9,554 research outputs found

    Victims' Access to Justice in Trinidad and Tobago: An exploratory study of experiences and challenges of accessing criminal justice in a post-colonial society

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    This thesis investigates victims' access to justice in Trinidad and Tobago, using their own narratives. It seeks to capture how their experiences affected their identities as victims and citizens, alongside their perceptions of legitimacy regarding the criminal justice system. While there have been some reforms in the administration of criminal justice in Trinidad and Tobago, such reforms have not focused on victims' accessibility to the justice system. Using grounded theory methodology, qualitative data was collected through 31 in-depth interviews with victims and victim advocates. The analysis found that victims experienced interpersonal, structural, and systemic barriers at varying levels throughout the criminal justice system, which manifested as institutionalized secondary victimization, silencing and inequality. This thesis argues that such experiences not only served to appropriate conflict but demonstrates that access is often given in a very narrow sense. Furthermore, it shows a failure to encompass access to justice as appropriated conflicts are left to stagnate in the system as there is often very little resolution. Adopting a postcolonial lens to analyse victims' experiences, the analysis identified othering practices that served to institutionalize the vulnerability and powerlessness associated with victim identities. Here, it is argued that these othering practices also affected the rights consciousness of victims, delegitimating their identities as citizens. Moreover, as a result of their experiences, victims had mixed perceptions of the justice system. It is argued that while the system is a legitimate authority victims' endorsement of the system is questionable, therefore victims' experiences suggest that there is a reinforcement of the system's legal hegemony. The findings suggest that within the legal system of Trinidad and Tobago, legacies of colonialism shape the postcolonial present as the psychology and inequalities of the past are present in the interactions and processes of justice. These findings are relevant for policymakers in Trinidad and Tobago and other regions. From this study it is recognized that, to improve access to justice for victims, there needs to be a move towards victim empowerment that promotes resilience and enhances social capital. Going forward it is noted that there is a need for further research

    Building body identities - exploring the world of female bodybuilders

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    This thesis explores how female bodybuilders seek to develop and maintain a viable sense of self despite being stigmatized by the gendered foundations of what Erving Goffman (1983) refers to as the 'interaction order'; the unavoidable presentational context in which identities are forged during the course of social life. Placed in the context of an overview of the historical treatment of women's bodies, and a concern with the development of bodybuilding as a specific form of body modification, the research draws upon a unique two year ethnographic study based in the South of England, complemented by interviews with twenty-six female bodybuilders, all of whom live in the U.K. By mapping these extraordinary women's lives, the research illuminates the pivotal spaces and essential lived experiences that make up the female bodybuilder. Whilst the women appear to be embarking on an 'empowering' radical body project for themselves, the consequences of their activity remains culturally ambivalent. This research exposes the 'Janus-faced' nature of female bodybuilding, exploring the ways in which the women negotiate, accommodate and resist pressures to engage in more orthodox and feminine activities and appearances

    Examining the Impact of Personal Social Media Use at Work on Workplace Outcomes

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    A noticable shift is underway in today’s multi-generational workforce. As younger employees propel digital workforce transformation and embrace technology adoption in the workplace, organisations need to show they are forward-thinking in their digital transformation strategies, and the emergent integration of social media in organisations is reshaping internal communication strategies, in a bid to improve corporate reputations and foster employee engagement. However, the impact of personal social media use on psychological and behavioural workplace outcomes is still debatebale with contrasting results in the literature identifying both positive and negative effects on workplace outcomes among organisational employees. This study seeks to examine this debate through the lens of social capital theory and study personal social media use at work using distinct variables of social use, cognitive use, and hedonic use. A quantitative analysis of data from 419 organisational employees in Jordan using SEM-PLS reveals that personal social media use at work is a double-edged sword as its impact differs by usage types. First, the social use of personal social media at work reduces job burnout, turnover intention, presenteeism, and absenteeism; it also increases job involvement and organisational citizen behaviour. Second, the cognitive use of personal social media at work increases job involvement, organisational citizen behaviour, employee adaptability, and decreases presenteeism and absenteeism; it also increases job burnout and turnover intention. Finally, the hedonic use of personal social media at work carries only negative effects by increasing job burnout and turnover intention. This study contributes to managerial understanding by showing the impact of different types of personal social media usage and recommends that organisations not limit employee access to personal social media within work time, but rather focus on raising awareness of the negative effects of excessive usage on employee well-being and encourage low to moderate use of personal social media at work and other personal and work-related online interaction associated with positive workplace outcomes. It also clarifies the need for further research in regions such as the Middle East with distinct cultural and socio-economic contexts

    Stakeholder Governance: Empirical and Theoretical Developments

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    Stakeholder governance receives attention across many disciplines, resulting in fragmented knowledge. The inherent complexity of stakeholder governance requires the integration of this knowledge to develop comprehensive and inclusive theories to better conceptualize this phenomenon. In this research, we develop stakeholder governance through empirical and theoretical approaches. In the first essay, we use multiple case comparisons to empirically examine how and why organizations manage food waste to develop grounded theory through contextualized explanations. We contribute grounded theoretical and empirical evidence to show that food waste represents a significant business problem. Our data suggests that dimensions of logistics and stakeholder governance dictate how and why organizations manage food waste. These findings stimulate a deeper dive into stakeholder governance, revealing fragmentations in knowledge that require holistic, interdisciplinary review and synthesis. In the second essay, we identify definitions and terminologies, review the evolution of theories and orientations, organize mechanisms and conceptualizations, synthesize key theoretical tensions, and offer suggestions for future research to contribute theoretical developments for stakeholder governance. We contribute pluralist conceptual frameworks that integrate knowledge across disciplines to provide a comprehensive overview and recommendations. Overall, we contribute empirical and theoretical research to advance theory development for stakeholder governance

    The role of adult and community education and training in equipping the youth with employable skills : the case of Mashashane-Maraba area of Limpopo

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    Youth unemployment is a persistent challenge in South Africa that is worsening as the percentage of especially young people that are unemployed or unemployable increases quarterly. The Province of Limpopo is ranked among rural provinces and is characterised by a significant number of economically-active youth that are either unemployed or unemployable and this has negative effects on families, communities and the nation at large. Of other initiatives, the South African government established Community Education and Training Colleges (CETCs) with an aim to up-skill school-leavers and/or mitigate the high rate of unemployment. This study therefore sought to investigate whether the ACET has up-skilled the youth of Mashashane-Maraba in the Limpopo Province. The study also investigated reasons that explain the low registration in ACET programmes by the youth in Mashashane-Maraba. An empirical inquiry using a qualitative research design was used to conduct a case study on four Community Learning Centres located in the Mashashane-Maraba area of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The researcher sourced data from the field through one-on-one face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions, observations and document analysis. The relevant literature was reviewed on the role of ACET in equipping the youth with employable skills. Furthermore, important documents of the Department of Higher Education on ACET relevant to the study were also reviewed to obtain rich data for the study. A sample of 29 participants comprising 20 adult learners, 3 facilitators, 4 centre managers and 2 officials were purposively selected for the interviews from selected Community Education and Training Colleges in Limpopo. The theories of andragogy, dependency, transformation and empowerment were adopted and used as the foundation of the study. The results revealed that the selected community learning centres in Mashashane-Maraba offered the old general education and training certificate for adult learning programmes however, the programmes did not up-skill or impart skills to students. The fact that the ACET curriculum offered by the CET Colleges did not offer skills training, limits chances of employment to the youth; hence, most of them opted to stay at home rather than enrol for the programme. Based on the findings, the study made the following recommendations for stakeholders to improve the programmes, especially in the CET Colleges located in the Limpopo Province: ‱ There is a need to provide proper infrastructure for community colleges and their delivery sites in order to foster distinct institutional identity; ‱ The government should incorporate a practical aspect that focuses on imparting job skills in order to enhance employment chances for registered youth. This can reduce the social grant bill on the taxpayers; ‱ The Adult and Community Education and Training (ACET) programmes offered by the selected Community Learning Centres in Limpopo should emphasise on practical skills in order to equip the out-of-school youth with employment or self-employment skills; and ‱ The working conditions of the Community Education and Training Educators should be improved in order to increase their focus and commitment in the provision of skills. In conclusion, this study contributes to the knowledge in the CET sector by revealing some of the major challenges hindering the effective implementation of curriculum that focus on skills training of unemployed youths in the countryside communities. Given that unemployment is a major problem facing the youth in rural communities, the study emphasised the need for transformation of the curriculum in Community College programmes so that it includes more practical job-related skills such as plumbing, welding, building, electrical and leather works. The findings from the study could be used to ensure that programmes offered by the CET Colleges up-skill the youth so that their chances of finding employment are enhanced. However, as a case study, this investigation does not seek to over-generalise its findings bearing in mind that the conditions of the various community learning centres (CLCs) may differ from one another.Educational StudiesPh. D. (Adult Education

    The Role of the Metabolome in the Development of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in High-Risk Minority Women: A Causal Investigation

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    Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is the most common pregnancy complication worldwide. However, GDM prevalence is substantially lower in white Europeans (WEs) compared to other ethnicities, especially South Asians (SAs) who experience the highest risk. Globally, healthy diet promotion is the mainstay in GDM prevention, however current guidelines are predominantly based on evidence from WEs. Furthermore, metabolic factors responsible for the disparities in prevalence are unknown but may offer guidance for improved prevention and management. This project aimed to (i) assess the association between diet and GDM across ethnic groups, (ii) determine if distinct metabolic profiles characterise GDM in SAs and WEs, and (iii) evaluate the presence of ethnic-specific causal associations between metabolites and gestational dysglycemia. Aims (ii) and (iii) utilised data from the Born in Bradford cohort (mean gestational age 26.1 weeks). First, through a systematic review of observational and randomised studies, pre-pregnancy diet was found to associate with GDM in WEs, but not in Asians. Secondly, the multivariate analyses of metabolites identified 7 metabolites that were characteristic of GDM in both ethnicities, with an additional 6 characteristic in WEs only. Finally, through Mendelian Randomisation (MR) analyses, 14 metabolites associated with pregnancy dysglycemia in WEs and 11 in SAs. No metabolites were identified in both ethnicities. Cholesterols and fatty acids were the most commonly identified classes identified in WEs and SAs, respectively. This project demonstrated (i) inconsistencies in the association between diet and GDM across ethnicities (ii) distinct metabolic profiles that associate with GDM in WEs and SAs and offers and supports the need for ethnic-specific manage GDM management strategies. In high-risk SAs, fatty acids may be the most important predictors of GDM. Future work should evaluate the role of pre-pregnancy fatty acid intake in GDM development in SAs to aid in the development of culturally tailored dietary interventions

    Management Matters : Organizational Storytelling within the Anthroposophical Society in Sweden

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    The Anthroposophical Society, founded by the Austrian polymath Rudolf Steiner, came to Sweden in 1913, but for the generation of present-day Swedish Anthroposophists whose voices are heard in this study, the great flowering of the movement occurred in the second half of the twentieth century. The movement had by then expanded into a large milieu with many largely independent enterprises and institutions, from the formal organization itself, to various schools, farms, shops, medical facilities, etc., all based on interpretations of Steiner’s legacy. Since then, many members of the movement feel, there has been a decline. A movement of this size and complexity can be seen as a large organization with a corporate-like structure. Taking its point of departure in ideas from the vast field of organization studies, and specifically in the study of storytelling as part of the creation of a corporate culture where many voices and many perspectives co-exist, this study investigates how Anthroposophists in Sweden, both rank and-file members and some who served in leadership positions, tell the story of the putative Golden Age, decline, and projected future of Anthroposophy in Sweden. Twenty-eight interviews were collected, recurrent themes identified, and the plots of the various individual stories analyzed by means of a version of the actantial model developed by the semioticist Algirdas Greimas. The basic storyline, of which the interviewees’ individual stories constitute variations, is that the Golden Age, when charismatic leaders could draw crowds of enthusiastic young people and a vibrant Anthroposophical milieu was built up, came to an end with the demise of those leaders. The present, i.e., the time at which the interviews were conducted, is narratively framed as a period of sharp decline. The vistas for the future come across in most stories as quite bleak. An actantial analysis reveals that the past, an epoch that is on one hand held up as a shining example is on the other hand also described as a time characterized by innumerable problems and conflicts. Disagreement is rampant regarding the reasons for the current decline, and a vast number of problems are identified in the individual narratives. The future is for some interviewees impossible to speculate about, whereas others have specific suggestions for change. These suggestions, when held up against each other, show that there is no unified vision of what the necessary changes might be or who must bring them about. The interviewees agree that Anthroposophy plays a vital role as a spiritual path. When asked how they would describe Anthroposophy and what it more specifically can offer, answers diverge, but substantive descriptions of core concepts or practices are rarely alluded to. Rather, their explanations of what Anthroposophy is are in almost all cases metaphorical or negative, i.e., they represent Anthroposophy as elusive or undefinable. Interviewees can suggest that the lack of a clear Anthroposophical “brand” is a major reason for its current perceived crisis. An analysis of the ways in which Rudolf Steiner is portrayed in the interview material shows that there are a variety of descriptions of him rather than a unified representation of a charismatic leader that members can rally around. This, the study suggests, is because four different forms of charisma can be distinguished on theoretical grounds, and the particular form that permeates the narratives collected for this study does not readily support the dissemination of a centralized, dominant narrative.Antroposofiska SĂ€llskapet, grundat av österrikaren Rudolf Steiner, kom till Sverige redan i 1913, men för den generation av nutida svenska antroposofer vars röster hörs i denna studie intrĂ€ffade rörelsens stora blomstringstid först under nittonhundratalets andra hĂ€lft. Vid det laget hade rörelsen expanderat och blivit till en omfattande miljö med mĂ„nga stort sett oberoende institutioner och verksamheter, frĂ„n sjĂ€lva det Antroposofiska SĂ€llskapet i strikt mening till olika skolor, lantbruk, butiker, kliniker, osv., som alla byggde pĂ„ tolkningar av arvet efter Steiner. MĂ„nga medlemmar i rörelsen menar att det sedan dess har skett en nedgĂ„ng. En rörelse med den storlek och komplexitet som det rör sig om i det aktuella fallet kan betraktas som en organisation med en företagsliknande struktur. Denna studie tar dĂ€rför sin utgĂ„ngspunkt i ett organisationsteoretiskt perspektiv, i synnerhet i den gren av organisationsteorin som studerar berĂ€ttande som ett led i hur en organisationskultur med mĂ„nga samexisterande röster skapas. I det aktuella fallet handlar det om berĂ€ttelser som antroposofer i Sverige, bĂ„de vanliga medlemmar och personer i ledarstĂ€llning, framför om den blomstringstid de menar rörelsen en gĂ„ng hade, den nedgĂ„ng de sĂ€ger sig uppleva och den framtid de förestĂ€ller sig att antroposofin i Sverige kommer att möta. TjugoĂ„tta intervjuer genomfördes och de berĂ€ttelser som förmedlas i dessa intervjuer analyserades med hjĂ€lp av en variant av den aktantmodell som utvecklats av semiotikern Algirdas Greimas. Den grundlĂ€ggande handling man Ă„terfinner i intervjupersonernas olika berĂ€ttelser Ă€r att blomstringstiden var en guldĂ„lder dĂ„ karismatiska ledare kunde samla stora grupper av entusiastiska ungdomar och en levande antroposofisk miljö byggdes upp, men att denna guldĂ„lder upphörde nĂ€r ledarna gick ur tiden. Nuet, alltsĂ„ den tid dĂ„ intervjuerna genomfördes, beskrivs i berĂ€ttelserna som en tid av förfall. Framtidsutsikterna som mĂ„las upp i de flesta berĂ€ttelser Ă€r dystra. Aktantanalysen visar att berĂ€ttelserna om det förflutna bĂ„de beskriver denna tid i mycket positiva termer och nĂ€mner otaliga problem och konflikter. Nuets pĂ„stĂ„dda förfall Ă„terkommer i de flesta berĂ€ttelser, men Ă„sikterna gĂ„r vitt isĂ€r nĂ€r det gĂ€ller vad nutidens problem Ă€r och vad som orsakat dem. Framtiden beskrivs av vissa intervjupersoner som omöjlig att spekulera nĂ€rmare om, medan andra har specifika förslag till förĂ€ndringar. Sammantaget visar analysen att det saknas en enhetlig förestĂ€llning om vad som behöver göras för att lösa rörelsens problem och vem som ska ta ansvar för dessa förĂ€ndringar. Intervjupersonerna Ă€r eniga om att antroposofin spelar en viktig roll. FrĂ„gan hur de skulle beskriva antroposofin och vad den har att erbjuda besvaras pĂ„ olika sĂ€tt, men sĂ€llan i termer av konkreta beskrivningar av för antroposofin centrala förestĂ€llningar eller praktiker. Tendensen Ă€r snarare att svara i metaforiska eller negativa termer, alltsĂ„ genom att berĂ€tta att de menar att antroposofin inte gĂ„r att definiera. Samtidigt kan intervjupersonerna förklara att bristen pĂ„ en tydlig antroposofisk identitet Ă€r ett huvudskĂ€l till vad de ser som rörelsens nuvarande kris. En analys av de sĂ€tt pĂ„ vilka Rudolf Steiner beskrivs i intervjumaterialet visar att det ocksĂ„ finns en rad divergerande uppfattningar av honom snarare Ă€n en sammanhĂ„llen beskrivning av en karismatisk ledare som medlemmarna kan samlas kring. Studien konkluderar att karisma pĂ„ teoretiska grunder kan delas in i fyra olika typer, och att den specifika form av karisma som intervjuerna Ă„terspeglar inte harmonierar sĂ€rskilt vĂ€l med spridandet av en centralt utformad dominerande berĂ€ttelse

    Hunting Wildlife in the Tropics and Subtropics

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    The hunting of wild animals for their meat has been a crucial activity in the evolution of humans. It continues to be an essential source of food and a generator of income for millions of Indigenous and rural communities worldwide. Conservationists rightly fear that excessive hunting of many animal species will cause their demise, as has already happened throughout the Anthropocene. Many species of large mammals and birds have been decimated or annihilated due to overhunting by humans. If such pressures continue, many other species will meet the same fate. Equally, if the use of wildlife resources is to continue by those who depend on it, sustainable practices must be implemented. These communities need to remain or become custodians of the wildlife resources within their lands, for their own well-being as well as for biodiversity in general. This title is also available via Open Access on Cambridge Core

    Emergency Advanced Clinical Practitioners: Quality and Acceptability

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