical sex selection under Section 18 of the Protection of a Child Born by Medically Assisted Reproductive Technology Act B.E. 2558 (the 2015 ART Act). It delves into various ethical and socio-legal issues such as individual reproductive autonomy, privacy, the right to respect for private and family life, and gender equality. The thesis comprehensively explores the competing rights and interests surrounding the practice of non-medical preimplantation sex selection, with the aim of assessing the current prohibition within the Thai legal framework and proposing informed recommendations for the existing law. Employing a mixed research methodology, the thesis gathers sufficient and insightful information crucial for the main analysis. It ultimately advocates for the continuation of the current prohibition on non-medical preimplantation sex selection as outlined in the Thai 2015 Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Act. This work contributes original insights to several fields, including law and medical ethics, socio-legal studies, international human rights concerning reproductive autonomy, and gender equality
Enabling innovation on the UK railway: a critical approach
Full text linkThe major impact of a range of factors, such as political uncertainties, economic difficulties, and the covid pandemic, have hit the UK railway hard, requiring the sector to address its costs and improve its performance. This has made innovation a necessity rather than choice for the sector. However, introducing innovation seems to be accompanied with greater complexity and complication in a complex system such as the railway.
This thesis seeks to analyse and explain the fundamental operation of innovation in the context of the UK railway sector, to identify and address the issues and barriers existing in the rail industry that challenge the introduction of innovations onto the railway, and to develop a conceptual framework to explain how innovation works and how more innovation can be enabled more successfully. The ambition for the framework is to act as a foundational piece that can go on to facilitate innovation in the global rail industry.
A systems approach has been adopted for the research methodology. The research reviews existing literature in the field of innovation generally and its application to the railway specifically. Mixed research methods are applied to collect, observe, and analyse the primary and secondary data to provide a broad evidence base to support the development of a model of the current UK railway innovation landscape, from which the conceptual framework is developed. Significant new quantitative and qualitative data contributes new knowledge in the field of rail innovation, as does the development of the model and the conceptual framework setting out railway innovation.
This research uses a critical approach to establish a conceptual framework that explains the process of rail innovation, and that significantly enhances the understanding of the key roles of actors and institutions that can accelerate and/or de-risk implementation processes for innovation on the railway. The framework is tested and validated to demonstrate its relevance to the proposed application of railway innovation
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