Thesis and Research Data Repository Leeds Beckett University
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Amazon Flexed: Delivering Smiles (and Exploitation)
No full textAmazon’s exterior portrays the image of a quintessential company in contemporary society that emerging businesses should aspire to be like. Bringing in $232.9 billion in revenue last year (Fiegerman, 2019) and having a total of 647,500 employees, it is clear that Amazon is a domineering force in the retail market. This critical reflection explores Amazon’s business practices using Fordist and Post-Fordist theory and aims to analyse how this ever-growing company reflects key sociological changes within society and is thus standout model of informational capitalism. However, while Amazon are a company that have capitalised on the use of information in this era portraying themselves as model of contemporary success, this critical reflection explores their use of information for surveillance, the exploitation of their workers and their dominance of consumerism for profit, all of which highlights that under closer inspection, Amazon is a company that generates huge profits through the hyper exploitation of its workforce.</p
Preface and Editorial
No full textSociology sets out to develop the sociological imagination of those who study it, allowing us to think critically and reflexively about the social world around us and make sense of the relationship between our personal experiences and wider society. This approach to interrogating the world is embodied in this collection of critical reflections written by final year students on the BA (Hons) Sociology degree here at Leeds Beckett University. The essays in this volume underline both the breadth of the subject and its power to shed light on the familiar and the taken for granted. They tackle a wide range of contemporary issues: mail order brides, anorexia nervosa, occulture, genetic testing, service work, mental illness, fast fashion and voluntourism. To do this, they apply theory as an interrogative and explanatory tool, tackling these subjects through the lens of, for example, commodification, self-surveillance, risk society and post-colonialism, underlining its central role in Sociology.</p
The impacts of co-production on public professionalism: a Bourdieu-inspired analysis of mental health services for children and young people
No full textThis study critically examines the impact of public service co-production on professional practice. It addresses a gap in the literature, in which little attention has been paid to how co-production shapes ideas of professionalism and the professional practice of staff working in public services. The study comprises a novel synthesis of theory from public management, the sociology of professions, and Bourdieu’s theory of practice. It involves a qualitative case study of the implementation of a policy oriented towards co-production. Following Bourdieu, the case study is conceptualised as a “game”, in which players possess forms of capital that they use to maintain or gain power and influence. The study critically engages with Bourdieu’s theory, by asking what happens in a game defined by a logic of co-production, not competition.
Research was undertaken at two interconnected levels. Macro-level critical discourse analysis of policy texts revealed the colonisation of the policy space by neoliberal discourses. These set limits to what local actors deemed possible. Micro-level research comprised 31 interviews and observation of 21 meetings of professionals involved in policy implementation. Data were explored in a thematic analysis. Local actors typically understood co-production in organisational terms, rather than in front-line work with service users. Other themes pointed to a layered experience. Actors with pre-existing positions in the field were able to extend their professional jurisdictions in one part of the game. In another, new actors were able to legitimate an alternative mode of professional practice closer to conceptualisations of service user co-production in the academic literature.
Along with theoretical insights, the study’s empirical findings have implications for a number of professional communities and for the design and delivery of public policy. Findings elucidate gaps between high-level policy discourse on co-production and front-line implementation, and between the academic debate and how co-production is understood in the practice of staff working in public services.</p
The transition of Saudi Arabia from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy: Developing Human and Social and Moral Capital in the 21st century through a Case Study of the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP) programme
No full textBackground/Context: Capital is sometimes broadly understood to be material wealth, whether liquid or otherwise, that can be used for further production. Thus, those who own capital, or the means of production, are in a position to increase their own wealth. This is the backbone of a Capitalist System, as described by theorists such as Karl Marx and Adam Smith. However, such understanding of capital in material or economic terms is inadequate. Although it explains the flow of wealth within a resource-based economy, it does not explain what is necessary to transition from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy. In a knowledge-based economy, where capital is no longer strictly associated with material wealth or ownership, there is more potential for benefits to circulate and for the entire society to be enriched. Yet, how this can occur and what its foundations should be remains unclear.
In 2005, the KSA established the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme (KASP) to enrich the knowledge base of society. The programme funds Saudi citizens to attend foreign universities, mostly in western countries. Like many comparable programmes, the KASP aims to boost the educational level of the population, redistribute wealth and capital, and generate cultural and social capital. As opposed to monetary wealth these refer to a range of less tangible resources that make it more likely for individuals in society to be able to enrich the knowledge base of that society. Such programmes are arguably a crucial part of establishing a knowledge-based economy, which Saudi Arabia aims to do through its Saudi Vision 2030 reform programme. How KASP addresses this complex and imperfectly defined goal remains an unexplored topic.
Purpose/Research Question: This study examines how Saudi Arabia can transition from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based society by developing human and social capital. It is guided by a case study to: A) explore the role of scholarship programmes (KASP) in the country and B) identify, if any, challenges and skills needed during and after the programme which can impact on human and social capital.
Research Design: A qualitative method was adopted, and 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with A) students who graduated from the KASP programme and B) KASP administrators. The interviews explored the perceptions and perspectives of the participants relating to the programme itself, focusing on the issues around building human and social capital in the 21st Century. The translated transcripts were coded and analysed using Thematic Analysis (TA).
Conclusions/Recommendations: This study concludes that, in addition to acquiring a degree from a university abroad, Saudi nationals develop ‘moral capital’ that is accessed through authentic encounters with the local societies and networks in the foreign country of study. This outcome contributed to a greater understanding of moral capital, particularly as it relates to the unanticipated finding of Saudi students who returned from their studies abroad with altered perceptions of morality and new beliefs about right and wrong. Thus, it has been found that both moral and social capital is mobilised through the KASP. The transition to a knowledge-based society involves an evolution in how forms of capital are viewed. When comparing the findings of the present research with thinkers such as Bourdieu, Warsh, and Benkler, it can be seen that social and moral aspects of capital are more integrated than previously envisaged. Therefore, this thesis recommends that this mobilisation of moral and social capital be supported by developing better opportunities for the reintegration of KASP graduates in order that they can apply their knowledge and new perspectives, particularly through the education system and the job market.</p
Decoding twenty-first century carnival: orality and British Caribbean carnival
No full textBritish Caribbean Carnival is often portrayed as a noisy, disruptive party for the Black community in Britain, which is increasingly expected to fulfil a number of additional and conflicting civic roles, including tourism, community cohesion, excellence in professional arts and entertainment; these expectations act as centripetal forces which are encircling Carnival. Meeting all of these expectations is essential for Carnivalists, in order to gain the support of the agencies which permit the event to take place. However, for the Caribbean Carnivalists themselves, Carnival and masquerade have an important role to play in their culture, identity and heritage, and Carnival is the preserved intangible cultural heritage which links these Carnivalists to their past and their future.
Part of this culture is the use of orality, which has led to the development of a British Caribbean Carnivalist oral subculture in the U.K. Orality is essential, not just as the mechanism with which this intangible cultural heritage is preserved and transmitted, but also because there are very few textual sources where this culture and methods of making Mas are found. In this thesis I explore how orality is central to the preservation and transmission of the intangible cultural heritage of British Caribbean Carnival, and and my contribution to knowledge is the challenge the dominance of Bakhtin’s theories of Carnival and the Carnivalesque Bakhtin, 1968).
The traditional masquerades of enslaved Africans have undoubtedly evolved and adapted to meet the changing environments which were encountered, and I argue that residual elements of these masquerades have lost all practical meaning, and have become instead, social semiotic signs. To illustrate this, I have used horned and devil Mas as a case study to follow this semiotic sign through its journey in early African enslavement to its appearance in British Caribbean Carnival.
My approach to this research has been greatly influenced and informed by my experiences gained from working in many roles in the culture, arts, and heritage sector, and from my work with Carnival groups. During my career, I have developed networks of people with great knowledge and expertise from across both the culture and Carnival sectors, which has given me the opportunity to recruit interviewees for this research from national museums, universities, government policy organisations and Carnivalists. I have also gained a deeper understanding of British Caribbean Carnivalists from the research process for this thesis, which I used to help to develop Carnival in a Box, a digital Carnival project in 2020 (carnivalinabox.co.uk). My field research in Grenada enabled me to witness in person, the retention of African masquerade in the traditional Mas of the island, and relate this to the my observations of its preservation and transmission into British Caribbean Carnival parades.
Over the past fifty years, the various Caribbean Carnival traditions which have migrated to the U.K. have developed into a diverse, multicultural expression of what is increasingly (and no longer exclusively) Black British culture. Its importance extends beyond the noise and excitement of Carnival day.</p
A Study of an NHS Chaplaincy Service
No full textDrawing predominantly on qualitative methodology, this thesis demonstrates that healthcare chaplains have a unique role in contemporary health systems. Underpinned by interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), the research is unique in its contribution in ascertaining not only the views of those accessing chaplaincy services (n=10), but also staff (n=7) and those declining the opportunity to access a chaplain (n=10).
The study adopted a sequential research design. Phase one of the study mapped the users of an acute chaplaincy service in an NHS trust in the north of England by collecting monitoring data, undertaking a retrospective database review of patient records and conducting semi-structured interviews with staff. In phase two semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients who accepted chaplaincy provision and those who declined. Extensive reflexive consideration was given throughout, given the researchers role as a healthcare chaplain working in the NHS.
The data showed that chaplains provide religious, pastoral and spiritual care and support to patients, families and staff through visiting, delivering training, conducting religious rituals and provision of prayer rooms. Patients accessed the service for religious support which was reported to contribute to their own sense of well-being. Those patients who declined the service often did so due to the timing of the offer, having their own resources to cope and a lack of awareness of the chaplaincy service. Chaplains were perceived as being religious but available to all, with strong interpersonal skills, who are impartial and have a distinct knowledge base and experience.
Drawing on theoretical frameworks to support data interpretation, such as boundary spanners, this thesis offers clear implications for policy, practice and theory development. The thesis suggests that a reconfiguration of chaplaincy should be considered in health services to support all constituents of the hospital setting regardless of their religious affiliation.</p
A narrative inquiry into teacher stress using a Wittgensteinian lens
No full textRecent data reported via popular news media and teacher union surveys suggests that a significant number of teachers are overworked, stressed and unable to cope with the demands of the job, leading to what is now commonly referred to as a ‘teacher crisis’ of retention and recruitment. Academic studies regarding teacher stress are largely dominated by research into teacher agency, resilience and the impact of power, surveillance and accountability on policy and practice in neoliberal education environments. While these are clearly important, there is little academic research specifically focussing on the teacher’s voice, in relation to teacher stress.
This study provides a detailed qualitative understanding of this ‘teacher crisis’ by using a narrative inquiry methodology to collect accounts, over several interviews, from nine teachers who share a common discourse. Their stories were analysed using a lens based on Wittgenstein’s language-games concept to go beyond what was simply being said and explore the layers of meaning. Language-games facilitate meanings, through the conversations and communications that form an individual’s network of discourses. Using this lens makes it easier to identify how the constant shifts in the various discourses of teachers’ lives are negatively affecting teacher agency and identity which can lead to experiences of stress, to differing degrees.
This study draws attention to the subordination of the social aspects of being a teacher and notes the impact of policy that reduces time for collaboration and peer support. In particular, it argues that policy makers and senior leaders take care to address the wellbeing of teachers by taking a closer look at the distinctive aspects of policy and practice, particularly in terms of surveillance and accountability, which can result in teachers lacking agency, feeling isolated, overworked and overly scrutinised.</p
Serendipitously Ludic Spaces: Vintage fashion fairs through the Lens of Critical Spatial Theory.
No full textThis thesis argues that it has never been more important to understand the spatial bene fits or ‘serendipitously ludic’ experiences of fashion consumption in bricks and mortar spaces, with traditional retail facing an existential threat from online. Spatiality is funda mental to the shopping experience, especially when shopping for vintage fashion items. However, space is often undervalued in contemporary thought as it is invisible and intan gible. This research investigates critical spatial theory, finding that space is not a negative container, but a positive and palpable force surrounding human activity; with physical, mental, social and temporal dimensions. Critical spatial theory has been applied to educa tional buildings, care homes and hospitals, but what has not been researched in depth is shopping spaces. The vintage fashion fair is becoming ubiquitous, offering an alternative to mainstream retail, exemplifying symbolic and experiential post-modern consumption, and enacted in liquid spaces where individual and collective identities are forged. How ever, despite the increasing prevalence of such second-hand, travelling spaces of con sumption, there is scant literature addressing their spatialities. This research aims to fill this gap; advancing critical spatial theory by applying it to the United Kingdom (UK) vin tage fashion fair to create new knowledge. The thesis will demonstrate how critical spatial theory, synthesised with consumer culture theory can be extended to create new knowledge of contemporary consumption space. It will investigate how consumers experi ence space at vintage fashion fairs, and create new understanding of these consumption spaces, making it possible to design spaces which are better for everyone, despite all consumers having unique perceptions. This research combines phenomenology and nar rative enquiry, to understand the actual lived experience of space at the vintage fashion fair. In-depth interviews were held with ten ‘Serious Leisure Vintage Fashionistas’; using digital participant-driven-photographic-elicitation techniques, as a stimulus to draw out their unique personal stories. The interview transcripts were analysed by repeated reading and note-taking, identifying over a hundred codes, and organising them into six umbrella themes, extracting their meaning, and reducing these to their spatial essences. Contributions to knowledge, are a typology of vintage fashion retail spaces; a spatial typol ogy of vintage fashion fairs; a taxonomy of vintage fashion fair practices; a digital photo graphic methodological process, and ultimately, ‘Spatial Fabric’; a metaphorical conceptual model of space with physical, mental, social and temporal strands, woven together; with a warp of security and a weft of freedom. Spatial Fabric advances scholarly knowledge and has practical applications for retailers and practitioners whose success depends on weaving satisfying and experiential spaces
Is ‘Fast-Fashion Feminism’ an Oxymoron?
No full textIn the recent decade, feminism has become increasingly mainstream, with a higher percentage of girls and women than ever before claiming to support the feminist movement in the UK (Gallagher, 2019). Feminism is starting to be seen less as a ‘dirty’ word. To a large extent this is a positive thing, as the fight for inequality becomes stronger as more individuals in society recognise that there is a problem. The issue at hand is when an idea becomes mainstream in a latecapitalist globalised society like ours, capitalists seize the perfect opportunity to turn it into a commodity.</p
New Grange, the Wades and the Lesser Gentry
No full textThe lesser gentry is an understudied section within the upper reaches of society compared to the numerically smaller but more powerful greater gentry. Research into minor gentry families tends to concentrate on well known, reliable and expected records. Despite relative anonymity, the family at the centre of this study, the Wades, are arguably a more representative example of the many minor gentry families who resided throughout England often the de facto authority figures in the small areas they resided.
This thesis aims to study the, often porous, boundaries between different strata of the gentry; definitions of gentry status that were often arbitrary and depended on context, local developments and shifts in attitude across time. Networks of family and friendship were essential facilitators to social, political and cultural success and relevance across the strata of lesser gentry. The study builds on existing work regarding the smaller gentry families variously described as the squirarchy, minor, lesser or parish gentry in the work of Vickery, French and Hague.
Based on a review of the literature and historiographical debate, knowledge and evidence were collected by using a variety of multi-disciplinary sources to build a comprehensive picture to better understand the complex issues of social identity, behaviour and influence of lesser gentry families. The Wade family were unremarkable, making little impact on regional or national history. This inconspicuousness is precisely the point of investigating their origins, landholdings, allies, material culture, status, and wealth. They were representative of a group of gentry that was numerous, old fashioned, conservative and restrained. The term ‘lesser gentry’ covers a broad range of gentry families, diverse in size, wealth, social connection and geography. However, within their ranks, they shared a belief in a natural order embracing self-belief in their right to authority and an elevated social position.</p