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Tradition and transformation: assessing the state of the Church of England in a changing world
Full text linkThis thesis examines factors that may lead to growth within the Church of England. The research focuses on specifically the impact that worship music, theological and social viewpoints, and leadership style have on attendance figures within the church. In order to understand these factors, this thesis analyses data collected through a survey to identify whether one factor influences affiliation more than any other. The thesis concludes that whilst one factor has a larger impact than others, there is no definitive answer as to what draws individuals to churches. Further examination could include investigation of regional differences, or more in-depth study of the impact of social attitudes on religious affiliation
Investigating the MADS-box protein family in the fern Ceratopteris richardii
No full textThe family of transcription factors known as MADS-box proteins is found across all land plants, with multiple MADS-box encoding genes per species. In flowering plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana a subset of MADS-box proteins regulates the development of flowers and seeds, binding to each other following the ‘ABCDE’ floral model to specify the identities of each organ type. These functions are thus important to food security because seeds are staple foods globally. MADS-box gene functions remain uncategorised in non-flowering plants, with no corresponding model to the ‘ABCDE’ found in flowering plants. How MADS-box floral functions evolved is largely unknown. This can be determined by studying MADS-box gene functions in nonflowering plants. The model fern Ceratopteris richardii falls into the sister clade of all seed-bearing plants and is an ideal candidate to investigate MADS-box genes in a non-flowering plant because gene functions can also now be tested directly in this species.
The phylogenetic data presented in this thesis suggests the MADS-box protein family present in C. richardii reflects the relationships observed by the MADS-box protein family of A. thaliana. The expression data shows differing expression between developmental stages, despite previous studies suggesting a ubiquitous expression of MADS-box proteins in non-seed plants. Protein-protein interactions within the MADS-box protein family in this thesis suggest no interaction contradicting the interactions observed in flowering plants and within the ‘ABCDE’ model. This thesis provides novel insights into the relationship, expression, and interactions of MADSbox proteins in C. richardii. The work in this thesis offers a starting point for future investigation into MADS-box proteins in non-seed plants
Development of polymer derived ceramics for high-temperature applications
No full textMetal-modified polymer derived ceramics (PDCs) are a new and promising area of research to obtain advanced high-temperature capable ceramics. Incorporating these modified PDCs as matrices in fibre reinforced ceramic matrix composites (FRCMCs) could offer a cost-effective approach to the design and development of thermostructural components for use in aggressive, high-temperature environments. Of these modified PDCs, aluminium-modified SiCN is a promising example that been shown to improve oxidative resistance in both wet and dry environments up 1400°C. However, a Si(Al)CN ceramic has yet to be explored for use in FRCMCs and is the focus of the research within this thesis.
Si(Al)CN ceramic was successfully synthesised using a commercially available poly(silazane), Durazane1800, which was modified with aluminium isopropoxide; FT-IR and NMR analysis indicated that protonation occurred at the S-H and N-H bonds. The characterisation of the subsequent polymer-to-ceramic transformation with FT-IR showed the aluminium doping was retained during pyrolysis and that the resultant ceramic was amorphous in nature, as shown by XRD. EDX analysis of the Si(Al)CN ceramic also confirmed that the aluminium was homogenously distributed on an atomic scale.
To manufacture FRCMCs, a novel PDC prepreg was developed using a biomaterial-based hydrogel with poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The manufacturing process was designed to overcome many of the complex processing challenges associated with oxygen poor preceramic polymers such as Durazane1800. Two key processing steps were identified and addressed; the first step focused to the removal of hydroxyl groups during consolidation of the green body to make the process compatible with moisture sensitive preceramic polymers. The other processing step related to the binder burnout where a tailored heating profile was developed using TGA/DSC to analyse the thermal degradation of the PVP/PEG hydrogel. Furthermore, the tack properties of the prepregs were quantified using ASTM standard 1876. It was shown that prepreg tack could be retained even after prolonged storage at laboratory room temperature (average of 20°C), 30°C and 40°C for 14 days due to the humectant characteristics of the polymers.
The long-term oxidation of SiCf/SiCp/SiCN and SiCf/SiCp/Si(Al)CN CMCs were investigated in oxygen over the range 1300-1500°C for between 5-60 h where it was found that oxidation depended on both temperature and time. Measurements of oxide growth revealed that the oxidation reaction kinetics observed parabolic behaviour where oxygen diffusion though the oxide layer was the rate limiting step. The SiCf/SiCp/Si(Al)CNCMC showed better oxidation performance with a lower parabolic rate constant at all three oxidation temperatures and a higher activation energy than the SiCf/SiCp/SiCN CMC at 328.14 kJ mol-1 and 242.10 kJ mol-1 , respectively. It was determined that SiCf/SiCp/Si(Al)CN CMC was able to improve the oxidation resistance by being able to form a more structurally stable oxide in addition to the passivating effect with the inclusion of aluminium.
Furthermore, the short-term ablative behaviour of Cf/SiCp/SiCN and Cf/SiCp/Si(Al)CN CMCs were investigated above 1900°C for 60 seconds. It was found that both CMCs performed reasonably well within the ablative environment with the Cf/SiCp/Si(Al)CN CMC having a slightly improved ablation resistance of around 5%
Heteroglossic engagement in undergraduate essays
Full text linkThe main focus of this thesis is to explore how university student writers engage with external voices while simultaneously projecting an authorial voice. This is achieved through a thorough investigation of dialogic positioning using the Engagement framework within Appraisal theory (Martin and White, 2005). Previous research adopting this framework has predominantly focused on the Research Article and the comparison of high- and low-scoring essays of non-native English writers, within one or two disciplines, leaving a gap in understanding how these resources are deployed across different academic levels and disciplines. The current study addresses this gap by identifying patterns and variations in the use of Engagement resources in essays written by English L1 writers across the three undergraduate levels in the Arts and Humanities (AH), drawing from the British Academic Written English (BAWE) corpus.
The methodology combines discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, employing both form-to-function and function-to-form approaches. A sample of 42 essays was initially annotated using UAM Corpus tool to identify Engagement features across the systems and subsystems of the framework. The initial analysis led to the refinement of the framework, which was then systematically applied to assess variations across genre, academic level, and discipline within the corpus. Finally, a corpus study was carried out to validate and triangulate these findings against the broader AH dataset within the BAWE corpus.
The initial data analysis reveals that undergraduate writers employ a wide range of heteroglossic Engagement resources in their essays, but they tend to dialogically contract or close down the dialogic space rather than expand it to include external voices and alternative propositions. The application of the refined framework to explore genre, level and discipline variations in the corpus revealed variations across the different essay subgenres, higher use of resources in the final year dataset and notable disciplinary differences. The corpus study confirmed consistent patterns in the use of Engagement features and provided robust validation for the annotation findings across a larger set of essays.
This study has significant implications for the theorisation and application of Engagement, as it contributes to the growing body of research on student writing from a Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) perspective. From a methodological perspective, it further tests the interpersonal system of Engagement and provides suggestions for refinements to its application in academic discourse. The findings also offer practical applications for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programmes and provide a foundation for future research in several areas
A contemporary Islamic hermeneutical approach to adoption: challenging its prohibition
Full text linkThis thesis analyses the practice of adoption, particularly in light of earlier studies from a theological perspective that have shown it to be prohibited in Islam. Employing a hermeneutical approach, the study examines the historical customs preceding Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as references in the Qur’an, ahadith, and Islamic jurisprudence regarding the prohibition of adoption. The findings reveal that the customary practices identified in the Arabian Peninsula were not synonymous with adoption but rather constituted security pacts known as wala in Arabic. These pacts, unlike adoption, do not establish a parent-child relationship and primarily serve the purpose of security and compensation for members of the pact. Furthermore, the study highlights the implications of these practices on the treatment of enslaved individuals and those of low social status, shedding light on the changes that occurred with the rise of Islam. The study also examines the specific revelations in the Qur’an associated with the prohibition of adoption and their implications for vulnerable children's rights. Ultimately, while the Qur’an and ahadith address the care and support of vulnerable children, they do not prescribe any specific mechanism. However, references to adoption, guardianship, and kafala in pre-Islamic events are noted in the Qur’an
How to build a geographer: continuity, progression, and transition between school geography and academic geography
Full text linkThis thesis examines continuity, progression, and transition between school geography and academic geography by exploring the geography curricula of these two educational spaces, and the different ways in which stakeholders experience the transition between the two. Prior research has suggested that the transition between the school geography curriculum and the academic discipline as experienced at university can be problematic for learners. Transition, particularly the 16-19 transition, has been a focus of prior research in this area, with less attention on the earlier stages of geography education. There is little research identifying where continuity and progression can be found in the geography curriculum being delivered in schools and universities. Prior research has tended to be situated in the academy, with little co-construction or dialogue from stakeholders working elsewhere in the subject community. This research contributes to knowledge by addressing those under-researched areas, and by establishing a focus on what the research describes as the ‘geography education journey’, starting from the primary geography curriculum and concluding with academic geography.
The research used multiple methods to examine continuity and progression as two aspects of an effective transition, and to explore stakeholders’ views on the potential benefits and limitations of strengthening the transition between school geography and academic geography. Written curriculum documents were analysed thematically, using a framework developed from a recently published curriculum framework, to establish where continuity and progression in disciplinary knowledge and substantive knowledge could be found. Through the document analysis it was found that aspects of disciplinary identity were also in evidence as elements of continuity and progression between school geography and academic geography. A questionnaire completed by 66 participants, followed by phenomenographic interviews with seven of these participants, were the methods used to explore the different ways in which stakeholders viewed the transition between school geography and academic geography. The questionnaire and interview data were analysed thematically using the same framework that was applied to the document analysis. In revealing the different ways in which the participants experienced the transition between school geography and academic geography, the research identified a collective experience of the transition that could be categorised into five themes. These themes were: the role of the subject community; geography’s identity; the application of disciplinary knowledge; the 16-19 transition; continuity and progression in geographical knowledge. In relation to each theme, participants were able to identify limitations and challenges, but also to propose benefits or opportunities, exemplified by their own experiences. From this data, three proposals are made for how a more connected geography curriculum can be achieved. Firstly, that co-construction with high-quality geography initial teacher training and education (ITTE) has a role to play in strengthening the transition between school geography and academic geography. Secondly, that collaboration across the subject community is required. Thirdly, that curriculum-making is a tool for developing the continuity and progression revealed by the research as being part of a successful transition.
The findings have practical applications not only for geographers and geography educators working in schools and universities, but elsewhere in the subject community and at all stages of the geography education journey. The research argues for greater boundary-crossing in the subject community as a whole
Revisiting Empowerment: How Black women define, experience, and challenge psychological empowerment theory.
Full text linkPsychological empowerment is a construct that shapes social understandings of agency, resilience, and self-determination across various contexts. However, existing literature often overlooks the unique experiences of Black women, whose empowerment journeys are shaped by intersecting social, political, and cultural forces. This thesis seeks to address this gap by centering the voices of Black women to provide a more nuanced understanding of psychological empowerment. This study uses Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore how Black women define, experience, and interpret empowerment in their everyday lives. IPA is a qualitative methodology that privileges idiosyncratic meaning-making and employs interpretative analysis whereby the researcher saturates themselves within the life world of participants’ experiential account to yield rich, nuanced, and often contradictory findings of a given phenomenon. This project is also grounded in the theoretical frameworks of radical qualitative inquiry, Black feminist qualitative methods, and Intimate Inquiry.
The findings of this project challenge theoretical models of psychological empowerment by revealing their dynamic, context-specific nature. Key themes include the significance of relationality, the impact of spiritual practices, and the role of the socio-political context in shaping empowerment experiences. Most significantly, spirituality and encounters with the natural world emerge as critical forces of motivation, inspiration, and reflection which inform the contours of psychological empowerment, dimensions not previously accounted for in the theoretical literature. These insights invite the reader to rethink psychological empowerment alongside the experiential accounts the participants provide. By amplifying Black women’s voices, this thesis provides a critical intervention in empowerment discourse, challenging existing paradigms and offering new pathways for scholarly inquiry and practical application
"Let me take instructions on that": Lawyer performance in a corporate M&A transaction – a case study
Full text linkThis paper explores the role of performance in corporate transactions commonly known as mergers and acquisitions, or M&A, through the concept of performativity. It explores the role of ritual in an M&A transaction as a lens through which performance and its impact can be examined. It highlights the author’s professional background as a transactions lawyer and develops a case study of a complex, cross-border transaction through file reviews, interviews, and thematic content analysis. The study reveals how rituals in M&A transactions are performative, creating through repetition a shared understanding among legal professionals and clients. It also identifies instances where this ritual breaks down, such as, in this case, disputes over due diligence (the process of disclosing information about the business to be bought) and antitrust issues. In those instances, without the ritual in place, the study reveals that lawyer performance fills the gap. Counterintuitively, the study reveals that this performance is less about individual approach or aptitude – although that does have a role to play – but rather about the ability of the lawyers to work collaboratively, allowing the firm to be ’more than the sum of its parts’. The breach of ritual is also indicated to be part of the ritual, anticipated in each transaction. The study underscores the significance of open communication, the involvement of lawyers of all levels in discussion of process and approach, and the challenges of managing external stakeholders such as clients and overseas lawyers. Overall, the study
concludes that successful M&A transactions require a particular kind of performance from the lawyers involved, a combination of technical expertise, effective communication, adaptability, and a collaborative team effort, with reduced emphasis on direct client service
How is evidence used in collaborative policymaking? A case study investigation of West Midlands Combined Authority (England)
No full textRecent decades have seen both an increasing recognition of the need for collaboration across different tiers of government and sectors to address complex policy issues, and an increasing expectation for policymakers to make effective use of evidence in developing public policy. Inter-Municipal Collaboration (IMC) has become common across Europe and constitutes an important international phenomenon. The aim of this thesis is to deploy policy studies and evidence utilisation theory to enable policymakers and academics to understand how evidence is used in inter-municipal collaborations. Extant research has neglected to account for the effects of local collaborations on policymaking and the use of evidence, although recent studies suggest that collaboration has a significant impact on evidence use. We ask how evidence is used in policymaking in early-stage inter-municipal collaborations, and how this use is understood by participants. We examine the types and characteristics of evidence used and investigate why evidence is used in these ways. Combined Authorities (CAs) are a significant example of IMC which by 2023 covered over 30% of the population of England outside London. Using a qualitative case study of an English CA, we examine how evidence was used in policymaking in the collaborative context. The thesis captures a range of empirical data to illuminate the detail of policymaking in this setting, including 25 elite interviews, analysis of 60 documents, and participation in almost 80 meetings. A theoretically informed conceptual framework is developed, which is then refined through analysis of the case study data and further literature, to produce a final conceptual framework for use in future research. The case study shows that creating a collaboration brought together new groupings of diverse policy actors from a range of institutions, often developing policy in informal backstage settings. Three key empirical and theoretical insights from the case study are presented. The first concerns how evidence is used in backstage settings. The case study data identified a frequent category of evidence use ‘to enhance debate and dialogue’ in repeated interactions between elite policy actors in private, backstage settings, a type of evidence use that is seldom found in the literature. The second important finding concerns how evidence is used in creating and maintaining narratives. The thesis contributes to the investigation of the relationship between evidence and narrative by identifying three distinct applications of narrative in the case study. Finally, the case study demonstrated opportunities for the use of new types of evidence through collaboration which was found to both ‘open up’ and ‘close down’ the types of evidence used in policymaking. The thesis develops a conceptual framework which explains evidence use in the collaborative context as influenced by four key factors: policy actors, institutions, governance and the type/characteristics of evidence itself. The significance of the study is that it contributes to the field of evidence utilisation studies by informing theoretical understandings of evidence use by introducing a focus on local collaborative and informal, backstage settings which has previously been lacking. It also informs our empirical understanding of evidence use in this novel but increasingly important context. The research provides insights for policymakers on how the initiation and design of inter-municipal collaborations can influence their approach to policymaking and the use of evidence
Secure user-driven pairing with implantable medical devices
No full textImplantable Medical Devices (IMDs), such as pacemakers and insulin pumps, are widely deployed today and often use wireless communication with external devices. Establishing a secure communication channel with an IMD can be life-critical. However, this is challenging in practice due to the special properties and needs of these devices. To address this issue, researchers and medical device companies have developed various types of pairing techniques for IMDs, aiming to bootstrap a cryptographic key between an IMD and an external device to secure the subsequent wireless communications.
In this thesis, we investigate these techniques and analyze their security, usability, and deployability (i.e., whether the methods can be deployed in real-world devices) properties. Specifically, we highlight a worrying drawback in existing work: The pairing process with an IMD is always designed to be imperceptible to the patient. Assume a patient with a pacemaker is in a crowded public space (like a bus or a mall), a malicious adversary could potentially approach the patient and silently pair with their pacemaker without the patient noticing, which can lead to life-threatening consequences, e.g., changing their therapy.
To mitigate this concern, we introduce several novel user-driven IMD pairing techniques, where pairing can be completed only after the user conducts specific physical interactions with the patient's body, e.g., tapping on their body for a few times. Our approach makes the pairing process highly perceptible, and thus allows the patient to detect and stop the pairing at any time. We implement prototypes for our proposed techniques, and thoroughly evaluate them with human participants. Furthermore, we comprehensively validate whether our protocol can be potentially deployed in today's modern IMD products. The results demonstrate promising potential for our proposed pairing techniques. Our findings point out a new direction for future user-friendly design of security solutions for IMDs, and can provide value to both academia and medical device industry
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