Widening Access to Palliative Care for People with Learning Disabilities

This publication represents an important step towards greater partnership by sharing some of the thinking, good practice and resources that have been developed throughout learning disability and end of life care services in a form that will be accessible to all practitioners but especially those in a hospice setting. It includes sections on the definition and incidence of learning disability, healthcare for people with learning disability, as well as a glossary and an extensive section on resources

"James Denney (1856-1917): an intellectual and contextual biography" by James M. Gordon

Review of James M. Gordon, James Denney (1856-1917): An Intellectual and Contextual Biography (Bletchley: Paternoster, 2006)Publisher PD

"Looking in the distance: the human search for meaning" by Richard Holloway

Review of Richard Holloway, Looking in the distance: the human search for meaning (Edinburgh: Canongate, 2004)Publisher PD

From Opposition to Coalition: The Conservative Party and the Politics of Welfare Reform, 2005-2015

This thesis offers an analysis of the ideology of the Conservative Party under the leadership of David Cameron between 2005 and 2015, considering the extent to which the party still embodies a form of ‘conservatism’ and, further, what sort of conservatism that might be. This is conducted via the application of a theoretical framework combining a strategic-relational understanding of political action, with the conceptual or morphological approach to analysing ideologies. It therefore contributes to understanding both the character of contemporary British conservatism, and the role that ideas and ideologies play in political life at various points in the governing and electoral cycle more broadly. The research uses the Party’s approach to working-age welfare policy as a case study, being an area of policy that has been of a consistently high-profile over the period in question and which has been utilised for several different purposes. It focuses on three central research areas: firstly, how Conservatives have understood key concepts relating to welfare, considering what this can tell us about wider views on the relationship between society, the state and individuals; secondly, how these understandings relate to wider conservative ideological perspectives, and finally how these perspectives have both shaped and been shaped by political practice and strategy, notably in the arenas of electoral appeal and policy development and implementation. The thesis concludes that despite indications in the opposition years of Cameron’s leadership that the Conservatives might seek to move away from or at least draw a line under the Thatcher years, this possibility has remained largely unrealised in 2015. The constraining role of ideology has been significant: ‘modernisation’ was conceived within a Thatcherite ideological framework which shaped the strategies perceived to be available to the party in developing its approach to social issues and re-invigorating its electoral appeal. Although there were nascent signs of ideological developments within this framework, changes to the strategic context within which the Party is situated between opposition and government meant that in the latter it reverted to more traditional Thatcherite perspectives. The research therefore suggests that these legacies continue to exert a significant effect on Conservative policy and positioning, and will be important in understanding the actions of the in-coming majority Conservative government

"James Denney (1856-1917): An Intellectual and Contextual Biography" by James M. Gordon

Review ofJames M. Gordon, James Denney (1856-1917): An Intellectual and Contextual Biography (Bletchley: Paternoster, 2006

"The Eucharist: Bodies, Bread and Resurrection" by Andrea Bieler & Luise Schottroff

Review ofAndrea Bieler & Luise Schottroff, The Eucharist: Bodies, Bread and Resurrection (Minneapolis, Mn.: Fortress Press, 2007

"Looking in the Distance: The Human Search for Meaning" by Richard Holloway

Review ofRichard Holloway, Looking in the Distance: The Human Search for Meaning (Edinburgh: Canongate, 2004

"The Weakest Link and Other Sermons on the Lord's Supper" by Ian MacLeod

Review ofIan MacLeod, The Weakest Link and Other Sermons on the Lord's Supper (Guildford: Grosvenor Publishing House, 2007

“John and Donald Baillie: Transatlantic Theology” by George Newlands

Review of George Newlands, John and Donald Baillie: Transatlantic Theology (Oxford; Bern: Peter Lang, 2002

The logic and language of the incarnation : towards a Christology of identification

This thesis provides an examination of the contemporary discussion of incarnational language as its receives classical expression in the formulations of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. with a view to developing an incarnational account based on God's identification with Jesus of Nazareth. With this in view consideration is given to a number of contemporary defences of the logic of Chalcedon viewed as a literal statement of identity. It is argued that such defences fail in that they carry over the tensions inherent in Chalcedon unresolved into their own positions. From this conclusion consideration is given to the criticism that incarnational language is not literal but metaphorical. This is agreed, but an argument is offered to show that metaphors can refer and bear cognitive information and as such are capable of conceptual articulation. It is further argued that there is an important class of metaphors which are 'theory-constitutive' such that the theoretical claims which they embody cannot be expressed apart from the metaphor. An attempt is made to show that the metaphor of incarnation is one such 'theory-constitutive' metaphor. The results of this general discussion of incarnational language are then applied to the christological theories of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Donald Baillie. It is argued that they are legitimate and proper attempts to articulate the claims embodied in the metaphor of incarnation. An attempt is made to show that they offer a genuine middle way between Chalcedon and purely inspirational accounts of the incarnation. However, it is conceded that the traditional question raised against these theories, as to whether or not they can successfully maintain a unity of person, is a legitimate one, given their failure to indicate adequately how the union operated. The concept of God's identification with Jesus of Nazareth is introduced as one which shares a certain 'family resemblance' to Baillie's and Theodore's approach. It is argued that the concept of identification provides the type of conceptual underpinning that both Baillie's and Theodore's approach require. The fourth and fifth chapters of this thesis are devoted to presenting an account of the incarnation from the perspective of identification with particular emphasis being given to demonstrating that the concept of identification can account for the unity of God and man in Christ whilst respecting the integrity and individuality of the human person